Scooting in Fashionby NekonChaptersChapter 1. The sunny dayChapter 2. Something BrokenChapter 3. Carousel BoutiqueChapter 4. Kisses And SweetnessChapter 1. The sunny dayDon’t let anypony else’s success darken the sky above your head. Keep moving forward and it’ll be them to bite the dust under your hooves. The rain pattered on the windowpanes as I observed fresh paint peel off the swing that Diamond Tiara’s father had had his servants set up on the school playground just earlier this morning. Heavy drops of water splashed against the metal bars, creating uneven smudges and smearing paint over the whole thing. It bothered no one. Sure, the Rich family probably has enough money to hire more ponies to repaint this swing over and over again. They could build hundreds of swings across all of Ponyville and repaint them until local shops ran out of paint. Why should you worry about anything if you have enough money to build up a town of swings at whim? “Scootaloo, are you listening?” came a voice from the other side of my desk. I turned my head to see Miss Cheerilee’s face, her eyes boring into me. “What can you tell me from the lecture about Princess Platinum?” “I, she, it was...” I muttered, trying to find anything that could have sunk into my head while I had been watching the rain outside the window. Cheerilee tapped the pointer on her desk a few times, capturing the attention of the class. “This is a very important topic,” she said, tracing the pointer over the canvas representing the family tree of an ancient dynasty of unicorns. “It directly relates to the foundation of Equestria and there will be a test on this topic next week.” A chorus of frustration ran through the room, heavy sighs accompanying it. Of course, it was Diamond Tiara who stretched out her hoof and spoke up. “Miss Cheerilee, we already have a math test next week!” Diamond said, her voice harsh and loud. Not harsh enough to be considered as a blame, but harsh enough to take Miss Cheerilee aback. “We can’t just cram for tests all day. At our age, foals need free time to relax and explore their special talent!” Miss Cheerilee responded back but I didn’t hear her. Instead, I heard raindrops smashing against the windowpanes. Thousands of little drummers performed a concert nopony but me was listening to. Relentlessly, they played their grim march and yet their music was soothing, relaxing my mind and carrying me away from my daily concerns. “Scootaloo, are you gonna go home?” I turned my head to see the empty class. There was nopony left but Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle standing by my desk. They wore waterproof jackets and would have gone outside with the others hadn’t they waited for me here. “Yeah... I’m almost ready,” I said, flustered with embarrassment. I briefly swept my possessions off my desk into my saddlebags and moved to the hangers. I took my scooter that stood neatly against the wall, then pulled my waterproof clothes off the hook and put them on. They weren’t half as fancy as the jackets my friends wore. And, truth be told, I wouldn’t call it clothes at all, rather an old rag with holes for legs and head to merely protect a pony on a rainy day. “Are ya okay, Scootaloo?” Apple Bloom asked as the three of us walked out of class. “You look a might out of sorts today. More than usual. If there’s something bothering you, you can tell us.” “Yeah!” Sweetie Belle picked up Apple Bloom’s reassuring speech. “We, the Cutie Mark Crusaders, are always ready to help a pony in need. Especially if she’s our friend.” It was only then I noticed a necklace swaying on Sweetie’s neck as she bounced alongside me, a gleeful smile stretching across her face. “A nice trinket, did you make it yourself?” I asked, trying to change the subject. Sweetie stopped suddenly. She fiddled with the yellowish beads and raised an eyebrow at me as if I had said something terribly indecent. “It’s not a trinket,” Sweetie said, pouting her bottom lip. “It’s a necklace of a sun pearl gained from the Celestial Sea. And it was made by one of the best jewelers in The Crystal Empire!” “Ya should’ve seen Diamond’s face when she first saw it. She almost dropped her jaw onto the floor,” Apple Bloom said, tracing her hoof from her chin and down to the ground. “It must be worth more than her precious tiara.” “But how?” I asked, not trying to hide my amazement. Sweetie’s family isn’t particularly rich to be able to buy her daughter such expensive jewels. And, of course, there’s no way they could compete with the Rich Family. “I earned it by helping my sister,” Sweetie said as a light blush appeared on her cheeks. “After she opened her boutique in Canterlot there are many clients...” Sweetie paused, biting her lower lip. “Sorry, but I can’t come to The Cutie Mark Crusaders’ clubhouse today. You know, helping my sister.” Apple Bloom sighed deeply, turning to face me. “Scoots?” I shrugged. “You know very well that I’m working at the post office today. Mr. Crafty Crate would kill me if I took another day off,” I said, stretching my wing muscles and preparing to speed up the scooter. Apple Bloom let out another sigh, resigning herself to the inevitable. “Ah guess Applejack would be glad ta know that Ah’m goin’ to help her on the farm the whole day. And Ah thought Ah was a workhorse amon’ us.” “Don’t get upset,” Sweetie said, hugging Apple Bloom. “We’ll join you tomorrow. Right, Scoots?” “Yeah, maybe we can find a foal without a Cutie Mark who needs our help! I really miss this.” I hugged Apple Bloom as well, then jumped back on the scooter, kicking the ground with a hindleg and swiftly flapping my wings. “See you tomorrow!” I cried out as the scooter began to pick up speed, eventually turning my friends into two obscure figures on the horizon. Soon, I was on the way to the post office. It wasn’t that far from the schoolhouse, so if you know where to turn, you will be at the building’s entrance after mere minutes. I opened the door wide, stepping into a bustling room filled with ponies waiting for their letters. Wondering what could cause such a jam, I slipped through a queue that stretched almost all the way to the entrance and made my way to the reception desk. After I made sure that there was nopony at the desk, I walked further into the depository. “Hi, Derpy,” I said, watching my superior rummaging through the letter containers. “It’s a tough day, isn’t it?” “Scootaloo! I need your help. I accidentally flipped over boxes and now I can’t find a letter to Berry Punch. You didn’t happen to see it?” Bending down, I glanced around the room looking for where the letter could have possibly slipped away to. The depository wasn’t particularly spacious, but the mess caused by Derpy complicated the searching process. “And how long have you been searching for this letter?” I asked, moving the boxes back to their previous places. “Half an hour? Maybe?” Derpy said, a faint smile crossing her face. “Berry Punch must be peeved at the delay.” “It’s not just her, there is a crowd out there,” I said, then stretched out a hoof to pick up the missing letter that had slipped under the shelves. “Oh Celestia. I can’t get another reprimand. I already have three.” “No more today,” I said, waving the envelope at Derpy. Derpy turned to me, eyes sparkling like stars. Her smile grew wide when she saw the missing letter fluttering freely in my hoof. She made a quiet noise of joy, joining her hooves in one resonant clap near her chest. Her whole appearance looked as if she was not a full-grown mare but a filly who just received a sugar candy. Without any further delay, Derpy snatched the letter and rushed out into the entry hall as quickly as a pony possibly could, ladling out praise to me before disappearing around the corner. Smiling, I came up to the desk where the list of locations of the deliveries lay. I checked it. There were twenty-one ponies I had to deliver parcels to, not the busiest shift I’d had there. I took the cart rope and pulled it to the table where bundles of parcels were. I carefully packed up half of the boxes into the cart so there wasn’t a risk that something could fall out. Once done, I moved out into the street, dragging the cart behind. I tied its rope to my scooter and was ready to begin my routine job. By the time I rode the scooter, the rain was already ceasing, leaving rare droplets stroking my muzzle. I put on a helmet and began to beat my wings. There is hardly a thing that can compare to driving through the fresh air when cool flows of the wind blow against your face, fluttering your mane and tail; when you take a full breath without fear of something or somepony constraining you. It’s the time when you move forward and nothing can stop you. It’s my time. My body is relaxed and my thoughts are as clear as the sky on a bright day. I rushed down the street, driving the scooter deftly and sliding around passersby who happened to cross the road. Some old mare shouted out words of indignation as my scooter flew in front of her, blowing her hat up into the air. I didn’t care. When I’m on the road, there is no force that could stall me. At the restaurant, I