So you dreamed a little dream...

Chapters

Prologue
Part 1: The Waking World
Part 2: Scootaloo's Side of Things, and the Betting begins...
Part 3: Two Mentally Scarred Fillies
Part 5: A Romantic Dinner for Two Part 1: The Set-Up
Part 7: The Gathering Storm
Part 8: Downpour
Epilogue: The Rainbow After the Storm
Part 6: A Romantic Dinner for Two Part 2: The Confession
Part 4: In which some much needed advice is given and a play is made...

Prologue

Ponyville, Carousel Boutique:

"Rarity, I'mm borrreeed!" Sweetie Belle, the younger sister of Ponyville's premere fashionista complained late one night. All around her, her toy box was strewn around the floor, as the younger unicorn had tried searching for something fun to do but nothing caught her eye unfortunately.

From behind Sweetie's bedroom door, the sound of Rarity huffing could be heard before the older unicorn entered the room groaning to herself. It was just her luck she'd been once again assigned by her parents to babysit her younger sister while they'd gone off to Neigh Orleans for the weekend.

"Can't you play with your toys?" Rarity asked. "You've got plenty of them." She added kindly.

"But I've played with them all, and nothing looks interesting to me right now!" Sweetie whined. Rarity sighed and rubbed her temples, this could be a problem. She loved her sister dearly, but Celestia above she could be headache inducing. (Applejack often said the same thing about her, but she couldn't decide exactly why.) Rarity then got a idea, and if it were possible a lightbulb would have appeared over her head. On a completely unrelated note, Rarity would later design a hat for just such a occasion.

Humming to herself, Rarity went over to some bookshelves that were in Sweetie's room and picked out a book and smiled.

"You know, this was my favorite book my mom used to read to me when I was younger." Rarity said, and Sweetie groaned as she caught the title of the book. It was "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz".

"The Wizard of Oz? But that's for babies!" Sweetie whined and Rarity chuckled as she shook her head.

"Oh darling, I wouldn't go that far. Just let me read it for you for five minutes, and who knows? You might actually like it." Rarity said kindly, with a smile as she sat down next to Sweetie on her bed. Sweetie huffed and crossed her forelegs even as Rarity began to read...

"Once apon a time, there was a little filly in Dodge Junction..." Rarity began and little by little, Sweetie began to become engrossed in the story and soon was fast asleep. Rarity smiled, got up off the bed and turned out the lights as she whispered "Good night little sis..." and shut the door.

Sweetie's Dream World, Manekin Land...

"Urgh... Where am I?" Sweetie murmured as she rubbed her head. She took a look around, and found she was still in her bedroom. The sun shown through a window, and outside birds sung far too happily for Sweetie's liking. She wanted to blast those birds with a spell that would tape their mouths shut. Groaning, Sweetie went downstairs and out the front door. What she saw next made her jaw drop.

All around her, was a small village with a golden brick pathway in the center and a extreme amount of blooming flowers, as if somepony had far too much fun in planting them and went wild. But the weirdest thing of all, and the most noticeable were ponies even smaller then her tending to gardens and bouncing around without a care in the world, not too far removed from Pinkie Pie's manner of travel. Then Sweetie heard a groaning sound and saw two hooves sticking out from under the Boutique, wearing red slippers. Suddenly, everyone else seemed to notice this as well and began cheering.

"Congrats, you've done it!" Silver Spoon, wearing a green top hat and matching suit cheered as she trotted up. She was as small as the rest of the villagers. "You killed the witch!"

"I-I didn't kill anypony!" Sweetie sputtered. "For all I know, she was under there to begin with!"

"No, she was there and you landed on her with your house!" Silver replied in a matter-of-factly tone.

"I don't even remember the house landing!" Sweetie sputtered back.

"Well it did, and that's that." Silver retorted in a tone that left no room for argument. Sweetie groaned, she was almost wishing for the real Silver Spoon. And then it began, starting quietly at first but then erupting like a tsunami.

"Ding dong, the witch is dead, ding dong the witch is dead!" The villagers chanted over and over. Sweetie Belle wanted to cover her ears from the chant, as it was rapidly getting under her skin. It reminded Sweetie far too much of the hoard of Pinkie Pies' chanting "Fun!" over and over.

Then everypony covered their ears as there was a loud crack of thunder as a pony with green skin and black witch robes and hat appeared. Sweetie gaped, it was her sister. Sweetie then began to wonder what the heck this could mean about her and her sister's relationship.

"You killed my sister! And for that, I shall lay a hex on you!" Rarity cackled with a pointing of her hoof, completing the stereotype.

"I'M YOUR SISTER!" Sweetie yelled in disbelief, a headache rapidly forming.

"I have no sister, except the one you killed, Horribelle, the Wicked Witch of the East!" Rarity retorted.

Sweetie gaped, this was just getting far past the point of ridiculous it wasn't even funny. Suddenly, a figure appeared dressed like Zorro and holding a sword in her hoof. Sweetie's eyes narrowed before they blinked, even with the costume she could she the orange fur and a little bit of a purple mane.

"YOU! The Wicked Witch of the West, I have come to say to you and your sister one thing and one thing only..." Scoot-Zorro (As that was the name Sweetie had rapidly come up with) said before she put a hoof over her heart and began something Sweetie could have sworn she rehearsed everyday.

"My name is Scootaloo Montoya, you killed my parents and my sister Rainbow Dash of Cloudsdale. Prepare to die!" Scootaloo said, as Sweetie gaped as she rubbed her head with one hoof. Her headache was throbbing now.

"I do hate to break this to you..." Rarity said mock-sweetly. "But I am now sisterless, that FILLY over there (Here she pointed to poor Sweetie) dropped a house on her!" Rarity said before she broke out into sobs. Sweetie wanted to point out she was Rarity's real sister, but figured that wouldn't help the situation any.

"Yes, and I suggest you leave before a house gets dropped on you too as well!" Silver snapped. Rarity growled before she vanished in a flash of green flame. At this point, Scootaloo turned to Sweetie and glared harshly at her and looked as if she was about to break down.

"I-Is it true? Did you really kill the evil Horribelle and deprive me of one half of my revenge?" Scootaloo sobbed before she pulled her sword on Sweetie who sighed in resignation. This was just too much.

"My name is Scootaloo Montoya, you deprived me of one half of my revenge. Prepare to die!" Scootaloo roared before she lunged. Sweetie squeaked before she ducked and quickly thought up a idea and faked some sobs.

"T-That evil witch, Rarity, she transported me here! I-I just want to get back home!" Sweetie sobbed and Scootaloo's expression softened.

"R-Really? That's horrible! How about we team up and take down Rarity!" Scootaloo exclaimed. "You can be my sidekick!"

Sweetie wanted to protest, she didn't want to be anyone's sidekick.

"Y-You're missing the point! I just want to go home!" Sweetie sobbed, not faking them this time. Silver Spoon took pity on her and suddenly spoke up.

"Weeelll, there is one way to get home. Go to the Emerald City, Princess Celestia surely has the knowledge to get you home to wherever you came from, strange and not at all look-alike to Horribelle!" Silver said, gesturing to the golden brick road that led into the fields beyond. In the distance, a Emerald City glistened. Sweetie took a look at it and shrugged.

"Well, it's bound to be no weirder then anything else around here..." Sweetie muttered as she set off, with Scootaloo following and shouting "Wait up! Wait up!"

"What is it?" Sweetie sighed in annoyance.

"There... There is something I must give you for good luck. It's part of Cloudsdale's culture!" Scootaloo exclaimed before she thrust her head forwards and planted a big kiss on Sweetie's muzzle, before everything turned to white...

Ponyville, Carousel Boutique, early morning:

Sweetie awoke with a start, still shocked from her dream. She was also wondering something else, did Cloudsdale pegasi really kiss goodbye for good luck? Then a thought struck her like a thunderbolt.

"WHAT THE HAY DOES THIS MEAN FOR OUR FRIENDSHIP!?!"

Author's Note

Yeah, so I decided to move the one shot that started off this whole story into the main story itself, just because without it, the story... honestly never really felt complete in some way.

Part 1: The Waking World

Ponyville, Carousel Boutique:

Sweetie Belle was in a predicament. While it wasn't one of her sister's "Worst. Possible. Thing!"-level predicaments, it was pretty darn close in Sweetie's opinion. If she were to be honest, Sweetie would coin and label the newly arisen predicament as the "Slightly less then the Worst. Possible. Thing!". This had all started just last night, Sweetie remembered, with just a dream. A very odd dream at that. In it, there was her sister as the Wicked Witch of the West, who Sweetie still didn't understand just because of this little exchange

"You killed my sister! And for that, I shall lay a hex on you!" Rarity cackled with a pointing of her hoof, completing the stereotype.

"I'M YOUR SISTER!" Sweetie yelled in disbelief, a headache rapidly forming.

"I have no sister, except the one you killed, Horribelle, the Wicked Witch of the East!" Rarity retorted.

If that wasn't strange enough, there was one of Sweetie's two archenemies and tormenters Silver Spoon (Who was MUCH nicer then usual, which should have been Sweetie's first clue it was a dream.) as a mayor of a town of very tiny ponies and a Zorro-like Scootaloo who said and I'm quoting directly here....

"My name is Scootaloo Montoya, you killed my parents and my sister Rainbow Dash of Cloudsdale. Prepare to die!"

Yeah, that. Just that. That was what you might think would have been the weirdest part of the dream for poor Sweetie. Well, you'd be wrong. The weirdest bit would have to be when Scootaloo kissed her, claiming it was for good luck and part of Cloudsdale's culture. ...Yeah, that pretty much hit the bell and rung it on Sweetie's own personal weirdometor.

And the worse part was, ever since then Sweetie had been feeling odd things for Scootaloo, having her heart beat faster when around her, or blushing when Scootaloo gave her hugs. It'd been going on like this for a week now, and normally Sweetie could hide it but no longer as shown what happened just the day before during one of the CMC's regular meetings.

Yesterday, CMC Clubhouse: Sweet Apple Acres

It was a bright and sunny day at the Clubhouse, and all three members of the little trio known to the town of Ponyville as the Cutie Mark Crusaders intended to make the most of it in the search for their marks.

"So, any of y'all offering up ideas for what we should do this time?" Apple Bloom asked, with a board of failed attempts behind her which included but were not limited to cake baking, (All three shuddered at that memory) animal care, and the solving of the myth of the Derpy-Name Switcheroo.

