The Most Unlikely Places

Chapters

On Last Chances
Friends and Enemies
Building Bridges Burned
Tolerance
Confronting Futility
Misguided Missions
The Same Coin
Breakpoint
Conciliation and Concerns
Morning Glory
Insurmountable
Just Like Old Times
Instruction and Demonstration
A Game Worth Playing
Remembrance
Interlude
Revealed
Cold in the Morning
Role Reversal
Unfair
Tradition
Rome
Returns
Outside Influence
The Deviant and the Debutante
Hooray, Slumber Party!

On Last Chances

Octavia glanced at the clock on the wall of the living room, a moderate sense of concern beginning to steal over her. It was already well past sundown, and the quiet little suburb the Scratch-Philharmonica family lived in had been bathed in the soft bluish glow of fairy-lit streetlamps for hours. "Hey Vinyl," she asked her mate, "did Scootaloo tell you she was going to be late tonight?"

The white unicorn sitting on the floor in front of her shook her head absently, focused on the game she was playing. "No, why?" Her tongue poked out of the side of her mouth as she stared at the TV.

Octavia pursed her lips in minor irritation as she prodded the unicorn's head from behind with a hoof. "Because, dear, it's almost ten o'clock, and our daughter is still out there somewhere." She peered out of the window looking out onto the street. "I'm starting to get worried."

Vinyl shrugged, more or less ignoring the stabbing hoof. "I'm not. She's always a little late, isn't she? Besides, Scoot can take care of herself, and this is Ponyville, not Manehattan. There's not a lot of trouble she can get up to, is there?"

Octavia sighed shortly. "That's just it, though. She's always a little late. And Scootaloo is that unfortunate combination of reckless and resourceful that makes the two of you kindred spirits." She shook her head. "I don't want to find out what sort of trouble she could conjure up if she really wanted to."

Vinyl's ears twitched at the subtle change in her mate's voice. Turning around, she smiled reassuringly at the fretting earth pony sitting on the sofa behind her. "Tavi, you worry too much. Scoot may be a little...well, rambunctious, but she's smart enough not to get into any real trouble. Heck, she survived on the streets by herself for a while before we got ahold of her, didn't she? I think she'll probably be okay."

Octavia didn't respond immediately, and kept staring out the window with a nervous expression. It took a gentle nudge from Vinyl to bring her back to her senses, and she sighed again, smiling wanly. "I suppose...still, I'd feel better if you could, you know...maybe send Sweetie Belle a note? Just to see if she knows where Scootaloo might be."

Vinyl smirked, shaking her head. "If it's that big a deal, I'll see if Sweetie's seen her recently, but I still think--" She suddenly fell silent as both ponies' ears twitched towards the front door and the unmistakable sound of hooves clopping heavily up the front walk. Immediately, Octavia relaxed into the cushion. Scootaloo had a unique gait that was easy to recognize. It came as a result of the same physical oddity that rendered her flightless: while Pegasi normally had very light bodies with hollow bones that allowed them to support their weight in flight, Scootaloo possessed an extraordinarily rare genetic defect that resulted in her having the bone and muscle density of an Earth pony, which were, as Vinyl occasionally poked fun at Octavia for, extremely stocky and heavy. Therefore when Scootaloo walked up their front sidewalk, she had the long strides of a thin, lanky Pegasus, but landed with the weight of an Earth pony. She sounded, as Twilight Sparkle had once remarked, like an Alicorn.

"You're late," Octavia said as soon as the door opened, turning a stern, half-lidded glare towards her adopted daughter, who was only halfway into the house. The younger mare rolled her eyes theatrically and grunted something unintelligible before violently kicking the door closed and plodding down the hallway towards her bedroom. "Hey!" Octavia said, sitting up straight on the sofa. "Scootaloo, come back here this instant!" The hoofsteps didn't stop or even hesitate, but continued deeper into the house until they disappeared behind another slamming door. Incensed, Octavia leaped off the sofa and made to follow her daughter.

"Wait," Vinyl said, grabbing her mate's tail in her mouth to hold her in place as the relative quiet of the night was rent by the cacophonous strains of Ponetera streaming from Scootaloo's room, only slightly muffled by her closed door. Octavia continued walking, largely uninhibited by her much lighter mate's attempt to slow her down. She dragged the hapless unicorn down the hallway.

Upon reaching Scootaloo's bedroom, Octavia knocked firmly, shouting as best she could over the music. "Scootaloo! Turn that down and open this door!" Nothing changed, so the earth pony knocked again, harder. "Scootaloo! I know you can hear me in there!"

Vinyl sighed and dropped her marefriend's tail, joining her in shouting through the door. "Scootaloo, don't make me regret charging that stereo for you."

This did the trick. The door finally cracked open slightly, revealing one defiant ashen lavender iris glaring out at the pair from beneath a half-closed eyelid. "What do you want?" she muttered. The music blasting from the stereo behind her suddenly got much quieter, and she glanced over her shoulder in surprise for an instant before turning back around to glare at Vinyl, whose horn was glowing lightly as she magically turned the volume knob down. "Hey!"

"You know the rules, Scootaloo. You have to turn it down after sunset. And you have to let us in when we want to come in, remember?" The orange pegasus rolled her eyes slightly, but nodded and stepped back from the door, clopping back over to her bed and throwing herself onto it dramatically. As her adopted parents came in, she picked up a comic book from her bedside table and began leafing through it nonchalantly.

Octavia hadn't lost any of the ire that had brought her back to the room, and she stomped over to the side of the bed, narrowing her eyes at her daughter. "Well?"

Scootaloo glanced at her. "Well what?"

"Why are you late?"

She snorted. "I was hanging out with Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom."

"Until ten?"

"Yeah."

"Doing what?"

Scootaloo put her comic down and sat up, glaring at her mother. "Doing whatever we wanted! It's not even that late, you know; everypony else's curfew isn't until eleven or even midnight. I'm the only one who has to 'check in' if I want to stay out after the bucking sun goes down!"

Octavia balked, surprised at this sudden outburst. "We just want to know--"

"You want to keep tabs on me, I know!" Scootaloo suddenly jumped off her bed and started stomping back and forth across her room. "You're so afraid I'm gonna mess up and make you look bad that you just have to keep track of everything I do, right?"

"No, Scoot, we just worry about you, that's all." The silver mare watched her adolescent daughter seethe with genuine anxiety, all traces of anger fading as she puzzled over this sudden change in attitude. "You've changed a lot in just a few years, and we're just, well...concerned, that's all."

"Well, don't be," the younger mare snapped, her wings flaring out in defiance. "I'm practically an adult, you know. I don't need you to hold my hoof anymore."

"We know," Vinyl said, trying to soothe the irate pegasus. "But try to understand, we're just confused. I mean, you were our little Scooter, you know?" Scootaloo snorted derisively at the endearment. Vinyl ignored her and continued, "You used to talk to us about everything, and now you barely even say 'good morning' before leaving for school and 'good night' when you come home. We just miss that, you know?"

Scootaloo grunted, but didn't respond. Vinyl took this as an opening to continue, and walked over to sit on Scootaloo's bed. "We don't want to hold your hoof, Scoot, we just want to be a part of your life."

"Oh yeah?" The Pegasus suddenly turned furious eyes on Octavia, who blinked and stepped back unconsciously. "Well if you don't want to hold my hoof, then stop sticking your muzzle into my business!"

"What do you--"

"You know what I mean!" she snapped, still glaring furiously at her earth pony parent. "You know what you did!"

Vinyl suddenly stood up, stepping between her daughter and her mate, eyes flashing with anger. "Don't talk to your mother that way!"

Slightly startled, Scootaloo turned her ire on Vinyl, albeit with slightly less malice in her tone. "Well, tell her to butt out of my life!"

Vinyl took a step forward, her eyes and horn now starting to glow a faint blue. "She's your mother, and she'll be as involved in your life as she wants!"

"Vinyl--" Octavia started, but she was quickly drowned out by Scootaloo's shrieked riposte.

"I don't want her in my life!"

A sudden deafening silence fell over the room, amplified by the fact that the music had stopped sometime during the argument, unnoticed by any of the mares. Octavia's eyes glittered with tears gathering on her lower eyelids, and her pursed lips trembled slightly as she stared at her adopted daughter. The young pegasus' livid expression faltered slightly at the sight, but she quickly hitched it back into place. Vinyl's face fell in shock before tightening back into an enraged grimace. Her horn ignited into literal flames of blue magic that licked up through her mane, mirrored by a similarly foreboding aura that flickered around her eyes, shadowed by her furiously furrowed brow. "Apologize."

The unicorn's dangerously quiet voice gave Scootaloo pause for a moment, but she stood her ground. "No, I mean it."

Vinyl took a step forward, causing Scootaloo to step back, her wings folding defensively against her back. "Apologize to your mother!"

"No! She--"

"APOLOGIZE!" Vinyl's eyes disappeared behind a roiling blue aura that curled up around her temples and seethed through her electric blue mane. Her horn flashed and flickered as sparks flew from the tip.

"Vinyl!" Octavia's voice, calm but stern, cut between her daughter and her marefriend as easily as if she'd stepped between them herself. The fuming unicorn suddenly straightened, the magical aura fading in an instant as she realized what she had been doing.

"Scootaloo, I..." She fumbled for something to say, her face burning with a blush that showed through her ivory coat.

"It's alright, Vinyl, just calm down." Octavia walked over to her mate's side, rubbing gently against her as she did.

Slightly unsettled, Scootaloo defiantly repeated, "I'm not going to apologize."

Octavia shook her head dismissively, raising a hoof to wipe the tears from her eyes. "That's fine, dear. I think I understand what's going on here." Scootaloo raised an eyebrow at her mother, who continued quietly, "Miss Cheerilee told you we talked, didn't she?"

Scootaloo frowned at the floor, but didn't say anything. Octavia nodded and sighed. "I thought so. Alright, I think it might be time for everypony here to calm down, have a seat, and talk." She walked over to Scootaloo's bed and climbed up onto it, lying down and patting the quilt next to her. "Come on, Scootaloo, can you forgive me long enough to let me explain?"

Scootaloo hesitated for a long moment, still scowling, but eventually deigned to join her mother on the bed. After a moment, Vinyl joined them, her face still sporting a faint pinkish hue and a distinctly sheepish expression. She murmured to Scootaloo as she sat down next to her, “I’m really sorry…I shouldn’t have gone off like that.” The orange filly didn’t respond, but she begrudgingly leaned into her mother’s flank for an instant, a silent acknowledgment of the apology.

Vinyl smiled, but Scootaloo immediately covered the show of affection with an accusatory stare at Octavia. “Alright, fine, I’m listening. So…talk.”

The earth pony sighed lightly. “First, I want to make it clear that we aren’t trying to ‘butt in’ to your life. We’re just trying to be good parents, and it’s getting harder every day.” She smiled, nudging Scootaloo with a hoof. “You’re growing up, and it’s tough for us to keep up.” The filly looked away, not responding. “Anyway, the only reason we’ve been meeting with Miss Cheerilee is because she came to us at the beginning of last season and expressed some concern with how you were treating some of the other students.”

Scootaloo’s gaze suddenly snapped back to Octavia’s face, surprise and indignation plainly painted on her features. “What?! Like what, she thinks I’m a bully or something? I’m not a bully! They’re the ones who bully me! She should be snitching to their parents, not mine!”

Octavia closed her eyes and took a steadying breath. “She was not snitching, and she doesn’t think you’re a bully. She thinks, Scootaloo, that you are unnecessarily antagonizing some of the other students, and before you go off again,” she added, cutting across a fresh tirade from the younger mare, “she did note that they were also antagonizing you, and that she would in fact be talking to their parents as well. The point is that she spoke to us, and asked us if we had any ideas.”

“Ideas for what, for how to fix me?” Scootaloo snapped.

Vinyl spoke for the first time. “No, ideas for how to help you learn to get along with somepony you may not like very much. Scootaloo, you’re not always going to be friends with everyone, and that’s fine. There are some ponies I don’t like very much, and even though I’m not very good at it, sometimes you just have to try to get past that. You can’t just insult and ignore everypony you don’t like.”

“Well, maybe they deserve it,” she muttered.

Octavia shrugged. “That’s not the point. The point is that when she asked if we had any ideas, I told her that sometimes the best way to learn to get along with somepony is to be forced to. After all, that’s how I learned to get along with your mother.” She smirked across the bed at her marefriend, who grinned back at her.

“Whatever,” Scootaloo sneered, “it’s not going to work.”

Octavia sighed heavily. “Fine." She glared at her daughter. "Fine, if you’re going to be a foal about it, let me try and explain it more directly. The Academy is not interested in a filly who’s too proud of herself to get along with somepony she doesn’t like.”

“I’m not—“

“And,” Octavia continued, ignoring her daughter’s interruption, “they will most certainly be interviewing everypony they can when you apply for admission, because they’ll want to know everything about you, from how you got your cutie mark, to how you treat your friends, to how you treat everypony else.” She narrowed her eyes at her impetuous charge. “You understand what that means?”

Scootaloo was momentarily speechless, startled into silence by her normally quiet mother’s sudden tirade. She shook her head.

“It means that if you don’t do this, they’re going to assume you don’t know how to get along with somepony when you really have to, and they’re going to throw your application away. They aren’t interested in teaching you how to be an adult, and they’re not going to waste time waiting for you to grow up.” Octavia suddenly stood up, tears of frustration and anger in her eyes. “So yes, I told your teacher to make you do a project with someone you didn’t like. Someone you don’t get along with, someone you would have to really dig deep and try hard to work with, because if you can do that, then you can do anything, and you damn well know it!”

With that, the agitated earth pony stormed out of the room, disappearing down the hallway, leaving the unmistakable sounds of barely contained sobs in her wake. After a moment, the master bedroom door slammed, leaving Vinyl and Scootaloo still sitting on the bed, staring at the open door to the filly’s bedroom.

Vinyl got up to follow Octavia, but stopped at the doorway, glancing over her shoulder. “We’re not your enemies, Scootaloo.”

Scootaloo blinked, tears of indignation lining her eyelids as well. “I never said—“

“Yeah, well…some things don’t have to be said.”

The pegasus got up, her wings standing out from her back in her frustration. “But she—“

“We, Scootaloo,” her mother corrected her. “We did it together. Your mother and I were worried about you, and we just wanted to help.”

“You should have talked to me first!” Tears started to slide down Scootaloo’s cheeks as she tried to explain herself.

“We wanted to!” Vinyl suddenly turned to face her daughter, her face pained rather than angry. “We wanted to talk to you. We’ve always wanted to talk to you, but you’ve been shutting us out! For years! And we get it, you’re a teenager. You don’t want to talk to us, but sometimes you have to do things you don’t want to do, Scootaloo.” She sighed, turning back to the door. “So we did.” Without another word, she walked out into the hallway, gently closing the door behind her and leaving Scootaloo alone with her thoughts.

~~~

It was nearly midnight before Scootaloo managed to finish fighting with herself, alternating between lying on her bed, crying bitter tears of frustration and self-pity, and furiously stomping around her room, ranting indignantly about how right she was and winning imaginary arguments with her imaginary parents. Eventually, however, she exhausted her stores of depression and rage and found herself sitting silently in the middle of her room, suddenly realizing that parents were right—as usual—and that she had been acting like an idiot.

Reluctantly, the filly hung her head and plodded out into the hallway, finding her way to her parents' bedroom and hesitantly rapping the door with a hoof. A few moments passed before the handle turned and the door opened, revealing Vinyl's coolly frowning face. "Yes, Scootaloo?" she asked, her voice stiff and icy.

Scootaloo grimaced, digging for words she didn't say very often. "I, uh...I just wanted to...to apologize." When Vinyl didn't immediately react, she continued. "For making Mama Tavi cry. And for saying I didn't want her in my life." The unicorn still didn't move, and Scootaloo shuffled her hooves nervously. "And, uh...for being late, I guess."

Vinyl pressed her lips together and gave her daughter an appraising look. "I'm not the one you have to apologize to." She stepped back and inclined her head towards the bed, where Octavia was lying, a book propped up on her chest and a nonchalant expression that didn't quite hide the fact that her eyes were still rimmed with red and the fur on her cheeks was still slightly damp and darkened.

Scootaloo felt a stab of guilt in her chest as she walked into the room, letting her wings droop down at her sides. Octavia glanced at her, her expression unchanged. "Yes, sweetheart?" Her voice was still as gentle and tender as it ever was. It made the pegasus' heart sink.

"I, uh..." Scootaloo rubbed one of her forelegs with the opposite hoof anxiously. "I just wanted to, uh...say I'm sorry. For, you know...for yelling at you." She grimaced and added, "And for making you cry." She looked at the floor sadly. "I guess I wasn't being very 'adult', was I?"

"No, you weren't," Octavia agreed frostily. Then, her face suddenly broke into a broad smile. "But you are now. And that's what matters. And for what it's worth, I'm sorry, too."

Scootaloo looked up in surprise. "Really? Why?"

Octavia put her book down and repositioned herself on the bed so she and Scootaloo were eye-to-eye. "Because I was expecting you to act like an adult without treating you like one. That was wrong. Let's start over."

"Okay..." Scootaloo walked over to the bed and climbed up onto it, sitting next to her mother.

"Alright," Octavia said, "Miss Cheerilee tells me you've been butting heads with some of the other fillies in your class. I suspect I know who, but I'll let you tell me, because I know you know."

Scootaloo nodded. "The same two twits I've been 'butting heads with' since I started going to school there. Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon." She glared at the floor. "Because they're snooty, selfish, stuck-up bimbos who couldn't count as high as the number of brain cells between them." It occurred to her after she said it that this might not be as scathing an insult as she'd hoped, so she clarified herself. "It's not very much."

Octavia giggled. "I gathered. Regardless, I think it's important for you to learn how to get along with somepony you might not be very fond of, don't you agree?" Scootaloo grunted noncommittally, and Octavia added, "I know the Academy would think it was important."

"Is that why you told Miss Cheerilee to make the project pass/fail, then? Because you know if I fail this season, I'll never get into the Academy."

Octavia nodded. "Yes, I admit I was concerned that you might not understand the...purpose of the whole exercise, so I suggested she amplify the stakes."

"And Silver Spoon?"

"Is that who she picked?" Octavia mused, tapping her chin with a hoof. "Interesting. Well, she knows the two of you and your...relationship better than we do."

"You didn't suggest Spoon, then?"

Octavia shook her head. "As soon as I suggested making you work with somepony you didn't like very much, she mentioned that she knew precisely who she wanted to pair you with."

"Why Spoon?"

The silver earth pony shrugged. "I couldn't say, dear. Perhaps you should ask Miss Cheerilee."

Scootaloo sighed. "Yeah, I guess...I still have to figure out what she wants us to do for this stupid project anyway." She groaned. "I can't believe I'm gonna have to carry that airhead--"

"Scootaloo!" Octavia scolded her lightly.

"What? She's an idiot! She's always asking the stupidest questions in class, she's always the last one still working on every test, and I've seen some of the homework she's turned in. Pound Cake could do a better job." She sighed theatrically. "I'm gonna end up doing all the work, I just know it. And I'll probably still fail."

Octavia pursed her lips. "While I doubt that's even remotely true, if you're concerned about it, talk to Miss Cheerilee. I'm sure she won't let Silver Spoon's contributions...or lack thereof...endanger your grade. It will be fine."

"Yeah, maybe."

Octavia rolled her eyes, but smiled. "Anyway, it's very late, and you still have school in the morning, so you should probably get back to bed." She nuzzled her daughter affectionately, ignoring the filly's patronizing groan. "Thank you for apologizing, sweetheart. That was very mature of you."

Scootaloo smiled in spite of herself. "Yeah, well...it's no big deal."

"It is to us." Vinyl came over and nuzzled Scootaloo as well, drawing another exasperated grunt. "Lets us know we didn't completely screw up raising you."

The pegasus giggled. "Yeah, yeah..." She slid off the bed and trotted out into the hallway, calling over her shoulder as she left. "G'night, mom."

Her mothers responded in unison, as they always did. "Goodnight, Scooter."

Friends and Enemies

Diamond Tiara was already gone by the time Silver Spoon came out of the schoolhouse after her meeting with Miss Cheerilee. This was not surprising, because Diamond Tiara's father came after school every day to pick her up and take her home. Occasionally he would take Silver Spoon home as well, since the two families lived in the same neighborhood, but Mr. Rich had a very tight schedule, and couldn't afford to wait an additional twenty minutes for Silver Spoon this afternoon. Even so, he preferred to take Diamond Tiara home alone, as the two rarely got to spend any time together, and Mr. Rich treasured the short carriage ride from the schoolhouse back to their manor, and though Diamond Tiara would never have admitted it, Silver Spoon knew her friend well enough to know the filly secretly loved it as well.

The schoolyard was therefore empty when Silver Spoon glumly pushed the front door open and stepped out into the crisp late winter afternoon. Once upon a time, the fillies and colts of her class would have milled about, conversing and playing while they waited for their parents to come pick them up, but as they had grown older and more self-sufficient, the playing and chatting gave way to other pursuits, most of which couldn't be obtained on a playground. This suited Silver Spoon just fine, as she had never really gotten along very well with any of the other foals, and generally didn't bother hanging around in the schoolyard after class anyway. Instead, she simply started the long walk home, letting her mind wander as she followed the well-worn path out of the gate and towards the town center.

Silver Spoon's mind immediately and predictably jumped back to the distressing conversation she had just completed. It seemed impossible to her that Miss Cheerilee could think that she, of all ponies, could possibly work with a punk like Scootaloo, especially after her foalish outburst after class. "I get it! Thanks a lot, Miss Cheerilee!" Silver Spoon rolled her eyes. How self-centered could a filly be? Did she honestly believe Miss Cheerilee was doing it just to punish her? Silver Spoon wasn't exactly thrilled about the idea, either, perhaps even less than Scootaloo was. Still, she knew a lost cause when she saw one, and Miss Cheerilee's flinty stare had more than guaranteed the futility of further argument. Now, Silver Spoon grumbled to herself, she had to find a way to convince Scootaloo to put her pride aside long enough for them to work together and get the project done with, so they could both pass this final season and then be able to go their separate ways once and for all.

She continued fuming and grumbling for the rest of the walk home, waving absently at the select few ponies who greeted her as she passed, including the only pony in Ponyville who appeared to be friends with everyone. "Hiya, Spoonie!" Pinkie Pie grinned broadly as she waved at Silver Spoon, who giggled at the absurd nickname and waved back. The pink earth pony didn't stop to talk, as she was in the process of carrying several boxes of baked goods on her back and was probably in the middle of a delivery trip. Even so, the greeting cheered Silver Spoon up more than she had expected it would; Pinkie seemed to possess that odd innate ability to buoy the spirits of everyone she interacted with.

It was just as well, because by the time she had gotten all the way home, the temporary boost had dissipated, leaving her with a general sense of foreboding that seemed to have Scootaloo's name written all over it. For once, she mused, it would be a relief to actually settle down to do her homework, if only to take her mind off of other things for a while. She pushed open the front door of her family's manor, just next to the Rich estate, and immediately came muzzle to muzzle with the family butler, a brilliant white unicorn stallion named Intricacy. "Good evening, madam," he intoned, his voice deep and commanding, but nonetheless welcoming. Silver Spoon had apparently been terrified by Intricacy's voice when she had been a young filly, supposedly seeking refuge behind her mother's forelegs whenever he was around, but now she couldn't remember a time when she hadn't smiled happily to hear the stallion's slow, metered speech.

"Evening, Cacy." Silver Spoon was the only pony in the household who could get away with calling the prim, proper butler anything except his full name. This, he assured her, was only because 'Intricacy' had been impossible for the young filly to pronounce when she was learning to speak, and had instead settled on saying 'Cacy' when she wanted his attention. He had wasted some months in years past attempting to break her of the habit, but eventually had given in and learned to tolerate the minor breach of protocol. "Is father home?"

Intricacy sighed very shallowly, enough that only somepony who had lived with him for their entire life would notice. "I'm afraid not, madam. He is still at the factory."

Silver Spoon nodded, neither surprised nor distressed by this news. This exchange had been repeated with only minor variations every day for the better part of her life, and by now it was simply confirmational. "Thanks, Cacy. I'll be up in my room, then."

"Very good, madam. Shall I take your saddlebag?"

Silver Spoon shook her head. "No, I'm just going to go do my homework, and I'll need my books."

"Yes, madam."

"Is Carillon upstairs?"

"I believe so. She was cleaning the upstairs bedrooms when last I saw her."

"Thanks, Cacy." The unicorn nodded in acknowledgement as the grey filly trotted past him on the thick entryway carpeting, intentionally dragging her hooves to remove whatever dirt and water she might have picked up on the trip home. As soon as she was out of sight, she knew, one of the many housekeepers her family employed would appear as if from thin air, clean whatever her hooves left behind, and then disappear again before any member of the family could re-enter the room and see them. The mark of a good housekeeper, her father had once explained, was the ability to do their job quickly and expertly, without ever being seen. If that was true, Silver Spoon mused, then her family employed very, very good housekeepers.

Once she was relatively certain her hooves were clean enough, she made her way to the vast circular atrium of the house, in which hung an elaborate silver chandelier aglow with brilliant fairy lights that glittered on the marble floor and the marble railings of the twin staircases that ringed the room. Silver Spoon was largely inured to the beauty of the room, having spent her entire life trotting across the finely crafted marble floor, tiphoofing up and down the ornate dark mahogany steps of the stairs, and attempting on occasion to catch a glimpse of the housekeepers dusting the chandelier. Today, as always, she simply clopped across the room and up the stairs without a second glance. Once on the second floor, she walked to the far end of the right-hoof hallway and pushed the door open.

Intricacy's guess as to Carillon's whereabouts proved accurate as Silver Spoon opened her bedroom door to find the mint-green mare just putting the finishing touches on the bed, using her magic to pull the sheets and quilt taut on the mattress before swiftly and expertly relocating all of the pillows and stuffed animals from the floor back up onto the bed in a precise and practiced order. Her horn glowed with a faint pink aura that was nearly lost in her similarly hued mane, a wavy, almost curly coiffure with streaks of rose that cascaded down almost to her shoulders. Her tail, poking out from underneath the austere white pinafore she wore as part of her uniform, flowed up and then down in a smooth, thick arc of carefully styled hair that the proper, professional young mare held attentively just above the floor, lest the tip drag on the ground. As soon as she heard the door open, Carillon's eyes darted over and lit up as they fell upon Silver Spoon's face. The unicorn smiled broadly as she sent a final smoothing stroke of magic across the surface of the quilt and let her horn's glow fade. "Good evening, madam!" she chirped, her voice very nearly the opposite of Intricacy's, light and musical.

Silver Spoon smiled back, her spirits lifting again. "Hi, Carillon." She gently kicked her bedroom door closed behind her and trotted over to her vanity, sitting heavily onto the plush stool in front of it.

Carillon came up behind her and started to magically remove all the pins and bands holding Silver Spoon's carefully styled mane in place. "How was school?"

Silver Spoon sighed theatrically as she felt her glasses levitate off the bridge of her nose, hovering in front of her face as the unicorn behind her dutifully wiped them clean. "Awful, as usual. Worse, actually. Last season, Miss Cheerilee said we wouldn't have a math test in the first month back, so we would have time to review and catch back up, but she somehow forgot to mention that she'd be starting on a whole new chapter in the meantime." She hung her head glumly, giving Carillon pause before trying to replace the glasses on her face. "I was just starting to get the hang of these stupid 'functions' and 'polynomials' and whatever, and all of a sudden she starts talking about 'signs' and 'co-signs' and Celestia knows what else." She looked up at Carillon in the vanity mirror through freshly-cleaned glasses with a defeated expression. "The second she said the word 'trigolometry', I knew I was in trouble. I dunno if I'm going to be able to pass this season."

Carillon smiled gently as she picked up a pearl-handled brush from the vanity and started smoothly pulling it through Silver Spoon's mane. "It's 'trigonometry', sweetie, and don't worry. You know you can always ask me for help, and Miss Cheerilee has been good about giving you extra lessons when you need them, right? You'll be alright."

Silver Spoon's shoulders slumped as she sighed again, shaking her head. "That's just it, though, I'm tired of having to ask for help and extra lessons and whatever else. I'm so sick of feeling stupid, but I just can't..." She paused to swallow back tears that were starting to rise in the corners of her eyes. "It's just that I won't be able to rely on you and Miss Cheerilee forever, right? What happens then?" Carillon paused to consider an answer, but Silver Spoon continued anyway. "I just thought I'd, you know...get it by now."

The unicorn behind her sighed and gave her a small smile in the mirror. "Spoon, you do get it. It just takes a little longer, that's all."

"But why?" the filly asked, her voice laced with frustration. "Why doesn't Diamond Tiara have to get Miss Cheerilee's help? Why does that stupid mule Scootaloo just seem to get everything the first time she sees it? You know she doesn't even bother taking notes? She doesn't have to. It just sticks to her." Silver Spoon shook her head. "I don't understand."

Carillon's smile faltered as she tried to come up with something to say to the filly that would ease her frustration, but before she could, the chimes indicating a visitor at the front door suddenly pealed into life, drawing both mares' attentions. Silver Spoon sighed as Carillon said, "I'm guessing that's Miss Tiara, don't you think?"

Silver Spoon didn't respond. After a moment, there was a firm knock at her bedroom door, and Carillon magically opened it from her spot behind her charge. Intricacy stepped halfway across the threshold and announced, "Miss Tiara is here, madam. She would like to speak with you directly."

Silver Spoon sighed. "She always does." The filly slid off her stool and trotted past both servants, who stepped aside and inclined their heads as she passed. With her braid out, the grey earth pony's mane flowed and hung about her head much like Carillon's, the long wavy hair brushing lightly against her shoulders as she trotted down the stairs and into the foyer, where she found Diamond Tiara sitting patiently, examining the exquisitely decorated hall with disinterest.

As Silver Spoon approached, the other filly's face broke into a half-smile. "Hey, Spoon." She got up and came over to give her friend a light brush with her shoulder in greeting. "Sorry we couldn't stick around and take you home. You know how daddy is with his schedule and always wanting to 'bond'." The pink filly made air quotes with her hooves and rolled her eyes theatrically.

Silver Spoon shrugged. "It's no big deal. I knew you wouldn't be able to wait too long, and Miss Cheerilee does tend to go on and on..." The two fillies giggled conspiratorially.

"Speaking of," Diamond Tiara exclaimed, "how did that go? Did you get in trouble?" Her expression hovered somewhere between sympathy and guilty anticipation.

"Nah," Silver Spoon shook her head. "Well, not really. I mean, she didn't give me detention or anything, but...well, what she did give me is kind of worse."

"Oooh..." Diamond Tiara's eyes glinted with scandalous interest. "You'll have to tell me all about it. Come on, let's go to the Parlor and you can give me all the details."

"The Parlor? But I still need to do my homework, and I've got my cello lesson at--"

"Oh, come on, Spoon!" Diamond Tiara groaned. "You can do your homework later; I'll even help you with it."

"Yeah, but--"

"And don't worry, you'll be back in time for your lesson." The rose-colored pony trotted towards the front door.

"But...my mane!" Silver Spoon said desperately.

Diamond Tiara glanced over her shoulder. "You look fine! Come on, Spoon, I can't go by myself."

Silver Spoon sighed and hung her head, defeated. Looking back into the atrium, she saw Carillon and Intricacy standing at the top of the staircase, both looking down at her. Intricacy's face was inscrutable, as always, but Carillon wore a distinctly concerned frown that sent a thrill of guilt through Silver Spoon's stomach. She tried to smile back, to tell Carillon not to worry, but managed only a nervous grimace as she followed her friend out into the falling darkness of early dusk.

~~~

"And so daddy told the jackass that if he wanted Barnyard Bargains to sell his stupid junk, he'd have to come up with a price that didn't sound like a joke." Diamond Tiara giggled spitefully. Silver Spoon smirked, but didn't join in, simply stirring her drink with a straw and trying to spear the cherry bobbing around the bottom of the glass. The two fillies were sitting in a softly lit corner of the Piaffe Parlor, a small, high-class drinking establishment that the friends had frequented almost every night since they had come of age. Diamond Tiara had already finished a narrow flute of champagne and was trying with limited success to summon a waitress for a second. Silver Spoon was still working on her first "watermelon slice", a low-strength mixed drink that was as yet the only thing she'd ever ordered.

"Anyway," the other filly said, having finally managed to flag down a server to replace her empty glass, "what did Cheerilee do to you that's worse than just detention?"

"Oh," Silver Spoon said, brightening, "so get this. You know how she's pairing everypony up for this big project thing?" Diamond Tiara nodded. "Well, apparently she decided the best 'punishment' would be to match me up with the only pony in class she knows I can't work with."

Diamond Tiara's eyes widened instantly in recognition. "No way." Silver Spoon nodded. "She didn't! Not..." she lowered her voice to a hoarse, venomous whisper, "Scootaloo?" The silver filly nodded again, gravely. "Oh...my...princess. Is she joking? You have to work with that pathetic excuse for a mare?"

Silver Spoon sighed dramatically. "Worse than that, she didn't even tell us what to do the project on! She said she had plans for every other pair, but she wanted us to come up with something on our own."

Diamond Tiara scoffed. "Typical. How lazy."

"She even said Scootaloo might have some good ideas--"

"As if."

"--that for some reason she thinks I'll be particularly interested in." Silver Spoon was working herself into a proper rant now. "And you should have heard the crybaby whine about it."

"About what, working with you?"

Silver Spoon shook her head. "No, for some reason Miss Cheerilee told her it was going to be pass/fail for her, and that she would fail the whole season if she didn't do a good job. And boy was Scootaloo mad at her..."

"Wait, she's going to fail her for the whole season if she fails this project?" The pink earth pony raised an eyebrow at her. "Why?"

Silver Spoon shrugged. "Search me. Apparently it's a pretty big deal. Scootaloo was really spurred about it, too. She took off before Miss Cheerilee even gave her the rest of the details."

"So Scootaloo doesn't know she wants you to make up the project on your own?" Silver Spoon shook her head, and Diamond Tiara smiled mischievously. "Well, couldn't you just tell her what you're doing it on, then? I mean, for all she knows, Cheerilee did give you a project topic, and she just didn't stick around to find out what it was, right?"

"Yeah, that would work if I was any good at coming up with ideas," Silver Spoon remarked dryly.

Diamond Tiara waved a hoof dismissively. "I can help you with that. And since you'll be doing the project you want to do, I can help you with the project itself, too."

"Yeah, about that, DT..."

"I wonder who she's going to match me up with," the pink pony continued, ignoring her friend. "Buck, I hope she doesn't saddle me with one of those 'Carpet-Munching Crusaders'," she hissed. "You've got the worst one, no doubt about it, but if she put me with that Apple hick..." She shuddered theatrically. "I think I'd just drop out."

Silver Spoon giggled. "Well, I guess we'll see, won't we?"

"Yeah..." The two sat silently for a few minutes before Diamond Tiara spoke again. "You know...if Scootaloo is really upset about the idea of failing, and she'll fail the whole season if she fails this project...why don't you just, you know, not do the project at all?"

Silver Spoon shook her head vehemently. "No way, DT, I can't do that."

"Why not? Can't you just retake this season?"

The silver filly sighed. "Well, yes, but I don't want to. It's not worth ruining my own grade, just to try and ruin hers. Don't you remember what Miss Cheerilee said? She'll take our partner into consideration if we do poorly...and I don't want to fail if Scootaloo's just going to get a pass anyway."

"Well, just try not to make it obvious. You know, pretend to try really hard, but just...do a bad job. I mean, no offense, but it's not like she's expecting perfection from you."

An icy stab of dejection shot through Silver Spoon's stomach at Diamond Tiara's off-hoof comment. Tears gathered at the corners of her eyes as she looked down at the table, fighting to keep them from collecting enough to fall. She knew that her performance in school was hardly a secret, but it was still hard to hear somepony mention it so bluntly...

Diamond Tiara noticed her sudden change in expression and correctly guessed the cause. "Hey, come on, Spoon. I don't mean it like that. I just mean...well..."

"I know what you meant," Silver Spoon said, angry with herself for letting the lump rising in the back of her throat color her tone. "And I really wish you'd stop mentioning it. It's hard enough to see those grades from Miss Cheerilee, and to hear the Crusaders talk about it." She looked up, unable to stop the tears from breaking free and sliding down her cheeks. "I don't need to hear it from you, too."

Diamond Tiara pursed her lips, a flash of guilt crossing her face for an instant before it disappeared under a facade of nonchalance. "Look, it's no big deal. I'm not saying you're stupid or anything like that. I'm just saying that if you're, like, an 'acceptable' student, she won't be surprised if you turn in 'acceptable' work, right? And if she knows you're having to work with somepony you hate--like Scootaloo--she shouldn't be surprised if you turned in a failure."

"I'm not a failure," Silver Spoon grumbled thickly.

Diamond Tiara sighed dramatically, rolling her eyes. "And nopony said you are! Look, all I'm saying is you don't have--"

"Buck off, DT!" Silver Spoon suddenly snapped, standing up and shoving the table away, knocking her drink across the table and into Diamond Tiara's lap. The pink earth pony jumped up in a vain attempt to avoid the sticky concoction, sputtering in shock and anger, but Silver Spoon didn't stick around to hear what she had to say. Incensed and hurt, the silver filly stormed away from the table and out of the Parlor, leaving Diamond Tiara fuming in her wake.

Building Bridges Burned

Silver Spoon had not had a good night.

After she'd fled the Parlor, she'd spent the next half-hour crying into her forelegs, facedown on her bed at home. She'd even sent Carillon away when the unicorn had asked her what was wrong, lest she have to explain what had happened and have to sit through another lecture--a kind and well-meaning lecture, naturally--about how her friendship with Diamond Tiara was unhealthy and that she should never have gone with her that afternoon in the first place. Carillon didn't understand...she couldn't understand. She had only been with the Silver family for a couple years. She hadn't been around for the darkest years of her life, for the troubles and the pain that Silver Spoon had suffered through, that only Diamond Tiara had shown the slightest concern about. Only Diamond Tiara had been there for her when she'd really needed somepony, and if that friendship had been slightly turbulent in the past couple years, it was probably Silver Spoon's own fault. She couldn't tell how, exactly, and she would never dare ask Diamond Tiara, but she knew better than anyone that she owed Diamond Tiara more than a few stinging comments could negate. That didn't make them any less painful to weather, of course...

After she'd cried herself out, Silver Spoon had dozed off for some time, only to be awakened later by Intricacy's dulcet baritone announcing that her cello instructor had arrived. The silver filly had panicked slightly at this, bolting upright in bed and jumping to her vanity to brush her mane and face, trying to take out the tangles and make herself more presentable. The lesson itself had been little more than a disaster. She hadn't practiced much in the preceding week, and it showed. Her teacher, a strict moustached dirt-brown earth pony stallion who wasn't afraid to show his disdain for younger ponies in every word he spoke, had gotten fed up within the first fifteen minutes and had stormed out of the manor, leaving Silver Spoon standing sheepishly behind her instrument with yet more tears sliding down her cheeks.

Trying to do her homework afterwards was similarly futile. Angry at Diamond Tiara, upset at her cello teacher, and ashamed of how she'd treated both of them as well as Carillon, the young mare had only managed to write her name, the date, and a great deal of tentative numbers that had quickly been erased, leaving the paper wrinkled and stained with graphite. By the time the moon had risen she had made no meaningful progress towards completing the assignment, and eventually gave it up as a lost cause. Dejected and defeated, the filly had gone to bed and quietly cried herself to sleep.

Upon waking up, she had contemplated the blank paper for another fifteen minutes or so before giving up again and getting herself ready for school. Carillon had helped, naturally, with no mention of her unceremonious dismissal from the night before. The unicorn had been just as friendly and caring as ever. This did not improve Silver Spoon's mood. Nor did Intricacy's apologetic explanation that--as was typically the case--her father had already left for the day, and that she would have to walk to school again. As she plodded heavily down the road towards the town center and the schoolhouse beyond, she reflected bitterly that had she not left Diamond Tiara in such a foalish huff, she could have potentially secured a ride to school, and not have had to walk. She'd had to leave so early that she hadn't had time for breakfast, although this wasn't so terrible, considering she had one of the cook's excellent box lunches to look forward...

The silver filly stopped short, an icy unease sliding down through her chest. Her saddlebag seemed awfully light. With a horrible sense of foreboding, she opened her bags to discover that she had in fact left her lunch sitting on the small table in the atrium. Crushed, Silver Spoon suddenly fell to her haunches in the middle of the road, overwhelmed by the unfairness of it all. Fighting off yet another round of bitter tears, she contemplated giving up and going home, and just getting an absence for the day. Then, just as she was about to turn around and start back, her ears pricked to the sound of a set of carriage wheels crunching down the dirt road behind her. Curious, she turned to see one of the Rich family's fancy coaches coming up the path. The carriage ponies pulling it trotted with alacrity and aplomb, their heads held high and their movements so precise and measured that Silver Spoon didn't realize the carriage was slowing until it rolled to a stop next to her.

The door to the carriage opened to reveal Diamond Tiara standing inside with a small, sheepish smile. "Hey there, Spoon. Need a ride?"

Silver Spoon wasn't sure what to say. "Uh...sure, I guess." The pink filly held out a hoof and helped her into the carriage, swinging the door closed behind her. She pulled the thin black bellcord at the front of the carriage and it rolled smoothly away, bumping lightly across the dirt road into the town center. The two fillies sat opposite each other, alone in the carriage, neither looking directly at the other for several seconds. Eventually, they both looked up and started speaking at the same time.

"Di, I'm sor--"

"Look, Spoon, I--"

They stopped short and giggled at themselves. Diamond Tiara waved a nonchalant hoof at her friend. "Sorry, you go first."

Silver Spoon smiled. "Thanks." Given the floor, however, the silver filly lost her nerve, and cast about for small talk to fill the silence while she found it again. "Um...where's your dad?"

Diamond Tiara shrugged. "He left really early this morning." She gestured towards the front of the cart, indicating the two ponies pulling them. "Curricle and Dray told me he said I could take this carriage if I wanted to."

"Must be nice," Silver Spoon muttered, more to herself than to her friend.

Diamond Tiara smiled sympathetically. "Well, I had them go by your house first, to see if we could catch you before you left, but you were already gone. I've been having them double-time it since we missed you, to try and catch up."

Silver Spoon smiled. "Thanks. I--"

The pink earth pony waved a dismissive hoof. "Forget it. It's the least I could do after...well, you know."

The silver filly blushed and looked at her hooves. "Look, Di, I...I'm sorry. I didn't mean to get so angry with you. It's just that..."

Diamond Tiara tossed her mane and smiled at her friend. "Bygones, Spoon. Maybe we were both in the wrong, hm? Let's just let it go. Talk about something less...unpleasant. How was your cello lesson?"

Silver Spoon groaned and rolled her eyes. "If you're looking for something less unpleasant, you missed. Badly."

"That bad, huh?"

Silver Spoon shook her head. "No, no, no, the return of Nightmare Moon was 'bad'. The thousand-year absence of the Crystal Empire was 'bad'. This was an absolute nightmare." She got up and started pacing the narrow floor of the carriage while Diamond Tiara watched, lounging on the cushion opposite. "And even worse than having Mister Spavaldo yell at me for ten minutes before leaving was that afterwards I had to stare at my homework for two hours without getting any of it done!" She threw herself dramatically onto the cushion across from Diamond Tiara and sighed. "And just because one of the Princesses seems to think my day wasn't going badly enough, I forgot my lunch at home, too."

Diamond Tiara nodded solemnly at Silver Spoon's lament before turning to her pink saddlebag and pulling out a sheaf of neatly written pages. "Here," she said, "there's still like ten minutes. You can just copy my homework."

Silver Spoon rolled back onto her belly, frowning. "I don't know, Di, I think Miss Cheerilee's kind of suspicious about that already."

Diamond Tiara shrugged. "So we can just tell her we worked together on it."

"But what if she asks me to do a problem? I don't know how!"

The other filly sighed heavily and rolled her eyes. "I don't know, just say you don't remember or something. Look, do you want a zero or not?"

Silver Spoon fretted for a moment before getting up and taking the papers. She spread them on the carriage floor and started copying the contents over on fresh parchment. "Thanks, Di. I appreciate it."

"Don't mention it. And as far as your lunch in concerned..." The pink filly dove back into her bag and pulled out an ivory-colored box with Silver Spoon's name embossed across the front.

"My lunch!" the silver pony exclaimed. "How...?"

"Your butler gave it to me when we stopped to see if you were still home. He noticed you'd left it and was pretty glad we showed up." She grinned. "I'm guessing you're pretty pleased yourself."

Silver Spoon leaped off the floor and threw her forelegs around Diamond Tiara's neck, hugging her tightly. "Thank you, thank you, thank you! You have no idea how much this means to me."

Diamond Tiara laughed and hugged her back gingerly. "Yeah, I figured you'd be pretty happy to see that. Hey, what are friends for?"

Silver Spoon smiled and shook her head. "You're the best friend a filly could have, Di."

The pink pony tossed her mane and grinned. "And don't you forget it."

~~~

"Now remember what we talked about, alright? You don't have to like her, you just have to find some sort of compromise. Tolerate her." Scootaloo nodded absently at her mother's reminder as they approached the schoolyard. They had spent the first half of the walk talking about how best to tackle this unique challenge, and she was fairly certain they'd covered all the various angles there were to it. Frankly, she thought wryly, it was the sort of thing that just needed to be done. Discussion only made it seem more unpleasant and daunting.

Octavia seemed to sense her daughter's thinning patience and let the matter drop. She smiled and stepped in front of Scootaloo just outside the gate to the school grounds. "Alright...lunch, homework, books?" Scootaloo nodded at each item. "Good. Work hard, have fun, behave, and do your best, just like always, right?"

The pegasus couldn't resist a short eye roll at the saccharine sentiment, but she smiled nonetheless. "Yeah, yeah."

"Wonderful. Are you coming home after school or will you be staying out for a while?"

Scootaloo shrugged. "I'm not real sure yet. I'll probably just hang out with the girls for a while, but if....ugh, Silver Spoon wants to get started on the project, I might stay here at school a few hours first."

Octavia resisted the urge to smirk at her daughter's dramatics. "Very well. If you do decide to stay out, be safe and be home by midnight, alright?"

Scootaloo blinked at her mother. "Midnight?"

Octavia nodded. "Your mother and I talked last night, and you're right: we haven't increased your curfew in some time. You've been very patient, and normally stick to it very well, so we think it's time you had more freedom to decide when is a good time to be home."

"You mean it?" Scootaloo smiled broadly.

"Certainly. We just want you home by midnight so we know you're safe before we go to bed. If you want to be out later than that, just ask and we'll see if we can make an exception."

"Wow..." Scootaloo breathed, moderately surprised. "Thanks, mom!"

Octavia chuckled softly. "You're welcome, but really, we just had a long talk about you last night, and we came to the realization that you've grown up a lot...more than we'd like, to be honest, but we knew you were going to someday." She smiled sadly. "We were just trying to keep you our little Scooter for a few more years, and that wasn't fair. We...well, I am going to try to let you be more independent. Your mother is, of course, well ahead of me on that front already, I think."

Scootaloo smiled and blushed faintly. "Thanks, mom...but you know I'll always be your Scooter." She stepped forward and nuzzled her mother affectionately.

The earth pony returned the gesture, sighing heavily. "Perhaps, but you're not that little filly who used to make blanket forts and tell scary stories with us in the living room on stormy nights anymore. You're a young mare, and I doubt you're very interested in blanket forts and s'mores these days." A melancholy shadow passed over Octavia's face, taking the smile with it.

Scootaloo shrugged and smiled. "Maybe we can do something else together sometime. Go to a concert somewhere or something."

Octavia smiled wryly. "You hate classical music."

"Yeah, I meant a different kind of concert."

The earth pony laughed softly. "I believe I've made my views on the artistic merits of most of your favorite groups quite obvious. Still, I appreciate the effort. We'll figure something out. Anyway, have a good day, sweetie." The silver mare nuzzled the younger pegasus again before turning back to head home.

Scootaloo scanned the schoolyard for any sight of her friends. Despite the genetic anomaly that rendered her flightless, she still possessed all the other physical hallmarks of a pegasus, from lightning-quick reflexes to intensely sharp senses. Right now, she was using both, her eyes darting from one face to the next, instantly identifying each pony she saw.

Suddenly she paused, her gaze coming to rest on the distinctive countenance of her new project partner, Silver Spoon. For a fraction of an instant, she saw an expression on the other filly's face that surprised her. Silver Spoon was looking back at her, and as their eyes met, Scootaloo was sure she saw something dark and brooding there, a shallow frown and tightness of brow that Scootaloo would have called jealousy if she had to call it anything. It was unusual; she was used to seeing loathing, disdain, spite, and even open malice in the grey filly's features, but never jealousy. Then, as soon as she was sure she'd seen it, the expression was gone, replaced with the cool indifference that thoroughly characterized Silver Spoon's typical demeanor. Scootaloo stared at the grey filly for a few more moments, wondering if she was imagining things, even though she knew her own senses well enough to know that was impossible.

"Hey, Scoot!" Apple Bloom's unmistakable twang pulled Scootaloo out of her musing and she turned to see her friends trotting lightly towards her. She smiled and waved at them.

"Hey, Bloom. How's it going?"

Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle came up and sat with Scootaloo near the roadside. "Pretty good. Hey, you didn't get in trouble last night, didya? I know you were kinda late gettin' home."

Scootaloo shrugged. "A little, I guess. I'm not grounded or anything, but there was some shouting."

"Man, you're so lucky," Sweetie Belle groused. "If I was out past my curfew, my parents would ground me for a week. They might even make me stay at Rarity's place." She pulled an expression of mock horror, and her friends giggled.

"So have you talked to Silver Spoon about this whole project thing yet?" Apple Bloom asked.

Scootaloo shook her head. "Nah, I mean, it's only been one day. And I'm not exactly itching to get into it just yet, you know?"

Her friends nodded solemnly. "I wonder who we're gonna end up with," the yellow earth pony mused.

"Knowing Miss Cheerilee," Scootaloo said, "you'll both end up with Diamond Tiara."

Sweetie Belle shuddered. "Celestia forbid."

Any further discussion on the topic was cut short by Cheerilee's sudden bell-shaking appearance at the front of the schoolhouse. The collected students meandered over to the front door with somewhat less enthusiasm than they had when they'd been younger ponies, but Cheerilee's sheer authoritative aura was enough to get them inside without much fuss.

Once Cheerilee had managed to get the class inside and settled down, she went to the front of the room and held up a sheaf of paper. "Today we're going to spend a couple hours getting ready for our final projects. These are your assignment sheets; they have the name of your partner and your project topic on them. I'm going to pass them out, I'll give you a few moments to read them and then I'll have you all meet up with your partner to discuss how you might want to get started. Please note that I am always available for help or guidance, but I will not tell you how to plan or complete your project. That is for you to decide together." She left her desk and began to distribute the papers. Most of the ponies in the room simply read the name of their partner with moderate interest before moving on to the topic. A few expressed mild shock and looked around at their apparently unexpected cohort. Scootaloo noticed that Apple Bloom was in the former group as she spared her partner, the shy but friendly Pipsqueak, a cursory glance across the room.

When the magenta pony dropped Scootaloo's page on her desk, the pegasus was naturally unsurprised to see Silver Spoon's name next to hers at the top of the paper. What did surprise her, however, was the single sentence written under 'topic' at the bottom.

"The topic of this project is open to selection by the assigned students."

Puzzled, Scootaloo looked up from the page to ask Cheerilee to clarify, but found herself cut off by an unearthly shriek from the other side of the room.

"Miss Cheerilee! You can't be serious!" Diamond Tiara was standing up next to her desk, looking down at her paper with a horrified expression and holding a hoof defensively in front of her chest as if it might attack. She gawked at the earth pony teacher. "I can't work with her!"

Miss Cheerilee sighed and put a hoof to her forehead. "Yes, you can."

A mortified gasp from her other side caught Scootaloo's attention and explained Diamond Tiara's outrage as she turned to see Sweetie Belle staring at her paper with wide-eyed, open-mouthed disbelief. Scootaloo stifled an amused chuckle at her friend's expense. As hard as it would be for her to work with Silver Spoon, Scootaloo knew Diamond Tiara and Sweetie Belle would probably have an even more difficult time getting along.

"But Miss Cheerilee--!" Sweetie Belle squeaked, only to be immediately cut off by the teacher's icy glare.

"Some of you may be disappointed or even frustrated by your partner or topic selection. I assure you, as I mentioned yesterday, if for some reason you simply cannot get along with your partner despite your best, honest effort, then you will not be penalized. However, you will have to convince me that you have done your very best to try and work together. Based on what I know of all of you," she cast her piercing gaze across the room, pausing for an instant on each pony's face, "I am certain that despite your differences, despite your misgivings, and despite your reluctance, every pairing I have assigned is absolutely serviceable. Some may even be ultimately beneficial, if only you give your partner--and yourself--a chance to make it work." Diamond Tiara and Sweetie Belle scowled at each other across the room, but made no further argument.

After a moment or two, Cheerilee smiled and sat back behind her desk. "Excellent. Now, for the next hour or so, I'm going to give you time to meet with your partner, to discuss your topic and to start making plans. If you have any questions or concerns about the project or your topic, now will be the time to ask. Now, I'd rather we only spent a few hours on this today, but don't worry about running out of time to get your questions answered; we can spend all day on it if we need to. I want to make sure you all have a good idea of how to get started before you leave this afternoon. Now go ahead and find your partner, and let's get started."

There was a general scuffle of sliding chairs and desks as ponies got up and started to rearrange the room, finding their partners and pushing desks together so they could work side-by-side. A few ponies--Diamond Tiara and Sweetie Belle first of all--went immediately to Miss Cheerilee's desk. The fuchsia mare sighed heavily, but kept her face pleasant as she began the thankless task of patiently listening to half a dozen foals whining at her about her selections. Scootaloo smirked inwardly at the sight, knowing full well that despite whatever arguments the students could come up with, Miss Cheerilee was not known for her malleability. The groups would be no different at the end of the day then they were now.

With this in mind, Scootaloo instead simply sat back in her chair and glanced across the room at Silver Spoon, who seemed loath to leave her desk. The two locked eyes for a moment, a silent test of wills, before Silver Spoon broke off and rolled her eyes away from Scootaloo, heaving herself away from her desk and trudging over to where the orange pegasus was sitting. Scootaloo smiled smugly as Silver Spoon fell into Apple Bloom's recently vacated seat. "So I guess we're working together after all."

"Looks that way."

"Think you can keep up and manage not to get me failed on it?" Somewhere in the back of Scootaloo's head, she could hear her mother's scolding voice already, but a large, spiteful part of her couldn't resist trying for a few jabs before giving in to her better judgment.

"Depends," Silver Spoon replied, supremely disdainful. "Have you finished your little temper tantrum from yesterday yet?"

"Cute," Scootaloo scowled. "Did Diamond Tiara write that one down for you, or did you actually memorize it before you came over?"

"Some of us don't let our friends do all the work for us."

Scootaloo almost laughed out loud, but managed to simply snort derisively. "Some of us are actually smart enough to do it ourselves."

This retort seemed to hit home in a way none of the others had, and Silver Spoon actually opened and closed her mouth a few times, fishing for a response and coming up empty. Eventually, she just closed her mouth and looked down at her hooves, which were crossed in her lap. Scootaloo immediately regretted her words, although she privately congratulated herself on finding a spot sensitive enough to render her opponent speechless. Sighing heavily, the pegasus sidestepped the verbal sparring. "Okay, look. I don't like you. I think I've made that pretty obvious. You don't like me. I'm not exactly surprised. But, one way or another, we're stuck together with this, so I guess we need to at least tolerate each other until we can get it done, right?" Silver Spoon didn't immediately respond, and Scootaloo was sure she heard the other filly sniffing quietly, although she attempted to dismiss the sound as a trick of the din surrounding them. Even so, her voice softened a little as she said, "Truce? For now, at least."

Silver Spoon looked up at her from beneath her bangs, her eyes shining and partially hidden by the curtain of hair. They were narrowed and angry, but eventually she said, "Fine. Truce." After another moment, she added, "I still hate you."

Scootaloo sighed theatrically. "Whatever. Look, do you know anything about what she wrote in the 'topic' section? She didn't give us a lot to go on."

"Yeah, I do," she other filly said, her voice heavy with spite. "And if you'd stayed put when Miss Cheerilee told you to yesterday afternoon, so would you."

Scootaloo gritted her teeth, but managed to keep her cool. "And could you possibly share that knowledge with your partner?"

"It means pretty much what it says, actually. We're supposed to come up with our own topic, you and me. Together. I don't know why; she didn't say," she answered the unspoken question on Scootaloo's face. "Anyway, she said you might have some ideas. I doubt it, but I figured I'd ask."

"What, ideas for a project?" Scootaloo balked. "What the hell is that supposed to mean?"

"If I knew, you think I'd be wasting time listening to you be mulish about it?"

Scootaloo threw her forelegs in the air in exasperation. "I don't just dream up project topics all day for kicks! This is stupid," she added, not altogether helpfully.

"Well, fine," Silver Spoon huffed. "If you don't have any ideas, then I guess that's where we'd better start, huh?"

"Yeah, great. Let's get right on that." The pegasus sat back in her chair with her forelegs crossed, fuming lightly. Silver Spoon shook her head and looked down at the mostly blank parchment on the desk in front of her as if willing it to reveal additional information. After a moment of unproductive silence, Scootaloo suddenly sat up and said, "You know what, I'm going to ask her what she's talking about."

"You do that," her partner said, still mostly disengaged.

"Stay here."

"Like I want to follow you," Silver Spoon scoffed as the orange pegasus got up and made her way to Cheerilee's desk.

The teacher shook her head with a small smile of amusement as she watched the last two colts, Featherweight and Snips, leave her desk, glaring daggers at one another. When she turned to Scootaloo, her smile brightened pleasantly. "Hello, Scootaloo. You have a question, I presume?"

"Yeah, just one," Scootaloo said. "What the buck did you mean, 'I might have some ideas'?"

"Language, Miss Scratch-Philharmonica," Cheerilee scolded her gently. "I meant more or less what I said. For most of the students in this class, it was fairly easy to come up with a topic I believed they could work well together on, that would benefit and interest them both, and that would force them to work together. You and Silver Spoon were something of a challenge. While I know you quite well, as you tend to wear your interests quite openly and write about them freely in your essays and projects, Silver Spoon is much more introverted. I didn't want to force her to work on a topic she wasn't interested in, so I wanted you to work together to come up with one."

"But where do I come in, then?"

"Well, I have been collecting your various essays and other, smaller projects for the better part of your life now, and I've seen a trend or two, trends that have interesting implications that I imagined that you might actually want to try and expand on."

"Expand? Expand on what? I write about lots of stuff."

"Perhaps, but you do your best work when you write about two topics in particular."

"Which are?"

Cheerilee waved a demonstrative hoof at Scootaloo's shoulders. "Well, you've been a rather expressive writer about your flightlessness since before you were adopted, and I've watched your attitude about it change for the better. That change has led to your more recent interest in various solutions other pegasi in your situation have come up with. I thought you might want to take advantage of this opportunity to do what you've been wanting to do for years now, and actually getting a grade for it, and I'm convinced that Silver Spoon can help you with that."

"I don't follow." As she said it, suddenly Scootaloo knew it wasn't true, and her eyes widened in disbelief. "No, you're kidding. You're joking. I can't do that, it's just a filly-dream."

"No," Miss Cheerilee stood up and grinned, a distinctly excited glint in her eyes. She leaned forward and muttered under her breath, just loud enough for Scootaloo to hear. "Together, you can do it. I know you can. You can make The Dash."

Tolerance

Silver Spoon was so focused on trying to control the storm of emotions swirling around in her head that she didn't bother watching Scootaloo's conversation with the teacher. The heat of anger pounded in her temples as the sickly weight of shame and frustration sank in her chest. Scootaloo's comment was the last thing she'd needed to hear today, especially after she'd spent the entire previous night worrying herself sick about exactly what the infuriating pegasus was suggesting. It was one thing to be told she was stupid by a bully on a normal day. It was something else entirely to have that same bully tell her she was stupid the day after her best friend unintentionally said the same thing. She stared at the mostly-blank page on the desk in front of her, willing the tears burning in the corners of her eyes to dissipate. This was a skill she was well practiced in, and by the time Scootaloo turned away from Cheerilee's desk and began to walk back to her chair, face inscrutably blank, Silver Spoon had managed to regain some semblence of composure, and looked up at her partner with half-lidded eyes. "Well?"

Scootaloo didn't respond immediately, instead staring back at her with an intense, almost accusatory expression. Silver Spoon raised an eyebrow suspiciously. "Hello? Anypony home?"

"I think," Scootaloo suddenly said, her voice unusually quiet, "that I might have an idea."

"You might?" Silver Spoon scoffed. "Well at least we have a starting point. You want to let me in on this potential idea?"

The pegasus shook her head. "Not here."

"Why not?"

Scootaloo looked away, her wings pulling tight against her sides. "It's...sort of personal. And I don't want anypony else to know about it."

"Won't that make it sort of hard to, you know, turn in?"

"If we actually pull it off, it won't matter. In the meantime, I'd rather keep it kind of private, just in case we don't."

"Private?" Silver Spoon blinked, confused. "But it's okay for me to know?"

"No," Scootaloo sneered, "but you're going to have to know if you're going to help me with this stupid project, aren't you?"

Silver Spoon narrowed her eyes angrily. "Well why in the hell would I want to help you with something so 'personal' if you're just going to be a bitch the whole time?"

"I'm being a bitch?" Scootaloo snapped, leaning back and flaring her wings slightly in indignation. "You, you--!" The pegasus sputtered for a moment as if searching for an appropriately scathing comeback, but to Silver Spoon's surprise, Scootaloo ended up merely closing her eyes and taking a deep breath before glaring down at her. "Look, this isn't going to work if we're constantly at each other's throats. Can we just agree to not insult one another for the rest of this season?"

Silver Spoon eyed her skeptically. "I don't know. Can you?"

"I'm willing to try if you are."

Silver Spoon watched the pegasus, keenly aware that she was seeing something unprecedented. Scootaloo was not particularly famous for compromising. She wasn't sure the orange filly would be able to keep up her end of the truce, no matter how much she might want to. Still, if it meant there was even the slightest chance that Scootaloo would leave her alone for an entire season, Silver Spoon was willing to try anything. "Alright, then. It's a deal. A whole season's worth of civility."

"Great," Scootaloo deadpanned, her demeanor somewhat at odds with the sentiment. "Anyway, we can't talk about it here. Can you come over to my house sometime this afternoon so I can give you the rundown?"

"Your house?" Silver Spoon considered just how unpleasant an entire evening in Scootaloo's company might be, even if they had agreed to be cordial. "Just the two of us?"

"I doubt it," Scootaloo said. "My parents will probably both be there all night, which will go a long way towards making us be nice to each other." There was a hint of a sneer in her voice.

"Huh," Silver Spoon said, genuinely nonplussed. "What do your parents do, if they can both be home in the middle of the day?"

Scootaloo sat back in her chair, putting her hind hooves up on the desk in front of her and stretching her wings wide. "Well, Mama Tavi--I mean, my mother, Octavia--performs with the Canterlot Symphony Orchestra, and they only practice three days a week, with performances on weekends. Most of the rest of the time she just teaches string instruments from home. My mother Vinyl DJs by request and regularly at a couple of clubs, but all of those jobs are real late-night affairs, so she's usually home until after supper. Even then, she only really works a few days a week. She also writes and records her own music, which she sells from time to time. I can always tell when she's sold a hit, because she'll stay home for a few weeks without working at all." Scootaloo said most of this to the ceiling, leaning back with her forelegs behind her head and her hind legs crossed in front of her, utterly oblivious to Silver Spoon's rapt stare.

"So," Silver Spoon said, trying to keep her voice from sounding too awestruck, "your parents are home like, almost all the time?"

"I know, right?" Scootaloo said, rolling her eyes. "I never get the house to myself. I mean, sometimes they'll both be gone at the same time on a weekend, but that's like once a month or something. I usually invite the girls over to just hang out and listen to music or whatever on those days."

"And your parents don't mind?"

The pegasus shrugged. "Not really. They know Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom pretty well, and I have a feeling they think I'm safer when I'm hanging out with them than when I'm alone," she said dryly. "They don't exactly trust me to take care of myself."

Silver Spoon didn't say anything to this. She simply sat in Apple Bloom's chair, contemplating what it must be like to have parents who were around almost constantly.

Scootaloo ignored her, instead casting a lazy glance around the room, her ears darting back and forth as she covertly eavesdropped on the conversations happening all around them. Most of the groups were simply discussing options for their projects, setting up schedules, or for the few who were, like her and her partner, simply whiling away time until class ended, chatting amiably about whatever nonsense came to mind. One pair in particular caught her attention, though, and she swiveled both ears to tune in as intently as she could, keeping her eyes unfocused and looking in some other direction to avoid detection.

"I don't care what Miss Cheerilee says, I'm not going to waste my time trying to 'get along' with you." Sweetie Belle's normally dulcet voice was hushed and agitated.

"Oh, and you think I want to 'get along' with you?" Diamond Tiara's voice was not much happier. "I just want to get a passing grade on this stupid project so I can pass this stupid season and graduate already."

"Of all the Luna forsaken idiots in this class, why did she have to saddle me with you?"

"To punish me, I suspect."

"Please. As if you have any right to be mad about this. At least you got stuck with somepony who will actually get something done."

"And you got stuck with somepony who's actually smart enough to earn you a passing grade. I'm guessing that's why you always try to work with Scootaloo, huh? Got to have somepony to drag your ditzy ass around."

"You should talk. You know Silver Spoon's as ditzy as they come, right?"

"Hey, you leave Silver Spoon out of this." Scootaloo was moderately surprised to hear a note of genuine anger in Diamond Tiara's voice, and couldn't resist glancing out of the corner of her eye to watch the argument unfold.

Sweetie Belle grinned maliciously at the pink earth pony next to her. "Why? Are you in charge of protecting her feelings as well as doing her homework for her? Is she not smart enough to stand up for herself either?"

Diamond Tiara's eyes narrowed dangerously, and she hissed through gritted teeth. "I said leave her out of it."

"Or what?" Sweetie Belle sneered. "What're you gonna do to me if I don't leave your little fillyfriend al--"

"She's not my fillyfriend!" Diamond Tiara suddenly snapped, her shriek immediately silencing the rest of the class as everyone turned to watch the incensed earth pony jump to her hooves, pushing her chair back and immediately getting in Sweetie Belle's face, her features contorted with rage. Sweetie Belle scrambled back in surprise, falling sideways off of her seat and thumping to the floor on her back, staring wide-eyed up at Diamond Tiara.

"Diamond Tiara!" Cheerilee hissed, stomping out from behind her desk and coming to stand over the prone unicorn, glaring back at Diamond Tiara. "Control yourself! This is hardly behavior becoming of a young lady."

"But she--!"

"I don't care!" Cheerilee snapped as Sweetie Belle struggled back to her hooves. "You two are both perfectly intelligent, mature young mares, and I expect you to act like it! See me after class. Both of you!" she added, turning her sizzling gaze on Sweetie Belle, whose mouth fell open in shocked disbelief.

"But Miss Cheer--!"

"No buts!" The magenta mare stomped a hoof, shaking the floor and ending the discussion. The guilty parties sulked back to their seats, and Cheerilee marched back to her desk, fury radiating from her normally pleasant, friendly face. Once there, however, the anger seemed to dissipate, and she was soon placidly watching the rest of the class slowly restart their conversations, occasionally casting a warning glance at the now speechless Sweetie Belle and Diamond Tiara.

Scootaloo glanced at Silver Spoon, who appeared to have only heard the shouted portion of the argument, and could only guess at who the aforementioned 'fillyfriend' could be. Still, there were few suspects, and Scootaloo had a inkling stemming from the distinct tinge of pink now coloring her cheeks that Silver Spoon knew exactly who Diamond Tiara was talking about. For the second time that day, Scootaloo found herself surprised at the expression on her project partner's face. This time, it was genuine shame casting a gloomy shadow across her features, and Scootaloo was annoyed to feel a pang of sympathy for the beleaguered filly sitting next to her. She quickly shook it off. If Silver Spoon didn't want to deal with Diamond Tiara's razor-edged tongue, she shouldn't have been her friend. It was that simple. Satisfied with her position, the Pegasus pulled out a notebook and started doodling aimlessly in it, intent on minimizing her interaction with Silver Spoon until later in the evening.

~~~

"So, do you just want me to come with you now, or should I come by later, or what?"' Silver Spoon asked as they milled around in the schoolyard after class.

The pegasus mused over this for a moment. Sweetie Belle and Diamond Tiara were still inside, being scolded at length by Miss Cheerilee. Scootaloo suspected it would be some time before they were released. Apple Bloom and Pipsqueak were already gone, apparently having decided to start working on their project already as well. With no prospects for other entertainment for the rest of the day, Scootaloo sighed and said, "Yeah, you might as well come over now. No point in putting it off, I guess."

"Don't sound too excited," Silver Spoon muttered, rolling her eyes. Scootaloo started walking, setting a brisk pace up the road towards the town center. Her compatriot kept up easily enough, but as they continued trotting at speed, she remarked, "You've got a lot of stamina for a Pegasus."

Scootaloo shrugged. "Yeah, well, I had to get some kind of compensation for these stupid things not working." Se flared her wings, stretching them out to their impressive full span. "The docs say the same body makeup that keeps me from flying makes me strong, like an earth pony, and keeps me from tiring out." She scowled at one of her open wings. "I'd rather be able to fly."

"I'm sure," Silver Spoon agreed. "I think I would, too."

Scootaloo shrugged. "Well, sometimes life just shits on us for no good reason. My mom--Octavia, that is--says there's no point in being mad about what you can't change, and to just do the best with what you've got. And that's all fine and great for her, but from what I've heard, there's not a whole lot in her life she'd change if she could." The Pegasus frowned at the ground in front of her. "I don't really get along with her," she added in an unsolicited afterthought.

"Why not?" Silver Spoon heard herself asking before she could stop herself.

Scootaloo eyed her suspiciously, but answered anyway, having offered up the initial comment. "I dunno, really. We just don't see eye to eye on much. Like, I love her a lot, don't get me wrong, and she's really nice, but I just...she doesn't really get me, you know? We don't like the same music, or movies, or...well, anything really. And it's not like she doesn't try, either, we're just...different. Mama Vy and I get along a lot better, but she's also a lot less, you know, stuffy than Mama Tavi is."

"Well, she is a concert cellist, right? I guess it takes that kind of personality to be a good musician."

Scootaloo shook her head. "No, it's not even that. Mama Vy is a great musician, too, they just do different kinds of music. Even Mama Tavi admits that some of the stuff Mama Vy does is pretty amazing. I'm sure you've heard some of it, too, 'cause they play it all the time in bars and clubs and such."

Silver Spoon shook her head. "I don't go to bars or clubs."

"Really?" Scootaloo looked surprised for a moment before nodding in understanding. "Yeah, okay, I can see that. Upper crust pony like you is too 'sophisticated' for a dive like the 'Bit 'n' Bridle,' right?"

For once, Silver Spoon decided to ignore the oblique insult and answered as though it was a genuine question. "No, I've just never bothered to make the trip. I stick to the parlors and pavilions where I don't have to worry about getting beer spilled on my coat or being hit on by some drunk foal who wouldn't remember my name if it was tattooed on the inside of his eyelids."

Scootaloo chuckled at this, surprising them both. The pegasus shook it off and said, "Well maybe you should try it sometime. Fur washes, you know, and there's more to a club than just getting drunk and hooking up."

"I'll pass."

Scootaloo shrugged. "Suit yourself." She turned off the main road through town and led Silver Spoon up a narrow neighborhood corridor, walking past cozy little houses arranged in carefully spaced rows, enough to give each home some breathing room, but not enough to look like a waste of real estate. Silver Spoon was vaguely unnerved by the cramped appearance of the suburb, mentally comparing the modest plats to the sprawling estates she had grown up around. It seemed as though everyone's windows were facing the house next to them, and it was clear that anypony could walk up to any front door they wished. There was no security anywhere, no roaming guards patrolling the streets, no carriages parked in covered garages, and almost none of the houses even had a second floor. None of this was particularly surprising to her, as the young mare had always known these suburbs existed, but her social circle and personal life simply didn't bring her down out of the Heights very often, and they never brought her this far out.

Scootaloo noticed her companion's darting eyes and moderately distressed expression. "What's the matter? Too lower-class for you?" she sneered.

"No, it's not that," Silver Spoon said, shaking her head. "They're perfectly nice little houses, it's just...how do you live so close together like this? I'm getting claustrophobic just imagining trying to sleep with somepony else less than thirty hooves away."

Scootaloo looked back at the space between two of the houses and grunted noncommittally. "I dunno...I never really noticed. I mean, there are walls and stuff. It's not like we wake up and wave at each other through the window."

"You easily could."

"Well, maybe that wouldn't be so bad. It's nice to get to know the neighbors, right?"

Silver Spoon said, "We only have two neighbors, and one is Diamond Tiara. The other is out of town almost all the time."

"Sounds lonely."

"It's not lonely, it's peaceful. Quiet."

"Too quiet."

"If you think so," Silver Spoon shrugged as Scootaloo turned up the walkway towards one of the smaller one-story houses. The orange pegasus paused at the mailbox, checking the interior for possible contents. She extracted two letters with her mouth and then continued up the path. It occurred to Silver Spoon that she wasn't entirely certain where their mailbox was, or even if they had one. Her mail always appeared on her vanity between the time she left for school and when she got home in the evening. At the door, Scootaloo reared up and leaned on the handle with a hoof, and to Silver Spoon's surprise, the handle turned easily, plainly unlocked. "You...don't lock your doors?"

Scootaloo looked over her shoulder, speaking around the envelopes in her mouth. "No need. Not when somepony's home during the day." She led the way inside, followed by an increasingly bewildered Silver Spoon.

As the door swung closed behind them, Silver Spoon paused to take everything about the smallish house in. They were standing in a narrow entryway, with a low wooden table on one side, holding a daily calendar and a wicker basket into which Scootaloo deposited the two letters she had retrieved. On the opposite side was a round stand with a modest bouquet perched on it. The flowers in it were white roses and blue lilies, with a sprinkling of baby's breath to fill it out. Above the bouquet was a single picture frame with three ponies in it: a grey earth pony with a lead-colored mane, muted purple eyes, a modest, precise smile, and a carefully arranged pink bow tie; a white unicorn with a startling array of navy and sky blue hair, shocking crimson eyes, a pair of blue-tinted shades buried in her mane, and a grinning expression that couldn't possibly have conveyed anything except unabashed giddiness; and between them, the same sherbet orange, magenta-maned, coyly smirking pegasus now clopping down the hallway, crudely yelling, "Hey, mom! I'm home!"

Silver Spoon bristled slightly at the concept of shouting indoors, but she was apparently alone in her consternation, as a moment later the grey mare in the picture appeared from one of the doors further down the hallway. "Oh, you're home early, Scootaloo," she said in a taut, refined tone that reminded Silver Spoon of the way some of her father's more important contacts spoke. "And you're not alone," she added, casting an appraising glance at Silver Spoon, who blushed faintly at the realization that she had not been expected.

"Yeah," Scootaloo said, clearly unfazed. "Silver Spoon came over to work on the project for a little bit. Is that alright?"

The earth pony nodded, her gaze sliding away from the visitor and back to her daughter. "I suppose, although I would appreciate if you would ask before simply inviting somepony over. I'm not altogether fond of having unannounced visitors."

"Geez, mom," Scootaloo groaned, rolling her eyes. "She's just here for the project. She's not even really visiting. We're just gonna be in my room for a little bit."

"Even so," her mother said, shaking her head. "It's not polite. And speaking of being polite, aren't you going to introduce your friend to me?" She smiled at Silver Spoon, who tentatively returned the gesture.

Scootaloo scoffed audibly. "She's not my friend. She's just my project partner. Anyway, mom, this is Silver Spoon," she said, waving towards the bespectacled filly still standing in the entryway with a lazy hoof. "Silver Spoon, this is my mom, Octavia."

"Charmed," the grey mare said, smiling genuinely and trotting down the hallway to extend a welcoming hoof.

"L-likewise," Silver Spoon squeaked, still struggling to shrug off the social embarrassment of being unannounced. She shook the proffered hoof.

"I've heard a great deal about you, Silver Spoon," Octavia said, glancing sideways at her daughter. "I doubt highly that much of it is true, but I have also heard good things, so don't worry too much." She smiled, her eyes twinkling. "I'll let you make your own impression."

"Likewise," Silver Spoon repeated, blushing intensely at finding herself unusually speechless. Despite being generally shy around strangers, the silver filly had grown up surrounded by the trappings of high society, and as such was used to speaking with celebrities and moguls. She could converse freely with the rich and powerful elite of Ponyville, Manehattan, and even Canterlot without hesitation or fear, but it was immediately obvious that Octavia was in an entirely different league. This was a mare who simply radiated class. Her mane was smooth and shined, but was clearly unmodified in any way, hanging over one shoulder in a thick, austere sheaf. She had no makeup at all, but her face was still pleasantly attractive, as was the rest of her body, well-proportioned and properly groomed. The bow tie around her neck was prim and modest, adding a minute flair of distinction to contrast the otherwise dull hue of her grey coat and bringing out the darker purples in her irises.

Beyond her physical appearance, there was a certain air of poise and charisma about the musician that instantly and effortlessly elevated her above everypony nearby. She carried herself with dignity and confidence, but without a trace of arrogance, and the smile on her face was slight but genuine. Social standing meant nothing to Octavia, that much was obvious just from her tone of voice and stature, and as a result Silver Spoon knew she could have walked unmolested into any high-brow party or establishment in Equestria, and be an instant VIP. To Silver Spoon, who had grown up with her social position well understood and rigidly adhered to, the whole effect was thoroughly flustering.

As she reflected on this, Silver Spoon realized she had been silent for too long, and upon seeing Octavia's puzzled expression at her unsatisfactory response, she swallowed and tried again. "That is, Scootaloo told me a little about you, too."

Octavia's smile widened, revealing an even row of brilliant white teeth. "Well, don't believe everything you hear. I promise I'm not quite the cruel disciplinarian I'm sure she's told you I am."

Scootaloo rolled her eyes, but Silver Spoon said, "No, she didn't say anything like that."

"Really?" Octavia said, glancing at Scootaloo, who shrugged. "Well, it was nice to meet you, Silver Spoon. I'm sure you two have a lot to work on, so I'll get out of your mane. Scootaloo, supper is at seven so if Silver Spoon is going to stay and eat with us, please let me know before six, so I can plan accordingly."

Scootaloo laughed shortly, a harsh bark of derision. "Yeah, she won't." Silver Spoon shook her head in silent agreement.

Octavia shrugged. "Well, just in case." The grey mare trotted back down the hallway and disappeared back into the door from whence she came.

Scootaloo glanced at Silver Spoon. "Yeah, you aren't staying for supper."

"I'm not asking to," Silver Spoon said dryly.

"Good." The pegasus clopped heavily down the hallway, passing several open doorways beyond which Silver Spoon could see a cozy living room with a couch, coffee table, and lavish entertainment center, a clean, homey kitchen, and when they passed the room Octavia had returned to, she discovered it was a large square room utterly full of orchestral paraphernalia.

The silver filly actually paused at the entrance to take it all in, from the half-dozen violins and violas hanging from the opposite wall, to the three cellos of varying height perched on stands to the left, and the two darkly varnished double basses resting against the wall to the right. Under the violins was a long desk covered in various bits and parts of the instruments around the room, as well as a moderate assortment of bows, rosin blocks, and curled lengths of string. Among the melange of musical materiel were pages and pages of carefully inscribed ledger paper, some with musical passages so complex that from a distance Silver Spoon could have imagined they were simply scribbled black. In the middle of the room, standing with her back to the hallway, Octavia had a third double bass resting against her shoulder as she stood on her hind legs behind it. One hoof was curled around the neck of the instrument, and the other held a bow carefully out of the way while she painstakingly scrawled a note on the page of music on the stand in front of her.

After a moment, Octavia seemed to sense she was being watched, and glanced over her shoulder to see Silver Spoon standing in the hallway. She grinned as she set the pencil back down on the stand. "Hello again, dear. Can I help you?"

"Oh, no," Silver Spoon said quickly, "I was just...noticing your collection."

"I see," the other mare said. "And...?"

"And what?"

"Well, do you like it?"

"Oh!" Silver Spoon nodded frantically. "They're beautiful, of course."

Octavia smiled. "Thank you. Do you play?"

Silver Spoon pursed her lips. "Well...no, not really."

"Not really?" Octavia raised an eyebrow at her. "How does one 'not really' play an instrument?"

"Well, I own a cello, but I'm...I'm not very good at it." She blushed.

"I see," Octavia said. "Do you take lessons?"

"Yes, ma'am." Silver Spoon nodded. "But I'm afraid my instructor isn't very confident in my future with it."

"Nonsense," Octavia huffed, waving a hoof dismissively. "If your instructor is telling you that you can't excel at something you are willing to devote real effort to, he shouldn't be your instructor. Might I ask who you are learning from?"

Silver Spoon hesitated for a moment, unsure of whether to share the name of her tutor, lest she unintentionally cause some sort of trouble by revealing to Octavia exactly who it was that was telling her she was a lost cause. Thankfully, she was spared the need to make the decision by Scootaloo's sudden reappearance at her side. "Where the hay did you go, Spoon? I've been talking to myself for like two minutes."

"I'm sorry, Scootaloo, I distracted her," Octavia said. "She was admiring my viols and I couldn't help chatting with her about them a bit." She smiled at Silver Spoon. "Go along, dear. We can talk more later, if you like."

"Come on, Spoon," Scootaloo grunted, flaring her wings in irritation as she led Silver Spoon back down the hallway to her bedroom. Once inside, Silver Spoon knew immediately that she could have deduced who the primary occupant of the room was without being led there. The bed in the middle of the room was thoroughly unmade, the dark blue blankets and yellow sheets lying in a tangled heap at the foot. One pillow was lying on the floor next to the bed, and the other was hanging half off, caught on the bedside table. There was a desk across the room with two shelves attached to the wall above it, both crammed full of books with intimidating titles like "Advanced Aeronautical Design," and "Calculus for Engineers: Theory and Application." More books were lying open on the desk, and a momentary glance inside one revealed equations and formulas so complex that Silver Spoon's head swam slightly at the sight.

Instead, she turned her gaze to the walls of the room, which were completely plastered with posters and pictures ranging from autographed promotional posters of Spitfire, Soarin, Fleetfoot, and all the rest of the Wonderbolts, to a long banner with the cutie marks of all the Wonderbolts embroidered on it, to dozens of photographs of varying age of the Crusaders, to a large-scale picture of Rainbow Dash, the Wonderbolts' newest recruit, wearing her brand new uniform and hugging a broadly grinning Scootaloo. The poster bore a long dedication scrawled down the edge that ended with Rainbow Dash's trademark six-colored signature. Silver Spoon had never seen so much stuff relating to such a narrow range of interests. Everything in the room was connected either to the Wonderbolts, to Scootaloo's friends, to Rainbow Dash, or to math and science of a level so far above Silver Spoon's level that she was momentarily suspicious that Scootaloo had just gotten a bunch of books to make the silver filly feel stupid by comparison when she saw them. She hardly needed help feeling intellectually inferior to her partner, but the books were certainly doing the trick.

Along with all the other paraphernalia posted around the room were a few puzzling items bearing the name and crest of "The Royal Academy of Canterlot for Engineering." These included a flag with the Academy's seal hanging just above Scootaloo's bed, a whole pile of brochures and pamphlets strewn across the desktop, and a small metal sculpture of three phoenixes flying in a helical pattern up from the base with a different motto engraved in the contrail behind each phoenix: "RACE for Excellence," "RACE for Innovation," "RACE for Integrity." The sculpture intrigued Silver Spoon, and she made her way over to the bedside table where it was sitting to examine it further. It was cast in three different metals, fused on the edges by slight perturbations of the ingredients that resulted in distinct streaks of color between the three phoenixes. It was extremely well-crafted, with no visible burrs or scratches, and Silver Spoon marveled at it for several seconds before Scootaloo spoke again.

"You like that?" she remarked, a definite hint of smugness in her tone. "It was a gift from the Academy, a reward for winning their 'Rising Stars' engineering competition a couple years ago. I don't know if you can tell, but it's actually made out of three different metals cast togeth--"

"Copper, nickel, and magnesium, if I had to guess," Silver Spoon interrupted, looking over her shoulder at Scootaloo with half-lidded eyes. The pegasus faltered as her mouth fell open in surprise. Silver Spoon smirked. "Prized for their versatility, durability, and lightness respectively, right?"

Scootaloo blinked, nonplussed. "I...yeah, but where did....how did you know that?" she sputtered.

Silver Spoon rolled her eyes theatrically. "Please. My father is the most accomplished metallurgist in three centuries. You think I could have grown up around that and not pick some of it up?"

"But you barely even looked at it!"

She shrugged. "So? It's not that hard to recognize a metal by its color and grain."

Scootaloo stared at her in silence for a moment. "What's your special talent again?"

"Silver working, like my father, although he's best with really large amounts and really big projects, where I'm a lot better with small stuff like jewelry, filigree, and stuff."

Scootaloo's eyes widened suddenly and a current of tentative excitement crept into her voice. "Can you work with other metals, too, or just silver?"

Silver Spoon shrugged. "Anything, really. I just like silver because it's--"

"And this small stuff you're talking about," Scootaloo interrupted her, "would it include something like, say, really precise gears and rivets and screws and such?"

Silver Spoon frowned shallowly at being cut off, but said, "Well, yeah. I mean, I could make anything out of metal if I had a design to work off of. Why?"

Scootaloo's eyes shone with glee and a broad smile crept across her mouth. "Because, Silver Spoon, Miss Cheerilee was right. I do have an idea, and you are going to love it."

Confronting Futility

Silver Spoon stared skeptically at the drawing that Scootaloo had just placed in front of her. It was in a graph paper notebook she had retrieved from her bedside table drawer. The notebook itself was full of figures and sketches, numbers and various equations written in ink and pencil, some scratched out completely, others simply modified and corrected. The contents of the sketchbook all pointed towards one overarching theme, rendering her initial question at least partly rhetorical. "What is this, exactly?"

"It's an aerodyne," Scootaloo explained unhelpfully.

"A...what?"

"An aerodyne," the pegasus repeated matter-of-factly. "You know, as opposed to an aerostat?" Her face indicated she considered this a perfectly suitable clarification.

"Okay," Silver Spoon said, rolling her eyes, "let's pretend I don't know anything about aeronauticals or whatever it is you spend your free time obsessing over."

Scootaloo frowned at her and sighed in exasperation. "Alright, well...I guess I'll start with the basics, then. In aeronautics," she emphasized the final syllable with a sneer, "there are two kinds of aircraft. Aerostats are lighter-than-air craft, like hot air balloons and the big helium airships that you see flying out of Canterlot from time to time. They're really popular among earth ponies and unicorns because they're pretty easy to make and learn how to use.

"Aerodynes, on the other hoof, are kind of rare because they're a lot harder to design, make, and use. This is an aerodyne," she said, pointing at the drawing. "See, unlike an aerostat, which just has to achieve positive buoyancy to fly, an aerodyne has to provide its own lift, either by aerodynamic lift, that is, the lift provided by the deflection force of a tilted wing, or by powered lift, like when a pegasus flaps their wings." She mimicked the action with her own wings, as if expecting this to elucidate her point. "Anyway, you can't just launch an aerodyne and expect it to fly, because they don't usually generate enough lift on their own. You have to give it some sort of propulsion, and...what?" Scootaloo interrupted herself and raised an eyebrow at Silver Spoon. "Why are you looking at me like that?"

Silver Spoon blinked at her with wide, utterly bewildered eyes. "Um...yeah, you lost me at 'aerostats.'" Scootaloo groaned and slapped a hoof across her forehead, slowly drawing it down her face and sighing. Irked and embarrassed, Silver Spoon narrowed her eyes at the pegasus, annoyed at the heat rising in her cheeks as she flushed with frustration. "Well, come on, Scootaloo! I'm not as smart as you are, okay? This stuff doesn't just come to me like it does to you, alright? If you want me to help you, you're going to have to help me understand!"

"Well, you could at least make an effort!" Scootaloo huffed.

Incensed, Silver Spoon snapped, "Don't you think I am? You think I like feeling stupid all the time? You think I like watching you and Tiara just breezing through every subject while I'm just staring at my books and trying to...to...I don't know, will myself into learning it?" The blush on her face intensified, the heat there not quite masking the burning of frustrated tears collecting in her eyes. She blinked a few times, resisting the urge to raise a hoof and wipe them away before they could fall, furious at herself for letting Scootaloo get her so worked up.

The pegasus tilted her head, eyes wide and bemused. "Are you...crying?"

"No!" Silver Spoon lied furiously, looking away and willing herself to calm down. The lump in her throat was not yet substantial enough to alter her speaking voice, so she swallowed hard and continued, trying to keep her voice even and controlled. "Look, about this project. I think it...it might be a little too...hard for me." As often as she had to admit to Miss Cheerilee, Diamond Tiara, and Carillon that she was simply incapable of completing an assignment or mastering a subject, it never got easier, and admitting it to Scootaloo, the bane of her academic life, was torture. It had to be done, though, or she might accidentally get herself into a project she couldn't possibly contribute to, and end up unintentionally torching both of their grades. "I'm sorry..." she muttered, looking at the floor and rubbing her foreleg shamefully.

There was a long, awkward silence undercut by a tranquil, solemn melody emanating from Octavia's study down the hall. Eventually, Scootaloo broke the tension and said, "No, it's not...I mean yeah, it's tough, but..." She sighed. "Look, I'm sorry, I didn't mean it that way."

"Yes you did," Silver Spoon groused. "You think I'm stupid. Everyone does. It's not like I can blame you, right?" She sniffed and frowned. "I mean, you've seen my scores, right?"

"Well, yeah, but...I mean, no, I don't think you're stupid," Scootaloo said.

Silver Spoon sighed. "Really? You're going to look me in the eye and lie to me like that? I'm not that oblivious, Scootaloo. I know what you and your friends say about me, because not everyone bothers to do it behind my back." Scootaloo looked away as she continued, her voice heavy with cynicism. "Not to mention all the hell you three give me in class all the time, the way you laugh with each other when I ask questions or get problems on the board wrong..." The tears had broken free now, rolling slowly down her cheeks. She didn't even bother to wipe them away. "I don't care if you want to make fun of me or whatever. I gave up trying to stop that years ago. Just don't patronize me."

To her surprise, Scootaloo actually let out a short barking laugh. "Alright then, I won't. But I'm not going to make fun of you, either. Look, I really want to do this project, and I think you could help a lot."

Silver Spoon raised a skeptical eyebrow at her. "Really?"

The pegasus nodded. "Sure. And it's not as hard as it sounds, honestly. If you really want to learn about this stuff, I don't mind helping you out, as long as you can forgive me for losing my patience sometimes, because I promise you it's going to happen." She smirked wryly. "I am still a pegasus, after all."

Silver Spoon smiled slightly, raising a hoof to wipe away the tears still clinging to her fur. "Yeah...yeah, okay." She paused and then added, "You really think you can teach me this stuff?"

Scootaloo snorted. "Of course. It's just math. You don't even have to understand why it works, unless you really want to."

"Well...maybe," Silver Spoon said. "I mean, looking at all of this is kind of, I don't know...daunting."

"Nah," Scootaloo said, shaking her head. "It's just a lot to look at all at once. Here, let's start with the basics." She went to her desk and grabbed a well-worn book from the shelf, bringing it over to where Silver Spoon was sitting and dropping it in front of her.

Silver Spoon read the cover aloud. "Fun-gineering: A Fun and Friendly Introduction to Engineering Math." She gave Scootaloo a skeptical look. "Really?"

Scootaloo had returned to her desk and opened a drawer, rummaging around in it for a something. Having found it, she was now walking back over to Silver Spoon with a mouth full of paper, pencils, and a surprisingly simple calculator. "Ignore the title. It's actually a pretty good book. It was a birthday present from my parents after I started talking about wanting to be an aerospace engineer."

"Aerospace?"

The pegasus nodded again. "Sure. You know, air--"

"Scootaloo," Silver Spoon interrupted her. "I know that you know all this stuff, but it is a little insulting how you keep saying 'you know' all the time. You know?" she added with a hint of sarcasm.

"Sorry, it's just habit," Scootaloo said. "Anyway, aerospace just means related to mechanical flight, and could be anything from hot air balloons and gliders all the way up to rockets and space stations."

"Sounds...really hard," Silver Spoon muttered.

"Only if you try to start with Tsiolcoltsky's rocket equation. We won't, though. We'll start with whatever math you're comfortable with and go from there. How are you with trig?"

"Um..." Silver Spoon blushed.

Scootaloo waved a hoof dismissively. "Never mind. We'll start with geometry, then."

The blush intensified. "Well, uh..."

Scootaloo's eyes widened slightly, but she shrugged. "Alright, algebra. We'll see how far we can get from there."

Silver Spoon smiled sheepishly. "Alright."

~~~

"So," Scootaloo said around her pencil as she finished scribbling a series of equations on the paper in front of her, "that's pretty simple, right? What I just wrote?"

Silver Spoon looked at the equation and nodded. "9 + 16 = 25. Sure."

"And if I rewrite it like this, it still makes sense, right?" Scootaloo wrote a second equation--"3² + 4² = 5²"--underneath it. Silver Spoon nodded, oddly enthralled as she wondered where Scootaloo could possibly be going with this obviously simplistic line of reasoning.

"Now, let's take those numbers and use them to draw a triangle." She did so, using a ruler to measure the sides and pausing to let Silver Spoon verify that each side was the correct length. "As you can see, this triangle has one angle of 90 degrees, making it a right triangle. As it happens," she continued, "this is true for any three numbers that fit that equation up there." She wrote a few more equations and drew their corresponding triangles as proof. "Now let's replace those numbers with simple variables--say, 'a', 'b', and 'c'--and there you have the Ponythagorean theorem." She smiled at Silver Spoon.

The silver earth pony stared at the equation, genuinely surprised. She remembered hearing Miss Cheerilee mention the Ponythagorean theorem some time ago, but she had just written it on the board and told them it would be crucial for them to memorize it. She hadn't explained how it worked or even showed any proof, as Scootaloo had just done. She certainly hadn't started with functions and variables and seamlessly slid into using those same functions to describe geometric shapes, nonchalantly replacing actual numbers with variables when she wanted to draw Silver Spoon's attention to an actual formula or theorem.

Scootaloo had done all of this, and as a result, Silver Spoon was stunned to realize she hadn't gotten lost yet today. They'd covered a lot, she knew, starting with basic polynomials and the quadratic equation, both of which Silver Spoon vaguely understood, and after Scootaloo explained them again, bringing blinking revelation to Silver Spoon's eyes, they'd simply breezed through the rest of the material, bringing them now to the beginning of trigonometry.

"Huh," Silver Spoon said, "I...I get it." She stared at Scootaloo, stunned. "I can't believe it. Whenever Miss Cheerilee tries to explain this stuff, I just get lost and confused. I just write it all down at try to figure it out later. Of course, that never works," she grumbled, "and then I have to ask Tiara for help, but you know how Tiara is. She'd just rather do it for me so we can go do whatever it is she wants to do."

Scootaloo grinned. "Like I said, it's not that hard. You just have to have somewhere to start. You seem like you understand numbers okay, so that's where I started."

Silver Spoon nodded. "I just get lost when you start with nothing but letters and weird symbols. It's nice to have some kind of actual numbers to work with first."

Scootaloo was about to respond when her ears suddenly pricked backwards and she turned to look at the door. Silver Spoon raised an eyebrow at her, as she hadn't heard anything, but a second later the door rattled as somepony knocked on the other side. "Scootaloo?" Octavia's voice came from the hallway beyond. "Do you have a moment?"

"Sure, mom," Scootaloo responded. The door swung open and Octavia stepped into the room.

"I'm glad to see you two are getting along okay." She smiled warmly. "I must admit I was concerned..." She trailed off and waved a dismissive hoof. "Well, anyway, supper is almost ready, so please tidy up and wash your hooves."

"Supper?" Scootaloo's eyes widened as she looked at the clock on her desk. "Buck! It's already seven?"

"Language, Scootaloo," Octavia scolded her, "and yes, it is. Silver Spoon, I hope you don't mind, but I went ahead and made a portion for you, as well. You don't have to stay if you don't want, but you're certainly welcome to." She beamed at the silver filly, who smiled back sheepishly.

"Thank you, Miss Philharmonica, but I don't think my parents would like that very much."

Octavia's face fell slightly. "That's unfortunate. Did they expect you home sooner than this?"

"Oh, well..." Silver Spoon blushed faintly. "They aren't really expecting me home any particular time. They just don't really like it when I stay out late."

The earth pony shrugged. "Well, we can certainly understand that. Still, if it's simply a matter of information, Vinyl can send them a message to let them know you're here safe and sound. We can even hire a taxi to get you home if they like."

"Oh, no, that wouldn't be necessary," Silver Spoon said, shaking her head. She hesitated for a moment before asking, "You really wouldn't mind if I stayed for supper?"

"Not at all!" Octavia exclaimed, grinning. She ignored Scootaloo's miffed expression and said, "You've been working hard all afternoon; it would be a shame to send you home hungry after all of that. I suppose you live at the Silver estate on Levade Lane, right?" Silver Spoon nodded affirmatively and Octavia said, "Wonderful. I'll have Vinyl send them a message right away. Does your family employ a messenger, might I ask?"

Silver Spoon nodded again. "Yes, ma'am."

"Very well. Supper will be served shortly. Please wash up and come to the dining room." She clopped back down the hallway, calling Vinyl's name as she did.

Scootaloo sighed heavily and looked at Silver Spoon. "Sorry about that. My mom can be kinda pushy about guests. You really don't have to stay if you don't want to."

The silver filly smiled and shrugged. "It's fine. She wasn't being pushy, just polite. Besides, I doubt my father will let me stay anyway."

"Really? That's too bad. Why?"

Silver Spoon sighed. "It's hard to explain...and besides, I thought you didn't want me to stay for supper anyway." She smirked at the pegasus.

Scootaloo made a noncommittal sound in her throat. "Yeah, well...maybe you're not as bad as I thought you were going to be."

The silver filly giggled. "Thanks, I think. Anyway, the feeling is mutual, I suppose." She paused. "To be perfectly honest with you...I wasn't sure you would be able to be civil."

"That makes two of us," Scootaloo admitted, grinning.

~~~

Silver Spoon blinked in surprise as she came face to face with the blazing crimson eyes and startlingly blue mane of Scootaloo's mother Vinyl Scratch. The unicorn was holding a small scrap of parchment in a translucent aquamarine aura through which she could easily read the neat, measured script of the unicorn her family employed specifically for the purpose of sending messages via magical means. She could scarcely believe the note's contents, even as Vinyl summarized them in a brief quip. "He says it's cool."

"Huh," Silver Spoon said, nonplussed. "Alright then."

"Wonderful!" Octavia beamed, gesturing towards the dining room. "Come along now. Vinyl, would you be a dear and get dinner for us?"

Silver Spoon followed Octavia and Scootaloo into a brightly lit room with windows facing the darkening street in front of the house. Dominating the room was an oval-shaped wooden dining table with a narrow vase in the middle holding three young carnations--one white, one pink, and one purple--which Octavia carefully repositioned to an end table before taking her place at one of the narrower sides of the dining table. Scootaloo sat at one of the longer edges and nodded to Silver Spoon, indicating she take the opposite. A moment later, Vinyl's magical aura surrounded and opened the kitchen door and the unicorn stepped carefully into the room, a large, full platter of food hovering behind her as she took her place at the only spot remaining at the table and set the platter down in the middle.

"Thank you, Vinyl," Octavia said. Then she looked over at Silver Spoon. "I hope you don't mind, dear, but we do have something of a daily routine that we follow at dinner time. You don't have to participate, of course, but you're welcome to if you want."

Now it was Silver Spoon's turn to ignore Scootaloo's irritated expression. "What sort of routine?"

Octavia turned to her daughter. "Scootaloo?"

"Mo-om!" the pegasus whined pitifully. "Do I have to?"

"Every night, Scootaloo. Just like we always have."

"Fine." Scootaloo sighed theatrically and looked down at the table. "I...I'm thankful for my home and my family...oh, and for the new book that Mama Vy got me yesterday." Her cheeks slowly reddened beneath her orange fur.

Octavia smiled. "A lovely sentiment, dear. And what's something you learned today?"

"Um...that the First Changeling War lasted seven years and only ended because the Crystal Princess sacrificed herself to seal King Sombra away after he stole the Crystal Heart from the palace."

"Interesting," the grey mare said, nodding thoughtfully. "Thank you, Scootaloo. Vinyl?"

The ivory unicorn ceased magically folding her napkin into a swan long enough to say, "I'm exceedingly thankful for my loving, tolerant mate and my brilliant, strong-willed daughter, and I've learned that dry newspaper is not a sufficient substitute for a wet blanket for putting out small fires."

"Indeed," Octavia intoned dryly. "Anyway, I'm thankful for my darling, frustrating, but ultimately wonderful mate and my beautiful, intelligent daughter, and I've learned not to leave lit candles unattended in the living room when Vinyl is playing her dancing game--"

"Prance Prance Revolution."

"--of course, dear," she said, more or less ignoring Vinyl's moderately indignant interjection. "So," she said brightly, turning to Silver Spoon, "that's basically it. Something we're thankful for and something we learned. A little sappy, perhaps, but it's important to keep things in perspective, I think. Always remember to be glad for what you have, and never stop learning."

Silver Spoon stared at her. "And you do this every night?"

"Every night we eat together, yes. We don't always get to have dinner as a family, but when we do, we try to make sure we remember to, as Scootaloo once called it, 'Think and Thank'." She grinned over at her daughter, who was groaning loudly and putting her face in her hooves, her cheeks flushed red with mortification.

"'Think and Thank'?" Silver Spoon asked, giggling.

Vinyl nodded. "To be fair, she was still just a filly, but it kinda stuck. It's appropriate, if a little embarrassing, right Scoot?"

"I'm not talking to either of you ever again," the orange pegasus muttered through her hooves.

Silver Spoon giggled again. "Well, I guess I might as well. Um...I'm thankful that Scootaloo decided to actually treat me like a partner on this project, instead of a handicap," she chanced a small smile across the table as Scootaloo raised her head enough to cast a curious glance her way, "and I learned...gosh, a lot. Algebra, geometry...I guess I'll just say I learned about the Ponythagorean theorem and leave it at that."

"Well, sounds like you guys had a heck of an afternoon," Vinyl said as she immediately began doling out portions of the food from the platter onto each pony's plate.

Silver Spoon nodded, watching the unicorn deposit a sizable helping of candied carrots, salted mushroom-and-romaine salad, and sweet potatoes au gratin onto her setting. "You could say that, I guess."

"Well," Octavia said, "as I mentioned earlier, I'm glad to see you working together so well." She turned to Scootaloo. "Have you decided what to do your project on?"

"Um...yeah, I think so," Scootaloo replied, tossing a carrot into her mouth and chewing thoughtfully. "Might be a long shot, but Miss Cheerilee says she thinks we can do it if we work together."

"Do what?"

"We could...maybe...well, you know that aerodyne I've been designing since forever?"

"The Dash?" Vinyl asked through a mouthful of lettuce.

Scootaloo nodded. "Miss Cheerilee thinks we can build it."

"That will be quite the undertaking," Octavia said. "And quite the challenge, I would imagine."

The pegasus shrugged. "Probably. Anyway, the only real issue was getting the parts, and since Spoon's a metalworker, I think we've got a good chance."

"Oh she is, is she?" Octavia asked, glancing at Silver Spoon.

The filly nodded. "Yeah...I got my cutie mark just playing with some of my father's tools and working some scrap metal into toys and jewelry while I waited for him to get off work when I was younger. It's just a hobby right now, but I've gotten pretty good, I think. Anyway, Scootaloo just asked me if I could make gears and things like that, and honestly, compared to filigree necklaces and chain-linked tail-rings, sprockets are foals' play."

"Even super-high-precision ones?" Scootaloo asked, raising an eyebrow.

