It was already midday on Tuesday, otherwise known as the fourth day of spring break for poor Sweetie Belle who was still stuck in her room, now having been there for around 42 hours, besides the few very cautious times where she would leave only to use the restroom or take a bath. Because of this, Sweetie was really starting to get antsy and craving a nice, long gallop around Ponyville. There was also the fact that it was indeed midday… yet neither of her friends had shown up to keep her company. However, she had a hunch that she wouldn’t be hearing anything from Scootaloo anytime soon that was for certain. But she couldn’t help but wonder where that specific apple filly could be.

“Gahh! Sis, has Apple Bloom come over yet? Not only am I super bored, but one of my friends despises my flank and I need to talk to her about it!” Sweetie Belle cried, thus receiving a brief period of silence before the elder unicorn could properly respond, as she was in a different location in the boutique.

“I haven’t seen any sign of- oh! Why there she is right now!” Rarity started before being interrupted by another knock at the door. She did not take long to let her in and together they climbed the stairs back to Sweetie Belle’s room.

“Ahm here, Sweetie Belle. Sorry it took so long, Ah had to help out Applejack with some extra farm chores, and it seems it took longer than expected…” explained Apple Bloom.

“It’s okay, Apple B-… uh apple filly. Look, now that we’ve had some time to rest and think about it, I really think we should try to fix this problem with our Pegasus friend.”

“Sounds like a plan,” Apple Bloom responded, with a bit of sadness in her voice.

“Have you managed to talk to her at all since last night?” inquired Sweetie Belle.

“Nah, Ah actually just wanted to give her some space, ya know?”

“Yeah, that’s probably the thing to do,” agreed Sweetie Belle. This is when Apple Bloom went ahead and changed the subject.

“Anyway, Ah was wondering if ya might try explainin’ somethin’ to me.”

“What is it?” asked Sweetie Belle.

“Well, as you know, Ah have already heard the story about how you and Scootaloo met but… Ah don’t really know what happened with her father all too well. Ah mean, Ah know that he left her family and all that, but Ah’m curious about what exactly happened.”

“Oh…” started Sweetie Belle placing a hoof on her chin whilst thinking of a good way to begin. “I guess we never really talked about that part, considering the sad nature of it all… Though considering the circumstances, I suppose I can tell the story.”

Apple Bloom perked her ears and prepared for the tale that was about to unfold from the unicorn.

***
3 years ago…

It was a bright sunny day and Sweetie Belle was excited. Her parents had just recently decided to let her stay under the care of her fabulous big sister, Rarity, and on this wonderful day she had decided to bring Sweetie Belle to an old, yet very popular to the foals of Ponyville, playground.

“Rarity, Rarity, how much further till we get there?” the young filly asked excitedly, bouncing around with a huge smile on her face.

“We’re almost there, it’s just around that corner there,” replied Rarity. This earned a large gasp from Sweetie and she ended up using her seemingly limitless supply of energy to rocket propel herself to the previously mentioned corner, thus revealing their destination to her for the first time.

The playground consisted of many old-fashioned slides that were significantly higher and faster than any modern playground Sweetie had previously seen, and that was just the slides. There were many giant, colorful structures that ponies could climb up in, see-saws, swings, giant tires, tunnels, a merry-go-round, and to top it all off, the entire thing was built upon a massive sand box, thus providing a medium for art as well as being good padding should any pony fall from a structure.

There was also another important fact about the playground that Sweetie immediately noticed: just like her big sister said, this playground seemed to be VERY popular. There were many, many different fillies and colts of all shapes, sizes and races, thus providing the perfect opportunity for her to make some new friends. Off to the side were a bunch of adult ponies that Sweetie assumed to be the parents and or guardians of those foals. Finally having taken in the sight, Sweetie Belle decided to make a run for it.

“Have fun, Sweetie Belle, and be careful!” called Rarity, smiling modestly as she watched her sister enjoy the playground she enjoyed so much as a filly.

Sweetie Belle didn’t waste time in trying all of the different slides and climbing all the different structures, all the while trying to say ‘hello’ to as many of the different fillies and colts that were there along with her as she could. However, after each greeting, the receiver didn’t have much time to socialize as the hyper unicorn would then already be heading to the next activity.

After having completed the last slide, Sweetie went over to try the swings. Sitting down, she prepared to start pumping her legs, an action of which she had just learned not too long ago at one of Ponyville’s “modern playgrounds” when out of the corner of her eye, she noticed something a tad peculiar. While most of the playground’s inhabitants were smiling from ear to ear and enjoying their day of fun, there was one small filly, a Pegasus that was orange in color with a dark purple mane who had unusually sized wings for a filly her age who didn’t appear happy in the slightest. In fact, she was quite the opposite. For the brief moment that Sweetie looked at her, she could tell that something was very wrong. Forgetting about what she was doing, Sweetie Belle decided to take this as an opportunity to be kind and hopefully make this pony smile.

“Hi! My name’s Sweetie Belle. What’s yours?” she asked as she walked up to the unknown filly, making sure to keep on the friendliest smile she could muster.

“S…Scootaloo…” she whispered softly, just barely enough for her to hear.

“It’s nice to meet you Scootaloo. Hey, I couldn’t help but notice, but you seem kinda down right now. Is there anything I can do to help?”

“N-no. I just want to be left alone,” said Scootaloo, giving a sigh.

“Oh come on! I’m sure that’s not true. If you want, you can play with me. I don’t really have many other friends somehow…” she replied, scratching the back of her head.

“Please just leave me alone; I don’t even want to be here. My mom made me come hoping that it would cheer me up, but I just can’t do this right now.” Sweetie Belle put a hoof up to her chin.