"Huh, Rainbow Dash mentioned rollerblading was pretty awesome so maybe we could try that." Scootaloo suggested, and earned a gaping from Apple Bloom.

"Don't we all need some kind of fancy-smancy safety equipment for all of that?" Apple Bloom asked dryly before adding in "None of which y'all own? So really, doing that would be stupider then cornering a skunk in the bushes."

"I agree with Apple Bloom, I value my safety." Sweetie agreed nodding along with her friend as she spoke in a more nervous tone. Scootaloo sighed in resignation, she supposed her friends were right.

"...Fine, but we're running out of ideas here! Pretty much everypony else in our class has got one, and I don't want Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon to be lording that over us for who-knows how many years!" Scootaloo exclaimed, somewhat anxious. Sweetie brought her into a hug, even as her heart beat a little faster while doing so.

"We'll get our marks eventually, you know how long it took my sis to get hers." Sweetie reassured with a blush on her face, even as Scootaloo shared that same blush as she looked at her friend worryingly. Apple Bloom eyed them both and smirked, she saw perfectly well what was happening in front of her own two eyes and she chuckled to herself with it going unheard. She'd seen this before whenever Ms. Cheerilee stared at her older brother, or when Rainbow stared at a poster of Soarin Skies from the Wonderbolts.

"Y-You really think so?" Scootaloo asked.

"Yeah, call it a "Lady's Intuition." Sweetie answered in a mock high class tone of voice remembering her sister's form of speaking, making Apple Bloom giggle. Scootaloo gave her friend a deadpan look.

"But you're not even a lady yet." Scootaloo said in a deadpan tone to match her facial expression. Sweetie huffed and held her nose up high as she answered "But I will be someday."

Scootaloo giggled and booped her friend on the nose, making Sweetie's blush become more obvious as Scootaloo commented "But not just yet."

Sweetie groaned as she went down for breakfast, with the familiar smell of pancakes reaching her nostrils. Rarity had learned long ago, that whenever Sweetie came to visit, it was best to get up early and cook otherwise anything resembling food would almost certainly NOT be editable in the slightest. After all, there was this incident from when Rarity first filly-sat her sister...

(Adapted from Sisterhooves Social, written by Cindy Morrow)

"Rarity! Rrgh, you ruined the surprise! I was gonna serve you breakfast in bed!" Sweetie cried as she saw her sister use a fire extinguisher to put out the burning pan on the stove. Rarity then let out a long low sigh of exasperation as she took in the scene in front of her. Cooking, this counted not.

"Well, G'Morning Rarity!" Sweetie's and Rarity's father Magnum greeted with a smile and a wave. "I'll have you know that Sweetie Belle here cooked this yummy lookin' breakfast all on her own."

"I... figured. I didn't know you could burn juice." Rarity replied dryly, but her parents seemed to have missed her sarcasm entirely.

"I've been giving her lessons. I wouldn't be surprised if she's got a cutie mark in fancy cooking by the time we get back from our vacation." Cookie replied with a cheery smile as Rarity groaned to herself.

Present Time...

Rarity hummed "Walking on Sunshine" by Sapphire Shores and the Ocean to herself as she worked away at the stove. Her head turned, just in time to see Sweetie walking into the room rubbing her eyes, as the filly was still half-asleep.

"Well, good morning Sweetie!" Rarity chimed as she placed the finished pancakes and orange juice (This time not burnt all to Tartarus) on the dining table as Sweetie sat down. Her face was still red from remembering the little incident with Scootaloo yesterday, and Rarity's keen eyes didn't let this go unseen. She frowned in concern and felt her sister's forehead.

"You alright Sweetie, haven't come down with that nasty flu have you?" She asked, but found her own question answered as no heat was felt. Rarity then had a idea come to her mind and let a devious smile come to her face.

"Wait... Don't tell me." Rarity began, and Sweetie braced herself for what was to come. And come it did.

"My little baby sis has a cruuuussshhh!" Rarity squealed and clapped her front hooves in glee as Sweetie looked as if she wanted to die of embarrassment right then and there.

"No, I don't have a crush! N-Nothing's wrong with me, a-absolutely nothing!" Sweetie stammered in denial but Rarity didn't look as if she believed her sister for a moment. She knew her all too well, and knew when she was lying even if Sweetie herself didn't know if she was lying so to speak.

"Oh darling, there's nothing wrong with having a crush." Rarity reassured before going off into a tale that Sweetie quickly began to pretend not to hear. Actually, she wished it was more then just pretend.

"Why, when I was your age..." Rarity trailed off as Sweetie groaned to herself and hit her head on the table landing muzzle first in her pancakes.

Sweetie's Room, later that very same night...

That night, as Sweetie drifted off into the throes of the world of dreams she found herself in a small town, at a concert as wind whistled through the trees around her. On the stage, smoke drifted covering the figures with instruments strapped to them, one with a guitar behind the microphone, another playing the keyboards and a third behind the drum kit. A fourth unknown, a colt if his figure was to be any indication played a bass. And Sweetie could have swore she saw Princess Luna manning the stage's sound controls alongside Vinyl Scratch. And then there was Rainbow Dash in the crowd her manestyle making her easily visible as she went on with the cheering as she was yelling out "Let's get this freaking party started!"

Then, as if to oblige her request the heavy, almost thunderous sounding guitars began, much to the delight of the roaring crowd and for some reason Sweetie found herself cheering along...

Sweetie's eyes widened as she saw who exactly was on stage playing out the notes on the guitar. It was a older Scootaloo alright, obvious by her orange coat and wings along with her purple mane, and now that she looked at herself Sweetie was a bit older as well judging by her longer mane style, a seventeen year old if she had to guess with Scootaloo being slightly older.

Scootaloo was accompanied by a mare who could only be recognized as Trixie in full magician get-up who was jamming away on the keys, while an certain wash-out from the Wonderbolts Academy named Lightning Dust who played the drums. Finally, a thrumming bass beat came from a chocolate furred colt in a leather jacket about Sweetie's dream world age. Rainbow Dash whooped and hollered at Scootaloo's playing while all the while, a few female colts swooned at the bassist's playing and fainted while males wolf-whistled making Sweetie feel jealous for some unexplained reason.

As if to add to things and her own shock, Sweetie couldn't control her own actions, as she banged along to the thrill of Scootaloo's almost seductive lyrics that sung about casting a spell on her and falling into a dark devotion. But as soon as the final verse sounded, everypony on stage threw down some explosive magic smoke as Scootaloo leaped into her forelegs and gave her a searing kiss on the muzzle...

Sweetie awoke with sweat running down her face and panting from the dream as a rooster crowed in the background. Sweetie felt her sheets right then and her eyes widened. That certainly wasn't water she felt on them, not with how it felt. With this, Sweetie stuffed her head into her pillow as deeply as she could and groaned. What the hay was wrong with her?

Then Rarity's words from when she told her older sister about her little moment between her and Scootaloo came back to her.

"My little baby sis has a cruuuussshhh!"

Sweetie was horror-struck at the possibility. Yep, this was definitely in that "Slightly less then the Worst. Possible. Thing!" territory I mentioned before for the youngest Belle sibling.

"No, it couldn't be that, I just couldn't have feelings for one of my very best friends!" Sweetie mused. It JUST could not be that! ...Could it?

(Chapter End)

Author's Note

Okay, so as Broken Diamond only has one more chapter left in it for me to write next week (I'm rather sad about that.) :fluttercry: I decided to go ahead and release this! Anyways... so, yeah... Sweetie really hasn't figured it out yet that she's in love and's denying the hell out of it, despite Rarity and Apple Bloom catching on pretty quick what's going on and knowing better. And we don't even know what Scootaloo thinks, which is why the next chapter will be focused on her. :scootangel: So, what did you think of the first chapter, especially the little dream sequence at the end (I promise, it won't be the last). Any comments, or real problems you have with the story?

Also, if anyone is wondering why Lightning Dust is playing rock music, I have this odd little headcanon of her being a musician before or after she washed out of the Wonderbolts, and as for the other bandmate with the bass guitar, he's a cameo of one of my OCs from Broken Diamond. If you've read that, you might be able to guess who he is.

Plus, if any of you can catch the other Broken Diamond reference you get a virtual hug and a cookie from me! :twilightsmile:

And just for fun, :raritywink: I'm going to include the other Hex Girls song from the Witch's Ghost:

(Just asking, but if anyone needs me to tone down the scene with Sweetie finding out what her sheets are covered with to still keep it Teen just tell me please.)

Part 2: Scootaloo's Side of Things, and the Betting begins...

Sugarcube Corner

Meanwhile, Rarity was having cake over at the best spot for sweet treats in Ponyville. All around her, others had similar ideas. From Ponyvilel's chief mechanic Silver Spanner hanging out with a purple coated pony with a brown mane and glasses to Bon-Bon and Lyra out on one of their weekly dates (Rarity smiled at this, she hoped whoever her baby sis had a crush on would make this a thing) pretty much everypony Rarity knew was there.

Rarity smiled and sighed wistfully, it was a week before Hearts and Hooves day and already she could just feel it in the air. She just hoped whoever her sister had a crush on, she'd confess to right on that very date as it would be just soooo romantic. From another table, Rainbow Dash who was nibbling on a bit of spongecake saw Rarity's wistful sigh and smile and walked over. She placed the cake on the counter and waved a hoof in front of her friend's face. No reaction.

"Eh, you alright Rares?" Rainbow asked in concern. Again no reaction, so Rainbow decided it was time to resort to drastic measures. She really hated to do this, but she obviously wasn't going to get Rarity's attention in any normal way so desperate times called for desperate measures. With a mischievous smirk, Rainbow pulled out a airhorn and blew it right in Rarity's ear.

The sheer sharpness of the blast knocked Rarity right off her chair and into the floor. As she rubbed her ears and tried to regain what was left of her hearing, Rarity (Along with pretty much everypony else) was glaring right at Rainbow Dash.

"Now really Rainbow, was that actually needed?" Rarity huffed.

"Weeeeelll, I tried to catch your attentions in other ways." Rainbow replied as she helped Rarity back up into her chair.

"But they were all no goes. Now what's got you all happy? Last time I saw you this happy you were in love with that Trenderhoof dude." Rainbow mused before a thought struck her.

"Wait, don't tell me he's coming back to town? I'd just love to show him that shrine you built!" Rainbow laughed and Rarity quickly shoved a hoof into her friend's mouth before she exposed anymore of her secrets to the townsponies, who were already snickering at the unfolding scene.

