Chapter 1 - Remembering
By MysticGuitar
***
The sun was shining brightly down upon the sleeping form of an orange pegasus filly, causing her to stir gently in her sleep, before moving her hoof over to her forehead, to block out the light.
“Ugh, I need to stop sleeping beside the window.” Spoke the young filly, who was now rubbing her eyes to try to wipe away the sleep. With a stretch and a yawn, she lazily looked around the clubhouse, to see what the other two Crusaders were currently doing.
Apple Bloom was snoring in the centre of the room, still sound asleep, and undisturbed by the newly rising sun. Sweetie Belle, on the other hoof, was sitting over in the arts and crafts corner, facing away from Scootaloo. She was rapidly moving her hoof in steady motions, which made Scootaloo assume that she was working on a new art project.
Soon, the hoof movements became more sporadic, and she could make out the shine of sweat on Sweetie’s pristine white coat. Scootaloo was beginning to wonder just what type of art project she was working on, but figured if it's enough to cause the artist some type of physical exertion, it would be better to stay quiet, and give the artist room to concentrate.
Before long, the silence was broken by a loud squeak coming from Sweetie Belle. This in turn startled the pegasus, and caused Apple Bloom to sit up in her sleep, shout “not mah apples”, and then fall back down to slumber.
“What's wrong, Sweetie Belle?! Are you hurt?” Asked a concerned Scootaloo, who was now running over to be by her friends side. Upon her arrival, she noticed that there was a small puddle of a clear liquid covering the floorboards, and she got a whiff of an unusual yet familiar smell in the air.
“Scootaloo, wait! Don't step in it!” Sweetie yelled in alarm, but she was too late. Scootaloo was already standing in the small puddle, and was eyeing the liquid with caution and curiosity. She brought her hoof up to her mouth, and gave the liquid a testing lick. Sweetie Belle could do nothing but watch as her best friend casually licked away at her forbidden juices, and was genuinely surprised when Scootaloo didn't recoil back in disgust.
“Hey, this stuff is kinda good. What is it?” Asked the orange filly with a smile. She was about to put her hoof back down to the floor, to get a second taste, when Sweetie stopped her.
“It's, uh. Juice? Yeah, I spilled some of my homemade juice, which I made at home, and then I lost the cup somehow, which is why it spilled!” Sweetie explained in a higher pitch than usual, hoping so desperately that Scootaloo would drop the subject.
“Homemade? Seriously, you mean you actually made this yourself?” Scootaloo asked in disbelief. “No offence Sweetie, but I don't believe you. The last time you tried to make grape juice, it exploded.”
The pegasus casually stretched her wings, while looking around the room in thought. “Show me.” She said with a smirk. “If you seriously made this stuff yourself, prove it. I'll even help.”
Sweetie Belle just sat there for a moment, trying to come up with some kind of excuse as to why she couldn't show her best friend the juice making process. Yet no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't come up with anything solid. At least, not anything that her brash friend would believe.
So, with no other options available to her, she decided to tell her friend the truth.
“Okay, fine! This stuff isn't juice, it's, uh…” Sweetie trailed off, not really sure of what to say. She couldn't just tell Scootaloo outright that she was clopping in the corner, or else Scootaloo would think she was some kind of—
“You were clopping in the corner, weren't you, Sweetie?” Scootaloo asked with a deadpan expression, completely stopping Sweetie Belle in her tracks, and throwing her mind in reverse. She was too embarrassed to respond, and couldn't even manage to look her friend in the eye.
Scootaloo took her lack of an answer as a solid yes, and with a shrug, she said, “Eh,no big deal.”
Sweetie’s eyes grew to the size of saucers, and her cheeks were flushed in pure embarrassment. With a sudden gasp, Sweetie said, “No big deal?! But, but… you tasted it!”
“So what? It didn't taste bad or anything. Besides, Rainbow told me that clopping is natural, and there's nothing to be ashamed of.”
“Yeah, but…” Sweetie began to say, only for Scootaloo to interrupt.
“No buts! What you were doing is cool, and totally natural.” Scootaloo smiled softly at Sweetie Belle. “Besides, even if it wasn't cool, you're my friend. There's nothing you could ever do to make me hate you. Crusaders forever, right?”
Sweetie Belle looked deeply into Scootaloo’s eyes, searching for some hidden doubt, only to find that her friend was telling the absolute truth. There was no doubt, or disgust. Just pure love, loyalty, and understanding.
“So, you're really not upset that you basically tasted my, uh, filly juice?” Sweetie asked quietly.
“Nah, of course not. Besides, it really didn't taste all that bad. Was sort of like salty marshmallows, actually.”
Scootaloo moved closer to her friend, and lied down beside her. They stayed like that for several moments, enjoying each others quiet company, before the silence was broken by Sweetie Belle. “Uh, Scootaloo? Can I ask you a question?”
“What's up?”
“Will you be my special somepony?”
Scootaloo wore a goofy grin, and replied by planting a tender kiss to the side of Sweetie’s reddening cheek.
Several more minutes pass in silence, with the newly formed couple enjoying their first of many cuddles together. Sweetie was once again the one to break the silence. “Can I ask you another question?”
“Duh, you can ask me anything!”
“You do know that you're laying in the puddle, right?” She asked with rosy cheeks, redder than they've ever been.
Scootaloo looked down beneath her, and confirmed that yes, she was indeed laying in the puddle her fillyfriend made less than a half hour ago. Yet, she didn't bother to move away. She felt like this particular spot in the clubhouse was made just for her. That she was destined to be there. So, she turned to Sweetie Belle, and only had one thing to say.
“Awesome.”
As she closed her eyes to take a little nap with her new fillyfriend, she noticed the clubhouse getting darker. A loud sobbing echoed in from outside, followed by the voice of a scared filly.
“You must remember.”
The voice echoed through the room, each reverberation deteriorating the original sound, until nothing but silence, and the rapid beating of a fearful heart, was left in its wake.
And then the darkness turned back to day, leaving a confused and terrified orange filly behind.
“What the buck was that?”
Author's Note
So, apparently I'm back? Uh, cool, I guess.
Anyway, this is part 1 of a new short series, which I hope to have totally finished by Valentine's Day.
I know this chapter is on the short side, but I felt as if it was the perfect introduction to an otherwise much larger story arc. I hope you guys like it, and considering giving me a follow, or something. But you know, your choice, and all that!
Anyway, the next chapter should be out by tomorrow. Hoping for one chapter every day until it's finished.
So what'd you think? Comment, rate, fav. The usual stuff. :)
Oh, and I'm sorry for the lack of cover art. Couldn't find one that seemed relevant to the story, and I can't draw to save my life. So, guess no art this time around.
Also, the site appears to be broken on mobile right now. Editing and reading messages is formatted funny, and half the screen is being cut off. Also no ability to scroll... So, anyone know what's up with that?