Silver Spoon snorted. "Compared to plaiting quarter-millimeter filigree? Yeah."

Vinyl giggled. "Sounds like you guys are all set, then."

"We'll see," Silver Spoon said, shrugging. "It depends on how much math and engineering and such I have to learn first."

"Not much," Scootaloo said, tentatively poking at the sweet potatoes. "Most of the math's already done. Just need to focus on the fabrication and construction now."

Silver Spoon shook her head. "I still don't see how you understand all that stuff. Every time I see an equation with letters and numbers, I just get dizzy. I can't imagine trying to understand an equation with letters, numbers, and other weird symbols, too."

"If you really enjoy something, it's easy to get good at it."

"Speaking of trying to get good at something," Octavia interrupted, "I've been thinking about what you said earlier, Silver Spoon, about your cello teacher."

"Oh, that..." Silver Spoon blushed lightly, poking at a stray mushroom. "It's no big deal, honestly. Mister Spavaldo is a fine teacher, I just--"

"Wait," Octavia interrupted her, eyes wide. "You don't mean Molto Spavaldo, do you?"

"Uh...I'm not sure--"

"Ridiculous little mustache, wears the most hideously patterned ties?" Octavia said, her brow furrowing irately.

"Um..." Silver Spoon hesitated, sensing she had unintentionally struck a nerve. "Yes?"

"That, that...lout is teaching?" Octavia spat, her eyes flashing. "Of all the most useless...hateful...honestly, who in their right mind would let that buffoon anywhere near a child, let alone force them to sit through his self-aggrandizing bluster under the guise of teaching?" The grey earth pony threw her hooves over her head.

"I...uh, my father thought--"

"He isn't even that good a cellist!" the mare continued, gesturing irately at Silver Spoon. "He's just a two-bit nitwit who knows how to look and sound like everypony around him, always soaking up praise he doesn't deserve and dodging criticism at the expense of the real musicians he leeches off of every--"

Vinyl suddenly cleared her throat loudly, giving her mate an intense glare from across the table. "I think we get the point, Tavi."

"Oh..." Octavia blinked and blushed deeply, slowly lowering her hooves and coughing lightly to ease the embarrassment of the awkward moment. "Ahem, yes...well, I'm sorry you had to see that. As you may have surmised, Mister Spavaldo and I...well, we are artistic rivals, to say the least."

"The very least..." Vinyl muttered.

Octavia shot her mate an irritated look. "In any event, suffice it to say I don't think he's an appropriate tutor for any young mare or colt, especially not one who is just starting out."

"Well," Silver Spoon said quietly, still somewhat unnerved by the tirade, "I don't think my father was looking for a particularly good tutor, just a really good cellist. I don't really know, because I just came home one day to find my father and Mister Spavaldo standing in the foyer. He told me I needed some culture, and that Mister Spavaldo was going to teach me how to play."

"You...were not party to this decision, then?" Octavia asked.

Silver Spoon shook her head. "Not really. I tried to tell my father I didn't really enjoy it, and didn't want to continue, but he just kept saying it was for my own good, and that I couldn't quit." She looked down at her hooves in her lap. "I...don't think I have a choice now, though. Mister Spavaldo was really angry last time he left. I don't think he'll be back."

"Good," Octavia said dryly, her eyes half-lidded and dour. "The last thing any filly needs while learning an instrument is to be berated and belittled by somepony who bullied and blustered his way into the orchestra." She sighed and then smiled kindly at Silver Spoon. "But are you still interested in learning to play?"

The silver filly blinked. "I, uh...I don't know. I don't think my father would want to pay for anyone except Mister Spavaldo, honestly."

"Forget what your father wants. I'm asking you, not him."

"Well...I guess. I mean, I don't know how good I would be, but I've always kind of enjoyed listening to classical music, and I thought it might be nice to be able to play it...you know?"

Octavia nodded fervently. "I understand completely. In that case, allow me to offer a proposition, if I may. Since you and Scootaloo will be working on this project for some time anyway, perhaps you could take advantage of my presence here and take some lessons with me."

"Wait a second!" Scootaloo suddenly exclaimed. "You want to teach her here? While we're working?"

"Of course not, dear," Octavia said. "I want to teach her here when you're not working. Assuming she's interested, of course." The mare turned and smiled faintly at Silver Spoon.

"I...um...I guess," Silver Spoon muttered. "I mean, my allowance is...well, it's pretty good, but--"

"Oh, dear, don't be ridiculous!" Octavia laughed. "I couldn't possibly charge you for something I very nearly forced upon you. Besides, it would be entirely optional. You can schedule your lessons whenever you have time. Ideally we can simply meet after you and Scooter--"

"Mom!"

"Sorry, dear." Octavia waved absently at her daughter. "After you and Scootaloo finish working on your project for the day. Interested?"

Silver Spoon contemplated this for several seconds. Eventually, she shrugged and smiled. "Sure, I guess. It might be fun."

"I certainly hope so," the grey mare chuckled softly.

Across the table, Scootaloo groaned and put her head down in her hooves, muttering under her breath. "Great. Just great."

Misguided Missions

"And then after freaking out at us for like fifteen minutes solid, she said if we can't get a grip and actually try to work together, she's going to fail us both on the project," Sweetie Belle groused, flipping her tail in frustration. "My grades aren't good enough to balance something like that out. I might actually fail the whole season if that happens." She sighed. "Anyway, we didn't really talk after that. DT just gave me a look and then left without saying anything. I dunno how I'm supposed to get her to help me with this stupid project if she won't even talk to me."

The three fillies glanced across the schoolyard to where Diamond Tiara was standing and talking with Silver Spoon. Even at this distance, Scootaloo knew she probably could have heard the conversation if not for the fact that the school day was minutes from starting, and everypony was starting to get restless and noisy, attempting to cram in as much aimless chatter and otherwise nonsensical cacophony as they could before they were forced into silence for the next several hours. The young stallions in particular were being especially rambunctious as the sudden rush of adolescent hormones left them energetic and agitated, leading to impromptu athletic challenges and ultimately pointless displays of strength and size. Despite repeated insistence that none of this interested them, many of the young mares--including, Scootaloo had noticed, Apple Bloom--occasionally cast curious glances in the direction of their showboating, surreptitiously eyeing the participants with ill-disguised interest.

On this occasion, Apple Bloom was not hiding her wandering interest very well. Her eyes paused only momentarily on the fillies across the yard before drifting back to watch Pipsqueak issue an open challenge to the stallions around him to a hoofrace. "I dunno, Sweetie. She wouldn't'a hooked you up with her if she didn' think you could do it, right?"

"Maybe she didn't think Tiara was going to be this bullheaded about it." Sweetie Belle waited for Apple Bloom to respond, but the earth pony's attention was long gone, wasted on watching Pipsqueak easily win a short sprint against Featherweight and Rumble. Sweetie Belle sighed theatrically and turned to Scootaloo. "What do you think?"

Scootaloo didn't respond immediately, her attention focused instead on trying to read Silver Spoon's lips from across the schoolyard. The silver filly was visibly upset, her lips taut and her brow furrowed as she muttered something at the ground at Diamond Tiara's hooves. The other pony was sitting primly nearby, disdainfully examining a hoof as she made a show of ignoring everything around her, including Silver Spoon.

"Scootaloo!" Sweetie Belle cried in exasperation, snapping the orange pegasus out of her puzzled musings.

"Huh, what?"

Sweetie Belle glared at her and huffed angrily. "Never mind."

Scootaloo ignored her melodramatic friend and nodded in Silver Spoon's direction. "Hey, what do you think they're talking about?"

"Who?" Apple Bloom said, her attention moderately more focused now that the stallions were all standing in small packs, talking and laughing loudly about inappropriate topics. She followed Scootaloo's gaze and said, "DT and Spoon? I dunno. Who cares, anyhow?"

"I care," Scootaloo grunted. "What if she's talking about me? What if she's telling DT all about my house and laughing about my parents and stuff?"

Apple Bloom shrugged. "Then she'd be doin' what she's always done, Scoot. It's not like she's suddenly turned mean now that she's got somethin' to tell DT about. She's been mean ferever."

"Yeah, but now she knows what she's saying is true." She frowned. "I just don't like the idea of DT knowing where I live and stuff, that's all."

"She's not a murderer," Sweetie Belle said, rolling her eyes.

"Not yet," Scootaloo retorted spitefully. Her friends just glanced at one another and shook their heads in unison.

"Anyway," Apple Bloom said, attempting to redirect the conversation, "how did that work out, by the way, havin' Silver Spoon come over to work on the project 'n' all?"

"Honestly?" Scootaloo shrugged. "It wasn't bad. At least, not as bad as I thought it was going to be."

"Really?"

The pegasus nodded. "Yeah. I mean, we did kinda get into it early on, just insults back and forth, but you know Mama Tavi told me to give her a chance, so I just said we should try and be, you know, civil to each other. She seemed real keen on that, actually." She shrugged again. "Anyway, after we set up a...I guess you could call it a truce, everything got a lot better. She was actually pretty easy to work with."

"Seriously?" Apple Bloom said, agog. "Silver Spoon?"

Scootaloo nodded. "I know, I was totally surprised, too. She's actually real quiet most of the time. Kinda nervous, not real confident..."

"The opposite of you," Sweetie Belle said, smirking.

"Yeah, I guess so. We actually got a lot done. Nothing directly related to our project, of course," she said dryly. "She's still dumb as a fence post. We had to go all the way back to bucking algebra, and I spent all day tutoring her on stuff she should've learned ages ago. I just hope I don't have to teach it all to her again next time," she muttered.

~~~

"I just hope she doesn't have to teach it all to me again next time," Silver Spoon said glumly, glancing over to where Scootaloo and her friends were standing in a tight knot.

Diamond Tiara shrugged disdainfully. "I still say you should play dumb and just make her do it all. You know she will, too, the stupid teacher's pet. Celestia forbid she ever get anything less than an 'A' on anything."

"That wouldn't be fair," Silver Spoon said quietly. "And it probably wouldn't work anyway. You remember what Miss Cheerilee said about grading individually."

"Oh, fine!" Diamond Tiara sighed theatrically. "Do what you want. See if I bother trying to help you any more."

Silver Spoon winced and looked at the ground at Diamond Tiara's hooves. "I'm sorry, Tiara, it's just...I actually want to try this time. I want to actually do well, you know?"

"Do what you want," Diamond Tiara repeated, flipping her mane over her shoulder with a hoof. "I personally don't see the point in trying to help any of those bitches with anything, especially the way they keep talking about you, but if your dignity is less important than your grades, that's your business." Her lazily wandering attention suddenly fixated on one of the stallions across the lawn. "Hey, do you think Rumble would ask me out if I told him to?"

"Probably," Silver Spoon murmured absently, looking down at her hooves and wondering what sort of things Scootaloo and her friends could be saying now that Diamond Tiara thought was worth ruining her tenuous grip on a passing grade. "Um...so what did Miss Cheerilee want after class yesterday?"

"Same thing she always wants. To yell at me." Diamond Tiara sneered. "Of course she just let that ditz off easy, even after I told her what she said about you."

"What did she say about me?" Silver Spoon asked.

"That you were my fillyfriend," Diamond Tiara said, disdain and incredulity dripping from every word. "Can you imagine? The way she and her friends get on, and she has the audacity to suggest we're gay?" She laughed sharply, her normally musical voice audibly spiteful.

Silver Spoon forced herself to chuckle through the faint mortification rising in her throat. "Yeah...ridiculous."

"Anyway, I didn't even bother talking to her after that. If Miss Cheerilee honestly thinks I'm going to waste my time with her for some stupid project, she's out of her mind. My grades are fine; I'll gladly take a zero just to put her in her place. I just have to find some way to convince Miss Cheerilee to give her one, too." She pondered this for a moment before shrugging nonchalantly and abandoning it. "So, do you want to come over tonight, or do you want me to come by?"

"Oh, I'm...not sure. I need to check with Scootaloo and see if she had any plans for our next meeting."

"Ugh, already?" Diamond Tiara stuck her tongue out. "How can you even think of spending two evenings in a row dealing with her? It's hard enough just sitting across the classroom from her, watching her drawing stupid little pictures in her notebook, rolling her eyes at you when you ask a question...you're braver than I am, that's for sure."

"Still," Silver Spoon said, her cheeks pinkening slightly at the comments, "we've got a pretty tough project, and we've got a lot to do. I think we might have to meet pretty often to pull it off."

"Why, what are you actually doing? All you said earlier was that it required a lot of math, and you had to ask her for help to catch up. Which," she added, "I still think was a mistake. You should've just asked me. It's not a good idea to let a bully think you actually want their help. It's only a matter of time before they take advantage of you."

"Maybe," Silver Spoon said, suddenly concerned, "but she seemed really eager to help."

"Of course she did. That's how they lure you in. Then they make like you're their friend, maybe stand up for you a few times to other bullies to make it seem legitimate, and then BAM!" She stomped on the ground with both forehooves. "You're trapped. You feel like you owe them something, and you stick around."

Silver Spoon contemplated this for a moment. Scootaloo hadn't really made it seem like she owed her anything...she hadn't even really acted like she wanted anything to do with her beyond finishing the project. Hadn't she even given her mother a hard time for offering to give Silver Spoon cello lessons? Still, it seemed odd that somepony who had spent their entire acquaintance antagonizing her would suddenly switch tack so completely. Maybe there was an ulterior motive after all. Silver Spoon resolved to keep her defenses up whenever she was dealing with Scootaloo, just in case.

"So, project." Diamond Tiara looked expectantly at her. "You were about to explain what you're doing."

"Oh...I, uh...can't."

"Can't."

Silver Spoon nodded. "Yeah, I promised I wouldn't say anything about it until we were done."

"Promised who? Miss Cheerilee?"

"No, Scootaloo. It was her project idea, and she asked me to keep it private until we finished, just in case we couldn't pull it off."

"Uh, why?" Diamond Tiara raised a skeptical eyebrow to match the supremely derisive tone in her voice.

"I think it's because it's really, really hard, and she doesn't want anypony making fun of her for trying in the first place if we fail."

The pink filly snorted. "Right. Gosh, it would be awful if somepony were to make fun of her for trying and failing at something, right Spoon?"

The intent of the comment was clear. Silver Spoon dreaded being called upon in class to work a problem on the board for precisely this reason. Miss Cheerilee didn't allow her students to simply claim they couldn't do something; she demanded that they try their best, so she could catch their mistakes and correct them on the fly. This method would probably have been more effective if Silver Spoon didn't always have to hear the barely contained giggles of some of her classmates--easily identified--every time she made such an attempt. Miss Cheerilee would always turn to the offenders and scold them into silence, but the damage was done, and now Silver Spoon didn't even have to hear them laugh to know they were all watching her, criticizing every stroke of the chalk. It was mental torture.

Silver Spoon pursed her lips, moderately annoyed that Diamond Tiara kept giving her reasons to be mad at Scootaloo. She had just started to trust her project partner, but everything Tiara was saying made a certain dark, unpleasant sense. Scootaloo was certainly smart enough to be manipulative like that, and she had made no secret that she despised Silver Spoon over the years. Why should that have changed just because they were project partners now? Suddenly Silver Spoon felt betrayed. She had allowed herself to be sucked in by Scootaloo's show of friendship, had even allowed herself to believe that she really cared, however little, about her success. She'd let her guard down--even cried in front of her! Fortunately, she realized, Diamond Tiara was always there, looking out for her. It helped to have a third party to read the signs, somepony who wasn't invested at all in the relationship, who could see things the way they really were.

A wave of resentment washed over her and she suddenly felt the need to strike back, however minutely. Sneering, she turned to Diamond Tiara again. "Well, it turns out Scootaloo has this notebook at her house, and in--"

She was suddenly interrupted by the peals of Cheerilee's school bell echoing across the yard, signalling the beginning of the day. Unable to hear herself over the cacophony, she gestured towards the schoolhouse and mouthed 'after class' to her compatriot, who nodded and followed the rest of the class inside.

~~~

"I know it's going to be difficult keeping up with the rest of your studies while you're all working on your projects, but I promise you it is imperative that you learn how to prioritize and plan in order to succeed." Shortly after giving the class a quick glance to verify who was present and absent, Miss Cheerilee dove into the day's lesson, nosing the math book on her desk open to the desired page with practiced precision. "To that end, I'm going to continue assigning homework and tests, and in fact will begin to slowly increase your workload, to better prepare you for higher learning opportunities, should you choose that route. If not, it will still benefit you to learn how to manage your time--AND how to know when you need to ask for help." She swept her gaze across the class, pausing almost imperceptibly on a select few students, Silver Spoon included.

The young mare looked down at the book already lying open on her desk and the arcane symbols therein. A sense of foreboding stole over her at the prospect of trying to comprehend their meanings at a swifter pace than she was already failing to. She glanced at Diamond Tiara, who nodded reassuringly back at her. Oddly, this did not improve her outlook like she was used to. Diamond Tiara's recent ennui and failure to successfully help her had left Silver Spoon with a gnawing doubt in the efficacy of her friend's assistance. After a moment's hesitation, she stole a guilty look at Scootaloo instead. The pegasus had her class book lying closed on her desk, another book propped open on top of it. As she turned the page, Silver Spoon recognized some of the contents from the books she'd seen on Scootaloo's desk at home. Apparently Scootaloo was already well-versed in the topic at hoof. Silver Spoon begrudgingly reflected that regardless of her aims and intentions, Scootaloo had managed to teach her in a few hours what she had failed to really grasp in several weeks of study at Diamond Tiara's hoof.

"Now, before we move forward, I'd like to review our previous lessons in trigonometry to make sure everypony remembers what we learned. From this point on, every topic will build upon the last, so it is crucial that you continue to study and review as we go along. Pipsqueak, what defines a right triangle?"

"Um..." Nervousness intensified the pinto stallion's mild cockney accent. "One of the angles equals 90 degrees?"

"Correct." Miss Cheerilee nodded. "Diamond Tiara, what is the longest leg of a right triangle called?"

"The hypotenuse," Diamond Tiara answered without looking up from carefully shaping her hoof with an emery board.

"Good. And what is the Ponythagorean theorem...Silver Spoon?"

Silver Spoon's blood froze as Miss Cheerilee smiled at her, waiting for an answer. The silver filly prepared to hem and haw for several seconds before admitting she didn't know, as she usually did, but suddenly she realized she didn't have to. The answer leapt unbidden to her tongue, and she heard herself saying, "A squared plus B squared equals C squared."

Miss Cheerilee's eyes lit up and she smiled broadly. "Excellent! And could you explain exactly what that means?"

To her astonishment, Silver Spoon realized she could. "That the sum of the squares of the two shorter legs of a right triangle equals the square of the hypotenuse."

"Exactly right, Silver Spoon. Well spoken." She nodded approvingly at the young mare, who smiled faintly, heart racing as the adrenaline of being called on coursed through her veins, leaving her trembling slightly. Mercifully, Miss Cheerilee quickly moved on, turning now to Scootaloo. "Scootaloo, could you list the trigonometric functions we learned for me?"

Scootaloo smirked at her book, not lifting her eyes from the page. "Sine, cosine, tangent."

"Thank you, now--" Miss Cheerilee started, but Scootaloo was still listing answers, using words Silver Spoon had never heard before.

"--secant, cosecant, cotangent, arcsine, arccosine, arctan--"

"Yes, thank you Scootaloo," the teacher interrupted her firmly, narrowing her eyes at the younger mare. Scootaloo glanced up long enough to shrug impudently before returning to her book. Cheerilee sighed and continued. "Anyway, as Scootaloo was so kind enough to start with, the three trigonometric functions we learned yesterday are sine, cosine, and tangent. Today we'll continue working with those and start learning about the the unit circle and how they relate..."

The magenta mare continued speaking, turning to the board and starting to write on it. Buoyed by her success with the oral quiz, Silver Spoon focused intently on the teacher's words, carefully copying everything scrawled on the chalkboard into her notes. Less than an hour later, however, Silver Spoon was dismayed to discover she was utterly lost. Again. She had barely managed to keep up through the introduction of the so-called 'unit circle' (although why they were talking about circles again when they'd just started with triangles was beyond her), but now Miss Cheerilee was starting to explain things in terms of 'radians' instead of degrees, and introducing the concept of 'pie' and throwing all manner of vaguely impossible fractions at them. Frantically, Silver Spoon read through her notes again, trying to catch herself back up before the teacher lost her completely and she had to spend the rest of the class staring blankly at the front of the class, not understanding a word being said.

Suddenly, Miss Cheerilee looked straight at her and compounded the problem exponentially. "Silver Spoon, could you come up here and draw a unit circle for me, complete with common radian values?"

"Uh..." Silver Spoon grimaced, her face heating as she blushed in anticipatory shame. "No, probably not," she admitted.

The class tittered quietly. Cheerilee sighed and smiled lightly. "Could you come up and try, please?"

The blush deepened as Silver Spoon slowly stood up, heart racing again as panic tore at her. Frantically, she scanned the board and the notebooks around her for any clues to what she should do. She saw several circles drawn, all with odd fractions written at regular intervals. Committing the rough image to memory, she slowly trudged to the front of the classroom and took a piece of chalk in her mouth. Casting one last pleading glance at the teacher, who simply smiled and nodded reassuringly, she slowly drew a circle on the board. Then she drew a cross through it, and added six more lines through the middle at more or less the same locations as the ones she'd seen in the notebooks she'd scanned on her way up.

Once this was complete, though, she ran out of things to copy and ways to pretend she knew what she was doing. She stood silently in front of the class, staring blankly at the circle and struggling to ignore the piercing stares of her classmates while she cast about for what to do next, silently begging Miss Cheerilee to say something--anything--to put her out of her misery.

Finally, mercifully, the magenta mare said, "Well, that's a good start. Could you label the angles with their radian equivalents for us?"

Silver Spoon sighed heavily, looking down at the floor in front of her. She shook her head and closed her eyes against the all-too-familiar burning of shameful tears starting to collect in them. Once again, she was trapped. Alone and on display, a laughingstock for the rest of the class to point and whisper at, to ridicule and compare themselves against, to go home and belittle to their parents, holding her up as an example of why their sub-par grades were acceptable, because no matter how bad they were doing, they couldn't possibly be doing as bad as Silver Spoon. She waited, a sickening tightness in her throat, for the inevitable barking laugh of the ringleader of the class, the one shameless filly for whom this came so easily it must have seemed impossible that somepony could find it difficult. That short, sharp laugh that had plagued her for years, and was surely only moments away now.

It didn't come. Not only that, but no one laughed. Silver Spoon's eyes slowly opened, blurred slightly by the tears that were still clinging to her eyelids, unshed but still there, waiting for a reason to break free. Cautiously, Silver Spoon peered over her shoulder, scanning the students behind her. They were are watching quietly, benignly. A few glanced across the room at Scootaloo, but the orange Pegasus was sitting silently in her chair, still reading her book. She hadn't made a sound, and even her own friends seemed surprised, as they both cast wide-eyed looks in her direction. She ignored them.

Before Silver Spoon could even begin to try to understand why Scootaloo was letting an opportunity to tear her down slip away, Miss Cheerilee spoke again. "Okay, it's not a problem. Scootaloo, could you please come up and finish the circle for us?"

Scootaloo grunted her assent, laying her book down on her desk. She plodded up to the front of the class, taking a piece of chalk in her mouth and swiftly, expertly putting all the relevant fractions in place. Silver Spoon marveled silently at the speed and effortlessness of Scootaloo's work. What must it be like, she wondered, to simply know what all those numbers and symbols meant? To not only understand where they went, but why, as well? Finally, Scootaloo finished writing and started back to her seat. Scanning the figure on the board, Silver Spoon noticed something that seemed slightly off. "Um...Miss Cheerilee, shouldn't that be...whatever that squiggly thing is--"

"Pi," Miss Cheerilee answered.

"Yeah. Shouldn't that--" she pointed at the top of the circle where Scootaloo had written 'π' "--be 'π/2'?"

Miss Cheerilee examined the circle with bemusement. "Why...yes, it should be. Good catch, Silver Spoon!" She beamed. "Could you fix it for me?"

Silver Spoon smiled faintly and did so before trotting back to her desk, her hooves oddly light and her heart, still racing, no longer heavy with shame and frustration.

"Guess she's not so perfect after all," Diamond Tiara stage whispered, eliciting titters from the other ponies in the class. She looked at Silver Spoon with a smirk, but the silver filly discovered that for once she was unamused by her friend's spiteful jab.

"It was just a mistake," she muttered, drawing a narrowed look of alarm from the pink pony beside her. Under Diamond Tiara's fierce glower, Silver Spoon's confidence evaporated in an instant, and she looked away, across the room, feigning indifference even as she felt the other filly's stare on the back of her head. As she turned away, her gaze fell on Scootaloo, now back in her seat and reading her textbook again. Though her face was lazily expressionless, her half-lidded violet eyes darted across the page with remarkable speed. The pegasus wasn't taking any notes, and didn't seem to reread anything. Every half-minute or so, she would turn the page and continue reading, a faint smile tugging at the corners of her lips.

As Silver Spoon watched her, Scootaloo seemed to sense she was being surveyed, and looked back at her with mild interest. Silver Spoon smiled sheepishly and mouthed the phrase, 'Thank you.' The pegasus shrugged nonchalantly and went back to her book. Silver Spoon turned back to the board where Miss Cheerilee was now adding more details to Scootaloo's labels. As she copied the additional information into her notebook, Silver Spoon mulled over Diamond Tiara's comment. She was right; it was highly unusual for Scootaloo to make an error of any variety, let alone one so obvious that Silver Spoon of all ponies could catch it. It was possible, she supposed, that Scootaloo simply wasn't paying attention and just wrote so quickly that she forgot to add the denominator to her label, but even this seemed unlikely. She had added the notes in counter-clockwise order, and the values increased as she went. This was part of why Silver Spoon had managed to catch the mistake in the first place. If Scootaloo had memorized the values--as she very clearly had, given the speed with which she'd written them--then why make such an error, unless...

An icy sensation suddenly sank into Silver Spoon's stomach, taking her confidence and pride with it. It was a setup. Scootaloo was too smart to make a mistake that rudimentary. She had written the label wrong on purpose. Moreover, she'd done it to the most obvious label, the one that would be the easiest to spot and correct. She had to have known somepony was going to call her out, but who else was going to be looking at her drawing when they all had copies in their texts and their notes already? Only Silver Spoon, standing at the front of the classroom with her, watching her write, was going to be assessing each value as she wrote it. Only she would notice immediately the mistake, and only she would already be at the front, able to speak without raising a hoof, already prepared to fix the error.

Silver Spoon felt sick. She was used to being coddled and pitied by Diamond Tiara because they'd been together long enough for Diamond Tiara to have cause to protect Silver Spoon's feelings. She had grown accustomed to it, and so could usually shrug it off, but to have Scootaloo do the same thing stung in a way she couldn't really explain. It was one thing to be offered a leg up by a friend, but to have a former--or at least temporarily former--enemy take mercy on her like this was simply insulting. Incensed, she glared at the self-satisfied pegasus, who was now pointedly ignoring her and sketching idly in her notebook. Silver Spoon spent the rest of the class fuming to herself, her notes and the teacher's lecture utterly forgotten.

~~~

"Who do you think you are?"

Scootaloo stopped short on her way to meet her friends in the yard as Silver Spoon stepped in front of her just outside the schoolhouse. The silver earth pony's face was contorted into an unmistakable expression of indignant fury. Puzzled, she said, "I...what? What do you mean?"

"You know what I mean!" Silver Spoon spat, nodding firmly towards the classroom behind her. "Who do you think you are, screwing up on purpose like that?"

Scootaloo's eyes widened. "The buck? Screwing up on purpose? Spoon, do you have any idea how ridiculous you sound right now?"

"Don't play coy with me, Scootaloo, I know you messed up so I could see it and fix it and look good in front of everypony. Then you could tell me about it later and then I'd owe you and you'd just hold it over me and use it as an excuse to--"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" Scootaloo interrupted her with a raised hoof and a barking laugh. "You seriously think I'd do that for you? Silver Spoon, I couldn't care less how you look in front of everypony else. Hell, I don't even care how I look, and you think I'm going to risk writing something wrong on the board that my friends might copy down and then get wrong later?" She shook her head and smirked. "That's pretty narcissistic, Spoon."

"But..." Silver Spoon faltered. "But that was such an easy thing to do right...you wrote the same thing in two places on the circle."

Scootaloo scoffed. "If it's so easy, why didn't you just do it yourself in the first place?"

Silver Spoon looked away, her face suddenly confused and upset. "I didn't...I wasn't sure...but you went so fast, I though for sure you--"

"That's just it. I was going too fast." She sneered. "That happens when you're being forced to relearn stuff this rudimentary while the rest of the class is catching up. Sorry to burst your bubble, but I'm just not that invested in your feelings."

There was a long silence during which Silver Spoon's eyes darted from the ground to Scootaloo's face, scanned it for a moment, and then fell again as she stepped back, her head hanging. "I'm sorry, Scootaloo. I guess I was just...surprised, that's all. You don't usually make mistakes like that, and I thought...I'm sorry," she repeated, turning away and trudging across the schoolyard.

For a moment, Scootaloo contemplated stopping her and taking back everything she'd just said, admitting she'd mislabeled the circle on purpose, even waiting and making certain that she'd written the incorrect value larger and darker than the others just so it would catch her eye. She wanted to admit she had warned Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom off of snickering at Silver Spoon's failure at drawing the circle, and had intentionally caught Miss Cheerilee's eye so she would be called on to fill it in. She had hoped Silver Spoon wouldn't cotton on, mostly because it was the sort of charity Scootaloo wasn't particularly interested in being noted for, but when she'd caught Scootaloo's eye and mouthed her thanks, the pegasus had sort of assumed she'd been caught but that Silver Spoon was grateful.

Now, though, being accosted in the yard and accused of doing it for her own personal gain had alarmed her enough that she'd fallen back on her old standby of drudging up whatever vicious insult she thought would deflect the attack. It had been completely unintentional, a purely reflexive response that she had regretted almost instantly. But there were other ponies around, some potentially within earshot, and although she was fine with being cordial--even friendly--in the safe confines of her house, she was a long way from being comfortable letting the other students think she had surrendered in the war she and her friends had been waging against Silver Spoon and Diamond Tiara since the five of them had met at Tiara's Cuteceañera years ago. Of course even thinking about it in those terms made Scootaloo wince shamefully at her own spitefulness. Still, despite the admitted petty nature of the conflict, it was a deep-seated and very real contest, and Scootaloo hated losing.

But as she took off across the yard towards her friends, she couldn't ignore the pang of guilt settling into her midsection as the hunched, defeated form of Silver Spoon slowly shrank away into the distance.

The Same Coin

"So I guess Silver Spoon's not coming to your place again tonight, then?" Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo walked side-by-side through the center of town on their way to the Scratch-Philharmonica household. They had parted ways with Apple Bloom some minutes before at the fork in the road that lead out towards Sweet Apple Acres, and normally would have separated a few moments later at the Carousel Boutique. Today, however, Sweetie Belle was coming home with Scootaloo for a cello lesson.

Scootaloo sensed poorly camouflaged glee on the unicorn's elegant countenance in anticipation of a negative answer. "No, I don't think so. I mean, we spent all yesterday working together, and we got a lot of work done. I don't think we need to meet every single day."

"I guess not," Sweetie Belle mused, casting her a half-lidded smirk. "But this is Silver Spoon we're talking about. How much extra time are you going to have to dedicate just to making sure she's keeping up?"

Scootaloo smiled half-heartedly at the cutting remark, an awkward and unexpected sense of guilt blunting her amusement. "I dunno. Hopefully not much. Anyway, I'm going to be doing most of the work myself as it is, just because...well, our project's pretty high-level stuff."

"Really? Why, what's your project on?"

"Um..." Scootaloo contemplated the wisdom of sharing their plans with her friends. Normally she shared everything with the other Crusaders; their friendship was at a level so deep that there were few secrets among them, and the only things any of them knew that the other two didn't simply hadn't been discussed yet. This included her plans for the Dash, in fact.

It was a pet project, something she worked on in secret, in her spare time, and only had started writing about for school papers because Miss Cheerilee had suggested it years ago during a one-on-one meeting about Scootaloo's writing difficulties. The magenta schoolteacher had told her to find something that really interested her and not to worry about whether somepony else was reading the text. She had promised that only she would ever see the papers, and only for grading purposes. The papers had been simple and vague at first, just hints and broad strokes commenting on Scootaloo's concerns about being a pegasus who couldn't fly, her wildest fantasies about machines that could help her overcome that, and wishes to someday build her own. As she'd grown and learned and her capacity for actual planning deepened, the papers had become less fantastical and more theoretical to the point that she actually kept them in a folder at home with her sketchbook, as references. True to her word, Miss Cheerilee had kept the papers and their contents to herself, only discussing them in private--or in extremely vague terms, almost like code. Her comments on the papers themselves had been generally positive, and frequently exuberant as she appeared almost as enthralled with Scootaloo's plans as the pegasus herself was.

Even so, only four--well, five now--ponies knew the sketchbook even existed. Her parents knew, of course, because they had been the ones who had nurtured her initial interest in mechanical flight, and now Cheerilee and Silver Spoon rounded out the group. She was loath to add another pony to the fold, especially, she remarked to herself with a pang of guilt, the occasionally flighty and gossipy Sweetie Belle. The unicorn was not a malicious gossip, necessarily; she just found certain topics irresistible to share. She was appropriately mortified and apologetic if she accidentally hurt someone in passing, but it never really seemed to alter her approach to spreading scandalous social material.

After a protracted inner debate, the pegasus sighed and said, "I'd rather not say, actually."

"Huh?" Sweetie Belle raised an eyebrow at her, nonplussed. "What do you mean 'you'd rather not say'? What could you possibly be working on that you'd have to keep a secret?"

Scootaloo pursed her lips. "If I could tell you that, it wouldn't have to be secret, would it?"

"Well come on, Scootaloo, if you can't tell your friends, who could you tell? Wait..." Her eyes narrowed as she made the connection. "Silver Spoon knows, doesn't she?"

"Well, she'd have to in order to work on it with me, wouldn't she?"

"Well if you can tell her, you can surely tell me," Sweetie Belle huffed, agitated. "At least you know I won't go telling Diamond Tiara about it."

Scootaloo scoffed inwardly at this, but didn't say anything. "Look, if it all works out, it'll be awesome and I'll tell you all about it, but I want to make sure it actually happens first. If it doesn't work out, I don't want anyone--especially Diamond Tiara--to know I even tried, because she'll make me look like an idiot for it."

"Scootaloo, you know she'll try to make you look like an idiot regardless. Come on...just tell me!" she whined piteously.

"No, Sweetie Belle!" Scootaloo snapped, her wings flaring in agitation. "Just...let it go, alright? Look, if we work on it for a while and everything looks good, I'll tell you all about it, but right now it's just in the planning stages, and I just...I don't want to jinx it, alright?"

The unicorn sighed theatrically, rolling her eyes and tossing her mane in frustration, momentarily a seamless imitation of her dramatic older sister. "Fine. But you better not tell Apple Bloom in the meantime."

Scootaloo gave a short bark of a laugh. "Since when do I tell either of you something without telling the other?"

Sweetie Belle looked sideways at her with a narrow frown. "Since last Winter."

Scootaloo's innards momentarily vanished as she remembered the incident Sweetie Belle was recalling. A blush crept onto her face as she looked away, clearing her throat nervously. "Okay, well...yeah, I guess that one time...but still, I haven't since, right? And not before that, either!"

"True...even so. Just, you know...include me, okay?"

"Yeah, I will." Scootaloo smiled wanly, the blush still hot on her cheeks. Sweetie Belle examined her face for a long moment before smiling back, eliciting a sigh of relief from the pegasus. "So," she coughed lightly, casting about for something to defuse the awkward tension between them, "do you and Tiara have any...plans?"

Sweetie Belle rolled her eyes again. "No, of course not. Can you imagine? Trying to work with that...that...diva is going to be like Winter Wrap-Up: slow, difficult, and ultimately pointless."

Scootaloo giggled. "Well, if you think so you should probably tell Miss Cheerilee now, so she can help if you need it."

"I guess. I just don't want Tiara to think she's won, you know?"

"Is there really a way to 'win' at being a stuck-up, self-centered bitch?"

Sweetie Belle grinned at her. "I dunno. You seem to have a pretty good grasp on the technique."

Scootaloo 'accidentally' tripped into the unicorn and sent her sprawling into the grass on the side of the road with a squeal of surprise. She popped up immediately and began magically smoothing her mane and tail, plucking blades of grass out of her fur, scowling at the laughing pegasus. "Oh, very funny."

"Hey, don't let your mouth bet with bits your butt doesn't have."

"I don't know how I keep forgetting your flank is so dense. It's like being run over by a carriage."

"Yeah, well, there are a few benefits to being a freak."

Sweetie Belle gave her mane one last shake before primping it back into place. "Leave it to somepony like you to figure out what they are."

Scootaloo smirked as the pair turned off the main road and into her neighborhood, trotting up to the front door of her house. She pushed the door inward and shouted, "Hey mom, I'm home."

True to form, Octavia was in her study, and poked her head out into the hallway to smile at her daughter. "Good afternoon, dear. Hello, Sweetie Belle. I'll be ready in a moment."

"Hi, Miss Octavia. I'll just wait in the living room."

"Is Mama Vy home?" Scootaloo asked her mother as she started down the hallway towards her room to drop off her saddlebags.

"Yes, but don't disturb her, please. She got home very late last night, and is still sleeping, I think."

"I wasn't gonna," Scootaloo groused. "I was just asking."

"Scootaloo," Octavia said, her voice hardening slightly, "aren't you going to offer your guest some refreshment or entertain her or something?"

"No," the pegasus scoffed, walking past the open door to the study. "She knows where everything is, and besides, she's not my guest anyway."

Octavia sighed. "Even so, could you please at least entertain her for a few moments while I prepare?"

"Ugh!" Scootaloo rasped, stomping down to her bedroom door and tossing her saddlebag inside. "Fine!"

"Thank you," Octavia said airily, sliding back into her study as Scootaloo stomped back down the hallway towards the living room, drawing the earth pony's attention just long enough to add, "And please stop crashing about the house. I just told you your mother is trying to sleep."

Scootaloo sneered and pantomimed tip-hoofing the rest of the way down the hall. Octavia ignored her. She made her way back into the living room where Sweetie Belle was curled up on the couch, apparently unfazed by the disagreement and leafing through one of her school notebooks, furrowing her brow at the neat, even writing therein. "Hey Scootaloo, what's the radian value of a ninety degree angle again?"

Scootaloo raised an eyebrow at her as she made her way to the couch and climbed up on it, settling into the cushion and lazily stretching out beside her friend. "π over 2. Why, didn't you write it down when Spoon fixed it earlier?"

"Well, I was going to, but you wrote just 'π' at first, and I just...I wasn't sure which one of you was right."

Scootaloo snorted. "Well, obviously Spoon was, since Miss Cheerilee had her fix it, right?"

Sweetie Belle nodded unsurely. "I guess...it just seems odd, that's all."

"What does?"

"Well..." The unicorn glanced over at Scootaloo, her eyes searching the other mare's face curiously. "It just seems odd that you would get everything else on the circle right but miss one of the cardinal directions."

"Oh for--come on, it was just a mistake, alright?" Scootaloo snapped, tossing her mane. "Everypony screws up sometimes, don't they?"

"Not you," Sweetie Belle said bluntly, shaking her head. "Not in math, and definitely not in trig."

"Well I did," Scootaloo sneered, flaring her wings in irritation and draping herself over the side of the couch, dangling her forelegs over the edge and dragging her hooves on the floor. "You don't need to remind me about it."

"Sorry, Scoot. I was just curious, that's all. Seemed a little too...convenient."

Scootaloo blinked, stunned, before whipping around and saying, "And what the buck is that supposed to mean?"

Sweetie Belle was saved the need to defuse the situation by Octavia's sudden appearance at the archway to the hall, a not entirely convincing smile on her face. She gave her daughter an icy stare for a moment before saying, "Sorry for the wait, Sweetie Belle. You can come back now." The pearl-furred unicorn didn't waste a moment jumping up off the couch and half-jogging out of the room. Octavia's cold stare turned into a glare just long enough for Scootaloo to figure she was in for a fairly long scolding when Sweetie's lesson was over before the older mare followed her pupil back into the study.

Scootaloo sighed deeply, throwing herself back down on the couch on her back, letting her wings splay out over the coffee table and the back of the sofa as she threw her hooves up over her eyes. All she had wanted to do was give Silver Spoon an opportunity to shine, just for a second. She hadn't expected it to blow up like this, and she couldn't believe all the backlash she was dealing with for a momentary good deed. Life really was thoroughly unfair sometimes, she though bitterly as the first strains of a cello playing warmup scales began to echo down the hall.

~~~

Silver Spoon's confrontation with Scootaloo had not gone as expected. Instead of securing a confession and taking the opportunity to put the pegasus in her place, Silver Spoon had merely succeeded in looking like a fool and angering her project partner over what was clearly just a misunderstanding that she'd taken as a personal slight. Of course Scootaloo hadn't meant to screw up just so she could fix the mistake. "That's pretty narcissistic, Spoon." Silver Spoon winced at the words as they echoed through her memory. She was right, of course. Since when had Scootaloo shown the least interest in her wellbeing, anyway? Annoyed at herself, Silver Spoon trudged back across the yard to where Diamond Tiara was standing at the side of the road, awaiting her father's carriage. "Hey, Tiara."

"Good afternoon, Silver Spoon." Diamond Tiara's voice was prim and frosty, her disdainful expression reflecting her tone.

Silver Spoon sighed. "What did I do now?"

"I'm starting to wonder," the other filly started, "if this project you're working on is causing you to lose sight of who your real friends are."

Silver Spoon blinked, confused. "What do you mean?"

Diamond Tiara looked at her from the corner of her eyes. "I think you know what I mean."

"Come on, Tiara, just tell me!" Silver Spoon was used to being strung along like this and usually just kept groveling and wheedling with her friend until the drama was played out.

Today, however, Diamond Tiara seemed in no mood for theatrics. "You know, for someone who's only been Scootaloo's 'friend' for a couple days, you were awfully quick to jump to her defense."

"I...what?"

"You know what I'm talking about!" the pink pony snapped, tossing her mane in agitation, the violet curls snapping against her face. "One would think that years of being hounded and abused by that nag and her hateful little friends would take longer than one night and some silly project to erase, but apparently you have the emotional fortitude of a puppy, willing to roll over for anypony who will throw you a bone or pat you on the head!"

Silver Spoon stepped back, the intensity of the insult nearly palpable. "Hey, that's not--!"

"What has she done for you, anyway?" Diamond Tiara continued, glaring at her with a slowly smoldering fire in her eyes. "One night of tutoring? One day of not openly insulting you in front of the whole class?"

"Well, I--"

"I've been tutoring you for years, Silver Spoon, years! I've never insulted you in front of everyone like she has made an entire hobby of! And then, when I say something that wasn't even particularly mean--really, it was just an observation, if you think about it--you decide to attack me instead?"

"Attack you? Tiara, all I said--"

Diamond Tiara didn't even pause, gathering steam as the diatribe continued. "Well you may be willing to forgive and forget, but I'm sorry, I guess I'm just not as enlightened as you are. I can't forget what they've done to us, how they've treated us since the very first day they set their beady, hateful eyes on us and decided with no provocation that we were enemies!" She narrowed her eyes at Silver Spoon. "If you want to turn traitor and be their doormat, be my guest. Just don't expect to play both sides of this game, because some grudges run too deep to erase, Silver Spoon."

"Okay!" Silver Spoon snapped, finally managing to interrupt the incensed earth pony when she hesitated to take a breath. "Okay, Tiara, I get it. But you have to understand, I wasn't attacking you, I was just...well, you know what it's like, right? To be the one they're making fun of?" Diamond Tiara sniffed haughtily, not responding. "I guess I...I dunno, I felt like...look, Scootaloo and I talked about all of this--the fighting, the insults, all of it--and we just decided it was impossible to get anything done if we're constantly sniping at one another, right?" The pink pony still didn't speak, but she examined Silver Spoon's face with skeptical eyes as she continued. "Anyway, I guess I just...you know, got caught up in that. I mean, it's nice...to not have her making fun of me every chance she gets. I just said what I said because I didn't want her to think I was breaking that pact and have her go back to being...well, Scootaloo."

There was a long silence during which Silver Spoon gritted her teeth, anxiously waiting for Diamond Tiara's response. Finally, the other mare sighed and settled back on her haunches, nodding very shallowly. "Okay, I guess that makes sense. But that doesn't mean you have to roll over for her all the time, right? I mean, it's not like she can hear us talking right now, or when we're hanging out at your house, or at the Parlor."

"Of course not!" Silver Spoon said quickly, relief flooding through her as she watched the anger drain from Diamond Tiara's face, her body relaxing and her expression softening. "And she's still an arrogant, spiteful mule most of the time. She just wasn't today, and I was just happy she wasn't messing with me for once."

"Yeah, I guess." Diamond Tiara didn't look entirely convinced, but as she shrugged and glanced up the road to where her father's carriage had just rounded a bend and was mere moments away, Silver Spoon considered the conversation to be more or less satisfactorily complete. "Anyway, my dad's almost here, so I guess I'll talk to you later. Are we going to hang out tonight, or what?"

"Oh," Silver Spoon said, "I guess. You want to come over, or...?"

Tiara made a noncommittal noise as the carriage rolled to a stop in front of them. "Maybe. I'll come by if I feel up to it."

"Oh, okay." Silver Spoon suddenly felt very uneasy as she watched the other mare climb up into the carriage. "See you later?"

"Yeah, see you." Then the door closed and the ponies pulling the carriage broke into a brisk, even trot, leaving a rising cloud of dust and a deep sense of malaise settling into Silver Spoon's chest as she slowly started down the road, beginning the long trek home.

~~~

The walk itself didn't seem to take very long these days, Silver Spoon mused to herself as she trotted up the long paved path to the front door of the Silver Estate, pausing at the door just long enough to allow Intricacy to open it for her.

"Good evening, madam," the unicorn intoned as she entered, just as he had every night for years.

Silver Spoon nodded in response, but didn't say anything. Her mind was occupied by curious, worried thoughts about how she and Diamond Tiara had parted ways, and she wanted to ask Carillon for her opinion--although she suspected Carillon's response would be negatively slanted against Tiara, as they often were. Still, the friendly unicorn's perspective was always well thought out, and Silver Spoon appreciated having someone to discuss such things with when she couldn't talk to Diamond Tiara.

Before she could get to the stairs, however, Intricacy said, "Miss, your father would like to speak with you. He's waiting in his study."

"Oh," Silver Spoon said, stopping. "Did he say what about?"

Intricacy shook his head. "No, madam. Simply that he needed to see you as soon as you came home."

"Okay," the young mare said, nodding. "Thanks, Cacy."

"Of course."

Silver Spoon detoured between the staircases and walked through the foyer towards the open hallway beyond. She turned left and followed it all the way to the end, where a massive, heavy door was set deep in the wall, the shadow cast by the jamb somehow adding a sense of foreboding to the entrance. Silver Spoon pursed her lips. She didn't like her father's study much. She was only ever summoned there for one reason: she was in trouble. But ignoring her father's summons only ever served to compound the problem, as she had learned early on in life, so she gritted her teeth and knocked on the door.

The thick mahogany resounded dully at her raps, echoing flatly in the large room behind. Her father's voice, muffled by the door, rang out clearly, albeit quietly. "Come in." Silver Spoon pushed the door open and walked inside. It swung closed of its own accord behind her.

Silversmith's study was extremely large, much moreso than any other room in the manor except the dining hall. Even the master bedroom was barely half the size of the study, but as the stallion spent much more time here than there, it made a certain perverse sense. The study itself was dominated by three clearly delineated areas, each dedicated to a disparate function and furnished as such. To Silver Spoon's left was an unkempt and paper-strewn drafting table covered in blueprints and pencils, t-squares and rulers and compasses, as well as notebooks full of sketches and diagrams and notes. The walls around it had photographs and more blueprints and sketches hanging on it, and three wide silver tubes standing upright in the corner were full of still more rolled up blueprints. To her right was a large workbench with several gleaming iron-colored tools, as well as a few large, intimidating machines standing nearby. There were blueprints here as well, but they were unrolled and weighted, so as to be read and referred to quickly. The rest of the area was dominated by pegboards and tables full of additional obscure tools specifically designed or even custom-crafted for her father's use.

Finally, in the middle of the room was a vast ebony desk, organized and clean, covered in all the accoutrements of business and various small awards sitting along the leading edge. Behind the desk were two large bookshelves full of technical manuals and business texts, and between the shelves was a wide space of wall completely plastered with framed diplomas, certificates, awards, commendations, honors, and distinctions, all addressed to the pony now sitting in front of them at the desk.

Silversmith was an austere, handsome stallion with a short, slightly unruly black mane and lead-colored fur so smooth and well-kept that it glittered slightly whenever he moved. His eyes were a muted dark blue, the pupils nearly indistinguishable from the irises around them. He wore a nearly constant expression of general ennui, but his eyes were quick and sharp, and as Silver Spoon came into the room, they were darting across the page of a folder he had lying open on the desk in front of him.

"Um..." the filly started, "you wanted to see-"

"Here." Her father gestured without looking up, pointing at a folded piece of yellow cardstock standing on edge at one corner of the desk. "This came today. It's been signed."

Silver Spoon meekly walked up and took the report card off the desk. "Oh, okay." She hesitated for a moment. "Um...did you...look at it?"

The stallion's voice hardened slightly. "It requests my signature to indicated I have read it, ergo I must have."

Silver Spoon's ears flattened against the top of her head. "Oh, right...of course." She nervously nosed the card open and peered at the contents with a sickening dread.

Vocabulary.........C

Spelling..............F

Literature...........D

Math..................F

Science.............F

Geography........D

History...............F

Magic................X

Flying................X

I am deeply concerned about Silver Spoon's lack of improvement and progress. I would like to

meet some time to discuss this in person. Please contact me about setting up an appointment

for a conference.

Thank you,

Miss Cheerilee

(Please sign below to indicate you have received and read this report.)

Silver Spoon's heart sank deep into her stomach and settled heavily there as she read each line. She had expected nothing less, of course, but it was still disheartening to see it in bold, black letters, coupled with Miss Cheerilee's prim, elegant script espousing words of concern and very nearly begging Silversmith to at least attempt to reach out to her on Silver Spoon's behalf. This was not, she knew, something her father was likely to do. She still asked. "Did you...want me to talk to Miss Cheerilee...ask if she-"

"No."

Silver Spoon trailed off as her father interrupted her shortly, the single syllable easily cutting across her hesitant question. She swallowed and tried again anyway. "But did you see-"

"I said I read it, did I not?" For the first time since she came in, Silversmith looked up from his desk and stared at his daughter. Silver Spoon wilted under the intensity of his gaze, his dark eyes narrowed and cold, boring into her with a ferocity she couldn't explain or describe. Her father was strong, yes, as any earth pony would be, but it went much further than that. His entire being carried a weight and power that cowed and awed anypony he met. In business, this was very useful, especially for dominating an entire roomful of executives and powerful elites. At home, speaking with his youngest daughter, it was overkill. It didn't seem to matter to him.

Shivering slightly in her father's overwhelming presence, Silver Spoon nearly turned and fled, as she had often done before when faced with this same piercing stare, but something stiffened within her heart, and she stood her ground, determined to get an answer. "Don't you want to meet with Miss Cheerilee? She asked you to."

Silversmith's eyes widened almost imperceptibly. He was a cold, calculating intellect, and had a nearly encyclopedic knowledge of how everypony he knew conducted conversation. This was a clear divergence from the course of discussion his daughter normally followed. "Exactly what makes you think I would want to meet with your teacher? I do not do everything I am asked to. My day simply does not have enough hours in it to entertain every request of my time I receive."

"Well, doesn't anything in this report worry you at all?" Silver Spoon asked, her voice cracking slightly.

"Concern me?" Silversmith almost laughed, but instead contented himself with allowing one corner of his mouth to twitch upwards for an instant. "Silver Spoon, many things concern me. The current state of metallurgical research, the theory of intermetallic compounds and alloys, the status of any of my several hundred active contracts...but further proof that my daughter lacks the will--or perhaps simply the desire--to succeed at even the most basic of academic pursuits is not one of those things."

His words struck her like a blow to the face. Tears instantly sprung to her eyes and started sliding down her cheeks as her mouth fell open in stunned dismay. Incredulous, she said with a quavering, pleading voice, "So...you don't care if I fail?"

Silversmith studied her face for several long seconds. "Do you?"

She gaped, incensed. "Of course I do!"

"Prove it," he said, his mouth curling into a narrow sneer. "If you truly wanted to succeed, you could. Anyone can. It requires hard work, determination, a certain sense of purpose that I don't believe you possess. If," he continued, cutting across her sudden sob, "you spent less time lazing about with your friends, out on the town, and slacking off in your room and instead focused on your studies, you'd be doing better." He narrowed his eyes at her in a clear expression of accusation.

Silver Spoon couldn't respond. She couldn't even speak. Her throat burned and her eyes stung with shock and pain as her father's words echoed fiercely in her ears. She had never really expected any sort of support or help from her father, but this level of apathy and even genuine animosity was appalling and devastating. Crushed, the silver filly sobbed loudly as she wheeled on her hoof and fled the study, letting the sickly yellow progress report flutter to the floor, her grades, black and final, visible even from behind the desk. Silversmith took one final glance at the half-open card and grunted in disdain before returning to his work.

Breakpoint

Scootaloo opened her eyes to find herself lying on her back in her room, staring up at the ceiling above her bed. She didn't remember falling asleep, but she did remember that she had been lying on the couch in the living room, and not her bedroom. Confused as to how she'd gotten here from there, she lifted her head and scanned her eyes across the darkened room.

The lights were out, and the curtains were drawn, casting her bedroom into a deep, velvety darkness, or at least it would had the room not been strewn with steadily burning candles of all sizes, painting the darkened corners with a soft, flickering light. It took Scootaloo several seconds to realize any of this, however, as there was one element of the scene that drew her attention instantly and irrevocably.

She was standing at the foot of Scootaloo's bed, leaning on her elbows with her forelegs nonchalantly crossed in front of her and a tiny, shy smile on her face. Her mane was full and hung in long curls around her face, framing the blushing cheeks in a distinctly--and alarmingly--irresistible fashion. It was the mane that delayed Scootaloo's recognition of the other mare, although the lack of eyewear certainly compounded that. However, the string of brilliant, argent pearls gleaming softly in the candlelight was unmistakable, and realization slammed down on Scootaloo with breathtaking force.

"S-silver Spoon?" she stammered, her throat suddenly dry and her chest tight. The other filly's smile and blush both deepened as she put a hoof to her lips, rendering Scootaloo inexplicably mute. Something in Silver Spoon's face sent a thrill down Scootaloo's spine, tightening every muscle it passed and settling deep in her belly. Somewhere deep in the back of her mind, she was faintly aware that her wings were struggling to escape from underneath her, and she unconsciously shifted to allow them to unfurl, slowly extending to their full--and impressive--span.

Scootaloo swallowed and struggled to a sitting position, trying to speak again. "W...what are you doing--" She faltered and trailed off as Silver Spoon hoisted herself up onto the bed, slinking towards her with a sultry grin and a coy gait, her flanks swaying ever so deftly as she approached the wide-eyed pegasus. Scootaloo's breath caught in her chest as she watched, mesmerized. Had she the capacity for rational thought, she might have been upset by this advance, even repulsed. She would have realized what was happening, and how utterly insane it was that she was sitting here, watching Silver Spoon coming closer with flames of desire flashing in her eyes, and how unfair it was that she was suddenly so wet, when she knew perfectly well that she was not like that, not like her mothers, not interested in mares in any way, and especially not Silver Spoon.

As it happened, however, Scootaloo could tell she did not have that capacity. Not right now, anyway. Right now, all she could do was stare at Silver Spoon's soft, wavy mane, watch her thick, lush tail slowly drifting through the air behind her, and squeak incomprehensibly as the other pony finally made her way up to where Scootaloo was still sitting on the bed, her breath coming in quick, nervous gasps. "S-silver Spoon," she gulped, startled to hear the nervous warble in her own voice, "w-what are you--"

She fell silent as Silver Spoon lowered her head coyly, glancing up at her from behind thick silver bangs. Then, the earth pony's face was coming back up at her, fast enough to surprise, but slowly enough that Scootaloo knew what was about to happen before it did. She could have stopped it. She should have.

She didn't.

The kiss was tentative and awkward at first. Scootaloo's eyes drifted up and then closed as a rush of arousal coursed through her belly and down between her legs, bringing a renewed rush of wet heat that pulled her legs together in anxious anticipation. Silver Spoon's lips pressed gently, almost apologetically against hers, but Scootaloo did not pull away or resist. After a moment, Scootaloo's temporarily disabled mind re-engaged long enough to frantically issue a thoroughly insane suggestion.

Kiss her back.

What a ridiculous thing to say. What was Scootaloo doing, if not returning the unexpected--albeit less unwelcome as the seconds ticked by--embrace? Her brain was not fooled.

Kiss her for real.

Scootaloo almost scowled at herself. That was not going to happen, not a chance. She was not going to reach up and put her hooves around Silver Spoon's shoulders, pulling her down into the bed and pressing her body against her own. Then, moments later, she was perplexed to discover that she had done precisely that. Well, at the very least she was not going to part her lips, like she was now, and slide her tongue across Silver Spoon's surprisingly tender, smooth and welcoming lips. She was not going to push past those tentatively opening lips and slip between them, curling her tongue around Silver Spoon's, wrap around it and savor the sultry, heady taste of her, feel the heat of her mouth and relish in the sudden fervor with which Silver Spoon was now pressing her body against Scootaloo.

Well, Scootaloo thought, somewhat miffed at her body's distinct failure to follow her commands, it's not as bad as I thought it would be. It occurred to her that this was a strange sentiment to express while her hips were anxiously pressing up into the pony on top of her, her wings extended and so stiff they hurt. But oh, Luna was it a magnificent, delicious sort of ache, the ache of voracious desire, the blood thundering through the taut, quivering muscles as the nerves at the base of her feathers tingled desperately, yearning to be touched. Her mind raced with tantalizing images of Silver Spoon's teeth running down the shaft of each individual feather, preening them with delicate nips and long, slow strokes. Her eyes rolled back in her head and she moaned softly into Silver Spoon's mouth. The other pony responded with a quiet murmur of her own and then, almost as if she had read the trembling pegasus' mind, reached out to caress the top edge of Scootaloo's left wing with a hoof.

The touch was electric. Bursts of pleasure shot up the ribs of the appendage, arcing through her pounding heart and forcing her eyelids tightly together. Her mouth fell open and a gasp of ecstasy escaped, startlingly audible in the otherwise quiet room. Somewhere in the back of her mind, Scootaloo registered some minute concern that they might be heard, discovered, but as Silver Spoon reached the far end of her shivering, quaking wing and started again at the base, her mind went blank, all thought blown away by the renewed ministrations.

Delirious with pleasure, she clung to her partner, holding her close and panting heavily into the silver fur on her chest. A knot was tightening deep in her belly, pulling her legs still more tightly together as the searing ember between them throbbed, the dampness spreading further and dripping down between them, soaking into her tail and the bedspread beneath. She was riding high on Silver Spoon's delicate attentions, the ache in her wings still pulsing in time with the heat in her nethers, and she knew, could feel herself approaching climax. Heart racing frantically, she pulled Silver Spoon closer, pressing their bodies together as tightly as she could, waiting...waiting...she was about t--

Scootaloo bolted awake as the slamming of Octavia's study door pulled her abruptly out of her fitful doze. Confused and alarmed, she shook her head and sat up, a brilliant flush rising to her cheeks as the dream she had just escaped came back into focus. What the buck was that about? she wondered. She started to turn and get up off the sofa but stopped short as one of her wings caught the edge of the couch. Glancing curiously at it, she discovered both of her wings were fully and unconsciously extended, just as they had been in the dream, the nerves still humming from the imaginary attentions. A nasty sinking feeling swept through her stomach as she wondered if any of the other ponies in the household had seen her in this state.

Panicking, she reached up and tried to manually fold the unruly appendages back against her sides, struggling as she did so to slow her heaving breaths and her racing heart. Despite their initial resistance, the muscles eventually slackened and the wings curled back up, and she sighed shallowly with relief. A similarly embarrassing sensation drew her attention elsewhere on her body, and she pressed her hind legs together, attempting to hide the additional physical responses to her alarmingly unexpected dream. The heat she had been bathed in was slowly fading, but her fur was still soaked with sweat and--to her absolute horror--she realized there was a distinct scent of arousal hanging in the air.

Mortified, she leaped up off the sofa and began to beat her wings furiously through the air, attempting to disperse and dilute the sultry odor before anyone else could come in and detect it. The pegasus pricked an ear towards the hallway where she could hear Sweetie Belle chatting with her mother in an excited squeak about the lesson they'd just completed. Apparently the occasionally flighty filly was making good progress. Content that at the very least the two musicians had been in the study for the past hour, Scootaloo's mind chose to wander unbidden back to the dream she'd just awoken from.

The blush on her cheeks darkened further as vivid images raced through her imagination, images she had never before concocted nor even considered. Scootaloo was no foal; she had run the gauntlet of budding marehood two years previous, and the precise function of her suddenly intensely sensitive nether parts was well understood--much of this understanding had come through personal experimentation, of course--so it was not exactly unusual for her to find herself in a state of blushing, tingling arousal at the sight of certain stallions. She had also learned, much to her horrified surprised, that unlike earth ponies and unicorns, who could easily hide their excitement, pegasi were cursed with the ill-understood autonomous reaction of stiffened wings that accompanied sexual titillation. Normally, it was possible to resist this urge, but unusually strong rushes of desire could still overpower her, and of course a sleeping pegasus had no control whatsoever.

Scootaloo was no stranger to erotic dreams, either. She had spent several nights basking in the thrilling company of some of her personal heroes--the exquisitely handsome and courageous Buck Yeager, the dashing and brilliant Bill Neigh, and even the local star and new Wonderbolt Thunderlane--each time waking up either flat on her back with her wings stretched awkwardly beneath her or on her stomach with her sheets propped up over her back in a ridiculous and supremely embarrassing tent. Never before had she found herself having such a dream about a mare--well, except for Rainbow Dash, but that was a special case, and didn't mean anything--and especially not about somepony as unpalatable as Silver Spoon. Scootaloo was no expert on female attractiveness (much to Sweetie Belle's occasional eye-rolling chagrin), but she was certain that if she was going to have romantic dreams about anypony, it would be someone more physically appealing, like--

Scootaloo shook her head again, attempting to dislodge the train of thought before it found its way to an inevitably awkward conclusion. Even so, a few faces flashed through her mind's eye, but she ignored them, focusing intently on the coffee table in front of her. She was stressed, that was all. Stressed about school and the project, stressed about her future and the Academy, about her parents' interference in her personal business, and somehow her brain, confused and stretched thin, had simply taken her recent experiences with Silver Spoon and the inherent frustration involved and injected them into her otherwise pleasant dreams. It was unsettling to be sure, but harmless. Well, she thought, blushing as the dampness between her hind legs began to cool, drawing her attention back to the awkward and obvious indicator of her arousal, almost harmless.

Sweetie Belle and Octavia were walking towards the front door. As they passed the entrance to the den, Scootaloo intently refocused her thoughts and glanced up at her friend with a transparently forced smile. "See you, Sweetie Belle."

Sweetie Belle didn't seem to sense anything out of the ordinary. "Bye, Scootaloo."

Octavia opened the door for her student and smiled warmly. "I will see you again next week, Sweetie Belle. Just remember to keep working on efficient hoofing and keeping a steady bow speed throughout long passages. Try to make some progress on the ninth etude, as well."

Sweetie Belle nodded, her expression tightening slightly. "Yeah...I'll try."

"Don't worry," Octavia said, beaming, "you'll get it eventually. Hard work makes hard music easier."

"Thanks, Miss Octavia. See you tomorrow, Scootaloo!" she repeated as she trotted out the front door and down the path.

Octavia closed the door behind her and looked over at her daughter, a narrow frown on her face. "So."

Scootaloo could only match her mother's gaze for a moment or two before she had to look away. "So?" she replied, feigning ignorance.

"Would you care to explain to me why you were snapping at Sweetie Belle earlier?"

"Not particularly," Scootaloo grumbled, intently studying the coffee table in front of her. Her cheeks were flushing again, and she was trying to keep them out of her mother's line of sight. She cast a few furtive glances at her face, trying to determine if Octavia had seen or could smell anything out of the ordinary.

"I see." Octavia walked into the room and sat next to her on the sofa, apparently oblivious. "Perhaps you ought to anyway."

Despite her concerns, the transparent command sent a flash of irritation and frustration searing through Scootaloo. "Yeah, well maybe it's none of your business!"

"Scootaloo!" Octavia scolded her, eyes widening and then narrowing in stunned exasperation. Scootaloo ignored her, heaving herself up off the sofa and stomping out of the room. She ignored her mother's repeated hails as she sulked down the hall into her room, slamming the door angrily behind her. She crossed the room to where her stereo stood and nosed the power button, bringing the machine to blue-lit life.

Although her mother preferred the more traditional vinyl records for her music collection, Scootaloo was a fan of the smaller, simpler CD. As such, her stereo--hoof-picked by her as a gift for her coming-of-age party a couple years earlier--had a large CD-changing feature. She had most of the albums' locations memorized, and almost unconsciously tapped the numbers on the face of the machine to pull up the right disc. The stereo hummed and whirred for a few moments before a soft click and a high-pitched whine indicated the CD had been dropped into place.

As she waited for the music to start, Scootaloo walked back across her room and collected her saddlebag, pulling the flaps open and extracting her books. She spread them out on her desk and sat down with a sigh while the first strains of a dark, pounding track began to pour out of the speakers behind her. Bobbing her head to the music, Scootaloo absently breezed through her schoolwork, only half paying attention, allowing her mind to wander slightly as she worked.

It was so typical of her mother to hear barely two seconds of an intense, private conversation that she didn't like before deciding she had to 'help' by butting in and demanding to be included. Didn't she get that not everything was her business? That sometimes Scootaloo could handle her own problems without her mother's unwelcome interference? Even Mama Vy--who was well known to be distinctly oblivious to societal norms--knew better than to try and micromanage somepony else's life. For some reason, Octavia just couldn't resist.

To that end, Scootaloo was moderately surprised that her mother hadn't chased her down the hall, demanding she apologize for her outburst and explain herself at once. Octavia wasn't exactly a harsh disciplinarian--neither of her parents were, really--and although her temper was a lot longer than Vinyl's, Scootaloo knew that there were some things that really pushed her buttons. Being walked out on was one of those things, and Scootaloo utilized this particular tactic to great success whenever she was feeling particularly...bratty. Normally Octavia would take the bait and stomp after her, demanding an apology, which Scootaloo would not, of course, provide. The resulting shouting matches almost always had to be defused by Mama Vy, who was of the unique mindset to understand both sides.

After a few minutes, she felt rather than heard somepony knocking on her door, and pricked an ear reflexively to hear not Octavia, but Vinyl say, "Hey Scooter, can I talk to you for a minute?" Scootaloo contemplated ignoring her just to spite Octavia, who she was certain had sent Vinyl to come talk to their 'impossible' daughter, but after a moment she decided that it wasn't worth it. Vinyl only had two states of mind: calm and playful--and irate and irrational. Octavia said she was passionate and fiery, giving her a startlingly short temper. To Scootaloo, it just meant she never made Mama Vy angry if she could avoid it.

Nosing her stereo's 'Pause' button, the Pegasus sulked over to the door and opened it, looking disdainful. "Yes?"

Vinyl smiled down at her, her brilliant crimson eyes half-lidded and calm. "Just wanted to chat for a bit. Mind if I come inside?"

Scootaloo frowned, but stepped back to admit her mother. The unicorn nodded her thanks and made her way inside the room, gently kicking the door closed behind her. This was something of a surprise; normally her mothers were big on leaving doors open unless they were practicing or listening to something, and even that wasn't strictly enforced. The unicorn smiled and shrugged, apparently reading her daughter's expression. "I figured if you were going to talk about what I'm about to ask, you'd want to do it privately."

"Oh...okay." Scootaloo looked at her curiously. "So...what did you want to talk about?"

"Well," Vinyl started, walking into the room a bit and settling down onto her haunches, "your mother tells me you were being exceptionally antagonistic this afternoon." She smirked. "Can't imagine how she could've gotten that idea. Your crashing hoofsteps up and down the hall seemed perfectly level-headed to me."

Scootaloo blushed lightly. "Yeah...sorry, I didn't mean to wake you up."

Vinyl shrugged. "It's okay. I was mostly just lazing about anyway. In any case, when you came back and turned your music on, I figured that was pretty much the end of any chance for more sleep, so I just came out to the living room. That's where I found Tavi sitting on the couch, obviously upset." She gave Scootaloo an appraising look, but the orange filly didn't flinch.

"Yeah, well, I don't like it when she tries to pry into my personal business."

"She's not prying, Scootaloo, she's just concerned."

"Well maybe she shouldn't say stuff like, 'Oh, perhaps you ought to tell me anyway, like it doesn't matter if I don't want to talk about it!" Scootaloo fumed, tossing her mane.

"Maybe," Vinyl agreed, nodding. "And that's something you might want to talk to her about later. Right now, though, she's just upset because she thinks there's something going on between you and Sweetie Belle, and she's just worried."

"It's fine," Scootaloo said. "There's nothing wrong, and even if there was, it's seriously none of her business."

"I agree," Vinyl said.

Scootaloo blinked, somewhat taken aback. "You...do?"

"Of course. I was a young mare once too, you know. I remember what it's like to have secrets you don't want to share with anyone but your diary. Heck, I bet I've got some secrets in my own diaries that would curl your ma--"

"AAAAAHH, NOT INTERESTED!" Scootaloo suddenly shrieked, throwing her hooves over her ears and holding them closed and pressing her face into her bedspread.

Vinyl giggled and nudged her. "Alright, alright. The point is, there's a way to tell her you want to keep your secrets, but the way you've been going about it is not the right one."

Scootaloo turned her head enough to look at Vinyl with one eye, lowering her hooves from atop her head. "Well, what is?"

The unicorn rolled her eyes. "Well, you could always, oh, I dunno...talk to her?"

Scootaloo barked out a laugh. "Talk? To Mama Tavi? Yeah, that's always worked out so well for me."

"Scootaloo..."

"No, Mama Vy, you know how she gets! She doesn't want to listen to me, because she thinks she knows what I'm going to say, and she always thinks I'm wrong!"

"That's not true, Scooter. She just...grew up in a different kind of home, that's all. She didn't have two mothers who were always around, always available, and--admittedly--always in your way." Scootaloo grunted, but didn't say anything. "Her parents didn't really involve themselves much in her life, and she hated it. She wants better for you, and this is her trying to do that. She's not very good at it, I know, but you're not exactly making it easy for her."

Scootaloo scowled. "I don't want to make it easy for her to interfere with my life. I don't want her to involve herself at all."

Vinyl sighed heavily. "First of all, I know that's not true. You may not want her to involve herself as much as she wants to, but I think you'd be pretty upset if she cut herself out of your life completely." This was true, Scootaloo knew, but she refused to say so, instead holding her scowl in place until Vinyl continued. "Anyway, there's a middle ground here somewhere, and maybe you two can work on finding it later. Right now, though, I just wanted to ask if you were alright, and if your disagreement with Sweetie Belle--whatever it was--was something to be concerned about."

Scootaloo shook her head. "It was just Sweetie Belle being obnoxious and nosy...like she sometimes is."

Vinyl nodded. "The only reason Octavia asked in the first place is because Sweetie was apparently pretty upset when she came into the study. She wouldn't say why, but apparently whatever you said kind of got to her. You might want to apologize tomorrow." She held up a hoof to stem Scootaloo's protest. "If you want to, obviously. Only if you want to."

Scootaloo settled back to her haunches, considering this. Vinyl waited patiently for her to speak, and when she did, her voice was low and her words carefully measured. "Mom...can I...get your advice on something?"

Vinyl's eyes glittered as she grinned broadly, clearly ecstatic at this request. "Of course, Scooter! You know you can ask me anything you want."

When did you realize you liked mares? How did you figure it out? Am I gay? I like stallions, though, I think. What if I don't want to be--

Scootaloo shoved the fleeting--and categorically ridiculous--thoughts aside and asked, "Is it wrong to make a mistake on purpose so someone else can look good instead?"

Vinyl blinked, nonplussed. "Well...I guess that depends." She tapped her chin thoughtfully with a hoof. "Did this 'someone else' know you were doing it beforehoof?"

Scootaloo shook her head. "No...I don't think she would've been too keen on the idea if I'd said anything."

"I see...and why would you think that?"

"Well," Scootaloo shifted uncomfortably on the bed. "She's kind of got self-esteem problems. She gets overshadowed by her...friend a lot, and she's not very good at...well, anything, really."

"Scootaloo!"

"What?" Scootaloo cried indignantly. "It's not an insult if it's true! And I'm just trying to, you know, explain the situation, that's all."

Vinyl sighed and nodded. "I suppose...but you really shouldn't talk about your friends that way."

"My...friends?" Scootaloo said, puzzled. "Who was...oh! No, this isn't one of my friends!" she said, suddenly catching on.

"Oh, it's not?" Vinyl asked. "Then what was Sweetie Belle...?"

Scootaloo sighed and said, "Alright, it was Silver Spoon." She looked down at her hooves and started tapping them together anxiously. "We were doing stuff with unit circles in class today, and Miss Cheerilee asked her to go up and draw one. Of course, Silver Spoon's like...miles behind everypony else in math, so she had no idea what she was doing, and when she got as far as she could, Miss Cheerilee called me up to finish for her. The thing is, earlier I heard her talking to Diamond Tiara, and DT was being rude to me and my friends--like always--and for once, Spoon actually argued with her. I thought that was pretty cool, so when I was walking up to finish the drawing, I thought I'd, you know, make a pretty obvious mistake, cuz I figured she'd be the first to notice, right?"

Scootaloo looked up from her hooves for a moment and met her mother's eyes. The unicorn's face was open and understanding, but otherwise inscrutable. "I just wanted to give her a chance to show off a little, you know? I mean...she doesn't ever get A's on her tests, she never does very well on her homework, she hates doing problems on the board, and I don't think she gets a whole lot of help from anypony else."

"I see," Vinyl said. "You know, I thought you and Silver Spoon didn't get along very well? Isn't she one of the ponies you said were always bullying you and the other Crusaders?"

Scootaloo fidgeted uncomfortably. "Yeah, well...she hasn't been doing that much lately, honestly. Ever since we got matched up for this project and actually worked on it together that night, she's been...well, not cool, exactly, but hardly the bucking witch we're used to."

Vinyl chose to ignore the obscenity and said, "That's nice. Any idea why?"

Scootaloo shrugged. "I dunno. Not a lot's changed, except we spent that whole evening working on catching her up in math."

"That was nice of you."

"I guess," Scootaloo said nonchalantly. "Honestly, she needed a lot of help, and if we're going to do the project we're planning on, she's going to need to be on the same page as the rest of the class at least, even if she's not really going to be able to catch up to me."

This statement was more matter-of-fact than it sounded, and Vinyl didn't react to it. Scootaloo and her parents had learned long ago that she simply had a knack and a passion for mathematics and physics, and it was generally assumed that she would outpace her classmates as long as she was still in the basic level of schooling. Cheerilee had been the first to notice, and it was with her permission that Scootaloo spent most math classes reading other, much more advanced texts, only occasionally pausing to prove to Miss Cheerilee that she was, in fact, keeping pace with the class as well.

"Even so," Vinyl said, "it was very mature of you to recognize that and put aside your differences long enough to give her a hoof. I'm very impressed." The unicorn smiled warmly at her daughter, who blushed lightly and rubbed the back of her neck with a hoof. "That said," she continued, "while I'm sure your intentions were good, I don't think making a mistake intentionally just so she could fix it for you was the best idea. I mean, how would you feel if you knew somepony had done that to you?"

Scootaloo thought for a minute, casting back through her memories for a similar experience. It was not difficult. "I hated it. I remember when I was still a runaway and ponies would always try to help me out, even when I didn't ask them to. I hated that sad look they'd get on their face when they saw how much trouble I was in, and the stupid, smug little smile they'd get when they managed to 'help' me out, like they'd just saved my life, without even asking if I wanted their help." She sighed heavily. "I knew they were taking pity on me, and it sucked." She glanced up at her mother. "You think I was doing the same thing to Silver Spoon?"

Vinyl shrugged. "Only you know whether you were pitying her or not. I do know, however, that if she caught on to what you were doing, she probably thought you were."

Scootaloo nodded. "She caught on. She stopped me after class and got really spurred. I, uh..." She winced. "I was...kind of mean to her when she did that."

There was a short pause, and Vinyl asked quietly, "Mean how?"

Scootaloo looked down at her hooves again, her ears flat on top of her head. "Well...I denied it, which was a lie, obviously, and then I called her...I called her a narcissist."

The pause was longer this time, and icy. "You called her a narcissist," Vinyl said, her voice quiet and deadpan, "because she confronted you about something you did." Scootaloo nodded, a sick feeling sliding down into her stomach. Silence filled the room for an unbearably long time, and when she finally spoke again, Vinyl's voice had morphed from quiet and flat to scathing and cold. "Well, I'm sorry to hear that, Scootaloo. I guess I was wrong earlier; you still have a lot of maturing to do after all." She sighed and got up, slowly plodding towards the door. "I think you know what you have to do now, though, don't you?" She glanced over her shoulder, but Scootaloo was still looking down at her hooves, unable to meet her mother's eyes. She nodded. "Good," the unicorn said, her voice still cold. "See that you do it...tonight."

"Yes, mom," Scootaloo said quietly as her mother stomped out of the room, closing the door behind her with a touch more force than was necessary.

Conciliation and Concerns

Scootaloo stood at the end of the long, slaloming drive up to the Silver Estate's stately mansion with a peculiar sense of unease. While she and her parents had occasionally walked down Levade Lane purely to enjoy the undeniable beauty and majesty of the immaculately tended estate gardens and the magnificent, architecturally stunning buildings beyond, they had never actually approached any of the mansions directly. This was less out of a sense of propriety than simply because most of the estates--this one included--were bordered by tall, imposing wrought-iron fences, beautifully crafted but obviously designed to keep undesired guests from traipsing idly across the lawn. The gates that closed off the path up to the Silver Estate were intricate and brilliant, burnished silver and decorated with delicate silver stars that glittered in the flickering light of the recently-ignited streetlights. Even so, there was something distinctly foreboding about the address, a clear sense that she was not particularly welcome here, and if she was admitted at all, it would be under protest. Combined with the fact that the weather was slowly moving in an unpleasant direction--a fairly severe thunderstorm had been announced for that night, and the suddenly chilly air and biting wind slicing through her fur suggested it wasn't far off--it was almost enough to convince her to give up entirely and go back home.

Of course, she would never do that, because doing so would require her to explain to her parents that she hadn't even really tried to do what she was here to do. While they wouldn't yell or scold her, they would both pull faces utterly saturated with disappointment--Octavia with a small, sad smile, Vinyl with a heavy sigh and shallow nod--and Scootaloo would retreat to her bedroom, deflated and ashamed. It was infinitely worse than being shouted at, and not something she was eager to experience frequently if she could help it. The young pegasus sighed and scanned the brick columns on either side of the gate for some sort of clue as to how she might gain entry. There was a small silver button under a matte black speaker on the left column. With a gnawing sense of trepidation, she walked over to the button and pressed it with a hoof.

A quiet ping sounded from the speaker, followed almost immediately by a firm, clear voice with a slightly haughty tone. "Silver residence. Please state the nature of your visit."

"Oh, um..." Scootaloo suddenly blanched. How exactly was she supposed to explain why she was here? Hi, I'm just here because I lied to and then humiliated the daughter of the stallion who employs you. Can I come in? Scootaloo almost snorted out loud at the absurdity of the statement. Instead, she simply said, "I'm a...friend of Silver Spoon's."

The voice responded instantly. "Is she expecting you?"

Scootaloo winced. "Um...no, not exact--"

"Visitors without a standing appointment are not admitted after sundown."

"Could you...at least tell her I'm here? See if she'll let me in anyway." On a moment of inspiration she added. "It's about a project we have to work on for school, and it's really important."

There was a brief pause, but then the stallion said, "I shall...see what I can do."

"Thanks," Scootaloo said with a sigh somewhere between relief and frustration. A few moments passed before a different voice emanated from the speaker.

"Who is this?"

"Um...my name's Scootaloo. Scratch-Philharmonica," she added in a rush.

"Scootaloo?" the voice repeated.

Scootaloo nodded before realizing the gesture was futile. "Um, yeah. Scratch-Phil--"

"You are a friend, you say, of Miss Spoon's?" the stallion's voice interrupted, supremely uninterested in her addition.

"Well..." Scootaloo waffled for a moment, "maybe not really good friends, anyway, but..."

"From school?"

"Yeah," Scootaloo affirmed. "We're working on a project together, and I needed to ask her something about it."

"I see. Well, Miss Spoon is currently indisposed, and not willing to entertain." There was a distinct, albeit subtle hint of frost in the stallion's words.

"Yeah, I bet she is..." Scootaloo muttered. "That's actually what I wanted to talk to her about. I think I know what's wrong, and I need to talk to her about it."

"Is that so?" The tone had lost its frosted edge somewhat. There was a long pause, so long that Scootaloo was about to speak up again to make sure she hadn't been forgotten or dismissed when the voice returned. "I shall open the gate. Please come straight to the front door, and do not stray from the hoofpath."

"Sure thing," Scootaloo said as the gate was suddenly enveloped with a shimmering pearl-colored aura of magic and the lock within clicked open. The gates began to slide apart, and the pegasus walked cautiously between them and up the front path towards the entrance. They closed immediately again behind her, latching together with a startlingly resonant clang that brought absurd mental images of prison bars slamming to her mind. She shook off the unpleasant surge of adrenaline the clash had sent racing through her veins and continued.

The walk took longer than she had expected, mostly due to the intentionally meandering route the hoofpath took through the immaculately manicured estate gardens, past quietly flowing fountains and still-as-glass ponds with large orange-and-black fish floating lazily beneath water so clear they might have been hovering above the gravel and moss covering the basin. The mansion itself loomed vast and silent in the distance, the multitude of windows glowing softly in the slowly darkening evening. It seemed to watch her as she approached, suspiciously judging her intent on these hallowed premises. An uncomfortable tingle niggled at the skin between her wings, and she hastened to make her way to the end of the path and up to the front door.

She was about to raise a hoof to knock when the door swung soundlessly inwards, bathing the front stoop in a brilliant wedge of light. Scootaloo squinted against the sudden brightness as the second voice from the speaker said, "Miss Scootaloo, I presume?"

Scootaloo blinked a few times as her eyes adjusted and a face swam into view to match the voice. She was fairly certain that she had never seen a stallion that was dressed quite so impeccably, or who stood so stiffly, or who exuded quite the same sense of confidence, poise, and purpose. His fur was a startling white, a severe contrast to his crisp black tuxedo and deep blue eyes. His expression was nearly inscrutable, although Scootaloo imagined she could sense a certain indescribable shadow hovering on the edges of his mouth and eyes. The pegasus suddenly realized she was staring and cleared her throat, a light blush coloring her cheeks as she raised her eyes to meet his. "Um...yeah. I'm Scootaloo. Scratch-Phil--"

Once again, the stallion cut her off. "Please come inside. Stay in the foyer, if you would."

"Uh...right." Scootaloo stepped into the entryway, and the stallion closed the door behind her. Even from here, Scootaloo could see that this was an exquisite, expensive, and enormous house. The exterior, while impressive, had done nothing to imply the sheer vastness and opulence of the interior. The entryway alone was beautifully adorned, with modest sculptures and paintings gracing the walls on either side. The floor was covered in a pure white carpet that Scootaloo was horrified to discover her hooves had left a jarring tan streak of dirt on. "Oh buck, I'm so sorry! I didn't mean--"

"It's fine," the stallion said, his voice quietly unconcerned. "This is the foyer. The carpet is intended to be used to clean one's hooves. Please make certain that you do so before you go any further. Also, I have a few questions I would like to ask before I permit you to enter the household proper."

"Uh, okay." Scootaloo absently shuffled her hooves on the thick pile of the carpet while she maintained eye contact with the stallion, who was now returning her appraising stare.

"So, Miss Scratch-Philharmonica, you say you are a friend of Miss Spoon's?"

"Yeah," Scootaloo said, pointedly resisting the urge to gawk at the expansive household beyond the entrance. "We're working on a project together in school."

"I see." The unicorn's eyes narrowed. "I was unaware that Miss Spoon had any friends aside from Miss Tiara, at least none that would go so far as to make their way out to the Estate to visit her."

This seemed to her an unusual comment to make, but she responded anyway. "Yeah, well, like I said, we're work--"

"She has however mentioned a few classmates she would describe as...antagonistic at best." He raised an eyebrow at her. "That wouldn't include you, would it?"

"Uh..." Scootaloo was momentarily caught off-guard. All she knew of household servants in high society she had learned from rumor and fiction, leaving her with mostly overwrought caricatures to draw on, but the unicorn in front of her didn't fit the archetype she had expected. He seemed substantially more familiar and involved with the family than the aloof, disconnected butlers and servants of lore. While he maintained a consistent air of dignity and calm, Scootaloo detected a somewhat less-than-subtle undercurrent of mistrust and anger bubbling beneath his professional demeanor. He was definitely upset about something, and his defensive attitude towards Silver Spoon suggested that that 'something' probably involved her.

To that end, Scootaloo was fully prepared to lie to the unicorn, to innocently indicate she had no idea who might be mistreating Silver Spoon at school. She suspected that any of the aforementioned 'antagonists' would be thoroughly unwelcome in this household. The words caught in her throat, though, as her mother Octavia's voice suddenly echoed in her memory, recalling the end of a long, scathing lecture she'd received years ago.

"No matter what, always be honest. We will never be angry with you for telling us the truth. We might be upset at what you tell us, and we might be upset for what you've done, but as long as you are honest, we will always understand and forgive you. Lying to us will just make us think you don't trust us, and that hurts much worse than any trouble you could get into."

The pegasus sighed. Lying had gotten her into this stupid mess, and further lies were not likely to help the issue much. "Yeah...yeah, it includes me. Or did, anyway." The unicorn's eyes hardened, but he didn't say anything. Scootaloo continued. "But I'm actually here to apologize for...well, something I said earlier today. I think it really upset her, and I feel pretty bad...I just need a few minutes, that's all. If she doesn't want to see me, or she wants me to leave, fine. I just need someone to tell her I'm here to apologize, and I'd really appreciate it if she could just hear me out. Just for a bit." She paused, and then added in a quiet voice, "Please."

There was a long silence. The unicorn's eyes slowly panned back and forth across her face, scrutinizing one eye and then the other as if to catch one of them off guard and thereby discern the honesty of her words. "You realize," he said slowly, "that it takes great cowardice to attack the defenseless and the downtrodden." The words fairly dripped with disdain as he spoke, literally raising his muzzle to look down his nose at her. Stung, Scootaloo's face flushed with outrage at being scolded by somepony she had only just met, somepony who knew nothing about her but what his employer's daughter had told him. He had no idea how she thought, or what her life was like, or what Silver Spoon and Diamond Tiara had put her through over years of--

"But," he continued, interrupting her internal rant, his voice and expression suddenly much softer, "it takes even greater courage to admit that one has made such a mistake, and to seek forgiveness." He paused. "It is a rare trait, especially in youth." Scootaloo wasn't entirely certain how to respond to this. Her fury had been doused with such speed that she was left emotionally flummoxed for the moment. She hadn't quite recovered when he continued. "Very well. Come with me, please; I will escort you to Miss Spoon's room, and she can decide whether to see you or not."

"Thank you," Scootaloo said, breathing a sigh of something between relief and exasperation.

"Do not be surprised, however," he continued, "if she is less than enthusiastic about your visit."

"Yeah, I won't be," Scootaloo muttered as she followed the stallion out of the foyer and into the immense grand staircase beyond. A gigantic chandelier hanging from the cupola illuminated the two circular staircases ringing the room. The unicorn led Scootaloo up the rightmost case and down the hallway on the second floor. The hall was not as well-lit as the stairway had been, but the lower light only seemed to accentuate the sophistication of the exquisite decorations here. Professional photographs of family members both past and present were interspersed with magnificent paintings and sculpture.

Scootaloo gawked at every piece she passed, her head swiveling back and forth as she marveled at the wealth on display. The young pegasus didn't usually spend much time contemplating the relative wealth of the ponies she knew. She was unconsciously aware of the economic status of some of her friends--Apple Bloom, for example, was of course a farm pony, and most of the Apple family's wealth was immediately siphoned back into the farm to keep it running; Sweetie Belle's family was comfortable but not rich, although her sister Rarity made a fairly impressive living that resulted in frequent, often valuable presents, like the cello she had been given for completing a full year of lessons with Octavia--but most ponies were roughly financially equal. The Silver family was clearly one of those mythical outliers that redefined wealth.

It was more than just the valuable art or the massive house that spoke of wealth, however. Any rich pony could purchase a lot of stuff and fill a big house with it, but only the truly wealthy families could afford to hire the expertise to arrange it properly, or the resources to display it, or the staff to care for it. The Silver family, Scootaloo could easily see, had each of these in spades. The manor may as well have been a museum.

The unicorn paused halfway to the end of the hallway. He glanced over his shoulder at Scootaloo. "Please wait here if you would. These are, after all, Miss Spoon's private chambers."

"Oh, of course." Scootaloo stepped back and sat on her haunches on the polished wood floor. It was cool and perfectly smooth under her flanks, and she resisted a ridiculous urge to wiggle her rump on the unusual surface, fascinated by the sensation. The unicorn continued all the way to the last door at the end of the hallway. He knocked politely, and a moment later the door opened a crack.

Silver Spoon's voice, quiet and low, was incomprehensible from this distance, but Scootaloo recognized immediately the gentle shudder of a voice recently torn by bitter sobs. Her heart sank, and she reflexively looked at her hooves, only to see her own guilty face staring back at her in the reflective polish between them. She forced herself to keep staring as the unicorn quietly relayed Scootaloo's message. Silver Spoon's reply was audibly surprised, and somewhat more stable. After a short exchange, Scootaloo thought she heard an affirmative response, and the white stallion came back down the hall, saying, "The young lady will, however briefly, entertain your visit."

"Really?" Scootaloo beamed. "Awesome!"

"Yes, well..." The unicorn's mouth twitched at the corners. "Please be mindful of your words and your attitude. I do not wish to be required to summon security and have you unceremoniously escorted back to the street."

"Uh...yeah, I will." Scootaloo got back to her hooves and trotted down the hallway towards the slightly open door. Hesitantly, she nosed it open a bit further, sticking her head into the room. "Silver Spoon?"

"Yes, come in," Silver Spoon's voice said from somewhere behind the door. Scootaloo did as she was asked, carefully sidling into the room and standing awkwardly next to the door.

The room was huge. Well, comparatively speaking, anyway. Like everything else in the manor, Silver Spoon's bedroom was incredible in its scale, with a ceiling higher than Scootaloo's house was tall, and more area than their entire floor plan. One whole wall was studded with giant windows, each with a long, flowing set of pink velvet patterned drapes drawn across them. Unlike the hallway, the floor here was covered in a thick carpet, like the entryway, although the carpet here was a light rose color, paler than the drapes, with a short pile that was comfortable but didn't catch on her hooves.

On the opposite wall, Scootaloo could see two wardrobes flanking an ornate white vanity, the mirror of which had several photos and notes taped to it. Another wall had a heavy dark mahogany desk pushed against it, with a tall bookshelf nearby. The shelves were mostly bare, with only a few visibly untouched novels on the lower shelves, and some of their old schoolbooks lying on higher ones. The rest of the room was filled with many of the items Scootaloo would have expected to find in a rich filly's bedroom, from long shelves full of stuffed animals, many larger than the pony who owned them; to a elegant small-scale dollhouse, exquisitely painted and clearly magical; to a tall curio cabinet with brightly illuminated treasures, jeweled dolls, and intricately worked metal toys.

As was the case in the rest of the house, the walls were adorned with artwork and a few photographs, although Scootaloo noted with some surprise that there didn't seem to be any pictures of her family hung anywhere. At least, it didn't appear that way; none of the ponies in the pictures looked like they could possibly be related to a silver earth pony, although Scootaloo was well aware that she was living proof that families came in the strangest shapes and sizes.

"Well, don't just stand there. Close the door and come inside already." Across the room, some fifteen hooves away, Scootaloo's gaze finally found Silver Spoon lying on top of the comforter of a huge four-poster bed pushed up against the wall opposite the windows. Strewn across the bedspread in front of her was a large collection of books and papers, which she was scanning absently as she spoke.

Her voice was, as Scootaloo had detected earlier, still slightly thick and raspy, as though she'd only recently managed to stem the flow of bitter, painful sobs. A lump of guilty sympathy rose in the back of Scootaloo's throat, her resolve to make things right hardening fiercely at the sound.

"Sure thing, I--" Scootaloo carefully raised a hoof and closed the door as lightly as she could, jumping slightly as the well-oiled hinges allowed it to swing freely and slam shut with a crash. "Buck, sorry."

Silver Spoon looked up with a ghost of a smile on her face. "Yeah, it takes some practice. Don't worry about it."

"Er...right." Scootaloo rubbed the back of her neck with a hoof, wondering how to start the conversation she had come to have. Drawing a blank, she fished pathetically. "So, um...nice room you've got here. Very...big."

Silver Spoon was not going to play along. She sighed heavily, her eyes half-lidded behind her glasses. "What do you want, Scootaloo? I've got homework to finish, and it's not exactly doing itself like yours does."

Scootaloo laughed roughly. "I wish my homework did itself. Especially the essays." She shook her head. "Pegasi are not designed to spend that much time sitting still and just...writing."

"The math homework, then."

"Still doesn't do itself." Scootaloo shrugged. "It just comes easier to me than you, I guess."

"Clearly," Silver Spoon deadpanned.

"Well, there's nothing wrong with that."

"Oh, please." Silver Spoon sneered. "You and your friends just love to see me get up and mess up some math problem or other on the board so you can giggle to each other about it later, don't you?"

"No, we don't!" Scootaloo said defensively, reflexively. Silver Spoon raised a skeptical eyebrow at her. Scootaloo gritted her teeth and backtracked. "I mean...well, okay, yeah, we used to...or I used to, anyway, but I'm...I'm not doing that anymore. I don't want to do that anymore."

"Uh-huh," Silver Spoon muttered, returning her gaze to her books.

"Seriously," the pegasus said, walking across the room towards the bed. "Look, I've been thinking...and talking to my parents...and I guess I just--" She suddenly stopped talking as her train of thought skipped off the tracks and exploded in a fireball as she got close enough to see Silver Spoon properly. The other filly's mane and tail weren't bound up in their usual braids. Instead, the hair of her tail was spread across the bedspread, impossibly voluminous and shining richly in the lamplight. Her mane hung heavily around her face and down her shoulders, falling in long curtains through which her forelegs poked, crossed loosely in front of her as she read. She was lying on her side, with her long, svelte rear legs extended through her blanket of a tail and her cutie mark starkly visible on her smoothly brushed flank.

For several seconds, Scootaloo found herself unable to speak or move. Her heart suddenly fluttered against her ribs as a hundred images from a deeply hidden vault in her secret subconscious suddenly roared back into her imagination, recalling the dream she had only just begun to forget she had experienced, and bringing back into uncomfortably clear focus the feelings that had accompanied it. A hot, embarrassing blush suddenly raced onto her cheeks as her body traitorously responded to the sight by slipping easily into an adrenaline-fueled overdrive.

Silver Spoon watched her curiously, confused as to why she'd suddenly locked up. "You guess you just what?" When Scootaloo didn't immediately respond, she tilted her head to the side and said, "Scootaloo?"

Scootaloo's rational mind finally clawed its way back into control and she shook her head, blinking. "Uh, sorry. I just remembered...something." The blush deepened as she furiously buried the unwelcome images again, ignoring the sudden heat starting to spread across her midsection and between her flanks. The muscles of her wings were taut and anxiously trying to extend, but she resisted, keeping them close to her sides. "Something...weird. Anyway, just lost my train of thought for a second. What was I saying?"

Silver Spoon rolled her eyes and sighed. "You were, I believe, attempting to convince me you weren't going to laugh at me when I failed to do problems on the board anymore. I remain, as you might expect, unconvinced."

"Er...right." Scootaloo took a deep, steadying breath and refocused her attention. "Well, like I was saying, I was talking to my folks earlier today, and...something my mom said...Mama Vy, that is...well, it just got to me."

"Oh? Got to you how?"

Scootaloo frowned, falling onto her haunches and looking at her hooves. "I...look, I know I try to be, you know...cool all the time, but I..." She glanced back at the door, absurdly worried they might be overheard. She looked back at Silver Spoon. "Promise me you'll keep this to yourself?"

"Keep what?"

"What I'm about to say, obviously. You promise?"

Silver Spoon raised an eyebrow at her, confused. "I guess, sure."

"Even from Diamond Tiara?"

She shrugged. "Sure."

Scootaloo sighed. "The truth is, no matter how I like to act, I love my moms, and I want to make them proud. I hate seeing them upset at me, or disappointed in me. It's way, way worse than having them mad and yelling at me."

"Oh, is that all?" Silver Spoon said, the confusion fading.

"All?" Scootaloo stared at her. "Were you not listening?"

"Of course I was, Scootaloo, but come on. I was at your house the other night. Even I could tell you love your parents...and it's pretty clear they really love you, too..." Silver Spoon's voice suddenly became quiet and sad as she looked away from Scootaloo and down at her own crossed hooves.

"Huh," Scootaloo said, genuinely nonplussed. She had noticed the change in tone, and waited for a moment for Silver Spoon to continue, to explain why this was an apparently sad topic for her. When no explanation was forthcoming, however, she cleared her throat and continued. "Well...yeah, so, like I was saying, I talked to Mama Vy about this afternoon, and she was pretty spurred off about it. I mean, she didn't yell or anything, but I could tell she was really disappointed, and I..." She sighed. "I don't want to be that pony anymore. I don't want them to be disappointed in me. I don't want to be a...bully."

Silver Spoon looked at her, eyes widening slightly. "A bully, huh?"

"Yeah," Scootaloo said, shrugging. "I mean, that's basically what you think I am, right?"

Silver Spoon nodded, eyeing her curiously. "Yes, well...I just never imagined you'd actually apply the term to yourself. As I recall," she continued dryly, "you and your friends were rather fond of using the same word to describe Tiara and me."

"Well, sure," Scootaloo said, "but that was just because...well, you kinda are. Were," she corrected herself, remembering Silver Spoon's unexpected defense of her from earlier in the day.

"Uh-huh," Silver Spoon said, her tone still distinctly unamused.

Scootaloo pursed her lips, annoyed. "Oh, come on. Are you really going to tell me you don't think you were just a little bit of a bully to us, too?"

Silver Spoon scowled at her. "I think sometimes you deserved it."

Scootaloo snorted derisively. "And sometimes you did, too."

For an instant, it looked as though Silver Spoon was going to retort and deny the accusation, but the mutinous expression on her face slowly faded and she sighed, looking down at her books. "Yeah, sometimes we probably did."

"Look, I'm not saying you were always in the wrong, or that we never took a shot at you and Tiara just because...I'm just saying that neither of us is totally innocent. And like I said, I've been talking with my parents, and...well, sometimes they make sense. Not often," she interjected with a smirk that Silver Spoon almost returned, "but tonight, at least, I think my mom was right. Anyway, that's why I'm here tonight. I just wanted to apologize for this afternoon, cuz I know you were really upset, and I was being a jerk."

"What do you mean 'this afternoon'? What did you do this afternoon?" Silver Spoon raised an eyebrow at her. "I'm the one that came up to you and started accusing you of stuff you didn't do, remember?"

"Yeah, about that..." Here it was, Scootaloo thought, the moment of truth. With a grimace and a deep, steadying breath, she said, "Well, it turns out that when you caught up with me after class and asked me if I'd screwed up on purpose, I might...possibly...have been lying when I said no." She closed her eyes and gritted her teeth, preparing for the storm.

It didn't come. Not immediately, anyway. When Silver Spoon spoke, her voice was strangely quiet and even. "So it's true, then? You did screw up on purpose after all?"

Scootaloo nodded shamefully. "Yeah, I did. I know, I shouldn't have, and I'm sorry about it, I just thought..."

"You thought I needed your help." The voice took on a sharper tone, each word a stinging accusation. "You figured you'd make the simplest mistake you could, on the off-chance that I might notice, and then you'd be able to pat yourself on the back for giving me something to be proud of, is that about it?"

Scootaloo winced, still not quite meeting the other filly's gaze. "Well, it wasn't really for my benefit. I mean, I just wanted to do it for you, you know, give you a little boost, that's all. I didn't really think--"

"No, clearly not," Silver Spoon interrupted her with a snap. "You didn't think at all, did you? You just said to yourself, 'Oh, silly little Silver Spoon never gets to look good in front of the class, and I always do.'" She spoke in a lilting, sarcastic tone and batted her eyes as she feigned mimicking Scootaloo. "'I'll just make this one huge, obvious mistake that even she couldn't miss. Then she can fix it and Miss Cheerilee will be impressed and the class will be impressed and she can go home feeling good about herself for once.'" She glared coldly at Scootaloo, who resisted the urge to furiously defend herself, and simply continued staring at Silver Spoon's crossed forelegs. "Does that sound about right, Scootaloo? Is that what you were after?"

Scootaloo sighed heavily. "Yeah, sort of." She finally managed to drag her eyes up to meet Silver Spoon's. She wasn't entirely surprised to see tears glistening on the lower lids, shimmering behind her glasses. Her stomach squirmed uncomfortably. "Look, Spoon, I'm really sorry. I didn't mean to upset you like this, I promise. I honestly didn't think anyone would notice, and that you'd just...I dunno, think you'd gotten one up on me, and that that would make you feel less...well...not stupid, because you're not, but less..." Scootaloo floundered for a moment, struggling to think of a word to accurately convey her intent without sounding condescending.

"I get it," Silver Spoon rescued her with a quiet murmur. "I get it. You were just trying to help." Her voice was soft and...apologetic? It almost sounded as though she felt bad for being angry at Scootaloo.

Stunned, the orange pegasus said quickly, "Look, don't misunderstand me, I'm not trying to excuse what I did, or suggest you should be thankful or anything like that. I was being stupid, trying to...I dunno, even the playing field or something. I should've just let it go when I had the chance, or at least tell the truth when you caught me afterwards. You totally deserve to be mad at me."

"I'm not," Silver Spoon said softly, looking down at her hooves. "I wasn't mad this afternoon, either. I was just upset that I needed the help to look good...at all. And I was really upset that your little trick actually did make me feel really good about myself...at least, for a little while..." Silver Spoon's voice broke and shook as she spoke, and she raised a hoof to unseat her glasses, lightly dabbing at her eyes with the pristine silver fur of her foreleg to prevent the tears in her voice from escaping down her cheeks. "For what it's worth, your plan worked. It was nice, getting to be right for once. Not to have Miss Cheerilee shaking her head and asking someone else to come up and correct me...well, at least not for that." She smiled, the deep violet irises of her uncovered eyes shimmering gently as the tears she refused to let fall collected in them.

Scootaloo's heart ached for the other filly. Years ago, in what seemed another lifetime, Scootaloo remembered what it was like to be considered a complete failure. Watching all her friends effortlessly take to the skies while she remained grounded, her wings strong enough to take her to the tips of her hooves but no further, had been thoroughly humiliating. The shame had only intensified any time somepony had tried to 'help' her, either by offering to carry her somewhere--which made her feel useless--or by electing to stay behind with her on the ground when everypony else went somewhere airborne--which made her feel like a burden, a pitiful failure fit only to boost the egos of those who voluntarily sacrificed their own abilities for her sake. The crushing embarrassment of being patronized was immensely worse than simply being incapable. She frowned. "No. No, it didn't."

Silver Spoon blinked. "What do you mean?"

"My plan. It didn't work at all, because it was a stupid plan." Scootaloo sighed heavily and stood up, coming over to the bed and putting her forelegs up on the bedspread, looking Silver Spoon directly in the eye for the first time since she'd arrived. The silver filly leaned back a bit, clearly surprised by the sudden approach. "Silver Spoon, I made a mistake. I shouldn't have tried to 'help' like that. It wasn't fair to you, and while I'm glad if it made you happy, it was an insult to your intelligence. Look, if I ever actually do mess up doing a problem on the board--not that I will, of course," she smirked, and Silver Spoon smiled wanly, "but if I ever do, I hope you catch me, because you're the only one I think I could stand being shown up by."

Silver Spoon's mouth fell open slightly. "Wait, what? What do you mean? I thought you hated me...thought I was stupid and all that."

Scootaloo shook her head, her short mane whipping around her face energetically. "I don't. Not anymore, anyway. Look, I get it: around Diamond Tiara, you've gotta save face, right? She's real insecure, so you gotta follow her lead, agree with whatever she says or does or whatever, cuz she'll get mad at you if you don't, right?" Silver Spoon didn't respond, but looked away from Scootaloo's eyes, glancing down at her bedspread. "That's cool, alright? You and Tiara have been friends forever, and if that's how you guys work, that's fine. My friends and I have our own weird things you probably wouldn't get, either. You should hear some of the stupid things we argue about."

Scootaloo rolled her eyes theatrically, and Silver Spoon actually smiled, looking up at her from behind a curtain of silver hair. For an instant, a similar image from her memories flashed across her imagination, but she ignored it and continued. "But I've spent a few hours with you away from Tiara, and I gotta say, I kinda like who you are on your own."

Silver Spoon's eyes widened in surprise. "Really? You mean it?"

Scootaloo shrugged. "Sure. I mean, when you let your guard down, when we've gone an hour or so without sniping at each other and you relax, you're pretty cool. You're friendly enough, you've got a sense of humor, you're fun to chat with, and you're a really good listener...or at least, you listened really well when we were studying the other night."

Silver Spoon smiled as a light blush crept across her cheeks. "Yeah, well...you're not so bad yourself. And you're easy to listen to, at least when you're talking about something you love." She grinned slyly. "Even if that 'thing' you love is something insane...like math."

Scootaloo grinned. "No accounting for taste, right? Well, give it a little while. You let me keep teaching you, and you might find yourself falling head over hooves for it, too."

Silver Spoon actually laughed out loud, something Scootaloo realized with a start that she'd never really heard before. The only time she'd heard Silver Spoon laughing, it had either been drowned out in a crowd or mocking her. This was a different kind of laughter, a tittering, quiet giggle that started with a shy grin and traced a pleasant joy across her face. Her mane danced with her laughter, the hair falling in front of her shoulders and curling loosely under her chin, and she absently pushed it back out of her face as the laughter faded and she shook her head. "I don't think so. Math and I don't really get along."

Scootaloo shrugged. "Oh, I dunno. You seemed to be getting the hang of it pretty well when we were studying the other night."

"Maybe you're just the best math teacher I've ever had." Scootaloo smirked and rolled her eyes, but Silver Spoon continued, shaking her head again. "No, I mean it, Scootaloo. I know this sounds crazy and stupid, but no one's ever really made it...make sense like you did." She ran a hoof awkwardly through her mane and looked away. "It was nice. I like feeling...average, at least."

Scootaloo sat back, folding her ears in shame. "Aw, jeez, Silver Spoon, now you're making me feel even worse about all the crap I've been giving you."

The silver filly looked sideways at her with a sly smile. "Well, good. Maybe you won't do it anymore." Scootaloo rolled her eyes, but giggled just the same. "Anyway," Silver Spoon said, "I know it's late, and you probably have to get home."

Scootaloo nodded, absently glancing at the windows, even though the heavy drapes and the bright interior lighting made it impossible to tell how dark it was outside. "Yeah, probably. Hey, thanks for letting me in to talk." She smiled. "I really appreciate it."

Silver Spoon smiled back. "No, thank you for coming over. I...really needed a little boost tonight." She paused for a moment before continuing, almost to herself, "It's been a really rough day."

For a few seconds, Scootaloo contemplated asking her to elaborate on this, but a sudden peal of thunder pricked her ears and sent an icy stab of dread through her midsection. "Oh, no..."

Silver Spoon looked at her covered windows with apprehension. "Uh, oh...is it...?" She hopped down off of the bed and trotted over to the window with Scootaloo trailing close behind. Their combined fears were confirmed before they even pulled the curtain aside as the ominous rush of a sudden downpour swelled into a pelting rattle against the window pane. Together, they stared out into the impenetrable blackness of a storm-torn night, the fairy lights all along the hoofpath to the main street barely visible through the deluge.

Scootaloo winced as a streak of lightning lanced across the sky, sending a shock of thunder rolling through the house. The enormous building reverberated with surprising force as it caught a larger segment of the sound waves washing over it. "Buck, I knew that was going to happen. I'm gonna get soaked walking home."

Silver Spoon stared at her, agog. "Are you insane? You can't go out there in that! You'll drown!"

Scootaloo scoffed at her. "Aw, don't be silly. I'm a pegasus. A little weather never stopped a pegasus before."

Silver Spoon pursed her lips, her forehead lined with worry. "Even so, this is way more than a little weather. Isn't is supposed to be a pretty serious storm?"

Scootaloo glanced out at the rain lashing the window. Her bravado slipped some as the wind howled furiously outside, daring her to come and test its might. "Well...yeah, it's supposed to make up for all the time they lost when it was too cold to fly routine weather patterns...supposed to go all night, too..." She huffed in exasperation, blowing her bangs up off her forehead. "But what else am I supposed to do? I can't stay here, obviously."

"You can't? Why not?" Silver Spoon asked.

Scootaloo blinked at her, surprised. "Uh...because duh? How weird would that be?" She snorted derisively. "We're not exactly best buds, you know. We're just barely 'not enemies'."

"Maybe," Silver Spoon said, tilting her head towards the window, "but you really think you should go out in that? We may not be friends or anything, but I don't exactly want you to die of the flu, either."

"Pegasi don't get 'the flu'," she scoffed. "We don't get sick from being wet and cold, anyway. That's a unicorn thing."

"Still," Silver Spoon persisted, "you should at least spend the night in one of the guest rooms."

Scootaloo eyed her suspiciously. "What's up with you? Why are you being so pushy about this?"

Silver Spoon rolled her eyes. "Because, you featherbrain, if you get struck by lightning and killed, I'm going to feel really bad that you died because you had to come out and apologize for something that could have waited until tomorrow at least."

"Hah," Scootaloo snorted, "I wish it could have waited. My mother would've shut the door in my face if I hadn't come out here and taken care of it tonight."

"Wait..." Silver Spoon's voice lost the sharp edge that had just begun to creep into it. "So this whole thing...it wasn't your idea?"

"Oh, no, I don't mean it like that." Scootaloo shook her head. "I was going to do it anyway, even though it didn't really...click until my mom came and talked to me about it. It's just that my parents are big on not letting the sun set on an argument." She sighed heavily. "Which is fine for them, of course, because they just get into this huge shouting match, then go to their separate studios and mess around with their music for a while, then come out like fifteen minutes later and go into the bedroom to talk it out. They never go to bed mad at each other." She injected as much saccharine sentiment into the word as she could, pulling a face as she did so. "It's gross."

Silver Spoon giggled. "I think it's sweet."

"Yeah, you should try living with it. Anyway, if I'm going to spend the night here, I guess I better get set up, huh?"

Silver Spoon nodded. "Yeah, let me go get Intricacy to make up the guest room for you."

"Intricacy?"

"Our butler. White unicorn? Led you up here. Like, twenty minutes ago?"

"Ah," Scootaloo nodded, "right. Alright, should I come with you, or...?"

"No, you can just stay here. I'll be back in a minute." She started to leave, then paused and gave Scootaloo a look. "Don't touch anything," she said with a slightly raised eyebrow.

Scootaloo scowled at her. "I wasn't going to."

Silver Spoon found Intricacy a few minutes later in the grand stairwell, casually casting his expert gaze about the room, verifying that all the chores had been done before he went to bed for the night. "Hey, 'Cacy, could we get one of the guest bedrooms ready for Scootaloo? She's going to have to spend the night because of the storm."

"Oh?" The unicorn paused in his examination, glancing back at her. "I was unaware that pegasi were troubled by bad weather."

"Well, no," Silver Spoon said, "she's not concerned about it, but I don't really think it's safe for her to walk home in the lightning and the rain and wind and such."

"I see. Well, I'm terribly sorry, Miss Spoon, but all the guest bedrooms are unavailable tonight."

Silver Spoon blinked. "What? Why?"

"Your father has several associates staying in town for the week, and the remaining rooms are still being renovated."

"We're renovating the guest rooms?"

Intricacy nodded. "Master Silversmith has decided to have the interior of the manor updated, to maintain a sense of modernity for those occasions--like this week--when he has guests to stay."

"Huh. I guess I hadn't noticed."

"I should hope not," Intricacy sniffed self-importantly. "I personally insure the work is as unobtrusive and invisible as possible. Improving one's home should not interfere with one's life. In any event, there is no reason you should have noticed, as you typically only have one guest at a time, and she typically passes the night in your bedroom." He paused, eyeing her curiously. "Is that not an option tonight?"

Silver Spoon pursed her lips. "I don't think Scootaloo would be particularly enthusiastic about it..."

"And you?"

"And me what?"

Intricacy shrugged. "It is your room. I would have thought your opinion would be of primary concern, not hers."

"Well, she is my guest."

"True," Intricacy agreed, his calm but intense eyes still hovering steadily on hers. "Well, if she does want to spend the night--or if you want her to, of course--that is unfortunately the only option."

Silver Spoon considered this for several seconds before sighing shallowly and nodding. "Alright, could you have a spare bed and some overnight sundries sent to my room, then? Oh, and please let her parents know she's okay."

Intricacy smiled and nodded back. "Of course, madam."

Morning Glory

Scootaloo woke up the following morning to quiet murmuring conversation between voices she didn't immediately recognize. She kept her eyes closed for a few moments, to reorient herself with the waking world. It had been something of a strange night, full of disjointed, bizarre dreams interspersed with moments of clarity that had seemed unforgettable at the time, but were now frustratingly elusive. She did remember, however, just how much Silver Spoon had featured in these dreams. Mostly, she had just been there, not necessarily central, but Scootaloo had always noticed her somewhere in the otherwise hazy morass of confusion. Now, back in reality, she recognized one of the voices as belonging to the same filly, speaking in hushed tones clearly intended to avoid waking the pegasus.

"...can't believe it, honestly. I'm just wondering if she'll wake up and realize she made some huge mistake and...go back to the way things were."

That's right, Scootaloo thought. I spent the night at Spoon's place. The voice Scootaloo didn't recognize responded in a soothing tone, "Now, Silver Spoon, you know you can't expect every midnight confession to end the same way, right? Just because one time--"

"I know, Carillon," Silver Spoon interrupted the voice with a hint of frustrated exasperation. "Still...it just seemed too...perfect. Like, perfect enough that it couldn't possibly last more than one night, you know?"

"I suppose there's only one way to find out, right?"

Silver Spoon grunted in derisive amusement. "Yeah, because I'm totally going to ask."

"Maybe you should," the voice said. "What's the worst that could happen?"

"You know exactly what 'the worst' is, Carillon." There was a long silence, and then Silver Spoon said, "I don't know if I want to know, honestly."

Scootaloo knew she was eavesdropping on a private conversation, and as fascinating as it was to hear two ponies speaking as though they thought they couldn't be overheard, her conscience was starting to get the better of her, and she finally decided it was time to make herself known. With a theatrical stretching of wings and forelegs, she struggled out from underneath the sheets and sat up, yawning broadly and spreading her wings wide.

Across the room, Silver Spoon and a unicorn Scootaloo didn't recognize were arranged at her vanity, the unicorn standing behind the earth pony and fussily arranging her mane and tail into the intricate braids Silver Spoon always wore. At Scootaloo's intentionally audible rousing, both ponies looked back at the bed. The unicorn--Carillon, Scootaloo guessed--smiled broadly and immediately started walking towards the bed. "Good morning, Miss Scratch-Philhar--"

"Scootaloo, please," Scootaloo said, her voice gravelly with sleep. It was a request she was used to making; most ponies who addressed her in a formal capacity used both of her last names, and she was typically quick to correct them, and have them use her first name instead, mostly to save time and effort. Only Miss Cheerilee still insisted on using her surnames, as she did with most ponies in her class. Something about implying respect or some nonsense.

Carillon nodded. "Of course. Good morning, Miss Scootaloo."

"No, just..." Scootaloo shook her head. "Just Scootaloo."

Silver Spoon smirked. "Let it go, Scoot. She'll call you 'Miss' no matter what you say."

"But I'm not a 'Miss'," Scootaloo protested.

"Of course you are," Carillon insisted, coming over to the side of the bed. "Now, is there anything I can get for you this morning? Anything I can do? Would you like me to start a bath or prepare breakfast or groom you?"

Scootaloo stared at her, nonplussed. "Uh..." In truth, all the options sounded amazing, but something inside her insisted she should refuse. "No, that's...that's okay."

Carillon seemed perturbed. "Are you certain?" She glanced back at Silver Spoon. "It's no trouble, honestly."

Scootaloo nodded, struggling over to the edge of the mattress and climbing out of the bed. "Yeah, I'm good."

The unicorn and the earth pony exchanged a knowing look. Silver Spoon said, "You do realize she gets paid for this, right? It's literally what we employ her to do."

Scootaloo scowled at her. "Yeah, I get that. It just...I dunno," she fretted. "It feels weird."

Silver Spoon smirked. "Well, it shouldn't. You said yourself my family's well-off, right?" Scootaloo nodded. "Well, this is one of the perks." She gestured to the unicorn, who was still standing anxiously next to the sleep-tousled Scootaloo. "Please go ahead and draw her a bath, and have the kitchen prepare breakfast for when she's done."

Scootaloo's stomach tightened a little in guilt at the idea of having other ponies being ordered to do things for her benefit, but Carillon's reaction couldn't have been more pleased. She grinned broadly and nodded at Silver Spoon. "Of course, miss, right away." Then she trotted lightly out of the room, closing the door behind her with the silent ease of a practiced servant.

Silver Spoon shook her head at Scootaloo. "Am I really going to have to force you to take advantage of spending the night in a house with a live-in staff?"

Scootaloo scowled and trudged over to the vanity to stand next to the earth pony. "Maybe. It just feels weird, that's all," she repeated. "I mean...I know that's what they get paid to do, but..." She grimaced. "I feel guilty. Like somehow they think I think they're below me or something."

Silver Spoon shrugged. "Why would they think that?"

"Because I'm ordering them around," Scootaloo said.

"No you're not," Silver Spoon said. "Carillon offered, or didn't you notice? And besides, even if you were ordering them around, they're not your friends, they're my father's employees, and doing what you order them to do doesn't make them below you, it's literally their job."

Scootaloo grimaced at her reflection in the vanity mirror. "I don't think I could do a job like that."

Silver Spoon laughed. "No, I bet not." She smiled at the pegasus. "That's what makes them special, actually. I'm always impressed by our staff. They're pretty amazing."

"Really?"

Silver Spoon nodded. "Sure. I mean, you met Intricacy, right?" Scootaloo indicated she had. "Well, he's easily the best butler I've ever met, and I've met quite a few. He knows everything about the house, all the staff, all the family members, he's always exactly where we need him, exactly when we need him, and he's never in the way. The house couldn't run without him, and he knows it, but he still maintains the same poise and humility expected of a household servant." She gestured towards the door the unicorn had just left through. "And Carillon is even more special. Not only does she take care of my room and all the guest rooms, but she's always keeping tabs on my calendar, reminding me of appointments, scheduling important dates--doctor's visits and such--grooming and taking care of me, and she still finds time to be my tutor and my friend." She smiled. "If they were slaves, or displeased with their lot, I don't think any of our servants would be nearly as good at their job."

"I guess not," Scootaloo agreed. "But I thought you said you didn't have any other friends. Does Carillon not count?"

Silver Spoon pursed her lips. "Well...not really...I mean, she's friendly, and she acts like a friend, but she's more...like distant family, I guess. Anyway, I don't really count ponies who are being paid to be my friend," she said wanly.

"Oh, right...I guess that's fair enough," Scootaloo said. She examined Silver Spoon's braided hair with interest. "I did always wonder how you managed to style your hair so perfectly by yourself every morning. I guess it never really occurred to me that you might have somepony else do it for you."

Silver Spoon nodded, glancing down at her tail. "Yeah, I couldn't do this myself. Before I had a hoofmaiden, I just brushed it out and let it hang loose." She smirked. "It wasn't a pretty sight."

"Like hell it wasn't," Scootaloo heard her mouth traitorously uttering, and it was only with a supreme effort that she managed to keep a straight face as Silver Spoon turned and stared at her in surprise. Scrambling for an excuse, she added, "I mean, it's not like you have ugly hair or anything. The braid's nice and all, but there's nothing wrong with the natural look. Like, look at me," she said, grinning. "I don't do anything to my mane, and it looks awesome all by itself."

"Hah," Silver Spoon scoffed, giving her hair an appraising look. "Awesome isn't the first word I'd use."

"Hey, now," Scootaloo said, stung. "It's not that bad...is it?"

"Well, no," Silver Spoon mused noncommittally. "Not bad per se, but..." She reached up and starting running a hoof through Scootaloo's tousled mane, trying to get it to lay flat. "It could use a little TLC, I think. I bet Carillon could do wonders if you'd give her a chance."

Scootaloo's heart skipped a beat as Silver Spoon stroked her hair, little shivers of unfocused excitement arcing down her spine. Anxiously, she brushed the other filly's hoof away, snorting. "Yeah, I bet. Let's not, though. I don't think I'm exactly ready to show up at school with a fully styled mane. At the very least, I should probably warn the Crusaders, or they'll think I'm a changeling."

Silver Spoon giggled. "Yeah, I guess you're right." After a few moments of silence, she said quietly, "Hey, Scootaloo...speaking of showing up at school..." She blushed deeply, tapping her hooves together and looking down at them. "Do you think...would you mind if we...didn't show up at the same time this morning? I mean, like...together?"

Scootaloo smirked. "Lemme guess...afraid Diamond Tiara will notice, huh?"

The blush intensified, turning her grey face maroon. "Y...yeah, something like that. I mean...I still do want to be friends...that is, of course, assuming you do too..." She looked up, apprehension mingling with poorly disguised longing etched across her elegant features.

The pegasus' smirk fell instantly into a wide, amused smile. "Of course I do, silly. Why wouldn't I? It's not like a whole lot of time has passed since I offered in the first place, is it?"

"Well, no, but..." Silver Spoon rubbed the back of her neck with a hoof. "I was just afraid you might've...you know, changed your mind after you'd gotten a chance to sleep on it."

Scootaloo rolled her eyes. "This isn't exactly like choosing what academy or university to attend, Spoon. It's just a friendship. It's not exactly the biggest deal in the world."

The earth pony smiled shyly. "It's a pretty big deal to me, you know."

"So I've gathered," Scootaloo said, grinning. "Well, don't worry so much. Friendship shouldn't make you nervous, it should just be...fun. Pleasant. I mean, not always, obviously," she recanted, rolling her eyes as she recalled some of the incidents that she and the Crusaders had stumbled through over the course of their relationship, "but at the end of the day, it shouldn't feel like work. And it shouldn't make you unhappy," she said, eyeing Silver Spoon significantly.

Silver Spoon didn't react, but simply smiled. "Yeah...alright. I'll try not to worry. Still, you know how Di gets. I just think it'd be better to wait until I've had a chance to...ease her into it, I guess. So she has some sort of forewarning before we just show up in the same carriage, or walking side-by-side."

Scootaloo nodded. "Yeah, I figured you might say that, and if you didn't, I was probably going to say it myself. Diamond Tiara isn't very good at sharing."

"You have no idea," Silver Spoon said with great subtext. "And I'm not sure it would be a great idea to tell Swee--uh...the Crusaders, either," she amended quickly.

She needn't have. "Yeah, I know what you're saying. Sweetie Belle does like to talk. Don't worry," she said, "I don't mind keeping it under wraps until you're comfortable. I'm not sure how my friends would react anyway..." she added, smirking.

"Well, I guess I haven't really given them a whole lot of positive association, have I?"

Scootaloo shrugged. "They'll come around."

There was a quiet tapping at the door, and Silver Spoon said, "Come in." The door opened and Carillon entered, dipping her head shallowly as she did.

"Miss, your bath is ready. Do you have any specific requests for breakfast that I can pass on to the kitchen?"

It took a few moments for Scootaloo to realize the unicorn was addressing her. "Uh...no, just...whatever Silver Spoon was gonna have."

The unicorn nodded and smiled. "Very well, madam. Miss Spoon, would you like the kitchen to serve your breakfast now, or would you prefer to wait for your guest?"

The two fillies looked at each other. "Uh...well, my mane still needs to be finished, so...I guess I'll wait," Silver Spoon said.

"Of course, Miss Spoon. I'll be right back. Miss Scootaloo, would you please come with me?" Scootaloo nodded and followed the unicorn out into the hallway, plodding awkwardly behind the primly dressed servant. She couldn't stop staring at every inch of the manor they passed, from every piece of artwork and every wooden surface, polished to a mirrorlike shine, to every open door she passed, inside which was one servant or another, diligently cleaning, stocking, tidying, or preparing the room beyond. Each servant glanced up from their work to see who was passing, and upon seeing somepony following Carillon, they all paused to nod curtly in Scootaloo's direction. This didn't exactly lessen the awkwardness of the walk, and the pegasus was relieved when they finally passed through a tall pair of doors leading to an expansive, pristinely clean bathroom.

Carillon paused just inside the doorway, letting Scootaloo pass. "The bath is already drawn, of course. If it's not to your liking, please let me know, and I'll make it right. Would you like someone to care for your mane and tail while you bathe?"

Scootaloo blushed. "Um...no, that's alright."

"Very well. Can we groom your wings for you, then?"

Scootaloo shook her head frantically. "No! I mean...no thanks."

"Are you certain?" Carillon asked. "The staff groomer is a very accomplished--"

"No, it's...it's alright," Scootaloo insisted, the blush still hot on her cheeks. "I...I'm not real comfortable with having other ponies touch my wings..."

"Of course, ma'am." Carillon nodded. "Very well. There is a bellcord by the tub if you need any assistance at all. Grooming products are, of course, in the cabinet above the tub. Enjoy," she added with a smile that Scootaloo could tell was perfectly genuine, but somehow still felt odd. Then the unicorn left, and Scootaloo turned and climbed into the full tub.

The bath was naturally perfect, the water precisely the right temperature--hot but not scalding--and the available products, which were vast in their scope, were all heavenly scented, and felt amazing when she dug them into her mane and rubbed them into her fur. The pegasus sighed heavily and settled into the water, her face the only part of her body still above the surface. Despite being a pegasus, and largely uninterested in grooming in general--pegasi typically 'bathed' by flying through rainstorms, which rendered bathing redundant--Scootaloo could appreciate a bath this flawless. Her entire body relaxed, and she let her wings float aimlessly in the water, the feathers soaking and softening in the heat, allowing her to easily and painlessly pull out the pinfeathers that had collected since she'd last groomed.

As she rubbed and picked at the irritating white shafts among her long orange plumage, the pegasus contemplated the previous night in the light of the early morning. It had certain been an interesting evening, she had to admit. Not necessarily negatively so, of course, but there was something unsettling about being forced to confront and accept a facet of her personality that she'd been resisting for so long. How long, she wondered, had she been...interested in females? She didn't want to use the expletive filly-fooler again, not now. As upsetting as that moment had been, it wasn't exactly like she was personally opposed to same-sex relationships. After all, her parents were both female, weren't they? They seemed to get along alright, and no one really bothered them much. In truth, Scootaloo had only met a few ponies who'd been in any way disparaging to gay ponies of either gender, and the only one she cared about was Diamond Tiara--and even Diamond Tiara's opinion only mattered because they were classmates. Beyond that, it didn't really matter to her, or really seemed to matter to anypony else.

Scootaloo contemplated this for a moment. Why had she resisted for so long, anyway? Weren't unicorns in particular rather famous for their homosexuality? And pegasi we renowned for their casual attitude towards gender and even species with respect to relationships. Why should Scootaloo have expected to be any different? The pegasus sighed lightly. She knew the answer to this question, of course, even though she was doing her best to pretend she didn't.

Ponyville was an earth pony settlement. The little village had been home to earth ponies exclusively for decades, and only recently had the ratio begun to shift away from that. Earth ponies weren't exactly famous for their tolerance of same-sex relationships, and that prejudice was still--if quietly--prevalent among most of the earth pony residents, especially those who had grown up with similarly prejudiced parents. Even Apple Bloom had occasionally, and unintentionally, Scootaloo hoped, implied that Scootaloo's parents were somehow unnatural for being together. Scootaloo's insistence that since Vinyl was a unicorn, it didn't matter what gender they both were had fallen on deaf ears.

She assumed it was just part of being an earth pony raised in an earth pony village. She'd also decided it wasn't worth risking their friendship over making a big deal of, a decision she was now questioning. Sooner or later, she'd have to tell her friends what she'd discovered about herself, and while Sweetie Belle was likely to take it in stride (even though she'd probably tell everypony she knew within minutes), Scootaloo wasn't exactly sure how Apple Bloom would react. As cosmopolitan as Ponyville was, Apple Bloom was a farm pony, and farm ponies tended to pass their prejudices and values down along with their uncanny farming knowledge.

Scootaloo sighed theatrically as she fell back against the tub edge, her wings now properly de-pinned. Why did life have to be so difficult all the time? Couldn't she have just grown up normal? Able to fly, not forced to run away when she was a filly, attracted to stallions...not that she wasn't, of course, she mused idly. Hadn't she had her first intentional orgasm while imagining a long, celebratory romp with Buck Yeager after a particularly harrowing test flight they'd undertaken together? A sudden jolt in her midsection that quickly softened into a slow heat spreading through her flanks indicated that her body remembered the experience all too well. The mental image of lying on her back, wings spread wide across the filthy hangar floor, and her flight suit torn open from neck to tail in their haste, the passion of their shared experience too intense and urgent to wait even long enough to escape the oil-slicked concrete before Buck took her by the shoulders, pinning her forelegs to her sides, the hunger in his eyes piercing into hers as he--

Scootaloo's eyes snapped open. Whoa... she thought, her chest heaving and her wings suddenly cramped against the sides of the tub. Yeah...yeah, still a big fan of that... Blushing furiously, she glanced down through the water between her legs. She couldn't quite see it, but oh, Luna could she feel the heat searing through her marehood. Even in the sultry sauna of the steam-soaked bathroom, the slow burn of her sudden arousal brought a light sheen of sweat to her face. Every nerve in her body hummed with anxious desire, and she unconsciously slid one of her hooves across the fur of her belly, down between her legs, and rested it gently against the hot, swollen lips there.

Don't do it, Scootaloo chided herself. You're in somepony else's house. Her body refused to listen, and another jolt of adrenaline shot through her stomach as she idly swept the water around the sensitive slit, caressing it without directly touching herself. It had been a while, she reflected bashfully, and she had been riding on high emotion for several days now without allowing herself any sort of release. Another gentle touch sent sparks of longing up her spine, and her wings strained against the tub, the muscles tightening furiously in her arousal. Fine, but...do it quickly, she acquiesced, her face burning with anticipatory shame. The steady, powerful pulse of heat in her nethers suggested that she wouldn't have to worry too much about that.

Shifting slightly, the pegasus turned sideways and climbed to her knees in the tub to let her sopping wings stretch out. They eagerly spread to their full span, dripping all over the pristine tile floor at the head and foot of the bath. Situated now so she was leaning against the long edge of the tub, Scootaloo slid a hoof down her front again, gingerly resting the tip against her burning slit. The effect was mild but intense, and she gasped lightly at the touch. She shot a guilty look at the closed bathroom door, but continued to explore herself, parting the lips and gently caressing the slick heat beyond. She felt her inner walls tightening reflexively as she stroked the entrance with her hoof. She repeated the gesture, reveling in the delicious frustration of pent up arousal, closing her eyes and recalling the image that had started this fire in the first place. Kneeling in the tub, she imagined straddling the powerful, svelte stallion's lower body, feeling his hot, twitching member sliding between her flanks, pushing through her tail and matting the fur there with thick, slow drops of semen. She imagined pressing her searing marehood down against his midsection, feeling the fur sliding against her winking clitoris and bringing with it fresh tides of her own juices slowly seeping into his fur and silently begging him to make use of them.

Scootaloo felt a moan building deep in her chest as she slowly, firmly worked a hoof between her legs, sliding it back and forth, the trembling in her foreleg blissfully adding another dimension of stimulation to the steady stroke. She bit down on her free hoof to stifle her reflexive vocalizations and leaned against the edge of the tub as she lifted her tail out of the water, unconsciously presenting her hindquarters to her imaginary suitor. Water cascaded off the fur and dripped down her back as she began to work herself deeper, dipping the tip of her hoof into the tight opening behind the eagerly parted lips as the winking button above them continued to rhythmically stroke itself against her hoof.

She was close now, Scootaloo knew, panting into the fur of her foreleg as sweat ran in rivulets down her face. She had only been playing for a minute or so, but she could already feel the slow euphoric tightening of an orgasm building deep in her belly. For a moment, she considered following her fantasy to its conclusion, as she usually did, but a sudden, wicked idea crossed her mind, and her sex-soaked brain immediately dove on the opportunity, calling up an entirely new scene. Instead of kneeling on a hangar floor, Scootaloo found herself kneeling on thick, soft rose-colored carpet, leaning not against a tub, but against an enormous four-poster bed. Lying on her back, directly in front of Scootaloo's eager face, was Silver Spoon, her rear legs splayed wide and her tender pink marehood laid bare and glistening in front of the pegasus' nose.

A sudden jolt of renewed pleasure scorched through Scootaloo's body, and she felt herself clenching tightly in a small, intense omen of the coming storm. Gasping more loudly now, she groaned into her hoof and squeezed her eyes shut, calling up the image again and intently filling in as much detail as she could. She saw Silver Spoon lying back, leaning on her elbows on the bed, looking down at the pegasus, who was kneeling in what she imagined was one of the best places she could ever find herself. Silver Spoon's cheeks formed a bright crimson frame for a tiny, shy smile that she was sheepishly flashing. "Scootaloo...I...I've never done anything like this before..." the imaginary Silver Spoon said quietly, her voice shaking. Her ears folded back against her head, and she whispered, "Please be gentle..."

Back in the real world, a stab of ecstasy shot through Scootaloo's stomach, and she felt her hoof sliding more easily across her wide-open slit as she produced even more fluids in her delirious arousal. Another small orgasm rolled through her body, and she paused to bite down on her hoof again, struggling to hold back her euphoric vocalizations and failing miserably. A small part of her that was still able to pay attention flinched inwardly at the sound of her moans echoing off the tile walls, but she ignored it as she felt a third and larger orgasm mounting deep in her belly. She rubbed furiously at her swollen lips, splashing water over the edges of the tub and knocking over the bottles of products sitting around the bath as her wings seized and flexed of their own accord, stretching to their limits. In her mind, she leaned forward into Silver Spoon's privates, taking a deep breath through her nose. She imagined a sultry, sour scent not unlike the way Scootaloo knew she herself smelled, although naturally infused with some of Silver Spoon's own unique scent. She imagined some of the lingering essence from Silver Spoon's bedroom hanging lightly in the air, and her eyes rolled back in her head in ecstasy. Finally, she leaned forward the rest of the way and lightly kissed the other filly's burning pink marehood.

The imaginary embrace was more than Scootaloo could take, and she felt the dam break deep within her. A rolling, powerful orgasm exploded from her twitching clitoris, through her shivering thighs and up through her belly, past quaking inner walls that clenched rhythmically, sending out waves of pleasure with every pulsing flex. Her hooves and wings shook, and her right hoof dug deep between the lips, desperately stroking herself to draw out every last vestige of the surging orgasm. Her teeth clenched hard on her hoof as she moaned loudly, unable to stop herself. The cry echoed off the tile walls, and she flinched at the realization that if anypony was within a few hooves of the door, they'd hear her ecstatic vocalizations. Even so, she continued to ride the ebbing climax as it slowly faded, leaving the young mare sitting limp in the tub, her head on the edge of the tub and both hooves and wings dangling loosely at her sides.

The pegasus panted heavily, still grunting every so often as the last fading jolts of pleasure raced through her quivering, exhausted frame. Somewhere in the back of her mind, Scootaloo was aware that as much as she wanted to simply lie here and bask in the afterglow of her overdue and utterly satisfying sexual release, she did still have to go to school today, and if she and Silver Spoon were going to try and part ways far away enough to keep from being suspected of being together, they'd have to leave a little earlier than she was used to. To that end, she slowly pulled herself upright in the tub, making sure to dunk her hair and wings one last time to wash away the sweat she'd generated through her unplanned exercise routine. Then she pulled the plug in the bottom and climbed out onto shaky legs, grabbing a towel off the stack sitting next to the tub.

A few minutes later, Scootaloo pushed her way out of the bathroom and was startled to discover Carillon waiting just outside the door with a pleasant smile and a brush in her magical aura. Panicking slightly, Scootaloo asked, "H-how long have you been standing here?"

Carillon tilted her head slightly, thinking. "Well, I went to finish Miss Spoon's mane and tail, but I came back as soon as I could to be sure to be here when you finished. Maybe...ten minutes?"

Scootaloo felt the blood draining from her face. "I...see. You didn't...um...I mean, you didn't...hear anything strange...did you?" she asked tightly.

Carillon's face was inscrutable. "I haven't the faintest idea what you mean, Miss Scootaloo."

Scootaloo examined the unicorn's expression, trying to discern if she was lying or not. Silver Spoon was right, she realized. Like any good household servant, Carillon either genuinely didn't care what the ponies she was working for did, or she was surprisingly capable of hiding it. Either way, Scootaloo decided to let it go and said, "Right...anyway, I guess Silver Spoon's already having breakfast, isn't she? I know I took a while."

Carillon nodded shallowly, still smiling pleasantly. "Yes, but not for very long. I believe you can join her in a moment, if you wish. Would you like me to brush your mane out for you first?"

"No, I..." Scootaloo sighed. "Yeah, fine. Not too much, though," she warned, "I don't want to look prissy or anything."

"Of course," Carillon said, coming forward and starting to brush her mane. To her credit, Scootaloo admitted ruefully, the unicorn was extremely talented, and she drew the brush through her thick, short mane deftly and swiftly, pulling but never really hurting as she tugged at the small snarls and tangles Scootaloo had accidentally created while fiercely washing her hair. It was actually quite pleasant, reminiscent of younger days when her mothers would brush out her mane and tail after a bath while they all sat together in the living room. A pang of guilt and wistful longing tightened around her heart, and she unconsciously leaned into the brush strokes, bashfully enjoying the sensation of being groomed. Entirely too soon, the unicorn made her way back in front of the pegasus and nodded curtly. "There you are, madam. Is that to your liking?" she asked, holding up a mirror. Scootaloo glanced at her reflection and was surprised to find herself pleased with the result.

"Uh...yeah, it is, actually." Her mane was not particularly different than she normally wore it, with a short curl at the front edge and a feathered nape. The only real difference was that instead of looking messy and unkempt, the 'style' looked as though she'd intentionally brushed it into place, smooth and tidy. "How did you do that? It looks like...heck, like I always have it, except better."

Carillon smiled and chuckled quietly. "Thank you, madam. I did ask Miss Spoon how you prefer to have your mane styled, and she showed me a few photos from her yearbooks." The smile broadened warmly. "You do seem to have a unique style that you like."

Scootaloo smirked. "Yeah, well...I guess I've just never really put a lot of thought into my mane style, honestly."

Carillon nodded. "You are quite fortunate. Your mane is very attractive without much attention."

"Oh, I don't know about that," Scootaloo said, blushing. "It's just hair..."

"I can think of a few things I could do to take advantage of your natural beauty, but I'm not sure it would be necessary," Carillon continued without a hint of sarcasm or sycophancy. "I've always said the same to Miss Spoon, too, but she does seem to prefer her braids."

Scootaloo grunted her assent, still blushing under the relentless praise. "Yeah, I saw Silver Spoon last night with her mane down, and she looks just fine. I dunno who told her otherwise, but they were crazy."

"Yes, well..." Carillon hesitated for a fraction of a second, as though catching herself about to say something she shouldn't. Instead she simply smiled again and said, "Anyway, please follow me to the dining room, Miss Scootaloo."

Scootaloo dutifully followed the unicorn back out to the main rotunda of the manor, still trying to hide the trembling in her legs that had resulted from her 'solo flight' in the bathroom. She hoped the high blush had faded from her cheeks as well, although the most obvious indicator--her wings--had obediently folded back against her shoulders and were now calm and content. Scootaloo mused that it had probably been harder to keep them from stiffening reflexively the last few days primarily because she had been so pent up. Spending so much of the last week in Silver Spoon's close company couldn't possibly have helped, she reflected wanly. At the very least, she was now sated; hopefully they'd be more obedient for a while.

Down the staircase and down another hallway, Carillon led Scootaloo to a pair of wide double doors and deftly pushed one of them open, dipping her head very slightly as she said, "The dining hall, Miss Scootaloo." The pegasus walked into the room, still silently wishing Carillon would stop calling her 'Miss' and 'Madam'. Obviously there was nothing for it, but it still felt disingenuous to her; she wasn't wealthy or powerful or famous, she was just...Scootaloo. She didn't deserve to be served by anypony, least of all by somepony who was clearly very talented and dedicated to her role.

Inside the dining hall, Scootaloo noted that there was absolutely no reason she and Silver Spoon should be eating at a table this long and ornately set. It was wide enough for a row of place settings on either side with space in the middle for centerpieces and candelabras, of which it had at least a dozen each. The table was some eighty hooves long, long enough for at least sixty ponies to sit comfortably and not have to brush against one another at all. In a pinch, she imagined they could probably have fit over a hundred ponies at the table without it feeling terribly cramped. The room itself was as tall as a cathedral, the vaulted ceiling towering over the eating space, and hanging from the middle of the ceiling was a chandelier almost as large as the one in the rotunda, all glittering crystals and brilliant fairy lights effortlessly illuminating every inch of the enormous room. Along one wall was a long buffet table, currently standing empty, and much like the rest of the house, every open space of wall housed some exquisite piece of artwork.

Scootaloo paused to absorb the sight, her mouth hanging open slightly in awe. Sometimes, in her wildest fantasies, she had imagined living a truly decadent life, spending money with abandon and building extravagant monuments to her own wanton self-indulgence. She had not even come close. This was wealth on a titanic scale, a level that made petty wishes for fancy toys and multiple homes seem trite. It made her feel pathetically inadequate simply to be standing here, woefully out of place.

"Hey, Scootaloo!" Silver Spoon's hail brought Scootaloo out of her stunned trance, and the pegasus looked down to one end of the room to see the grey filly sitting at the head of the table, waving her over. She traipsed across the absurd distance and settled herself into one of the seats next to Silver Spoon.

"Hey, Spoon." She glanced down at the table top and blinked. "You don't have any food."

Silver Spoon shrugged. "Not yet. I told them to wait for you."

"You didn't have to do that," Scootaloo protested. "You could've started without me. It doesn't bother me."

"And waiting didn't bother me, so we're even." She smiled. "Besides, I didn't want to finish early and then have to sit here and stare at you while you caught up." She leaned forward and pantomimed watching Scootaloo eat, bugging her eyes out absurdly.

Scootaloo giggled. "Alright, alright. Well, I'm here now, so let's eat already."

Silver Spoon grinned. "For sure."