"No, it's not that. It's my sister, she's gout her first crush!" Rarity squealed. Now Rainbow looked really interested, and pulled up a chair.

"Oh, really? Who's it with?" She asked and Rarity replied in a embarrassed tone. "Now that's the thing, I... I don't know actually."

Rainbow was about to bust out laughing, Rarity, the gossip queen of Ponyville not knowing something? It was hilarious just by concept alone. But before she could do so, the pegasus was interrupted by a voice from behind.

"Well, Ah thank Ah can answer that." Apple Bloom's voice said, and both older ponies turned to face her with confused expressions that were rapidly changed to ones of realization once they'd heard the youngest Apple's tale.

"So that explains Scootaloo's behavior a few days ago... She was acting kinda funny." Rainbow mused, and now Apple Bloom and Rarity were the ones with confused expressions. And so Rainbow explained...

Two days ago, with Scootaloo after leaving the CMC Clubhouse...

(This scene was inspired by Twi-Fi so credit to him.)

As Scootaloo zoomed through the streets of Ponyville on her beloved scooter to where her adoptive older sister would pick her up to take her back to Rainbow's home just as she always did, her thoughts ran wild on what had happened at the Clubhouse. "What was that all about?" She wondered. "Why was Sweetie acting so totally strange, with the blushing and everything?"

Then Scootaloo remembered something, she too was blushing and felt her heart beating faster. She hardly noticed a thing or pony as she whizzed through the streets, almost knocking ponies down and making them shout angrily at her.

"No, it can't be... I just can't have a crush on one of my best friends. I know Sweetie's cute and all, hay pretty much everypony thinks she's cute. Hey, all fillies are cute, even me!" She argued back to her brain before she realized what she'd just thought. "...Cannot believe I just said that. Calling yourself cute is so uncool." Scootaloo mentally grumbled before another problem hit her.

"She's a filly, and I'm a filly. Can that even be a thing? I don't even know if two ponies of the same gender can "Like" each other like that." Scootaloo wondered her mental ramblings making her feel more stressed and confused by the moment before she let out a small "Gah!" in frustration with herself and her thoughts and shook her head to clear them.

"A-After all, I don't even know if Sweetie shares my feelings, n-not that I have any to begin with so what's the freaking point in thinking about this?" Scootaloo told herself as the final words to finish her mental argument although even if she didn't want to admit it at the time her problem with Sweetie Belle was still nagging at her in her brain.

To be honest, Scootaloo never felt more relieved then she ever had been before when she saw her adoptive sister on the soccer fields, and pulled her scooter into a halt right besides Rainbow.

"Hey squirt, ready to go back home?" Rainbow asked before she noticed Scootaloo's expression. It was the exact same type of expression Twilight had whenever she was completely freaked out about something or other, more often then not a book going missing from the library. (Rainbow often did this just to mess with her.)

"Something wrong Scoots?" Rainbow asked in concern to the younger pegasi, who shook her head rapidly in denial.

"N-No, nothing's wrong! Nothing at all!" Scootaloo said rapidly in denial. "A-And even if there was it's nothing you need to worry about!"

Rainbow didn't believe her for even a second and extended a wing around Scootaloo in a comforting motion.

"Hey listen Squirt, if there's ever anything you need to talk about, just come to me okay?" Rainbow reassured, and Scootaloo nodded before replying nervously "L-Let's just go back home okay? There's a new episode of Supernatural on tonight and I don't think you'd want to miss the adventures of Calm Trooper and Hot Head Windchester."

Rainbow laughed. Scootaloo was certainly right about that, those two stallions were sexy alright and that wasn't even counting that trench coated pegasi who showed up every so often...

Back in the present...

"So that's that." Rainbow finished, with Rarity and Apple Bloom having listened to the story with increasing interest all throughout.

"Knew it. Ah just knew it." Apple Bloom murmured, happy to have her suspicions proven right while Rarity let out another loud squeal of excitement.

"Oh, this is so wonderful. Two best friends, having crushes on one another? It's just like out of one of those books I've read!" Rarity exclaimed with a clapping of her two front hooves. Rainbow rolled her eyes.

"You mean those exceedingly crappy romance novels that only barely pass for "Books"?" Rainbow asked in disbelief. Rarity glared at her.

"Please, I know you watch that gory show of yours only just to see those stallions." Rarity retorted with a smirk, and Rainbow's own amused expression was quickly wiped off her muzzle before she quickly tried to regain ground.

"H-Hey, I don't watch it just for that! T-The fight scenes are cool, and then there's all that classic rock!" Rainbow put in stammering slightly. Sensing the argument that was about to develop, Apple Bloom quickly changed the subject.

"Sooooo... When do y'all think those two friends of mine will admit that they like each other?" Apple Bloom asked, and Rainbow and Rarity gained thoughtful expressions.

"Hmm, I bet that Sweetie will confess right on Hearts and Hooves day. Best day of the year to do it, after all." Rarity mused to herself, and although Rainbow had to admit she made a well thought out point (Even if it wasn't aloud) she had her own thoughts on the matter.

"Puh-leeze!" Rainbow exclaimed, waving a hoof in dismissal. "Scootaloo's so exactly like me, she'll probably admit she likes your sis as soon as she figures out she loves her!"

Apple Bloom quickly shushed them both by planting hooves over their mouths and giving them serious looks.

"Will y'all shut it? Ah don't want it getting back to Scootaloo nor Sweetie that we're betting on their love life!" Apple Bloom hissed to the two older ponies.

"So what? Maybe more ponies will join in on this little bet of ours, and I'll get quite rich from all the bits I'm sure to win when Scoots confesses!" Rainbow said arrogantly. At this, Apple Bloom slammed her head on the counter. Sometimes you just couldn't win...

Rainbow Dash's Cloud Home: Cloudsdale

That night, Scootaloo tossed and turned as she had a dream of her own. In it, she found herself at a fancy gala in Canterlot. She, like Sweetie in the dream of her own was older, if her longer mane and more developed wings were to be evidence of that. All around her, higher class ponies chatted with each other over wine and small nibbles of cheese platters handed out by waiters. Even Luna herself was there. Scootaloo sighed, what the hay was she doing here? This was FAR from her kind of place. If anything, she'd be dreaming she was at a stunt show, preforming awesome tricks on her scooter while Rainbow Dash cheered her on.

It was then she noticed the stage and catwalk connected to it with various ponies in fancy and in some cases almost seductive outfits strutting their stuff. Scootaloo groaned, this just kept getting worse and worse. Imagine, if any of her friends or Celestia forbid Diamond Tiara or Silver Spoon saw her here. Then she'd never hear the end of it.

"Hey, shouldn't you be paying attention?" A very familiar snotty voice asked, and Scootaloo whirled her head around to see a slightly older Diamond Tiara sitting beside her at the table they were at, which was very close to the catwalk.

"Please, all this fancy dress and high class snobbery? Not my kind of show." Scootaloo replied. Diamond raised a eyebrow in confusion.

"But I thought you were here to support Sweetie?" Diamond stared at her in shock before continuing as Scootaloo only grew ever more confused by the moment.

"Hmph, some marefriend you are..." Diamond grumbled, and Scootaloo gaped in shock. Marefriend? Since when had that happened? But sure enough, there was Sweetie clad in a simple black dress that yet somehow still managed to be enticing. Sweetie saw her, and winked, before grabbing Scootaloo with her foreleg and drawing her into a steamy kiss...

Then, Scootaloo awoke and felt her sheets. Like Sweetie before her, she found that was DEFINITELY not water on them. Scootaloo sighed, this just confirmed it didn't it? She had a crush on her best friend. Scootaloo groaned as she hugged a plush of Spitfire to her chest, what the Tartarus was wrong with her?

Author's Note

Welp, Scootaloo's stopped denying it, but the question is what is she going to do about it? Meanwhile, the betting war between Rarity and Rainbow has begun. This cannot end well, can it? Anyways, now we know both Sweetie's and Scootaloo's perspectives on their shared feelings, all they just have to do now is admit they like each other somehow, which is always the hardest part. Oh boy...

And now, I have a request of you guys. I actually kinda need help on building up to the point where Scootaloo and Sweetie admit their feelings and still keep things in a dramatic but funny way. Any suggestions are GREATLY appreciated.

Part 3: Two Mentally Scarred Fillies

Carousel Boutique

Rarity hummed happily to herself as she prepared breakfast for the morning. Her baby sister had her first crush, and it was on one of her best friends to boot. Rarity sighed wistfully to herself, drawing comparisons to one of her many romance novels she kept locked away in her closet. This was the perfect set-up to a happy and long lasting relationship, when the two ponies in said relationship were already friends to begin with.

"Oh, I can't wait to see them on their first date... Scratch that, their WEDDING!" Rarity squealed, as she imagined herself sitting in the pews of Ponyville's Town Hall, sobbing into a handkerchief while Mayor Mare officiated the whole thing. To be honest, giving just that small description wouldn't do it justice. Let's take a quick look inside Rarity's head for the whole thing...

Inside Rarity's Mind...

It was four years later on from today, and a wedding had come to town and Rarity found herself sitting in the pews for the whole thing. But not just any wedding, oh no. It was the long awaited wedding of Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo, soon to have "Belle" added on to her own name.

"Bet you've been waiting for this day, huh Rares?" Rarity's coltfriend, Big Mac asked in his deep voice. Rarity nodded and smiled even as tears twinkled in her eyes.

In the pews behind them, Scootaloo's mother Dizzy Twister blew her nose before handing off her handkerchief to Diamond Tiara, and Silver Spoon who were sobbing as hard as they could at the beauty and sheer romanticness of it all. Dizzy Twister sat in front of a teenaged Rumble, who was smiling at the sight unfolding in front of him. He was then finding himself having his tie chewed on by a little alicorn filly who was mainly purple and being held by her mother, Cadence also known as the Princess of Love.

"Sorry about that." She whispered to Rumble, who sighed and hung his head. He so wasn't going to get the deposit back on his suit was he? With a Alicorn version of Mayor Mare officiating, Sweetie and Scootaloo said their vows.

"Well, you may not be the Prince Charming I expected... or even a Prince... or even a stallion for that matter but you're the only one I want." Sweetie said as she and Scootaloo were handed their necklaces by another filly, Rainbow Dash and Soarin's three year old child. After Scootaloo had said her own vows and words of love towards Sweetie, it happened.

"Oh yeah!" Rainbow Dash and Soarin exclaimed in unison before rushing out the door and taking to the sky and breaking the sound barrier in twin Sonic Rainbooms. For Rarity, this day was perfect and she wouldn't change a thing about it...

