Finding The Courage Within

Part 1

The sun rose into the sky, shining through the window and onto Sweetie Belle's eyes causing her to squint in annoyance and roll over to face away from the annoying light, nearly bumping her nose into the other pony's face whom had stayed the night with her and allowed a soft smile to wash over her face as she looked at her new fillyfriend.

She had expected something to happen last night between the two. After all, isn't that what couples did nearly every night before they slept? The teenage filly overheard gossip all the time from other fillies in school. How they would rut their coltfriends every night. To her surprise however, Scootaloo merely gave her a kiss on the lips goodnight and went to sleep. Not that she wasn't grateful, but she was surprised.

Sweetie Belle wasn't sure she was prepared to be intimate yet, especially because she knew if her filly parts got excited… that thing would too. The very thought of it made the unicorn scowl. She wanted to be rid of it once and for all. For now however, she shoved the thoughts of it as far from her mind as possible, deciding instead to take in Scootaloo's beauty as she slept soundly.

Ever since yesterday, she had suddenly seen the Pegasus in a new light and she couldn't figure out why she hadn't seen it before. It was like when that kiss melted away her fears, it also opened her eyes to the cute filly who now slept next to her.

As she looked on however, Scootaloo's eyes fluttered open and a warm smile spread across her facial features as she looked back at the unicorn. "Morning." She said sweetly.

"Morning, Scoots." Sweetie Belle replied softly as the Pegasus leaned in a locked lips with her expecting to leave it at that. However, one kiss lead to another and another and before either filly realized it, they were running their hooves through each other's manes as they made out in the bed.

Both fillies were becoming rather excited as they continued to make out, each one taking note of the fact they were growing warm under their respective tails. Their make-out session however came to an abrupt halt when both fillies noticed something.

Scootaloo blushed hotly while Sweetie Belle merely scowled and groaned. The filly's member, much to her dismay was starting to stand up at attention and poked the Pegasus in the belly which was the cause for the two to stop making out.

"We could just ignore it." Scootaloo suggested sheepishly as she rubbed the back of her head.

Sweetie Belle however rolled her eyes at this suggestion. "Easy for you to say, you don't have to worry about getting it to go back down once its fully erect." She remarked dismally, sighed aloud, rolled over in the opposite direction, and out of bed.

Much to Sweetie Belle's relief, the moment being ruined by her addition was also causing it to quickly become flaccid again and retreat into its sheath.

Scootaloo however sighed dejectedly as she rolled out of bed herself and stretched all four legs plus her wings for a moment before she walked up to the unicorn and rubbed her cheek against Sweetie Belle's in an affectionate manner. "I know you hate having it but…" Scootaloo said trailing off leaving Sweetie Belle wondering if she was insinuating something or if she merely cut her sentence short to avoid pressuring the filly into something.

She assumed the former however and rolled her eyes. "Don't you even suggest what I think you're suggesting." The filly warned with a mild glare which caused the Pegasus to slink back with a guilty look which proved her assumption right on the mark on both accounts.

"Okay, Okay! I won't suggest it but we can't ignore it forever you know. I mean, if we ever really got into it and I mean really get into it-"

"I get it, okay!" Sweetie Belle snapped angrily which caused Scootaloo to cower slightly which caused the unicorn to feel guilty and sigh. "Look, I know I can't pretend it doesn't exist forever." She began as she walked over and nuzzled the Pegasus affectionately on the cheek. "And Celestia's knows you probably want me to use it on you at some point." She continued though her tone of voice fluctuated between annoyance and humor as she spoke. "But I want nothing to do with it." She finished as she looked at Scootaloo who frowned slightly.

The frown however didn't last long as she smiled once more. "All right, I won't bug you about it." She said as she nuzzled the unicorn once more and locked lips with her for a time before leaning back and smiling at her.

"Thanks for understanding." Sweetie Belle replied, walked over to the mirror, and sighed as she channeled magic into her horn and cast the cloaking spell.

"I mean, who knows, maybe one day, in the heat of the moment you'll-"

"Not gonna happen." Sweetie Belle stated firmly though she didn't look behind herself. "Horny Pegasus…" She added under her breath which caused Scootaloo to giggle softly before she left the room.