~~~

The meal passed mostly in silence as Scootaloo stuffed one ridiculously amazing course after another into her famished mouth, marveling at the quality and subtle excellence of foods she'd been eating her whole life, but had apparently never had cooked properly. The chefs in the Silver Estate kitchen were supremely skilled, she could tell, and she could practically taste their exorbitant salaries in every bite. When both ponies finished, they sat at the table for a few minutes, chatting aimlessly.

"So," Scootaloo said, "did you manage to finish your homework from last night? I know I interrupted you while you were working on it..."

Silver Spoon shook her head, laying her ears flat on her head. "Of course not. I never finish my homework before the day it's due."

"Never?" Scootaloo said, surprised. "But you always turn something in."

The grey filly nodded, pointedly avoiding Scootaloo's gaze. "Yeah, well...I usually just...copy Diamond Tiara's work if I don't manage to get something written. I try not to do it too often, because I don't want Miss Cheerilee to get too suspicious, but..." She shrugged helplessly. "Sometimes I just can't even figure out where to start, and if Di and I don't work on it together, I don't usually get anything done."

"Yeah, well," Scootaloo said, "that doesn't honestly surprise me too much. I mean, if you're having trouble keeping up anyway, and Diamond Tiara's your only study partner...well, DT doesn't exactly seem like the best teacher to me."

"Oh, no," Silver Spoon said, shaking her head fervently, "she's a perfectly good teacher, I'm just...not a good student," she finished quietly.

Scootaloo rolled her eyes and leaned forward on the table. "You know, Spoon, you really can't get away with saying that anymore now that I know it's not true."

Silver Spoon blinked at her. "Huh? What do you mean?"

"Oh please," Scootaloo scoffed, "I taught you the other night, remember? You were perfectly fine. You listened, asked questions, answered questions, and you were even excited when you figured something out. Hell, if I was a teacher, you'd be my favorite student."

Silver Spoon's mouth opened slightly in astonishment, and she immediately looked away, a blush suddenly rising to her cheeks. Scootaloo's heart fluttered a little at the sight. Buck, she's cute when she's flustered. How have I never noticed any of this before? She ignored the small voice suggesting that she probably had noticed before, but had intentionally ignored it. The other filly tapped her hooves together in front of her muzzle and said quietly, "You're just saying that..."

Scootaloo shrugged. "Think what you want. All I'm saying is that you're not as lost a cause as you think you are." She shook her head. "I dunno why you're so down on yourself all the time. No, wait, yes I do," she corrected herself, grimacing. "Forget I said that..."

Silver Spoon smiled. "Well, that's definitely part of it, but believe me, you and the Crusaders aren't where it all started."

"We aren't?" Scootaloo asked.

Silver Spoon shook her head. "No, I...I was kind of a lost cause a long time before you three started really fighting back."

"Really? Why's that?"

"Oh, I...uh..." Silver Spoon faltered, as if suddenly unwilling to expound further on the topic she'd raised. "I...don't really want to talk about it..."

Scootaloo was perplexed, but she saw the shade of dark memories passing over Silver Spoon's face and decided the topic was better left untouched. "Ah, never mind. Doesn't matter why you think you're stupid or incapable, just how we're going to change your mind." Silver Spoon smiled shyly up from behind her bangs, and Scootaloo felt a little swell of pleasure at the sight. She continued, eager to buoy the other filly's spirits further. "So how about we get together to work on the project some more tonight, huh? We can do homework first, then study some more for the project, and if you want, even start looking at some plans, so you get a better idea of what we're gonna try to do."

This had the desired effect, as Silver Spoon looked up and nodded at her, smiling broadly now. "Okay, that sounds good," she said. "Will your mothers be home tonight?"

Scootaloo shrugged. "I dunno, but if they are, you can bet Mama Tavi's gonna demand that you stay for dinner again." She rolled her eyes theatrically, and both fillies laughed.

Insurmountable

"You're here awful early."

Scootaloo stopped short as she approached her friends at Apple Bloom's suspicious observation. She turned and glanced at the distant clock tower in the center of town. Rats. True to her friend's accusation, she was at the schoolyard almost twenty minutes earlier than she usually was. She shrugged and feigned ignorance. "Am I? Oh well, I just woke up early today, I guess."

Her friends exchanged a look. "But you never wake up early," Sweetie Belle said. "Like...ever."

Scootaloo raised an eyebrow at her. "So what? Maybe I went to bed early last night." Both her friends narrowed their eyes at her, and she realized they knew this statement was just as absurd as the previous one. She tried to brush it off and press the conversation forward. "Anyway, forget it. How about that storm last night, huh? Pretty nasty."

Apple Bloom gave her one last skeptical look before apparently letting the matter drop and nodding somberly. "Tell me about it. We had to go out an' repair a bunch a broken branches this mornin' before I could leave."

"Yeah, I got stuck at Rarity's house all night," Sweetie Belle lamented with more theatrics than feeling. "Do you girls have any idea how early that mare gets up in the morning?"

Scootaloo grunted. "Uh, yeah, because she used to wake us all up that early, remember? She still tries, too, whenever we spend the night at her place."

Sweetie Belle sighed dramatically. "I can't believe my parents still won't let me just have a key to the house. It's not like a taxi ride home every day would kill me--or them--and it would save me the trouble of having to suffer through all of Rarity's bitching and subtle hints on how I could 'improve' myself," she said bitterly, making air quotes with her hooves. "At least she agreed that Miss Cheerilee setting me up with Diamond Tiara was a huge mistake."

Apple Bloom looked at Sweetie Belle. "So you two still haven't talked since the other day?"

Sweetie Belle laughed dryly. "Talk? To Diamond Tiara? Yeah, I'll get right on that." She scowled at the ground between her hooves. "This project is going to be a disaster."

Scootaloo shrugged. "Well, I guess you could always just, you know, do as much as you can by yourself, and just tell Miss Cheerilee that Di was being a mule, like usual. Maybe she'll let you off easy."

Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle both looked at her sideways, a curious expression on their faces. Scootaloo blinked. "What?"

"'Di'?" Apple Bloom repeated. "Since when have you called Diamond Tiara 'Di'?"

A thrill of alarm fluttered in Scootaloo's chest, but she ignored it. "I dunno, it just seemed easier to say than her whole name, don't you think?"

"Sounds like a nickname."

"Yeah, so?" Scootaloo snapped. "What does it matter what I call her? And why are you so full of questions today?"

"Cuz you're full of weirdness. What happened to you last night? Yer actin' all uppity and secretive."

"I'm not actin'--I mean acting--uppity," Scootaloo protested.

"You kind of are," Sweetie Belle said, raising an eyebrow at her. "Did you have another fight with your parents?"

"No, I...nothing happened!" Scootaloo said, exasperated. "Jeez, can't a filly just have a weird morning?"

"It's Silver Spoon, isn't it?" Scootaloo was about to expand on her feigned outrage when Sweetie Belle's question suddenly blanked her mind. She stared at the unicorn, mouth half-open. Sweetie Belle shrugged. "I mean, it's the only thing that's really changed, you know. You and Silver Spoon getting along, you telling us not to make fun of her--"

"Well, you shouldn't," Scootaloo bristled.

Apple Bloom narrowed her eyes at her. "Well, yeah, but you were always the one who started it, remember? It's just weird, that's all. It's a pretty quick change of heart, ya know?"

"I...well, maybe, but I don't...that's not..." Scootaloo sputtered, trying to find a way to deflect the conversation. "Maybe I just think she deserves another chance!" she finally said, her wings flaring in exasperated surrender.

The other Crusaders stared at Scootaloo as if she'd suddenly grown a horn before their eyes. Several moments of silence passed before Sweetie Belle said with the utmost sincerity. "You're a changeling, aren't you?"

Scootaloo clopped herself in the forehead with a hoof. "No, you doofus, I'm not a changeling."

"Cuz if you are, it's fine, I mean, you seem nice enough and all, we should probably just tell Scootaloo's--"

"I'm not a changeling!" Scootaloo repeated. "Look, I..." She sighed heavily. "Alright, look. I wanna tell you girls something, but you have to promise me--and I mean Pinkie Pie Swear here--that you won't breathe a word of it to anypony else." She glared at Sweetie Belle. "Seriously, nopony."

The unicorn's eyes were wide and excited, and she nodded fervently. "We promise! Don't we, Apple Bloom?"

Apple Bloom looked at Sweetie Belle with poorly disguised skepticism. "Yeah, I promise. Do you?"

"I just said, 'we', didn't I?" Sweetie Belle asked.

"Yeah, but..."

"But what?"

Scootaloo pursed her lips. "Well, it's not like you've never made and then broken that promise before, Sweetie Belle."

The unicorn's face fell. "Hey, that's not fair..."

"Well, Sweetie Belle, you know it's true." Apple Bloom shook her head. "Remember when I told you about the last family reunion?" Sweetie Belle suddenly grimaced and looked away. "Yeah. You notice how there hasn't been another one in a while?"

"Well how was I supposed to know it was such a big deal?" Sweetie Belle protested.

"Because I told you it was, and asked you not to tell anypony else!" Apple Bloom snapped. "And you said you wouldn't, and then you did."

"Yeah," Scootaloo added before Sweetie Belle could respond, "and you remember when I told you about that dream I had?"

"Um..." Sweetie Belle said nervously, "which one?"

"Pick one!" Scootaloo said, annoyed. "It doesn't matter which, because you've blabbed about them all!"

Sweetie Belle sat back on her haunches and looked at the ground, her eyes glittering with shameful tears. Scootaloo took a steadying breath. "Look, Sweetie Belle, I'm not trying to make you upset or anything, I just...look, this is really kind of private, alright, and I want to tell you, but you have got to keep it a secret. You just...haven't given me a lot of reason to think you will...you know?"

Sweetie looked up at her through glistening eyes. "But what about last Winter? I kept that secret, didn't I? And...and what about Babs!" she said, looking at Apple Bloom. "I didn't say anything about that!"

"I know," Scootaloo said, "which makes it all the more frustrating. We know you can keep a secret, but you just...don't do it very often."

"I'll keep this one, I promise!" Sweetie Belle said, eyes wide with anxious anticipation. "Cross my heart, cupcake and all!"

Scootaloo eyes her skeptically for a moment, then sighed and sat back. "Alright, alright. Look, last night..." She glanced around conspiratorially and leaned forward. The other two Crusaders leaned in as well. "Last night, I had to spend the night at Silver Spoon's house."

Sweetie Belle made a sound near the upper edge of Scootaloo's hearing range and clapped her hooves over her mouth. "No!"

Scootaloo nodded. "I went over there to...well, I was apologizing for yelling at her after class, because..." She sighed again, looking at Sweetie Belle. "Look, you know how you said it was weird for me to make a simple mistake like I did?" Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom both nodded. "Well, you were right, after all. It was weird because it wasn't a mistake. I did it on purpose."

"Told you," Apple Bloom said smugly to the unicorn. Sweetie Belle waved a hoof at her to silence her, still staring raptly at Scootaloo.

"Anyway, I was just trying to help her out, cuz she needs it, right?" Her friends nodded, and Scootaloo said, "Well, she found me out, and she was pretty spurred, so I went over to her place last night to apologize. It was no big deal, actually, and she was pretty understanding and all, but before I could come back home, it started raining, and since it was supposed to rain all night, I decided I didn't really want to have to walk all the way home in a deluge. So I asked if I could spend the night there."

"And she said yes?" Sweetie Belle asked with a distinct air of disbelief.

Scootaloo shrugged. "Yeah. I mean, it's no big deal, she's got a huge bed, and we--"

"Wait, wait," Apple Bloom interrupted. "You slept in her bed?"

Buck! Scootaloo mentally slapped herself. That was a detail she had been planning to keep to herself. She waved a hoof dismissively, trying to shrug it off. "Well, yeah, I mean...all the guest rooms were full, and it just didn't make sense to sleep on the floor when there was this huge bed with only one pony in it. I mean, I don't think you understand, when I say 'huge', I mean, like, twice as big as your bed, Sweetie Belle." She paused to let her friends conjure up a rough idea of what it looked like. "And we slept on opposite sides, so it was nothing. It was practically like sleeping in two separate beds, just with another one stuffed between them."

"Still, you were under the same sheets and everything," Sweetie Belle observed unhelpfully.

Scootaloo resisted the impulse to consider this fact in more detail and shrugged. "The point is, I was there for a long time, obviously, so we had a lot of time to just sit and talk. So we did." At this moment, all three ponies turned to watch a pair of large, ornate carriages roll up to the fence outside the schoolyard, and Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon climbed out at almost the same moment. Upon seeing one another, the two ponies exchanged a brief greeting before dismissing their rides and walking side by side into the yard. Scootaloo noticed that Silver Spoon was pointedly avoiding looking her way, instead staring at the ground and talking to her friend though a narrow frown. Diamond Tiara kept her head inclined as Silver Spoon spoke, clearly displeased with something. Hell, when isn't she? Scootaloo observed with a small smirk. "Anyway," she continued, recalling her friends' attention, "we ended up using the time to...clear the air, I guess. And it turns out that not only is she not as bad as we thought, but she's actually pretty cool."

Apple Bloom actually laughed. "Really?"

Scootaloo narrowed her eyes at her. "Yes, really. Come on, girls, is it that hard to believe that Silver Spoon might not be as bad as we always thought she was?"

Sweetie Belle shrugged. "Well, she's never been anything but an ass to us...so yeah, it's a little tough."

"Granted," Scootaloo said, "but what if maybe--just maybe--she was only being that way because she had to? Like, what if she thought her one and only friend in the world would stop being her friend if she ever stopped being a bitch to that friend's sworn enemies?"

The other two Crusaders glanced across the yard again to where Silver Spoon was now sitting in front of Diamond Tiara, her head hanging low and a somber look on her face. The pink pony in front of her was not looking at her, but instead simply standing aloof and examining a hoof with disinterest. Apple Bloom looked back at Scootaloo. "Who, Diamond Tiara?"

Scootaloo nodded. "Look, this is totally top secret, alright, so you seriously have to keep it to yourself...Sweetie Belle," she added ominously, scowling at the unicorn. Sweetie Belle rolled her eyes, but she crossed her hoof over her heart just the same. "I don't think Silver Spoon likes Diamond Tiara very much. Like, she won't say for sure, but I think there's something else going on there that just doesn't seem very...positive."

Apple Bloom watched the two earth ponies interact for a few moments before saying, "Yeah, it doesn' look like they're gettin' along real well right now, anyway." She glanced back at Scootaloo. "So, what, ya think Silver Spoon's only mean because Diamond Tiara makes her be?"

"I know it sounds crazy," Scootaloo admitted, "but every time I've gotten to talk to her away from DT, she's been really nice and friendly. Honestly, I think she's just really lonely, is all. It's not like she's got any other friends, does she?"

"What, a popular pony like her?" Sweetie Belle said.

"Well, is she really popular?" Scootaloo asked. "I mean, think about it. Who else do you see her hang out with besides Diamond tiara?" Her friends contemplated this question for several seconds. "Exactly," she continued when neither seemed able to come up with an answer. "I'm not saying she's perfect, or that we have to befriend her or anything, just...well, maybe cut her some slack. Give her a chance. Not DT," she added hastily, "DT is a cow, and should be abused at every opportunity. But Silver Spoon...let's just...not mess with her for a while, huh?"

Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom looked at each other, then shrugged and nodded at her. "Alrigh', whatever you say, Scoot," Apple Bloom said. "I still think yer crazy, but you're the one who has to do a project with her."

Miss Cheerilee suddenly appeared at the entrance to the schoolhouse with her trademark bell and began ringing it to summon them inside. Scootaloo smiled at her friends as they all started making their way towards the school. "Thanks, girls. I really appreciate it."

"Don' mention it," Apple Bloom said, smiling back. "Like ah said, yer the one who has to deal with her."

As she walked towards the schoolhouse, Scootaloo's ears pricked over in Silver Spoon's direction, catching the tail end of the conversation she'd been having with Diamond Tiara as they approached.

"...said you would call me if you wanted to hang out last night, though, remember?" Silver Spoon was saying in a desperate pleading tone.

"Yes, well," Diamond Tiara said stiffly, still pointedly not looking at the other pony, "you could have called me, too. I thought at the very least you would want to discuss the day's events, if nothing else."

"Discuss?" Silver Spoon said, stopping short. "Discuss what? You mean what you were angry about after school? I thought we talked about that already!"

Diamond Tiara didn't say anything else, but simply breezed past the Crusaders, even nudging Sweetie Belle out of the way and snapping, "Watch it, marshmallow!"

Silver Spoon sighed heavily, shaking her head at the ground. Scootaloo tried to surreptitiously catch her eye, to give her some sort of encouraging smile, but the earth pony simply plodded towards the entrance to the schoolhouse, her head hanging low and her ears flat on top of her skull. Scootaloo exchanged a look with her friends, who were both wide-eyed with surprise. She tilted her head towards Silver Spoon's retreating form and mouthed, See? Her friends nodded affirmatively, and together they followed the earth pony into the school.

~~~

The day was only half over, but it was already the single strangest day Silver Spoon had ever lived through. Even allowing for the unique experience of waking up with another mare who wasn't Diamond Tiara in her bed, the morning had been odd. Carillon had been unusually chipper, and even Intricacy had something that could have been mistaken for a smile on his muzzle. Breakfast had been exceptionally pleasant, which Silver Spoon knew perfectly well was thanks in large part to Scootaloo being there to converse with, and it had taken all of her resolve not to throw caution to the wind and ask the pegasus to ride to school with her.

Class had been even stranger. After she and Diamond Tiara had finished bickering and settled into their seats--still not entirely reconciled, Silver Spoon knew--Miss Cheerilee had announced that they would have a discussion on the novel they'd been assigned to read. For once, Silver Spoon had actually done the reading, and she had been tentatively excited to participate in the discussion. This excitement had evolved into genuine pleasure as she found herself actually speaking out loud, conversing about the story, and even engaging the Crusaders--the Crusaders--in a lively debate about the main character's motivations. The crowning moment of the day had come at the end of the discussion, when Scootaloo had actually sat back in her chair and said in a sincere tone of voice, "Yeah, you're right, Silver Spoon. I guess I didn't really get that the first time."

Silver Spoon knew that Scootaloo was probably backing down on purpose--the half-smile and ghost of a wink she shot across the room at her after they'd moved on to another topic had enhanced that suspicion--but she appreciated the gesture nonetheless. Miss Cheerilee had complimented her on her insight, and she'd spent the rest of the day floating on a cloud of pride, an emotion so unfamiliar that she wasn't entirely certain how to respond. Part of her wanted to immediately run home and tell Carillon about it; another part of her wanted to share it with Diamond Tiara, to see if it could help get her back in the other filly's good graces; a final part of her just wanted to keep the whole episode to herself, to revel in the magic of feeling...successful. It was a minor victory, she knew, but somehow it just felt special.

The day had ended without any mention of math or physics or any of the other topics Silver Spoon dreaded hearing Miss Cheerilee announce, and when she finally dismissed them, Silver Spoon immediately turned to Diamond Tiara. "Hey, Di, how about--"

The chair was empty. Puzzled, Silver Spoon looked to the back of the room and barely saw a flash of white-and-lavender hair vanishing through the door to the yard. Curious, she got up from her seat and followed the retreating pony out of the schoolhouse. Normally, Diamond Tiara just waited by her desk to walk outside with Silver Spoon, but on those rare occasions where they had to part ways at the end of class, she almost always stopped at the edge of the yard, where they would sit and chat until one of their carriages arrived.

Outside, Silver Spoon saw the pink earth pony trotting hastily across the dry grass towards the dirt road beyond. She was about to put on a burst of speed and try to catch up with her when Diamond Tiara did something she'd never seen the other pony do before. Instead of pulling up short at the gate and waiting for either Silver Spoon or her ride to arrive, she left the yard entirely and started trotting up the road back towards Levade Lane.

Silver Spoon sat back on her haunches, utterly bemused. Never in the course of their friendship had she seen Diamond Tiara intentionally walk home. She wasn't entirely certain Diamond Tiara knew how to get back to the subdivision without a driver. The prim, proud pony never wasted time and energy walking if there was any way she could get a ride instead, but even now Silver Spoon could see her slowly shrinking into the distance, clearly intent on making her way to her destination as fast as possible.

Silver Spoon watched her retreating friend with a combined sense of confusion and unease for a few moments before she was interrupted by a sudden shout from behind. "Hey, Spoon!"

The silver filly jumped a little and turned to see Scootaloo coming out of the schoolhouse, her ubiquitous posse in tow. She relaxed a little at the sight, but still maintained a feigned sense of haughty indifference. "Yes, Scootaloo?"

Scootaloo's mouth was pulled taut, a distinct air of impatience and irritation in her tone, but something glittered in her eyes that told Silver Spoon not to be concerned. "Thought you could get away after class, huh? You know we've still got a flank-load of work to do on this stupid project, right?"

Silver Spoon drew herself up theatrically, inclining her head and looking down her nose at the pegasus. "Yes, and what of it? Did you expect me to wait beside your desk while you dawdled with your...friends?" She glanced to Scootaloo's side, giving Apple Bloom a supremely disdainful look. The earth pony stared back through half-lidded eyes, but for once, Silver Spoon noted, she didn't seem particularly upset. Standing next to her, Sweetie Belle even seemed...amused? She felt an unwarranted stab of chagrin at their reaction; normally just talking to her aggravated the Crusaders, but for some reason they didn't seem to be responding today. It was just as well, she reminded herself, as she was trying not to be quite so antagonistic--for Scootaloo's sake, anyway--but it almost felt like the balance of power had shifted...as though they knew something she didn't.

Fleetingly, she wondered if Scootaloo had caved in and told her friends what she and Silver Spoon had discussed the night before, but she dismissed the thought almost immediately. Scootaloo was a little tactless, a little churlish, but she was trustworthy. Silver Spoon decided she must be imagining things. The pegasus bolstered this assessment with a dismissive sniff and a sneer. "No, but you took off so fast I figured you must've forgotten we were going to work on it again tonight."

"It's a little early, don't you think?" Silver Spoon asked, genuinely surprised.

Scootaloo shrugged. "I think it doesn't matter. I want to get as much done as we can as fast as we can, so we can get it done and go our separate ways."

Silver Spoon narrowed her eyes at her. "Fine. Let's go, then."

"Yeah, let's," Scootaloo agreed. She glanced over her shoulder at her friends, who were both watching the conversation with interest. "Girls, I hate to have to take off, but if this stupid project is ever going to get done, it's gonna take some long nights. I'll talk to you later, alright?"

Apple Bloom cut her eyes at Silver Spoon as she said, "Yeah, alrigh'. We'll be at my place fer a while if you get bored..." She smirked darkly. "Or tired of tryin' to drag Spoony here behind ya."

Silver Spoon glared at the other filly, but inwardly her stomach was slowly relaxing. It seemed unlikely that Scootaloo would let her friends snipe at her quite so viciously if they knew she and Silver Spoon were friends now. "Oh, how droll and original," she said flatly, "accusing me of being stupid. Truly an angle nopony has ever explored before." Rolling her eyes, she turned and started plodding off towards the edge of the yard.

Behind her, Scootaloo said her goodbyes and trotted quickly back to her side, pulling up as they got halfway to the road. "Wait until we get out of sight," she muttered through pursed lips. Silver Spoon nodded shallowly, raising a hoof to disguise the gesture as a flip of her mane. A ridiculous flutter of amusement tickled her chest as they walked without speaking, standing some distance apart but inextricably bound by their covert accord. The pair managed to maintain a sense of aloof disinterest in one another until they turned a corner and the schoolhouse disappeared behind them. Scootaloo exhaled forcefully and grinned at her. "No sweat."

Silver Spoon giggled and nodded. "Yeah, well...lots of practice, right?"

"Yeah, yeah...sorry about that. And about Apple Bloom, too." She smiled wanly. "Old habits die hard, I guess."

"Well," Silver Spoon said, "I wouldn't expect anything else out of Apple Bloom. I mean, it's not like she knows anything's changed, right?" When Scootaloo didn't immediately respond, she raised an eyebrow at her and repeated, "Right?"

"Well..." Scootaloo said, grimacing.

Silver Spoon glared at her. "Scootaloo, you said you'd keep it a secret!"

Scootaloo held up a hoof defensively. "Whoa, hang on, I didn't tell them we're friends or anything, I just told them I spent the night at your place, that's all."

"All? Scootaloo, that's exactly what I wanted to keep secret!" she said, her voice shrill. "I told you--"

"Relax, Spoon, it's okay. I didn't tell them anything special, just the basics. I came over to--to talk about the project, it started raining, and I had to stay. No big deal."

Silver Spoon thought Scootaloo might have paused for an instant, as if she had forgotten what lie she'd fed the other Crusaders, but she let it go. There were more pressing issues to address. "Scootaloo, I told you I wanted to keep this to ourselves. I'm not comfortable with other ponies knowing that you've been spending the night, I don't want it to get around that we're friends, I don't--"

"Silver Spoon!" Scootaloo interrupted her, a hint of frustration in her voice. "I get it, I really do. And I swear I tried to keep it a secret, but...well, Apple Bloom's a lot smarter than you and DT ever gave her credit for. I admit, I screwed up because I showed up at school way too early, but she and Sweetie Belle were all over it. They knew exactly why I was early, where I had been...I couldn't have kept it a secret if I'd had my mouth taped shut." She shrugged. "Just one of those things that comes with being friends for years. You'll see: someday we'll basically be able to read each other's minds." Scootaloo pulled a comical grin. "And believe me, that'll be a rough day for you."

"Oh really?" Silver Spoon smirked, relaxing a little. "Why, you think I'm keeping secrets worth knowing?"

She shook her head, her magenta mane whipping across her forehead. "Nope. I think the thoughts in my head would scar you for life."

"Hah," Silver Spoon said, "I doubt it. It's probably all numbers and aerostynes or dats or whatever they're called."

Scootaloo laughed. "Yeah, not quite."

The two ponies giggled together for the rest of the walk, discussing what each assumed the other must be thinking about, the suggestions getting more outlandish with every step until Scootaloo finally stopped short at the mailbox outside her house and put a hoof to her heart. "As Twilight is my witness, I do not have any fantasies about riding a hydra up Levade Lane and crashing through Diamond Tiara's house to have him eat her alive." She opened the mailbox and grabbed a small stack of letters before turning to Silver Spoon with a mischievous grin. "Rich Manor is a really nice house. I'd wait until she came out, and then I'd have him eat her."

Silver Spoon giggled in spite of herself as she followed the pegasus up the sidewalk and into her house. "Mom, I'm home!" Silver Spoon flinched reflexively at Scootaloo's boorish announcement, but as before, her mother simply appeared from inside her study, a gentle smile on her face.

"Good afternoon, sweetie. Silver Spoon, how lovely to see you again."

"Thank you, ma'am," Silver Spoon said, lowering her head slightly in deference. "Did...uh...did Scootaloo tell you..."

Octavia smiled and nodded. "Yes, I was actually expecting you this time. I got Sweetie Belle's message earlier today. By the way, did you receive your mother's reply, Scootaloo?"

The pegasus nodded, disappearing from the hallway into the kitchen. "Yeah, I got it. I told Miss Cheerilee, and she said not to worry about it, that she thought it was a great idea, and that lunch tomorrow sounded awesome." There was a rattling as Scootaloo pulled open the refrigerator and stuck her head inside. "Hey, Spoon, you want something to drink, or a snack or something?"

"Um...no thank you, I'm alright," Silver Spoon said, somewhat voyeuristically curious as to what Miss Cheerilee's response had actually entailed.

Scootaloo's head appeared above the refrigerator door. "Are you sure? It's no problem."

"Why Scootaloo," Octavia said, coming out of her study and walking down the hall to peer around the corner at her daughter. "Are you actually offering your guest refreshments?" A playful grin danced across her face.

Scootaloo looked at her mother with pursed lips and half-lidded eyes. "Why yes, I suppose I am."

The earth pony giggled softly. "How very considerate of you. Would you like me to make something for you to snack on?"

Scootaloo tilted her head. "Sure, I guess. I mean, if you're offering..."

"I am," Octavia said, trading places with her daughter inside the fridge.

Scootaloo stepped around the door with two bottles of soda tucked under her wing. She paused to open them both and drop a straw into one before offering it to Silver Spoon. "Here," she said without preface.

Silver Spoon blushed lightly and took the proffered bottle. "Oh, thank you." She took a polite sip of the drink. It was light and tasty, somewhat similar to the freshly mixed sodas she was used to getting from the kitchen, but somehow...friendlier. There was no pretense, no show, just a bottle of soda, a mass-produced label stuck to the glass and a bendy straw collecting carbonation inside. It was strangely pleasant, and she took another drink, less politely this time.

Scootaloo did not bother to put a straw into her bottle, but simply tilted her head back with the soda pressed to her lips. Silver Spoon watched with a mixture of awe and disgust as the pegasus swiftly and methodically drained the bottle dry. When she finally came up for air, she sighed contentedly and grinned at Silver Spoon, who simply shook her head, smiling.

Octavia ignored her daughter's antics, saying from behind the refrigerator door, "Pickled cucumber slices and alfalfa alright?"

"Thanks, mom, that sounds great," Scootaloo said as she plodded down the hallway towards her bedroom. She beckoned Silver Spoon to follow her as she added, "We're gonna be in my room doing homework, 'kay?"

Octavia's response was muffled by the platter she had just pulled out of the fridge and was holding in her teeth. "Alrrt, swrrthrrt."

Silver Spoon followed the pegasus to her bedroom, where the orange filly climbed up onto her bed and rolled over on her back, stretching her wings and legs luxuriously. Unsure of what to do, Silver Spoon stood awkwardly in the middle of the room, sipping at her drink. After a minute, Scootaloo looked sideways at her. "You know, you could sit down or lie down or whatever you want. I really don't mind." She patted the bed next to her, folding her wing away from the bedspread to clear a space for Silver Spoon to sit next to her.

The earth pony nodded and clambered up next to Scootaloo, settling into the comforter and setting her drink on the bedside table. Scootaloo put her hooves back behind her head and said, "So Diamond Tiara seemed...well, not entirely pleased to see you this morning."

Silver Spoon grimaced. "Yeah, she...she wasn't happy with me."

Scootaloo raised an eyebrow at her. "Why? Was she expecting you to call her last night or something?"

She shook her head. "No...I mean, I didn't think so, because she specifically told me that she would call me if she wanted to hang out, but now..." She shrugged. "I don't know, she seemed really upset that I didn't."

The pegasus lifted her head off her pillow, a suspicious look on her face. "Wait, she told you she would call you, and then got spurred because you didn't call her?" She shook her head as Silver Spoon nodded affirmatively. "What a bitch."

Silver Spoon winced. "Well, I don't know about all that...I mean, I probably should have called her, right? Just to talk about the day?"

Scootaloo rolled onto her side, closer to Silver Spoon. Close enough that Silver Spoon could feel the heat radiating off her body. It was a strange sort of sensation. She only ever really got this close to Diamond Tiara and occasionally Carillon, but the sense of feeling another pony's body heat had never really meant anything to her. Now, though, she felt a little twinge of joy at the feeling of being so close to somepony who she knew actually cared about her.

Not that Carillon and Diamond Tiara didn't care, of course, but Silver Spoon knew perfectly well that Carillon was being paid to care, and Diamond Tiara...well, Silver Spoon would never say it out loud, but she wasn't exactly sure where she and Di stood anymore. Once upon a time, she would have called Diamond Tiara her closest and best friend, but the other pony had been so aloof and distant lately that now she wasn't positive that they were friends at all. She wanted to think that there was still something there, but every time she tried to bridge the gap, Diamond Tiara just seemed to pull further away.

Scootaloo on the other hoof was only drawing closer with every conversation they had, and this one was proving to be no different. "Uh, why?" the pegasus asked dryly. "You think I talk to all my friends every night? Besides, what happened yesterday before I came over that was worth talking about?"

"Oh..." Silver Spoon's face flushed. "Well, nothing, really. I mean...I came home, I talked to my father, he called me lazy and worthless, as usual, and then I went--"

"Wait, he what?" Scootaloo interrupted, her mouth falling open in shock.

Silver Spoon stopped, blinking at her. "He...he got my report card yesterday, and it was...well, not good, as I'm sure you might expect. Anyway, he wasn't real happy about it, so he told me he...I mean, he was right, obviously; if I wanted to do better, I could, right? But he just...he wasn't impressed, and he told me so. It's no big deal, it's just...how parents are, right?"

"Uh, no?" Scootaloo said, incredulous. "Who the hell told you that parents are supposed to tell their foals that they're lazy and worthless?"

"Oh, he didn't say that exactly," Silver Spoon corrected herself. "He just...implied it. He has a point, too," she added, "I mean, I do spend a lot of time hanging out with Diamond Tiara and...well, just that, really. Still, I could spend more time on my studies...right?"

The pegasus shrugged. "I don't see where. Do you really spend like, every waking second with Diamond Tiara?"

"Well, no," Silver Spoon admitted. "I haven't really spent much time with her at all, recently. But I used to meet her just about every night to do our homework and then go out for a while. We always finish our homework first, though, so I don't really know what more time I could spend on it..."

"Exactly," Scootaloo said. "Sorry, but I don't buy it. You try too hard to be called lazy." Silver Spoon blushed and smiled faintly. "You're the least lazy pony I know, seriously. Like, you spend hours on all your tests, and you seem to really want to do well on your homework and stuff, you just...you just haven't really had a whole lot of help."

Silver Spoon looked away, tears collecting in the corners of her eyes. "That's really nice of you to say, Scootaloo, but..."

"But nothing," Scootaloo interrupted her forcefully, sitting up on the comforter and bringing her eyes level with Silver Spoon's. "Look at me." She did so, a jolt of guilt gnawing at her stomach. "You are perfectly intelligent, you're determined and focused, and you just...you fell behind, that's all." She put a hoof on Silver Spoon's shoulder. Silver Spoon glanced at it, shamefully relishing the contact for a moment before turning away, still resisting the tears collecting in her eyes. "Silver Spoon..." Scootaloo said softly, drawing her gaze back to the other filly's face. Scootaloo's eyes were glistening but determined. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry you've been mistreated like this. I'm sorry your best friend is shutting you out. I'm sorry your father thinks you're worthless. It's not fair."

Silver Spoon dropped her gaze to the comforter, tears sliding down her cheeks. "It's not your fault," she murmured.

"No," Scootaloo said, "but I haven't been helping. None of the Crusaders have. And you haven't had any support resisting us, and that's awful. Look, I know we both made mistakes, but...I just wish we'd had a chance to really get to know each other, before we just decided we were enemies. I wish Diamond Tiara hadn't been making fun of Apple Bloom. I wish you guys had just been two more ponies that we could have been friends with." She sighed. "'Cuz I think we could've been really good friends, and I'm sorry we missed the opportunity."

Silver Spoon closed her eyes. "Me too..." she whispered, resting her hoof on Scootaloo's. The tears were flowing steadily now, bitter tracks of regret and frustration, confusion and anger. She sniffed and raised her free hoof to wipe them away, but before she could, a sob escaped her lips. Embarrassed, she pressed her hoof to her mouth, hoping to silence any further shameful outbursts, but this proved futile as another sob caught in her chest, still distinctly audible. She squeezed her eyes shut and turned away to hide her bitter tears, but suddenly she felt another hoof on her other shoulder, and the next moment, she found herself pressed against Scootaloo's chest, the other filly's forelegs wrapped tightly around her shoulders and pressing their heads together.

It took a moment for Silver Spoon to realize what had just happened, but when it hit her--Hugging me. Scootaloo is hugging me.--the dam suddenly exploded. Without a second thought, she buried her face in Scootaloo's shoulder and began to sob, overwhelmed by waves of pain and loneliness she hadn't realized she'd been stifling. She threw her forelegs around Scootaloo and pulled her close, reveling in the sensation of having another pony holding her, stroking her back and murmuring quietly in her ear, assuring her it was okay to cry, that it was alright to be upset, and to let herself feel the emotions she'd been ignoring for so long. The pegasus' wings curled around her, enclosing her in a cocoon of heat and pressure that soothed the pain she was just now discovering.

As she cried, Silver Spoon sniffed deeply, repeatedly, and every time she did, Scootaloo's natural scent invaded her nose, and she discovered that an aroma that had once represented hatred and abuse to her suddenly took on a new association. The smell hovering around her and gently washing over her shuddering form was pleasant and comforting...heavy and musky, like any pegasus would be, but...mild. Uplifting. It was undeniably Scootaloo, and for once, that was a good thing. No, a great thing. She drank it in, inhaling the scent hungrily and absorbing every sensation at once. The tears seemed to be draining away the ache of longing and desperate depression that had been building ever since Diamond Tiara had first begun to pull away from her, and she cried with abandon, letting the sobs pour from her throat and into Scootaloo's firm, supportive shoulder. The pegasus leaned into her, resting their heads together and rocking her lightly as she slowly cried herself out.

Several minutes later, Silver Spoon ran out of tears to shed, and she simply sat in Scootaloo's forelegs, breathing slowly and enjoying the embrace as long as she could. For her part, Scootaloo didn't seem particularly eager to pull away, but simply held her close and slowly rubbed a hoof from the back of her head down her back, then back up and down again. Her wings still wrapped tightly around Silver Spoon's lightly trembling form, their strength and endurance seemingly inexhaustible. Eventually, Silver Spoon knew she couldn't expect Scootaloo to just keep holding her forever, and she reluctantly pulled away, sniffing and wiping away the tears still clinging to her cheeks. "S-sorry," she hiccuped, noticing the alarmingly large wet spot she'd left on the other filly's shoulder.

Scootaloo glanced down at her fur and smirked. "Don't worry about it." She looked back at Silver Spoon. "Feel better?" Silver Spoon nodded sheepishly. "Good. I thought you might. Damn, did you seem to need a good cry."

Silver Spoon gave a watery chuckle, and readjusted her glasses which had been knocked askew. "Yeah...yeah, I guess I did." She sighed contentedly. "Hey, Scootaloo...I..." She smiled shyly. "Thanks, Scootaloo. For...you know, for being...there. For me. I know we haven't been friends for too long, but..."

Scootaloo waved a hoof nonchalantly. "Don't worry about it, Spoon. Honestly, I've known you for a long time, you know? Just...not as friends." Silver Spoon giggled. "Anyway, it's no big deal. You needed somepony...anypony...to be here for you, and I...heck, I was just lucky enough to be here when you needed me."

"Lucky?"

Scootaloo nodded. "Yeah. I'm glad you let me do that for you. I wasn't sure, you know, before I hugged you if you'd be okay with it or not. I didn't want to risk what we've got going on as friends--especially since it's pretty new--but...you looked like you really needed a hug."

Silver Spoon smiled, a light blush coloring her cheeks. "Yeah...yeah, I really did."

Scootaloo reached out and pulled her into another tight, brief embrace. "Well, good. I'm glad I could give you that, at least."

Silver Spoon melted into the contact as long as it lasted, and when Scootaloo pulled away, she sat back and let the smile she'd been guarding spread across her muzzle unchecked. "Me too."

~~~

"Sorry it took so long," Octavia said as she entered Scootaloo's room, bearing before her a plate of pickled cucumber slices with alfalfa piled on top. "I couldn't find the alfalfa because it seems your mother was using the box to prop open the window in her studio."

Scootaloo giggled. "No problem, mom. We were just chatting anyway. We haven't even started our homework yet."

Octavia nodded, setting the plate on Scootaloo's desk. "Well, dinner is at seven. Silver Spoon, would you like to join us again?"

Silver Spoon nodded enthusiastically. "If you'll have me, Miss Philharmonica."

The grey earth pony chuckled softly, putting a hoof to her chest. "Oh my! Please, call me Octavia, or at least Miss Octavia. I know my name is not exactly a joy to enunciate."

"Okay, Miss Octavia," Silver Spoon said. "Thank you for the snack, and for having me in your home."

Octavia smiled broadly. "Not at all, darling. Quite glad to have you."

"Is Mama Vy not home yet?" Scootaloo asked.

Octavia shook her head. "No, not yet. Apparently she came across a...snag while working that will keep her for a few hours yet." There was an indistinct twinkle in Octavia's eye that suggested she wasn't sharing all the available details with the two fillies.

Scootaloo shrugged, apparently oblivious. "Alright. Thanks again, mom." Octavia nodded and left. Scootaloo turned back to Silver Spoon. "Right, so--homework. What do you want to do first?"

Silver Spoon blinked. "Wait, you really want to do homework together? I thought we were just going to work on the project."

Scootaloo shook her head. "Nah. I want to see how you do your homework, and I figured we could just do it together. I mean, I usually do mine as soon as I get home, anyway, so this is as good a time as any, right?"

"I guess..." Silver Spoon blushed faintly. She wasn't particularly enthusiastic about letting Scootaloo see just how terrible she was at...well, almost everything. Still, Scootaloo had been understanding and helpful so far. Maybe this would turn out as beneficial the rest of their interaction had been. Scootaloo had already climbed down off the bed and was digging in her discarded saddlebags for her books. Silver Spoon did the same, nosing into her designer bag and extracting her well-worn books with some trepidation. "Are you sure you want to...I dunno, 'drag me along', as Apple Bloom said?"

Scootaloo stopped suddenly and dropped her books, whirling on her hoof and stomping across the room towards the silver earth pony. "Look, let's get one thing straight, alright? I don't want to hear you saying anything negative about yourself any more, got it?"

Silver Spoon wilted under the pegasus' intense gaze. "I...yeah, but--"

"No buts!" Scootaloo put her hooves under Silver Spoon's shoulders and propped her back up on her hooves. "You're not a burden, you're not stupid, you just need somepony to give you a boost to catch you back up, that's all. I'm miles ahead, so who better, huh?" Silver Spoon blushed and tried to look away, but Scootaloo caught her chin with a hoof, forcing her to look back into her eyes. "Just relax. I mean jeez, have a little faith in yourself. I'll let you know if you start to be stupid, 'kay?"

Silver Spoon giggled and nodded. "Alright." She collected her things and settled down on the floor next to Scootaloo, who already had her books and papers spread out in front of her.

For the next hour or so, the two ponies worked diligently at the homework Miss Cheerilee had set them. Some of the topics had gone smoothly, like vocabulary and literature, two subjects that Silver Spoon was barely passing. With Scootaloo's help, she noticed that even the subjects she wasn't afraid of seemed easy and even pleasant to work on. The pegasus had several mnemonics and other study tricks she used to make the topics easier, and she eagerly shared them with her new study partner. Her enthusiasm continued even when they started to tackle more daunting subjects like math and science, both of which Scootaloo was an absolute phenom with. She was so far ahead of the rest of the class that she had finished the homework already, and spent part of the hour simply helping Silver Spoon understand what was being taught, and how to do the work.

The whole experience was utterly magical for Silver Spoon, who--despite having gotten a taste of being Scootaloo's student already--was elated to find that it didn't seem to matter what topic they were studying; Scootaloo was an amazing teacher, and she understood almost every topic inside and out. She was so smart that Silver Spoon spent much of the evening simply marveling at how easily the pegasus seemed to just absorb information. It was obvious she preferred math and science, but she applied the same intensity and focus to all subjects, and she managed to understand the less mathematical disciplines equally well. The result was that that same enthusiasm for knowledge and learning bled into every aspect of her schooling, and she eagerly shared it with Silver Spoon, who found herself similarly fascinated by Scootaloo's excitement.

Less than two hours later, Scootaloo finally sat back and said, "Well, that's it, I guess. We're set for homework for tonight."

Silver Spoon stared at her notebook, utterly flummoxed. Scootaloo was right, they'd completed all the assignments for the evening. Puzzled, she said, "Are...are we supposed to be?"

Scootaloo raised an eyebrow at her. "Uh...yeah. You're supposed to be done with your homework every night. You know, since it's due the next day."

"Oh," Silver Spoon said, blushing intensely, "I guess I just...I always assumed Di and I were turning our homework in early...I mean, it seemed really hard for just one night..."

Scootaloo waved a hoof. "Yeah, it's hard if you're trying to learn it all with Diamond Tiara standing over your shoulder, criticizing everything you do. But it's totally doable if you're working on it with me," she said, grinning.

Silver Spoon giggled. "Yeah, it really is. I'm surprised, actually, I expected this to take a lot longer. I mean, not because you weren't good at it, but...I dunno," she said. "Diamond Tiara always takes a while, and I always just sort of waited for her to be done. You're a lot quicker than she is."

Scootaloo grinned smugly. "Well, I'm also a lot smarter than she is."

Silver Spoon wasn't sure how to respond to this. "I guess. Anyway, I'm glad we're done. I don't really like math that much."

Scootaloo shrugged. "Honestly, I never really understood why ponies didn't like math. It seemed way too easy and logical to me to dislike."

"Easy?" Silver Spoon scoffed. "If only. Once Miss Cheerilee started adding letters to the mix, I got lost."

"Honestly?" Scootaloo asked. "Did you really lose track as soon as we started with variables?"

"I don't know if it was right at that moment, exactly, but it wasn't far afterwards. I just didn't really understand why we were using letters. I get it now," she said, quelling Scootaloo's concerns, "but at the time it didn't make sense. Anyway, it kind of went downhill from there."

Scootaloo snorted. "That sucks. Math doesn't really get interesting until you start adding variables. I mean, before 'x' you just have numbers. You can't really calculate anything without 'x', right?"

Silver Spoon shrugged. "I dunno. I just know metal. Metal and the crafting thereof."

Scootaloo nodded. "Yeah, that makes sense. How did you even come by metalwork, anyway?"

Silver Spoon said, "Well, one day my father was working in his shop, and my mom had dropped me off for the night, so my father had just given me some scrap metal to...I dunno, to play with, I guess. He's a metalworker, too, so he ends up with a lot of it. Anyway," she continued, ignoring Scootaloo's skeptical look, "I just played with the scrap for a while, and it seemed to me that if I could bend the pieces or stick them together, I could do a lot more. After a while, Intricacy helped me got ahold of some more effective tools, and before I really knew what I was doing, I was making some of the toys I've got sitting in my cabinet." She shrugged again. "It's no big deal, honestly. That stuff just goes together without a lot of trouble."

Scootaloo shook her head. "You say that, but believe me, as an engineer, I can't even imagine how to make some of those parts."

"Huh," Silver Spoon said curiously, "I had never really considered that. Is it really that hard to imagine? I mean, you use them in your designs, right? How hard could it be to envision making them?"

"Harder than you think, apparently," Scootaloo said. Her mother Octavia's appearance at the open door stopped her from expounding as she glanced up and said, "Hey mom, what's up?"

Octavia grinned at her, an unusual expression for the prim earth pony to sport. "Your mother would like to speak to you in the living room, if she could."

Scootaloo stood up, making a curious sound. "Alright. I'll be back in a sec, Spoon."

"Actually," Octavia said, still smiling, "I think you'd be best served by coming with her...just for a bit."

Silver Spoon exchanged a puzzled look with Scootaloo, who trotted out into the hallway. Silver Spoon followed, suddenly massively curious about what exactly Miss Octavia could be talking about.

Before the small convoy could completely enter the living room, however, Scootaloo's face lit up and she suddenly exclaimed, "Dash!"

Silver Spoon knew what the shout meant before Scootaloo dove out of sight, into the living room. She walked forward and glanced around the corner anyway, confirming her suspicions.

There in the living room, lazing on the sofa next to Scootaloo's blue-maned unicorn mother was none other than the Wonderbolts' newest recruit, Rainbow "Sonic Rainboom" Dash. The chromatically-maned mare was sitting nonchalantly in the living room, relaxing against the cushions and grinning broadly as the younger pegasus dove into her midsection, wrapping her hooves around the older mare and hugging her tightly. The Wonderbolt laughed. "Hey, squirt. Nice to see you, too."

Scootaloo's wide, powerful wings were beating the air in excitement, whipping the still atmosphere into a small hurricane. "Rainbow Dash, I can't believe it! Why didn't you tell me you were coming to visit?!"

The cyan mare laughed, reaching up and catching her elated fan's wings to stop her from causing a tornado. "Well, it wouldn't be much of a surprise if I told you ahead of time, would it?" She grinned broadly. "Besides, it was totally worth it just to see the look on your face."

Scootaloo squeezed the older mare's middle tightly and said, "This is the best surprise ever! Did you know she was coming?" She asked the mare sitting next to her.

Vinyl nodded. "Yeah. She told me a few weeks ago that she was gonna be in Ponyville for a short visit, and asked me to try to keep it a secret so she could surprise you. It wasn't easy," she added grimly, "what with you and your crazy obsession with everything Wonderbolt."

Scootaloo giggled. "So, how long are you in town for, then?" she asked, grinning up at Rainbow Dash as her wings continued to unconsciously struggle against Rainbow's grip.

The older pegasus pursed her lips. "Well, not too long, unfortunately. I'm only here for the night. Gotta be on my way tomorrow evening, cuz I'm just doing a quick publicity tour. You know, signing autographs, shaking hooves...still," she smirked down at Scootaloo, "I was hoping you could do dinner with me, at least. We've got a lot to catch up on. Maybe you could spend the night at my place? You know, just so we don't have to wake your parents up when we finish talking around three tomorrow morning, right?" She grinned and winked at Scootaloo, whose face reddened slightly.

"Can I?" she asked, looking at Vinyl.

The unicorn glanced briefly at her mate before saying, "Yeah, it's alright. Just be home tomorrow before midnight, alright?"

Scootaloo nodded fervently. "Definitely!" she said, before jumping around the living room in a bizarre show of excitement. "I can't believe it! Rainbow Dash, in Ponyville!"

The cyan mare laughed again. "Hey, I grew up here, remember?" she said. "It's not like I'd forget, right? Come on, kid, we've got a lot to catch up on." Scootaloo was at her side in an instant, and together the two pegasi took off out the front door, disappearing into the night for a long overdue date.

Silver Spoon stood awkwardly at the front door, watching Scootaloo disappear into the darkness, babbling excitedly as she trailed along beside her idol. She didn't begrudge the pegasus her excitement, nor her sudden unannounced exit, but she wasn't entirely certain what to do next. What did one do when the pony whose house they were visiting left with another, older pony? She glanced up at Octavia, who was standing next to her.

The older mare smiled warmly. "Don't worry, dear. Honestly, I was expecting her to leave as soon as she found out Rainbow Dash was visiting. If you still want to have dinner with us, we'd love to have you. I know it might be a little strange, eating with a couple ponies you only barely know, but--."

Silver Spoon interrupted her without really meaning to. "I'd love to!"

Octavia recovered from being cut off with poise and smiled. "Wonderful. It is still awfully early, though, so I was curious if you'd be interested in starting your cello lessons this evening. I have nothing else planned, and this would be an excellent opportunity for us to simply discuss where you are in your tutelage and to come up with a plan for where we want to go from here."

Silver Spoon found herself suddenly keen on the idea of learning to play the cello again, and she smiled at the earth pony. "Yeah, that sounds great. Thank you, Miss Octavia."

Octavia smiled warmly. "You're quite welcome."

Just Like Old Times

Scootaloo bounced excitedly down the sidewalk as she and Rainbow Dash made their way towards the town center. "Wow, the Rainbow Dash, here in Ponyville! I can't believe it!"

Rainbow laughed, shaking her head. "Relax, squirt, it's not that big a deal. I only lived here for, like, half my life. This is still my home, you know, even if I don't get to visit as often as I'd like."

"Yeah, but..still! You're, like, a Wonderbolt now, and not just a Wonderbolt, but, like, a super-awesome, super-famous one!"

Rainbow Dash grinned at the accolade. "True, true, but still. You think I'd miss out on a chance to drop in on my number one fan?" She reached over and tousled the littler pegasus's mane fondly. "Not a chance, kid."

Scootaloo beamed and leaned into the caress, her wings beating excitedly behind her. "Man, it's so great to see you...I can't wait to hear all about being a Wonderbolt!"

Rainbow smirked at her. "What, the weekly letters aren't enough?"

Scootaloo shook her head fervently, whipping her mane around her eyes. "No way, I wanna hear it directly from you. I bet it'll sound way cooler to hear you describe it."

"Probably," Rainbow agreed, nodding somberly. "Well, in return, you gotta tell me all about what's been going on with you, especially with the RACE academy. Still saddling up to go, I hope?"

Scootaloo nodded. "Yeah, I'm doing my best. It's not easy, you know."

"That's what I hear. A few Wonderbolts apparently tried to get into the academy first, and when they couldn't cut it, they decided to become 'Bolts instead. It was their fallback plan," she said, giving Scootaloo a meaningful look. "So that should tell you a bit about how big a deal that is."

Scootaloo's eyes widened. "I didn't know that...I thought the Wonderbolts are like...the best of the best."

"Best of the best fliers, sure, but...lemme just say that you're aiming real high, squirt." Rainbow smiled down at her. "But I know you, and I know you'll hit the mark."

Scootaloo blushed and giggled a little at the praise. In truth, it was nothing her parents hadn't said to her a thousand times before, but something about hearing it come from the Rainbow Dash, world's greatest flier, the best Wonderbolt recruit in centuries, bearer of the Element of Loyalty, and all-around badass...well, the thrill and the blush weren't entirely platonic in nature.

"So," Rainbow said as they reached the end of the neighborhood sidewalk and stood at the edge of the city center, looking in towards town hall and the bustling shopping area encircling it. "Any requests? My treat, obviously, but make sure you pick someplace awesome, because I am bucking starving. Been a long day of signing autographs, posing for pictures, turning down...heck, must've been something like fifteen dates." She gave Scootaloo a half-lidded smile. "Told 'em I already had plans for the evening."

Scootaloo blushed and smiled shyly. "You didn't have to do that."

"Yeah, that's sweet of you to say, kid, but believe me, I did. Don't get me wrong, all that flattery and fawning is nice and all, but there's just nothing quite like getting to spend time with somepony who thought you were cool before anypony else even knew your name." She leaned over and nuzzled Scootaloo's ear fondly. "You've always been my biggest fan, Scoot. I'll never leave you hanging."

Scootaloo's cheeks burned as the blush intensified, and she returned the embrace with a silly grin on her muzzle. Her heart soared in her chest as Rainbow praised her. "Well," she said, casting an eye across the crowded mall from beneath Rainbow's colorful mane, "we could always go to The Sidesaddle. That's your favorite place, right?"

"Right you are, little sis," Rainbow said. The endearment sent a flutter of foalish joy through Scootaloo's midsection. "You read my mind. Looks crowded, though," she observed as they walked up to the front door. "Hope they've got some tables left." A crowd of ponies stood around the entrance, milling about as they waited for their tables to be ready.

Heads began to turn and conversations became hushed and excitable as they approached. Murmurings of Rainbow Dash's name fluttered through the crowd, and before they managed to reach the front door, the collected ponies had all turned to watch her and her smaller compatriot advance on them. Rainbow took the change in attitude in stride, still smiling serenely and walking with purpose, easily ignoring the smattering of flashbulbs now popping among the other ponies. Scootaloo shrank down next to her, walking close and blushing as she unintentionally shared in the limelight.

"Rainbow Dash!" somepony shouted as she approached, holding out a pencil and a discarded menu, apparently the only signable object they could find. "Rainbow Dash, can I get your autograph?"

"Rainbow!" another pony yelled at her from deeper in the crowd. "Can I get a picture with you?"

"Rainbow Dash! Come eat with us! We've got a spot for you at our table. Our treat!"

"Rainbow!"

"Hey, Rainbow Dash!"

"Dash!"

"Hey, Sonic Rainboom!"

The hails became louder and more insistent until Scootaloo and her escort found themselves surrounded by fawning sycophants, all pushing and vying with one another to get closer to her. Scootaloo pressed herself tightly to Rainbow's flank, utterly overwhelmed by the attention. Even though it was obviously not directed at her, the fervor and the ferocity of the crowd's insistent badgering was stifling, and she felt her head spin as the shouts and thrusting hooves intensified.

Rainbow nudged her with an elbow, bringing the world back into focus. "Hey, kid, you okay?"

Scootaloo nodded shakily. "Yeah, there's just...a lot of ponies here."

"Yeah," Rainbow agreed as she glanced at the crowd, coolly ignoring the multitude of items being thrust at her to sign. "Don't worry, though, they're mostly harmless. Still, you want me to get rid of them?"

Scootaloo blushed. "N-no...I mean, it's not that bad..."

Rainbow shook her head and smiled. "Yeah, sure it's not. Here, hang on." With a wave of her hoof, Rainbow Dash managed to summon the maitre d' of the restaurant, who hurried over as soon as he recognized somepony was hailing him.

"Yes, ma'am? What can I do for you?" he asked.

"Table for two, please. And can you make this crowd go away? My date's not big on all this attention." She winked down at Scootaloo, who blushed and looked away.

"I'm not really your date, Dash."

The older mare laughed. "Sure you are, kid. Who said a date had to be romantic, huh? We're just hanging out and having dinner together. That makes you my date." She looked back at the maitre d' while Scootaloo tried to decide if she preferred this new interpretation of the evening. "Well?"

The white stallion's narrow mustache twitched anxiously. "I...well, we are quite busy this evening, madam...there may be some wait..."

Rainbow Dash sighed theatrically. "Darn. That's too bad. And this used to be my favorite place. I was even thinking about doing a photo shoot and a commercial here." She shrugged. "Oh well. Come on, kid, let's see if the Brass Bridle has any--"

"Wait!" another pony suddenly shouted as she pushed her way through the crowd in front of the restaurant.

"Oh, hey there, Summer Truffle," Rainbow said, smiling pleasantly at the ecru unicorn mare as she managed to squeeze past her maitre d'. "Long time no see."

"Too...long," the unicorn panted, carefully primping her jet black mane, which was pulled back in a chignon. She cleared her throat and primly drew herself up, smiling pleasantly at Rainbow Dash. "To what do we owe the honor, Miss Dash?"

"Well, my friend and I were just looking for someplace to eat in peace, but I can see your restaurant is a little too busy to expect you to make an exception just for me. Don't worry, we'll--"

"Nonsense!" the mare exclaimed, hastily waving a hoof. "Savoir Fare," she said to the stallion standing behind her, a puzzled look on his face, "please find our guests a table in the lounge. And do make it quick, won't you?"

The stallion blinked. "But madam, the lounge is booked--" He trailed off as the unicorn turned a sizzling gaze on him.

"I shan't ask again, Savoir Fare," she said, her voice a touch too cheery to be pleasant. "Make room if you must, but Miss Dash and her guest will be eating in the lounge, and soon." The mustached stallion nodded anxiously and immediately disappeared into the restaurant. Summer Truffle turned back to Rainbow with a broad grin. "Terribly sorry about the mixup, Miss Dash. You are, of course, always welcome here."

"Glad to hear it," Rainbow said, smiling. "I hope we can get some privacy inside, at least," she said, looking around at the collected ponies, some of whom were still taking pictures and muttering to one another. "It's been a...trying day. We're just looking for somewhere to have a nice meal in peace and quiet."

"Oh, absolutely!" Truffle exclaimed, stepping aside and waving the pair into the restaurant. "I'm so sorry, if you had only let me know you were coming, I could have made better arrangements!" Another searing glare from the unicorn sent the ponies standing in front of the entrance scattering to the sides, opening a pathway for the group to enter. Scootaloo glanced up at Rainbow Dash, who smiled and winked down at her. The prim off-white mare led the pair deep into the restaurant, past tables full of ponies who stopped in the middle of their meals to gawk at the outlandish and instantly recognizable celebrity trotting by. Waitstaff stopped in their tracks to stare, and conversations died with the words still on the speakers' lips.

Scootaloo blushed deeply at the attention, even though it wasn't directed at her. She had always felt insignificant next to Rainbow Dash, but somehow the gulf had never felt quite so profound as it did this evening. Once upon a time, Dash had simply been a local hero, somepony who other ponies greeted on the street because they recognized her on sight, and not necessarily because she was famous. Now, though, with her highly anticipated and widely publicized recruitment to the Wonderbolts, not to mention her historically short stay as part of the Reserves Corps, and her meteoric rise to the Wonderbolts primary active duty roster had made her nothing short of a world-wide celebrity. Everypony who knew the Wonderbolts existed at all knew Rainbow Dash's name, and the reaction of the crowd outside the restaurant had only reinforced the transcendent scope of her fame.

Scootaloo felt a stab of guilt deep in her stomach. What was she doing here, with Rainbow Dash? What a massive waste of Rainbow's evening. She shouldn't be wasting her time buying dinner for some silly filly who couldn't appreciate fine wine or exclusive food like she was sure Rainbow was used to. She should be spending the night hanging out with the rich and famous of Ponyville, maybe chatting up some wealthy, handsome stallion and signing autographs, reveling in the fame she had worked so hard to earn while being catered to by servants on the level of Silver Spoon's estate.

Silver Spoon. The guilty knife cut deeper at the thought of the name. Scootaloo winced and flattened her ears against her skull as she realized she had absolutely abandoned her project partner--and new friend--back with her parents. Somehow, Rainbow Dash's unannounced visit had utterly focused her mind on her idol, and driven all other thoughts from her head. But then, of course it had, right? Surely Silver Spoon understood that Rainbow Dash came first. After all, Rainbow had been Scootaloo's idol and her friend since long before she and Silver Spoon had ever really deigned to talk to one another, let alone consider themselves anything less than enemies. A voice in the back of her mind suggested that this sounded like an excuse, and as she followed Rainbow deeper into the restaurant, the gnawing guilt made it clear she would have to apologize for this lapse as well, even if her folks were probably providing a perfectly pleasant experience.

The unicorn opened a heavy, secluded door to reveal a small room with only half a dozen or so tables inside. Five of the six tables had parties already sitting at them, quietly chatting and eating food that Scootaloo wasn't sure she could identify on sight. The room had a distinctly different, altogether calmer atmosphere than the main dining room had, and none of the ponies inside afforded Rainbow more than a passing glance and a nod of recognition as they passed.

If Scootaloo needed more proof that she didn't belong by Rainbow's side, being escorted into the lounge with her sealed the deal. These ponies were all impeccably styled, some with expensive accessories and carefully applied makeup, others wearing perfectly tailored clothing and somber, proper expressions on their faces. They spoke quietly to one another, and the waitstaff spoke quietly to them, offering supremely expensive wines and eagerly acquiescing to even the most outlandish of special requests. All of these ponies were rich and famous, and Scootaloo was the opposite of both of those things. The very atmosphere felt oppressive here, and she could feel her chest tightening further in anxiety.

As they passed, none of the other ponies' gazes paused for more than an instant on Rainbow Dash, instantly recognizing the celebrity among them, but more than one pair of eyes stopped short on Scootaloo's unkempt mane and tail, her plain, unadorned face, her suddenly out-of-place nudity. She knew what these hesitant gazes meant; she didn't belong here, among these ponies. Rainbow Dash did, obviously, even if she did look a little rough and tumble, because she was rich and famous and she carried herself with the confidence of a superstar.

Summer Truffle directed them towards a table in the back corner with two chairs and a fat, short candle with three wicks burning in the middle. "Here you are, Miss Dash, Miss..." she trailed off, looking expectantly at Scootaloo.

"Oh, uh...Scootaloo," she said quietly, wincing at how boring and unimpressive her name sounded.

"Of course, Miss Scootaloo," the unicorn said, smiling pleasantly. "Miss Dash, would you like to see the wine menu?"

Rainbow shrugged. "Nah, just bring me your favorite. You always did have good taste, Truff."

Summer Truffle gave Rainbow a look that indicated she was not amused by the nickname, but Rainbow simply smirked and pulled one of the chairs out, offering it to Scootaloo. "Have a seat, Scoot."

"Oh, thanks," Scootaloo said, her cheeks burning at the gesture. Who was she to have the Rainbow Dash pulling a chair out for her? She felt selfish and stupid as she took her seat and picked up the menu sitting on the table in front of her, holding it in front of her face to hide the deep blush creeping across her cheeks. As she read, she tried to decide what sort of food famous ponies ate. Surely Rainbow Dash ate expensive, exotic food now, right? Her mouth watered and her stomach twinged as she skimmed past pictures of heaping bowls of pasta with steaming piles of fresh vegetables on them, past tall sandwiches with ten different ingredients, and found her way to the foods with largely unpronounceable names and exceptionally unappealing pictures. She frowned at one of the pictures, trying to decide whether it was a grilled horseshoe or a boiled saddlehorn. "So, uh," she asked uneasily, "what...what were you thinking of getting?" She glanced over the top of the menu at Rainbow Dash.

The cyan pegasus hadn't even picked up her menu. She was simply sitting across the table from Scootaloo, her chin resting on one hoof and a small smile on her face as she watched the younger mare struggling to decide. Scootaloo swallowed hard and put the menu down. Stupid, stupid, stupid, she thought, furious at herself for her mistake. Of course Rainbow would order for them, right? Naturally she'd get something off the menu, because that's what famous ponies did. Rainbow Dash waved a nonchalant hoof. "The same thing I always get. Three pizzas, double jalapeños. I kinda figured you were going to do the same."

"You...you were?" Scootaloo asked, stunned.

Rainbow nodded. "Of course. Why wouldn't I?"

"Well, I wasn't sure if...I mean, I thought maybe you...I dunno, ate more...interesting things, now," she said, her voice slowly trailing off.

Rainbow raised an eyebrow at her. "More interesting how?"

"You know, like, more expensive, more exclusive!" Scootaloo said, waving a hoof in frustration. "Like famous ponies do."

Rainbow smirked. "So what, you think that just because I'm famous now, I'm going to stop liking pizza?"

Scootaloo looked down at the pristine white silken tablecloth. "Well, I guess I just figured maybe you'd found something better than pizza. Something more interesting and impressive." An anxious knot tightened in the filly's stomach as she tried to ignore the heat of shameful tears collecting in her eyes. "'Cuz you deserve better than stupid old boring pizza."

There was a long silence. Rainbow Dash leaned over to look Scootaloo in the eye. "This isn't about pizza, is it?"

Scootaloo looked away angrily, blinking back the tears threatening to make her look even more pathetic than she already was. "Of course it's about pizza. What else would it be about?"

The rainbow-maned mare sighed and sat back. "Alright, then. What if I told you that stupid old boring pizza is my favorite? What if I said it's always been my favorite, and that just because I haven't seen--I mean had pizza in over a year, I still thought about it all the time during camp, and missed it a heck of a lot when I couldn't have it?"

"I'd say that sounds silly," Scootaloo sulked, the tears subsiding now. "I'm sure you've met...eaten stuff way better than pizza since last year."

Rainbow Dash reached across the table and gently touched her shoulder, drawing Scootaloo's gaze back up to her eyes. The older mare was smiling kindly, a softness in her eyes that only intensified the guilt in Scootaloo's stomach. "Come on, kid," she said, "drop the act. What's really going on?"

Scootaloo gritted her teeth for a moment before sighing and saying, "I dunno, Rainbow, I just...I guess I just feel weird, that's all. Like...it's been over a year since we last saw each other, and I just...a lot's changed since then. I mean, you went off and got super famous, and every time I see you in pictures and read about you in the papers, I keep seeing how happy and popular you are, and I just...I feel like I shouldn't be bothering you anymore, like you don't have time to read my stupid, boring letters, like you should be out having fun with other rich, famous ponies, and not sitting here at a table in a secret room in a really nice restaurant and listening to some boring, plain, pathetic filly talk about how awesome you are, and how unawesome I am, and..." The tears were back, threatening to break down her cheeks. She closed her eyes to stop them, her voice shaking as she said, "...I guess I'm just...scared that you're only here with me because you think you have to be."

There was a pause, and then Rainbow said, "Is that all?"

Scootaloo blushed and looked away. "I'm sorry, Rainbow, I know you wanted to hang out and just have fun and relax while you were here in town, and I'm ruining that. I shouldn't have come out with you tonight."

The older mare laughed. "Alright, two things. First of all, squirt, it's been like thirteen months since we last saw each other, not to mention how we last saw each other, right?" Scootaloo's face burned at this, but Rainbow continued, "So yeah, it's gonna be a little weird at first. You're right, a lot has changed, but not just for me. I mean, you're growing up, you're at that age...a lot's changing for you, too, and that's totally normal. I was there once; I get it." She smiled. "But that's cool, you know? That's what makes these visits so special to me. I love hearing about what's going on in your life in your letters, but it's nothing like getting to see you again and hear about it from you personally. Isn't that what you said about me telling you all about being a Wonderbolt?"

Scootaloo nodded miserably. "But why would you even want to hear about my life? It's so...boring." She tapped her hooves together in front of her nose dejectedly. "It's nothing like being a Wonderbolt, getting to go all over Equestria, performing all over the place and meeting all kinds of other famous ponies..."

Rainbow sighed and shook her head, a shallow smile on her face. "Scootaloo, why do you think I'm here in Ponyville?"

The orange pegasus shrugged. "Because of the publicity tour, right?"

"Right, now, let's be honest for a second. Do you really think Ponyville needs to be informed that the Wonderbolts exist, and that I'm their new recruit?"

"Well..."

Rainbow Dash snorted derisively. "Kid, I spent my entire adult life here. I did all of my training here. I competed against the Wonderbolts at the Equestria Games on Ponyville's team, I broke half a dozen records at the Wonderbolt Academy, I won Best Young Flier...heck, I even saved the Wonderbolts' lives a couple times. Ponyville doesn't need a stop on a publicity tour for us to get our message out here."

"Then why--?"

Rainbow Dash leaned across the table, looking Scootaloo in the eye. "I'm here because of you, Scootaloo."

Scootaloo blinked. "Me?"

Rainbow nodded. "Yeah. In fact, I even told them I'd only do the tour if our first stop could be Ponyville, and if we could spend the night here."

"But, but...why?" Scootaloo asked, flummoxed. "Don't you have...more important things to do? More important ponies to see?"

"More important than you?" Rainbow laughed again, louder this time, enough to draw the attention of some of the other ponies in the room. "Kid, you don't get it, do you? Nothing is more important to me than you are."

Scootaloo swallowed hard, her throat tightening and her face burning with a deeper blush than she'd felt so far this evening. "You don't really mean that..."

Rainbow put a hoof to her heart, raising the other. "Honest to Luna."

"But why?" Scootaloo asked again.

The other mare smiled broadly. "It's like I said earlier. You've been my biggest fan since forever. You were always telling me how awesome you thought I was, how cool and tough and everything...you even started a fan club for me long before I'd ever done anything worth having fans for." She smirked. "At first, it was no big deal, really. It was cool, having a little filly who was convinced I was the best thing since hay fries, but it didn't mean a whole lot.

"Then, when I started really having to work hard and train hard and make some tough decisions, there you were, still cheering me on and gushing about me to anypony who would listen...and you know what? I started to believe you." Rainbow smiled, her eyes shining. "I figured that if I could be half as awesome as you thought I was, I could do anything. So I doubled my training plan, doubled my strength training, flew twice as far, twice as fast, and absolutely killed myself trying to be everything that little orange filly with the rainbow-colored wig on the ground thought I was." She reached across the table, taking one of Scootaloo's hooves in hers and holding it tight. "I owe everything I've done, everything I've earned, everything I am to you, Scootaloo." The smile broadened, and the glint in her eyes became a sheen. Her voice shook very slightly as she said, "That's why I'm here. There's nopony in Equestria I'd rather spend my night off with than you."

Scootaloo blushed and smiled through the tears clinging to her eyelids at this. "You know, I remember when I met you for the first time. I was just a tiny filly, riding my scooter around town...I hadn't even met anypony else except Sweetie Belle yet. No other adult had even bothered to look twice at me, but there you were, all wild colors and crazy confidence...I remember thinking that you looked so cool, and all you were doing was flying around town." She looked down at the table cloth, the day still fresh in her memory, despite the years gone by. "You didn't say a lot...you just stopped for a second, took one look at me, and say 'Hey kid, nice scooter.' And then you were gone in a whirlwind of dust and wake turbulence."

Scootaloo sighed, shaking her head. "It was...amazing. I had to ask Sweetie Belle who you were, and when I found out, everything else just fell into place. I figured that anypony who could look at a dirty, scrawny, scruffy little runaway like me and actually greet me like I was just another pony in town had to be the coolest, nicest, most awesome pony in Equestria by her very nature. I promised myself I was gonna be just like you, no matter what it took."

Rainbow Dash smiled, the glint and the waver still present. "Yeah...I remember that day, too. You weren't much to look at, squirt, I'll tell you that much...but you looked so...determined. Driven. Like no matter what happened to get you to where you were, all you cared about was hopping on that scooter and riding. I had to say something. I wanted to ask your name, but all I could really think to say to break the ice was to compliment your scooter. You looked so nervous, so antsy that I was afraid to say any more, in case I accidentally scared you off."

Scootaloo smirked. "You might have. I mean, to have somepony as awesome as you fly down and talk to me, a grounded pegasus pony who no one wanted...well, I don't think I could've handled it. I probably would have run away." She sighed and continued. "Anyway, after I found out my...disability was permanent, and there was nothing anypony could do for me, it was like losing everything again. I would never be like you, because I couldn't be like you. You were the fastest, the best flyer in all of Equestria, and I couldn't even get my hooves off the ground." She felt the tears building again, but this time she let them come, knowing that they showed the importance of what she was about to say. "But even then you were there for me. You told me you thought I was 'all kinds of awesome anyway,' and that it didn't matter if I could fly. You sounded like you meant it, and I believed you.

"I told myself if I couldn't be just like you as a flyer, then I'd be just like you as a pony. Cool, brave, ambitious...it's why I decided to become an engineer in the first place. Like you, I figured out what I was good at, and I practiced it. I practiced hard and long, and even when it got tough and I felt like giving in, I remembered how often you had crashed while training to be a Wonderbolt." Both ponies giggled at this. "So I just dusted myself off and tried again...just like you."

There was a short pause before Scootaloo finished her reminiscing while she gathered herself and swallowed, struggling to speak around the lump rising in the back of her throat. "Rainbow, all my life ponies have told me I was going to be limited, handicapped, and that I would need help with the most basic of pegasus-specific tasks. Everypony except you." She looked Rainbow Dash in the eyes. The other mare was losing the battle against her own tears as well, letting the drops slide down her face and leave dark blue tracks in her fur. "You never let me lean on my weaknesses or my failures as an excuse. Rainbow Dash, you might think I'm your biggest fan, but in truth, it's just the opposite. You are--and have always been--my biggest fan." She reached out and touched Rainbow's hoof lightly. "And I will never forget it."

The other pegasus shook her head in wonder. "Kid, you really are something else, you know that? I mean, I always knew you were special, but...yeah, you're right," she said, smiling through the tears as she wiped them out of her eyes. "I am a huge fan of yours. Even in the 'Bolts, I've never met anypony with as much heart as you. After all, you're the toughest little pony in town, remember?" She grinned.

Scootaloo smirked. "Yeah, yeah..."

"So." Rainbow grinned, the sheen fading as she recovered her trademark bravado. "Let's try this again. You forget that you ever thought you were less than worthy of having dinner with me, and I'll continue to count myself lucky to be able to have it with you."

Scootaloo shook her head, smiling. "That might be a little over the top, Dash."

The cyan mare shrugged. "If you say so. Anyway, I'm getting my usual. How about you?"

Scootaloo nodded. "Definitely. Two pizzas with everything--"

"--except jalapeños," the two mares said in unison. Then they burst out in laughter, ignoring the annoyed stares of the other ponies in the lounge and enjoying the simple pleasure of sharing a moment together.

~~~

"That's three large double jalapeño pizzas for madam," the forest green unicorn waiter said as he slowly lowered the three-tiered serving platter onto the table next to Rainbow Dash, "and two large super supreme pizzas--"

"Without jalapeños," Scootaloo interrupted him.

The waiter gave her a scathing look before continuing. "Yes, without jalapeños, for the young miss." He stepped back and nodded his head shallowly. "Bon appetit."

"So," Rainbow Dash said, picking up a slice of her topmost pizza, "my life is totally boring, because all I've been doing is training and sleeping. What about you?" She winked across the table at Scootaloo. "I heard you got first place in the RACE academy's 'Building the Future' competition."

Scootaloo stopped short of sticking a thickly topped slice into her mouth and said, "Wait, you did? How? I hadn't gotten a chance to write to you about it yet."

Rainbow smiled as she repositioned a string of cheese on top of the slice in her hoof. "I have my ways. And your mother couldn't wait to gush about it to me." She grinned. "Scared the hell out of me and Spitfire 'cuz she just had to magic the scroll right into my ear at three in the morning."

Scootaloo giggled and nodded. "Yeah, that sounds like Mama Vy. Well, it was a pretty big deal. There were like five thousand entries. I submitted that modular tail cone I designed when I was helping you practice your sprints."

Rainbow nodded her recollection. "Nice. I remember that thing. It was freaking awesome. Took like two seconds off my best time."

"Yeah, well," Scootaloo said, smirking as she struggled to keep the toppings from scattering as she took a bite. "You were a good test subject," she mumbled through a mouthful. "Nopony's tail picks up as much drag as yours does, especially at those speeds."

The blue pegasus rolled her eyes, picking a jalapeño off of her pizza slice and popping it into her mouth. "Tell me about it. You'd think sprinters would just shave their tails if they wanted to boost their times, but..."

"Why don't they?" Scootaloo asked, collecting all the vegetables that had escaped and piling them on top of the slice again.

"Well, for one thing, it's against the rules. Sprinters can't do anything to their tail except gel it. Something about 'preserving the dignity of the racers' or some such." The mare made air quotes with her hooves as she spoke. "We're lucky they let us wear helmets, or we'd all have the greaser look on race day."

Scootaloo giggled. "Maybe they'll adopt the tail cone instead."

Rainbow Dash smiled at her. "We can only hope. It sure looks a lot cooler than everypony just slicking their tail back to a point." She winked. "Plus, if it gets the endorsement of a record-breaking sprinter, maybe the committee will take notice."

"Record-breaking, huh?" Scootaloo asked. Rainbow Dash nodded. "What records have you been breaking?"

Rainbow held out a hoof and tapped on it as she counted off the records from memory. "50 meter sprint, 100 meter sprint, 200 meter sprint, 500 meter long sprint, 1000 meter relay sprint, 2000 meter relay sprint, 5000 meter marathon, and 10K."

"Wow," Scootaloo breathed. "All that in just one year?"

Rainbow nodded. "Less than a year, actually. I broke the 50 meter on my first attempt. Faster than the record by like almost a full second."

The orange mare's mouth fell open. "You're bucking kidding me." Rainbow Dash shook her head, picking up a slice of pizza and then stacking another one on top. "Damn, Rainbow, I knew you were quick, but..."

The Wonderbolt shrugged, stacking a third slice on the other two. "Well, it is my special talent, after all. I'll be honest, it's the marathons that really kill me. Those long races, filly...they'll mess you up bad if you don't warm up and train first." She stacked a fourth slice on the pile as she shook her head somberly. "The first time I tried the 10K, I dropped out after 2000 meters with the nastiest oblique strain I've ever had. Couldn't fly for a week." She opened her mouth wide and stuck the pizza tower into it, taking an enormous bite.

"Ouch." Scootaloo winced sympathetically, rolling a slice of her pizza up from the tip and taking a bite out of the resulting cylinder. "Don't they like, teach you not to do that, though?"

It took a few moments for Rainbow to swallow the comically large mouthful she was chewing. "Yeah, they do. I was being stupid, though, and I took off without stretching properly, pushed myself way too hard way too soon, and got hurt bad as a result. Never made that mistake again," she said, shaking her head. "The medics weren't even surprised. They knew I was gonna hurt myself; they just let me do it because they knew I'd remember next time if I actually suffered the result of my own stupidity."

Scootaloo sighed. "I wish I had a reason to worry about hurting my flight muscles."

"Don't you still have your scooter? You know, the one Apple Bloom made you when you got your cutie mark?"

"Yeah, I have it, I just haven't had a whole lot of opportunity to ride it recently. I don't take it with me to school or out on errands, 'cuz I don't want it to get damaged or stolen, and we've had so much schoolwork recently that I haven't really gotten a chance to just go cruising."

Rainbow Dash nodded. "I guess it's getting close to the end of the year, isn't it? You'll be graduating this summer, won't you?" Scootaloo nodded. "How're you doing in your classes, anyway? Every time you write, you just say 'School's going good,' which I know you do on purpose, because we both know it's 'School's going well'."

Scootaloo giggled. "Well, there's never really anything to talk about. It's kind of like your training regimen, probably. Get up, go to school, sleep through a lesson, ace a test, go home, breeze through the homework, go to bed, wake up and do it again." She paused for a moment while she contemplated whether she should expand on the topic. "Actually, there is one thing that's different this season..." she said tentatively.

"Oh yeah?" Rainbow said, folding her second pizza twice and attacking the corner of the monstrosity, ignoring the mortified glances of the ponies sitting at the nearest tables.

Scootaloo nodded, finishing her first pizza and starting in on the second. "Yeah, Miss Cheerilee gave us all a big project thing to work on in pairs. Supposed to take all season long to finish, and apparently it's worth a ton of our grade. More for me, actually, since she decided it's going to be pass/fail for me, and that failing the project means failing the season."

Rainbow's eyes widened in shock. "Whoa, really? That's...really serious. Why's she doing that?"

"Well, it turns out it was at least partly my parents' fault. Miss Cheerilee talked to them because she was, um...concerned that I was...'antagonizing' other foals in class," Scootaloo said, laying her ears back on her head.

"Were you?" Rainbow Dash asked, looking at her sideways as she continued her assault on the quartered pizza.

"No more than I ever have," Scootaloo muttered. "But yeah, a little I guess. You know Silver Spoon and Diamond Tiara?"

Rainbow Dash chewed thoughtfully for a moment. Swallowing, she shook her head. "Not really. I never met too many of your classmates, honestly, other than you and your friends. Well, and the other pegasi, obviously."

"They were one of the teams vying to carry the flag at the games."

Rainbow shrugged. "Honestly, squirt, after all the drama around that competition, I don't remember anything except you being really bummed that you couldn't fly, and somehow getting it in your head that you had to."

Scootaloo smiled wanly. "Yeah, they were the ones who got it in my head."

"Gotcha."

"Anyway, they've pretty much been the Crusaders' nemeses since we all met at Diamond Tiara's Cuteceañera, and we just...never patched things up. So yeah, I kind of got on their case a lot, but they always gave as good as they got, so it seemed fair."

Rainbow replaced the empty round crust of her second pizza back on the platter and retrieved a slice from the third. "Fair, huh?"

"Well, yeah," Scootaloo said. "I mean, we were just fighting back, just trying to defend ourselves against a couple of bullies." She hesitated for a moment before adding, "Doesn't that sound fair?"

Rainbow shrugged. "I dunno. Is it possible to make being mean to another pony fair, even if they're being mean to you first?"

"I guess...I guess not..." Scootaloo said.

Rainbow shook her head, picking jalapeños off the slice in her hoof and piling them on her plate. "Don't get me wrong, kid, I totally get it. Being bullied sucks, and it's hard not to rise to the bait, but...let's just say that I spent a lot of time raising the stakes with my bullies, and it never got me anywhere."

Scootaloo sighed. "Yeah, I know, I...I just never really wanted them to...'win', I guess."

"Nopony wins, Scootaloo. Not when the whole point is to drag each other down."

"Yeah, I'm starting to get that," Scootaloo said, poking at the slice on her plate guiltily. "Mama Tavi actually told Miss Cheerilee to set me up with somepony I didn't get along with, just to force me to prove I could."

"Interesting approach."

"Well, she said it was because when the Academy comes around to interview me for admission, they're gonna go and talk to everypony who knows me, and if they talk to Miss Cheerilee and find out I'm a bully..."

"Yeah, they'll basically burn your application. I get what they were going for." Rainbow Dash nodded, collecting the small stack of peppers together and dumping them all into her mouth at once. "Well, is it working?"

Scootaloo put her forehooves between her back legs and squeezed them together anxiously. "Sort of..."

"How so?"

"Well, Miss Cheerilee ended up pairing me with Silver Spoon. One of our mortal enemies," she clarified. Rainbow nodded her understanding. "Anyway, at first I figured we would fight the whole time, you know. I figured Spoon would constantly be sniping at me, and I wouldn't be able to resist sniping back, obviously, and we'd just argue all the time."

"Are you?"

Scootaloo shook her head. "Actually, no. In fact, after a couple arguments early on, we've actually..." She sighed in resignation. "Ah buck, we're totally friends now."

Rainbow burst out laughing at the expletive-laced admission. "Friends, huh? Hang on, how long have you been working together? Didn't you say Cheerilee assigned it this season?"

Scootaloo nodded grimly. "Yeah. We've only hung out like three or four times, but...I guess I never really talked to her before. Like, without anypony else around, just her and me, just having a conversation."

"I see. And after just a couple conversations, you're already friends? That was pretty quick."

"Yeah, it was." Scootaloo sighed. "Turns out she's actually pretty cool when she's not under Diamond Tiara's iron hoof."

"I wonder if she thinks something similar about you," Rainbow said, raising an eyebrow at her.

"What do you mean?"

"Maybe she thinks you're pretty cool when you're not being backed up by your friends," Rainbow said. "You gotta admit, facing all three Crusaders at once is probably pretty intimidating."

Scootaloo pondered this for a moment. "I guess. I hadn't ever really thought about it like that. She does seem a lot more relaxed and open when it's just the two of us. I wonder if she's the same way with just Diamond Tiara around. Although," Scootaloo said, pressing her lips together, "she doesn't seem to really like Diamond Tiara that much."

"And Diamond Tiara is...?"

"Oh, her best friend since the first day of school, apparently. Or at least, she used to be. I'm not sure anymore, and I don't think she's too sure, either." She sighed. "Which is too bad, actually, because she doesn't seem to have any other friends."

Rainbow Dash smiled. "Well, she has at least one more now, right?"

Scootaloo smiled back and shrugged. "Yeah, I guess so." There was a long pause during which Scootaloo wrestled with herself over whether she should respond to the anxious prodding in her subconscious or not. Of all the ponies in her life, Scootaloo knew Rainbow Dash would be the most trustworthy and the most likely to keep a secret. Plus, Rainbow Dash was her surrogate sister, and a closer friend than even the other Crusaders.

Over the years, they had discussed many sensitive, embarrassing, and even genuinely upsetting topics in intense detail. Despite Scootaloo's absolute mortification to have to ask about such things, Rainbow Dash had never once flinched away from answering any of her questions, even voluntarily using her own experiences--and in certain excruciatingly awkward discussions, her own anatomy--to give Scootaloo as complete an answer as she needed. It had made her early adulthood immeasurably easier to have somepony who understood what she was going through who wasn't afraid to discuss it with her in detail and in confidence. She had even taken her newfound understanding of what was going on to her friends, who lacked the same resource.

Now, she knew, she was on the precipice of another such situation, and even though she desperately wanted to just spend the evening chatting, laughing, and generally having a good time with Rainbow Dash, she also knew opportunities like this were rare, and becoming moreso by the day. The thought that if she didn't ask Rainbow now, she wouldn't get another chance any time soon and would therefore have to resort to asking her parents for advice--a chilling prospect--spurred her the rest of the way to a decision. "Hey, Dash..." Scootaloo said, trying to keep the nervous, oddly fearful energy out of her voice, "can...can I get your advice on something?"

Rainbow Dash stopped licking pizza grease off her hoof and looked at Scootaloo with concern. "Sure, kid, what's up?"

"Um..." The words froze in her throat as Summer Truffle appeared at their table as if from thin air.

"I hope everything was to your satisfaction, Miss--"

"Hang on, Truff," Rainbow said, waving a hoof at the unicorn, who blinked and narrowed her eyes at the pegasus. Rainbow Dash ignored her. "Go ahead, Scoot."

"Actually," Scootaloo said, her face burning in embarrassment, "could we...talk back at your place? I...I don't really want to discuss it here..."

Rainbow Dash nodded. "Sure thing. Hey Truff, can we get the check?"

Summer Truffle took a long, slow breath through her nose and then gave her a polite--albeit somewhat tense--smile. "Of course." She waved a hoof at the waiter standing behind her, and he disappeared back into the dining room. "I trust everything was to your satisfaction?" she asked.

Rainbow flashed the unicorn a winning smile. "Of course, Truff. It always is. Best pizza in Ponyville, as usual."

"Thank you, Miss Dash, although..." The smile faltered and her voice took on a slightly annoyed tone. "I do recommend you try some of our other offerings. We are, after all, a highly varied establishment. Perhaps some--"

Rainbow waved a dismissive hoof. "Nah. If I want something fancy and expensive I can't identify, I'll just ask Rarity to hunt down some gems for me to snack on."

Summer Truffle looked at the ceiling, a distinct sense of defeat and exasperation in her tone. "Yes, of course. Well, we do appreciate your patronage, no matter what you order. We look forward to seeing you again any time you're in the area."

"Definitely, Truff. And I wasn't just kicking clouds when I told your host I was thinking about doing an event or two here sometime." She smiled. "This really is my favorite restaurant, and I can't think of a better place to do some PR stuff. I'll have my people get in touch with you, and maybe we can iron out the details later?"

The forced smile on Summer Truffle's muzzle suddenly gained sincerity at Rainbow's offer. "Of course! We would love to host such a thing. By all means, send me a message any time, and I'll be sure to find time in our schedule for you."

"Awesome. Maybe I'll get some of the other 'Bolts to come with me. I know Spitfire would love this place."

Summer Truffle's expression melted into genuine glee. "Oh, how wonderful! Yes, yes, any time you would like, please do come back!" The grin faded a little as she said, "I...I'm sorry if I seemed a little...short earlier. I just wanted--"

Rainbow Dash cut her off with a wave of her hoof. "Don't worry about it, Truff. I know the deal," she said as the waiter returned, placing the check on the table in front of her. The pegasus barely glanced at the number at the bottom before extracting a small pouch from under one of her wings and dropping it on the table. "Half the change is yours, Truff, for making an exception for us."

"Oh, my," Summer Truffle said as one of the coins rolled out of the pouch, the brilliantly engraved face flashing a denomination Scootaloo had never actually seen stamped on a bit before. "Rainbow this is--"

"It's nothing. Thanks for a good time. Come on, squirt, let's head out," she said, waving at Scootaloo to follow her as she made her way out of the lounge. "See you later, Truff. Say hi to Béchamel for me, will you?"

"I absolutely will, Rainbow," the unicorn said, still smiling broadly as she waved at the departing ponies. "Thank you again!"

Rainbow Dash turned and flashed her trademark grin back over her shoulder. "Any time, Truff. Any time."

Instruction and Demonstration

"Now I know it's not much, but it's my own little sanctuary of song, if you'll pardon the turn of phrase," Octavia said with a small smile, waving Silver Spoon into her music room. Silver Spoon knew immediately that Octavia's assessment was wildly inaccurate. She had only to cross the threshold to sense that there was something subtly extraordinary about the little office.

It had been a bedroom once, probably intended as a foal's room, with a small closet and one outward facing window. There was no door on the closet, which had been converted into an impromptu library jammed with shelves full of musical texts and exquisitely labeled notebooks with titles indicating they contained sheet music of various genres. The window had a heavy burgundy curtain drawn across it, admitting only a muted velveteen glow. All around her, Silver Spoon could see hints and icons of the musical arts, from the blatancy of the heavy wooden bass violas and cellos perched on stands around the room, to the silent elegance of the smaller instruments hanging from the walls, to the minute details of carefully arranged spare tuning pegs and neatly organized bows resting across the pristine workbench under the window.

Silver Spoon unconsciously took a deep breath through her nose, and her eyes slowly slid closed in euphoria as the warm scent of well-oiled wood, stale rosin, and reams upon reams of old, well-worn ledger paper invaded her muzzle. It smelled of the quaint, solitary joy of the musical arts, of a bygone era of dedicated study, of patient repetition and the elation of mastery in one of the most challenging of pursuits, that of true musical genius. It smelled of dust and leather, of warmth and gentle instruction. As Octavia walked by and began to collect various sundries to begin their lesson, Silver Spoon realized with some surprise that the older mare smelled much the same, with an undercurrent of a light, delicate perfume and a general aroma of maternal comfort.

Somewhere deep in her soul, Silver Spoon felt a stir of longing she had not experienced for years, and the pleasure of the comforting scent brought with it a stab of loneliness and vacancy she couldn't ignore. Even so, she inhaled deeply, drinking in the sensations in all their terrible wonder, reveling in both the pain and the joy they brought. Her closed eyes burned with tears she couldn't explain, and it was some time before she realized Octavia had spoken again. She started slightly and blushed, blinking away the moisture. "Oh, um...I'm sorry, what was that?"

Octavia smiled. "I only asked if you had any preference for how to proceed, but I can see you were otherwise enthralled."

"Yes, I..." Silver Spoon gave the other pony a shy smile and looked down at the thick burgundy carpet beneath her hooves. "Your studio...it...it smells wonderful," she said. Her cheeks reddened further.

Octavia beamed. "Thank you, dear. Yes, I do rather enjoy the scent of the orchestra myself. The wood of the instruments, the rosin of the bow, the leaf of the paper...it does seem to have a certain magic all its own, does it not?"

Silver Spoon nodded enthusiastically. "Very much so, Miss Octavia."

"I'm glad you like it. It will make it much easier to convince you to join me for lessons if simply being in the room is pleasant."

Silver Spoon shook her head. "I don't think I'll need much convincing, no. Although..." she said anxiously, "Miss Octavia, do you really think you can teach me to play? I'm...not very good at...learning, I guess."

Octavia blinked. "Not very good at learning? My dear, whatever do you mean?"

"Well," Silver Spoon said, sitting back on her haunches and folding her ears back on her head, "I don't know how much Scootaloo has told you about me, but..."

"Scootaloo," Octavia interrupted, "however intelligent and generally intuitive she may be, is also prone to exaggeration. I tend to approach many of her...more outrageous suggestions with some caution."

"Well, I'm sure she's told you how bad I am in school, at least," Silver Spoon said darkly. "How I never finish my tests on time, how my homework is always covered with red pencil marks, how I--"

"My dear," Octavia interrupted her again, coming over and resting a gentle hoof on her shoulder, "I promise I can teach you. And, if you are willing, you can learn. I have never had a student who was genuinely interested in improving be unable to do so."

"Yeah, but..." Silver Spoon said, biting her lip nervously, "what if I'm the first? What if I just can't keep up? What if...what if I'm just...too stupid?"

Octavia frowned and sighed heavily. "Silver Spoon...what in Equestria makes you think you are stupid at all, let alone too stupid to succeed at something you actually want to do?"

The silver filly looked at the carpet beneath her hooves through eyes blurring with tears. "Because I never succeed. No matter what I do, no matter how hard I try, I never make progress. I never do well. I'm just not that smart." She looked up at Octavia from beneath her bangs. "And I don't want you to waste your time trying to teach somepony who can't learn...especially if you're doing it for free."

Octavia closed her eyes and shook her head sadly. "Oh, Silver Spoon..." She put her other hoof under Silver Spoon's chin and gently lifted the filly's face to meet her gaze. "Sweetheart, I know school hasn't been easy for you; Scootaloo has made that much painfully clear." Silver Spoon looked away again, her eyes burning with unshed tears. "But this isn't school. This isn't something you will be tested and graded on. This is something you do for your own pleasure. You can improve at your own pace, and no matter how slow that may or may not be I will stay by your side, patiently watching, helping, and coaxing you along every moment of the way."

Silver Spoon looked the older mare in the eyes, the tears finally breaking free and rolling down her cheeks. "I don't want to fail again."

The hoof under her chin slowly rose up to her face and wiped the tears away. "You won't," Octavia said, her voice quiet yet supremely confident. "I won't let you."

Silver Spoon sighed, closing her eyes and letting the motherly caress of Octavia's hoof soothe her fraying nerves. "Alright. Alright, Miss Octavia," she said. "I believe you."

"Good," the grey mare said, smiling. "Now, let's start over, shall we?" Silver Spoon nodded. "Did you have any specific goals in mind for these lessons? I don't know how much progress you made with your other...ugh, teacher," she said, very nearly rolling her eyes, "but there are many paths we can take, and many destinations to seek."

"Oh," Silver Spoon said, "I...I'm not sure, actually. I...we never really discussed 'goals'. He just...showed up, and we'd...practice, I guess."

"I see," Octavia said, her tone dark. She took a deep breath through her nose. "Well, while that is certainly a way to learn, it is not, in my opinion, the ideal way to learn."

"I'm sorry..." Silver Spoon winced.

"Oh, no no no!" Octavia exclaimed, waving an alarmed hoof. "I didn't mean...it's not your fault, dear, not at all! You are the student, your responsibility is no more than to learn and be taught. The onus is on your instructor to guide you, to help you select a path, and then lead the way to your chosen destination. It is never to expect you to plot your own course, and stand idly by while you struggle to find your way." She cleared her throat and sat back on her haunches, holding up a hoof to indicate one of her violins. "Silver Spoon, these are called instruments for a reason. They are not the source of music, they are merely the tools with which the musician expresses the music they feel inside." She held a hoof to her chest, her voice intensifying as she spoke. "That music is deeply rooted in your soul, and it is a terrible, beautiful magic to wield. But it is complex, and the difficulty in casting the spell of music is exceptional in its scope. My task as your teacher is to help you find that music, and to give you the skills necessary to produce it."

Silver Spoon watched the grey pony speak, entranced by the fervor and the sincerity of her words. The depth of Octavia's passion for her talent and her desire to share that passion was woven into every sentence, and her voice trembled very slightly as she continued. "These instruments are not easy to wield, and it is possible that no pony could ever hope to truly master their power. But even that weakness is a part of the magic. Every missed note, every scratch of the bow, every knock of hoof against wood is a part of the song, and no two will ever be identical." She pointed now at Silver Spoon, who recoiled slightly from the intensity of the speech. "You have this selfsame magic within you, Silver Spoon, and I want to bring it out. I want to find out what music there is residing in your soul. Together, we are going to discover what spells you have locked within you, and then we will cast them for all the world to see." Octavia stood up and leaned forward, her gaze piercing and profound. "Are you ready to seek the magic of music with me?"

Silver Spoon jumped to her hooves, an elated grin on her face. "Yes! I want to find the music in me!"

"And we shall!" Octavia said with a flourish. "Now." She suddenly settled back to her haunches and returned to her demure expression of calm, leaving Silver Spoon stunned to find herself panting slightly, with heat coursing through her veins and her heart pounding in her chest. "As I said before, there are a few directions we can go, and I'm curious about what you were hoping to achieve. Any goal is fine, as long as it's somewhere you want to be."

Silver Spoon blushed as she settled back to her haunches on the carpet, still bemused to find herself so thoroughly excited by Octavia's words. "Well...like I said, I enjoyed the cello, sort of. I just never really got very good at it. I mean, I've heard some really pretty cello music, but..." Her eyes lit up. "But what I really like is viola music. It just seems so...light and happy and beautiful."

Octavia beamed. "So would you like to learn to play the viola, then?"

"Can...can I?"

Octavia nodded. "Of course. I can teach any of the instruments in this room. I can even teach a few others I don't have here, if you're particularly adventurous."

"Really?" Silver Spoon said. "Like what?"

Octavia tilted her head, looking away as she thought. "Oh, the harp, the lute, the lyre, the guitar, the banjo..." She held up a hoof and started tapping out the next few instruments. "The sitar, the violotta, the psaltery..."

Silver Spoon blinked, stunned. "Wow...you're, like...a musical genius, aren't you?"

Octavia chuckled softly, holding a hoof to her muzzle. "Oh, my...I wouldn't say that. I just find myself drawn to stringed instruments. I do so love the sensation of a vibrating string, and the tone produced is possibly the purest, the most variable of all music."

"Could you teach me more than just one instrument, then?"

The older mare nodded. "Of course, but you must learn how to play one, first." She got up and walked over to the wall where several of the instruments were hanging and nosed two of them down into her hooves. "Now, viola." The earth pony offered one to Silver Spoon, who hesitantly held out her hooves to take the instrument. "The viola is the middle voice of the violin family, an octave higher than the cello and a touch lower than the titular violin. It is not the easiest of the family to play, primarily due to its size, being somewhat larger than the violin, but not large enough to rest on anything. You must still hold it against your shoulder, like so." Octavia effortlessly pushed herself up onto her hind legs and placed the viola on her left shoulder, holding the neck in her hoof. "Can you stand like this for very long?"

Silver Spoon pursed her lips. "Um...I don't know...maybe? I usually had my cello to lean on."

Octavia frowned. "A habit that your instructor should never have let you fall into. Leaning upon one's instrument is neither good form, nor healthy for either of you. Anyway, there is nothing to lean on with the viola, so your first steps will be to learn how to stand up on your back legs for an extended period of time. Don't worry," she said, "you won't have to go straight from four to two legs immediately, nor will you have to put off your lessons until you can. Standing like this is not something most earth ponies--or really any ponies--do with any regularity, so there are plenty of training braces to help you stay upright while you play until you gain the strength and balance to stand without assistance." She inclined her head at Silver Spoon, still effortlessly balancing on her hind legs. "Go ahead and give it a try. Let's find out how long you can stand unassisted."

Silver Spoon nodded and gently set the viola in her hooves aside. Then she pushed off the carpet with her forelegs and reared back, pausing just at the top of the movement. Holding her hooves out in front of her to counterbalance her suddenly shifting weight, she managed to find her center and stood, somewhat shakily, on her back hooves.

Octavia beamed at her. "Excellent! How long do you think you could hold that pose?"

"Uh," Silver Spoon said, her voice quavering, "not very long, I don't think. I can already feel my legs getting shaky."

"That's alright," the older mare said, nodding. "Go ahead and relax. I'll set up a brace for you later. We'll work on less physical tasks in the meanwhile." She settled easily back to four legs, laying her instrument aside. "Can you read music?"

Silver Spoon nodded. "Yeah."

Octavia stroked her chin for a moment. Then, she retrieved a sheet of music from a music stand in the middle of the room and offered it to Silver Spoon. "I know this is very complex, but I just want to make sure you can identify all the elements. Take a look and see if there's anything you don't recognize."

Silver Spoon looked at the page. It may as well have been written in Griffish. A few of the notes and letters stood out to her, but many of them had extra lines and symbols all around them that she didn't recognize at all. Even the page itself was littered with strange terms and icons she had never seen before. The silver filly blushed and said, "Um...well, maybe I can't read it after all..."

Octavia smiled kindly. "Not to worry, dear. I suspect you can read some basic music, and that will be very helpful while learning, but I hope you won't mind if I proceed to teach as if you couldn't read it at all."

She shook her head. "No, ma'am."

"Wonderful. Well, then, I believe it is time for you to experience your first real music lesson." Octavia grinned, picking the viola back up and holding it against her shoulder, no longer standing up, but instead sitting back on her haunches. "Are you ready to begin?"

Silver Spoon smiled, mirroring the older mare's pose with her own instrument. "Ready."

~~~

The two spent the first half of the lesson learning how to properly hold the instrument and the bow, and how to maintain the proper posture, even though they were currently only sitting on their haunches, instead of standing upright. This proved challenging for the young mare, who fell over a few times as she lost her balance or simply became exhausted trying to keep herself vertical. Whenever she became too tired to stay up, they switched to studying music, learning the various symbols and icons, as well as discussing some of the finer points of basic music theory.

The second half of the lesson actually involved some playing, much to Silver Spoon's elation. The viola in her hooves had thin strips of tape across the hoofboard indicating where to press on the strings, and Octavia taught her what note each strip represented. The last fifteen minutes were nothing but careful, guided bowing of the notes, and just before Octavia ended the lesson, she produced a single sheet of music and told Silver Spoon to play the song on it.

After she recovered from the shock and initial terror of being instructed to play a complete song on a brand new instrument at the end of her very first lesson, Silver Spoon took a deep, steadying breath, laid bow to string, and actually managed to play the short ditty with no errors or hesitation. Teacher and student celebrated this ostensibly minor achievement with an impromptu hug from which Silver Spoon retreated with mortification at her own forwardness.

Octavia simply smiled and laughed it off. "Don't worry at all, my dear. Any achievement you feel is worth celebrating, I will gladly celebrate with you in whatever fashion you would like. Besides," she said with a wink and a ghost of a smile, "I do rather enjoy receiving hugs. Unfortunately, I am afraid we are just about out of time for the afternoon," Octavia said, glancing at a delicate golden carriage clock sitting on her workbench.

"Wait, we are?" Silver Spoon asked. She checked the timepiece and was stunned to find that an hour and a half had already elapsed. "But...but it felt like...like no time! Like fifteen minutes or something!"

Now, Octavia chuckled softly, carefully wiping down her viola before lifting it back up to its spot on the wall. "I am very happy to hear you say that. I can only truly consider my lessons successful if I leave my students surprised that they have ended." She gestured towards the viola in Silver Spoon's hooves. "Would you like to borrow that to practice with at home? I have several, as you can see, and I would like you to be able to practice when we cannot meet."

Silver Spoon looked down at the viola. It was a magnificent specimen, a deep, dark chocolate-colored body trimmed in clean white ivory, with a dark black hoofboard under the taut, shining silver strings. There were no scratches or divots in the body, and the finish was clean and flawless. Octavia clearly purchased and cared for her instruments with supreme attention and diligence. Silver Spoon shook her head fervently. "Oh, no, I couldn't. Not something this nice."

Octavia waved a hoof dismissively. "Nonsense, dear. That one is a teaching instrument. It has seen many, many young ponies' hooves, and is not at all concert-quality."

Silver Spoon gaped at the viola. "But...but it's beautiful!" she exclaimed.

Octavia smiled. "Well, I appreciate that assessment; I do try to take care of my instruments, after all. Still, just because it looks nice doesn't mean it is nice. Appearance is only fur-deep, after all. Here," she said, walking over to the wall again and nosing down the instrument highest and furthest from the door. Unlike the others, this instrument was kept in a case, and hung by the straps. Octavia rested the case on the carpet and carefully pulled open the zipper keeping it closed. "Tell me what you think of this," she said, nosing the case open and revealing the instrument inside.

Silver Spoon raised an eyebrow at the sight. The violin inside the case was possibly the ugliest instrument she had ever seen. The body was pitted and scored, with terrible scratches visible all along the finish. The ivory of the trim was yellowed and dull, the tuning pegs were matte black and square, and the hoofboard was dull greyish and badly marred by age. "That looks awful," Silver Spoon remarked frankly. "Why do you even own a violin like this?"

Octavia smiled pleasantly as she lifted the instrument out of the case, standing back on her hind legs and lifting the bow in her other hoof. "Because, my dear, looks can be terribly deceiving." With this, she drew the bow across the strings.

With the very first note, Silver Spoon felt her mouth fall slack. The brutally ugly violin had one of the most beautiful voices she had ever heard. The notes were crisp and clear, and yet somehow mellow and sweet. There was no scratch of the bow, no twang or shriek. The instrument sang as though possessed by a spell of its own, and Silver Spoon genuinely expected to see a glow of magic surround the strings as Octavia played. The rich tone utterly filled the small room, and the young mare could feel it resonating within her chest. Too soon, Octavia raised the bow from the strings and slowly lowered the violin from her shoulder, a small smile on her face. "You see? This instrument is one of the finest I own, despite its tragic appearance."

"But...but…" Silver Spoon sputtered, "couldn't you..I dunno, repair it? Polish it? Something?"

Octavia nodded. "Yes, I could. But I won't, for a few reasons. Firstly, while it is excellent, this isn't the best instrument in my collection, it is merely a backup for practice purposes, and therefore isn't required to look nice. Secondly, it would cost me a great deal of time and bits to restore it, both of which are better spent elsewhere. But finally, and perhaps most importantly, I use it for exactly what I just did for you." She looked down at the instrument with a fond smile. "Every time I glance up at my wall, I see this case, and think of the violin inside, and remember that outside appearances are but a veneer upon that which makes us who we truly are." Octavia gestured at the viola in Silver Spoon's hooves. "And that one, while perfectly functional, is not as sweet and beautiful as its facade would suggest."

She gently placed the unsightly instrument back in its case, closing the lid and putting it back up on the wall. Silver Spoon pondered the viola in her grasp with a skeptical expression. "What makes one instrument better than another?"

Octavia gestured towards the door to the hallway. "An excellent question. First, though, it's almost time for supper. I'll tell you about it while I prepare. In the meanwhile, leave that one here in the studio. When you leave, you can take it home with you."

"Okay," Silver Spoon said, setting the viola aside as she followed Octavia out and into the kitchen, where the older mare began to collect various items to prepare the meal. She watched awkwardly for a few moments before asking, "Would...would you like help?"

"Actually," Octavia said with a smile, "that would be wonderful, yes. Thank you, Silver Spoon. If you wouldn't mind chopping all of these--" she slid a bowl full of various whole vegetables across the counter at her, "--and putting them back in that bowl, you would save me a great deal of time."

Silver Spoon nodded and did as she was asked. While the two mares worked, she asked again, "So, what makes one violin better than another?"

"Well, it may sound silly, but I firmly believe that the things which define an instrument's quality are the same as those that define a pony."

Silver Spoon raised an eyebrow at her. "What do you mean?"

"Well, while the initial stock is obviously very important, more important is the care with which one forms and builds the instrument. Great stock can be ruined by rough or careless handling while the violin is in its formative stages. Similarly," she said, "any pony, no matter how high their social standing or their wealth, can be badly damaged by careless rearing."

Silver Spoon felt a stab of shame at the metaphor. She suspected Octavia may be speaking about her, but she didn't say anything, lest she accidentally offend the older pony, and lose her chance to continue her lessons or to come over to work with Scootaloo. Octavia didn't seem to realize anything was amiss. "Conversely, even the most mundane of stock can be made to create beautiful music in the hooves of a truly dedicated and patient craftspony. And likewise can ponies of...mediocre origins be made great by proper care while they are being raised.

"And in both cases," she continued, "it is impossible to tell on sight whether the instrument--or pony, as it were--is capable of great things, or whether they are damaged beyond repair." She smiled warmly down at Silver Spoon. "Of course, there are very, very few of either instrument or pony that cannot be rescued with proper care."

Silver Spoon's ears folded back on her head, and she looked sadly into the bowl of vegetables. "I don't think I can be rescued."

"Nonsense," Octavia said simply, carefully picking up a large frying pan and setting it on the stove before filling it with vegetable oil and turning the heat on. "You simply need to realize that you can be greater than you think. And then you need somepony to help you get beyond what you can reach on your own."

Silver Spoon thought about this for a moment. "Are you sure?" she asked tentatively. "I'm...I don't know how good I can be."

Octavia smiled. "Scootaloo believes differently, you know."

Silver Spoon blinked, surprised. "Wait...she does?"

Octavia nodded. "Very much so. She is both extremely impressed by your progress and frustrated by your continual doubts in your own abilities." The older mare chuckled. "Of course, Scootaloo has never lacked for self-confidence, so it may be difficult for her to appreciate exactly how it feels to be afraid of your own failures." She glanced sideways at Silver Spoon, a hint of understanding glinting in her eyes. "But I know it's hard to see yourself succeeding if you haven't experienced it in some time."

Silver Spoon frowned sadly at the parsnip in her hoof. "Yeah...it's been nice, these past couple days, just...doing things right for once. But I can't help but wonder when I'm going to hit another wall, and just stop improving." She closed her eyes, fighting the tightness in her throat. "And I'm scared that Scootaloo's going to get sick of trying to teach me if I can't learn anymore."

Octavia put a hoof around Silver Spoon's shoulders and squeezed her tightly. "She won't, dear. There is only one thing I think Scootaloo is genuinely unable to do, and that is to give up on a problem, especially if there's another pony hanging in the balance."

Silver Spoon melted a little in the hug. How long had it been since she'd been embraced like this so many times in the same day? She couldn't even remember the last time she had been hugged once by somepony who wasn't Carillon or Diamond Tiara...and even Di's hugs had become more perfunctory and clinical recently…

Octavia smiled as she took the bowl full of chopped vegetables back and began to dip the slices into a batter she'd prepared while they'd been talking. "And of course I won't give up either, although I suspect you may be more concerned about keeping Scootaloo's interest than mine, hm?"

Silver Spoon looked up at her with a cautiously neutral expression. "Why?"

"Well, because she's your age, obviously," Octavia said. She was dipping the battered slices into a pan full of breadcrumbs, and then tossing them carefully into the hot oil on the stove. The oil hissed furiously and the breaded slices steamed as they fried. "And as sweet and pleasant a filly as you are to teach and converse with, we could never be friends quite the same way, could we?"

"Scootaloo and I aren't friends," Silver Spoon said reflexively. Octavia gave her a skeptical look, and the filly sighed. "Well, okay, we are...but I was kind of hoping to keep it a secret for a little while."

"A secret? Whatever for?"

"Well…" Silver Spoon said, tapping her hooves together nervously. "My other friend is kind of...jealous. Actually, she's very jealous."

"Jealous," Octavia said. "Of...your other friends?"

Silver Spoon shrugged. "I don't have any other friends besides her. So I guess she's just jealous of me having other friends at all."

Octavia blinked. "You don't have any other friends besides one jealous one?" Silver Spoon nodded, and Octavia's expression fell into a frown. "Forgive me, dear, but that doesn't sound particularly...pleasant."

Silver Spoon shook her head sadly. "It's not. And it's not like I haven't tried, but...I don't really like talking to other ponies much. I get really nervous and I sound stupid and I just give up, unless Diamond Tiara is there with me. But Diamond Tiara kind of...scares other ponies."

"Scares them?"

Silver Spoon nodded. "She's pretty intense. She's got a very forceful personality, and she likes having things her way. It's a tough combination to get used to."

"I can only imagine," Octavia said dully. "So she likes having things her way, and she's jealous of you having other friends, so...do you just always do what she wants, then?"

Silver Spoon shrugged. "Mostly, yeah."

"What about what you want?"

The silver filly raised an eyebrow at her. "What about it?"

"Well, do you ever do what you want when you're together with her?"

Silver Spoon tilted her head, thinking. "Sure, sometimes. I mean, Di and my interests do intersect a lot, although…"

"Although?" Octavia prompted.

"Well," Silver Spoon said, blushing, "there are a few things I like to do that we never seem to actually get around to."

"Such as?"

"Well, I like to dance," the filly said, her face reddening further. "And not just ballroom dancing, although that's nice sometimes. But more often, I just like to play, like, jazz and big band music that's a little faster, and just...I dunno, just dance, you know?"

Octavia smiled broadly, nodding. "Absolutely. Dancing with abandon is quite pleasant. Even I will indulge from time to time...although I tend to keep that under wraps," she added with a conspiratorial wink. "It would rather damage my sophisticated reputation if ponies knew I liked to, ah...let my mane down and 'shake it', so to speak." Both ponies giggled at the way Octavia pronounced the phrase, clipped and primly. "Anything else you like to do but don't get much opportunity for?"

Silver Spoon thought for a moment. "Well, I do like games...board games, video games...although I really haven't gotten much of a chance to play in a while. My father thinks games are a waste of time, so I've only ever gotten to try them at Diamond Tiara's house, and only a few times a while ago before Di decided she didn't like them anymore."

"Interesting," Octavia said with a small smile. "You know, it sounds to me like you and Scootaloo might share more interests than you think."

"Really?" Silver Spoon said.

Octavia nodded. "Absolutely. Scootaloo loves to play games. You should ask her to show you her board game collection some time. And of course since Vy loves video games, we have a substantial stash of those, as well. You are certainly welcome to come by and play any time you like, as long as you don't accidentally erase any of Vy's save progress, of course." She gave Silver Spoon a meaningful look. "Trust me, that is not a crime you want to have to answer for."

Silver Spoon giggled. "I'll be careful." She hesitated for a moment before asking, "Do you really think Scootaloo would want to play games with me?"

"Of course she would, dear," Octavia said. "You did just admit you consider yourselves friends, didn't you?"

"Yeah, but...I dunno, I just wasn't sure that was part of being friends, I guess."

Octavia shook her head. "Dear, I think you may need to reconsider what being friends truly means. I won't tell you that you should abandon your friendship with Diamond Tiara, but I will say that doing what she wants and not having any other friends is not what being a friend is about." Silver Spoon considered this quietly for some time. Eventually Octavia broke the silence again, saying, "So, I know you and Scootaloo haven't always gotten along very well…"

Silver Spoon snorted lightly. "That's quite the understatement."

The older mare smiled. "Well, something must have changed if you consider yourselves friends now."

"Oh, yeah," Silver Spoon said. "Actually, I dunno...I guess the biggest change is just that we stopped going after each other all the time."

"Funny how that works sometimes," Octavia said with a smile and a mischievous glint in her eye.

"Honestly, we just never really had much opportunity. Scootaloo and I didn't really get along, but Scootaloo and Diamond Tiara hate each other, and they always have. It's at least as much Di's fault as Scootaloo's," she said as Octavia frowned darkly. "But they just...can't seem to let an opportunity to get one up on each other go by. And of course when Diamond Tiara and Scootaloo are at each other's throats, I have to pick a side, and I always pick Di. The Crusaders always pick Scootaloo, and that's how the fights always go."

"But without Diamond Tiara and the other Crusaders in the picture?" Octavia asked as she finished stacking the fried vegetable slices on a platter, placing a paper towel in between the layers to soak up residual oil.

Silver Spoon shrugged. "I guess without them, Scootaloo and I don't really have much to argue about. She's been really helpful...in a lot of ways, actually," she said, more to herself than to Octavia.

"I'm glad to hear that," Octavia said with a smile. "I was worried she might not be able to put your differences aside and work together at all, let alone actually befriend you. I'm extremely pleased she did so, of course; you are a wonderful young mare, kind, thoughtful, grateful, and charming. Scootaloo is very lucky to be able to call you her friend."

Silver Spoon blushed deeply at the praise and considered for a moment all she had gained and experienced in the past few days since she found herself being forced into Scootaloo's company. She thought back on the conversations they'd shared, the kind words Scootaloo had offered her, and the unexpected, unforgettable comfort she'd received at one of the lowest moments she had had in some time. The filly shook her head, smiling. "With all due respect Miss Octavia, I think I'm the lucky one in this friendship."

~~~

"Hey Rainbow," Scootaloo said as soon as they left the restaurant, mercifully no longer mobbed by waiting ponies, "I know it's not...proper to ask about money, but--"

"Then don't," Rainbow said, smirking. "It was my treat, right? Don't worry about it."

"Still," Scootaloo persisted, "that seemed like a lot of bits. Are you sure--"

"The Wonderbolts are the number one stunt squad and racing team in Equestria. You didn't think we did it for free, did you?"

"Well, no, but--"

"Relax, kid." Rainbow flashed her a confident smile. "You're worth every bit, remember?" Scootaloo blushed and smiled at the ground. "Now," the older mare continued, "you had something private you wanted my advice on."

"Oh, yeah...um...can we wait until we're at your house?" Scootaloo asked, the cool evening air intensifying the sensation of heat on her cheeks as the blush deepened. "I...don't want anypony to overhear."

"Sure we can. Hey, you wanna fly there?" Rainbow asked, grinning widely. "I bet it's been a while."

Scootaloo's wings suddenly popped open and she nodded enthusiastically. "Buck yeah I do!"

Rainbow laughed. "Well come on, then, squirt. Let's hit the sky!" The blue pegasus spread her wings wide, and with a single thunderous flap, she took off, sending a small shockwave through the air around her. Scootaloo stumbled a little as the wave hit her, and before she had fully regained her balance, she felt a pair of strong, swift hooves catch her under her forelegs from behind. The next moment, she was sailing through the air, the wind whipping through her mane and the distinctly strange sensation of having nothing under her hooves swooping through her stomach.

After some reflexive flailing, Scootaloo adjusted to the fact that Rainbow Dash had picked her up and was now carrying her through the air, the older pegasus' powerful wings completely unfazed by the added weight of another pony--even one who weighed as much as she did. Scootaloo grinned and spread her own wings wide, just like she used to, before Rainbow Dash had gotten too busy with training and testing to fly with her anymore. For a moment, she imagined nothing had ever changed, that Dash still lived in Ponyville, that they still got to hang out every so often, and that she still had a regular source of flight that she didn't have to pay for or build herself.

Tears streamed from her eyes as the rushing air seared them with cold, but she kept them open nonetheless, eagerly drinking in the phenomenal magic that was unassisted flight. Granted, Scootaloo herself was obviously being carried, but she and Dash had flown together so often that the older mare seemed to simply read her young compatriot's mind, and the two flew as one. With hundreds of test flights under her wings, Scootaloo had learned how to help her idol fly, rather than simply being dead weight for her to struggle with. She carefully tilted and adjusted her wings to amplify the other mare's lift characteristics, to turn herself into a kite instead of a boulder. She leaned into the curves and trimmed her long, powerful ailerons to give her pilot even more precise control of their flight. She glanced up at Rainbow Dash's face with an elated grin, and was supremely pleased to see the Wonderbolt smirking down at her. "Nice! Just like old times, eh squirt?" she asked, shouting over the whipping wind.

Scootaloo beamed and nodded, reveling in the memories rushing back to her as they flew. She spread all four of her legs out as if she were really flying free, imagining that she was controlling their path of flight. Rainbow Dash took the hint and began to fly more loosely, letting Scootaloo's deft adjustments dictate their path through the sky and merely providing the lift that Scootaloo's body couldn't muster. They climbed and dove in long, sweeping curves. Scootaloo pulled them up into a swift, jarring wingover maneuver, and at the top of the yaw turn suddenly flipped into a long, looping barrel roll that tightened as they dove until she was straining at the shoulders to control the ripping force of the high-speed aileron roll.

With a snap of her powerful wings, Scootaloo cut their speed and instantly counter rolled to pull them back to level flight. With a gentle nudge in the ribs, she indicated to Rainbow Dash that she should put on a burst of speed, and the cyan mare eagerly obliged. Scootaloo felt the the muscles of Rainbow's powerful obliques tightening fiercely as she drove her wings through the air, catching massive gusts of wind and forcing them through the atmosphere at a tremendous pace. Once they had gained some speed, Scootaloo suddenly angled her wings and sent them into a screaming zoom climb, letting their momentum and Rainbow's diligent propulsion carry them up into the late evening sky, through clouds burning orange with the setting sun's rays until they were so high that the air began to chill and thin.

For a fraction of a second at the top of the climb, where even Rainbow's strength began to fail, her wings no longer capable of purely vertical flight, Scootaloo glanced down to see Ponyville so far below them that it may as well have been a model. Tiny twinkling fairy lights ignited in the fading darkness of early evening and nearly invisible ponies dotted the dimly lit streets as miles above them Scootaloo was exulting in the majesty and heartbreaking wonder of flight. Then, the moment passed, and with a carefully controlled hammerhead turn, Scootaloo yawed the aerobatic pair back towards the ground, turning them so they could watch the Earth rush up at them from miles below. Scootaloo's stomach disappeared as they fell, her body pressed firmly back against Rainbow's. The contact was at once comforting and terrifying. Rainbow Dash's forelegs wrapped tightly around her chest and held her securely as they dropped, the Wonderbolt intentionally folding her wings back to reduce drag and allow them to achieve maximum dive speed.

Scootaloo took the hint and let her wings fold back as well, carefully curling them to maintain control of the fall, but without letting them catch the air and slow them down. The wind rushed by at a terrifying pace, whistling and then screaming in her ears as it tore at her mane and tail. The lights began to take form as street lamps, the buildings swiftly becoming recognizable, and still they fell. Ponies began to notice and look up at them, the letters on signs became readable, and still they fell. Then, as if on a silent cue, both pegasi opened their wings at the same moment, instantly snapping to their full span and catching the atmosphere in the broad, impenetrable canopies of feathers, muscle and sinew. The hurtling dive was transformed at once to a shrieking flyby, executed at an altitude so low that Scootaloo could see the whites of the eyes of the shocked crowds below.

"Wooohooooo!" Scootaloo exclaimed, unable to contain her excitement any longer. Above her, Rainbow laughed and hugged the elated young mare tightly to her chest before trimming their flight to angle towards the mountain of low-hanging clouds in the distance that served as Rainbow's Ponyville home.

~~~

Sooner than Scootaloo would have liked, they were pulling up short at the edge of the cloud terrace, and Rainbow dropped Scootaloo down onto the misty white floor. Despite being unable to fly, Scootaloo still possessed pegasus magic, and could walk on the clouds without issue. The orange pegasus took a deep breath, inhaling the moist, frosty air that hung around the wispy white architecture. It had been several months since she'd had an opportunity to walk on the ethereal construct, and she took full advantage of the moment by frolicking a little among the cottony vapor, kicking up little tufts of the cloud as she danced in a circle.

Rainbow Dash laughed as she watched, hovering in the air above the younger pegasus. "Been a while, huh squirt?"

Scootaloo grinned broadly up at the other mare. "Yeah, I don't usually bother anypony else to fly me up here just so I can play around. It feels kind of silly to bum a ride from another pegasus just so I can roll on a cloud for a while."

Rainbow shrugged. "Doesn't sound silly to me. I love the way clouds feel under my hooves, and sleeping on them is the most comfortable thing in the world. You do get used to it, though," she said with a hint of sadness in her voice. "It's just not that magical when you spend every single day walking on clouds and sleep every night on a cloud mattress."

Scootaloo pondered this briefly while she rolled around on her back on the clouds, reveling in the chilly bite of the cold vapor seeping through her fur and feathers. "I hadn't really thought about that."

"Too much of a good thing, kid." Rainbow flew down and opened the door to her house, gesturing for Scootaloo to follow her inside. "I know you hate not being able to fly, but there are a few little things that you get to experience that other ponies don't even know are possible."

Scootaloo rolled back to her hooves, shaking out her slightly damp fur and walking into the cloud home. The slamming door behind her was oddly muted in the heavy atmosphere of the living room. The thick cloud walls absorbed most sounds, leaving the house sounding strangely dull most of the time. The floor was springy and cool, leaving tiny droplets of dew on her hooves.

The living room was furnished exactly as it had been the last time she'd seen it. A sofa dominated the center space of the room, across from a large entertainment center and framing a low coffee table between them. All three were enchanted to stay on top of the clouds, as was all the rest of the furniture that either couldn't be crafted from clouds, or that Rainbow simply didn't want to bother making and remaking as they dissipated. It took powerful magic to maintain the integrity of low-hanging cloud constructs; Rainbow's home had been specifically enchanted to hold its shape while she was away--by the Princess Twilight Sparkle herself, no less.

The blue pegasus flew in a tight circle around the ceiling before dropping heavily onto the couch, splaying her forelegs wide and leaning back into the cushion. "Ah, man, it's good to be home…" she said, sighing.

Scootaloo smiled and trotted over to join her, climbing up on the sofa and settling down on the cushion. "It's just like you never left. Look," she said, pointing at the coffee table with a smirk. "There's even some vintage dirty dishes."

"Yeah, I guess I...ah, never got around to cleaning up," Rainbow said sheepishly.

Scootaloo giggled. "Yeah, well, in your defense, you did have a lot on your mind the night before you left."

"Speaking of having things on the mind," Rainbow said, raising an eyebrow at her, "what is this super secret problem you want my advice on?"

"Oh, right..." Scootaloo's heart skipped a beat. Faced with finally having the opportunity to ask the question, she found herself suddenly terrified to actually say it out loud. She spent a few futile moments trying to find the best, least awkward way of phrasing the query. Eventually, she just took a deep breath to calm her suddenly racing heart and asked, "So, um...you like mares, right? I mean, you know..." She blushed and mumbled, "Sexually."

Rainbow Dash blinked in surprise. "Uh, well...yeah. I mean, you knew that, didn't you? It's not exactly a secret."

"Yeah, I just..." Scootaloo floundered a little, still struggling to find a way to ease into the conversation. "I mean, you don't just like mares, though, do you?"

Rainbow shrugged, still speaking slowly in her confusion. "No...I like stallions too, sometimes. I prefer mares, but...why? What's this all about, Scoots?" Rainbow asked, raising an eyebrow at her.

Scootaloo gritted her teeth. The blush on her face radiated heat that she was sure Rainbow could feel from across the couch, but she squeezed her eyes shut and continued. "Wh...when did you first realize...that you were...you know...like...like that?" she finished, wincing at the quaver in her voice and opening one eye to see Rainbow's reaction.

Rainbow Dash's eyes widened suddenly, and then her face softened into a pleasant, knowing smile. "Ahhh...gotcha. Well," she said, rubbing her chin with a hoof, "I don't know if there was a specific moment, really. I mean, it never occurred to me to worry about it one way or the other. My folks were cool with it, I knew my mom had had a couple fillyfriends when she was younger, before she met my dad, so it wasn't like I had to be worried if I decided to date mares...I guess my biggest problem was just that my first serious long term relationship was with a griffon, instead of a pony."

"Gilda, right?" Scootaloo asked. She'd heard the story before.

Rainbow nodded. "I think that sort of set my folks off, but not because she was a chick. If I had to try and pinpoint it, I guess it was back in Speedsters flight camp. I hadn't ever really been interested in mares before, but there was this one filly, Firefly...man, she was something else; pretty, athletic, fun..." Rainbow shook her head at the memory. "If anypony really stoked the fire for other females in me, she was the one. Anyway, I was about your age at the time...maybe a little younger."

"I see..." Scootaloo said. There was a long pause. Rainbow Dash watched Scootaloo sitting silently on the sofa, her eyes half-lidded and a small, patient smile on her face. She was waiting, Scootaloo knew. Rainbow had figured out what Scootaloo was about to say, and she was giving the younger mare time to muster the courage to actually say it.

Scootaloo wasn't entirely sure how to feel about this. Part of her was desperately hoping Rainbow would break the silence first, ask the question and force her to answer, so she didn't have to actually find the strength to say what she was thinking on her own. The other part was extremely grateful for Rainbow's patience, knowing that she was doing it because she realized this was hard for Scootaloo to vocalize, and letting her find a way to say it in her own time. After a few minutes, the young orange pegasus took a deep, steadying breath and said, "Rainbow...I...I think I...like mares."

Rainbow Dash simply smiled. "That's cool, Scoots. You know there's nothing wrong with that. If that's who you are, then that's who you are. Nothing to be ashamed of at all." The smile widened and she leaned across the couch to rub her hoof through Scootaloo's mane. "Still, I know it probably wasn't easy for you to say that out loud. It means a lot that you felt comfortable telling me." The smile twisted a bit into a shallow smirk. "Though I have to be honest with you, it doesn't surprise me at all."

Scootaloo blushed and smiled back. "Yeah, well...to tell you the truth, I think I've known for a while now. I guess I was just kind of...hiding from it."

Rainbow nodded. "Yeah, I totally understand that. It's a pretty big deal, and it's not something you just take in stride. I'm proud of you for taking it as well as you seem to be. Not everypony could be so courageous."

Scootaloo smiled shyly at the praise. "Even if my parents are two mares who've been together longer than I've been alive?"

The blue pegasus grinned. "Especially then. Who wants to be anything like their folks anyway?"

Scootaloo giggled softly. "Yeah, I guess...still, it was hard to accept. More than anything, it just seemed kind of...wrong. I mean, all the earth ponies in town are kind of weird about it, and Apple Bloom--"

Rainbow waved a hoof dismissively. "Earth ponies are weird about lots of stuff. Especially the down-home family-farmy ones. You can't let what they say change who you are."

"No, I guess not," Scootaloo said quietly, "but it does kind of suck if..." She trailed off, embarrassment choking off the rest of the statement.

"If?" Rainbow prompted.

Scootaloo fidgeted for a moment, her cheeks turning pink. "If the mare you have a crush on is an earth pony."

Rainbow nodded solemnly. "Apple Bloom."

Scootaloo blinked, momentarily bemused. "Wait, what? Apple Bloom? No, no way. I wasn't...no, it's not Apple Bloom," she said, holding up both hooves defensively.

Rainbow raised an eyebrow at her. "Really? I would've thought for sure..."

Scootaloo shook her head. "No, it's not one of the Crusaders. That one time didn't count. We were young and curious and it was more friendly than anything. Besides, even if it was a Crusader," she continued, blushing more intensely, "it would be Sweetie Belle, not Apple Bloom."

"Is that so?" Rainbow asked, a ghost of a smirk on her muzzle.

Scootaloo nodded sheepishly. "Yeah. I mean, she's been my best friend forever, she's really pretty and kind, and she's got the most amazing voice and figure and hair, and..." She trailed off as her heart started to thump and a surge of heat flooded through her haunches, bringing a renewed blush to her cheeks.

Rainbow grinned. "Sounds like an earth pony's just one of the girls you have a crush on."

"I don't have a crush on Sweetie Belle!" Scootaloo insisted, cursing the warmth in her face and flanks for betraying her. "Besides," she added more quietly, "she's not interested in mares like that."

"How do you know?"

Scootaloo looked away, a sinking sensation spreading through her chest. "Because I asked."

"Ah, I see," Rainbow said, her voice quiet and understanding.

"Yeah," Scootaloo said. "It was sort of an off-the-hoof discussion, just...we were talking about Starlight and Trixie, and I asked if she thought she could ever see herself with another mare like that, and..." She sighed and shook her head. "Her reaction wasn't exactly reassuring."

Rainbow Dash smiled sympathetically. "Were you hoping for a more positive reaction?" she asked.

Scootaloo frowned at the sofa between them. "No, I...well, maybe." She shook her head again. "I don't know, it doesn't matter now," she grunted.

Rainbow Dash shrugged. "Her loss, kid. Plenty of fillies in the sea. So if it isn't a Crusader, who is it?" she asked, redirecting the conversation.

Scootaloo grimaced and tapped her hooves together anxiously. "Promise you won't laugh?"

Rainbow raised an eyebrow at her. "Why would I laugh?"

Scootaloo's cheeks reddened as she muttered, "Trust me, you'll want to."

"Okay..." Rainbow said slowly. "I promise, then."

"And you have to keep it a secret, right?" Scootaloo said, partly just to delay the inevitable.

Rainbow rolled her eyes a little. "Yes, yes, obviously. Since when have I ever told anypony else about something you shared with me?"

"Never, but..." She sighed and covered her eyes with a foreleg. "Alright, it's...it's Silver Spoon."

"Silver Spoon," Rainbow repeated. Scootaloo nodded, hanging her head in shame. "Your project partner." She nodded again. "Mortal enemies for years, never had a conversation with before, couldn't stand less than a week ago Silver Spoon."

Scootaloo winced at each item. "Yeah. That Silver Spoon." She looked up at Rainbow's face, convinced she was going to see the pegasus struggling mightily not to laugh.

Instead, she was surprised to see a small smile on her face. "Interesting. What brought that on?"

Scootaloo shrugged, the anxious tightness in her midsection relaxing a bit. "I dunno, really...it just sort of...I guess I'd never really looked at her or talked to her properly before. I just always figured she was some prissy, stuck-up witch who just dressed up to make herself feel like she was better than everypony else."

"She's not, though?"

Scootaloo shook her head enthusiastically. "No, no way. She's really sweet and friendly and quiet, and she's really eager to try new things and learn, even though she's not very good in school. We sat and worked on homework together for hours earlier today, and she couldn't get enough of it. She was asking questions and really trying, and when she got an answer right, she would just get this huge smile on her face, and it would light her up, and she would be so pretty, so cute that..." Scootaloo sighed wistfully. "So, so many times I wanted to...just grab hold of her and kiss her, just pull her braid out and let her mane down...I saw her with her hair undone the other night, and..." She shook her head and breathed, "She's beautiful, Rainbow, absolutely amazing. You wouldn't know it, because she's always got her braid and her glasses, and she just seems so insecure all the time, but when she gets excited, or feels confident, or relaxes at all, she..." A shiver ran down Scootaloo's spine at the thought. "Seriously, Rainbow, if you could see her like that..."

Rainbow suddenly burst out laughing. Scootaloo felt a sting of betrayal arc through her stomach. "Hey! You promised!"

"Sorry, sorry!" Rainbow choked through waves of giggles. "I'm not laughing at you having a crush on her, I'm...sorry, it's just that...to see you talking about her like this is...it's nice." She smiled. "I love it. I love seeing you so happy about something, so excited and enthusiastic. I mean, you're my little sis, right? I just love knowing you've found something--or somepony--you're this stoked about."

Scootaloo pulled a pout onto her muzzle. "Still, you said you wouldn't laugh."

Rainbow smiled. "Yeah, I'm sorry, kid. I didn't mean to make you think I was making fun of your your feelings. Honestly, I'm super happy for you. I've never seen you get misty-eyed over anypony like that. At least not anypony else except me," she amended with a knowing wink.

Scootaloo's face flushed and she quickly changed the subject. "Well, it's not like it matters. She's an earth pony, remember? Mare-mare relationships aren't really their thing."

Rainbow shrugged. "You never know. Have you asked her about it?"

"Of course not," Scootaloo said dryly. "How in Tartarus am I supposed to bring that up in conversation? 'Hey Spoon, quick question: do you like sheaths or slits?'"

Rainbow giggled. "Yeah, well, probably not like that. Honestly, Scootaloo, you can just ask."

Now it was Scootaloo's turn to burst out laughing. "Hah, no. I don't think so."

"Why not?"

Scootaloo shook her head, still chuckling in disbelief. "Because, Rainbow, that's not something you just discuss with somepony."

"Maybe not directly," Rainbow said, "but it's totally possible to ease it into the conversation. Talk about your friends, your family, some of your classmates, just kind of find a place to ask if she has a coltfriend or a fillyfriend, and see how she reacts."

"Badly, I'm guessing," Scootaloo said wryly. "She doesn't even have any other friends except Diamond Tiara. I guarantee she's never had any sort of intimate relationship."

Rainbow shrugged. "Well, there's literally only one solution. If you really want to know, you'll find a way to ask."

"Maybe," Scootaloo said noncommittally. "Anyway, we're just barely friends right now; I'm not going to risk that for a crush."

Rainbow Dash smiled. "That's a smart way to look at it. You don't want to scare her off by pushing too hard, and speaking from experience, quick flings are way easier to come by than good, dedicated friends. Of course," she said with a mischievous grin, "if you can get both, then that's just gravy."

Scootaloo smirked. "The voice of experience?" she asked.

Rainbow chuckled softly. "Let's just say that the Wonderbolts are a bunch of sexy, charismatic young celebs with tons of pent-up energy living in close quarters. Things happen."

"Good things, I'm guessing."

Rainbow shrugged. "Varying levels of good. I got caught in the shower with Soarin once, and he...well, he tries hard. But I room with Spitfire, and that girl…" Rainbow shook her head, a blush creeping across her blue cheeks. "I used to fantasize about being with Spitfire, and my imagination was not even close."

"Hmm," Scootaloo said, a small smile on her face and a distinctly explicit image of Spitfire and Rainbow Dash in their bunk at the Wonderbolts camp flashing through her mind.

"I see your imagination is taking a stab, too," Rainbow suddenly remarked with a sly grin. Scootaloo blinked in confusion, and the other pegasus gestured behind her back. "Your flaps are deployed."

Scootaloo realized she could feel the tension in her wings before she actually glanced over her shoulder to see them fully extended and shivering slightly. She blushed and reached back to try and push them back down. "Oh, damn...sorry, Rainbow."

Rainbow Dash chuckled softly. "Don't worry about it, kid. I'll be honest, I get a little bit moist thinking about it, too."

Scootaloo smiled and let her wings go, her face still warm. "Yeah, well...who wouldn't get a wingboner thinking about you and Spitfire together, huh? Actually," she said, brightening, "it's nice to finally be able to just enjoy that sort of fantasy without feeling guilty about it."

Rainbow smiled. "I'll bet."

Scootaloo sat silently for a moment, letting her wings hum with erotic energy behind her as she let the imaginary scenario play out in her head. She saw Rainbow and Spitfire laying side-by-side in their bunk, their firm, svelte bodies pressed together as they tenderly embraced, their lips locked in a sultry kiss that parted briefly and allowed Scootaloo's imaginary eye to see their tongues wrestling for advantage between their hungrily panting mouths. Their searching hooves caressed one another's backs, wings, and flanks as they eagerly gripped every inch of the other's body that they could reach, until one of Spitfire's roaming hooves found its way between Rainbow's shivering thighs and--

Scootaloo suddenly shook her head, dispelling the fantasy before she let it get too far. She glanced over to see Rainbow Dash looking at her with a slightly raised eyebrow and a small smirk. "Like what you're seeing?" she asked.

Scootaloo nodded sheepishly, her mind's eye still fighting to pull the fantasy back into her imagination. She ignored it, pointedly staring at the sofa beneath her hooves. Her marehood was warm and wet, and she could feel a thin stream of fluid slowly creeping down the inside of her thigh. She pressed her back legs together to stop it from getting all the way to the couch and held her tail down against her backside to hide her arousal as best she could. "Y-yeah," she said shakily, "I guess I...I hadn't ever really given myself much of a chance to imagine something like that."

"Really?" Rainbow said curiously. "Last winter you told me you thought about me all the time. It was a heck of an ego boost, too, not that I needed one." She grinned.

Scootaloo pursed her lips. "Yeah, I did...I mean, I do, it's just..." She shook her head. "I always sort of considered you the exception, I guess."

"Ah," Rainbow said. "Your 'exception to the rule'? Everypony gets one free gay crush, right?"

Scootaloo nodded. "That's what made what we did last winter okay. I figured I was just attracted to you because you were--are--my hero. It didn't matter what sex you were, you were just...amazing. Utterly irresistible."

Rainbow grinned and made a show of shining a hoof against her coat. "All true, of course."

Scootaloo giggled. "Of course. But to imagine any other mare besides you...I just couldn't do it." She frowned. "Every time I accidentally started to, or dreamed about it, or anything like that, I would come out of it feeling sick and ashamed of myself."

Rainbow Dash nodded sympathetically. "Yeah, that's what happens when you try to deny who you are. Your heart doesn't care what your brain thinks, it just knows what makes you 'you', and nothing you do is going to change that."

Scootaloo nodded. "Yeah, I know. Like I said, it's nice to not have to worry about that anymore. I don't know why I waited so long." She looked sideways at Rainbow. "I mean...we could have made last winter a regular thing."

Rainbow smiled shallowly. "Yeah...maybe so. But that's all in the past now. No point in regretting things you can't change now."

"No, I guess not," Scootaloo said glumly. She sat contemplatively for a few moments, wondering whether she should vocalize the idea that had been gnawing at the edges of her consciousness since they'd first arrived at Rainbow's cloud home. "So..." she said, finally deciding to throw caution to the wind, "about last winter..."

"What about last winter?" Rainbow asked.

Scootaloo tapped her hooves together nervously. "I was just thinking...you know, even though it was a really emotional night and all, what we did that night...it was pretty awesome, you know?" She blushed and smiled shyly at Rainbow Dash.

The older mare returned the smiled and nodded. "Yeah, it was. I still think about it sometimes when I'm alone in my bunk, you know."

"Yeah, I...I do, too," Scootaloo agreed. "And I was just thinking, it's been a while, and you're back in town for the night, and we're already here, and we're not gonna get another chance any time soon, and I think you're so--"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, kid, slow down." Rainbow interrupted her, holding up both hooves with a suspicious look on her face. "What are you saying, exactly?"

Scootaloo swallowed hard, her mouth dry with nervous anticipation. "I want to sleep with you again. Tonight. Now." As soon as she put the idea to words, Scootaloo's body enthusiastically responded. Her heart began to race and her wings, which had begun to droop somewhat, swiftly stiffened again, reaching their full span in moments. Her nether lips tingled and moistened, and she could already feel herself winking slightly. "Just like last winter, only better."

"Wait, what?" Rainbow gaped at her, letting her hooves drop back to the sofa. "I...are you sure?"

Scootaloo nodded eagerly, standing up on the sofa cushions and letting her tail flip absently behind her. "Yeah, I am. You have no idea how much I've thought about that night, how much I enjoyed being with you like that...I can't get you out of my head, and now that I know who I am and what I want, I know I want you to be the first mare I share that with."

Rainbow Dash smiled tightly, shaking her head. "I'm flattered, kid, really I am, but I'm not sure that's a good idea."

Scootaloo's heart sank. "What? Why not? You said you think about it all the time, too! Don't you want to do it again?"

The cyan pegasus nodded. "Yes, I do, but not like this. Not here, not tonight. We haven't seen each other in months, and I know you're excited--I am too, I promise--but..." She sighed. "Look, Scootaloo, I get it. I know how you're feeling, because I was there once, too. It's all exciting and new and you just really want to stretch your wings--so to speak." She smiled wanly.

Scootaloo didn't return the expression. She slowly settled back to the sofa, her wings starting to deflate. "So...so you don't want to be my first?"

Rainbow heaved a sigh. "Scootaloo, please don't take this the wrong way. I think you're great. I think you're fun and sexy and in any other situation, I'd already be nose deep in you." She smirked and Scootaloo looked down at the couch, blushing deeply. "But the first time we slept together was...special. It was a weird situation. I was leaving for who knew how long, you had just come of age, we were both a little bit drunk, and when the night was over, things had happened that we couldn't really have stopped. I don't regret it," she said, leaning across the sofa to put a hoof on Scootaloo's shoulder, "and I'm glad we did it, because we shared something amazing that I cherish every day." She gently lifted Scootaloo's chin to look the young mare in the eyes.

Scootaloo's eyes began to burn as tears of hurt and disappointment collected in them. "But you don't want to do it again?"

Rainbow Dash smiled sadly. "No. I want something better than that. I want something that takes time and effort to build. I don't want your body, I want you. If all I wanted was sex, I could go back to the restaurant and find any of my bazillion starry-eyed fans and bring them home. Even sleeping with the other Wonderbolts is just to blow off steam. I don't really want a serious relationship with any of them." The smiled broadened and warmed as Rainbow lifted a hoof to push a stray lock of Scootaloo's mane back over her ear. "I do want one with you."

The younger pegasus shivered slightly at the touch, but she pulled away from Rainbow's hoof, scowling at the wall to hide the tears blurring her vision. "You know we can't do that. You told me so when we were talking before you left. It's too far, we don't get to see each other often enough, and you didn't want me to stop going to school just to follow you."

Rainbow sighed and nodded. "Yeah, you're right. And all those things are still true, unfortunately."

Scootaloo turned and glared at her. "So what you're basically saying is you don't want to be with me at all."

Rainbow rolled her eyes, her patience wearing thin. "No, Scootaloo, I'm not saying that, and you know it."

"That's what it sounds like to me," Scootaloo snapped.

"Then listen more closely," Rainbow said with a sharp edge to her voice. She suddenly paused and leaned back for a moment, taking a deep breath and closing her eyes. "Look...Scootaloo, I love you, okay?" Scootaloo's heart leaped at this, but she forced herself to maintain her glower. "I do," Rainbow repeated. "You're my best friend, my biggest fan, my little sister...you're a whole lot of things to me that I can't even describe, but I know what they all mean, and they mean that I care way too much about you to take advantage of you being in a strange, scary new place in your life."

"It's not scary," Scootaloo grumbled.

"Maybe not the way you think it should be," Rainbow said. "But can you honestly tell me you weren't at least a little bit petrified when you were first realizing you were probably attracted to mares after all?"

Scootaloo turned her angry frown to the sofa again, casting her thoughts back to the night she'd spent in Silver Spoon's bedroom. She recalled with some trepidation the fear that had brought tears to her eyes, the icy panic that tightened her lungs and made her head spin, the uncontrollable trembling in her legs and eventual sinking despair...

Rainbow was right, she realized, the frown slowly softening. Scootaloo was in uncharted territory now, and no matter how much she wanted to convince herself otherwise, she knew she had propositioned Rainbow Dash specifically because she was afraid to try these newly accepted feelings out in the real world just yet. Here in Rainbow's cloud home, she felt safe...comfortable. No matter what she said to Rainbow, no matter what feelings she had or what fantasies she was harboring, she knew her surrogate big sister would listen, understand, and accept them. Of course she wanted to sleep with Rainbow first.

She sighed and let her shoulders droop, her wings unfurling and splaying out on the sofa behind her. "Yeah...I was. You're right, Rainbow, I was just...I just wanted my first, you know...real time to be with somepony special." She glanced up at the blue mare. "And there's no one more special than you."

Rainbow smiled gently, sliding across the couch and putting a foreleg around Scootaloo's shoulders. "Thanks, squirt. And I know what you mean, really I do. But just because you're 'out' now doesn't mean what we did wasn't real, you know." She kissed the younger mare's temple. Scootaloo smiled and squirmed a little, leaning into Rainbow's side. "Because like I said, it was pretty bucking awesome."

The orange pegasus giggled. "Yeah...it was." She looked up at her companion. "Do you really want to be in a relationship with me?"

Rainbow nodded, putting her other foreleg around Scootaloo as well and holding her tightly. "Of course I do. You think I say all these nice things about you for kicks? I'm not exactly trying to get you into bed, in case you haven't noticed." Scootaloo giggled. "You're pretty much the perfect mare for me, Scoot, but we're not ready for a real relationship yet. You're still in school, I'm still in training, we live hundreds of miles apart, and we only get to see each other like once a year. Those are all pretty rough skies to try and fly through, kid."

Scootaloo nodded and sighed. "Yeah, I know...it still sucks, though."

Rainbow chuckled softly, leaning back into the cushion and pulling Scootaloo down into a lying embrace. "Yeah, it does. Tell you what, though," she said, running a hoof through Scootaloo's short magenta mane. "When you're done with school--and I mean the academy, too, not just primary schooling--if you're still single, we'll give it a shot, alright?"

"If I'm still single?" Scootaloo scoffed, resting her chin on Rainbow's chest and making a face at her. "There's no 'if' about that. Who the heck would want to date me?"

Rainbow grinned. "You might be surprised."

"I doubt it," Scootaloo muttered. "Besides, what are the chances that you'll still be single then, too?"

"I will be," Rainbow said, rolling her eyes. "The Wonderbolts aren't exactly good dating material, and I don't have enough free time to look anywhere else. Besides," she said, nuzzling the younger pegasus lying on top of her, "I already found my perfect match. If I can't have you, I don't want anypony else." She gently kissed the younger pony again, this time on the tip of her muzzle. Scootaloo giggled and wrinkled her nose. Rainbow smiled and curled her wings up and over her companion, wrapping the thick, sleek feathers around the younger pegasus and pulling her close. "I'll wait for you."

Scootaloo sighed contentedly and settled into Rainbow's fur, relishing the heat and scent of the older pony's thick, soft coat. "Alright. I'll wait for you, too."

Rainbow narrowed her eyes at her. "Oh, no you won't. You'll go out, have fun, meet girls, kiss them, date them, buck them, and get them to fall in love with you because you are literally that amazing. If--if--I'm lucky, you'll be momentarily single after you graduate from the academy, 'cuz if you are, I'll snap you up in a heartbeat. But honestly, I hope you're not."

Scootaloo blinked. "You...you do?"

Rainbow nodded. "Absolutely. I hope that you find a mare who makes you happy, who you love, and who loves you back, and I hope that when you graduate, you come to my place and introduce me to your fiancee." Scootaloo rolled her eyes, and Rainbow frowned at her. "I'm serious, Scootaloo. If I find out you left somepony you loved just because you wanted to try for something with me, I'm gonna be pissed."

Scootaloo giggled and nuzzled the pegasus lying beneath her. "Alright, alright." She smiled down at Rainbow Dash. "I'm really glad you came home today. I really missed you."

Rainbow squeezed her young companion tightly. "Me too, kid. Me too."

Author's Note

So while writing this chapter, I realized my initial description of Scootaloo's handicap isn't going to work for a few reasons, so I did some thinking, some research, and have decided to retcon my initial worldcanon about her. I'll start with the basics and then add an more detailed explanation for those who are interested.

The upshot is that Scootaloo can't fly, but can still walk on clouds. Other pegasi can carry her while they fly, however. She is stocky, sturdy, strong and heavy, but she lacks the earth pony's nigh-inexhaustible energy.

Here's the more nitty-gritty explanation. Scootaloo is what pony doctors and researchers call a harlecorn. This supremely rare genetic condition occurs when both chromosomes carrying information for magical characteristics from each parent get partially passed on to the fetus. Normally only one of the DNA strands survives, thanks to a special enzyme called arcanase, which destroys one of the chromosomes shortly after fertilization. However, in some cases, due to improper separation of the gametes during meiosis, the chromosomes both end up in the same area of the zygote, and the arcanase damages both strands to a roughly equal extent. When this happens, the zygote usually self-terminates, because without the magical chromosome, the fetus can't develop properly. However, once in about a million occurrences the chromosomes deteriorate in almost perfect inversion, leaving the zygote with two half-chromosomes which are then recombined by the standard DNA repair mechanisms. This results in a functional magical chromosome that is part one subspecies and part another. When both parents are the same subspecies of pony, there's no meaningful result, except that the eventual foal will sometimes have difficulty controlling or expressing their magical abilities, such as a pegasus who can't fly particularly fast, or a unicorn with weak or unfocused magic. When the parents are of different subspecies--as in Scootaloo's case--the recombination results in fractured magical abilities.

Scootaloo in particular possesses the magical genes responsible for wing growth, cloud walking, and weather control, but lacks the genes for pegasus skeletal structure and composition, and shared mass reduction (which is the magical extension of a pegasus' ability to lift almost anything as long as they are touching it. Certain objects are magically resistant, or weigh too much even after reduction to lift). Similarly, she has the magical genes responsible for increased bone density, muscle density and strength, but lacks the genes responsible for earth ponies' nigh-inexhaustible energy reserves. She is incredibly rare, as there are only ever about five harlecorns in existence at a time, and there have been less than a hundred in the history of Equestria.

This is why Rainbow Dash can pick her up--RD has pegasus magic that intrinsically reduces the effective mass of whatever--or whomever--she's touching--and why despite being immensely powerful, Scootaloo's wings just don't generate enough lift to negate her increased weight. They do, however, produce incredible force, allowing for extreme acceleration and speed when propelling something else, like a scooter or, eventually, a fixed-wing aircraft.

A Game Worth Playing

"Do you have your homework?"

"Yes."

"Your books?"

"Yes, ma'am."

"Sorry your lunch is rather...sparse. I wasn't anticipating having to make two."

"You didn't have to," Silver Spoon said, smiling faintly. "I told you I would be fine."

"Oh, I know, dear," Octavia said. "But I was already in the process of preparing Scootaloo's and so I simply decided to go ahead and make one for you as well. I just didn't realize I was running out of oat butter, or I'd have made something else instead."

"It's no problem, really. I'm still kind of embarrassed you even took the effort to make it for me."

"Nonsense. Now, remember what I said last night, right? Anything at all." She narrowed her eyes meaningfully at Silver Spoon. "Promise me?"

The younger pony nodded. "Yes, Miss Octavia, I promise." She smiled. "Thanks."

The grey mare returned the smile. "You're very welcome, dear. Have a wonderful day." She bent forward and nuzzled the filly's ear.

Silver Spoon blushed as she sheepishly leaned into the caress. "Thanks," she repeated. "Sorry again about having to spend the night last night. I guess I just lost track of time."

"Think nothing of it, sweetheart," Octavia said, waving a hoof. "I completely understand. Vinyl is rather persuasive when it comes to getting other ponies to play her games with her." She smirked. "I hope she wasn't too obnoxious about it."

Silver Spoon shook her head. "No way. I had a great time," she said, grinning broadly. "Honestly, I'm just glad you let me stay after Scootaloo took off."

Octavia shrugged. "Well, as I said, we had more or less expected precisely that reaction from her. Personally, I'm pleased you chose to stay. It was nice, getting a chance to teach and chat with you."

"Yeah, it really was." Silver Spoon agreed. "I suppose I'll be visiting again sometime soonish."

"I should hope so," Octavia said. "At the very least, you and Scootaloo do still have your project to finish."

"True," Silver Spoon said. "I guess we didn't get a whole lot of work done on it last night."

"Well, there were extenuating circumstances. Perhaps next week?"

Silver Spoon shrugged. "Maybe. Anyway, I'll talk to Scootaloo later. I guess...don't be surprised if I show up unannounced again?"

Octavia tittered softly. "No, I won't be. In fact, I don't believe I would be surprised to see you most evenings over the next several months."

Silver Spoon smiled. "I'd like that."

"As would I, dear," Octavia said. "Now, off with you, before your friends see you talking with a fussy old mare and you become 'uncool'."

Silver Spoon laughed. "Yeah, I don't think that would happen."

"Even so. Have a good day."

"Thanks." Silver Spoon walked across the schoolyard, her spirits light and pleasant for once. Most mornings she came to school with a somewhat dull outlook on the day. Sometimes it was just because she was dreading the day's lessons; other times she was simply ashamed to submit homework she knew was subpar, or worse, copied; still other days she feared that Diamond Tiara might be in a sour mood--as she often was--and that she would have to face the brunt of her attitude. Today, none of those things concerned her at all. Her homework was done, the lessons, while daunting, were something she knew Scootaloo could help her with, and Diamond Tiara...well, there wasn't much she could do about Diamond Tiara's mood. The best she could expect was that Di would be pleasant for once.

"Silver Spoon!" Too much to hope for, I guess, Silver Spoon thought as her ears swiveled at the sound of her own name being shrieked at her from across the yard. The voice immediately sent a shock of guilt through her stomach, and she involuntarily shied away as she turned to see Diamond Tiara storming across the grass with a searing glare on her face.

Bolstered by her unusually high spirits, Silver Spoon willed herself to stand up straight and meet Diamond Tiara's gaze. "Good morning, Diamond Tiara," she said as pleasantly as she could. Her stomach tightened as she fought to keep her voice from shaking, despite her confidence.

"Don't you 'good morning' me, Silver Spoon!" Diamond Tiara sneered, stomping up to Silver Spoon and pushing her muzzle within inches of the silver filly's. "Where the buck were you last night?"

Silver Spoon maintained her posture, resisting the urge to fall back on her haunches and flatten her ears. "Out. Why, did you come calling?"

Diamond Tiara sputtered. "Out?! Out! Of course I did, you foal! How else would I have known you weren't there?"

"You could have had your messenger call ours. And don't call me a 'foal' just because you didn't think to check before walking all the way next door." Silver Spoon's heart raced as she heard her mouth saying things she had never dreamed of having the courage to vocalize.

Diamond Tiara blinked, momentarily stunned silent. "You...I...well, where were you, then?" she asked, some of the rage in her voice now translating into bemusement.

Silver Spoon shrugged. "I spent the night at a friend's house."

"You what?" Diamond Tiara boggled at her, falling back on her haunches. "But...but...who?"

"Just a friend," Silver Spoon said, relishing the terror and the thrill of actually speaking freely for once. "Does it matter who?"

"Of course it does!" Diamond Tiara shrieked. "You never spend the night at anypony else's house. Why the buck would you start now?"

Silver Spoon scowled at her. "Because I just made a new friend, and we were hanging out. What's the big deal, anyway? It's not like you've been real keen on sleepovers lately."

Diamond Tiara sneered. "The 'big deal' is that I was trying to take the time to actually talk for once, but if you're too busy with your 'new friend', then I guess you're not interested in talking to me anymore." Diamond Tiara's angry expression slowly faded into a crestfallen pout as she spoke, and by the time she reached the end of the sentence, her lip was trembling, and tears were clinging to her eyelids. "I thought we were supposed to be best friends."

The stab of guilt in her stomach drove deeper, and Silver Spoon's confidence swiftly evaporated. She immediately began to cast about for apologies, words of comfort and remorse. Her heart pounded and her throat tightened as she panicked, watching the only friendship she had been leaning on for years crumbling in front of her. It wasn't too late, she knew. She could still save it. She could admit she was wrong, take all the blame, and everything would be back to normal again. Normal... She swallowed hard and sighed, her ears slowly drooping back against her head. "Di, I..."

Something in the distance caught her eye. A blue and orange blur with a rainbow-colored contrail screaming across the sky. It dove and soared, looping and rolling as it approached, drawing wild, prismatic shapes in the air that dissipated moments later. Soon the blur was near enough that she could make out the two ponies within. Scootaloo... Silver Spoon's heart leaped, and a tiny smile pulled at the edges of her lips as she watched the flying mares soar towards her.

The pair of pegasi came to a screeching landing just outside the schoolyard fence, laughing and grinning at one another as they both ran hooves through their manes, attempting futilely to corral their identically tousled hair. They exchanged a few breathless words before embracing and nuzzling one another affectionately. Then Rainbow gave Scootaloo a little wave and exploded back into the air, leaving behind nothing but a rainbow streak and a shock of wake turbulence. Scootaloo watched the other pegasus fly away, then turned and noticed Silver Spoon and Diamond Tiara standing across the yard. To Silver Spoon's pleasant surprise, Scootaloo's face immediately lit up when their eyes met, and the orange filly gave her a tiny wave and a covert wink before trotting off to go find her other friends.

Silver Spoon's heart soared. Scootaloo was happy to see her. How long had it been since she'd felt like somepony actually wanted her around? Like seeing her in the morning was a pleasure, and not a chore? A warm bubble slowly expanded in her chest, and the icy grip of panic and desperation slowly melted away, leaving nothing but determination in its place.

"Hey! Equestria to Silver Spoon!" Silver Spoon blinked and turned to see Diamond Tiara staring angrily at her. "Can you at least focus long enough to tell me why you decided to blow me off?"

Annoyed, Silver Spoon narrowed her eyes at her friend, suddenly determined to stand her ground. "Because I was hanging out with Scootaloo, Diamond Tiara, that's why."

"Scootaloo?" the pink pony gasped. "You blew me off to go 'hang out' with Scootaloo?"

"I didn't 'blow you off,' Di, I just decided to go over to Scootaloo's house to do my homework and work on our proj--"

"Wait, wait," Diamond Tiara interrupted her. "You did your homework without me?"

"Uh...yeah," Silver Spoon said, raising an eyebrow at her. "So what? Scootaloo offered--"

"Of course she did! Don't you get it, Silver Spoon?" Diamond Tiara said. "She's only being nice and doing your homework for you because she wants something."

"No!" Silver Spoon said. "That's not how it is at all. She's not doing it for me, she's just helping me out. You know, tutoring me in all the stuff Miss Cheerilee's already taught us, but that I didn't really get the first time around."

"But I can do that, too!" Diamond Tiara protested. "I've been doing it for years!"

"I know, but...it's different with Scootaloo," Silver Spoon said. "Very different, actually..." She trailed off as a glimmer of recognition suddenly ignited deep in her thoughts. "Scootaloo isn't just helping me with my homework, she's...she's actually teaching me everything, so I don't even really need her help as much. I mean, the first day I came back to school after working with her for a while, I actually understood a lot of what Miss Cheerilee was saying a lot better. It's almost like...like she really wants me to...you know, get it. Like she wants me to be able to do it myself."

"I doubt it," Diamond Tiara sneered. "It's a ploy, believe me. Scootaloo just isn't that kind of pony."

"How would you know?" Silver Spoon asked, raising an eyebrow at her friend. "You barely even speak to her, and when you do, it's always to make fun of her."

"You do, too!" Diamond Tiara said. "Don't act all innocent with me."

"I did," Silver Spoon corrected her. "But ever since we started this project, we've been talking. You know, just...like two ponies hanging out. Like friends," she emphasized.

"So?"

"So..." Silver Spoon felt a nebulous sense of realization swelling within her. "So Scootaloo doesn't care what I do or who I hang out with. She doesn't mind if I have other friends...heck, she even thought I was already friends with, like, half the class. She helps me with my homework, instead of just letting me copy hers, she even came over to my house the other night just to apologize for something. She actually cares about me, and makes sure that I--" Silver Spoon stopped short, cold horror sliding through her midsection. "That I'm...happy. Diamond Tiara, what's the Ponythagorean theorem?"

"Y--What?" Diamond Tiara asked, puzzled by the sudden shift in topic.

"The Ponythagorean theorem. What is it? Just...answer me, please."

The pink earth pony stared at her skeptically. "The square of the hypotenuse is equal to the sum of the squares of the adjacent legs."

"How long ago did we learn that?"

"Buck, Silver Spoon, I don't remember. Months ago. What's this about?"

"Why didn't I know it?"

"Know what? The theorem?" Diamond Tiara asked. "You did. You even said it out loud the other day in class."

"Scootaloo taught me that the day before. I had no clue what it meant before she explained it, even though we were supposed to learn it months ago."

"So what?"

"So...why didn't you ever explain it to me?" Silver Spoon asked, her voice soft. "We must've done hundreds of problems where we used it. Why didn't you ever notice that I had no idea what you were talking about?"

"Why would I?" Diamond Tiara asked, grunting in exasperation. "Who am I, your teacher?"

"You knew. I know you did, because I asked. I remember asking you what the Ponythagorean theorem was, and you said I didn't need to know it. You said...you said as long as I had you...it didn't matter. Oh, Luna..." Silver Spoon said, her chest tightening horribly. "It's you."

"What?" Diamond Tiara asked, raising an eyebrow.

Silver Spoon stared at her, dumbfounded. "It's you. You're the one who's been making me think I needed you."

"What?" the pink pony said again, her voice cracking in shock. "What the buck are you talking about?"

Silver Spoon sat back on her haunches, not looking at her friend, but instead staring into the distance over her shoulder as the pieces started to fall into place. "Everything you keep saying about Scootaloo...it's you. You're the one who's been doing my homework for me, making me need you. You've been telling me everypony hates us and talks about us behind our back. You're the one who never wants to hang out with other ponies in class, you're the one who always makes me apologize to you, you..." Silver Spoon swallowed hard, her mouth suddenly dry. "You've been using me."

"Using you?" Diamond Tiara stared at her open-mouthed. "I...how could you say that? We're best friends, Silver Spoon. We always have been, remember? Why would I want to 'use' you?"

Silver Spoon felt a shiver of anger and hurt run down her spine. "I don't know, Diamond Tiara. We're supposed to be best friends; I don't know why you would do something like that to me but...you know what? I don't even know what we are anymore."

"You...what?"

Silver Spoon shook her head. "Look, Di, once upon a time, we were a team. We worked together, we talked all the time, and we had fun just being around each other, but that's not the case anymore, is it?" Diamond Tiara didn't respond, so Silver Spoon pressed forward, a surge of confidence displacing the stinging betrayal and fueling the speech. The words were flowing easily, as though she'd been practicing them in the mirror for weeks, even though every sentence surprised her as much as it seemed to surprise Diamond Tiara. "I want to be your friend, Di, but I'm sick of being your nag. I'm sick of you always coming to school angry and taking it out on me. I'm tired of you telling me how lucky I am to have you 'helping' me with my schoolwork, how grateful I should be that we're friends, how nopony else even wants to be our friend and that it's just us against Equestria...because honestly, Di, I've actually met a few other ponies besides you, and you know what?" she said, her voice shaking with panic and determination in equal measure, "they want to be my friend after all. They've been kind and honest and understanding, and frankly, I've felt more 'befriended' in the last three days with Scootaloo than in the past three years with you."

Diamond Tiara glowered at her, the name bringing a fresh surge of venom to her voice. "You can not be friends with Scootaloo."

Silver Spoon returned the glare with interest. "I am friends with Scootaloo."

"No you're not," Diamond Tiara sneered. "She doesn't want to be your friend, she just wants to do what you're accusing me of doing, and you're too pathetic and stupid to realize it."

Silver Spoon's eyes burned and her heart ached to hear her former best friend insulting her so openly, but she stood firm, refusing to let her emotions break her resolve. "Sorry, Di, but you don't get it. You don't know anything about Scootaloo except what you want to, and honestly, you don't know a whole lot about me anymore, either. It's taken me years to realize what you were doing to me, and a good friend to show me what friendship is supposed to look like. It doesn't look anything like this," she said, gesturing between Diamond Tiara and herself. "Whatever we have...it's not what it used to be."

Diamond Tiara stepped backwards, reeling. "S...Silver Spoon, what are you saying?"

Silver Spoon sighed heavily, closing her eyes against the tears she could no longer fight. "I'm done. We're done. I don't want to fight anymore. I don't want to be afraid to speak my mind, or do what I want, or just be myself around you."

"You...you don't have to--"

"Yes I do," Silver Spoon said. "I always have. You don't even know who I am anymore. Honestly, I don't think you care."

"But...I do! I--"

"Prove it, then." Silver Spoon looked up through blurring vision to see Diamond Tiara's eyes swimming in tears as well. This surprised her, but she maintained her composure, determined to see this through. "If you really want to be my friend, then you'll start over. Befriend me for real, and maybe we can try again. Until then..." She swallowed hard, feeling a painful knot rising in the back of her throat. "Goodbye, Diamond Ti--" She couldn't finish. The tightness in her throat cut off the end of her friend's name, and she swallowed again, futilely attempting to find any moisture in her mouth.

Diamond Tiara's eyes glistened, and a pair of tears broke free as she tried to blink them away. "You...you don't mean it." Silver Spoon didn't respond. "Silver Spoon...you...why are you doing this?" The silver pony looked down, avoiding her former friend's gaze and ignoring the hot tracks cutting through the fur of her face. "Why are you saying all this? We...we're a team, remember? Silver Spoon and Diamond Tiara, together against Equestria, right?" Silver Spoon risked a glance at Diamond Tiara's face. She regretted it immediately. The pink pony's eyes were streaming down her face, her cheeks a dark maroon where the tears had passed. "I...I only wanted the best for you. Why are you...Scootaloo," Diamond Tiara suddenly said, her voice morphing from tremulous to furious. "It's Scootaloo. This is all that bitch's fault! She did this to you! To us! And you let her! I can't believe you could be so stupid as to let her turn you against me like this!"

"Di, she--"

"Shut up!" Diamond Tiara snapped. "Don't even pretend to be in the right here, because you have no bucking clue what you're talking about!"

"I don't--"

"You think you can just take what we've got, all the years we've been there for each other, after all the shit we went through with nopony to lean on except one another, and just throw that away? Scootaloo doesn't care about you! She never has, and this is all some stupid trick to get you on her good side and make you think she's your friend so she can dump you later and laugh about it with her friends!"

"Diamond Tiara, it's not--"

"No, don't even waste your breath! You can just take your stupid bucking lies about 'friendship' and 'caring' and whatever stupid horseshit she's been feeding you and buck off!" With a final two-hoofed stomp of fury, Diamond Tiara whirled around, slapping Silver Spoon in the face with her tail and storming off back towards the road.

Silver Spoon watched her go, stunned into silence by her own courage and by Diamond Tiara's reaction. She wasn't sure how she had expected this conversation to end, but this wasn't it. If anything, she had hoped desperately that Diamond Tiara would back down, agree that she was wrong, and they would reconcile with hugs and tears. Never in her darkest nightmares could she have imagined Diamond Tiara would be so openly hateful, or that she would leave in a rage like this. The gnawing guilt in her stomach intensified to a stabbing regret, and she was suddenly short of breath. Panting and dizzy, she sat down heavily on her haunches, holding her hooves to her temples as the reality of what she'd just done crashed down on her. Gone. Diamond Tiara is gone. My best friend...my only friend for years...gone forever. She retched.

"Silver Spoon!" Another voice called out her name, and the swirling torrent of emotion dissipated almost immediately. She turned to see Scootaloo standing mere hooves away, staring at her. "You...you okay?"

Silver Spoon sat silently for a moment, drinking in the sight. The warmth of Scootaloo's concern washed over her, easing the suffocating grip around her chest and bringing the world slowly back into focus. "Scootaloo...I...yeah, I'm..." She took a long, shuddering breath, still sitting back on her haunches and watching her legs shake beneath her. "Actually, no, I'm not...Scootaloo, I just..." She winced and looked up at the pegasus through a haze of tears. "I just told Diamond Tiara I didn't want to be friends with her anymore."

Scootaloo nodded, sympathy etched in her features. "I know. I heard. Not on purpose," she added, "but...pegasi, you know. Really sharp hearing."

"She...she was using me, Scootaloo." Silver Spoon shook her head, squeezing her eyes shut against the waves of tears still forcing their way out and trailing down her cheeks. "All this time...I thought she was just looking out for me, that she was doing me a favor, but..." She trailed off as her throat tightened, a harsh sob threatening to tear out from deep in her chest.

"I know," Scootaloo repeated softly, frowning at the dirt in front of her. "I know she was. I'm sorry, Silver Spoon."

"I'm so stupid," Silver Spoon said, her voice shaking. "She wasn't helping me, she was helping herself, and I was so stupid..."

"No, you're not stupid," Scootaloo said, leaning forward and putting a hoof on her shoulder. "You just...she was your friend, right? Who doesn't trust their friends, huh?" She smiled wanly. "I do, even if it's not always a good idea."

"I shouldn't have. I should have noticed. Should have seen--" A sob managed to slip past her lips, and she gritted her teeth to stay any further outbursts.

"No...come on, Spoon, just...chill out, alright? It's okay." Scootaloo stepped towards her now, putting one hoof around her shoulders and gently squeezing them. Silver Spoon resisted the urge to turn and bury her face in Scootaloo's shoulder and start crying again. Instead, she contented herself with tentatively leaning her head until it was resting on the pegasus' shoulder. Scootaloo didn't flinch or pull away. Instead, she simply sat and kept her hoof around Silver Spoon's shoulders, occasionally tightening her grip in a half-hug. After a few moments, Silver Spoon felt the urge to cry slowly fade as she sheepishly relished the physical comfort of Scootaloo's embrace.

Her composure regained, Silver Spoon pulled away from Scootaloo, gently shrugging off her hoof and wiping away the tears on her cheeks. "Yeah, it's...it's okay." She looked back in the direction Diamond Tiara had gone. The pink filly was nowhere to be seen. She sighed. "That was a disaster."

"Yeah, it kind of was," Scootaloo agreed, grimacing. "I'm real sorry about that, Silver Spoon. I know you and Diamond Tiara were pretty close."

Silver Spoon shook her head, slowly getting back to her hooves. "No, we weren't. Not for a while, now." She pursed her lips. "It just took me this long to realize it." She smiled sheepishly at Scootaloo, her cheeks warming slightly. "And a good friend to show me what I was missing out on."

"Geez, Spoon," Scootaloo said, blushing and rubbing the back of her neck with a hoof. "I dunno if I'm really that good a friend. I mean...hell, I ducked out on you last night to go hang with Rainbow Dash." She looked down at the grass between her hooves and mumbled, "Sorry about that, by the way..."

Silver Spoon raised an eyebrow at her. "Yeah, that was pretty messed up." Scootaloo grimaced, abashed, but Silver Spoon simply smiled at her. "Then again, you did apologize, so I guess I can't stay mad at you for too long."

Scootaloo looked up at her from behind magenta bangs. "Are you sure? You could stay mad for a while if you wanted. I'd totally deserve it."

"Are you kidding?" Silver Spoon snorted. "Diamond Tiara never apologized for anything. Heck, I wasn't even really mad until I got a chance to think about how weird it was that you just...took off."

"Yeah..." Scootaloo rubbed the back of her neck awkwardly. "I guess I just don't think too clearly when Rainbow's around."

Silver Spoon giggled. "Don't worry about it. I know you and Rainbow Dash are really close, and that you don't get to see each other much. It surprised me, but it didn't really upset me. Besides, it gave me a chance to get a viola lesson from your mother...and to have dinner with both of them, actually."

"Really?" Scootaloo said. "I figured you would've left after I bailed on you."

Silver Spoon shrugged. "I would have, probably, if Miss Octavia hadn't suggested I stay and take advantage of her offer for free lessons. I would've left after that, too, if she hadn't basically told me I was staying for dinner." She giggled. "And of course I would've left after that if Miss Vinyl hadn't gotten all excited about showing me her video game collection."

Scootaloo grinned. "Yeah, Mama Vy gets pretty enthusiastic about her games. Did she make you watch her play?"

Silver Spoon shook her head. "No, she actually asked if I wanted to play any of them."

"Did you?"

"Oh, yeah. We played for...Luna, we must've played for like three hours. Miss Octavia eventually came in and made her turn the TV off. Otherwise we'd probably still be playing."

Scootaloo laughed. "That sounds about right. So you like video games, huh?" Silver Spoon nodded. "Crazy. I never would have figured you to be the gaming type."

Silver Spoon shrugged. "Well, I wasn't, really. At least, not with Diamond Tiara. She's not exactly a big fan of games of any type, so we never played them."

"That's too bad. Well...what about board games?" Scootaloo asked, her voice hesitantly hopeful.

She nodded. "Yeah, I like board games, card games...any game, really."

Scootaloo's eyes lit up, and a comical grin spread across her face. "Awesome! Buck, I can't wait to show you my game closet, then. I've got like a hundred different games, like...obviously I've got checkers and chess and stuff, but I've got a bunch of cool new games, too, like 'Curse of Nightmare Night,' and 'Tales from Everfree,' and 'Alicorn Ascension,'" she gushed enthusiastically.

Silver Spoon laughed. "Sounds like fun. We'll have to try them out sometime."

"Definitely. Hey, you wanna come over tonight? The Crusaders and I always have a game night on Friday, and if we had a fourth, we could actually play some of the bigger games."

Silver Spoon blinked. "Uh...really? You want me to come hang out with you and the Crusaders?"

Scootaloo nodded. "Yeah, why not?"

"Well, last I heard they weren't exactly fond of me, Scootaloo," Silver Spoon said, furrowing her brow.

The pegasus waved a hoof. "That's just 'cuz they haven't gotten a chance to meet you properly. Tell you what, lemme go talk to them now, and we'll meet up again after class and go from there, alright?"

Silver Spoon sighed and nodded. "Alright, if you think it's a good idea..."

Scootaloo grinned and cuffed her shoulder lightly. "Of course. Don't even worry about it. I like you, right? They're bound to like you, too!"

~~~

"No."

Scootaloo stared at Apple Bloom, stunned. "What do you mean, 'no'?"

"Ah thought it was pretty obvious," the earth pony responded dryly. "Ah don't want her comin' to game night."

"Why not?" Scootaloo asked.

Sweetie Belle raised an eyebrow at her. "Well, for one thing, it's supposed to be a Crusader thing, right? Adding somepony who isn't a Crusader just...doesn't feel right."

"Well, yeah, but--"

"Plus," Apple Bloom interrupted, "Ah know you think she's cool an' all, but ya gotta remember Sweetie 'n' Ah haven't really talked to her much without Diamond Tiara around, ya know? 'S far as we're concerned, she's still just the same ol' bully she's always been."

Scootaloo rolled her eyes. "Oh, please. When was the last time she said anything to or about either one of your that's been the least bit 'bully-ish'?"

Apple Bloom shrugged. "Takes more'n a day t' plant a whole new orchard, Scootaloo. Just 'cuz she ain't said anything recently doesn' mean she doesn' think it."

"She doesn't," Scootaloo insisted.

"How do you know?" Sweetie Belle asked. "Look, she might be treating you fine now, but what makes you think she's going to treat us the same way? Why should we give up our Crusader Game Night just so she can show up and ruin it?"

"You're being ridiculous, both of you!" Scootaloo said, scowling. "You really think she'd come all the way out to my place for an hour or so, just so she could take a chance at getting a shot in on you two?" The other ponies glanced skeptically at one another. "Okay, how about this? Come over tonight. Let me invite her over, just for a little bit. I'll tell her we decided to cut it really short, and we'll just play...I dunno, 'Gates of Tartarus' or something else quick. Then, you girls can decide if you think she should get to stay or not. If you want her gone, I'll make some excuse and send her on her way. Then we'll do the rest of game night like nothing's changed."

"I dunno, Scootaloo..." Apple Bloom said.

"Seems like a lot of trouble for somepony you didn't even like a week ago," Sweetie Belle observed curiously.

Scootaloo scowled at her. "Well maybe I decided it was worth giving her a real shot for once. I already told you she's actually pretty cool once you get to know her, right? Why don't you two want to see that for yourselves?" The other two ponies contemplated this for a few silent moments. Sensing an opening, Scootaloo said, "Please, girls? Come on, she and Diamond Tiara just had a really nasty fight, and I know she's hurting. She could really use a friend or three right now."

"Wait, she what?" Sweetie Belle said, her eyes widening. "What about her and Diamond Tiara?"

Scootaloo blinked. "Oh, right...you couldn't hear it. Well, she and Diamond Tiara got in a really big fight a few minutes ago. It sounded like Spoon was just fed up with Diamond Tiara's horseshit and told her off for it. DT was pretty spurred, too. That's why she's not here today; she stormed off right after she told Silver Spoon she thought I was just using her. Sounded like Silver Spoon considered their friendship over, honestly."

"Wow," Apple Bloom breathed. "Ah cain't believe that. Ah mean, Ah know Diamond Tiara's a nag an' all, but I didn' think Silver Spoon thought so."

"She didn't," Scootaloo said. "Not until recently, anyway. I guess she's been feeling pretty bad about their 'friendship' for a while, though."

"Why not until recently?" Sweetie Belle asked.

"Oh...well..." Scootaloo blushed and looked away from her friends, glancing across the schoolyard to where Silver Spoon was sitting in the grass, absently leafing through her homework. Homework she and Scootaloo had done together, curled up on her floor, their flanks mere inches apart--sometimes touching, the heat and softness of Silver Spoon's fur lightly caressing--

Scootaloo shook her head to dispel the memory and looked back at her friends. "Okay, so, you know how I spent the night at Silver Spoon's house the other day?"

Sweetie Belle nodded. "Sure."

"And I told you girls she doesn't really have any other friends, right?" They both nodded. "Well, I told her we could be friends, her and me."

Sweetie Belle's eyes widened, and Apple Bloom raised an eyebrow at her. "Uh huh. And y'all decided to be friends with her because...?"

Scootaloo sighed in exasperation. "Because she needed one, Apple Bloom. Come on, put yourself in her horseshoes for a sec. Imagine your only friend in the world is bucking Diamond Tiara, and she's just as much a bitch to you as she is to everypony else. How would you feel?"

"Like Ah deserved it fer throwin' in with Diamond Tiara in the first place." Apple Bloom scowled.

"Maybe," Scootaloo said through gritted teeth. "But that doesn't change the fact that it would suck, right? Anyway, I already told you I thought she deserved a second chance, and I still do. She's coming to my place tonight, and we're going to play games. You two can be there and play with us, or you can keep doing your best Diamond Tiara impression and act like Silver Spoon's not just another pony who made some mistakes." Scootaloo sneered as she reprimanded her friends, her patience running thin.

Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle both looked at the ground. Apple Bloom had a mutinous expression, but Sweetie Belle seemed genuinely chastised. After a few moments, the unicorn looked back at Scootaloo and said, "Okay, I'll be there. I don't like it much, but if you say she's cool, then I trust you."

"Thanks, Sweetie," Scootaloo said, smiling. She cut her eyes at Apple Bloom. "Apple Bloom?"

The earth pony sighed heavily and glanced up at her from behind crimson bangs. "Alright, alright. Ah guess you know her better 'n we do by now. Ah'll be there too, but don't expect me to hold mah tongue if she gets mean again."

Scootaloo resisted the urge to roll her eyes. "If she gets mean, you won't have to. I don't think that'll happen, though. Honestly, when I proposed the idea, she seemed about as nervous about it as you girls. I think she still thinks you two don't like her."

"Imagine that," Apple Bloom intoned.

"Yeah, well, by the end of the evening, I'm sure you'll all be the best of friends!" Scootaloo grinned broadly. They didn't respond.

~~~

"And you're sure the other Crusaders said it was okay if I joined you?" Silver Spoon asked. She and Scootaloo were standing at the edge of the dirt road leading away from the schoolhouse. Class had ended a short time ago, and the other two Crusaders had already gone their separate ways before Scootaloo had trotted over to tell Silver Spoon what the plans were.

She nodded, smiling confidently. "Absolutely. No problem at all. I told you not to worry about it, right? Anyway, come by my place around six tonight. We'll have dinner and then play until we pass out for the night. Oh, what kind of pizza do you like?"

"Pizza?" Silver Spoon blinked. "I...don't know. I've never had any."

Scootaloo's mouth fell open in shock. "You what? What do you mean 'you've never had any'?"

Silver Spoon shrugged. "I've never had pizza before, so I don't know what kind I'd like."

"How can you have never had a pizza before?" Scootaloo sputtered. "It's like...a more important part of foalhood than getting your cutie mark!"

"Dunno what to tell you, Scootaloo. I just haven't."

Scootaloo shook her head, dismayed. "That is a bucking tragedy. Never had pizza before...well, we're going to fix that tonight." She frowned. "I'll have my mom order an extra one of my favorites for you."

"Whatever's easiest," Silver Spoon said. "I'm not exactly picky. I was actually thinking I'd have something before I came over, just so your mother didn't have to make anything extra."

"She won't be making it, she'll just have it delivered."

"Still, you really don't have to get me anything. I can just--"

Scootaloo waved a hoof to cut her off. "Forget it. You can't just sit there and watch the rest of us eat. How awkward would that be?"

Silver Spoon giggled and blushed lightly. "Alright, if you insist. Six o'clock, then?"

Scootaloo nodded. "I'd invite you to come over and kill time until then, but I have to clean my room and do some other stuff before you girls get there, or else my mothers won't let me host." She shook her head somberly. "Seriously, I blew my Friday chores off once, and Mama Tavi actually told Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom to go home when they got there. It was humiliating."

Silver Spoon smirked. "I bet. Well, I won't distract you, then. I'll be there at six."

"Awesome. See you." Scootaloo flashed her a smile and took off towards home.

After the short walk, laced with nervous anticipation, Scootaloo trotted through the front door of the house. Forgoing her normal announcement, she made her way down the hall and located Octavia in her study. "Hey, mom?" she said, knocking lightly on the doorjamb.

The earth pony looked up from the music she was studying at her desk. "Oh, hello, Scootaloo. I didn't hear you come in." She smiled warmly. "How was school? Did Silver Spoon give you your lunch?"

Scootaloo nodded. "Yeah, she did. Thanks, by the way. Rainbow Dash didn't exactly have a lot of...food at her place."

Octavia laughed softly. "No, I imagine when one has been away from home for longer than a year, the larder does tend to become bare."

"Uh...yeah," Scootaloo said. "Anyway, I just wanted to ask if it was alright if Silver Spoon came over tonight for game night."

"Certainly, dear." Octavia smiled. "I presume you've cleared this with Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom first, of course?"

Scootaloo nodded. "Yeah. They were a little unsure about it, but I told them Silver Spoon's cool, so they gave in eventually."

Octavia raised an eyebrow at her. "They 'gave in', did they? Scootaloo, I hope you're not trying to force Silver Spoon on your other friends. That's not exactly fair to them, you know."

"I'm not!" Scootaloo said, miffed. "I just...I just figured she would like to hang out with other ponies, too, instead of just me. I mean, I know I'm cool and all, but...well, Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle are awesome too, and I just thought...you know, maybe she could use a few more...friends." She trailed off, a nasty sense of foreboding stealing over her. "Should...should I not have invited her?" Scootaloo looked up at her mother nervously.

Octavia shrugged. "I can't say, sweetheart. I do know that Crusader Game Night has been a fixture for you and your friends for several years. Suddenly adding another party to the group could be very upsetting, especially if it's somepony that the Crusaders haven't exactly gotten along with in the past."

"Well, yeah," Scootaloo agreed, "but Silver Spoon isn't like that anymore. I know she and the girls would get along great if they'd just take the time to get to know each other."

"I'm sure," Octavia said, nodding. "And while I agree that an intimate setting like this is a fairly good opportunity to converse and attempt to mesh, perhaps it would have been better to meet the Crusaders for lunch or a walk in the park before inviting her to a long-standing group activity like this. Regardless," she said, her voice brightening as Scootaloo's ears drooped down on top of her head in shame, "what's done is done. No sense in worrying about whether it was a good decision now. I'm sure it will go fine, dear. Your friends are all very charming and kind, including Silver Spoon. They will get along swimmingly."

"I hope so..." Scootaloo murmured. "Anyway, I did tell the Crusaders just to give Silver Spoon a chance in the beginning. I said that if they just couldn't stand having her around, I'd find a way to..."

"To?" Octavia prompted, raising an eyebrow at her.

Scootaloo blushed. "To...send her away, I guess."

"I see..." the older mare said quietly. "I hate to ask, but if you 'sent her away', I presume you wouldn't also be sending the Crusaders away, would you?" Scootaloo shook her head, and Octavia sighed. "Scootaloo, exactly how much thought did you put into this plan?"

"Not enough, obviously," Scootaloo muttered. "I didn't even think about what Silver Spoon would think if she realized that we went ahead and kept on without her after she left."

"Clearly." Octavia shook her head and sighed in exasperation. "Scootaloo, how is it that you can be so kind and considerate and yet still remain thoroughly oblivious to potentially hurtful actions like this?"

Scootaloo winced at the glancing reprimand. "I dunno, mom. I just...I really want Silver Spoon and the girls to get along, and I just figured...I mean, it seemed like the perfect opportunity to me."

"And in some circumstances, it might be," Octavia said. "But perhaps it would have been better to ask me or your mother for advice first. We could have planned a much less intimate get-together to introduce the three of them, one that wouldn't interfere with your traditional plans quite so much." The older pony smiled kindly and rubbed a hoof through Scootaloo's mane. "You just need to think a little bit, sweetie. It's no problem tonight; I'm sure we can come up with some plausible explanation if you simply must separate them."

"Yeah...I hope we don't have to."

"As do I. Now," Octavia continued, her voice bright and pleasant again, "is Silver Spoon going to join you for supper tonight?"

Scootaloo nodded. "Yeah, can you have Mama Vy just order another of my pizzas for her?"

"Of course. I'm surprised that Silver Spoon shares your...unique tastes."

"Honestly, she might not," Scootaloo admitted. "She said she'd never had a pizza before."

Octavia raised an eyebrow. "Never?"

Scootaloo shook her head. "Nope. I guess she's just never had the opportunity. Anyway, I figured mine's got the most stuff on it, so if she wanted to choose what to take out and what to leave on, she'd have the most options if she just shared with me."

"That makes sense. I suppose she'll sleep on the large air mattress with you tonight, then?"

Scootaloo's eyes suddenly widened. She hadn't even considered where Silver Spoon was going to sleep. Normally she and the Crusaders each had their own mattress to spend the night on. Scootaloo always slept on the larger mattress because it was her house, and because it didn't make sense to try and decide who had to share when there were enough for them all to have their own. Tonight, though, there would be four ponies, and only three mattresses. Clearly, Silver Spoon would have to share with somepony, and there was really only one candidate. "I...I guess so," Scootaloo said quietly, her heart suddenly racing.

Octavia noticed the change in tone immediately. "Is that alright, dear?"

Scootaloo forced a smile and nodded quickly. "Of course! Yeah, I mean...where else would she sleep, right?" She made a dismissive sound and added, "Besides, I spent the night in her bed the other night. It's no big deal." Except it was a big deal, Scootaloo reminded herself, her stomach tightening anxiously. Silver Spoon's bed was enormous. They might as well have been in different rooms of the manor for how far apart they'd been that night. The air mattress was just barely big enough for two ponies to lie on together without touching each other, and that was only if they managed to balance precariously on the edge all night long. The prospect of spending an evening cuddling up with Silver Spoon was enticing to the point of delirium, but she doubted the silver filly would share her enthusiasm.

Octavia raised an eyebrow at her transparently forced nonchalance. "You know, Scootaloo, if it's a problem, you can simply sleep on the sofa, and your friends can each have one of the mattresses."

Relief and disappointment washed over Scootaloo in equal measure at her mother's suggestion. "Oh yeah, I hadn't even thought about that. Thanks, mom."

Octavia rolled her eyes and smiled. "Of course, dear. Now, don't you have some chores to do before your friends get here?" She gave Scootaloo a meaningful look.

The pegasus nodded. "Yup. Don't worry, mom, I'm on it."

"Glad to hear it."

~~~

"I even sent her a scroll the other night just trying to get her to...I dunno, talk to me or something." Sweetie Belle rolled her eyes theatrically. "All I got back was some stupid form letter telling me that her messenger had gotten the scroll, and that he'd give it to her."

"Are you surprised?" Apple Bloom asked. "She's probably just hopin' you'll give up an' then she can be all 'Oh, Miss Cheerilee, I don't know why Sweetie Belle doesn' want to work on the project with me.'" She batted her eyes and put a hoof to her chest as she mocked Diamond Tiara's lilting voice. "You know how she is."

"Yeah, but that seems kind of...I dunno. Grasping at straws? I can't imagine she actually thinks it'll work."

"Who cares what she thinks?" Apple Bloom grunted. "Jus' tell Miss Cheerilee what's goin' on an' see what she says."

Sweetie Belle kicked at the ground miserably. "Yeah, I think that's what I'm going to have to do."

Apple Bloom nodded sympathetically. The two ponies were walking together down one of Ponyville's newer streets, out towards the suburbs where Scootaloo's family lived. The houses they were passing now were all modestly sized, differently colored clones of one another, indicative of average income families and hasty construction. These were the apartments and homes that had sprouted practically overnight during one of Ponyville's many population booms. The little town had experienced several startling upticks in tourism and subsequent immigration over the past several years. Being the hometown of Equestria's Elements of Harmony and the new Princess of Friendship had a profound effect, and the population had quickly outstripped the village's accommodations.

This had prompted many preexisting neighborhoods--like the Dressage Quarter, where Levade Lane was located--to branch out and expand, adding new homes and streets wherever they would fit. Other neighborhoods simply cropped up around the borders, pushing outwards from the city center anywhere they found space. The suburb the two fillies were currently trekking through was one such neighborhood, and the one they were heading for was another, although the further subdivision was somewhat more distinguished than this one, with larger-than-average houses and a general air of comfort, if not quite luxury.

Sweetie Belle gave Apple Bloom a curious look as they walked, fairy lights on either side of the street starting to flicker into life as the night slowly fell around them. "So what do you think about Silver Spoon, then? You think she's actually changed at all?"

Apple Bloom shrugged. "Ah dunno. She wasn' exactly real friendly the last time we talked to her, was she?"

"No," Sweetie Belle agreed, "but then again, Scootaloo wasn't, either. To her, I mean. It was probably just...I dunno, an act, I guess."

"An act?" Apple Bloom raised an eyebrow at her. "Why?"

"Think about it," Sweetie Belle said. "Silver Spoon and Diamond Tiara are best friends, but no one else really seems to be real close to them, right?" Apple Bloom nodded. "So then we hear from Scootaloo that she and Spoon got pretty friendly when she spent the night at her place, and that Spoon and DT don't actually get along that well. Then you figure DT's really jealous about everything, and that she and Scootaloo bucking hate each other..." Sweetie Belle shrugged. "Maybe she and Silver Spoon were just trying to make it look like they still don't like each other, to keep DT off the scent."

"Why?"

"Well, how do you think Diamond Tiara would react if she thought Silver Spoon and Scootaloo were getting along?"

Apple Bloom considered this for a long moment. "Yeah, okay, Ah get what you're sayin'."

"Anyway, my point is that maybe we should wait to see how she acts before--"

The last word died on Sweetie Belle's lips as the pair turned the corner onto Scootaloo's street and came muzzle to muzzle with Silver Spoon. The filly was sitting on the side of the road, looking down at the dirt between her hooves. When the Crusaders appeared, her momentary glance up at them immediately widened into something akin to panic. She leaped to her hooves. "Oh! Uh...h-hi," she muttered. "I was just...taking a break. It's a long walk." The smile she forced was pathetically disingenuous.

Sweetie Belle cocked her head curiously. "Is it really? I thought you lived in the Dressage Quarter?"

Silver Spoon blushed, coloring her silver cheeks a pale pink. "Oh...I do, but...I don't usually go places too far from home, and when I do, I just...take...a carriage." She tapped her hooves together anxiously.

"Why not take one today, then? Ow!" Sweetie Belle gave Apple Bloom a scathing look as the earth pony jabbed a hoof into her ribs.

"Ignore her," Apple Bloom said. "So...how're you doin' tonight, Silver Spoon?" she asked, her voice carefully even.

The bespectacled filly smiled shyly. "Pretty well. A little nervous, honestly."

"Why's that?"

"Well, Scootaloo said you guys do this every Friday, like it's a regular thing."

Apple Bloom nodded. "Yeah, we do. Have fer years."

"I figured as much, and even though she said it was no big deal, I guess...it just feels a little weird, being invited to something like this on the spur of the moment. You girls are such good friends that...well, I can't help but feel like I'm intruding." She pursed her lips. "Especially since we haven't always...you know...gotten along very well."

Apple Bloom rolled her eyes theatrically. "That's an understatement."

A long, awkward silence stretched between the fillies. Somewhere in the distance, the clock tower began to strike the hour, the mellow peal of the bell echoing across the otherwise serene landscape.

Sweetie Belle cleared her throat. "So...I guess we should get going, then..." She smiled tightly.

"Yeah..." Silver Spoon agreed. Then she sighed and said, "Hey, Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, before we go, I just wanted to say...I'm sorry."

Apple Bloom blinked. "Come again?"

"I'm sorry," she repeated. "For the way Diamond Tiara and I have always treated you. I know we got off on the wrong hoof back when we first met, and...well, Scootaloo was just saying the other day that she thinks we all could have been pretty good friends if we hadn't...you know...made fun of you for not having your cutie marks yet." She blushed and muttered at the ground. "And now I really wish we'd gotten a chance to try."

Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle exchanged surprised looks. Sweetie said, "Um...thanks. I guess...I guess we...well, I'm sorry, too. We...well, Scootaloo and I didn't exactly try to make friends with you at first, either, did we?"

Silver Spoon smiled wanly. "No, not really."

Apple Bloom scowled. "Well, Ah did. And don't think Ah've forgotten how that worked out."

Silver Spoon nodded, folding her ears back on her head. "I know you did. And I'm sorry we brushed you off like we did. I'd say it was all Diamond Tiara's fault, but that wouldn't really be fair. I could've stopped her, or talked to you on my own, or something, and I didn't. Anyway, I guess what I'm trying to say is...I want to try again. Start over." A timid smile crept across her face. "You know...if you want to."

The Crusaders glanced at one another again, a flurry of unspoken communication passing between them in an instant. Then Apple Bloom smiled and nodded at Silver Spoon. "Alrigh'. Let's start over." She held out a hoof and pasted an exaggerated grin on her muzzle. "Hi there! Mah name's Apple Bloom."

Sweetie Belle mirrored her friend's expression almost perfectly. "And I'm Sweetie Belle!" she chirruped, her voice cracking crisply on the first syllable of her name.

Silver Spoon giggled and tapped her hoof against Apple Bloom's. "I'm Silver Spoon. Nice to meet you. For the first time. You know, again."

Apple Bloom chuckled and said, "Nice t' meet you, too. Now we should probably get movin', or Scootaloo's gonna think none of us decided to come tonight."

~~~

"There you girls are!" Scootaloo groused as she opened the door. The trio of ponies were still walking up the path and chatting amiably about the upcoming evening when the pegasus greeted them with a stern expression, her sharply tuned ears able to hear them coming through the door. "I was starting to wonder if anyone was coming at all."

Apple Bloom smirked at her. "Yeah, well maybe we shouldn't'a. Maybe then you'd know better than to invite somepony else without askin' next time."

Scootaloo rolled her eyes, stepping away from the door and letting the other three fillies in. "Whatever. I heard you talking, so I know you're at least on speaking terms."

"Yeah. Lucky fer you, Silver Spoon's actually pretty neat without DT around, so you get a pass this time."

"Lucky?" Scootaloo scoffed as the four of them traipsed into the living room together. "I knew she was cool already, or don't you remember? Anyway, it all worked out, right? No problem." She winked at Silver Spoon and flashed her a grin. "Told you."

Silver Spoon shook her head, smiling. "I think Apple Bloom's right, Scootaloo; I think you got lucky that your other friends are as nice as they are."

Scootaloo grunted in irritation. "Everypony's a critic." She climbed up onto the sofa and fell heavily against one of the arms as Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom clambered into a pair of beanbag chairs situated in front of it. The coffee table had been shifted out of the way, leaving the middle of the room empty. A stack of brightly colored boxes of varying size with exaggerated titles emblazoned across the sides was sitting on the table. Silver Spoon imagined that this must be Scootaloo's vaunted game collection. As she glanced around for somewhere to sit, Scootaloo flipped her tail heavily, thumping it against the sofa next to her. "You can just sit up here, Spoon."

"What if she doesn' want to?" Apple Bloom asked with a wry smirk. "What if she wants to sit down here with us?"

"You wouldn't do that to me, would you?" Scootaloo pulled an exaggerated pout and gave Silver Spoon a wide-eyed look.

Silver Spoon giggled as she climbed up next to the pegasus. "No, I guess not." She grinned and gave Apple Bloom a look. "If what I hear is true, you'd just sulk about it until tomorrow if I did, so it's not really worth it."

Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle laughed as Scootaloo scowled at her, but Silver Spoon recognized the glint of amusement in the orange filly's eyes. Her heart swelled with joy at the sensation of being part of a group of friends who could tease one another like this and not have to apologize later. The icy fear in her throat was slowly thawing as she relaxed into the cushion, her braided tail flipping absently across Scootaloo's svelte rear legs. The pegasus didn't seem to notice.

"So," Scootaloo said, "Mama Vy ordered the pizzas like twenty minutes ago, so they'll probably get here in a little bit. In the meantime we can decide what we wanna do tonight." She glanced at Silver Spoon. "Having a fourth means we can play '1000 Years' or 'Siege of Canterlot,' although 'Siege' is like a three hour commitment, so if we do play that, it'll pretty much have to be the only thing we play."

Silver Spoon blinked at her. "Whoa, three hours?" Scootaloo nodded. "How?"

"Well," Scootaloo said, "it's like fifteen minutes to set up, fifteen minutes to explain the rules, half an hour to get the first round done, and then there are like eight to twelve rounds of actual gameplay, and each one takes like fifteen minutes to plan and execute. So, yeah," she said, looking up at the ceiling as she counted in her head, "about three to four hours."

"Luna...I didn't know games could even go that long."

"Oh, that's not even the longest game I own, either," Scootaloo said. "The longest game we've ever played we aren't even done with."

Silver Spoon gawked at her. "You can't be serious."

Sweetie Belle nodded, glancing over at the stack of games on the table. "Yup. 'Legends of Harmony'." Her mint-green magical aura illuminated a massive box near the bottom of the pile. "We started playing...gosh, must've been two years ago." She caught sight of Silver Spoon's dumbfounded expression and smirked. "It's an epic game."

"Apparently..." Silver Spoon breathed.

"To be fair," Scootaloo said, "it doesn't have to be endless. We played a few normal-length games of it when I first got it, just to try it out, but it includes a set of rules for a 'Legendary' game mode that just doesn't have a victory condition. Every time you play, you just pick a new adventure, do some math to make it work for your characters, and off you go."

"We've probably finished about...what d'y'all think, maybe a hundred of 'em?" Apple Bloom said. Her friends both nodded in agreement, and she turned back to Silver Spoon. "So yeah, every time we get together, we usually start with somethin' else short an' then play LoH for a while." She smiled. "It's a lot of fun."

"Sounds like it," Silver Spoon said.

"So what kind of games do you like, Spoon?" Apple Bloom asked. "I guess you must like 'em, or else you wouldn't'a come along tonight."

"I do," Silver Spoon said, "but I don't really have any preference. I haven't exactly played a lot of them."

"Really? Why not?"

She shrugged. "No one to play with."

"What about Diamond Tiara?"

"What about her?" Silver Spoon said dryly.

"Couldn't you play with her?"

Silver Spoon sighed heavily. "Does Diamond Tiara really seem like the gaming type to you?"

The other three ponies all exchanged knowing looks. Sweetie Belle said, "No, I guess not. Well...what have you played, then?"

Silver Spoon glanced at the table, an embarrassed blush creeping across her cheeks. "Um...just...checkers. And chess. And...that's about it, I think."

There was a long, heavy silence as the Crusaders stared at her in stunned disbelief. Silver Spoon's stomach tightened as the shame of her inexperience pressed in on her, but Scootaloo came to her rescue with the wave of a hoof. "Well, we're gonna fix that. Starting tonight. Take a look at that stack and tell me which one sounds interesting; we'll go from there."

Silver Spoon relaxed and examined the titles scrawled across the sides of the boxes. There must have been thirty different games stacked on the table, each one with a name as enticing and indeterminate as the last. After a moment, she said, "I dunno. They all look interesting. Actually," she said, "that 'Legends of Harmony' game sounds incredible. Too bad we can't play that..." she said sheepishly.

Apple Bloom raised an eyebrow at her. "Why not?"

Silver Spoon blinked. "Be...cause you've got a game in progress already?"

Apple Bloom shrugged. "We don' have to stop our game to start a new one. Might be fun to try a four-pony adventure for once."

"Yeah, too bad the rulebook's like a hundred pages long," Scootaloo said, rolling her eyes. "I don't think it's fair to inflict that kind of pain on Silver Spoon on her first game night."

Silver Spoon giggled. "It doesn't sound painful at all. Sounds like fun to me."

"Even so," Scootaloo said, "I think it might be better to play a less...involved game. Especially if you've never played a complex board game before." She glanced back over at the stack. "How about...'Gates of Tartarus'? That one's pretty straightforward."

Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle exchanged a look and shrugged. "Alright," Sweetie Belle said, "Sounds good. It's a little short, though, don't you think?"

Scootaloo raised an eyebrow at the unicorn. "Yeah, I know. That's the point. We can play that while we eat and chat, and then we can play something else afterwards."

"Oooh," Apple Bloom said suddenly, "can we play 'Alicorn Ascension' again? That game is amazin'," she gushed, looking at Silver Spoon with wide, excited eyes.

Scootaloo shrugged. "Sure, sounds like a plan. Heck, if we've got time, we can even start a game of 'Siege' and see how far we can get before we all fall asleep."

"Sweet," the ivory unicorn across the room said, smiling at Silver Spoon. "What do you think, Silver Spoon?"

The silver filly shrugged. "Honestly, I'm fine with whatever. I'm just glad to be here."

All three Crusaders smiled warmly, and Apple Bloom drawled, "You know, Spoon, Ah think we're all pretty glad you're here, too."

Remembrance

"Alright, so," Scootaloo said, setting a second empty pizza box aside and wiping her mouth with the back of a hoof. "If you've never played a real board game before, 'Gates of Tartarus' is a pretty good introduction."

"A 'real' board game, huh?" Silver Spoon said, raising an eyebrow at her. The silver pony had only managed to eat half of a pizza before she'd been filled to bursting by the preposterous morass of toppings that constituted Scootaloo's favorite. The rest of her pie was still sitting in the half-open box on the floor in front of her. Even though she still had a third pizza of her own to finish, Scootaloo was already casting predatory glances at the leftovers. Silver Spoon was duly impressed. She'd heard--and occasionally seen--that pegasi had voracious, almost impossible appetites, and Scootaloo was no exception. She was already in the process of selecting another piece to devastate when she rolled her eyes at Silver Spoon's comment.

"You know, something besides checkers, chess...all those old mare's games." She had already stuffed the entirety of the slice in her mouth before the implication of what she'd just said struck her. Her eyes grew wide and she sputtered incomprehensibly through a mouthful of vegetables and cheese. "'Ot 'at 'oo're a' ol' 'are, o' 'ourse!"

Silver Spoon laughed as Sweetie Belle made a face at the pegasus. "Gross, Scootaloo. Swallow before you try to get your hoof out of your mouth next time."

Scootaloo swallowed hard, most of the piece still unchewed. "I just mean...you know...those are just kind of...old fashioned games," she finished meekly, her cheeks turning a light pink.

Silver Spoon smirked at her. "So I'm not an old mare, I'm just old fashioned?" She raised an eyebrow at Apple Bloom. "Is that any better?"

Apple Bloom grinned. "Ah dunno. Sounds pretty much the same t' me."

"Ugh, forget you girls," Scootaloo huffed. "You know what I mean. It's just...less confusing. Less...complex. I'm sure you can handle complexity," she said, forestalling any further ribbing with a scathing look at Silver Spoon. "But this'll give you an idea of how the rest of the games we like to play work."

Silver Spoon nodded. "Alright, whatever you think is best."

Scootaloo nodded at Sweetie Belle, and the unicorn's horn ignited into a mint-green aura that enveloped a small box near the top of the pile and slid it out of the stack. The rest of the boxes reorganized themselves with the same green glow as 'Gates of Tartarus' flew across the room, shedding its lid as it settled to the floor. Inside, Silver Spoon was surprised to see a vast array of small figurines of various shapes and sizes, three decks of cards, and a hoofful of dice and small cardboard markers. Sweetie Belle was already removing some of the figures and cards and laying them out next to the colorful game board as Scootaloo started explaining the game. "Right, so. The basic idea is that Cerberus has gone missing, and we have to keep the prisoners of Tartarus from getting out until he comes back. We each pick a princess to play, and each princess has special skills that you can use to do that."

Silver Spoon glanced down at the collection of figurines next to the board. Most of them were small sculptures of the infamous denizens of Tartarus--including, she recognized with a bone-chilling start, Tirek--but four of them were faithful reproductions of the princesses, accurate to the most minute detail, except...

"Hey Scootaloo," she interrupted, leaning forward to examine the piece more carefully. "Why is Princess Cadance blue?" Then she realized that the alicorn's mane was also the wrong color. Several wrong colors, in fact. Almost as if...

Scootaloo's eyes widened suddenly, and she reached out and snatched the figure up from the floor. "Oh, no reason! Just...just a...mistake. You know. They must've painted her wrong at the factory...you know how--"

"Oh please," Apple Bloom said, rolling her eyes. She smirked at Silver Spoon. "It's exactly what it looks like, Silver Spoon." She looked at the piece in Scootaloo's hooves.

The pegasus pursed her lips and sighed. "Alright, alright...I...might have painted her myself...to look like..." She looked away and mumbled at the sofa. "Rainbow Dash."

Silver Spoon suddenly found herself overwhelmed by a fit of giggling, and she put her hooves to her mouth to stifle it. Scootaloo blushed crimson. "Hey, I was just a filly, alright?"

Sweetie Belle smirked, still using her magic to arrange the pieces. "Scootaloo, you got this game last year."

Scootaloo shot a withering glare in the unicorn's direction, but Silver Spoon simply smiled. "Don't worry about it, Scootaloo. I think it's neat that you look up to her so much."

"Really?" Scootaloo asked, blinking.

Silver Spoon nodded. "Yeah. I mean, why shouldn't you? She is an Element of Harmony, not to mention a crazy good flier, and even though she's totally rich and famous and stuff, she still comes back to hang out with you."

Scootaloo smiled, looking at the tiny painted pony in her hooves. "Yeah, she is pretty cool."

She shook her head. "I wish I had somepony like that to look up to. You girls are all pretty lucky, honestly; you've got Rainbow Dash, and you two have your big sisters..." She sighed heavily. "All I've ever had was Diamond Tiara."

There was an awkward silence, punctuated only by the quiet swish of Sweetie Belle's magic, and the sound of the game assembling itself. Then Scootaloo snorted and said, "Forget her. You've got us now, and that's all you need."

Silver Spoon blushed and smiled shyly. "Yeah, I know. Thanks, Scootaloo. I appreciate that."

Scootaloo beamed. "No problem. Now," she started again, holding up the blue Cadance figurine, "like I said, we each pick a princess to play. Normally we all play the same princess every time, but since this is your first time playing, I thought we might let you decide who you wanted to be." She looked over at the other Crusaders. "Is that alright, girls?"

Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom exchanged a look; Sweetie Belle shrugged and said, "Sure. I guess it might be interesting to try a different princess for once."

Silver Spoon watched Scootaloo gingerly holding the Cadance between her hooves. The paint job was extremely well done; all the tiny nooks between her feathers and the fluting of her horn were carefully colored in, leaving no trace of the Princess of Love's pink coat. Even her eyes, normally a dusty purple color, had been expertly redone in Rainbow Dash's striking magenta. Something about the figurine was slightly off, though. Silver Spoon examined it from a distance, puzzling over the oddity until she realized what it was. "Scootaloo, did you...did you reshape her mane and tail?"

"Oh," Scootaloo blushed and looked down at the princess piece. "Uh...yeah. I mean," she added quickly, "Rainbow's mane and tail aren't long and puffy like Princess Cadance's, they're short and straight and kinda rough..."

Silver Spoon nodded. "Yeah, I know. I'm just impressed, that's all. It's a lot of effort for a game. You must really like playing as Rainbow Dash, huh?"

"Wait 'til she does th' voice..." Apple Bloom murmured with a smirk. Scootaloo shot her a look.

The silver filly giggled. "Well, I don't want to upset the natural order of things. If you girls usually play the same character, I'll just take whoever's left. Which princess do you not play with?"

The Crusaders all answered at once. "Celestia."

Silver Spoon blinked. "Really? Who do you play, then?"

"Well, obviously I play with Princess Da--er, Cadance," Scootaloo said.

Sweetie Belle levitated a midnight blue pawn over in front of her. "I play Princess Luna."

"And Ah always play Princess Twilight," Apple Bloom finished, retrieving the tiny lavender alicorn and leaving the largest piece, the regally posed Princess Celestia, sitting forlornly beside the game board.

Silver Spoon took the figurine and examined it. It was denser than she'd expected, more like a fine chess piece than a plastic toy. The paint was carefully applied, the details so pristine and accurate that the tiny toy may as well have been the Solar Princess herself in miniature. It also showed no signs of wear, indicating that this particular piece probably had never been played with before. "So, what sort of special skill does Princess Celestia have?"

Scootaloo grunted. "Light and time control."

Silver Spoon's eyes widened. "That sounds...kind of powerful."

Scootaloo shrugged. "It's alright. I mean, it doesn't do much for her, because her fighting stats are all really weak, so extra turns and time don't help her much. She's mostly a support character; she makes our pieces better."

"Interesting," the silver pony mused. "So...what do the other princesses do?"

"Well, Luna can create and control darkness, shapeshift and sneak," Sweetie Belle said, grinning from behind the little blue figure in her hoof.

"An' Twilight knows all the bad guys' weaknesses, plus she can call up the Elements o' Harmony." Apple Bloom held the Twilight pawn reverently.

Scootaloo smiled down at the little blue Cadance between her hooves. "Princess Cadance isn't too special on her own, so we kind of made up some powers for her to...well, you know..."

Silver Spoon smiled and said, "To make her more like Rainbow Dash?"

Scootaloo nodded. "She's really fast and she can make a sonic rainboom, but she's not too good at fighting unless she's next to another pony. See, 'cuz--"

"Because she's the Element of Loyalty." Silver Spoon interrupted, nodding. "I get it."

"Uh...yeah," Scootaloo said, eyes wide. "Yeah, that's right. How did you...?"

Silver Spoon rolled her eyes. "Scootaloo, just because I'm not friends or sisters with the Elements doesn't mean I don't know anything about them. Heck, I bet even Di could tell you who they all are. They're just a little famous, you know," she said dryly.

"Hah, right..." Scootaloo rubbed the back of her neck with a hoof. "I guess I hadn't really thought about that."

Silver Spoon glanced at the little blue princess in Scootaloo's hooves. "What could Princess Cadance do?"

Scootaloo shrugged. "She was another support piece, like Celestia. Except instead of buffing the other princesses' fighting skills, she was mostly about protection, healing...you know, the stuff the real Princess Cadance does."

"Buffing?" Silver Spoon repeated the unfamiliar word, looking down at the white alicorn in front of her.

Scootaloo nodded. "Yeah. Just game speak for making someone stronger. You'll see what it looks like when you see what Celestia can do."

"Alright, then," Silver Spoon said. "How do we play?"

The game was relatively straightforward. Although the initial rules explanation took a few minutes and the various intricacies required some examples for Silver Spoon to really grasp the nuances, she found that after a few rounds the decisions and moves came quickly and with relative ease.

True to Scootaloo's promise, Celestia's repertoire of spells was almost entirely based around strengthening the other pieces; Silver Spoon found herself spending most of the early game simply moving carefully around the board, protecting her relatively defenseless character from the more dangerous enemies and allowing the more elusive Luna and the more robust Twilight to actually engage them in open conflict.

Eventually, they fell into a smooth, almost balletic rhythm of moving, spell casting, and fighting that didn't require much planning or discussion, and the conversation began to move outside the immediate game.

"So," Silver Spoon said, "why did you pick Cadance to repaint?" She looked up at Scootaloo, who was nudging her blue figurine across the board and next to Apple Bloom's beleaguered Twilight. "Why not use Twilight? I mean, they're a lot closer to the same size, and their mane and tail are more alike."

"'Precision Hailstorm'," Scootaloo said, indicating one of her character's spells to cast. She glanced over at Silver Spoon as she collected and shook a hoof full of dice. "Because Apple Bloom wouldn't let me. And besides, I like Princess Twilight." She scattered the dice across the board and grumbled at the numbers they displayed. "Lessee...put it all on Tirek, I guess. For all the good that'll do..."

Apple Bloom raised an eyebrow at her. "Tirek? Why not put a few on each a' the Legion Fiends, try and cut them down to size?"

"'Cuz Tirek's way more dangerous in the late game, especially playing with four."

"We're not in th' late game yet, Scootaloo, and if y'all don't get a few of those Fiends offa me soon, we won't get there."

Silver Spoon glanced at the cards in her hooves. "Uh, maybe I could--"

Scootaloo ignored her, still scowling at Apple Bloom. "Who says I won't? You've still got like two turns before they really hurt you, and Sweetie Belle will be here in a sec anyway."

Silver Spoon tried again. "What about--"

"Yeah, so long as we don't pull a 'Magic Surge' card on the calamity deck on my turn," Sweetie Belle argued, still effortlessly speaking over her.

"There's only three of them in there. We're fine."

"There's four of 'em, Scootaloo, an' we haven't pulled one yet. I think we're due for--"

"Hey!" Silver Spoon snapped, slamming a hoof into the sofa and silencing the bickering trio. The Crusaders all stared at her in surprise and she immediately blushed, her ears pinning themselves back on her skull. "I, uh...sorry, I just..." She cleared her throat, trying to smooth out the shakiness in her voice. "I...have a spell. That might help." She held up a card and said, "'Blinding Reflection'. It...it duplicates a spell effect for each ally near the caster." Her cheeks warmed as she continued. "I figured...if we needed to, we could just...do that." When the other fillies didn't immediately respond, Silver Spoon cringed back against the cushion and murmured, "Or not. I just thought...I'm sorry, I'll shut up now." She stared at the cards between her hooves, a sick shame settling in her stomach.

"No, no!" Scootaloo said, shaking her head. "That's a good idea. I just didn't even know Princess Celestia had a spell like that." She reached out and gently touched Silver Spoon's hoof. The silver pony looked up from behind her bangs to see a warm smile on the pegasus' face. "You don't need to be afraid to speak up, Silver Spoon. We're not gonna be mad at you for, you know, actually playing with us."

Silver Spoon smiled tentatively. "Alright...it's just...I tried to say something, and you three weren't listening, so I thought--"

Sweetie Belle rolled her eyes. "Yeah, well, with this group you might have to speak up a little bit to be heard. I don't know if you noticed, but we're kinda loud."

"An' stubborn," Apple Bloom added.

"And we're used to yelling over each other," Scootaloo finished with a wry smirk. "So, you know, just feel free to yell back if you have to. We won't be offended."

Silver Spoon giggled. "I'll do my best. I'm not really much of a 'yeller'."

Apple Bloom shook her head. "That won' do. Yer gonna hafta learn to holler if yer gonna be our friend. Otherwise we're jus' gonna forget yer even here."

"Gosh, I wonder what that would feel like." The silver filly rolled her eyes.

Scootaloo waved a hoof dismissively. "Yeah, well, I doubt that'll be a problem," she said, shooting Silver Spoon a cool half-smile. "You're pretty unforgettable if you ask me."

Silver Spoon's cheeks flushed crimson as a bizarre and unfamiliar swooping sensation sailed through her chest. Scootaloo's compliment was the most obvious of flattery, but it still set her heart fluttering and forced a silly smile onto her face. She looked away, staring at the floor and murmuring, "Yeah, right."

"No, really," Scootaloo insisted. "You're awesome, remember? I already told you that the other day."

The blush deepened, and Silver Spoon smiled tentatively back. "Thanks, Scootaloo."

Apple Bloom rolled her eyes so hard her head actually moved with them. "Ugh, why don' you just kiss her already, Scootaloo?"

"Ew! Don't be gross, Apple Bloom!" Sweetie Belle's voice cracked on the first syllable, and her face twisted into a horrified grimace.

The outburst was a welcome cover as Silver Spoon and Scootaloo had both perked up, their eyes wide and alarmed as they glanced at one another and immediately looked away. Silver Spoon's heart had skipped a hoofful of beats and was now hammering frantically in her chest. The rumors...Scootaloo and Rainbow Dash...Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle... Diamond Tiara's voice echoed in her head from across the years. "She's a fillyfooler, you know that. Why else would she hang out with ponies like them?" She risked another glance at Scootaloo. The pegasus was staring through her cards, eyes unfocused. Her cheeks were a dark orange color, indicating a deep blush beneath the fur. Her tail was flipping anxiously and her lips were pressed tightly together as if she were afraid they might act on Apple Bloom's suggestion all on their own.

Horror and curious fascination thrilled through Silver Spoon in equal measure as her imagination constructed a parallel universe where Scootaloo took Apple Bloom's suggestion. Where the pegasus slinked across the couch, her broad, beautiful wings spread wide, a sly, predatory smirk on her face. Where she pressed herself firmly against Silver Spoon's body, the heat and strong, musky scent of her fur washing over her. She was startled and a bit dismayed to find this fantasy world wasn't altogether disagreeable. Scootaloo was, after all, a magnificent specimen of a pegasus, female or not, and something in her demeanor, her general attitude of unshakeable confidence, was strangely fascinating to Silver Spoon, who had never exactly suffered from an overabundance of self-respect.

An icy jolt of hesitant curiosity and something so close to desire it was terrifying arced through Silver Spoon. She knew these feelings. She remembered these thoughts, this heady, dizzy rush. The memories were clear and vivid, even years later. Please...please don't push me away... Bitterly, she shut them out. A past that long lost ought to remain lost. A different time, a different life. A different Silver Spoon.

"Yeah, Apple Bloom." Scootaloo's voice dragged Silver Spoon out of her reverie, her tone shifting from quavering to firm over the three word sentence. "Don't be ridiculous. It's just a compliment." She pulled a tentative smirk onto her face. "Just because no one's ever said it to you doesn't mean that it's weird."

Apple Bloom raised an eyebrow at her, apparently unfazed by the snide remark. "It's a little weird, Scoot. Not that ya ain't awesome 'r nothin', Spoon," she added, glancing at Silver Spoon. "But..."

Silver Spoon nodded hastily, relieved that both Scootaloo and Apple Bloom were dismissing the scenario outright. "No, I get it. And it's alright, Scootaloo, I know what you meant. And I appreciate it." She smiled at Scootaloo. The pegasus smiled back, and some of the awkward tension seemed to bleed away from between them. Scootaloo's tail ceased its agitated flailing and settled back to the couch, the long magenta hair pooling across both of their hind legs. Silver Spoon tried to ignore it.

"An-y-way," Sweetie Belle said, calling their attention back to the game at hoof. "Silver Spoon, you had a spell to play. Scootaloo, stop being an awkward doofus."

Scootaloo bristled, but Silver Spoon just giggled. "Right. Here," she said, tossing the card down to the side of the board. "'Blinding Reflection'. Take out a couple of those Fiends before they defeat Twilight and we have to listen to Apple Bloom whine about it for an hour."

"Hah hah," Apple Bloom drawled dryly. Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo just laughed.

The game resumed, and Silver Spoon continued the conversation she'd left off moments before. "Hey, Apple Bloom?"

The earth pony glanced sideways at her. "Yeah?"

"Why wouldn't you let Scootaloo paint Twilight, but Cadance is okay?"

Apple Bloom shrugged. "'Cuz Ah like Twilight. An' Ah don' know that much about Princess Cadance."

"Weren't you all flower girls at her wedding, though?"

"Yeah, but that doesn' mean we're close. That was mostly a favor fer Twilight."

"A favor for...Twilight?" Silver Spoon asked, puzzled.

She nodded. "Yeah. Twilight's brother asked her if she could find some flower girls, 'cuz Princess Cadance doesn' have a whole lot of fam'ly, an' nopony was exactly 'flower girl' age."

"Wow..." Silver Spoon breathed.

Apple Bloom shrugged. "It was no big deal, hones'ly. Twilight an' I go back a ways, an' it was real nice of her to ask."

"Really? Like...how far 'back'?"

"Well," Apple Bloom said, "the firs' place she came when she got to Ponyville was Sweet Apple Acres, and Ah was there, so...since she's lived in town, really. An' of course she used to spend a lot of time down at the farm 'cuz she an' mah sister are good friends, so she an' Ah got to talk a bit. She's real nice, ya know. Friendly an' helpful an' all. Even tried to help me get mah cutie mark with her magic." She nudged her Twilight figurine with a smile. "Anyway, Ah guess Ah always thought she'd make a pretty good princess. Jus' seemed right. So she's mah favorite, obviously."

"That makes sense," Silver Spoon said, nodding. She turned to Sweetie Belle. "So I guess it was just down to Celestia or Luna for you, then?"

"I guess?" Sweetie Belle shrugged. "It was never really a contest, anyway."

"Oh? Why not?"

Sweetie Belle leaned on a hoof, smiling down at the little Luna on the game board. "Luna's helped me out a lot. Saved me from myself a few times, even. She's always been my favorite Princess, and she's a good friend, too. Picking her to play was the easiest decision I've ever made."

Silver Spoon didn't speak for a few seconds. "Princess Luna, keeper of the night, one quarter of the entire ruling body of Equestria, has helped you out personally?"

Sweetie Belle shrugged and nodded. "Sure. She visits me in my dreams from time to time. If I have a problem, I'll talk to her about it, and she's always really nice and eager to help."

"Princess Luna," Silver Spoon repeated. "Princess Luna visits you in your dreams."

"I know that sounds like I just dream about the Princess all the time, but I've actually talked to her in person a few times and she always remembers what we discussed in my dreams, so I know she's actually doing it on purpose."

"No, that's...I believe you, it's just..." The earth pony shook her head slowly. "You say that like it's something that everypony gets to do. Like everypony's met Princess Luna in their dreams and just...chatted."

The Crusaders exchanged a series of wide-eyed glances. Silver Spoon blinked. "Wait, you're kidding. All three of you have...?"

"Well..." Scootaloo rubbed the back of her neck with a hoof. "Back when I was still trying to impress Rainbow Dash and be 'cool' all the time, I had a bunch of really awful nightmares. Princess Luna eventually showed up in a couple of my dreams to talk to me."

Silver Spoon shook her head in disbelief. "And you?" she asked Apple Bloom.

The yellow filly shrugged. "Sure. Ah met her in a dream once. It was no big deal; Ah needed somepony to talk to, an' she knew about it, so we talked."

"So, you needed somepony to talk to, and Princess Luna just showed up, huh?" Silver Spoon felt an acrid bitterness in her throat creeping into her words, and she cringed inwardly at how cold the question sounded.

Apple Bloom noticed. Raising an eyebrow, she said, "Well, yeah. Ah mean, she is the Princess of the Night. It's sort of her whole job to keep an eye on everypony's dreams, right?"

"I wouldn't know," Silver Spoon said darkly. "I've never met her, in person or in a dream."

"Really? That's too bad. She's really nice," Sweetie Belle chirruped obliviously.

Silver Spoon looked down at the sofa beneath her. "I bet. I wish I'd had a chance to find out."

"Would you like to?" Sweetie Belle asked, tilting her head to the side, her eyes wide and curious. "I can always ask next time I see her."

The bitter gloom dissipated, shocked away by the nonchalant offer. "Wait, what?"

"Would you like to meet Princess Luna?" the unicorn repeated. "I'll talk to her next time I see her in a dream, and see if she can go visit yours instead."

Silver Spoon shook her head, flustered. "I...no, I couldn't...you don't need to do that."

"It's no trouble, really," Sweetie Belle continued. "I get to see her plenty, and you seem like you'd really like to meet her."

"It's okay, really." Silver Spoon's cheeks burned as the shame of letting herself be offended by missing out on such an exclusive opportunity displaced whatever desire she may have had to experience it.

Of course the Princess of the Night made time to visit the younger sisters of two of the Elements of Harmony. She owed her safe return from exile to them; the least she could do in return was watch over their siblings' dreams. And while Scootaloo may not have been related directly to an Element, there was no doubt she and Rainbow Dash were extremely close. Silver Spoon knew the older mare had taken to calling Scootaloo her 'little sis' from time to time; surely Luna was keeping watch over Scootaloo as well.

To expect that somehow Princess Luna would waste time visiting her dreams just because she took the time to visit the Crusaders' was foalish in the extreme. It was tantamount to Diamond Tiara's ridiculous and ill-fated attempt to horn in on the Crusaders' private tutoring sessions with Princess Twilight some years ago, and yet here Silver Spoon was, moping and sulking about not getting to talk to the pony who raised the moon every night, who protected all of Equestria from the creatures of darkness and nightmare, who surely had better things to do with her time than foalsit. Now Sweetie Belle was offering to specifically request that Princess Luna make a special effort to meet her. It was a pointless and selfish suggestion, and she knew that Princess Luna would think so, too.

Apparently Sweetie Belle didn't see it that way. "Well, I'm gonna ask anyway. She won't stay long if you don't want her to, but I think she'd really like to meet you. Heck, maybe I'll see her tonight." She grinned. "So don't be too surprised if she finds her way into your dreams later."

Silver Spoon sighed, recognizing defeat. "Alright, if you think it's a good idea. I still don't know if she'd really want to waste time on somepony like me."

"Ugh, this again?" Scootaloo rolled her eyes. "Come on, Silver Spoon, you really gotta stop letting Diamond Tiara get inside your head like that."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean," Scootaloo said, pointing a hoof at her, "that this whole 'I'm not worthy, woe is me' thing she's got you believing is horseshit. You keep saying things like 'Oh, Luna would never want to meet somepony like me,' but speaking as somepony who's actually met both of you, I think she'd be perfectly happy to meet you."

"But--"

"But nothing," the pegasus continued, still stabbing the hoof in her direction. "Look, Spoon, I totally get that being DT's nag probably wasn't much fun, and I know she probably told you a lot of stuff about yourself that wasn't true, and now you believe it yourself. That sucks." Silver Spoon blushed and looked down at the sofa between them. "But we're not like that, alright? Well, not anymore, anyway." Scootaloo corrected herself, and the other two Crusaders averted their eyes sheepishly. "We're not gonna say mean stuff just for kicks, we're not gonna talk about you behind your back, and we're definitely not gonna let you talk bad about yourself, either." She smirked. "If we're gonna make fun of you, we're gonna do it to your face, and we're gonna expect you to do it back so we can all laugh about it together, got it?"

Silver Spoon smiled despite the tightness in her stomach. A grey cloud of guilt had slowly collected over her as Scootaloo had talked, recalling all of the dozens of times she had shied away from Diamond Tiara's cruel asides. Every time, the pink pony had spoken with such nonchalance that Silver Spoon had just assumed that she was saying things everypony already knew. Careless barbs about her appearance, her grades, even her personality, tossed about with such casual ease that they had slowly worn away her own self-image until she was left with...what? Who was she now? Diamond Tiara's nag...

Not anymore, she thought. The smiled broadened. "Alright, Scootaloo, you win. I'll...I'll try, okay? Just...don't be surprised if it takes a while."

"We won' be," Apple Bloom said, cutting off Scootaloo's spirited retort. "You an' Tiara have been friends for a long time. It's bound to take awhile to recover from that."

"Yeah..." Silver Spoon said quietly. "Actually, it didn't really start to get bad until a couple years ago..."

"What, it was okay before then?" Scootaloo sneered.

She shook her head. "No, it wasn't the same before. She wasn't mean to me, like, at all. She was actually really sweet, helpful, friendly..."

"Diamond Tiara?" Sweetie Belle squeaked in disbelief.

Silver Spoon nodded. "I know. She was a mule to everypony else, but to me she was just, you know...a friend. She listened when I talked, we hung out and had fun together...we were best friends, and I'm not just saying that. Then, just a couple years ago, everything started to get weird. She got really uptight, and she started to treat me like everypony else. Worse, even. Honestly, I'm not sure what changed." Silver Spoon absently reflected on the irony of using the word 'honestly' immediately before lying through her teeth, but she knew that questions she couldn't answer would follow if she didn't.

In any event, the Crusaders seemed to let the issue drop. "Well, her loss," Scootaloo said with a grin. "Sucks to be her, not to know a good thing when she has it."

Silver Spoon blushed and smiled. "Heh...if you say so."

"I do."

~~~

"Well," Apple Bloom said, slumping back into her beanbag chair. "That was close."

"Too close," Scootaloo agreed. "I told you Tirek was dangerous in the late game."

"It wouldn'a mattered if you'd gotten those Fiends offa me sooner."

"We're just lucky Silver Spoon knows how to play her character so well." Sweetie Belle slowly shook her head. "Major points to Celestia in those last three rounds."

Silver Spoon smiled, blushing lightly. "Thanks. It was nothing, really. I just wish I could have been more...active, I guess. You guys looked like you really needed help."

"You helped plenty," Scootaloo said, giving her an unquestionably rakish grin. The blush intensified, and she looked away. Silver Spoon wasn't entirely sure why, but over the course of the evening she had slowly begun to sense that Scootaloo was being far more attentive and genial than was strictly necessary. Perhaps it was simply because she was trying her best to be friendly, this being the first time she and the Crusaders had spent any substantial length of time together. Obviously she would be putting extra effort into making Silver Spoon feel welcome and appreciated.

But there was more to it than that. The raffish pegasus was quick to tease her other friends, but tentative and even defensive about teasing Silver Spoon. A few times, she had bristled at the other Crusaders for making a joke at Silver Spoon's expense. While she appreciated the gesture, Silver Spoon somehow felt slightly left out of the group dynamic, which was largely based around general deprecation and a shared understanding of each other's shortcomings. Even Scootaloo's sneering aside about Sweetie Belle's tendency towards obliviousness was met with raucous laughter by all, including the unicorn herself.

Silver Spoon had sort of expected similar treatment, and had prepared herself to be the butt of some jokes--even reminding herself from time to time that it was all in good fun--but it proved to be unnecessary. Even the most innocuous of comments had earned Apple Bloom a glare from Scootaloo so fierce that it momentarily stopped the conversation cold. Silver Spoon had been quick to dismiss it as fair play, but that hadn't seemed to soften Scootaloo's wariness at all.

It occurred to her that Scootaloo may have simply been trying to make up for all the times she and her friends had teased Silver Spoon with real malice, but as far as Silver Spoon was concerned it was hardly necessary. The Crusaders had already proven they could be perfectly kind and friendly if given a chance. She was already elated to have gotten the opportunity to spend an evening just interacting with them in their own environment, and even though she still felt like something of an outsider--they had only just befriended her, after all--it was clear that this was a circle she desperately wanted to be a part of.

"Hey Silver Spoon." Apple Bloom suddenly addressed her as Sweetie Belle collected and stowed the various components of the game back in its box. "Ah been meanin' to ask, 'cuz we've all been wonderin'...well, basically ferever. How'd y'all get yer cutie mark? That is, if'n ya don' mind me askin'."

Silver Spoon shrugged. "Not really. It's a pretty boring story, actually."

"Most of them are," Sweetie Belle said with a smirk. "But we've been trying to figure it out basically ever since you and Tiara started lording them over us, and the best we could ever come up with is that you were just really good at polishing flatware."

The silly filly giggled. "Well, the truth isn't a whole lot less ridiculous, honestly."

Scootaloo raised an eyebrow at her. "Ridiculous? If what you already told me about it is true, you're a long way from 'ridiculous', you know."

"Wait, she already told you about it?" Sweetie Belle squeaked indignantly. "And you didn't mention it to us?"

"Of course not. She only told me like three days ago, and it's not like we talk about her butt that often."

"It really isn't that big a deal," Silver Spoon said, her cheeks coloring lightly at the mention of her backside. "It's just...not really a big part of my life, so it doesn't come up much."

"So what's it mean?" Sweetie Belle asked.

"Well, my special talent is metalwork. My father's is, too, but where he's got a silver anvil and ball-peen hammer, because he does mostly big projects and works with lots of material at once, I got a spoon because I'm a lot better with really small, really delicate stuff, like jewelry and yes, Apple Bloom, even flatware." She grinned at the earth pony.

"That's pretty neat," Sweetie Belle said. "You can really make silver jewelry and stuff?"

Silver Spoon nodded. "Honestly, I can make jewelry out of any metal. I just like working in silver the most. It's really pretty, and it works easily. Not as easily as gold, but I don't like gold much; it's too soft, and honestly, it's too popular." She rolled her eyes. "Everypony has a gold necklace or gold earrings or something, but silver jewelry is a lot less common."

"Alright, Ah have to ask, 'cuz Ah know what it's like to work on small stuff with just yer hooves..."

"Tools," Silver Spoon said. "The metalworking industry has a lot of Earth ponies in it because we're, well...'Earth' ponies, so there are a bunch of specialty tools specifically designed to let you work on small projects without magic."

"Cool!" Sweetie Belle gushed. "So did you make your necklace, then?"

Silver Spoon's stomach tightened horribly as she brought a hoof to her neck, running the tip across the delicate pearls hanging there. "Oh, um...no. This...used to be my mother's. I...I used to ask her to borrow it all the time, so she eventually just...gave it to me." She swallowed hard, barely managing to keep the thickness in her throat from seeping into her words.

"Ah, okay." Sweetie Belle nodded, apparently unaware that anything was wrong. "Well it's really pretty."

Silver Spoon blushed and smiled, still resisting the lump rising in the back of her throat. "Thanks. My mother loved jewelry, especially...especially silver. She was really excited when I got my cutie mark."

The specific construction of her comment did not go unnoticed. The other three fillies exchanged uneasy looks, and Scootaloo said, "Uh...she 'loved' jewelry?"

Silver Spoon nodded morosely. "Yeah. She...she died. Ten years ago."

"Oh...oh Silver Spoon, I'm so sorry..." Sweetie Belle whispered.

"Yeah, me too," Apple Bloom said solemnly. "Ah cain't say Ah know jus' how ya feel, but..."

Silver Spoon nodded. "I know. Thanks." She glanced across the sofa at Scootaloo, expecting further condolences, but the pegasus didn't speak. Instead, she simply sat in dumbfounded silence, her mouth hanging open and her eyes wide.

"Ten years ago..." Sweetie Belle mused. "So when you took that month off from school...?" she prompted.

Silver Spoon nodded. "That's why."

"What happened? Ow!" Sweetie Belle glared at Apple Bloom, who had just stabbed her in the side with a hoof.

"You don't jus' ask somepony how their mother died, Sweetie Belle!" the yellow filly scolded her. "What the hay is wrong with you?"

Silver Spoon couldn't help but smile at the flighty unicorn's innocent curiosity. "It's alright, Apple Bloom. She was sick. Epileptic."

Sweetie Belle tilted her head. "I didn't think epilepsy was...deadly."

"It's not. Not usually," Silver Spoon said. "But sometimes..." She sighed heavily. "My mother used to have seizures a lot. Enough that it didn't even bother me anymore when it happened. Her case was really severe, and sometimes she'd seize for a few minutes at a time, two or three times a day. She could always tell when she was about to have one, and she'd usually tell me to go get my father before it happened. If he wasn't home, she'd just lay down and ask me to put a pillow under her head so she didn't hurt herself." She shrugged. "Honestly, it didn't even faze me most of the time. It was a little scary, especially if it took a while for her to recover afterwards, but it was just...something that happened."

Silver Spoon looked down at her hooves, the familiar pressure of oncoming tears building behind her eyes and blurring the edges of her vision. "Then one day she started seizing and just...didn't stop." Sweetie Belle gasped audibly. Silver Spoon didn't look up as the first tears broke free and slowly slid down her cheeks. "We called an ambulance, and they took her to the hospital. They tried a lot of things, but she just...kept on." She closed her eyes. The tears were flowing freely now. Even though she had spent ten years coming to terms with her mother's death, talking about it never got easier. It helped, though. A little.

"Eventually, they had to put her into a coma just to stop the seizure, but every time they tried to bring her back, she'd just start up again." One of the other fillies in the room sniffed. Silver Spoon could hear Sweetie Belle squeaking faintly, barely contained sobs escaping as she listened to the story. "They took a scan of her brain to see what was wrong and..." She swallowed hard. "They found a tumor deep in her brain. Too deep. There was nothing they could do."

Silver Spoon paused, momentarily unable to continue. Seconds ticked by in silence broken only by the sniffs of the other three ponies in the room and Sweetie Belle's quiet whimpering. Finally, she heaved a sigh and finished, her voice shaking. "They let us say goodbye, and then they just...let her go."

"Oh, Luna..." Scootaloo finally spoke, her voice hushed and thick. "Silver Spoon...I'm so, so sorry...I had no idea."

Silver Spoon glanced sideways at her, tears still rolling down her face. "Nopony does. Miss Cheerilee knows, of course, but..."

"No, it's not that..." Scootaloo said, shaking her head. "I mean, I'm sorry about...buck, just...everything. Your mother, your father, Diamond Tiara...us...I just..." At this, Scootaloo seemed to run out of words. She opened and closed her mouth a few times, as if expecting her lips to come up with something poignant and appropriate to say, but nothing came.

"Yer father?" Apple Bloom said. "What about yer father?"

Silver Spoon blushed and tapped her hooves together in front of her nose. "Oh, well...my father is...well, he's a little...standoffish. I mean, we were never really close, but...after mama died, he kind of...faded. He stopped having supper with us, he stopped looking over our homework for us, he just...stopped being part of the family."

"Who's 'us'?" Scootaloo asked, raising an eyebrow. "I thought you were an only child."

Silver Spoon shook her head. "No, I have an older sister. Silver Star. I haven't seen her in years, though." This wasn't strictly true, but as before Silver Spoon was not interested in answering the questions that would follow if she were honest. "She was even closer to mama than I was, and after she passed..." She sighed. "She was angry at my father for 'abandoning' us and only worrying about himself. Star was always making nasty remarks and disobeying him, staying out late and quitting school. Eventually she and my father got into a huge fight, and he basically told her to get out of the house. She was of age, so it wasn't like he was putting a foal out on the street or anything, but..."

"Wow...so...did she?"

"Leave? Yeah," Silver Spoon nodded. "Packed up her stuff, stole a couple of mama's things, and just took off into the night."

"Stole?"

Silver Spoon tilted her head to the side. "Well, I say she stole them. Mama had always told Star that when she grew up, she could have them anyway, but she'd never gotten a chance to actually give them to her. So when father told her to get out of the house, she stormed up to their bedroom and grabbed whatever she knew mama had wanted her to have."

"That's crazy. When did she actually leave?"

"Couple years after mama died. Just a few days before my ninth birthday, actually."

"Dude..." Scootaloo breathed, shaking her head in disbelief. "That sucks." Apple Bloom nodded her agreement. All four fillies fell silent as the weight of their discussion settled in on them.

The quiet gave Silver Spoon a moment to consider what she was doing. She was instantly appalled at her own honesty. Silver Spoon rarely spoke about her family for myriad obvious reasons, but in less than twenty minutes she had shed light on all the deepest, darkest corners of her life with three ponies who she had considered mortal enemies not a week before. Why? What could she possibly gain from this? If--if--they stayed friendly, she would forever be known as 'that filly with the dead mom, the mean dad, and the runaway sister'. And if the far more likely possibility of their falling out came to pass, then she would have supplied her antagonists with the purest possible ammo for further teasing.

Her blood ran cold at the thought of having the rest of the class watching and listening as the Crusaders went through their routine...Scootaloo would start, catch her attention, Apple Bloom would grin smugly and dish out whatever fresh cruelty they'd all concocted together, and then Sweetie Belle would mewl at her, mimicking her voice and asking her if she was going to cry. Then they'd all laugh together. Scootaloo's would be loudest; it always was, harsh and barking, ringing in her ears for hours afterwards. Sweetie Belle's was coldest, high pitched and keening. She'd scowl at them and leave. Then she would cry. Except next time it would be infinitely worse, because the teasing would hit so much harder, so much closer to her heart, that she wouldn't be able to keep her composure until she could escape. She would burst into tears in front of them, and this time she wouldn't even have Diamond Tiara to defend her. Her heart began to race and her stomach lurched. What did I just do?

"Bwaaaahhh!" Silver Spoon jumped as her panicked internal monologue was suddenly stalled by Sweetie Belle's piteous wail. The unicorn had finally succumbed to the sobs she had been stifling and now she was bawling openly, tears streaming down her face. "I-it's just s-s-so s-s-sad!" she hiccuped. "Y-you lost y-your m-m-mom and y-your s-s-sister and n-now you don't have a-any f-f-family at all!" She burst into sobs and tumbled out of her beanbag, stumbling across the room and throwing herself onto the sofa, wrapping her forelegs tightly around Silver Spoon's neck. She buried her face in Silver Spoon's shoulder and started weeping copiously, her chest heaving as she cried.

Silver Spoon was stunned into inaction. She had spent so much time over the past several years hardening herself against the pain of her mother's death and everything related to it that she had managed to reduce her own emotional response to a steady leaden ache in the pit of her stomach. Sweetie Belle's dramatic outburst brought with it waves of long-lost memories, images of late nights spent sobbing over pictures of her mother, clinging to empty dresses still lingering with traces of her scent. The unicorn's open, careless emotion crashed against the wall of stony apathy Silver Spoon had so diligently erected over time. Every wracking sob tightened her throat and brought a renewed wave of tears to her own eyes until she couldn't resist any longer.

She broke down. For the second time in less than a week, Silver Spoon let herself go and began to cry in earnest. She cried for the losses she had never accepted, the losses she hadn't fully realized until Sweetie Belle gave them life in her own special, transparent way. She cried for the emptiness of having no one to turn to when her strength failed her, and for the betrayal of being abandoned by everypony she had once adored and idolized. Her chest heaved and her throat ached as bitter sobs wracked her body, and she curled up in Sweetie Belle's embrace, drinking in affection she had no illusions that she deserved, but that the unicorn offered freely nonetheless. Silver Spoon rested her muzzle against her neck and joined the unicorn in her tears. They cried together, Sweetie Belle for the tragedy her new friend had suffered, Silver Spoon for pain from old wounds that had never fully healed.

Then the pressure doubled as a second pair of forelegs joined the first, and Silver Spoon looked out through bleary eyes to see Apple Bloom holding both crying fillies in her arms as well. She gripped them tightly, exuding strength as only an earth pony could, even though Silver Spoon could see she too was crying, sniffing quietly as tears tracked down her face. Surprised but grateful, Silver Spoon leaned her head the opposite direction now, pressing her face against Apple Bloom's, delirious with the wealth of concern and compassion she was being offered. The other filly didn't shy away or stiffen, but simply leaned back against her, silently reassuring Silver Spoon that it was okay to cry like this, that despite the novelty of their friendship, the Crusaders were, at their core, genuinely kind, caring ponies. In moments like these, no amount of petty, foalish spite would prevent them from lending their strength and love to somepony who needed it.

Scootaloo's wings only served to compound the effect. Her forelegs were too short to completely encircle the group, but her wings, long, broad, and powerful, curled around them, the silken feathers rustling against Silver Spoon's back and face. The pegasus held them all in her warm embrace, comforting and protecting her friends as only a pegasus whose idol represented the Element of Loyalty could. It was an intoxicating sensation. All around her, the gentle caress of her friends' hooves and wings and bodies soothed her ragged emotions. She basked in it. She treasured it, wondering every moment if she were dreaming, and that any second she might awaken and find herself alone and cold in her bed, the pain all the worse for the loss of this balm. Tears streamed down her face and melted into the fur of the other ponies who pressed themselves against her as if to try and ease her pain by wicking them away.

The group hug lasted for several minutes, long after the tears had stopped. All three Crusaders held tightly to their newest friend, offering her what little comfort they could for a loss they couldn't comprehend. Silver Spoon remained still, terrified that any movement might break the spell and send her friends scattering back to the edges of the room and leave her alone again. She barely dared breathe, lest one of the Crusaders realize who they were hugging and come to their senses. In the end, it didn't matter. Scootaloo was the first to speak after the last of Sweetie Belle's hiccuping sobs faded.

"So, that was...intense." She smirked faintly, still cautiously eyeing both Sweetie Belle and Silver Spoon.

The latter pony gave a watery chuckle, blinking the last of her tears from her eyelids. "Yeah...sorry, I didn't mean to get all emotional. Sweetie Belle just caught me off guard, and..."

She trailed off as Apple Bloom gave her a suffocating hug, grinning out from behind tear-streaked cheeks. "Ah, ferget about it. Y'all needed t' cry, an' apparently so did Sweetie Belle."

"Shut up," Sweetie Belle muttered, her voice still quavering. "It's a really sad story, and you know I get emotional easily."

"Don't worry about it, Sweetie Belle." Silver Spoon smiled, leaning over and nuzzling the unicorn gratefully. "I appreciate it. Honestly, I think I needed somepony else to start crying first, or I never would have." Sweetie Belle blushed lightly at the caress, but smiled back nonetheless.

"Well, as much fun as this is," Scootaloo said, tightening her wings around the group and grinning at them all, "it's still kind of early to go to bed, so if we wanted to play something else, we've got time."

"Oh, I don't feel like playing any more games," Sweetie Belle sniffed, her face falling into an anxious frown. "Why don't we just watch a movie or something? A comedy."

"I guess. We can even stay here together on the couch if you girls want to!" Scootaloo grinned. Something in her tone caught Silver Spoon's attention. Almost like a tentative hopefulness hiding beneath the bravado, as though she had offered the suggestion with the guilty longing for someone to take it seriously. Silver Spoon searched her face curiously, trying to decide if she was reading more into the suggestion than there was. Scootaloo didn't really strike her as much of a cuddler, but maybe the pegasus pony had a softer side Silver Spoon hadn't seen yet.

"Ah'll pass," Apple Bloom said with a faint smirk. "As much fun as this's been an' all, Ah ain't much fer cuddlin'."

"Well I'm staying." Sweetie Belle squeezed her forelegs around Silver Spoon's midsection. "It's all Spoon's fault that I'm all stuffy now anyway, so she gets to hold me while I recover." She glanced up at Silver Spoon with an anxious frown. "I mean, you know, if that's alright."

Silver Spoon contemplated this. In truth, she wasn't entirely certain how she felt about the demand-cum-request. It was innocuous enough, the sort of thing very close friends might do, but as she had reminded herself repeatedly, they weren't very close. Or at least, they hadn't been. Perhaps their impromptu weeping session had brought them close enough that this was an acceptable level of friendship where snuggling down together on the sofa to watch movies was normal.

Deep down, Silver Spoon's heart had soared deliriously at Sweetie Belle's demand. She and Diamond Tiara had once been close enough to curl up with one another and watch TV or read or just sit and enjoy a warm spring evening together, but it had been years since they'd done something so intimate. Now, with Sweetie Belle tightly gripping her chest and Scootaloo's wings still hanging loosely around her back, she remembered what it was like. The warmth and tingling pleasure of physical contact coursed through her, and a deep, shameful voice in her heart cried out desperately for her to demand that Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo both stay right where they were. Fear of rejection and ridicule stayed her tongue, though, and she simply shrugged noncommittally at the suggestion. "Whatever. I don't mind."

"Are you sure?" Sweetie Belle's grip loosened, and Silver Spoon wailed internally in protest. "If it's weird or uncomfortable, I can just go bother Apple Bloom instead."

Silver Spoon giggled as Apple Bloom gave Sweetie Belle a defiant glare. "No, it's not that. In fact," she admitted, blushing, "I think it would be nice. It's been a while since I got to watch a movie curled up with somepony else."

The unicorn's muzzle split into a comical grin, and she squeezed Silver Spoon tightly in her hooves. "Yay!" The dramatic filly burrowed into her side, nuzzling her new friend's neck and chin. "This is the best way to watch movies anyway. Apple Bloom doesn't know what she's missing."

"Ah'll survive."

"What about you, Scoot?" Sweetie Belle looked up at the pegasus, whose wings had slowly slipped down off Silver Spoon's shoulders as they'd spoken.

Silver Spoon glanced at Scootaloo's face. Immediately she saw something she knew she wasn't imagining. Scootaloo was struggling with herself. There was an internal conflict there, a battle between heart and mind. She wondered idly which side was which, whether Scootaloo wanted to stay but didn't think she should, or didn't want to stay but thought she had to. As she considered this, Silver Spoon was surprised to discover she knew which side she wanted to win. "Why don't you stay, Scootaloo? The more the merrier, right?"

Scootaloo's stunned expression reflected Silver Spoon's internal shock at herself perfectly. She hadn't requested that Apple Bloom stay on the sofa. She had only just given Sweetie Belle permission to stick around. But for some reason, she knew that she desperately wanted Scootaloo to stay with her on the sofa, with her wings tightly curled around her and her thick, sultry scent washing over her and sending little thrills of joy through her with every breath.

There was just something about the pegasus that Silver Spoon found thoroughly pleasant. Something in her attitude, something in her easy, rakish smile, her cool confidence and surprising strength...she was special. More than that. She was extraordinary, and Silver Spoon knew it. Somewhere in her heart, she'd always known it. Spending time with Scootaloo was the supreme experience, and she wanted nothing more than to extract every unique and enthralling moment from it that she could.

She got her wish. "Yeah, okay. Why not?" Scootaloo shrugged and smiled, cocking a dashing eyebrow. "Since I've got both you fillies in a froth already and all."

Sweetie Belle rolled her eyes, but Silver Spoon intently looked away, ignoring the heat in her cheeks. "So," she said, mostly to forestall her own idle thoughts, "what movie are we gonna watch?"

"How about a Robin Whinnyams marathon?" Scootaloo asked, settling back against Silver Spoon's side, her wings still extended and resting gently across her shoulders. "Mama Vy's a huge fan, so we've got just about everything he's ever done."

"Ah think that sounds rootin' tootin' terrific," Apple Bloom quipped from the floor, where she had sprawled across the carpet in front of the sofa. "He's mah favorite."

"Well, that makes two of us, then," Sweetie Belle said, her horn igniting as she opened the cabinet beneath the TV and summoning one of the movies from the shelf.

"Three," Silver Spoon said, smiling as the unicorn started the film and dimmed the lights magically.

Scootaloo grinned down at her, pulling her wing tight around the earth pony's shoulders. "See, girls? I told you she was alright."

Interlude

"Sooo...Apple Bloom." Sweetie Belle was lying on her mattress on the floor, with her chin propped up on her forelegs as she grinned at the earth pony lying on the bed next to her.

Curled up under her sheets, Apple Bloom eyed the unicorn suspiciously. "What?"

"How are you and Pipsqueak getting along with your project?" The glint in Sweetie's eye carried volumes of implication.

From her perch on the sofa, Silver Spoon watched the conversation unfold with pleasant surprise. The marathon had paused briefly between screenings of Hoof and Mrs. Doubtfarrier while everypony got their bed set up--a hushed shouting match had determined that yes, Silver Spoon would be sleeping on the couch, no matter how guilty it made her feel--and resumed after a good-natured tussle in the bathroom had ended with Sweetie Belle "falling" into the tub and squealing as Apple Bloom turned the water on. The fight had summoned a haggard and unamused Vinyl from the master bedroom, and the unicorn's quiet suggestion that perhaps it was time for bed was universally agreed to.

As a result, Silver Spoon had assumed the night was essentially over. In her experience with Diamond Tiara, 'lights out' usually translated into 'no talking', but apparently this was not the case at a Crusader sleepover. The last movie had ended, and even though the living room was now lit only by the moonlight pouring through the front window the evening's conversation had picked up again without pause. Even Scootaloo was still wide awake, resting her chin on crossed forelegs and watching Apple Bloom's eyes widen at the question.

"We're fine!" The earth pony answered with a touch more intensity than was necessary. "Ah mean...it's goin' fine."

"Just fine, huh?" Scootaloo asked, smirking.

Apple Bloom scowled at her. "Yes, 'jus' fine'. How else would it be goin'?"

"I was kind of expecting 'great', or 'awesome', or 'not good at all, because we just keep making out instead of--"

"Sweetie Belle!" Apple Bloom snapped at her, the anger in her voice not quite masking the alarm. "It's not like that! We're just...project partners."

"So you haven't mustered up the courage to kiss him yet, then?" Scootaloo asked.

Apple Bloom narrowed her eyes at the pegasus. "Ah'm not gonna kiss him. What's the matter with you two, anyway? Why cain't we jus' work on the project without y'all makin' it weird?"

"Because being weird about Pipsqueak is like, your whole deal." Scootaloo smirked. Silver Spoon's eyes widened in surprise. This was an interesting new facet of the Crusaders' world. She had never really considered that the three friends probably had their own crushes and insecurities to contend with. She was suddenly intrigued. "Come on, you have to spend all those hours together anyway, right? You can probably even convince him to meet you at the park or something if you wanted to make it romantic 'n' all. You don't think this would be the perfect chance?"

"No, Ah don'," Apple Bloom said flatly. "It's jus' schoolwork. Nothin' else." There was a beat, and then she continued more quietly. "'Sides, he's not interested in me like that."

"How do you know?" Sweetie Belle asked. "Have you asked him?"

Apple Bloom shook her head. "No, an' Ah'm not gonna. Ah don' want to make the last season of school we've got together uncomfortable because Ah asked him somethin' Ah shoulda never bothered with."

"But what if he likes you, too?"

Apple Bloom actually laughed. "Come on, Sweetie Belle, think about it. Why would a stallion like him even look twice at a filly like me? He's strong 'n' sweet 'n' smart 'n' funny an' he could have any mare he wants. Why would he pick a plain ol' Ponyville farmpony?"

"The same reason he'd pick anypony else," Scootaloo scoffed. "'Cuz you're fun and kind and smart and pretty and all those things colts like."

Apple Bloom smirked at the pegasus. "You think Ah'm pretty, huh?"

Scootaloo shrugged. "Sure. Why wouldn't I?"

"'Cuz Ah ain't. Sweetie Belle's pretty."

"Yeah, and so are you. And so's Silver Spoon." She glanced sideways at the mare on the sofa, who blushed and smiled shyly back. "You're all just, you know...differently pretty."

"That's sweet of y'all to say an' all, but--"

"No buts." Scootaloo sniffed importantly. "You should totally tell him. Maybe not real soon, but before he gets away. He's going back to Trottingham for college, you know."

Apple Bloom nodded. "Ah know," she said glumly.

"You may not get another shot."

"Ah know."

"So are you gonna tell him?"

There was a long pause. Then, "Maybe."

Scootaloo sighed. "Good enough for now, I guess." She looked up at Silver Spoon. "What about you, Spoon? Anypony you've got your eye on?"

"Hu-what?" Silver Spoon blinked, startled by her sudden introduction to the spotlight.

"Anypony you've got an eye on?" Scootaloo repeated, raising an eyebrow at her.

"Uh...well..." Silver Spoon floundered, tapping her hooves together and staring down at them. "I...um...well, no...not really."

"Nopony at all?"

Silver Spoon shook her head. "No. I mean, I used to...there was this one pony...but they weren't interested, so I haven't said anything about it since."

"Really? Who was it?"

Silver Spoon blushed deeply. "I...I'd rather not...say. It was a long time ago."

"Anypony we'd know?" Sweetie Belle asked, her eyes glinting hungrily.

"Um...yeah..." Silver Spoon said cautiously. "I mean...it's somepony in our class, but--"

"It's Snips, isn't it?" Apple Bloom suddenly interjected with a sly grin.

"Ew," Sweetie Belle said. "I sure hope not. Snips is gross."

"He's also a jerk," Scootaloo said. "If it is him, I'm glad he wasn't interested."

Silver Spoon blushed hotly. "No! It...it wasn't Snips."

"Glitter, then!" Sweetie Belle said.

"Ah doubt it's Glitter, Sweetie," Apple Bloom drawled, rolling her eyes. "Seein' as how Glitter doesn' exactly go that way."

"That's just it, though!" Sweetie Belle said enthusiastically. "It was a long time ago, right? Maybe it was back before Glitter was, you know, Glitter. Before anyone knew anything about her. Back when she was just Snails, right? It would totally explain why she wasn't interested!"

There was a murmur of understanding from the other Crusaders, and the three ponies all looked up at Silver Spoon curiously. The blush intensified and spread to her ears. "N-no! It wasn't Glit--Snails. And it isn't Glitter." She sighed. "Look, girls, I...as much as I love being...included like this, I'm not sure I'm...comfortable talking about this stuff..." She winced and rubbed the back of her neck with a hoof. "Sorry..."

Scootaloo shrugged. "Don't apologize, Spoon. We were just messing around. If you really don't want to talk about it, we don't have to." She grinned mischievously. "It was totally Snails, wasn't it? Oof!" The pegasus grunted as Silver Spoon threw a pillow at her, catching her full in the face and rolling her off the mattress. The other Crusaders laughed as she flailed her hooves, trying to escape the sheets.

"Alright, hotshot," Silver Spoon said, "if you're so interested in talking about crushes, who's yours, huh?"

Scootaloo finally managed to extract herself from her bedclothes and set about rearranging them on the mattress. "I don't have crushes, Silver Spoon. Other ponies have crushes on me." She looked up at Silver Spoon with a surprisingly seductive smile. Caught off-guard, Silver Spoon felt an unbidden thrill of excitement shiver down her spine at the glance. Scootaloo was clearly well-versed in the art of the allure, and the shy silver filly was mortified to realize just how enticing the pegasus' act really was.

Slightly shaken, she forced a dismissive laugh. "What are you even doing, looking at me like that? You think you could get me to fall for you?"

The bewitching smirk broadened into a grin, and Scootaloo said, "Why, is it working?"

"What do you think?" Silver Spoon intoned.

"I'm thinking...yes."

Silver Spoon rolled her eyes. "Only in your dreams."

Scootaloo shrugged. "If that's what you want."

"The only thing I want is for you to turn that look on Sweetie Belle instead, 'cuz it's freaking me out," Silver Spoon said, a touch more truthfully than she would like to admit.

"Hey, don't point that thing at me," Sweetie Belle said as Scootaloo did as she was told, leaving Silver Spoon to breathe a bit more easily. "You are so not my type."

"I'm everypony's type, Sweetie Belle."

"How about we change the subject before Scootaloo starts somethin' she cain't stop, huh?" Apple Bloom interrupted the banter, shaking her head. "Like what are you two doin' fer your project, Spoon?"

"Oh, uh..." The silver pony glanced down at Scootaloo, who had abandoned her attempts to seduce Sweetie Belle to look up at Silver Spoon and shake her head vehemently. "It's...a secret."

"A secret?" Apple Bloom looked back and forth between the project partners, bewildered.

Scootaloo nodded. "Yeah. Can't tell you just yet. Gotta make sure it's gonna work, first. Then I'll tell you all about it."

"What could y'all possibly be workin' on that's so crazy it has to stay secret?"

"Trust me, it does. And anyway, you wouldn't be interested," Scootaloo added, shrugging. "I'm sure it's just as boring as your project with Pipsqueak."

"Actually, our project isn' that borin', turns out." Apple Bloom rolled over onto her back and put her hooves behind her head. "Miss Cheerilee wants us to do some research on diff'rent accents across Equestria, an' how ponies who grow up speakin' one way never really stop."

"She picked the right group, then."

Apple Bloom smirked. "Ah know it. Ah even told Pip we could ask mah cousin Babs to help us out, she bein' from Manehattan an' all."

"Sure." Scootaloo brightened. "Hey, maybe you could even ask Rarity about her accent. I really want to find out where she got it from."

"That's not an accent," Sweetie Belle scoffed. "She talks like that on purpose."

"Yeah, but why? It's not like anypony else in your family talks that way."

Sweetie Belle shrugged. "I dunno. I never asked. It's just how she speaks. Has been for as long as I've been alive."

"Well, what about you, Sweetie?" Scootaloo asked. "What's your project supposed to be?"

"A disaster," Sweetie Belle said darkly. "Diamond Tiara is a mule and a witch. No offense," she added, glancing up at Silver Spoon.

Silver Spoon shrugged. "None taken. She is. She always has been."

All three Crusaders stared at her. "Really?" Sweetie Belle asked.

Silver Spoon nodded. "Sure. That is, if you mean she's really stubborn and really mean, then you're right. She never was to me--at least not at first--but you'd have to be a fool not to see that she's always been a pretty nasty piece of work. Anyway, you just have to know how to work with her. It's a challenge, and it means you'll have to give up some of your dignity, but it's possible."

"I doubt it," Sweetie Belle muttered.

Silver Spoon shrugged. "Well, the alternative is not getting the project done at all, I guess. If you're interested, though, I can try to help you out."

The unicorn contemplated this for several seconds, the agony of two equally heinous options plain on her face. Eventually, she sighed. "I'll think about it."

"How did you and Diamond Tiara end up friends, anyway?" Scootaloo asked. "You're nothing alike, at least not when you're on your own."

Silver Spoon shrugged. "First day of school. She was the only pony to give me the time of day, so I latched on. I didn't have any other friends, and she was a lot nicer back then. We just meshed really well, so we became friends. It's just one of those things. I mean, how did you three become friends?"

"Well, Ah met these two mules at DT's Cuteceñeara, as Ah think you recall."

"Well, yeah, but what about you and Sweetie Belle?" Silver Spoon looked down at Scootaloo. "You seemed like you were pretty good friends from the first time I saw you in class."

Scootaloo shrugged. "Actually, I'd only known her for a few days at the time. Less than a week, I think."

Sweetie Belle nodded. "You showed up outside the Boutique Friday afternoon. First day of school was the next Monday."

"Showed up?" Silver Spoon asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Yeah," Scootaloo said. "I was a runaway. From a foals' home in Baltimare."

Silver Spoon's eyes widened in shock. "Wait, really?"

"Uh, yeah." Scootaloo gave her a curious look. "I ran away from home when I was just a filly. Picked up by the police for stowing away on a train in Baltimare, and got sent to the home when I told them I was an orphan. You didn't know that?"

Silver Spoon shook her head, stunned. "I had no idea. I mean, I knew you were adopted, obviously, but I didn't know where from. That's awful."

The pegasus shrugged nonchalantly. "It's no big deal, honestly. I mean, it was kind of a big deal at the time, sure, but that was a really long time ago."

"Still." There was a pause, and then Silver Spoon said, "Wait, isn't Baltimare a pretty long way off?" Scootaloo nodded. "And you ran away from there, too?" She nodded again. "How did you end up in Ponyville?"

"Bad and good luck in equal measure," Scootaloo said. "I was trying to get to Canterlot again. I wanted to see Princess Celestia and see if she could help me...you know..." She blushed. "Fly."

"Awww..." Silver Spoon couldn't resist the vocalization. She immediately covered her muzzle with her hooves, ears burning in embarrassment. "Sorry," she whispered.

Scootaloo chuckled softly. "Nah, it's alright. I know, it was a naive filly-dream, but...I guess I just figured if anyone could help me fly, it would be the most powerful alicorn in Equestria, right? Anyway, it was stupid. I didn't really have a plan or anything, I just figured I'd hop on a train and see how far I could get. I honestly assumed every train had to go to Canterlot eventually, so I went to the Baltimare train station and stowed away on the first train I found."

"I'm guessing that train was headed for Ponyville, then?" Silver Spoon asked.

Scootaloo shook her head. "Not that one, no. That one was going to Las Pegasus. Not, as you might imagine, a good place for a filly." Scootaloo smirked wryly at Silver Spoon's expression. "Fortunately, somepony found me before I got all the way there and...persuaded me to take a different train when I got to the station. Even gave me a hoofful of bits to buy a ticket with." Scootaloo rolled over on her back and put her hooves behind her head again. "Of course, I didn't have a clue what to do when I got here, so I just decided to try and find someplace to spend the night and figure it out in the morning. I ended up curling up under the front porch of the Carousel Boutique. That's where Sweetie Belle found me the next morning."

"The rest is pretty much history," Sweetie Belle chirruped, beaming. "We've been best friends ever since."

"No kidding," Silver Spoon said. "That's pretty cool. Did she live with you before she got adopted, then?"

Scootaloo shook her head. "No way. I didn't want anypony to know I was a runaway, because the last time I let it slip, I got sent to a foal's home. I wasn't gonna risk that again. I just told them I lived with my parents way out on the edges of town. I didn't give specifics, and nopony asked. I actually lived in the Crusaders' clubhouse for a long time, even before Applejack showed us where it was." She shrugged. "And that's it, really. It's kind of a boring story."

Silver Spoon almost laughed. "Scootaloo, that's anything but boring. That's incredible. I had no idea. I mean, everyone noticed that your parents were never around, but nopony knew why. So you just lived on your own for, like...a year?"

Scootaloo shrugged again. "Or so, I guess. I don't really know. Time does weird things when your whole life is finding food and staying warm. Heck, I don't even know when my birthday actually is."

Silver Spoon blinked. "Wait, you don't?"

Scootaloo shook her head. "I never celebrated it when I lived in Cloudsdale, so the Baltimare Foal's Home didn't know what it was, so I never found out. These days I just celebrate the day my parents adopted me."

Silver Spoon smiled. "That seems like a pretty good substitute to me."

Scootaloo nodded. "Yeah, it is."

"You know, your parents are pretty cool."

"I guess."

"No, really," Silver Spoon insisted. "You don't even realize how amazing you have it. Your parents are always there for you, always looking out for you, always keeping your best interests in mind...seriously, Scootaloo, I would kill to have what you have."

Scootaloo smiled wryly. "Don't let Mama Tavi hear you say that, or she'll adopt you, too."

Silver Spoon pursed her lips. "I should be so lucky."

Scootaloo laughed. "Well, I guess I wouldn't mind too much having you around more often. You know," she said, "it really sucks that we waited this long to start hanging out. We've got a lot of stuff to catch up on if you're gonna be one of us someday."

"What, a Crusader?"

"Yeah," Scootaloo said. "That is, if you want to."

Silver Spoon nodded fervently. "Definitely. You girls are the best."

"Of course, I'll have to check with the other members of the group first." The pegasus turned to the other two fillies lying on the living room floor, watching the conversation with interest. "What do you think, girls? Should we start the process of making Silver Spoon a Crusader?"

Sweetie Belle grinned broadly, her eyes shining. "Heck yeah! We need another member who actually appreciates fashion and manestyling and all that jazz."

Silver Spoon giggled. "Well, I don't know if I'm quite as...enthusiastic about it as you, but I'll do my best."

"Apple Bloom?" Scootaloo asked.

The earth pony didn't answer immediately. She was staring at the ceiling with a troubled expression on her face. After a moment, she said slowly, "Ah...guess."

"You guess?" Scootaloo asked, raising an eyebrow at her.

Apple Bloom sighed. "Look, don' get me wrong, Ah think yer pretty neat an' all, it's just...well..."

"Lots of bad memories?" Silver Spoon said quietly.

Apple Bloom winced and nodded. "Yeah. Ah'm sorry, Silver Spoon, it's jus'...the Crusaders've been together fer a long time, an' these girls are the only friends Ah had back when, well...you know. Back before Ah got my cutie mark." She smiled shyly at the unicorn to her right and the pegasus to her left. "Ah just...don' want to lose that special somethin' we've always had." She blushed and tapped her hooves together in front of her muzzle. "Y'all understand, don't ya?"

Silver Spoon nodded. "I do. And I wouldn't want to butt in where I didn't belong anyway. If you'd rather the Crusaders just stay the three of you--"

"Four," Scootaloo interrupted her.

"Pardon?"

"There are four Crusaders. Apple Bloom's cousin Babs is an honorary Ponyville Crusader, even though she's the founder of the Manehattan Crusader branch."

Silver Spoon blinked. "This Crusader thing is a lot more complex than it looks from the outside."

Sweetie Belle giggled. "Well, we were fillies. Lots of free time and way too much energy means you come up with a lot of silly ideas. Some of them just never go away."

"Anyway," Silver Spoon continued, "if you're not comfortable with adding me to your group, I totally understand." She smiled. "I'm perfectly happy just being allowed to call you my friends."

Apple Bloom smiled tentatively. "Yeah, Ah'm happy about that, too. And Ah don't wanna say you shouldn't ever get to be a Crusader, jus' that...maybe we should get to know each other a lot better, first?"

Scootaloo nodded. "That sounds good. What do you think, Silver Spoon?"

The silver filly smiled. "I think that sounds wonderful."

"Well, what are we waiting for, then?" Sweetie Belle chirruped. "We've got all night, so let's get started!"

Revealed

This is bad.

Scootaloo stared at the shadowed ceiling, heart racing in her ears. She had been staring at it through wide eyes for the better part of the last two hours, despite having given up trying to will herself asleep after the first thirty minutes. Now she was simply fretting about the absurdity of her situation, torn between the realization that she was one wrong move away from ruining everything, and the reckless desire to simply enjoy herself while it lasted.

The evening had started so well, too. Silver Spoon and the other Crusaders had gotten along perfectly well, even better than she could have hoped. Instead of suspicious glares and awkward silences, both sides seemed to have taken her request for basic civility to heart. Heck, they'd even been friendly, and almost immediately, too. True, Apple Bloom had been a little too quick to poke fun at Silver Spoon--Scootaloo was certain they weren't good enough friends for that yet--but she'd at least been quick to back off after Scootaloo had cast her a...gentle warning glance. Silver Spoon's quiet, blushing response had proven to Scootaloo that the silver filly was not comfortable with jokes being made at her expense.

And then the startling revelation about Silver Spoon's home life...the sickening shock still hadn't completely worn off. Scootaloo had wanted to come across the sofa and embrace the other filly almost immediately. Her forelegs and wings ached to be wrapped around the crying pony, to offer whatever comfort she could, to wipe away her tears and tell her everything was alright...but she couldn't do it. Every time she mustered the will to make a move, panic had risen in the back of her throat, and she'd stopped herself just in time, relaxing muscles that had flexed in anticipation. Shame at her own cowardice hung over her, making each additional attempt that much harder to resist until Sweetie Belle had finally broken the ice in her own uniquely dramatic way. Once she and Apple Bloom had both embraced their new friend, Scootaloo joined them, the experience still somewhat diminished by the realization that she should have made the first move, not the last.

In truth, Scootaloo had been fighting urges to find a reason to cuddle up with Silver Spoon all night. From the first moment she and Silver Spoon had settled into the couch together, Scootaloo's mind had begun to search for an excuse to come across the sofa and snuggle the other filly. Of course, she had no illusions that she might actually follow through on her guilty desires, but the mere plotting and searching for an opportunity was sufficiently tantalizing to force her to focus on keeping her wings folded and her tail down.

It wasn't even a sexual thing, necessarily. Certainly, she was physically attracted to Silver Spoon--and had been for a long time, if she were honest with herself--but the other filly had become so much more to her, and so quickly. Scootaloo had always thought Silver Spoon's entire identity was wrapped up in the incessant taunting that had dominated their early relationship, but stripping that away had left her bare and vulnerable. She was a poor reflection of Diamond Tiara, a gentle pony, not cut out for the emotionally demanding and ruthless task of bullying others. The fact that she'd ever been a bully in the first place was a testament to Diamond Tiara's dominating personality.

Silver Spoon was very nearly the opposite of her former friend. She was meek and passive, emotionally fragile and eager to please. Alone, these qualities were uninteresting to Scootaloo, who was used to dealing with intense, overbearing personalities like her parents and her friends. However there was something else there, something deeper, more elusive. Scootaloo had seen flashes of it before, moments of bright, unguarded joy and excitement at her own successes.

Silver Spoon was an emotional pony, not just in the melancholy sense, but in the most deliciously pleasant sense, as well. She had sighed contentedly when the first movie had started and Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle had snuggled up to her. She had giggled, a soft and musical sound, and even laughed, loudly, intensely, and with tears in her eyes. She had choked up and sniffled with the rest of them at the sad scenes, and even curled her hooves around Sweetie Belle when the emotionally extravagant unicorn had burst into sobs at the end of Patch Apple. The gesture had sent a thrill of adoration through Scootaloo's chest, and she had to resist the urge to simply snare the mare and kiss her full on the mouth. Instead she had contented herself with simply snuggling deeper into her side under the guise of lending additional emotional support to Sweetie Belle.

That had been almost three hours ago. The other three fillies had fallen asleep leaving Scootaloo alone with her thoughts. She'd rather they hadn't. Her thoughts were singularly concerning, and she was wavering between reveling in them and desperately trying to silence them. For the thousandth time that evening, she looked to her left and stared at the side of the sofa. Silver Spoon's hoof was dangling off the edge of the cushion, the finely hooficured tip barely touching the floor between the couch and Scootaloo's mattress.

Touch it.

Scootaloo scowled at the pushy little voice in her head. What in the world was that supposed to mean? "Touch it"? What was the point in that? It wasn't like it was a particularly intimate gesture, especially not considering they'd just spent the last several hours curled up, body to body on the couch. Her wings twitched anxiously at the memory.

You know what I mean. Hold her hoof. You know you want to.

Yes, she did want to, Scootaloo had to admit. For all the physical contact of the ponypile on the sofa, it had been a fully platonic experience. Holding another pony's hoof was a different matter, though. There was an inherent intimacy in that, in the romance of acknowledging one's affection in such an obvious way. The problem, Scootaloo knew, was that it was also an unmistakeably flirtatious gesture. If Silver Spoon woke up and felt Scootaloo's hoof wrapped around her own...Scootaloo wasn't sure what her response would be, but she was fairly certain it wouldn't be pleasant. At the very least, their brand new friendship would be in jeopardy--maybe worse. And yet...

In truth, Scootaloo had to wonder if Silver Spoon suspected anything. Scootaloo had never exactly been shy about play-flirting with her friends; of the three, she was the most outgoing and immodest. It was all in fun among the Crusaders, but she had turned that same 'come-hither' attitude on the newest member of the group without a second thought. Of course, the smoldering stare she'd given Silver Spoon had had genuine desire lacing it, but Silver Spoon didn't have to know that. Even so, the silver mare might well have assumed Scootaloo's playful flirting was serious. In any other case, that would have been perfectly fine, even beneficial, but to a skittish, awkward, and presumably heterosexual mare it was probably an unwelcome gesture.

This point brought Scootaloo back to the opportunity hanging in the moonlight in front of her nose now. A twinge of longing twisted her midsection. She didn't want to risk making Silver Spoon any more uncomfortable than she already must have, but the rush of adrenaline pounding in her ears was daring her to make a stupid decision, and she was losing the will to resist. Unbidden, her hoof slowly snaked its way out from beneath the covers, casually settling to the floor just millimeters from the silver hoof. Don't do it, she chided herself. It's not worth it. The warning went ignored. Their hooves touched.

Scootaloo's heart skipped a beat, and she glanced up at Silver Spoon's face, relaxed and smiling faintly in her sleep. The filly had removed her glasses and her braid right before the group had settled down for the night. Her mane fell untidily across her muzzle, and the hair fluttered lightly every time she exhaled. She wrinkled her nose as a rogue hair tickled the sensitive flesh. Scootaloo's heart ached. She was just so bucking cute, and it was killing the pegasus to watch her sleep, physically only inches away, but unreachable in the only way Scootaloo desperately wanted her. She struggled with herself only a moment longer before slowly, anxiously sliding her hoof up and into the crook of Silver Spoon's, curling it around the pastern and squeezing gently.

A thrill of panic fluttered through her midsection as she stared up at Silver Spoon's face, utterly certain the silver filly was about to open her eyes and stare down at her in alarm and indignation. Instead, her face remained passive. The smile may even have broadened a little at the touch. Scootaloo stifled a foalish giggle. I'm holding hooves with Silver Spoon. She grinned at their intertwined extremities and squeezed again, gaining confidence from her success. This time, Silver Spoon reacted, heaving a shallow sigh and wrinkling her nose again before subtly squeezing back.

For one heart stopping moment, Scootaloo thought Silver Spoon must have awakened. She was about to pull away in panic before she glanced up at Silver Spoon's face again and realized that the filly was still deep in slumber, her breaths slow and even, her expression peaceful. Scootaloo exhaled and settled back into her mattress, contentedly watching Silver Spoon sleep and simply enjoying the--admittedly minor--affectionate embrace. Guilt and longing pulled at her in equal measure as she absently squeezed the other filly's hoof. She sincerely wanted nothing more than to climb up onto the sofa, lie behind her and wrap her forelegs around her shoulders. She wanted to hold her close, to protect her from the ravages of a careless world, one that she herself had recently been a part of. She wanted to kiss Silver Spoon's cheek and nibble her ear, listen to her giggle and watch her cheeks grow red. She wanted to drift off to sleep feeling Silver Spoon's chest rising and falling in the gentle, regular rhythm of contentment.

More than any of those things, though, Scootaloo wanted to be the reason for the smile on Silver Spoon's muzzle. She wanted to be the mare flitting through Silver Spoon's dreams, invading her imagination at inopportune moments, bringing a blush to her cheeks in the small hours of the night. Scootaloo let her mind wander, pondering what it might be like to be Silver Spoon's fillyfriend. She settled on a fantasy of walking through town with Silver Spoon, their tails tightly entwined and their flanks playfully bumping together. She smiled and closed her eyes, imagining giving Silver Spoon a flirty grin and telling her a silly joke, just to get the silver mare to laugh and let her carefully erected guard down. In her mind's eye, she nuzzled her fillyfriend gently, running their cheeks together and losing herself in the thick, lustrous curls of Silver Spoon's mane. She nipped lightly at the other mare's ear, relishing the tiny squeaks of embarrassed pleasure the attention elicited. She imagined taking deep, hungry breaths through her nose, Silver Spoon's tantalizingly sweet, subtle scent flooding her head and sending her into a frenzy with only one remedy.

Suddenly, Scootaloo realized she'd taken the fantasy too far, and the idle pleasure of imaginary sensations had had very real consequences. Already, her wings were straining against the mattress beneath her, the muscles and tendons tight and twitching as they trembled against the air inside the bed. Her nether lips, already warm and lightly moist from their earlier cuddling, were now searing against her inner thighs, the slow drip of her juices seeping through her fur and pooling beneath her tail. The warmth trickled around her pucker, tickling deliciously as it did so. The heat coursing through her pulsed with her heartbeat, which quickened with each deep, mind-numbing stab of adrenaline that her fantasy had caused.

Scootaloo gritted her teeth with some frustration; if she thought she'd been having trouble sleeping before, it was almost out of the question now. An aroused pegasus was likely to stay that way unless something was done, and Scootaloo knew there was no way she could covertly...tend to her needs here in the living room. Compounding the issue was the fact that the object of her affection was sleeping less than three hooves away, grunting quietly as she breathed. Scootaloo glanced up at the sofa and felt another jolt of longing arc through her midsection. She stared at Silver Spoon's muzzle, hypnotized, wondering what it must be like to kiss it, to feel the shy filly's lips tentatively pressing back against hers, nervous but enthusiastic all the same. A shiver ran down her spine at the thought, and her clitoris twitched eagerly in response. Against her better judgment, the pegasus submitted to her baser urges and slowly slid a hoof down under the sheets, slipping it between her thighs, which parted reflexively to admit her.

It took every ounce of Scootaloo's self-control not to moan out loud as she reached her clit and gently stroked it, sending an almost painful shock of pleasure and arousal through her belly. She bit her lip and squeezed her eyes shut as she rubbed her hoof back and forth across the firm little nub, which twitched and winked as she tended to it. Her whole body began to quake as waves of erotic thrill washed over her, and she reluctantly released her hold on Silver Spoon's hoof, lest she accidentally awaken the sleeping mare. Narrowly managing to forestall a second moan of ecstasy, Scootaloo realized that finishing her solo adventure here, surrounded by her friends, was not a good idea. With even greater reticence than she'd let go of Silver Spoon, she pulled her moistened hoof out from between her legs and slowly, carefully extracted herself from beneath the blankets. Freed from their prison, her wings stretched to their full span, quivering anxiously in the darkness above her back as she shakily tip-hoofed around the mattresses strewn across the floor, pointedly avoiding looking down at the sleeping Crusaders on them and picking her way out into the hallway as quietly as she could.

She clamped her tail down against her backside to stop herself from dripping as she trotted back to her bedroom, causing her to shiver lightly with each reflexive wink of her clitoris as it flicked against the coarse hair, little chills of anxious pleasure radiating from it at each touch. She kicked the door closed behind her, then winced as it slammed with a touch more force than she'd intended, the heavy thud of wood on wood echoing down the hallway. Heart pounding in her throat, she stood stock-still, straining at the bounds of her finely tuned hearing for any indication that she'd roused anypony. After a minute or so of silence, Scootaloo breathed a sigh of relief and made her way over to her bed. Her hoof was already back between her legs, lightly caressing the sensitive flesh there and forcing her to walk with a slightly awkward three-legged gait until she reached the edge of the mattress and climbed up on it. With a final cursory glance at the door to verify it was closed, she rolled over onto her back, spreading her wings and her hind legs wide across the comforter, exposing her sopping marehood to the cool evening air.