turned left to take a shortcut and then moved up the Flower Alley. I’ve been riding a scooter around Ponyville as long as I can remember and I know the whole town like the back of my hoof. My father used to joke that I learned to drive a scooter before I could walk. Although, I’m not sure that he was actually joking. On the top of my list were Lyra and Bon Bon. I had to deliver to the two mares a package before the evening. Soon, a big cottage appeared in front of me and I had to swerve right to avoid hitting the wall. Having successfully parked, I got the package from the cart and moved toward the door. After a few knocks, the aquamarine mare emerged from the doorway. “Hi there,” Lyra said, beaming with pleasure. I greeted Lyra back. She took the package from me and stepped into the room to put it down. She returned back then, a coin glittering in her hoof. She tossed it to me and was about to close the door when I stopped her. “I’ve already been paid for that,” I said, flipping the gold bit, “You don’t have to pay twice.” “Oh, I know,” Lyra said, “It’s to help you.” “To help?” I asked, tilting my head to the side. Lyra glanced over my shabby clothes that were stained with mud and the rainwater. It was only a brief moment but I noticed that look on her face. The look a pony would only give to a poor and miserable pony like myself. “Thanks, but I’m fine,” I said, stretching out the hoof with the coin to give it back to Lyra. Lyra stared at me stupidly for a few moments before speaking. “Oh, I didn’t mean to offend you.” She shifted her hooves slightly. “I have to go. Thanks for delivery.” With that, Lyra turned around and closed the door behind herself. After a few seconds, I put the coin in a pocket and walked to my scooter. The other ponies weren’t that generous with tips. Some of them didn’t have a habit of giving them at all. Some did already know what I think of handouts. The rest of them didn’t care about me. I liked working with the latter the most. After having stopped by all the places I needed and after there was nothing left in the cart, I moved back to the post office for the next batch of parcels. Upon arrival, I was replacing bundles from the shelf into the cart as a high-pitched scream reached out from the main hall. “Scootaloo!” Derpy shouted out. I dropped everything and galloped to the voice, my mind racing with thoughts of what kind of trouble Derpy got herself into this time. I burst into the hall, but all I could see was a table laid with two cups of tea and two dishes filled with muffins. And there was Derpy sitting peacefully on the chair and humming a soft melody. “Join in,” she said, patting a nearby stool. I sighed. “I don’t have time for this. There is a lot of work to do.” Derpy threw a glance at me, furrows appearing on her forehead. She wrinkled her muzzle rebukingly as her eyebrows plunged into a frown. From the look on her face, it was supposed to be a stern reproach but her appearance was so naive and cute that my impassive demeanor changed into a cheery smile. “You win,” I said, strolling to the muffins. My stomach rumbled as the tasty savory scent reached my nostrils. It was only then that I realized I hadn’t eaten anything since morning. “You’re being too hard on yourself,” Derpy said, chewing a muffin. Her mouth was so stuffed with food so I had to perk up my ears to catch her words. “I’m just doing what I have to do,” I said, taking a bite of a muffin. “Sometimes, it wouldn’t hurt to think about yourself too. You won’t do the job well if you run around the town with an empty stomach.” I let out another sigh. Though deep down I knew that Derpy was right, I couldn’t allow cutting myself any slack. We ate our dinner in the silence only broken by a stallion that came to take his letter. After we finished I thanked Derpy and slid off the stool, gathering the crumbs into my mouth. The wind blew against my face as I made my way to Carousel Boutique. Avoiding a rain puddle, I slowed down and pulled to a halt right before the fashionista’s house. I knocked and was waiting for ten long minutes, but it seemed nopony was going to open the door. Bored, I began to twirl the parcel in my hooves. It was a black elongated box without any images or inscriptions on it. There was just a small piece of paper pasted at the corner, with the only words To Rarity. I shook the box a little, but no sound came out. I could only guess what was in there. Finally, the door opened and the snow-white mare with groomed mane appeared before me. “Hello, Scootaloo,” Rarity cooed. “I’m afraid Sweetie can’t come out to play. She’s quite busy today.” “Yeah, I kinda know, she’s now helping you with your clients,” I said with a bit of bitterness. I could only dream of helping Rainbow Dash at The Weather Factory. “Really?” Rarity cocked an eyebrow. “What else did she say?” “Ahm, nothing. She was just happy to spend more time with her sister.” “Oh, it’s true,” Rarity murmured, “So then, why are you here, darling?” “I have a package for you,” I said, passing the black box to Rarity. “Oh, it’s just wonderful.” Rarity took the box and rubbed it against a cheek. “Sweetie would like it,” she said. “Is it for Sweetie?” “Yes, it’s my humble present for her. She just adores such toys.” So it was a toy, after all. Maybe it was a new model, I thought as I hurried off to the next pony listed in my notes. It started to get dark when I returned back to the post office. I’d spent the better part of the time helping Fluttershy to catch her critters from where they’d been grazing on before my scooter scared them away. As I stepped into the entry hall, I saw Derpy hunching over a heap of papers. It was her responsibility to fill up accounting that had piled up over the previous weeks: how many letters had come in, how much of them had been sent, which parcels had been received, the incidents that had occurred... That kind of stuff. Although I always found all of this a waste of time, I couldn’t leave Derpy to a bureaucratic monster all alone. So I walked to the heap to help her. But after an hour of deliberate work, we only made it to the halfway point. “It’s not that I’m not grateful to you,” Derpy hesitated, “but don’t you have to go home? Your mother must be worried about you being late.” “Yeah, you’re right,” I said, spinning a pencil in my mouth, my eyes focused on charts and numbers. If you think about it, it’s just like preparing for the math test without having to do your homework. “So are you going home?” “What?” I turned to Derpy. “It’s already late. I don’t want you in trouble because of me. I can do the rest by myself.” “Right, I’m supposed to be home,” I said, placing the pencil onto the table. There was an uncomfortable silence for a few seconds. “Well, I’ll be going then.” After saying goodbye to Derpy, I moved to the exit. Once outside, I felt the cold wind brush slightly my fur. The moon already began to take its rightful position in the sky, so I decided to drive straight to a fruit stall before it got closed. I bought a haystack with orange pieces inside of it and with that pulled my scooter home. Soon, the house on two pillars appeared before me. With a sigh, I pushed the door open and stepped in. After taking off my wet clothes, I placed the scooter against a corridor wall and trotted into the kitchen with the haystack swinging in my mouth. I stood on a nearby stool and slung the stack onto the top shelf of the closet specifically designed to store hay. “You promised me that you’d stop drinking,” I said as I looked over a cluster of empty bottles scattered around the floor. “How much have you drunk today?” My mother kept silent and, as if to spite me, picked up a wine bottle that was standing on the corner of the table. She made a big gulp and put it down with a muffled thump. “Stop it!” I tried to snatch away the bottle but got a slap on a foreleg I was stretching out. “Go to your room, Scootaloo,” my mother said. Disdainfully, I turned around, rubbing the hurting leg. I gathered empty bottles from the floor and threw them into the trash basket, then washed the dishes. “I’ve brought hay and vegetables,” I said. She didn’t look at me. Grabbing a nearby bowl, I dumped hay into it and moved to my room. Before I fall asleep, I begin my daily ritual. At first, I’m just lying in bed motionlessly and with my head completely empty. But after a while the thoughts from my early foalhood start to crawl from the depths of my consciousness onto the surface of my mind. Over the years, the full image of those days partly blurred away and if you ask me what day it was, I couldn’t answer. Perhaps summer or spring. Maybe early autumn. But what I remember clearly is the blinding sun hanging in the bright sky. It was that kind of a day with the streets full of foals playing and frolicking in the sunshine, everypony smiling and resting after hard days’ work. Yes, my memories begin here, from the day when I saw my mother smiling the last time. My mother was sitting on the bench under the shadow of an oak. She was watching me as I tried first simple tricks on my very first scooter. I still remember the feelings of its