"Like I'd ever consider using this thing again." She remarked to herself as she continued to channel the spell roughly ten minutes later while less than pleasant memories entered her mind which involved Silver Spoon.

Sweetie Belle trotted downstairs roughly twenty minutes later to see Scootaloo sitting on her rump with her front hooves crossed in a defiant manner. "I'm not going." The Pegasus stated plainly.

"You can't ignore your education, Scootaloo." Twilight lectured with a stern expression.

"Easy for you to say, you don't have to deal with that mule. And now that she's gotten away with beating up Sweetie Belle, I'll never hear the end of it from her." Scootaloo retorted.

Sweetie Belle put a hoof to her chin with a mildly nervous expression. "If I don't show up, who knows what Diamond Tiara will do to make Scootaloo's life horrible." She thought to herself and sighed, having come to her decision. "Well, I'm going." She stated aloud much to everypony's shock.

"Have you lost your mind?! If you show up, Diamond Tiara's just gonna make you her lapdog since she's still got that photograph of us." Scootaloo protested as the unicorn walked past her and towards the kitchen.

"You let me deal with Diamond Tiara. Twilight's right though, you need your education and so do I for that matter. I've missed far too much school over the past month and I've got loads of homework to catch up on." Sweetie Belle explained as the Pegasus entered the kitchen and sat down at the table.

"Like Tartarus I'll let that mule bully you!" Scootaloo exclaimed fiercely to which Sweetie Belle put down her fork and sighed.

"What other choice do I have? If I don't show up, she'll just make your life a nightmare and even if you don't show up, Applebloom will." Sweetie Belle stated plainly.

It was at this point that Twilight and Rarity entered the kitchen and sat down at the table. "If you're set on going, I'll do what I can to keep Diamond Tiara from bullying you but I can't help wondering if this is too soon." Twilight said with a concerned expression for her student as she looked at Sweetie Belle.

"Twilight may have a point, Sweetie Belle. You've done nothing but deal with her for the last three weeks in court and prior to that, she had you beaten up pretty badly. I'm not so sure facing her this soon is wise. Even I am not naïve enough to think she wouldn't exercise the power she has over you now more than ever after getting away with everything she has." Rarity added with a concerned look herself.

"Ugh, this is bogus! Can't you do anything, Twilight?! Get her expelled, move her to another school, anything!" Scootaloo exclaimed with a frustrated look at the Alicorn whom placed a hoof on her forehead and sighed.

"If only I could, Scootaloo." Twilight replied with a frown.

"Why not?!" The Pegasus snapped angrily, clearly unhappy with this answer.

Twilight's expression became a scowl upon hearing this and sighed. "Politics…" She uttered out with nothing short than loathing for the word and what it stood for.

"What the buck does that have to do with anything?" Scootaloo asked with a half confused, half annoyed expression towards the Alicorn.

Before Twilight could speak however, Rarity stepped forward. "I'll handle this, darling. I'm afraid you'd only confuse them even more with a textbook explanation of the topic." The unicorn stated in the kindest manner possible though this didn't stop Twilight from giving the mare an annoyed look.

Rarity then turned to look at the two fillies, took a deep breath, and sighed. "Okay, so Twilight's position as a princess is not as simple as one might think. She can't very well go around making royal decrees without ponies looking at her and thinking she's abusing her power." Rarity explained in a calm manner.

"But she's not! She's protecting Sweetie Belle from a bully!" Scootaloo countered still not grasping the whole situation.

"Most ponies don't know that though. To them, she's the one whose being the bully by forcing Diamond Tiara to leave school." Rarity explained further. " And with how clever that brat is, I'd bet my horn she'd ham it up to her advantage." She added with a scowl.

"I'm already at a political disadvantage thanks to the outcome of the court trial. Ponies are questioning my actions against a filly who by their viewpoints, was innocent despite my fierce testimonies trying to prove otherwise." Twilight added.