“Hmm… maybe she’s on to something. Come on, why don’t we swing together?” she offered, sitting onto the swing next to her, “I bet I can swing higher than you!” Scootaloo blinked at Sweetie Belle.

“I bet you can’t,” started Scootaloo, voice shaking from the forced enthusiasm she was then mustering from her small voice box. At that, the two fillies started swinging in tandem. Higher and higher they went until the swings were finally at their height limit. At this point, Scootaloo had managed to temporarily ignore her problems for the time being, and even had a bit of fun.

For the rest of the day, both Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo managed to enjoy each other’s company. Even after they had explored every last inch of the playground, the fun didn’t end as some of the other ponies started a playground wide game of tag which lasted for a few hours before some parents started calling their children back so that they could go home. As the sun started setting, the playground finally seemed to be calming down, yet Rarity allowed Sweetie Belle to stay just a little bit longer, considering how well that afternoon had been going, and since Scootaloo claimed that she didn’t need to go home yet either.

After their short catch-up meeting, the two fillies once again made their way to the entrance of the tallest climbable structure in the playground when suddenly Sweetie Belle popped a question.

“Hey… are you sure you’re allowed to stay here longer? We didn’t even go talk to your mom.” This caused Scootaloo to stop in her tracks, thus causing Sweetie to do the same. Scootaloo thought about her answer for a moment before turning to the unicorn thus revealing a solemn expression. Finally, she spoke in a small voice.

“Let’s talk about this in private…” she requested. This was immediately met with a nod from Sweetie Belle and the two managed to find a somewhat secluded area behind some trees on the edge of the playground.

“My mom… isn’t here,” she started, looking at her hooves.

“W…what? Your mom made you come here alone?” Scootaloo titled her head at the question. “You must be really independent for your age then.” Scootaloo shook her head at this assumption.

“No… that’s not what I meant,” Scootaloo sighed, “I mean… I ran away from home and, not really having anywhere to go, I came here.” After this confession, Sweetie Belle started feeling really worried. Silently, she let her continue.

“My dad just got fired from his job last night, and he drank a LOT of cider after because of it. This morning, I woke up to my parents screaming at the top of their lungs at each other and they each said some awful things to each other. I didn’t even understand all the words they were using, but I could tell they weren’t nice. Then it started to get really bad and my dad he…” Scootaloo found that she could not finish her sentence as tears that spawned from the painful memory started sliding down her soft cheeks before dripping down into the dirt below. After a few seconds collecting herself Scootaloo managed to continue.

“He… hurt my mom really bad, and when I heard her screams… I just couldn’t take it anymore and I ran out the front door,” she finished, her voice shaking and lathered with sniffles.

Sweetie Belle had heard enough. Before Scootaloo could say any more words she crossed the small gap between them in a swift motion and tightly embraced her crying friend. Scootaloo made a slight gasp as this happened. They had barely known each other for a day and the level of trust between them was already this strong.

“I’m… scared Sweetie Belle. What if my family isn’t able to get things like food and supplies anymore. What if… my family crumbles apart? What if… my parents split and end up no longer loving me?”

“I… I don’t know. But whatever happens, I’ll be here for you and if you end up having no place to go, you can come stay with me. I’m sure Rarity would understand. We could be like sisters; we do seem to get along really well.”

“R-really? But… we just met today. How can you be so sure?”

“I don’t know about you, but when I look at you I don’t see a stranger. I see a pony that really needs some pony like me by their side, and I am more than willing to be that pony,” said Sweetie Belle just then pulling out of the hug and giving Scootaloo a smile. This sight made Scootaloo smile as well and she took a moment to rub the tears out of her eyes, though more started forming from their tear ducts despite that.

“Sweetie Belle, thank you!”

Finally done with their private conversation, the two fillies made their way back to the playground and decided to swing on the swings again for a little bit before Rarity eventually came over to them.

“Sweetie Belle, it’s time to go home!” At the indication, both fillies began dragging their hooves along the ground in an effort to stop the playground equipment and made their way over to Sweetie’s guardian. “Did you have fun today, Sweetie Belle?”

“Sure did, especially since I met Scootaloo today! Can we maybe invite her over sometime?”

“Well, I don’t see why not, just as long as it’s okay with Scootaloo’s parents,” Rarity started. At the mention of her parents, Scootaloo bit her lip and exchanged glances with Sweetie Belle.

“I’m sure they’ll be fine with it,” suggested Scootaloo, trying to sound confident.

“Alright then. How does tomorrow sound?” Both fillies’ worried glances were immediately replaced with excited ones and they both nodded their heads frantically in agreement.

“My sister is the owner of the Carousel Boutique and we both live there. Do you know where that is?” explained Sweetie Belle.

“Yeah, I’ve lived in Ponyville my whole life, so I know where most things are. I can come around sometime in the morning, is that okay?” asked Scootaloo.

“That’s perfectly fine. Forgive me for asking though, Scootaloo, but are either of your parents around? I would really much like to meet them,” said Rarity, turning her head to look at all the adult ponies that were sitting around chatting with each other or enjoying a good book. Scootaloo was quick to respond.

“M-my parents trust me enough to let me come to the park alone. I’ve been here many times before,” she lied. Rarity bit her lip for a bit before finally making the decision to trust her.

“I see. Well then, perhaps some other time? Anyway, come along Sweetie Belle. I don’t know about you, but I am aching for a nice dinner.”

“Yes, Rarity,” chirped Sweetie Belle, forcing cheerfulness in her voice. But before she decided to follow her sister, Sweetie took a second to whisper to Scootaloo.

“I really think you should go home now. If your parents really do still care about you I’m sure they’re worried sick, since they probably don’t know where you are right now. If things don’t turn out right, come straight to the boutique.” Scootaloo smiled softly and nodded in response. Finally, Sweetie Belle galloped away to catch up with Rarity, only taking one final look back at her friend as they disappeared around the corner.