Rarity then shook her head as she sighed to herself and chuckled.

"Oh dearie, look at yourself... You're getting ahead of yourself and letting your imagination grab you by it's reigns and run away with you. First things first, they absolutely must confess to each other!"" Rarity chided herself, before a thought struck her and her eyes widened in absolute horror. She'd just remembered what teenagers could be like when they were in love with each other, and how they didn't just stick to hugging and kissing.

"Well then, if that's the case..." Rarity muttered to herself as her mind was filled with images of Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle making out under the sunset (Romantic as that image was) before things progressed even further with Scootaloo's getting on top of Sweetie Belle and her kisses going ever lower and lower...

At where these images were going, Rarity gained a hugely noticeable blush on her face, as she shuddered at the imagery and mused to herself "Oh, now that is the Worst Possible Thing..." before a determined expression came to her muzzle as the images faded away. Actually, to be more accurate they were locked away in the darkest depths of the fashionista's mind where hopefully she wouldn't be able to remember them EVER again.

"Yes, no doubts about it. I've always meant to do this, but for whatever reason I've been putting it off for as long as possible." Rarity murmured to herself as she took a bottle of the Apple Family's stronger brand of cider that had been hidden in a cupboard and that she had kept for special occasions or needed confidence boosts and drank some of it. Now normally, she frowned on drinking in the morning or drinking in general really but she was going to need it if she was going to give her youngest sister one of the most embarrassing conversations a family relation could have with another... That is: the infamous "Talk".

Swallowing hard to herself, she called up to her sister's room but received no response. Rarity was somewhat relieved, maybe Sweetie wasn't home and was at a sleepover at a friend's house or something. To be honest, Rarity really had never been looking forwards to this day and particular moment in her life, and hoped she didn't mentally scar her little sister too badly. Rarity still had her own mental scars from when her mom and dad gave her their own version of the "Talk", complete with pictures and detailed descriptions! (Rarity made a very important mental note to herself, doing it THAT way was a bad idea.) Of course, Rarity then remembered putting Sweetie to bed just last night, so she couldn't have been at a sleepover. At this realization, Rarity called out again.

"Sweetie Belle, get down here this instance!" Rarity yelled, and received a annoyed grumbly response of "Alright, alright! I'm coming, least let me drag myself out of bed first!" from Sweetie Belle's room. Rarity sighed to herself and rubbed her temples, maybe this was that rebellious stage she'd been warned about by Applejack.

Eventually, Rarity saw her younger sister's tired and messy maned form trudging down the steps that led up to her bedroom. Rarity also noticed something else, Sweetie's face was blushing and she was covered in sweat.

"Don't even have to imagine what kind of dream she had, nor would I even want to." Rarity mused once more, as she again shuddered to herself, and had a brief moment of thinking she'd need more of that cider.

Sweetie rubbed her eyes and fussed with her hair just to try and make it look presentable. After all, she was a growing lady and even growing ladies had to look good in the morning, at least that was her sister's reasoning. Sweetie Belle's thoughts turned back to the dream she had last night, she certainly hadn't looked presentable at the end of it, that was for sure! Nor had she sounded like a lady, not with all of that moaning of Scootaloo's name. She just hoped Rarity hadn't heard any of what she was saying through the bedroom door.

"Sweetie Belle..." Her older sister began as she pulled up a chair at the dining room table. "You're reaching that age, and well... I think it's safe to say there are things you need to know... W-Well, just to be s-safe." Rarity stuttered out nervously at that last bit. Sweetie quirked an eyebrow in confusion. Whatever this was about, her sister really didn't want to speak about it.

"What kind of things?" Sweetie Belle asked, though every sense of hers was telling her to run as far as she could right out the front door for whatever reason.

"The f-facts of life dearie." Rarity stuttered again. "You know, the Birds and the Bees."

Sweetie's eyes widened, she knew what this was about and now she really wanted to bolt out the front door. She'd (Along with the rest of her class, well almost her whole class. Scootaloo had been out sick with the flu that day.) been given this conversation long ago.

"I-I already know this." Sweetie stammered, but Rarity shook her head and said "Nonsense, you only know the censored version they give to school age fillies and colts!" and gestured to the chair. Sighing, Sweetie jumped up on it.

"What, the version on how Princess Celestia uses her special "Mommy Magic" and puts the babies in the mothers?" Sweetie couldn't resist snarking at her sister. At least she'd get some personal amusement before the personal embarrassment came. Rarity gave her a serious look.

"This is nothing to joke about Sweetie, not one bit of it." Rarity chided, annoyed Sweetie was making sarcastic comments. This was important, Rarity shuddered to think of Sweetie having to end up care for a baby before she was even twenty!

So, for the next hour Rarity lectured Sweetie (Who's face kept on turning more and more interesting shades of red with each passing moment) on the Birds and the Bees. When the whole thing was over, Sweetie Belle fulfilled her personal promise to herself and bolted right out the front door, hoping to find some way to clear these memories from her mind. Maybe that "Brain Bleach" (Trademarked of course.) she'd heard Twilight had invented and was becoming popular would do the trick.

Later that night, Scootaloo was climbing a tree up towards Rarity's bedroom window, which had been left open to let some of the nice evening breeze in by it's occupant who had gone out on a gem hunting trip a half hour earlier. With a small hop and a buzzing in of her tiny wings, she was in and it seemed nopony was none the wiser. Scootaloo snickered to herself, she felt like that stallion from those Metal Gear Pony games she'd seen Rainbow Dash play from time to time.

"Now... Where are you?" Scootaloo wondered to herself. She'd overheard at one point from a disappointed Sweetie that Rarity often kept "Romance Novels" locked in her closet so the young filly couldn't get to them. Personally, Scootaloo wondered what was so bad about these books that Rarity kept them locked away from Sweetie. "Are they really that crappy..." Scootaloo reasoned, "...that Rarity wants to keep Sweetie or anypony else for that matter away from bad writing?"

Scootaloo brushed this thought away at once, as this sounded more like a Twilight thing to do. Scootaloo chuckled to herself, as a image of Twilight burning bad books in a bonfire came to her mind. Funny as it was, it just didn't sound like a Twilight thing either as she loved all books, even the bad ones and to just rip a page out of anything or just to even slightly tear said page, even one out of a children's book was to bring the wraith of a angry librarian down upon you.

At last, Scootaoo found and opened the mentally nicknamed Closet of Forbiddeness and looked at the backs of the books kept inside. One caught her eye, a book called "Fifty Shades of Hay." This was immediately tossed aside, as something cried out for Scootaloo to do so at once. Then another Scootaloo found, and she read off a bit of it's plot.

"Open Forelegs is a refined pony with good tastes, but what'll happen when she meets a bad and very "Big" pony from the wrong side of the tracks?" Scootaloo read to herself before groaning to herself. She knew she was probably going to regret this as the plot itself sounded dirty alone, but she read it anyway.

"Open allowed her lover's tongue to just explore her mouth, just a little but she knew more was what she wanted. She whispered "Please, more..." and the kisses came faster, and then they went lower..." Scootaloo read before her eyebrows went as high as they could go and her face just became as red as Big Mac's.

"Okay... I get the picture. No more reading required for me on this book." Scootaloo mumbled to herself before quickly tossing the book in the Closet of Forbiddenness. She was quickly starting to mentally keep that nickname in her mind, and bolding it as well. Searching through the Closet again, she found another book, but this time with not even a few moments into reading it Scootaloo quickly became disgusted. I'll leave what exactly she saw up to your imagination, as I'd rather not have to bump this fic's rating up. But the reaction should give you a good idea.

With a cry of "EWW! EWW, AND MORE EWW!" along with "That is so sick and wrong! Nopony should be able to bend that way, nopony! Completely uncool!" she tossed the book out the window before climbing down to the grass below, and dug a hole to bury the book in which once it was done, the "book" was quickly thrown in and covered with sod.

"Argh, Twilight's Brain Bleach is so going to be needed after tonight... I'm so not going to sleep well otherwise." Scootaloo mentally told herself before she quickly fled the scene.

Author's Note

Well, by the title alone I suspected all of y'all knew what you were in for, and I think I kinda delievered on the mortally embarrassing front for poor Scootaloo and Sweetie. :rainbowlaugh: Just a side note I think I should get on out of the way first, that little scene with Scootaloo reading romance novels was inspired by a scene from Twi-Fi's own Scootabelle fanfic "Scootaloo's Heartache" but I did change the scene around a bit so as not to be plagerizing it, namely with one of the main differences Scootaloo finding the romance novels in Rarity's closet instead of at Twilight's library, plus a bit more humor in Scootaloo's internal monologue. :scootangel:

Okay, next thing of notice is Rarity's little fantasy. If any of you that are reading this have read my other story "Broken Diamond" you might notice the whole thing is a parodic send-up of the ending scene. (What, I'm not allowed to make fun of myself?) Probably should point this out, even with all these little references towards "Broken Diamond", that doesn't mean they exist in the same universe. They're just that, little references and gags.

Next Time: Apple Bloom makes a play...

Part 5: A Romantic Dinner for Two Part 1: The Set-Up

Apple Boom was gaping. No, gaping doesn't really describe it. A more proper term would be slack-jawed so bad that you might as well out up a big neon sign (Probably flashing) saying "Flies, come right on in. Ah'm giving y'all the personal welcome!" The cause of this was what was right in front of the young filly, or rather to be more accurate, whom. There they were, both Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon, who as you might guess should in no way have normally breached the sacred sanctum that was the Cutie Mark Crusaders Clubhouse, but yet there they were.

Apple Bloom rubbed her eyes, she had to be dreaming. But there they still were, standing in front of her. It was a impossible situation, straight out of the young filly's darkest nightmares, but it somehow it had been made possible.

"Well, are you going to keep staring at us or just say something?" Silver asked, with a frustrated expression on her face as she adjusted her glasses and tapped one of her hooves in annoyance.

"...Ah'm trying to decide whether Ah've been cursed by Discord or not." Apple Bloom replied in a equally annoyed tone. "It's the only rational explanation for why you two idjits are here smack-dab in front of mah."

"Ah didn't know ya could be "Rational"." Diamond Tiara repiled in a mocking version of Apple Bloom's southern accent. (In hindsight, Apple Bloom would later grumblily admit it was a pretty spot on imitation.)