This remark by the Alicorn caused Sweetie Belle to think back to a particular day in court when the Alicorn was, as Scootaloo described it, on fire…"

FLASHBACK:

Twilight paced back and forth through the courtroom as Diamond Tiara looked on with a smug grin on her face. "You claim to have done nothing wrong by my student yet I have two other ponies who eyewitness testimony states that you frequently, forced Sweetie Belle to do your homework, run errands for you, and even sexual favors! All against her will!" Twilight exclaimed as she stopped to glare the spoiled filly.

"Objection!" A stallion exclaimed as he stood up. "The Princess is making claims without concrete evidence to back up her claims!" The stallion stated as he looked at Twilight. "What evidence do you have to back up these claims?" He asked.

"I just said I have two eyewitnesses!" Twilight countered with a glare.

"The words of two teenagers, who as the court knows, are close friends with your student and would gladly back up any made-up story to back up your claims." The lawyer countered.

"I'm sorry but did you say against her will?" Diamond Tiara asked aloud in the what could be considered most polite tone possible if not for her smug grin poisoning her honeyed tone of voice to lethal degrees.

"Yes, I did. Do you deny it?" Twilight asked with a stern look at the pink filly.

"Ignoring for a moment, you're trying to make asking a pony to do my homework seem evil…" Diamond Tiara began which earned soft laughter and chuckles from a few ponies in the courtroom. "I'd like to point out that me and Sweetie Belle have come to an… agreement of sorts." The filly said simply and though she didn't seem finished with her explanation, it didn't stop Twilight from cutting her off.

"That agreement you speak of is blackmail and you know it!" The Alicorn exclaimed fiercely.

Diamond Tiara feigned ignorance as she made a fake offended expression. "Me? Blackmail? And what would I have to blackmail her with? Can you show or tell the court anything that would give me any leverage over a student of the Princess Of Friendship?" The bully asked as her facial expression all but screamed "Go ahead, tell them what you've been hiding!" Which caused Twilight to become unnerved and far less confident now.

"Blast her! She's using Twilight's role as a princess to her advantage! No pony will think she could have anything on me when my social status as Twilight's student should make me untouchable!" Sweetie Belle thought to herself with a glare at the bully.

"Furthermore, I do not know of these sexual favors you speak of, nor asking her to do my homework, that after all would mean I was cheating at my academic achievements and we all know that's not the case." Diamond Tiara added with a smug grin.

"Then explain to the court why Sweetie Belle testified that you forced her to commit to oral sex and intercourse with Silver Spoon less than one week ago!" Twilight exclaimed loudly. "With an adult toy!" She added a few seconds later hoping she covered up what she initially implied.
Diamond Tiara merely shrugged as she continued to feign ignorance. "It's not my business what my best friend does in her free time with other ponies but I had no part it in and you can't prove otherwise." She stated with a sneer.

Twilight gritted her teeth in fury. She couldn't prove any of this without exposing Sweetie Belle's secret to the court. If she had, she could at the least prove she had blackmailed her.

END FLASHBACK

"There's no use trying to convince me out of it. I'm going and that's final. It's time I stopped running away from my problems." Sweetie Belle stated plainly just before she hopped down from the chair and went to grab her saddlepack only to stop and reflect on her words. "Did I just say that?" She thought to herself in mild amazement.

"Fine, I'll go. If anything to keep an eye on that mule and make sure she leaves you alone." Scootaloo added as she hopped down from the table herself and went to grab a saddlepack of her own.

"If you're sure then I won't stop you but if it becomes too much, don't hesitate to come to me. My castle doors are always open to you." Twilight said simply as she walked past the two, opened the front door, and left.

Rarity however wasn't entirely convinced this was a good idea. "Sweetie Belle, are you sure this is what you want? I won't be there to protect you and Twilight can only do so much." The mare stated with the utmost concern in her voice as she spoke.

Sweetie Belle turned and smiled at her big sister. Knowing she was so concerned for her filled the unicorn with pride that she was related to such a generous pony. "Don't worry big sis, I'll be fine. Besides, I've got Scootaloo with me." She reassured her older sister and walked out the door followed closely by Scootaloo only for Rarity to halt the Pegasus.

"Make sure she stays safe." Rarity whispered.

"Don't worry, I will." Scootaloo replied with stern expression.

Stepping back into School for the first time in nearly a month, the unicorn felt as if it was her first day all over again as she looked about herself with a sense of unease and gulped loudly.

"It's not too late to turn back." Scootaloo suggested softly.
"No. I can't keep running away." Sweetie Belle replied as she steeled her resolve and took a confident step forward and then another.

As the two fillies approached their lockers they spotted a friendly face. The filly noticed them and nearly tackled both of them in a big hug. "Oh my gosh! It's been ages since Ah've seen y'all! Last Ah heard ya was givin' that bully what for in court! So, tell me. How'd it go? Did she plead for mercy fore' the judge threw the book at her?!" The farm filly asked excitedly only for the two to exchange less than pleased looks.

"They wish!" Came a prissy voice from behind the three which caused all three fillies to turn and glare at none other than Diamond Tiara herself who wore her usual sneer. "Though I have to give you credit, you sure surprised me by getting your pet princess after me." The bully remarked with a smirk as she walked past them.

"Sweetie Belle ain't doin' yer dirty work anymore so don't even try to get her to!" Applebloom exclaimed fiercely.

"You speak as if she has a choice in the matter." The bully countered with a sinister grin.

It was then that Scootaloo stepped forward and spread her wings out in a brave yet threatening manner towards the earth pony. "If you try to force Sweetie Belle to do anything, a broken snout with be the least of your concerns!" The Pegasus exclaimed fiercely.

"I won't have to force her to do anything. She will do it all on her own… isn't that right, Sweetie Belle?" Diamond Tiara said as she looked past the Pegasus straight at the unicorn.

"Yer high on poison joke if ya think we'll let ya do anythin' to her!" Applebloom roared as she stepped alongside Scootaloo to Sweetie Belle's defense.

"Oh come now, do you honestly think you can protect her at all times during the day or even at night?, Silver Spoon isn't the only muscle under my control in this school and you two cutiemark losers won't always be around to protect her. I don't even need to use blackmail anymore. Fear will keep her obedient of me." Diamond Tiara stated confidently only to find herself slammed against a nearby locker with Scootaloo's right hoof rearing back in preparation to slam it into the bully's face.

Flashes of the beating she received nearly a month ago flashed before Sweetie Belle's eyes causing her to flinch in fear.

"Let's see how cocky you are after I rearrange your snout!" Scootaloo roared as her hoof prepared to strike true.

"You sure you wanna do that?" Diamond Tiara asked with a cocky grin though there was a hint of fear in her eyes. "If I were you, I'd want to remain at her side as much as I could and you can't very well do that if you're expelled, now can you?" She added with a sneer.

Scootaloo's eyes flared wide with unfathomable rage upon hearing these words. She wanted nothing more than to beat the horsefeathers out of the bully here and now but what was stopping her from doing so was the very thing that enraged her so.

"Stop it, Scootaloo! She's not worth it!" Sweetie Belle exclaimed as she used her magic to grab ahold of the Pegasus's hoof which caused her to look back at her lover.

Scootaloo looked at Diamond Tiara then back to her lover then back to the bully and then back to her lover once more before her hoof collided with the locker less than an inch from the bully's face causing her to inhale sharply before the Pegasus released her and walked past Applebloom and Sweetie Belle.

With one last fearful glance at the bully who was still sneering, Sweetie Belle rushed over to Scootaloo along with Applebloom.

"Holy horseapples, Scoots! Ah know she can be infuriatin' but that was a little extreme, don't ya think?" Applebloom remarked in shock of the Pegasus's actions.

"You don't know what she did!" Scootaloo snapped as she slammed a hoof into the locker, taking deep breaths to prevent herself from seeing red.

Sweetie Belle leaned in a nuzzled Scootaloo's cheek affectionately as she spoke much to the shock of the farm pony. "Shh, it's okay. She won't be able to scare me into doing anything okay?" Sweetie Belle whispered as she placed a hoof on the Pegasus's cheek, turned her face to face hers and locked lips with the Pegasus much to Applebloom's shock whose jaw would have slammed through the floor and popped out on the other side of Equestria if it were physically possible.

Sweetie Belle broke the kiss and at the same time her lover did, noticed Applebloom gawking at the two slack-jawed. "Uh...surprise?" Was all Sweetie Belle could utter out as a crimson blush formed on her face while Scootaloo rubbed the back of her head with a nervous look.

Twilight paced back and forth in the map room as Spike sat in one of the chairs.

"It's only been three hours, Twilight. I don't think she's going to reply that-" The young drake began to say only to suddenly make a loud gagging sound and burp up a flurry of green flames which quickly formed a rolled up scroll.
Without hesitation the Alicorn seized the scroll out of the air with her magic, unrolled it, and read its contents. Shortly after reading it, the Alicorn gulped as she lowered the scroll. "She wants to see me as soon as possible." Twilight said in a worried tone.

"That's good thing right? I don't see what has you so worried." Spike remarked with a mildly confused look.

"I lied to her face, Spike." Twilight replied as she recalled the conversation between student and teacher nearly ten years ago.

FLASHBACK:

The Alicorn eyed her student curiously as she spoke. "This is a tall request Twilight. You realize that you are asking me to relinquish royal power over a city to a mere unicorn, don't you?" Celestia remarked as she peered down at her student from her throne, as if attempting to read her mind.

"Yes, I do but it's for a good cause! After all, a lot of things have been happening in Ponyville as of late and who knows what will happen next?" Twilight replied with a nervous expression as her eyes darted back and forth.

"Which is all the more cause for me not to comply with this request...so tell me my student. What is the real reason you're asking me for royal authority of Ponyville?" Celestia asked as she eyed the unicorn suspiciously.

"The real reason?" The lavender unicorn echoed as her mind raced for a viable reason other than that Sweetie Belle had given herself a penis due to her own error in judgement and she needed this power to not only cover up her huge mistake but also to help the young filly.

"The real reason is… Me! Yes, Me!" The unicorn exclaimed her voice cracking as she spoke due to feeling so nervous as she continued to explain her "reason". "You see, everypony in town looks up to me in one way or another and well, they often come to me and ask me for help with important things like funds to rebuild town hall and other important things...so yeah...eh, heh...it would make things run a lot smoother and not to mention faster if I could just approve things from my house than having to send you a letter which would take away from precious and not to mention, important time you need for your royal duties!" She finished as her eyes darted to the left and right nervously.

Celestia eyed her student suspiciously for a few moments longer. Something told the Alicorn her student was hiding something from her but she knew that prying might hurt her relationship with her student. Instead, she smiled. "Very well. I'll bestow this power on you, Twilight Sparkle but know that this is a great responsibility and not one to taking lightly. Are you completely sure you are ready for it?" She asked with a serious expression now as she looked at her student.

"Yes! Yes I am!" The unicorn replied enthusiastically.

END FLASHBACK

"No doubt she will confront me about this and not to mention the book I owned which I forged documents to get!" Twilight replied and sighed.

"You mean that spell book that Sweetie Belle got ahold of?" Spike asked with a shocked expression as he stared at the Alicorn.

"Yes, that one. I heard it had some of the most advanced magic known to equestria and me being the knowledge seeker I was and still am, I wanted more than anything to get my hooves on it and study it! The problem was that I didn't have authorization to order the book due to it being highly advanced and well beyond my skill level at the time." Twilight said and sighed. "So I ordered the book under Celestia's name." She finished and sighed.

"Wow, who knew that you had a naughty side to you." Spike remarked with a smirk. "So wait, if it was something you didn't want anypony to know you had, how did the crusaders get their hooves on it?" The drake asked curiously.

"When I first got it, I spent all night studying it and fell asleep with my face in the book. The next morning, Discord was running amok, and I had no time to put it away between all the chaos he was causing." The Alicorn explained and sighed. "I'm going to have to face her sooner or later. I'll be back soon." She said depressingly, channeled magic into her horn, and disappeared in a flash of magic.

With Twilight now gone, the drake was left to his thoughts. "Hmm, I wonder how Sweetie Belle is doing at school anyways? I guess I could go check on her." Spike suggested aloud to himself followed by a grin. "And maybe those cheerleader ponies will give ol' spike-wikey a good time…" he added with a mischievous smirk as he went to his bedroom to put clothes on.

Author's Note

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