grips in my hooves, the grating sound the wheels made when I braked hard. While doing a tailwhip, I lost my balance and fell to the ground. Pain ran through my body as I hit my hip hard. But before I had time to start crying, my mother was already beside me. She cleaned the wound and began to bandage my bruised side. She hummed a soothing melody as she did so. I remember her words, that it was just a scratch compared to my previous falls. I remember that she smiled at me and, as if by magic, all my pain and tears were gone. After finishing with my wound, she carried me and my scooter to the bench. I pressed against her back and we both were lying peacefully under the shadow of the oak until somepony’s hoof awakened me. I opened my eyes and saw my father standing in front of me. He wasn’t alone. Next to him stood a mare I hadn’t seen before. It’s funny, I’ve almost forgotten what my father looks like, except for his deep violet eyes that I inherited from him. But I distinctly remember the appearance of the mare he was with. She had silk red fur and her mane curled into two white locks separated with a pink stripe. She had an iris for a Cutie Mark. “Hello, little one,” she said to me, her smile wide and her eyes kind. I remember my mother was weeping. She never cried in my presence like this before. I got scared and cried to my father for help. I whimpered that there was something wrong with my mother. I begged him to help her. But he just said that he must go. He turned around. With that, the mare he’d come with followed him. At first, my mother was doing fine. We often walked together and she watched me while I practiced on my scooter. She didn’t smile anymore but her eyes followed my every step to be ready for a sudden tumble I was prone to. But time passed, and little by little a void began to form in her heart. I remember stallions that she brought to our house. Remember how their content expressions turned into gloom ones when they first saw me. They never came by again. Nopony wanted to date a mare with a foal behind. My mother would drink a glass or two after another unsuccessful romance, then she would drink more and more after each attempt. Because of that, she started having trouble at her work. She no longer walked with me nor had anything that could brighten her day. Alcohol was all she had. I tried to help her to quit it but it lasted a few days at best. Then things would only become worse. Every night I go to sleep with a hope of seeing my father the next day. He will hug my mother and they both will laugh as if nothing had happened. We will live as a family again. As I fell into the depths of slumber, the rain began to patter on the windowpanes. I like this sound. It carries me away from the sunny day. Chapter 2. Something BrokenThere’s nothing more important in this world than family and loyalty to your friends. The taste of victory does feel sweet, but only then when you have the ponies to share it with. My usual day would begin with doing morning exercises and walking down to the kitchen to make some breakfast. On a rare occasion, I would eat a cupcake or a few, but most of the time a bowl of oatmeal and orange juice were all my morning intake. And though sometimes it was hard to keep myself in shape, I tried to do it as best I could. After breakfast, I would leave to my mother a note that read: food in the fridge. Then I would pack up my saddlebags and move to school. On a day off, I hanged out with the Crusaders, hiking around or playing board games when there was nopony to help to obtain their Cutie marks. Sometimes I would have the luck to spend the better part of a day with Rainbow Dash. But over time, my sessions with her became more and more infrequent. As everypony had expected, she had been doing very well at The Wonderbolt Academy. She’d started to get invitations to attend the closed royal performances. And though I was really glad for her success, a part of me that I didn’t like hated the fact she’d been spending most of her time with those pompous ponies. Trying to find my place, and more importantly, to earn some money to support the family budget, I ended up as a postpony at the post office – the most appropriate job for a pegasus I was capable of at that moment. Unfortunately for me, Mayor Mare wouldn’t let me work a full-time job as full grown ponies do. It’s considered that it can have a bad impact on a foal’s school performance. But I say that’s ridiculous. Who even cares about those useless lessons? Rainbow Dash doesn’t need history or math to do all the awesome tricks she’s famous for. Because of that, I did some unofficial work for local ponies in the evenings. One of those ponies was an old mare, Mrs. Buttercup. She had problems with walking, so I went out to buy her products and helped her to clean the rooms. She wasn’t rich by any means and my salary was as small as it could be. But I didn’t really care about it. I loved to spend an occasional evening with her, listening to her stories and drinking tea with honey pancakes. If you ask me, I could swear she bakes the most delicious pancakes in all Equestria. Every bite you take is like a sweet dessert, melting in your mouth as soon as you place it on your tongue. I would graze on the pancakes and put the rest of them into my saddlebags. Back home, I would set the table and watch my mother eat her dinner. We wouldn’t speak much but I always knew that she loved me and appreciated my help from the heart. Then I would make my way into my room where I would pull the small metallic box out from under my bed. Inside of it, there were all my savings I’d earned in the past year. I would put a few more bits in and calculate my future expenses. Part of the money was for groceries and for the upkeep of the house. But more importantly, it was money for one thing I’d been dreaming of for over a year since I’d met Babs Seed. Babs had told me that there was a street scooter racing in Manehattan. Later, she’d even sent me the brochure with all the information I needed inside of it. Since that day, I’d known what I wanted to do with my life. But Manehattan is an expensive city. More than that, I needed a special sports scooter to participate in the race. And though I almost saved up enough money to begin my career as a street racer, I couldn’t spend everything at once and leave my family without means of support. But in spite of all difficulties, I still believed that I would succeed. Deep down, I even thought that one day my father might notice me after I’d won some big tournament. I imagined him coming up to the podium and congratulating me under the squall of applause. I imagined him speaking to me and being finally proud of his abandoned daughter. Many months would pass and I would live my routine life, daydreaming about my parents uniting and my beautiful future as a racer. It was until one day that my dreams were shattered and my whole life changed. The bell rang and the last boring lesson in Cheerilee’s class had finally come to an end. Running out from the schoolhouse, I was glad to spend time with the Cutie Mark Crusaders after a long day. But first, I decided to go home to drop off my saddlebags and get a snack. And though it was still drizzling out, nothing seemed to cloud my bright mood as I hurried down the street on my scooter. I was getting up the steps of my home when strange ponies at the doorway crossed my way. My eyes went wide as I saw the two of them hauling the cupboard out of my house. Not knowing how to react, I stopped halfway the stairs, a bewildered expression on my face. “Get out the way, kid,” a burly stallion with a large notepad yelled. “What are you doing?” I replied, not moving from where I stood. “They are my things. I will call a royal guard!” The stallion seemed to tense up a little, but then immediately brought back his harsh demeanor. “Calm down, kid,” he said. “It’s all legal. We are confiscating property for your family debt.” “What debt?” I asked stupidly. The whole scene didn’t seem real to me. “You must be wrong.” The stallion sighed, drawing out a document and showing it to me. “Your mother gambled away her house last night.” He shrugged and took a cigarette from his pocket. He lit it up and let out a puff of smoke. “You have time to find a new home until the end of the year.” The stallion then turned his back to me and began to give instructions as to where my cupboard should be carried out. “It can’t be. It just can’t be,” I mumbled, squeezing through the stallions and then galloping into my room. I threw myself onto the floor and yanked the metallic box out from under my bed. I lifted the box up and immediately flung it against the wall with full force. The container made a dull ringing sound before falling onto the wood planks. No coin did slip out from the box. It just lay on the floor, still and empty. When I walked into my mother’s room, she was sitting in the middle of her bed, hunched and staring uselessly at the piece of paper. I could smell the acrid odor of ethanol permeating the whole room. It made me sick to the pit of my stomach and I struggled with myself not to puke my