The Belle and Bloom Show

Chapters

Vaudeville
Gypsies
Closer to the Heart
Dos-à-Dos
Road Less Traveled
Open Up Your Eyes
Welcome To The Machine
The Aftermath
Song Anthology
The Filly-Tonix
Belle and Bloom

Vaudeville

The first thing I did when waking up was throw my sheets into the wash, and then head into the shower. As I washed my mane, I imagined Sweetie Belle washing my tail, pulling on it, and messaging my dock.

A familiar warmth started in my fillyhood that had nothing to do with the shower. Remembering what Applejack said about shower settings, I pulled the showerhead down to the tub floor. I turned around and lifted my tail. The water shot upward, the tiny streams hit my intended target. I recoiled instantly. It tickled. I slid it forward and turned the showerhead a few clicks until three jets were pulsing out of the center.

Perfect. I slid it back down under me. The feeling was instant. I yelped in the sudden pleasure. I squatted, trying to get closer to the showerhead. The feeling became more intense. My breathing increased. I spread my legs as wide as the tub would allow me, trying to get one of the jets to hit the right spot. One of the jets was pulsing directly inside me. I winked repeatedly, trying to keep it inside. It felt amazing, but not what I was after. I raised my body a little. And then it hit. An electric shock went through my body as it pulsed on my nub. I only lasted a few seconds before my body tightened. My whole body shook more violently than ever before. “Oh Celestia,” I cried out as juices squirted, and my vision blurred.

Before I could catch my breath, I felt the intensity rise up again. I hadn’t moved, and it was still pulsing on the same spot. I held my breath as I came a second time, and then a third time right after. I stepped forward, panting heavily. “Three. Wow.” I braced myself against the side of the tub.

After a few minutes of recovering, I finished washing and stepped out at long last. I felt great. Maybe a little sore down there, but not enough to be distracting. I left the bathroom to find a very irritated Mac waiting outside. “You finally done in there?”

“Sorry, brother,” I said happily. He slammed the door, and a few seconds later, I heard the shower turn on.

“There you are… about time,” said Applejack as soon as I entered the kitchen.

“What?”

“Other ponies in this house need to shower too,” Applejack chided.

I laughed nervously. “Sorry.”

“If you’re going to be doing that then shower at night.” Applejack slid a plate of toast across the kitchen table. “Anyway, what’s this thing you’re doing with Sweetie Belle?”

“We’re called the Belle and Bloom Show. We're going to do different routines and songs. We’re going to write some song too.” I decided to leave out the stuff with TS. No need to worry her with that creeper.

“Sounds fun,” said Applejack. “I’ll come to your shows.”

“Even when we go to Canterlot and Manehatten?” I asked, excited.

Applejack’s eyes narrowed. “Why would you go there?”

“We can’t keep doing the same act in Ponyville. If it’s good we’ll be allowed to perform at bigger venues.”

“And just how are you going to do all this?” Applejack spoke slowly.

“The producers will determine if our show is good enough to go to those other places.”

“I see…” There was a level of danger in her voice. “And just how are you going to do that? I didn’t sign anything saying you could be in this group or tour. You’re certainly not old enough to sign anything like that.”

Uh-oh! “Ummm…” It was a good point. How was all of this supposed to work? I shrugged.

“That’s what I thought,” said Applejack. “I’ll have to talk to these producers. These music business ponies are grimy and greedy.”

And creepy. “Maybe we don’t need to do anything for the Ponyville show since it’s just a trial?” I suggested.

“I’ll look into it when I have some time. In the meantime, don’t sign anything!”

I broke eye contact under her sharp gaze. “I won’t. I won’t. I just want to sing songs with Sweetie Belle. I don’t want to do that other crap anyway.”

Applejack stood up and stretched. “Good. Well… back to it, I guess.”

When I arrived at the clubhouse, it was still pretty early. Sweetie wouldn’t be here for at least an hour, and I had no idea what Scoots was doing today; she had become very aloof as of lately. Sweetie thinks she’s hanging out with Rainbow Dash more. I think, like many at school, that she has a colt friend, and has been sneaking off to hang with him. Many of us think it’s Rumble. I knew she had a huge crush on him throughout the school year, but no one really knew who he liked. If it was true, I was a little hurt. She could at least tell us… but it was her business.

With nothing to do for a while, I plopped down on a comfy chair with a pencil and pad. I might as well start on my song. It needed to be catchy, smart, and confess how I feel for Sweetie without just saying ‘Sweetie I’m in love with you.”

Then minutes in, however, and I haven’t even written a single word. I couldn’t think of a new tune to save my life. Everything I started to think about, I asked myself ‘what if she doesn’t like it?’ Or ‘what if she doesn’t get it?’ “What if I never finish this song I can’t even start?” I asked aloud. “What if the sky falls? Or if the sun stops—that’s it!” I knew exactly what I was going to write.

What if I was made for you and what if I ain’t one of them fools just playing around? you were made for me?
What if I ain’t one of them fools just fooling around? playing some game?
What if I just pulled you close, and kiss you? what if I just leaned in
And the stars line up and it’s our last first kiss?

You say what if I hurt you? What if I leave you?
What if the sky falls or the sun stops burning?
We could worry about them what ifs till we all go crazy the world stops turnin.
Maybe I should just kiss you. Or I could kiss you. What if you liked it?
Well we ain’t never gonna know unless we try it.

Well… it was a start. I had no idea what the tune would be, but I liked the idea. “I’ll have to thank AJ later for inspiring this song.”

Sweetie Belle had arrived just as I was making a few more revisions. I quickly tried to put the pad away without her seeing. Unfortunately that was the first thing she saw. “What’s that?” She pointed at the notepad I was hastily trying to stuff out of her sight

“Oh it’s nothing yet. Just a song I’m working on.”

Sweetie Belle’s eyes lit up. “Ooh can I see?”

My face went red. “Not yet. It’s not ready.”

“Maybe I can help.”

I shook my head. “It’s a surprise… for later.”

Sweetie Belle looked slightly dejected. “I look forward to seeing it when it’s done.”

“Is Scootaloo coming over today?” It felt strange asking someone else if someone were coming over to my place, but Sweetie Belle was usually in the know when it came to who was going where. But to my dismay she shrugged.

“She didn’t say anything yesterday.”

“No…” I agreed. “Well if she turns up, cool. If not… I guess we’ll try and find her tomorrow.”

“Tomorrow?” asked Sweetie Belle.

“We have to figure out a routine and practice it, and our songs and everything.”

Sweetie Belle made a nonchalaunt gesture. “I can write a script quickly. I don’t think we should write our own song for the first show. We just need to agree on a song, or two, and some dance routine for it.”

“Ya make it sound so easy,” I said sarcastically. To me that was more than a day worth of work, careful planning, and practice. Sweetie Belle might be forgetting that I haven’t had any dance instruction like she had.

The next hour or so we spent talking about overall themes and styles. We went from small venue jazz lounge singers to big stadium pop ballads. But Sweetie insisted the Belle and Bloom show should be more than just singing song; it was a ‘show’ after all, she had said. We eventually decided to do something Sweetie Belle called a vaudeville; it was a mixture of everything. I never heard of it before, but she made it sound great.

“Now, every show will have a theme. Every show will have a few acts, and a song. Maybe two.” And on she went breaking down every step to granular level. She took time to explain everything, write things down, and pantimaine everything she was talking about. It was really cute to watch.

“And on stage right we could set up—what?” asked Sweetie Belle slightly irritated seeing me smile at her. “Why are you looking at me that way?”

“You’re just so—it’s nothing.” I waved a hoof through the air as if that would dismiss her question.

“I’m just what?” she asked, a little defensive sounding.

“I haven’t seen you work so intent on something for a while… it’s just...cute.” The last word I blurted out without meaning to. I just hate when that happens.

Sweetie Belle’s cheeks turned a shade of red. “How is that cute?” she asked, slightly outraged. Which of course made her even more adorable.

I shrugged choking down a laugh. My face had grown quite hot. I just told Sweetie Belle she was cute to her face. To her face! I wanted to jump from the clubhouse.

“Right… moving on, let’s pick a theme.”

“Theme!” I exclaimed, glad to change the subject. “Yes, theme. What a great idea.”

Sweetie Belle eyed me suspiciously. “Are you alright?”

I continued to blush hard. The more I tried to suppress it, the worse it got. “Great.”

Right…” Sweetie Belle said slowly. “So themes… this is a vaudeville which can be a variety of show themes and acts. Hmmm.”

“What if we did a different theme every time?” I asked, mostly hoping to keep the conversation moving away from me and my stupid mouth.

Sweetie Belle raised her eyes slightly, and then nodded. “That’s actually not a bad idea…” She didn’t say anything for a minute as she thought it over. “Yeah. That could work. Apple Bloom, you’re a genius! This is what we need. Skits that match the songs, and to keep us from doing the same old routine, we simply change the themes.”

“Yeah… that’s exactly what I was thinking,” I said with mock confidence. Sweetie Belle grinned.

“We could do several shows. If TS doesn’t like a theme, we could just remove it.” Sweetie Belle seemed to be talking to herself more than me. I groaned internally at hearing TS being brought into this thing. “I think we should do gypsies and traveling shows as our first one. I know the perfect song.”

“Can we make some country fit into it?” I asked.

Sweetie Belle thought it over for a little. “I think we can do an old frontier song and make it work… Yes! That’s it! You’re the legendary Apple Bloom who tamed the wild frontier, and I’m the filly born in the wagon of a traveling show.”

“Let’s open on a song, and then do a comedy routine, and then close out on another song,” I suggested.

Sweetie Belle nodded. She was standing up and tracing out complex dance steps. Her movements were smooth. She moved with the grace and precision of an ice dancer “Okay, that will work. Now you try!”

I copied the dance best I could, but I was all left hooves. Sweetie gave me a simpler dance, and said I would stand center stage and pantomime a lasso. A motion she made me repeat several times. I could work a lasso like the next rancher, but I couldn't work the stage. Everything I did had to be done slower and bigger. Sweetie assured me that from a distance it would look right.

We spent the rest of the morning working out our blocking, and some lines we’d say. We broke for lunch in the house where AJ gave us sandwiches, and she gave me a few sneaky winks and smirks. I couldn’t roll my eyes since she was doing this behind Sweetie. I’ll get her back later!

After lunch we met up outside the clubhouse, where Sweetie wanted to practice singing. We recited some tongue twisters, and sang a few scales to warm up.

“Let’s begin with that song you sang yesterday before we get into the ones we want to do for our first show,” said Sweetie Belle.

“Clementine?”

“Yeah that one. Sing from ‘oh my darling.’”

“Oh my darling. Oh my—”

I was cut off immediately by Sweetie Belle. “No. Not from here,” she pointed at her mouth, “from here.” She pointed at her stomach.

I started again but was cut off before even hitting the second word. “Sing ‘oh’ and hold it,” she said briskly.

As I sang out, she stood really close to me hugging me over my back. Except she put her forehooves on my stomach and pushed: hard. The air was pushed out of me, and the volume of the note I was holding increased ten-fold. “There. Again!” she commanded.

I rubbed where she pushed against me. She was still embracing me, which felt really nice. I took a breath and sang out harder, pushing from my diaphragm. The note sounded loud. Sweetie only pushed a little on me that time.

“Okay, form the chorus. Sing like you mean it. Sing like you want some pony a thousand feet away to hear you.”

I had no idea if any pony, let alone me, could sing like that, but I nodded. Sweetie gave us a four count, and then we sang.

“Oh my darling, oh my darling, Clementine!
“You are gone and lost forever. Dreadful sorry, Clementine.”

Sweetie Belle’s voice completely overpowered mine on the second part of the chorus. It wasn’t until she pushed on me that I was able to match her volume.

“Not bad,” Sweetie said. She released her embrace around me. “Remember to project. And don’t rush. The slower you sing, the better your audience and understand you. Also music accompaniment will really help you keep time. I really do love that soft twang in your singing voice. I think we’re on our way to making an awesome show.”

I couldn’t help but feel excited. Sweetie liked my voice. I liked how we sounded together.

We practiced Clementine a few more times, and then we moved on to practicing our actual songs. The songs were fun, but Sweetie was a stickler for timing: something I haven't quite mastered. By evening, I was confident we sounded great. I had the songs memorized. The dances were works in progress, and so were the jokes we were supposed to tell. It was a lot harder work than I thought possible. But I wasn’t complaining; I got a whole day alone with Sweetie Belle. I even got a hug… kinda out of it. I couldn’t have asked for a better day.

Gypsies

The next morning started out much the same way. This time I waited until everyone was done with the shower, and then decided to repeat yesterday in the shower. “Mhmmm. Mmmm,” I grunted. I was practically sitting on the showerhead as it pulsed into me. My hoof reached down and rubbed my teats as I imagined Sweetie’s hot breath on them. Then her tongue was reaching inside me, hitting all the right spots. My hoof made its way to my favorite spot where I ground it roughly into me. I was so close. “Yes. Mmmm.” I cried out at a whisper. Then it hit; my whole body tightened. I braced myself against the tub as my body shook in pure bliss.

I stood up, my legs shaking slightly. “Oh Celestia that was good,” I muttered. I didn’t think my body could take another round this time so I finished my shower quickly. For the last few days, I’ve been so uncontrollably horny. Sweetie Belle had been the center of my recent fantasies and some old ones. But Silver Serenade was in quite a few and Scootaloo was in an occasional one. I could imagine sex with Scootaloo would probably be wild and fun, and sex with Silver Seranade would be exotic and amazing; sex with Sweetie would be passionate and sensual.

Maybe I was just going into heat or something. Last time I did, it wasn’t that bad. It was mostly irritating, but I did experience my first orgasm. It took me by surprise. I had never ever felt something so intense or amazing in my life. Ever since then I’ve been hoofing myself.

After breakfast we hung out with Scootaloo for the morning. We showed her some of our dances, and she critiqued them. We didn’t tell her which ones would be in the show, so she could be surprised with everyone else.

Scootaloo disappeared after lunch talking vaguely about having other plans in town. I suspected she was sneaking off to hang out with Rumble again.

For the rest of the day we practiced and refined our routine. Sweetie brought a metronome which really helped me.

The following few days were similar routine: I would have some me time in the shower, practice dancing with Sweetie Belle; sometimes Scoots was there, and then we’d practice our routine until dinner time. Some nights I would stay up late for extra me time; it depended on how tired I was.

After several more days, Sweetie Belle told me we had our first show date in the Ponyville town center. I couldn’t have been more excited. This was our chance. If we blew them away, we’d land a label and be traveling Equestria all summer.

Flyers had gone up all over town announcing the new Belle and Bloom show. Sweetie Belle had some small level of fame now from her stint as a backup singer in the Filly-Tonix. We were expecting a decent turn out. Rarity had put an ad in the local paper, and she put one in a few Canterlot papers too. Applejack told the rest of the Apples about it and promised to be in the front row.

We gave out backstage passes to Scootaloo, AJ, Rarity, Spike, and Sweetie’s parents. And we promised Scootaloo we’d hang out after the show since we’ve seen so little of her leading up to the show.

The night before the show, Sweetie Belle and I were practicing on the actual stage we were going to be using.

“Well, this is actually bigger than I thought.” Sweetie Belle smiled. “Which is perfect. Remember that chase dance routine you wanted to do?”

I nodded, smiling.

“Well, I think we can put it back in. Remember exaggerate your steps a little, but don’t cover too much ground.”

We practice our blocking and facing movements, but to save our voices, we didn’t actually sing. “Okay,” I said taking a deep breath. “Enter stage left. Sing with the dance routine. Do the intro that rolls into our little skit that will roll into the final song.”

Sweetie Belle nodded. “I think this will be great. Now that Rarity helped with the costumes and Applejack got us a lasso…”

The day of the show, we spent the morning resting, and the afternoon rehearsing. My nerves were starting to get to me. I took a few bad steps on the intro. I recovered quickly, but not without stumbling and looking stupid.

“The worst things you can do on stage: trip and fall, forget your lines, and miss your cue to enter or leave,” said Sweetie Belle. “But we’ve all done at least one of those things once or twice. Don’t worry.”

“Thanks. It’s just gettin’ to my head.”

“Hey, you’ll be fine. Just remember to breathe.”

I wish I had her confidence. My stomach was doing some crazy acrobatics. I skipped dinner and went to the town center where the roadies were setting things up. One was pulling a covered wagon onto the stage. He stopped in the center, and another one lowered a black curtain over it. Another curtain was lowered that was painted like the sunset in the desert, and a few cardboard cacti were placed on each side of the stage. The finishing touch was a few actual tumbleweeds. It looked cool. I was excited and nervous about the show, and my stomach would not cease its trapeze act..

The seating area was huge. It had two levels with balconies on the left and right side above the second level. What if no one shows up? Or worse, only ten ponies show up, and then leave halfway through? I wasn’t sure which would be worse.

Sweetie Belle called me into the dressing room where Rarity was fussing over her costume. “Now hold still, Sweetie Belle. A few adjustments need to be made.” Rarity was holding Sweetie Belle in an aura of magic as she stitched part of her dress. Sweetie Belle remained frozen in place, but her eyes were narrowed and her face was red.

If there was a word to describe Sweetie’s dress, it would have to be “gypsy.” It was an exotic and skimpy dress of many different colors with beads that hung off the end over her tail. Her mane was straightened and had a few multi-colored hair wraps.

“Ah, Apple Bloom. I will be with you in a moment,” Rarity said warmly, still stitching away furiously at Sweetie’s dress. “Now, dear, put the erm... cow suit on over that very carefully.”

I caught Sweetie Belle rolling her eyes as she pulled a cow patterned onesie over her gypsy costume. I pushed down a laugh as Rarity started tending to me.

At long last I was dressed in a similar gypsy costume which was covered up by a cowgirl outfit. To better hide the other costume, I was given a hat like AJ wears and a long duster coat. The last thing we had to do was fasten metal shoes on our hooves. Rarity handed me my lasso which I attached to my belt under the duster. We were fitted with microphones that attached to the sides of our faces. We were ready.

Sweetie Belle was ridiculously cute in the cow costume. But I dared not say anything. I didn’t want to risk making things weird right before curtain call.

“Five minutes,” called one of the roadies from outside the dressing room.

If I was nervous before, it was nothing to now. The butterflies in my stomach were more like stomach eagles flapping with a four-foot wingspan.

“Our warmup, quickly,” commanded Sweetie Belle. We said a few tongue twisters, sang a scale, and a few verses from Clementine. Strangely this calmed me, as I realized I knew what I was doing.

Rarity poked her head out of the dressing room, talking with the roadies. She came back in and turned to us. “It looks like a full house tonight, girls.”

I was both relieved and terrified. This wasn’t some small show. This was it! “I better go to my seat. Poor Applejack probably thinks I ditched her.” Rarity turned and left the dressing room. She poked her head back inside for a moment. “Break a leg, girls.”

We made our way to the stage entrance and waited just off stage. We could hear the noise coming from the audience from this location. It certainly sounded like a full house. Sweetie Belle was peering through a little window on the wall. “Wow, it’s packed! Oh! And Princess Twilight is here.”

Before I could say much more, TS walked up wearing the ugliest green suit I had ever seen. He eyed our costumes curiously, but said nothing. “I will do a quick intro, and then… the stage is yours.”

One of the roadies nodded to TS. The lights in the house went dark, and the voices died down. A spotlight lit up the center-front of the stage. And TS strode out onto it.

“Fillies and Gentlecolts!” His voice echoed through the building. His stage voice was surprisingly deep. “It is my absolute pleasure to introduce the finest talent in Ponyville!” Cheering and hoof stomping erupted from the audience. “Give it up for the Belle and Bloom duo!” He left the stage back to us as the audience cheered and whooped. “Break a leg,” he muttered.

The music started. It was timed in such a way, it made me think of galloping ponies. Sweetie Belle gave me a nod, and then rush onto stage as the tempo increased. Red light lit the stage, and I chased after her. It was a simple routine. She would dance around, and I would pretend to try and catch her, but she would always evade me.

“Rollin,’ rollin,’ rollin,’
“Rollin,’ rollin,’ rollin,’
“Rollin,’ rollin,’ rollin,’
“Rollin,’ rollin,’ rollin,’
“Rawhide!”

I sang out, keeping my voice low and twangy.

“Keep rollin', rollin', rollin'
“Though the streams are swollen
“Keep them doggies rollin', rawhide!
“Through rain and wind and weather
“Hell bent for leather
“Wishin' my gal was by my side
“All the things I'm missin'
“Good vittles, love and kissin'
“Are waiting at the end of my ride!”

As the music increased in volume our dance changed. Sweetie Belle bucked at me, and I avoided it. Next I bucked at her, and she danced around it. Then we bucked at each other at the same time. Our back hooves collided, making red sparks fly. I was satisfied to hear a few gasps and ‘oohs’ form the audience.

Sweetie Belle lowered her head and charged at me. I did a mock-panic run, flailing my legs every direction. This earned us some laughs. I feigned irritation in my failed attempts to catch her.

I pulled out the lasso from under my coat. Sweetie Belle attempted to run past me, and I’d head her off and attempt to lasso her.

“Move 'em on, head 'em up
“Head 'em up, move 'em on
“Move 'em on, head 'em up, rawhide!
“Cut 'em out, ride 'em in
“Ride 'em in, cut 'em out
“Cut 'em out, ride 'em in, rawhide!”

We repeated out bucking stunt, making more sparks fly out. At this point ponies in the audience were stomping to the rhythm of the song.

“Keep movin', movin', movin'
“Though they're disapprovin'
“Keep them doggies movin', rawhide!
“Don't try to understand 'em
“Just rope 'em, throw, and brand 'em
“Soon we'll be livin' high and wide
“My heart's calculatin'
“My true love will be waitin'
“Be waitin' at the end of my ride!”

I pretended to be exhausted. Stepping slowly, clutching a stitch in my side while trying to stop Sweetie Belle from escaping.

“Move 'em on, head 'em up
“Head 'em up, move 'em on
“Move 'em on, head 'em up, rawhide!
“Cut 'em out, ride 'em in
“Ride 'em in, cut 'em out
“Cut 'em out, ride 'em in, rawhide!”

And then my rope lands around Sweetie Belle. I do an over exaggerated dance of joy that’s off beat from the music. The audience roared with laughter.

“Rollin,’ rollin,’ rollin,’
“Rollin,’ rollin,’ rollin,’
“Rollin,’ rollin,’ rollin,’
“Rollin,’ rollin,’ rollin,’
“Rawhide!
“Rawhide!”

The music faded out, and Sweetie Belle bolts for the exit. I pretend to be getting pulled by her off the stage. The audience roared with laughter and cheered and stomped.

Back stage, we pulled off our costumes quickly. We grinned at each other.

We strode back on stage, taking the two microphones in the center.

“Thank you. Thank you!” Sweetie Belle said. “I’m Belle, and that’s Bloom, and we are the Belle and Bloom Show!

“And wow, what a crowd! I guess word got out that I was famous or something.”

That was my cue. “Sweetie Belle, y’all never said you was famous.”

“Of course I’m famous. Where have you been. Living under a rock?” Sweetie Belle asked in mock outrage.

“Now that don’t make a lick of sense. How can I live under a rock?”

Sweetie Belle shook her head. “Fair enough. But where have you been that you haven’t heard of the famous… well. Me?” Sweetie Belle did a twirl.

“Chasing cattle,” I said solemnly. The audience roared with laughter.

“I, of course, have heard of you. The famous Apple Bloom who tamed the wild frontier!”

“You heard of me?” I shook my head. “Who told you about me.”

“Why, the cows of course.” The audience laughed and cheered at that.

“Ain’t that somethin.’ Cows talking about me. Apple Bloom the frontier conquer! Apple Bloom the—”

“The bad rancher?” Sweetie Belle offered. This earned a laugh and a ‘aw’ from the audience.

“I sure didn’t want to do this to ya. I may not know you were famous, but it turns out I have heard of ya. And I know a secret.”

“You know a secret.” Sweetie Belle made a dismissive gesture and shook her head, mouthing the word ‘no’ to the audience.

“Yep, and I’m gonna spill the beans. Because ponies who live in glass houses shouldn’t throw rocks. Or should I say glass wagons?”

Sweetie Belle gasped loudly. “No! You wouldn’t! How-how could you!”

I shrugged. “Looks like the famous Sweetie Belle has had an interesting upbringing. You might as well tell us the tale of your traveling show.”

The music started. This time it sounded like a carnival. The backdrop and black curtain went up, revealing the wagon. I stepped back and Sweetie Belle took center stage.

“I was born in the wagon of a travellin' show
“My mama used to dance for the money they'd throw
“Papa would do whatever he could
“Preach a little gospel, sell a couple bottles of doctor good

"Gypsies, tramps, and thieves
“We'd hear it from the people of the town
“They'd call us gypsies, tramps, and thieves
“But every night all the men would come around
“And lay their money down.”

We did a complicated little jig around the wagon. Sweetie Belle shook her hips as she danced, making the beads on her dress click and clack together.

“Picked up a boy just south of Mobile
“Gave him a ride, filled him with a hot meal
“I was sixteen, he was twenty-one
“Rode with us to Marephis
“And papa woulda shot him if he knew what he'd done

“Gypsies, tramps, and thieves
“We'd hear it from the people of the town
“They'd call us gypsies, tramps, and thieves
“But every night all the men would come around
“And lay their money down.”

We repeated our dance. And then we struck our hind hooves together once making more sparks fly out.

“I never had schoolin' but he taught me well
“With his smooth southern style
“Three months later I'm a gal in trouble
“And I haven't seen him for a while, uh-huh
“I haven't seen him for a while, uh-huh!”

I quickly switched places with Sweetie Belle for the refrain.

“She was born in the wagon of a travellin' show
“Her mama had to dance for the money they'd throw
“Grandpa'd do whatever he could
“Preach a little gospel, sell a couple bottles of doctor good

The music stopped. The light went down. The audience applauded louder than ever. All of the lights came back up,and we bowed.

“Thank you! That’s our show! Good night Ponyville!” I shouted into the mic.

We left the stage.The roar from the audience was still ringing in my ears. I looked at Sweetie Belle, grinning. She jumped up and hugged me tight.

“You were amazing!”

“So were you.” I hugged her back. She smelled so nice, and I could feel her heart pounding. We broke apart after a few more seconds. “That went so much better than I thought it would have!”

“Right?” said Sweetie, jumpin up and down. “So much cooler than being in a filly band.”

TS walked by, he wore a smile that didn’t quite reach his eyes. “Seems to be a crowd pleaser. Nice job, Sweetie Belle,” he said quietly. He ignored me completely.

“I was in it too!” I yelled after him. He stopped as if to say something, but then walked off. “Ugh, don’t come piss on my parade!” I spat.

Sweetie Belle didn’t seem to have heard me though. She busy calling her parents over to us. “Over here! Mom! Dad!”

“That very good, Sweetie Belle!” her dad said, pulling her into a tight hug. “Much better performance than that other thing. Much more my speed,” he continued on.

“Your father is trying to say he’s happy to see his daughter not strutting around on stage in suggestive clothing,” her mother said bluntly. “Apple Bloom, you were good too, dear.”

“Thank you, miss—”

I was cut off as Applejack scooped me up in the tightest embrace ever. It felt like she was trying to smash me like a cider press. “That! That was so good! I loved that Rawhide song ya sang. Haven’t heard it in years!”

“Applejack,” I said, my voice was harsh. “Applejack!” I croaked.

“Oh, heh, sorry there, sugarcube. I’m just so proud of my sister. You filled this place, made us laugh, and sing along! You too, Sweetie. I reckon ya’ll got something special goin’ here.”

“Okay,” I said, feeling my face heating up. “Sis, can ya let me go?”

As soon as Applejack released me from her clutches, I was snatched up by Rarity. I felt like a new toy being passed around for everyone to play with. “Simply divine, darling. Your singing voice really is lovely.”

After I escaped Rarity, I came face to face with Scootaloo who was all smiles. “Don’t worry, I won’t hug you,” she said.

“Phew. I was starting to get worried if I could make it out of this place without being squis—”

“Just kidding!” Scootaloo wrapped her forelegs around me before I even knew what she was doing. She laughed as I groaned. “You were amazing.” She released me quickly. “Where’s Sweetie?”

“Over there being smothered by Rarity,” I gestured, irritatedly.

“Good. I’m going to go smother her next.” Scootaloo skipped off, grabbing hold of Sweetie Belle right as she freed herself from Rarity.

“Ah!” she squeaked. “Scoots!”

“Sorry, just have to hug all the performers. It’s like a tradition or something,” Scootaloo said with a wry smile.

“You never hugged me in my other performances,” Sweetie Belle protested.

“It’s um… it’s a relatively new tradition…” Scootaloo trailed off, and Sweetie Belle laughed and hugged her back.

“Well, I can’t let this new tradition go unobserved,” I said. I approached them. Scootaloo practically passed Sweetie to me. I hugged her tightly.

“Alright. Now can you two please stop handling me?” Sweetie Belle asked annoyed. “I’d like to breathe and stuff.”

I released her, and she took a deep breath. “That’s better.” She looked at me with a wry smile. “You know.. You were a performer too, and to keep with Scoots’ tradition…”

I smiled back. “You wouldn’t want to break the tradition now,” I said with my best mock serious voice.

Sweetie Belle embraced me quickly. “Good job,” she said softly in my ear. I was tempted to hold her close to me, but I knew it would just annoy her. She too was tired of every pony squeezing her; even us for doing it ironically.

Twilight approached us, smiling warmly. “Oh, that was so much fun! I’m usually not too keen on that country style of music, but you mixed it so well, and gave it such energy! You two certainly have come a long way since that first talent show…”

“Oh yeah,” Sweetie Belle blushed in embarrassment; first from the flattery, then from the memory of their disastrous performance from years ago. “I had hoped everypony forgot about that.”

“I certainly didn’t!” Twilight exclaimed in playful delight. “But I’m sure another show like this will help cleanse their palate if you’re really worried. On that note, how would you two like to perform again next week?

We both nodded, grinning eagerly. “A royal request! The highest and most honorable request for a performance a traveling troupe can get!” exclaimed Sweetie Belle.

“And keeping with the tradition of vaudeville, I, Princess Twilight, hereby request another performance by the Belle and Bloom Show next week at the same time.” She spoke aloud as a levitating quill scratched along the surface of a piece of parchment held aloft in front of her.

And with an official written request from Twilight, I was excited for it to be next week already in spite of not having a clue what we were going to sing yet. Twilight liked it, and so did everypony else, then maybe we wouldn't need TS. What did he do besides get us this place? And now that Twilight liked this so much, we could just ask her to book it for us.

After I made it home, did I realize how hungry I truly was. I ate two helpings of dinner, accompanied by a barrage of compliments from Big Mac and Applejack, and then went up to my room. After all of the physical contact with Sweetie Belle, I was more than a little hot and bothered. My hoof traveled down to the usual place. I hoofed myself roughly, grinding it into my slit. It didn’t take long for me to get there. Just one fantasy image of Sweetie on her back with her hind legs wide, her magic holding her fillyhood open, exposing the pink folds inside pushed me over the edge.

If I could get off this quickly, there was no doubt about it: I was in heat. Which meant it wouldn’t take much to get me going, and all of the nice stallions would come out of the woodwork.

Closer to the Heart

We decided to law low the next day and hang out in the clubhouse. Sweetie Belle said she was stopped frequently by ponies asking what we were going to do next, asking her if she would sing certain songs, asking her for dates, asking for her autograph, etc.