"Ya want mah to give ya a black eye? Bet that would just RUIN your properly primmed appearance. Tartarus, bet Ah could punch ya hard enough to knock that damn tiara off your head." Apple Bloom replied dryly, quite annoyed by her style of speech being mocked, to which Diamond could only huff and hold her head high and reply "Try me, Blank-Flank." in a challenging tone.

"Believe mah, Ah'm sorely tempted..." Apple Bloom muttered before she have Diamond and Silver suspicious looks as if she expected them to try something funny. "Enough games. Now what is it you two really want?"

"Don't you believe us? We said we want to help you with your little "situation" between your two lovey-dovey friends." Diamond Tiara replied in a innocent tone, which Apple Bloom didn't believe for a minute.

"Naw, you just wanna go ahead and mess it up further don't ya? Letting you in on this is like letting a skunk into a perfume store. In the end, it'll all stink." Apple Bloom retorted and Diamond waved a hoof dismissively.

"Oh, can it with your countryisims, you couldn't fake handwriting-Yes, we heard all of that-and you know it." Diamond remarked and Apple Bloom had to admit she had a point as her face fell. It was a well known fact amongst the rest of her class that her handwriting wasn't the best, to put it delicately.

Diamond smirked, victory had been achieved.

"Now, unlike YOU, I can fake one's handwriting well enough." She stated smugly, and Apple Bloom once again raised a eyebrow in suspicion.

"Now how do ya know how to do THAT?" She asked in a interrogatory manner and Diamond looked shifty for a moment before she answered.

"...I learned it by watching yo-Someponies, okay!?! Now, don't ask me any further on this okay?" Diamond sputtered out while Apple Bloom filed this away for later. "Oh, Ah'm so telling this to Ms. Cheerilee later..." She noted not particularly caring if she got called a tattletale or something like that by Diamond later on before letting out a long resigned sigh.

"Okay, so how do we do this?"

Diamond Tiara smirked once again. Apple Bloom was really beginning to hate that.

"You just leave the fake love letters to me, and you just find someplace for a romantic dinner. Silver will help." Diamond said, featuring to her best (And possibly only) friend. "With her help, even you can't possibly mess this up right?"

Scratch that, Apple Bloom was really beginning to hate Diamond in general.

Golden Oaks Library

Scootaloo, with more then a bit of trepidation, entered Ponyville's local library. Just because neither Spike not Twilight was home, it didn't mean Scootaloo wasn't nervous. Being seen in here, just by one pony, it could seriously undermine her coolness! And Scootaloo sure as Tartarus didn't want to lose anymore of that then she had already, no sir!

The young filly then took a few deep calming breathes as part of a calming exercise that Rainbow had said would help her get ready for each flying lesson or when she was nervous about something in general. "Relax, Scoots, nothing to be afraid of right? Rainbow reads the Daring Do series, which are books she tells me that Princess Twilight loans her so you can borrow a book from here as well too right without losing too much of your coolness right?"

But then Scootaloo had another thought strike her.

"But none of the Daring Do books are about pick-up lines right?" She muttered to herself sarcastically as she searched through the Golden Oaks' many books until she found one that suited her needs, with it being titled "Pick-up lines and you, how to get your crush".

Scootaloo sighed to herself. "Here goes nothing..." She mused as she read the first one.

"You're the apple of my eye, mind if I take a bite?" She read off the page

Sccotaloo sighed, that might have worked if her target was Apple Bloom... And the line wasn't so creepy. And so she read another at random, hoping this one was better then the last. It wasn't.

"If U and I are put together, what does that equal?" Scootaloo read before she groaned to herself, another stupid one. Not for the first time, she wondered what the heck she was doing. She was a tomcolt for Celestia'a sake, supposed to be doing kick-flank tricks on her scooter and playing pranks, not reciting goofy pick-up lines in hopes of getting her crush!

"Stuff upper lip, as the Trottingham types like Pipsqueak and Written Script like to say. Best to keep going." Scootaloo reminded herself even as the front door opened allowing another pony to enter. Scootaloo shut the book rapidly when she saw who it was. It was none other then the object of Scootaloo's affections, Sweetie Belle herself!

"H-Hey, what are you doing here S-Sweetie?" Scootaloo stuttered out nervously.

"Grabbing a book on romance for Rarity, yeah, that's it!" Sweetie lied, and Scootaloo raised a eyebrow in suspicion.

"Why would your big sis need a book on romance? She's got plenty from what I kn-hear!" Scootaloo said, quickly correcting herself. She doubted Rarity would like to know she'd had a peek at her private stash, and Scootaloo was in no way letting it get back to get she'd had a little peek!

"I-I don't k-know okay? More is always better, I guess..." Sweetie stammered out in equal nervousness and embarrassment.

"Listen, I gotta get going. Scooter tricks to practice and perfect to be as awesome as Rainbow Dash, ya know!" Scootaloo lied, a noticeable blush on her face as she raced back out the front door thinking to herself "Phew, that was close!" not noticing Sweetie going for the exact same book as she had a few minutes earlier...

Later...

Elsewhere, Silver Spoon and Apple Bloom had wandered into Sugarcube Corner, which after a bit (Okay, a lot) of disagreement with each other, they'd chosen as the perfect spot for Scootaloo and Sweetie's upcoming Hearts and Hooves day date, even if those two didn't know it yet. Still, one problem remained. One very pink problem.

"Aw come on Pinkie, can't ya just let us have the shop for a few days?" Apple Bloom pleaded, but the party loving mare known as Pinkie Pie shook her head in a rapid "No" manner.

"Sorry girls, but Mr. and Mrs. Cake specifically asked me to keep a eye on the shop and babysit the kids while they're in a trip to Neighra Falls for their honeymoon." Pinkie repiled before taking on a serious face, well as serious as you could get from her. "And I am a responsible mare."

"It's for love, can't you understand that?" Silver added in, and Pinkie seemed to be wavering so Apple Bloom closed in for the kill, so to speak.

"Plus, we'll let you have first sips of the cider this season and Ah know how much ya love that." She added, throwing in the puppy dog eyes look that only fillies could pull off for good measure.

At last, Pinkie sighed before taking Apple Bloom's hoof and shaking it with a cry of "It's a deal! I'll just take the kids to my house and watch them there for the next few days!"

A few minutes later, Silver Spoon and Apple Bloom were high-fiving as they exited the sweet shop.

"Didn't know you could be so good at making deals, Bloom." Silver complimented, no mockery in her tone whatsoever.

"Yeah, well don't expect me to do that again. This is for Sweetie and Scootaloo, ya jerk."

"Right back at ya, Mud-Roller." Silver responded.

Apple Bloom growled.

"What'd you call mah?" She snapped, and pretty soon, a exchange of name calling began.

"Under-educated idiot!"

"High-Class Bitch!"

"Mud-Pony!"

"Suck-up!"

"Moron!"

"Idjit!"

With each insult, both fillies faces' drew closer to each other and finally they met in a colliding of lips and tongues. Finally, after a good few seconds of kissing, the two had to pull away, gasping for precious air even as they looked at each other in new lights.

"Want... Want to do that again?" Silver breathed out.

Apple Bloom nodded and Silver pulled her into some nearby bushes and soon the sounds of passionate giggling and moaning came from within.

For the record, Apple Bloom would later decide she didn't hate Diamond quite so much anymore...

The Hay Burger

Meanwhile across town, Rarity and Rainbow were having lunch and discussing the status of their still ongoing bet. However, at one point Rainbow accidently let slip about her little talk with Scootaloo. At this, Rarity have the pegasus a very distinct look.

"You do realize by helping out Scootaloo with her problems you've excluded yourself from the bet right? It's in the rules we set up, you know that right Darling?" Rarity inquired with a raised eyebrow.

"Yeah, but now I can't lose any bits to you if Sweetie confesses first!" Rainbow smirked, forelegs crossed as she leaned back in her chair. Upon realizing this to be true, Rarity let out a most un-ladylike curse.

"Damn."

Later that week...

It was time. It was Hearts and Hooves day and all of Apple Bloom's plans concocted with Silver and Diamond's help were about to be set into motion. Scootaloo was walking through Ponyville when suddenly a paper airplane hit her on the side of her head.

"What the...?" She growled and unfolded it. To her shock, it was a invite to a romantic dinner at Sugarcube Corner by Sweetie Belle.

"I... I don't believe it! She likes me back!" Scootaloo mentally squealed to herself and dashed off in the direction of the sweet shop as fast as her little legs could carry her.

At Rarity's boutique, Sweetie Belle had received a similar letter and was feeling exactly the same emotions of surprise and joy, before she too ran out the door while Rarity looked on in happiness.

"Go get her, dearie..." She thought to herself.

Author's Note

Well, it's all come down to this. It's make or break time for Apple Bloom's plan. Will Scootaloo and Sweetie confess their feelings, and if so, who will do it first? Find out next time! :raritywink:

Part 7: The Gathering Storm

Author's Note

Okay, time for more Scootabelle cuteness!

Part 7: The Gathering Storm

Carousel Boutique: Sweetie's bedroom

Bring! Bring!

That was a sound we all know too well. That was the sound of a alarm clock going off: AKA One of the most annoying sounds ever created by any machine whatsoever. And unfortunately this morning poor Sweetie Belle was getting her eardrums pounded by that very same sound full blast.

Bring! Bring!

"Mom, just five more minutes..." Sweetie mumbled as she tossed and turned under the covers while the alarm clock still kept on ringing. It was rapidly starting to grate on Sweetie's nerves and she was seriously considering thinking of chucking it out the nearest window.

Bring! Bring!

"Does that thing ever shut up?" Sweetie thought to herself as she stuffed her head under a pillow in another futile attempt to block out the sound. But like I said, it was futile really. The urge to boot that alarm clock out the nearest window was only starting to grow stronger in Sweetie's mind.

Bring! Bri-

Crash!

That next sound, it was the sound of a window breaking and shattering into about a million pieces, (Give it take a few shards or so) as one particularly annoying alarm clock was forced through it. Sweetie smirked in satisfaction. That was one battle through which she emerged triumphant, even if it meant her older sister would probably be furious with get later for shattering that window.

"Hateful thing." Sweetie growled as she looked out the broken window to see what remained of her "Victim" so to speak. It was then Rarity barged into the room.

"Sweetie, time to get up! Breakfast!" Rarity song songed before she furrowed her eyebrows at the sight of the missing alarm clock and accompanying broken window.

"Do I even want to know what happened here?" She asked in a deadpan tone. Sweetie laughed nervously before she gave her answer.