guts out. It seemed like my mother had locked herself here since the morning, drinking. I doubted she’d eaten anything all day. “Do you have anything to say?” I asked, not hiding my disgust. “I’m sorry, Scoots,” my mother said without any emotion in her voice. “You are sorry?” I felt anger rise up inside me. “You’re not sorry about anything! All you care about is drinking. How could you take my money I’ve been saving for a year? And now you’re in debt to some shark. We might get thrown out because of you!” My mother raised her sore eyes from the piece of paper and looked at me. “I have built this house. I have raised you. Don’t you dare blame me!” she yelled, stirred awake from her daze. “If not for you and your father, I would have lived another life!” I stood silently at the doorway, not knowing what to say, tears welling in my eyes. “I didn’t mean that,” my mother said eventually, holding her head with both hooves as if in a great pain. “It has nothing to do with you. This is all your scumbag of a father. He is the pony who ruined our lives.” “Don’t say that about him! It would’ve been better if my father had been left here instead of you. He would’ve never stooped to this!” My mother made a circular motion with her hooves around her temples like she always does to try to soothe herself. I could see a sharp pang of pain crossing her face whether because of a hangover or because of contemplating my words. “Maybe it’s for the best,” she said hesitantly. “After everything I’ve done, you’d be better off with a foster family where you can live a normal life like all other foals.” “But I don’t want a foster family. I don’t want a normal life. I want my family, my life with my mother smiling when I’m training at the park and my father teaching me new tricks...” Tears ran down my cheeks as I spoke. “Scootaloo...” my mother whispered. Without any further word, I turned around and went out of the room, kicking the door shut behind me. My mind was racing with chaotic thoughts as if it was a train full of ponies speeding toward a sheer cliff. Everything screamed and wailed inside of my head. I quickened my pace and headed to the exit, grabbing my scooter along the way. Once I was downstairs, my temper flared up at the display. There were those ponies hustling around and hauling the things out from the house. It was the first time I wanted somepony dead. My face creased with contempt just by glancing at their repulsive smirks and hearing their loud laugh. Did they revel in ponies’ misfortune? At that moment I was sure they did. Having walked outside, the first thing I did was breathe in a deep gulp of fresh air. The oxygen entered my brain and my temper began to cool down at a great rate. I drew in a few more breaths, then jumped on my scooter. In a minute, I was in Ponyville’s park, racing in circles and trying to perform the most elaborate tricks I never attempted before. By doing so, it was hard to not lose my balance, which in turn caused me to fall off the scooter a few times during my most eager attempts to finish the trick properly. I ignored fresh bruises flourishing over my body like flowers in spring and just hopped back on my scooter to continue the practice. All my attention was focused on how to perform the trick: at what speed must I move? When is the perfect moment to get my scooter up from the ground? At which rate must I flap my wings to line up with the scooter while we both glide in midair? By the time the sun began to set, my muscles were aching, signalizing me that it was time to take a break. I trudged my way to an old oak, placed the scooter against the tree’s trunk and wearily threw myself onto the bench that was specifically located here to catch the shadow of the oak’s foliage. I sat there, contemplating how to improve my balance techniques. I’d made noticeable progress in that regard during the last month but there was still room to improve my hoof stance and wing amplitude. Yet the only thought of being able to perform such a complex trick in near future made my heart pound in my chest. After resting under the tree for a few more minutes, I headed toward The Cutie Mark Crusaders’ clubhouse, sluggishly striking my hindleg on the ground as I rode the scooter with the last strength that I had. “Where have ya been?” an angry voice asked as I began opening the door of the clubhouse. I stepped in only to see Apple Bloom sitting in the middle of the room with her hooves folded across her chest. She made a frowny face when she saw me enter. “We agreed to get together right after school,” she said, throwing a harsh look at me. “Decided to take a ride before coming here,” I said, stretching a thin smile. Suddenly, a sharp gasp came out from the other side of the room. Sweetie Belle jumped to her hooves from the table he’d been sitting at and ran toward me. “You have blood on your hip,” Sweetie said, a worried tone in her voice. She glanced over my shabby mane and tail thoroughly as if wondering how is it even possible for a pony to get herself in such a bad condition. “It’s nothing,” I said, stretching to my wound to rub the blood out. “It’s not nothing,” Sweetie countered. “It can get infected. What were you thinking?” Not waiting for my answer, Sweetie ran off to the nearby cabinet and after a half minute came back with a bottle of clean water and a vial of iodine in her hoof. She carefully splashed some water on my wound, then soaked a piece of cotton in the antiseptic substance. “I swear,” Sweetie said, “I used to think I was going to get a nurse’s Cutie Mark after we first met.” I let out a chuckle that immediately turned into a sharp ouch as soon as the iodine cotton touched my wound. Finishing with disinfection, Sweetie fussed about with my hip for a few more minutes, putting the finishing touches to it. She ended up staring at the bandage as if contemplating what else she could do for me. “Nurse Sweetie Belle,” I said with a hoarse voice, imitating a sick pony, “My hip hurts so bad. When can I get it kissed to ease the pain?” Sweetie momentarily turned away from my flank, her face a shade of red. “It’s not funny,” she said, gathering her medical possessions and carrying them away back to the cabinet. “So, what do we do?” I asked, still scrunching my face. Despite the joking, my pain was quite real. “Well,” Apple Bloom said dramatically, “Ya missed the most interesting part anyway.” She paused, rambling about silently to catch my attention. “So, what's this about?” I finally asked. Apple Bloom drew a smirk on her face as she continued. “Rumble came by the clubhouse when ya were out. Wanted our help with his blank flank.” I let out a gasp. “No way. Why did he choose such a bad moment?” I felt a slight blush creep under my cheeks, so I had to gather myself before continuing. “I mean he’d had so many chances to come here!” Apple Bloom burst out laughing. “He didn’t come here, right?” I said impassively. “Nah. He just visited my sister ta buy some apple juice.” Apple Bloom sighed. “But next time ya will think twice before missing our convention.” “It’s not that I wanna help him so much!” I said, more emotionally than I intended. “Of course, of course.” Apple Bloom smiled a sharp smile. “Stop it, girls,” Sweetie chimed in from the table. I noticed a large amount of papers scattered around her. “It’s your right to bicker with each other instead of preparing for tomorrow’s test but I don’t want to get a bad grade because of this.” “We have a test tomorrow?” I asked, puzzled. “Kind of,” Apple Bloom said, “Have you had your head in the clouds all day again?” “I wish I could,” I said, then trotted over to join Sweetie at the table. Apple Bloom just shrugged and followed after me. The three of us sat together, surrounded by various books and text notes Sweetie had prepared earlier. As it turned out, there was going to be a math test tomorrow, the worst thing that can happen to a schoolfoal. “Apple Bloom, do you understand how to solve these equations? It doesn’t make sense for me,” I said, annoyance settling in my voice. “Not really. What about ya, Sweetie?” Sweetie Belle looked over the math symbols and after a few seconds made a serious nod. “Should subtract this, then divide the result by the value in that field and you got the right answer,” she explained, showing each step with her hoof at the same time. “Wow. You’re really smart,” Apple Bloom said with admiration, her eyes tracing Sweetie’s hoof over the paper. “Nothing special. Rarity taught me this during one of my home studies with her.” Sweetie Belle stretched out one hoof dramatically while placing the other on her forehead. “A true lady cares not only about her appearance but also how sharp her wit is,” Sweetie said, imitating her sister. “If only everything in life was a math equation that could be solved...” I said absentmindedly. “Ah? What do ya mean?” Apple Bloom asked, raising an eyebrow. “Never mind,” I said. The next day, the foals in the schoolhouse were bustling about worriedly after the test’s results had been announced. Only two students from the whole class got a perfect score – Twist and Sweetie Belle. Miss Cheerilee even