“It’s insane!” Sweetie Belle exclaimed. “I never got this kind of attention from the Filly-Tonix.”

“Not many in town knew you were in it, and the ones who did couldn’t tell you all apart,” said Scootaloo. “And they looked and sounded like the Filly-Tones and the Chilly Fillies.”

Sweetie Belle sighed. “Yes, all filly bands and colt bands are too similar. But we had Silver Serenade! Can you name the lead singers from those other bands?”

“True…” I agreed. I for one couldn’t name them, and if I hadn’t followed the Filly-Tonix so closely, I wouldn’t have been able to tell which songs were performed by which band. “Silver also hogged the spotlight. Even when you got to sing solos you were never seen as a vocalist, just one of the dancers singing.” I offered an apologetic smile.

“It was in Silver’s contract to be the center of attention. She carried that persona off stage too. She was a little older than us. She did insane antics for attention, she partied hard, and slept with just about any pony.”

Surprised, I shot Sweetie Belle a questioning look. “I’m surprised they kept her around.”

Sweetie Belle shrugged. “She probably slept with the producers.”

“What?” Silver Serenade's whole image was to just look sexy, but not be into that stuff like those other pop stars.

“Yeah,”said Sweetie Belle. “We always thought so. I mean it’s not like we hung out or anything. She got her own hotel rooms to herself. The rest of us had to share.”

“So you like never hung out with her? Ever?” asked Scootaloo.

Sweetie shook her head slowly. “To her we were just the help. We were there to make her look good. She really didn’t like me because she had to share some of the spotlight.”

“But you had only a few solos and the duet!” Scootaloo protested. “It wasn’t that much.”

“Maybe she felt threatened?” I suggested. “Sweetie is quite good.”

Sweetie Belle blushed a little. “In skill we were probably equal. I think it threatened her image she was trying to sell. Literally everything you know about her was written by the studio. She didn’t grow up in Upper Manehatten and attend the best singing academies. She didn’t hang out with celebrities or in high class bars on the weekends; she does now, but that’s not where she grew up. Heck, Silver Serenade is not even her real name.”

“What is her real name?” I asked. This was the juicy behind the scenes stuff I loved to get from Sweetie Belle. Sweetie never revealed much of what happened behind the scenes while touring with them, but every so often she’d tell us about some backstage drama.

“I don’t know. She never told us. In fact, she never told us much.” Sweetie Belle shrugged. “One time she came to rehearsal pretty blitzed and let a few things slip.

“Such as…” Scootaloo made a beckoning gesture with her foreleg.

“Well… when we were in Manehatten we asked her for some great places to go; we knew that Silver had grown up there, because she kept telling anyone who’d listen she did. And she’d blow us off, and say we weren’t cool enough to get into those places. Well, one day she came in pretty messed up, and so we asked her again. She blew us off again, but we pressed her, and she finally admitted to not being from Manehatten. ‘No one wants to hear about some nobody from some little hick town who made it big.’’’ Sweetie Belle sighed. “We didn’t get much more out of her, but that was the most about her real self she ever talked about. Whoever she was is lost to the character Silver Serenade.”

“You know what’s funny?” I said; it wasn’t really a question. “Sweetie… you’re actually more like her image than she is.”

“What?” said Scootaloo with disbelief.

“She’s from Ponyville. A town where Princess Twilight lives; she’s the sister of a well-known fashion designer and an Element of Harmony. Silver gets to hang out with celebrities, you got to hang out with Princess Celestia, Princess Luna, Princess Cadence, and Princess Twilight.”

Sweetie Belle grinned and laughed out loud. “If she had known any of that, she’d hate me even more. She’d be super jealous I had such easy connections to royalty.”

“She didn’t know who you were,” asked Scootaloo. “Heck random ponies in Las Pegasus knew of me. It was a bit strange actually.”

Sweetie Belle laughed even harder. “You-you think she took time to get to know any of us? She couldn’t bothered to know us. We were nothing to her; Silver got a dancer fired because she thought she was too fat.”

“That’s horrible,” I said agast. I regretted ever having any fantasies of her. She sounded like a horrible pony, and what’s worse was how she was used to manipulate every pony into thinking she was this classy and humble singer who worked hard to get where she was. But the pony behind the curtain was someone else completely. It felt cheap. I felt cheap for believing it.

“One thing, I still don’t understand…” I said. “How did you get to be a backup singer and even get some solos?”

“TS,” Sweetie Belle said simply. “Most of the producers were jerks to us dancers. He was nice, and so I asked him. Well, I convinced him I was a good enough singer, and he put my name in and pulled some strings for me.”

“Maybe a little too nice,” I muttered under my breath.

“Okay maybe he was little hoofsy with us and liked to swat our rumps, but he was the only one who was nice to me. He’s a jerk. I know. I’ve seen him reduce fillies to sobbing heaps, but he got me my shot at singing on stage, and he wants to sign me to a label; he said I could have creative control.”

Scootaloo frowned. “I don’t know… it sounds a little too good to be true. And I don't think he should be touching you like that.”

“Look—ugh. You guys don’t get it. That’s just the way it is in this business.” Sweetie Belle’s voice sounded frustrated, but I was glad Scootaloo was having similar concerns as me.

“Can we talk about something else? We need to plan our next show; we only have a week to get it ready.”

I knew there was no point in continuing to talk about TS; it would just upset Sweetie Belle. There were things in show business I just didn’t understand, and I was beginning to think I was better off not knowing. I was still in this for Sweetie, and that’s where I wanted to focus.

I was hoping my song would’ve been ready, but I was still stuck on the first verse. But I had an idea for a song in the next show. I heard it last summer, and really liked its message. “I have a song I’d like to sing, but I don’t have any idea what kind of routine to fit it to.”

“Which song?” asked Sweetie Belle.

“Road Less Traveled,” I said. “It’s got a great message for young fillies, and older ones too.”

“Hmm, I don’t think I know it,” Sweetie Belle said.

“It’s a country song… kinda. It’s more pop.”

“Okay. I’ll have to hear it. But we already did a country style act…”

“That was old frontier stuff,” I said quickly. “This is modern. You’ll see what I mean by pop when you hear it.”

Sweetie Belle nodded. “Well, that’s better than what I got… which is nothing.”

The rest of the afternoon divulged into idle talk of the town, reminiscing of the days of being Cutie Mark Crusaders, and catching up on gossip.

“Well, I should get back,” said Sweetie Belle as she stood up. “I promised to spend some time with Rarity. Oh!” Sweetie exclaimed as she made her way to the door. “That song again, what was it called?”

“Road Less traveled,” I told her.

“Right,” she nodded. “I’ll give it a listen, see if Mom has it in her collection. It might be a bit too new, but she’s big on music with a message. Then we can start planning our routine!”

I nodded. “Sounds good.”

“Well, I need to go too,” said Scootaloo. “I’ll see you guys tomorrow.” She got up and left the club house.

It was a good thing they were leaving; I was starting to feel groggy. It had started very suddenly while we were talking. It would subside for a little and then come back really strong. There was also this irritating itchiness all over my body.

I cursed under my breath as I made my way into the house. The last thing I needed was to get sick. But I didn’t feel sick, but something wasn’t right. The more I thought about it the more frustrated I became.

At Dinner Applejack and Mac said they finally fixed the plough, and they were planning on turning an old hay field over the next day to plant more apple trees. It sounded like a lot of work, but I was surprised when AJ let me off the hook; I just had my normal chores, and then I was to keep making great music with Sweetie Belle.

“Ya really mean it, sis?” It was enough to distract me from my current irritation.

“Yep,” said Applejack.

Eyup?” Mac asked.

“Yeah. I think our Apple Bloom needs to explore other things in life than just farm work. She’s got something good going don’t you think, brother?”

“Eyup.”

I couldn’t believe my luck. I guess AJ really liked Rawhide.

“Speaking of making music,” said Applejack, looking up from her plate. “What are y’all doing next?”

I shrugged. “Sweetie is going to listen to a song I suggested tonight. But we don’t know yet.”

“And you and Sweetie?” Applejacked asked with a wry smile.

I rolled my eyes. Every chance she got to bring it up she took full advantage of.

Applejack continued, “Ya gotta tell her some time soon, I reckon. All of that time alone together, singing, dancing, it sounds pretty romantic.”

“Romance?” asked Mac.

“Apple Bloom has got herself a crush, brother, and it’s our job to guide her… and mostly tease her.”

Mac was silent for a second, but his coy smile spoke volumes. “Eyup.”

I sighed. I really regretted AJ finding out some times. So far she’s been more of a pain than any help; not that I needed any. I knew how I was going to talk to her.

“Ah, don’t worry, Sugarcube. We’re just having a little fun,” said Applejack, rubbing my back.

I hated that tone. I wasn’t a little filly anymore! She didn’t need to talk down to me. “Well could you please stop! It’s so annoying hearing all of your unfunny jokes about it, and teasin' me! You said you’d respect my privacy, but you're so quick to bring it up!” I violently pushed my chair back and stormed out.

I marched up the stairs, and flung myself onto my bed. I felt the annoying itch start again, except this time it was down there; it suddenly all made sense to me. "Great.”

I laid there for a while, just mulling things over, and being irritated at nothing in particular. Stupid Applejack and her jokes. Stupid Talent Scout and his just everything! Stupid jerk!

After a while there was a soft knock on my door. “What?” I said, not bothering to get up.

Applejack stuck her head through the doorway. “Can I come in?”

I sat up, and looked at her. She looked tired and apprehensive. I felt a twinge of guilt for snapping at her like that. “Yeah.”

She took a seat at the edge of my bed. “I-I’m sorry,” she said. “I did it again.” She shook her head. “I didn’t realize how much I was annoying you. You’re right, I should keep my nose out of your feelings for Sweetie Belle unless you ask for advice.”

“I’m sorry, Sis, for snapping at you. I’m—”

“No need to apologize. It’s my fault. I get carried away. I think it’s so sweet that you’ve got a crush on some pony, and the two of you are performing on stage together; Sometimes it's hard to believe you’re growing up, and becoming a beautiful young mare, not just my baby sister.”

Applejack shook her head. I thought I saw a tear flow down her cheek; maybe it was a trick of light.

“It ain’t easy,” said Applejack quietly. “You are my little sister. Someone I can be a role model for, but also trade insults with. But in a sense, you’re also my little girl, someone I need to protect and guide through life. I-I don’t always know who I need to be when it comes to you.”

Slowly, I moved across the bed until I was next to her. I wrapped my forelegs around her and rested my head on her shoulder. “Applejack…” I began.

“Hm?”

“I just want you to know you’re the best. You work so hard for our family, and you’ve done a great job with raising me.”

“Aw shucks, Apple Bloom.” Applejack pulled me in tight. I could hear her sniffle a few times. “You’re such a good kid. I just need to learn your boundaries. I can’t just come in here and hold you like I used to.”

We broke apart after a while. Applejack’s eyes were red. I had tears running down my cheeks, but since my hormones were going haywire, I felt like bawling my eyes out. I kept it together though. “I’m sorry. I should have told you earlier. I just got so mad… I’m in heat,” I muttered the last part.

Applejack nodded in understanding. “I have some herbal teas which will help. Come down stairs, and I’ll make ya some, and you can tell me all about this Sweetie Belle and how she’s caught your heart.” Applejack beckoned. “Or we can talk about other things. Up to you,” she added quickly.

The tea surprisingly helped a lot; it took the edge off, and I felt more at ease. We stayed up late talking. We swapped stories about school. I told her how much I admired Sweetie Belle and thought she was just amazing. She caught me up on some of the town gossip. It was a night of what Rarity would call ‘girl talk.’ It was the most fun I’ve had with AJ in a long time. It was times like this I was so thankful and lucky to have the best sister in Equestria; even if she can be a bit annoying at times. She was there for me when I needed her, and I never truly appreciated how much she really has done for me. I still didn’t know, but I was beginning to see.

The next morning, I drank a double dose of that tea after taking care of business in the shower. I always came faster and harder in heat. I figured the two cups of the tea would hold until lunch time, and I wouldn’t turn into an emotional mess in the middle of planning and rehearsals.

Last year when we all experienced our first heats, Scootaloo became such a nervous trainwreck, she had to miss a few days of school. Still wasn’t as embarrassing as Dinky leaving a puddle in her chair. Sweetie suffered too, but I wasn’t so bad off. Not like this summer. It itched, and anything even remotely sexual got me going, and I was so horny all the time. My heat probably started a few days ago, but today it was at its peak. I might just call this thing at lunch today if it gets really bad.

I worked on my song in the clubhouse while waiting for Sweetie to show up. I was in the middle of adding a second verse when I heard her coming up the stairs. I quickly closed the notebook and stashed it away.

Sweetie Belle entered with a smile on her face. A golden hue of sunlight shone through the doorway, silhouetting Sweetie Belle in the threshold. “Good morning,” she said brightly.

She seemed to be in an exceptionally good mood. Or was I just in a bad mood? “Ugh.”

“What’s wrong?” she asked, closing the door behind her.

“Heat,” I muttered.

Sweetie Belle cocked her head to one side. “It’s not that hot out there.”

I facehoofed.

“Oh…” realization dawned on her finally. “I’m sorry.”

“Hot outside,” I chuckled shaking my head.

“I’m sorry. There wasn’t exactly any context; just a single word.”

“Yeah, yeah , yeah,” I said waving my hoof. “Anyway, did you check out that song?”

“I did.” Sweetie Belle took a seat next to me. “I really liked it. Good find.”

I was glad she liked the song. We spent the rest of the morning going over a skit and dance to go with it. It wasn’t easy. Every skit we did was too serious or made no sense.

“I don’t know,” Sweetie said, scratching out another idea written in her notebook. “I think you should take the lead vocal on it though.”

“Are you sure?”

Sweetie Belle shrugged. “It’s your song. You have the right voice for it. I’ll sing the backup and be the main dancer. I think we still need another song…”

“Another gypsy song?”

Sweetie Belle shook her head “We did gypsies last show. We need another type—I mean we need to play different characters this time.”

We sat in silence for a few moments. The tea was wearing off. My mind was filled with lewd thoughts which I tried to ignore by counting the planks on the floor.

“We’ll do your song as a cold open, and then we’ll need another song...” Sweetie Belle rested her chin on a hoof as she thought.

I shrugged. “Do the two songs have to be connected? Last time they were only connected because of our lines we wrote.”

“Mmm, I suppose they don’t have to.” Sweetie’s brow furrowed. After a few seconds she shook her head. “It would just be weird—the songs need to at least make sense.”

“Maybe a happy song?” I suggested. “The song I’m singing is empowering; so at the end we are empowered and sing something empowering.” That sounded way better in my head.

Sweetie Belle smiled. “I’m sorry, did you say empowered? I think I missed that part.”

“You know what?” I chucked a pillow that was sitting next to me. She squeaked as it hit her in the face. She countered by picking up several pillow with her magic. One by one she sent them pelting at me. I shielded my face. “Ah! No fair! Sweetie—” A pillow smacked me in the face. She was relentless!

I dove, grabbed a pillow, and swung it around into her. The green aura around the pillows faded, and they fell to the floor. We both lay on the floor giggling. “Cheater,” I said.

“I do not cheat,” Sweetie said with the most insincere voice she could muster. “I’m simply using my powers for good.”

“Pfff, for good,” I laughed. “Beware, the pillow fighting champion, Sweetie Belle!”

Sweetie Belle rolled over so we were facing each other. “Apple Bloom,” she said seriously. “I’m so happy you decided to do this with me. It’s been so much fun so far.”

A warmth spread through my chest, and I smiled at her. If I could just reach out and brush her forelock back over her ears; If I could just kiss her and hold her tight. But we simply lay there, sharing a moment of perfect silence.

But without fail, my biology had to come in and ruin the moment. There was a warmth spreading from somewhere else, and that stupid itch was back.

Come on! Not now! Body, can you not be horny for like five minutes?

Heat sucks.

“Hey,” said Sweetie softly. “You okay?”

“Wha—oh yeah. Just mare problems. Do you mind if we stop here for the day? Even with that tea, I’m probably not much use.”

Sweetie Belle gave me a sympathetic smile. “It must be bad this year.” She sat up on her haunches, and reached over me, placing both of her forehooves on my shoulders. Her hooves moved in a circular motion and up and down. “I heard this can help too.”

It felt so incredible. My hormones went wild, and I could feel myself wink, but her massage lulled me into total relaxation. “Yeah, it’s bad this time.”

“I was in heat during that last performance in Filly-Tonix. It was awful.”

I was putty in her hooves. My eyelids felt heavy. All I could think about was her leotard I had taken. No wonder it smelled so strongly…

“Mmm, Sweetie,” I mumbled. “That’s putting me to sleep.”

She stopped. My body protested. “It should relax you a little. Rarity had to do that to me last year; I would get so wound up and crazed.”

“Thanks,” I replied, rising to my feet. “That really did help.”

“I’ll figure out a song for the act. If you’re feeling better tomorrow we can work on it,” said Sweetie. “Until then: tea, hot baths, and rest.” She smiled.

I nodded.”Will do; I hope this is the worst of it.”

After lunch I followed Sweetie’s advice, and took a hot bath. It was nice to soak in the hot water; it cleaned all of the itchiness away on my fillyhood, and the water was just the right temperature to partially sate that ever-persistent itch.

I worked my forehoof down my stomach, rubbing it softly. Sweetie’s massage was still fresh in my mind, and I let my hoof travel lower. I moaned softly as I traced circles over my teats. I pushed lower, arriving at the place I actually intended to reach.

Knowing Applejack and Mac were outside and probably wouldn’t be coming in the house for a while, I decided to not hold anything back. I rammed my hoof into my nether lips, and I pushed into my hoof hard.

Picturing Sweetie Belle eating me out, I rubbed faster, not bothering to keep quiet. Moans and squeals echoed off the bathroom walls. I winked and contracted hard and fast. I felt the need to have something inside me, deep inside me.

As I imagined Sweetie’s tongue entering me, my hoof pressed firmly against my clit. I had hit my peak. I slammed my head back, hitting it against the bathroom wall, making the door rattle. High-pitched moans escaped me as I contracted and shook with an overwhelming intensity. Feminine juices squirted out after each contraction. I kept my hoof moving vigorously as I rode out the tidal wave of pleasure.

I let my foreleg fall limp at my side as I lay there sprawled out. The irritating itchiness was gone, and I didn’t have a care in the world. I examined the ceiling as if it were an interesting painting. It seemed to spin above me. My eyelids became heavy; I let myself drift off to sleep.

I awoke to the feeling of cool water around me. I wasn’t sure how much time had passed, but the once hot bathwater was nearly room temperature. Shivering, I stood up and pulled the stopper. I stepped out and wrapped myself tightly in a towel to warm up. I kept it wrapped around me as I walked back to my room, shivering occasionally.

I couldn’t feel a trace of any of the annoying itching or any other heat symptoms. There was no way it was already finished, but I was on the other side of the peak. By tomorrow evening I should be completely out.

It was already evening. I decided I would work on my song while waiting for dinner, and then I would turn in early. As much as I enjoyed hanging out with Applejack, I didn’t want to ask her to stay up again; not when she has a lot of work to do. Sweetie Belle and Rarity do a sisters’ spa day; AJ and I should have something too—not the spa… AJ doesn’t like that. Staying up late and talking could be our thing!

I had only written out a few possible phrases when the call for dinner came. The conversation around the table was mostly over future plans for Sweet Apple Acres. I was only half listening. Even that lulled into idle chit-chat. AJ asked me if I could sing a song called Jolene at the next concert. I had never heard of it, but it was one of her favorites.

“And how was your day, Sugarcube?” Applejack me.

I made a sound somewhere between a grunt and a nonchalaunt ‘eh.’

“I’ll make more tea.” Applejack got to her hooves, and returned to the kitchen.

Still, I didn’t feel like I was in heat anymore. But there was no way it just went away after that? Did it?

Mac left the table, muttering something about sleep when Applejack returned with a steaming mug of herbal tea.

“Thanks, Sis. I think I’m through the worst of it.”

“Drink this just to be sure.” She pushed the mug across the table toward me.

I took a sip; at the very least it was a nice tasting tea. “Sis, why was it so much worse this time? Last time it wasn’t that bad.”

Applejack sighed. “When you’re young, it can be very intense. Your hormones are still trying to regulate and everything. As you get older, you’ll be able to manage it better… mostly. It’s not fun for us old mares either.”

“Oh, Sis, you’re not old,” I said. I stood up and hugged her.

“Aw shucks. I reckon not, but I sure feel that way sometimes.” Applejack yawned. “Like tonight. I’m dead on these hooves of mine.”

“You need to take a day off, Sis.” She did look rundown. She had been looking worse for wear for a while now, but today she had dark circles under her eyes, and her brow seemed to have a permanent frown.

Applejack nodded, yawning again. “I plan to when you two do your show.”

I smiled. She really was the best sister in all of Equestria. “No, I mean just take a day off. Why don’t we just go do something fun for a day?”

“That sounds like a great idea, Sugarcube. What are you thinking?”

I shrugged. “Whatever you wanna do… we always had fun together when I was younger.”

Applejack stretched and yawned again. “Tell ya what,” she said, “after your show, we’ll take a day and do something fun. I’m to-to—” she yawned again. “I’m too tired to think of anything now.”

We made our way up the stairs together. We bid each other goodnight and went to our rooms. I couldn’t have been more excited about spending some quality time with my sister. Truth be told I didn’t really care what we did as long as we did it together... and it wasn’t farm work.

Feeling better than I had in days, I curled up under my covers and fell asleep quickly.

Dos-à-Dos

I basked in the warmth of the morning sun beaming through my window. My bed had never been so comfortable. I felt good. All symptoms of estrus were practically gone. I felt a slight itch every so often. I didn’t get turned on by every little thing. I wouldn’t have to hoof myself every night and morning. I didn’t feel the need to, but I was certainly feeling like doing it to start off my day; maybe I could take my time with it? I wouldn’t be such a hair-trigger now.

Sweetie Belle had been the focus of my heat-addled mind, but I needed something else… something more exciting. I needed a setting—

A knock on my door brought me out of my thoughts. “Just when I was trying to get in the mood,” I muttered under my breath. “Yes?” AJ has some of the worst timing. At least she freakin knocked this time.

The door opened, but it wasn’t Applejack. Instead there was a very pretty white unicorn filly with bright green eyes. “Apple Bloom?” Her eyes scanned the room. Finally her eyes stopped at the bed where I lay beneath the covers. “You’re still in bed?”

“Still?” What was she talking about?

“I was waiting in the clubhouse for like twenty minutes.” Sweetie sounded slightly annoyed.

I sat up, stretching. “What time is it?” There’s no way I slept in that late.

Sweetie Belle sat on the corner of my bed. “It’s like after nine now.”

I shrugged. I fell back down on my bed. It felt so soft and comfortable. “I guess I overslept…” I said as I looked at the ceiling.

“Just a little.” Sweetie Belle smiled. She tapped the bed with her hoof. “Come on, get up. I have some ideas to run by you.”

“Okay go.” Why did I have to get up for that?

“Come on.” Sweetie Belle poked me through the comforter. The dull impact tickled a little.

I grunted and rolled over onto my side. “Too comfortable this morning.”

Sweetie Belle let out an exasperated groan. A pale-green aura formed around my blankets. Before I could protest, they were gone with a whoosh. My body was instantly assaulted with a rush of cool air. I curled up as best I could, wrapping my tail around me.

“I said get up,” Sweetie Belle squeaked.

Annoyed, I rolled out of bed. “Rude.”

Sweetie Belle stuck her tongue out in response: a very foalish thing to do. I fought back a smile so I could remain annoyed at her. She seemed quite pleased with herself. I pushed passed her, heading for the bathroom.

“Now that that’s settled—hey! Where are you going?”

I was halfway out of my room before she realized I was leaving. “Shower.”

“Oh come on!” She followed me down the hall. “We have to get this show ready. We have a deadline—not like last time.” She followed me into the bathroom, closing the door behind her.

“Sweetie,” I said as kindly as I could. “Just give me a minute.”

Sweetie Belle nodded and let out a sigh that said ‘fine.’

“Are you taking a shower with me?” I asked. I doubted we’d fit in the tub like we used to. I was trying to get her to realize where she was, but if really wanted to join… I wasn’t going to say no.

“Oh. I already did,” she said quickly. “Anyway, what do you think of an opening skit instead of a cold open with that song?”

Shaking my head, I turned on the shower and stepped in. “I’m not sure,” I replied. I raised my voice a little to talk over the noise the shower was making. “Why do we need an opening skit?”

I looked up at the showerhead. I guess I won’t be having any fun with that today… I wonder what she’d do if I—

“To better introduce the song. We could set it up and tell the story of a filly with who is self-conscious.

I scrubbed my body with a loofah as I listened to her. “It sounds like a lot of costume changes for me.”

I rinsed the soap off my body. The bathroom was smelling quite nice now. I turned around and flagged my tail, letting the water wash everything off. Sweetie Belle quickly looked away.

“Really?” she asked.

I shrugged. “You followed me in here. Besides, nothing you ain’t seen before…” I waved my hoof, flinging some water at her. She blushed a little. “But while you’re there, could you help me with my tail?”

If Sweetie Belle was blushing before, it was nothing to how red her face was now. “Umm…”

“Come on. I can’t reach it all. Doesn’t somepony help do yours?” I asked.

Sweetie Belle shook her head. “Not anymore… I can use my magic.” She stood there thinking it over. She looked uneasy, but finally stepped forward. “Okay,” she said at last. “Rarity used to do this for me… I never thought about it before, but I guess earth ponies still have to do this,” she mused.

She grabbed a bottle of shampoo, and with her magic, she squeezed a liberal amount of it on her hoof. She placed her hoof right at the base of my tail and slowly worked it in.

When Applejack did this it wasn’t a big deal. I would help her out sometimes too. If Sweetie had done this yesterday, my tail would’ve flagged instantly, and she’d see my everything dripping in her face. But today, I could keep all of that under control. But it was still pretty hot; something I didn’t expect, but probably should have. I shouldn’t have asked her. AJ could’ve helped me another time. My tail wasn’t that bad.

“Anyway, it would be a few changes, but you could just layer the costumes like last time.”

She was working her way down my tail now. “I think we should get backup dancers for this one. The scenes will make more sense if we have a group instead of me constantly changing costumes.”

Sweetie Belle reached the end of my tail. She let my soap-sodden tail fall. It hit my inner thigh with a soft splat. “That could work…”

I backed up under the shower so it could wash my tail off. An enormous amount of suds pooled below me as all the soap washed out. “But where would we get dancers on short notice?” I probably should have thought that through a little.

“The Ponyville Dance Academy. You’re still friends with Tender Taps, right? I mean, we’d have to have something put together before asking them. And if they have any performances that overlaps or are in the same week, it’s a no go.”

“Best chance we got.”

“Not if you don’t hurry up,” Sweetie Belle urged.

I rolled my eyes. “I’m going, I’m going,” I grumbled. “My first day out of heat… can’t a filly relax?”

“Showbiz doesn’t care about mare problems,” Sweetie Belle taunted matter-of-factly.

I turned the shower off, and stepped out. “Yeah, because it’s run by stallions,” I shot back.

Sweetie opened her mouth to argue, and then closed it again. “You’re not wrong…”

I grabbed a towel, and started drying myself off. Sweetie Belle was still blushing slightly. Was she really that bashful? “Um, Sweetie, um th-thank you for helping me with my tail. I don’t know what I was thinkin’, I should have asked AJ.”

“It’s okay,” she said quickly. “We’ve been friends for a long time. We’ve all seen each other.” Sweetie Belle waved a hoof. “Are you ready?”

At least I wasn’t the only one sneaking peeks. I’m sure Sweetie and Scoots’ were more accidental than mine were. Or maybe she did check me out…

“Yep, let’s get this started,” I said. I threw my towel on the floor and opened the bathroom door. “Come on. Waiting on you, Sweetie.” I grinned at her as she scowled.

The rest of the morning was slow work. We sketched out a rough idea of the show. Sweetie had two different songs to choose from. We had to run through the entire rough-draft act to figure out which song fit better. In the end, we went with Sweetie’s first choice because it was catchy and fun.

Sweetie Belle insisted we have at least a rough draft of the performance together before asking the academy. They were less likely to say no if they saw what they were being asked to do, and more likely to say yes if they saw that it was thoughtfully choreographed. This was all her domain; my part was simply to learn the parts I was going to play, and help plan the event.

“Okay, so I have an idea,” I said brightly. Sweetie was hunched over a notebook writing out our event. “What if I’m not in the opening act? What if I come on and sing the song, and you’re like acting out the scene?”

“Huh?” Sweetie Belle looked up. “You mean like not part of it, but singing the song that goes with the scene?”

“Yeah. You still sing your harmony parts and all, but I’m not actually part of the scene. That will solve us trying to explain how I’m there anyway.”

Sweetie nodded. “Yeah…” She trailed off. “That actually works better. If I’m in the room by myself, it would put more focus on the visual.” Sweetie Belle bent down over her notebook again. She scribbled out a few lines, and then wrote in the margins. “There. Nice idea.”

“I might actually be good at this thing yet,” I said half joking.

“You are good.” She looked up and gave me a reassuring smile. “Don’t think you’re not. I couldn’t have done this without you.”

A warmth spread through my chest, and what was my stomach doing? Somersaults? My face was warm too. It was a high praise coming from her. And it meant the world to me that she truly valued me in this endeavor.

“Okay, done! Finally.” She sat up and stretched. “Let’s go ask them, and then get lunch after.”

“Sounds good to me.”

Sweetie was on it today. She bounced with exuberance as we walked into town.

“The sun with loving light makes bright for me each day!” she sang out.

She was in rare form. I struggled to keep up with her as she bounded ahead. “The sun what? Sweetie, wait!”

“It makes bright for me each day,” she repeated. “It’s a quote from—from something I read…” She shrugged. “Old pony philosophy stuff.”

I had forgotten with her being in the Filly-Tonix, and now our show, that she was a very prolific reader. “But what does it mean?”

Sweetie shrugged again. “There’s more to the quote, I just can’t remember it.”

We had just turned onto the main road when I stopped dead in my tracks. In the middle of the market square stood a massive billboard with our faces on it. There were big purple bubbly letters below that said, ‘The Belle and Bloom Show!’ and some smaller text below. ‘The hottest new show in town!’ Below that was the date and time of our upcoming show and locations to buy tickets.

“When did that go up?”

“Oh, the sign?” Sweetie cocked her head to one side. “You should leave the farm more often. That’s been up since the day after the show.”

As we walked past the sign, my neck craned as far as it could so I could continue to stare in disbelief before snapping back to look forward.

"Was that Princess Twilight's idea? Or did Talent Scout put that up?" I wondered aloud.

"Honestly? Probably both,” Sweetie Belle mused. “She really liked our show. It looks like she wasn't the only one, either..."

By this time we were generating a lot of attention. Many ponies passing by did double takes. There were hushed conversations as we passed by. I could usually hear, “Oh my gosh that them! Belle and Bloom!” and “Shh, they’re coming this way! Oh gosh, what if they stop by here? Does my mane look alright?”

“Wow, this is crazy,” I muttered out of the corner of my mouth. I couldn’t help feeling elated. “We’re like celebrities now.”

Sweetie Belle seemed to be soaking it up too. “Yes. Some pony even wrote a review of the show in the paper. We got a ten out of ten for originality and providing something engaging and different for the town.”

“That’s good! Local critics like us.”

“You always get fluff pieces.”

I stared at her. “Sweetie. We have ponies writing about us! I’ll take a fluff piece.”

“There’s nothing wrong with it,” she countered. “But some real feedback would be nice.”

I agreed. It seemed reasonable, but why did the idea make me nervous?

I saw the dance academy at last. It was a few buildings down. But before we reached it, we were approached by a middle-aged mare and a young colt following close behind her.

“I’m sorry to bug you fine fillies. My son is a huge fan and wanted to get your autographs.” She leaned in close to me and whispered not-so-quietly, “he’s got a big crush on you.”

She didn’t seem sorry one bit. The colt hid behind her, keeping his eyes to the ground. I couldn’t blame him. I would be so upset if AJ did something like that with me. “Sure thing,” I replied. It was the least I could do for the poor boy.

“Oh, yes certainly,” said Sweetie Belle promptly. She too seemed a little nervous.

We each signed a poster of ourselves. It was a picture taken of us on stage together in our gypsy outfits. The top had the same bubbly purple lettering for our show name.

“That was weird,” I said as they walked off; I made sure they were well out of earshot.

“I guess we have to get used to it. That poor colt though.” She flashed me a wry smile.

I rolled my eyes. “That was really uncalled for, what she did. Maybe he didn’t want her to tell anyone?”

“At that age? Of course he didn’t want her to tell you that. I would be so mad if mom or Rarity did that.”

“Yeah same.” I didn’t think Applejack would ever tell Sweetie Belle. She might tease me once in a while, but she wouldn’t be mean. “Where did they get those posters anyway?”

Sweetie Belle sighed. “You really haven’t been in town since. We’re a big hit here. One of the local shops started printing them—I don’t remember which one. The Belle and Bloom show makes a little money every time they sell one.”

“We have money?” All of this was too much. The fame, posters, autographs, and to top it off, we were making bits off all of this.

“The show is, yes. TS created an account. All of those bits can be used for our shows. All the money for tickets goes there too.”

We came to a stop in front of a building with a glass big glass windows which allowed passing-by ponies to look in and see the dance classes in session. Inside there were partitions between different sections for different types of dances. On the far left were hard-wood floors for ballroom. The next section had the same flooring and tall mirrors along the wall for ballet. The next two sections were empty, but had matted flooring. The last room had a team of young mares doing a coordinated dance. They moved in unison, doing a variety of low swoops and side steps. An older mare stood in front, leading them through the motions.

“Good. The hip-hop group is here,” said Sweetie Belle. We stepped inside. We were immediately greeted with loud pop sounding music which we instantly recognised. “Hey, that’s one of ours!”

“I guess Filly-Tonix is good for dancing,” I suggested.

“Five-and-a-six-and-a-seven-and-a—keep-in-time!” yelled the dance instructor to the beat of the music. “Dos-à-Dos! That’s the off beat. On one—that’s it! Keep it up!”

“This next part gets funky,” said Sweetie quietly.

“Get ready for the time change! There! Now in six-eight—yes great transition! And… back-to-common-time!”

To me they all looked great. Their movements were fluid, and their feet hit with every beat of the music. They all wore the same silver full-body dance leotard. Unlike the Filly-Tonix’ uniforms, these actually fit them.

“Why does it change there?”

Sweetie shrugged. “The studio musicians got bored? I really don’t know.”

The song finally ended. The studio was dead quiet, and a ringing in my ears clouded my hearing, making everything sound dull.

“Good work, girls. Take five.” The mare finally spotted us and walked our way, smiling broadly. She was a slender earth pony with a white coat and a straight-haired two-tone blue and pink mane and tail. She was sweating slightly around her brow. “Now this is a surprise.” She spoke sweetly. “Sweetie Belle! Good to see you.”

“Good to see you too!” Sweetie chirped. “This,” she gestured to me, “is Apple Bloom. Apple Bloom, this is Promenade. One of the best dance instructors in Equestria.” Promenade made a dismissive gesture with her hoof.

I nodded and smiled at her. She greeted me with an excited smile.

“Apple Bloom. Yes, I heard you sing—great voice. Huge fan of the show.”

I blushed a little. “Thank you kindly.”

“Well… what can I do for you two?”

Sweetie Belle stepped forward. “We were hoping some dancers here would want to be backup dancers for our next show.”

Promenade raised her eyebrows. “Oh, wow. I’m sure tons will be interested. Do you want them to audition?”

“Ummm…” Sweetie Belle said. She looked back at me.

I shot Sweetie Belle an unsure glance. “Our next show is coming up quick—end of this week.”

Promenade nodded. “And you won’t have time to audition a bunch of foals. You want the hip-hop team, right?”

She was good. I liked this mare; she was straight to the point. I think AJ would appreciate some pony like this too. No time for nonsense!

“Exactly!” Sweetie Belle squeaked. “If they aren’t… busy that day”

“I don’t know… they don’t have anything for a little while. It’s up to their individual schedules and how many will be willing to do it—which is probably all of them.” She rolled her eyes, and turned to me. “After Sweetie became part of the Filly-Tonix the girls were super excited some pony from here made it big time. And now that you two are doing stuff here in town… we’re in there learning some of the hip-hop moves the Filly-Tonix used.”

“Yeah… those moves… aren’t that good,” said Sweetie Belle. There was a tone of uncertainty in her voice. Promenade raise a single eyebrow. “I-I mean they’re generic. We used those same moves in everything. We just changed the order and added a little flair.”

“She’s being modest,” said Promenade looking at me. “Sweetie Belle is a very talented dancer. She moved into the advanced classes in about six months. Not many can do that, that quickly.”

Sweetie Belle blushed furiously. I knew she was good; I’ve seen her both on stage and off stage. She made it look easy; it wasn’t. She could feel the music and know it; I considered myself lucky if my flailing happened to even slightly match the rhythm.

“Anyway, let’s see who wants to help you two out.” Promenade turned to where all the dancers were stretching in a tight circle. I could hear giggling and chit-chat from here. “Hey Dos-à-Dos! Come over here for a sec!”

A unicorn filly who looked slightly older than Sweetie and I walked over. I could see a pale-blue coat under her silver full-body leotard. She had a short pale-greenish mane with lighter highlights. Her body was lean, but I could see her muscles were toned as the spandex did little to hide these things. Her brilliant-blue eyes lit up upon seeing us.

“Hello! Loved your show! You two are the best!”

“Well, Dosie,” said Promenade, “Since you’re a fan, would you and the team like to perform backup dance routines at the end of the week for the show?”

She stared blankly for a moment. Then, her jaw dropped in awe. “You-you want us to perform on stage with you two?” She asked. Her excited voice carried across the room. The other fillies were no longer stretching. Instead they were listening intently.

“Sure do,” I said.

“Wa-wow! Heck yes!”

Promenade smiled. “Good. That’s settled. We have a little time left for this session—” The other fillies had broken out into loud excited talking. “Probably aren’t getting anything productive out of them now. We’ll just end it here.” Dos-à-Dos seemed to be the only one who had heard her though.

“Oh, yeah!” Sweetie pulled her notebook out of her saddlebags with her magic. “This is what we’re doing.” She levitated the book over to Dos-à-Dos.

The filly took it as if being offered a high-valued prize. She read it over, smiling. “Oh, you want us to do some acting… Oh. No. We couldn’t say those lines to you, Sweetie.”

“It’s okay. It’s all an act.”

Dos-à-Dos smiled. “I know it just… it hits close to home—in fact all of this does.”

“That’s why we think it’s important,” I chimed in.

She nodded. “Okay… I can see what you two are doing.” She flipped the page. “Ooh! I love this song! Okay I’m, like, so in.”

“Glad to have ya, Dos-à-Dos.” I said extending my hoof to her.

She shook it earnestly. “Call me Dosie. Everypony does.” She looked right at me and winked. My heart fluttered.

What was that? Was she hitting on me? Or is she just star-struck? She was cute, but my heart was set on Sweetie.

Over the next hour we got to know the hip-hop dance team. Dosie was the unofficial captain of the team since she was there the longest and was considered the best dancer by the others. They learned the routine quickly—it wasn’t that complicated anyway. The acting part was difficult. They were way too giggly and couldn’t do the lines without falling into a fit of giggles.

“Come on, girls let’s go to—pfffft! Stop. Feather Step! Stop looking at me! I-I can’t!” the filly was overcome in a fit of giggles.

Annoyed, I decided to ask, “Are the lines that bad?”

“No!” Dosie giggled. “We just can’t act. It’s super awkward.”

Three fillies in the corner were talking. As some of the giggles died down, we all overheard them. “And this weird stallion was, like, sitting with his legs open, and I could, like, see everything…” she trailed off.

“Was he hot?” asked the filly named Feather Step.

“Pfff, no. He was, like, old.”

“Ewwww,” the others said in unison.

I was into fillies and all, but this was estrogen overload. I was going to go insane if I had to deal with this for the rest of the week.

“...and my sister and her colt friend were totally making out yesterday—”

“Hey!” Sweetie’s voice squealed loudly over all the side-bar conversations. They all died instantly. “Come on, girls. We just need one who can act reasonably well. The rest just kinda fill in the blanks. We only have a few days to get this.”

From that point on, things went smoother. We discovered Feather Step was our best actress, and she won the speaking part. She did her best to take it seriously, but she was especially chatty and giggly.

Dosie was really getting friendly with me over the last two days. She didn’t spend much time with Sweetie Belle as me. Which had me thinking she was more than just star-struck. She also didn’t engage with the others in colt talk, and by the third day, she was making very direct advances toward me.

I didn't quite know what to make of this; she was very attractive, nice, and easy to talk to. Despite this, I didn't really know her that well — not like I knew Sweetie Belle. Growing up together will do that.

Still... there was something exciting about her, and I felt strangely guilty even acknowledging it. It felt as though I were betraying Sweetie even though we weren't in a romantic relationship. And even though we shared seemingly everything together, Sweetie Belle's aspiring love life was a complete mystery to me. I didn't know if she liked fillies, or colts, or anypony at all for that matter!

"I really like that bow," Dosie said, simultaneously pulling me from my thoughts and complicating the situation further. "It's cute."

We were backstage. It was the night before the performance, and we had just finished two run throughs of the show. They went well, and we were confident we’d put on a great show for the town the next evening.

Sweetie Belle was talking with the musicians about the transitions.

“Thanks,” I said awkwardly. “It’s, um, from my sister.”

“So… are you ready for tomorrow,” she asked.

“Yeah. I think so.”

“Do you want to go over that dance move again? You know, the one that was giving you trouble?” There was a slight tension in Dosie’s voice.

“Yeah, I could go through it a few more times. It is a little tricky.”

“Okay, let’s go… over here. Then you can cover more ground.”

We moved behind the main curtain. We stood between the two sets that were built on each side of the stage.

“I’m going to stand here, and you come to me.” Dos-à-Dos stood at the far end of the stage.

I planted my left hind leg and spun. As the spin came back around, I stepped with my right foreleg and did a half pivot. With the momentum, I transferred my weight to my right hind and spun fast. After two spins, I stopped right in front of Dosie. All four hooves, flat on the floor; I stood square.

“I think you have it,” she said, giving me an appraising look. She moved in close to me. “Your shoulder dropped a little, but you kept your balance.”

“Yeah, It’s a bad habit.” I agreed. “I felt it, and I fixed it that time.”

She nodded. “When you do that pivot on your front, just bring your shoulder back a little more. I know it feels like you’re leaning way back, but you aren’t.” She demonstrated quickly. She did it so effortlessly. She stepped closer. “Go ahead and try it from that point.”

Shrugging, I placed my front foreleg in position and did the pivot. As I shifted to my hind leg, she grabbed my foreleg and spun me around. She held my leg back, pushing me upright. I spun so freely, I turned three times and lost my balance. She caught me in her forelegs.

“Sorry. I got a little over zealous,” I laughed nervously. She was still holding me.

“You’re really good, Apple Bloom.” She looked me directly in my eyes. Then she closed her eyes, and moved in close. She tilted her head and moved in closer. And before I had time to even process what was happening, my lips were greeted by the soft wetness of her lips.

I should have pushed her off. I should have told her it was a misunderstanding. But I did none of those things. She held me so tenderly. Her kiss was so soft. My heart was pounding.

She broke the kiss and brushed my face with her hoof. It felt so nice. “I really like you, Apple Bloom. I think you’re really cute and talented and funny.”

I couldn’t think of anything to say. No pony had ever been so direct. I wish I could’ve said that to Sweetie Belle. But I lacked her confidence.

She turned my head slightly, and pulled me into another kiss. This time I was ready for it, and closed my eyes. Our lips met again. It felt amazing. She broke apart and kissed my cheek.

“I-um-I um…” I was lost for words. How do I tell her without breaking her heart? I liked her, I really did. This was really hard. She was throwing herself at me, and I wanted to chase Sweetie. Was I being dumb? It was so amazing the way she was holding me. “Dosie… you’re a nice filly… I like you too—”

“But you have someone else you’re crushing on?” She hugged me a little tighter.

“Look, you’re really cute and—”

“Shhh. I know. I’m not looking for a relationship. I know you’ve got your eyes on Sweetie.”

My heart sank into my stomach. Did the whole damn town know? “H-how do you know that?”

“Please. I spotted you as a filly-fooler a mile away. You ogling Sweetie… a blind pony could see.”

“Oh,” I said. “I-I didn’t realize…” She loosened her grip a little, and I leaned back to look her in the eyes. “Then what are you looking for if not a relationship?”

She gave me a wry smile. “Surely you’ve figured that out by now. I don’t do relationships; not anymore.”

My face went bright red. I could feel heat down there. Wow, she was very direct. I had no idea what to do. The obvious thing would’ve been to say no. But a part of me really wanted this. Somewhere in the back of my mind, reality kicked in over my hormone-addled brain. “I-I can’t. I’ve never done anything like that before… and-and I don’t think I’m ready.”

Dosie deflated a little and her embrace slacked. “Darn. Well.. if you change your mind, I’m the first in line. Honey, I’m still free. Take a chance on me,” she sang softly. “Can I kiss you one last time?”

She was persistent. I smiled and nodded in spite of my better judgement. Our lips connected again in a long kiss. She held the back of my head, and I melted into her.

We broke apart after long last. She released me from her embrace. She looked sad, but confident. “Sweetie Belle will be lucky to have you.”

I felt sorry for her. She was really nice. She didn’t try to push me into anything. All those times we were talking and joking around she probably took as flirting. I felt rotten. I think I had truly hurt her.

“I’m sorry.”

“You don’t have to apologise. I made the first move. I could’ve asked… I still want you as a friend. If things aren’t awkward after all of this.”

I smiled, feeling a little better inside. “I think we could be that.”

She returned the smile, but I could still see a trace of sadness in her eyes. “Did I come on too strong?”

I laughed nervously. “I ain’t never had a kiss from anypony before. I ain’t even had a filly-friend before. It-it was a lot really quickly.” I figured full and honest disclosure was the best way. My sister would approve!

“I was your first kiss?” asked Dosie softly.

I nodded.

Dosie looked down at the ground. “I’m really sorry. I didn’t mean to rob that from you. I know it’s a big deal.”

I put a hoof on her shoulder. “It’s alright. Took me by surprise, and it certainly wasn’t how I thought my first kiss would go… but I liked it. Was I bad?”

She giggled. “You’re such a tease! The second time, you were better. The third… perfect.”

“Well that’s good.” A thought occurred to me: she had known I was into fillies instantly. How? “Dosie…” I trailed off.

“Yeah?”

“How did you know I was a filly-fooler?”

She shrugged. “I just knew. With some ponies I know instantly what their preferences are.”

“Do you know Sweetie’s,” I asked, trying to keep the hopeful tone out of my question.

Dosie frowned. “No… I’m not sure about that one. I’m not sure she even knows… but I do know this… she’s very cute.”

I silently agreed. There was only one true way to find out…

We said goodnight and left the stadium. Sweetie Belle hadn’t left yet, but told us to go. She had a few last minute things to do.

I decided to go back and wait for her after bidding Dos-à-Dos a goodnight.

I was having a strange night. I got my first kiss and propositioned for a one-night stand from a filly I had met a few days ago. I still felt guilty for kissing her, and I felt even more guilty for wanting to do it more, and for almost saying yes to sleeping with her.

I was about to walk back into the stadium when Sweetie opened the door and walked out. “Hey, what’s up?”

“Nothin; just thought I’d walk you home.”

Sweetie Belle smiled. “My hero,” she said playfully.

I probably would have had a snarky comeback, but my heart just wasn’t in it. I just wanted to walk with her. I wanted to find out if she liked colts or fillies, but I couldn’t think of a good way to ask her.

“It’s dark out. Besides, Rarity’s is on my way home.”

We walked and talked. It amazed me how easy it was to talk with her about almost anything. We could probably talk forever about music, Scootaloo’s crazy stunts, what our sisters were up to, and so forth. We could even talk on less trivial topics like our plans for the future and how we felt about things going on at home. However, love and romance were topics we’ve always avoided somehow. Maybe we were both too bashful? Or maybe she, like me, was afraid our interests would differ too much, and we’d go our separate ways.

We said goodnight at the Carousel Boutique, and I set off for Sweet Apple Acres.

I couldn’t quite shake the guilt of what had happened with Dosie, but I knew what I was doing once I got in bed, and I didn’t have to feel guilty about doing that!

Road Less Traveled

It was the day of the show, and I was backstage. Sweetie had gone off to talk to the musicians in the orchestra pit, and some of the dancers were practicing their lines off in the distance. I wasn’t doing much of anything.

I didn’t feel like practicing any lines or dance moves. I was about to join Sweetie in the orchestra pit, when the back door opened and none other than Dos-à-Dos entered. She exhaled deeply, dropping her saddle bags at the door, and stretching.

Dos-à-Dos caught sight of me after scanning the room, and sauntered up to me with a warm smile. “Hey, girl,” she sang. I couldn’t help but notice her perfect pitch.

“Howdy,” I replied, trying to sound casual. For some reason this made her grin in a gushing sort of way.

“Excited?” she asked. “I’m a little nervous, but I’m so excited!” She bounced on her feet.

My face grew hot, and I looked down. My heart was beating hard. She was nearly as irresistible as Sweetie. What in Equestria was going on? “I’m a little nervous, but not like last time—”

I was scooped up into her limbs as she held me close. “You’ll do great,” she whispered in my ear, making me shudder. She pecked me on the cheek. Those lips were so divine—I had melted into her. I reached out and held her into me, resting my head onto her shoulder.

“Oh the night we could’ve had,” she mused gently. “I’m still sore from last night… I just couldn’t get you out of my head.”

My heart stopped. Did she just? No… we both had spent our night hoofing ourselves to a night that could’ve been? That familiar heat was stirring up inside me again. I broke the embrace, and looked around. Sweetie Belle was still in the orchestra pit; Feather Step and the rest of the dancers were scattered around the stage. No one was paying much attention to us, however.

“I’m, um, I’m going into the changing room to check if all of our costumes are back there. Do you want to lend me a hoof?” I asked her. My heart was pounding so hard, I could practically hear it. What was I thinking?

She raised her eyebrows. “You bet.”

We moved discreetly as we dared into the changing room. I closed the door softly as she cleared the threshold. She had her forelegs around me the second the door clicked. Our lips met, and I pushed myself into her. I kissed her again, pressing my face into her. We broke apart, and she kissed my cheek, and then peppered me with tiny kisses down my neck making me shiver and moan.

I couldn’t get enough. I pushed her into the wall as our lips locked again. Her tongue pushed against me, asking for entrance. I accepted, letting our tongues touch and intertwine. We both moaned as our tongues danced around each others and explored.

After what felt like an eternity we broke apart. I kissed her cheek and down her neck, returning the favor. I felt her shudder in response.

“Oh, I want you so bad, Apple Bloom.” She kissed my cheek. She ran her tongue up my neck, making me shudder and moan. I felt my fillyhood wink with incessant need.

I was dripping, and so was she; I could smell her aroma—the sweet musk. It was driving me insane! I wanted her too. I wanted to pin her to the ground and do so many things. I wanted to make her feel good; I wanted her to scream my name! “Dosie, we’re back stage…” I mumbled into her neck as I kissed her.

“Shh, no one is going to come back here for a while,” she whispered. She gently pulled me to the floor, rolling me over onto my back. She laid on top of me. Our lips locked as our tongues wrestled. She gave me a knowing look as we broke apart, and she kissed my cheek, then down my neck, then lower and lower. She reached my lower stomach, and I spread my hindlegs apart, exposing everything to her.

Dosie moaned softly. “Oh, Apple Bloom, you’re so beautiful.” She rubbed her hooves all over my cutie marks. Her hooves stopped near my dripping filly parts where she pushed on my thighs, parting my lower lips, and exposing the pink insides of my flower.

I felt so exposed, so vulnerable with everything on display to her. It excited me to a whole new level. I wanted her to touch me there; I needed her skilled tongue inside me. I wanted to feel her dripping, most intimate parts rubbing against mine, and her juices squirting into my fillyhood, on my teats, and on my face. I wanted to taste her fillyhood, have it in my face, have it slide down my body, spreading her juices and pheromones all over me, so everypony knew I belonged to her.

Her face moved between my legs. I yelped as her lips warped around my left teat. I was far more sensitive than I could’ve ever imagined; her soft lips gave me more than my hoof ever could. She moved to the other. She suckled and licked me there for a little, letting me enjoy the new sensations. It felt so good. After a little while, she continued her journey lower. She kissed my inner thighs, making me moan and whimper with anticipation. Especially when I felt her hot breath on my fillyhood.

She kissed my lower lips, and then ran her tongue through my entire slit. I slammed my head back into the floor crying out; I had nearly lost it there.

“Shhh,” she said, licking me there again. “I can tell you aren’t going to last much longer…” Her skilled tongue ran across my slit again, this time giving a flick across my clit. My body shook, and I had to stuff a hoof in my mouth to keep quiet. She did it again, and I could feel it building up inside me. I put my other hoof on the back of her head, pushing her face into me as I began to back my hips erratically.

“Dosie… I’m gonna—”

I felt her tongue enter me, pushing as deep as it could go. She was inside me! I winked hard on her tongue. I couldn’t hold out any longer. My body shook, and I could feel my fillyhood contracting and squeezing on her as I squirted all over her face. But she didn’t stop there. Her assault on my fillyhood continued. Her tongue ran in circles over my clit, making me yelp.

“I. Just. Can’t. Get. Enough.” Dosie said between licks. “Tastes so good.”

She alternated between pushing her tongue inside me, flicking my clit, and running her tongue my entire length.

“Dosie…” I mumbled. “I—I’m—’ was all I managed to say as my body shook violently. I squirted onto her waiting tongue a second time as my vision blurred. I was so on edge, my never ending down there were on fire. Another orgasm rocketed through my body as I felt her tongue slide out from inside me.

“Wow,” I said sloppily. My tongue was hanging out of my mouth as I stared at the ceiling vacantly.

“I’ll give you a little to get your bearings, babe,” said Dose as she cuddled up to me, laying her head on my chest.

Just then I heard the changing room door open. “I think they’re in here,” Sweetie’s voice yelled. And then she entered the room. She noticed the disheveled costumes, some had been pulled off their hangers, and then she noticed us on the floor. My legs were spread wide open, a puddle of our juices on the floor, and Dosie snuggled against me. Sweetie Belle’s eyes went wide with horror.

My heart stopped. And with a sudden gasp, I found myself inside my dark room. I was breathing hard, and my body was sweaty. I could feel a huge wet spot on my bed sheets. I looked down to see my hoof between my legs; I was already a little sore from the furious hoofing I did when I was awake.

This was my first erotic dream! It felt so real! So intense! And it was with Dos-à-Dos? “Oh, no,” I grumbled. And I was caught by Sweetie… what did that mean? Was she going to be jealous in my dream? Mad because we were getting it on in the changing room before a show—

“The show!” I shouted. My voice echoed off the walls in the dead of night. “Oops.” I listened, hoping I didn’t wake anyone. “Horse apples, I really need to get some sleep,” I told myself as I looked at my clock.

I rolled over to the other side of my bed, and let the confusing thoughts run through my head until it worse me down, and I couldn’t think straight, and I fell asleep.

The first thing I did after waking up was throw my sheets into the wash. I had slept in as long as I dared, but I feared Sweetie Belle would be over eventually. I couldn’t risk her seeing what I did to my bed sheets.

Tonight was our second show! However, in light of recent events ,it felt almost like an afterthought. I was still trying to wrap my mind around what had happened. Was I just scared? Should I have said yes? I turned her down, and then hoofed myself like no other. For the first time in a long time, Sweetie wasn’t in any of my fantasies. And the most intense erotic dream ever didn’t involve her either.

It still felt like I gave the right answer. I couldn’t help wondering about what I had missed out on… my imagination went pretty wild, but it was the unknown which had the most exciting aspect—all the ways she could’ve blown my mind that I didn’t know about. But I wasn’t ready for that, was I? That was like learning to run before you can walk.

I was running on autopilot while mulling over last night. I had taken a quick shower, and made my way down stairs. I took my usual spot at the table.

A plate of toast clattered on the table in front of me, startling me out of my deep thoughts. “Ya awake there, sugarcube?”

“Huh, oh yeah.” I ate my toast quickly.

“I’m happier than a tick in spring for the show tonight!”

I was vaguely aware of Applejack sitting across from me. “Equestria to Apple Bloom!” She stood up and stood next to me. “Anypony home?” She rapped the side of my head with her hoof.

“Ah, yeah, Ow!” I rubbed the spot on my head where she hit me, and glared at her.

“Just making sure you’re alright. You were a million miles away.”

“Just a lot on my mind,” I muttered. “AJ…”

“Hmm?”

I stood up and hugged her tightly. “Thank you.”

She hesitated and wrapped me into her embrace. “Er... what for?”

I leaned into her. “If it weren’t for all of those lessons you gave me, I think I would’ve made a huge mistake last night.”

Applejack laughed nervously. “Well how about that? I managed to teach your stubborn little butt something afterall. So, what happened last night?”

I broke out of her embrace and sat down. “I got my first kiss last night.”

Whatever Applejack was expecting me to say, it wasn’t that. Her brow disappeared under her forelock. “Hold up there. So you and Sweetie are a thing now?”

My heart dropped. It was going to sound so much worse now. I shook my head. “I met this filly from the dance academy. We hit it off well.”

“Hold up! You kissed some other pony you just met!”

I melted under her gaze. “It’s not like that. Sorta…” I launched into the whole story of how I met Dos-à-Dos; how I accidentally flirted with her. I explained how I suspected she was hitting on me, but I wasn’t sure. “And then after I fell over she caught me. And she sorta just came onto me—I-I didn’t know what to do.”

“I see,” said Applejack. She shook her head. “It never goes the way you think it would… so what happened next?”

I continued my story about how she wanted to hook up, and how she didn’t want a relationship, just sex. “It’s just so strange to not want a relationship. She asked to kiss me one more time, and then we talked for a little.”

Applejack let out a long sigh. “I’m gonna have to sit down for this one.

“First, good on you! You weren’t comfortable with that, and you told her so. I’m very proud of you, sugarcube. It’s not always easy to say no to those things in the heat of the moment.” Applejack laughed nervously. “If you weren’t ready, you would have most certainly regretted it. I’m glad she didn’t try to force anything, and she respected you.

“Second, I think this Dos-à-Dos mistook you for some pony much older and more experienced than you actually were.”

I felt a knot in my chest subside as I exhaled. “She just came onto me so quickly and strongly… more experienced,” I laughed. “I have no experience.”

“Look, sugarcube, that’s okay. In fact, it's probably better you don’t have any at your age.” Applejack cleared her throat. “Some ponies just want friends they can hookup with casually. They call them—well, I’d rather not say what they’re called. I reckon you’ll learn soon enough.”

Was she talking about buck buddies? I’ve heard that before, but never knew what it meant; the more I thought about it, though, the more it seemed to fit. “But Applejack, why did I feel so guilty about it? I’m not even dating Sweetie, but it somehow felt like I was betraying her.” I rubbed my hooves over my eye.

“I suspect, when it comes to Sweetie, you have somethin’ more than the physical attraction. Even if Sweetie turned you down, you’d still be there to support her anyway you could, because you love her.” Applejack rubbed a hoof over my shoulders.

“I do?” I mean I liked her a lot. I spent a lot of time thinking about her… did I love her though?

“I think your feelings for her run deeper than ya think. But, you’ll have to find out for yourself. This Dos-à-Dos sounds like a nice filly. Maybe she misread ya?”

“Yeah she is nice… I just couldn’t do that with her. But how do I know when I’m ready?”

Applejack laughed. “I don’t know, sugarcube. You just know, I suppose. If you and Sweetie enter a relationship and want to become intimate… you’ll know. Just close the dang door and keep it down; that’s all I would ask.”

I looked up at her with my eyebrows raised. “Are you saying—’

‘All I’m saying is if and when you get to that point, you’ll do it no matter what I say. You have good enough sense to do things right and to be safe. I trust ya not to bring a new filly home every week or something crazy. It’s better than sneaking off into the bushes and doing it.”

I shifted in my seat. There was probably more of a story here than she was willing to share. All I had to remember was to keep the door shut? I had to get to that stage in my non-existent relationship first… I wondered what she’d think if I had brought a filly home she’s never met, taken her up to my room, and had her spend the night. AJ never judged, but I don’t think she’d approve.

My thoughts were interrupted by a knock on the door. Applejack got up to answer it.

It was quiet for a second; then I heard the door open. “Well, hi there, Sweetie Belle. She’s in the kitchen.”

“Are you coming to the show tonight?” Sweetie Belle asked warmly.

“I wouldn’t miss it.”

Sweetie Belle entered the kitchen beaming. AJ followed shortly after. “Good, you aren’t in bed.”

“Well, good morning to you too, Sweetie,” I said sarcastically.

She sat across from me at the table. She leaned over the table, coming in close to me. “Good morning,” she said with a breathy reply.

If I didn’t know better, I’d say she was flirting with me. I frowned at her as I caught the corners of Applejack’s mouth twitching. I knew she was fighting real hard to suppress a huge grin. “Are you alright, Sweetie?”

“Nope,” she shook her head. “I'm excited!” She moved closer; her nose was practically touching mine. “Aren’t you?”

I felt hot in my cheeks. I just had to move a little closer to kiss her. “I-I’m a little nervous.”

Sweetie Belle sat down in her chair. “Oh. I guess that’s reasonable. But you should be excited. If we get this…” she lowered her voice, and gave a nervous glance at Applejack. “If we get this, TS said he would have a contract for us.”

My heart was beating hard. “Not helping.”

Sweetie cringed. “Sorry.”

I rolled my eyes. She was in such a chipper mood; it was hard not to gush all over her. But I kept it together.

“What are you two fillies doin’ before the show tonight?” asked Applejack. “It sure is a mighty fine day; why don’t you two go on a picnic? I’ll pack y’all some apple fritters.”

I blushed madly as I buried my face in my hooves. She just couldn’t help herself could she? “I’m not sure we’ll have time for—”

“I think it’s a great idea!” exclaimed Sweetie.

I shot her a confused look. “You do? Sweetie, you know our show is tonight, right?”

Sweetie sat back in her chair. “And? It’s not like we’re doing this picnic all day. We’ll go get things set up after.”

“Okay…” I sighed. My sister was too much. She wasn’t going to pester me about Sweetie Belle, but she was going to force us into romantic settings now. If her and Rarity decided team up…

“What’d I tell ya,” Applejack said playfully.

I grumbled and stood up from my chair and stretched. “Should we get Scoots?”

“For the picnic?” Sweetie Belle frowned. “You know she’s not into those kinds of things.”

I shrugged. I couldn’t think of a time she said she hated picnics; not recently anyway. She wasn’t even that tomcolt like anymore.

“I don’t have enough apple fritters for all three of ya. We all know that Scootaloo can eat like no pony’s business.”

“Yeah… how is she not fat?” asked Sweetie Belle with a hint of irritation. “I can only eat half of what she eats and gain weight. And I still had to lose weight for the Filly-Tonix.”

I looked over Sweetie’s body casually. She wasn’t fat; not even close. Sure, she slimmed down a little in the Filly-Tonix. I had always assumed that was from the constant activity. But had to lose weight? If she had lost any more, her ribs would start to show.

“Super pegasus metabolism, I suppose.” Applejack shrugged. “I’ll pack everything up for you two. After the show, I’ll make some more so Scoots can have some too.”

“Ooh, thanks, Applejack. What a perfect way to spend the rest of the morning,” Sweetie chirped.

“You betcha, Sugarcube.” She flashed me a knowing grin.

A few minutes later, Applejack had packed a basket with a checkered blanket and apple fritters. We headed out the door and into the orchard. We decided not to go too far, and found a nice shaded place in the orchard on top of one of our orchard’s rolling hills. It wasn’t much, but it gave us a view of the entire farm.

“Perfect spot,” Sweetie Belle said as she used her magic to unfold and stretch out the checkered blanket. She lay on her side, stretching out completely.

I secretly gave her figure a few glances as I pretend to find a comfortable position on the opposite side of the blanket. She had no idea what a tease she really was.

“And the grass is soft. I’m just going to sleep here until the show.” She rolled over onto her back, staring up at the sky.

I took a fritter out of the basket and ate. With Sweetie cloud gazing, I was less discreet. Her pearly-white body was smooth and lean. Her hind legs were bent at the knees over her lower belly, covering her teats, but only just. The curve of her hindquarters and the roundness of her butt was perfect. Her hip bone just barely visible, and the way her stomach tapered off to her undercarriage... She didn't have bulky colt muscles or hips like I had. No, she was sculpted perfection.

Sweetie rolled over to face me, and I had to quickly tear my eyes away from her. “How do you feel about this show?” she asked.

“I always get nervous, but I think this will be it. We’ve raised the stakes by adding them dancers.” I offered her a fritter from the basket, which she took graciously and nibbled on.

Sweetie smiled. “Ooh that reminds me, Dos-à-Dos seemed to be getting a little friendly with you—I should've warned you about her… I keep forgetting to do that—” Sweetie shook her head. She was blushing madly. “Anyway, she’s a bit, um… well she gets around, and she’s all about fillies; if you know what I mean.”

I had to suppress a laugh as the events from last night came rushing into my mind. “Ya don’t say… well I think she’s really nice.”

“She is,” said Sweetie Belle. Then she frowned. “Wait… you mean you think she’s nice?”

I nodded. Sweetie Belle’s jaw dropped. “What? I thought you knew.” I gestured hopelessly. “Everyone else seems to know,” I muttered.

“I-I had no idea. Really? If this is a joke, it isn’t funny.”

“I ain’t jokin.’ I’ve had a thing for fillies since like always.” I wanted to say I had a thing for her, but that will have to wait; her mind was already blown by this.

“I guess we never really talked about it…” Sweetie Belle looked down at the blanket.

“True… we usually just listen to Scootaloo’s sex talks and innapropiate jokes.” We both giggled. “Remember when Twist overheard Scoots talking about how big of a stallion she thinks she can take, and we kept trying to convince her that no stallion was that big—”

“And then she went on about some erotic dream with two big stallions…” Added Sweetie Belle, talking over me.

“Yeah…” I laughed. “She probably thought we were the grossest fillies ever.”

“She certainly didn’t talk to us much after that,” Sweetie giggled. “Oh that’s terrible. We should apologize to her. Scoots is just very… open on that subject.”

“Horny pegasus,” I mutter. Sweetie Belle snorted. “Well I guess you know what I like.” I held my fore hooves up. “The question now is, what do you like, Sweetie? Or as Scoots would say: do you like the pie or do you like the meat stick? Or both?”

Sweetie’s jaw dropped. “Bloom! You are so bad!” Sweetie Belle’s face had gone bright red. Partially from laughter, and partially from the very direct question.

There was a good chance everything I had hoped for—lusted for—would be shattered right here. I shouldn't have asked. I found myself leaning forward as Sweetie Belle struggled to answer my question.

“I-um-I’m not sure?” Sweetie looked up at me. “I really hadn’t thought about that stuff… much. I’ve been so focused on music and stuff…”

Maybe Dos-à-Dos was right. She didn’t know herself what she was. But I found that hard to believe. I knew pretty quickly, even if I didn’t want to admit it. Scoots knew right away, and announced to all of Ponyville practically that she was bi.

“Come on, Sweetie, you’ve been in heat. What do you think about when you… you know?”

Sweetie’s stretched out body curled up. She breathed heavily and avoided my eyes. I cringed at her discomfort.

That was stupid. She wasn’t Scootaloo, who’d give me a detailed description of what she got off to each night. Sweetie was bashful about this stuff. Probably because of something Rarity had instilled into her about being a lady or some nonsense.

“You don’t have to answer that,” I said quickly. “I’m sorry; I shouldn’t have asked such a question—you know what? Let’s just forget the whole thing and talk about our show.”

Sweetie Belle relaxed a little. “I don’t know,” she said simply. “I don’t know why it’s so hard for me to talk about this. When I’m in heat I just… sort of… do it. Maybe something is wrong with me because I don’t know?”

I sat up quickly, giving her a serious look. “Hey look, Sweetie, nothing is wrong with you.”

“Are you sure? I head Scoots talk all the time about this stuff and how she thinks certain colts are hot and other fillies are attractive. And now you say you’ve always known you liked fillies…” She trailed off. “I think certain ponies are good looking, but I’m not sure if I’m attracted to them.”

“Hey, it’s okay. Maybe it takes some longer to know than others. Does it change anything if you know or not right now?”

Sweetie Belle thought for a minute before answering. “I guess not,” she dejected.

I took a deep breath. My dumb flank opened this can of worms. There was no way out except to dive straight in! “Okay, so imagine this… you’re in the most intense heat at its peak, and you need some relief…” Sweetie Belle tensed up a little. “You go to hoof yourself raw—you’re in crazy bad heat—what’s the first fantasy that comes to your mind without even thinking about it?”

“Um, I guess—”

I cut across her. “Don’t think! What is it?”

“A filly going down on me!” Sweetie Belle exclaimed. There was dead silence; we head nothing but the occasional chirps from birds. We stared at each other, and then, Sweetie clapped a hoof over her mouth, her eyes wide.

My heart was practically exploding with glee.

Sweetie Belle was the first to break the silence. “I-I guess I’m a fillyfooler…”

I had to play devil’s advocate just to be sure. “You said a filly going down on you… but would you eat out another filly?” My face went bright red. By ‘another filly’ I was mostly meaning me.

“Maybe? I’m not sure. The idea doesn’t gross me out whereas sucking off a colt just seems…”

“Nasty?” I suggested.

“Yeah.” Her eyes light up with realization. “Yes. Remember how I always hated that colt smell? That musky smell?”

She had complained about colts in the classroom smelling bad many times. I would always agree, and Scootaloo never noticed; she just thought we were crazy. “It’s supposed to turn mares on or something. I always thought it would once I got older…”

I nodded. “Yeah it doesn’t work for us, I suppose.”

I was glad to finally have an answer to a question that’s been bugging me for ages. And I was glad to have helped Sweetie discover something about herself. I, of course, wanted to ask her if the mare scent turned her on. Or, more specifically, if my scent turned her on. But those were pretty invasive questions. She had just come to the realization a few seconds ago. There was no need to overload her.

We made eye contact briefly, and for no particular reason we busted out giggling. We laughed and laughed, rolling and slapping the ground with our hooves until our sides hurt.

I wasn’t sure if I was imagining things or if Sweetie was looking at me a little differently now. She smiled differently, and her face radiated a different light.

Another quiet moment filled the space after our giggles had subsided. For a while our heavy breathing was all we could hear. And then, Sweetie Belle snickered quietly before speaking. “I can just see how this conversation will go with Rarity...

“Hey, Rarity it turns out I like fillies.

“Oh, Sweetums, are you sure?” Sweetie said in an eerily accurate impression of Rarity. “Yep. Apple Bloom asked me if I’d stick my tongue in some filly’s foal hole, and I said yes—”

“Sweetie!” I cried, choking on my own saliva.

“What?” she asked innocently. “You think Scoots is the only one who can talk like that?”

“Umm, yes?” We both snorted with laughed again.

She nodded. “You’re probably right. But can you imagine?”

“Not really, I must admit. AJ kinda already knew when I told her. It wasn’t much of a thing, really.”

“I’m sure Rarity doesn’t care, but it will shock her.”

“She might already know,” I suggested. “I think they start suspecting it when you aren’t talking about colts at a certain age. And you were with a bunch of fillies on tour, sharing hotel rooms… wearing tight spandex together, dancing together—”

“Point taken!” Sweetie Belle rolled her eyes. “This is all still new to me. I will tell her when I’m ready. I mean… it’s still so…” she shook her head. “Overwhelming. How could I have been so clueless about it?”

“I guess when you’re so focused on other things you sorta overlook it.”

“Your trick worked! Awkward, but it really helped me realize that in the heat of the moment, I would be thinking about other fillies.”

“Exactly. AJ once told me we all have certain things that are just part of who we are and never change, like our preferences and such,” I replied enthusiastically. There was more to what my sister had said, but I couldn’t remember the specifics: I got the general idea across.

Sweetie’s eyes lit up. “That’s true!” she squeaked. “Pony psychology suggests there are innate traits we will always default to. Like, are you right hoofed or left? You can train yourself to be good with your off hoof, but in a time of stress of reflex, you’ll default to your dominant hoof. This is true in sexuality too. You always have a default preference—”

“Sweetie, you’re such a dork.” I stuck my tongue out at her.

“But it’s interesting, and Twilight will be proud of me for learning that and making those connections.”

Oh, she was such a bookworm. And it was always really cute when she just knowledge dumps everything so matter-of-factly. If her music career never takes off, at least she’s got the brains to do just about anything.

“Anyway, back to what started all of this,” Sweetie said. “You and Dosie?” she asked raising her eyebrows mockingly.

“What? No. I just think she’s nice. We aren’t dating or doing anything.” My face went bright red.

“You two would be cute together.”

I was forced to agree. But I wasn’t ready to jump into something physical, especially a one-night-stand. I simply shrugged. “Maybe. She’s not into relationships though.”

Sweetie Belle nodded. “Yeah, I heard she kinda sleeps around. She was going out with one of the other fillies at the academy back in the day. They were inseparable. Then that other filly moved away.”

“That sucks,” I added.

“It gets worse,” Sweetie’s voice darkened. “See Dosie was madly in love with her. She even went to visit her one summer in Manehatten, I think. Anyway Dosie found out she was seeing someone else.” Sweetie lowered her head, staring at the ground. “It broke her heart. She was beyond devastated. She didn’t come back to the academy for almost a year.”

My heart sank. If I was confused about my decision last night, it was nothing to how I felt for her now. Maybe she wanted more than a quick roll in the hay? Maybe she just didn’t want to risk getting close until she was certain… the heart can be so fragile in the hooves of those we love most.

“She came out of her depression,” Sweetie Belle said, bringing me out of me thoughts. “She came back, had a few flings with some of the girls, but nothing serious.”

“Wow, I had no idea…”

“Yeah, she won’t talk about it much. I think it’s still too painful for her. We all felt so bad for her… she’s doing good now though.” Sweetie shook her head and stretched her hind legs. “Anyway, we have a show to do tonight.”

I nodded. I couldn’t help feeling a bit carefree. I still had no idea if she liked me like that or if she ever would. But the Dos-à-Dos history rested heavy over my shoulders now.

“We do.” I looked into the picnic basket to find one more fritter. “Ya want it?”

Sweetie shook her head.

“Do they taste funny?” I asked, noticing the half-eaten one next to her

“No, they’re just a lot of sugar.”

“Sweetie… I saw you drink an entire milkshake last week,” I protested.

“I was in heat,” she snapped. “I get cravings.”

“I’m just teasin. If you don’t want it, I’ll eat it.” I reached for the fritter, but Sweetie swatted my hoof away.

“No. Mine.”

“Hey. You said—”

“I said it was a lot of sugar. I never said anything about giving it to you.” Sweetie Belle ate the remainder of it in one bite. She flashed me the most adorable smile after, my heart practically melted. Sometimes I hated how much control she had over my emotions with the simplest actions. Sometimes I loved it; she could smile at me, and all of my troubles washed away.

I ate the last one quickly and stood up. Sweetie Belle folded the blanket quickly with her expert magical skill.

By mid-afternoon we were at the Ponyville City Center. We took a long way around to avoid large crowds on the main roads. We entered through the side door to the backstage area. Feather Step was pacing the entire area muttering her lines to herself in a rushed agitated voice.

“There you two are!” she said and rushed over to us. “I’m, like, freaking out right now. Holy Celestia this place looks so much bigger from up here on stage. And the curtain isn’t even up yet!”

I put a hoof on her shoulder. “It’s going to be okay. You’ll be great! I was really nervous the first time—heck I’m nervous now. I’m singing lead this time.”

Feather Step nodded. “I-I know. But what if I forget my lines?”

“We’ll deal with it if and when that happens,” Sweetie Belle said quickly. “It has happened to us all. I got my tongue tied when introducing the FIlly-Tonix in Las Pegasus. I said, ‘hello Baltimare our show to you welcome.’ I was mortified. Especially because of the deafening silence after, and I realized what I had said.”

Feather Step clapped a hoof over her mouth. “Oh wow. What happened after that?”

“I would have been okay with Celestia banishing me to Tartarus right there…” Sweetie smiled. “I played it off as a joke. It was a stroke of genius that will never come again. I said, ‘Come on, Las Pegasus! Where’s your spirit? I just insulted your city by calling it Baltimare! You were supposed to boo! Are you ponies dead out there?” Sweetie Belle shrugged. “It worked, they laughed.”

“Wow, nice save,” I said. “Hey, why didn’t you tell Scoots and I this one?”

Sweetie Belle shrugged. “You two wanted jucy behind the scene stories.

“Anyway, point is, Feather Step, it’s not the end of the world if you do. But I think you’ll be great. You know your lines, and the rest of it is dancing, and you can do that really well.”

Feather Step exhaled loudly. “Okay. I got this! Just like dancing with some talking in it. How hard can it be?”

“Exactly,” I agreed. “So, should we run through it a few times?”

“Yes,” Sweetie agreed. “Are the musicians here yet?”

“Yeah, they were practicing in the band room, but half the dancers aren’t here yet.” Feather Step said.

No sooner had she said that when the door swung open, and in walked Dos-à-Dos and the rest of the dancers. I avoided her gaze, as she looked in my direction.

She approached us. She seemed a little tense, but that was understandable. She didn’t flash me any cute glances or smiles. I guess I had gotten used to them. “Hey, you two. Are you guys ready for this?”

“Yep,” Sweetie Belle said cheerfully.

“I reckon so. Feather Step is a little spun up, but I think we helped calm her down a bit.”

Dosie made a dismissive gesture. “She’s always like that. Don’t worry, she’ll be fine.”

“Well, now that we’re all here, I think we should run through it at least once.” Sweetie Belle looked around the stage, visually counting everyone. “Just a dry run, no singing.”

“Why no singing?” asked Dosie.

“So we don’t ruin our voices before the show,” I replied, looking at her. It was the first time we had made eye contact. Her big blue eyes gazed into me, and the sides of her mouth twitched into a small smile.

Did I hurt her last night? Sweetie said she hasn’t been close to anyone since her horrible breakup… maybe she thought I was different? It was a lot of flirting for a quick roll in the hay… maybe she wanted to see where it could’ve gone?

Alright, everypony!” Sweetie Belle yelled. Her voice echoed through the stage. Our two set pieces did little to absorb any sound. “We’re going to do a run-through! Positions!”

“Um, Apple Bloom. Can I have a quick word,” Dosie said quietly.

Startled and perplexed by her request, I nodded and followed her out of hearshot of Sweetie Belle.

“Hey, um,” she said quietly. “H-how are you?”

I frowned. “Fine?”

She shook her head. “I’m sorry… I’m not good at this. I-I meant are you okay with me? Did I make things weird between us?”

I exhaled. “Oh, no. Not at all.”

“I-I was just wondering. You seemed a little distant and not yourself… but I guess that’s because of the show.” She looked down and stomped her hoof. “Gosh, I’m so stupid—”

I put a hoof on her shoulder, calming her. “Hey, don’t be so hard on yourself.” I took a deep breath. “I thought I had really hurt you last night. Okay?”

She looked into my eyes, and smiled sadly. “And you were feeling guilty for saying no, right?”

“Yeah,” I muttered.

“Oh, Apple Bloom, you really are an amazing pony. You have such a wonderful heart. Don’t feel bad. I’m fine.”

“Are-are you sure? Sweetie told me the whole story, and I just feel so bad. We were really hitting it off and—”

“What are you two doing over there? Come on!” Sweetie Belle shouted.

“We’ll talk later,” I said before rushing off to my place on the stage.

We ran through it twice without issue. As it got closer to show time, we set up our set pieces behind the curtain. One was a simple cross section of a shop, and the other was a dance club setting. They sat at opposite ends of the stage, leaving the middle wide open.

Talent Scout arrived backstage about a half hour before we were to start. He carried a messenger bag over his shoulder and wore a neutral expression… until he saw the hip hop dance team fillies, and a smile broke out across his face.

“Sweetie Belle,” he said with ridiculous levels of formality. It would almost seem like he was mocking her. “I never received a script… I had no idea you’ve expanded the production.”

Sweetie Belle shrugged. “Our show is a surprise!”

“But backup dancers?” he asked. He seemed particularly interested in them. His eyes lingered on Feather Step for a few seconds longer than what one would consider polite. “Are you recreating the Filly-Tonix?” Talent Scout’s eyes were practically glowing.

“To make this show work we had to add some dancers and actors.”

Talent Scout stared blankly at me as if I had spoken in a forgeign language. It was a simple yet effective way to make me feel small, unimportant, and stupid.

“You will just have to see,” Sweetie chirped, filling in the awkward silence.

It was enough to pull his glare off me and back onto Sweetie Belle. “I’m sure you’ll be great.” He held up his messenger bag. “I have some things for you to look over if all goes well tonight.”

Sweetie’s eyes lit up. “Oooh. Contracts?”

Talent Scout gave a sly smile, but didn’t say anything. Sweetie beamed and jumped up and down on the spot. “Now get out there and knock them dead.” He swatted her on the hind quarters, just above her tail dock. He then walked passed me without a second look.

I glared after him, grinding my teeth. My eyes were locked on his head. He can insult me, but touching my friend? Eyeing the others?

I knew what I had to do. I needed to do what was right. The show be damned! I was walking after him. I saw ponies around me, but they didn’t matter. I was almost to him, when something grabbed me, and prevented me from moving forward. I struggled against it, but soon found it pointless.

I turned to see a green haze around my body.

“It’s not worth it,” said a sweet voice in my ear. I turned to see Dos-à-Dos effortlessly holding me in her magical aura.

“Dosie, let me go,” I grunted. “I need to kick the snot out of him.”

“I know. I saw the whole thing. If you do that… it will only end badly for you.”

“It’s Sweetie I’m doing it for,” I spat.

Dos-à-Dos sighed. “It will ruin her too. Stallions like that wield a lot of power. He will ruin her, and you.”

“But, but he just—and it’s not even the first time he’s done it! No one disrespects my friends like that! Let me go!” I snarled. I was beside myself shaking.

“I know…” Dosie said softly. “Apple Bloom please calm down and listen.” Her magical aura fell, and she wrapped me in her hooves.

Her warm softness did calm me. I was reducing to breathing short and hotly. She continued to hold me and rub my back softly. Slowly, my breathing slowed. “That’s it. Just breathe,” she whispered.

“Look at me,” she said. “He’s a scumbag. He’s taking advantage of Sweetie’s dreams and ambitions, and worst of all, sees her as an object he can use. But if you go pick a fight with him, you both will be very sorry.

“After the show, report him. Report him to Princess Twilight even.”

“Okay,” I said flatly. She was right, and that annoyed me. I was acting like an idiot.

“We have a show starting very soon. You’re the star tonight. We’re counting on you to carry the performance. You can deal with him after. I can come too, as a witness, and support if you feel like you need it..”

I nodded. “Right. Show must go on. I just don’t like how he ignores me, makes me feel stupid, how he treats Sweetie Belle…”

“Just remember… we are about to put on a kick ass show—a show you two wrote—not him.”

I smiled at her as she released me from her embrace. “You really think it’s that good?”

She nodded. “If you don’t believe in your own work, no one else will either.” She pecked me on the cheek. “Break a leg. Curtain in ten minutes.”

I stood there stunned. My mind was blown. Was that the difference between the soulless productions mass produced with writers and consultants and sessions musicians and genuine art? Was this the machine Applejack referred to? We were making a very big mistake working with TS, and whatever he had in that bag wasn’t going to be good for us at all…

A frantic Sweetie Belle came rushing over. “There you are! Get into costume! Hurry!”

My eyes went wide as I remembered Dos-à-Dos saying ten minutes. I swore under my breath and rushed to the changing room, Sweetie Belle on my tail. “What the hay were you doing?” she squeaked.

“Wha—nothing.” I shook my head. I didn’t like lying, but now wasn’t the time. “I’ll tell you later.”

“Ugh, here take this.” She tossed me a dress and four heeled boots.

The dress was a black and white cow-pony formal dress. It had several small sequence diamonds down the flanks and around the hips. The collar was double breasted with larger diamonds that went down in a V shape to the center of my chest. The boots were black with silver points at the toes.

I was ready in record time. Sweetie Belle had applied my makeup with the most precise magical skill I had ever seen. Luckily for her, she didn’t need any makeup for her part.

We left the changing room with minutes to spare. We arrived with the rest of the dancers, who were looking around frantically.

“Oh thank Celestia,” Feather Step said. “I thought you were going to miss it.”

“Wow, you look nice, Apple Bloom,” said Dos-à-Dos with an approving smile.

“We have a full house,” said Sweetie Belle peering through the little side window. Feather Step shifted nervously. “... and here… we… go. Break a leg, fillies.”

The lights went down, a single spot light lit the center of the stage. The rumble of voices talking over another died. Silence. I took a deep breath, cleared my mind, and stepped out onto the stage.

I stepped into the light; it helped blind me to the fact that thousands of eyes were upon me. “Howdy there, fillies and gentlecolts! Welcome to our second Belle and Bloom production!” A cheer rose like wall of sound, and then fell silent quickly. “We hope you’ll enjoy the show. Today we’ll focus on things many young fillies and mares struggle with. And yes colts and stallions struggle too. We want you out there, especially those young fillies and colts, to know you ain’t alone. We hear ya.”

A few cheers and a few cat-calls rang out in my pause. “We hope you’ll enjoy the show!”

I stepped off the stage as the curtain rose, revealing Sweetie Belle standing next to a clothing rack full of dresses. Dos-à-Dos, Feather Step, and the other dancers moved about several clothing racks holding dresses. They would occasionally take one off the rack to examine it.

“I do love this dress. But, why does it have to be a size two?” Feather Step asked, overstating her outrage.

“This one is nice,” Dos-à-Dos added.

“Are you crazy? What will ponies think of me in that? How are we going to, like, not look fat and not look like we’re trying too hard?”

Sweetie Belle pulled a dress off a rack, and held it up to her. She did a quick twirl and smiled.

Feather Step moved toward her quickly. “Size six?” she laughed hysterically. “You silly unicorn, you’re not fat. Quit screwing around and get a size one like all of us. Unless you’re like miss perfect over there in her size zero.”

Dos-à-Dos grinned. “That’s right.” She ran a hoof through her mane. “I only eat once a day to not get fat. Can you imagine me in a size two? I think I’d rather die.”

Feather Step nodded. “The shame would kill us all…” she shuddered. “Size six. Too funny.”

Sweetie Belle reluctantly grabbed a different dress. “There. We’ll see you tonight, fatty.” The other fillies burst into a fit of giggles. “Or… I should say, we’ll hear you coming.” They giggled again.

Sweetie looked down at the ground, and the audience awed loudly. “I’m, like, joking… you’ll look nice in that dress.”

The lights went down, and the curtain fell. Two of the fillies quickly moved a mirror and dresser onto the stage, then moved off. The light came back up. Sweetie Belle was trying to stuff herself into the too-small dress. She struggled and flailed about until a loud tearing sound was heard, making her freeze. Pouting, she pulled the torn fabric away. She gazed into the mirror, she pushed on her stomach, and bent her head down and wept softly.

The audience awed softly again for her.

That was my queue. The spotlight on Sweetie dimmed and turned a shade of blue as another light shone on me. A twangy banjo started softly as I approached the microphone, and stood right next to Sweetie Belle. Then it repeated a little faster as the drum beat started. My heart was pounding as I opened my mouth and sang out.

Why do you keep on staring?
That mirror, mirror, it ain't fair at all
Dress sizes can't define, don't let the world decide what's beautiful
No.

I stood behind Sweetie and pulled her to her feet.

You won't make yourself a name if you follow the rules
History gets made when you're acting a fool
So don't hold it back and just run it
Show what you got and just own it
No, they can't tear you apart

I did a little twirl.

If you trust your rebel heart, ride it into battle
Don't be afraid, take the road less traveled

Sweetie Belle smiled softly and sang out, harmonizing perfectly.

Wear out your boots and kick up the gravel
Don't be afraid, take the road less traveled on
Oh, ooh whoa, oh, ooh whoa
Take the road less traveled on

Sweetie Belle looked into the mirror and smiled. She started dancing around in no particular way and off beat swinging her hips wildly.

Don't follow anyone
March to the rhythm of a different drum
Why do we analyze, break out, and criticize the crazy ones?
Oh

Sweetie Belle did a crazy running-in-place move that she ad libbed on the spot. The audience laughed.

We both leaned over onto the same microphone for the chorus.

If you trust your rebel heart, ride it into battle
Don't be afraid, take the road less traveled
Wear out your boots and kick up the gravel
Don't be afraid, take the road less traveled on
Oh, ooh whoa, oh, ooh whoa
Take the road less traveled on

I opened the dresser and brought out the dress she picked out. Sweetie quickly put it on, and did another twirl, showing off her dress.

Put your hooves up, show me that you're one of a kind
Put your hooves up, let me hear your voice tonight
Oh!

Sweetie Belle skipped across the stage. The lights came up for that section revealing a dance floor, and the rest of the backup dancers on the dance floor.

The music faded.

Sweetie Belle entered the dance area, and the other fillies stopped their routine to stare at her.

“Oh, wow, you, like, really are fat,” said Feather Step.

Sweetie Belle stood stunned for a second; she walked past them and walked onto the stage. Upbeat disco sounding music started playing, and she started dancing. She danced like she was the only one in the room, like no one was watching her. Off beat, out of step, but having a blast none-the-less.

As soon as the music started playing, I did my big twirl I had practiced many times. Remembering Dosie’s advice, I remembered to lean back a little more on my turn. I nailed it! It was better than any rehearsal.

We both began to sing.

Ooh
Ooh
Ooh

You can dance
You can jive
Having the time of your life
Ooh, see that girl
Watch that scene
Diggin’ the dancing queen

The other fillies crossed their fore-legs, looking cross.

Friday night and the lights are low
Looking out for a place to go
Where they play the right music
Getting in the swing
You come to look for a king
Anybody could be that guy
Night is young and the music's high
With a bit of rock music
Everything is fine
You're in the mood for a dance
And when you get the chance

Slowly the other fillies began to join her on the dance floor. Dosie pantomimed showing Sweetie basic dance steps. Feather Step remained stubbornly not having fun. The rest joined in for the chorus.

You are the dancing queen
Young and sweet
Only seventeen
Dancing queen
Feel the beat from the tambourine, oh yeah
You can dance
You can jive
Having the time of your life
Ooh, see that girl
Watch that scene
Diggin’ the dancing queen

I joined everyone else on the dance floor, standing in front of them. I gestured to Sweetie Belle.

You're a teaser, you turn 'em on
Leave 'em burning and then you're gone
Looking out for another
Anyone will do
You're in the mood for a dance
And when you get the chance

For the refrain I beckoned to Feather Step, who turned up her nose. We all beckoned. She threw up her hooves, and joined us on the dance floor. We all sang the chorus at the top of our lungs.

The music came to a halt, the lights went down, and the curtain fell. The house erupted into thunderous cheers and hoof stomping, and whistles. We all took center stage and bowed to the increasing volume.

“Thank you all!” I screamed into the microphone. “Give it up for the amazing Sweetie Belle!” The noise grew lounder. As it started to die down I shouted again. “And a special thanks to the hip hop dance team from the Ponyville Dance Academy!” The cheers rose to deafening levels again.

“And let’s not forget the amazing Apple Bloom!” Sweetie Belle shouted. I received the loudest cheer yet. It was amazing the amount of noise they were making. I can’t remember the crowds going this crazy for the Filly-Tonix.

“I’m Belle! She’s Bloom! We are Belle and Bloom, and that’s our show! Good night, Ponyville!” Sweetie shouted.

We left the stage. My ears were ringing, and I could still hear they cheering and stomping like no other.

“That was amazing!” Dos-à-Dos squeezed Sweetie Belle and kissed her cheek, making her blush.

“I did it!” Feather Step shouted.

“I told you, you’d do great!” I hugged her tightly. “You were awesome!”

“And so were you!” I was scooped up into Dos-à-Dos’s strong embrace. I was forced to think of all the times I’ve been held by her in very recent times. “That spin was flawless. Your singing was unbelievable!” She kissed both of my cheeks.

It was an amazing feeling. We were on top of Equestria. This was our greatest night ever!

Open Up Your Eyes

We celebrated amongst ourselves backstage. Sweetie Belle had gone off to find Talent Scout; I couldn’t care less where he was. Our second show had packed the city center to its limits. What did we need him for anyways?

The flood gates had opened, and the ponies with passes came rushing backstage. I greeted several excited fans.

A sandy colored mare with puffy red eyes hugged me tightly, thanking me. “It-it’s the kind of thing I needed,” she said between heavy sobs.

I wasn’t sure how to react to the sudden attention. Ponies were thanking me, and telling me how much our show meant to them. We had set out to put on a good show, and insert a positive message, and I knew we’d be speaking to a lot of ponies who struggled with their image, but I didn’t expect this.It was surreal that we had actually moved several to tears.

Dos-à-Dos and Feather Step talked excitedly with a group of reporters. I edged my way out of the backstage pass ponies toward them. “Oh yes, The Equestrian Dancer would love to feature an article of you fillies,” one of the reporters said proudly. “We like to highlight talented dancing. We’d like to include the other dancer, Belle. She did the most incredible thing by dancing offbeat while singing on the beat and in key and everything.”

Feather Step and Dos-à-Dos exchanged excited grins. “I’m sure Sweetie will gladly give an interview. Should we plan it sometime tomorrow? At the Dance Academy?”

A unicorn reported levitated a pocket calendar out of his saddle bags, and gazed upon it for a few seconds. “Yes… I have noon open.”

“Aw shucks, Sugarcube, come here!”

“Wha—” Applejack had come behind me, hugging me tightly. “Hey, sis.”

“That was really good. I’m proud of ya. I heard them all talking as they left… lots of ponies out there really touched by the message.”

I had just escaped AJ’s clutches when Sweetie Belle returned, looking worried. “I can’t find him anywhere. I think he left.”

I knew he had something Sweetie was really wanting, and alluded she was going to get it after the show, but I felt at ease that he wasn’t here. But to keep things civil, I simply shrugged.

“Oh, Sweetie, some magazine wants to interview you tomorrow with Feather Step and Dos-à-Dos.”

Her eyes lit up. “Ooh!” was all she said as she ran off to talk with Dos-à-Dos.

Applejack chuckled. “You two are getting more and more famous as we go. Twilight had nothing but good things to say. Pinkie Pie is pretty much bouncing with how good it was. I think all of Equestria will know about this show by tomorrow, if I know Pinkie.”

I saw Scootaloo fighting her way through the crowd, and I waved her over to me.

“Okay, all I’m going to say is... awesome!” Scootaloo hovered in the air as her wings buzzed excitedly.

“Glad you liked it.” I smiled at her.

“That part where you twirled across the entire stage was super cool! You spun around so many times!” Scootaloo twirled, spinning around two full turns on the spot, then stopping herself facing me.

“Not bad…” I nodded approvingly. Scootaloo could be a good dancer without even trying if she was interested.

“Where’s Sweetie?”

“She’s over there.” I pointed to where she was standing with Feather Step and Dos-à-Dos as I started walking in their direction.

Scootaloo jumped over to Sweetie Belle once she was close enough, practically tackling her in a hug. Sweetie Belle squeaked, and then giggled when she realized who it was. “Oh, Scoots.”

“Awesome show! You were all great.”

Scootaloo went into a fan-crazed review of her favorite parts. Dos-à-Dos nodded her head to the left. I frowned, and she did it again, and I finally got the idea. I stepped out of the group.

“What’s up?” I asked quietly. “If it’s about Talent Scout, we can work on it tomorrow.”

She shook her head. “No—I mean yes tomorrow. I was going to ask if you could introduce me to your cute friend?”

I stared at her, mouth agape. “Y-you mean Scootaloo?” I asked quietly.

Dos-à-Dos nodded with a wry smile. “Yeah, she’s really cute, and I can tell… that filly swings both ways.”

“Ummm…”

“Hey, you had your chance to get this.” Dosie wriggled her butt. “Too late.” She smirked.

I rolled my eyes. “I’ll introduce you two. Scoots is a lot more… a lot more… well you’ll see. I think you’ll like her. She’s very direct,” I added.

“A filly who knows what she wants…” Dos-à-Dos shot a glance at Sweetie Belle.

“It so turns out, Sweetie likes fillies too. I asked her earlier today.”

Dosie nodded and shrugged. “Yeah probably.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Look, Sweetie Belle is… pretty unaware…” she trailed off as a particularly loud fit of giggles erupted from the group. “Just don’t rush in at her is all I’m trying to say.”

“Apple Bloom! Come on! Celebration at Sugarcube Corner!” Sweetie’s voice shouted over the excited chatter.

I followed behind the group of over-excited fillies, my thoughts drowning out their banter. Once the post-show euphoria had worn off, I couldn’t get the nasty feeling out of my mind that TS was up to something… It was great he wasn't there in the moment… it bugged me more that I couldn’t really think of why he left. I mean what was his problem anyway? Even if he doesn’t like the show, we’re becoming pretty popular, which can only be a good thing, right?

“So, I’m thinking we should add the hip-hop dancers to our show,” said Sweetie Belle, trying to maintain an air of nonchalance.

“Oh wow, really?” asked Feather Stepp.

“Think of the possibilities,” Sweetie added enthusiastically, dropping all pretense that this was some off-handed idea. “What do you think?” Sweetie Looked back at me, grinning. I nodded and smiled.

“Wow, Sweetie Belle, that’s a really big offer,” said Dosie. “Thank you. That was a lot of fun, I think I’d love to do more.”

“Good! You can help us write our next show!”

“Me?” asked Dos-à-Dos.”I don’t think I can write music… I’ll help with choreography.”

“Done! You are now the choreographer.”

“Hold up,” said Feather Step. “I don’t want to leave the dance team. So I’m only in this if it doesn’t interfere with competitions.”

“Same,” added Dos-à-Dos.

“We’ll work around it,” said Sweetie quickly. “But if we go on tour…”

“We’re not a troupe, Sweetie,” said Feather Step with a hint of exasperation.

“Not yet,” Sweetie sang back. “As long as we’re doing Ponyville shows, I’d love to keep you all as part of the show.”

“Heck, with the way things are going, I’m not sure we’ll need to go anywhere. It seems ponies are coming from all over for this.” I called out from behind them.

The night dragged on at Sugarcube Corner. Pinkie did everything to keep everyone at top energy levels, and the sugary treats weren’t in short supply. I faked a smile, signed a few autographs, but I think we mostly annoyed the patrons with the excessive noise. Pretty soon it was just us in the shop.

“I, like, can’t wait to dance class tomorrow. We’re like so popular now!” exclaimed an excited Feather Step. Her voice seemed to carry over everyone else.

Dos-à-Dos and Scootaloo seemed to be deep in a side conversation and oblivious to the general commotion of Feather Step dancing on the table in front of them. I rolled my eyes at the ridiculousness of it all, but smiled in spite of it.

“You’re awfully quiet,” said a soft voice. I looked over my shoulder to see Sweetie Belle sitting next to me. “Of course anyone would seem quiet with them around.”

I smiled at her, not meeting her eyes. “It was a pretty awesome show. We brought the house down.”

“Well don’t sound so miserable about it,” Sweetie said, her brow furrowed slightly. “What’s wrong?”

I sighed. “I don’t know. Maybe it’s all overwhelming… but it just—gah!”

“What?”

“No. Later, I don’t want to ruin your party.”

Sweetie Belle patted my shoulder, “it’s our party,” Sweetie said, sounding slightly hurt. “If something is wrong…”

“Talent Scout!” I blurted out.

Sweetie Belle frowned.

“Where was he?”

Her eyes went wide as she looked at me. “Yeah I don’t know… he said he had something for us—”

“And that’s not all!” I cut across her. “I do not like the way he treats you! Or me.” I added the last part quietly.

“He’s always been that way,” Sweetie waved a hoof. “I’ll talk to him about treating you better.”

“We don’t need him!” I said far more aggressively than I intended.

Sweetie leaned back a little. “Yes we do,” she said flatly. It was clear she was trying to keep her cool. “We won’t get studio albums without him or someone like him.”

“He’s a jerk who won’t stop groping you and probably other fillies. Hang on, let me finish!” I held up a hoof as Sweetie opened her mouth to retort. “Let me finish,” I said softer. “We wrote this last one, the audience loved it. We packed the place! He didn’t do a damn thing.”

Sweetie Belle nodded. “We made a great show, but who do you think manages our funds? Who manages our PR? Who books our venues? We have name recognition now, but who do you think owns the Belle and Bloom Show?”

My heart sank like a rock. Dos-à-Dos was right, picking a fight with him would be the worst possible thing. He owned us. We wrote that show because he let us. “Sweetie…” I said softly. “Was your creative control of the show in the contract?”

Sweetie Belle looked down at the table. I knew the answer before she spoke. “We worked it out verbally.” She looked at me, the worry clearly written on her face. “Maybe he didn’t like our show, but that doesn’t matter because he’ll make money anyway, right?”

I gave her a blank look.

“Look, I’ll talk to him tomorrow and straighten things out. After all, he does need us to keep this venture going.”

The next morning, I ate breakfast quickly, and rushed over to the clubhouse. I was hoping Sweetie would be there before going to Talent Scout. I wanted to tell her not to just accept anything he gives her. I wanted her to make sure that any deal was fair and put some of the ownership of the show back to her.

The clubhouse was empty, however.

I paced the length of the room, thinking aloud. “I could run by the office, and see if she’s there…

“Or I could maybe catch her before she leaves her house… where is she though? Rarity’s or her parents? Rarity’s is closer—”

A soft knock on the door brought me out of my frantic mumbling and pacing. Frowning, I opened the door to be greeted by a sleepy looking Dos-à-Dos.

“Your sister said you’d be here… this is so cool!” Dosie took a moment to examine the small one-roomed treehouse. “I wish I had something like this when I was a filly. I wish I had something like this now.”

“You’re welcome to come hang out any time.”

“Yeah, I’ll stop by sometime.” Dosie took a deep breath. “Anyway, ready to go?”

She was giving me a serious look, and I couldn’t think of what she was talking about. Was I supposed to go somewhere with her?

“Remember,” said Dosie slowly. “We’re reporting that creep.”

“Oh yeah that,” I responded flatly. It seemed like so much had happened since the events right before the show. “I-I don’t think it’s a good idea.”

“Of course it is! We both saw it.”

I nodded. “He could totally wreck us. Sweetie says he owns the show completely.”

Dos-à-Dos sighed loudly. “Of course he does. We come forward, everything you two have done is ruined and gone, and he’ll make sure you have nothing.” She shook her head slowly. “I-I don’t know what to do.”

“Me neither,” I said, feeling a lump in my chest. “Sweetie said she’d talk to him—”

“Alone?”

My eyes met hers, and we were thinking the same thing. “Oh shit.”

“Come on, we better hurry—”

Right as I turned to leave the clubhouse I came face to face with a flustered looking white unicorn. “Sweetie!”

“I just talked to TS…” Sweetie Belle shook her head, taking no notice of me or Dos-à-Dos and throwing her saddlebags on the floor. “He wasn’t happy about our show. He didn’t get to view our arrangements before the show and the dancers—”

“Sweetie!” I yelled over her, causing her to cast an annoyed look. “Are you okay?”

“What? Yeah… maybe—”

“He didn’t… he didn’t hurt you or…”

“No?” Sweetie responded sharply.

“I mean he didn’t touch you—”

Sweetie frowned and shook her head. “He said—well he said he didn’t like our show. He’s mad. Real mad. We weren’t supposed to hire dancers, and he didn’t like them anyway. Leotards weren’t tight enough.” Sweetie Belle paced back and forth. “He’s trying to make another Filly-Tonix, I want to make something else…” Sweetie Belle shooker her head. “But that’s okay. We’ve reached an agreement of sorts. He’s temporarily taking over the show, provided a script, and given me a bunch of ghost written songs to sing.”

Sweetie Belle’s voice was uneven, her face was red, and she was taking shallow breaths.

“So, pretty much nothing then,” spat Dosie.

“I’m going to see if I can get dances back under my direction,” said Sweetie quickly, ignoring Dos-à-Dos’s comment.

“I don’t know about this. Why didn’t he like it? Everyone loved it. And now we have to do some other junk?” I asked. I freaking knew he didn’t like it, and that’s why he disappeared last night.

“Am I still the choreographer?” asked Dos-à-Dos with concern. “There seems to be a lot of changes all of a sudden.”

Sweetie Belle shook her head angrily. “He said I can’t have one. All the dances are pre-arranged in a book. Which is why I want to get dances back.”

“Sweetie, I don’t like this. Talent Scout is taking over your hard work to make some cheap show.” Dos-à-Dos said softly. “I think we should do our own thing.”

Sweetie Belle frowned, taking a step back. “I’m trying to get us a record deal and a live performance contract. It was nice while it lasted, but you have to play by the producer’s rules to get these things.” Sweetie Belle sighed. “It’s just the way the industry is. You’re either some avant-garde side show or you’re the main show!”

Sweetie Belle had been getting more agitated by the minute. Whether she realized it or not, but she was starting to yell.

“At the cost of giving up everything you like?” asked Dosie, her face growing a brighter shade of red.

“I have to compromise a little!” Sweetie Belle huffed getting face to face with Dos-à-Dos.

“A little?” Dos-à-Dos shouted, making me jump. “Are you really that blind, Sweetie Belle? There is no compromise!”

“Hey!” I yelled loudly, “let’s all calm down! Why don’t we just read the script and see what it is?” I suggested although I really didn’t like the idea of reading something TS wrote.

“I am calm!” Sweetie yelled. “You two just don’t get it!”

“I don’t,” I admitted. “Will you please settle down and explain it—”

“Look, it’s just how it works!” Sweetie screamed back. “No pony will go to vaudeville because it doesn’t sell!”

“What are you talking about? It did sell! We literally just did it! They just want fillies in tight spandex, shaking their tails on the stage!” Dos-à-Dos said forcefully, trying to keep her voice even. “It was never about the music! It’s about making a quick bit. I thought you were better than that!”

“Calm down you two—”

“You just don’t get it!” Sweetie Belle stomped. “This is the only shot we have! This is how we make it to fame!”

“You’ll be famous alright.” Dos-à-Dos said sadly. “At what cost? None of your music will be played, and with none of your friends by your side to enjoy it.” Dos-à-Dos shook her head. “You’re giving up everything you are, selling yourself, and for what? Sweetie Belle, you’re a great singer, song writer, you’re a great entertainer. You’re my friend. He’s using you! It’s not about artistry, it’s about control and money! You’re better than this! You don’t need to crawl under some creep’s desk for a few bits!”

I opened my mouth to speak, but no words came out. Dos-à-Dos and Sweetie Belle were inches apart, both of their faces bright red, and they were breathing heavily.

“I’m sorry,” Dosie said softly and left the clubhouse swiftly.

Sweetie Belle sniffed, and then started sobbing softly. Dosie left me standing there shaking with rage, frustration, and sadness. I was more upset with myself, because deep down, I knew she was right. I would rather throw myself off the tallest mountain in Equestria than admit that Sweetie Belle was so desperate for this that she would sell out her values and herself even, to be a star. For that record deal. It was like she was trying to prove something to herself… prove that she could make it, that she had what it took to be topping the charts, topping Silver Serenade.

I put a foreleg around Sweetie Belle. I struggled to find the right words to comfort her. What could I say? ‘Hey she’s kinda right?’ Yeah that’d go over well.

“I made a mess of things,” Sweetie sobbed. “I-I really messed up.”

“Hey, it’ll be okay,” I said softly.

“No it won’t!” Sweetie sobbed harder. “This was all my-my fault-an-and—” Sweetie Belle was bawling by this point, and everything else was unintelligible.

I sat down and pulled her close to me, and let her cry it out. This morning I was scared we’d lose the show for reporting Talent Scout, but it turns out we never had the show to begin with.

After several minutes of intense crying, Sweetie managed to get herself under control, sniffling and rubbing her dry eyes, I began rubbing her shoulder. “I really screwed up,” said Sweetie in a hoarse voice. “I-I wanted to make that show a surprise. We went the extra mile getting dancers and backup vocals to put on a big show…

“Now? He pulled the funding. Everything goes through him including vocalists, dancers, and actors.”

I stopped rubbing Sweetie’s shoulder and looked in her reddish green eyes.

“The deal is so bad. I was wrong about everything. This whole thing was my idea, and he told me I could run it how I wanted... .” Sweetie Belle buried her face in her hooves. “I’m so stupid! I can’t believe I said we had to go along with this! I can’t believe I was willing to go along with it. Dosie was right! I would have done anything… unthinkable things. What is wrong with me!”

I hated that I had no words of comfort for her. It was always Sweetie Belle who had the right things to say in the moment. When she needed me, all I could do was sit there like an idiot.

I opened her saddlebag and found a stack of papers bound by a single ring at the top left corner. The front page said ‘The Belle and Bloom Show’ in large block print.

“I’m not sure you’d want to read that,” Sweetie cautioned.

“Is it bad?” I asked, knowing full well it was.

Sweetie Belle shrugged. “He rushed me out before I could read it. But… knowing his taste I’d say it’s probably trashy at least.”

I didn’t get past the first page to see that it was far worse than even I could have imagined. I was to portray the worst hillbilly stereotype I’ve ever seen. My costume was to have buck teeth, a straw hat, and I was supposed to speak very slowly and sound just stupid.

Gosh Sweetie, ya sure are purdy good singar! Maybe ah I can sang too and my bruther will luv me the way he luvs mah sister—ah mean mother. He is a hunk of a stallion.

Annoyed, I flipped the page to another piece of dialog.

Why do you hang out with that country bumpkin, Sweetie?

She’s my friend.

Aw that’s so sweet. Sweetie is so nice to everyone. Why don’t you come over to my place this weekend and we can sing some songs. All of the popular fillies are invited.

I looked a little ways down the page for more of my lines.

I thought we was hanging out Sweetie.

That’s next weekend

Ya said that like eight days ago. Gosh, you know I can’t read calendars. How many days is next weekend so I can count it out?

Irritated, flipped to the end of the first act.

Wow I can’t believe I was ever friends with someone like her. You girls are way cooler and so popular.

A sharp pain stabbed into my chest. It was the most mean-spirited, disgusting thing I’ve ever read. The second act started with a note that my character would only appear occasionally as a running gag. I threw the script aside as I could feel heat on my face. I wanted to kick something very hard. I wanted to find Talent Scout and kick him with everything I had. Why did he hate me so much? Hating me was one thing, though. Take a crack at my family? How dare he!

Taking a deep breath I stood up. “He expects us to do this garbage? The first act makes fun of my family and you decide to ditch me to hang out with the popular fillies!”

Sweetie Belle shot me a surprised look. “No wonder he rushed me out… he knew I’d have a few things to argue over.” she picked up the script in her magical aura, and started reading. As she read her brow furrowed harder, and her cheeks grew redded. Her magical aura intensified a deeper shade of green until smoke started to ride from the pages. Her cheeks grew redder, and I swear I could hear her gritting her teeth.

“What the fuck!” she screamed.

I jumped back. Never in my life had I heard Sweetie Belle say a single curse word. If the situation weren’t so grim, I’d be cheering for her.

The pages blackened, and the air smelled of burnt paper. “No one does this to my friends!” The pages burst into a bright green flame before turning into a pile of ash that fell to the floor. “He wants to fuck around with bullshit like this! I’ll give him something to choke on!”

I watched in horror and admiration at a side of Sweetie Belle I had never seen before.

Sweetie forcefully opened her saddlebag, pulled a notebook out and slammed it on the floor all while muttering more curse words under her breath. “What did your sister call the music industry? The Machine?” she asked abruptly.

“Um… yeah.”

“I’ll show him a fucking machine,” she spat. She extracted a pencil and started writing fiercely. So fiercely her magic snapped the pencil, but she didn’t seem to have noticed.

I hesitated to ask, and I was a little scared she might set the clubhouse on fire, but I had to know. “Wh-what are you writing?” I asked as softly as possible.

She looked at me with a crazed expression. Then she smiled widely. “A surprise. I’m going to tell that stallion—” the point on her pencil snapped. She retrieved another pencil from her bag and started writing again. “I’m going to tell him I’ll do his stupid show. But he’ll be in for a big surprise!” she shouted the last two words.

I caught a glimpse of the notepad, but all I could make out were some very dark letters on the page. “Okay… I’ll um, I’ll leave you to it.”

“We’ll show the bastard,” Sweetie said sharply as I slowly walked out of the clubhouse. I wasn’t sure I ever wanted to see Sweetie overcome with reckless rage again. That was a side I don’t think anypony had seen or knew she was capable of. And while I wanted to stay with her, I felt it best to let her cool off before trying to talk to her about anything.

Welcome To The Machine

Slowly I made my way off the farm and into town. That awful script was still rattling around in my mind as I wandered. I had no real destination, I just had to get out and clear my mind.

Lots of ponies waved at me as I passed, others just stared. I caught bits of conversations as I passed, “that’s her! That’s really her!” “get her autograph!” “what, no way!” and so on… thankfully no one approached me. I passed the dance studio, and I peered through the window. Only one section was lit up where a ballet class was in session.

After about another hour of aimlessly wandering the streets of Ponyville, I decided to stop by Sugarcube Corner for a milkshake to cool off and relax a little.

Mrs. Cake took my order, and a few minutes later I had a tall, delicious milkshake. I scanned the shop, looking for an open seat. It all looked pretty full, except one table in the back where a familier green filly sat, picking at a piece of pie.

“It won’t bite,” I said to her once I got close. She startled, looked at me, and then back at her plate. “Can I join you?”

Dos-à-Dos shrugged.

I sat across from her and looked at her, but she avoided my eyes. “So… um you just here by yourself?” I asked brightly. I immediately cringed internally. Stupid thing to say! Come on, Apple Bloom!

Dos-à-Dos sighed. “What do you want, Apple Bloom?”

“To talk to you?”

“If you’re here to say I’m no longer welcome on the show, I already know.”

I stared at her for a long moment. Her eyes were slightly red. Has she been crying? “I didn’t come here to tell that. I’m out and about while Sweetie calms down.”

Dos-à-Dos gave me a curious look, but said nothing.

“We read the script after... you left,” I said the last part quickly. “It was bad. Really bad.”

“I didn’t see that coming,” Dosie said darkly.

“You don’t understand,” I responded quickly. “It was so bad Sweetie Belle, um, she got a little mad. She may have incinerated it and nearly the whole clubhouse—”

“Wait, she destroyed it?”

“Yeah. She was cursing and stomping, and now she’s trying to write—actually I’m not sure what she’s writing, but she’s doing it very angrily.”

Dos-à-Dos shook her head. “You’re talking about Sweetie Belle, right?”

“I ain’t seen her like this, ever. It was a bit scary. But she admits you were right.”

“Back there…” Dos-à-Dos trailed off, struggling to find the words. “Back in the clubhouse I said some things I shouldn’t have.”

“That’s one way of putin’ it,” I remarked.

“I really regret saying those things to her.” Dosie wiped a tear from her cheek. “I got carried away. I was really excited to be part of the show, and I’m very passionate about artistry and creativity. It just made me mad she was so willing to throw it all away.”

“It needed to be said.” Dos-à-Dos gave me a sharp look of confusion and anger. “Sweetie was being ridiculous, and no way was anything going to work out under that Talent Scout creep. And that script…” I sighed deeply. “Apprently I’m a dumb inbred hillbilly who wants my brother to sleep with me because he’s banging my sister who is also my mother.”

“What?” Dos-à-Dos asked loudly. “No! That’s what was in that script?” Her face twisted in complete disgust.

“Pretty much.” I shook my head. “He hates me, and I don’t know why, and now he’s taking shots at my family who he doesn’t even know. And what’s more, Applejack has done more for Equestria than he ever will!”

Dos-à-Dos put a hoof over mine. “I know. Apple Bloom, that’s awful. I’m sorry… some ponies are just awful I guess.”

I could feel the tears building up behind my own eyes. Not because of what I had read but because Dos-à-Dos was so empathetic and understanding. I took a much longer sip of my milkshake, getting myself back under control.

We sat in silence for a while. Dos-à-Dos finally ate her piece of pie, and I had finished my milkshake.

“Now what?” she asked.

I shrugged. “I guess we can go see if Sweetie Belle is ready to talk.”

“I’m not sure she would want to see me…” said Dos-à-Dos.

“She’s not mad at you,” I responded.

“Okay, I’ll go, but I’d rather not be on the bad side of a unicorn like her.”

I cast a sideways glance at her. “Look, Sweetie Belle is mad beyond anything I’ve ever seen, but not at you.”

“You’re probably right, I just don’t feel good about myself for saying those things.”

I gave her a reassuring hug. “It’ll be okay.”

We began our journey back to the farm when Dos-à-Dos came to an abrupt halt and her eyes wide. “I almost forgot! We have an interview with the Equestrian Dancer at noon!”

I looked at the clock tower in town. It was ten-till. “Let’s head over there and do that first.”

“Sweetie Belle was going to be in that,” Dos-à-Dos added frantically.

“I seriously doubt she’s interested in doing a fluff piece at the moment. Besides we’d never make it there and back here in time.”

“Okay…” Dosie said uncomfortably. “You know her better than me, so I trust your judgement.”

A few minutes later we were outside the studio where a thin grey unicorn was levitating a notepad and an older pale green unicron with a greying mane lazily levitated a camera. Most of the dance team had already assembled.

“Hey there, fillies!” he announced. His voice was low and smooth. With little effort he was able to get everyone’s attention. “Quick Quill’s the name, and this is my multi-talented photographer, graphical artis, extraordinaire, Shutter Flash.”
Shutter Flash gave a nod and a slight bow.

“Alright, the formalities are done, um… yeah let’s do this thing. You fillies line up, and I’ll start askin’ away.”

Quick Quill seemed nice enough. He had a well practiced nonchalance that made the idea of an interview less intimidating, even though I wasn’t the one being interviewed.

“I recognize you from the show,” Quick Quill said to me. “Nice singing and dancing. Where is your lovely co-star, Sweetie Belle?”

“Co-star?” I asked, somewhat affronted. “She’s running this whole thing.”

“Of course, of course,” Quick Quill said quickly. “Didn’t mean anything by it. Is she still coming, though?”

“She couldn’t make it. She’s doing some rewrites.”

“Understandable, understandable,” said Quick Quill in his smooth low voice. “We’ll just have to interview you two sometime after your next show. I’ll pencil you in… I like to keep an open, malleable schedule. Freelance life, ya know?”

“Not really?” I wasn’t sure it was actually a question though.

Quick Quill chuckled. “That accent,” he said, more to himself than to anyone else. “She’s just the cutest, Shutters!”

Shutter Flash muttered something inaudible in return as he peered through his camera at Feather Step, who was striking a ridiculous pose.

I blushed a little. This Quick Quill certainly had a silver tongue.

“Well, I’d love to talk to a charming filly like you longer, but… I gotta get this thing goin.’ Equestrian Dancer is payin’ the bills.” He did a half bow and sauntered off to the first filly in line for the interview.

The interview lasted maybe thirty minutes. Quick Quill and Shutter Flash showed lots of enthusiasm to the fillies and asked a lot of interesting questions. He certainly did his research before showing up. Dos-à-Dos was the last to be interviewed, but by the time they got to her, she didn’t have much to add so they asked her a lot of ‘what does dancing mean to you’ type of questions.

Once the interview was over, Quick Quill promised me he would be at our next show and then bid us a good day.

Dos-à-Dos walked up beside me with a smirk on her face. “He was hitting on you. “

I rolled my eyes. “He was just being nice. Besides he’s too old for me.”

“Bet you’d like a sugar daddy.”

“Um, hello, filly-fooler here.”

Dos-à-Dos giggled. “I’m just teasing. To be honest I think he was hitting on everyone there.”

“Dosie,” I said in mock exasperation. “Not every stallion who’s nice is coming on to you.”

“Oh? Is that how that works?” Dos-à-Dos shrugged. “Fillies are easier to understand.”

“In what universe is that even remotely true?” I asked her. Never had I heard something so ridiculous.

Our banter continued all the way back to the clubhouse. We stopped it abruptly as we approached the clubhouse. And with a single look at Dos-à-Dos, I walked forward and went inside.

Sweetie Belle was asleep on the floor. Her notepad was open in front of her with very darkly written letters. She startled awake as soon as Dos-à-Dos and I stepped inside.

“Oh, hey,” she said sleepily. She stretched and stood up. “I must have fallen asleep…” Her eyes locked on Dos-à-Dos.

“Sweetie, I’m sorry for what—”

Sweetie held up a hoof. “No need to apologise. I was the one being a jerk.”

“No I was. I should never have never implied you were a cheap sell out or a… or a whore.” Dos-à-Dos hung her head. “I really am sorry.”

Sweetie Belle shook her head. “No, I am sorry. You were right. It was a bad deal. And Apple Bloom, I’m very sorry. You were right about TS. I should have listened.”

“No, Sweetie, I should be the one—’

“Will both of you shut up!” I yelled. “You’re both sorry, we get it.”

Sweetie Belle and Dos-à-Dos looked at me, then at each other and started giggling.

“I’m glad you’ve calmed down, Sweetie. You aren’t mad anymore?” I asked.

“No, I’m pissed off!” Sweetie shouted. “But not at you two. I love you girls,” she said softly.

My heart practically soared out of my chest. I know Sweetie didn’t mean it the way I wanted her to, but that didn’t stop me from feeling a sense of joy.

Sweetie Belle levitated her notepad over to her. “This is what I’m thinking for the show. It’s going to be a big screw you to TS and the music industry! And I want to put on the biggest show in Equestria! I want huge props, the dancers, the stage effects, I want those sparking shoes, I want lots of them, I want costumes, and I want pyrotechnics!”

“Well… that’s quite the list,” said Dos-à-Dos. “I’m not sure where we can get all of that…”

“Scootaloo will probably set anything on fire if you ask her,” I added offhandedly. “But the rest of the stuff, I don’t know. Didn’t he take our funding away?”

“Shit!” Sweetie Belle stomped her foot. “I forgot about that.”

I smirked as Dos-à-Dos gave Sweetie a look of approval. “I have some money saved. I’ll put it in.”

“Me too,” said Dos-à-Dos.

“How much are we talking here?” asked Sweetie. “These things aren’t going to be cheap, and we still need the city center, a band, and someone to run the lights and other offstage effects.”

“Well I have like fifty bits,” said Dos-à-Dos.

“I have a hundred.”

Sweetie Belle shook her head. “Save you money. That’s not even close to the amount we’d need. We’re talking thousands needed.”

My heart sank. That was a lot, and I’m pretty sure Applejack would just laugh if I asked to borrow that much money from her.

“Fundraiser?” suggested Dos-à-Dos.

Sweetie Belle shook her head. “We need sponsors, patrons, that sort of thing. Twilight was a fan of our show. Let’s ask her. Royal coffers are bottomless.”

“Probably our best shot,” I shrugged. It was actually our only shot. “Well, let's read this material you got here, Sweetie.”

To my surprise, the lyrics to the song she wrote weren’t as problematic as I was expecting, considering her attitude when she wrote them. There was no question that they were edgy. One of the last lines didn’t make much sense though…

“What’s a Jaguar?” I asked. “I’m guessing you don’t mean the big cat.”

Sweetie smiled. “It’s a fancy self-driven carriage. They’re magically attuned to respond to the pony operating it, and unlike others, they are really fast. They’re really expensive.”

“I remember seeing those magical carriages in Manehatten,” I mused aloud. “I didn’t realize there were different types. But hey, we don’t even have those here.” I handed Dos-à-Dos the notepad.

“I’m not sure I understand the metaphor,” said Dos-à-Dos. “I think I get what you’re trying to say…” she scratched her head. “We are the machine... it just doesn’t hit hard enough. See over here, you said ‘it’s alright we told you what to dream,’ so it doesn’t sound like we are the machine, but a part of it.”

“Welcome to the machine?” I suggested.

Sweetie Belle’s eyes lit up immediately. “That’s it! After all you have to become part of it to make it in the music industry. Apple Bloom, you’re just the best.” Sweetie Belle took her notebook back and began making changes.

I blushed furiously as Dos-à-Dos gave me an all-too-knowing smirk. “I think we need another song,” I said, trying to not look at either of them.

“Yeah, I think so too,” Sweetie Belle agreed. “I have some ideas for that. Wait until you see what I have planned for the performance.” Sweetie Belle smirked.

I exchanged a worried look with Dos-à-Dos.

“Anyway, what do you two think of cigars?” asked Sweetie.

I frowned as did Dos-à-Dos. “They smell bad?”

“Yes, and…”

“They make lots of smoke,” added Dos-à-Dos flatly. “Oh, and they’re bad for you.”

“And, business ponies in suits make all of the decisions and the money, and they sit around and smoke fat cigars.”

“Oh,” we both said together.

“So what’s this have to do with anything?” I asked.

“It’s part of the second song.”

“Oh, that makes sense,” said Dos-à-Dos. “You have it mentioned here in this song.”

We spent the rest of the day writing lyrics. Sweetie Belle was more motivated and energetic than I had ever seen her. She had made it clear that we had to get funding from elsewhere or there could be trouble, and we couldn’t use the name The Belle and Bloom show either.

We fashioned a new name we were hoping would fly under ponies’ radars or wouldn’t confuse them into thinking it was a different show: ‘Belle and Bloom Presents: Welcome to the Machine.’ And with the tagline, ‘it’s alright we told you what to dream’, we believed it would be edgy and evocative enough ponies would spend more time talking about that than the slight name variation.

The following week, Sweetie Belle had us on the stage rehearsing. She wanted everything perfect. A lot of the blocking was difficult to get right without the music though. We had to rely on her counting aloud.

Getting Princess Twilight as a patron was much easier than I thought. Sweetie Belle simply said we were not long working with our producer due to creative differences and were looking for a patron. Twilight leapt at the opportunity. “Music has the essence of friendship. It can unite so many unique ponies and magical creatures! Of course I want you two to continue!”

As the week dragged on, I could tell the energy wasn’t there among the dance team, Dos-à-Dos included. Each rehearsal progressively got worse, and some ended in shouting matches. I must admit, I too, wasn’t feeling it. I did my best to do my parts the best I could, but I think Sweetie Belle could see me slipping up. Everyone was still showing up, but I could tell it was begrudgingly. If something didn’t change soon, ponies were bound to quit.

On one particular day of rehearsal, Sweetie Belle was nowhere to be seen. She was usually the one who was there before everyone and the one who left after everyone.

“Where is she?” asked Feather Step.

Everyone just shrugged.

“What does it matter? I didn’t want to come anyway.”

“Hey come on now, there’s probably a good reason why she’s not here yet.”

“Ugh.” Was the only response Feather Step could dignify.

And then as if on cue Sweetie Belle walked in. She was out of breath and her face was bright red.

“Sorry I’m late, but listen up everypony!” Sweetie Belle paused to take a deep breath. “I know things haven’t been going well this week, and I know I’ve been a bad director and manager. I am sorry. There are just a lot of moving pieces right now, and I’m a little stressed. But I have good news! I have found a group of musicians to play this show’s music. Which means no more me shouting, we can learn our parts in time with the actual music.”

We all cheered.

“Due to the unusual arrangement of instruments and effects we are using, it was harder to get an ensemble of musicians together to do it. But they will be here any minute to set up.

It was as if someone had thrown a bucket of cold water over us, and we were waking up from a midsummer stupor. Everyone was refocused, and… excited.

The excitement grew as we heard voices from the other side of the stage curtain.

“Ooh, I think that’s them!” exclaimed Feather Step. “Musicians are, like, so hot.”

“Hang on,” said Sweetie Belle. Her magical aura surrounded the ropes controlling the curtains, making them slowly rise.

On stage were the strangest collection of ponies I had ever seen. One was a colt a little younger than us, but his diminutive stature made him appear much younger. There were three stallions with long black manes who wore leather jackets and wayfarer sunglasses. And then there was Pinkie Pie.

Feather Step’s eager face collapsed instantly upon seeing them.

“So, I’m sure everypony here is familiar with Pinkie,” said Sweetie Belle, not noticing everyone’s shocked reactions.

“Howdy!” said Pinkie with her usual exuberance. “I’ll be doing sound effects!” she sang out. “A few bangs, a few clanks, and a few klonks!”

“And this is Wright Note, one of the best on the keyboard I’ve ever seen,” continued Sweetie Belle.

Wright Note smiled and waved, but said nothing.

“Next are a group known as the Starswirls. On drums and percussion is Mason Starr, on bass is Night Hawk, and on guitar is Glimour!”

Each of them nodded as Sweetie pointed them out.

It was the most rag-tag team to put on a show ever. Compared to what we’ve done, this will be a major shock on the audience.

“Okay, well…” began Sweetie Belle. “I think we should listen to the concept music first, and then rehearse our parts after.”

As the band took up their place in the orchestra pit, I heard Feather Step whisper. “They’re not even hot.” I rolled my eyes.

“No sound effects yet, Pinkie,” said Sweetie.

“Okaladokaly, boss filly!”

The first chord rang out, a dramatic rake across the guitar. A strong march-like beat started from the drums, and an eerie single chord rang from the keyboard. The song slowly gained momentum, creating tension, having a raw gritty sound, and a war-like marching rhythm driving it. It was unlike anything I had ever heard. I could feel hair standing on end. It seemed the others also weren’t sure how to react.

After the song had finished, there was a good thirty seconds of silence before Sweetie Belle finally broke it. “Well, that’s the idea. Some changes will probably need to be made.”

“I like it!” exclaimed Pinkie Pie.

“You do?” I asked. Pinkie was the last pony in Equestria I thought would like something like that.

“Of course! It’s got edge.”

I nodded. It was definitely edgy and dark.

“Well the dancing part makes more sense now,” said Feather Step. “I wish we could better show our talents than marching to a beat…” She shook her head. “It will really shock Ponyville, so I’m in, if not for dancing, but for shaking things up.”

I smirked. “I want to see the look on Talent Scout’s face.”

Sweetie grinned darkly. “I hope more producers are in the audience too.”

From the way Sweetie Belle spoke, it was very clear she was still angry. I had become numb to the type of stuff TS wrote. It was worse than I had expected, it was vile, but I considered him to be a vile pony, so I didn’t expect anything less. For Sweetie, however, it was a betrayal. He had bamboozled her with promises of fame, and promises of promoting her ideas for music. He was nice to her, not because he thought she was talented, but because he knew he could market her, sell her, and make a ton of bits doing it. Once Sweetie figured out she was seen as a product to be sold and not an artist, she snapped. This show was her rebuke, her rejection of that system, and it was part of her healing process.

We spent the next two days rehearsing with the music. Most of the big props were built and placed on stage. Everyone was invigorated with a new rebellious energy. We had both songs written, the routines were set, Sweetie’s pyrotechnics were still in the works, and was making me a bit nervous. But she said there was no room for subtlety in a show like this.

On our last performance, we were all sitting on the stage, in full costumes, admiring the major set pieces. We had just finished our final run though and we were feeling pretty good about it. Down by the orchestra pit, Sweetie Belle and Wright Note were talking. Having nothing else going on, I decided to go over and see what was going on.

“It’s that A minor chord,” said Sweetie. “It’s just not doing it.”

“I’m playing it just like it’s written,” said Wright Note. He seemed a little defensive.

“It’s not that you’re playing wrong… it just isn’t the right attitude.” Sweetie looked at the rest of the band. “Okay play the first few bars of the second song, and, Wright Note, I don’t want you to play A minor, I want you to slam your hooves into that chord. Tell that keyboard you mean business. Play it like you’re angry at the world and you have something to say with that chord.”

“Um, okay? I’ll, um...try.” Wright Note caved under Sweetie’s intense look, and his small stature made him look like a foal who was just yelled at by his parents.

Sweetie Belle frowned. “What are you doing? I said attitude! Own the space you occupy!” she shouted.

Wright Note retreated further. “I-I’ll can’t.”

“Maybe I was wrong. Maybe you can’t play the keyboard as well as I thought,” said Sweetie Belle softly.

Wright Note’s face turned a shade of red, and he grit his teeth. He put his face close to Sweetie’s. “Fine!” he yelled. “You want me to bang on the keyboard? Fine! I’ll do it! But don’t insult me! I can play better than most ponies in this town! I’m the best you’ll ever get, that’s for sure!”

It was dead quiet. And then Sweetie Belle grinned. “Yes! That’s it. That’s the attitude I want. Now take that, and put it into the entire song.” Sweetie Belle nodded to the band to start playing.

The guitar chord rang out, the then second one, and the keyboard came in, loud, overpowering the guitars and drums, giving a very eerie feeling to the song. The second keyboard chord echoed the first.

Sweetie Belle waved everyone to stop. “Yes, that’s it!”

“We are going to rock Ponyville tomorrow!” squealed Dos-à-Dos.

“Okay!” yelled Sweetie Belle, getting everyone’s attention “I know it’s getting late, but I want to run through the second song one more time.”

Everyone groaned, myself included. “Sweetie, we got this. If we keep going we’ll be worn out before the show.”

Sweetie nodded. “I know, but I had last minute inspiration—”

“No you don’t,” I said, cutting her off. “It’s perfect, you’re perfect, we’re all perfect. We should not be making changes the night before.”

“But we should, like, totally hear her out, man,” said Glimour. “That’s totally what bands do before a gig. Then we could, like, you know… vote on it, man.”

“Man? What in tarnation?” I muttered. “Alright, what’s your idea?”

“I want to sing it in a lower register.”

“Oh, that’s easy. We got you, Sweetie Belle. You can, like, practice that without them or, like, totally doing the entire gig and stuff.”

Everytime Glimour spoke, he sounded miles away. His cadence was slow and uneven. I first thought he was drunk all the time, but he didn’t seem to drink. Not around us. He did eat a lot of these candies he kept in his guitar case.

“Okay, we can practice it a little,” said Sweetie. She turned to face the rest of us. “Tomorrow is the big day. I know I’ve been hard on you, I know I’ve been… a pain in the ass, but what we have is so much better than the smutty show someone wanted us to do. We are going to surprise Ponyville tomorrow! We are going to rock Equestria like no pony ever has! And we are going to stick it to the music industry while we do it!”

“Stick it to the man!” yelled Glimour, as we all stomped our hooves and cheered.

As the dancers left, I of course remained behind since it meant changing my vocals too. But after a few practices, it was clear the change was easy, and we were all out of there ten minutes later.

“Nervous?” asked Sweetie Belle. We were walking down the road. It was dark out, the air was warm and smelled of dry grass. It was a perfect summer night.

I gave her a long look before answering. “You know, for the first time, I’m not nervous about the show. I am a little worried about the pyrotechnics—are you sure that spell will hold?”

“Yes,” said Sweetie Belle, sounding expasterated. “You are starting to sound like Rarity.”

“Okay, okay. I’m just making sure.”

We reached the intersection where I had to go one way to return to Sweet Apple Acres, and Sweetie had to go the other to get to her parent’s.

“Well…” said Sweetie. “I guess this is good night.”

She was looking into my eyes, and my heart was pounding for some reason. The moonlight reflected off her, giving her bright-white coat a soft hue. She looked so beautiful. She looked—to borrow a phrase from Rarity—simply divine.

“Yep,” I blurted out, ruining the moment. I resisted the urge to facehoof. “I-I mean, yeah, but I will see you in the morning.”

“It’s so nice out,” said Sweetie Belle. “If we didn’t have a show tomorrow, I might have asked you to take a walk with me.”

My heart was exploding out of my chest. Was she trying to ask me on a date?

“Yes!” I clapped my hoof over my mouth. “I-I mean, that would be nice.”

Sweetie Belle giggled. “You’re funny sometimes. Anyway, have a good night.”

“You too,” I said, while cursing myself under my breath. “Oh and, Sweetie!”

“Yeah?” She turned to face me.

“Thanks for making me part of this. Whatever happens tomorrow, I just want you to know, it’s been fun.”

Sweetie Belle returned the widest and cutest smile I had ever seen. “Good night.”

I skipped home. The last few weeks were rough, and that vile script still occupied my mind once in a while. I only hoped the copy Sweetie Belle destroyed was the only copy.

The farm looked so pretty at night. Dozens of apple trees silhouetted against the moon light, light breeze, and the smell of fresh-cut grass, gave the feeling of absolute tranquility. On nights like this, I used to sit on the front porch and listen to the wind. Sometimes AJ joined me. But, tonight, I was too tired, and a lot was happening tomorrow.

The house still had a light on downstairs, but I didn’t think much of it. Applejack usually left it on for me. As I approached the house, though, I saw her sitting on the porch.

“There you are!” she said as soon as I was close enough.

“Howdy, sis,” I said brightly.

“Hey yourself. Do you have any idea how late it is?

I shook my head. “Sorry, sis. Last rehearsal before our big show tomorrow.”

Applejack sighed. “I know. It just feels like I ain’t seen you at all these past few weeks.”

I considered telling Applejack about everything that had happened, about Talent Scout, but I just couldn’t bring myself to do it. Besides, we had it under control.

“You two have been extra secretive about this one,” Applejack continued. “But that poster has got me wonderin.’

“Pinkie reckons the show will be unlike anything Ponyville has ever seen.” Applejack smiled. “But don’t worry, she didn’t tell me anything about it,” said Applejack quickly.

I nodded. Ponyville had seen its share of strange, most of it coming from Pinkie, so it wasn’t nothing when she said something like that. “Do you like the name of this show?”

Applejack nodded. “I see ya’ll doin’ something different this time.”

I nodded. “Yeah, that was Sweetie’s idea to do a different show and theme every week.” I stretched my back, turning side-to-side. “I’m really tired, sis. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“Night, Apple Bloom.”

The next morning passed in a blurr. I woke up later than normal, ate breakfast, and found myself at the city center, setting up for the show without any concept of the passage of time.

Sweetie Belle was already running in circles making more changes, much to everyone’s annoyance.

“Sweetie Belle!” Dos-à-Dos screamed. “Just stop!”

“Just one more thing!” yelled Sweetie. “Okay, I want the red lights to come up two seconds later, and I need them to track forward.” Sweetie Belle told the lighting tech pony.

“You got it,” he said, and left for the control room, above the balcony.

“Okay, I need to set markers on the stage for positions… I’m thinking if we all don’t move as far forward—”

“Sweetie Belle!” Dos-à-Dos yelled again.

Sweetie Belle huffed. “I need this to be flawless! You don’t know how much is riding on this!”

I walked over to Dos-à-Dos before she could say anything else. “It won’t do any good to yell at her,” I said softly.

“I know, but if she keeps changing shit, none of us will know what’s going on during the actual show.”

“I’ll talk to her,” I said. Dos-à-Dos did have a point. It was hard to keep track of the new changes from the last two days.

“Hey, Sweetie,” I said softly. I wrapped a foreleg around her. “Why don’t you take a break?” She was very tense, but she did seem to relent a little.

“I-I need to—”

“Shhh. Everything is fine. You’ve put more into this than anything, but if you keep changing things, none of us will know what we’re even supposed to be doing tonight.”

Sweetie Belle relaxed into my embrace, some of that tension seemed to melt away. “Apple Bloom…” she said with a sigh. “You’re right. I’m just so worked up… no more changes. I mean it this time.”

“Come, sit down, and have a short break before we run through everything for a final time.” I steered her to the edge of the stage, where we sat. She rested her head on my shoulder.

“Life is crazy sometimes,” said Sweetie Belle. “Never would I have dreamed of making something like this… Thank you, Apple Bloom, for being a part of this. You helped me make a dream come true.”

We sat in silence for a few minutes. I could see the lighting tech pony though the little window far above the top balcony. He seemed to be testing the lighting as various stage lights would come on and then go out.

Dos-à-Dos took a seat next to me. “So are we gonna run through this thing one more time or do you love birds need a few more minutes?”

Sweetie Belle stood up, leaving a vast coolness on my shoulder. “Yeah,” she said quickly. Her face was bright red.

I glared at Dos-à-Dos.

“What?” She smiled innocently.

I rolled my eyes. “Alright let's do this!”

The final rehearsal went flawlessly. All of Sweetie’s last minute changes were, admittingly, improvements. I wasn’t going to say anything to her until the end of the show, so she doesn’t get any more ideas.

“Alright, that was great. We got this! Dance team, you’re on point. Band, you guys are perfect. Wright Note, you’re killing it. Pinkie, the sound effects are perfect, Dos-à-Dos, Apple Bloom, everyone, thank you. I couldn’t have come this far without any of you.

“I just want to warn you all that Talent Scout is going to be pretty pissed off once he’s seen what we’ve done. In fact there’s no way he doesn’t already know something is up because of the posters all over town.” Sweetie Belle paused and shrugged. “This might be my last show because of this, so why not go out with style? But we are better than a bunch of fillies in tight spandex shaking our tails to a lame backing track. Let’s rock this town!”

We all cheered. My chest was pounding. I was ready!

“Alright, let’s start getting costumes ready. I want everyone in costume in the next hour.”

“Hey, Sweetie,” said Dos-à-Dos. “I’m sorry for yelling earlier. The stress was getting to me too.”

“It’s alright. I really did need to stop. I was stuck in this infinite loop of fine adjustments.”

“Hey, Sweetie,” I said quietly. “What if Talent Scout comes back here before the show? He’s going to see all of this and know.”

Sweetie Belle smiled. “The doors to backstage are locked. And I told security not to let anyone in back there. Besides, he got a balcony seat with his producer lackeys, he won’t come back here. He never hung out backstage during the Filly-Tonix shows. The directors wouldn’t allow it.”

I wasn’t totally reassured. He had already been backstage during our last two shows. Sure the first one was so he could introduce us, but the second show, he didn’t bother to get a seat… or stay for the whole show. But maybe he feels he won and just wants to watch me be a dumb hick for Ponyville. Either way, I hope this is the last time we have to ever deal with him.

The stage was set, all of the props were in place, and the curtains were down. Sweetie Belle had given the okay to start allowing ponies to come in. In a matter of minutes, the audience chamber was filled with the loud drone of hundreds of conversations overlapping.

“Oooh! It’s gonna be packed to standing room!” exclaimed Pinkie Pie.

Sweetie Belle came out of the costume room wearing a tight silver leotard, similar to the ones the hip-hop dance team wore. “Okay, I’m a little nervous about the pyrotechnics.” Her horn lit up, and her whole body was covered in a green aura for a second. “The only part we didn’t practice… let’s just hope the spell holds.”

Ugh, now she’s worried about it? Figures.“You got this. We know the spell is good,” I said mechanically.

Sweetie Belle covered up with a black robe. “I know… still…”

Looking through the peep-hole on the side of the stage, I could tell there wasn’t a seat left in the house. In the left balcony I saw Twilight, Applejack, Rarity, Rainbow Dash, Spike, and Scootaloo. In the right balcony I saw Talent Scout and a few other ponies I assumed were producers.

“Ten minutes,” hissed Sweetie. “Positions, everypony. Where’s Dos-à-Dos?”

“Here,” said Dos-à-Dos, rushing out of the costume room. She had just tied up her mane into a bun. She wore a pantsuit, and looked professional and darn sexy. Apparently Sweetie Belle thought so too, as I caught her giving Dos-à-Dos an approving look.

I remained by the peep-hole. I wasn’t in the first song, and I wanted to watch the look on Talent Scout’s face.

Dos-à-Dos took a seat behind a massive wooden desk. The house lights went down, and the conversations died immediately. The stage lights came up and then the curtain, revealing Dos-à-Dos in business casual attire sitting behind a huge desk.

Sweetie Belle entered the stage from the opposite side. She stopped right in front of the desk.

“Hello!” shouted Sweetie Belle. “Did you like my audition?”

“Ah, so want to be a star, don’t you, filly?” said Dos-à-Dos.

“I do. I can sing really well and dance.”

“Well isn’t that just adorable,” said Dos-à-Dos in the most patronizing voice.

I couldn’t resist. I looked through the peep-hole up to the right balcony. Talent Scout looked cross. He was glaring at the stage. A few of his producer friends looked confused.

“I-I just want to be famous,” said Sweetie Belle.

“Well alright then! First things first,” said Dos-à-Dos.

The drums and bass guitar started playing quick music phrases. Next came the guitar, giving the song a heavy sound.

“Yes?” asked Sweetie Belle.

“To make you a star we have some work to do.” Dos-à-Dos picked up a cigar off her desk. She lit it with a quick spark from her horn, and took a drag, blowing the smoke in Sweetie’s face.

Then the heavily distorted keyboard chimed in, playing a four-note melody phrase. Then a second phrase containing higher notes, giving the song a call and answer feeling to it.

“First, lose the clothes, filly,” said Dos-à-Dos, as she stripped away the robes, revealing Sweetie Belle’s silver leotard. “Lose a few pounds and learn to shake those hindquarters!”

“But-but, why?” asked Sweetie Belle.

“You silly filly, you want to be a star! Just sign this contract!” She held up a long scroll of parchment and a fountain pen.

“I’m not so sure,” said Sweetie, really hamming up the uncertainty.

Dos-à-Dos shook her head as the keyboard rift finished, and began singing. Her voice was more mid ranged, but she aimed for the lower register. Her vocals were clear and haunting.

Come in here, dear girl, have a cigar,

Dos-à-Dos gave the cigar to Sweetie, who held it cluelessly.

You're gonna go far,

You're gonna fly high,

You're never gonna die,

You're gonna make it if you try,

They're gonna love you.

I've always had a deep respect and I mean that most sincere;

The band is just fantastic, that is really what I think,

Oh, by the way, which one's Belle?

And did we tell you the name of the game, girl?

We call it "Riding The Gravy Train".

Dos-à-Dos held the last note, matching perfectly with the synth.

We're just knocked out.

We heard about the sell out.

You're gonna get an album out,

You owe it to the ponies,.

We're so happy we can hardly count.

Everybody else is just green,

Have you seen the chart?

It's a hell of a start,

It could be made into a monster,

If we all pull together as a team.

And did we tell you the name of the game, girl?
We call it "Riding The Gravy Train".

Dos-à-Dos held the last note extra long. Her vocals were impressive. The keyboard rift played one more time before cutting out and letting the guitars finish the song.

Dos-à-Dos thrust the contract into Sweetie’s face. Sweetie picked up the fountain pen with her magic and did a mock signing of the parchment. Immediately after, Sweetie Belle burst into flames, which engulf her completely. The entire audience gasped with shock as the curtain went down. Sweetie quickly extinguished the fire, stripped her leotard off, and put on a black leather coat and sunglasses.

I was in position, wearing my black leather coat, wayfarer sunglasses, and a black mane bow.

Before the audience had time to process what they say, Pinkie Pie started the sound effects: metal clanking and white noise. It sounded like a factory. Then a soft pulsing from the bass guitar started.

Sweetie and I quickly took our positions behind the curtain right as that dramatic guitar chord rang out. The curtain raised, and a blue spotlight showed on us. We stepped forward to the two mics. A second guitar chord rang out, and then another. A thick layer of fog covered the floor of the stage. And then the fourth chord. And then Sweetie began to sing in a voice much lower than her normal singing voice.

Welcome my friends
Welcome to the machine!
Sweetie Belle really pushed her volume on the last word.
Where have you been?
It’s alright we know where you’ve been!
I pushed hard with my diaphragm to match Sweetie’s intensity.

Wright Note slammed his hooves into the keyboard, making it drown out our vocals as he held the chord for a whole count.

You’ve been in the pipeline filling your time!
Provided with toys and scouting for boys!
Another chord rang out.
You bought a guitar to punish your ma!
A slightly higher chord sang out, increasing the tension.
And you didn’t like school!
And you know you’re nobody’s fool!
Wright Note played an ever higher chord.

So Welcome to the machine!
I sang with all of my might as we competed for loudness with the keyboard. Glimour started vamping on two different chords, strumming to a very strong four count beat as the drums started. He emphasized every first beat to get an extra marching feeling out of the song.

Another curtain went up, revealing a monstrosity of gears and levers. The keyboard howled over the rest of the song. Out of either side of the machine, ponies in robes stepped out. They moved abruptly and machine-like. Their backs were to the audience. A red light from above showed on them as the fog picked up, creating a red haze across the entire stage.

As the keyboard began a solo, and Pinkie Pie increased the sound effects to include some high-pitched squeals, the ponies begane to move in unison, marching in place, sparks flew out from under their feet with every step.

Slowly they turned on the spot to face the audience. They began to march forward. Out of the fog marched ten hooded ponies abreast, all of their faces concealed behind a thick back gas mask with a black canister protruding out the front. The hoods of their robes completely concealed their manes.

Welcome my friends!
Welcome to the machine!
What did you dream?
It’s alright we told you what to dream!
My voice strained, my throat was starting to hurt.

You dreamt of a big star!
She played a mean guitar!
Always smoked big cigars!
She loved to drive in her Jaguar!

So welcome to the machine!

My voice was done. Sweetie Belle’s voice was raw power screaming against the keyboard Wright Note was slamming his hooves into.

The dancers were right beside us now, marching in place. They keyboard howled with another solo, the distortion increasing as it went.

In a flash of light and smoke, me and Sweetie’s outfits were switched with dark robes and a gas mask.

So welcome to the machine!

The curtain fell, the music stopped. It was dead silent. We all pulled our masks down to look at eachother. And then an eruption of noise emanated from the audience. Lots of hoof stomping, lots of yelling, lots of whistling. We quickly removed our costumes and left the stage.

“Not quite the reaction I thought we’d get,” I said, hoarsely.

“It’s fine,” said Sweetie. “We made our point.” She hugged me tightly. “We did it!” Then she bounced over to Dos-à-Dos and hugged her. “And you did great with the first song!”

I peeked through the peep-hole. Talent Scout looked livid while the other producer ponies were grinning ear-to-ear. In the left balcony, Applejack and Rarity were in an intense conversation as they lined up to exit the box. Scootaloo was hovering with excitement.

The noise from the house didn’t die down as ponies filed out to leave. Some were still in their seats with looks of shock on their faces.

We went back to the costume room to hang up our costumes. I was smiling at Sweetie Belle. “TS doesn’t look too happy.”

“Good,” spat Sweetie.

We were riding high on our victory. I couldn’t wait to read the review for this show. It was definitely going to be interesting. I was too overjoyed to even care if the reviews were terrible. But it was short lived.

“Sweetie Belle!” a loud voice boomed from backstage. “Get out here!”

The door to the costume room flew open and an irate Talent Scout marched through. “Do you think you’re funny, huh!” he shouted. “You’re done! Forever! I’m seizing all revenue from this show, and all others!”

“You can’t,” said Sweetie calmly. “It’s a different production company with a different patron.”

Talent Scout shook his head. “You dumb filly. You think you can make a mockery of me? Do you? You stupid bitch! I own you! I! Own! You!” he screamed. “And if you had half a brain in you, you’d be on your knees under my desk begging for another shot! You owe me! I gave you everything! You owe me!”

I marched right up into his face. “It’s over! Take your bits and leave!”

“And you! Dumb country hick! I was nice giving you that part! But you can forget it!”

I laughed harshly. “You think I’d want to do that shit? Sweetie was so disgusted she incinerated your pile of trash script! And how dare you take a shot at my family!”

Dos-à-Dos and the others were standing back, nervous of the shouting match.

“You will never touch Sweetie again!” I yelled, feeling braver than I was.

“She signed on, I own her!” he spat. “Oh Talent Scout,” he said in a horrifying high-pitched voice. “You’re so much nicer than the other producers. Oh Talent Scout, please make me famous. I can sing like Silver Serenade.” He spat and smiled viciously. “I owned Silver Serenade too. She did what I told her to do and when!” His eyes met mine. “And you’re trash! And when I get done with Sweetie, I’ll make sure the only shows you get are in the Manehatten slums, turning tricks for bits!”

He reached out to put a hoof on a frightened looking Sweetie Belle. His hoof slowly made its way back toward her tail. “Now, come to my office, and apologize,” he said forcefully.

“I’m going to get help.” I heard someone say in the background.

That was it! That was the last straw! In a fury, I spun around so fast, landing a hard kick square on his chest, making him yelp in pain. He slid back a little, but remained standing. The next thing I knew I was hit by a hot bolt of magic in the hindquarters knocking me to the ground. It hurt like a kick from a mule. It stung and burned.

Several ponies screamed “Fight! There’s a fight! Help!”

Sweetie ran toward me, but Talent Scout fired a shot, just missing her, leaving some singed mane on her head. She screamed and bolted out the side door. Talent Scout tore right after her, yelling more obscenities as he chased her.

“What in tarnation is going on here?”

I was vaguely aware of Applejack’s voice as I got up, trying to ignore the pain, and ran after them. I hobbled down a long hall with a set of stairs at the end: the stairs to the control room.

Without thinking about it, I flung myself up the stairs, taking two or three at a time, each jump hurting more than the last. At the top, Sweetie Belle was up against the farthest wall, taking partial cover behind a lighting control board. Her horn illuminated, ready to fire.

“Get away from me!” she squeaked. Her horn fired a bolt of energy. Talent Scout quickly blocked it. Sweetie’s horn sparked and fizzled out. She concentrated, trying to cast another spell, but she was too panicked, as she continuously tried to back herself into the wall behind her.

“You’re coming with me,” he snarled. He grabbed her with his magic, pulling her off the wall.

“Let her go!” I shouted. I charged at him. I was going to leap and kick him as hard as I could. I was almost there. I leaped. His eyes met mine, mid-air, and I knew it was all over. His magic dropped Sweetie Belle, and fired a large bolt straight into my gut. It felt like Big Mac kicked me in the stomach as I was knocked off course with such force. The air had left my lungs, I was gasping but couldn’t breath. I barely had time to shield my face as I crashed into the glass window. I flailed about trying to grab onto something. There was nothing. I was falling. I heard a scream, a loud crack, then nothing.

The Aftermath

There was a bright light. A distorted pattern of darkness. Then there was a pulsing of light above. It was all very confusing. There were sounds all around, talking, but it was impossible to make out. What language was that? And what was that high pitched ringing?

There was nothing.

The light was intense, blinding. I couldn’t open my eyes all the way. Where was I? My head was spinning.

Eventually, my eyes adjusted. The blinding light was a light hanging from a ceiling. A ceiling to what I couldn’t say. It looked office-like.

I attempted to turn my head to my left to get a look at my surroundings. Something was wrong. I couldn’t move. I couldn’t feel my neck or any other part of my body. From what I could tell, I was lying on a bed of some sort.

I was exhausted. The light faded in and out of my mind as I dozed off.

I awoke with a start. My body was on fire! I gritted my teeth, grunting. It was the worst pain I had ever experienced.

“She’s awake! Nurse! She’s awake!”

I knew that voice. That was Applejack.

“Oh, sugarcube, don’t you worry. Nurse Redheart will be here any second.”

I couldn’t respond. The pain was too intense. My head was spinning, my ears were ringing, and I felt sick to my stomach.

A rapid clip-clop sound rose from somewhere off to my right. There were a bunch of hushed voices talking rapidly. My mind couldn’t parse what they were saying.

Then something warm spread through my entire body. The pain wasn’t so bad. It was suddenly very mild and manageable. My mind felt a little loopy; I couldn’t quite focus.

“Apple Bloom,” said a sweet voice. “Can you hear me?”

“Y-yeaah.” It was strangely difficult to talk.

“Good. Do you know where you are?” the voice asked.

The answer seemed to have arrived in my mind right after being asked. “‘Ospitle,” I said, struggling to make proper sounds.

“It’s alright. I gave you something for the pain. It’s going to make talking a little difficult. But that’s okay. You’re doing great!”

The voice was very reassuring. It seemed to ease my inhibitions away. Or maybe that was the drugs taking effect… I raised my head ever so slightly. I immediately regretted it. The room was spinning. Lights were blurred, out of focus, Applejack was a fuzzy orange ball. I held very still, and slowly the room came into focus.

The first thing I saw was a very tired and frantic looking Applejack. I looked down at my own body. To my horror, everything was wrapped in bandages.

“Apple Bloom, listen to me,” said the sweet voice. I looked to my right and saw a white earth pony with a red cross of a cutie mark. “Apple Bloom, you fell over fifty feet. You have three broken legs, four broken ribs, several more are likely fractured, and a fractured shoulder.

“You are lucky to be alive. And you are very fortunate you didn’t break your back.”

Fifty feet? The control room! “Sweetie Belle!” I shouted. “Hurry, she’s in danger!” It hurt in my chest to yell, and I had trouble breathing after.

“She’s safe, sugarcube,” said Applejack. “It’s been almost twelve hours since the show.” Applejack stifled a yawn.

Twelve hours?

I looked around the room again. On my bedside table, I saw a vase full of flowers, several cards, and a sizable stack of candies. Beyond that, I could see a pink hue of the rising sun out my window.

I collapsed back into my bed.

“I’ll be back in a little to check on you,” said Nurse Redheart.

“Where’s Big Mac?” I asked. My speech was getting easier, but it felt like I was speaking extremely slow.

“He was here all night, sugarcube. He had to go feed the animals. I’m sure he’ll be back soon.” Applejack took a seat in a chair next to my bed. “How are you feeling, sugarcube?”

“I-I feel weird. There’s a little pain... “

“If ya start hurting, just press this big red button, okay?” said Applejack, pointing at a red button next to my bedside table.

A sudden sickening realization dawned on me. “Where’s Talent Scout?”

Applejack’s face went stern and she scowled. “Twilight has half the Royal Guards searching for him. It seems he teleported out of there after throwing you out.”

A wave of grief struck me, like a kick to the gut. Tears were streaming down my cheeks, and I couldn’t stop them. “I-I’m sorry, sis. This is all my fault.”

“Shhh, no it ain’t. That stallion was psycho.”

“I-I could have s-s-stopped him! B-but I w-was scared!” I couldn’t control myself. It must have been the pain killers.

“Shh, it’s alright, sugarcube. It’s all over now.”

“He-he was so horrible.”

“I know… I heard the things he was saying,” Applejack said in a soft voice. It was a voice I hadn’t heard since I was a little filly.

“An-and h-he kept t-touchin Sw-Sweetie and—”

“Shhh. It’s alright, sugarcube. It’s all over. Shhh. It’s not your fault.”

“Y-yes it is!” I yelled back. Why didn’t she get it?

“I-I d-didn’t say a-anything!”

Applejack rubbed a hoof across my face, drying my tears. “It’s all over,” she said again. “He won’t hurt you anymore.”

I couldn’t think anymore. My chest was hurting, I was short of breath again.

“Just rest, sugarcube,” said Applejack with a yawn. “Just rest,” she muttered, and dozed off to sleep in the chair.

Time seemed to move at irregular intervals. I would doze off, have wild dreams, and wake only to find ten minutes had actually passed. Other times, I would come to a realization that I had been staring at a wall, or mindlessly gazing out the window for hours.

The sun had risen by time Mac returned. He too, looked tired, but nowhere as bad as Applejack. He had brought the comforter from my bed, my pillow, and my old teddy bear. I smiled at him. He smiled back, but I could see the worry buried past his warm smile. My brother was the kind of poney who never talked much, but when he did, it was because he had something worthwhile to say. But if you really knew him, you’d know he could tell you everything with a single look.

“Thanks, Mac. You’re the best.”

“Eyup!” His eyes traveled down my body to the various bandages, slings, and casts.

“It probably looks worse than it feels,” I commented.

“Apple Bloom,” he said suddenly. “When I saw you fall, it was like in slow motion. You hit the ground so hard… I thought—I thought I had lost you—” His big green eyes welled up with tears.

It stung in my chest, seeing such a big strong stallion like Macintosh, reduced to tears. He was always so stoic, so understanding; he was so strong he could rip a house from its foundation, but he’d never hurt anypony. There were many different types of strength, though, and perhaps his greatest strength was having a tender heart.

“Whatsamatter,” muttered Applejack as she startled awake. Her eyes fell onto Mac. “Ya just get here?”

“Eyup.”

“G-g-good.” Applejack yawned.

“Sis, you can go home and get some sleep,” I said. “I ain’t going anywhere.” I chuckled at my own joke, but instantly regretted it as pain stabbed my chest like a thousand needles. “Ow.”

Applejack gave me a reproachful look, like she wanted to tell me off for making such a joke, but she decided the pain I received was punishment enough.

“Sis, you’re tired. I’m fine—as fine as I can be, Mac is here. Get some rest.”

Applejack sighed. “Alright. I’ll be back as soon as I wake up. Keep an eye on her, Mac. and make sure RedHeart brings by all of her medications and food—”

“Eyup!” said Mac, forcefully. He gave Applejack a reassuring nod.

I smiled. I was vaguely reminded of how Sweetie Belle wouldn’t stop worrying and fussing over things—Sweetie Belle… where was Sweetie? AJ said she was safe, but that doesn’t mean she’s not hurt…

I must have dozed off several times as the hours went by. I couldn’t remember who came in or who left. I heard voices, but they seemed so far off. I couldn’t process what they were saying.

I awoke with a start. It was bright, and my body was in extreme pain once again. This time the pain wasn’t stabbing me, but just several dull aches. I hit the big red button once. The effect was almost instant. A surge of euphoria surged through me, the ceiling was spinning, and I felt weightless and spacy.

I drifted through time and space. The ceiling wasn’t spinning, nor what I! Equestria was spinning, and I was anchored to the center of it, watching it spin around me. I could fly out of this hospital and go anywhere. I could leave Equestria… no… I could take Equestria with me. Yeah, that will do. I’ll take all of Equestria wherever I go. Why no? Celestia could move the sun, Luna could move the moon. So why couldn’t I move Equestria?

After some time, the strongest effects started to wear off. I realized I was still in the hospital, in my bed, still very much broken in almost every way possible. There were voices outside my room, but I couldn’t make them out. One of them was hushed, the other was talking loudly.

In the corner, Mac was fast asleep in the chair. AJ would be mad if she walked in here and found him like this, but I saw no reason to wake him.

The door flew open. I saw out of the corner of my eye, an orange and purple blurr.

“Apple Bloom!” said Scootaloo loudly.

I cringed. The sound echoed in my ears, and seemed to bounce around in my mind.

“Sorry,” she said quickly. “I-I just had to come see you as soon as possible. I was here early, but no pony would let me in until now,” she said quickly. “I was so worried… but everyone said you were going to be okay,” said Scootaloo quickly. “Anyway, that show… awesome!” Scootaloo squealed. “You rocked so hard, got into a fight, and fell over fifty feet! That is so punk rock!”

I smiled. Or I think I smiled. My face was numb.

“How are you feeling?” she asked with a more serious tone.

“I don’t feel too bad… I don’t feel… much?”

Scootaloo’s eyes fell onto the red button. “Yeah, I know what you mean. I had that button from some of my Scooter accidents.”

“I don’t remember you getting banged up this badly,” I added.

Scootaloo shook her head. “Heh, I never broke three legs at once… no. I can only imagine the pain you must be in. But it will be okay. These ponies here will take care of you.”

“Thanks, Scoots.” She seemed her normal cheery self, but there was an absence I couldn’t help notice. “Where’s Sweetie? Is she okay.”

Scootaloo’s cheery expression fell instantly. She looked uncomfortable, maybe even a little scared. “She’s safe... “

“So I’ve heard… “I said darkly.

Scootaloo grimaced. “I was told not to tell you.” Scootaloo looked around the room, spotting Mac sound asleep for the first time. “Look,” she said in a hushed tone. “After you fell, a lot of things happened at once. It was chaotic. Talent Scout teleported out. Most of the attention was on you. Most ponies thought you were… you were…” tears welled up in Scootaloo’s eyes. She quickly wiped them away. “Sweetie was found hours later hiding behind the control panel. It took them twenty minutes to convince her to come out of there. She thought, like many of us, that you were, you know… it happened right before her eyes.”

I felt sick. I hadn’t even thought how all of this might have looked to other ponies. “But she knows I’m okay…” I said matter-of-factly. “I'm sure somepony told her I’m fine.” I paused and looked around. “Relatively speaking of course.”

Scootaloo shook her head. “I’m sure she was told. But she has refused to leave her room, refused to eat, she’s just been sitting there.” Scootaloo shook her head, but she couldn’t keep the tears out of her eyes. “It’s like she’s not there when you talk to her. I think—I think she blames herself for all of this.” Scootaloo buried her face into her hooves and turned away from me.

Sharp pains shot through my chest, and they had nothing to do with my injuries. “Scoots, I would hug you tightly if I could,” I muttered. “It’s not her fault. It’s his fault. It’s my fault for not coming forward sooner. I should have told Applejack. I should have told Twilight after the second show…”

After a few minutes Scootaloo composed herself and turned around. “It’s not any of your faults. He took advantage of all of you. Dosie got me caught up on the whole thing. It’s just awful.”

“The whole thing is a mess. I hope Twilight can catch him.”

“She will,” said Scootaloo confidently. “No pony had seen Twilight that angry before.”

“Scoots, you have to try to get through to Sweetie Belle. I’d go to her, but I can’t go anywhere. Convince her to come see me.”

Scootaloo sighed. “I can try. She may not want to come see you like this.”

“Please,” I insisted gently. “She needs to know I’m okay. She needs to know it’s not her fault. She needs to know… I-I love her.”

There was a pause of dead silence. Then Scootaloo’s eyes lit up. “I always wondered. Look, um, I’m going to leave that to you to tell her… but fair warning, now is probably not the best time to confess your undying love.”

I stifled a laugh, fearing the pain it would cause me. I’m sure my face was bright red even though I couldn’t feel it. “Finally somepony who didn’t know,” I muttered under my breath.

“Actually,” said Scootaloo. “I said I always wondered, meaning I suspected it. You don’t hide it as well as you think you do.” Scootaloo was smiling again. “I think it’s… cute. And it’s obvious she cares a great deal for you.”

Scootaloo was known for being a loud tom-colt filly with a very crude sense of humor, and for being very open about her sexuality. Under that was a soft and gentle filly who sometimes made you forget about her more abrasive nature.

“And filly on filly is tons of fun! You can literally go all night long.”

Sometimes.

I face hoofed with my one good leg. “Scoots.”

Scootaloo shrugged. “Just stating a fact. Here’s another. Once you get out of this body cast, you’ll be so horny, you’ll think you’re in the worst heat ever. You’ll be humping the bed, the floor, the walls, pretty much everything you can shove your vage up against.”

“Scoots,” I grumbled. “Not now… please.”

“Okay, but don’t say I didn’t warn you.”

“I-I can’t even think about that stuff right now…”

“Of course not!” replied Scootaloo. “You’re high on some pretty strong shit. Just you wait though.”

“Yeah it makes me feel like I’m floating.”

“You know what else makes you feel that way?”

“Shut up!” I snapped. We both started laughing. I was crying out in pain between laughs, which made me laugh harder for some reason. “Ow, damn it, Scoots.”

“Sorry.” Scootaloo sighed and sat down in the chair next to my bed. “It’s been pandemonium all night. You guys really shook Ponyville with that show. A lot of ponies didn’t really know what to think. I was rocking out though. I freakin loved it! I think there will be some really interesting articles in the paper about it today.”

“I’m not sure I want to hear about it,” I said. In retrospect, our show seemed like a foalish rebellion.

“Are you sure? I could read some of them to you. I don’t think the music is going to get negative reviews,” said Scootaloo earnestly. “No pony had ever seen anything like that. The sounds were heavy and dark and menacing, Sweetie’s vocals were raw and unrefined. The effects were horrifying. Sweetie setting herself on fire was only the second most insane thing going on. The ponies of the machine, coming out, hooded, masked, all looking the same, marching out of the red smoke, sparks flying from under their hooves. It was truly horrifying to see.”

“That was what we were going for,” I said. “I’m glad you enjoyed it.”

“I was up in the box with everypony. Applejack loved it, Rarity was freaked out, Rainbow Dash thought it was a masterpiece. Twilight… she analyzed the whole thing right after.” Scootaloo rolled her eyes. “Like we didn’t know what it was about.”

“Sweetie wanted to be blunt and in your face about it.”

“Which makes it so awesome!” Scootaloo screeched that last word. “The point is, I think the majority liked it for being edgy, stunning, horrifying, and just so different than anything else. You never know what you’re gonna get at a Belle and Bloom show… that’s what the ponies are saying these days.”

I sighed. We arrived there at last. Talk of the actual production. I wasn’t sure how much Scootaloo knew, we didn’t tell her a lot, but after the events of the last show, I’m guessing she had a good idea. “I’m not sure what’s going to happen now.”

“Me neither. I just hope you two can keep rocking like that.” Scootaloo glanced at the clock nervously.

“If you gotta be somewhere… that’s cool,” I said quickly.

“It’s nothing… I’m just meeting Dosie for lunch.”

“Oh? You two are a thing now?” I asked.

Scootaloo blushed a little. “We… um we do things together.”

I rolled my eyes. Just what I needed to know…

“Come on now, you know how she is. I heard you turned her down. Saving your first time for somepony in particular?”

I ignored her. I was open to talk about these things but not on the level Scootaloo was. She would gladly tell me every little detail if I had asked. But she was right. I was ‘saving’ myself for a very special pony. I wasn’t like Scootaloo or Dos-à-Dos who seemed to get it on at the drop of a hat despite my heat-addled fantasies.

“Sorry,” muttered Scootaloo. “You don’t want to talk about this stuff right now.”

“Not really,” I sighed. “I’m glad you and Dosie are… um—”

“Buck buddies?” suggested Scootaloo.

“Yeah… I-I mean she’s really nice and I think if she learns to trust, and you two can be more than buck buddies.”

“One thing at a time. Anyway, I could find a newspaper. I’m sure there’s all kinds of interesting takes on the show—”

The door swung open, and in walked nurse Redheart. “Oh, I see you have some visitors,” she said warmly when she noticed Scootaloo. “It’s lunch time, “she said briskly to me.

Upon her mentioning lunch, I only then realized I hadn’t eaten since before the show, and it wasn’t much as Sweetie had everyone running around until the very last minute. I really wanted a hay burger. Or maybe an apple tart.

Nurse Redheart, however, didn’t have hay burgers or apple tarts. What she did have was a cup full of some puree with a thick straw sticking up. The puree was so thick it held the straw straight up and down.

“W-What is that?” I asked.

“It’s a mixed vegetable puree. It’s full of important vitamins and nutrients your body needs right now.”

I took the cup in my good hoof. The cup was surprisingly heavy. Reluctantly, I took a sip. It wasn’t bad per se. It wasn’t good either. I was pretty hungry, so I didn’t slow down slurping down my lunch.

“Hungry I take it,” remarked nurse RedHeart, mostly to herself it seemed. “How are you feeling?”

“Better,” I said. The ‘food’ took some away the real loopy and spacy feelings I was getting from the painkillers.

“Good. We are working on some potions to help you heal. They will take a little while to make. Until then, you’ll just have to get by as is.”

“How long will it take to heal with the potions?” I asked.

Nurse Redheart thought for a moment before answering. “About a week. Give or take. But you’re gonna have to hang in there a few more days.”

I smiled. That was the best news I had heard all day.

“Anyway, I gotta meet up with Dosie,” said Scootaloo casually as she slid out of her chair. “I will be back later.” She gave me a reassuring nod and left the room.

No sooner than Scootaloo leaving, Twilight came strolling into the room. My heart sank like a rock. Her facial expression was grim. She looked tired and overall not in a good mood.

“P-princess,” said nurse Redheart.

“I need a few words with Apple Bloom,” she said. Nurse Redheart nodded and left the room quickly.

The room was dead quiet. Twilight simply stared at me. Was she mad at me? Exhausted? Was she going to yell at me? I stared right back at her. Then she looked at Mac, sound asleep in the chair.

“He’s, um, sound asleep. A stampede couldn’t wake him up,” I said nervously.

Twilight let out a long sigh then sat down in the chair Scootaloo had been sitting in. “Are you feeling okay?” she asked at last.

“I’m doing alright,” I said.

“You look pretty banged up, but I reckon they are getting you fixed up here in no time,” Twilight remarked matter-of-factly. “Ahem, anyway, I need you to recount everything that happened last night. We have not been able to find Talent Scout, and Sweetie Belle isn’t talking to anypony.”

A knot turned in my stomach. I knew it. “How is she?”

“Traumatized,” said Twilight quickly. Twilight shook her head and softened her expression. “She’s been through a lot—both of you have been through a lot. A lot more than she knows how to process. She will come around when she’s ready.”

“I hope so. Twilight, this is all my fault. I failed to come forward weeks ago, heck, months ago.”

“Come forward with what?” ask Twilight. She tried to keep an expression of interest, but I could tell she seemed uneasy about something.

I launched into the tale of how I got involved, how Talent Scout treated me, how he treated Sweetie Belle, and how he tried to take control over the show, and how he went berserk after our show.

Twilight looked sick to her stomach. “Okay, wait stop. You’re saying he touched Sweetie Belle in an inappropriate way several times?”

I nodded. “And from what Sweetie told me, that’s how he and the rest of these producers are.”

“You should have come forward immediately,” Twilight chided.

“I-I know. It’s all my fault. I was going to go with Dosie after the second show, but then Sweetie warned me, it would have been the end of everything. He owned the show and everything about it.”

Twilight shook her head. “Yes, but you two tricked me into funding your latest show which was some kind of revenge piece!”

I sunk down into my bed. “I-I’m sorry. I-we thought we could handle it. We thought we had the situation under control!” I felt like I was the one in trouble, not TS. Twilight was interrogating me, and making me sound and feel stupid. “I-I was scared of what he might have done!” I blurted out. Tears were running down the side of my face again. I couldn’t help it. The more I thought about it, the more I reflected on it, this was all my fault.

Twilight was taken aback. “Apple Bloom,” she said softly. “I’m sorry. You’re not in trouble. I’m just tired and frustrated. I had just reached the ground level when we heard commotion coming from backstage. I heard someone scream fight. Applejack went to check it out. A-a few seconds later, there was an explosion of magic, your body falling out of the control room, and that sound... “ Twilight shuddered. “I’ll never forget that sound when you hit the ground.

“I saw other ponies rush toward you. I flew up to the top box, only to see a flash of light, and Sweetie Belle huddled in the corner, scared out of her wits.”

I cringed, just imagining what breaking three legs would sound like. “We didn’t trick you. We really were done with Talent Scout. He wrote a disgusting script because he hated me, for some reason. I guess I’m not hot or something. We became a different production company and decided to do a show calling out TS and others like him. I’m sorry if you thought we were trying to trick you or pull a fast one.”

Twilight sighed. “The way you two did it…” Twilight trailed off. “You two accomplished a lot. It’s very impressive what you two have done, and you should be extremely proud! But you’ve been taken advantage of. You two need a manager you can trust, who really knows the business and can help you.”

I nodded. It made sense. We weren’t business ponies, and we knew nothing about contracts. “That would be nice.”

“I will look around for somepony trustworthy,” said Twilight. “That is, if you two keep doing this.”

“Are you still going to be our patron?” I asked, hopefully.

Twilight nodded. “If you agree to stay away from terrible producers and avoid some of your more, um, dangerous acts on stage.” She smiled. “And speaking of producers, I talked to a few while trying to hunt down Talent Scout. They told me after the Filly Tonix fell apart, mostly because of Talent Scout’s mismanagement, that he was desperate to get another chart topping show. Silver Serenade was snatched almost the second the Filly Tonix was no more by another producer.”

“Mismanagement?” I asked.

Twilight nodded. “The Filly Tonix went broke. They believe Talent Scout was taking all of the money for himself to pay off other debts. He was fired from managing some colt band before the Filly Tonix, I forget which one. He had a lot riding on that show.”

“I guess that’s why he went crazy. But that doesn’t explain why he was so touchy-feely with Sweetie, and probably others. He flat out said he owned her, and implied that if she still wanted to have a music career, she had to suck his—”

“I get the idea,” said Twilight quickly. “The producers I talked to didn’t say anything about that stuff. But I’ll be sure to ask them,” said Twilight firmly.

“They weren’t the ones doing it,” I said quickly. “I’m not accusing them of anything.”

“I know. But these are serious accusations, we have to follow up on them. He’s already wanted for attempted murder. It looks like we can add sexual assault to his wrapsheet.”

I scrunched up my nose in disgust. “I hope you get him, Twilight.”

“Oh we’ll get him,” said Twilight. “Oh, there’s just one more thing: what was the contract you signed with him?”

I shook my head. “I never signed anything. Sweetie said she could hire anypony. This whole time I thought her contract gave her creative control over the show. It turned out that was only a verbal agreement.

“Once he saw I wasn’t some skinny sexy thing he couldn’t shove into a leotard, he hated me. He had no real intention of letting Sweetie continue what she was doing.”

“And then you two came to me,” said Twilight. “That all fits together.”

I glanced sideways, but Twilight caught my guilty look.

“You might as well come out with it. All of it,” Twilight snapped. “I will find out.”

“We… um, we may have failed to inform him we were no longer working under him. In fact, Sweetie told him we were doing his script.”

Twilight brow furrowed as she glared at me.

“We never used any of his money. That’s why we started the other production company,” I added, but Twilight was still looking less than pleased. “Sweetie—we were angry! We didn’t want to just walk away—”

“And you wanted to tell him how you really felt,” Twilight concluded.

At long last, Twilight dropped her piercing gaze and stood up. “There is no excuse for what Talent Scout did. Not any of it. But I hope you see how your decisions played a part. And if you two ever want to perform anything, I’m ordering you to use better judgement! And if you find yourselves in a bad situation like that, ask for help.” The last part sounded like a passionate plea. But I was still sulking lower into my bed under her sharp tone.

“A-all I can say is I’m sorry. We messed up real bad.”

Twilight nodded sadly. “Yes,” she said simply. Then she—she smiled? “And now that I’m done chewing you out, I have to say, that last show was unlike anything I’ve ever seen! Good job! Even if it was forged out of very dubious circumstances.”

I stared in bewilderment.

“Look,” said Twilight softly. “When we saw what happened, it really scared us. And when I found out things got out of control—it may not have gone as far as it did if somepony knew and intervened.” Twilight smiled again. “You’re only getting a stern talking to. Can you imagine what’s in store for Talent Scout once we catch him?”

I smiled bashfully back at her.

“I hope you get better soon. But now I must sleep for a little while Luna searches. Hopefully we catch this guy soon.”

Twilight left the room, leaving me only with a slumbering Mac for company. I felt pretty rotten inside. A stern talking to from a princess is a pretty big deal. The only thing worse would be getting that from Applejack.

The hours slowly crept on by. My back was sore from laying on it, but I was unable to move into any other position. Annoyed, I hit the red button and let the pain killers send me off to another place.

Scootaloo returned after dinner, full of energy… and more sex talk.

“So how was your lunch with Dosie?” I asked casually.

“It was good. We just got some daisy sandwiches. Not my favorite, but they’re healthy or something.”

“So… you didn’t have any afternoon delight?” I asked, trying to hide my smirk.

Scootaloo beamed. “Nice! There may be hope for you yet.”

“Maybe for me, but for you it’s a lost cause,” I said with a wry smile.

“Heh, probably,” said Scootaloo as she took a seat in the chair next to the bed. “So any news about Talent Scout?”

I went into explaining my conversation with Twilight. I was halfway through it when Applejack had returned and started yelling at Mac for sleeping the whole day. Mac left a few moments later grumbling something that sounded like ‘it’s not like she’s going anywhere.’ After another few minutes of Applejack fussing over me, I continued my story in a lower voice. I would have to tell Applejack everything, but there was only so much verbal abuse a filly could take in a day… and besides I didn’t want Scoots to be there when I talked to her about it.

“Sheesh,” muttered Scootaloo after I had finished. “And then she said the show was awesome? Maybe she was just jealous you guys rock so hard.”

I eyed Scootaloo with a suspicious expression. “Yeah... totally what it is.”

Applejack was sitting in the back of the room reading the paper. I’m glad she was mostly out of earshot. Scootaloo didn’t exactly have a good filter. She never said anything too crazy around Applejack, but she did slip up once in a while.

“So, did you find out why Talent Scout hated you so much?” asked Scootaloo.

I shook my head and explained to her my theory about not being the right body type for a really tight leotard and not being eye candy for him. “You know… I’m just not that good lookin.”

Scootaloo huffed. “Who cares what he thinks. He’s just some creep. You’re totally hot. I’d do you in an instant.”

I rolled my eyes. “Ha ha, Scoots. But seriously—”

“For real. You’re really freakin good looking, and, like... I’d totally do you.” Scootaloo’s face was bright red. “Er, if you wanted,” she muttered.

I could feel heat on my face. She always did have to make things awkward. Thankfully AJ heard none of this. “I-I’m flattered. But is there any pony you wouldn’t sleep with?”

Scootaloo glared. “I like sex, but I do have standards,” she snapped.

“I’m sorry, Scootaloo. That was mean. I should just learn to take a compliment. Even an unorthodox one.”

“And not have such a negative outlook on your body. Dosie thinks you’re hot, half the freakin town probably thinks that. Don’t let some lunatic drown out your support.”

“You’re right.” I was still taken aback by Scootaloo’s declaration that she’d have sex with me. Truth be told, she did appear in some of my fantasies. “Anyway… after that shocking revelation…”

Scootaloo gave me a wry smile. “I know you have this whole majical first time thing, probably with Sweetie, but well… the offer is on the—”

“Shh! Do you hear that?”

Scootaloo shook her head. “No.”

“Listen… it sounds like music.”

“I think you’ve done a little too many pain—I do hear something.”

A growing sound rose from outside my window. Several ponies had gathered outside my window. Unicorns were using their horns as lights, and they were singing. They were singing one of our songs!

“If you trust your rebel heart, ride it into battle,
“Don’t be afraid, take the road less traveled,
“Wear out your boots, kick up the gravel,
“Don’t be afraid, take the road less traveled on.”

“Well ain’t that nice, sugarcube,” said Applejack getting up from her chair.

I couldn’t help but smile. What a perfect ending to a terrible day.

Song Anthology

This contains links to the songs in the story. This isn't how they are supposed to sound when the ponies are singing them in the story, just a reference point. This will be added to as more songs are sung.

Clementine. The song Apple Bloom keeps singing.

Rawhide. They are singing closer to the Blues Brothers' version than the original, but probably an octave higher since Sweetie's and Apple Bloom's voices can't go that low.

Gypsies Tramps and Thieves. Pretty much a re-creation of Cher's performance.

Road Less Traveled. Lauren's voice is pretty close to Apple Bloom's.

Dancing Queen.

Have a Cigar

Welcome to the Machine (This cover is closer to how Sweetie is singing it)

The Filly-Tonix

It couldn’t have been a better night for an outdoor show. Everypony from Ponyville had to have been there. The air was full of excited anticipation as the curtain remained down and the stage dark. But through the incoherent rumble of hundreds talking over each other, there was a tinge of melancholy in the air too. Tonight was the last performance the Filly-Tonix would do.

About a year ago, Sweetie Belle received a once in a life-time opportunity to join a group of fillies to perform pop songs and dance routines. They were a pretty big hit in Ponyville, Canterlot, and even Manehatten. Their songs were catchy and fun, and their dance routines were stunning; in more ways than one... They wore very tight costumes that left little to the imagination, and their dances involved some… provocative movements.

“Just start already!” came Scootaloo’s irritated voice in my left ear. It was hard to hear her over all the noise. I simply nodded, acknowledging her irritation.

I still couldn’t believe they were breaking up. Their songs were everywhere, but maybe AJ was right about these types of groups…

The Filly-Tonix had done their official farewell tour in Manehatten, of course. AJ wouldn’t let me go, but I heard the crowd was unimaginably large. I was so mad, I didn’t speak to her for a week! But luckily, Sweetie Belle, was able to pull some strings and give Ponyville a private concert. Call it a last, last concert.

The lights went down. The curtain raised. Bright lights shone on the stage as five fillies stepped into the light and took a bow. The crowd exploded into hoof stomping and cheering. I heard Scootaloo let out a howl of a cheer, which I joined in a second later.

“Thank you!” Sweetie Belle’s voice boomed through the crowd, and the noise slowly died down. “Thank you, Ponyville! Welcome to our final show. We are the Filly-Tonix!” She screamed the last part. The crowd erupted into cheers, whistles, and hoof stomping. At the same time the music started. Sweetie Belle stepped back from the mic in with the rest of her group as they went into a complicated dance routine.

The music was upbeat and easy to dance to. Scootaloo was clumsily bobbing to the beat while I was doing my best to rock from side to side in time with the song. I knew this song. It was good, but Sweetie Belle didn’t sing in this one; so to me, it wasn’t as good.

The singer and star of the group was Silver Serenade. Well that was her stage name anyway. She was wearing a silver leotard, and her mane was done up in massive curls. She actually looked good—well half the colts in Ponyville had a crush on her, and I may have had one on her too. Her body was lean and long. She simply looked exotic. She was the main dancer and lead vocals. Sweetie Belle usually sang backup vocals, but she got a few solos. Sweetie Belle and the rest of the group wore black leotards, and their manes were all done up in similar fashion. From the distance I was standing, it was hard to tell which one Sweetie was. Once I found her, my attention was on Sweetie Belle, and I could feel my heart racing as I watched every move she made. Her leotard accentuated every curve of her body as she stepped and twisted.

Song after song went by. I loved them all. In their fast songs, Scoots and I jokingly danced around each other, and on slow songs we swayed with the music. Some ponies in the audience danced with each other.

For the final song, Sweetie and Silver sang a power ballad that was written specifically for the final tour. I had heard every song they had written; so this was the song I was most excited about. It started out slow and built and built. Sweetie and Silver were singing with so much power in their voices, I could feel the fur on my back prickling up… and then it ended with on a soft note and the music faded. The lights went down. The curtain fell. And that was the last time the Filly-Tonix were on stage together.

It was some time before Scoots and I made our way out of the crowd. The music still ringing in my ears. We collected our saddlebags from the bag-check counter.

“That was awesome!” exclaimed Scootaloo.

“Sweetie Belle really out did herself,” I replied excitedly. “I liked her outfit for the performance,” I blurted out. Feeling my cheeks burn. “I-I mean they all looked cool.”

“Yeah they were.” Scootaloo was jumpin up and down, hovering for a few brief seconds, and then landing. “Come on! Let’s get back stage!”

Scootaloo was practically dragging me by the hoof as we set off for the stage.

We showed our backstage passes to the bouncer, and made our way back. Silver Serenade was struggling to get out of her silver leotard. It was half-way off, exposing her pale-blue coat underneath. “Just get it off!” She huffed to another pony attempting to pull it off her. Her cheeks were flushed, and her neck was sweaty. “So glad I don’t have to wear this thing again!” she spat. She was a pale blue unicorn with a silver mane and tale with thin black strips. Up close she looked a little older than the rest. Her body was flawless and smooth as it glistened with sweat, and I grew a little warm down there getting a good look at her as we passed.

There was a murmur of agreement from the others as well. The rest of the group members were in similar predicaments as Silver.

“They’re just too tight,” Sweetie Belle said.

I found Sweetie Belle in the corner struggling with her leotard. I strode over to her. Her eyes lit up when she saw me, and then she grinned awkwardly. “Could you lend me a hoof?”

“You betcha.” I replied warmly. “The show was amazing, by the way,” I added quickly.

“Yeah super cool!” Scootaloo agreed. “I’m not sure about that last dance, but the song was cool.”

I pulled at the leotard, pulling it down, but it was stuck her body. Sweetie Belle squirmed as I pulled. Slowly but surely, it slid off. I was immediately greeted with her scent as I held the soaked leotard. The smell was heavenly to me, and my already warm nethers were practically dripping. My heart started pounding in my chest as a reckless urge to keep it came over me; a memento… but I thought better of it and held it out to her.

“Ugh.” She eyed it with disgust. “Get rid of it.”

“Don’t you want to keep it?” Scootaloo asked. “It’s a Filly-Tonix official! It could be worth a lot in the future,” she said facetiously.

“Yeah you should keep it,” I added dumbly.

“That was the worst part of this whole thing,” Sweetie Belle said. “You’d understand if you had to wear it several hours a night.”

“Alright,” I replied automatically. “I’ll get rid of it for you.” I made my way toward a trash can in the corner of the room. The reckless urge came back to me, and I knew what I was going to do. I looked over my shoulder to see if anyone was watching, and then I slipped the leotard in my saddlebag.

As I made my way back, Rarity had arrived, and was pulling Sweetie Belle into a big hug. “Simply wonderful, darling!” She beamed. “I just can’t believe it’s over… but I guess that’s what they say about all good things…” she mused. “What did you think of it?” she asked me.

But before I could respond, Sweetie Belle let out a loud squeak as she yawned. “ Sorry,” she muttered. “I’m really tired.”

“Oh, the poor dear,” Rarity cooed. “She’s been performing every night this week. Come now. You’re going straight to bed!”

Sweetie Belle offered no argument to Rarity’s command. “Hey let’s meet up at sugar Cube Corner tomorrow after breakfast,” she said to us. We agreed, and she bid us a hasty goodnight, and left quickly with Rarity.

“You wanna come over?” Scootaloo asked. “We could stay up singing our favorites songs.”

It sounded like an amazing idea, but I too was feeling tired. “I’m tired, Scoots. Tomorrow?”

“Yeah, I’m tired too. Tomorrow would be better,” she replied, but I could hear a note of disappointment in her voice.

On the walk home, we sang our favorite Filly-Tonix songs. Well, I sang; Scoots more or less belted out the words in what some may consider a tune… loosely. But we didn’t care. The whole town was out and about riding the high from the concert.

We parted ways at the edge of town, and I made my way down the familiar old road, past the barn, and into the farmhouse. “AJ, I’m home!”

“There ya are, Sugarcube.” Applejack poked her head out from the kitchen. “How was the show? I heard the whole thing from here.”

“It was amazing! Sweetie Belle got to sing in a new song and everything.”

“Well that’s good.” Applejack smiled and returned to the kitchen. “There’s a little bit of supper left if you’re hungry!” she called out.

“No thanks. I ate at Scoots’ before the show.” I made my way to my room. I tossed my saddlebags on the floor exhaling deeply. I lay on my bed, just reminiscing about my favorite moments of the show.

Applejack poked her head through my doorway. “I’m hittin the hay,” she said. “Big Mac hasn’t fixed the plough yet, so not much for you to do tomorrow.”

I grinned. “I can hang out with Sweetie and Scoots all day tomorrow!”

“There will be work to do once it’s fixed, so don’t get too excited,” chided Applejack.

“I know, sis.”

“Goodnight, Sugarcube.”

“Goodnight!” I called out as Applejack closed the door. Her hoofsteps grew faint, but I didn’t dare move just yet. There was a loud creak and a soft thunk that told me Applejack’s bedroom door was shut. I waited a few minutes more, just to be safe.

Slowly, my eyes adjusted to the dark, as I lay on my bed. My heart was pounding. I made my way out of bed, and reached for my saddlebags. Reaching inside, I found what I was looking for when my hoof touched something soft and silky. I jumped silently back onto my bed and lay down. I brought the leotard up to my nose, giving it a sniff. My nose was greeted with a musky scent. I sniffed harder, taking in the aroma. I began to breathe heavily, each breath drawing in more of that intoxicating essence. I could feel myself growing hot and wet down there.

I held up the leotard, trying to get a look at it in the dark. After a few seconds, my eyes adjusted to the dark object. I found what I was looking for… I turned it over, flipping out the crotch piece, bringing it to my nose slowly. I inhaled deeply. The scent hit me like a ton of bricks. It was a smell of strong musk, and tangy, and a hint of something almost sweet.

I lowered a hoof and started rubbing myself. I was so wet. I inhaled deeper, putting the fabric on my nose. It was simply intoxicating. I rubbed harder, sliding my hoof into my slit, I pushed my hips into my hoof, moaning softly. “Oh, Sweetie,” I whispered heavily, “you smell so good down there.” My hoof found my nub, and I ran it in circles over it. “Yes, right there.”

I was out of my mind. The smell of her fillyhood was so intense, more arousing than I could’ve imagined. I was close. I inhaled again, and let myself go over the edge. I stifled a yelp as I rode out my orgasm. It was the most intense one I’ve ever felt. I lay in a heap after, gasping loudly. It took a second for my eyes to come back into focus. There was a big wet spot under me. “Wow.”

Slowly my senses came back to me. I let the leotard fall to my side. A sudden uneasiness settled in my gut, and I knew I should be ashamed. If Sweetie Belle ever found out… I should’ve never taken it. I couldn’t help it though. She smelled so amazing, and I was so worked up…

Around and around my mind went with confusing feelings and thoughts until I drifted off to sleep.

Belle and Bloom

Color text key: Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, and AB and Sweetie together/harmonizing

The light shining in through my bedroom window woke me early. Annoyed that I forgot to close my curtains, and still too lazy to reach up and close them, I rolled over onto my other side enjoying the heat from the sun.

A faint musk smell met my nose. It smelled nice… I felt a warmth from below as realization dawned on me, my actions from last night fresh in my mind. I smiled and pulled it closer while a hoof reached down. I idly rubbed myself imagining it was Sweetie’s hoof touching me.

I rolled over onto my back, spreading my hind legs wide. One hoof worked my hard nub, while the other traced circles over my teats. As my excitement grew, an idea came over me. I stopped what I was doing; my body protested. I grabbed the leotard and examined it. Then I lowered it to my hind legs, guiding them through the holes, I pulled it up over my body. I gasped faintly as the crotch piece came up over my fillyhood. It was soft and smooth, and it cupped it just right. I pulled the straps over my forelegs, and it stretched out putting an uncomfortable tension on my body.

“I guess this is why she doesn’t like this thing…” I muttered. It was really tight, and it left nothing to the imagination. Especially on me as I was slightly bigger than Sweetie. I struggled a little and pulled my tail through the hole, and it rested snugly in between my legs. Knowing Sweetie wore this last night, and it was snugly against her fillyhood, my excitement grew again. My hoof found its way down to my fillyhood and began to grind the fabric into me. I caught whiffs of Sweetie’s scent as I continued to grind into my hoof. The knowledge that my fillyhood was grinding into fabric Sweetie’s fillyhood had been against the night before made it more exciting.

The pressure rose up inside me as I imagined Sweetie Belle touching me, and kissing me all over my body. She was making her way down my stomach when it hit me. I came hard, soaking the leotard.

As I lay there panting, basking in the afterglow I heard hoofsteps approaching. I barely had time to get under the covers before Applejack barged in. “Rise and shine, Suga—” Her eyes locked onto my red wide-eyed face. “I-I see you’re already up.” And she backed out of the room and closed the door without saying another word.

She knew. There was no way she didn’t. And why did I have to have such a guilty face? And why does she just barge in here when I want to… Ugh! Maybe I can play it off as a bad dream.

I got out of bed, stripped off the leotard, with difficulty, and stashed it in my pillowcase. I’ll have to come back later and get rid of it when no one is around.

After a quick shower, where I made sure to wash off any scents I may still have of my activities, I went down for breakfast, hoping AJ had already gone outside.

Not only was she still inside, though, she was standing in the kitchen with a curious look on her face. I couldn’t read it. I decided it was best to walk past her, sit at the table, and not say anything.

“Hey, Apple Bloom,” Applejack started after a long and rather uncomfortable silence. “I just want you to know that…” She trailed off looking at the floor. “Well, you’re a growing filly, and you get these feelings… down there…” Her face was beet-red. I kept my eyes on my plate. She had caught me in the act. “It’s natural for you to… to want to… ya know…” She gestured hopelessly. “I’m sorry, I should have knocked. I keep forgetting you’re getting older now, and if you ever need to talk or have questions about your body… I’ll do my best to answer. Shucks, it’s hard for me to talk about this… I never got anything from Ma and Pa… I just wish I had someone back then to tell me ‘it’s okay.’” Applejack finished.

I pulled my eyes from my plate, daringly looking toward Applejack, but avoiding her eyes. Her face was practically burning. There was no point in trying to pass any of this off as a bad dream. The look on my face, the smell of my room told her more than she probably would’ve wanted to know. “Okay,” I said thickly. I couldn’t think of anything else to say.

Applejack sat down across from me. “It’s okay, Sugarcube.” It was the best reassuring voice I ever heard. “It must be pretty embarrassing being caught by your sister… I won’t even tell you who caught me when I was a filly.”

That more than anything brought me out of my deep shame. “You?”

“Yep.” Applejack nodded. “I didn’t want to leave my room after that. And I had no one back then to tell me about these things… sex and all that…” Applejack trailed off. “It was a different time back then.”

As relieved as I was for my own sister to admit to being caught playing with herself, I wasn’t sure I was ready to ask her anything. I felt weird, exposed, dirty even. I knew what I was doing, of course, they said it was natural, but I still felt uncomfortable about it. If it didn’t feel so darn good and wasn’t so exciting, I wouldn’t have messed with anything down there… but that’s not how mares are designed.

“They didn’t teach you about this in school back then?” I asked, surprising myself.

Applejack sighed. “Not really. We were taught the very basics and were told we’d learn the rest when we were married… Different times, and Ponyville was more up-tight back then too. Still didn’t stop anyone from messing around though.” Applejack shook her head. “If anything it made things worse with every pony not knowing anything.

“Now listen,” Applejack said sternly, making me jump a little. “Don’t let any pony touch you in a way you don’t want them to. Don’t let any colt sweet talk you into doing anything you feel you aren’t ready for. It’s your body. And if the time does come… make sure you use protection… or he does. You don’t want to be in foal while in school. Especially this young.” Applejack shuddered. “The teasing alone would be awful…”

“I don’t think you’ll have to worry about that last one,” I said casually, starting to feel better about myself.

Applejack eyed me suspiciously. “What do you mean?” She spoke slowly and clearly, her eyes drilling into me.

“I-I mean I’m not going around doing… that,” I said, knowing it was unconvincing. She continued to stare. “I-I don’t like colts,” I muttered quietly.

“What?”

I took a deep breath and let it out. “I don’t like colts like that.”

Applejack looked shocked, but only for a second. Realization spread across her face. “That explains why you have all of those Filly-Tonix fan magazine under your bed. I was wondering…”

My heart stopped. My eyes went wide. Was there anything she didn’t know? My face grew hot, and my eyes narrowed.

“I’m sorry. I’m sorry,” said Applejack hastily. “Honestly, I was just trying to slide a box of some of you old books and games under your bed when I found them. I wasn’t snooping. Or, tryin’ to at least.” Applejack bowed her head. “Sis, I’ve violated your privacy, and I apologize.”

I didn’t know what to say. When Applejack apologizes in this direct fashion, she is being earnest.

“It’s okay to like fillies,” Applejack went on. “I’m not sure if I can help you with that as much… I don’t have experience with other…” Applejack cleared her throat. “You can always talk to me about anything,” she said hastily. “And I’ll do better to respect your privacy.”

“Thanks, Sis.”

“You betcha. And a little word to the wise, if you get tired of washing your sheets; the showerhead has many settings.” Applejack blushed a little.

I exhaled sharply. It was okay to use other objects! I wasn’t that weird—she said showerhead, not a leotard worn by your friend. “So, what other things can mares use?”

“Well… um, there are all kinds of things. Some are meant for it, and others can be used for it…” Applejack trailed off, flustered. “I’m not sure if you’ll be interested in the ones shaped like a stallion’s penis…”

I repulsed at the very idea of something shaped like that, but the idea of something going inside me seemed exciting… this was so confusing.

“Mares can use them on each other too. Or so I’ve heard.”

“How,” I asked before I could stop myself.

“It’s called a strap on… one mare wears a belt like thing and one end goes inside her, and then she puts the other end inside her partner and she ruts her like a stallion would.”

I could feel a tingling sensation in my fillyhood. I did my best to push down images of Sweetie Belle on top of me, rutting me with such a device. I wanted to save that image for later use.

Applejack shook her head. “I ain’t an expert on this. Never done anything with another mare.” Applejack trailed off. “And the same thing I said before still applies,” she said abruptly. “Don’t do anything you don’t feel comfortable with. Don’t let any pony—”

“I Know, Applejack,” I said hastily. “I’m not about to go sleep with some filly or anything. I don’t even have a filly friend…” I wanted to add, ‘I don’t know if she feels the same way.’

“Just making sure all the basics are covered here. One step at a time… no need to be in a hurry.” Applejack stood up and walked around the table, pulling me into a tight hug. “My little sister is growing up.”

“Applejack,” I said thoughtfully, snuggling into her embrace, “what do I do if I like some pony, but she doesn’t like me like that back? What if she’s too scared to say anything. What if—”

“What if the sky falls and the sun stops burning,” said Applejack.

I freed myself from her embrace to look at her. She smiled back at me.

“This is something I can help you with, sugarcube. It’s the same if you like fillies or colts here. You can ask what if all day and night for lick of difference it’ll do you. You’ll only find out if you talk to her, and ask her how she feels. She could turn you down, and I’ll be a shoulder to cry on. She might not know, or she might say yes. You can only move forward if you talk to her.”

“Easier said than done,” I said.

“True. It gets easier as you get older… but do it on your own time in your own way. Don’t barge into her house and confess your undying love and scare her away two towns over…” Applejack chuckled at her own joke. “So who is the filly who’s got your eye?” she asked slyly.

I felt my heart beat quicken, and I smiled bashfully and shook my head.

“I could guess,” Applejack said. “Come on, I’m your big sister. I’m allowed a little teasin.”

I shook my head again. It was beyond obvious to her, especially if she opened those magazines and saw all the hearts I drew around Sweetie’s pictures. It was such a little filly thing to do, but that was last year!

“Filly-Tonix… hmm… yeah. I think she’s really pretty,” Applejack said finally. I looked up at her in spite of myself. “Sweetie Belle.”

Applejack held up a hoof. “Your secret is safe with me. I won’t tell anypony.” She flashed a reassuring grin. “And she’s nice, she can sing, and she has bright green eyes, and she has nice curves…” And on Applejack went describing Sweetie Belle’s physique in detail. I buried my head into my fore hooves. I wanted to die.

Later that morning I left the farm, setting out to meet up with Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo at Sugarcube Corner. Despite AJ’s teasing and embarrassing comments about Sweetie’s curvy posterior, I was in a rather good mood.

So do I just tell her? She might like that direct approach, but in front of Scootaloo? That might make things awkward. Maybe I should ask to have a word with her… no that won’t work. Scoots is nosey and will ask too many questions.

I couldn’t think of a good way to confess my feelings to her during my walk. But I reassured myself I had time. She wasn’t touring this summer, or going anywhere. What is the sky falls and the sun stops burning… I guess AJ is right… there are worse things that could happen.

Sweetie Belle was standing out front of Sugarcube Corner. She didn’t look exhausted, but she still seemed a little tired. Upon seeing me, she waved me down excitedly.

“Hey,” she said when I was closer.

“Hey yourself,” I responded smoothly, making her smile. “Scoots not here yet?”

Sweetie Belle shrugged. “I only just got here. Haven't seen her.”

And as if on cue, a scooter came skidding to a half in front of us from seemingly nowhere. “Hey, Sweetie, I found her!” I shouted, making an exaggerated gesture to point at Scootaloo. Sweetie Belle rolled her eyes, but it had the desired effect: making her grin.

We made our way inside. Scootaloo ordered the biggest sundae I’ve ever seen. Sweetie and I ordered milk shakes. We took a seat in the back of the restaurant. Ponies stared and pointed openly at Sweetie Belle as we passed.

“I wish they’d stop that,” she muttered.

“You’re a pop star now… they think you’re cool,” I said.

Scootaloo snorted a little. “Pop star is cool, but a rock star… Sweetie you need to become a rock star; then the town will be crazy about you. And all the bad colts will want to date you.” Scootaloo smiled.

A knot formed in my stomach at the thought of Sweetie Belle dating “bad colts” or just colts in general. I was slightly relieved when she rolled her eyes.

“I’m kind of glad it’s over…” Sweetie Belle trailed off. “It was fun, but I wasn’t allowed to do very much. And those stupid costumes were so tight and uncomfortable.”

“Yes they are,” I said confirmingly. Sweetie Belle eyed me with strange curiosity, and I realized I said that out loud. “I-I mean they looked very tight,” I said quickly, and then taking a large gulp of my milkshake. I coughed on the sudden and abrupt coldness on my throat. “I’m fine.”

“What do you mean, you couldn’t do much?” Scootaloo asked, as she thumped my back. “Didn’t they say a few months back you would be singing more?”

Sweetie Belle shook her head. “That’s not what I mean.” She took a sip of her milkshake. “I mean they wouldn’t let me or anyone else write their own songs or dance moves. And Silver had some decent songs, but they wouldn’t take them.”

Scootaloo’s eyes widened. “You mean… all those songs—no…” She trailed off lost for words.

“Written by the studio,” Sweetie Belle said briskly.

“AJ always did call the music industry the machine,” I said casually. I don’t know why I offered that piece of information up. To add to the conversation? Applejack only said it once… last year.

“The machine!” Scootaloo exclaimed, raising both fore hooves above her head. Sweetie Belle simply looked puzzled.

“She said it was like a hay baler. It takes all the loose individual grass clippings in and spits out a square bales.”

“The music industry is hay bales?” asked Scootaloo flippantly.

Sweetie Belle seemed to understand, and she nodded slowly. “Yeah… I guess. I didn’t have a bad experience… besides the costumes.”

“We get it, you don’t like the costumes,” Scootaloo said with a mouth full of ice cream.

Sweetie Belle sighed. “Sorry, but it really was the worst part. Especially when the thing rode right up your—”

“I think we get the idea,” I said quickly. “What are you planning to do now?”

Sweetie grinned and bounced in her seat. I could tell she had been waiting patiently for one of us to ask her. “I have some exciting news!,” she squeaked. “One of the producers said he’d sign me to a label if I came up with a good enough show or songs for a debut album!”

“Wow!” Scootaloo and I gasped at the same time.

“Thing is, I’m a bit nervous about doing this whole thing alone. The Filly-tonix, we were always a group, you know? So, I’m going to be looking for a vocalist to sing with me soon. I get to pick the songs, dances, arrangements, and I get to try my hoof at writing.”

“That’s so cool!” shouted Scootaloo. “Who are you going to ask to sing with you?”

“Well… I thought I’d ask you two,” Sweetie Belle said.

Scootaloo shook her head. “I’m no singer… unless you do some rock stuff, that would be cool… I would have to give up flying lessons and hanging with Rainbow Dash and—”

“It’s okay, Scoots. If you don’t want to do it that’s fine. You still have to come to my shows though.”

The wheels in my head were turning. I could sing, but not very well. But this could be a great chance for me to get closer to Sweetie. “I’m in,” I said quietly. “I’ll sing with you, Sweetie.”

Sweetie Belle grinned. “Yes! You’re going to love it.” But even as Sweetie Belle beamed excitedly, I could see a note of hesitation. “But before we get too carried away, I need you to sing me something. Just so I know how your voice is.”

Even though she didn’t want to say it directly, I knew that singing with her was contingent on being able to at least carry a tune. “Anything?”

Sweetie Belle shrugged. “Yeah, whatever you want to.”

I thought for a moment, brain-shuffling through my musical catalog. "Okay. I think I know a good one."

Sweetie Belle stared at me expectantly as I sipped my milkshake.

“What?”

“Well?”

My eyes widened. “Wait, you want me to sing here? Now?”

Sweetie Belle nodded enthusiastically. “An ice cream shop is a small venue compared to the actual stage. You’ll need to be comfortable performing anywhere.”

I felt a little self conscious about singing at a restaurant, but I would have to get over it if I was going to sing on stage. I cleared my throat and sang.

"Light she was and like a fairy
"And her shoes were number nine
"Herring boxes without topses
"Sandals were for Clementine

Oh my darling, oh my darling
"Oh my darling, Clementine

"You are gone and lost forever
"Dreadful sorry, Clementine.

I had hesitated for a split second when Sweetie Belle joined in, but only just. Her harmony was beautiful. She sang above my voice, but not too high. I think the musical term was a third…

“Apple Bloom,” Sweetie Belle said softly, “you have a lovely singing voice. And you twang—”

“Oh no,” I interrupted. “I can work on it—maybe get a vocal coach or—”

“No!” Sweetie cried. “It’s soft and great, and so are you!”

“Yeah it was pretty good,” Scootaloo agreed as I blushed madly.

“We’ll have to work on your timing a little, but this is perfect. And with a voice like that, we can do so many songs!”

“Will I be able to write too?” I asked hopefully. “We-we wouldn’t have to perform them… but it would be fun to write them.”

“Of course. We would collaborate ideas and lyrics. If you write something, or I write something, we will work on it together.”

I couldn’t have been more excited. My mind was already racing with song ideas when it hit me. I knew how I was going to tell Sweetie how I felt. It was such an amazingly simple thing too, and writing a song for her seemed to be the most perfect way to tell her. After all most good songs are love songs.

“What about you, Scoots?” asked Sweetie Belle, bringing me out of my thoughts. “Do you want to make this duo a trio?”

Scootaloo shook her head. “It’s not for me. I like going to shows. The only thing I want to perform in front anypony is me doing awesome tricks on my scooter.”

Sweetie looked a little disappointed, but nodded, understanding. “Well, after this I guess I should introduce you to TS and—”

“Who?” I asked.

“TS—Talent Scout. He’s the producer from Filly-Tonix letting me run my own show.”

I continued to frown. “So what is he doing for us if you’re running everything?”

Sweetie Belle laughed nervously. “No. No, I meant I have some creative control. He still fills the venues, does the marketing, and all other business things.” Sweetie Belle waved a hoof through the air.

“I don’t know… some creative control?”

“Okay a lot. We can perform our own songs, wear our own costumes… he will probably have a say in theme of the overall show and maybe some say in which musicians get to play live at the shows… only certain ones are allowed to work with the studio and such.”

I nodded. “Okay. Just making sure I know what this is.” I still had no idea what I was getting into. I thought we were going to just do a few shows over the summer in Ponyville. But it sounds like we’re becoming the next Filly-Tonix.

“I want from row seats!” Scootalo said as she finished her sundae. “And backstage passes.”

“Yeah,” Sweetie Belle said with such an inflection that said ‘well duh.’

“And you have to do a least one rock song, and you have to do a show where you two pretend to fly around on wires, and maybe another one where…” And on and on she went. I tuned out, turing my thoughts to what kind of song I would write for Sweetie. I watched her smile as she listened to all of Scootaloo’s great ideas. She really was pretty, especially her eyes. AJ’s teasing aside, and to my annoyance, she was correct about the things she said about Sweetie.

We left Sugarcube Corner and made our way through the town. Scootaloo and Sweetie were still talking about ideas for shows. Well, Scootaloo was talking. Sweetie was listening politely. She had given up trying to explain that she would have to talk with TS first.

As they continued to talk, I walked quietly behind them, using the opportunity to get a good look at Sweetie’s hindquarters. Her hips were wide, and her legs were lean and tapered down smoothly to her hawks. Her tail swayed gently with every step she took. Not enough for me to get a look at anything, but just enough it teased me… and in some ways, that made it much worse.

We arrived at a small office. It was rather small and unassuming looking. In fact, I’ve passed this street corner several times, and had never given this place a second glance. Unsure of how long it would take, Scootaloo said she had to go back for her scooter and had stunts to practice. We told her we’d catch up later, and entered the office.

The room was lit well, but it was larger than I would’ve thought. The walls were decorated with posters of the Filly-Tonix; most of them seemed to focus on Silver Serenade. She was, indeed, a very pretty filly. I couldn’t deny it… or some of the fantasies involving her either. Against the back wall, underneath an aforementioned poster, was a pony sitting behind a plain wooden desk. It was covered with stationary, and a bronze nameplate that served to identify the pony it belonged to.

Talent Scout was a grey middle-aged unicorn stallion. He seemed a bit scrawny and weasel-like, an aspect that was doubled when he spoke in a dry voice.

“Sweetie Belle! How are you?” he asked while he looked her over carefully. He seemed to be inspecting her instead of greeting her.

“I’m great,” she squeaked. He continued to eye her. If something strange was going on, Sweetie Belle didn’t seem to notice. He brought her into a quick hug then his eyes fell onto me.

“And who do we have here?” he asked. He continued to smile, but showed very little interest.

“My new vocalist! She can sing back up, lead, and we can even sing duets.” Sweetie’s voice was bubbling with excitement. “She has a great voice, and we can really sing many varieties of songs.”

My heart skipped a beat, and I felt my cheeks heat up. It was very flattering to be introduced in such a way, I couldn’t help but smile dumbly.

My smile quickly faded though once his eyes fell on me in that same sort of way he eyed Sweetie Belle. He stepped close, looking over my body. I tucked my tail in a little tighter as he walked around me. He was so close I could hear every wheezing breath he took.I could practically feel his eyes on my hindquarters. I spun around reflexively. My heart was racing, and there was an uncontrollable tremble in my hindlegs. I suddenly became very aware that it was just us two fillies in this room with him… I wanted to run.

“Broad shoulders, strong hindlegs, red mane and tail, and a filly bow to top it off,” he wheezed not bothering to hide any disdain. “It’s very… very… simple.”

The over-pronunciation of the word ‘simple’ made me shiver.

“A farm-filly…” he said softly as if amused. “Sweetie,” he said loudly, “before you make any decisions, I want you to meet some of the session vocalists we have here.”

I gritted my teeth as a burning sensation came across my body. I didn’t even get a chance to prove myself, let alone talk, and he was already tossing me aside.

“Come on now,” I said, trying to sound braver than I felt. “Y’all ain’t even heard what I can do yet.”

“‘Heard? That’s cute. But, that accent.” TS shook his head.

Sweetie Belle’s face went red as she stepped in front of me. “You said I could pick anyone I thought was talented enough to sing with me. I chose Apple Bloom.”

TS seemed a little taken aback, but then nodded smilingly. “And so I did. You say she’s good enough, then she is. Come up with a routine and some songs, and I’ll put up a trial run here in Ponyville. Based on that, I’ll see where we can go next.”

I decided to remain silent and simply breathe heavily. This guy was a jerk.

“I already have a few ideas; I’ll run them by Apple Bloom and show you what we come up with.”

“Yeah! That’s what I’m talkin about!” he exclaimed, although there was no excitement in his voice. He gave Sweetie Belle a swat on the behind. It took every ounce of self restraint I had to not run over to him and kick the ever living shit out of him. But I was shaking with rage as we left.

“What’s wrong?” Sweetie asked once we were walking on the street.

“What’s wrong?” I asked, outraged. “That guy is a creep. He smacked you on the butt!”

Sweetie made a dismissive gesture. “He did that to all of us dancers in the Filly-Tonix. It’s nothing.”

“He’s a complete ass. Insulting. Did you see the way he was looking at me—and at you?”

Sweetie Belle stopped and looked me in the eyes. Her expression was impossible to read. “I should have warned you, I’m sorry. TS is a huge jerk, especially to ponies he doesn’t know. But he’s good at what he does.”

I wasn’t reassured in the slightest, but I trusted Sweetie knew what she was doing having dealt with him the past. “He’ll get better once he’s warmed up to you, I promise.” she continued. “Right now he sees you as a risk, an unknown. That will change once he sees what you can do.”

I sighed. “Sweetie Belle,” I said seriously. “I’d trust you with my life. But him… I don’t want to be alone in a room with that guy.”

“Fair enough,” Sweetie Belle replied. Then she faced me, her cheek a little red. “Do you really mean that? That you trust me with your life?”

“I do,” I admitted.

“Thank you… that’s the sweetest thing I’ve heard anyone say to me. I trust you too, Apple Bloom.” She gave me a quick hug, which I relished in her soft and warm fur; even if it was only for a second. “Look, don’t worry about TS. I’ll deal with him.”

I felt a little better after that. I told myself I would get out and get Applejack if he got too hoofsey with us. I shuddered at the thought of him groping me or Sweetie Belle. I was doing this for her, and only for her.

We spent the rest of the afternoon, coming up with names for our group. We couldn’t agree on anything, and I was having an even harder time just coming up with something. After what seemed like hours, I said, mostly in exasperation and defeat, “we might as well call ourselves the Sweetie Belle Apple Bloom Show.”

Sweetie Belle’s face lit up. “That’s it!” She jumped out of the chair she had lulled in for the last hour.

“You can’t be serious…”

“But that’s it! The Belle and Bloom Show! It’s perfect.”

It was more streamlined, and it rolled of the tongue nicely. “Yes…” I said slowly. “I think that’s it.”

We high hoofed excitedly, and Sweetie wrote it down in a notebook. We danced around like idiots and laughed at how long it took us to come up with such a simple name.

We stayed until sunset, brainstorming, and enjoying each other's company. In the story books, this would’ve been the perfect time to share a first kiss. But this was no story book. The time came and went, and didn’t do so much as hug. Sunset was our curfew; so we said goodnight to each other, and made plans to start bright an early with dance practices, singing, and a routine for our first show.

When I walked inside, the only light on was the kitchen light. Applejack sat at the table, looking worse for wear. Every inch of her said she was seconds from sleep. But she smiled and looked more alert once I sat down opposite of her with a plate of pasta. “You look beat,” I said.

“Yeah, I—”Applejack yawned. “I was working all day with Mac on that stupid plough. We almost have it back together… he’s already gone up to bed.” She yawned again. “I noticed you and Sweetie Belle were in the clubhouse alone for quite a while.” Applejack raised her eyebrows. “So are you two…”

I felt a mixture of annoyance and embarrassment, which I forced down. “No,” I sighed. “She asked me to sing in a new group she’s putting together. We get to write the songs and everything.”

“That sounds fun,” Applejack said thickly. “Just be careful. Some machines break for a time, but serve their purpose when fixed. Other machines are rigged so you can’t win.”

“What do you mean?” There was that machine thing again. It always made me feel slightly uneasy.

“Some other time, I think. I wouldn’t want to put a damper on your fun.” Applejack stood up from her chair. “Anyways, I’m plum tuckered out. Good night, sugarcube.”

I entered my room and closed the door behind me. I pulled the covers back to reveal a faded stain from last night and this morning. I cursed under my breath at forgetting to wash my sheets. “It’s too late to do that now,” muttered. I fished out the leotard from my pillowcase, and gave it a whiff. It still smelled like her, although not as strongly. Remembering I wore it this morning and how I soaked it, I tossed it into my hamper.

I lay on my bed after turning off the lights. I sank below the covers. As I got comfortable, images of Sweetie Belle and I in the clubhouse filled my mind. We were sitting close to each other as the sun set in the window behind us. She leaned in close to me. Our lips met. Then I was on my back, and she was on top of me with the strapon device AJ described this morning. She was rutting me hard.

My hoof made its way down to my nethers. I moaned softly as I began to rub in the usual pattern. I jammed my hoof into my slit, rubbing up and down, grinding into my nub as I went. My fantasies changed to me with my face down on the floor and Sweetie rutting me like a stallion. “Oh yeah!” I was close now. I pictured what her fillyhood would look like, all opened up, exposing the pink inside. I knew how she smelled there, but I wondered how she tasted there. At the very thought of running my tongue through her slit, my body tightened and shook. I felt my fillyhood contract and squirt out more fluids… right into my already stained sheets. After laying there panting for a few seconds, I rolled over and fell asleep.