"Er... It was a accident?" Sweetie lied, with a rather embarrassed red flush on her face. Rarity facehoofed.

"Not again..." She muttered.

Ponyville Schoolhouse

Later that day, Sweetie tried as hard as she could to not fall fast asleep right in the middle of another one of Ms. Cheerilee's lessons, with this one being on what Sweetie thought surely had to be the bane of everypony's existence AKA multiplication.

"Okay, as my sister would probably say this has to be the Worst Possible Thing!" Sweetie mused to herself as her teacher continued going on about the basics of multiplication tables. She absolutely could not wait for the bell to ring to let out the class for the day. Sweetie chuckled to herself. Oh, the irony. Earlier that day, bells were the bane of her very existence and now one would turn out to be her savior.

"You too huh?" Scootaloo, her brand new marefriend (Marefriend! Sweetie still hadn't gotten used to her saying that word in relation to Scootaloo.) whispered to her from the desk right next to her. She too looked as if she was about to fall asleep right then and there.

"Tell me about it." Scootaloo muttered. "I just can't wait for that bell to ring. Tarterus, I might just bolt from my chair and out the front doors if that bell doesn't ring soon!"

Sweetie giggled, at least she wasn't alone in what should seriously be considered a New form of torture by Princess Celestia. Both fillies then saw Ms. Cheerilee gazing down at them.

"Something funny?" She asked in a annoyed tone of voice as she raised a eyebrow at them both. Both fillies then shared uneasy looks and laughed nervously at her in unison.

"Uh, no?" Sweetie replied, embarrased by being caught by her teacher before the bell finally rang, as if it insisted on dragging out it's form of torture. Sweetie couldn't get up out of her chair fast enough.

"Sorry,gottago! Bye!" She said in a hurried tone of voice before dashing right out the front door in a poof of smoke along with the rest of the class. Sweetie then found herself running all the way home, right to her bedroom closet where she began searching through it. She and Scootaloo had discussed over lunch about having their first real date, (Not a blind one) namely a quiet afternoon walk through Ponyville Park, planned for later that night. Sweetie's emotions ran high. Never, in all of her wildest dreams would she imagine that only a month ago, she would have fallen head over hooves for the mate if her dreams who turned out to be one of her best friends. But life still managed to surprise her, just like it did with anypony else.

"Now, where is it?" Sweetie murmured after finally finding some clothes she liked before she went over to her dresser and began using her magic to levitate a comb and use it to brush her hair while all the while she searched through her dresser drawers to find her lipstick.

"Ah, here it is! Perfect! I hope Scootaloo loves this, I saved it just for her!" Sweetie mused as she looked at the label on the lipstick which read as follows: "Siren Song Red"

At about that moment, Rarity entered the room and had to resist the temptation to just making a soft "Awwwww" as she saw her younger sibling trying to make everything just the way she wanted it for her first real date. At that thought, Rarity mentally squealed in glee. Her sister, going on a date with the filly of her dreams.

"If only I was that young, just so i can go through the thrill of experiencing first love once again!" Rarity thought to herself. "But alas, I cannot! Oh Rarity, look at yourself! Getting all like this like some old mare! You've still got a few years left in you so don't worry! You'll find your Prince or Princess Charming yet!"

"Need any help, Sweetie darling?" Rarity asked her sister to which she only got a shaking of the head in response.

"No, I got this!" Sweetie answered back and Rarity smiled before leaving while shouting "Okay, but if you ever need any relationship advice you know where to find me!"

Sweetie smiled, Celestia above she loved her sister but man could she be annoying at times! But all the same, she couldn't imagine life without her.

Ponyville Schoolhouse

While Sweetie got ready for her date with her new marefriend, back at the Schoolhouse Playground Scootaloo had met up with Apple Bloom and was talking about her own new marefriend and relationship with her.

"Sooooo... You and Silver Spoon huh? Gotta say, wasn't expecting that one." Scootaloo admitted to her fellow Cutie Mark Crusader.

"Well, as mah older sister always says, life is like a bushel full of apples. Ya never know what you're going to get out of it." The farm pony remarked with a laugh.

"She sure has advice for every occasion, doesn't she?" Scootaloo replied.

"Yeah, she does doesn't she?" Apple Bloom said back. "But that's one of the perks of being a older sister Ah suppose. Ya always know what the right thing to say for any situation." She laughed.

"Wish I had somepony like that..." Scootaloo muttered in slight envy towards her friend only to get a arm put around her in support.

"Hey, don't talk like that. It doesn't suit ya in the slightest. Ya got Dash don't ya?" Apple Bloom replied to her. "And me of course. Ah'd say that's plenty good enough for you if ya ask mah."

"Thanks Apple Bloom. I needed that." Scootaloo admitted to her friend. Then, both of the fillies then heard two female voices yelling at each other, both sounding rather furious at the other.

"I told you mom, I don't want to go along with this!" Diamond Tiara's voice exclaimed, and a voice that sounded like a older copy of it followed after it.

"And I told you, you must! This family has standards to uphold. You must follow them exactly and to the letter!" A mare yelled back, and from appearance alone, it was obvious that she could only be described as Diamond's mother.

"Well then, the standards are wrong!" Diamond yelled back at her mother before with a huff, Spoiled Rich walked off, nose held high in disgust at anything and everything around her. As she did so, Diamond looked extremely sad and began to sing as she remembered all of the times Spoiled wanted her to follow her every whim.

After the song was over, Diamond hung her head and followed sadly after her mom unknowingly being watched by a certain pair of fillies.

"Uh, is it weird that Ah feel sorry for her?" Apple Bloom asked and Scootaloo looked disgusted at herself as she shrugged to her friend.

"If it is, then I feel weird too." She admitted.

Part 8: Downpour

Something has gone wrong. We don't seem to have an archived copy of that chapter.

Epilogue: The Rainbow After the Storm

Cutie Mark Crusaders Clubhouse: Sweet Apple Acres

The very next day, about a hour before school began the CMC met up in their Clubhouse to discuss how they were going to try for their marks today.

"So, what's on today's agenda?" Sweetie Belle asked Scootaloo.

"Kissing? I bet both of us could earn a Mark for that..." Scootaloo asked flirtatiously, to which Sweetie seductively smiled back at her before answering. "I'd like that."

Apple Bloom groaned in a disgusted way as the two marefriends kissed passionately before muttering "I'm going to be sick. Go ahead and do it on the floor in front of me why don't you?" She remarked sarcastically.

As the two continued kissing, they were suddenly interrupted when there was suddenly a knock on the Clubhouse door. Apple Bloom ran over to answer it, and she was surprised at who it was.

"D-Diamond Tiara?" Apple Bloom stammered out in shock. Sure enough, it was the filly in question, pink mane, tiara and all.

"You were expecting your marefriend?" Diamond responded in a sassy tone of voice.

"W-What are you doing here?" Apple Bloom continued to stammer. Diamond sucked in a deep breath, and tried to speak, but no words came out. It was as if what she was trying to say was very difficult for her. Finally, after a few moments she regained the power of speech.

"...I need help! Blank Flank help!" Diamond at last managed to sputter out. All three members of the CMC were agape. Diamond Tiara, their former archnemesis, asking THEM for help? That was something they only expected to happen when pigs flew. Sweetie Belle could see something was bothering the teenage filly, so she put a shoulder around her in support, shocking even herself.

"What is it? Is there something we can do to help?" Sweetie asked even as she mentally added "Cannot believe I just said that."

"I... I..." Diamond began, but it was if what she was asking was still difficult for her to say. Finally, she spoke once more.

"I need your advice." She mumbled.

"Huh? Sorry, I couldn't hear you." Apple Bloom said.

"I SAID I NEED YOUR ADVICE!" Diamond half sobbed/shouted at last. "It's about my mother. She wants to tear down the Ponyville Schoolhouse and replace it with a new one, with new teachers of her choosing!"

All three members of the CMC were enraged, Spoiled Rich had surely reached a new low. If she did this, their favorite teacher, Ms. Cheerliee would be left without a job!

"So?" Apple Bloom asked. "Stand up to her!"

Diamond hung her head and whispered "I wish I could, but it's so hard!"

Apple Bloom was now the one to place a hoof on her shoulder in support.

"Ah know you can do it." She smiled. "We're with ya all the way."

"Really?" Diamond sniffed, tears of joy streaming out of her eyes. Apple Bloom nodded back before replying "Really. That's what friends are for. Now come on, time's a-wastin!"

The Ponyville Schoolhouse

All four fillies rushed to their beloved schoolhouse, where already Spoiled Rich had a demolition crew ready to destroy it with a wrecking ball. Diamond was furious beyond belief, at times it May not have seemed she cared for this place and it's teacher and thought them both beneath her, but that was just a front she'd put up for her mother. In reality, she loved learning here, and thought Ms. Cheerliee the best teacher ever.

"Thank goodness you're here." Silver Spoon gasped out as the foursome ran up, stopping only to give Apple Bloom a quick kiss. "They're almost ready to start."

"Mom!" Diamond shouted out. "What the Tartarus do you think you're doing!?!"

Spoiled Rich only chuckled.

"What does it look like I'm doing? Getting rid of this loathsome schoolhouse, all so my daughter can learn somewhere better." Spoiled smirked before she frowned at her daughter's language. "Remind me to wash your mouth out with soap when we get home. Can't have a member of my family cursing like THAT."

"Oh, I can damn well curse if I want to!" Diamond snapped back. No more would she allow her mother to trod all over her and her wishes. Diamond was taking a stand. "And for the record, I LIKE learning here, and it's teacher."

"But-" Spoiled tried to sputter out before being swiftly interrupted by her daughter. In the background, Sweetie and Scootaloo high-fived.

"No buts!" She snarled before Diamond turned her attentions to the demolition crew.

"Well, what are you waiting for? This schoolhouse demolition is canceled. Now GET MOVING!" Diamond roared.

The crew was so frightened by Diamond's shout that they ran off leaving their tools unattended while Spoiled stared in shock without a word coming from her mouth. Everypony present having Diamond loud cheers, including the CMC.

"Congrats Diamond!" Silver Spoon exclaimed before she frowned. "Bit what about your mother?"

She gestured to Spoiled, who was standing there fuming. Diamond smiled.

"Oh don't worry, I'll be fine. She's not going to push me around anymore." She replied. The Schoolhouse may have been saved, but a bigger victory had been achieved today.

Apple Family Barn

A few days later...