made a little speech that was meant to inspire us to study harder, taking Sweetie’s recent achievements as an example. As for the less diligent students, Apple Bloom managed to get a B grade. I barely passed through a C threshold. It didn’t bother me at all. I’d spent the whole day with my head thinking unpleasant thoughts as to where I could get enough money to pay off my mother’s debt. Working at the post office, it would take years to merely pay a half of it. By that time, my mother and I would be left without a roof over our heads. But what was most scary was the fact that Ponyville’s authorities would have an official reason to throw me away in the Orphanage in Canterlot. With those thoughts, I spent the rest of the week trying to figure out what to do next. I tried for different vacancies but everypony just laughed at me before showing me the door. In the end, my spirit sank, my mind like in a thick fog. Still, there was the last hope I didn’t dare to resort to until then. It was another day after school. Our trio was walking down the school park, tired and exhausted. Trying to lighten the mood, Apple Bloom was telling a story about how she accidentally caught Diamond Tiara making eyes at Featherweight while the colt just pulled out his camera and made a shot. Sweetie Belle let out a little chuckle, presumably imagining Diamond’s face at that moment. I, on the other hoof, was deeply immersed in my emergency plan to be able to pay any attention to anything else. After a while, our roads parted and we made a deal to get together at the clubhouse later this afternoon. I pretended to make my way home, watching Apple Bloom get out of sight. I waited half a minute and walked off towards the road to Carousel Boutique. Casually, I caught up with Sweetie Belle, falling into step beside her as if we were going to the same place. “Scootaloo? What’s the matter?” Sweetie asked, looking in my eyes. No matter how I tried, I couldn’t fight off the anxiety that was overwhelming me. All the words I’d prepared earlier just flew out of my head like sand through a sieve, only leaving thick grains of uncertainty. I was about to say goodbye and turn away when Sweetie stepped forward, getting face-to-face with me, a concerned expression on her face. Her sun pearl-necklace almost blinded me as she stood here before me. It swayed up a little, then settled back on her neck. I stared at it with my eyes fixed. Such luxury was definitely beyond any of my dreams. But, apparently, it was nothing to Miss Rarity, since she could easily pay her little sister such an expensive jewelry just for posing for a crowd in her fancy dresses. “I want to be a model,” I blurted out almost involuntary. “You do?” Sweetie asked with confusion. It was written on her face that it was the last thing she expected to hear. It was late to turn aside, so I continued. “That’s why I came to talk with you. You’re the only pony I know who can understand me.” “Oh.” Sweetie let out a short sigh, her expression something between an amusement and an I will not fall for your and Apple Bloom’s prank again. “I thought you hated fashion,” she said. “You know what that’s like. You pretend you hate something just because you’re afraid of being embarrassed.” I let out a nervous giggle. “There’s nothing to be embarrassed about,” Sweetie decided to reassure me. “It’s perfectly normal for a pony to have a passion for dresses.” Sweetie pondered for a while before adding, “Despite what Rainbow Dash might say. But if you want to keep it private, I won’t tell anypony. It’s good that you shared it with me.” I had never felt so disgusting in my entire life. Lying to my best friend when she was being sincere. But I wasn’t in the position to choose. “I’ve been dreaming of dedicating my life to fashion and dresses as long as I can remember,” I said. “And you mentioned your sister was so busy lately that she was complaining about a need of an extra pair of hooves...” I trailed off pointedly. Sweetie kept silent, contemplating something for long seconds. “I don’t think you fully understand...” “Sweetie, please. I need this job. Please, talk to your sister.” I rubbed my eye with a hoof to wipe off a tear. It was that little that came from me sincerely during our conversation. Sweetie’s head sank to the ground. If she’d had any thoughts that it might have been a prank, now they were gone. “I can’t promise anything, but I’ll talk to her,” she said. We walked the rest of the way to Carousel Boutique in silence. Previously I’d thought I would not feel any worse but I’d been wrong. I’d done what I’d persistently avoided. I’d let my emotions out. I’d almost burst out weeping in front of Sweetie Belle like a beaten kitten. I felt a big bitter lump form in my throat, preventing me from breathing freely. At Carousel Boutique, Sweetie told me to wait outside while she was talking to her sister. A brief shiver crawled over my fur as I saw her disappear behind the door of the luxurious building. For a second, I imagined Rarity’s expression of disdain toward my proposal of being her protege. How could a pony of such upper class accept an urchin like me? What was I thinking? Half an hour passed and I gave up all hope when suddenly Sweetie Belle came out. “I’ve arranged everything.” She made a gesture with her hoof toward the entrance, inviting me in. I sighed with relief. The black clouds over my head parted and I saw a narrow passage running up to my future. The rest was up to me and my ability to prove myself as a pony worth Miss Rarity’s attention. “Thank you, Sweetie.” Chapter 3. Carousel BoutiqueDon’t wait for somepony else to solve your problems. If something bars your way, buck it away with all your strength instead of crying about it. I’d happened to be at Carousel Boutique a couple of times before. Miss Rarity had generously provided the studio for Crusaders’ missions of finding out our Cutie Marks. Sometimes we’d be even allowed to spend the night here when our crusade had lasted longer than we’d planned, and that had occurred more often than one would expect. Truth be told I’d never particularly liked this place. But never before had its environment oppressed me as badly as it did right now. From the tip of my ears down to the bottom of my hooves, I felt a strange feeling resembling that of claustrophobia, as if all those mannequins in rich dresses encircled me, crawling towards me like breathless puppets. I had to watch my hooves to find a space to step on. Then there was a scent in the air. The scent of some acrid perfume. Was that lavender? “Hello, darling,” the fashionista interrupted my line of thought. Her white coat was as silk as always, catching the sun’s touch and turning its beams into a golden glow playing on the surface of her fur. I tried to make a curtsy to impress my prospective mentor but I instantly regretted it. My movements were clumsy and rigid so I got tangled in my own legs and was a breath away from tumbling forward. Miss Rarity let out a gentle chuckle, covering her mouth with a hoof. “No need for those pretentious formalities when there’s nopony but us here,” she said with a smile that turned into a smirk on her face within a mere second. “Although in your case, one would consider it a mockery rather than a gesture of respect.” Miss Rarity glanced over me for a few moments as if assessing my worth and, after propping the glasses on her nose, turned to trot to the kitchen. Sweetie Belle slightly pushed my flank, signalizing me to follow her sister. “So, I heard you wanted to work under my guidance,” Rarity said as we walked. I could notice a trace of uncertainty in her voice. Did I already fail to impress her and she was considering that it was a bad idea to let me in? I had to make an effort to threw the thought away. “I’d be happy to serve you,” I replied, staring down at the floor. It was burnished to such a degree that I could see my stiff face on its surface. It made me even more nervous than I already was by that moment. In the kitchen, Sweetie and I sat down at the table while Rarity moved away to the stove. Humming a soft melody, she returned with three cups of hot tea in her telekinetic field. The three of us sipped our tea silently for a long minute. Eventually, Rarity seemed to collect her thoughts. She took off her glasses and spoke up, her voice calm yet confident. “I want to make it clear, Scootaloo,” Rarity begin, “I have business relationships with ponies, importance and authority of whom are second only to Princess Celestia herself. And, as is often the case with ponies of such worth, they are bound to have their dirty secrets and quirks a common pony would never even think of.” Rarity paused to take a sip from her cup. She brushed a stray lock of her mane back in its place before continuing. “Every now and then, some rich gent would want to inveigle his young love by giving her a gift of fabulous value, as let’s say my splendid dresses. All of this is out of sight of his meticulous wife, of course.” Rarity smirked as she spoke. “Sometimes, he would come in, having drunk more wine than he possibly should. And though there’s no such thing that would loosen somepony’s tongue better than a few glasses of a strong drink, they will be happy to tell you about how they hate one another even while speaking to you without a single drop in their throats. Gossip, rumors and hypocrisy swarm around nobility’s tails like flies around mule’s wastes. Those are games of high society and there are two rules I should play by: do everything I can so that my client would leave this place satisfied and make sure every speck of that stays inside these very walls. Let me get this straight, Scootaloo. Can you hold your pretty tongue behind your teeth?” “Rarity!” Sweetie Belle chimed in, “I told you before, you can rely on Scoots.” “Please, Sweetie, don’t interrupt me while I’m doing my business,” Miss Rarity replied in a moderate voice, almost tender. However, it had an opposite effect on Sweetie Belle to the one intended. She pouted out her bottom lip and defiantly turned her head away from her older sister. As for myself, I simply didn’t know how to react. It was a completely different world for me. A world foreign and, to some degree, quite ugly. This isn’t the place for me, the thought circled in my head. What am I doing here? Of course, I did already know the answer. I did know what would happen if I turned away and walked out. What really mattered was my ability to do the job right, the same way I’d been treating errands for others ponies. Yes, it’s just another job. I can handle it too. “I’ll do anything you ask. And I promise I’ll keep quiet,” I said, gathering all my determination I had left. “But I don’t have any experience with… well, with ponies from high society.” Rarity smiled. For the first time since our conversation, she smiled to me with not a strained smile but with a genuine one, her face gentle and motherly warm. “Oh, don’t worry, darling,” Rarity murmured. “I will make a lady of you.” Thus began my life under the patronage of Miss Rarity. Although to be precise, it had little to do with her. When Rarity had told that she would teach me, what she had really meant was that she was going to pin everything on Sweetie Belle. As a businessmare, Rarity spent most of her day in the workshop room all alone, making dresses. Up into the night, when stars began to light up in the dark sky, she would come out from her den only to either throw a sideways glance at me when I held a wrong spoon for a wrong dessert or to stroke my leg when I stood in a wrong pose in a wrong place. Not that I hated such an outcome. Quite the contrary, spending time with Sweetie was much more pleasant than that with her sister. I could have said that I even began to like what I was doing but it would be a lie. Firstly, Sweetie was constantly tense while she was tutoring me. It seemed she had taken responsibilities as my mentor quite seriously. She never took easy on me and regularly reminded me that it was not just a stupid game of imitating nobility but an important mission the outcome of which would decide the fate of whole Equestria, or at least my fate, hers and her sister’s. Secondly, there was something more irritating than Sweetie’s grunts about proper etiquette – my schedule. As rigid as it could be, it left me with almost no time to practice with my scooter. Every weekday I left Carousel Boutique late at night, exhausted and drained like a dry lemon. Having returned home, I plopped down onto my bed – the only piece of furniture in my room that remained untouched by the pony collectors. Then it was another day. I hurried to school and then back to Carousel Boutique. On weekends, I spent days grinding various names and titles of Canterlot society. Could you imagine that there are one hundred and twenty-four kinds of greetings a pony should say to the gentry, depending on their status, title, age, and privileges? It was driving me crazy. For the same reason, I was forced to quit my regular job at the post office. With permission of Miss Rarity, I threw a small farewell party, by the end of which I had to console Derpy who began sobbing the moment my hoof crossed the threshold of the office for the last time. It appeared to be harder than I thought. But in the end, we hugged each other, Derpy wished me good luck and gave me a full basket of hot fresh muffins. A whole week went by, and I’d been doing nothing but meticulously cramming down every bit of nonsense Miss Rarity had prepared for me and posing before the mirror in Sweetie’s dresses. Eventually, my efforts produced tangible results and it was the first time I received Miss Rarity’s attention that was worth more than an occasional skeptical look in my direction. She also didn’t point out any of the mistakes I’d been prone to while trying to act like a lady. One night Miss Rarity escorted me to the front door with a pouch in her hoof. Usually, there were no more than a few bits, barely enough to buy food and other necessary needs. However, it felt much heavier when she hoofed it over to me this day. I peeked in and could count at least one thousand bits in big gold coin. More than I’d ever held in my entire life. “It must be a mistake,” I mumbled under my breath, “I don’t deserve this kind of money.” “Poor child,” Rarity murmured softly, sporting the signature gentle smile of hers. “What made you think that you deserved even a slice of what I’ve been giving you all that time? You get it all because I decided that. Did you really think that I would do it for you because of your wide eyes?” Miss Rarity paused, making the last sentence a real question. She held a gaze on me, waiting for my answer. “I just thought that because I and Sweetie are friends, you might...” “Well, you were wrong,” Rarity interrupted me. “I merely make an investment. Quite a risky one, I should say. You have yet to earn back everything I’ve spent on you. Do you understand?” “Yes, Miss Rarity,” I muttered. “Go buy yourself some shampoo. I’m badly tired of your greasy mane. And for Celestia’s sake, if I ever see you stashing away food from my table into your saddlebags, I will kick you out of this place right away.” I felt a shade of red crawl across my face as I tried to quench my embarrassment. Next thing I did when I got out of Carousel Boutique was buy a whole crate of shampoo and a several bags of various vegetables and fruits. On the next day, Sweetie was explaining to me what kind of dresses a pony should wear given a particular situation. I was trying to keep myself from dozing off when the entrance bell rang. A pair of ponies entered the boutique, making Sweetie jump off her seat and walk hastily toward them. A stallion, dressed in a rich costume, beamed with joy as Sweetie approached him. His marefriend put on a boring demeanor at that, though it faded quickly as she gave his side a playful push. I was standing out of earshot but based on a jumble of words I could catch and how they acted with Sweetie I guessed that they knew each other very well. Soon, Miss Rarity showed up and, after a short talk, led her guests to the upper room to take all necessary measurements for a new dress. Sweetie followed them as well, hopping in excitement. Perhaps it was just my imagination but I could’ve sworn I saw the guest mare give Sweetie a harsh spank on her flank. Not on her Cutie Mark spot – the place you would expect to get whipped on when you’re caught in wrong-doing. The mare spanked Sweetie right under her tail all the while casually talking to Miss Rarity. The four of them then disappeared out of my sight, leaving me alone among the mannequins I got used to being with yet still feared to look at. I lay down on the nearby sofa and began staring at the adorned ceiling to pass the time. I was thinking about Miss Rarity’s plans for me. When will she allow me to help Sweetie? When can I get started to prepare for my first performance? A shiver went down my spine as I imagined that. I didn’t know why but something in Sweetie’s behavior creeped me out. The way she trembled while waiting for a new client, the way she blushed red when I tried asking questions, the way she looked at those ponies with those bright eyes of her. If I didn’t know better I’d say she was addicted to their attention. I sighed. I was just making up silly stories. Of course it was not strange that Sweetie would copy her sister’s habits. And everypony in Ponyville knew how Miss Rarity adored fashion. Well, she never showed the signs of following it with blind obedience, but neither did Sweetie. If I hadn’t been at Carousel Boutique all day, I would’ve never guessed that my friend was obsessed with the desire to satisfy the needs of the fashion ponies so badly. An hour passed before Sweetie returned to the drawing room, her coat moist and fresh back from the bath. She combed her mane and sat down on the sofa beside me. “So, how was the dress?” I asked, yawning. My eyelids drooped down, so I had to make an effort to keep them open after an interrupted nap I’d taken while waiting for Sweetie. “Nothing special. Just another dress,” Sweetie said, no emotion in her voice. “Well, I wouldn’t say that, considering how eager you were,” I said playfully. “I wasn’t eager! I just love my sister and I want to help her! You’d have done the same if you’d had one!” “Are you ok?” I asked, taken aback. “I was just kidding.” “There’s nothing funny about it. Rarity’s success depends on how I do here.” “I understand.” Somehow my words came out quieter than a whisper. Perhaps that was due to the fact that I actually didn’t understand a thing, but it was important for Sweetie, apparently. “Sorry if I hurt you,” I said. “Just let’s not talk about it, ok?” Sweetie said softly. “I don’t want you getting mixed up in this.” Sweetie’s words baffled me, so for a moment I found myself stroking my forehead with a hoof in confusion. “But how can I help you, then?” I asked finally. “You’re not here to help me,” Sweetie said. “You’re here on your own to help my sister with her dresses.” My eyes went even wider at that. “I don’t understand,” I said. “Isn’t this what you’re doing here?” “Well, yes... and no.” Sweetie rolled her eyes, groaning in frustration. “It’s complicated.” With that, our little conversation ceased, I and Sweetie getting back to our routines at Carousel Boutique. During the rest of the day I tried to get out anything else about Sweetie’s responsibilities, however in vain. Eventually, I gave up and decided that I’d already caused Sweetie enough trouble. I had my own goals, the most important of which was to gain Miss Rarity’s respect. By the end of the second week, I began to feel uncomfortable when facing Miss Rarity. Not that it was a pleasant experience in the first place, but now things got only worse. Time passed, my salary grew and yet my responsibilities stayed the same. In other words, I didn’t get any closer to getting a job a pony doesn’t have to be ashamed of getting paid for. I needed to be something more than a pet that knows how to behave in public and nothing more. I wanted to help Sweetie with real issues, either to make a new dress or to have the consultation with a new customer. So one day, when I heard a chime of the entrance bell, I took it as my chance to prove Miss Rarity that I was worth something. Fortunately for me, Sweetie had just run away to the ladies’ room while Rarity toiled over her dresses at her office, as usual. Not wasting a second, I rushed off to the door to greet the guest. A handsome stallion in a short costume appeared before me as I slowed down, suddenly recalling the manners I’d been absorbing all that time. The stallion raised up his darkened-lens glasses, then gave me a quizzical look that inquired as to how a filly like myself got here. “Welcome to Carousel Boutique, sir. The place where your wishes are getting fulfilled by our hooves.” I’d coined the last phrase myself during one of a few breaks when I’d been left alone here. I was especially proud of it. I then bowed low before the stallion, stepping aside to make way for him in the boutique, every word gentle like honey, every movement precise like clockwork. I’d been preparing for this exact moment almost for a month now. That is why my shock was even more intense when the only reaction that came from the stallion was a laughter, loud and almost hysterical. He even had to take off his glasses to wipe his eyes. By that time, Miss Rarity moved toward the entrance almost in a gallop, as if a wildfire nipped at her fetlock. “Hoiti Toiti!” Rarity shouted as she got closer. “I offer my deepest apologies for this confusion. She shouldn’t be here. If there’s something I can—” “No need to worry, Rarity,” the stallion interrupted. “What is her name again?” “Scootaloo, my name is... Scootaloo,” I exclaimed but quickly trailed off, almost whispering the last words as I caught a glimpse of anger on Miss Rarity’s face. I thought I’d known what anger looked like. Well, I was wrong. One would expect anger to boil inside of a pony until it bursts away on the surface, scalding her features. You would see a wrinkled forehead, bared teeth, narrowed eyes. Except Rarity’s face was still and smooth. There was nothing that distorted her usual look of sweet serenity. She wore a perfect mask of cold anger. Her eyes, resembling two crystals of ice, observed me deliberately, sending a chill running up my spine. “Scootaloo? I like her,” the stallion said enthusiastically. His words, however, didn’t melt the ice in Miss Rarity’s eyes, but at least she turned her gaze away from me. “So, Hoity Toity,” Rarity said, “to what do I owe the pleasure? Are you here for the dresses or should I prepare the fitting room as well?” “Only dresses today, but I’m looking forward to seeing this little angel next time.” As they talked, two pegasi I hadn’t even noticed earlier walked into the boutique and after a few minutes walked out with a bunch of dresses in their hooves. They carefully put the dresses in a carriage that stood nearby and then harnessed themselves to it, ready to fly away. “See you soon, dear,” Hoity Toity said, winking at me and ruffling my mane with a hoof. He stepped into his carriage and a moment later was carried up to the sky and over the horizon. “What were you thinking?” Rarity shouted at me the first second we got into the boutique. “I’m sorry,” I muttered, fighting back tears. “I thought I was prepared. I just wanted to be useful.” “Useful? Do you have any idea what you got me into?” Now, when nopony was looking, Rarity let her anger a bit of freedom. It made things less tense. It’s always better when you can see the true nature of somepony’s behavior. “He didn’t look angry,” I protested. “In fact, he said he liked me.” Rarity let out a puff of air, rolling her eyes. “That’s the exact problem,” she said. “If there’s something Hoity has laid eyes on, there’s no way to deny him that. Besides, I don’t know how to react. You aren’t even a colt, to have drawn his attention so much.” Rarity breathed out another sigh, contemplating something. “Well,” she finally said, “you wanted to be useful? I guess your wish will come true pretty soon. Now, back to your studies. I’ll personally examine everything you’ve learned so far.” That day I was walking home with my head drooped. Miss Rarity had trusted me, and I’d let her down by acting like an idiot. How could I look into Sweetie’s eyes after that? All I could hope now was that I was the one to blame for my behavior and that it wouldn’t cause much trouble for Sweetie. Eventually, I got to the door of my home and threw myself in. Immersed in my thoughts, I didn’t notice a pair of hooves on my way to my room. I bumped into them before realizing that my mother was standing before me. It took me by surprise. It’d been almost a month since we’d last crossed paths, the day when we’d yelled at each other. “Scootaloo, we need to talk,” she said. Her voice was clear, and I couldn’t catch any hint of booze emanating from her mouth. How long had she been sober? A few days? A week? “What do you want?” I snapped, “There’s no booze in my room.” “Scootaloo, please. I’m not here to fight.” Mother’s words were quiet, almost whispers and yet there was resolve in her features. “Sure, if you say so. Now let me in. I’m tired.” Walking into my room sluggishly, I hardly had any energy left for listening to the preaching by a pony who struggled to make ends meet. Though the word ‘struggle’ is a bit of exaggeration, I think. After she lost her regular job, she wasn’t eager to try to find a new one. At least not until she realized that she needed money to be able to wash away her problems with alcohol. I guess things had gotten even worse since then that she eventually resorted to gambling. For a while, there was almost a complete silence, only the wooden floorboards creaking as I dragged my hooves across the empty space of my room. Then I heard a muffled weeping. I stopped. “I know I gave you a thousand reasons to hate me,” my mother said. She tried to get herself together, but it didn’t work. Tears began to fill her eyes. “I’ve never been the best mother... Perhaps I’m one of the worst. But I love you, Scoots. You’re all I have left to live for.” I stood motionless, my eyes staring at the wooden boards. I wanted to respond. Wanted to say to her that it was all artificial, and all she cared about was self-flagellation and indulging in her own pity. But I couldn’t find anything in my head, at that moment it was as empty as my bare room. “It’s okay,” were the only words I could manage. My mother stepped closer to me, her fur brushing against mine. I felt her wing touch my back. “You know, Scoots.” Mother’s voice cracked as if it was painful for her to talk. “When your father left us, I thought I didn’t have the strength to raise you. But I was wrong. Look at you. You’re the best daughter a mother could have.” She smiled then. It was just a pale smile, almost imperceptible. Nopony would’ve even noticed it. But for me, it was like seeing the shining sun after living years in the dark. Stretching a hoof out, my mother pulled me close to her and wrapped her wing around me. A warm sensation engulfed my body, so familiar and yet almost forgotten. I felt my mother’s fur tickle my face as I returned her hug. “I love you too, mom,” I whispered. “I’m sorry for what you’ve been going through because of me. I