Growth of the CMC: For Better or Worse

Chapters

Romantic Worries
Learning about Love
Repenting Mistakes
To Support an Apple
Fashionista to the Rescue
A Pegasus in Need
A Friendship Rekindled

Romantic Worries

When did everything come crashing down upon the three of them? None of them wanted this to happen within their growing friendship but it came by so suddenly… They were not prepared for this kind of endeavor to occur to them and it was hurting all three of them more than they expected.

The friendship they made together once forged and burning as bright as the Sun itself was now being torn by one part to their development into adulthood, an unrequited love for one another. It was all thanks to Diamond for bringing this topic up for them. She couldn’t blame her though, she saw it as a possibility and they couldn’t deny it as well.

But even with all three of them acknowledging the possibility of a romantic life, they were all being stubborn and denied it quickly. While they did continue on with their daily life, their thoughts were clouded by the idea of being romantically involved each passing day. They would try to push these thoughts out of their minds but the effect was already etched into their minds. As a result, they were uneasy towards this second step into adulthood.

This denial escalated to the point where it was affecting their very friendship. They would chat with each other true, but each day that passed; their conversations were becoming less. Each and everyday, they would almost try to avoid each other hoping to not continue the second step into adulthood regardless of whether they avoided it or not. They didn’t want their friendship to be ruined because of the idea of romance, but they were stubborn and couldn’t let go of this possibility.

All three of them wanted to just continue on with their friendship and put back the idea of romance behind but now, it looks like their friendship will likely break off and cease to exist and that hurt all three of them a lot. They did not want that but they knew that this will continue to come up every time they meet. What were they going to do about this?

This all started after they achieved their cutie marks…

One Month Ago

The school playground was looking as fabulous as far as the eye could see though that all could be said for the Cutie Mark Crusaders, “Ya sure ya don’t need any more help Diamond? Ah mean we could be o’ some help!” Apple Bloom asked her for the second time. Ever since she had talked down her mother, the rich filly had been steadily growing better each day had passed. They couldn’t help but try to assist her even if only a little.

Seeing the three fillies doing anything to help her in rebuilding the playground was, admittedly to Diamond, rather funny. They’ve been very eager to help her ever since her reformation. She still has a lot to learn and repent for but she wanted to face these problems herself. Just looking at them just trying, she couldn’t help but let a small laugh escape her, “I’m sure Apple Bloom, I can handle this myself for now. It’s all thanks to you three that I’m like who I am now.” She let a warm smile form on her face, “Besides, don’t you have anything better to do?”

All three of them shook their heads clearly a bit bored of today. Well, at least to Diamond she thinks they are. Scootaloo was scratching her head feeling more bored than ever, “Not really, you see…um…”

Sweetie spoke for Scootaloo as she took over the conversation. Though Scootaloo was a bit miffed about that, she just shrugged and let her do the speaking role since she was much better at it than herself, “We’re bored because our siblings… well, siblings and Scoot’s role model…” That earned a stern look from the orange pegasus. Apple Bloom couldn’t but let out a sigh and chuckle a bit. Sweetie shared Apple bloom’s opinion as she joined in the laughter, “I’m sorry Scootaloo, but you do know I’m correct, right?”

Her gaze never weakened and though it did worry Diamond for a bit, a small snicker escaped from Scootaloo before erupting into a full blown laughter. All three fillies joined in the sudden laugh as they dropped down onto the dirt ground. Diamond could only watch the scene in confusion as they were rolling around and pounding their hooves away at the ground as they kept continually laughing. Their laughter was rather infectious to Diamond and she couldn’t help let herself go and join in their crazy shenanigans as she joined in their laughter. Every classmate and parent within the vicinity saw the four of them laughing like good friends. While many did find this rather odd, some were pleased to see them getting along well especially Cheerilee. After what seems like hours laughing, all four got up from their precarious position. Scootaloo wiped a single tear away from all the laughing, “Thanks Sweetie Belle, definitely needed that good laugh.”

Sweetie let one more chuckle escape from her before slowly dying it down, “No problem Scoots! To be honest, I needed a good laugh as well.” Apple Bloom and Diamond Tiara were the last to get up from the laughing spree.

After the last two fillies let the last few moments of laughter tone itself down, Apple Bloom wrapped her forelegs around Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle as she pulled them together in her embrace, “Ya two sure know when it’s a great time t’ let out a good laugh, ya know?”

“Don’t we all know when it’s a good time to let out a laugh Apple Bloom?” Sweetie noted to her. They all chuckled from that response. Both of them returned the hug of Apple Bloom’s before separating themselves from each other. They heard a small chuckle from behind them and turned around to see Diamond Tiara covering her mouth as she was trying to hold back her laughter. This raised some confusion between the CMC as to why she was laughing, “Diamond, why are you laughing?”

Diamond calmed herself down from the laughing. She definitely had enough laughing today and her throat was starting to get a bit dry from all of that as a result. She looked at the three as she cleared her throat, “Well, seeing the three of you hug it out and all…” She was waving her hoof around in a circle as if to emphasize the next point, “You three look like you could fit together as a herd, you know?”

They looked at each other first seemingly confused about what she was talking about. They let a sheepish grin form on their face. Scootaloo was scratching her head while the other two just stood there. Their point was emphasized by the next question asked by Sweetie Belle of all ponies, “Uh, what do you mean by that Diamond? ‘Cause we’re lost at what you’re trying to say here.”

The rich filly in question couldn’t resist the temptation and did a facehoof in front of them. Sometimes these three can be idiots but she can’t fault them at that alone considering that they forget many details due to their adventures almost every time. She was about to speak before she was cut off by her best friend Silver Spoon, “Hello Diamond, how are you doing today?”

She couldn’t but let a sigh escape and smile at her first friend, “Going well, just right now I’m telling them about them being fit together to be a herd.”

Silver looked to the CMC first trying to understand what she meant. She clearly saw the intention and in all honesty, even that hasn’t slipped her mind though she never thought of it being bought up now. Diamond was about to tell them about the knowledge of herds when silver cut her off, “You do realize that the whole class hasn’t gone through that course right? For good reason too might I add?”

Diamond looked at her friend about to object to her response as she opened her mouth and raised her hoof. Slowly though, she closed her mouth and lowered her hoof a bit seeing that Silver was right about it, “Now that you mention about it… you’re right.”

“Aren’t I always?” She let out a shifting her focus to the three fillies, “Sorry about that but if you want to know about the herd thing, I might suggest asking either Princess Twilight or any of your siblings about it.” All three of them made a sound that suggested that they were annoyed about being denied of this knowledge if at least temporarily. Both Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon left them and went back to the newly built playground. When she determined that they were far enough from the CMC, she looked at Diamond, a look of nervousness etched on her face, “Are you sure that was a good idea Diamond?”

Diamond looked at Silver in bewilderment as they reached the playground, “What was such a good idea?” Her friend waved a hoof at the three fillies leaving the school grounds. She was able to connect the dots rather quickly as Silver lowered her hoof, “In a bit of a way, yes it was a good idea for me. I mean tell me… I was not the only pony who thought those three can get along so well, they might as well go into a romantic relationship?”

Silver rubbed her head and let a sheepish grin form on her face. Diamond couldn’t help but let a small chuckle escape from her seeing her friend act like that, “Heheh, yeah, it did occur to me as well Diamond so you’re not alone there…” She let a little laugh escape from her as she was still scratching her head. Before long though, she looked at her still bearing concern and her voice suggested that she was being serious about this next dialogue, “But enough of that, Diamond, as much as I agree with this, this newfound knowledge might end up becoming a problem for those three.”

This might become a problem for those three? Diamond was trying to understand what her friend was suggesting. Sure, maybe this was a bit too early to learn, but sooner or later, they would’ve learned about it anyhow. Especially now that they got their cutie marks meaning that they just took the first step into adulthood. So what seems to be the matter about this knowledge? She couldn’t help but try to satiate her curiosity, “What do you mean this might be a problem for those three Silver Spoon? You know as well as I do that they would’ve learned it anyhow, so I decided to tell them about it. Especially now that they gotten their cutie marks meaning that they took their first step into adulthood. What’s to stop them from making that second step?”

Silver let out a sigh as she looked at her. Normally, this wouldn’t really matter much, but to Diamond, she knew this to be a case of a bad sign. She steeled herself for the answer awaiting her but what came out was unexpected of her, “Themselves Diamond, they will do something to stop from making that second step.”

Now Diamond was baffled as her expression showed. Why would they stop themselves from making that second step? They aren’t that stupid to not make that step so why would they stop it? She put one hoof on the table wanting some answers about this now, “What do you mean Silver? Why would they stop themselves from making that step? They’re not that stupid to do something like that…”

“Agreed, but…” Oh how Diamond Tiara hated the use of that word right now. Even Silver herself did not like to use this word unless there was good reasoning to it, “Knowing them, they could be very stubborn and try to not accept their friendship going into romantic territory…” Her friend was about to open her mouth to talk but Silver cut her off with one word, “Desperately.”

That provoked a response from Diamond as she raised her eyebrow in confusion, “Desperately? Why? I don’t see a problem with having a romantic relational friendship…”

“Maybe, but… well imagine this.” She saw the rich filly’s ears perked as she was lifting her two hooves up, “We know that sooner or later they’ll learn about all this romance stuff right?” She saw her friend nodded in agreement. She waved her two hooves around in a circle trying to imagine how the situation might go, “And we both know that them getting their cutie marks was but the first step into adulthood right?”

Diamond let out an exasperated sigh. She was not enjoying this and now, with Silver being like this, she was beginning to get worried for those three, “I know about this knowledge already friend, can you just skip to the main point? You’re making me worried for them now…”

“Right right, sorry there…” She lowered her two front hooves as she let in a deep breath, “You know how romance works right?” Diamond nodded though not without letting out a sigh, “Sorry, it’s just that once they learn about this, I have this bad feeling that they’re going to split apart because they don’t want to think of their friendship heading towards… well.” She bought up her two hooves up again and rubbed them together imitating kissing, “…being close and personal.”

Diamond looked upon the two hooves rubbing off one another. Again, she did not see the problem about them being that close together and all, at first. Slowly though, she was beginning to connect the dots about this whole thing and soon, an answer emerged from her thoughts. Her eyes widened for a bit as she looked at Silver who was nodding to her realization, “This isn’t good at all, I can’t imagine them being inseparable at all. It’d be like seeing a big box but only a third filled… But, I also can’t imagine this being likely to happen knowing them.”

“And I agree with you Diamond, but we can’t always be certain about this…” Both were seeing just how bad things might get once they learn about all of this. Normally, before her redemption, they’d be delighted to let them break apart. It would be something that would make her proud. Now after her redemption, this was something she wouldn’t want to happen.

Diamond was rubbing her head with her two front hooves. As she pondered about this, something occurred to her. If things should end up following its course, she might be able to help them get along once again, maybe even be able to make them accept the possibility of romance between each other. She could do both as her way of saying thanks and as a way to repent for her mistakes against them. She looked at her friend, a smile forming in her face. Silver looked at her awry of what was going on her thoughts. She chuckled for a bit, “Come on, don’t be like that. I have an idea that might just be able to help bring them back should it go down.”

Silver’s head was pulled closer to her friend as she whispered her plan to her. The plan that Diamond has in store registered to Silver and she couldn’t hold back a smile as she listened to it all. As soon as she was done, she backed away still wearing her smile, “Diamond Tiara, you are a genius…”

“I know! Let’s just hope it doesn’t go down that though…” Her gray filly friend nodded. They did their signature handshake while saying their lines. It had been a while since they had done that and it was gratifying to do so.

Learning about Love

After that awkward conversation with Diamond Tiara about… whatever she was about to tell them about, they left the school grounds. For now, the word herd was lingering in their thoughts. Just what did Diamond mean by the three of them being fit together to be a herd? The Cutie Mark Crusaders wanted answers to that question and, as Silver Spoon suggested; either Twilight or their siblings could answer that question.

The trek to Twilight’s castle yielded a conversation between the three of them about their life once they grow up into adults. While normally they wouldn’t think much about their future much, today felt like a good time to talk about them for odd reasons, “So what do y’all got in mind fer life ahead o’ us?”

They stopped next to the Ponyville Park fountain to think about life ahead of them. Sitting down upon the stone fountain and placing their right hoof on their chin, they pondered about this for some time. Many of the ponies who were walking by, saw the three of them like that and couldn’t but wonder what those three were doing sitting around like that. Everypony at least saw their antics and even after they got their cutie marks, some can’t help but miss their antics at times. Returning back to their normal routine, Scootaloo raised her right hoof up as a smile formed on her face, “Well if I trained with Rainbow Dash long enough…”

Sweetie cut her off with a remark to that statement, “Which you did by the way Scoots…” Apple Bloom couldn’t help but let a snicker escape.

The orange pegasus just rolled her eyes and continued on with what she got in mind, “Anyway, if I did and get these wings of mine…” She flapped them sporadically trying to ascend high enough. While she did not soar high, she managed to stay airborne for a longer period of time which impressed the two fillies well enough. Her wings were beginning to tire and soon, she begun to descend towards the fountain.

She braced herself as she landed in the fountain and managed to splash her and her friends. She poked her head out of the fountain to see that her friends were drenched like her as well. Silence fell upon the three of them as they sat there for some time. As the Sun was at its highest, the three of them snickered as their expressions showed. In a matter of a few second, they erupted into laughter. Scootaloo pulled them inside the fountain and they begun to splash water onto each other as they continued laughing to their hearts’ content. Water was being splashed everywhere as a few of the ponies that were walking near the fountain got drenched by the three fillies. It didn’t bother them much as they gotten use to their antics by now to the point that some missed their crazy shenanigans.

The three kept on splashing one another for what felt like an eternity to them. After a few minutes of splashing each other, they stopped and stepped out of the fountain. All three look upon each other in their soaked state. Something within their minds clicked but they weren’t so sure what it was. They stared at each other for some time admiring their drenched bodies. Shades of red were beginning to rise upon their faces as they looked away from each other weakly laughing. They shook off the water and the sudden feelings begun to fade away as well as their blushing faces. The feeling did bother the three of them a bit but they were more baffled as to why it came to them. Regardless of this detail, they decided to continue the conversation before their fun in the water while trekking to Twilight’s castle. Sweetie cleared her throat as she begun to speak though the topic was something all three shared, “So, um… what was that feeling we felt when we… um, looked at each other while soaked?”

Suddenly, all three of their faces were beginning to show shades of red once again upon mention of the odd yet comforting feeling. The emotion came forth once again and lingered much longer for a while. All three were still wondering on why they are suddenly getting this emotion so suddenly. As they are still rather young, the knowledge about this was unbeknownst to them. Apple Bloom shook her head not wanting to linger on this much longer, “Uh, Sweetie, can we please change the topic ‘ere? Ah don’t want t’ talk ‘bout it if we keep havin’ this…whatever it is we’re feelin’.” Scootaloo nodded in agreement with the filly farmer.

The feeling begun to slowly dissipate from them as Sweetie acknowledged the fact, “Oh sure! Well we know that Scootaloo still wants to be a Wonderbolt…” Both looked at the orange pegasus expecting a little bit of boasting about it but instead, she was silent. This was not normal for the energetic filly, only happening when she was scared. The two were concerned for Scootaloo. Sweetie asked while poking her as she tried to get her attention, “Scoots? Are you alright?”

Scootaloo jerked her head looking at her two friends while trotting to the castle. She mentally slapped herself for being silent when her two friends asked her, “Oh I’m sorry! Uh, what was the question you asked?”

Apple Bloom can tell that something was troubling her normally energetic friend. The Apple family has been known to see details, minor or major, that bothered their friends and closest family members. Scootaloo being silent in a conversation was one of those. Worried for her friend, she repeated what Sweetie asked her, “She asked if ya were okay an’ from yer silence, Ah can tell that something’s botherin’ ya Scoots.”

The orange pegasus bore a look of defeat upon hearing Apple Bloom being concerned. Looking upon the fashionista’s sister, she too was sharing the farm filly’s concern. She looked forward to see Twilight’s castle not far ahead. Scootaloo let out a sigh as she looked at her two friends, “To be honest, something is bothering me Apple Bloom, but can I answer that when we get to Twilight’s castle? I Pinkie Promise it okay?” She began to recite the words of the promise, “Cross my heart…” She raised her right hoof and made an x over her heart, “Hope to fly…” She made a crescent wave motion and then she put her hoof over her eye as she said the last words, “Stick a cupcake in my eye.”

Both of them looked at each other first before resigning to her promise as they shifted their attention to her, “Alright Scoots, but ya better keep that promise ya made!”

A green bush nearby them suddenly began to shake wildly just after Scootaloo made the promise. All three saw it and were about to creep up on it until Pinkie popped out from the bush looking at the three with a rather serious look in her eyes, “Because if you don’t keep your promises, you’ll lose your friends FOREVER!” She looked continued to stare at the three as she lowered herself into the bush until she was inside.

All three looked at each other clearly a bit surprised about that. Sweetie took the chance to look inside the bush. She moved some of the leaves to find enough space for a pony to fit in but no sign of the pink pony whatsoever. She looked upon them and just shrugged much to their confusion, “I can never understand Pinkie’s antics…”

All three of them nodded in agreement to… whatever happened, “Ah don’t think even Discord can understand her craziness at all.” At first, they were about to agree with her but instead, all three actually pondered about it for awhile as they trekked to the castle. During their deep thinking, they passed a few obstacles in their way without them even noticing it at all as they were looking down on the ground in thought.

In their thought process, craziness ensued around them such as some crashing carriages, ponies running into each other by accident as they were avoiding the three fillies, and many things unaccounted for. By the time they reached the crystalline steps, they raised their heads agreeing with each other that Discord could possibly understand Pinkie’s odd antics unbeknownst to them that behind them was a clutter of chaos. One that Discord would either be glad it happened or be a little bit jealous at him being left out of it. The lead filly was about to knock on the crystal door when it was opened right as she was about to made contact. In front of the opened door was Spike who looked relatively surprised to see them here, “Oh, hey you three! What brings you…?” His eyes noticed something going on behind the fillies. He tilted his body to the right seeing the mess behind them, “Whoa…”

All three were confused about why he said that. When they turned around, they immediately shared Spike’s sentiments about the clutter behind them. Even Apple Bloom could not stop herself from almost mimicking what Spike said, “Wowza…”

They saw the chaos created behind them. They were surprised to have caused that much of a clutter behind them even though they did not do any of their cutie mark searching shenanigans. All three chuckled seeing what happened behind them. Even after they got their cutie marks, they still cause a major mess, “Well, guess our mess-ups still stick with us even after we got these…”

Sweetie Belle was pointing at her flank that bear their cutie marks. All three and Spike couldn’t help but let out a small chortle. Scootaloo was the first to die down their chortle as she was wiping her eyes from the laughter, “Yeah, I guess we can’t help but cause trouble everywhere regardless of us getting our cutie marks.”

All three almost exploded in their laughter. They stopped themselves before they choked on their own laughter. As they breath in and out from all the laughing, Spike couldn’t help but be curious about something, “Hey, why are you girls here by the way?”

They looked at Spike first then at each other trying to decide who to speak for their situation. Scootaloo and Sweetie both backed one step away simultaneously leaving Apple Bloom upfront. She turned around much to her surprise that she had to answer the question. They gestured her to speak for them while trying to hide their laughter but Apple Bloom can see that they enjoyed doing that. She let out a sigh and turned her attention to Spike, “We’re here t’ ask Twi a question, ya seen her ‘round yet?”

“Sure I have! She’s in the library as usual…” He moved out of the way allowing the CMC inside, “I think you know how to get there right?” They nodded and proceeded to the library with haste. He looked at the three rushing past him immediately to get to Twilight. He never even heard a single thank you for the assistance. He thought he was imagining things and that they were probably on a rush to do something important but something didn’t feel right with those three, “Wonder what’s gotten them all riled up?” He was about to leave until he heard a quiet but echoing thank you. He let a chuckle and a smile form there, “Yep, definitely in a rush if they forgot to say it until the last minute.”

The three fillies let out a sigh of relief. They had almost forgotten to say thanks to the dragon. Normally, it wouldn’t really matter much, but since they passed him in a haste, that would have likely gain a bit of suspicion from Spike. Seeing the dragon leave with a chuckle and a smile allowed them to calm down for now, “Phew, I can’t believe we forgot to say thanks to Spike there…”

“Ya darn tootin’ Sweetie!” She was rubbing her head and wiping off some of the sweat that managed to build itself up. When did they start to get so sweaty and somewhat tired? Guess they were so focused on trying to find out what the word herd means, that they didn’t realize how tuckered out they were. They let a few weak laughs escape as they managed to pick themselves up, “Now come on Cutie Mark Crusaders, we need t’ see an’ find Twilight!”

Already Scootaloo regained her pep back as she was moving around a bit like a pack of wolves running amok, “Yeah, but uh… where’s Twilight and the library?”

“Right behind you three Scootaloo…” All three of them froze in fear upon hearing the voice. They turned their attention to the Princess of Friendship. She was standing there looking at them oddly as if waiting for an answer, “Well, what brings you three to my humble abode?” She let a warm smile form on her face to prove her statement true.

Seeing the smile on Twilight’s face soothed the three fillies’ bristling nerves. Their bodies relaxed as they looked upon the purple mare, “Sorry ‘bout that Twi, we uh… came here t’ ask ya a question.”

A purple wing enveloped the three of them. They looked to see her wrapping them in her embrace still bearing her warm smile, “Well why didn’t you say so Apple Bloom? Come on, you can ask the questions as we go to the library.”

The three followed Twilight through the castle. Before they could ask the important question though, they though best to thank her. Sweetie beat the other two in the thank you department, “Thanks for allowing us to ask you Twilight, we appreciate it.” She heard her fellow compatriots groan from them being beaten from the thanks. Sweetie stuck her tongue out at them while letting a little chuckle escape.

While Twilight did find that a bit rude, she couldn’t help but chuckle to those three just being their playful selves. It reminded much of her childhood days when she would go and play around with Shining Armor. Realizing quickly that she was recalling memories, she returned her focus back to the three fillies, “You welcome you three, remember, it’s what I do best.” Their trek was fruitful as they reached the library. Magic enveloped the doors as they opened to reveal the interior of the library. All three hastily passed her looking either in awe of the library or just them being a little bit impatient. She closed the doors behind them as she went to the table at the center of the library where the CMC were waiting for her, “Okay, now that we’re here, tell me… what question you have in mind for me?”

They saw her gathering the many books stowed away in the library. They suddenly were a bit afraid that they might see her go into lecture mode when they ask but they did not go all the way here for nothing. The three looked at each other wondering who will ask the question. Apple Bloom voluntarily decided to do so for the sake of getting this over with, “Well um… ya see Twilight, we uh…” Apple Bloom was feeling nervous of asking this question. Looking upon her two friends, they too shared her worries as their hooves were a bit jittery. She looked upon Twilight seeing that she was rather busy looking through some of the books. Relieving that she wasn’t focusing on the three yet, they needed the breather. She looked at the two freaking out a bit, “Girls, Ah don’t think Ah can do this!” She was flailing her forelegs around from the nervousness.

Scootaloo was bringing her hooves up to her mouth seemingly looking like she was chewing on them from the pressure, “I know Apple Bloom! I’ve never felt this nervous before for a simple question!”

They looked at Sweetie Belle wondering about her reaction to the pressure. She looked at them clearly a bit shaky. Though her body did not show any noticeable signs of nervousness, her eyes had that glimmer of fear, “What?! Don’t look at me like that! I’m cracking from the pressure like you two!”

“Uh girls, you know I can hear you three right?” Their bodies stiffened as they heard her voice. They shifted their attention to Twilight with a sheepish grin plastered on their faces. She bore a look of concern for the three as she lowered the books she was carrying in her telekinesis, “If this question is rather personal, you don’t have to ask me right now… I can wait until tomorrow if you’d like.” Hearing this from Twilight, instead of them beginning to calm down like Twilight expected, they begun to panic a bit more. Normally, they’d be fine with this, but their minds were not clearly thinking straight as their nervousness showed. Twilight took a small step back wanting to get their older sisters here, “Um… I’ll just leave you three alone right now…”

“No wait!” The sudden outburst from the three fillies almost made Twilight run out of the library to get their siblings, well, siblings and role model. Regardless she turned around to see their expression shifting slowly from panicked nervousness to a resigned acceptance. It was surprising to see that kind of shift on the three. A little smile formed on her face seeing the CMC growing up so fast. She returned back to her side of the table looking at the three who let out a small, deep breath as they simultaneously asked the same question, “We want to know what the word herd means!”

Twilight again was taken aback by the outburst but still wore her smile, “Sure! Let me…” She replayed the question in her mind and suddenly, her expression almost immediately shifted though she tried to hide it to the best of her abilities. She was very certain that they were asking what that word meant, but she wanted to be sure that she did not hear them wrongly, “Uh, girls, could one of you three repeat the question again?” She was still bearing her smile but it was rather strained to keep up the façade.

All three looked at each other before Apple Bloom decided to be the one to ask the question, “We uh… want t’ know what the word herd means Twi… we all do…” She waved a hoof at her friends putting forth the knowledge that they all want to know about this specific word.

Twilight’s mind was trying to process this. They wanted to know about that word? In truth, she wouldn’t mind answering that question for those three not only to satisfy their curiosity but also because they already took their first step into adulthood without them even knowing it. Yet this was also nagging at her for some unknown reason. She was weighing her options heavily. In the end, she decided to answer their question because even if she denied them, their siblings would likely answer their question at least in reluctance. However, before she could answer their question, there was something she needed to know, “Okay I’ll answer your question but first, I need to know something.” Their ears perked as they looked at her glee. She couldn’t but almost look away. It’s almost like they were bound to cause a disaster just by their cuteness alone. She cleared her throat, “Um… okay, so who told you that word?”

All three looked at each other wondering who was going to answer that question. This time Scootaloo volunteered to answer that question, “Um… it was Diamond Tiara.” Twilight looked at the three with concern. She heard about her reformation thanks to her three friends and while she was very much pleased to hear and see that they managed to reform a bully, she was cautious. Maybe she was just being too paranoid about all of this and that would be very true considering her record but better safe than sorry right? She let the look subsided seeing that she was just getting herself worked up over nothing again. She let Scootaloo continue on with their answer, “She told us that we’d fit together as a herd. We wanted to know what she means by that.”

Hearing that from the orange pegasus, Twilight looked at the three in a different light. She was seeing what the rich filly meant now. She couldn’t deny her claim and admittedly did agree with Diamond’s sentiments. They were growing up so fast it was rather undeniable that they would soon learn this knowledge. She let out a sigh as she looked at them with eyes gleaming with a sense of both joy and worry, “So Diamond Tiara told about it huh?” They all nodded almost looking rather like they were about to fall from the table. She let a chuckle escape from her as she continued, “Well, I can say one thing about her, I agree with her sentiments about you three being a part of a herd.”

All three, while pleased, still bore a look of confusion on their faces, “Uh thanks, but that still doesn’t answer the question Twilight…”

“I know Sweetie, it’s just that you three are growing up so fast…” They looked a bit dumbfounded as she pulled a book from the bookshelves. She was flipping through the pages looking through it until her hoof stopped at the page she was looking for. She looked at the three once again before responding, “Let me ask you three something important… are you sure you want to learn about the word herd?” She put emphasis on the word just in case. They nodded looking determined to learn about it. She let a smile form as she turned the book and pushed it to them, “Alright, this book will explain what a herd is…”

All three looked into the book excitedly as she pointed to their answer. Their answer came in words and pictures. They saw ponies together hugging and sharing some secrets while… smooching each other. The three of them made a gagging motion from seeing pictures of ponies kissing, “Seriously? This is what Diamond Tiara was referring to when she said that we’d make a fitting herd? No thanks I’ll pass!” Even though Scootaloo had said that, they were beginning to get the same feeling they felt when they looked at each other soaked.

Twilight noted their blushing faces and couldn’t help but let a laugh escape her, “Well, will you look at that?” They were looking at each her first wondering what she was talking about. She couldn’t help but let a knowing smile form, “The three of you are blushing you know.” They looked at each other noticing their faces having shades of red forming. They looked away from each other embarrassed about this predicament. Twilight’s mind was churning as her gears were turning seeing their reaction when they looked away from each other. After connecting the dots, her eyes seemingly widened seeing their reaction was genuine, “Are… you three beginning to fall for one another?”

The three fillies focused their attention to Twilight who was looking both concerned and surprised about this revelation. Their faces had traces of red but it slowly faded away for them to at least answer, “Ah… don’t know Twi, are we… falling in love with each other?” For the first time, the other two did not deny the possibility and were left in silence.

This surprised Twilight more so then she expected. She shook her head although she was conflicted about it much to her dismay, “I… can’t say you three, only my sister-in-law Cadance would know the answer to that but….” She raised a hoof to her chin looking at the three carefully. They were looking at each other a few times before looking away again. She could not smile for she doubted herself on this despite it being plain obvious, “I’d say that you three are falling for one another… I can’t say anything other than that you three, I’m sorry.”

Despite her apology, the three bore their smile as they looked at Twilight, “It’s alright Twilight, we do appreciate the help with finding out the word though.” The lavender princess just smiled as she moved out of the way allowing the three to go out of the library.

As they left the library leaving Twilight behind, she let herself slowly breathe in and out. After her breathing exercise, she let herself lay down on the crystal floor, her brain thinking about the positives and negatives of this newfound love between the Crusaders now. It was still most shocking to learn of them having feelings for one another and though Twilight knew that there was good things down that road, this majorly concerned her knowing the Crusaders’ stubbornness, “Goodness, what am I going to do about you three falling in love with each other?”

Meanwhile with the three fillies, they were heading back to their clubhouse now with knowledge about why Diamond considered the three of them to be a herd. Despite them denying it, they can see it clearly as plain daylight. Them working with one another to achieve their cutie marks, always being there for each other, and forgiving each other even when things looked horrible. All of these were enough to convince them that they can be a herd. Yet their stubbornness was making this much harder for them. They didn’t want to take this second step so quickly as noted by Apple Bloom, “So um… now we know what Diamond meant by all three o’ us being fit t’ be a herd…”

Their faces still had some shades of red even after leaving and calming themselves down. They couldn’t even look at each other for so long without blushing a bit. Scoots looked at her two compatriots weakly laughing, “Yeah… um, can we just forget this whole thing ever happened?”

Sweetie scratched her head and so did Apple Bloom before they nodded in agreement, “Sure Scoots, let’s just forget this ever happened alright? I don’t want my sis to freak out about this…”

“Ah could say the same ‘bout mah sis…” They looked at each other once more before this time longer than expected of them. This did leave a positive note on the three but not for long, “So um… Ah’m going t’ return back, see y’all later?”

“Yeah see you later Apple Bloom… you too Sweetie Belle.” The orange pegasus waved back at the two as they begun to leave back for their homes.

“Yeah see you two back here…someday.” Sweetie was not confident in her words. She looked back at the two who were walking away from each other and heading back home. She looked away and returned to the boutique feeling very conflicted. It was here, that their friendship begun to tear apart and left them conflicted.

Repenting Mistakes

It has been about four weeks since the Crusaders learned about the word herd and of them having feelings for one another. Ever since learning about this, the three fillies have been rather conflicted about whether to accept this now or just continue forward and forget this ever happened. They have tried the latter and it was not working well much to their stubbornness and dismay. Trying the former only lead to them being more conflicted about this now.

From outside of their light of sight, Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon were watching the three of them as they were being more distant from each other than before. The rich filly let out a sigh. She was the one who bought upon this to the three friends. Had she not bought up them being likely fitting to be a herd, this would not have been happening. Admittedly to Diamond, she found it rather ironic that her being helpful to them caused them more pain than when she was a bully to them. She looked at her friend who shared her sentiments about this, “You were right Silver… they are being too reluctant to accept this so… quickly.”

Silver Spoon put a hoof on Diamond’s shoulder trying to help out her friend, “I know, I can’t blame you for thinking about it and bringing it up, they would’ve learned it even without your intervention.” She looked at the three fillies as they were parting each other. They didn’t even acknowledge each other and just left for their homes. Not even a single wave back or a simple hello. It was hurting the both of them to see those three becoming so distant. Silver let her grip loosen on Diamond’s shoulder, “You know what we have to do right?”

The rich filly looked at the silver earth pony with glasses seeing where she was going from here, “You mean do what I had planned should this happen?” She saw her friend nodding to her question. Diamond looked at the three who were returning home with a sorrowful expression. Seeing that expression etched on their faces, she was determined to bring the three back together. Whether as friends or lovers she would bring them back together. She turned her attention to her friend, a fire burning strong in her eyes.

Silver smiled seeing Diamond ready to bring those two back together. She pulled her up from her sitting position. Her eyes gleamed with Diamond’s as they nodded with each other, “Let’s bring those three back together.” They smiled and left to go inside the school to meet their teacher. Their first goal was to bring this up with their teacher alone. They were doubtful that Cheerilee would not notice them being not their usual selves. She was smart enough to notice something was off about the three quickly and if she did, she probably would’ve asked them out what was bothering them had she gotten the time to do so. The school bell had already rung so at this point, all students left and Cheerilee stayed behind to check out everything was in good shape. Diamond and silver came inside as Cheerilee was finishing the clean up. Diamond cleared her throat trying to get the fuchsia mare’s attention, “Excuse me, Miss Cheerilee?”

The teacher stopped cleaning up the chalkboard and looked down to see the two rich fillies standing there. A warm smile formed on her face as she greeted them, “Diamond! Silver! What brings you two here? I thought you were going to return home…” She pulled up a chair for her to sit in.

“Well, we were but…” She was not so sure on how to word the situation going on with the three fillies. Sure she can imagine the speech over and try to recite it give but actually saying it to a pony was not easy comparing to thinking of it.

Luckily, her gray compatriot came in and took over for her, “We wanted to tell you something about the Cutie Mark Crusaders…”

The fuchsia mare looked at the two of them with concern and worry. The look the teacher was wearing bore into Diamond more so than her friend due to her being the main cause of them splitting away. She looked at Silver first before shifting to Diamond, “Did you do something to offend them Diamond? Because I’d hate to hear that to be true especially since you two were getting along with the three so well…”

Diamond reacted to that almost instantly as she was shaking her forelegs in front of her, “No! I didn’t do anything terrible! I swear, I’ll even Pinkie Promise it for you!”

Within the corner of all three of their visions, a pot was shaking wildly. They looked at the pot as it was shaking back and forth until a pink pony popped out from the dirt. She bore a big smile and looked at the teacher who was surprised to see her here, “She’s telling the truth! She only told those three that they get along so well they may as… well, you can find out yourself.” She managed to push herself into the pot flower as she picks up the dirt scattered on the ground and piled them over herself. After that, the flower bloomed back and nothing happened afterward.

All three looked bore an expression of bewilderment as they looked at each other wondering what just happened. Cheerilee just waved the whole incident off as Pinkie Pie summed up what was troubling the three, “So… if I heard Pinkie correctly and I were to make a guess… you told them they’d fit together as a herd am I wrong?” Diamond looked away from the teacher while rubbing her right hoof over her left foreleg. Silver looked at the fuchsia mare hoping she would understand quickly. Cheerilee did indeed understand quickly but what came out afterward was a relative surprise for both of them, “I’m not mad you for thinking about it, in fact, I could say I’m proud of you…”

Diamond looked at her teacher clearly a bit surprised to hear this revelation from her of all ponies. Okay maybe she was stretching it there but she was still relatively shocked about this. Sliver closed her gaping mouth for her as her mind was still processing this. After a few seconds of processing this information, Diamond spoke, shock still apparent in her voice, “Proud of me? How could you be proud when I caused them to split apart? I’m trying to understand here Miss Cheerilee.”

Cheerilee wore a warm smile, “Be honest with me Diamond, you know as well as I do that they would’ve learned this over time right?” She saw the two nodding to her question, “Well in my understanding, you just told them a bit early and all of what’s happening with those three is rather normal.”

The two looked at each other trying to understand what she was trying to say. They had a small grasp of the idea but they wanted some confirmation before going to accept it, “Okay… but how is the way they are acting normal?”

Cheerilee’s smile never faded from her as she pulled up a picture showing the Cutie Mark Crusaders, their siblings, and ponies of all kind being there for the picture. Diamond and Silver saw the picture and couldn’t help but smile a bit seeing it. The fuchsia mare looked at the picture for a few seconds before responding, “The way they’re acting is normal for almost anypony who hasn’t gotten through love before. They’re conflicted on whether to accept their friendship growing into romantic territory right you two?” They nodded to her answer. She lowered the picture back to her desk as she stood up from her chair, “We all go through this on our first time that is a fact. But if we can push it and remind them that being romantically involved is not such a bad thing, then their friendship will return with renewed vigor.” Diamond and Silver made a mental note to not underestimate their teacher ever, then again, when have they ever underestimated her? They were about to leave and say thanks before Cheerilee cut them off, “So, what are you two going to do to recover their friendship?”

Both of them decided not to hold back on any more of what they had in mind. Before, they had the idea of doing this alone but since their teacher was rather curious and seemingly wants to help, they might as well tell her all the details. Diamond stepped forth as she explained, “We wanted to tell their siblings… er, siblings and role model.” Cheerilee couldn’t help but let a small chuckle escape hearing that, “Right, anyway, we wanted to tell them about their friendship problem. I’m hoping that they might be able to help those three out.”

Their teacher raised a hoof to her chin, her face contorting to an expression of thought. They stayed for awhile waiting on her to finish thinking. A few seconds have passed and Cheerilee lowered her hoof while still wearing her smile, “I can see this working… but…” Diamond and Silver let out an exasperated sigh over hearing that word again. The fuchsia mare found it humorous to see them acting like that with just that one word. Despite that, she continued on, “Perhaps you should let me speak with the adults here.”

This question did not register to the two at first as they begun to open their mouths. The question slowly repeated itself in their thoughts. They closed their mouths suddenly and were looking at their teacher in surprise. Diamond shook her head trying to wonder whether what she heard was just her imagination or not, “Wait, you want to talk with them?”

“Of course, you are not the only one concerned with those three. Me, you two, and possibly their guardians are concerned as well.” The three looked at each other very much surprised by this turn of events. This didn’t actually ruin their plan per say. It actually made it easier for the two of them. They sat down and wanted to facehoof but resisted the attempt. Cheeilee smiled as she passed the two, “I’ll tell their guardians about this Crusaders predicament. Just be prepared for something very important.”

They stood up and looked their teacher in confusion, “Prepared? Prepared for what Miss Cheerilee?”

She still bore her warm smile as she pointed out at a gazebo, “You’ll find out on Hearts and Hooves Day, just meet me there when the day comes. Now are you two going to return home?” They nodded and followed the fuchsia mare outside the school grounds. After saying their farewell to their teacher, the two went to their homes satisfied that things might go well in the end. Something did baffle them though. Just what did Cheerilee had in mind for those three? Whatever it was, they hoped it may help those three in rekindling their friendship.

To Support an Apple

One week after the conversation between the two fillies and Cheerilee, the Cutie Mark Crusaders were becoming more and more distant. They would seclude themselves in their own homes away from the eyes of their family and friends. They would still go outside from time to time but also would try to shy away from their friends. Their feelings for one another here have not been resolved and may soon shatter their friendship.

In the home of the Apple family, Apple Bloom laid down on her bed looking at the ceiling. She was not called upon to do some duties so she was left alone in her room. Staring at the ceiling has allowed Apple Bloom to think about the feelings she gained for both Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle. When did these feelings started to appear? Last she recalled, they never had these before. When they looked at each other, it never came to them. But after getting their cutie marks, now these feelings are starting to surface. Just what is going on? She put her head on the pillow trying to get her thoughts straight. A knock came at her door interrupting her thoughts. She let a sigh before responding when whoever was in front of her door knocked a second time, “Ah’m coming!” She got out of her bed and went to open the door. She reached for the doorknob and turned only to find Applejack in front of the door, “Applejack? Is there some duties Ah should be attending to?”

The elder sister shook her head and looked at her younger sister with concern, “Apple Bloom, is something botherin’ ya with yer friends?”

Apple Bloom took a step back from the question. She mentally sapped herself from making that one step back. Knowing her sister, she saw that and now was more concerned about her. She let out a sigh of defeat as she looked at her, “Ah… guess ya could say it like that. Why are ya asking?”

“Because Ah’m yer sis Apple Bloom, and Ah’m mighty concerned ‘bout ya.” That was partially the truth. Ever since she saw her not hanging out with her friends lately, something was bothering Applejack about them splitting apart. Both her friends Rainbow Dash and Rarity bought up this issue with her as well and all three could not help but be concerned about it. Of course, they all thought that it was just something trivial and that it would heal overtime. After three weeks and seeing them still keeping away from each other, her worries were beginning to overwhelm her.

On the fourth week, Applejack got a visit from both Twilight and Cheerilee and they confirmed her worries. Cheerilee had devised a setup that could bring the three back together while Twilight explained what was bothering them for so long. To hear that the three had feelings for each other elicited nothing but a hat lifting in the air by itself showing her surprise from the Apple farmer. Applejack was very shocked from hearing this revelation yet found it all hard to believe. She wanted to hear this from Apple Bloom before she started believing in Twilight’s words.

After all of that, she decided to do what Cheerilee suggested to bring them back together. They left her and went to see Rainbow Dash and Rarity and tell them the news as well. Applejack was looking at her sister seeing the turmoil she was going through with this. She was sad that she did not help Apple Bloom when she needed her the most yet she was not surprised that she was stubborn to not ask her. She was very determined to see her back with her friends, “Tell me, what’s botherin’ ya so much that ya can’t chat with yer friends?”

Apple Bloom looked away from her sister. She did not want to tell her that she had feelings for her two friends. She knew that if she kept this silence up, it would not be long before Applejack knows what was troubling her. Yet she wished her sister did not need to know about this. She looked at Applejack who was very concerned for her sake, “Do Ah really have t’ tell ya sis?”

Applejack let out a sigh, “Yes Apple Bloom, ‘cause ya know that sooner or later Ah’m going t’ find out what’s bothin’ ya. No questions asked.” The younger sibling looked at the window seeing her friends’ clubhouse. She wanted to be with them once again without all this looming over their heads but they were so conflicted on how to handle this they couldn’t help but separate. She felt a hoof on her shoulder as she was thinking. She turned to see Applejack doing so with a smile, “Ya worried about yer friends an’ that’s understandable, but ya also need t’ face whatever troubles ya head on, ya know what Ah mean l’il sis?”

Apple Bloom suddenly felt a rush of tears escaping her as she hugged her elder sister tightly. She felt Applejack’s hoof gently rubbing her head as the fearful tears continue to stream down her face, “Ah know sis… Ah’m just very afraid ‘bout this whole thing goin’ on with the three o’ us.”

“Shh, Ah know Apple Bloom. Ah can see it with mah own eyes that yer havin’ trouble, just let them feelings go.” She continued to gently stroke her little sister’s head as she felt her tears going down her coat. This release from Apple Bloom continued on for long yet Applejack did not care for time. She was here to help her sister in her time of need and she was not leaving her side. By the time her sister stopped crying, she felt it was good time to confirm what she heard from Cheerilee. She wanted to not bring up the topic though and let Apple Bloom answer it for her, “So Apple Bloom…” She saw her younger sibling looking at her, her ears perking from the question coming forth, “Let me ask ya again, what’s troubling ya t’ not chat with yer friends?”

Apple Bloom initially looked away at first possibly trying to muster the courage to tell her about her hidden feelings. Before long, she looked at her elder sister with a hint of a blush on her face, “It’s uh… me and mah friends… kind o’ have… feelings fer one another.” She was rubbing her right foreleg with her left hoof in embarrassment from now speaking this with her elder sister.

Hearing those words straight from her younger sister’s mouth, Applejack looked at her sister checking to see if she was telling the truth regardless of the obvious stuttering. Seeing only signs of her being embarrassed about this whole thing was enough to tell the elder sibling that she was telling the truth. This prompted Applejack to let a few tears of her own fall from her eyes. Her crying did not escape the attention of Apple Bloom as now she was concerned, “Applejack, why are ya crying?”

The elder sister was sniffling as she was wiping the tears off her eyes, “Ah sorry Apple Bloom, Ah’m just s’ proud t’ see ya grow up s’ fast, ya know what Ah mean?”

That only made the younger sibling confused then Applejack had in mind, “But ya said that Ah was all grown up when Ah wore that dress an’ came with ya t’ the Grand Galloping Gala with mah friends. Why are ya repeating what ya said with me before?”

The elder sister let out a small chuckle hearing this from her younger sister no less, “That was something completely different Apple Bloom, yes Ah did say that before but this…” Her tears were beginning to well up in her eyes again as she looked at her sibling, “This is more joyous than me gettin’ a medal in an Iron Pony Competition.” She hugged her sister this time to let know that she was proud, “Ah’m s’ proud o’ ya l’il sis…”

To hear that her elder sister was actually proud of her having feelings for her own friends no less, it made Apple Bloom shed a few more tears. This time they were of joy as she returned the hug, “Thanks sis.”

Both let each other hug for awhile as they did not want to let go of each other for so long. Eventually, they did let go each other as they wiped their sister’s tears off. Now that Applejack knew that Cheerilee was telling the truth, she decided to enact what the fuchsia mare had in plan, “Say Apple Bloom, how ‘bout we go t’ the gazebo an’ make a picnic there?”

The younger sibling’s eyes almost glimmered as she looked at her, “Can we go there now!?”

Applejack let a small laugh escape as she cuddled her sister’s head, “No can do Apple Bloom, least not today…” She was being pouty as she looked away. Another chuckle escaped from her as she wrpped a foreleg around Apple Bloom, “Tell ya what l‘il sis, how ‘bout we go there on Hearts and Hooves Day? Ah’m not busy during that time s’ Ah can spare some time t’ play and eat with ya. Sounds good?” Apple Bloom was jumping around the bed like crazy and before long left her room to be outside. A smile formed on the Apple farmer’s face seeing that she managed to lighten up her day. She looked past the gazebo seeing both the boutique and Rainbow’s home. She couldn’t help but wonder how their conversations were going, “Ah wonder if they managed t’ have a l’il chat with them?” She would have to chat with them when Hearts and Hooves Day comes.

Fashionista to the Rescue

With the conversation between Applejack and Apple Bloom done for the moment, now it was the fashionista’s turn to try to lighten up and help her younger sister in her time of need. Rarity was in a middle of sewing together a dress for Sapphire Shores when she was approached by both Cheerilee and Twilight. Both had the same reason to be there and told her about Sweetie’s troubles. Hearing that her own sister was troubled by something made her worries escalates especially after her chat with Applejack and Rainbow Dash concerning theirs. Her worries almost immediately dissipated at first before exasperation and shock settles in when she learns that her younger sister has feelings for her two friends.

Of all the problems the fashion mare had in mind for her younger sibling, she never expected a love triangle to be what was troubling Sweetie Belle. She couldn’t help but let a gleeful sound escape over hearing that her own sibling was infatuated by her own friends. Of course the idea did bother her at first, but over time as they continued to play with each other, she renounced it and would be willing to accept it if her sister was willing to continue. Knowing Sweetie Belle though, she’d probably have mixed feelings about this.

She decided to have a little sisterly chat with Sweetie after she was finished sewing the dress for Sapphire Shores, Celestia knows that she can’t shirk off her duties unless something dire came up and she had to be absent. At least her employer was understandable enough if that were to happen. They gave her a smile as they left to deliver the message to the last pony. With all that out of the way, Rarity returned back to the sewing table to finish up the last details of Sapphire’s dress. She extended a hoof to pick up on the last string of turquoise blue when she hears hoofsteps coming down the stairs.

Sweetie Belle slowly descended down the stairs, her expression normal at first. As she looked at her sister however, it changes briefly to one of fear. She had never spoken about this to her ever since the feelings of love surfaced between Apple Bloom and Scootaloo. She was afraid of two things if she were to ever discuss this with her sister. One was that Rarity might disapprove of their friendship heading down this path and the other were her feelings being conflicted. She was normally the smart one within their friendship and that came to be somewhat true. Even if she were to not tell her sister, she would find out one way or another. Instead of bottling these feelings, she decide to confront them head on, even if she was expecting the worst, “Hey um sis? Can I speak with you for a moment?”

“Just a minute Sweetie!” A small smile formed on the white mare’s face. Guess she didn’t need to call down her younger sibling to discuss about her feelings. She finishes putting the turquoise blue string in place while pulling up a mannequin for it, “Ah there we go! Tell me Sweetie, does this dress look nice for Sapphire Shores?”

Sweetie was eyeing the details of the dress in question. She wasn’t much of a designer like her sister but she can tell that it looks fantastic, “It looks beautiful Rarity. Sapphire Shores will love it that’s for certain!”

“Indeed she shall! Now…” The mannequin was wrapped in Rarity’s magical aura as it was put aside. She pulled up the couch and begun to sit herself in it. Turning her attention to her younger sister, she waved and patted to a pillow next to her. Sweetie knew that motion and she obeyed as she come and sat down next to her sister. As she managed to get herself comfortable, she looked at Rarity who was wearing a look of gentle concern, “What was it you wanted to speak with me about?”

The white mare had already known about this thanks to the conversation between Twilight and Cheerilee yet she did not want to ruin this conversation because of her learning about it. As a result, she decided to not bring this up for her younger sibling’s sake and wait until the time was right to tell her that she knew.

Sweetie was nervous about this whole conversation. Here was her sister concerned for her wellbeing, not showing any signs of knowing what was troubling her. Her gentle, carefree smile showing as she felt and saw Rarity’s hoof on her shoulder. Her eyes gleaming with that love for her sister, it was almost making Sweetie want to break down and hug her elder sister. She held it back though not wanting to make this conversation go to waste, “Well um… you see, I have some… feelings.”

“Oh? Feelings for whom dear?” Rarity was feigning her confusion as she let her younger sister continue on. Her hoof was still on her shoulder trying her best to make Sweetie comfortable as possible for her to not freak out.

Sweetie can tell that she was stuttering her words. She was still afraid about her sister’s reaction to what she was going to tell her. She can see that Rarity was trying to make her as comfortable as possible to talk but the feeling of her reaction was not making this easier. Sweetie decided to bring this up hoping to quell this fear away, “Rarity? I have a question…”

The white mare’s ears perked from the statement. She could probably make a guess as to why she was having trouble speaking but she let her continue, “Yes Sweetie?”

The younger sibling let out a sigh as she locked eyes with her elder sibling, “Will you promise me to not go… um, crazy with what I want to tell you? Please?”

Rarity let a knowing smile form on her face. Of course she was worried about her reaction to her feelings. Still the fashionista could not be surprised for her little sister’s worries. Her hoof was still on Sweetie’s shoulder as she rubbed them, “Don’t Sweetie, I promise I won’t bite…” she moved her hoof off her shoulder, “So… who is the lucky stallion or mare that managed to grab your heart?”

Sweetie looked at her sister a bit dumbfounded upon hearing her not being worried about having feelings for the same gender, “Wait, so… you don’t mind me falling in love with somepony of the same gender?”

Rarity put her right foreleg over her younger sibling as she pulled her in her embrace, “Sweetie, love is a complicated thing to talk about. But trust me; I do not have problems with a mare loving another mare or the other way around with stallions. While it is questionable, if they love each other that much, then I won’t object.”

Hearing those words from her own sister broke open her floodgates as she hugged Rarity and let her tears go, “Thanks sis, you have no idea how much those words mean to me.”

Rarity was stroking her mane as she comforted her sister, “You welcome Sweetie Belle that is what sisters are for.” As she stopped cradling her younger sibling’s head, she thought that now would be a good time to bring up about her knowing about this already. Before that though, she went to wait for her sister to compose herself. She felt the tears getting lesser as Sweetie looked at her with eyes of joys. She smiled as she let go, “Are you feeling well?”

Sweetie wiped a tear away from her eye as she gained back the smile she lost, “Yep, I’m feeling much better Rarity, thanks.”

She smiled as she moved her off the couch. Wrapping the couch in her magic, she put it away for now while looking at her sister, “That is good to hear…” She let the silence linger for awhile before responding, “Sis, did you know that I already knew about this? You are having feelings for Apple Bloom and Scootaloo, yes?”

A small gasp escaped from Sweetie before her face begun to heat up, “Uh yes... no... maybe?” She sheepishly said while rubbing her right foreleg with her left hoof.

Rarity let a small chuckle escape, “What about this Sweetie, you and I have a picnic in the same gazebo during Hearts and Hooves Day under the same gazebo where you tried to bring Big Mac and Miss Cheerilee together?”

Though Sweetie’s blush gotten a bit brighter from remembering that moment, she couldn’t help but smile a bit, “Sure! I’ll get ready for that day!” She immediately left and went running upstairs to prepare herself.

Rarity let a chuckle escape as a knock came to her door, “Coming darling! Just give me a moment!” She pulled back the mannequin holding Sapphire Shores dress just in case if it was her knocking. She opened the door with her magic and was met with not Sapphire but Rainbow Dash herself, “Rainbow? What seems to be the matter?”

A Pegasus in Need

Rainbow was breathing heavily as she was knocking the door hard hoping to tell Rarity about something quickly. Her mind was racing as she was knocking frantically on the door even as she heard Rarity calling out. By the time she stopped knocking; Rarity opened the door, a surprised expression clearly etched on her face, “Rainbow? What seems to be the matter?”

She was trying to word out what was troubling her but each word came in audible gasps as she desperately tries to tell her, “I… ha… tried to… have a little… chat with… Scoots…but…” She was deeply exhausted trying to breathe in and out as her mind was still going into overdrive.

Rarity can see her concerned but she was not able to understand why she was breathing heavily if she were to just have a simple chat with Scootaloo, “Darling, I can see wanting a simple chat with Scootaloo but why are you…?”

The fashionista got cut off by the cyan mare whose eyes were wide with shock joining alongside her panicked expression, “Scoots is gone!”

That managed to get Rarity as she raised her hooves to her mouth in apparent shock. Sweetie Belle came up to Rarity to ask who was there but when she heard that the orange pegasus went missing, she alongside her sister both simultaneously screamed, “W-hh-aaa-tttt!?” Rarity looked at her sister who was worried sick for her friend.

Rainbow was waving her two forelegs high up in the air at the state of panic, “I know! I’ve been looking over Ponyville by air so far and I haven’t found her at all!” Sweetie, despite being worried, could not help but notice that the cyan mare was shaking her forelegs like what Apple Bloom did when they discovered that they gave a love poison to both Cheerilee and Big Macintosh. It relieved her worries for a fraction.

“Well if you were wondering, she’s not here… Have you told this with Applejack?” As much as Rarity wanted to knock some sense into the orange pegasus for fleeing at this time, she thought it would be best for Rainbow to do that as she is her guardian.
“Yes I have Rarity! And are you sure that Scoots is not there with you possibly hiding?” The white mare shook her head much to the cyan pegasus’s dismay, “Well if she’s not here, I’ll continue to look around for her! I can’t believe she does this of all times…” She spread her wings forward and flapped them onto the ground ascending to the sky.

Rarity looked upward to see Rainbow continuing her search. From the distance she can see Applejack with her little sister frantically searching for Scootaloo. She felt Sweetie Belle’s hoof on her shoulders as she was deep in thought. Looking at her little sister, their eyes shared the same concern for the orange pegasus. Without anything needed to be said, both left the boutique in search for Scootaloo.

Rainbow was above the city checking every known possible area for where the elusive Scootaloo could be. Despite the advantage of seeing the whole town from above, she could not any sign of the orange pegasus anywhere, “Sweet Celestia Scoots, why you got to do this now?” The cyan mare was beginning to worry for the filly’s safety. Having done a second scan of the whole town and with no luck on finding her, she descended down to where Rarity, Applejack, and their siblings were meeting up. A forlorn look was etched on Rainbow’s face, “Any luck on finding the squirt?”

All six shook their heads much too all of their dismay, “Ah can’t find the slippery pegasus… what in tarnation was goin’ on in her mind t’ do somethin’ like this? She’s hidin’ alright but where?”

“Well we’re not going to just stand around here are we!?” Sweetie exclaimed loudly. The three were relatively surprised by her sudden outburst.

Apple Bloom moved to her friend’s side, sharing her sentiments and supporting her friend. Both looked at each other smiling a bit seeing that despite the rocky start with their feelings for each other, they still had the spark of friendship they made. Their smile did not go unnoticed by their older siblings as they too were smiling see their friendship steadily returning back to its former strength. After a moment of happiness, Apple Bloom retuned back to the topic, “Ah’m with Sweetie on this! We can’t just stop our search fer Scoots right?”

All three of the guardians looked at each other. They shared the young fillies’ sentiments but they looked almost everywhere wondering where the orange pegasus is. Almost being the keyword. Suddenly the cyan mare’s eyes widened as she smacked her face, “Oh my Celestia, I can’t believe I forgot about that area!” All four were looking at Rainbow befuddled by why this sudden reaction. Her eyes were gleaming as she looked at the four, “Look, I don’t have the time to explain this but I got to go where I would go when I’m feeling down!” Before she got the chance to hear her friends argue back, she ascended and soared towards her special location, “For the love of Luna, let Scoots be there…”

She blazed pass the many clouds scattered around silently praying that the orange pegasus was where she thought she could be. Over pass Whitetail Woods, she saw a single pond that she used to go to whenever life threw something awful back at Rainbow herself. Right next to the pond itself was the filly she was looking for, “There you are ya squirt…” She descended nearby the trees without alerting her presence yet. As she landed, she looked upon the filly looking rather calm. The cyan mare for once, was rather nervous of having this conversation with her. She knew that this may come to pass someday but this was so sudden of her. She wanted to but was lacking the resolve to have a decent conversation with her biggest fan.

Scootaloo was admiring the pool and the serene feeling of watching the fish swim underwater. She would always go here whenever she was feeling down, it helped to calm herself quickly. She let out a sigh remembering her friends splitting up when they learned that they had feelings for each other. It was so bizarre for her to have feelings for her two friends so suddenly. Was it normal to go through something like this? She did not understand any of this at all. She was clutching trying to clear her thoughts, “What am I going to do…”

Rainbow’s thoughts broke when she heard those words. She looked at her seeing that she was speaking with herself, “I… I don’t know what do about this or how should I feel about this…” She put her two hooves down looking at the fish once again, “I never thought of our friendship going like this before. I mean I wouldn’t mind it at first but now? I’m so confused on how to handle this…”

The cyan mare stood there watching the orange filly staring at the pond. Despite her feeling nervous having her first discussion with Scootaloo about this, her resolve begun to steel itself. She let a deep breath and stepped out of the trees, “Face the problem head on Scoots.”

The orange pegasus jumped from hearing her idol’s voice. She turned round and saw Rainbow smiling as she came forward, “Rainbow Dash! H-How’d you find me here?”

She stepped next to Scootaloo and sat down watching the fish swimming by, “It was easy, this use to be my favorite spot to think about stuff. At first, I’d thought you wouldn’t be here but… well, here I am.”

The orange filly looked away from her idol’s eyes and watched the fish with her. She was very surprised to be standing at the same spot where Rainbow would be sitting whenever she was thinking. She couldn’t help but almost blurt it out, “So… you went here whenever something was bothering you?”

Rainbow still bore her smile as she wrapped her fan in her wing, “Yep, always have been, thanks to Fluttershy showing me this place.” The wind was blowing pass them as the silence claim them for some time. Both watched the water ripple a bit from the breeze as it traveled upstream towards them.

Scootaloo thought back to her first time when she and Sweetie backed Apple Bloom up when Diamond and Silver were bullying her for being a blank flank. It was silly but had it been not for her, they would have never met each other. It was rather ironic that Diamond being friendly to them caused them to split apart now. As the ripples reached the shore, she turned to her mentor whose wings still wrapped around, “Rainbow… I have something to ask of you.”

The cyan mare turned to her fan still wearing smiling, “Come on squirt, don’t be shy! What’d you got in mind for me?”

The orange pegasus was rubbing her hooves together in nervousness. Her mentor was here and she knew that she might not get another chance to speak this ever. She looked at her, her eyes pleading for her answer, “Could you… be with me? I want to meet my friends again and settle this… I don’t want our friendship to break like this.”

Rainbow pulled her fan closer to her as she embraced her in a hug, “Of course I will for you! Me and your friend’s sisters talked out about this and decided to meet each other under the gazebo on Hearts and Hooves Day so you three can talk it out. We’ll all be there for you.”

Scootaloo let a few tears escape as she hugged back Rainbow, “Thanks Rainbow, that means a lot for me.”

“I know squirt, I know.” They stayed there enjoying the scenery in front of them. The calmness of the ripples soothed them. On the day, all of them knew that this was going to be life-changing for the three fillies.

A Friendship Rekindled

Two weeks have passed since all of the guardians managed to have a conversation between the fillies about their feelings for one another. Hearts and Hooves Day was one day and then they would bring each other as per Cheerilee’s advice. There was still the debate as to what the fuchsia mare had in mind for the three fillies but they all knew to trust the mare hopefully.

Each of them was ready to head to the gazebo where they were supposed to meet after their conversations. Pinkie, Fluttershy, and Twilight had asked to join in this picnic with the six of them hoping to see what Cheerilee had in mind in store for all of them. The other bearers did not oblige as they went to the same gazebo where a certain incident involving Cheerilee and Big Mac was held here before much to the Crusaders’ embarrassing moments.

Time felt like it slowed down as they neared the gazebo. The three fillies were getting nervous with each step to the gazebo. They were wondering on what was going on there with their teacher. As they passed over the last hill, the gazebo was within their line of sight. To their surprise, there was not a single detail that stood out. It was just a normal looking gazebo to their eyes. Their nervousness slowly began to fade away seeing that whatever Cheerilee had in mind was not so crazy.

Under the gazebo, they saw the fuchsia mare waving to the nine. A blanket was already set up and the picnic, made by Applejack and Big Mac, was ready to go. A smiling Cheerilee was who they met as they reached the gazebo, “Hello everypony! I’m so glad that you all could come on this day! Is the food ready to go Applejack?”

Applejack grabbed the picnic basket on her back with her mouth and set it down, “Eeyup, the foods ready as Ah’ll ever be!” She opened the picnic basket and the aroma of the food within enveloped everyponies’s nose.

Pinkie couldn’t help but let her mouth salivate a bit from the delicious smell, “Oh! That smells so delicious Applejack!”

Cheerilee looked inside the food basket to see all sorts of the usual Apple confectionary such as apple pie, apple tarts, apple fritters, basically everything involving apples, “My my Applejack, that’s a lot of apple treats… not that I’m complaining mind you…” Something within the fuchsia mare’s thoughts nagged at her and she couldn’t help but bring it up for odd reasons, “I was actually hoping to invite Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon to the picnic but I could never get them…”

A frown slowly formed upon the elder siblings. They knew who she was talking about and when they heard it from the teacher herself, it did not please them one bit, “Was it ‘cause o’ you know who?”

Cheerilee nodded sadly, “The very same one… unlike the father, Filthy Rich, who is rather happy to see Diamond go to the picnic, she’s still reluctant especially after that little stunt she performed…”

All three of the guardians let out a sigh, “Yeah, well who gives a care about her? I’m not allowing her to talk down to Scoots like that! If I ever see that…” The cyan mare waved an angry hoof around, “Spoiled Rich or whatever her name is… If I see talking down the squirt again, I’d beat her down until she’s in the hospital! No one talks to Scoots like that!”

Rainbow felt the orange pegasus hugging her. A smile caressed upon Scootaloo’s face, “Thanks Rainbow, you’re the best big sister I could have.”

The cyan mare chuckled as her let a wing drape over the filly, “Hey, don’t start calling me your big sis yet Scoots! We’ve still got a long way to go before we officially become that you know? But… you’re welcome squirt.”

Rarity let a long and dramatic really escape her seeing Rainbow acting all sisterly. The two pegasi stared at the fashionista for a long while before joining each other in laughter. Eventually, everypony joined in their shared laughter. Rarity was the first to lower down her laughter as she gave her part about the mother of Diamond, “Well, while I agree with Rainbow Dash on not talking down on my sister, I’d rather give her a verbal beatdown instead of an up-close and personal one. It’s much quicker and less of a hassle if I do say so…”

Applejack was the next to lower down their laughter to normalcy alongside her younger sister, Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle, “Well, Ah reckon Ah agree with the both o’ ya with a little touch o’ mah own. Ah’d verbally beat her down and pummel her if she pushes one o’ mah angry buttons but only if she does push it an’ it takes a lot t’ make me mad…”
Twilight lowered her laughter as did everypony else, “Well, I think that we held back on the picnic food for a bit too long. Let’s eat and play around shall we?” Everypony nodded and went into eating the food made by Applejack. Despite the three fillies’ concern about this event, they were able to forget their troubles and begun to eat away at the food.

Throughout the whole picnic, the adults and three fillies were enjoying the event eating and playing around freely with Pinkie Pie tossing the Frisbee as a distraction as she said. Both Twilight and Fluttershy left to hopefully get Diamond and Silver here to celebrate the fun. When it was just the three guardians and Cheerilee under the gazebo, they decided it was best to ask starting with Rarity, “So, friend… what’s the plan you had in mind Cheerilee? We bought the Crusaders here and they’re having fun with Pinkie here, I’m trying to understand what you have planned here…”

“Ah have t’ agree with Rares here… Ah’m trying t’ understand here as well an’ ya know that Ah have no lickity-split o’ an idea ‘bout romance…” Her words managed to elicit a chuckle from the three mares under the gazebo. The apple farmer couldn’t help but chuckle as well now that she understood what she just said to the fuchsia mare.

After a good laughter from the four, Rainbow was about to ask about the teacher’s plan when she got interrupted by a familiar voice, “Sorry we’re late…” The cyan mare turned to see both Fluttershy and Twilight with both Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon following behind them.

Seeing the bullies bought back an unpleasant memory with the bullies Rainbow had to deal with. Due to that memory, she had an unseen vitriol with the bullies that verbally spoke lowly of the crusaders but mostly Scoots. It got almost out of control especially after that little stint where they said she couldn’t fly. That made the cyan mare really angry over that but she had to keep control and not let the past control her. Hearing the former bullies’ reformation did ease her anger upon them but it was when after Diamond talked back to her mother, she let a genuine smile form for them. She looked at her friend from the past who was smiling, “No worries Fluttershy, at least you bought them here. Let me guess though, there was some set condition though huh?”

Twilight nodded to Rainbow’s question but her look betrayed the answer, “Actually there was only one set condition from the father himself…” All four of the mares looked at her bewildered. The purple mare had expected their looks to be one of confusion and shared their bewilderment, “I know right? The big condition he gave us in question? As he put it, Keep it between you and me, I don’t want my wife to know about this…”

Rainbow snickered at first hearing the condition. Before long, she was on the floor laughing while shaking her backlegs wildly as she was clutching her chest. The other three mares shared the cyan mare’s reaction. They let a small laugh escape unlike Rainbow who erupted into uncontrollable laughter from the irony. While Rainbow was still laughing, Applejack thought best to ask about the condition set by Filthy Rich, “So… Mister Rich decided t’ let his daughter out without his wife’s consent eh?”

Diamond let a smile form hearing the question from the apple, “Yes he did, I guess he’s the only one so far to enjoy the new me I guess?”

Rainbow’s laughter lowered itself down as she wiped a tear from straining herself from the laughter. She looked at the rich fillies that were looking a bit nervous around the three guardians. Considering what they did with the Crusaders, she could maybe understand. Yet even with that knowledge, she couldn’t help but smile and walk to them, “What are you talking about kid, I like the new you! It’s just that your father is at least smart about all of this comparing to your…” She raised her hoof to her mouth and cleared her throat, “Mother in mind…”

Diamond looked away in shame from the mention of her mother, “Please don’t about my mother like that. I know that she’s not the best, but she’s still my mother…”

Rainbow let out a sigh, “Of course, I won’t talk mean about her again for your sake but you know that I can’t take her seriously now especially after… er…”

“After the way she disrespectfully talked down mah sis an’ her friends in front o’ the whole school like they were a plight upon the foundation…” Applejack stepped up from the picnic blanket and was next to Rainbow, “Ah’m sorry, but Ah can’t give her the same treatment like Ah’m givin’ ya right now…”

Rarity stood as well bringing both trudging past both Rainbow Dash and Applejack. She was next to the two fillies as she put a hoof on Diamond’s shoulder, “I have to reluctantly agree with the both of them here. I’m willing to give you the benefit of the doubt darling, but I can’t say the same about your mother especially with what Applejack said.”

“I know… it’s just, please be nice to her, at least for me?” Diamond was looking at them with the same eyes the Crusaders would utilize when wanting something.

All three stared at her for awhile before looking away from the cute looks. Cheerilee could only chuckle seeing their reaction, “Guess you’ve been learning how to do those cute looks the Crusaders would do a lot huh Diamond?”

The rich filly chuckled from the revelation, “I guess they’re kind of rubbing it off on me now…” Silver Spoon joined her side as they followed the two elder siblings to the picnic table where Pinkie and the three fillies were returning back.

The crusaders noticed both Diamond and Silver and despite remembering that they told them about them being fit as a herd, they waved to them, “Hey Diamond, good t’ see ya here!”

Diamond let a smile form seeing them being happy like they used to be, “Hey Apple Bloom, surprised to see you thee being happy despite what I remembered seeing you three the last time…” She looked away from them a bit, a sense of guilt forming within her heart.

All three noticed the rich filly having that look of guilt they were all too familiar with. They stepped forth and put their hooves on her shoulder much to her surprise, “Hey, don’t start having that look right now Diamond! We managed to get along fine now so don’t start beating yourself!”

“Wait, you already got over what I told you?” Diamond was surprised about this more so than them lending a hoof to help.

In a split second, she saw the three blushing a bit as they warily looked at each other. That was enough of an answer to know that they haven’t settled their growing friendship yet. A quiet, small, and nervous chuckle escaped from all three of them, “Um… actually since today was Hearts and Hooves Day, we thought that… we’d like to settle this um… love thing now just between us…”

Many were drinking some apple cider when the revelation came out. By the time the words made themselves clear, three of the seven mares widened their eyes and spat out their cider from the shock of the sentence. The three specifically were the crusaders’ guardians, “C-come again sugarcube? Ah thought that Ah heard ya saying that ya wanted t’ talk out them feelings…”

All three were still blushing slightly from this coming out suddenly. Yet despite their feelings, they were confident about this and wanted to return their friendship back to its former strength, “Yeah sis, Ah’m serious about this, we want t’ settle our feelings now… Ah don’t want us t’ keep this up when we just had fun fer the first time since…”

To their surprise, all seven mares and the two fillies were smiling. Cheerilee stood up first watching the three of them with a noticeable sense of glee, “Well, if you wish to talk about this now…” She winked at the three of them causing them to look away in embarrassment. Unbeknownst to them, that was a signal everypony expected and they all stood up as well, “We’ll give you three some alone time to talk this out.”

All of them left the crusaders alone and followed Cheerilee someplace where they can watch them without ruining their conversation. The fuchsia mare felt a poke from her back. She turned to see Rarity smiling at her, “I think I’m beginning to see what your plan was dear friend, you wanted them to get along well enough for them to be confident to talk it out… Am I getting wrong or am I just about on it?”

A smile formed on the teacher, “You are just about right Rarity…” They managed to reach the location where they can see the gazebo well enough. Everypony saw the three fillies looking at each other in silence. The distance was near enough for them to hear and see the conversation and with Twilight’s assistance, they can hear it better. Everypony was holding their breaths for the momentous event for the Crusaders’ entire life.

Back at the gazebo, the three stood still looking at each other waiting for the other to speak first. A silence fell upon them as they glanced at each other continuously. One of the Crusaders decided to speak to break the silence, “So… we’re all here… Ah… um… Ah shoot… Ah can’t take this anymore!” Both looked at the younger apple surprised by the sudden outburst. She let out a few deep breaths trying to calm her nerves, “Ah can’t take this anymore gals… Ah don’t want our friendship t’ split apart just cause o’ some romantic feelings fer one another…”

Her two friends looked at each other first sharing Apple Bloom’s sentiments about the feelings of romance. They turned to their friend with a smile as they walked up to her and put their hoof on her shoulder. A sigh of defeat escaped Scootaloo, “We all don’t want to let this friendship of ours break Apple Bloom, all three of us can agree to that…”

Sweetie joined after the orange pegasus, “But let’s face it, when Diamond Tiara bought us being possibly being a herd… I can’t help but think that… maybe she’s right about us.”

Although their faces still holds some shades of red was still pronounce, their blushes were beginning to fade away as they were beginning to accept this fact. Apple Bloom was still in denial but it was slowly beginning to dawn upon her, “But… Ah don’t want t’ think this now… it’s so early…”

Sweetie let a chuckle escape, “Where do you think the term baby steps comes from Apple Bloom? Maybe we won’t do this now but… we can take it slowly right?”

Scootaloo nodded as she put her hoof off her friends shoulder, “And we can’t keep ignoring this forever Apple Bloom. If I… er… I mean, we, learned anything from Princess Luna; it’s that we have to face these fears head-on sooner or later.”

The younger apple member let out a choked sob from her friends’ support. She wiped a tear that begun to develop in her right eye as she looked at them with a mile, “So… we take it slowly then Crusaders?”

“Yeah, take it nice and slowly Apple Bloom…” A small chortle escaped from Sweetie, “You know, it’s kind of funny, this ended rather quickly for the three of us right?”

“Yeah, probably a little too quickly if I say so myself…” All three joined each other in their laughter and embraced each other. They were happy to be back together as fire-forged friends. Soon for them though, they’ll take on a different title if they so no problem to the road ahead, marefriends. Unbeknownst to them, from faraway, cheers were being sounded as the seven mares and the fillies hugged each other. The guardians of the three fillies were letting a few happy tears go seeing their own grow up so fast. From here on out for all of them, they knew that this was just the beginning of their journey into adulthood.