"W-Where's Scootaloo?" Sweetie asked nervously, almost in a panic. "She promised she'd be here!"

Where here was exactly was a cider tasting party thrown by the Apple clan. Scootaloo had invited her marefriend there for their second official date. All around ponies were dressed in high class clothes for the party. However, there were a few who hadn't bothered dressing up. It was evident these ponies were only there for the free cider.

"Don't worry dearie." Rarity reassured. "I'm sure she's just running a little late, that's all."

"A little?" Sweetie panicked. "She said she'd be here give minutes ago!"

Rarity put a hoof around her sister in support.

"There there dearie, just take a few deep calming breaths. I'm sure you're just overreacting."

Sweetie did intake those calming breaths as Rarity winked at Apple Bloom, who began to head for the farm's makeshift stage.

"I'm sure Scootaloo will be here soon, I promise." Rarity continued as Sweetie wiped away a few years and sniffed out "If you say so..."

Then, Apple Bloom got up on the stage which had been created by just laying hay bales next to each other, with a giant purple curtain behind her hiding something. A bright spotlight shown on Apple Bloom as she walked up to a microphone.

"Hi everypony, ah just wanted to ask a little something before Ah go on and introduce this fine band me and mah sister went ahead and scrounged up." Apple Bloom announced, having brought the microphone down to her level.

"How y'all enjoying the cider?" Apple Bloom asked in a cheerful tone of voice to the crowd, who roared in response.

"Well now, Ah'm going to go ahead and take that there answer as a yes!" She cheered happily before gesturing to the curtain and whatever lay behind it.

"And now, for your listening pleasure, Scootaloo and the Hex Ponies!" Apple Bloom announced. It was then Sweetie Belle received a shock. When the curtain fell away to the first drumbeat and a guitar chord, there was Scootaloo commanding the same band like she had in her dream. From the chocolate furred pony playing his bass, to Scootaloo playing the guitar, it was all the same.

The song (And it's singer) sung of the earth, the wind, the fire and the air throughout it's multiple choruses. Sweetie Belle, in spite of herself found herself banging her head along to the beat of the song. She could hardly believe it. That dream she had, the very one that completed her suspicions that she had a crush on Scootaloo, it was coming true!

"This here was a good plan of yours little sis." Applejack complimented, ruffling her sister's mane with a hoof receiving laughter in response.

"But one question, how'd the hay you know Sweetie Belle would react like this?" Applejack inquired. Apple Bloom looked outside one of the barn windows, where a dark blue figure with a mane of stars could be seen winking at her.

"Let's just say it came to me in a dream." Apple Bloom answered cryptically. Just then, the final guitar chords sounded, making Scootaloo drop her guitar and leap off the stage into Sweetie Belle's forelegs and envelop her into a passionate kiss.

"I love you Sweetie Belle." She whispered after breaking the kiss.

Sweetie Belle smiled before smashing her lips onto Scootaloo's and began kissing her back, just as hard before breaking it and answering back.

"I love you too."

THE END

Author's Note

Well, that's the end of this little ride, I hoped you enjoyed it! Diamond's stood up to her mother and become a better pony, and Scootaloo and Sweetie have admitted their love for each other. Now, the dedications. Firstly, to Mister Phoenix, for giving me advice on this story for when I needed it, and to Twi-Fi, for inspiring me in the first place and turning me into a Scootabelle shipper.

Edit: Added a few extra things in, and fixed a very obvious spelling error.

Part 6: A Romantic Dinner for Two Part 2: The Confession

Scootaloo raced through the streets of Ponyville, emburdened (That was so too a word in her mind, and she wasn't going to let anyone tell her otherwise.) with a purpose in mind. The letter she clutched to her chest tightly never letting it slip from her grip not even for a second, as she flew through the streets with her other hoof on her scooter's handlebars, specifically said that it was a request for a romantic dinner. Scootaloo knew she couldn't look like she normally did, all tomcoltish with her tussled mane if she was going to be able to impress Sweetie. There was only one pony in town who could help her now.

"Please be there, be there..." Scootaloo pleaded mentally to Faust or whatever deity happened to be there at the time. Tartarus, she'd even take DISCORD of all deities if he happened to be listening, as much as she hated to admit it. She was that desperate at this point in her mind. Rainbow's words about nopony telling her who she should like were still stuck firmly in her mind, but so were Diamond's about Sweetie not even looking twice at a mare like her. A absolutely horrifying fantasy played out in her mind.

(Author's note, this scene was inspired by another of Twi-Fi's stories so credit to him.)

In Scootaloo's mind:

Scootaloo smiled as she entered the Clubhouse, ready for another hard day of crusading with her friends when then she saw it. There they were, Sweetie Belle and Diamond Tiara pressed up against a wall Prench Kissing each other heavily as soft moans were emitted from each other's mouths.

"S-Sweetie, I thought you loved me!" Scootaloo shouted in shock and Sweetie pulled away from Diamond for a moment and she smirked almost wickedly.

"Oh, what made you ever think that? Moi, love a FLIGHTLESS pegasus such as you?" Sweetie sneered before Diamond kissed her again.

"Oh Diamond..." Sweetie crooned out as her marefriend pushed to her the floor before saying seductively "You ready for this, Blank-Flank?" with a naughty smile.

"Oh believe me, I am..." Sweetie whispered and Scootaloo never saw what happened next as she rushed out of the Clubhouse doorway in tears...

Scootaloo shuddered, she just couldn't let that fantasy come to life! Then, she saw it. Rarity's place of residence slash workspace, the Carousel Boutique.

Pulling her scooter to a screeching halt creating a small dust cloud from the dirt kicked up, Scootaloo leaped off it and ran inside where she was greeted by just the mare she had been looking for.

"Welcome to the Carousel Boutique, where every-" Rarity began her usual welcome but she didn't even get a chance to finish as Scootaloo grabbed her by the shoulders in a desperate manner.

"Scootaloo, what is it?" The fashionista pony asked, genuinely confused.

"I... I need your help." Scootaloo admitted.

"With what?" Rarity inquired.

"Can you make me..." Here Scootaloo bit back the word as if were a absolute abhorrence to her but eventually managed to sputter it out. "...Pretty?"

Rarity grinned widely and proclaimed "Oh, Darling, I am going to turn you so beautiful that Sweetie will be knocked off her little hooves!" and Scootaloo suddenly felt very uncomfortable indeed before her jaw dropped as Rarity's words registered with her brain and caught up to her.

"Wait, how'd you know about me liking Sweetie?" Scootaloo questioned with narrowed eyes. Rarity suddenly looked very furious with herself before she thought up the best answer she could.

"Er... I heard it from a very reliable source?" Rarity lied, almost as bad as Applejack when forced to.

"...Funny, that's what Rainbow said as well." Scootaloo muttered even as Rarity began measuring her for reasons known only to her. The fashionista sighed to herself.

"...Of course she did." Rarity grumbled and thought of various ways to murder a certain rainbow maned pegasus before putting it out of her mind. She had a pony to beautify and not much time to do it!

Later that very same day...

Sweetie looked up at the doors of Sugarcube Corner and took a deep breath. It was time, she was going to confess her feelings to Scootaloo and if she didn't share them and this turned out to be all one big mean prank, she'd deal with the hurt afterwards. Right now, she had to convince her forelegs to get moving. Trouble is, they weren't just listening. Then, a invisible force gripped her and shoved her inside the sweet shop.

In the bushes, Rarity smirked and hoofbumped Apple Bloom and Silver Spoon, who along with Rainbow and Diamond Tiara were watching in secret.

"My my, you two seem friendlier then normal." Rarity noted on Apple Bloom's and her secret marefriend's lack of animosity towards each other. "Anything I'm missing here?" She giggled.

Both fillies shook their heads so rapidly in denial that they were impossible to believe. At this, all three of their companions crossed their forelegs and raised their eyebrows in unison. Their expressions of disbelief were so alike, it was uncanny, no it was almost scary really.

"Alright, what's the real story here?" Rainbow deadpanned.

"We... We may or may not be dating?" Silver responded nervously while pressing her front two hooves together sheepishly. Diamond's jaw dropped.

"Way to go on blowing that there secret Silvs." Apple Bloom mumbled while Rarity squealed and said something along the lines of "Two archenemies getting together! So romantic!" as Rainbow groaned at her friend's actions.

Diamond could only mutter "I don't believe this..." in betrayal with Silver replying nervously "Er... We... It just happened?"

Meanwhile, Sweetie Belle gaped as she saw the inside of the sweet shop, which had been virtually transformed. It was empty, the lights had been turned down low to set the mood with candles giving the only real source of light in the place as romantic music played from a unknown source somewhere nearby.

Of course, then she got her next shock. From out of the shadows and sitting herself down on a booth was Scootaloo, all "Gussied up" as Apple Bloom would say with her mane done in a nice style, her tail braided and wearing a elegant pink dress that fit her form nicely.

Sweetie Belle's jaw could only do one thing, and that thing was drop even further then before.

"What the..? Scootaloo, what the freaking Tartarus did you do to yourself?" Sweetie asked in complete disbelief. The filly in question tried to look as seductive as she could, and Sweetie had to admit it was working as sweat trailed down her muzzle and she blushed heavily.

"What? You don't like it?" Scootaloo asked in a seducing tone.

"N-No, of course I like it... But why?" Sweetie stammered as she sat down at the booth.

"Aw damn it... This shouldn't be so hard..." Scootaloo muttered to herself before she finally burst out "It's because I like you okay! I mean, really, really like you, as in more then just a friend!"

"You do?" Sweetie asked, not daring to think this was just more then just a dream. "But of course, if it is... Then there's no harm in doing THIS!" Sweetie thought to herself before she lunged forwards and grabbed Scootaloo in a kiss.

"Y-You like me back?" Scootaloo stammered in shock, still breathless from that kiss. Sweetie nodded.

"Yeah, but there was no reason to completely change yourself to impress me. I like you just the way you are." Sweetie replied in a form but loving tone. "Now shut up and kiss me again, you fool."

Scootaloo was only too happy to oblige. Outside, Rainbow didn't even care if she wasn't going to win any bits. She was just happy for her little sister.

Author's Note

So a bit shorter then normal for this story but think about it, what better way to start off your weekend then this, Sweetie and Scoots long awaited confessions to each other? First off, I just want to give a huge shout out to CaioCola for giving me the idea for Scootaloo to do something completely crazy and that idea made things just flow from there, which broke me of my Writers Block for this chapter. :yay:

Now, I need you guys and your help again. I want to continue the story beyond this chapter, after all we can't just end it here now can we? After all, confessions and their lead ups are one source of drama and humor for this, but it's what happens after that makes things get really interesting. After all, exploring the ins and outs of dating is something our lovebirds will have to tackle... Plus, more cuteness, drama and humor for us! :derpytongue2:

Part 4: In which some much needed advice is given and a play is made...