***
That next December…

Hearth’s Warming was just around the corner. School had already long started, and Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo were now the best of friends. Luckily enough, they somehow ended up in the same class. If that wasn’t enough good fortune for them, not long after the events of the previous summer, Scootaloo’s dad had miraculously found a new job. Scootaloo had also managed to voice her fears to her parents thus inspiring them to keep their family going strong, especially for Scootaloo’s sake. Both parents had also made sure that she knew she was loved regardless of how they acted towards each other. For the time being, Scootaloo felt rest assured that she could from then on live a normal life, and Sweetie Belle was glad she could help another pony through a tough time.

It was the final day before winter break, about a week before Hearth’s Warming, and all of the students of the Ponyville Schoolhouse were all just then arriving before class started. Unlike most school days, today was a day to look forward to; no pony wanted to miss this, for this was the day the class celebrated their Hearth’s Warming party where they got to play all sorts of fun games and eat many festive treats before the holiday.

Sweetie Belle was sitting in her usual desk, waiting patiently by watching the clock, chit chatting a little bit with nearby classmates and watching the snowfall just outside the classroom window. Then she made another glance at the clock as the five-minute bell rang indicating that the students should settle down and be ready for class so they don’t get marked tardy or absent.

This is when she noticed something a tad unnerving; Scootaloo was still missing. This fact also remained true a few minutes later when the final late bell rang. This came off as especially confusing to Sweetie Belle as Scootaloo had been talking about this party ever since it had been announced at the beginning of the month. There was no way she should would miss it willingly.

‘Perhaps, she just got sick. Gee, that sucks,’ she thought to herself. Finally, Miss Hoofridge, her then current teacher, entered the class room and every pony quieted down in anticipation.

“Good morning class and Happy Hearth’s Warming!” she called out to the class cheerfully. “Now I know all of you are excited to get on with the festivities that I have announced since the beginning of the month, but first we must do one important thing: take roll!”

Silently, Sweetie Belle waited through the list. Since both her name and Scootaloo’s name started with an “S”, their turn to assert their presence tended to take a little longer than the other classmates. Finally Miss Hoofridge came to Scootaloo’s name.

“Scootaloo?” she called. Silence. “Is Scootaloo here?” Silence again. “Hmm…” Miss Hoofridge frowned and her face became concerned. Slowly she looked down at her clipboard and placed a red X in the check mark box for Scootaloo. After, she resumed the roll call and Sweetie Belle presumed that all would go on as planned. That did not prove to be the case however, as the teacher revealed something concerning.

“Class, has any pony seen Scootaloo? I haven’t received any information about her being absent today from her guardians.” This earned a slight mumble about the class room as the numerous fillies and colts looked at each other and shook their heads, thus confirming that they indeed not see her. At this reaction, Sweetie Belle spoke up over the class.

“Miss Hoofridge, Scootaloo has been waiting for this party all month. It’s very weird that she isn’t here, hay, I’d bet she’d still come even if she were sick.” Miss Hoofridge nodded at this.

“Thank you, Sweetie Belle. For now I can’t do much about this, so I’m going to go inform the office and I’m sure they’ll be able to take care of it for the time being. Now, first things first. We need to start decorating the class room.” At that, the teacher revealed a series of plastic bags filled to the brim with holiday themed party supplies and the class jumped into motion, gathering around their teacher.

While Sweetie Belle tried her best to enjoy the party, she would constantly look at the clock anticipating the hours until they were finally released. During the party, there were multiple give outs of sweets and small gifts. Sweetie Belle made sure to save a few for Scootaloo in addition to her own. Inevitably, the time she was so longing for finally came, and Sweetie Belle managed to be one of the first ponies out of class.

Sweetie Belle knew that she had to at least check in with Rarity before doing anything else after school, so she galloped as quickly as she could to the boutique.

“Rarity!” she called, barging through the door, making sure to avoid the habit of throwing her saddle sacks against the wall, as she had to keep them on so she could carry all of the stuff she planned on giving to Scootaloo.

“Why hello, Sweetie Belle. How was that Hearth’s Warming party you kept talking to me about all month?” Sweetie Belle made sure to run into the room her sister resided in swiftly. She had to make her visit as short as possible in order to get to Scootaloo’s ASAP. For all she knew, there could be something seriously wrong with Scootaloo.

“It was good. Anyway, something came up and I need to go to Scootaloo’s as soon as possible! It’s important. Can I please go?” Rarity smiled.

“Why of course Sweetie Belle; it is winter break after all. Just don’t stay out too late; it’s supposed to be freezing cold tonight.” Sweetie Belle didn’t waste time.

“Thanks,” was all she could iterate before already heading out the front door.

“Have fun!” called out Rarity.

‘I hope that I am able to…’ thought Sweetie as the front door closed behind her.
Sweetie Belle was getting a little bit tired from all the running and she had to momentarily stop to catch her breath, but she just knew in her gut that it was important for her to figure out what exactly was going on, thus giving her a much needed stamina boost. She wasn’t the most athletic pony around; if only she could be more like Scootaloo in that regard.

Finally, around ten minutes later, Sweetie Belle could see Scootaloo’s house in the distance. Even though it was starting to get dark out, Sweetie Belle couldn’t see any of the lights on in the house, unlike all the others around it. Noticing this, Sweetie Belle’s heart skipped a beat and was suddenly given an adrenaline boost good enough to get there in even less time than it originally would’ve taken her.

Finally, she made it to the front door and took a few moments to catch her breath before ringing the doorbell.

Five seconds, ten seconds, thirty seconds, no answer. She tried again, same result. This time she tried knocking on the door, and to her surprise the door lock made a snapping noise and it finally began to open.

“Please go away, can’t you read? The sign says no solicitors and…” started a tired looking, young Pegasus only to be stopped short by the presence of her dearest friend.

“Sweetie Belle! How glad am I to see you?”

Sweetie Belle let out a sigh of relief, as she could now see that she was okay. But that relief was cut short when she noticed something disturbing. Although her friend was obviously eager to see her, she didn’t seem to be all too okay physically speaking. That is, while most of her body was its normal orange and purple glow, there was a dark, swollen circle surrounding her right eye and it appeared to have a little bit of trouble staying open.

“Scootaloo… what happened?” This question quickly wiped the smile off Scootaloo’s face. Quickly, she grabbed hold of Sweetie’s hoof and pulled her inside before closing and locking the door behind them. Without saying a word, Sweetie Belle followed Scootaloo through the house towards her room. Looking around, Sweetie Belle was shocked to find that gone was the tidy little home of Scootaloo’s and in its place she found a disaster zone. Dirty dishes filled the sink in the kitchen as they passed, as well as there being many more on the kitchen table. Random boxes, cans and canisters lay strewn all over the floor and on the counters. An overflowing trash can sat in the corner of the kitchen, seemingly having been unmaintained for weeks. To top it all off, all the curtains had been closed shut thus leaving everything in a deep shadow and the entire place reeked of garbage and filth.

As these senses entered Sweetie Belle’s mind, she could only feel her heart sinking lower and lower. She just knew this was going to be bad. Finally, they made it to Scootaloo’s room which was luckily much tidier than the rest of the house. It was decorated with a variety of different sporty posters, mostly famous skaters, hoofball players and the Wonder Bolts. The rest of the furniture however, was far more ordinary and inexpensive looking with a small bed, desk and bookshelf, as well as a box that seemed to contain various old toys from when Scootaloo was younger. It was just as she had seen many times before, unlike the rest of the house.

“So… what’s going on Scootaloo? Miss Hoofridge seemed very worried when you didn’t show up today, and it was the Hearth’s Warming party! How could you possibly miss that even after being so excited for it? And let’s not forget the most important thing: What in Equestria happened to your eye?” Scootaloo waited as the many questions Sweetie Belle had had settled in the air. Finally Scootaloo sat on her haunches and sighed.

“Well. I just had the worst few days of my life, yesterday being the worst so far,” Scootaloo started. A few moments passed as Scootaloo stared at the floor recalling her memories and trying to figure out where to begin. But before she could even start, her eyes started leaking considerably, letting her emotion drip into the shaggy carpet. Sweetie Belle could tell that her friend most likely needed her shoulder to cry on right then and there, so she wasted no time into tightly and warmly embracing the depressed Pegasus. This was enough to comfort her to a state where she could manage to say the next words to her story.

“So starting about two weeks ago, my dad started seeming really… depressed, and my mom started locking herself into her bedroom for really long periods of time. Without a caretaker our house ended up getting really quite dirty, as you could see. My parents aren’t the tidiest ponies around. Anyway, two days ago, my dad decided to get really drunk right before he should have gone to sleep. This resulted in him going to work the next morning, yesterday, in terrible condition. He could barely even do his job, and he even ended up getting some pony hurt with some heavy machinery. Luckily, they only broke a bone, but it could have easily been worse. Because of this incident, my dad was fired on the spot. He came home to confront my mom and they got in a huge argument, over things like paying bills and how my mom was failing at keeping the house clean, things like that.” Scootaloo stopped for a moment as she sniffled her nose and let her words sink into her friend.

“I-I tried to get them to stop by reminding them we had to work together as a family and such but… he… oh Celestia…” Scootaloo had trouble continuing and she spent the following seconds bawling her eyes out. Finally after taking a deep breath, she spat it out.

“He beat my mom real bad, and while I tried to get him to stop, he ended up smacking me really hard in the eye, hence my black eye. When he saw what he did to me, he stopped immediately and said ‘It's... it's too dangerous for me to be around you two. I'm a terrible father and husband!’ before he ran out the door and disappeared into the snow storm.”

By now, with the combination of her story, the completely despair filled sounds she was then making, and the realization of how she got her black eye, Sweetie Belle couldn’t stop herself from shedding her own tears. A few moments later, both fillies finally calmed down, and Scootaloo continued with the last bits of her story.

“We don’t know yet if my dad is ever going to return but for now my mom is out getting supplies and stuff with the family savings. Because of me getting hurt, my mom didn’t want any pony to freak out, so she made me stay home today, despite me wanting to come see you.” It was Sweetie Belle’s turn to speak.

“When the teacher said something about you or your mom not giving any notice about your absence, I could barely even focus on the party, I was too worried about you.” Scootaloo smiled softly at this revelation.

“You truly are my best friend…” she whispered.

The two fillies spent the next couple hours keeping each other company, chatting about other unrelated topics in an effort to escape the depressive attitude of the events of yesterday. Sweetie Belle also revealed to her the various gifts and goodies from the party in her saddle bags, which really managed to cheer them both up considerably. Finally, the two fillies’ ears perked up as they heard a noise coming from the front of the house: the sound of the opening and closing of a door followed by a voice.

“Scootaloo, I’m back!” called out Sky Flyer, with obvious weakness in her voice. A moment later, a dull thud rang through the house indicating the groceries and other supplies being placed on the floor.

Sweetie Belle followed Scootaloo back through the house towards the owner of the voice. Finally entering into the entrance room, Sky Flyer jumped a little when she saw that Sweetie Belle was with Scootaloo.

Upon seeing Scootaloo’s mom, Sweetie Belle felt her heart sink into her stomach. Sky Flyer clearly wasn’t well. Her red fur was covered in ruffled patches and bruises, her dark purple mane was a total mess and her eyes were visibly blood-shot

“I-I’m sorry you have to see me like this,” she started explaining to Sweetie Belle.

“It’s no problem at all, miss. Scootaloo told me everything, and I really want to help with whatever I can.”

“Oh, Sweetie Belle, you’re helping more than enough by keeping my little Scootaloo company. I know she likes having you around a lot, don’t you Scoots?”

“You bet! I don’t know what I’d do without her,” replied Scootaloo attempting to put in some enthusiasm into her voice. Sweetie Belle blushed at all the compliments she was receiving. Suddenly, Sweetie Belle noticed the clock on the wall and gasped a little.

“Oh no! If I don’t get home soon, Rarity’s going to get worried. I guess you should be okay now that your mom’s here, right Scoots?”

“Yeah, and besides you’ve already helped me a ton. You better get going,” said Scootaloo leading Sweetie Belle to the door and opening it for her. Sweetie Belle was about to leave and make her final farewell, but before she could Scootaloo surprised her and jumped into her arms again pulling her close to her body in a friendly embrace.

“Maybe in a few days after we get settled to our new situation, I’ll come visit you again so we can play,” whispered Scootaloo.

“Sounds like a plan,” confirmed Sweetie Belle. At that, the final goodbyes were finally said and Sweetie Belle walked into the dimly lit, snow covered road back to the Carousel Boutique.

***
That next summer…

*KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK* went the door of the boutique. It was roughly noon and Sweetie Belle had been spending her morning reading a children’s novel. In reaction to this indication, Sweetie placed her bookmark in the pages, placed down the book and made her way to the entrance. Finally she opened the door to reveal Scootaloo. Sweetie Belle grinned. It had been a few days since she last talked to her.

“Hi there, Scoots! How's it going?”

“Not good…” she muttered, looking to the side before continuing, “Since my mom isn’t well qualified for any decent-paying jobs in the area, we aren’t making all too many bits. So, we had to move to a new house.”

“Oh, I’m sorry to hear that, but new houses aren’t always a bad thing. Sometimes it’s good to have change,” said Sweetie Belle in an understanding voice.

“Well I can see how that would be the case for most ponies but…” A slight pause simmered the moment.

“But what?” asks Sweetie Belle, breaking the silence.

“The new place is… no good. I mean, I’m grateful to even have a place to live and all but, it’s going to be very difficult living there.” Sweetie Belle merely blinked.

“What?”

“Come on, if you come with me I can show you what I mean.”

“Okay, just let me get Rarity’s permission first,” said Sweetie Belle, turning around and making her way to her sister to do just that. Like usual, Rarity allowed Sweetie Belle to go with her best friend.

On the way there, Sweetie Belle tried her best to remember the new route for obvious reasons. But as they got nearer and nearer to the location, Sweetie Belle noticed that they started entering an area of Ponyville she had only been to once before, and at that time it wasn’t on purpose. The new road they had turned onto was long and straight with various small houses lining either end of the road. Most of them had small chain-link fences out in the front yard surrounding a small patch of unkempt lawn, and a few even had a pet dog chained out in the yard, thus indicating it not the greatest idea to go near that house.

Finally reaching an intersection down the road, Scootaloo indicated that they had reached their destination by pointing a hoof at one of the houses on the corner of that intersection.

“Well… this is it,” she started before biting her lip as she gauged Sweetie’s reaction which consisted nothing more than a poker face. “Mom says this house is super cheap to pay the bills for because of how run down it is and because of the neighborhood. It’s also about the same distance between our homes as the last house… just in a different direction, so that’s a plus right?”

Sweetie Belle turned her head towards her friend’s pseudo-enthusiastic expression and let her own match it.

“Anyway, if you come inside, I can give you the… grand-tour,” said Scootaloo, leading her friend through the entry way.

Now inside, Sweetie Belle moved her head around to take in the new sight. Scootaloo wasn’t kidding when she said ‘run down’. The walls were covered in dents and scratches, the paint had faded into a dull, lackluster color, the carpet in the entry room was a seemingly un-matching color that was covered in various unknown and probably irremovable stains. To top it all off, Sweetie Belle’s nose cowered at the detection of a strong and mostly unpleasant smell coming from who-knows where. Decorating the area there consisted mostly of old furniture that belonged to their family at their old house, and not much else. There was also the fact that this was just the entry area of the home. There were still more areas to be seen.

“This is our entry way and living room. As you can see, there isn’t much to talk about... nothing very positive anyway,” started Scootaloo, leading her friend through an archway leading to the kitchen. Inside, Sky Flyer was busy organizing some of their old kitchenware into the few, worn-down cupboards that were barely clinging on to the wall behind them with some rusty nails. She sighed before she turned and noticed that her daughter had already returned home and with Sweetie Belle.

“Oh, it’s good to see you Sweetie Belle. How are you?”

“I’m fine, Sky Flyer,” confirmed Sweetie Belle.

“That’s good. Anyway, I’ll leave you two be for now, as I’d imagine Scootaloo’s giving the grand tour of our new… living space, am I right?” she asked looking at her daughter, forcing a smile. Scootaloo nodded modestly and continued with her explanation of the kitchen.

“This is our kitchen. As you can see, once again, there isn’t much to talk about, I mean, it’s a kitchen for Celestia’s sake, what is there to talk about?” Scootaloo noticed that she was getting a bit emotional and she took a moment to calm down. Sky Flyer didn’t say a word, understanding her daughter’s reaction completely. After letting Sweetie Belle take in the sights a bit more, they walked through a different archway which led to a small hallway. Scootaloo pointed to a door directly to the right of the archway.

“This is where all the heating equipment is kept. I’m surprised it all still works,” said Scootaloo opening the door briefly so Sweetie Belle could look inside briefly. Not finding anything particularly interesting, Sweetie Belle turned around and looked down the hallway. On the left wall, there consisted of a few old photographs of Scootaloo and her parents before any of this craziness happened. On the right, there were two doors separated by a small closet in the middle and at the end of the hallway there was another door. Scootaloo showed Sweetie Belle what was behind each door one by one.

She opened the first door and it revealed a cramped up bathroom with a single sink, a toilet and a shower/bath combination. The shower curtain was nothing more than a plain white sheet. Scootaloo said nothing about this one, considering it to be self-explanatory at this point. They continued down the hallway.

“This closet here just holds random things we need storage for, and these next two doors are my room and the master bedroom for my mom,” said Scootaloo, opening both doors thus letting Sweetie Belle get a peek at the mostly white themed rooms, though Scootaloo’s had her usual posters and old toy chest. Before Sweetie could do anything else however, she found herself being dragged into the Pegasus’s room with the door being closed behind her.

“So, that’s pretty much it… oh I guess there’s one sort of new thing. See this box in my closet here? I’ve decided to start keeping a collection of useful or interesting things I find around town. I also keep my scooter in this closet when it’s not in use. Normally I would keep it outside, but I don’t trust this neighborhood,” explained Scootaloo. Finally she turned around in an attempt to gauge her friend’s final reaction. “So… what do you think?”

“O-h, it’s nice… I mean it’s a place to live,” stuttered Sweetie Belle.

“You don’t have to be polite, Sweetie, I know this place is a hunk of junk, and I’m still not used to that smell even though I’ve been here for a few days already.”

Sweetie Belle let those words simmer in her mind for a moment. Suddenly, a light bulb went off and her expression brightened.

“Hey, Scoots, I have an idea. Just wait around here for a little bit and I’ll be back in a few hours!” she said, earning a curious look from the other filly. Sweetie Belle then left in a gallop. Scootaloo followed her until they reached the entrance.

“Be careful, who knows who’s lurking around here?” she called watching Sweetie Belle run down the long road before finally making it to the corner and disappearing from sight.

A few minutes later Sweetie Belle burst through the front door of the boutique, panting from the long run she just had.

“Rarity!”

***
A few hours later…

Sweetie Belle knocked on Scootaloo’s door and a few moments later it was answered by the Pegasus in question. Scootaloo took a few moments to take in the sight before her and just stood in awe at the vast number and variety of ponies that were standing on her doorstep.

“Surprise!” yelled Sweetie Belle, forming a smile from ear to ear. “I felt bad that you and your mom had to live in such poor conditions. So, me and Rarity went around town and found lots of ponies that want to help fix this place up!” explained Sweetie Belle.

In reaction, Scootaloo still stood frozen with her mouth gaping open in surprise. A few moments later, Sky Flyer walked in from the kitchen and noticed the scene.

“What… what’s going on here?” she asked, to which, Sweetie Belle reiterated her explanation, and at that, Sweetie Belle commanded the crowd to start getting busy while she herself went inside to help the two inhabitants come to terms with what was going on. It took a little while, but Scootaloo and Sky Flyer soon came to from their surprise comas and in unison they began crying tears of joy before forming a group hug with the young unicorn.

“Sweetie Belle! This is beyond amazing! You’re like one of the most amazing ponies in all of Equestria,” cried Scootaloo, squeezing her even tighter than she had ever done before. Unfortunately for the unicorn, this was a little much.

“Ugh… you guys… I… I can’t breathe!” she gasped, starting to turn purple. Immediately, the mother and daughter released their grip so they wouldn’t accidentally kill their savior. Finally free, Sweetie took a deep breath and her cheeks returned to their normal, soft whiteness.

For the next few hours, Rarity, Sweetie Belle, Scootaloo and Sky Flyer all directed and assisted the volunteers throughout the house, pointing out things that needed to be fixed or replaced. One yellow, male unicorn was able to use his special talent to cast a spell that could find the source to any smell and eventually, they were able to locate a few small patches of mold growing in the walls. These patches were promptly cleaned up or removed by a couple of construction ponies depending on how severe the damage was.

Other groups went around fixing weak or broken walls and floors with their carpentry skills and others brought in some paint to lather fresh coats onto the walls. There were even some ponies that had a surplus of extra carpet that complimented nicely with the freshly painted walls.

Finally, the work was complete and the group of ponies gathered in main entry room to wrap things up and admire their hard work. While the space was still somewhat small, the quality of the handiwork was enough to make it not matter too much. Everything in the home felt fresh and new; no smell (besides fresh paint and carpet), no interior damage, just a relaxing, clean, and somewhat modern place that Scootaloo and Sky Flyer could call their home.

“I… don’t know how I could possibly thank you all enough…” started Sky Flyer, unable to control her tears of joy.

“Don’t mention it, dear. When Sweetie Belle here told me about how run down this place was, I dropped what I was doing and helped her find this simply amazing group of volunteers here,” said Rarity, earning a mumbling of agreement from the volunteers.

“Anyway, after a long day of work, I’m sure you to would like some peace to enjoy your new living space. Come on every pony, our work here is done; you too Sweetie Belle.” At that, all the ponies started filing out of the house after making their final good byes. Finally it was just Rarity and Sweetie Belle left, and they were just about to make their final farewell for the night when Scootaloo suddenly spoke up.

“Wait! I know it’s getting kind of late but… could Sweetie Belle maybe sleep over here tonight?” Sweetie Belle’s ears perked up at the suggestion and nodded her head swiftly before looking at her sister with pleading eyes.

“Well… I guess considering the circumstances it would be alright with me, just as long as it’s alright with Sky Flyer...”

“Of course she can stay the night! I’d be honored to house her after she did such a huge favor for us!” exclaimed Sky Flyer.

“Well then, I guess I’ll be seeing you again tomorrow, Sweetie Belle,” said Rarity, smiling as she watched the two fillies bouncing up and down from excitement.

After Rarity left, the two fillies went to Scootaloo’s room to hang out for the time being while Sky Flyer made an extra special dinner for them all including fresh vegetables, fruit, rolls, stir fry and a cookies for dessert. After dinner, Scootaloo grabbed Sweetie Belle’s hoof and dragged her to the front door. This made Sweetie Belle curious.

“Thanks for the dinner, mom. I wanted to do something special with Sweetie Belle before the sun goes down. I promise we won’t be out too late.”

“Yeah, thanks for the dinner, miss!” said Sweetie Belle, making sure to also give her thanks.

“You’re welcome! Have fun girls!” Sky flyer replied cheerfully.

Finally outside, Sweetie Belle trotted by Scootaloo’s side in the direction that led back to town. As it was late in the evening, and despite the gloomy nature of the neighborhood, the entirety of Ponyville was cast in a shiny orange glow as Celestia lowered the sun towards the horizon as usual. After a few moments walking in silence, Sweetie Belle spoke up.

“Hey… where are we going?”

“Somewhere special,” Scootaloo replied bluntly, though still in a kind way.

It took around half an hour to get there, but eventually, Scootaloo led the anticipation filled unicorn through a tree-surrounded path way to a tall hill near Sweet Apple Acres that was covered in mostly grass and topped with a single, large tree at the top. Finally making it to the peak of the hill, Sweetie Belle gasped as she saw the view. She could see almost all of Ponyville and a lot of the land beyond that, and if that weren’t enough, the sun was still low in the sky illuminating everything in its brilliance. The view was absolutely astonishing.

“This hill is where my parents used to always take me when they were still together and I was a really young filly,” explained Scootaloo solemnly, recalling the nostalgic memories. “Isn’t the view just amazing?”

“It is beautiful,” remarked Sweetie Belle, voice shaking in awe. A few moments passed and the two fillies sat on their haunches side by side watching the sun gradually descend in the sky, thus increasing the orange hue of their surroundings. Suddenly, Scootaloo made a move.

While Sweetie wasn’t looking, she managed to scoot herself even closer to her target before becoming directly adjacent. Finally near enough, she leaned into the unicorn and rested her head on her shoulder. Sweetie made a slight jump upon contact, and after taking a moment to realize what Scootaloo was doing, she used her front hooves to pull the now blushing Pegasus into a strong cuddle.

“Sweetie Belle…” she whispered, her little heart beginning to throb at an uncontrollably high rate. Sweetie Belle however was relatively calm and continued to view the sunset. “You truly are amazing Sweetie Belle… I don’t know where I would be if we hadn’t met at that playground…” Sweetie Belle smiled.

“Well, I suppose it was just fate. It’s amazing how close we are, hanging out so often, sharing secrets, helping solve each other’s problems. Yeah, we’re pretty much as close as sisters.” Upon hearing that last word, Scootaloo gave a small jolt.

“Yeah… sisters…” she whispered with a hint of forced enthusiasm.

A few more minutes passed and the two embracing fillies watched as the sun finally made it to the horizon thus revealing the darkness that loomed beyond it. By now, the moon was visible on the other end of the sky and the stars were starting to appear one by one. Suddenly, Scootaloo pulled herself out of Sweetie Belles hooves and turned towards her.

“Sweetie Belle… could you maybe…” started Scootaloo, who was now starting to blush furiously. A few more moments passed as Scootaloo fought to say the words she wanted to say.

“Yeah?” encouraged Sweetie Belle, being patient for her friend.

“Could you maybe lay down on your back for me?” This earned a confused expression from the unicorn, but she was still happy to oblige. She flopped over and onto her back into the soft, lush grass below. Her tail laid limp and to the side thus causing her to naively reveal a very, special place on her body to the Pegasus. Satisfied with the view, Scootaloo gently placed a hoof on Sweetie Belle’s filly hood and kept it there for a moment to gauge her reaction. Admittedly, it wasn’t exactly what she expected.

“What are you doing?” asked Sweetie Belle with confusion, not seeming to react at all to the gesture whether positive or negative.

“I heard from somewhere that this is something you do when you really, really like some pony,” explained Scootaloo with a small smile and a few extra sparkles in her eyes. At that, she began to use her hooves to rub and explore Sweetie’s vagina. Upon hearing the explanation and feeling the sensations that Scootaloo’s hoof was causing, Sweetie Belle smiled from ear to ear and started giggling a little bit.

“Scootaloo, that tickles!” she complained playfully. Scootaloo giggled in return.

After a few more moments of this, Sweetie Belle got up and gently nudged Scootaloo, indicating that she should get on her back, and that it was her turn. Upon receiving this message, Scootaloo’s breathing sped up to twice its normal speed and her wings had spread as far out as possible. A moment later, Scootaloo herself was now lying in the grass and she had already spread her legs and moved her tail for Sweetie.

Seeing her Pegasus friend this way caused her to blush and after preparing herself, she gingerly placed her right hoof on Scootaloo’s somewhat moist filly hood. It was smooth and firm to the touch, as well as being a bit sticky. But Sweetie Belle didn’t mind. She could tell Scootaloo really liked doing this, and while she was confused about it a little bit, she found to be enjoying it as well. Sweetie Belle copied Scootaloo’s previous motions, moving her hoof back and forth, up and down around her vulva, and briefly on her little, sensitive nub at the top. Touching this caused Scootaloo to jolt a bit and release a gasp.

A few minutes later, Sweetie Belle turned her head and watched as the sun finally completed its descent and the world that was just previously a brilliant orange was now shadowed in darkness.

“Crap, we better get back to your place. If we’re out too long after dark, your mom will be worried,” said Sweetie Belle, quickly moving her hoof away from Scootaloo. This caused the Pegasus to sigh in disappointment.

“Yeah, I guess you’re right,” Scootaloo agreed sadly. At that, she forced herself to get back up onto her hooves and the two fillies started descending the hill. A few feet down, Scootaloo surprised Sweetie Belle by giving her a quick peck on her soft, marshmallow-like cheek causing both of them to blush. But overall, her reaction was positive.

“That’s for making me feel good back there,” explained Scootaloo. Even though she couldn’t really fly much, at that moment, she felt like she was soaring through the clouds, and her heart banged against her ribcage in absolute joy.

“That felt good? No wonder you were acting all funny,” said Sweetie Belle giving a little chuckle.

“What, didn’t it feel good for you too?”

“Now that you mention it, it kind of did. It seemed to tickle more than feel good though. Maybe we can try it a little more when we get back to your place?”

“Sounds good to me!” said Scootaloo, now with both fillies finally making it onto the main road which eventually led back to the newly refurbished home.

***
Back to the present time…

“And… that’s what all happened. A few months later, we met you apple filly, we formed the Cutie Mark Crusaders, and the rest is history. It’s a bit strange to think about again, and I can’t believe I managed to overlook all the signs. It’s no mystery why she loves me so much, and I’ve been so oblivious to it all until now. I mean, up until the recent events, I just considered her a sister of some sort. I’m kind of worried now. What if I don’t actually love her that way? What if that dumb mushroom somehow made it so I felt that way towards her? What if what I actually felt for her before this dumb curse made me into mares wasn’t really the “feel good” kind of love? I mean yeah, I know I cared for her but… romantically? I’m so confused,” finished Sweetie Belle.

For the next few moments, there was silence. Apple Bloom had dry tear marks on her cheeks from the more depressing parts of the story and Rarity merely looked at the floor letting the emotion settle in. While she knew about what happened for the most part, that last bit with the hill was completely new information.

“I don’t know if I really should have told you that last little bit considering how personal it is, but it seemed important as that memory has a ton of clues towards her attraction towards me.”

“That’s quite alright Sweetie Belle. Even… I had some quite similar experiences as a filly,” admitted Rarity.

“Well… now Ah understand. Ah had no idea there was so much that happened between you two before we met.” A few more moments passed in silence before Sweetie Belle thought of something important.

“Hey, could you maybe go check on Scootaloo right now? I’m kind of worried about her. I could also use some more time to think by myself.”

“Actually, Ah was thinkin’ on doin’ the same thing. Ah’ll go check up on her and come back later to tell ya how she’s doin’, okay Sweetie Belle?”

“Sounds like a plan,” confirmed the unicorn.

At that, both ponies in the hallway got up and made their way to their destinations, Rarity’s being her sewing room and Apple Bloom’s being Scootaloo’s place.

***

It was almost 10pm that night and there was still no sign of Apple Bloom.

“Gahhh, I think I’ve had plenty of time to think. Now I’m just BORED!” complained Sweetie Belle who was lying upside down off the edge of her bed. By now, she had already exhausted all her solo fun having methods like books, toys and games that could be played alone and her solitude was really having a toll on the filly.

*KNOCK KNO-*

“THAT HAS TO BE HER!” screamed Sweetie after the noise of the door knocking downstairs finally rang through the boutique. Rarity did her best to rush to the door and open it, revealing a slightly exhausted looking, young apple filly.

“Golly… I finally made it,” she remarked walking straight past the concerned looking elder sister. Together, just as they had done that morning, they walked up the stairs towards Sweetie Belle’s room to confront the poor, confined filly.

“Ah’m back, Sweetie Belle,” announced Apple Bloom before seating herself on the floor near the door.

“So? What’s the scoop? How’s… Scootaloo?” asked Sweetie Belle, unsure if maybe she had brought the Pegasus along but was also willing to bet that wasn’t the case.

“She’s… somethin’,” she started with fatigue stressing her vocal chords, “When Ah got there, she was a totally depressed’ mess. Ah mean, Ah feel bad for her and all, but she wanted me to stay there with her all day, most of the time being there for her to have a shoulder to cry on. Ah wasn’t able to leave until she finally fell asleep about a half hour ago.” Sweetie Belle sighed, though she quickly perked up when a question hit her.

“Did you maybe ask about her feelings towards me?”

“Ah didn’t need to. Most of the time Ah was there, she was telling me about how betrayed she felt and how much she had loved ya’ll. What you did must’ve been real bad in her eyes if it could make such a big tom colt act this way.” Sweetie Belle sighed again.

“Well, if Twilight doesn’t come up with a plan by tomorrow, we’re supposed to make me have sex with some pony again. She says that if I do it enough, this thing will have enough power to escape me, therefore it will no longer be my problem specifically. I really hope that I can fix things once this is all over with.”

“Do you want me to be there for you when you do that?”

“I would love that,” said Sweetie Belle smiling. “Anyway, you sound really tired, apple filly. Maybe you should get home and have some rest. Come back here at around 9 o clock-ish.

“Okay, see ya tomorrow. Try to get some sleep,” said Apple Bloom before finally making her way down the stairs and out the door. Finally, Rarity spoke up.

“Do you really want to go through with this, Sweetie Belle?”

“Well, if Twilight can’t help us in any other way, I guess it’s worth a try. Goodnight, sis.”

“Good night,” replied Rarity before making her way towards her own bedroom to retire for the night.

Author's Note

Whew! That one was a long one and it actually took me a few days to write. What a coincidence that I was able to get it out exactly a week later from the last chapter. Anyway, I may need another short break from writing so that I can recover. I'll try to not make the wait 3 or so months again though, lol.

As always, comments are always greatly appreciated!