~~~

Silver Spoon's eyes snapped open. Her first thought was the purest of confusion. She had no idea where she was, or what time, or what had awakened her. The answers came in the same order as the questions. The quiet squeaking of Sweetie Belle dozing on the floor immediately reminded her that she was in Scootaloo's house, and the thick darkness, punctuated only by the myriad of lights dotting the entertainment center across the room indicated it was still the dead of night. As to the cause of her consciousness, she couldn't be sure. Something in her memory suggested that she'd heard a loud, somewhat concerning crash. Curious and a bit worried, she looked down at Scootaloo's mattress, to see if the pegasus' superior senses had heard anything unusual.

The mattress was empty.

Ah. So Scootaloo had caused the sound. Silver Spoon settled back into the sofa, the unease fading. The pegasus must have gotten up to go to the bathroom. Lying in the darkness, Silver Spoon suddenly realized that going to the bathroom sounded like a magnificent idea. The pressure in her bladder was immediately persistent and distressing. Unfortunately, she knew, the house only had two bathrooms, and one of them was in the master bedroom. The other was currently occupied.

Silver Spoon clenched her teeth anxiously. She would just have to wait for Scootaloo to come back. It wouldn't do to wait outside the door, since there were few things quite as blood-freezing as opening a door in the middle of the night and finding somepony behind it. And as hilarious as it might have been to give Scootaloo a heart attack, she suspected the pegasus would either react violently or scream, and neither result would be a good thing. Instead, she simply lay on the sofa and stared at the ceiling, keeping her ears pricked for the sounds of the door opening and Scootaloo coming back down the hall.

Several minutes later, the pegasus still hadn't returned. Silver Spoon pursed her lips. The pressure was reaching a breaking point; soon she would actually have to face the prospect of knocking on the bathroom door and asking Scootaloo if she might possibly be able to hurry up. It was not a pleasant notion, but Silver Spoon knew she might not have a choice. Well, not a good choice, anyway. She knew some earth ponies didn't have any qualms about simply going out into their backyards and urinating there, but Silver Spoon would gladly have risked using the master bathroom right under Scootaloo's parents' noses before she would deign to pee outside. The very idea was mortifying, and she blushed reflexively at the image. No, she would simply have to suck it up and knock.

Silver Spoon sighed heavily and threw the blankets aside. She rolled off the sofa as quietly as she could, landing lightly on her hooves and tip-hoofing out of the living room. The first thing she noticed, with some confusion, was that the bathroom door was open. The urgency of her needs rendered this a positive, if unexpected development, and she hastened into the bathroom to make use of it. A minute or so later, she emerged with a sigh of relief, and the mystery of Scootaloo's whereabouts presented itself again, only to be almost immediately solved. Scootaloo's bedroom door was closed, an anomaly in the Scratch-Philharmonica household. Apparently the pegasus had had some trouble sleeping in the living room with the rest of the group and had decided to retreat to her bedroom for the rest of the night.

The disappointment sinking into her stomach at the realization surprised Silver Spoon. She hadn't really thought about it before, but somehow the idea of sleeping in the living room, surrounded by her new friends, and especially just a few hooves from her newly-appointed 'best friend' Scootaloo had taken hold of her in a strangely pleasant way. It was so different from sleepovers with Diamond Tiara, who usually insisted on a rigid bedtime, no talking after the lights were out, and became generally unpleasant after a certain time at night. This was not the case with the Crusaders. Even after the lights were out and everypony had curled up under their covers, the conversation had continued for another hour or so at least, and when her eyes had finally drifted closed for the night, they did so in a comforting haze of acceptance and friendship. She'd never slept so well in her life.

A small part of her recognized that Scootaloo was the primary source of that comfort. Just having the pegasus nearby made everything seem brighter, more meaningful, more pleasant. Jokes were funnier when they were followed by Scootaloo's distinctive barking laugh. Compliments were more poignant in the pegasus' smooth, genuine tone. And her smile...

Silver Spoon shook her head, dispelling the image of Scootaloo's strangely bewitching smirk. She had to admit that Scootaloo's confidence in her own attractiveness had a lot of merit to it. She wasn't classically beautiful, exactly. She was no Rarity or Sweetie Belle, but she was strangely alluring all the same. Her body was fit and muscular, not bulky like most earth ponies, but toned and firm. Her fur shined and her feathers shimmered as she moved, the smooth, even pattern of the overlapping shafts strangely fascinating all on its own. Even her mane, unkempt and scruffy as it was, held a certain charm of its own.

She shook her head again, miffed at her inability to keep the raffish pegasus out of her mind's eye. There was nothing to be gained from such thoughts. Fortunately, her musings were suddenly interrupted by a disconcerting noise coming from inside Scootaloo's bedroom. It started quietly, a low, repetitive grunting sound. Curious, Silver Spoon tentatively pressed an ear to the closed door. It was unlike any sound she'd ever heard before. It almost sounded to her as though Scootaloo might be in trouble, almost as though she were having trouble breathing. Suddenly panicked, Silver Spoon pulled away and stared at the door, wondering whether she should open it and check on the pegasus. It wouldn't be right to intrude on somepony's privacy unless there was a serious emergency.

Still, that noise...it was louder now, more insistent. If there was something wrong, it was getting worse. Silver Spoon gritted her teeth, torn. Finally, she decided. She would check. Silently, of course. She would carefully, quietly open the door, make sure nothing was wrong, and if everything was fine and the sound turned out to be Scootaloo snoring or something, she would close the door, go back to the living room, and go back to sleep.

Nodding in satisfaction with her plan, Silver Spoon gently leaned on the handle and pushed the door open a crack, poking her head around the door just enough to see the room beyond.

~~~

The moon was unusually bright tonight, and it shined serenely through the uncovered window, casting a pearlescent glow across the bed. Lying in the shaft of light, Scootaloo stared down at her own privates, examining them, mesmerized by how the moon reflected in the thin coating of her own juices. She watched herself winking, each flick of the little nub nestled in the folds at the top of her slit sending a tiny arc of equal parts pleasure and stifling desire rolling through her belly. She blushed, shamefully excited at the sight of her own arousal. Her spreadeagle pose had allowed her scent to permeate the room, and she took a deep breath, nostrils flaring as she sheepishly relished the intoxicating odor. It was thick and almost primal, the smell of sex and furious, unrelenting need. It clouded her mind and drove all other thoughts from her head. Somewhere deep in the back of her mind, she knew it had to be wrong to find her own scent so deliciously erotic, but she couldn't help it. The sultry tang screamed arousal, it spoke to something dark and feral and she drank it in, even bringing her moistened hoof up to her muzzle and taking a long draught of the secretions darkening her fur.

Scootaloo's flanks twitched at the smell. Her eyes rolled back in her head and she groaned as the ache of desire pressed in on her, bringing every thought back to the heat between her legs. Delirious, she brought Silver Spoon back to mind and imagined the aroma was Silver's instead of her own. She imagined lying here on the bed with her, their bodies pressed together, their muzzles buried in one another's manes. She took a deep breath and Silver Spoon's scent invaded her muzzle. She exhaled, a long, low sigh of pleasure.

Scootaloo hungrily dove deeper in the fantasy, wrapping her free hoof around Silver Spoon's withers and holding her close, clinging fiercely to the other mare. She imagined massaging not her own nethers, but her fillyfriend's. Her mind's eye watched the silver fur part beneath her eagerly probing hoof, revealing the stark pink of the forbidden fruits behind it. Her stomach lurched and her head spun with pleasure as she masturbated, rolling on to her side now and lifting one leg high into the air to allow herself to dig deeper into her own crotch. The fur around her vulva was soaking wet, the ministrations drawing a steady stream of fluid dripping out from between her swollen lips, running in thin rivulets down the back of her thigh.

"Mmmph...Silver Spoon..." The words came unbidden to her lips, but she spoke them nonetheless, her heart pounding as she whispered to the imaginary mare next to her. "Buck, you are so...so beautiful..." Her voice shook. The dream Silver Spoon blushed deeply at the praise and moved forward to kiss her. Scootaloo closed her eyes and let the fantasy play. Silver Spoon's lips met hers, and immediately parted. Her hot, wet tongue probed tentatively around Scootaloo's lips, and the pegasus subconsciously stuck her tongue out in response. A moan welled up deep in her chest as Silver Spoon's hoof took the place of hers between the pegasus' legs, and she gasped as the strokes doubled in speed and force. Their muzzles parted, and she groaned into the dark silence of her room. "Oh, Luna...yeah, right there...that's--ah!" She gasped again as her hoof spread her vulva, stretching the flesh with a delicious tugging sensation and digging the tip into her dripping tunnel.

"Oooohhh..." she groaned, her voice tight and straining to escape as she panted. "There! Right there! Oh, Luna, Spoon, don't...don't stop!" She groaned and rolled over onto her belly, digging both hooves between her legs now, using one hoof to open her marehood and anxiously rubbing the other across the length of her slit, the tip dragging deliciously across the sensitive flesh and teasing her flexing tunnel, which twitched and shivered as it pulled at nothing, desperate to be filled. The hoof holding her lips open quivered against her erect clitoris, winking faster now as she felt the tightness of release building deep in her belly.

Waves of pleasure radiated through her, clenching the muscles of her vagina and shivering through her thighs as she struggled to stay on her knees. Juices flowed down both of her hooves, soaking into the fur all the way to her pasterns and dripping down onto the bed beneath her. She ignored it, lost in the fantasy. She grunted with each forceful stroke, biting down on the sheets in front of her muzzle to muffle her own vocalizations as she dug deep in her crotch, the strength of her movements forcing her nose into the bedspread. Her wings twitched and flexed in the darkness above her, and she could feel the orgasm building in them as well as in her loins.

Suddenly, Scootaloo's breath caught in her chest and she clenched her teeth hard on the fabric in her mouth as she teetered on the brink of climax for several seconds, one hooftip buried in her tunnel, the muscles squeezing and pulling at it as the other hoof furiously worked at her clitoris, struggling to push past the summit and start the delirious plummet into orgasm. "Come on, come on...just...uhn...right...oh, yes...yes, S-...S-Silver Spoon!" The cry was muffled by the blankets in her teeth, but she heard it clearly just the same. The sound of the name echoed in her ears, and she came hard, moaning over and over, gasping for breath as the explosion of pleasure tore through her body. Her vagina quaked and flexed, making a lewd squelching sound as she felt her juices flowing freely, pooling and squirting out of her slit as the walls tightened around her hoof. The marecum splashed across her hoof and fell to the carpet with a quiet pattering sound again and again as she came.

Pleasure seared through her clitoris, winking fiercely against her hoof, the sensations so intense that she dared not move her hoof, lest she push past pleasure and find her way into pain. Her legs shook and her wings tugged at her shoulders, the feathers fanning out and shivering as she came, the arousal trapped in every tightly coiled muscle releasing at once, flooding her limbs with waves of ecstasy that threatened to collapse her to the sheets. Then she did collapse, falling heavily to her belly on the bed, her forelegs trapped under her chest as her rear legs slid out to the side, leaving her spreadeagled on the comforter, her tired, swollen marehood lewdly presented to the door as her tail stayed flagged, the long hair tickling her back and her loins as it waved lazily through the air. She panted loudly, struggling to catch her breath as her wings slowly started to fold again, settling back against her shoulders. Buck, she thought, yeah, it's gonna have to be Silver Spoon from now on.

~~~

Silver Spoon stared at the opposite wall of the hallway, heart racing and eyes wide with horror.

Why didn't you just shut the door?

Why did I even open it in the first place?

Yes, but why didn't you shut it as soon as you saw what was happening?

I didn't know! I wasn't sure!

You knew. You knew as soon as you looked. Why else would she have her legs open like that? Why else would she have a hoof in her crotch? Why else--

Shut up, shut up, shut up! Silver Spoon pressed her hooves to her temples, desperately trying to silence the accusing voice echoing in her head. It was right, of course. She'd known instantly what was happening as soon as she'd opened the door. Scootaloo had already been lying on her back on the bed, legs spread wide, one hoof between them and the other stroking the fur of her side as she massaged the swollen folds of her marehood. She had expected her immediate reaction to be one of shock and mortification. She'd expected to slam the door closed, or cry out in surprise, or at least avert her eyes. None of these things had happened.

Instead, she'd watched. She'd watched with intense and wretched fascination as Scootaloo masturbated. She'd watched the pegasus' hoof sliding across the brilliant pink folds of her genitals. She'd watched the slow drip of Scootaloo's juices trickling down between her firm, taut flanks. She'd watched the other mare's anus twitch and glisten in the moonlight, moistened by the fluids flowing down from above. She'd watched all of this and worse, she'd done so intentionally, staying still and silent so as not to interrupt, but making no effort to retreat from the sight. It wasn't until the pegasus had finally hoofed herself to climax and settled into the bedclothes in the afterglow that Silver Spoon had managed to regain control of herself long enough to silently pull the door shut again and escape to the hallway.

Then, that moment. It was burned into her memory. It was frozen in time, replaying itself over and over as though daring her to try and deny it had happened. Scootaloo had said her name. More than that, she'd moaned it in the heat of passion. Her voice had shaken and cracked, and her breath had come in short gasps around it. It had been the crowning moment, the instant of release. She had been that crowning moment. What did it mean?

Of course, it meant so many things, all of them terrible in their own unique way. It meant firstly that all the rumors were true: Scootaloo was, at least in her own private fantasies, a lesbian. This wasn't terribly surprising. The rumors hadn't needed anypony to start them, no matter what Diamond Tiara liked to claim. They'd just grown organically from Scootaloo's personality, her interaction with Rainbow Dash--a well-known bisexual--and her intense and curious friendship with the other Crusaders. It made sense to keep it a secret, Silver Spoon understood. Some cities were famous for the variety of their population's sexuality and proud of it, but Ponyville was not one of them. Ponyville was an earth pony settlement, and the few homosexual couples that had settled there were so unusual that they became famous by virtue of their novelty, for good and ill...

It was the 'ill' that made the second implication severely concerning to Silver Spoon. Scootaloo was sexually attracted--for whatever bizarre reason--to Silver Spoon. The shy, awkward romantic in her was giddy to realize that she was that attractive to anypony, even Scootaloo. A much larger and more vocal part of her was utterly mortified by the thought. How long had Scootaloo been interested? How long had Scootaloo been clopping to fantasies involving her?

What if that was the only reason Scootaloo had befriended her in the first place?

Her stomach lurched sickeningly and her ears drooped back on her head. Another trap. Another plot. Another contrived excuse for somepony to pretend to care about her. Diamond Tiara had always kept her around just to be a flunky and a punching bag. Now Scootaloo wanted her around to ogle at and masturbate to. She squeezed her eyes shut against tears of frustration and betrayal. Why? Why does it always have to be like this? Why can't anypony just want to be friends with me?

Her breath caught in her throat and she swallowed the sob before it could escape and incriminate her. She suddenly remembered she was sitting in the hallway outside Scootaloo's room. A flash of panic pushed her to her hooves. If Scootaloo had just come back to her room to...satisfy herself...then she'd probably be back in the living room before long. Silver Spoon was not interested in finding out what would happen if Scootaloo came out and found her sitting here in the hall.

Silver Spoon retraced her steps back to the living room, and she stopped in the doorway to examine the layout of the mattresses on the floor and plan her route. Her stomach suddenly vanished as her gaze fell on Apple Bloom's cascading crimson mane and she realized there was an even more urgent problem to consider.

Do the other Crusaders know?

Silver Spoon wasn't sure what the implications of Scootaloo's friends knowing she had a...crush...on their newest friend could be. She was positive they couldn't be good. They might even be in on the plan, acting as ambassadors of friendship to make the whole facade seem more legitimate and drawing Silver Spoon deeper into the fold for Scootaloo's enjoyment.

Crushed, Silver Spoon slowly made her way back to the sofa and climbed back between the sheets. She wouldn't be able to fall back asleep, she knew. Not now. Still, it wouldn't do for Scootaloo to realize she'd ever been awake to begin with. She tried to remember how she must have looked when Scootaloo had left. She rearranged her body and limbs to mimic her original posture, including having one hoof hanging over the edge of the cushion and resting on the floor. Her mind was racing. So many thoughts and feelings, both horrible and inexplicably pleasant, were flitting through her head, none of them sticking for more than a moment. Scootaloo's crimson folds, however, glistening and intensely vivid in the bright moonlight, were seared into her imagination.

She was so wet...

Silver Spoon squeezed her eyes shut, trying to shut out the thought. It didn't work.

She even squirted. She was squirting marecum all over the--

Silver Spoon bit her lip hard. The pain interrupted the thought process, and she forced herself down another path. What would she do now? She knew too much. She couldn't forget it now. Scootaloo clearly had a crush on her--had for a while, if some of her recent comments and actions meant anything--and the implications were almost painful to consider. What if Scootaloo found out she knew? Worse, what if Scootaloo told her? What if Scootaloo was hoping she felt the same way?

Do I?

Of course not. She knew that much for sure. There mere thought of another mare's genitals--

--glistening and dripping and hot and tight--

--was not appealing in the least. Not even Scootaloo's. Especially not Scootaloo's.

She likes you. She would do that to you, if you--

Silver Spoon tried to shut out the obnoxious train of thought. She would simply have to try to fall asleep. Shut out the images and the sounds, ignore her misgivings and reevaluate the evening's revelations in the light of day.

Or maybe she would wake up and realize it had all been an awful nightmare.

~~~

Yeah...much better.

Scootaloo smiled weakly and sighed as she shakily struggled back to her hooves and climbed down off the bed. A serene sort of warmth flooded through her body, and the smile tugging at her lips widened at the thought of going back out to the living room and laying back down next to Silver Spoon. Well, nearby, anyway. Still, it was close enough to elicit a giddy giggle from the pegasus. She quietly pulled her bedroom door open and trotted back out to the living room. The pushy little voice inside her head suggested that she could probably get away with a quick peck on Silver Spoon's cheek if she could just muster the courage to do it, but fortunately her rational mind managed to kibosh the idea almost immediately.

The pegasus quietly slipped back between the sheet of her bed and settled into the mattress, the pleasant warmth still ebbing between her legs even as the moisture in her fur chilled her skin. Suddenly exhausted, she cast a fleeting glance back at the sofa, smiling at Silver Spoon's dozing face.

For an instant, she thought she might have seen the other filly's eyelids fluttering, but after several more seconds passed without further movement, she relaxed, convinced it was simply a trick of the light. Scootaloo's eyes slowly slid back down to Silver Spoon's hoof. It was still within reach. With a silly grin, Scootaloo reached out and took hold of it again.

The pleasure of the contact returned instantly. The sexual thrill was much less intense now, but the affection had multiplied in its absence. Scootaloo's stomach flipped as she gripped Silver Spoon's hoof, the tightness of longing still pulling at her. If only...she sighed sadly. It was impossible. She knew that. Still...she could enjoy it while it lasted, she decided. She and Silver Spoon might never have the chance to be together like she wanted them to, but at the very least she could enjoy what time they had. Hopefully she could do it without letting Silver Spoon know; the last thing she wanted was to upset the skittish filly by coming on too strong.

With one final gentle squeeze, Scootaloo slowly let go of Silver Spoon and let her hoof drift to the floor, where it rested lightly against Silver Spoon's, still providing some level of contact but without the incriminating grip. With one final yawn, she snuggled deep into her blankets and drifted off to sleep.

A quiet sniff from the sofa was lost in the ambiance of the night.

Author's Note

This chapter, as the ones before, has been massively edited and improved by the tireless efforts of my prereaders, Sharp Spark, MrBackpack, and Quill Trace.

Cold in the Morning

The morning broke in rays of sunlight beaming steadily into the roseate curtains of the living room windows. Birds sang and rode the rustling wind as it weaved unsteadily through the naked branches of trees still in winter slumber. The sleepy little neighborhood remained dormant late into the pre-noon hours as the residents took advantage of the weekend by whiling away the hours deep in slumber.

The Scratch-Philharmonica household was no exception. The floor of the den was still littered with sleeping ponies splayed out on half-deflated air mattresses, their ears twitching as the music of the morning tickled their consciousness and struggled futilely to pull them out of their dreams. Sweetie Belle dozed balled up under her covers, the curls of her mane hanging loosely in front of her nose as she squeaked quietly on every exhalation. Apple Bloom was prone on her mattress, hooves dangling off the sides as she breathed heavily, her mouth open and her mane wrapped messily around her muzzle. Scootaloo's sheets were propped up over her back by her wings, which had unfurled slightly during the night. She snored quietly, oblivious to the sunrise symphony. One of her hooves was still resting on the floor near the sofa.

However, the hoof it had been touching earlier in the evening was no longer there. Nor was the pony it belonged to. Silver Spoon was in another room in the house entirely, sitting at the dining room table and staring across the room at the window facing out at the street.

She had been there most of the night. Roughly twenty minutes after Scootaloo had returned and...taken her hoof...the pegasus had started to snore audibly. Fully aware she was not going to be able to fall back asleep, the silver filly had gotten up and retreated to the dining room, just beyond the kitchen. She'd sat at the table for the rest of the night, just watching the night slide by outside the window. It had not been pleasant.

There was something uniquely cruel, Silver Spoon mused, about this level of betrayal. It stung in a way she couldn't really describe or understand, cutting more deeply than simple insults or direct attacks. At least when Diamond Tiara was mistreating her, she knew what to expect. She could prepare for and compartmentalize the slights on her intelligence, or her dedication, or her taste. Even the Crusaders' attacks had been comparatively mild, the same old jabs and sneers, the same old jokes and gestures. This was something new and horrible, and she wasn't entirely sure what to think.

Maybe it's not like that. Maybe she really does just want to be friends. Maybe she just thinks you're attractive and is taking advantage of it. Would that be so bad?

Since when have the Crusaders ever just wanted to be my friend? Besides, does that give her the right to do...that while thinking about me?

What difference does it make? She's not hurting anypony, and she's been really good to you so far. Even if that's why she took you under her wing in the first place, aren't you both gaining something?

What if it becomes more? What if the fantasies aren't enough? What if she wants to do something with me? What if she asks, and I say no? Will she be mad? Will she not want to be friends anymore? Will she go back to being who she was before?

...what if I said yes?

And so the internal conversation went. Around and around, never really resolving or progressing, taking each step in turn, and then ending in a whirl of panic until the cycle started again.

Silver Spoon heaved a sigh and slowly lowered her head to the table, resting her face against the cool wood and letting it soothe her sleep-deprived eyelids. Life could never just be simple. She couldn't just have friends without complications, or spend even one night at a sleepover without stumbling into an emotional catastrophe. It was all so unfair. Self-pity pushed tears to the corners of her eyes, and she let them gather, allowing herself to revel in misery.

"Silver Spoon?"

The silver pony's head snapped up and she turned in her chair to see Octavia standing in the kitchen door wearing a fuzzy white robe, her head tilted to the side and an expression of deep concern on her face. "Are you alright, dear? You're up awfully early."

Silver Spoon swallowed her shock and nodded. "Y-yeah...I'm okay."

The expression didn't change. Octavia was not fooled. "Are you sure? You know you can tell me anything you want, sweetheart. Even if you aren't sure you should."

I saw your daughter pleasuring herself, and I decided to watch instead of just closing the door and she moaned my name when she came and--

Silver Spoon shook her head. "I'm sure, Miss Octavia. I just...couldn't sleep."

The earth pony clucked her tongue sympathetically. "I'm sorry, dear. I know it's not always easy to sleep in an unfamiliar place. Can I get you something to eat or drink?" She gestured towards the kitchen behind her. "I can make you breakfast if you'd like, or perhaps some chamomile tea if you'd like to try and lie down and rest again."

Silver Spoon smiled shyly. "Some tea would be nice, I think. Thank you."

"Not at all, dear." Octavia retreated into the kitchen and filled a kettle with water, putting it onto the stove and starting the fire under it. Then she made her way back into the dining room and sat down across from Silver Spoon, putting her elbows on the table and resting her hooves together in front of her nose. She considered Silver Spoon silently for several moments, her gentle gaze calmly panning across the younger mare's face. Finally, she took a deep breath and said, "You know, Silver Spoon, I am rather versed in the art of detecting when I'm being fibbed to."

Silver Spoon's eyes widened suddenly. "I...I'm not fibbing, Miss Octavia," she stammered.

"Come now, Silver Spoon." The grey mare smiled. "I've been Vinyl's partner since our second year at the conservatory. I raised Scootaloo from a filly. I have spent the better part of my life deciphering the various half-truths and little white lies that the two best fibbers in Equestria could weave. I won't say you're lying to me, but I know I'm not getting the whole truth." Silver Spoon blushed and looked down at the table in front of her. Octavia continued, her voice quieter. "Sweetheart, I don't mean to pry. If you truly want to keep your secrets, I won't press further. I simply worry about you. I can tell that you're hurting, and I care too much to let you suffer alone if there's anything I can do." She paused for a moment, then asked, "Do you want me to leave you be?"

Silver Spoon stared at the wood of the table, her eyes absently tracing the grain as she agonized, trapped in the middle of a vicious internal struggle. She had spent so long keeping her secrets to herself, avoiding sharing with anypony except Carillon and occasionally Diamond Tiara that she wasn't sure she was was comfortable inviting another pony--especially one she had so recently met--into the fold. Then again, Octavia was one of the few ponies she knew who seemed genuinely caring and trustworthy. Perhaps she could help, after all. "M...Miss Octavia..." she murmured.

"Yes, dear?"

Silver Spoon pursed her lips, then looked up at the older mare from behind her bangs. "Do you...do you think Scootaloo really wants to be my friend?"

She expected surprise. She expected wide eyes and disbelief. She expected platitudes. She expected rote exclamations of absolute faith, of superlative purity and belief in her daughter. She got none of it.

Octavia inhaled slowly through her nose and lowered her forelegs to the table, crossing them so that the grey of her hooves disappeared in the snowdrift of her robe. Then she sighed and said, "I think so. It can be very difficult to tell for certain, I know." She smiled wanly. "I know your relationship, so to speak, has been...contentious. And she has made a rather sudden about face concerning that relationship, I must admit. I can understand your misgivings. All that being said, she does seem to have taken quite a shine to you." She smiled. "And she was very adamant about having you over for game night."

Of course she was. Silver Spoon pursed her lips. "When you say she's...'taken a shine' to me...what exactly do you mean?"

Octavia opened her mouth to speak, but was interrupted by the low whistling of the kettle in the kitchen. The earth pony jumped up from the table and hurried into the kitchen to retrieve the kettle before it could awaken the rest of the household. Holding the handle carefully in her mouth, the grey mare tip-hoofed into the dining room, balancing a tray with various tea-making accoutrements on her hoof as she made her way back around the table. Setting both the kettle and the tray down, she poured the steaming water into one of the broad, shallow teacups and dropped a teabag in. "How do you take it, dear?" she asked.

"Oh, um...one sugar, no milk." Octavia prepared the cup and slid it across the table to the silver filly. She took it in her hooves and held it between them, letting the warmth seep into her chilled fur and inhaling deeply the fresh, complex scent of the steeping leaves.

Octavia poured a second cup, adding a tea bag and nothing else. Then she placed the kettle back on a trivet on the table and settled back into her chair. "To be perfectly honest, I wouldn't be concerned." She smiled. "Scootaloo is very fond of you, and genuinely so. I wouldn't let her previous sins color your appreciation of her current feelings."

Silver Spoon felt her heart sink a little as she mulled over Octavia's reassurances. She had rather hoped Octavia's responses would make her feel better about Scootaloo's intentions, not worse. Instead, all she had really done was add evidence to further confirm her suspicions. Obviously she too thought it was strange that Scootaloo would suddenly decide to be such a dedicated friend out of the blue like this. "Scootaloo is very fond of you..." Something about Octavia's assertion made her feel uneasy. It almost sounded as if Octavia had some idea of Scootaloo's feelings...maybe even approved of them.

Why wouldn't she? the voice in her head asked dryly. She married a mare, after all. Maybe they're hoping Scootaloo will turn out like them. Maybe this is exactly what they wanted. Her stomach sank horribly at the thought. Maybe Scootaloo's parents were trying to get them together. Maybe this whole night had just been part of a larger setup. It sounded crazy, but the more the contemplated it, the more feasible it sounded. Maybe Diamond Tiara was right; maybe it really was them against all of Equestria after all.

Before Silver Spoon could contemplate this possibility further, Octavia's eyes suddenly shifted to gaze past her shoulder, and the concerned smile widened into a greeting one. "Why, good morning, Apple Bloom. Up with the sun as usual, I see."

Silver Spoon turned to see Apple Bloom entering the dining room, her sleep-tossed mane hanging limply across her face with only her muzzle visible through the hair. The muzzle yawned widely and smacked its lips as she felt her way into a chair and fell into it. Resting her chin on the table, she muttered, "Mornin'." Then she turned very slightly towards Silver Spoon and said again, "Mornin'."

Silver Spoon blinked, puzzled as to how Apple Bloom could possibly see her through the sheaf of red hair hanging in front of her face. "Uh...good morning."

"Would you like some tea, Apple Bloom?" Octavia asked, already pouring a cup. The filly rolled her head back and forth across the table. Apparently this indicated a positive answer, as the older mare finished pouring and added a great deal of milk before sliding the cup over in front of the muzzle on the table.

"Thanks," Apple Bloom said, flaring her nostrils as she sniffed the tea. "What're you doin' up so early?" she suddenly asked, rolling her head so it was pointed at the filly next to her.

"Oh...I just...couldn't sleep," Silver Spoon said, blushing.

"'S too bad," she murmured, yawning again. Then she groaned as she pushed herself up off the table, using both hooves to separate her mane and push it back over her shoulders, revealing her face. "Scootaloo snorin' too loud, Ah guess?"

The blush deepened. "Something like that."

The earth pony shrugged. "Ya get used to it. Eventually you'll be able ta sleep with 'er no problem."

She knows! Silver Spoon ignored the panicky little voice. "I...don't think that will be necessary."

"Huh? Why? Ain't ya gonna come over next Friday?"

Silver Spoon gritted her teeth, her heartbeat quickening. "I...I'm not sure." She frowned. "I don't think so."

Apple Bloom raised an eyebrow at her. "Why not?"

Silver Spoon winced. "I...I don't know if sleepovers are really my thing."

"Oh." Apple Bloom shrugged. "Well, ya don' have to sleep over. You can always jus' go home before we all settle in fer bed."

"Oh, yeah. I guess so..."

Apple Bloom tilted her head to the side. "Hey Spoon, you okay?"

Silver Spoon didn't answer. She turned her gaze back to the table in front of her and watched her tea steam, little curls of vapor lazily wafting off the surface of the water and fading into nothing as the heat slowly bled away. She sat silently for several moments, listening to her pulse hammering in her ears. Finally, she muttered, "I think I should go home."

"What?!" Apple Bloom exclaimed. Silver Spoon jumped at the outburst, but didn't look up from the table. "Why? Ain't ya gonna wait 'til Scoot gets up, at least?"

Silver Spoon squeezed her eyes shut against the tears that had never really gone away. "I can't."

"Why not?" The yellow filly asked again. "What's the matter?"

Silver Spoon just shook her head. "I...I can't--"

"Cain't what? Come on, Spoon, the least y'all can do is say goodbye before ya take off."

Octavia pursed her lips, her previously pleasant tone colored with something colder that made Silver Spoon's ears plaster themselves to her skull in shame. "I'm afraid I must agree, Silver Spoon. While I understand you may be in a hurry to get home, it would be most unkind to leave without at least speaking to the pony who invited you."

Silver Spoon winced. She couldn't face Scootaloo again. Not yet. But she couldn't explain that to the affronted earth ponies next to her. She couldn't tell Apple Bloom that the sight of the pegasus' cool smirk and half-closed eyes would immediately recall images from the night before, images that still clung to the edges of her consciousness, rudely inserting themselves between unrelated thoughts. She couldn't explain to Octavia how she was struggling not to burst into frustrated tears just trying to comprehend what had happened. All she could do was repeat herself. "I can't."

Octavia sighed. "Very well, dear. I really do wish you would stay, but I won't keep you."

Silver Spoon didn't look up. Guilt tore at her, tightening her throat as panicked thoughts whirled through her head. They were right, of course. At the very least she ought to stay and thank Scootaloo for inviting her. She had had a good time, after all. The whole evening prior had been like something out of a silly, sappy coming-of-age movie, all fun and laughter and friendship like she'd never dreamed of before. But none of that mattered, because it had all been a lie. A setup. It was all just a way to get Silver Spoon to hang out and just exist, so Scootaloo could stare and snuggle up to her.

Silver Spoon shivered at the memory of having Scootaloo's warm, svelte frame pressed against her back, the steady rise and fall of her chest rolling against the muscles of Silver Spoon's shoulders, her hot, sultry breath playing across the thin fur of her ear, tickling the back of her neck and sending tantalizing chills down her spine. It was so obvious now in retrospect. Of course Scootaloo had just been trying to get close to her for her own sexual satisfaction. Why else would somepony as popular and smart and attractive as Scootaloo even look twice at somepony like her?

Silver Spoon blinked away the tears in her eyes and pushed herself away from the table. Her tea was still untouched, the water now barely lukewarm as the sugar slowly crystallized and settled back to the bottom of the cup. "Thank you for the tea," she murmured to Octavia. "And thanks for having me. I had fun." This was true. No matter what else had happened, she had had fun.

Octavia gave her a sad smile. "You're welcome, dear. And you're certainly welcome to join us again any time you wish." The smile faltered a little as Octavia furrowed her brow in concern. "You know I am always available to talk if you need me. Our house is always open to you, sweetheart. And of course, I do hope you'll be able to make your next lesson."

Silver Spoon's heart leapt a little at the mention of her viola lessons. A glimmer of joy flickered in her mind, momentarily dispelling her troubled thoughts. "Yeah...yeah, I will. Definitely." She smiled. "I wouldn't miss it."

Octavia beamed. "Wonderful. Well, I'm sorry you didn't sleep better, and I wish you could stay for breakfast, but I understand if you need to leave." She got up from the table. "I'll walk you out."

Silver Spoon nodded glumly. "Thanks." Then she hesitated for a moment before turning to Apple Bloom. "See you later, Apple Bloom."

"Yeah...see you."

~~~

"She what?"

Sweetie Belle's shrill, almost ultrasonic shriek snapped Scootaloo awake as thoroughly as if she'd been slapped. The pegasus' eyes bolted open and stared into the semi-darkness of the curtained living room as Sweetie Belle's voice continued its dramatic lament.

"But, but, we were gonna spend all day hanging out today! We even made plans! We were gonna play games and watch TV and she was gonna let me give her a makeover and everything!"

Apple Bloom's deadpan drawl was barely audible from the dining room across the house. "Well, it looks like yer gonna hafta reschedule, cuz she took off real early this mornin'. Didn' say why. Jus'...left."

Scootaloo's ears pricked at this. The 'she' in question was easily identified. She glanced up at the sofa to her right and was dismayed--though unsurprised--to see it empty. Her stomach tightened. Left. Silver Spoon left? She struggled out from between the sheets of her bed, carefully--and with a twinge of embarrassment--wrestled her wings back down on her back, and made her way through the kitchen and into the dining room.

Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle were sitting on opposite sides of the table with plates of food in front of them. Apple Bloom was already most of the way through hers, still picking at the last few strands of hashbrowns with a hoof. Sweetie Belle had yet to start in on her meal, the stack of pancakes, pile of hashbrowns, and scrambled eggs still untouched.

The unicorn was rocking back and forth on her chair, a pantomime of melodrama. "I don't understand! We were all having so much fun and getting along and everything. Why would she leave?"

Apple Bloom shrugged nonchalantly. "Ah dunno. Ah guess she jus' didn' want to hang out with us any more." The scowl on her face was laced with subtle hints of hurt feelings that only her best friends could detect.

Scootaloo's stomach tightened further. Feigning disinterest, she said, "She who? Silver Spoon?"

Apple Bloom glanced over her shoulder at the pegasus. "Mornin' Scoot. Yeah, she got up real early this mornin'. Said she couldn' sleep an' that she jus' had to go home." She rolled her eyes. "Figures, right? After she made all those plans with us las' nigh' an' all."

Scootaloo hadn't heard anything after the words 'couldn't sleep'. Her heart skipped several beats as the implication crashed over her. How long had Silver Spoon been awake? Had she woken up in the middle of the night, or had she not even fallen asleep? Scootaloo's wayward hoof suddenly seemed a lot less innocuous in the harsh light of this new information. She swallowed hard, still trying to maintain her composure. "She...didn't say why, did she?"

Apple Bloom shook her head. "Nah. Jus' that she had to go. Seemed really guilty about it, though." She pursed her lips and scowled. "Prob'ly 'cuz she knew she was duckin' out on us."

Guilty... "Maybe," Scootaloo muttered.

Apple Bloom eyed her curiously. "You okay, Scoot? Ah thought you'd be a lot more spurred off."

"Huh? Oh, yeah, I'm fine," Scootaloo said. "Just tired." She frowned. "And I'm not really spurred so much as I am...worried, I guess. I wonder if I...if we did something to make her not want to stick around."

Sweetie Belle gasped audibly. "Maybe she really did want to be a Crusader, and Apple Bloom made her mad because she said she didn't want her to be one!" The unicorn gave Apple Bloom a scathing glare.

Apple Bloom drew herself up indignantly. "Ah never said Ah didn' want her to be a Crusader, jus' that Ah thought we should take it slow!"

"Still," Sweetie Belle said, "you should go apologize."

"Me?!" Apple Bloom bristled. "What about you, Miss Oh, Ah talk to Princess Luna all th' time an' Hey Silver Spoon, tell us how yer mom died!"

Sweetie Belle reeled back as though she'd been struck. "I never said either of those things!"

"You might as well've!"

"Girls!" Scootaloo shouted over the bickering mares. They both fell silent, resorting instead to malicious glares. "I...don't think it was either of your faults," she said quietly. The other Crusaders looked at her curiously. Adrenaline surged into her bloodstream. This was it. The moment was staring her in the face. They deserve to know. They're your friends. They'll understand. She swiveled her ears around, listening intently to locate her parents, who she was nowhere near ready to tell just yet. Mama Vy was still snoring loudly in the master bedroom, and the sound of running water indicated that Mama Tavi was still in the shower. The Crusaders were temporarily alone.

Alright...moment of truth. She swallowed hard, a blush already rising to her cheeks. "Look, I...I think I might know why she left..."

"You do?" Apple Bloom tilted her head to the side. "Well, why then?"

Scootaloo's heart raced against her ribs. The words rose to her lips and died there twice before she finally managed to choke out, "So...last night...I kind of...might have...uh...held...her...hoof..."

Apple Bloom immediately rolled her eyes and snorted dismissively. "Oh, great. So she just starts gettin' comfortable with us an' you have to go an' ruin it by takin' the joke too far, as usual."

Scootaloo's face burned. Her pulse hummed in her ears and she feared her heart might burst. "It...it wasn't a joke."

There was a brief moment of silence. The other two Crusaders looked at one another, then back at her. Sweetie Belle said, "So, wait...what are you saying, exactly?"

Scootaloo looked down at her hooves, a horrible prickling sensation running down her back and tears of pure terror collecting in the corners of her eyes. "I...I have a crush on Silver Spoon. I..." She swallowed again, her mouth painfully dry. "I like mares."

Silence. None of the Crusaders spoke for several seconds. None of them moved. Scootaloo stared at the floor between her trembling hooves, blood thundering in her ears. Say something! Anything! she screamed at her friends from inside her head. Every passing moment was longer and colder than the last until finally, mercifully, Apple Bloom broke the stalemate with a nervous laugh.

"Come on, Scoot, a joke's a joke, but you don' really think we're gonna fall for that, do you?" She and Sweetie Belle shared another laugh.

Scootaloo gritted her teeth so hard her jaw started to ache. "It's not a joke. I mean it."

"Sure you do."

"No! Stop that!" Scootaloo suddenly snapped, the prickling on her back intensifying horribly as the tears in her eyes broke free and rolled down her cheeks. "I'm being serious!"

"You...you are?" Sweetie Belle gaped at her. "You...you really like...mares? But all this time--"

"I know," Scootaloo muttered miserably. "I know, I was just...I didn't know, alright? I didn't know what I was feeling or thinking or anything, and now--"

"But...you really aren't messing with us, Scootaloo?" Sweetie Belle's voice shook as she spoke, and Scootaloo felt a sickening jolt of guilt as she realized the unicorn had tears in her eyes as well. "Because this really isn't funny..."

"I'm not messing with you." Scootaloo looked away, suddenly unable to meet Sweetie Belle's gaze. "And no, it really isn't funny."

"You...you lied to us." Scootaloo snapped her head up to look at Apple Bloom, alarmed by the venom in her voice. The earth pony's face was twisted in a melange of emotions, none of them good.

"I...what?" Scootaloo said.

"You lied to us, Scootaloo." Apple Bloom sneered at her, eyes narrow and accusing. "All this time, you swore up an' down that 'you weren't like yer moms' an' 'oh, no, Rainbow an' I are jus' friends'."

"We are," Scootaloo said weakly. Apple Bloom gave her a look that killed the next sentence before she could even form it.

"Don' you dare, Scootaloo!" she snapped. "You really think we'd believe a word you say after everythin' you've put us through?"

Scootaloo stared at her, stunned. "Everything I've put you through?"

"Ah defended you, Scootaloo!" Apple Bloom said. "Ah told mah sister you were straight, an' that there was nothin' goin' on between us! Ah lied about that night, over an' over, cuz you said you had enough problems tryin' to keep ponies from thinkin' you were a fillyfooler! Ah lied to mah sister, Scootaloo! For you!"

Scootaloo winced. "Yeah, but--"

"An' all the hell we have to put up with at school, tellin' ponies to lay off an' leave you alone, all 'cuz we thought they were wrong about you an' just couldn' see it. That just 'cuz you acted gay an' looked gay an' everythin' else didn' mean you were gay. Well, they were right, weren't they Scootaloo?"

The word stung every time she said it. Scootaloo shook her head, tears streaming down her cheeks. "N-no! They were--"

"Yer a fillyfooler, ain'tcha?" The word was an epithet, barbed and cruel.

Scootaloo squeezed her eyes shut, falling to her belly on the floor and putting her hooves over her head. "I...I don't...I guess so, yeah, but--"

"Then they were right!" Apple Bloom had worked herself into a froth now. She was standing up, towering over the pegasus on the floor and shrieking at the top of her voice. Scootaloo trembled, a fear like she had never known coursing coldly through her as she weathered the storm. "Yer sick, you know that?"

Scootaloo blinked, stunned. "W...what?"

"I said yer sick," Apple Bloom sneered coldly. "Fawnin' over mares. It's not natural, an' you know it."

"Hang on," Scootaloo said, a surge of hurt and anger suddenly clearing her senses. "What do you mean it's 'not natural'?"

"You know what I mean," Apple Bloom said. "Mares don' belong with other mares. It's jus' wrong."

"So what, you think my parents are 'sick' too, then?" Scootaloo said darkly.

A flurry of emotions chased each other across Apple Bloom's face, but eventually cool disdain settled into her features and she sniffed, looking down her muzzle at the prone pegasus. "Ah guess Ah do."

Sweetie Belle gasped. "Apple Bloom, no!"

Rage seared through Scootaloo's chest. It was one thing to insult her, but her parents were completely guiltless. They didn't deserve to be slandered like this. "Fine, then!" she snapped, jumping to her hooves. "If they're so sickening to you, why are you even still here?" Apple Bloom opened her mouth to answer, but Scootaloo didn't pause, stepping forward and putting her muzzle within inches of the earth pony's. "If you think what they do and feel isn't natural, then you can get the buck out of their house!"

At this distance, neither pony could miss that the other's eyes were glistening with tears. Apple Bloom blanched for an instant but recovered quickly, ignoring the shimmer in Scootaloo's irises. Baring her teeth, she growled, "Well maybe Ah will! Ah don' need to be surrounded by all you freaks anyhow!"

"Apple Bloom!" Sweetie Belle repeated from the other side of the table where she sat, cowering and trembling. "Don't say that!"

"Then go!" Scootaloo screamed, rearing back and shoving Apple Bloom, hard. The yellow mare stumbled backwards, but managed to keep her footing. "Get out! Get out of my house, get out of my face, get the BUCK out of my life!" The heat of unshed tears suddenly became a chill as they slid down Scootaloo's cheeks. The shame they brought with them only intensified her anger.

Apple Bloom was crying now, too. "Fine! Ah will! Buck you, Scootaloo!" The earth pony whirled on her hooves and stomped past Scootaloo, smacking the pegasus in the face with her tail as she did and rattling the plates in the cupboards with each earth-shaking step.

"Apple Bloom, wait!" Sweetie Belle shrieked, clambering out of her chair and tripping around the end of the table, her legs shaking violently. "Wait!" She winced as Apple Bloom slammed the front door hard enough to make the dining room chairs jump. Then she turned back to Scootaloo, eyes wide with horror and tears rolling down her cheeks. "Why? Why did you have to say that?"

Scootaloo's jaw fell open. "Me? What do you mean 'why did I have to say that'? What about her?" She blinked as revelation dawned, and her voice suddenly dropped to a whisper. "You...you agree with her, don't you?"

Sweetie's voice trembled pitifully. "I...I don't...I don't know--"

"You do!" Scootaloo spat, her anger redoubling. "You think we're all freaks and sick and unnatural and all that shit too, don't you?"

"No! I just--"

"Well you can just get lost, too, then!" Scootaloo stormed out of the dining room, crashing her way through the kitchen and into the hall. She pointed a hoof at the front door and sneered back at the unicorn in the dining room. "You heard me! Get out of here!"

"Scootaloo, it's not--"

"Go!"

Sweetie Belle sat frozen for several seconds, wringing her hooves and sniffing as tears streamed down her face. "S-Scootaloo, I d-don't...it's not th-that...I just--"

"Go!" Scootaloo screamed through her own tears. The word almost caught on the sob rising in her chest, but she stifled it.

Sweetie's self-control was less substantial. She burst into bitter wails and broke into a run, stumbling through the kitchen and bumping into the furious pegasus as she fled, leaving the door open behind her. Scootaloo stomped to the front door and slammed it as hard as Apple Bloom had. A plate crashed to the floor in the kitchen. The shattering ceramic snapped her out of the blind rage that had been suffocating the devastating sorrow trapped in her chest, and it suddenly washed over her in black, horrific waves.

My friends. My friends hate me. They think I'm a freak. Unnatural. Sick.

Scootaloo retched horribly, her throat tightening and the bile in her stomach souring the back of her mouth. A clattering of hooves behind her drew her attention, and her ears pricked backwards to hear Octavia say, "Scootaloo! What happened?"

"Yeah, we heard screaming and doors slamming and...wait, where are your friends?" Vinyl added, a nervous question mark in her tone.

Scootaloo didn't answer. At the word 'friends', she suddenly burst into wretched sobs, falling to her belly in the hallway and putting her hooves over her head. Her parents were beside her in an instant, cooing and fretting with words Scootaloo couldn't begin to listen to. Everything had gone wrong. Everything. The sleepover, the hoof-holding, the confession...disasters. And at the heart of it all, one stupid, stupid pegasus who didn't know when to keep her mouth shut and her feelings in check. A nearly perfect evening, ruined because she couldn't keep her hooves to herself for one bucking night.

"Scootaloo!" The shouted name brought Scootaloo briefly back to the present, and Octavia took advantage of the moment by pressing her muzzle up against her daughter's. "Sweetie, what happened? Please, talk to us."

Scootaloo shook her head. She couldn't talk. Even if she'd wanted to, every time she opened her mouth, another wave of misery would twist her gut and wrench another deep, shuddering sob from her lungs. Octavia looked up at Vinyl, panic vivid in her eyes. The unicorn shook her head and simply laid down next to her daughter, pressing their flanks together and nuzzling her ear gently. "It's alright, Scoot. You take all the time you need. We'll be here for you, no matter what happened, and we'll help you fix it, alright?"

"No," Scootaloo finally choked out, her voice raw and tremulous. "You can't."

"Come now, sweetheart," Octavia said, leaning down to rub their cheeks together. "I'm sure--"

"No!" Scootaloo shouted, struggling to her hooves. Her mothers pulled away and looked at one another, alarmed. "You can't help me! This is all my fault, okay? I bucked up and ruined everything, and there's nothing anypony can do!" With another pitiful wail, she turned and fled down the hall and into her room, slamming the door behind her.

Role Reversal

Silver Spoon dithered on the sidewalk in front of Scootaloo's house agonizing over the last twenty steps between her and her destination. It had been ages...several years, in fact, since she'd actually gone up to somepony else's house uninvited and knocked to gain admission. Even going to visit Diamond Tiara was comparatively easy, since she always had the Silver Family messenger announce her intentions before she left, meaning that the door was typically opened as she approached, always by a bowing servant, always at the same moment. The fact that the Silver Mansion had a front doorbell at all was slightly anachronistic, a relic of an age before doormares. It was rarely ever rung anymore, except by Diamond Tiara, who found it amusing to see if she could get to the door and hit the button before somepony greeted her.

Here in the suburbs, though, doorbells were apparently the norm. She supposed that at the very least it would prevent her from having to actually knock and risk damaging her exquisite hooficure. In truth, Silver Spoon was not particularly concerned about the state of her hooves; Carillon usually did all her hoofcare for her, but she knew that the unicorn put a great deal of effort into her work, and it seemed in very poor taste to ruin it so carelessly. She glanced down at the gleaming silver of her freshly polished forehooves. It really was very fine work, she reflected. Carillon's gentle caress in brushing manes and tails and arranging flowers belied a firmness and ferocious dedication to perfection, and nowhere was it more prevalent than in her hooficures. Silver Spoon had been to high-class spas before, and where professional ponies used rasps and files of steadily decreasing harshness to smooth and shine the hoof, Carillon's approach was more patient, more diligent, and ultimately more successful. She used only one file, a very gentle buffing block that--

Silver Spoon shook her head and sighed. She was stalling. She didn't care about hooficures, and she certainly wasn't particularly interested in doorbells and the general popularity thereof. She looked up at the front door to Scootaloo's house again and gritted her teeth. Ring the bell. It's easy. If they're home, they'll answer. If not, they won't. No big deal. You've talked to all of them before; why should you be nervous now?

She frowned at her inner monologue's transparent bluff. Silver Spoon knew perfectly well why she was nervous. She had every reason to be. It was Wednesday, she had just come from the schoolhouse, and Scootaloo had not been there. Again. She hadn't been there yesterday, either, nor the day before. When Silver Spoon had asked the Crusaders if she was sick, their response had been...frosty.

"Ah dunno," Apple Bloom had snapped. "What am Ah, psychic? And why do y'all care, anyhow?" she added coldly, narrowing her eyes at the earth pony. "You wouldn' even stick around to say goodbye after ya spent the night, hornin' in on our game night an' then takin' off without even sayin' thanks."

"I said thanks!" Silver Spoon cried. "I thanked Miss Octavia for--"

"Miss Octavia ain' the one who invited you, was she?" Apple Bloom interrupted. Silver Spoon trailed off, closing her mouth in a guilty frown. "Right. Anyway, Ah told you Ah dunno where she is, so just...leave me alone." She'd stalked off, flipping her tail in agitation as Silver Spoon stared at her hoofprints in the dirt outside the schoolhouse, her face burning.

Today, she'd tried a different tack, corralling Sweetie Belle--noting beforehoof that she and Apple Bloom didn't seem to be on speaking terms at the moment--and posing the same question.

The unicorn bit her lower lip and wrung her hooves nervously, not quite meeting Silver Spoon's gaze. "I...I don't know. She's probably sick, right? Maybe...the flu?"

"Well, that's what I thought," Silver Spoon agreed cautiously, "but Scootaloo told me herself that pegasi don't get the flu. Immune systems built to fly in thunderstorms and such, right?"

"Oh...yeah, I guess so..." Sweetie Belle rubbed the back of her head with a hoof. "I...I dunno, then. I mean, I haven't talked to her since Sat--uh...since the weekend." The unicorn's face flushed pink and she turned away, failing to hide the nervous blush. "Anyway, I...have to get home. I mean...I have to go to Rarity's place. Lots of, uh...homework. Yeah." She got to her hooves.

"Yeah...okay." Silver Spoon watched her leave with a nasty tightness coiling around her stomach. Since Saturday, she repeated, finishing Sweetie Belle's unintentional admission. They haven't seen each other since Saturday. She couldn't pretend to know the Crusaders' schedule to any meaningful degree, but one thing she knew for sure was that they had never gone more than a day without hanging out together. How often had they boasted exactly that when they were talking about what great friends they all were? Even she and Diamond Tiara's best attempt to drive a wedge between them--by nearly convincing Scootaloo not to attend the flag-bearer selection competition--had only managed to keep the trio apart for half a day. If Sweetie Belle were to be believed, the Crusaders hadn't seen Scootaloo in half a week.

Silver Spoon pursed her lips anxiously. Something had gone terribly wrong Saturday, and she had no delusions about who had lit the fuse. "I...think I should go..." She squeezed her eyes shut and shook her head, furious. Stupid! You couldn't stay for half a day at least? Maybe talk to Scootaloo, just to keep up appearances? No, you just had to run away...again. The last word sent a stab of guilt through her midsection that took her breath away. No, this is nothing like that, she assured herself. Not the same at all.

"Silver Spoon?" She looked up from the dirt between her hooves and started as she came muzzle-to-muzzle with Miss Cheerilee. The fuchsia mare was only a few hooves away, and stepped back in surprise as Silver Spoon jumped. "Oh, I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to startle you, I just thought...class ended some time ago, and you usually don't stick around this long." She paused. "Is everything alright?"

Silver Spoon nodded quickly, blinking away the tears she hadn't realized were collecting in her eyes. "Yeah, yeah, everything's..." An idea struck her, and she interrupted herself. "Well, actually, do you know if Scootaloo is sick or something? I mean," she sputtered, waving a hoof in faux nonchalance, "I just need to know, since she's my project partner, and we have a lot to do, and..." And I'm worried sick about her because she actually likes me, and I'm worried I did something to hurt her, and I think I might-- "And I figured I could, you know...take her homework to her if she needs it," she finished with a furious blush coloring her cheeks.

Miss Cheerilee studied her for a moment before sighing lightly. "Well, her mother has contacted me to excuse her from class the last several days, yes. In fact, I was just about to go and deliver her makeup assignments myself."

"I can do it!" Silver Spoon said. "I wanted to go check on her anyway...since...you know, since we're project partners."

Cheerilee raised an eyebrow ever so slightly. "Yes, I recall." She eyed the younger mare for a moment longer and then shrugged and reached into her saddlebag, pulling out a sealed envelope with a note taped to the front. "Alright, Silver Spoon, if you insist. Here are the assignments, all the instructions are on the front, and if she has any questions...well," she said, a ghost of a smile tugging at the edges of her lips, "you've been very enthusiastic and involved this week. I'm sure you can provide all the help she needs."

Silver Spoon's eyed widened as she took the envelope in her hooves. "Oh...thank you," she murmured, her cheeks warming slightly. "I...it's making a little more sense now."

"Clearly," Cheerilee said, beaming. "I wonder why that is." The heat on Silver Spoon's face intensified, but Cheerilee simply said, "Anyway, thank you for offering to take those for me. Say 'Hi' to Scootaloo for me, and let her know we all miss her and hope she gets better soon!" She waved and trotted off, her bright pink tail bouncing playfully behind her.

Silver Spoon pursed her lips around the envelope in her mouth. It was thick and heavy, a collection of all the class- and homework they'd done over the past three days. Despite Cheerilee's encouragement, Silver Spoon knew she was still woefully behind, drowning in the tremendous amount of work she'd assigned them. Without either Diamond Tiara or Scootaloo to help her, she'd been plowing doggedly through each assignment on her own, focusing on the work with somewhat more intensity than was strictly necessary. At school, she kept her muzzle to her paper to keep from catching Diamond Tiara's steely glare out of the corner of her eye. At home, she spread her schoolwork out on her bed and read each question three or four times before answering as completely and accurately as she could just to keep her mind occupied and well away from the events of Friday night.

It had been a futile effort. No matter how hard she tried, no matter what else she flooded her brain with, Silver Spoon couldn't help flashing back to the two key moments that kept playing in her mind's eye, back to back, over and over, always with the same result. A jolt of adrenaline, a rush of heat, and a flood of genuinely frightening and confusing emotions that she desperately tried to quell to very little effect. In the few brief lucid moments she'd managed over the past few days she'd actually found herself wondering why something so otherwise innocuous should be so terrifying. Obviously, it was embarrassing, and not a little startling, but once the initial shock and shame had worn off, shouldn't it have simply waned to an awkward memory? Something she would look back on and smirk at as simply being one of those things, like having a magic surge in public, or a pegasus struggling against an involuntary pterection in the middle of class? Somehow, she couldn't shake the lingering unease of the whole fiasco, and she suspected she knew why.

With a deep sigh of resignation, she finally plodded the rest of the way up the walk and, with an instant's hesitation, poked the little white doorbell button with a hooftip. The gentle peal echoed inside the house, answered almost immediately by Vinyl's muffled voice. "I got it!" A clatter of hooves approached the door and it swung open to reveal the unicorn's signature crimson gaze peering down at Silver Spoon from behind her shocking blue bangs. Vinyl blinked, clearly surprised to see the bespectacled filly standing on the front porch. "Silver Spoon?" The earth pony smiled wanly and nodded. The unicorn tilted her head. "What in Equestria are you doing here?" she asked bluntly.

Silver Spoon wrestled her nervous smile into something approximating a friendly greeting. "H-hi Miss Vinyl. I was just, uh...coming to bring Scootaloo's homework by. You know, since she missed the last three days of class." She pulled the envelope out of her saddlebag and presented it to the unicorn, who took it in her magic aura.

"Thanks," Vinyl said, her attitude still inscrutable.

Several long seconds of silence passed between the mares. The normally boisterous Vinyl Scratch was oddly mute, studying Silver Spoon's face with suspicious eyes. Silver Spoon's cheeks warmed as she waited for the unicorn to say something else. Eventually, she broke down and asked, "So...is Scootaloo sick, or...?"

"No," Vinyl said shortly.

"Oh," Silver Spoon said, the blush deepening. "That...that's good," she murmured. "I was worried...I mean, she--"

"Were you?" Vinyl interrupted, her eyes narrowing very slightly.

Silver Spoon blinked. "I...of course I was. Why wouldn't I be? She's my friend." Even now, deep in the throes of confusion and chagrin the word was warm and pleasant on her tongue when applied to Scootaloo. Saying it bolstered her confidence substantially. "And I wanted to come by and visit her, make sure she was alright."

"I see," Vinyl said, still uncharacteristically laconic. Another long pause. Silver Spoon wondered if Vinyl was testing her, trying to see if she was dedicated enough to the idea to stick around until she was invited in. It seemed a strange, almost juvenile course of action, especially for an adult pony. Then again, the word 'juvenile' applied to Vinyl rather comfortably, Silver Spoon had discovered. Finally, the unicorn pursed her lips and said, "She's not exactly up to entertaining at the moment."

Silver Spoon felt something cold and unpleasant slide through her middle. "Oh...alright. Well," she said, "can you at least let her know I came by?" Vinyl nodded curtly. "And...you know...tell her I'm sorry? That she's not feeling well, I mean."

Vinyl's eyes narrowed further, more obviously now. "Yeah, sure."

Silver Spoon forced a smile again. "Th-thanks." She stepped backwards, eager to escape Vinyl's frosty glare.

Suddenly, Octavia's jet-maned head appeared from her study halfway down the hall. "Vinyl? Who is at the--" She trailed off as she locked eyes with Silver Spoon. Shock flickered across her face, followed by the briefest hint of something cold and dark, but it was displaced almost immediately by a warm, inviting smile. "Silver Spoon! How wonderful to see you, my dear. Please, come in." She trotted out of her studio.

Vinyl glanced over her shoulder, indignation plain on the half of her face that Silver Spoon could still see. "But Tavi--!"

Octavia waved a hoof impatiently. "Honestly, Vinyl, could you possibly be more rude? Move." The unicorn gave Silver Spoon another chilly glance before tossing her mane and stomping down the hall past her mate, tossing the tan envelope roughly down on a table as she passed. Octavia shook her head and smiled again at the young mare on the porch. "Come in, dear. It's awfully cold out there, isn't it?"

Silver Spoon cautiously returned the smile. "A little, yeah." She entered at Octavia's behest, and the earth pony closed the door behind her. Somewhere deeper in the house, another door slammed, and a few moments later a heavy electronic beat began pulsing down the hall.

Octavia sighed. "I'm so sorry about that. I'm afraid Vinyl is...a bit perturbed at the moment."

Silver Spoon winced. "Scootaloo?"

Octavia nodded. "One would hope, I suppose, that we would have grown better at staying composed when our daughter was in crisis by now, but perhaps it's something that a parent never really adjusts to, seeing their child in pain."

"In...pain?" Silver Spoon said, blinking.

"Of course," Octavia said. "She has been...reticent to share, obviously, but it hardly takes a clairvoyant to see that she is hurting. Nor does it take one to recognize the sequence of events that led to her current state," she added with a significant look.

Silver Spoon's ears flattened against her skull, and she rubbed her foreleg anxiously with a hoof. "Y...yeah, I guess...I mean, Sweetie Belle said she and Apple Bloom hadn't spoken to Scootaloo since Saturday, so I knew something must be really wrong."

"Scootaloo has been somewhat reclusive the past several days," Octavia agreed. "Not that anypony has come to inquire, of course. Still, she hasn't left her room in some time. We have been doing our best to give her her space while still supporting her as best we can, but you understand it is rather difficult to know exactly what we can do to help when she refuses to speak to us about it." She smiled at Silver Spoon. "Perhaps she will respond better to a friend."

Silver Spoon's cheeks seared with a guilty blush. "I'm not sure she still considers me a friend..." she muttered darkly.

Octavia clucked her tongue sharply. "Nonsense. Pegasi are very loyal, sometimes to a fault. If she ever considered you a friend, she will continue to do so for as long as she can. Come along, dear, let's see if she's awake."

"Awake?" Silver Spoon glanced at the windows in the living room as she followed Octavia down the hall. The curtains were still burning with a russet glow in the late afternoon sun. It was entirely too late for anypony to still be asleep, and too early to have gone to bed already. "Why would she be asleep?" she asked.

Octavia chuckled softly. "Pegasi have to get their boundless energy from somewhere, don't they?" She smiled over her shoulder as they came to a stop outside Scootaloo's bedroom. "Scootaloo sleeps whenever and wherever she can. It was something her mother and I had to adjust to." She rapped sharply on the wood and called through it in a lilting tone. "Scootaloo, dear, are you awake?"

The grunted response was muffled by the door, but still audible. "No."

"You have a visitor, sweetheart. Please open the door."

"Not interested." Scootaloo's voice was thick and gravelly, like somepony trying to speak after losing a turkey call contest.

"I didn't ask if you were interested," Octavia responded, a sudden edge of authority sharpening the words. "Please open the door," she repeated, the tone leaving no illusion that it was a deniable request.

There was a rustling of bedclothes and a creaking of springs followed by a heavy thump and the lazy dragging of hooves across the floor. Then the handle twisted and the door pulled open a fraction.

Silver Spoon's stomach twisted horribly at the first sight of Scootaloo's ragged, darkened face. Her normally bright eyes were half-lidded and dim, with distinct tracks in the fur beneath. Her mane was matted and heavy, lying in tangles across her forehead. The guilt hovering over Silver Spoon thickened, and she swallowed anxiously as she forced a smile to her lips. "H-hey Scootaloo."

The pegasus' face brightened, her eyes widening. "What are you doing here?" she asked sharply.

"Scootaloo!" her mother scolded her, but Silver Spoon was unfazed.

"It's okay, Miss Octavia," she said, the smile feeling more natural now. "I know you probably weren't expecting me, but I just wanted to come by and make sure you were alright," she told Scootaloo. The other filly blinked and opened the door further, revealing the other half of her face and the darkened room beyond.

"You...did?"

Silver Spoon nodded. "You've been out since Monday. I've got your homework, by the way. Miss Cheerilee wanted me to bring it by, since I was coming anyway."

"Thanks," Scootaloo said absently, her eyes still panning over Silver Spoon's face as if unsure whether she was real or not.

"Also, I think maybe we should...talk," Silver Spoon said, her face warming in preemptive embarrassment.

"Yeah, definitely," Scootaloo said, nodding quickly. "Uh..." She glanced over her shoulder. "My room's kind of a wreck, but..."

Silver Spoon waved a hoof dismissively. "You've been sick. I won't hold it against you."

Scootaloo smiled faintly. "Alright. Come on in."

"Well, I'll leave you two to talk," Octavia said brightly as Silver Spoon made her way into the darkened bedroom. "If you like, Silver Spoon, dinner will be ready at seven, of course."

Silver Spoon smiled back at her. "Thanks, Miss Octavia."

Scootaloo shut the door behind her mother as the older mare trotted away, humming quietly to herself. The familiar shapes of the pegasus' bedroom slowly emerged from the gloom as Silver Spoon's eyes adjusted to the darkness, only to immediately vanish again as she winced in the sudden wash of light as Scootaloo stripped the covers from the fairy lamp on her bedside table. "Yeah, sorry about the mess," Scootaloo said, halfheartedly collecting a few misplaced books and other detritus from the floor and putting them in a different, equally unsuitable location. "I haven't done a whole lot of cleaning the last couple days..."

"No, I figured not," Silver Spoon said. "Like I said, it's no big deal."

"Thanks," Scootaloo said. A heavy silence fell over the two mares as they stood in the center of the room, each awkwardly hoping the other would speak first. Silver Spoon actually opened her mouth to speak but lost her nerve before she could make a sound and disguised the gesture by licking her lips nervously instead.

Finally, Scootaloo heaved a deep sigh and said, "Look, Spoon, I...I just wanted to say..." She winced and rubbed the back of her neck with a hoof. "I know why you left early on Saturday."

Silver Spoon blinked, stunned. "You...do?"

Scootaloo nodded. "Yeah, and I just want to say I'm really sorry." She frowned at the floor between her hooves. "I should've talked to you first, told you how I felt, asked if it was okay." She looked up from beneath her vivid mulberry bangs. "I am really, really sorry."

Silver Spoon blushed lightly and smiled. "It's okay, Scootaloo. I don't really mind."

Scootaloo's eyes widened. "You...don't?"

Silver Spoon shrugged. "Not really. I mean, yeah, I was startled at first, and kind of embarrassed about it, but I had all weekend to think about it by myself, and I guess I just decided that...well, it's not really any of my business. I mean, it doesn't really affect me, and it's a little...awkward, I guess, but I can live with that." The blush deepened, but she smiled, feeling the awkward tension dissipating slowly as she spoke.

Scootaloo returned the smile, and her cheeks darkened slightly as well. "Heh...thanks. I'm glad you're not too freaked out by it or anything. Still, I'm sorry I didn't ask first. I guess I was just, you know...worried about how you'd react."

Silver Spoon tilted her head curiously. "I guess? I honestly wouldn't have expected you to, though. It's not really the sort of thing you discuss with anypony else, is it?"

"Huh?" Scootaloo said. "Why wouldn't I?"

"It's sort of personal, isn't it?"

Scootaloo shrugged. "It's just hoof-holding."

"Not the hoof-holding, the...you know. The other thing." Even without saying it aloud, Silver Spoon's cheeks burned with awkward embarrassment.

"What other thing?"

Realization rolled over her like ice water. She doesn't know. The blush intensified. "Scootaloo," she said quietly, "I saw you...in your room."

"In my..." Scootaloo's eyes widened comically, her pupils shrinking to horrified pinpricks. "You...you saw..." she stammered. Silver Spoon nodded, looking away. "Oh no, oh no, oh Luna no..." Scootaloo shrank to the floor, covering her head with both her hooves and her wings. "I can't believe...buck me, I knew that was a stupid idea!" She lowered her hooves and looked up at Silver Spoon. "Spoon, I am so sorry."

I'm not. Silver Spoon ignored the foolish little voice and just smiled sheepishly from behind her burning cheeks. "It's alright, Scootaloo. I mean, I already told you I had all weekend to think about it, right?" Scootaloo nodded weakly. "Like I said, it's your business. I'm just sorry I didn't respect your privacy."

Scootaloo's ears pricked. "Yeah...I thought I closed my bedroom door behind me, anyway."

"Oh." Silver Spoon grimaced. "Well...yeah, you did."

"And you opened it?" Scootaloo said, affronted.

"I was worried about you!" Silver Spoon protested. "I got up to use the restroom, and I saw your door closed, and I figured you'd just decided to sleep in your room instead of the living room, and then I heard you...making...noise..." She trailed off, her blush now vividly mirrored on Scootaloo. The pegasus coughed and looked away, distinctly uncomfortable. "Anyway," she forced herself to continue, "I thought you might be choking or something, so I just decided to open the door and peek in to make sure you were okay." There was a pregnant pause, and then she added, "You were." Scootaloo chuckled in spite of the awkward atmosphere. After another, much longer pause, Silver Spoon added, "I heard you say my name."

Scootaloo pursed her lips. "Yeah, I thought you might've." She sighed and slowly got back to her haunches. "Buck...this is not how I wanted you to find out, you know," she groused.

Silver Spoon giggled. "Well, why don't you try again, then? Tell me now. The way you want me to find out."

Scootaloo nodded. "Yeah, okay." She took a deep breath. "Silver Spoon, there's something I need to tell you."

"Yes, Scootaloo?" Silver Spoon said, playing along.

"I...I like mares."

Silver Spoon nodded. "Alright."

Scootaloo tilted her head. "That doesn't weird you out or anything?"

Huh... Silver Spoon thought with a mote of surprise. No, it really doesn't. Somehow she had always thought this sort of conversation had to be painfully awkward, and that she would feel some kind of subconscious revulsion at the thought of somepony being attracted to the same gender. Instead, she realized it really didn't affect her emotionally at all. Not negatively, anyway. She shrugged. "Not really. Starlight Glimmer married a mare, didn't she? And Rainbow Dash isn't exactly shy about her preferences, either, and everypony still loves her."

Scootaloo eyed her curiously. "Well yeah, but I thought earth ponies were usually, you know..." She made an indistinct gesture with her hooves. Silver Spoon raised an eyebrow at her. Scootaloo tried again, this time with words. "Like...Applejack--AB's sister--was pretty upset when Starlight and Trixie started dating, even though they were best friends. And she was kind of weird to my moms when they met for the first time, too." She shrugged. "I guess I just figured earth ponies didn't approve of same-sex relationships."

Silver Spoon frowned at her, stung. "What, you think just because a few earth ponies--the Apples, no less--are prejudiced, we all must be?"

"No, nothing like that!" Scootaloo said, holding her hooves up defensively. "I mean, Mama Tavi is an earth pony, and she married a mare, so it's not like a universal thing or anything, it's just...well, you and DT were always making fun of me and the other Crusaders about it, so I just assumed..."

Silver Spoon sighed, guilt settling on her shoulders as she realized where Scootaloo's fears had manifested. "Yeah, right, we did...look, Scootaloo," she said, "I'm really sorry for that. I mean, I'm sorry for everything, but that...that was totally uncalled for. The truth is, I don't care. I don't see any reason you shouldn't just like who you like. The only reason we even started making fun of you for it is because it really seemed to fit, and you seemed kind of touchy about it. Well, and your moms..."

"Yeah, I know." Scootaloo pursed her lips. "Honestly, I was touchy about it. I didn't want to be...'like that'. I didn't want to be anything like my moms." Her ears drooped, and she looked at the floor between her hooves. "They've gotten some flak, you know, for being gay, and I just...I didn't want to have to deal with that too."

Silver Spoon nodded. "So...what changed your mind?"

Scootaloo smiled. "You did."

Pleasure fluttered through Silver Spoon's stomach at the comment, but she ignored it as best she could. "How so?"

"Honestly?" Scootaloo said, "I'm not real sure. There's just something...special about you. I mean, I've had a few crushes before, you know, on celebrities and characters, but...well, you were the first mare I really fell for." Silver Spoon's cheeks burned at the flattery, and she looked away shyly. "I don't really know when or how it started. I guess I just finally stopped looking at you like an enemy and just...looked." Silver Spoon chanced a look back at the pegasus and felt her breath catch at the sight of a cool half-smile on her face. "And I really like what I saw."

"A crush, huh?" Silver Spoon murmured, mostly just to get Scootaloo to stop talking before her face caught fire. The pegasus nodded, still smiling. "That's a pretty big deal, Scootaloo. I don't think anyone's ever had a crush on me before."

Scootaloo laughed. "What? That's ridiculous. You're, like...awesome. Why wouldn't everypony have a crush on you?"

Silver Spoon's head spun at the praise. "Well, it's nice that you think so, but I think you might be a little biased."

The pegasus shrugged. "Maybe. I doubt it, though. You're fun and funny and really pretty, so I'm sure--"

"Okay, okay!" Silver Spoon said with a touch more intensity than she meant. "I mean..." She smiled shyly. "I get it. And I appreciate it, Scootaloo, I do, it's just..."

Scootaloo's eyes widened suddenly. "Oh, buck, I'm sorry, I didn't think...this must be super weird for you, isn't it?"

Silver Spoon looked away. "I'm sorry, Scootaloo, I just...look, you're really cool and fun and all, but--"

"But you're not into mares," Scootaloo finished with a somber nod. She sighed. "Yeah, I kind of figured that was the case, but I didn't really want to ask because I wanted to keep pretending you might be interested in...something with me." She looked at the floor between her hooves.

Silver Spoon's heart ached to see Scootaloo so defeated. "Well, I may not be interested in a...relationship, necessarily," she said slowly, "but I don't see why we can't just be really good friends, right?" Scootaloo looked up at her from behind her bangs. She smiled back. "And honestly, I may not be a big fan of walking in on you doing it, but if you want to keep...'grooming' yourself thinking about me," she smirked, and Scootaloo's cheeks flushed crimson, "I can't think of a bigger compliment. I don't mind."

"Really?" Scootaloo raised a skeptical eyebrow. "It doesn't seem weird to you?"

"Well..." Silver Spoon hemmed for a moment before pursing her lips and saying, "Okay, I'm going to be honest with you for a second, and I don't want you to be upset or angry or anything like that, alright?"

Scootaloo raised the other eyebrow now. "Should I be?"

Silver Spoon sighed. "I would be, I think, but I know you're a lot more patient and understanding than I am."

Scootaloo rolled her eyes. "Yeah, yeah, whatever. Alright, I'll do my best, then."

Silver Spoon paused for several seconds, then said, "Scootaloo...you didn't just ask to be my friend because you had a crush on me, did you?"

Scootaloo blinked. "Huh? What do you mean?"

"I mean," Silver Spoon said, her face burning with embarrassment as the ridiculousness of what she was saying occurred to her, "when you offered to be my friend, it wasn't just because you were attracted to me, right? You didn't just want me around because you thought I was...cloppable, right?"

Scootaloo's eyes widened momentarily at the vulgarity. "Holy Luna, Spoon, where the buck is that coming from? Who in Equestria could have convinced--" Her face suddenly darkened, and she hissed, "Tiara."

Silver Spoon shook her head vehemently. "No, no, this isn't Di's doing...for once. This..." she sighed, "this is something that just...came to me. Saturday morning. When I was still dealing with what I saw the night before."

"Oh..."

"Look, Scootaloo," she said, "I don't want to make you think that our friendship seems fake or forced or anything like that, because honestly, it's totally the opposite." She walked over to sit next to Scootaloo. The pegasus watched her carefully every step of the way. "Our friendship means a lot to me, and it's so much more than I ever thought it might be. You've been kind and helpful and concerned, and you've even introduced me to your other friends, and they've been equally kind and thoughtful and everything. It's all so...sudden and perfect that I just thought, you know, when I saw and heard you in your room, that maybe it was all an act. That you and your friends--and even your parents--were just trying to make me feel welcomed so I would stick around for you to...you know...look at." She looked up at Scootaloo with an anxious expression. "Is that crazy?"

Scootaloo smirked. "Yeah, a bit. But it's totally understandable," she added as Silver Spoon's ears drooped. "I mean, look at who's been pretending to be your friend for years already. It makes sense you'd be kind of wary about anypony else just wanting to be your friend with no strings attached." The smirk widened into a mischievous grin. "Not that getting to drink you in from time to time isn't a pretty major bonus."

Silver Spoon giggled and blushed in spite of herself. Nopony had ever spoken like this about her before. Oh, she'd been complimented on her beauty once in a while, but always in a generic, platonic fashion. Friends of her father, commenting on her good looks and fine apparel, or disingenuous servants fawning obsequiously over her in vain attempts to garner favor. This was flattery of another variety. Scootaloo was admitting a genuine interest in her both in a personal and a physical sense. This compounding of affections was at once exhilarating and overwhelming.

Scootaloo really wanted her around. No, she really wanted her around. Silver Spoon couldn't even remember the last time she'd felt wanted, rather than simply tolerated. Her heart soared, and she felt tears welling on her eyelids at the sight of the playfully lascivious expression on Scootaloo's face. Part of her knew--or at least implied--she should feel awkward about it, perhaps even offended, but she couldn't. She watched Scootaloo's eyes absently tracing down the braid of her mane, following the curve of her back, and coming to rest on her cutie mark before returning swiftly to her face, her adoration reaffirmed by her examination. The unguarded admiration Silver Spoon saw written in every hair on Scootaloo's face was intoxicating, and she relished it.

At the same time, she couldn't shake the realization that her admirer was a mare. She may not have any personal disapproval for Scootaloo's sexuality, but she simply had no interest in a relationship of that type. Naturally, she was aware that Scootaloo was a very attractive mare, at least in her own unique, tomcolty way, but Silver Spoon had never really harbored interest for other females. She knew perfectly well that whatever emotions she had been feeling in response to the sight she had stumbled upon Friday night were just the result of her--unfortunately--stagnant 'love' life and the shock of what she'd seen. Compound that all with the fact that Scootaloo was the only pony in years to show her any real compassion and affection, and it was only natural that she would be feeling some misplaced attraction to her. It was just that simple.

At the sight of the tears in Silver Spoon's eyes, the look on Scootaloo's face abruptly faded, and her eyes widened in horror. "Oh Luna, I'm sorry, Spoon! I didn't mean to...I'll stop! I didn't mean to make you feel weird or anything." The pegasus deliberately got to her hooves and took a few steps away, intentionally putting some distance between their bodies. "I know you're not...you know, into mares."

Silver Spoon hastily brushed the tears away from her eyelids. "No, it's okay, Scootaloo, it's not that. It's just..." She got up and walked back to Scootaloo's side, settling back to the floor with her flank resting against the other mare's. "You're right. I don't want to be 'with' you like that. I'm sorry, it's just...you know." Scootaloo nodded, ears drooping. Silver Spoon nuzzled her affectionately. "But that's not why I'm crying."

"Are you sure?" Scootaloo eyed her cautiously.

She nodded. "Yeah. Like I said, it doesn't bother me if you think I'm attractive enough to look at in 'that' way. It's just that nopony else ever has. And it's so...amazing, just to hear somepony sound so appreciative of my existence, you know?" She sniffed and brushed another tear from her eye. "It kind of got me choked up."

Scootaloo shook her head, incredulous. "Damn, Spoon. Not that I don't believe you or anything, but...how does a mare like you go this long without somepony--anypony--telling you how fun, sweet, sexy, kind, funny, smart, sexy--"

"You said 'sexy' twice," Silver Spoon interrupted, blushing.

"I know," Scootaloo said, unfazed. Silver Spoon giggled. "I don't get it."

Silver Spoon shrugged. "I dunno what to say." She smiled and leaned into Scootaloo's side; the pegasus wrapped a wing around her shoulders and held her close. "But I'm glad you were the first to."

Scootaloo smiled down at the filly under her wing. "Me too."

~~~

"So you're gay now, then?" Silver Spoon picked up a sheaf of paper strewn across the floor and shuffled it into a neat pile that she then added to the stack already growing on Scootaloo's desk.

"Well," Scootaloo said, "more like bisexual." She collected a book from her bed and slid it back into place on her shelf. "I mean, I still like stallions and all, I just...you know, like mares, too."

Silver Spoon nodded, tugging the yellow sheets up the length of the bed and tucking them under the mattress. "That makes sense. A lot of pegasi do, right?"

Scootaloo nodded. "Rainbow Dash does, and so do most of the other Wonderbolts, apparently." She watched Silver Spoon manipulate the sheets with a perturbed expression. "You know," she said, "I appreciate the help, but you really don't have to clean with me. You could just hang out and watch me clean, since it's my fault it got so messy. And you really don't have to make my bed." She scowled theatrically. "I don't even make my bed."

Silver Spoon shrugged, tugging at the comforter now. "I don't mind," she mumbled around the fabric. "I never get to do this sort of stuff at home. It's strangely satisfying."

Scootaloo looked at the ceiling and shook her head. "Suit yourself. Still, you're setting a bad precedent with this whole bed-making thing. My moms are gonna start expecting me to make it all the time if you're not careful." She pursed her lips gravely. "I whined and sulked and bitched long and hard to get that chore overlooked."

Silver Spoon giggled as she finished the job with the pillows. "I bet. Speaking of your moms," she said, "do they know?"

Scootaloo laughed once, derisively. "Are you kidding? I don't even tell them when there's a stallion I like. You think I'm going to let them anywhere near this minefield?"

Silver Spoon raised an eyebrow. "Why not? Wouldn't they be, like, the ideal resource? They've both been through it before, right?"

Scootaloo rolled her eyes. "Yeah, that's exactly the reason, too. They're gonna be full of stories and tips and warnings and advice and none of it is gonna apply to me because I'm not them." The pegasus tossed a book onto the desk with a scowl. "To hear them tell it, their romance was just perfect. Mama Vy met Mama Tavi at the conservatory, and spent a year wearing her down until Mama Tavi agreed to go on a date with her. Apparently the rest is history."

"'Wearing her down'?" Silver Spoon repeated. "That doesn't exactly sound like the start to a healthy relationship."

"Well, it was a little more subtle than that," Scootaloo said. "It's a long story, but supposedly Mama Tavi wasn't interested in a relationship with anypony, mare or stallion, and Mama Vy decided that that had to change, so she stuck around and flirted with her and fawned over her and basically just courted her for a year until Mama Tavi gave in and went on a date with her."

"Must have been some date."

Scootaloo giggled. "You'll have to let Mama Tavi tell the story some time. Apparently Mama Vy really pulled out all the stops."

"Looks like it worked out for them," Silver Spoon said with a smile. "They're really good together."

Scootaloo made a face. "Disgustingly good. They're so in love it's gross."

"Do they not fight or anything?"

"Oh, no." Scootaloo shook her head. "They fight all the time. Loudly, sometimes. But it's kind of weird, cuz they'll fight about stupid stuff, like whether the timpani or the orchestral bass drum is a more important element in classical music."

Silver Spoon blinked. "You can't be serious."

Scootaloo smirked. "Mention it at dinner, and you'll see what I mean. Anyway, they fight all the time, but I've never heard them fight about money or their jobs or anything like that. They just sort of...work all that important stuff out behind closed doors, I guess. They get along really well, most of the time." She sighed. "I guess I just don't really want to talk to them about it because there's no way they could see where I'm coming from. Mama Tavi met her soulmate on the first try, and Mama Vy says as soon as she met Mama Tavi, she knew they would be together forever." She made a face. "It's like living in a romance novel."

Silver Spoon giggled. "Alright, then what about the Crusaders?"

Instantly, Silver Spoon knew she'd struck a nerve. Scootaloo's wings and ears both tightened against her body, and she scowled at the wall behind her desk. "What about them?" she asked, her voice suddenly dark and cold.

"Oh," Silver Spoon said quietly. "I guess they know, then?"

Scootaloo grunted at the wall. "Yeah, they know."

There was a long stretch of silence. Silver Spoon anxiously examined Scootaloo's face. The pegasus' lips were pulled taut in an angry grimace, but none of that emotion was reflected in her eyes. Instead, the ashen lavender irises shimmered, and the trailing edges of her eyelashes dipped very slightly, betraying the fury as a front intended to hide...what? The pieces of the puzzle began to assemble themselves in Silver Spoon's mind. Slowly, she said, "Scootaloo, what happened on Saturday? After I...left, I mean."

Scootaloo didn't respond. Silver Spoon pursed her lips and walked over to the pegasus' side. "Scootaloo--"

"I told them." Scootaloo turned away from Silver Spoon as she interrupted her, and the earth pony trailed off as she settled to her haunches next to her friend.

"Told them about yourself, or me, or...?" she prompted.

"Both," Scootaloo said. "They were arguing about why you left, and I decided to tell them the truth." She sighed. "I knew I should have waited, found a better time and a better way, but I just...they were at each other's throats, saying horrible things to each other and accusing one another of being the reason you left, and I couldn't sit there and watch them fight like that, not when I knew the truth about..." She took a deep shuddering breath. "Anyway, I told them what I'd done...holding your hoof, I mean, not...you know, the other thing." She tapped her hooves together nervously. "Of course, Apple Bloom thought it was just a joke, but when I told them I was serious..." She swallowed hard as her voice began to shake. "They didn't take it too well."

Silver Spoon grimaced. "Oh, Scootaloo...I'm so sorry." The pegasus didn't say anything. She simply continued to stare absently at the wall, her wings hanging loosely at her sides and her ears flat on her skull. "What...what happened?" Silver Spoon asked.

"They hate me." The dark, deadpan tone of Scootaloo voice sent a sickening chill through Silver Spoon's stomach. "Apple Bloom called me a freak, she called my parents freaks, and she told me she didn't want to be my friend anymore."

"Oh, no..."

"Yeah." The tone darkened further. "And Sweetie Belle agreed with her."

"But...I thought Sweetie Belle--"

"Yeah, well," Scootaloo snapped, gritting her teeth and squeezing her eyes shut, "I thought a lot of things, too, like how we were the kind of friends who could survive anything, who would stick together and support each other no matter what..." She turned to look at Silver Spoon, tears breaking over the edges of her eyelids and her voice quavering and soft. "But I guess I was wrong."

Silver Spoon felt tears of her own slipping down her cheeks as she reached out and embraced her friend, pulling her into a tight hug that Scootaloo didn't return. Instead, the pegasus simply buried her face in Silver Spoon's shoulder and quietly cried, her voice muffed by Silver Spoon's chest and tears soaking into her fur. It was a far cry from the wracking, shuddering sobs that Scootaloo had once supported Silver Spoon through, but the orange mare was clearly hurting, and Silver Spoon knew she had probably never been this vulnerable before with somepony besides her mothers. Silver Spoon just let her cry, gently rubbing her back with a hoof and drawing a strange sense of joy at the thought that she was able in some small way to be here for her friend in the same way Scootaloo had once been there for her.

Unlike Silver Spoon, though, Scootaloo seemed to regain her composure fairly quickly, and once the tears had stopped, she simply stayed where she was, her face pressed into Silver Spoon's shoulder and her sides slowly flexing as she breathed, occasionally sniffing away the remnants of her tears. She stayed in this position long enough that Silver Spoon began to get worried. "Scootaloo...are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," the pegasus said. "I'm just enjoying the way you smell." She pulled away and gave Silver Spoon a slightly watery wink.

Silver Spoon rolled her eyes. "So it's going to be like this forever, then?"

Scootaloo giggled. "Nah, I was just kidding. I'll quit if you want."

Silver Spoon contemplated this offer for several seconds. "No," she finally said, "you don't have to." She smiled shyly. "It's actually pretty uplifting, you know, knowing someone's attracted to me...even if I can't return the favor."

Scootaloo smiled. "Awesome. And yeah, I honestly never expected you would. Hoped, yeah, but..." She shrugged. "Nothing ventured, et cetera."

Silver Spoon nodded. "So I guess that's why you've been out for the past three days, then?"

"Yeah," Scootaloo said. "I just...couldn't face them. Or you. Not yet."

Silver Spoon pursed her lips nervously. "Oh, I'm sorry. Should I not have come?"

Scootaloo shook her head. "No, no, I'm actually really glad you did." A small smile graced her muzzle. "Honestly, of the three of you, I was the most worried about you. Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle made their choice," she said darkly. "You didn't have that option."

"Well," Silver Spoon said slowly, "I kind of did, didn't I? I mean, you might have...made a move without asking, I guess, but I had all night to think about how to react." She frowned. "And I still ran away."

"Well, yeah, but..." Scootaloo puzzled for a moment. "Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle have been my friends for years. It just seems like they should have given me a chance to explain myself, right?"

"Honestly, I don't know that I'm a good pony to ask these questions," Silver Spoon said. "I've only ever really had one friend, and she was not exactly a good representative." She paused, then added, "That said, I think a lot of the problems we had as friends might have been...less severe if I'd gotten a chance to actually talk things over with her."

Scootaloo sighed and nodded. "Yeah, that was kind of what I was hoping for when I told them. I never expected them to just up and freak out on me like that."

Silver Spoon shrugged. "It's a big thing to deal with, isn't it? They've been your best friends forever, right? Having you admit your...interests like that can't be easy to hear," she said.

Scootaloo grimaced. "It's probably a lot worse when that same pony's been telling you exactly the opposite for as long as you've been friends."

"Probably."

The pegasus sighed deeply, shaking her head. "I don't know how you do it, Spoon, and I can't believe I'm going to say this, but I think I might have to go talk to the other Crusaders and...apologize."

Silver Spoon smiled and nuzzled her friend. "I'm glad to hear that. I like your friends a lot, and you girls have been inseparable forever. It was really weird not seeing the three of you standing together in the schoolyard." She stopped nuzzling and simply rested her cheek against Scootaloo's shoulder, listening to the pegasus breathe. "It would be a shame to lose a friendship like what you have if it could be saved just by talking about it."

Scootaloo nodded and tentatively rested her head against Silver Spoon's. The earth pony's pulse quickened slightly as Scootaloo's scent and warmth washed over her. She knew it was just a natural reaction to being so close to another pony, but that reassurance was accompanied by an uneasy sense that her body was less convinced than her mind. Nervously, she pulled away. Scootaloo's face fell a bit, but then brightened as she said, "Yeah, you're right. You know, you seem to be a lot better at this whole friendship thing than you think."

Silver Spoon smirked, trying to ignore the blush rising to her cheeks. "Yeah, well, when you've spent a few years carrying both ends of a friendship, maybe you just pick up some tricks along the way."

Suddenly, Scootaloo's ears swiveled towards the door, and Silver Spoon was unsurprised when it rattled under somepony's hoof a few moments later. "Scootaloo?"

"Yeah, mom?"

"Dinner will be ready soon. Will Silver Spoon be joining us?"

Scootaloo glanced at Silver Spoon, who nodded. "Yeah."

"Wonderful! Please get cleaned up and come out." The earth pony trotted back down the hall, humming softly.

Scootaloo smirked. "You know, she never gets that excited when I tell her any of my other friends are coming over for dinner."

"Really?"

The pegasus nodded. "Yeah. She likes you a lot."

"I'm flattered," Silver Spoon said, blushing.

"Then again," Scootaloo grinned and winked, "she did marry Mama Vy, so maybe she's not the best judge of character."

Silver Spoon stuck out her tongue at her friend, and the two ponies laughed together as they left the room.

Author's Note

Pterection (ter ek shun): the reflexive stiffening of a pegasus' wings in response to sexual arousal.

Unfair

The Ponyville Community Theater was small and rustic, like the little town itself had once been. Even though Ponyville had recently grown into a fledgling metropolis, the theater had stayed unchanged, a quaint relic of a simpler, more peaceful past. Although it rarely put on shows any more--the Ponyville Opry and the Trediamanti Center for the Arts were the venues for finished productions--it still provided a warm, comfortable atmosphere in which to practice and to teach. It was also where certain after-school clubs and groups met to practice away from the prying eyes of their peers, which was one of the things that had drawn Sweetie Belle to it in the first place.

The unicorn had not grown up with a lot of confidence. Being Rarity the Unicorn's younger sister had cast a deep, long shadow to cower in, and through no fault of her own, Rarity had spent most of her life outshining her sibling, often to an extraordinary degree. As a result, Sweetie had never really considered herself worth much, and no amount of fawning, complimenting, or cajoling could shake that sense of inadequacy for long. Even her voice, which the other Crusaders insisted was sweeter even than Fluttershy's, was not something she felt comfortable showing off, much to the apparent chagrin of anypony who'd ever heard her using it to its full potential. The risk of public ridicule or even just simple disdain was suffocating, so she kept her voice to herself. She liked to sing, make no mistake, but the idea of performing in front of other ponies was nigh unfathomable.

At least, it had been. Then, some years ago, her best non-Crusader friend, Glittershell, had bounded excitedly up to her with a flyer in her mouth and elation in her eyes. The flyer had been an advertisement for a singing club, taught and led by the retired lead tenor of Manehattan's premiere choral group. The flyer promised fun and education for anypony and everypony, no matter what skill level or age. Sweetie had naturally refused to even entertain the idea, but Glitter's persistent wheedling and legendary guilt-tripping eventually wore her down, and Sweetie agreed to accompany her to a meeting.

Ten minutes into the first day, she'd been hooked. The teacher, Limelight, was warm and genuine, with a quick smile and a sublime voice. He'd started the first assembly by showing a video of himself from many years earlier, when he'd been just a colt with a passion for singing--but none of the necessary talent. The colt in the video had a thin, reedy voice, and overshot every note by a meaningful margin. Sweetie Belle cringed to see somepony actually performing like that, without a care in the world, but the video had the desired effect. If that colt could not only perform confidently despite his shortcomings, but also persevere and grow into the handsome, supremely talented stallion standing next to the TV with an apologetic grin on his face, then certainly she could at least give the class a try. The sentiment seemed to be more or less universal, and the small group had quickly grown into a reasonably competent chorus. She'd never had more fun in her life.

It was just as well that the club was meeting today, Sweetie reflected solemnly as she plodded down the road to the nondescript little building. She needed some fun. After the fiasco on Saturday morning, then the fight with Apple Bloom on the walk home, and then having Silver Spoon corner her and catch her in a bold-faced lie...it had not been a good week.

Sweetie reached the theater and made her way into the auditorium, pausing to allow her eyes to adjust to the gloom. The stage was clearly visible, the bright hooflights illuminating the crimson curtain, but the rest of the room was in deep shadow that slowly faded as her pupils dilated. Shadowy figures milled around the front rows of the theater, some chatting, some humming, others actively singing in an attempt to warm up their voice. Sweetie Belle's ears pricked and she smiled as she identified Glittershell's clarion alto ringing above the rest, dancing gaily through a series of arpeggios. Glitter's voice had been the most substantial change wrought by the transition the former colt had undergone.

Suddenly, the voice stopped and said, "Sweetie?" Sweetie Belle squinted at the fuzzy darkness and saw a figure trotting up the aisle towards her. Glittershell's broad grin materialized out of the gloom, and Sweetie's smile widened. "Hey, filly, how are you? Seems like we haven't seen each other in ages!"

Sweetie Belle rolled her eyes. "Get a grip, Glitter, it's been like five days." She smirked as the tall saffron unicorn gave her a hug that lifted her off the floor a few inches.

"Still!" Glitter said, putting her friend back down. "It sucks that we don't get to see each other as much as we used to."

Sweetie nodded solemnly. "Yeah, well...you know I don't really like hanging out at Rarity's if I can help it."

"I still don't see why," Glitter shook her head and pursed her lips. "She doesn't mean anything, she's just...enthusiastic."

"Enthusiastically critical," Sweetie muttered. "Not everyone can be her favorite, Glitter."

Glittershell didn't seem to have a response for this. Instead, she simply shrugged and said, "We should still set up a girls' night, like old times, right? Just you and me and makeovers and gossiping until the sun comes back up."

Sweetie smiled back. "Yeah, I'd like that."

"In the meanwhile, how've you been, filly? Anything new with the Crusaders?"

Sweetie tried not to visibly react, and strove to keep her voice steady as she said, "Nothing really. Just working on our projects and...you know, getting ready to graduate."

Glitter raised an eyebrow at her. "Nothing, huh?"

Sweetie shrugged and feigned emotional neutrality. "No, nothing special."

"Uh-huh," her friend said, smirking. "Tell you what, Sweetie, how about you try that again, except this time you tell the truth."

Sweetie Belle blushed. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"Really?" Glitter blew her bangs out of her eyes with an exasperated sigh. "Sweetie, we've been friends for years. You knew more about me than my so-called best friend, and I'd like to think I know more about you than the Crusaders do. At the very least you know I can read you like sheet music, right?"

Sweetie Belle grimaced. "Yeah, I know."

"Come on, marshmallow," Glitter said, a look of gentle concern on her face, "talk to me. What's wrong?"

Sweetie sighed. "Alright, but...you gotta promise to keep it a secret, alright?"

The other unicorn solemnly crossed her heart with a hoof before raising it to cover her left eye. "Of course. I always do, don't I?"

"Yeah..." Sweetie Belle sighed again. "Okay, so the thing is--"

"Come along, fillies and colts, let's get started!" Her explanation was suddenly cut off by Limelight's ringing summons from the stage. "The Winter Wrap-Up Revue is only a few months away, and we have a whole new set list to learn." He started distributing thick packets of sheet music to the ponies already milling around the stage. "After the resounding success of our Hearth's Warming concert, I expect we'll be performing for a truly packed house this time." He smiled broadly. "I realize that sounds like a threat to some of you, but I promise it will be the experience of the lifetime."

"Shoot," Glitter said, pursing her lips. "We'll talk afterwards, right?"

Sweetie nodded, ignoring the flutter of panic at Limelight's prediction. In truth, performing in front of a large audience was still thoroughly terrifying, but as long as she had Glitter standing beside her on stage, singing her heart out without a care in the world, she knew she would enjoy herself all the same. "Sure. I gotta come back to Rarity's place after practice anyway 'cuz my folks won't be home and they still won't give me a key."

"Sparkles!" Glitter said happily, bounding up the aisle toward the stage. "I can't wait."

Sweetie Belle sighed and mumbled, "I can..."