Ponyville

Scootaloo's thoughts raced like a blazing wildfire as she wandered through town that next day. No, that doesn't work well enough as a metaphor for how hard and fast the young pegasus's thoughts were going as she tried to make sense and understand the meaning of her... problem. A better and more appropriate metaphor for her thought speed would be like a freight train running out of control down a mountainside. She just couldn't like other fillies, she just couldn't!

Now it wasn't a case of being brought up to think that liking other fillies was wrong, that particular line of thinking would have required her to have been brought up outside a orphanage and in a bigoted household instead. It just simply was a case of the fact that a year ago she'd had this little... Okay, mega sized crush on this particularly cute grey furred pegasus colt and so Scootaloo believed her brain was hardwired to like colts. This new crush of hers on Sweetie Belle (The very thought of the filly's face made Scootaloo's heart race.) simply disrupted her whole way of thinking!

Unknown to her, Scootaloo was being watched by a certain twosome of fillies, one grey in coat and wearing glasses while the other was pink with a tiara settled nicely in her mane.

"Huh, wonder what's bothering the Blank Flank?" The second filly, also known as Diamond Tiara wondered aloud as she watched her fellow classmate trudge through the town's streets and bumping into practically everypony almost as if she were distracted by something.

"Heh, wonder if that scooter of hers finally broke or something?" Silver Spoon added in, noting the presence, or lack thereof if the scooter which was often seen zooming through Ponyville, it's rider having a blast with a grin on her face.

"Well Silvy..." Diamond began, turning to her friend. "Best way to find out is to simply ask."

With that, both fillies walked right up to Scootaloo, who glared at the twosome once she saw them.

"What do you two want?" Scootaloo growled. "Nopony else to turn your noses up at so you default to the town orphan?"

Diamond and Silver shared a look and huffed at the none-too-subtle insult thrown their way. They had lived outside of being snobs in general... didn't they? They weren't just ponies who went out looking to cause trouble! To be implied as otherwise was just borderline offensive to them!

"Nothing, we're just simply curious." Silver responded sweetly. "Looked like something was bothering you... So we just decided to come and see if we could fulfill our duties as fellow classmates of yours and see if we could help. Is that so hard to believe?" Silver asked in a genuinely curious tone, no trace of the usual mockery at all. But Scootaloo knew better and knew these two probably wouldn't change their tunes at the drop of a hat. Tigers didn't change their stripes, and bullies didn't change their ways. It was a simple fact of life.

"Gee, lemme think about that for a moment..." Scootaloo replied in a dry sarcastic tone. Diamond and Silver being plotheads was a constant in her life and that didn't change. Then again, a lot of constants in her life were changing as of late...

"You know..." Diamond began, as if a thought only now just struck her. "Hearts and Hooves day is coming up, and I bet you don't have anyone you want to be your Special Somepony." She admonished.

Then, Scootaloo blushed. She growled mentally and cursed herself and her damn hormones as well. They'd gotten to her. Diamond and Silver shared yet another look, this time one of surprise before they shared identical smirks.

"Oh, so you do?" Diamond laughed as the possibilities on who Scootaloo's crush could be went through her head as Silver meanwhile asked " Wait, don't tell me it's one of your friends? Pleaase tell me it's not that mucky farm-pony!"

As they laughed, Scootaloo stammered out "I-It's none of your business o-okay so just leave me alone!"

Diamond laughed to herself as she put a good on Scootaloo's shoulder in a mock caring manner.

"Oh sweetie, it is our business. We care about all of our friends... Okay, maybe not friends in YOUR case, but we do care about our classmates. And that includes you." Diamond said before she continued with a "So take my advice, you can do sooooooo much better then either of those friends of yours okay?"

Scootaloo tried as hard as she could to stammer out a retort, but not even a weak one could be managed and so Scootaloo instead ran off sobbing.

Scootaloo didn't know how far she ran, not did she particularly care at the moment. All she knew was that Diamond and Silver were probably right. Why would Sweetie ever look at somepony like her? Scootaloo knew she certainly wasn't pretty in the traditional sense, especially not compared to the other fillies her age living in Ponyville. Even Apple Bloom was prettier then her! Tartarus, she didn't even know if Sweetie liked fillies anyways!

As Scootaloo sobbed against a tree, little did she know three particular individuals were watching her. The first two were Diamond and Silver, watching from inside some nearby bushes. Both had particularly ashamed looks on their muzzles.

"We... We've gone too far..." Diamond whispered seeing how truly hurt the young filly they shared class with was and her friend nodded.

"You're right Diamond, we've got to fix this. But how?" Silver wondered. As they thought to themselves, Rainbow Dash landed nearby after she'd seen her sister crying.

"Hey, what's up Squirt?" Dash asked using her favorite nickname for her little sis as she put a wing around Scootaloo in comfort. What she caught next was a mix of sniffles, sobs, and finally a loud wail of "My crush, I don't know if she even likes me!"

Rainbow pulled Scootaloo in close and replied "Now what makes you say that? Wait, have those two plotheads Diamond and Silver been bullying you again?" She asked before saying "'Cause if that's true, I can go ahead and find them and buck them into next week."

Scootaloo giggled at the thought as both Diamond and Silver swallowed hard at the thought of Rainbow going after them before Scootaloo said "Pretty sure that would count as filly abuse and get you arrested... So no. But they said some... things that for me thinking."

Rainbow raised a inquisitive eyebrow.

"Yeah, like what?" She asked. And so Scootaloo explained everything. And by the end of it, Rainbow was thinking "Screw this bet, the kid needs some good old Rainbow Dash style fashioned advice!"

And so Rainbow gave some, relying on some of own memories.

"Scoots, budge up and let me tell you a story." She began with a kindly smile you wouldn't normally expect to see on her face.

"By the way, it's about me, so you know it's bound to be awesome." Rainbow bragged with a wink of her eye inciting yet another giggle from Scootaloo. Rainbow smiled to herself, the first part of her task has been achieved already. Scootaloo was out of her funk and was happy, and that was what Rainbow wanted.

"See, back in High School, when I was about your age, there was this colt." Rainbow continued, only to receive gaping from Scootaloo.

"A colt? You're serious? But I thought you liked..." Scootaloo began, and Rainbow gave her an annoyed look and rolled her eyes. "Every time I tell this story... Is me being into colts really so hard to believe?" Rainbow mused to herself.

"Yeah yeah, I have a rainbow mane and am a tomboy and everything so therefore I must be lesbian right?" Rainbow deadpanned as she gave Scootaloo a dirty look before continuing with a "Now stop interrupting my story. I'm trying to give you some important big sister advice okay?"

Scootaloo nodded and Rainbow continued on with her tale.

"Now this was a really sexy colt you understand? I wanted him and I wanted him bad. Just a good solid roll between the sheets." Rainbow continued as Scootaloo, along with Diamond and Silver who were still listening in, blushed bright red in a shade that would do Big Mac proud. "But everypony, they told me he simply wasn't right for me. He was always quiet and timid, pretty much the exact opposite of my kick-flank self." Rainbow bragged once more.

"So, what'd you do?" Scootaloo inquired and Rainbow smirked at her in a cocky manner.

"What's you think I did? I ignored everypony, basically told them to screw their own opinions and such shit and asked this guy out on a date and so things... progressed from there if you get my drift." Rainbow said and Scootaloo nodded as she continued blushing. She certainly got Rainbow's drift alright. But she also had gotten Rainbow's message. What did Diamond and Silver know? They weren't her and didn't control her life choices and who she could like!

"Now you go out there and tell Sweetie Belle that you've fallen head over hooves for her, 'kay?" Rainbow Dash exclaimed with a laugh and Scootaloo nodded, but just before she ran off a thought struck her. How did Rainbow know it was Sweetie she liked anyways? Scootaloo voiced her thoughts and Rainbow laughed sheepishly and looked around to make sure Rarity not Apple Bloom were listening.

"Eh, let's just say I got it from a... reliable source okay?" Rainbow lied. She'd certainly didn't want Scootaloo to know her love life has become the source of a bet! Scootaloo looked skeptical, but she smiled, and thanked Rainbow before running off.

Rainbow smiled to herself. Her job was done. Now to go find Thunderlane, they had a date planned after all. Rainbow chuckled to herself.

"If Scoots only knew ole Thunderlane was who I was talking about, right?"

Cutie Mark Crusaders Clubhouse: Sweet Apple Acres

Meanwhile, Apple Bloom had a problem. Unsurprisingly, it was related to the current situation between her friends and how Scootaloo and Sweetie's relationship was developing, or to be more accurate how it was not. Just the day before, she'd joined in on the bet between Rarity and Rainbow just for kicks and see if she could make some bits. The farm did need it's grain silo repaired after all. It was beginning to look awfully shabby...

"So now whut? Ah gotta get these two together somehow or Ah'll be out a whole cart load of bits!" Apple Bloom exclaimed in frustration. Then a idea came to the young farm filly's mind and she went for some paper and pencils.

"Of course, Ah'll write fake love letters from Scootaloo and Sweetie to each other and give them to them both and have 'em meet up somewhere!" Apple Bloom cried, the idea was genius! It couldn't fail, it just couldn't!

"But the problem is, where can Ah have them meet? It needs to be somewhere romantic, and Ah don't know none of that mushy stuff!" The filly muttered and then she heard hoofsteps from behind her and she turned to face their owners. Once she saw who they exactly were, a gasp escaped her.

"Well, I believe I can help with that."

Author's Note

Ooh, cliffhanger! Yeah, I'm evil aren't I? So sorry for the long wait, but when you combine possibly losing a computer with Writers Block, that'll happen. :twilightsheepish:

Anyways, obviously more drama here with the scene with Diamond and Silver. Now I should note, this takes place before their reformation in the show, so that's why they were so nasty here. But it looks like that'll change huh and a bit early at that. :raritywink: Either way, this led to that scene between Rainbow and Scootaloo, which contains Rainbow mentioning she's into stallions instead of mares like most of us think, including me as we know I'm guilty of writing a Twidash fic. But part of good writing is subverting a reader's expectations and surprising them and so that's what I was going for here. :twilightsmile: