Bad to the Belle

“Wow, Sweetie Belle, I still can't believe you continue put up with her, haven't you tried moving out or something?” A gray coated, blue maned pegasus tried to keep a straight face as she spoke over the music. The white unicorn turned down her stereo some before replying.

“Believe me, I have. There's just no where to stay, and I know your parents don't like me, Cloudchaser...”

“My parents don't like me either,” Cloudchaser joked, a smile curling slightly on her lips.

“Heh...” Sweetie Belle tried to laugh, only ending with a sigh.

“Well if it hurts you too much to stay here, you could always run away... I'm sure your sister couldn't care less if she found you were gone. In fact, I think she'd like the idea if you ask me,” the thought of it all didn't sit well with the unicorn.

“...I've thought about it,” Sweetie Belle glanced out the barred window sheepishly.

“Well what's stopping you then?” Cloudchaser questioned.

“...I don't wanna talk about it,” Sweetie Belle attempted to dodge the bullet.

“Oh come on, I'm your best friend Sweetie Belle, you can tell me anything!” The pegasus buttered her up for an answer.

“...You won't laugh?” She returned her gaze on Cloudchaser.

“I promise,” she crossed her heart with a hoof.

“Um... I... I don't want to face the world on my own. Each day I imagine what freedom could be, but more often I think about all the dangers that could be lurking around every corner and alleyway...”

“Afraid? I never took you as the fearful type Sweetie Belle...” Cloudchaser sat there, slightly dumbfounded from her friend's response.

“Well I've seen how mean colts and stallions can be, especially at school. It's surprising how much they get away with everything,” the unicorn's face fell into her hooves.

“Yeah, guys can get over their heads sometimes, but they're not all bad,” Cloudchaser put a hoof around her friend's shoulder.

“Well what about your ex, didn't he cheat on you with another filly?” Her voice was muffled against her hooves.

“Yeah, but I'm over it and ready to start looking for another colt again,” the pegasus patted Sweetie Belle on the back a bit.

“Oh...” Sweetie Belle replied burying her snout deeper.

“Didn't you have a crush on a special somepony?” Cloudchaser claimed to recall.

“N-no, not really,” the thought of having a crush in the first place made the white unicorn's face turn red.

“Not even a fictional crush?” She nudged her friend's side some with an elbow.

“Well... Maybe, but what's that got to do with anything?” Sweetie Belle pulled her head back up, scowling a little at Cloudchaser.

“That's at least something,” the pegasus only smiled.

“But that's not the point right now!” Sweetie Belle grumbled, causing Cloudchaser to hesitate a bit, “...I just don't want to leave this place alone...” she ended with a sigh.

“...Well if it matters that much to you, I'll go with you, how about that?” the pegasus offered.

“Really? You'd do that?” the unicorn replied in disbelief.

“Why not? Think about all the ponies we could meet, all the rock and metal shows we probably wouldn't be able to see otherwise, sneaking into bars, vandalizing city property...” Cloudchaser listed on more possibilities as excitement filled up in the unicorn's chest along with a small pang of guilt. Sweetie Belle assumed it would go away with time, but she couldn't help but hold her doubts about the escape.

“We'd have to change our identities too,” Sweetie Belle added, “we're still minors, and I know more than likely Rarity will flip out when she finds that I'm gone. And when that happens, who knows how many fliers her and her stupid friends will make to post all over Equestria.”

“True... I know a stallion that might be able to help us with that over in Manehatten, he specializes in tattoos, piercings, and dyes... Permanent dyes. Plus he's the one who gave me all my ear piercings,” Cloudchaser played with one of the many metal loops that hung from her right ear.

“You do realize you'll have to ditch the earrings... Right?” Sweetie Belle gave her friend a bland look.

“And you'll need a new mane-do!” the pegasus ruffled around her friends mane playfully.

“Heeey! Stop it!” The unicorn flailed her arms, attacking Cloudchaser's hoof.

“Well sor-ree!” Cloudchaser withdrew with a laugh.

“Anyways, it's now or never I guess,” Sweetie Belle readjusted her mane the best she could.

“Better think hard about what you wanna bring, cause you can't bring it all,” both of them gazed among the mess in Sweetie Belle's room.

“I know, it's not like it's my first time I've made plans about running away...” Sweetie belle rolled her eyes. Cloudchaser went silent as she examined her friends room, causing a great concern to rile up in Sweetie Belle. “What are you doing?”

“Helping you pack up,” the pegasus replied, pulling out a backpack from under the bed.

“Oh,” Sweetie Belle winced at how much dust was on the backpack as Cloudchaser brushed it off a few times.

“I wouldn't waste much time with sentimental things either, we'll be making memories as we go anyways,” Cloudchaser chuckled as she held out the backpack.

“I was only going to pack food and cash anyways,” Sweetie Belle took the backpack, brushing it off a few more times to be safe, “Celestia, this thing hasn't seen the light of day in years...” She mumbled as she went for the door.

“It was the only bag I could find of yours on such short notice,” Cloudchaser shrugged, following the unicorn out. The rest was silence, until they hit Rarity's room. Cloudchaser already had an assumption about why Sweetie Belle was trespassing on her sister's room.

“It's here somewhere...” The unicorn went from shelf to shelf to drawer, searching through her sister's belongings.

“Looking for something? I could help,” Cloudchaser offered as she watched her friend move about.

“...Here it is!” Sweetie Belle cheered, pulling out a dark purse.

“Never mind...” Cloudchaser mumbled, seeing the unicorn had already found it. Sweetie Belle plunged a hoof inside the bag, fishing out all the bits she could find. The collected coins were piled up in a special pocket of her backpack.

“That takes care of our money issue, at least for a while,” Sweetie Belle zipped up the pocket, securing her bits.

“Let's hurry to the kitchen and pack some food before your sister gets back,” the pegasus pushed Sweetie Belle towards the room's exit.

“Okay, okay!” The unicorn shook off Cloudchaser's hooves, soon trotting towards the kitchen. Once inside, Sweetie Belle went straight for the canned food and ramen cups, it was the only food that wouldn't expire if it wasn't refrigerated.

“You know you gotta heat up ramen right? Unless you plan on bringing that microwave with I don't think you'll be enjoy that much,” Cloudchaser pointed out dryly.

“I've had ramen without heating it up, you just at water and let it sit longer,” Sweetie Belle rearranged the backpack, placing the cans in first, than the ramen cups, “sure it's not the best, but at least it's not hard and crunchy.”

“I never bothered to try ramen that way, I'd probably end up wasting it anyways,” Cloudchaser admitted, “also, you'll need a can opener for the other stuff.”

“I know that! Geez,” Sweetie Belle dropped her sorting and went over to a nearby drawer, digging out a can opener. Soon waving it in her friend's face.

“Hey, I'm just playing Sweetie Belle, no need to get worked up over it,” the pegasus said with a few laughs.

“Still, I'm a little stressed out about running away and all,” the unicorn slipped the can opener in a different pocket, zipping it shut shortly after.

“It's all good, I understand,” Cloudchaser placed a hoof on Sweetie Belle's shoulder, reassuring her.

“Anyways...You wanna grab some sodas from the fridge?” The unicorn asked, redirecting the topic.

“Sure, I can do that,” Cloudchaser headed for the refrigerator. Opening it, she was surprised to actually find it loaded with odds and ends and even odder smells. Something's really rotting in here... Cloudchaser thought, holding her breath as she searched out the soda from the mess inside.

A few moments passed as Sweetie Belle finished packing in the can foods. Cloudchaser returned, her hooves filled with sodas, “Here ya go,” she did her best to not drop them as she held them out towards the unicorn.

“Thanks Cloudchaser,” Sweetie Belle smiled, taking and packing the cans one by one.

“So you already now?” The pegasus asked.

“I think so... Oh wait! I forgot about my ipony!” Sweetie Belle rushed back into her room to collect her music player. The frantic unicorn wasted no time finding that and a pair of ear buds to go with it.

“You forgot your charger too,” Cloudchaser pointed out as Sweetie Belle returned, causing her to growl in frustration as she went back to go find the ipony charger as well.

“There...” The unicorn came back to the kitchen, dropping the ipony bundle into another backpack pocket, “now I'm ready,” she double checked the backpack to make sure all the slots were zipped up.

“Next stop, my room!” Cloudchaser exclaimed as Sweetie Belle took a deep breath in and out before hauling her new life on her back.