~~~

"I love, love, love the Winter Wrap-Up arrangement Mr. Limelight got for us!" Sweetie Belle gushed as she and Glitter walked side-by-side through the town square. "I've been singing that song for years, but I never thought it could be so...moving!"

The other unicorn nodded, smiling. "Yeah, all the extra harmonies and counterpoints add a lot of depth. I never thought about that song being beautiful, but this arrangement really is." She cut her eyes at the shorter filly beside her. "And how about Mr. Limelight tapping you for the solo?"

Sweetie Belle grimaced. "Yeah, I'm not so sure about that part...I mean, I appreciate his confidence and all, but..."

Glitter giggled. "Oh, please. You saw what happened. The second he said 'female soloist', every head turned straight to look at you."

She blushed. "Yeah, I remember." She exhaled slowly, her bangs fluttering slightly in the breeze. "I dunno, Glitter. I mean, I know everypony else thinks I'm pretty good, and I know they like to hear me sing, but solo? I just...I'm not sure I can perform under that kind of pressure."

Glitter bumped their shoulders together. "Yeah you can, and you even know you can. You just want an excuse not to put yourself out there."

"I do not!" Sweetie huffed.

"Oh really?" Glitter raised an eyebrow at her. "Then what is it? Are you really afraid of failing at something I've never even heard you struggle with?"

Sweetie scowled at her. "Maybe."

The other filly rolled her eyes. "Oh, fine. Be that way." The two unicorns walked in petulant silence for a minute or so before Glitter's silent treatment predictably faltered. "So...the Crusaders...?"

"What about them?" Sweetie muttered, her annoyance at Glitter being right--as she often was--lending a hint more venom to her words than was necessary.

"That's what I want to know," Glitter said. "What's up with them? I know it can't be 'nothing', since you said 'nothing' before and you were obviously lying. So come on, marshmallow, what's wrong?"

Sweetie Belle considered the question for several seconds. For once, Glitter stayed quiet and let her think. Part of the unicorn wanted nothing more than to forget Saturday morning had even happened at all, to just pretend she didn't remember what Scootaloo had said, how Apple Bloom had reacted, or any of the internal conversations she'd had with herself since. It wasn't a solution, but it seemed easier than facing the truth head-on.

But Glittershell really was one of her best friends. Had been her best friend for years, almost on par with the Crusaders, and sometimes moreso. Their relationship, and the candor they shared, had a history that stretched all the way back to the first time they'd ever spoken to one another alone. It had been Sweetie's fault, insofar as there was fault to be laid, because she had been the one whose incessant snooping and insatiably observant curiosity had revealed Snails' deeply guarded secret in the first place. The initial shock had worn off quickly enough, and she had actually approached Snails one day after class, away from anypony else, to let him know what she had learned.

His initial denial was short-lived, and from that moment the two had slowly forged a deep bond, taking advantage of Rarity's generosity to provide a safe haven for them to talk and an adult for them to ask certain...difficult questions. In turn, Rarity had grown rather fond of the confused young colt, and had even offered to be their cover if anypony asked why Snai--no, she preferred female pronouns, and the name Glittershell now--spent so much time in the boutique. Nopony ever did--even Snips, who remained oblivious until the last possible moment--but it was comforting to have the option.

Over time, the relationship had grown deep enough for Sweetie to share certain insecurities and problems with Glitter in return, problems the filly was eager to face with a desperate determination, as though trying to balance Sweetie's selfless kindness with her own. It was the best possible resource Sweetie could have had; adolescence was a challenge for anypony, but Sweetie had been facing it alone until Glitter had come along. Where Scootaloo had always had Rainbow Dash and Apple Bloom had always had Applejack, Sweetie Belle and her sister were not so close, and asking Rarity questions about 'becoming a young mare' usually devolved into red-faced mutterings and unpleasantly candid discussions about unrelated topics. Glittershell had filled that void when it truly mattered; facing issues, even mysterious ones, was easier with a friend by your side.

A lot had changed since then, but the one thing that had always remained was Glittershell's devotion to Sweetie Belle, and her genuine concern for her. In return, Sweetie had never doubted Glitter's candor or her discretion. She was a good friend, and a great emotional resource. Talking to her about her problems had never steered Sweetie Belle wrong before.

Sweetie Belle sighed. "Yeah...there is something wrong. Something...well, a lot of things." She glanced sideways at her friend. "But I don't want to talk about it out here. Let's wait until we get to Rarity's place and get behind a closed door. It's...private."

"Oooh," Glitter murmured, her eyes widening. "Private...is it about-"

"Private as in I don't want to talk about it in public at all, Glitter," Sweetie Belle huffed. Glitter nodded her understanding, and they finished the walk in silence. Ever thirsty for gossip, Glittershell fairly hummed with anticipation.

They arrived at the site of the heavily renovated Carousel Boutique. The little building still stood in the middle of town, but now only to provide a decorative monument of the humble beginnings of the Trediamanti clothing empire. It's primary function these days was as an entrance foyer to the much larger building that had been constructed around it as the proprietor's business had expanded. Wing after wing had been added on until the little boutique had grown into a monolithic emporium.

Easily the largest standing building in town, it was a staple of Ponyville's economy. The massive floor plan housed a vast array of clothing, from the highest of haute couture to the most basic prêt-à-porter, each and every stitch hoof-designed by Rarity herself. Her dedication to perfection and care in every stage of design for every kind of outfit for any class of pony had made her both an anomaly and a treasure in the fashion world. Her name was now synonymous with high fashion, and a fair amount of Ponyville's income was either through her store or by virtue of wealthy Canterlot and Manehattan tourists taking advantage of a day trip to the Boutique to also spend some of their money elsewhere in town.

Sweetie Belle and Glittershell walked into the store along with a small throng of other ponies and weaved among the various shoppers, eyes idly scanning over racks of clothes and dozens of clotheshorses decked out in the cutting edge of fashion. Rarity's unparalleled knack for design was evident in every corner of the Boutique, even to the finest details of the decor she had hoof-picked. Eventually, the pair made their way to the back of the store and went through a door marked "Employees Only". Behind the door was a short hallway with an elevator at the end. The elevator had no buttons or markings to indicate its purpose, but as they approached it, a speaker on the wall crackled, and a voice said, "Good evening, Sweetie Belle. Glittershell, welcome home."

Glitter grinned at the camera above the elevator. "Hey, Mackinaw." Some years prior, Glitter's secret had been revealed to the worst pony possible, and Diamond Tiara had taken her newfound knowledge and run with it. The truth had disseminated among the rest of the class so quickly that Scootaloo and Apple Bloom had found out before Sweetie had had a chance to explain it to them herself. The result had been general ridicule and wary distaste from most of the class, and outright loathing from a select few--Glitter's former friend Snips and Diamond Tiara's toady Silver Spoon included. From the schoolhouse, the news had spread like wildfire through the town, eventually making its way to Glitter's parents, who proved less than understanding when they threw her out. Only barely of age and unable to survive on her own, Glitter had come to Rarity, the only pony who had ever really treated her like family, for help. The unicorn had been overjoyed to take her in, and Glitter had been living there as Rarity's foster daughter ever since. "Can we come up?"

"Sure thing. I'll open the elevator for you." The elevator chimed and the doors slid noiselessly open, revealing an elegantly decorated interior, with red velvet lining the walls up to the midway point where they met with the mirrored upper half. A gleaming brass bar ringed the division, glistening in the soft white fairy light emanating from the ceiling. Sweetie and Glitter entered the elevator and the doors slid shut behind them. After a moment, the lift ascended, swiftly but gently, and came to graceful rest only a few seconds later. The elevator chimed again and the doors opened onto a vast, opulent foyer, as long as the store beneath it. Paintings--mostly portraits--adorned the walls, spaced by lush houseplants in intricately decorated vases. A full-sized grand piano sat idly on the other end of the hall, the black polished wood gleaming in the light cast through the tall frosted window behind it. On either side of the foyer were doors leading to other rooms of the loft.

Rarity came trotting out of one of the nearer doors, clad in a fuzzy white bathrobe and slippers. "Glitter, darling, is that you?" Upon seeing the pair, she smiled broadly and said, "Oh, Sweetie Belle! How good to see you, my dear sister. I hope you are well?"

Sweetie Belle rolled her eyes at her sister's affectation. "Yeah, I'm fine."

"Wonderful, wonderful," she said absently, trotting lightly across the foyer and pausing in front of Glittershell to fix the younger mare's mane. "How was chorus, Glitter dear?"

Glitter patiently weathered the preening. "It was good. We're starting to practice for Winter Wrap-Up."

"Oh? Will you be performing at the ceremony this year?"

Glitter nodded. "Yeah, and guess who's going to be the soloist?" She turned to grin at Sweetie Belle.

"Oh, Glitter, how wonderful!" Rarity gushed, clasping Glittershell's face in her hooves. "I'm so proud of you! I always knew--"

"No, it's not--" Glitter struggled to escape Rarity's grasp, her face flushing in embarrassment. "It's not me. It's Sweetie Belle."

"Oh." A flash of disappointment followed Rarity's gaze as it turned to Sweetie's face. "Oh, that's marvelous, Sweetie." The older unicorn beamed at her sister, the smile only slightly tainted by the dejection in her eyes.

Sweetie Belle didn't return the look. "I guess. I'm not really looking forward to singing alone in front of a crowd, but Mr. Limelight thinks I can do it, so..."

"Of course you can," Rarity scoffed. "You are extraordinarily talented. Your performance is sure to be simply sublime." She shook her head. "Honestly, Sweetie, you really must stop being so self-conscious. It comes across as feigned modesty in somepony so gifted, and that in itself can be quite unattractive." She sniffed haughtily.

Sweetie narrowed her eyes at her sister. "Yeah, I'll get right on that. Wouldn't want to look unattractive, would I?"

"Not at all," Rarity said breezily. "You are a beautiful young mare, Sweetie Belle. You should be proud of that and flaunt it." Sweetie Belle sneered as Rarity turned back towards the room she'd come from. "Anyway, I am unfortunately quite busy today. The house is, of course, open to your utilization, as always. Adieu."

"Thanks, Rarity," Glitter said, eyeing the seething Sweetie Belle with caution. "We'll stay out of your mane." The moment the door closed behind Rarity, Glitter said, "Sweetie, I know what you're thinking, but--"

"Do you?" Sweetie snapped. "Does she talk to you like that? Try to tell you how to act and look and think?"

Glitter looked away. "No, not really...and I'm not sure--"

"Exactly." Sweetie Belle gritted her teeth. "It's just me."

"Sorry, Sweetie." She looked like she really meant it. Her eyes even shimmered.

A pang of guilt tightened Sweetie Belle's stomach, and she sighed. "No, I'm sorry, Glitter. It's not your fault." Her ears drooped down onto her head. "She's always been that way. It just...gets to me sometimes."

Glitter nodded, hazarding a smile. "I bet. It would get to me, too."

"Actually, I'm glad she doesn't talk to you that way." Sweetie returned the smile wanly. "At least she treats somepony like family."

Glitter's cheeks flushed. "Anyway," she said hastily, "let's go to my room. You still need to tell me what's up with the Crusaders." She led the way down to the end of the foyer and into another wing of the loft, past several more doors and rooms until they finally found their way into a small bedroom at the end of the second hall.

Glitter's room was not very large. It wasn't even as large as the guest room that Sweetie Belle was occasionally forced to stay in, but she had gone to great lengths to make it her own. Her mint-green bed was pushed into a corner to make space for her vanity and her desk, both of which were completely covered in their respective kit. The former had rows of lipstick, mascara, blush, foundation, and eyeliner strewn across the top; the latter had books and papers related to her schoolwork. The rest of the room was modestly decorated--with the exception of several dozen photos and diagrams of various mollusks pinned to a corkboard above the desk--but the real majesty of the bedroom was in the closet.

Glittershell's clothes closet was as big as the rest of her bedroom. It was jammed completely full of outfits, almost exclusively designed and made by her foster mother. Like most ponies, Glitter tended to go around in the buff most days, but she relished the opportunity to get dressed up, and living with Rarity provided her with plenty. There were short summer dresses and long evening gowns, sharp pantsuits and cheeky sportswear, along with dozens of pairs of classy shoes, bows, and ribbons, not to mention two jewelry chests full of glittering trim to complete each outfit to perfection. Sweetie Belle knew that Rarity simply adored having somepony else around who really appreciated fine fashion like she did.

Sweetie Belle liked fashion just fine, and she and Glitter had spent plenty of time trying on her various outfits and modeling them for one another, but the truth was that Sweetie Belle simply didn't have the same flair for it that Glitter and Rarity did. She'd wanted to be a designer like her sister, once, but when it became clear that she lacked any real design sense, she'd rather lost interest in haute couture in general. Glitter was not so afflicted.

"So," the other filly said, kicking her door closed and then nearly bouncing over to sit on the edge of her bed. "Spill it."

Sweetie Belle sighed and slowly walked over to sit next to her friend. "Alright, alright. Promise you won't tell anypony, though?"

Glitter nodded. "I promise."

"And you won't say anything to the Crusaders, either."

"I won't."

"And..." she paused, grimacing. "You can't make fun of me or be mad at me or scold me or anything, okay?"

Glitter raised an eyebrow at her. "Uh...I guess? What did you do that I might need to?"

Sweetie pursed her lips and hung her head. Her cheeks warmed slightly as she said, "So the Crusaders had a sleepover on Friday night."

"Yeah, game night. Same as always."

"Right. Anyway, it...wasn't just us this time."

"Oh?" Glitter tilted her head curiously. "I thought it was just a Crusader thing. In fact, that's why you never invited me, remember?" she said with a touch of offense.

"Yeah, I know. And I didn't invite her, Scootaloo did. Without asking us first, or I'd have seen if you could come, too," she added hastily.

Glitter nodded her understanding. "Who was it?"

Sweetie hesitated. "Promise you won't be mad."

"Why? Should I be?" the unicorn asked.

Sweetie Belle grimaced. "Well...it was Silver Sp--"

"What?" Glittershell shrieked, leaping to her hooves. "Are you bucking kidding me?" Sweetie shook her head and looked down at her hooves in on the bedspread as Glitter started to stomp back and forth across the room. "Of all the...I mean, the worst...just, anypony else..." she sputtered, unable to put her thoughts to coherent form.

Sweetie Belle winced. "I know, Glitter, but--"

"You know? You know!" The unicorn's eyes flashed with rage. "What do you know, huh? Did they spend every day making nasty comments behind your back? Starting rumors that spread all the way through town? Did they leave hate mail in your desk every day?"

"No," Sweetie admitted, pathetically casting about for common ground. "But, I mean, they messed with us, too..." she trailed off as Glittershell's eyes bugged incredulously at her.

"Messed with you? They messed with you? Sweetie Belle, they tortured me," she said, her voice straining at the edges as years of haunting memories crept back into her tone. "Every day they tortured me, saying the most awful things, throwing things at me when Miss Cheerilee wasn't looking, tripping me in the yard...how could you even think to compare what they did to me to having them call you 'blank flank' for a few years?" The strain turned to a crack, and her composure dissolved completely. Tears collected on her eyelids. "They hated me, Sweetie Belle."

Sweetie Belle nodded sadly, still looking down at her hooves and avoiding her friend's gaze. "I know."

"They're the reason I had to drop out, and now you just invite one of them in like everything's fine--"

"No!" Sweetie cut Glitter off. "I did not invite her in!"

"Fine, but--"

"No, it's not fine, Glitter, because you don't know anything about what was said, or what happened, or how it even started!" Sweetie startled herself with her own sudden spirited defense, but maintained the tack when she realized Glitter's eyes were shocked, but dry. "Look, I get it," she continued, forcing as much emotion into the words as she could. "Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon and all of them were awful to you. I'm really sorry about that, but I don't know what more you want me to say. I did everything I could for you back then, and I don't regret the crap that we had to deal with when we were defending you, but you have to realize I know that you suffered, okay?" Tears burned at the corners of her eyes as she struggled to convey the intensity of her feelings to her distraught friend.

Glitter opened and closed her mouth a few times, her tirade stalled at Sweetie's sudden rebuttal. "Well, yeah, I do, but--"

"No, Glitter, no 'but'." Sweetie got off of the bed and came over to nuzzle the other filly. "I know you're upset, I know you're hurt, I get it. I'm sorry, I really am, but..." She sighed. "Look, life went on at school after you left, you know?" Glitter looked away, but she nodded. "And some stuff's changed...like, a lot."

Glitter looked back at her through her bangs. "Like what?"

Sweetie sighed. "Well, as it turns out, like Silver Spoon. Yeah, I know," she said, reacting to Glitter's skeptical look, "I didn't believe it either. At least, not until I had some time to sit and talk to her without Diamond Tiara around."

Glitter blinked. "With...out Diamond Tiara?"

"Crazy, right?" Sweetie said, smiling wanly. "Trust me, it gets weirder."

Glittershell followed the white unicorn back to the bed in a daze, climbing back onto the comforter and staring incredulously at her. "Weirder?"

"Yeah," Sweetie said, "like...weird enough that that's kind of the whole...'deal' with the Crusaders that I was talking about."

"Oh...oh!" Glitter said, her face suddenly lighting back up. "Right, I almost forgot! Damn, Sweetie, I'm sorry, I didn't think--"

Sweetie Belle waved her off. "Don't worry about it. I really should've known better than to just drop Silver Spoon's name like that. I mean...she was pretty awful to you."

Glitter shrugged and pursed her lips in resignation. "Yeah, well...I guess it was a long time ago."

"Still."

"Anyway, what happened?"

Sweetie sighed. "Alright, so, first of all, Scootaloo's the one who invited her in the first place, right?"

"Wait, Scootaloo invited her?" Glitter breathed. "But I thought she hated those two."

Sweetie nodded. "Yeah, which is kind of why Apple Bloom and I went through with it. We figured if Scootaloo could get along with her, anypony could."

"Yeah, I'll say. So what happened?"

"Well," Sweetie said, "we actually had a great time. Yeah, I know," she added in response to Glitter's dumbfounded expression. "Never in a million years did I think we could have even tolerated Silver Spoon for more than an hour or so, but it turns out she's really sweet and kind and fun to talk to. I know she and Diamond Tiara together are a nightmare, but I guess that's mostly just Diamond Tiara. Anyway, we had a ton of fun. We played games, watched movies, and just chatted until we all fell asleep. It was kind of awesome," she added, her cheeks coloring slightly in guilt.

Glittershell frowned and made a skeptical noise. "Great. So it's just me they hate, then."

"No, no," Sweetie Belle said, shaking her head. "It's not even that. Silver Spoon doesn't hate anypony, probably not even you. Diamond Tiara hates ponies, and since she's the only friend Silver Spoon's ever had, she just went along with it to stay on Diamond Tiara's good side."

"Whatever," Glitter said, brushing the comment aside. "That still doesn't exactly sound like a problem so private you couldn't have told me about it earlier."

"Yeah, that's because that's not the problem," Sweetie Belle said darkly. "The problem is what happened during the night, and the next morning."

"Why? What happened?"

Sweetie Belle pursed her lips, a gnawing anxiety stirring in her middle. "Well...Silver Spoon left really early the next morning, like before Scootaloo or I were even up."

"Really? Why?"

Sweetie Belle hesitated for a moment. "She...Scootaloo kind of...freaked her out."

"How?"

"She...held her hoof. When she thought Silver Spoon was asleep."

"Held her ho--...ooh," Glitter said, all previous emotion draining from her face to be replaced by dawning comprehension. "Oh...wow. So she...?"

Sweetie Belle nodded glumly. "Yeah, Scootaloo is...you know." She blushed.

"Like her mothers?"

"Something like that," Sweetie said.

"Wow. That's...kind of a big deal. I mean," Glitter said, "it's not surprising, given how she acts and talks and...well, except she always swore up and down that she wasn't, right?" Sweetie nodded. Glitter smirked. "Then again, isn't that always the way it goes? Denial before acceptance?"

"I guess," Sweetie said quietly. "Still, it was a shock."

"I bet." Glitter smiled. "Well, I know it helped to have a couple of supportive friends to be there for her. It really helped me a lot just having you." Sweetie Belle didn't respond. She simply stared at the floor, not daring to meet Glittershell's gaze. The unicorn leaned over to look her in the eye. "I mean, you were there for her, weren't you?" Sweetie stayed silent and closed her eyes. Tears of shame collected along her eyelids. Glitter's voice took on a horrified tone. "Sweetie Belle...you didn't..."

"It wasn't my fault!" Sweetie suddenly said, her eyes snapping open and finding Glitter's stunned face. "Apple Bloom and I...we were already arguing, and...I mean, Silver Spoon could have just stayed and explained, but...and Scootaloo was so...Scootaloo about it..." She rambled desperately, casting about for some words that would justify her actions that night and assuage the icicle of guilt slowly piercing her chest. "I just...I was surprised, and upset, and confused, and I just...I needed more time! I needed to think about it, to talk about it, but Apple Bloom...Apple Bloom started it!" she blurted, now searching for anything she could say to stop Glittershell from frowning at her, from staring at her with disgust and disbelief, her eyes dark and hateful. "Apple Bloom was the one who was angry about it, who said awful, horrible things to her! If she'd just let it go, or just left, or...or...if Scootaloo had let her leave, and not gotten so angry and--"

"Don't you dare," Glittershell suddenly interrupted her with a hiss, her voice cold and her eyes narrowed. Sweetie Belle quailed and shrunk back into herself as Glitter took a step forward, growling through clenched teeth. "Don't you dare make this Scootaloo's fault."

"I wasn't--"

"Scootaloo needed a friend, she needed somepony to talk to, to understand her, she needed you, Sweetie Belle!" Glitter's eyes shone and her voice shook. "She needed you to tell her it was okay to be gay, that it was okay to be different than she, or you, or anypony else thought she was." Sweetie Belle hung her head in bitter shame. "Why didn't you?"

Sweetie Belle sniffed back tears. "I don't know, Glitter."

"So what did you do, then?"

Sweetie shook her head. "I left. Scootaloo asked if I agreed with the awful stuff Apple Bloom was saying, and I...I didn't know what to say."

"'No' might have been a good start," Glitter deadpanned.

Sweetie grimaced, the tears breaking free and sliding down her cheek. "I know, I was just...it came out of nowhere, and it was right after Silver Spoon left, and I didn't want them both to hate me, but...oh, Glitter, what am I gonna do now?" She burst into tears, putting her hooves over her eyes and just trying to hide from the accusatory glare of the only friend she had left in Equestria. "She looked so scared and nervous, and when Apple Bloom said those things, I couldn't...I should have said something, I should have stayed, and I didn't, and now..." She trailed off into a sob as Glittershell turned and walked away from her, stopping in front of the vanity and looking at herself in the mirror. "Glitter, I really messed up," she blubbered, "I'm sorry...don't hate me, please..."

"I don't hate you," Glitter said softly. "I'm..." She sighed. "I'm really disappointed. Of all ponies, I would've thought you would be able to support and accept your friend, no matter what she told you. I mean..." She smirked at her reflection. "You were there for me, and I told you something much stranger, didn't I?"

Tears streamed down Sweetie Belle's face as she fought to regain her composure. "I know, Glitter, I--" She hiccuped. "I should have stayed, I should have talked to her, but I didn't, I just--" She burst into sobs again.

From across the room, she heard Glitter heave a sigh. Then she walked across the room and wrapped her forelegs around Sweetie's shoulders and held her tightly, pressing the ivory unicorn's muzzle into her chest fur. She rested her chin on Sweetie Belle's head and murmured, "Alright, alright, calm down."

Sweetie Belle shook her head and wailed through Glitter's fur. "It's all my fault! Scootaloo hasn't even come to school since last week, and now Apple Bloom won't talk to me, and I just want everything to go back to normal!"

Glitter sighed again. "It won't. It can't. But, you know, maybe that's a good thing, right?" She held Sweetie Belle at arm's length, smiling faintly as the unicorn hiccuped and swiped at the tears still staining her cheeks. "I mean, sure, it didn't go great, but at least it's done, and Scootaloo's out, and you guys can go from here, right?"

"I dunno," Sweetie said miserably. "Apple Bloom--"

"Forget Apple Bloom," Glitter scoffed. "We talked about her before, remember? We kind of always figured she might be...weird about it."

"She supported you," Sweetie said.

"Just barely, remember? And that was probably just because you were. This time it's different, though. This time it's one of her best friends who's coming out. Somepony she's known for years, who--let's be honest--has been lying to the both of you for a while, right?" Sweetie nodded glumly. "It might just take her a while to come around. In the meanwhile, Scootaloo needs somepony to be there for her." She gave Sweetie Belle a meaningful look. "Somepony like you, right?"

Sweetie looked away. "She doesn't want to talk to me."

"You don't know that."

"I wouldn't want to talk to me."

"Well, even so," Glitter said, "you need to talk to her."

"I suppose..."

"No, you do. In fact," Glitter's gentle smile morphed into something vaguely mischievous. "You might even break the ice by finding some common ground, you know?"

"Common grou--oh," Sweetie Belle's eyes widened above her rapidly flushing cheeks. "Oh, no, no way," she said, shaking her head.

"Why not?" Glitter asked. "You don't think it might help her to know she's not alone?"

"How would that help?" Sweetie asked, her cheeks still darkening as panic flooded her chest. "This all started because she told us she has a crush on Silver Spoon. How in Equestria would telling her...you know...that--"

"That you've had a crush on her for years?" Glittershell finished with a smirk.

"Shhhh!" Sweetie Belle hissed, stuffing a hoof in Glitter's mouth to silence her. She cut her eyes at the door, magically pulling it open to verify nopony was behind it. The empty hallway stretched into the distance. Sweetie Belle sighed in relief.

Glittershell giggled as she pulled away from Sweetie's hoof. "What? You think Rarity would even be surprised to hear about that? Come on, Sweetie, you know she already thinks you and I might have a thing, right?"

Sweetie frowned at the floor, her face still burning. "Yeah, yeah...but that's different. I don't care if ponies think we're together."

"I do," Glitter scoffed. "Just because you like mares doesn't mean I'm not hunting bigger game."

"You know what I mean," Sweetie groused as she closed the hallway door again. "I just...Scootaloo's my best friend. I don't want to screw that up."

"Yeah, I know," Glitter said. "But maybe it would help her to know she's not the only pony our age struggling with this sort of thing."

"Still..." The unicorn sighed. "Look, even if that were true, I...I'm not ready, alright?"

Glitter nodded. "Yeah, alright. It was just an idea."

"I know." There was a moment of silence, and then Sweetie said quietly, "Besides, I already burned that bridge years ago."

"How so?" Glitter asked.

Sweetie sighed. "Oh, we were talking about Trixie and Starlight Glimmer and how big a deal it was that two mares got married and were living together in Ponyville, and she asked if I could ever be with a mare like that, and I kind of panicked and gave her a pretty strong 'no'."

"Ah. Was that before or after she starred in your very first sex dream?"

"Glitter!" Sweetie yelped.

The other mare laughed. "Well?"

The white unicorn's face blazed. "After."

"So you were trying to throw her off the scent, then?" Sweetie nodded, and Glitter smirked. "Well, what's done is done, I guess. Still, it's not like she wouldn't believe you came around. After all, she did, didn't she?"

"I guess."

"Anyway, I think you should tell her. She deserves to know, don't you think?"

"To what end?" Sweetie snapped. "It's not like she's ever shown any interest in me, and besides..." She looked back at the floor, her voice suddenly soft and slightly thick. "She's already got her eye on somepony else."

There was a long silence that Glittershell gently broke. "I see. So all this isn't just about Apple Bloom's anger or Scootaloo coming out, is it?" Sweetie didn't answer. Glitter pressed on, leaning forward to look Sweetie in the eye. "It's because she went from being completely and permanently straight to having a crush on a mare who isn't you in less than a week, right?" Sweetie Belle still didn't answer. She sniffed as tears collected in her eyes and slowly slid down her muzzle to fall to the floor. "Oh, Sweetie..." Glitter said gently. She snuggled up to Sweetie Belle and hugged her tightly. "I'm sorry, marshmallow..."

Sweetie couldn't respond. She could only cry.

Author's Note

Many props to Sharp Spark for helping me massively with this chapter. (Also some scolding, for writing fics so good I got lost reading them for a few days while working on it.) Additional help from Daedalian, Quill Trace, and MrBackpack, of course.

Glittershell is a creation of Kryptchild, who JUST RESTARTED THE GLITTERBLOG, HOLY CELESTIA'S KNICKERS. I hope I got her right enough to not make Krypt hate me...

Tradition

"Apple Bloom."

The yellow filly didn't respond. She was staring out across the rows of recently-denuded apple trees, watching their leaves flutter around empty spaces where luscious crimson fruits had previously been hanging.

"Apple Bloom!"

The increased volume had no impact. The earth pony's eyes were unfocused and slightly glazed. The shade of a late afternoon filtering through the voluminous orchard canopy made the light breeze cooler than it otherwise would have been, but she seemed unfazed by the chill late winter air.

Applejack stomped around the tree she'd just bucked into giving up its fruit and faced her sister. "Apple Bloom!"

The younger mare blinked and started as she came around to see Applejack's face inches from her own. "Oh! Uh...hey, AJ. Sorry, Ah was..."

"You were daydreamin', Ah know." Applejack scowled at her. "An' yer wastin' time. We gotta get this field done before tonigh', so quit moonin' over Pipsqueak an' get yer rump in gear!"

Apple Bloom's cheeks flushed and she grumbled, "Ah wasn' thinkin' about Pipsqueak."

"Like hay ya weren'," Applejack scoffed, trotting over to the next tree in line and effortlessly ramming her back hooves into it. The trunk shook with a resounding thunk, and a visible vibration roared up the tree, intensifying as it split into dozens, then hundreds of smaller vibrations. The oscillations traveled to each tiny twig, and the ones with leaves at the end shivered, but did not shake loose. The twigs with apples, however, resonated violently, each stem jerking back and forth and then snapping as they were torqued free from the apple. A moment later, a hailstorm of recently liberated apples thundered into the baskets beneath the tree. The whole process took less than five seconds. "Come on, we need these baskets up on that cart. Big Mac'll be back in a bit, an' he'll be right testy if'n it ain't full when he gets here. 'Specially if he finds out you were losin' time thinkin' about some colt," she added with a meaningful look.

Apple Bloom's cheeks darkened further and she glared at the older mare. "Ah wasn' thinkin' about Pipsqueak!" she repeated. "An' he ain' a colt, he's a stallion."

Applejack smirked sourly. "Does he have a job?"

Apple Bloom frowned at the grass beneath her hooves. "No."

"Any prospects? Inves'ments? Savin's?"

"No."

The orange mare smirked. "Then he ain' a stallion. No job, no bits, still livin' offa somepony else, so he's a colt." She raised an eyebrow at her sister. "An' don't y'all forget it."

"As if Ah could," Apple Bloom muttered to herself as Applejack threw her weight into another tree, leaving two sets of baskets for Apple Bloom to collect now. The butter-colored mare suddenly recognized the wisdom of Applejack's warning and began to toss the baskets into the wagon. It was mindless work, especially since she'd been doing it since she was old enough to hurl a full basket, and that left her with plenty of time to think. Time she definitely did not need.

It had been four days since she'd last spoken to either of the other Crusaders. Four days of angry, frustrated tears shed out in the barn, or after dark, where she knew her siblings wouldn't find her and ask awkward questions. Four days of seething fury, of carrying a sickening leaden weight in her stomach, of barely being able to eat or sleep...

It wasn't fair. Why couldn't her friends just be normal? Was that really so hard? And why did Scootaloo even want to be gay? It wasn't like there was anything to be gained. Ponies got married to have foals, and two mares couldn't do that. It just didn't make sense.

And then the lies...Apple Bloom knew she wasn't exactly a shining paragon of honesty all the time, but she had sort of assumed the Crusaders shared everything with each other. Okay, sure, she'd been pretty clear about her stance on fillyfooling, or at least, she had been after Applejack had sat her down and talked to her about it--at excruciating length--but if Scootaloo had just been honest with them in the first place, none of this would have happened. After all, they'd taken the story about her liaison with Rainbow Dash a year ago pretty well, hadn't they? Even then, Scootaloo had been insistent. She wasn't gay. It was just a one-time thing. She and Rainbow Dash had something special that totally transcended gender. She'd even used the word 'transcended'. She had been very convincing.

Too convincin', apparently. Apple Bloom sighed as she threw another basket into the wagon. She should've known. The evidence was everywhere. Rainbow Dash was just the latest in a long trail of breadcrumbs. Scootaloo hated girly stuff, she wasn't really interested in any of the colts in their class, and despite her protests, Diamond Tiara was right: Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle had both caught her staring before. Every time the pegasus had made a big show of acting like she'd just been 'thinking', but the blush on her cheeks told a different tale.

Well, now it was out in the open. It was all true. Scootaloo was gay, probably had been forever, and she'd hid it from the two ponies in her life she shared everything with. In retrospect, Apple Bloom knew she probably could have handled the whole issue better, but she'd just been so mad. After everything else, after brushing off years of bullying because of one day of kindness, after inviting somepony else to a Crusader get-together without asking, after snapping at her for no reason, when all she'd been trying to do was have some fun and treat Silver Spoon like part of the group, Scootaloo had finally pushed her over the edge by undoing years of trust in one shining, nonchalant moment of betrayal.

"I like mares."

Apple Bloom squeezed her eyes shut and furiously hammer-tossed a basket onto the wagon. It landed more heavily than she'd intended and bounced, scattering apples across the cart. Applejack recognized the sound immediately and turned to see the problem. "Apple Bloom, what in tarnation is goin' on with you?" She stomped over to the wagon and eyed her sister suspiciously.

Apple Bloom scowled at her, rage from the resurfacing memory bleeding into her expression. "Nothin'! Nothin's goin' on!"

She withered under Applejack's searing glare. "Nothin' mah hoof. You've been out a' sorts all week, missin' throws an' forgettin' chores." She raised an eyebrow at her. "Are you really that lovesick over this colt?"

"Ah'm not lovesick!" Apple Bloom shrieked, stomping her hooves and making the baskets around her jump. A few more apples fell out of their containers and rolled away. "Ah'm not thinkin' about Pipsqueak, alrigh'?"

"Then what is it, Apple Bloom?" Applejack asked, her tone shifting from anger to concern. "If ya ain' worryin' over a colt, then what's got you all riled up?"

"Ah'm not riled up."

"Darn it, Apple Bloom, stop lyin' to me!" Applejack's eyes glittered as frustrated tears started to fill them. Apple Bloom looked away to keep her own eyes dry. "Ah don' get it. We used t' talk abou' everythin', AB. Ah know we ain't been as close as we used t' be, but Ah always thought you'd still come to me if somethin' was wrong."

"Ah would."

"But ya ain'," Applejack said, even more quietly now. Apple Bloom felt a hoof under her chin, and reluctantly turned to look at her sister. The tears were clinging to her eyelids now, threatening to break free. "Ah know somethin's wrong, AB. Ah just wanna help."

Applejack's concern only intensified the pain slowly overtaking her anger. A pair of tears leaked out of the corners of her eyes and slowly drew a buttercup yellow line in her dusty fur as they curled down to her chin. "You cain't."

Applejack winced as though Apple Bloom's words had struck her. "Ah wanna try."

Apple Bloom sighed. This was a losing battle, she knew. Her sister's stubbornness was legendary, triply so when she thought a family member was in trouble. There was no alternative ending to this conversation. She gave in. "Fahn," she drawled, "but ya gotta promise me ya won' be angry."

"Why would Ah be?"

Apple Bloom shook her head. "Doesn' matter. Promise firs', then Ah'll talk."

Applejack shrugged. "Alrigh'"

"An' ya cain' tell Big Mac."

"Why--never min'," she said, reading the mutiny on Apple Bloom's face. "Ah won't tell 'im, although Ah migh' suggest you tell 'im, dependin'."

"Suggest whatever you want." Apple Bloom fell back to her haunches in the grass and sighed, trying to decide where to start. She looked up and watched the clouds slowly rolling by for a moment before taking a deep breath. "So, Scootaloo."

"Scootaloo?" Applejack repeated, coming over and sitting next to her sister, their flanks not quite touching.

"Yeah, Scootaloo." Apple Bloom took another breath. "She...uh...well, we had game night Friday." She saw Applejack nodding out of the corner of her eye. "An' normally we jus' talk about normal stuff, ya know, school an' hobbies an' things, but this time..." She shook her head. "Everythin' was different. Silver Spoon was there, like Ah told ya, an' it was jus' weird. Ah mean, she's nice enough an' all, but she...well, she ain' a Crusader, ya know?"

Applejack nodded again. "Ah know. It's like when Fluttershy tries t' bring Tree Hugger aroun' to th' castle. Everythin's a mite uncomfortable."

"Exactly," Apple Bloom said, finally looking at her sister. Applejack met her eyes with a gentle smile. She blushed lightly and continued. "Anyway, Scootaloo an' Sweetie seemed to really like havin' her there an' talkin' to her, so Ah figured why upset the apple cart jus' cuz it ain't goin' where Ah want?" She sighed heavily. "At least, that was all fine until the next mornin'."

"What happened in th' mornin'?"

Apple Bloom stopped again. The words were stuck fast, caught deep in her throat, threatening to choke her if she dared try to speak them aloud. Scootaloo's a fillyfooler Scootaloo's a fillyfooler you were right I was wrong she lied I lied and everything's ruined because Scootaloo's a "Silver Spoon left early," she finally managed. "Too early."

"Oh, well, that's no big deal," Applejack said. "Ah mean, maybe she's just a mornin' pony."

Apple Bloom shook her head. "That's not why."

The long pause prompted Applejack to ask, "Okay, then why?"

Apple Bloom squeezed her eyes shut. Applejack and Scootaloo may not have been the best of friends, but they'd shared a few moments of genuine connection, usually in confluence with Scootaloo trying to do something stupid to impress Rainbow Dash. She hated the idea that she could--no, would--ruin that with just a few words. But it was for the best. It was bound to come out sooner or later. Ponyville was bigger now, but the circles of gossip remained fairly close-knit. Scootaloo's secret wouldn't stay secret for long. Better the old-fashioned farmpony hear it from her like-minded sister before she had to get into an argument with Princess Twilight or Rarity over it.

"Because," she started, hesitated, and then forced herself to finish, "because Scootaloo came on to her."

"Came on to...what d'y'all mean, 'came on to 'er'?"

Apple Bloom grimaced at her sister. "Exactly what it sounds like. Scootaloo put moves on Silver Spoon. Like...romantic moves."

"Oh. Like...as a joke?" Applejack's voice was taut, with an undercurrent of wishful thinking.

Apple Bloom shook her head. "'Parently not."

"Ah see."

Apple Bloom squeezed her eyes shut and folded her ears, preparing for a storm of outrage.

It didn't come. "Well, Ah guess that's not too surprisin', is it? Always was a little too...'colt-y', that filly." Applejack shook her head. "Too bad. Was hopin' that one might turn out normal."

Apple Bloom gave her sister a puzzled look. Where was the shock? Where was the explosion of anger and betrayal? This wasn't exactly how she'd expected Applejack to respond to such upsetting news. "No, I guess not," she said cautiously.

"How'd y'all find out?"

"She told us, actually."

"Really?" Applejack looked almost impressed. "Well that was mighty brave of 'er."

Apple Bloom blinked. "Brave? How?"

"Well, she know's it ain't natural, an' she knows y'all don't approve, right? She musta been worried how you'd take it."

Apple Bloom nodded, pursing her lips. "Yeah...she probably was."

Something in her tone caused Applejack to raise an eyebrow. "For no good reason, Ah hope."

"What do you mean?"

"Ah mean ya shouldn' be afraid to tell yer best friends somethin' important like that."

Apple Bloom furrowed her brow. "Well, no, but...it's not like she didn' know we were gonna be...ya know. Upset."

"Upset?" Apple repeated. "Why in tarnation would y'all be upset?"

Apple Bloom stared at her. "Why? 'Cuz she's tellin' us she's a fillyfooler, that's why. 'Cuz it's unnatural an' wrong, an' why shouldn' we be upset to find out one a' our friends is...a...a freak!" The same epithet she'd slung at Scootaloo in the height of her earlier rant forced its way to her lips again now, bringing with it all the indignation and outrage that had prompted her outburst the previous weekend.

Applejack's eyes widened. "Apple Bloom! Don't call your friend a freak!"

"Why not? That's what she is!"

"Why not?" Applejack sputtered. "Why not? Because ya don't talk about yer friends like that."

Apple Bloom narrowed her eyes at the ground between her hooves. "Yeah, well, maybe she deserved it."

"Deserved...wait, you didn' say that to 'er, did you?"

"What, that she's a freak? Well, Ah mean..."

"Apple Bloom!" Applejack scolded, her voice furious and pained. "She ain't a freak, Apple Bloom, she's just...different."

"No," Apple Bloom sneered, "Fluttershy is 'different'. Bulk Biceps is 'different'. Fillyfoolin' is wrong, an' anypony who does it is a freak." She narrowed her eyes at her sister. "Heck, yer the one who told me that in th' first place."

Applejack stared at her, dumbfounded. "What the hay are you talkin' about?"

Apple Bloom rolled her eyes. "Oh please. Five years ago, at the last reunion, Ah told you Ah thought Babs was real pretty, an' you jus' about lost yer mind."

"Well, yeah, okay, but Ah was just tryin' to tell you not to get any funny ideas. Babs lives in Manehattan after all, an' those Manehattan ponies are already pretty loose with that kinda thing. There ain't no sense in bein' a fillyfooler. Ya can't keep a farm goin' if ya don't have offspring to take it over."

"Yeah, well, maybe y'all fergot the exact words ya used, but believe me, 'freak' was in there. Fact," she added, forestalling her sister's flabbergasted response, "you said Starlight 'n' Trixie 'n' Rainbow 'n' all them were a waste a' good foal makin' parts, an' it was a cryin' shame all the prettiest mares were like that."

"Ah...Ah did?" Applejack's face slowly paled as the blood drained from her cheeks.

Apple Bloom nodded. "You were right vocal 'bout it. Ya say it once 'r twice every cider season, actually. After about four mugs, ya start talkin' about how much Rainbow loves our cider, an' then ya get all angry an' loud an' start complainin' about how ''course, she loves plenty of things she shouldn'', and then--"

"Okay, okay!" Applejack cut her off, her face flushing again as a shameful blush rushed back to her cheeks. "Ah get it." An awkward moment passed between the sisters before Applejack muttered, "Big Mac never told me Ah was sayin' all that in front of you."

Apple Bloom shrugged. "What difference does it make? Obviously y'all meant it, or ya wouldn'a said it."

The orange mare removed her hat and fanned herself with it as she struggled to find the right words. "Look, Apple Bloom, Ah..." She sighed and replaced the hat. "Ah don't want y'all to get the wrong idea. 'Course, it looks like that tree might'a been bucked already," she added darkly. "But what Starlight an' Trixie an' Rainbow an'...well, an' Scootaloo do an' feel an' think...well, it's wrong, yeah, an' it ain' natural, but that doesn' mean you tell them so. Leas' not without lettin' 'em know it doesn' stop 'em from bein' yer friend."

Apple Bloom stared at her sister. "What do you mean? You said--"

"Ah know what Ah said!" Applejack snapped. Then she collected herself and took a deep breath. "Ah mean...Ah know what Ah said. An'...well...back then, Ah was worried about you. And Ah was already kinda off mah hooves 'cause of Rainbow comin' out, an'...Ah just didn't want you goin' down that same road." She gave Apple Bloom a guilty glance. "Seein' as you an' the Crusaders were such good pals, Ah thought...well, it doesn' matter what Ah thought."

"You thought we were foolin' around with each other?" Apple Bloom asked.

Applejack smiled wryly. "Y'all were that age. An' then when Babs came an' y'all got real cozy with her an' started talkin' about how pretty she was, Ah just...Ah thought Starlight might'a been rubbin' off on y'all."

Apple Bloom gave her a look. "'Rubbin' off on us'? What's that supposed to mean?"

"Nothin'," Applejack said, shaking her head. "Just that Starlight's...you know, how she is, an' y'all did spend a lot of time with her what with her bein' headmistress an' all, and seein' her with Trixie--"

"You thought just seein' two mares together would make us want to be with other mares?"

"No," Applejack said. "But Ah thought it might give y'all the idea that it's normal or somethin'."

Apple Bloom pursed her lips. "Well, it didn'. Ah don' think it's normal. An' Ah don' like that Scootaloo is fawnin' over Silver Spoon."

Applejack shrugged. "You don' have to like it. But," she added, giving Apple Bloom a sidealong glance, "that don' mean ya can't still be her friend. An' it don' mean you should stop lovin' her jus' the same. An' if she starts somethin' with Silver Spoon, you go ahead and make nice with Silver Spoon, too, cuz if she and Scootaloo turn into an item, you don' want to lose one a' yer best friends over somethin' so silly."

"Ah guess..." Apple Bloom trailed off and stared at the grass for a long moment. The sun was past its zenith and hanging low in the sky behind the two mares, casting unequally long shadows in front of them as they sat and talked. From their perch on the hill, she could just barely see the outline of the Crusaders' clubhouse, deep in one of the outer orchards and surrounded by empty trees. A dozen years of memories passed unfocused through her mind, some better than others, some mortifying, a few confusing, but all involving her two best friends. Two best friends she was currently at odds with, and who she might well have driven away completely in her anger.

She wondered what Scootaloo had been up to over the past week, whether the pegasus had told her parents or not, whether she had given up on Silver Spoon after her ill-fated attempt at romance had been rebuffed. She wondered whether Sweetie Belle was still upset about the argument they'd had on the walk home from Scootaloo's house that morning. She grimaced inwardly at the recollection of some of the things she'd said. Unfounded accusations and insults...all because Sweetie Belle had had the audacity to defend Scootaloo from what Apple Bloom was slowly coming to realize was an unnecessary attack.

Tears in her eyes, shimmering...

Apple Bloom could see Scootaloo's face just as clearly now in her mind's eye as she had that morning. At the time, it had been easy to convince herself Scootaloo's yelling and crying and shoving were all pure anger, but now, sitting in the serenity of the orchard, with her sister by her side and the vast expanse of nature yawning out in every direction around her, she realized what she'd been intentionally ignoring since she'd slammed the door and stormed off.

Hurt. Scootaloo was hurt. Not mad, just wounded, defending herself in the only way Scootaloo ever could.

But then, Apple Bloom had been hurt, too. Not in the same way, of course, but deeply, and suddenly. It wasn't the revelation that hurt her, or the way it had come out. It was the decade of lies that preceded it. Lies on all sides. Lies Scootaloo had begged her to tell, lies she'd told Scootaloo about her conversations with Sweetie Belle, lies she knew Scootaloo had told them, but that they'd pretended to believe for her sake. Lies she'd even told herself about things she couldn't--and didn't want to--understand. Lies she'd told Applejack...

"Hey, Applejack," Apple Bloom heard the words coming out of her mouth and knew immediately she was going to regret the next several sentences. Her subconscious panicked and tried desperately to stop what it knew was coming, but she pushed onward, determined to clear the air. No more lies. You've ruined enough.

Applejack responded almost before she finished speaking, as if the older mare had been hanging on tenterhooks waiting for her to speak. "Yeah, Apple Bloom?"

Apple Bloom swallowed hard. Her heart was racing so she couldn't even feel the beats. Is this what Scootaloo felt like? No wonder she was crying... "So...you remember that night Ah had the Crusaders over fer a sleepover an' you, uh...came into mah room without knockin'?"

Applejack's eyes slowly narrowed. "Yeah..."

Apple Bloom blushed. "An' we were all in mah bed together an'...an' real close an'..." She swallowed, trying to find the words to say what she had to say. "An' you said it wasn' right for three fillies to be in the same bed?"

"Ah do," Applejack said, deadpan.

Apple Bloom instinctively shied away from her sister's piercing gaze. "Well...when you asked me if anything was...'goin' on' before you came in..." She trailed off. She couldn't bring herself to finish the thought. She simply wasn't as brave as Scootaloo apparently had had to be.

In the end, she didn't have to be. "You lied," Applejack said solemnly, nodding her head.

Apple Bloom's head almost spun with the speed it turned to stare at her sister, agog. "Ah...yeah, how did...Ah mean, how did you find out?"

Applejack sighed, a sad, almost guilty look on her face. "Ah knew as soon as Ah walked in. Ah had my suspicions before Ah even opened the door, 'cause...well, the farmhouse ain't as airtight as it used t'be." She almost smiled. "Sound moves through those walls pretty easy."

Apple Bloom felt the top of her muzzle warming as the blush crept across her face. "So...so you knew all along...an' you never said anythin'?"

Applejack shook her head. "Nah. Figured it was up t' y'all if ya felt like tellin' me, an' 'tweren' none of mah business if ya didn'." When Apple Bloom didn't say anything in response to this, she shrugged and continued. "Ah was a filly once too, AB. Ah had those feelin's like anypony else. Ah just never had anypony that made me wanna try 'em out." The tiny smile widened. "But you an' the Crusaders've always been closer'n reg'lar friends. Ah figured if you were gonna...experimen' with anypony, it was gonna be them."

Nothing Applejack had said so far had made any sense to Apple Bloom's racing mind. "You're not mad?" she asked, struggling to find a starting point to understanding the conversation.

Applejack shrugged. "No point in bein' mad. What's done is done, AB. Ah mean..." She pursed her lips. "Ah was mad at the time, sure. An' Ah thought about yellin' at you the next mornin' after yer friends left, but...well, you know Big Mac's always been yer champ, right?" Apple Bloom nodded. "Well, after Ah...caught ya, Ah went an' talked to him about it, 'cause Ah was a mite upset." She smirked. "Well, he was right patient, listened to everythin' Ah said, let me steam mahself out, an' then he told me to keep mah muzzle buttoned."

Apple Bloom's mouth fell open. "He said what?"

Applejack chuckled softly. "You heard right. Made me madder'n a boot snake with no fangs, believe me, but he went on t'say what Ah jus' told you. That y'all weren' hurtin' nopony, that everypony goes through it, an' that it weren' none of mah business." She sighed. "An' after Ah got through yellin' at 'im out in the barn fer a while, Ah settled down and figured he was right." She smiled over at Apple Bloom. "Ah knew you were pretty smart yerself, an' if you ever had any problems, you'd come an' tell me." The smile suddenly faded. "Least...Ah thought you would."

Apple Bloom winced and rubbed her foreleg with a hoof, dutifully examining the ground. "Yeah, Ah...well, there're some things Ah didn' really wanna talk about with anypony...even you."

There was a brief silence, then Applejack said quietly, "You coulda just said so. Ya didn' hafta lie about it."

Apple Bloom's eyes stung. "Ah know, Ah just...after what ya said about Babs, an' how you always talked about Starlight an' Rainbow, Ah just didn' wanna make you hate me, too."

"Hate you?" Applejack almost yelled the words. "Apple Bloom, what in tarnation would make you think Ah'd ever hate you fer anything?"

"But you--"

"Apple Bloom," Applejack cut her off firmly, "Ah don't hate anypony who goes that way, not strangers, definitely not friends, and 'specially not family. Ah could never hate family, you know that."

Apple Bloom grimaced and kicked at the dirt. "Ah...Ah know that, but--"

"But nothin'." She was suddenly enveloped in a crushing hug, and she felt Applejack's next words as much as she heard them. "Apple Bloom, Ah love you t'pieces, no matter what y'all do or say or think." She held the filly at arm's length and smiled at her. "Ah may not always agree, and some things might make me mad fer a little while--it's just how I work, you know. But nothin's ever gonna make me stop bein' your sister, an' nothin'--but nothin'--is gonna stop me lovin' you."

Apple Bloom burst into tears. Applejack immediately pulled her back into the hug, pressing her sister's face into her chest fur and letting the younger mare cry. "Ah messed up!" the filly blubbered, her words muffled in the fur. "Scootaloo came out an' Ah could tell she was scared, but Ah was jus' so mad she didn' tell us before, an' Ah wanted t'be a good friend, but Ah couldn' help mahself, an' then Ah was yellin' and she was yellin' and Sweetie Belle was cryin' and Ah just couldn' stand it, an' Ah had to leave, but then Sweetie Belle caught up with me an' she was still cryin' an' then she started yellin', and so Ah yelled back, an'...an'...aw, Applejack, what am Ah gonna do?" She trailed off in a wail of tears and resumed sobbing into Applejack's fur.

Applejack let her cry for some time, silently rubbing her sister's back with her hooves and resting her head on Apple Bloom's. When the younger mare had calmed down somewhat, the elder farmpony held her at arm's length again. "Alright, what's done is done. Ah know you're upset, an' you got a right to be. Ah'm not sayin' she was right or you were wrong, or vice vers', jus' that ya both did some dumb stuff, ya both got mad about it, an' while you were all fired up, y'all forgot that y'all are friends. Friends fergive, right?" Apple Bloom sniffed and nodded while her sister gently wiped a tear off of her cheek. "Good. Now y'all have a lot of talkin' to do, but Ah wouldn' go pressin' the issue just yet. Scootaloo's almost as stubborn as you are, so it might take her a while to cool off."

Apple Bloom chuckled, her voice clouded by the last vestiges of her tears. "Yeah...probably woulda taken me a lot longer if you hadn' pestered me about it, too."

Applejack grinned. "Well that's what big sisters are for, right? Hugs when ya want 'em, and pesterin' when ya need it." She suddenly snared Apple Bloom and began ruthlessly rubbing the top of her head with a hoof, laughing as Apple Bloom shrieked and giggled and tried to escape the noogie.

"What's goin' on?" The two sisters stopped tussling long enough to turn towards their approaching brother, the source of the rolling baritone query. The scarlet stallion was pulling an empty cart behind him and casually passing a long stalk of wheat from one corner of his mouth to the other as he eyed the two mares with a look somewhere between discouragement and curiosity. The Apple sisters sheepishly separated, still grinning even as they avoided their brother's gaze.

"Sorry Big Mac," Apple Bloom said. "We were just...talkin'."

"An' playin'," the big workhorse observed dryly. "Talkin' don't get the chores done, you know."

"Yeah, well," Applejack shrugged, "sometimes talkin's more important." She gave Apple Bloom a warm sidealong smile before turning to give Big Mac a look heavy with implication.

Big Mac's eyes flicked to Apple Bloom and for an instant she thought she saw his stern gaze waver, softening slightly at some internal impetus. She wondered if he suspected what they'd been discussing; her brother was, after all, uncannily wise and aware. But he made no mention of any suspicions and simply said, "Was it?"

Apple Bloom smiled warmly at each of her siblings in turn. "Yeah," she said, feeling the cloud that had been hanging low over her for the past several days slowly dissipating. "Yeah, it was."

"Good," he said, casually unhitching himself from the empty cart and shrugging into the half-full cart's harness. The conversation ended there, and the chores resumed, but as they worked on into the early evening, Apple Bloom noticed--as only a sibling could--that both her brother and her sister's steps seemed just a touch lighter than they had been that morning.

Rome

Cheerilee's day started earlier than most ponies'. The sun had yet to rise by the time she slowly rolled out of bed and groggily made her way through her morning routine, each step from shower to breakfast increasing her general wakefulness by a small margin until she finally found herself sitting on the front porch sipping contentedly at a mug of rich black coffee and watching the schoolyard slowly coming to life under the rising dawn. She didn't actually live inside the school, despite what most of her students assumed, but in a cozy little bungalow a short walk away, close enough to be able to be at the schoolhouse as early as necessary--in case some young pony needed to show up before the doors would normally open--or to stay after class in case some pony's parents were slow to retrieve them. Granted, it had been several years since anypony had taken advantage of her exceptional availability, but she still woke up well before dawn every morning, just in case.

Her ears twitched around at the muffled thud of heavy hoofbeats approaching her front door from inside. A smile crept across her face as she heard the door swing open with a quiet creak and the hooves' owner joined her on the porch. "'Mornin'." The rich, deep voice rolled over her, sending a delicious thrill down her spine that was amplified substantially when a broad square muzzle appeared over her shoulder and placed a gentle kiss on her cheek.

"Good morning yourself," she replied with a hint of surprise. "You're up awfully early, especially considering how late you had to work yesterday." A sly grin hovered at the edges of her lips and her eyelids drew half-closed. "And how late you were up."

"The sun doesn' sleep in, so neither do I," Big Mac quipped with a shrug and a narrow smile. He sat down behind her, enveloping her with his forelegs and resting his head heavily on top of hers.

Cheerilee giggled and leaned back into him. "Still, you must be exhausted. Do you want some coffee?"

The big red stallion shook his head, which turned her head from side to side as well. "Nope. Just gets me jittery. I'll be alright." The couple sat in silence for some time, watching the sleepy city awaken. Cheerilee listened to Big Mac breathe and felt his slow, steady heart beating against her shoulders. They had been dating for a few years now, ever since she'd corralled him at a Winter Wrap-up afterparty and they had shared a long series of awkward hemming and hawing before Applejack had finally run out of patience and stomped up to them, declaring they were to go on a dinner date the next weekend, that it was Big Mac's treat, and that they would go to Horsia's--a relatively pricey restaurant in the city center--and then take in a movie. Cheerilee and Big Mac had acquiesced to her plan, too startled to be angry.

It had not gone well. Their first date had been a disaster, as the confluence of Big Mac's shyness and Cheerilee's fears of making him spend too many bits on her had rendered them both miserable for the entire time. They had even skipped the movie completely, unwilling to suffer the crushing awkwardness any longer than necessary. They hadn't spoken for a while afterwards, both ponies too ashamed and embarrassed to even discuss the fiasco. Eventually, though, their friendship dulled their mortification, and they'd taken the time to actually talk through what had happened, and, miraculously, decided to try again, but without Applejack's well-meaning but ultimately ill-fated 'help'. They settled on a picnic in the park that Big Mac would provide, and Cheerilee would pay for whatever else they might want to do afterwards.

It was the perfect solution. Free of the risk of public ridicule, Big Mac slowly opened up and Cheerilee was able to coax him into a genuinely pleasant conversation. The food--gathered from the Apple orchards and therefore essentially free--was naturally delightful, and Cheerilee ate without guilt, remarking enthusiastically on the quality of both the foodstuffs themselves and the deftness of preparation. Big Mac had stunned her by claiming to have made all the food with his own hooves, and then brought a fillyish blush to her cheeks by revealing he'd only bothered because he'd wanted to impress her. By the time the meal was finished, Cheerilee could not think of anything she'd rather do than keep the date going. Big Mac had sheepishly agreed.

They'd walked through the park, split a sundae at Sugar Cube Corner (Cheerilee refused to let Big Mac even attempt to pay), sat together on a bench in the town square where Big Mac had blushed adorably as he attempted to stealthily sneak a hoof over to touch hers. She giggled and took it with a warm smile. They held hooves and sat in silence for some time, but a comfortable, serene silence, in every sense the obverse of the thick, awkward silence that had permeated their first date. It was pleasant. It was peaceful. Then it became sublime when Big Mac nervously leaned over and planted a kiss on her cheek. She'd blushed and giggled, and snared him before he could pull away, returning the kiss, but on his lips instead. The peck was brief, and the extent of their intimacy for that night, but it was more than sufficient.

That had been almost three years ago. Their courtship had had all the same issues as any new couple might, compounded by Big Mac's immensely frustrating habit of refusing to talk about problems until they threatened to destroy the fledgling relationship, but Cheerilee managed to counterbalance this foible with the exceptional patience she had honed over years of dealing with young ponies. The other interesting element of having a quiet, reserved stallion for a special somepony was that Cheerilee found herself beholden to undertaking all the significant firsts. She had been the first to initiate a kiss of any variety more intimate than a quick peck, the first to invite him in to her bungalow, the first to invite him to stay the night after he'd failed to take the hint, the first to invite him into her bed when he'd failed to take that hint, the first to initiate intimacy once in bed when he'd failed to take that hint, and the first to grab him by his stupid, adorable face and demand he put himself inside her when he'd failed to make any moves in that direction of his own volition.

It wasn't as though he hadn't wanted to do all these things, she knew, for he always undertook her suggestions with the utmost enthusiasm--and what enthusiasm he had...--it was simply that he was permanently too shy to break through whatever relationship barrier stood before him. Even after he'd left her breathless, sweaty, shaking from ear to dock, he'd nervously asked if he could stay in her bed that night. She'd been unable to answer immediately, but once her head had stopped spinning in delirious ecstasy, she'd grabbed the foal by his mane and dragged his forelegs around her shoulders. It was like that most of the time. She had eventually learned to read his body language and expressions, and had started giving him permission out loud to do things she knew he wanted to do. It was odd, she reflected, but it worked, and she wouldn't want it any other way. In fact, the only time he'd taken the initiative to say or do anything for the first time was the most important of all, when he'd hemmed and hawed and stuttered for several minutes before blurting out that he loved her. She'd burst into delighted tears, thoroughly ruining the moment, but it hardly mattered. She'd responded in kind.

Now, she thought, rolling her eyes up to look at the underside of her coltfriend's chin, all that was left was the greatest step of all. She wanted to leave that to him, too, which meant an exceptionally long wait at best, and an infinite wait at worst. She smiled. That was okay by her. She would wait as long as she had to.

"Hey, isn't that Scootaloo?" Her reverie was suddenly interrupted and her head bobbed under Big Mac's jaw as the big stallion turned both of their heads towards the gate at the entrance to the schoolyard. Cheerilee squinted a little and saw the orange and magenta splotch approaching the school.

"Huh," she said, bemused. "So it is. And Silver Spoon, too," she added, noticing now the silver streak next to the pegasus. "They're awfully early today."

"And together," Big Mac observed. "Didn't think those girls liked each other much."

"Yeah..." Cheerilee said, "they didn't."

"Wonder what changed."

What indeed, Cheerilee thought. Her decision to put them together on the project had been a crazy hail Celestia, a last ditch effort to attack their greatest shortcomings from another angle besides head-on. Scootaloo's laziness and outrageous ego versus Silver Spoon's absence of self-esteem and her continuous struggle to succeed. If Scootaloo could only see past her own muzzle long enough to apply her intelligence and charm to help Silver Spoon see even a fraction of her own value and potential, Cheerilee was certain they'd both come out of the season measurably better off. Scootaloo could apply to the Academy with confidence, and Silver Spoon could actually graduate. Eventually.

Cheerilee had only ever expected them to tolerate each other, if they could even manage that, and only long enough to complete the project. She'd certainly never expected to see them spending time together voluntarily, let alone earlier than she had ever seen Scootaloo awake and about. Perhaps her plan was working better than she'd expected it could...

Scootaloo had largely forgotten about Miss Cheerilee's plan. At present, she had her own plans to worry about, and she was not particularly confident about the outcome. Silver Spoon had been trying to reassure her for the past twenty minutes, ever since she'd met the surprised pegasus at her front door with a tentative smile and the offer of a lift in her family's carriage. Scootaloo had gracefully declined, as she preferred walking when she couldn't use her scooter--she didn't trust certain classmates enough to leave her prized possession sitting unguarded outside the school--and Silver Spoon had asked if they could at least walk together. Nonplussed, Scootaloo had acquiesced, and with somepony waiting for her, the pegasus had been forced to complete her morning routine with somewhat more speed than usual, resulting in their current status of "entirely too early".

It was just as well, thought Scootaloo, glancing anxiously around the deserted yard. Every second she could put off the inevitable storm that was guaranteed to crash down on her when Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle showed up was increasingly valuable to her. Silver Spoon noticed her skittish scanning and rolled her eyes. "Come on, Scootaloo, it's not like they're going to sneak up on you or anything."

Scootaloo gave her a manic look. "Don't be too sure. Apple Bloom may not look like much, but she's crafty. And Sweetie Belle's got her sister's vengeful streak. I can't even imagine what they'd be able to pull off together."

Silver Spoon shrugged. "Nothing at the moment. They're not on speaking terms, remember?"

"So you think."

"Oh, for--" Silver Spoon exhaled forcefully. "Never mind. I'll go talk to them, then, since you're such a chicken."

"I'm not a chicken."

"Then you get to break the ice."

"I will. I just need to...prepare."

Silver Spoon groaned. "No, what you need to do is chill out. You're freaking, and don't get me wrong, I understand why, but it's not going to help. When they show up, just talk to them like you always do. They're your friends, and it's not like you've never fought before."

Scootaloo pursed her lips. "Not like this."

"Maybe not, but it's no different. You all made mistakes, said stuff you didn't mean. Now it's just time to clear the air." Silver Spoon smiled. "It'll be fine, trust me."

Scootaloo gave her a worried look. "You really think so?"

Silver Spoon gently bumped Scootaloo's shoulder with her own. "I do."

Scootaloo blushed lightly. Then she blanched and her eyes widened as she spotted Sweetie Belle approaching them from across the yard. "Oh Luna," she breathed, her heart suddenly pounding.

Silver Spoon followed her gaze. "Oh good. Sweetie Belle is probably the first one you should talk to anyway. She seemed a lot less...prickly when I talked to her yesterday."

Scootaloo pressed her lips together tightly. "Yeah, probably."

Silver Spoon rubbed against her shoulder again. "Come on, Scootaloo, you know I've got your back. And your friends will understand, I'm sure of it."

Scootaloo allowed herself to relax slightly into the contact. "Yeah," she repeated. "Yeah, okay." She watched anxiously as Sweetie Belle approached, not quite meeting their gaze. Then the unicorn seemed to lose her nerve and stumbled to a halt some distance away, pointedly staring at the ground. Scootaloo blushed and looked to Silver Spoon, unsure of the right move. Silver Spoon simply shrugged and nudged her towards the unicorn. Scootaloo grimaced, but slowly got to her hooves and closed the rest of the distance between them herself.

Finally, she was close enough that Sweetie Belle could no longer pretend not to notice them, and she looked up at Scootaloo from beneath thick eyelashes. Her eyes were wide and worried, mirroring the nervous frown on her muzzle. She didn't say anything, and Scootaloo couldn't find the words to break the ice herself either, so they sat in silence.

Silver Spoon was not having any of it. "Morning, Sweetie Belle."

Sweetie Belle's eyes darted over to meet the earth pony's for an instant before falling to the ground again. "H-hey, Silver Spoon...Scootaloo," she added quietly.

Scootaloo suddenly found her voice again, gravelly and unsteady though it was. "Hey, Sweetie." Another long silence passed. Silver Spoon was leaning heavily into her side now, maddening in her persistence. Scootaloo wanted to be angry about it, but she could only sigh and acquiesce. "Look, Sweet--"

"Oh Scootaloo, I am so, so sorry!" Sweetie Belle suddenly burst into dramatic sobs and dove for Scootaloo's shoulders, wrapping herself tightly around the pegasus and bawling into her ear. Scootaloo was stunned into inaction, and Sweetie Belle filled the resulting silence with a stream of explanations and apologies. "It was just so sudden, and everything was going wrong at once, and Apple Bloom was so angry, and I just wanted everything to be okay again, but then you were yelling, and Apple Bloom was yelling, and I didn't know what to say or do or anything, and...and..." She dissolved into incoherence.

Scootaloo didn't know what to say. This wasn't exactly how she'd imagined this conversation going. She'd expected a lot more hemming and hawing and a long, circumspect discussion with apologies on both sides before they could find a comfortable middle ground to agree on. She certainly hadn't expected Sweetie Belle to take the fall for them both. In fact, she didn't want her to. She gently patted Sweetie Belle on the back. "It's alright, Sweetie, it wasn't your fault."

Sweetie Belle pulled away and shook her head. "No, you're wrong. I screwed up big time. I shouldn't have been so...wishy-washy. I should've just said what I thought, and not worried about what Apple Bloom was gonna say."

"Wait," Scootaloo said, "so...you don't agree with Apple Bloom?" A little flicker of warmth flared to life in the cold pit of her stomach. "You...you don't think I'm a freak?"

"Freak?" Sweetie Belle made an appropriately affronted face. "Of course not, Scootaloo! You're my friend, one of my best friends. If this is who you are, then it's who you are, and that doesn't change anything about who you've always been."

"But...all that time..." Scootaloo was dumbfounded. "I thought you'd for sure be mad that I'd kept it from you for so long."

Sweetie Belle sniffed and shrugged. "I don't care. Not anymore. I mean, it was a little surprising, but that's all." She hugged Scootaloo tightly. "You're my friend, and I love you no matter what. This doesn't change anything." She looked at the ground between them. "And I'm just sorry I didn't tell you that back when you needed me to."

Scootaloo slowly closed her eyes, tears of relief flooding them and leaking out and down her cheeks. Sweetie's acceptance washed over her, waves of warmth and love that did more to ease her wounded heart than all of Silver Spoon and her parents' platitudes had for the past several days. Her best friend, her oldest friend, accepted her. Still loved her, in spite of everything. All the pain and loneliness and fear she'd been desperately denying ebbed away, and Sweetie's words filled the resulting void with warmth and comfort. Elated to tears, she returned Sweetie Belle's hug and the two ponies embraced tightly, sniffing and crying quietly together for several seconds, equally relieved to know their friendship was not in fact ruined beyond repair. When they parted, Scootaloo swiped at her eyes with a hoof and gave Sweetie Belle a watery smile. "You don't know how much it means to me to hear you say that," she said. "I...I thought you and Apple Bloom didn't want to be my friend anymore."

"Over this?" Sweetie asked, scoffing. "As if this is the weirdest thing that's ever happened to our friendship."

"Well, it's the weirdest thing that isn't something we can fix, or that will go away or anything."

"No, I suppose not," Sweetie Belle mused. "But still, it's something we can work around."

Scootaloo raised an eyebrow at this. "Work around? What do you mean? You think it's a problem?"

Sweetie Belle shook her head vehemently. "No, no, nothing like that. I think it's fine, and honestly, when I actually sat down to think about it, it made perfect sense. I mean, the signs were there..." She gave Scootaloo a meaningful look.

Scootaloo pressed her lips together. "Yeah, okay, I guess I wasn't exactly hiding it real well from anypony but myself."

Sweetie Belle actually giggled a little. "Anyway, I just meant it's something I think we can probably bring Apple Bloom around on."

Scootaloo frowned. "I dunno, Sweetie. I mean, you heard what she said, right? About me, and...heck, about my parents, even. Seems like she'd be kind of hard to convince." If I even cared to convince her, she didn't add, but a nasty little voice in the back of her head sneered it just the same.

Sweetie Belle shrugged. "Maybe. All we can do is try, right?"

Scootaloo's spirits lifted at this. "You'll help?"

"Well, duh," she scoffed. "What kind of silly question is that? Friends always help each other out." Her gaze suddenly shifted, and she gave the temporarily forgotten Silver Spoon a warm smile. "And we're all friends, right?"

Silver Spoon visibly relaxed as she returned the smile. "Yeah. Yeah, we are. Hey, Sweetie," she suddenly continued, taking advantage of Sweetie Belle's momentary focus. "I want to apologize for bailing the other day. I should've just stuck it out, at least long enough to be polite and show you guys how much everything you did and said meant to me. You were all amazing, and I just took off without saying anything, and that was totally wrong of me." She shrank into herself sheepishly. "Can you forgive me?"

Sweetie Belle grinned broadly. "Totally. I guess we all kinda went a little crazy this weekend, huh?"

"Heh, yeah," Scootaloo said dryly. "A little."

~~~

"So."

"So," Scootaloo echoed Sweetie Belle, raising a curious eyebrow.

"So," Sweetie Belle repeated as she delicately searched for the right words. "You like mares."

Scootaloo blushed reflexively. "Yeah, I guess so."

"Just mares?" Sweetie's tone shifted almost imperceptibly, but if Scootaloo had had to identify the change, she might've called it hopeful.

Instead, she simply shrugged and shook her head. "Nah, I still like stallions, too. Like Rainbow Dash."

Sweetie Belle grinned. "How strange that you would follow in Rainbow Dash's hoofprints."

Scootaloo stuck out her tongue at her friend. "Funny."

"So are you two like, an item now?" Sweetie Belle glanced between the two.

Scootaloo and Silver Spoon glanced at each other, eyes wide, and started rambling denials over one another. Sweetie Belle blinked and leaned back, surprised. "Oh, okay. I just thought..."

Scootaloo shook her head vehemently. "No, no. We're not together. It's just a crush, and she knows all about it, but we talked it over, and, well..."

Sweetie Belle nodded. "Yeah, I get it." She seemed especially morose, as though she'd actually hoped Scootaloo and Silver Spoon might become a couple. Scootaloo couldn't help but raise an eyebrow. Sweetie Belle's entire attitude about the situation seemed off. She contemplated probing further, but lost the train of thought when the unicorn continued. "Have you told anyone else?"

"Just Rainbow Dash," Scootaloo said.

"Oh, really?" Sweetie Belle said. "What'd she say?"

Scootaloo smiled sheepishly. "She was real supportive. You know how she is." The smile faltered very slightly. "In fact, I'm pretty sure she already knew before I told her."

Sweetie Belle couldn't hide a smirk. "I think a few ponies did."

Scootaloo rolled her eyes. "Not me, apparently."

The unicorn shrugged. "Well, that's not unusual...or so I hear."

Scootaloo gave her a searching look. "You know, for all the drama this caused over the weekend, you seem awfully okay with it now."

Sweetie Belle sighed. "I was never not okay with it. It just caught me off-guard, and Apple Bloom's reaction was...hard to swallow."

Scootaloo barked a laugh. "That's one way to put it," she said dryly.

Sweetie Belle hung her head. "I just didn't know how to react. I mean, I know it's a big deal, and I knew it was something we just needed to talk about a little bit, but when Apple Bloom went off like she did, I just panicked. All I could think of was how to save our friendship. The Crusaders', I mean."

Scootaloo grunted. "Yeah, well, she didn't seem to be in a talking mood." The insulting mood, though...

"No, she really didn't," Sweetie Belle agreed morosely. "And you might be right. I really hope we get a chance to talk it over with her, but she might not even want to."

"Oh, please," Silver Spoon suddenly spoke up, waving a hoof. "You three are disgustingly inseperable." Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo stared at her in surprise. She shrugged. "Take it from somepony who's watched from the outside for years, this isn't going to last. I mean, don't get me wrong, all the Apples are, like, impossibly stubborn, so it might take a while, but she'll start missing you soon enough." She smiled reassuringly at Scootaloo. "Trust me."

Scootaloo felt the warmth of her smile washing over her, relaxing tense muscles and sending a pleasant little thrill through her middle. She couldn't help but return it. "Yeah, you're probably right." She barely managed to resist the urge to nuzzle the earth pony as she added, "Thanks, Spoon."

The three ponies sat and chatted idly about the lessons Scootaloo had missed during her absence while the morning passed and the yard began to fill up around them. Some of the other ponies greeted Scootaloo and wished her well; others seemed to make special note of the fact that Silver Spoon had apparently replaced Apple Bloom in their normal group. Most seemed not to take notice of her at all. It seemed that news of her recently revealed proclivities had not yet spread among her classmates. Scootaloo was glad to only have to tackle the issue with a few ponies at a time. She remembered as well as anypony what a nightmare it had been for poor Glittershell when she'd been suddenly and maliciously outed.

"Good morning, girls!" Scootaloo and her friends all turned as one to face their teacher, who was trotting lightly up behind them, her saddlebags bouncing gaily on her ample flanks and an easy grin on her face.

"Good morning," they responded, incidentally as one.

"Good to see you back, Scootaloo. Are you feeling better?"

Scootaloo smiled. "Much, thanks."

The fuchsia mare beamed. "I'm so happy to hear that. Did you get your makeup work?"

Scootaloo nodded. "Yeah." She nosed into her own saddlebag and pulled out the envelope. "Here," she mumbled around the paper.

Cheerilee blinked. "Oh! Well, I didn't actually expect you to...well, thank you anyway." She took the envelope and stuck it into her own bag. "You know," she said, her gaze sliding from one young mare to the next, "I must say I'm surprised and gratified to see the three of you getting along for once." She smiled. "I had always hoped you might bury the hatchet one day and see you had more in common than you might think."

All three fillies glanced furtively at each other and blushed, each according to her own personal level of awkwardness. Miss Cheerilee seemed not to notice, simply beaming at them with pride. Scootaloo cleared her throat. "Yeah, well...I guess you were right, Miss Cheerilee. Silver Spoon's not so bad." She smirked at the earth pony next to her. "Most of the time."

Silver Spoon rolled her eyes. "Wish I could say the same about you."

Miss Cheerilee's smile faded momentarily, but returned when the three fillies responded to the ribbing with easy giggles. "Well, anyway, like I said, I'm glad. I hope your projects are going smoothly?"

Silver Spoon and Scootaloo nodded together. Scootaloo said, "Yeah. We're still in preliminary planning stages, but I think we've got a good base to work with. Shouldn't be too hard. You were right, by the way."

Cheerilee grinned. "I thought I might be." She turned to Sweetie Belle. "And yours?"

The unicorn scowled at the ground. "No such luck. Diamond Tiara still won't even talk to me."

"At all?" Sweetie shook her head. Cheerilee pursed her lips. "Alright, I'll talk to her. I'm sorry it's such an issue, but I promise it won't reflect poorly on you. I know you've been trying."

Sweetie Belle's scowl softened into a tentative smile. "Thanks, Miss Cheerilee."

The earth pony nodded. "Of course. By the way, is Apple Bloom not here yet?"

The trio shrugged. "We haven't seen her," Sweetie said.

"Odd," Cheerilee said. "She's usually here well before you three are." She paused. "I wonder...oh!" she interrupted herself and focused on something behind them. "There she is! Good morning, Apple Bloom!"

Scootaloo, Sweetie Belle, and Silver Spoon all turned to face the approaching earth pony. Her mane and tail had somewhat less of their normal bounce, and her bows seemed loose and flat, as though she'd tied and retied them several times. Her face was mostly inscrutable, but the expression was anything but positive. She managed to twist it into an approximation of a smile long enough to acknowledge Miss Cheerilee's greeting. "Hi, Miss Cheerilee."

An anxious silence yawned among the five mares for a few moments before Cheerilee seemed to read the atmosphere and decided she was not helping. "Anyway, I'll leave you four to yourselves. See you all inside!" With a flip of her tail and a bob in her step, she trotted off into the schoolhouse.

The silence held sway for several more seconds as the two sides sized one another up. Silver Spoon and Sweetie Belle anxiously glanced between their more chromatic friends, neither one confident enough in themselves to speak up. Scootaloo found the anger she'd been resisting all morning break through at the sight of the yellow pony. Apple Bloom's arrival brought back vivid, painful memories of the previous weekend, and she discovered she was no longer particularly interested in apologizing to Apple Bloom. No matter what minor transgressions she might have committed, Apple Bloom had done worse. Much worse, and not just to Scootaloo herself, but to Silver Spoon and Sweetie Belle and her parents--her parents who hadn't done anything but care for Apple Bloom as though she were their own daughter. The Apples might have had old-fashioned opinions, but that hardly excused vitriol like that. It would take a lot more than tears and hugs to fix the damage she'd done, if it could be fixed at all. Scootaloo wasn't sure anymore.

Finally, Apple Bloom took a deep breath, exhaled it, then took another and said, "Look, Scootaloo, Ah...Ah got a lot of things Ah need to say, an' some of 'em are gonna need to be private, just you an' me, but before Ah say anythin' else, Ah owe you an' Sweetie both an apology." She stopped, but her friends didn't interrupt. Eventually, she continued. "Sweetie Belle, Ah'm sorry Ah went off on you like Ah did. You were only doin' what you thought was right, an' Ah said some stuff Ah didn' mean. Ah was angry, but Ah shouldn't've treated you like Ah did all the same."

Sweetie Belle smiled tentatively. "Thanks, Apple Bloom. It's alright. I know you were upset."

Apple Bloom pursed her lips and gave her a curt nod. Then she turned to Scootaloo, but seemed unable to muster the will to speak to her just yet. The pegasus stifled a sneer. Instead, Apple Bloom kept turning and looked at Silver Spoon instead. "Actually, Silver Spoon, Ah think Ah owe you an apology, too."

Silver Spoon blinked. "You...you do?"

Apple Bloom nodded. "Yeah. Ah didn' realize what was goin' on, but it shouldn't've made any difference. Ah shoulda just respected your choice an' let you leave without makin' a big deal outta it. You had your reasons, an' that shoulda been good enough for me."

"Oh," Silver Spoon murmured. "Well...thanks. I mean, I was still...sorta wrong, but...I appreciate it."

"Yeah," Apple Bloom said, already losing interest in Silver Spoon's response as she finally focused her attention back on Scootaloo. She couldn't stall any longer. The pegasus and the earth pony locked eyes. Scootaloo's pulse hummed in her ears as she waited for Apple Bloom to speak. She refused to be the first to speak, and she could wait all day if she had to for her friend to swallow her pride.

Unfortunately, Miss Cheerilee was not so patient. Four sets of ears swiveled around at the pealing of her bell, and Scootaloo saw a flash of panic on Apple Bloom's face as she dutifully turned to go inside. "Scootaloo, wait!"

The pegasus stopped, as did Silver Spoon and Sweetie Belle, turning to give the yellow filly a curious look. Apple Bloom gritted her teeth. "Ah mean...do ya mind bein' a little late? Ah...Ah wanna talk to you real quick. Alone."

Scootaloo gave her a skeptical look, but shrugged and nodded at the other two mares. They exchanged a glance before continuing towards the school building. They broke into whispered conversation as soon as they were out of Scootaloo's considerable earshot. Scootaloo ignored them and turned to face Apple Bloom again. She doggedly maintained her silence, instead pursing her lips and waiting for Apple Bloom to take the first step.

The yard was completely empty by the time the yellow earth pony found her voice again. "Scootaloo, Ah..." She swallowed hard. "Ah just..." She faltered again.

Scootaloo rolled her eyes. "You know, I've already missed a few days of class this week, and I'd really rather not miss any more if you're just gonna stammer at me."

Apple Bloom blinked, stung. A flash of anger crossed over her face, but she immediately quelled it and took another deep breath. Scootaloo huffed. Typical Apple. Anger first, then stalling. 'Sorry' my flank. "Yeah, Ah know. It's just...hard."

"I can only imagine."

The earth pony's jaw muscles flexed as she gritted her teeth, clearly struggling to forestall a retort. Scootaloo was unfazed. She knew what she'd done wrong, and as soon as Apple Bloom showed a flicker of genuine remorse for her mistakes, Scootaloo would respond in kind. Until then, she felt positively justified in sniping at her.

"An-y-way," Apple Bloom forced through her teeth, "look, about Saturday mornin'--"

"Saturday morning?" Scootaloo feigned ignorance. "What about it?" She opened her eyes wide in mock inspiration. "Oh, right! Saturday morning! I do remember something strange about that day."

"Darn it, Scootaloo!" Apple Bloom snapped. "Would you jus' shut up for a second?"

"Sucks when somepony won't let you explain yourself, doesn't it?" Scootaloo sneered. "Almost like they don't care what you have to say, cuz they already know what they think."

Apple Bloom glared at her. "You know that's not what Ah meant."

"Really?" Scootaloo said. "You sure didn't seem that curious for details on Saturday. Seemed like you had your mind pretty well made up."

"Of course Ah didn' want details!" Apple Bloom said. "It's gross enough without havin' to hear all about it."

Scootaloo snorted. "Oh yeah, super gross. Touching another mare's hoof is absolutely disgusting."

"It is if yer a mare, too," Apple Bloom snapped.

Scootaloo pursed her lips. "Yeah, that's kind of what I thought. Nice apology, AB. I should've known you couldn't see past your own muzzle." She turned her back on a dumbstruck Apple Bloom and stalked towards the schoolhouse. "I'll see you inside."

"Wait, Scootaloo!" Scootaloo ignored her. She felt the ground shiver under her hooves as Apple Bloom stomped furiously, throwing her substantial earth pony strength into each step. "Scootaloo!" Scootaloo kept walking, her legs shaking with rage as the blood thundered in her ears. A tiny part of her more rational mind--with Mama Tavi's voice, naturally--scolded her for being childish, but the rest of her crowed with righteous indignation. It served Apple Bloom right to be ignored and brushed off. Let her see what it felt like.

She suddenly pulled up short as Apple Bloom galloped around and slid to a halt in the dirt in front of her. "Wait! Stop a second, Scootaloo."

Scootaloo scowled at her. "Why? You're just going to say the same stuff all over again. 'Fillyfooling is wrong, you're a freak, you should be ashamed.' Frankly, I don't need to hear it again." She narrowed her eyes at the earth pony. "Especially from somepony who claims to be my friend."

Apple Bloom heaved another sigh, but this time, Scootaloo noticed her expression was cowed, timid...even ashamed. Her anger faltered slightly. "Yeah, you're right," Apple Bloom said softly. "You don't. Ah was wrong. Ah was wrong then, an' Ah'm not doin' any better today."

"I'll say," Scootaloo sniped, but there was somewhat less venom in the barb than before.

Apple Bloom took the shot with grace. "First, Ah need to apologize for somethin' else, though. Ah know you probably wanted to keep your secret from everypony, but Ah had to tell mah sister."

"Oh, that's great," Scootaloo groaned, rolling her eyes. "Yeah, cuz of all ponies in Ponyville, Applejack is the one I want to know I'm bi."

"Bi?" Apple Bloom repeated, raising one eyebrow.

"Yeah. I mean, I still like stallions, too."

"You do?"

"Well, yeah." Scootaloo tilted her head at her friend. "Did you think I was just attracted to mares or something?"

"Well..." Apple Bloom hemmed. "Ah mean, you didn't really explain it much, so Ah just assumed..."

Scootaloo gave her a dour look. "I hardly had the chance to explain, did I?"

Apple Bloom blushed. "No, Ah guess not."

"So Applejack think's I'm totally gay, then?"

Apple Bloom shrugged. "Ah did, so Ah guess she probably does, too."

"Why did you even tell her, though?" Scootaloo glared at the yellow pony. "It wasn't your secret to tell."

"Ah know, but..." Apple Bloom shifted uncomfortably on her hooves. "Ah was in a bad way, worryin' and bein' mad, and she could tell, so she sat me down and wrung it out of me." She gave Scootaloo a tentative smile. "It was for the best in the end."

"How?"

Apple Bloom's eyes drifted past Scootaloo's face and focused on the middle distance behind her. "She got me thinkin' about some stuff Ah'd never really thought about much before. Some family stuff, some things she'd said, some stuff Ah thought Ah knew..." She smiled sadly and looked back at Scootaloo. "Turns out Ah was way off on a lot of things."

"You don't say." Now the venom had drained completely. Scootaloo's anger had mostly dissipated, but a few small embers continued smoldering, daring Apple Bloom to say something to fan them back to life.

Apple Bloom nodded. "More'n anything, AJ made me realize that...well, it just doesn' matter. It doesn' matter who you like or wanna be with, cuz in the end, you're still you, an' you're the same pony who's been one of mah best an' closest friends forever. Nothin's changed just cuz you finally said somethin'. So, yeah...Ah'm sorry, Scootaloo. Ah shouldn't've said what Ah said, about you or your moms. It wasn' necessary, an' it wasn' true, and you were right to be mad at me." She lowered her eyes and mumbled. "Can you forgive me?"

Scootaloo didn't respond immediately. Mama Vy was in her head, ranting about giving Apple Bloom her comeuppance and serving her right by not forgiving her, but she could only entertain the notion for a few seconds. Instead, she simply sighed and sagged. She was tired of being angry. Tired of being hurt and upset and most of all, she was tired of not having her best friends around. Emotional exhaustion tugged at her, and she followed it willingly. "Yeah, I do."

Apple Bloom looked up, her eyes shining and hopeful. "You mean it?"

Scootaloo nodded, frustrated at the burning of yet more tears pushing at the corners of her eyes, but too tired to fight them. "Yeah, I mean it." She heaved a shaky sigh. "Honestly, Apple Bloom, I just want to forget most of last weekend happened at all. I don't want to think about what I did or what we all said or what happened." Her ears folded back against her skull and she sniffed. "I just want my friends back."

Apple Bloom was much less emotionally demonstrative than Sweetie Belle, but she still had her moments. She fairly dove the distance between them and caught Scootaloo in a breathtaking hug, burying her face in the pegasus' shoulder. Scootaloo returned the embrace as best she could with her forelegs bound by Apple Bloom's grip, nuzzling into the earth pony's rich crimson mane. It smelled like apple cider and rich loamy earth. It smelled like comfort and care, like coming home after a long day and letting the cares of the world fall at the doorstep. It smelled like acceptance.

Returns

Things did not immediately go back to normal. Obviously, Scootaloo hadn't really expected them to, but she still found the lingering wariness and awkwardness clinging to their little group extremely frustrating. For all her claims, Apple Bloom was still obviously uneasy about the sudden paradigm shift, and even Sweetie Belle seemed oddly frosty around her. This more than anything really concerned Scootaloo, since Sweetie Belle had been her best friend for over a decade, and she was terrified to lose that connection. She mentioned as much to Silver Spoon a few days later while they were lounging in her bedroom one afternoon after class, putting off their homework and their project.

Silver Spoon pursed her lips, idly flipping through the pages of one of Scootaloo's Wonderbolt scrapbooks. "Yeah, she does seem a little distant, I guess." She paused to read the inscription on the back of a glossy ticket stub, signed by Spitfire, the Wonderbolt captain. Scootaloo, any dream is within your reach, if you really work for it! ~ Spitfire The pegasus had replaced the dots over her "i's" with little flames. Embellishing signatures seemed to be a Wonderbolt mainstay. "But you have to admit, she's got a lot to digest, you know?"

"Yeah, but wasn't that what the last week was supposed to be all about? The two of them getting a grip and learning to deal with it?" Scootaloo's frustration colored her voice. "I mean, that's what I did."

Silver Spoon gave her a sharp look. "You didn't have somepony drop a bomb on you, though. I did, and I can assure you, it's harder to just 'cope' with it than you might think."

Scootaloo flushed and looked away. "Alright, I get it." She sighed. "I just hate it, is all. I want us to be the way we used to be." She paused, and her voice darkened. "I hate that I ruined everything."

Silver Spoon sighed. "Look," she said, climbing up onto the bed and settling down next to Scootaloo. "It was only a matter of time. You couldn't have hidden from yourself or your friends forever, and it's better that it happened sooner than later, right? The longer they think you lied to them, the more hurt they were going to be." She nuzzled the pegasus affectionately. "It'll all work out in the end. It's just going to take some time. So you have to be patient," she scolded gently, a smirk tugging at her lips.

Scootaloo smiled sheepishly. "Yeah, I know." The smile widened into a grin. "You sound just like my mom."

"Hah," Silver Spoon scoffed. "I should be so lucky. She's smarter than you think."

"Oh, I know how smart she is," Scootaloo said. "That's why she drives me crazy. You'd think she'd understand where I'm coming from more often, being so wise and all."

"She might say the same about you, doofus," Silver Spoon teased, ducking an exaggerated attack from Scootaloo's wing. "Hey! Just the messenger!"

"A messenger who's about to lose her privileges to my help on her homework," Scootaloo groused.

"Speaking of," Silver Spoon said, sliding back off of the bed and unpacking her saddlebags. "We should get started, or we'll never get to work on the Dash."

Scootaloo yawned theatrically. "Nah, it won't take long. It's just more trig stuff and some basic chemistry." She rolled onto her back, spreading her wings across her comforter and closing her eyes. "Just ask the questions out loud and I'll tell you how to work them. Ow!" She suddenly sat up as Silver Spoon whapped her on the nose with a notebook. She turned around to give Silver Spoon a scathing look. "What the hay?"

Silver Spoon glowered at her. "That's not the deal. You said you'd help, not do it for me. I know this doesn't seem like much to you, but I'm still just barely keeping up. You start acting like Diamond Tiara, and I won't be anymore."

Scootaloo bristled. "I'm not acting like Diamond Tiara, I'm just--"

"You're just what? Saying the same things she used to say?"

"She didn't say--"

"She did," Silver Spoon insisted. "That's how it started. 'Help' turned into 'dictation', and then into 'copying'." She narrowed her eyes at Scootaloo. "If you're running out of patience, just say so."

"No, no," Scootaloo said, righting herself and sliding off the bed. "I'm sorry, Silver Spoon, you're right. If we're gonna do it, we'll do it right."

"Good." Silver Spoon fumed for a moment longer, then said meekly, "I mean, I really do appreciate your help, I just--"

"No," Scootaloo interrupted her. "Don't apologize." She smiled. "You were totally right to get on my case. And I'm proud of you for sticking up for yourself. That's not something the old Silver Spoon woulda done." She winked.

Silver Spoon's chest fluttered with joy at the accolade. "Thanks," she said, blushing at the floor. "It's getting easier."

Scootaloo grinned. "Considering how often you probably have to do it to keep me from getting us both in trouble, I'm guessing you get a lot of practice."

The silver filly giggled. "Not as much as you might think. I mean, there are some things I probably should stop you from doing or making me do, but I'm kinda having fun just doing dumb stuff."

Scootaloo snorted. "Well, a big part of being a Crusader is doing dumb stuff, so you're still well on your way there, too. That is," she said, "assuming you still want to be one?"

Silver Spoon almost laughed at the unabashed hope in Scootaloo's voice. "I suppose. I think the plans might be on hold for a while, though, owing to recent events."

The pegasus nodded. "Yeah, you're probably right. Well, nothing we can do about it right now. How about we chill out with some math instead, huh?"

Silver Spoon rolled her eyes as Scootaloo settled to the floor next to her, nosing open their textbook. "Yeah...chill."

~~~

"You know," Scootaloo said, a note of wonder in her voice, "you're way better at chemistry than I thought you would be."

Silver Spoon had learned not to take Scootaloo's blithely backhanded compliments at face value anymore. "Thanks. I guess it just comes from all those years of watching my father work. He does a lot of alloying and such, and once I realized what all the symbols and numbers and stuff meant, it all kind of fell into place."

"Do...sorry, did you help him much with his work, or just sit and watch?"

Silver Spoon shrugged. "A little of both. I mean, he wouldn't let me actually do anything important on any of his business projects, but whenever he was experimenting or doing hobby work, he'd let me pitch in sometimes. After a while, all the specifics of the chemistry just kind of became second nature. I never really considered there might be a whole system to write it all out."

Scootaloo cocked an eyebrow at her. "Where were you when Miss Cheerilee was describing it all to us, then?"

Silver Spoon blushed. "Probably trying to figure out what I'd done wrong in the previous lessons." She paused, and then quietly added, "Being behind sucks."

The pegasus nodded and leaned into her side sympathetically. "Sounds like it. Well, I'll make sure it doesn't happen again."

Silver Spoon smiled at her. "Yeah, I know you will."

For a long moment, neither pony could think of something to say that felt appropriate for the odd shift the mood of the room had suddenly taken. Silver Spoon couldn't tear her eyes away from Scootaloo's face, seeing all her features as she always did when they were this close together. Her lilac irises ringing pupils that darted across her face, so birdlike and yet so deep and intelligent, her soft lips, pursed in frustration and determination as she made her intentions as clear on her expression as in her voice, her shock of magenta mane, so many different lengths and yet still coalescing into a playful swoop, at once feminine and alluring, but still rakish and adventurous, faintly daring Silver Spoon to do something crazy, just to feel the rush of plunging into the unknown, fearless with Scootaloo by her side.

Scootaloo saw it. In Silver Spoon's face, so much she wouldn't say, probably couldn't say, and yet Scootaloo's heart raced with a dizzying hope that she might. There was so much she had learned about Silver Spoon already, and yet she could tell in every conversation they had that there was still so much more to discover. Her head spun at the potential, even as she despaired at being closed off from her new friend's true self. What more could she need to hide? Scootaloo had seen Silver Spoon at emotional lows so deep she had thought for sure there couldn't possibly be any secret too dark to share, but she could tell. It was etched into the worried scrunch between her eyebrows, in the slight frown of her lips that dominated her face whenever she thought nopony was looking. For somepony whose two best friends were relentlessly emotional at the best of times, it was especially frustrating to be at a loss to understand...to help.

She wanted to push the issue, to press Silver Spoon to trust her, to talk to her, let her in. Every single thing Scootaloo had learned about the other filly since they'd become friends had fascinated and enthralled her, and she was practically salivating at the realization that there was still more to uncover. At the same time, she knew Silver Spoon was skittish, understandably wary of sharing more than she had to, and this played havoc with Scootaloo's usual social methodology, which involved teasing, guessing, and...well, bullying, she had to admit. Silver Spoon was guaranteed to shut her out completely at the first sign of flippancy or spite, even if Scootaloo wasn't being disingenuous or mean on purpose. It was a puzzle, and she was at once relishing the challenge and constantly terrified of making a mistake.

The two fillies sat in silence for a long moment. Too long, they each realized to themselves. They both opened their mouths to break it at the same time, then stopped to let the other speak, resulting in more silence. Silver Spoon's pulse quickened. Scootaloo's wings fluttered anxiously. This silence was not as long, as Scootaloo's nerves snapped first and she said, "Anyway!" Her voice squeaked, and she cleared her throat before trying again. "Anyway, that's homework out of the way, so maybe we should do some work on the Dash."

it was all Silver Spoon could do not to react to Scootaloo's voice cracking. She wasn't sure exactly what that reaction would look like--laughter? a delighted "aww!"?--but she did know Scootaloo would not take it well. Instead, she clenched her jaw until the urge passed and then nodded. "Sure, I think that's a good idea."

Scootaloo got down off the bed and retrieved her notebook. "So the first thing we have to do is get all the parts, obviously. It's not too complicated, really; it's barely more than a hang glider, but obviously most hang gliders aren't pegasus-powered, so I made a few changes to take advantage of that."

Silver Spoon nodded. "You mean you're going to drive it just with your wings?" She glanced at Scootaloo's admittedly impressive plumage folded across her back. "I mean...not that I doubt you could..." Silver Spoon couldn't help but notice the muscles across Scootaloo's shoulders and down her sides rippling as Scootaloo unfurled one wing to smugly display its length, and she felt an unexpected shiver run down her spine.

"I mean, obviously I could." Scootaloo grinned. "But no, I'll be running and flapping to get off the ground. Once it's up, it's foal's play to keep it there with wingpower; any pegasus could. A lot of power is spent getting off the ground, but as long as you've got wind going over your wings, you've got lift." She indicated the long delta wing of the Dash. "But with this, all that lift comes from the shape of this wing, so I don't have to rely on my wings to give me any lift." Her expression faded a bit as she grumbled, "You know, since they don't."

Silver Spoon's eyes widened. "At all?"

"Well," Scootaloo said, tilting her head slightly, "they do, just not enough. I mean, they generate as much lift as any pegasus' wings, but without the magic that goes along with them, it's like putting wings on a cow." She smirked. "Or an earth pony."

Silver Spoon rolled her eyes. "Yeah, very funny. So how does this cancel that out?"

Scootaloo joined Silver Spoon on the bed again and started a long lecture about the basic mechanics of heavier-than-air flight and the physics involved. Silver Spoon found herself swept up in Scootaloo's enthusiasm, enthralled by the depth of the pegasus' knowledge, and pleased to find she was able to keep up with very little difficulty. Scootaloo's mastery of the physics of flight meant she understood every element to the most basic degree, so no matter how foolish a question Silver Spoon thought she was asking, Scootaloo simply declared it a "good question" and dove into another lecture. She also made sure to pause every so often to ask if Silver Spoon was keeping up, and if the silver mare even hinted that she might be getting lost, Scootaloo would back up and repeat herself as many times as was necessary, even quizzing Silver Spoon on the topic to make sure she really understood.

"So if all it takes is a tilted surface and airflow against it to generate lift, why is that wing, you know, round?"

"That's a really good question," Scootaloo repeated for the hundredth time, beaming. Silver Spoon blushed, as she had every time Scootaloo had said it, still unsure of exactly why, and trying to ignore it. "The simplest explanation is that it's stronger and more efficient that way. Rounded edges are less fragile than sharp ones, and depending on how much weight it's carrying, a wing might need to be really strong. Adding interior support is most efficient in a round chamber. The more complicated explanation is a little above what you'd need to understand, and the most complicated explanation would require a couple of my books to describe." She nodded at her bookshelf, indicating the thick volumes looming there.

Silver Spoon shuddered theatrically. "I'm fine with the simple explanation." She paused, then corrected herself. "Actually, could you try the slightly harder explanation? I just want to see if I can, you know...understand it."

Scootaloo grinned. "I'm sure you can, I just wasn't sure if you cared. So basically the shape of an airfoil--that's the cross-section of the wing," she indicated a drawing in the notebook, "determines how much lift it can generate at various airspeeds. Some shapes produce less drag, but because drag, as you might remember, is directly related to lift, they also produce less lift, which is fine when airspeed is high enough. For something like the Dash, which is a relatively low-speed craft, we need a pretty fat airfoil to stay airborne."

Silver Spoon nodded, pleased to realize she did actually understand what Scootaloo was explaining. "What makes them generate more lift than just a flat surface?"

Scootaloo smirked. "Well, that kind of strays into book territory. It involves fluid mechanics and the laws of motion and pressure differentials and some pretty boring math involving symbols that aren't numbers. Basically, an airfoil's shape makes air move faster on top of the wing than underneath it. The why is complicated, but the how is pretty cool. Oh, and I can even demonstrate!" Scootaloo flipped to the back of her notebook and tore out a page. She held it in front of her mouth with her wings. "See, when I blow on this page directly on the edge--" she did so, and the paper fluttered in the wind, but didn't quite become parallel with the floor, "--you get some lift, but I'd have to blow pretty hard to get it to pull all the way up. But if I hold it like this--" she tilted the paper so it curled away from her and blew on it again, more gently. This time, to Silver Spoon's surprise the paper jumped into the airstream, holding itself taut in Scootaloo's breath, completely parallel to the floor. Scootaloo grinned as she saw Silver Spoon's eyes widen. "See? Bigger curve means more lift. Angle of attack matters too, obviously, and control surfaces can change the shape of the wing, and that doesn't really take wingtip vortices or aspect ratio into account..." She trailed off and blushed as Silver Spoon slowly raised an eyebrow. "Never mind, that's all super nerdy stuff."

"I don't think it's nerdy," Silver Spoon said, smiling.

Scootaloo blinked at her. "You don't?"

Silver Spoon shook her head. "No, I think it's incredible. You know so much about this stuff that it's actually really intimidating. You're so smart and it just seems like you can pull this stuff out of your head without even trying." She sighed. "I wish I was that smart about anything."

"But you are," Scootaloo said. Silver Spoon gave her a skeptical look. "No, I mean it. Look, you may not feel like it, but you remember the first time you saw my trophy?" She indicated the RACE sculpture on her desk. SIlver Spoon nodded. "You guessed--no, you didn't guess, you knew the metals in it at a glance, without picking it up or anything. That's not something just anypony could do."

"I guess not."

"See?" Scootaloo beamed at her. "That's special. All this stuff I know, I got it from books and hours of studying and reading and practicing, but that...what you can do is incredible." She paused, then added in a slightly softer voice, "You're incredible."

The two mares' eyes met and then they immediately looked away from one another. Silver Spoon's face seared as the light blush she'd been nursing for several minutes intensified at the fawning praise. Her stomach and chest tightened and her heart fluttered. She's flirting with you, isn't she? Even though she had never really had anypony flirt with her before, Silver Spoon had seen enough sappy rom-coms to recognize the signs of somepony trying to make a pass at her. It was decidedly awkward, especially since Silver Spoon had no idea how to respond. After all she had already told Scootaloo she wasn't interested in a relationship, hadn't she?

But that was just it, wasn't it? Scootaloo had to know it was a futile effort, right? And while it definitely made her blush awkwardly, it was obviously harmless. Scootaloo probably didn't even mean it seriously. She was probably just teasing. Heck, maybe she was just saying it to boost her spirit. She had started to get maudlin, hadn't she? Scootaloo was just being a good friend. Silver Spoon was surprised and dismayed to realize that finding her way to this conclusion didn't make her feel any less uncomfortable or any calmer. Instead, it just added an odd streak of dejection to the swirl of emotion scattering her previously orderly thoughts, as though deciding that Scootaloo wasn't actually flirting with her was, well...disappointing.

Before she could recover from surprising herself, a knock at Scootaloo's bedroom door startled them both out of their respective thoughts. "Scootaloo, Silver Spoon, dinner will be ready soon. Please get yourselves together and come to the table."

Scootaloo cleared her throat and responded. "Ah, thanks mom. We'll be out in a bit." She listened as Octavia retreated down the hallway and then turned to look at Silver Spoon. "Look, when I said..." She grimaced and looked away, the blush on her face creeping up her ears. "I didn't mean anything by it, I just...I'm sorry, I know you said you weren't...you know..." She sighed. "I won't say stuff like that any more."

"No," Silver Spoon said, startling herself. Before she could even begin to unravel the subconscious motivation she had for the refusal, she found herself doubling down on it. "I mean, you don't need to stop. I...don't mind." Scootaloo's mouth actually fell open a bit, and Silver Spoon gave her a small smile. "I kind of like it." This was true, she realized. "I've never been flirted with before. It's nice."

"Was I flirting? Was that flirting?" Scootaloo sputtered. "I promise I wasn't trying to."

Silver Spoon smirked, surprised at her own actions and the thoughts that were motivating them. "Like I said, you don't have to stop. Unless you want to, that is," she added with a hint of concern.

Scootaloo was visibly struggling to find words now, caught so thoroughly off-guard by Silver Spoon's uncharacteristic boldness. Finally, she seemed to regain her nerves and smirked. "Well alright then. I won't." The smirk spread into a grin as she hopped down off the bed and started to make her way to the door. "Just be careful not to accidentally fall for me, then." She glanced over her shoulder and gave Silver Spoon a rakish wink as she disappeared into the hallway.

Silver Spoon exhaled sharply, suddenly aware that she'd been holding her breath. Her heart pounded and her hooves tingled. Well...that was weird, she thought, trying to quell the trembling in her legs. She had no idea where all that courage had come from, nor why it had been applied so coyly. It almost felt like she'd been flirting back with Scootaloo, but that didn't make sense, because she wasn't...

...was she?

Silver Spoon shook her head so hard she made herself dizzy. She didn't have time to sit and parse a million new thoughts and feelings. It was dinner time, and after dinner...well, she should go home. That was the plan, and it was going to stay that way, no matter what the tiny voice in her head was suggesting. She'd ignored that voice for years, and just because it was getting a little louder didn't mean that was going to change. Satisfied, she hopped off the bed and went to dinner.

~~~

"I never would have thought you'd be caught dead on this end of town," Scootaloo mused as she followed Silver Spoon down a broad thoroughfare flanked by tall, imposing warehouses and a cacophony of screeching machines, rumbling engines, and the ring of metal on metal. It was a few days later; Silver Spoon had promised to introduce Scootaloo to somepony who could provide all the parts of the Dash that were too big to fit in Silver Spoon's small metalworking setup and were not so complex that they required a jeweler's tools and hoof. She had also borrowed Scootaloo's notebook for a couple days, something Scootaloo had been loath to allow, but which she eventually admitted was necessary. True to her word, Silver Spoon had taken excellent care of the book, and had returned it promptly.

Silver Spoon gave her a curious look. "What do you mean?"

"Well, it's awfully...industrial."

Silver Spoon raised an eyebrow. "What, you think I'm too prim and delicate for someplace this rough?"

Scootaloo smirked. "No, I just think you're too pretty to fit in here."

Silver Spoon's eyes widened a touch before she managed to deftly convert the reaction into an eye roll, but a blush crept across her muzzle just the same. Pleased with this result, Scootaloo tossed her mane triumphantly and glanced over through an uncovered window into one of the workshops. Inside she saw a unicorn wearing a heavy apron and a thick face shield that was rotated up and out of his face manipulating a few pieces of sheet metal into place. She slowed curiously.

Silver Spoon noticed her flagging pace and followed her gaze. "What are you..." She watched as the unicorn nodded his head sharply, causing the face shield to fall back into place. Alarmed, she suddenly reached out and forcibly turned Scootaloo's face away from the window. "Never stare directly at the arc!" she scolded.

"The...arc?" Scootaloo's eyes widened in comprehension. "Oh, he's a welder!"

Silver Spoon made a slightly exasperated noise. "Yes, and if you want to keep your eyesight, you need to be more careful. Although he really ought to have a curtain on that window..." She walked over to the window and tapped her hoof on it when the welder stopped. He glanced over at the window and started visibly before trotting over and drawing a heavy curtain across, giving Silver Spoon a thankful wave before he disappeared from sight.

"Huh," Scootaloo said, smiling at her companion. "You really do know a lot more about this stuff than I think anypony would give you credit for."

"Thanks...I think," Silver Spoon said.

"Well, I mean--" Scootaloo sputtered, "it's just that, you know, you're from a rich family, your grades...well, they're not awesome, and..." She trailed off.

Silver Spoon sighed. "Yeah, I know what you mean."

"Anyway, it's their loss," Scootaloo said, still struggling to put the right words together to mitigate the backhanded nature of the compliment. "I bet most ponies don't even get to see this part of Ponyville."

"Get to?" Silver Spoon smirked.

Scootaloo looked around and pursed her lips. "Okay, so it's not exactly beautiful, but it is pretty cool."

Silver Spoon smiled. "Well I certainly think so."

"What in Equestria brought you out here in the first place?"

"Well, when I was a filly, my family used to do a lot more stuff together," Silver Spoon said. "My father still worked a lot, but whenever he had to come out here to meet with clients or suppliers, he'd bring me and my mom and my sister along with him, so that as soon as he was done with business, we could all go spend the rest of the day going to see a movie, or have a picnic, or go shopping or something like that." Silver Spoon's face fell a little as she considered the soulless concrete and metal facades around her. "Of course, this area wasn't nearly so...cold back then." Then it fell further as her ears folded back. "Neither was my father."

Sensing that the conversation was straying dangerously close to painful memories, Scootaloo scrambled for something else to talk about. "Well, you said you 'know a guy', so at least he's still here, right?"

Silver Spoon nodded. "Yeah, he's lived here for a long time. His shop was one of the first to open when this part of town got rezoned." The smile slowly waxed back onto her face. "Hasn't changed a whole lot, either. Or at least, it hadn't last I checked. It's been a while." She pursed her lips. "Diamond Tiara wasn't exactly enthusiastic about visiting the Ironworks."

Scootaloo barked derisively. "Yeah, I bet." She pulled up short as Silver Spoon slowed to a stop outside a smallish building near the far end of the street. It was decidedly more rustic than the hulking monstrosities they'd been passing, owing at least in part to the fact that it was attached to what was clearly someone's home. Apparently the proprietor lived right next to his business, which appeared to be a traditional blacksmith's shop. The giant open workspace had three enormous forges burning with a fierce orange flame licking at their mouths. Arrayed next to each forge was an anvil and a large bucket, and hanging on the wall behind them was a vast collection of tools, from several dozen different hammers to clamps to tongs and chisels, forks and awls and some things she couldn't begin to identify. On the other side of the workshop stood a dizzying collection of metal odds and ends, including partially finished pieces, giant sheets of rolled material, stacks of pipes and ingots, and buckets full of random detritus.

The shop itself was ringing with the sound of metal striking metal echoing from the three ponies working at the forges. They would intermittently bring their project to the forge, insert it into the flames, and then step rhythmically back and forth on a pair of hoof-based bellows at the bottom of the structure, watching the metal inside as it changed color under the relentless heat. Eventually they would extract the object, take it back to the anvil and abuse it for several seconds while its angry orange glow slowly faded to a dull umber. Then they would examine the result and either decide they were satisfied and move on to another step of their task or repeat the process until they were. It was a mesmerizing sight, and if Silver Spoon hadn't nudged her in the withers, Scootaloo could easily have lost herself in hypnotic fascination.

"Okay," she murmured. "I get it now."

Silver Spoon grinned and waved at the pony working the nearest forge. "Yoo-hoo, Featherstroke!" Scootaloo noticed that she was taking care to speak long enough to be heard on either side of a hammer blow, or to wait and speak between them. She was--as seemed to happen with increasing frequency the more time she spent with the filly--deeply impressed.

The pegasus threw two more blows into the steel on his anvil before turning to glance in her direction, his sooty face immediately breaking into a grin. "Well hey there, Spoon."

Spoon? Scootaloo perked her ears curiously. How close did an adult pony have to get to a filly like Silver Spoon before she'd let them use a nickname? Silver Spoon didn't seem fazed, and smiled as she trotted up to the big stallion, taking great care to avoid the scorching length of metal clamped to the anvil. She leaned in to hug him, saying, "It's been a little while, huh?"

"Hah! Hell yes it has," he said. "I ain't seen you since your momma..." Silver Spoon's face suddenly fell, and the blacksmith looked away for a moment, embarrassed. "Ah, sorry 'bout that, Spoon." He quickly cleared his throat and said, "How've you been? You doin' alright?"

Silver Spoon seemed to recover her composure with grace. "Oh, yeah. Don't worry, it's okay. I've been..." She hesitated. "I'm doing alright, yeah." She smiled. "How about you?"

The pegasus dropped his hammer unceremoniously to the ground next to the anvil, grabbed a pair of tongs and used it to pick up the steel he'd been hammering, unclamping it from the anvil as he did so in one fluid motion. "With Star Shine gone...heh, it could be worse."

The filly nodded solemnly. "DT told me about that." She bit her lip lightly. "It wasn't my fault, was it?"

"Nah," he chuckled, brushing the soot and sweat out of his eyes with one wing and sticking the dull red steel back in the fire. "Was a long time comin'. Should'a come sooner, sez Big Mac, but it wasn' yer fault." He glanced back at Scootaloo, still standing at the entrance of the shop. "Say, where is Dee, anyway?"

Silver Spoon pursed her lips, looking over her shoulder at Scootaloo. "We're...a little on the outs at the moment." She shrugged. "Anyway, you know she hates the Quarter. Scootaloo here is a lot more open-minded."

"Mornin'." The garnet pegasus nodded at Scootaloo, affording her the briefest of glances before returning his attention to the forge. "Now, Spoon," he said, returning his attention to the other filly, "what brings you two down t' my little shop, huh? I know you must be too busy with school and stuff to just come for a friendly visit."

Silver Spoon's ears folded against her skull. "You know that's not true. I just...well, DT can be stubborn, that's all."

He chuckled as he extracted the piece and examined it with a critical eye. "I know. I'm jus' teasin'." He suddenly thrust the red-hot metal into a nearby barrel, eliciting a short gout of flame that was immediately followed by a huge cloud of smoke. Neither he nor Silver Spoon spoke while they waited for the angry hiss of the liquid in the barrel to die down. When it did, he pulled the dripping metal out of the barrel and continued. "Now, is this a friendly visit, or is there somethin' I can help you with?"

"Well...as much as I wish it was just friendly, we need your help with something." She paused, then added. "Something private."

Featherstroke raised an eyebrow, but didn't question her further. Instead, he simply put his unfinished project aside. "Alright, let's go inside." He led the two fillies back out of the shop and into the house standing next to it. The interior was basic and fairly utilitarian, while still maintaining some aesthetic of the owner. It had few decorations, and no pictures. The three ponies settled down in the living room. "Private enough for you?" Featherstroke teased.

"It'll do," Silver Spoon said. She glanced back at Scootaloo. "So we're working together on a big project for school. We're going to need a bunch of metalwork for it, and you're the only smith I trust."

The pegasus cocked his head curiously. "What about your dad?" Silver Spoon gave him a dirty look, and he held up a hoof defensively. "Alright, alright. So what can I make for you?"

Silver Spoon said, "We're going to need a ton of gear blanks, a bunch of custom forged and cast parts, and all of it in the lightest metal you can source."

Featherstroke's eyebrows raised slightly, but he followed her lead without much hesitation. "How light do you need it?"

Silver Spoon shrugged. "Alloyed aluminum for the most part. I was thinking dad's 6061 would be best. Some stainless parts, probably 15-5 PH."

The pegasus grunted. "That'd be pretty expensive, Spoon. You know I'd do anythin' for you, but that's a big ask."

Silver Spoon smiled. "I know you would, but I'm not asking you to give it to me. I want to place an order."

"Oh, well," he said, smiling, "in that case, let's get to work. You have some specs for me, or are we wingin' it?"

Silver Spoon giggled. "Funny you should ask. No, we'll need to be pretty tight with the dimensions."

Again, the pegasus' expression registered surprise, but he made no comment. "Alright. Specs, then?"

"Better than that," Silver Spoon said, smiling back at Scootaloo. "We've got blueprints."

Silver Spoon dug a cardboard tube out of her saddlebag and trotted over to a nearby drafting table. She popped the lid off one end and poured out several rolled pieces of paper, unfurling, unfolding and flattening them one at a time, describing each drawing as she did. "The basic design and all the math is Scootaloo's; I just translated it all to print. Her specs all fit together, so we don't have to make any adjustments." She unrolled the last piece of paper and presented it to him. "This is the list of the parts we need from you. Everything else I can either make in the shop at home or get elsewhere."

Featherstroke stared at the drawings. "Spoon," he said, "this is a flyin' machine."

Silver Spoon nodded. "Yeah, pretty cool, huh?"

He gave her a wary look. "Cool, sure, but are you buildin' it to show, or use?"

Silver Spoon twitched an ear. "Well, obviously it'll look nice, but if Scootaloo's math is right, it should fly, yeah."

"If," the pegasus said. "If her math's right."

"It's right," Scootaloo interjected, speaking for the first time since they'd entered the shop. The blacksmith turned the skeptical look at her, but she didn't flinch. "My math is always right."

"You willin' to bet your lives on it?"

Scootaloo bristled. "Even if my math was wrong--and it isn't--the worst that would happen is it doesn't take off. It's not like it'd get us into the air and then ten minutes later the physics are all suddenly screwed up and we drop out of the sky. Take-off's always the hardest part. Even the big skyships that fly out of Manehattan have a tougher time getting off the ground than staying there."

The two ponies glared at one another for a few moments more before Featherstroke looked back at Silver Spoon. "You trust her?"

Silver Spoon blinked, apparently taken aback by the question. "Yeah," she finally said. "Yeah, I do."

"Hm," the blacksmith said, pursing his lips. "Alrigh' then, if you say so." He looked the list of parts over. "Most of this is pretty simple stuff. It'll take me a few days to get the material, but after that it'll just be a couple weeks of work. The design's pretty smart," he admitted. "Nothing too complicated to mess up or break." He looked at Scootaloo. "You designed this?"

Scootaloo shrugged. "Yeah. Aeronautical engineering is kinda my hobby."

"Heckuva hobby," Featherstroke murmured, still examining the blueprints. "Anyway, gimme a few weeks to get everything done and I'll let you know when it's ready for pickup."

Silver Spoon beamed at Scootaloo. "Thanks, Featherstroke. You're the best."

~~~

"Hey, you know how you always say it sounds like gibberish when I start talking physics and such?" Scootaloo asked as they made their way home after leaving the Ironworks.

Silver Spoon nodded. "Yeah."

"Well, now I guess I know what that feels like." Scootaloo gave Silver Spoon a sheepish smile. "I didn't realize you were drawing up those blueprints when you borrowed my notebook the other day. How long did that take?"

"Oh," Silver Spoon smiled and shrugged. "I don't know, five hours over two days? Your notes were really detailed, so all I really had to do was copy them over with accurate specs and decide what materials to use."

"Speaking of materials, that's the gibberish I was talking about. What do those numbers even mean? I mean, 60-something, stainless 15?"

Silver Spoon giggled. "6061 is an aluminum alloy. Has magnesium and silicon in it, very strong, very light. Stainless 15-5 PH is just a very hard, very strong alloy of stainless steel. Pricey, but the alternatives are weaker, and as Featherstroke pointed out, if we get into the air, it's probably in our best interest that the Dash stay in one piece."

Scootaloo shook her head and smiled, incredulous. "I swear, Spoon, you get more awesome by the day."

Silver Spoon blushed. "If you say so." But for once, Silver Spoon dared to believe her.

Outside Influence

From an external perspective, the scene in the study must have seemed quite serene. The room was warm and well-lit, the cozy fabric of the carpet and the curtains silencing any stray echo. The metronome on the desk was diligently tok-tok-toking a slow tempo. Octavia was sitting back on her haunches, her hooves resting on the head of the viola standing between her legs, not leaning on it, but simply holding it upright. She nodded her head in time with the metronome, smiling at her student as she read along with the music being played.

For Silver Spoon, the whole situation was much more frustrating than it might have appeared. She was standing on her back hooves for once, assisted by a wooden frame that she was leaning against as she sawed at her instrument, drawing rich but distinctly out-of-tune notes from it. She trembled from the effort of standing in the awkward position as she frantically tried to keep up with the metronome, which was getting away from her despite its leisurely pace. This was primarily due to her constant attempts to adjust her hoof placement on the neck of the instrument to correct her tone, and the extra time was rendering both efforts futile.

"Augh!" She finally gave in to her frustration and dropped the instrument from the crook of her neck, letting it dangle in her hoof and collapsing back out of the brace and settling back onto her haunches, which shook from the effort of standing. She noticed her forelegs were also trembling, and she put the viola and bow down as gently as she could before shaking them out, trying to will some strength back into the weary muscles.

"That was very good," Octavia said, reaching over and stopping the metronome. "Your tone and bowing techniques are excellent, considering how little practice you have had. You need to focus more on keeping pace with the metronome, though, and not moving your left hoof once you've placed it."

Silver Spoon looked quizzically at her teacher. "But...all those...notes were...wrong," she panted, which amplified her irritation. Why was she tired? She had barely been doing anything.

Octavia nodded. "They were, yes, although I'm quite impressed that you could tell. Your ear is extremely well-trained." She beamed. "You are a natural, it seems."

"Some natural," Silver Spoon grunted. "I can't even practice for ten minutes without getting tired."

Octavia shrugged. "You are training your muscles to do something they've never had to do before. It will take some time to strengthen them. And it's been forty-five minutes, not ten." She nodded at the cuckoo clock on the wall behind Silver Spoon.

Silver Spoon glanced briefly at the clock, surprised as she often was to find that time seemed to pass much more quickly in Octavia's studio than elsewhere. "Still--"

Octavia cut her off with a wave of the hoof. "No, none of that," she said, giving her student a stern look. "No 'buts', no 'still', no 'should', 'could', or 'ought' in my studio. You know that."

Silver Spoon pursed her lips. "I know--" she barely managed to catch herself before the word 'but' got away from her again.

Octavia narrowed her eyes and gave her a knowing smirk. "See? It's too easy to second-guess yourself. You need to stop judging your own progress. That's what I'm here to do. If you're really struggling with something, I'll let you know. What did I tell you I expect from my students?"

Silver Spoon sheepishly tapped her forehooves together, letting her ears fold back against her head. "Our best."

"Who's best?" Octavia prompted.

Silver Spoon sighed. "My best."

"Precisely," Octavia's stern face melted into a gentle smile. "Not my best, not some other student's best, not Vinyl's best. Yours." She put a hoof on Silver Spoon's shoulder. "And even though somepony else might have told you your best isn't good enough, you need to learn that that's simply not true, especially here."

Silver Spoon smiled weakly up at the older mare. "I know."

Octavia playfully raised an eyebrow. "No 'but' this time?"

The smile widened. "No, not this time."

"Good," Octavia said. "Now, I think we may have worked a little too hard this afternoon. I can tell you are running out of steam--and patience," she smiled, "so perhaps we'll cut our lesson a little short today."

Silver Spoon nodded. "I think that might be a good idea." She started to put her viola back in its case, but was suddenly interrupted by a flourish of pink sparkles erupting from the empty air in front of her, producing in their wake a tightly rolled scroll with a blue wax seal.

"Oh!" Octavia said. "Were you expecting a message?"

Silver Spoon blinked, perplexed. "No...and even if I was, that's not our messenger's magic...or our house ribbon." She glanced at Octavia. "Maybe it's for you?"

She shook her head. "Our messages usually go to Vinyl...or my inbox." She glanced at the empty scrollbox on her desk. The seal was unlit, indicating it hadn't been targeted.

"Huh." Silver Spoon picked the scroll up and broke the wax. As soon as she read the salutation, her heart stopped and she quickly re-rolled it.

Octavia's eyes widened. "Something wrong, dear?"

Silver Spoon shook her head with a touch more speed than was believable. "No, nothing's wrong. I just...didn't expect to get anything." She pasted a smile she hoped looked more natural than it felt on her muzzle.

Octavia raised an eyebrow at her, clearly unconvinced. "Are you sure?" Silver Spoon nodded. "Well," she said, "do you need Vinyl to send a reply?"

"Um..." Silver Spoon contemplated the scroll in her hooves. "It's...kind of personal. Can she do it without knowing who or where it's going to?"

Octavia nodded. "At least, she can if it has a return seal on it."

Silver Spoon considered the scroll for a few moments longer, as though wondering whether it would give her the answer. Finally, she sighed and nodded. "Yeah, I guess I should. Can I borrow some parchment?"

"Of course," Octavia said, and she trotted out of the office, calling Vinyl's name as she did.

Alone in the study, Silver Spoon sighed and unfurled the scroll completely, reading it through.

Dear Sissy,

Yes, yes, I know you're surprised to hear from me. Yes, I know it's been a long time since the last time we spoke, but I think you know why I had to get in touch now. I think you also realize it's best if we discuss the matter in pony. Perhaps you can come over for tea this afternoon? I'd also really like to see you and catch up a little, too...if you want.

Please send your reply as soon as you can, so I know when to expect you.

Love,
Starry

Silver Spoon pursed her lips tightly, unsure of exactly what emotion she was supposed to feel. She wasn't even exactly sure of what emotion she did feel. There was surprise, obviously, and a little panic, but quickly outstripping those those were anger and joy in roughly equal measure. Why, Starry? Why now? Everything is fine the way it is, and you're going to mess it up. Again. But she couldn't deny the surge of excitement washing through her at the idea of seeing Silver Star again. Her sister was right; it had been a long time. Maybe long enough.

When Octavia returned, Silver Spoon wrote a quick affirmative note, telling Silver Star to be ready for her to arrive within the hour. Then she finished packing up her viola, thanked Octavia for her lesson, apologized for begging out of staying for supper, and exchanged goodbyes with Scootaloo and Vinyl Scratch, who paused their game long enough to wish her well. Scootaloo seemed especially crestfallen that Silver Spoon wouldn't be staying for dinner, but Silver Spoon knew she was the only one in the room who could tell. She wondered if Scootaloo could tell she was disappointed, too. Unfortunately, Silver Spoon suspected this was not a meeting she could put off.

~~~

It took longer than Silver Spoon had expected to make her way to Silver Star's home. She had stopped at the manor first to drop off her viola, and Intricacy had waylaid her to deliver a dozen scrolls, all tied with gold ribbons and bearing the Rich seal. She had told him to throw them away, that she wasn't interested in hearing from Diamond Tiara any more. The stallion had given her a look that contained the most emotion she'd ever seen on his face before--his eyes widened a few millimeters; one eyebrow lifted almost imperceptibly higher than the other--before suggesting that perhaps she would rather he simply deliver them to her chambers, and she could do as she pleased with them. She had almost reprimanded him for arguing with her, but stopped herself in time to recognize he was trying to look out for her. In the end, she told him that would be fine and finally extricated herself from the conversation to start the long walk out to Silver Star's tiny house in the sticks.

By the time she broke through the forest edge into the clearing around Silver Star's home, it was well past the hour she'd told her sister to expect. Silver Star was standing on the front steps, tapping a hoof anxiously. As soon as she saw Silver Spoon, her cerulean face broke into a huge smile and she bounded down the steps, racing over to her sister and scooping her into a hug. "Sissy!"

Silver Spoon grunted and blew her sister's silver mane out of her face. "H-hey Starry. You're crushing me."

Silver Star ignored her. "You're late, you know. You said 'within the hour'." She indicated the sun over her shoulder. "It's been two hours."

Silver Spoon rolled her eyes and fought her way out of Silver Star's grip. "It's been an hour and a half, if that. Come on, let's go inside. Wouldn't want you to be spotted talking to me, would we?" She flinched inwardly; the snipe had had more venom than she'd intended.

Silver Star's face fell. "Come on, Sissy, you know Silversmith--"

"I know, I know," Silver Spoon backtracked. "I just..." She sighed. "I don't like knowing you're living in Ponyville but not getting to talk to you ever."

Her sister smiled sadly. "Yeah, I hate it, too." She nuzzled Silver Spoon, who grunted but accepted the gesture of affection. "Hey, it won't be that way forever, though. But you're right, we should probably go inside." Silver Star led Silver Spoon back to the violet carriage that served as her home.

"You know this carriage looks ridiculous, right?" Silver Spoon said, eyeing the garish decorations critically.

Silver Star let her mouth fall agape in mock horror. "How dare you!" Then she grinned and pushed the door open for Silver Spoon. "It's all part of the show, dear Sissy. Part of the character."

"I still don't know why you don't just build a house if you're going to stay in Ponyville," Silver Spoon groused as she squeezed past a trunk overflowing with various magic props and ducked under a lavender hammock to join her sister at the tiny dining table in the rear of the trailer.

Silver Star shrugged as she floated a teapot over to the table from a camp stove and retrieved two cups from hooks in the wall. "You get used to it. I mean, I'd been on the road for ages before I came back, so it was just another part of life by then."

"Uh huh," Silver Spoon grumbled. "And what does Glimmer think of it?"

Silver Star rolled her eyes as she poured and prepared a cup of tea, sliding it over to Silver Spoon. "Well obviously she hates it." She smirked. "I guess it would be tough to come down from living in the mayoral mansion of your own personal town to living in a trailer. Anyway, we just live at her place, and I just come here to practice or when I need some time alone."

"Or when you want to meet secretly with somepony, huh?" Silver Spoon asked.

"Well, it does serve that purpose as well, yes."

"I still can't believe no one's caught on yet," Silver Spoon said, shaking her head. "Least of all father."

Silver Star shrugged and grinned. "Well, I learned from the best. Mom always did have a knack for character work."

"Yeah, but you'd think he'd recognize her cloak. Or at least her hat."

"Puh-lease," Silver Star scoffed. "You think he even looks twice at a stage magician like 'The Great and Powerful Trrrixie'!?" As she said the name, she cast the illusion she'd been wearing for several years. Her mane shimmered and darkened to a light cornflower blue while her coat brightened to a cool azure. The star-studded cloak and hat flew from their hooks by the door and wrapped themselves around her, completing the effect, and Trixie Lulamoon stood up from the table with a broad grin. "Ta-da!"

Silver Spoon sighed and rolled her eyes. "Yes, Starry, I get it. Very convincing."

"Don't mock," Silver Star huffed, crossing her forelegs. "It's worked so far."

Silver Spoon smirked. "Somehow I doubt that it's been flawless."

Her sister pursed her lips. "Well, no, of course not. I mean, Twilight figured it out pretty quickly. And Glimmer, obviously. Well, and the other princesses. But!" She drew herself back up and puffed out her chest. "Nopony else!"

"At least no one who cares," Silver Spoon corrected her.

Silver Star shrugged, floating the hat and cloak back to their pegs and letting her coat and mane fade back to their natural colors. "Or remembers. Come on, though." She grinned at her sister, poking the younger mare in the shoulder. "You're a little impressed, right?"

Silver Spoon sighed as heavily as she could manage. "Yes, Starry, it's a great trick." Then she smirked. "Better than all your other tricks, anyway."

Silver Star stuck her tongue out at her sister. "Very funny."

"I thought so," Silver Spoon said, stirring her tea. "Now, why did you want to meet? You know if Silversmith finds out you're back in Ponyville he's going to be pretty upset. He told everyone to forget you ever existed, plus he thinks you 'stole' mama's diamond."

"I didn't steal it, she gave it to me!" Silver Star shouted, slamming her hooves on the table and standing up. "It was always going to be mine, and just because she--"

"I know, I know!" Silver Spoon interrupted, holding up her hooves to placate her sister. "I'm just telling you what he told the mayor."

Silver Star sighed and settled back into her chair, leaning heavily on the table. "I know, Sissy. Sorry, I just...I still can't get over...him." She tapped the sides of her teacup anxiously. "I couldn't believe how he acted, and how...selfish he was." She gave Silver Spoon a tiny smile. "I mean, that's why I had to come home. I couldn't stay away any longer, not knowing if he was taking care of you or what was going on." She sighed. "But if he'd seen me as 'Silver Star'..."

"I know," Silver Spoon said softly. "That's why I didn't try to talk to you before. I figured if you were hiding behind an illusion, you had to have a good reason." She smirked. "That, and you kept getting yourself thrown out of town."

"It was a stage show, I was supposed to be bragging about myself!" Silver Star groused, throwing up her hooves. "And I didn't tell those foals to go and find an Ursa! It was just part of the character!"

"Uh huh. And the Alicorn Amulet?"

The older mare opened her mouth to retort but closed it without speaking. Then she cleared her throat and sipped her tea demurely. "We all make mistakes."

Silver Spoon giggled. "Some of us more than others."

"Hey now," Silver Star said, giving her sister a look. "I've come a long way."

"Yeah, I guess. Anyway, what did you want to talk about?"

"Well, you know I usually try to stay out of your business, so all I really know about your life kind of relies on what I can learn second-hoof from other ponies, especially Glimmer, since she talks to Twilight a lot, and Twilight talks to...well, everypony."

"And also by stalking me."

Silver Star scoffed. "I don't stalk, I observe. From a distance."

"Call it what you want, just remember to take your hat off next time you want to hide in a bush."

Silver Star wrinkled her muzzle in irritation. "Ponyfeathers. I always forget about that. Anyway, most of what I hear and see, I'm okay with."

"Really?"

Silver Star nodded. "I know, it's not perfect, but you're well taken care of, even if Silversmith isn't the...warmest of parents."

"That's some kind of understatement," Silver Spoon muttered.

Silver Star sighed. "You know if I could fix things, I would, but Silversmith is...well, who he is. And as long as he's keeping you warm, healthy, and fed, and not actively hurting you, I couldn't risk exposing myself and getting us both in trouble." Silver Spoon didn't respond, sipping her tea and giving her sister a pointed look. "Anyway, I've noticed some stuff recently that I think we need to discuss."

"Like what?"

Silver Star raised an eyebrow at her. "Like Scootaloo."

Silver Spoon inhaled a mouthful of tea and started choking. Silver Star jumped to her hooves and started whacking her on the back. "Wh-what...what do you...mean?" she managed between coughs and gasps, eyes streaming.

Silver Star floated a napkin over to her, and Silver Spoon started dabbing at her eyes and mouth, ignoring the smug smirk on her sister's face. "I think you know what I mean."

Silver Spoon cleared her throat one final time and sniffed, trying to regain her dignity. "I haven't the faintest clue what you mean. We're friends, that's all. I don't think that's anypony's business, least of all yours."

Silver Star gave her a knowing look. "Is that so? So all those nights I see you walking home with her and not coming home until after dark, practically skipping the whole way? Just friendly hangouts?"

Silver Spoon's face flushed. "Yes," she insisted. "Just friendly hangouts. Sometimes Miss Octavia gives me viola lessons, so I come home later than normal, because she makes me stay for dinner."

The look hardened. "Really. And the skipping?"

"I don't skip," Silver Spoon said, willing herself to stop blushing and failing. "What's wrong with having a friend? I hung out with Diamond Tiara all the time and you never sent me a scroll out of the ether before."

"This is different," Silver Star said. "Trust me, I've seen it before. Heck, I've been that pony before."

"What pony?"

Silver Star gave her sister a sad smile. "You know, the following around, staying for supper, skipping home from her place, smiling whenever she speaks pony." When Silver Spoon indicated she still wasn't following, Silver Star said, "I've been in love before."

Silver Spoon's brain was suddenly empty of all retorts, arguments, and questions. It was empty of everything except one word. Reflexively, she sputtered, "I'm not in love!"

Silver Star chuckled to herself. "Yeah, I used to say that to myself too." She smirked. "Every day when I came back to the dorm from hanging out with Shining Lights. But saying it doesn't make it true, Sissy."

"No, I mean, I'm really not," Silver Spoon insisted. "I don't even like mares. Heck, I don't even like stallions that much!"

This was the wrong thing to say. "Oh, is that so?" Silver Star said, grinning. "So maybe you just don't know what it feels like to be in love, then. For the record, it's that feeling you keep getting in your chest every time Scootaloo smiles at you."

"I don't have a clue what you're talking about," Silver Spoon lied, raising her muzzle indignantly. "I barely know her; we're just partners on a school project."

"Yeah, so I hear." Silver Star gave her a knowing look. "Must be a heck of a project, considering how much time you two spend together."

"It is, and that's all there is to say about it." Silver Spoon said, taking another long sip of her tea as if to imply the matter was settled, whether Silver Star wanted it to be or not. "Is that all you wanted to talk about? Baseless accusations and wild fantasies?"

"Well...no, not really. What I really wanted to say was..." She sighed. "Look, even if nothing's going on, be careful, okay?"

"Careful of what? I told you I'm not--"

"No, I get that, it doesn't matter." Silver Star swirled the dregs of her tea and stared at them somberly. "It's just...I know you were pretty young when...when I left. Do you remember much about that?"

Silver Spoon looked down at the table. "Not really. A lot of yelling. A lot of crying. Father said some pretty awful stuff. I thought he was gonna hit you, but he never did."

"Small miracles," Silver Star muttered. "Look, no matter what he told you about...me, him, that day...it wasn't the whole story." Silver Spoon gave her sister a quizzical look, but didn't speak. "I know we didn't get along much, but we probably could've just lived like strangers in the same house until I moved out, but that was before..." She blinked a few times, staving off tears that were starting to line her eyelids. "When I was away at school, I met somepony. Somepony sweet, and smart, and sooo cute, and we started dating."

"I didn't know that," Silver Spoon said softly. "You never wrote about him in your scrolls."

Silver Star smiled sadly, a tear breaking free. "You were a little young to care about stuff like that, so I didn't mention her."

"Her?" Silver Star nodded. "So even before Glimmer..."

"Oh, long before Glimmer," Silver Star said. "You say you don't like stallions that much. Well I never liked stallions, at all. I only ever liked mares. I used to play with my dolls and pretend they were all mares, even though I had some stallions. I don't know what Silversmith thought about it at the time, but he never said anything until I wrote him asking if I could bring Shining Lights home to visit Ponyville over a break." She pursed her lips. "That didn't go well."

"What happened?"

Silver Star gave a dry, humorless laugh. "Well, I got a scroll right back demanding clarification about exactly who I was talking about. So I explained more, and then he sent a carriage to bring me home the same day. I didn't know what was going on, so I got on, but it turned out he was not exactly pleased I was romantically involved with another mare."

"What?" Silver Spoon said, stunned. "Really?"

Silver Star nodded. "He told me I was being brainwashed into stupid nonsense at that school and to dump Shining Lights immediately or he would pull me out of school and bring me home permanently. I told him I was in love, and I didn't care what he thought, and that he couldn't control me. He said 'We'll see about that' and by the end of the day, everything was official. I was out of school, Shining Lights and I were forbidden from communicating at all, and I was going to marry one of Silversmith's friend's son the next year."

"Whoa..." Silver Spoon breathed. "I can't believe he would go so far...just over you dating a mare?"

Silver Star nodded stoically. "Yeah. That's when we had that huge fight. I told him I was sick of him treating his family like a business, and that without mom he was a shell of a pony and it didn't matter what he did to us, it wouldn't bring her back." Silver Spoon's eyes bugged, and Silver Star smiled wanly. "Oh, yeah, he was real mad about that. That's probably the closest he came to hitting me. It was all I could do to get mom's hat and cloak before things got way out of hoof. I was just lucky he hadn't thought to take the diamond off yet." She sighed. "Anyway, that's pretty much the rest of the story. I never got to finish school, I ended up pulling mom's old carriage out of the garage," she paused to run a hoof lovingly across the wall beside her, "and never looked back."

"So all these years..."

"On the road," Silver Star said, nodding. "I never could hold a candle to mom as a stage magician, but I knew enough to pay the bills as long as I kept moving." She smiled wanly. "No town ever really wanted a repeat performance."

"Well, I mean, 'Trixie' is kind of mean, you know. No offense," Silver Spoon said.

Silver Star laughed. "Actually, 'Trixie' is the only reason I started getting multiple showings. Especially when I started to double down on the 'anything you can do, I can do better' act. I mean, obviously my magic is theatrical in nature, but that hardly matters. I don't actually have to outdo anypony, it just has to look like I have." She smiled. "It was just good luck that I managed to really iron out the wrinkles by the time I decided to risk coming back to Ponyville. That first show was supposed to be a stress-test, you know, really see if I could fool all the ponies I grew up around."

"A successful stress test, I guess."

Silver Star pursed her lips. "Well, yes and no. I wasn't kidding when I came back with the Alicorn Amulet. There was a pretty dark period there in the middle. Word traveled fast that 'The Great and Powerful Trixie' had been bested in the magical arts. Bookings dried up in a hurry after that. I really was after some revenge; I hadn't exactly planned on getting possessed by an ancient artifact of immense power. Anyway," she said, waving a hoof impatiently, "the point is, you need to be careful with Scootaloo. I don't want what happened to me to happen to you, okay?"

"But I'm not--"

"Fine!" Silver Star said, rolling her eyes. "You're not in love with her. You're not involved with her at all. It doesn't matter. It only matters what Silversmith thinks."

"He doesn't care about me," Silver Spoon muttered. "He thinks I'm stupid and useless. I doubt he cares what I do anymore."

Silver Star chuckled darkly. "Oh, you think so? Believe me, if he thinks it'll hurt his business, he'll make it a point to care. Think about it: when I left, the rumor mill went nuts. When mom was alive, it wasn't a big deal, because she was a unicorn and an actor, so who knew what kind of fillies she would raise? But after she passed, everypony started to wonder what Silversmith was doing that turned out somepony like me. Can you imagine what the fallout would be if ponies thought the same thing had happened to his other daughter, too? And you being an Earth pony on top of that?"

"I get it!" Silver Spoon snapped. She sighed. "So what do you want me to do about it? I can't stop spending time with her; we're project partners."

"Oh, no, you don't stop spending time with her!" Silver Star said, eyes wide. "I don't mean that at all. I just mean to say you need to be careful about what gets back to Silversmith. Keep your...ah, relationship, whatever that means to you, kinda quiet. And if you ever do finally break down and admit you like her," Silver Star smirked, "just keep the PDA to a minimum. At least until you can get away from Silversmith for good."

Silver Spoon ignored her sister's persistent needling. "Yeah, right. If I can get away from him. I'll have to repeat this year at least. I don't know how much you know about how school is going, but believe me, there's no way any university or trade school would let me in with grades like mine."

"Nothing specific," Silver Star said. "Cheerilee's pretty good about keeping the details private. However," Silver Star gave her a knowing wink, "based on what she and Glimmer have talked about, I think you might be surprised."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean it sounds like Cheerilee's a lot more optimistic about your future than you are. Apparently something's happened recently that really turned things around for you." Silver Star grinned at her, eyes sparkling. "I wonder what that something might be."

Silver Spoon rolled her eyes. "Yeah, well, it turns out you do a lot better in school when you have somepony actually helping you instead of just doing the work for you."

"Well, whatever the reason, the result is the same." SIlver Star's grin softened to a reassuring smile. "I promise you, Sissy, you won't be stuck here in Ponyville forever. And when that day comes," she leaned across the table to nuzzle her sister, "we can do this all the time."

Silver Spoon smiled sheepishly. "Yeah...I think I'd really like that." There was a long silence, and then Silver Spoon said quietly, "You really think I like Scootaloo? Like that, I mean."

To her credit, Silver Star managed not to overreact. She did break into an unnecessarily large grin, and literal stars appeared in her eyes, but none of this colored her response. "Well, only you know how you actually feel, but I can say that I've been where you are, and that's what it meant for me. Maybe it means the same for you."

"Maybe," Silver Spoon murmured. She considered the implications of this for several moments. It was the sort of question she needed to discuss with another mare, ideally one who already was romantically involved with another mare, but unfortunately, Silver Star was not a good option for such a discussion. Silver Spoon loved her sister, but she was prone to exaggeration, flippancy, and drama, none of which would help Silver Spoon piece her feelings together. Luckily, Silver Spoon had already had another mare in mind to talk to. "Hey, Starry, can you do me a favor?" The unicorn tilted her head curiously. "Can you send a note to somepony for me?"

~~~

"Where are you hiding?" Scootaloo mumbled to herself as she stared intently at the screen in front of her, guiding the character represented there carefully around the map.

Next to her, Vinyl said, "Not hiding, hunting. Why don't you come find me?" She cackled ominously. "Time's running out..."

"Yeah, yeah..." Scootaloo furrowed her brow and tried to ignore the swiftly diminishing clock. Suddenly, the speakers erupted with the sound of a magic blast, and her character slumped lifeless to the floor. "Buck!" Scootaloo swore, miming throwing the controller in her hooves across the room without actually letting it go. "How?" she demanded of her mother.

Vinyl grinned at her daughter. "Brilliance. Wisdom. Experience." The grin widened. "Plus, I've been following you around the level for, like, a full minute."

"Oh, for--"

"Vy?" Octavia stuck her head into the living room. "Can I get you to send somepony a note for me?"

"Sure thing, Tavi," Vinyl said, clambering up from the floor and trotting over to her wife. "Who's the target?"

"Silver Spoon."

This caught Scootaloo's attention, and she glanced over at her mothers. "Silver Spoon? Why, something wrong?"

Octavia shook her head as Vinyl took the scroll from her mate. "Nothing wrong, no. She just wants to meet for tea. Something about her lessons, I would imagine." She watched as Vinyl focused on the scroll, which glowed blue for an instant and then vanished in a puff of blue glitter. "Anyway, I'm going to go meet her. I should be back in time for dinner, but if not, Vy, there's some food in the icebox. Do you think you can reheat it without setting the living room on fire?"

"Probably," Vinyl said. "No promises, though."

"Very well. I'll be back later."

"'K. Bye, Tavi." Vinyl came and sat back down next to Scootaloo as Octavia collected her saddlebags and left. "Anyway, where were we?" She grinned. "Oh, right, I was busy schooling you in the art of war."

"Hmph," Scootaloo scowled and slouched back against the couch as the game started again. The two ponies played in relative silence for a few minutes, then Scootaloo said, "Hey, Mama Vy, can I ask you something?"

"Sure, kid." Vinyl smiled at her daughter. "What's up?"

Scootaloo clenched her jaw, suddenly nervous. "Actually...I need to tell you something first."

Vinyl paused the game and turned on the sofa to face Scootaloo directly. "Okay, is everything alright?" Worry creased her normally carefree expression. "You know Tavi's better at serious stuff than me, but I'll try my best."

"No, everything's okay," Scootaloo said, smiling. "And I know you don't like serious conversations, but I really need your help this time."

Vinyl nodded sincerely. "Then I'm all ears."

Scootaloo pursed her lips, trying to arrange the words in her head so they sounded right before she said them. "So...I think you and mom have probably known for a long time, and just never said anything about it, but..." She sighed. "I'm bisexual."

Vinyl didn't really react. She smiled, nodded, and said, "Okay." Then her eyes widened. "Wait, was that right? You said it was serious...uh..." The unicorn floundered, visibly panicking. "I mean, I'm really glad you felt comfortable telling me that. Yeah," she nodded firmly. "That's what I meant to say. You're our daughter and we love you no matter what." Her smile faltered a bit, her anxiety as obvious as any emotion ever was on her ivory face.

Scootaloo couldn't help but giggle. "It's alright, Mama Vy. I kinda figured you wouldn't make a big deal out of it. I mean...you and Mama Tavi..." She shrugged. "But it's something I'd never really thought about until...well, recently. It seemed like something you should know."

Vinyl sighed, obviously relieved. Then she smiled. "Well, I meant what I said. We really would love you, no matter what you told us." She reached out and gave her daughter a tight hug. "But if you were wondering whether Tavi and I suspected, well..." She grinned. "You've always been pretty smitten with Rainbow Dash. And we did wonder for a while if you and Sweetie Belle were hiding something from us." She paused, then raised an eyebrow at Scootaloo. "Are you?"

Scootaloo shook her head. "No, I don't think she'd be interested anyway."

"Hmm..." Vinyl gave Scootaloo a look she couldn't decipher. "Well, anyway, we always agreed that whoever you brought home, if you ever did, we would be equally happy." Suddenly, she narrowed her eyes and glared into the middle distance. "Unless they were a mumble rapper. Then we agreed we would throw you out and never speak to you again."

Scootaloo laughed. "Well, yeah, I always knew that was the case. I think you'd be justified." She smiled. "But it is good to hear."

Vinyl grinned. "I'm glad. I'm a little surprised you thought you might hear anything else."

Scootaloo rubbed the back of her neck with a hoof. "Well, I don't really think I expected anything in particular. I always assumed you'd be pretty laid back about it, but..." She sighed. "Well, I always assumed my friends would have been, too."

Vinyl blinked. "Wait, were they not?" Rage flashed across her crimson eyes. "What did they say?"

Scootaloo held up a soothing hoof. "It's fine, mom. Everything's okay now."

"But that means they weren't okay before!" Vinyl said, her horn slowly starting to glow. "What happened? If they said anything to hurt--"

"Mama, stop!" Scootaloo put a hoof on Vinyl's shoulder, and the unicorn slowly settled back to the sofa. Her magic faded and Scootaloo sighed. "I told you it's fine. I'm an adult, and I had an adult problem, so I handled it. I mean...I didn't handle it great at first, but that's on me. And yeah, there were some...mean words exchanged, but we're working through it."

"Hmph," Vinyl grunted, her brow still furrowed angrily. "If you say so."

"I do," Scootaloo said. "Anyway, that sort of threw me off. Like, I told Rainbow, and she was really cool, so I figured it would be the same with everypony. Then Apple Bloom--"

"I knew it!" Vinyl was back on her hooves again. "I knew it was gonna be an Apple! Oh, when I get my hooves on that--what?" Her tirade was cut short by Scootaloo's icy scowl. "I mean...I wasn't gonna hurt her or anything, I was just...oh, fine." She sighed and threw herself back down on the sofa.

Scootaloo rolled her eyes. "Mama, I know you mean well, but I really need you to keep your cool. Besides, that's not what I wanted to talk to you about anyway."

"It isn't?" Vinyl looked surprised. "What is it, then? You know I'm more the...go crazy and get in trouble kind of problem solver." She sheepishly looked down at her hooves, tapping them together in front of her nose.

"I know," Scootaloo smirked. "But I know you're the one I need to help me this time, because..." She took a deep breath. "Well, because you married an Earth pony."

"Oh, well yeah." Vinyl said. "So?"

"Well," Scootaloo said, "I thought Earth ponies didn't usually have same-sex relationships, because they couldn't reproduce that way."

Vinyl nodded. "Yeah, that's true. Or at least, that's why they don't usually pursue them, but it's not because they don't want to, they just don't bother."

Scootaloo raised an eyebrow at her mother. "What do you mean?"

Vinyl tapped her chin with a hoof. "Hmm...well, Earth ponies are tribal, so they're pretty much slaves to tradition, and their relationships are, too. It's pretty rare for any Earth pony to marry outside of their tribe, regardless of gender, and because marriage within the tribe is usually for reproduction, same-sex relationships just don't make sense." She smirked. "And you know how rational Earth ponies are." Scootaloo chuckled. "But it turns out that when it comes to an emotional connection, gender doesn't seem to factor in much."

"Really?"

Vinyl nodded. "Earth ponies will fall in love with anypony. And when they do, whew Princess, you better be prepared, because Earth ponies love hard." She grinned. "And they won't cut you any slack, either. That stubbornness is just a beautiful, fascinating, frustrating part of who they are. If you don't stand up for yourself, they'll run out of patience. It's not like dating a pegasus, who you can usually just tire out, or other unicorns, who are pretty easy to distract with a new book or trinket or something. Earth ponies keep you on the tips of your hooves."

"Wait, you dated other pegasi and unicorns?" Scootaloo asked. Somehow it had never occurred to her that her parents had ever been involved with anyone but one another.

Vinyl nodded. "Sure. Nothing serious, really. A few in college, a few during the year I took off before the Conservatory. All mares," she added, answering Scootaloo's unspoken question. "I've always been a filly seeking a filly."

"Always?"

"Ever since I could tell I had a preference."

"Huh." Scootaloo pondered this for a moment. "I wonder why..." She trailed off, embarrassed.

"Why it took you until now?" Vinyl finished. Scootaloo nodded, blushing. Her mother smiled. "Everypony's different. Besides, according to most pegasi I know, it never really occured to them to have a preference." She shifted across the sofa to press herself against Scootaloo. "But I think it's smart that you actually took the time to really explore your feelings and fully understand yourself."

Scootaloo smiled and the blush deepened a shade. "Thanks, but I didn't really mean to do it. I just...well, I realized I had a crush on another mare and it all kind of came crashing down on me at once."

"Oh yeah?" Vinyl asked, thoroughly failing to hide her excitement. "Is it somepony we know?"

"Yeah..." Scootaloo said, briefly wrestling with herself before deciding her mother could help her more if she had all the information. "It's...it's Silver Spoon."

Vinyl stared at her for several uneasy seconds before bursting into laughter. "Hey!" Scootaloo said, scowling. "It's not funny!"

Vinyl shook her head, waving a hoof. "No, no, it's not that, it's just..." She looked up at Scootaloo, grinning. "I owe your mother a night at the symphony."

Scootaloo blinked, confused. "Why?"

The unicorn sighed. "Because she's smarter than I am, and she figured that out weeks ago."

"Figured what out? That I had a crush on Silver Spoon?"

Vinyl nodded. "The day after you guys had...well, the day after 'the incident', she came to me in tears because she knew you were smitten with Silver Spoon, and she knew that something had happened between the two of you, and something else had happened with the other Crusaders, and she was afraid you had gotten your heart broken."

Scootaloo stared at her, stunned. "She did?"

Vinyl nodded again, chuckling. "Oh yeah. She's sharp, your mother. Honestly, she wanted so bad to tell you that she knew everything and ask you if she could help, but she didn't want you to feel like she was invading your privacy." She sighed. "Anyway, I told her she was crazy, partly just to rile her up, because it turns out your mother can't be sad and annoyed at the same time, which has worked wonders for me for years." She gave Scootaloo a conspiratorial wink and a grin. "But that backfired, because she was so sure she was right that she made me promise if it turned out to be true, I had to take her to the symphony and not complain about the lack of synthesizers even once." She shuddered theatrically.

Scootaloo rolled her eyes. "I'm sure she'll be thrilled."

Vinyl laughed. "She will, but not about the symphony." She smiled. "She'll just be happy to know that even though she was right about you and Silver Spoon, you still seem to be on pretty good terms."

"Yeah," Scootaloo said. "But...I don't think she feels the same way."

"Oh? Have you asked?" Scootaloo nodded. "I see." Vinyl tapped her chin with a hoof. "Well, I have just one piece of advice, if you're interested."

"Yeah, I am," Scootaloo said. "That's kind of why I asked you, I mean...you got an Earth pony to give you a chance, so I was kind of hoping you might have an idea."

"I do, but you might not exactly love it."

"Why not?" Scootaloo asked.

"It's not exactly actionable," Vinyl said.

Scootaloo shrugged. "I'll try anything."

"Alright, here you go: be patient."

Scootaloo raised an eyebrow at her. "That's it? 'Be patient'?"

Vinyl nodded. "I know it doesn't sound like much, but it's honestly the best advice I can give you. I know how hard it is to actually follow through on, but I promise you it works. If you and she are meant to have a shot, then you have to give her time. You can't pester an Earth pony into giving you a chance, you can't wear them down, you can't 'prove' yourself to them, you have to show them you are willing to wait."

"So what, it's a test?"

The unicorn shook her head. "No, and thinking about it that way will get you in trouble. It's more like..." She furrowed her brow, trying to come up with an appropriate metaphor. Then she sighed. "It's not really like anything else. It's just...it's just how you show them you care. It's how you show her she's worth the effort, worth the time, worth putting reins on your 'pegasus-ness'--or in my case, my 'unicorn-ness'--long enough to show her you aren't going to lose interest."

Scootaloo pursed her lips. "I'm not going to lose interest!"

"It's nothing personal," Vinyl said. "It's just how we are. Both of us. Pegasi live fast, so they love fast, and that sometimes means they don't love for very long. And unicorns either get distracted easily or they get tunnel vision, so love can be forced to take a back seat. Earth ponies don't tolerate either of those things. When they love, they mean for it to last, so they're pretty cautious about who they take that chance on. So," Vinyl said, giving her daughter an appraising look. "Do you think you can convince Silver Spoon that you're worth that chance?"

"I know I can," Scootaloo said, her head spinning with the intensity of the truth in her words.

"And you'll wait until she gives you that chance, even if it takes a year or more?"

"I'd wait forever." Scootaloo surprised herself with the corny hyperbole of the statement, and she blushed immediately. "I mean...yes."

Vinyl giggled. "I don't think you'll have to wait quite that long. In fact, I think you'll know one way or the other before you leave for the Academy."

"Really? Why?"

Vinyl gave her a knowing grin. "Just a feeling."

The Deviant and the Debutante

"Alright fillies and colts, let's settle down." Cheerilee had only to raise her voice a little to catch the attention of the rambunctious class of young stallions and mares. Despite most of them being nearly adults, the past several years of spending the better part of every weekday under Miss Cheerilee's firm discipline had conditioned them to obey her despite their newfound rebellious streaks. Almost immediately, the din of conversation died down as the young ponies meandered back to their seats, some of them intentionally waiting until the last possible moment before sitting down as Cheerilee made her way to her desk and set her saddlebags down on it. "I know it's hard to come back from a long break like Hearth's Warming, but we've still got a lot of material to cover before the final test this summer, so we're going to need to focus, study hard, and not talk when I'm speaking, Miss Tiara."

The magenta schoolteacher glared in the pink earth pony's direction, meeting her eyes with determination as the younger mare contemplated brushing her off. A few tense moments later, Diamond Tiara sighed heavily and turned back around in her seat, breaking off her conversation with the slate grey bespectacled filly sitting behind her. Cheerilee chose to ignore her angry pout as she continued speaking. "As I was saying, we have a great deal of work ahead of us, as for many of you, this will be your final season of primary schooling before you all take your place in the adult world, get jobs, and let your special talents shine brightly for the world to see!" She beamed at the collected ponies, most of whom reacted with ennui, or simply rolled their eyes.

A sherbet-orange filly with a shock of unkempt violet hair was in the latter group, and barely managed to suppress a groan at the saccharine sentiment. Cheerilee was undaunted by their lack of enthusiasm. "To that end, in addition to your normal schoolwork, I will be assigning a project that you will each have to complete in pairs. You will spend the entirety of the Spring season working on the project, and it will account for a rather substantial portion of your final marks. Unlike many other group activities you have done in the past, I will be pairing you up myself, and giving each pair a specific project to work on. My hope is that you will take the opportunity to explore and excel in areas you may not have any experience in, and thereby learn something new about yourselves." She paused as she glanced over at Scootaloo's raised hoof with skepticism. "Yes, Miss Scratch-Philharmonica?"

"What if there's nothing to learn about yourself? Like, say, if your 'special talent' is just being a spoiled bitch?" She casually glanced in Diamond Tiara's direction, smirking as the earth pony glared daggers back at her and the rest of the class tittered quietly at the insult.

"That's uncalled for, Miss Scratch, and you know it. See me after class today."

The pegasus shrugged with feigned nonchalance. "Just asking."

Cheerilee sighed and shook her head as she looked over and saw another hoof raised. She contemplated telling its owner to put it down and keep her comments to herself, but decided that because it was Silver Spoon, and not Diamond Tiara, there was a chance the question would be genuine. "Yes, Miss Spoon?"

"Are our grades going to take our partner into consideration?"

The schoolteacher hesitated, wondering how the young mare could make this into a personal affront. "Well...there will be a personal element to the grading, but yes, I suppose if there's a good reason, I might consider how your partner may have impacted the final product."

Silver Spoon nodded, satisfied. "Good. You hear that, Scratchy-Harmonica? Your idiotic laziness won't be ruining anyone's grade but your own."

The class giggled again, slightly more loudly this time. Cheerilee's eyes narrowed at the grey filly, but before she could speak, Scootaloo sat up in her chair and retorted, "I dunno why you're worried about my grade. You should be worrying about who your partner's going to be. You know she's not going to set you up with your leash-holder this time, right?"

"Miss Scratch! That is quite--"

"Oh yeah?" Silver Spoon interrupted the teacher, her cheeks flushing. "Aren't you worried about having to work without your little fillyfriends? Who's going to do all the work while you stare at their flank if not Sweetie Belle?"

"Enough!" Cheerilee snapped as Scootaloo's mouth fell open in shock and she stole a momentary glance at a wide-eyed, pink-cheeked Sweetie Belle sitting next to her. The ivory unicorn looked nervously back at her, but neither had an opportunity to speak before Cheerilee said, "That is enough out of both of you. Silver Spoon, I am extremely disappointed in your behavior."

"But she--"

"But nothing!' the magenta earth pony cut her off, her eyes glinting. "Both of you will see me after class, and I will be writing to both of your parents. Scootaloo, I know for a fact that your mother does not approve of this sort of behavior."

"Which one?" Diamond Tiara muttered under her breath.

Cheerilee turned her sizzling gaze to the roseate young pony, who shied away under the intense stare. "Careful, Miss Tiara, or you will be joining them." She looked back at the rest of the class, all of whom had rather forgotten any amusement from the exchange. "If no one else has any clever remarks to make, perhaps we can all remember how to act our age and open our books to chapter twenty-six." There was a flurry of movement as the entire class dove for their texts, not wanting to test the irate teacher's patience any further. Scootaloo and Silver Spoon shot one last detesting look across the room at one another before opening their books and joining the rest of the class in their studying.

~~~

"I don't know what to say," Miss Cheerilee huffed as she looked across her desk at the two young mares standing as far away from one another as they could on the other side. "We are one season away from graduation and the two of you are still acting like children!"

"But Miss Cheer--"

"Quiet!" Silver Spoon's complaint was immediately silenced as Cheerilee snapped at her, eyes glittering with anger. "I've had enough of the two of you! I've come to expect this sort of behavior from Diamond Tiara, but you're supposed to be one of my star pupils, Silver Spoon. Whatever happened to the sweet little filly who always had good questions, perfect attendance, and proper manners?" Silver Spoon looked away, an odd mix of defiance and shame crossing her face. "And you, Scootaloo!" the teacher said, turning to the orange pegasus. "This is the last straw. You're one of my smartest students, but you never apply yourself. If you would put even the least effort into anything, you could be extraordinary!" Scootaloo also looked away, her forced expression of careless boredom not quite masking the guilt tracing across her brow.

Cheerilee sighed, her voice softening as she continued. "Honest to Celestia, I'm at the end of my rope. I can't waste class time holding your hooves while you learn to be mature adults. After giving it a lot of thought, I've decided there's only one solution: I want the two of you to work together on the final project."

There was a moment of stunned silence before Scootaloo suddenly burst out laughing. "Are you kidding? I can't work with her!"

Cheerilee was stoic. "You can...and you will. I won't tell you what to do the project on, but you will do it together."

The orange filly snorted derisively. "Great. Looks like we'll both be getting zeroes on it, then."

"That's not fair!" Silver Spoon squealed in protest. "Miss Cheerilee, I don't want to get a zero just because she's a lazy, selfish mule!"

"Then you will have to find a way to work with her, won't you?" Before Silver Spoon could argue further, Cheerilee turned back to Scootaloo. "And lest you think you can ruin Silver Spoon's grade just because you're getting good marks, this project is going to be pass/fail for you, Miss Scratch-Philharmonica, and it better be your best work, because if it isn't done to my satisfaction, I will fail it, and you, for the entire year." Scootaloo's eyes widened suddenly, and her mouth fell open in shock. Cheerilee nodded grimly at the reaction. "I don't think I need to explain to you what that would mean, do I?"

Silver Spoon glanced between them, wearing an expression of vague confusion. Scootaloo ignored her, the brusque facade crumbling slowly. "Miss Cheerilee, you can't...you wouldn't...if I fail, I--"

"I know exactly what happens, Scootaloo. Don't think that will stop me from doing it."

Real panic started to creep into her voice. "My mothers...they won't let you! They'll--"

"I have spoken to your mothers a number of times in the past several months," Cheerilee interrupted her, still maintaining a sense of control and dignity, "and I assure you that not only will they let me, they have encouraged this course of action."

Scootaloo blanched. "Encouraged?"

Cheerilee nodded. "Yes. They are as concerned as I am about your lack of focus and sincerity, and frankly, it was your mother, Octavia, who suggested this particular course of action." Her voice softened slightly as Scootaloo's face fell into a hurt expression. "Look, Scootaloo, this isn't a punishment. We're just worried about you. You're so smart, and so ambitious, and you could go so far, if only you would--"

"I get it!" Scootaloo suddenly shouted, tossing her head in frustration. Her short mane whipped through the air smartly, falling into a completely new, but equally untidy thatch. "I'm a screwup loser who could do anything if I wanted to, but I'm just not applying myself, right?"

"No, Scootaloo, you aren't--"

"Great! I get it! Thanks a lot, Miss Cheerilee!" Her eyes glittering with unshed tears of anger, the young mare suddenly turned on her hoof and stomped out of the schoolhouse, her wings flared defiantly as she ignored Cheerilee's repeated shouts for her to return.

"Scootaloo!" Cheerilee winced as the door slammed, echoing loudly in the mostly-empty classroom. She sighed and settled back behind her desk.

Silver Spoon looked awkwardly between the door and the teacher, who was now rubbing her temples with her hooves and staring glumly at her desktop. "Um...do we still have to..."

"Yes," Cheerilee said, looking up at the grey filly. "You and Scootaloo are still working together on the project. You'll have until the last week of classes to work on it, and since you're both extremely smart, I expect it to be excellent. No excuses."

"But what if Scootaloo doesn't want to work with me?" She didn't add the converse, but Cheerilee could see it in her expression just the same.

"Well, you'll just have to convince her to, now won't you? Oh, don't give me that look," she added, rolling her eyes in exasperation. "Scootaloo is stubborn, I know, but if you really put your mind to it, I bet you could find a way to get her to come around."

"But what if I can't?"

"You can."

"But--"

"Silver!" Cheerilee interrupted her firmly. "Look, I know you're worried about your grade, and I know you think Scootaloo is going to ruin it for you, but trust me, you'll be okay. She'll come around, I promise. And if she doesn't," Cheerilee continued, staving off another interruption, "let me know. We'll find a way to work it out. Just do your best, alright?"

Silver Spoon sighed and let her gaze slide to the floor dejectedly. "Alright, Miss Cheerilee." A moment of silence passed before she looked up from under her bangs. "What did you want us to do the project on?"

Cheerilee shrugged. "Well, unlike the rest of the groups I have in mind, I think the two of you would be best off if I let you decide for yourselves what to do. Talk to Scootaloo about it, I'm sure she has some interesting ideas that you of all ponies would probably be eager to work on with her."

"Why me?" Silver Spoon asked suspiciously.

Cheerilee simply smiled and shook her head. "You'll have to ask Scootaloo."

The grey filly sighed heavily and nodded. "Yeah, I'll get right on that," she said, her voice flat and humorless. Without any further discussion, she turned and plodded out of the front of the schoolhouse, lightly kicking the door closed behind her.

~~~

Outside, Scootaloo found her friends waiting for her at the edge of the yard, Sweetie Belle humming quietly to herself as she watched Apple Bloom absently examining the rough-hewn wooden fencing encircling the area. Even from a distance, their cutie marks were easily visible, the swooping lavender musical note that adorned Sweetie's flank standing in stark contrast against her brilliant ivory coat, much as the crossed hammer and saw on Apple Bloom's stood out on her buttercup flank. Scootaloo's cutie mark was less obviously visible, but she figured it was so, well, cool that it didn't really matter. The flaming tire riding across her flank from the base of her tail to the front of her leg was mostly the same color as her mane and coat, a mix of oranges, reds, and magentas, except for the black of the tire itself, and was easily mistaken from a distance. Still, up close it was easy to see what it was, and anyone who knew her agreed it fit her and her special talent perfectly.

Sweetie Belle noticed her first, and Scootaloo noticed a flash of awkward discomfort cross her face before it was supplanted by a grin that was a bit too wide to be entirely genuine. "Oh, hey Scoots! How did it go? Detention again?"

Scootaloo shook her head, "No, although I'd rather be in detention than have to work with that...that...airhead!" This seemed to Scootaloo an entirely insufficient epithet to describe Silver Spoon, but she was too incensed and frustrated to think of something stronger.

"What do you mean?" Sweetie Belle asked. Scootaloo filled them in on the details of her partnership with Silver Spoon. They were appropriately appalled at the idea.

Apple Bloom stopped staring at the slats of the fence and shook her head at Scootaloo. "What is Miss Cheerilee thinking? How're you supposed to work with that lazy wannabe? She's not exactly the smartest filly in the class, you know."

"Yeah, I know," Scootaloo groaned. Grades weren't supposed to be common knowledge among the students, but it didn't take a genius to figure out what Silver Spoon's habit of asking simple, obvious questions and being the last to leave the classroom every test day meant. "And you know what's worse?" Her friends indicated that they did not. "She says my MOM was the one who suggested it to her!"

"What?!" Sweetie Belle's voice cracked in indignation at this revelation. "You're kidding! Why?"

Scootaloo shrugged. "I dunno. I don't really care, either," she said. This was not entirely true, she admitted silently, but she'd rather be banished to the moon for a thousand years than admit she was genuinely upset by this betrayal. "All I care about is passing this stupid year so I can get the heck out of here and never have to see Silver Spoon or Diamond Tiara's stupid faces ever again."

"Can you just...you know...not do the project?" Apple Bloom asked, a hint of sly malice in her eyes. "I mean, your grades are pretty good, right? And if Spoon failed..."

Scootaloo shook her head glumly. "No, I can't. Miss Cheerilee says she'll fail me for the whole year if I don't ace the project."

"That's not fair! You've got like 100%, don't you?"

Scootaloo smirked. "Maybe. Anyway, it doesn't matter if it's fair--Nightmare Moon in there has it out for me. Did you see how she jumped straight to 'See me after class' when I raised my hoof?"

Apple Bloom looked away uncomfortably and Sweetie Belle frowned. "Well, you were being kind of rude..."

"So? She didn't do anything to Silver Spoon until she started insulting you, Sweetie Belle."

"Well, technically she was still insulting you."

"Yeah, but she said I just let you do all the work and stared at your flank the whole time, which I don't," she added with a hair more intensity than was necessary.

"I know," Sweetie Belle said, her cheeks turning pink again as she looked away.

"Seriously," Scootaloo continued vehemently. "I'm not like that. I'm not my mothers."

"We know, Scootaloo," Apple Bloom soothed with a hint of exasperation. "You've said so before."

"Just making it clear." The pegasus tossed her mane defiantly again and then sat back on her haunches heavily.

An awkward moment passed before Apple Bloom spoke again. "So...what're you gonna do?"

Scootaloo shrugged. "I dunno." She sighed. "Come on, girls, let's get out of here." She got up and took off towards the town square, trailing her friends behind her.

Hooray, Slumber Party!

"So let me get this straight," Scootaloo said slowly. "I have to spend the night here, in your room, with you?"

Silver Spoon gave her a miffed look. "Well, you don't have to make it sound like some kind of torture, but yes, that's pretty much the case."

"You could have mentioned that earlier, before I decided to stay the night. Didn't you even say that you had a bunch of guest rooms I could stay in?"

"I did, yes, but I didn't know my father had guests of his own tonight."

Scootaloo raised an eyebrow at her. "How many guests could he possibly have? This is a pretty big house."

Silver Spoon rolled her eyes. "Big, yes, but it's also home to more than twenty serving staff, all of whom have to have their own space, not to mention the rooms that aren't living areas, and the fact that my father is having some of the rooms renovated, and it turns out there's a lot less free space than you might think."

"Oh, renovations? What for?"

Silver Spoon shrugged. "As it happens, he doesn't really consult with me on that sort of thing," she said dryly.

"Well, no, I didn't expect..." Scootaloo sputtered, "but I figured he'd at least keep you in the loop so you'd know what was going on in your own house."

Silver Spoon actually laughed at this. "Please. You think my father tells me about anything he decides to do?" She smiled wanly. "This may come as a shock to you, but some ponies' parents actually go out of their way not to talk to us if they can help it."

"Hah, right, I'm sure." Scootaloo scoffed. Silver Spoon didn't respond, simply staring at her with a cool, half-lidded gaze. Scootaloo's derisive grin faltered and then broke, her eyes suddenly widening. "You're serious? But that's...that--"

The thickening awkwardness of the conversation was mercifully broken by the arrival of a dapper young unicorn stallion with creamsicle orange fur and a black bow-tie cutie mark. He held a stack of bedding in his bright blue magical aura, and his face was largely emotionless. "Bed dressings for your guest, madam."

Silver Spoon managed to pull a friendly smile onto her face before addressing the servant. "Thank you, Black Tie. You can just leave them on my bed. Is Intricacy bringing the cot, or are you going back for it?"

The unicorn's bland facade cracked a little as he said, "Um...sincerest apologies, miss, but none of the manor's cots are available tonight. They're all--"

"Are you kidding me?" Scootaloo suddenly burst out, startling the other two ponies into looking back at her. "Just how many ponies does your dad have visiting him tonight?"

The unicorn blinked. "Well...Master Smith hosted a banquet this evening with guarantees of lodging for anypony who wished to stay the night. As I recall, they also dipped into the wine cellar after dinner, so more guests than anticipated took him up on the offer. As it is, we were fortunate to find rooms for them all, especially with the modernization work going on in the third floor guest rooms."

"I see," said Silver Spoon, as Scootaloo grunted her annoyed comprehension. "Well, thank you anyway, Black Tie. We'll improvise."

"Very well, ma'am. Have a good night." The stallion dipped his head in obeisance to Silver Spoon, nodded shallowly at Scootaloo, and vanished, letting the heavy door swing slowly shut behind him.

Silver Spoon sighed and looked at Scootaloo. "Well, I guess we can just share the bed if--"

"Floor!" Scootaloo suddenly blurted, an inexplicably panicked look on her face.

Silver Spoon raised an eyebrow at her. The pegasus' eyes were wide and her pupils tightly contracted, as if in genuine terror. Puzzled, she asked, "What about the floor?"

Scootaloo cleared her throat, her formerly indignant airs now displaced by a nervous jitter in her voice. "I just was thinking, this is pretty thick carpet, and it wouldn't be that uncomfortable to sleep on if I had a few blankets and a pillow, right?" She pulled a thoroughly unconvincing grin that didn't quite hide the slight pink tinge now coloring her orange cheeks.

Silver Spoon blinked, bemused. "I...guess? But why would you do that when you could sleep in an actual bed?"

"I just...you know, don't want to encroach on your space, right? I mean, it's your house, your bed...you shouldn't have to share with me just because there's no other room or bed available."

Silver Spoon glanced back at her enormous four-posted bed. Half the bedclothes were undisturbed by even the most casual use. "You...do realize it's a huge bed, right? I'm not exactly dying for space."

"Well, sure, but...you don't seriously want to have to sleep with another pony? In your bed, I mean," Scootaloo added hastily, the blush on her cheeks intensifying.

"Honestly," Silver Spoon pursed her lips, rubbing the back of her head with a hoof, "I wouldn't really know. It hasn't exactly been an experience I've had to deal with for a while."

Scootaloo raised an eyebrow at her. "How do you mean?"

Silver Spoon shrugged. "Well, I don't have many visitors, obviously, and the ones I do have don't usually spend the night, and if they do, they always just stay in a guest room. I have no idea what it would be like to have to share my bed." She glanced at it. "And like I said, it's pretty big. I doubt it would be an issue."

Scootaloo frowned, her brown knitted as she skeptically eyed the bed as if she somehow suspected it of misrepresenting its size. Silver Spoon stared at her, perplexed. "Why, what's the big deal, anyway? I figured you and the Crusaders had sleepovers all the time. Do you always sleep on the floor at their places?"

Scootaloo's ears flicked at this. "Well, no, not exactly. I mean, they've both got really big beds, too, but we all sleep on the floor of the living room at my place, 'cuz my room's too small for all three of us."

Silver Spoon grunted in irritation. "So it's not the sleeping in the same bed that's a problem, it's just sleeping in the same bed as me." A nasty tightness suddenly closed in on the back of her throat, but Silver Spoon ignored it, glaring at the other filly through stinging eyes.

Scootaloo blinked, nonplussed. "Wait, what? I never said--"

"Why would you say it when it's so obvious?" Silver Spoon sniffed dismissively and turned on a hoof, her tail whipping through the air behind her in a flourish of indignation as she stomped away from the stunned pegasus, making her way to the far side of the bed and roughly tossing the covers aside.

"I...I...uh," Scootaloo started again, but Silver Spoon shot her an icy glare.

"It looks like they brought plenty of extra blankets and pillows, so feel free to make yourself comfortable anywhere. Bell-pull's on the wall if you need something else. Light switch too, when you're done." She climbed between the sheets and punched the switch on her bedside lamp with a little more force than was strictly necessary. "Good night," she huffed before roughly throwing herself down on the pillow.

~~~

Scootaloo didn't hear Silver Spoon's angry dismissal. She hadn't actually heard any of the other pony's final rant, because right before she'd started her tirade, she'd managed to disengage Scootaloo's brain entirely. As Silver Spoon had turned away in anger, she'd flipped her tail high over her back, and Scootaloo had been exposed to a sight that she was utterly unsure how to process. Modesty in Equestria was generally a matter of fact, as most females had long tails that hung over and hid their more private areas by their very existence. For a brief moment, though, Silver Spoon had displaced the only thing between Scootaloo and her marehood, and the flash of pink vividly visible against the slate grey of the other filly's flank had stopped the pegasus' heart cold.

Sweet Celestia, that was...I just saw...did she do that on purpose? No way...she wouldn't...must've been an accident. Buck, though, that was...

Amazing, a tiny quiet voice from somewhere deep in her mind said.

She shook her head, pressing her hooves to her temples. No! she screamed inside her own head. No, it was nothing, nothing at all. Just...just another female, right? Another female's...plot. Every mare has one. Hell, you've got one, stupid! It's nothing. You've seen dozens of other females before. Hell, you've seen Apple Bloom's and Sweetie Belle's--

This was the wrong thing to tell herself. Scores of memories, each carefully and subconsciously saved in vivid detail began racing through her mind, and the waves of alternative panic and arousal swirling in her head terrified her. Her heart was thumping wildly, and a sickening jolt of adrenaline was dispersing throughout her body, setting her legs trembling. She gritted her teeth and closed her eyes tightly against the sensation and the tears that were inexplicably gathering in them. I said it was no big deal, damn it! Buck, just...chill out! Breathe, Scootaloo, breathe. She took a long, shuddering breath as quietly as she could. Chill out, it's nothing. Just...just a...you know. Just a...vagina. Somehow, she had imagined using the proper anatomical term for what she had just seen would defuse the situation, and refocus her mind. It did not. If anything, she realized with a sinking feeling, acknowledging that she had just seen Silver Spoon's private parts only threw her body into higher gear.

Her eyes snapped open in terror as she realized her wings were responding to her thoughts and were beginning to stiffen and stretch out behind her. Glancing over at the bed, she was relieved to see that Silver Spoon was lying on her side, looking across the room and away from her, clearly unaware that her guest was in crisis. With some flailing, she managed to get ahold of her wings and hold them down against her back, resisting the reflexive extension. She was unable to stop the image of Silver Spoon's flipping tail and the forbidden fruits it revealed from racing through her mind, though, and after a few minutes, the building pressure in the taut, powerful muscles was too much to bear. Sighing, she released the unruly appendages, and seconds later, they were fully extended.

This betrayal was the last, undeniable proof. With tears of frustration and shame running down her cheeks, she finally admitted to herself what she'd been desperately denying for years. I like mares...I'm just like my mothers...I'm a...a fillyfooler. Her heart sank as she thought the word. It was an expletive, an offensive slur coined by earth ponies who lived in their own exclusive villages and had very little tolerance for same-sex relationships. It was the only word that she had ever actually been punished for saying out loud, so she knew it was particularly heinous, which only made the fifteen times a day Diamond Tiara said it to her and her friends that much more infuriating. Truthfully, prior to meeting Diamond Tiara, she hadn't even really considered what gender she might be attracted to, let alone whether one way or the other was more acceptable. Then they'd all grown up and matured, and as everypony started noticing one another with new, genuinely interested eyes, suddenly being attracted to other mares was something to be ashamed of, and Diamond Tiara had never let her forget it.

So Scootaloo had decided that she would never give Diamond Tiara a reason to think she was right. She brushed off the slur as if it was not only inaccurate, but laughable. For the most part, she'd been successful, with a few embarrassing lapses that she'd been quick to explain away and then tried to forget, but now...

She sighed again, dejectedly looking back at her erect wings. There was no explaining this away. She hadn't even seen very much, or for very long, but she couldn't forget it. And the heat in her face, the anxious trembling in her hooves, the wetness between her flanks that was seeping into her tail as she sat on it to prevent herself from soaking the carpet beneath her...there was no doubt. She was attracted to Silver Spoon.

Shit.

The filly glanced back at the other pony, still lying motionless between the sheets of her bed. Her subconscious suddenly conjured an image of lying next to her, curled up against her back, caressing her side and kissing...

No, stop that! She shook her head, dispelling the thought. This night was already awkward and uncomfortable enough without her making it worse. Then a nasty thought occurred to her. She was already making it worse, wasn't she? Why had she been so vehemently opposed to just sharing the bed with Silver Spoon? Well, okay, she knew why she'd been opposed, although she'd been trying her best to come up with any other possible explanation, but honestly, Silver Spoon was right. It was a huge bed, with enough room for at least four ponies to sleep comfortably in it without touching each other. It was foalish to act like sleeping next to another filly, even one she wasn't particularly friendly with, was so repulsive that she'd rather sleep on the floor. Besides that, she'd been so insistent that Silver Spoon thought it was because she just didn't want to sleep next to her personally, which, Scootaloo now realized with a fresh rush of heat to her face (and her flanks) couldn't be further from the truth.

Scootaloo slowly raised a hoof to her forehead and dragged it down her face. You and your bucking mouth, she thought. When was she going to learn just to shut the hell up and actually think for a second before saying whatever fool thing came to mind? Once again, she was in the sticky position of having to do damage control for her thoughtless outburst, and this time she wasn't even sure how to begin patching things up with her project partner. She looked at the bed again. The sheets across three-quarters of the mattress were completely unmoved. Silver Spoon obviously only ever slept on the far side, next to her bedside table. A thought occurred to Scootaloo. If Silver Spoon thought she was just opposed to sleeping in the same bed, then there was one simple, easy way to instantly dispel the theory...

~~~

In the semi-dark silence that followed her wounded diatribe, punctuated only by the alternating slashing of the rain at the windows and the palpable rumble of thunder, Silver Spoon lay facing the windows across the room, watching with wide eyes as the lightning flashed menacingly behind the roseate drapes and viscerally hating herself. Why was she so stupid all the time? Exactly how had she expected that exchange to go? Better yet, how had she expected any of this night to go? Her naive, wide-eyed imagination had leaped at the mere thought of having Scootaloo spend the night, and for what? They weren't friends. They were barely not enemies. Scootaloo herself had said so.

Somehow, outrageous flights of fancy had taken root in her subconscious, and she'd found herself imagining, hoping, even absurdly yearning for long, personal discussions, secret-sharing, fits of giggling and talk of stallions, truth or dare, never-have-I-ever, mane-braiding and makeovers. She'd seen an honest-to-Celestia sleepover, and that dream, however impossible, had taken hold. Scootaloo's reaction had broken that spell, and now Silver Spoon, horrified and ashamed it had ever crossed her mind, was struggling to stop tears she couldn't explain from leaving damning tracks in her light grey fur.

Her attempts were futile. Hot drops slowly trickled down the side of her face, cooling as they went. Her vision blurred, and she sniffed reflexively. The sound was horribly clear and obvious in the awkward silence, and Silver Spoon was under no delusions whether Scootaloo had heard, or if she knew what it meant. How stupid must she sound, crying over something to pathetically benign? Mercifully, the silence was momentarily broken by Scootaloo's heavy hoofsteps across the thick carpet towards the door, where she poked the light switch and plunged the room into a more complete and somber darkness. Another minute or so of quiet shuffling passed as Scootaloo began to assemble her bed on the floor, while Silver Spoon remained motionless, trying to will herself to stop crying and ignore the waves of hot shame washing over her.

Suddenly, her eyes snapped open and the tears stopped abruptly as she felt the opposite side of the bed dipping heavily under the weight of another pony, and the covers fluttered apart, letting a rush of cool air between them. Surprised, Silver Spoon lay still, sensing without looking as Scootaloo climbed up into the other half of the massive bed and struggled beneath the comforter. She waited until the shifting and rustling had stopped before risking a glance over her shoulder. In darkness her eyes were slowly becoming accustomed to, she could easily make out the unmistakeable silhouette of Scootaloo lying on her side, wings tucked tightly beneath the sheet and held close to her back, her face turned intently away. As she stared, Scootaloo cast a cautious eye back at her, and the instant their eyes met, both fillies immediately turned away again and resumed staring resolutely at opposite walls.

Silver Spoon's heart was racing. Why? What in Equestria was wrong with her? This wasn't weird or improper, was it? It wasn't as though Scootaloo was a stallion, or a much younger or older than she. This was just something that friends did, right? Scootaloo had even admitted that she and her friends still had sleepovers just like this. A rude little flash of logic struggled into her thought process and made her blood run cold. This was totally different. The Crusaders had been friends--best friends--for years. Plenty of time to get comfortable with this sort of intimate proximity. Besides, there were three of them, enough to constitute a proper slumber party. This was nothing like that. Two ponies, alone, not even really friends, sleeping in the same bed? Of course it felt weird. It was weird! How else should it have felt?

"So...um," Scootaloo spoke, interrupting Silver Spoon's frantic self-flagellation. "I...I'm sorry, I guess."

Silver Spoon blinked in the darkness, perplexed. "Sorry?"

"Yeah." There was a sudden shifting and Silver Spoon peered back to see Scootaloo lying on her back, hooves on her chest, staring up at the canopy of the bed. Silver Spoon rolled onto her back as well, eyeing the other filly curiously.

"Why?"

Scootaloo gave her a puzzled look. "Well, I didn't mean to upset you like that. I just didn't really think about what I was saying." She sighed. "I wasn't trying to make it seem like I was weirded out by the idea of sleeping next to you, in the same bed, I just..."

"It's just weird period, right?" Silver Spoon asked softly, blushing under the cover of darkness.

"I...well, yeah," Scootaloo agreed, rubbing her ear nervously with a hoof. "I mean, doesn't it feel a little...awkward to you, too?"

Silver Spoon nodded at her. The pegasus seemed strangely uncomfortable, not just awkward but physically uncomfortable, as though her wings were cramping and she was trying to get comfortable lying on top of them. She wondered idly why Scootaloo didn't just roll on her side or her belly if her wings were bothering her, but the thought passed quickly. "Yeah," she said,"it does. A little. I mean, it's like you said: we're not really friends, and even though we're not really enemies, either, this is still a little..."

"Up close and personal?" Scootaloo smiled sideways at her.

Silver Spoon giggled in spite of herself. "Yeah. Especially since I haven't had a sleepover or anything like it in years."

"Years, huh?" Scootaloo asked. "How come?"

Silver Spoon shrugged. "Lack of opportunity, I guess. I used to trade off with Diamond Tiara a lot, but then we had--ah, we just...sort of agreed that we were getting a little too old for it."

Scootaloo considered this, staring at the canopy again. "The Crusaders and I have been having sleepovers for as long as we've known each other. Longer than I've known Apple Bloom, actually. We don't do it quite as much any more, but every so often we like to take a night to...reconnect, I guess. Stay friends."

"Longer than you've known Apple Bloom?"

Scootaloo nodded. "Yeah, I used to spend almost every night at Rarity's place with Sweetie Belle."

"You've known Sweetie Belle longer than Apple Bloom?" Silver Spoon asked.

"Yeah, of course," Scootaloo smirked. "You should know that. We met AB at Diamond Tiara's Cuteceañera, remember?"

"Ah, right," Silver Spoon deadpanned. "How could I forget?"

"Yeah, it sort of stopped being Tiara's party after that, didn't it?" Scootaloo grimaced. "Sorry about that."

"You shouldn't be," Silver Spoon muttered. "It was her own fault. She could've gone back out and just moved on, but you know Di. Letting things go isn't really her style."

"No, I guess not," Scootaloo agreed. "Well, what about your Cuteceañera? I didn't even get an invite to that. Private affair, I guess?"

"Oh, no, I..." Silver Spoon blushed, "I didn't have one."

"Huh?" Scootaloo actually propped herself up on an elbow, staring at her. "Why not?"

Silver Spoon shrugged, feigning indifference. "I just didn't. My father's not big on spending money for a party celebrating something everypony does eventually."

"Well, yeah, everypony gets their cutie mark eventually, but still...it's kind of a big deal, don't you think?"

Silver Spoon looked away, the blush deepening. "Nah, not really...anyway, Mr. Rich and Diamond Tiara still threw me a little party, so I got to celebrate with my friends anyway."

"Well, that's good, at least." Scootaloo frowned at her. "I'm surprised, actually. I would've thought somepony like you would've had a big, lavish party."

"Somepony like me?" Silver Spoon asked with a small smile.

"You know what I mean," Scootaloo said. "It's not exactly a secret that your family's pretty well off."

Silver Spoon laughed softly. "My father is well off, yes. The rest of us? Well, as long as we stay in his good graces, we do alright."

Scootaloo blanched. "What do you mean?"

Silver Spoon shrugged. "Well, if my grades slip, or if I get in trouble, or embarrass him...my status becomes a little more fragile, I guess you could say."

"That's...really messed up," Scootaloo said.

Silver Spoon blinked. "Huh? What do you mean?"

"I mean why should your...I dunno, your options, I guess, depend on your performance in school? It's not like that's something you can control, is it?"

Silver Spoon shrugged. "Isn't it? I mean, if I put some actual effort into my school work, couldn't I do better?"

Scootaloo shook her head. "That's ridiculous. You put a ton of effort into your work."

"How do you know?"

"Because it takes you forever to do anything," Scootaloo said, rolling her eyes. "Homework, tests...whatever. You spend hours on everything. Anypony can tell you're really trying."

Silver Spoon snorted derisively. "As though it mattered. I'm just barely not failing. You know that," she added dyly.

Scootaloo smiled wanly, looking away. "Yeah, well...I guess it's not really a secret, is it?" Silver Spoon sighed heavily, but Scootaloo continued. "Still, anypony putting in that kind of effort should be rewarded somehow, don't you think?"

Silver Spoon eyed her curiously. "What do you mean?"

"I dunno," Scootaloo said. "I just think that if you're really putting that kind of time and energy into your studies, you should be doing better." She raised an eyebrow at Silver Spoon. "You used to do a lot better, actually. What happened?"

Silver Spoon shrugged. "I don't really know. One night when Di and I were studying, I just kind of...lost track of what we were doing. I never really caught back up, I guess."

Scootaloo looked thoughtful for a moment. "I guess Diamond Tiara's your only study buddy, huh?"

Silver Spoon nodded. "Has been for years, too."

"Yeah, I bet."

Silver Spoon raised an eyebrow at her. "What's that supposed to mean?"

Scootaloo shook her head, raising a hoof defensively. "Nothing. I just mean that you and DT seem pretty close. I can't imagine you studying with anypony else."

Silver Spoon settled back into her pillow. "Yeah, well...it's not like anypony else would bother."

Scootaloo raised an eyebrow back. "What do you mean?"

Silver Spoon sighed. "I know I'm not popular, Scootaloo. You don't have to make me say it out loud."

"Not popular?" Scootaloo laughed. "Are you kidding? Popular is like...one of the first adjectives anypony would use to describe you."

Silver Spoon glared at her. "Diamond Tiara is popular. You know perfectly well that I'm not."

Scootaloo stared at her, momentarily silenced. Silver Spoon suddenly realized she'd said too much. Blushing, she turned away, pulling the covers up to her chin and staring at her bedside table, hoping Scootaloo would let the comment go.

She did not. "What do you mean?" Scootaloo asked.

Silver Spoon sighed, still staring at the lamp sitting on her bedside table. "Scootaloo, you know as well as I do that Diamond Tiara is the popular one. I'm just...you know...there."

"Hey, come on Silver Spoon, you know that's not true," Scootaloo said.

Silver Spoon looked back over her shoulder at the other filly. "Oh really? Alright, tell me something," she said, her voice dripping with derisive sarcasm. "You and Rainbow Dash are pretty close, right?" Scootaloo shrugged and nodded. "Before she left to join the Wonderbolts, how often did you get to go and do stuff with her, without your other friends?"

Scootaloo thought for a moment. "I dunno exactly...once a week or so, I guess?"

Silver Spoon smirked. "So, in addition to the other Crusaders, who you hang out with all the time, you also got to spend hours a week with one of the most famous and popular ponies in town, right?"

"Well, yeah, but--"

Silver Spoon turned to face Scootaloo, sitting up and letting the sheets fall down off her shoulders. She felt the heat of shameful and frustrated tears gathering at the edges of her eyes, but she resisted them. "And that's not even to mention all the time you get to spend being tutored by Princess Twilight, who, despite being royalty, still manages to find time in her schedule for you. And then," she continued, her frustration and bitterness obvious now in her voice and in the tears sliding down her cheeks, "to top it all off, you have parents who love you, who are always available, always keeping tabs on you, always there to help you out, and you're so used to it that you're actually sick of it!" Silver Spoon's voice cracked and shook as she reached the crux of her rant, and she paused to take a steadying breath before adding bitterly, "If you think it would be so great to be ignored, you should try it sometime."

The ringing silence hanging in the darkness between the two ponies was thick with awkward tension, occasionally broken and reinforced by Silver Spoon sniffing back tears of frustration that ran down her face in rivulets she desperately wished she could stop. Scootaloo coughed awkwardly and looked down at the bedsheets between them. "I'm sorry," she said quietly. "I didn't know."

"Yeah, well...now you do," Silver Spoon spat, turning away again. "Some of us are just invisible, Scootaloo."

"You're not invisible," Scootaloo said, but Silver Spoon snorted derisively.

"Come on, Scootaloo, you're too smart to say something that stupid," she muttered. "No one notices whether I'm there or not unless Diamond Tiara's alone. I mean, it's no big deal. I'm used to it," Silver Spoon said, her voice dark. Then she sighed. "Spend enough time in somepony's shadow, and eventually you just become part of it."

A few miserable seconds ticked by, filled by Silver Spoon's idle wondering why in Equestria she was even saying all of this. Surely Scootaloo already knew--or at least suspected--everything she was saying. Wasn't that part of the Crusaders' arsenal, making fun of her for being Diamond Tiara's flunkey? Then Scootaloo spoke again, a hint of skepticism in her voice. "Silver Spoon...do you like Diamond Tiara?"

Silver Spoon's heart skipped a dozen beats. She knows! She fought the panic rising in her stomach as best she could. "No! No, of course not!" She turned to face Scootaloo with a strained grin. "What in Equestria would give you that idea?" She resisted the urge to groan at how strained and anxious her voice sounded.

Scootaloo's eyes widened in surprise. "You...don't? Why do you even hang out with her, then?"

Confused, Silver Spoon said, "Why do I...why wouldn't I, if we're still...oh!" Comprehension suddenly dawned and relief washed over her as she realized what Scootaloo was actually asking. "You mean as a friend!"

"Yeah," Scootaloo said, raising an eyebrow at her. "What'd you think I meant?"

"I thought you meant...you know...like like. As in more than just...friends."

"Oh," Scootaloo said. The her eyes widened as she realized what Silver Spoon was implying. "Oh! You thought--no! No, of course not, nothing like that!" She laughed awkwardly, shaking her head. "No, I didn't think...I mean, I know you're not, you know...like that." There was a moment's hesitation, and then Scootaloo asked, "You aren't, are you?"

Something in Scootaloo's voice changed between the statement and the question. It was curious, and subtle...almost imperceptible, and for an instant, Silver Spoon wondered if the pegasus was fishing for a specific answer to her question. "No...no I'm not."

"Of course...of course not," Scootaloo said, nodding solemnly. "Good."

Silver Spoon raised an eyebrow at this. It seemed an odd sentiment for somepony whose parents were both female to express. Scootaloo noticed her reaction and said frantically, "I mean, you know, it's 'good' that I was right, not good that you're not, you know...'cuz it's no big deal, you know, if you were...I mean I don't care either way, obviously! It's none of my business, of course, and with my folks being...you know...who they are..." she sputtered.

"Scootaloo," Silver Spoon said, smirking as she rescued the floundering pegasus. "You don't have to explain yourself. I get it."

"Hah, thanks," Scootaloo said, blushing as she chuckled nervously to herself, rubbing the back of her head with a hoof. One of her wings had gotten free, Silver Spoon noticed absently, and was now sticking awkwardly out into the darkness behind her. Curiously, she wondered if this was just something that pegasi had to deal with--wing cramps--on a regular basis. She ignored it. Scootaloo smiled, looking back at Silver Spoon through the blush. "I don't think I was explaining myself very well, anyway."

Silver Spoon giggled. "No, not really."

"Right. Anyway," Scootaloo cleared her throat and collected herself again. "You never really answered my question."

"What question was that?"

Scootaloo sat up completely now, curling her legs underneath her body and leaning on her forehooves on the mattress. "Do you like Diamond Tiara?"

"Of course I do," Silver Spoon scoffed.

Scootaloo raised an eyebrow at her, and she looked away, unable to meet the pegasus' skeptical gaze. "Really? Because honestly, I'm not convinced."

She sniffed airily. "Well, I can't change your mind if you've already made it up. We're friends, we've been friends forever, and nothing changes that."

"And all that talk about being part of her shadow, and being invisible, and the way she treats you at school, that's all part of being frien--"

"Hey, look!" Silver Spoon interrupted her hotly, her face warming behind her fur as a blush crept across her cheeks. "I can be friends with someone and not have to like them all the time, can't I? You argue with your friends all the time, but you don't see me accusing you of disliking them, do you?"

Scootaloo leaned back and held up her forehooves defensively. "No, no, you're right, I'm sorry, I was just...ah, buck," she said, sighing and dropping her hooves to her lap. "I didn't mean anything by it, Spoon. I was just curious. Concerned, I guess. About you," she said, looking up from beneath her bangs at Silver Spoon.

The grey filly blinked, taken aback. "Concerned?" The blush intensified and her ears folded back on top of her head, letting her mane fall in front of her eyes. She brushed a lock away to see Scootaloo looking intently at her, her wings still spread wide behind her back. Silver Spoon wondered if she should be concerned that Scootaloo didn't seem to be able to keep them in check, but Scootaloo was mostly ignoring them, and she was mindful enough that they weren't hitting anything, so she decided to leave it alone.

As soon as their eyes met again, Scootaloo cleared her throat and nodded. "Well yeah, I mean...obviously I don't get to see much of you outside of school, but I kind of figured, well, you and Diamond Tiara are pretty close, so I thought for sure you'd be pretty fond of each other. But it doesn't really seem that way. Like, at school she's always being rude and ordering you around, and you just seem to back down all the time, so I figured it was just how she is, but to hear you talk about her now..." Scootaloo shrugged, her unfurled wings bouncing and amplifying the gesture. "I guess I just thought...you don't sound too happy about being her friend."

Silver Spoon felt a sick sinking feeling in her stomach as she looked down at the mattress glumly. "Well...even if I wasn't--and I'm not saying I'm not--I should be." She blinked back guilty tears. "Honestly, I'm lucky she'll even still let me be her friend, after some of the things I've done and said to her."

"Bullshit." Silver Spoon's gaze immediately shot back up to meet Scootaloo's. The other filly's eyes were narrow and fierce, and her mouth was drawn in a taut line across her muzzle. "No one has to let you be their friend. If you want to be someone's friend, they should be honored to return the favor. If they're not, then they're not your friend at all."

Silver Spoon actually laughed darkly. "Scootaloo, you have no idea what you're talking about."

"Really?" Scootaloo scoffed. "Then please, enlighten me."

"Alright," she said, sitting up and mirroring Scootaloo's posture. "How many ponies do you think I'd want to be friends with, if I could?"

Scootaloo raised an eyebrow at her. "Uh...I dunno. How many ponies are you friends with now?"

"One," she smirked. "Diamond Tiara."

"Oh..." The other filly grimaced a bit. "Well...I guess...I don't really know. I don't move in your social circles, so like, if there are any other rich ponies with kids around, I wouldn't--"

"There are, but that's not really even the point. Those aren't my circles, Scootaloo, those are my father's circles. Di and I just move in them because we have to. It's part of being one of the social elite," she said, waving her hoof in a mock genteel primping motion. "So even if I do interact with other ponies in my caste, I promise you we aren't friends, and I wouldn't want to be friends with most of them anyway. So just think about in our class. Twenty or so ponies, all with their own little cliques, but with a little friendly spillover, right?" Scootaloo nodded. "How many of them would you consider friends? Not even Crusader-level, but just 'smile at in the street' friends?"

The pegasus tilted her head to the side, considering this. "Uh...well, the Crusaders, obviously...Rumble, Dinky, Pinch, Pip, Feather, Zip--"

"Right," Silver Spoon interrupted her again. "So how many of them do you think I would love to be friends with if I could?" She felt a lump rising in the back of her throat as she waited for Scootaloo to follow her to the conclusion of the discussion, but she resisted it.

"Uh...maybe...Zip? I mean, you and Di don't really get along with Snips...I know Rumble's pretty popular, and Dinky's pretty cool...Maybe four or five? Why, are you not friends with them?"

Silver Spoon shook her head. "No, of course not. I'm not friends with anyone else in our class. How could I be? They wouldn't give me the time of day unless Diamond Tiara was standing next to me." She let her gaze slide back to the comforter. "But if I could, I'd befriend all of them in a heartbeat." She looked up at Scootaloo's concerned grimace from behind her bangs. "I'm not good at making friends, Scootaloo, not like you. I didn't even make the first move with Diamond Tiara. She came up to me, and befriended me. I'll never forget that day, because it was the first day of school, and my father just dropped me off outside in the yard, and left, and I was just standing there, alone, scared to death of all the other ponies in our class, and right as I was about to start crying, Diamond Tiara came up to me and introduced herself, out of the blue." She smiled wanly. "It was...like being rescued. I could have been lost that day, but she didn't let it happen. She was the first friend I'd ever had, and she's still the only one."

"Nah," Scootaloo said, waving a hoof dismissively. "That's not true."

Silver Spoon raised an eyebrow at her. "Were you not listening? Nopony else in our class gives two bucks about me."

"Sure, somepony does," she said confidently.

"Oh yeah? Who?"

Scootaloo grinned broadly, leaning across the bed to poke her in the shoulder. "Me, stupid. I care."

Silver Spoon blinked. "You...you do?"

She nodded. "Of course. We're friends, aren't we?"

The grey filly blinked again, utterly nonplussed. "Uh, no. You hate me." Then she added curiously, "Don't you?"

Scootaloo shook her head. "Nah. I hate Diamond Tiara, and when I thought you were just like her, I hated that about you, but now I've gotten a chance to actually, you know, talk to you, well," she smiled warmly, reaching out a hoof and gently placing it on top of Silver Spoon's. "Turn's out you're pretty cool. I'd totally be your friend if you wanted me to."

Silver Spoon stared at the orange hoof, her mind blank. What had happened to this whole night? Not twenty minutes ago, she'd been convinced that Scootaloo couldn't even stand the thought of sleeping in the same bed with her, and now, she was offering her friendship...even touching her? On purpose, no less! It was almost as good...no, it was better than what she'd been foalishly imagining earlier. They weren't talking fashion and exchanging makeovers, Silver Spoon was actually--and somewhat unintentionally--spilling out all her guilty emotions on Scootaloo, and not only was she not shying away or making fun of her, she was actually listening...actually caring.

A hell of a lot more than Diamond Tiara ever--

She immediately shut the thought process out. No matter how nice Scootaloo was being, it didn't give her any excuse to think things like that about Diamond Tiara. They were still friends, after all. A filly could have more than one friend, right? Scootaloo had tons. She smiled shyly. "I...thanks, Scootaloo. That...that means a lot to me."

The pegasus grinned. "No problem, Spoon. So...would you like to be my friend?"

Silver Spoon giggled, blushing lightly, and nodded. "Yeah. Yeah, I'd like that a lot."