can’t change the past but I promise I’ll make it up to you one day. You deserve better than this.” I loved my mother very much, but years living with her had taught me that naivety is a bad quality for a pony. I’d undergone too much of Mother’s attempts at remorse that hadn’t resulted in anything. Despite this, I hadn’t any time to think through it. Right now I was reliving one of the best moments of my life. We sat down on my bed then and just talked. My mother told me the story how she’d met my father. I listened carefully, and when it was my turn, began to brag about how I and my friends got our Cutie Marks by helping Diamond Tiara. We talked about mundane things too. It was late when my mother kissed my forehead and turned off the light. I wasn’t dreaming about a perfect family that night. I had it for real. Chapter 4. Kisses And Sweetness“Ya know, Ah’m startin’ to forget when was the last time we all hung out together properly. Since ya and Scootaloo began to date, y’all’ve missed almost all the crusades Ah’ve planned.” “A-Apple Bloom!” Sweetie Belle’s voice cracked another squeak, face crimson with embarrassment. “You got it wrong. We are not dating! Scootaloo merely asked me to help with her career at Carousel Boutique. That’s it.” Apple Bloom laughed. “Ah’d rather believe cows can fly than our Scootaloo got carried away with fashion. Ah ain’t know why but ya two spend all the time together. It looks like y’all have some sort of secret romance.” Apple Bloom’s smirk grew wider. “Tell me, have ya kissed yet?” By now Sweetie was blushing hotly even by her own standards. “Scootaloo, say something,” she nearly pleaded. I had to make an effort to keep a straight face, a smile playing on the corners of my mouth. Usually, I would play along with Apple Bloom to see what peak of cuteness Sweetie Belle could reach. However, this particular topic was something I wasn’t comfortable to speak about, let alone joke. It would’ve been better if my friends hadn’t brought up this matter at all. “It’s all serious, Apple Bloom,” I said, “there’s a reason why I work at Carousel Boutique.” Apple Bloom’s grin became sour, then faded into a straight line. “If ya say so. But Ah still don’t believe that ya fell in love with dresses somehow. Ya holding something back from me and Ah certainly don’t like it.” I didn’t like it either but telling the truth would make things only worse. If I had to choose between revealing my mother’s problems with alcohol and appearing a little bit of a nut, I would rather choose the latter. “What about we all go to The Hay Burger,” I proposed. “We could have some tasty burgers, chips, fresh juice and forget about my personal life already, my treat.” “Do ya think ya can so easily buy me?” Apple Bloom countered. “I’ll buy one burger for each day I’ve missed as a crusader,” I said, mentally whacking my head as a number of days I’d missed dawned on me. It was going to be a hell of a basket of burgers. Apple Bloom’s eyes began to narrow as she stared at me. “With apple topping,” she said, stretching the words. Thus, the three of us headed for The Hay Burger, Apple Boom marching ahead and singing the Cutie Mark Crusaders’ anthem. As we walked, I could feel the weight of my pouch in my hoof. It’d been a strange feeling for me until recently but I began to get used to it. In the restaurant, I ordered a whole tray of apple burgers and watched my friends hungrily devour their meal. They looked so carefree. I, on the other hoof, was taken with thoughts of coming expulsion from my house. I ate my share of the burgers and got up from the table. “We have to go, Sweetie. Miss Rarity is waiting for us.” Sweetie Belle pulled away from her burger, quizzical expression on her face. “We don’t have to hurry. There’s still enough time,” she said. “It’s better if we’ll come earlier,” I insisted. “Ya need to relax, Scoots,” Apple Bloom slurred, trying to fit two burgers at the same time. “Ya always punching above your weight. It wouldn’t hurt to slow down a bit.” It was somehow funny that I’d lost track of how many times I’d heard that kind of advice. Perhaps, one day I would be able to use it for my own good. But first I had to pave the way for that very day with my own hooves. Sweetie and I walked back to Miss Rarity without much talking. My friend dragged herself behind me, still grouching about not having had enough time to hang out with Apple Bloom. As we turned the corner, the extravagant view of Carousel Boutique appeared in front of us. But before I could take another step, my eyes went wide with horror as I saw a multicolored tail protruding from the doorway. I barely had time to spin around and jump into a nearby bush. Sweetie Belle came up to me, her eyes narrowed, her mouth forming a curved line. She shook her head questioningly. “Don’t tell me you’re still avoiding Rainbow Dash. Why don’t you reveal your job to her?” “Are you joking?” I said, puzzled. “What would she think of me if she found out I’m going to become a model?” Sweetie’s demeanor didn’t change a bit at my words, so I had to emphasize my point. “She would think it’s the uncoolest thing ever!” I exclaimed. “Nah, I’m sure Rainbow Dash will understand you,” Sweetie said, waving her hoof in a reassuring manner. “Perhaps, but she would never look at me the same again.” I quickly lowered my head back into the bush as Rainbow Dash turned to leave the boutique. Unfortunately, I couldn’t hear what she was talking about with Miss Rarity from here. All I could do was hope that my employer hadn’t mentioned me. Seeing my nervousness, Sweetie just rolled her eyes and let out a puff of air. “Will be waiting for you in my room,” she said, trotting off to the boutique. I waited until Rainbow Dash crossed paths with Sweetie. They said hello to each other, then Rainbow flew off. I stepped out of my cover as soon as her silhouette blurred in the sky, which didn’t take long. She was named the best flyer in Equestria for a reason. Having walked into the boutique, I was going to go up to Sweetie’s room when Miss Rarity stopped me for a talk. The thing is, Miss Rarity doesn’t usually talk to me much and if she does, it has to be something important. The incident with Hoity Toity was the first that came to my mind. She must have gotten into some kind of trouble because of me. I felt panic begin to well up inside my chest. “I’m so sor—” I didn’t get a chance to finish my apology. Miss Rarity pressed her hoof against my lips, silencing me. “Don’t worry, darling,” she said, her voice soft and oddly soothing. “If anypony should apologize, it’s me. I shouldn’t have raised my voice at you.” Rarity set the hoof down on the floor and spun around with a flourish, her perfectly coiffed mane bouncing as if in slow motion. “I would have never made it if I hadn’t been proactive enough and took every chance that came my way,” Miss Rarity said as she swept her hoof around pointing out the expansive interior of the boutique, rows of ostentatious gowns and a pile of requests that ponies from all over Equestria had made, in hopes of getting the dress designed and sewn by the famous fashionista herself. Rarity turned back to me and continued, “I have to admit, I thought of you as a frightened pup who would run away the moment a stranger’s shadow fell upon its tail. But now I’m beginning to see a pony who is ready to trample over others, if necessary.” I didn’t like where Miss Rarity was going with this. “I don’t think opportunism is a source of pride for a pony,” I said. Rarity’s lips stretched into a smirk at that. “You don’t have to be ashamed of your ambitions, darling. As they say, all’s fair in love and business.” “Even if you have to lie to a pony who you consider your best friend?” I asked, the deception toward Sweetie still fresh in my head. “Sometimes lying is the only way to preserve a healthy relationship. You’ll see better when you grow up,” Rarity said, stretching out her hoof and running it along my mane. She lifted up my chin, her eyes focused on mine, warm and kind. “Why don’t we get you your own dress?” “What?” I asked, confused. “You deserve better than to model Sweetie’s cast-offs. It’s time for you to have your own dress that’ll bring out your features.” “But I already owe you so much,” I said, and it was utterly true. My stash had been growing faster than I’d ever hoped for. Rarity put her hoof on my lips once again and made a hushed sound before speaking. “This time it’s my gift to you.” Miss Rarity led me upstairs, past her office and to the place I hadn’t had a chance to be in. We stopped before the fitting room I was strictly forbidden from walking in. I was never really interested as to why that was the case but now when I stood before the steel door with double locks I couldn’t help but wonder what lay behind it that required such protection. I saw Rarity’s horn glow bright blue and the top lock went loose. She strained her forehead harder and the door cracked open. There was another flash and a small mirror accompanied with a fancy comb came from seemingly nowhere. Rarity groomed her mane in a few deft moves, then switched to me, straightening every hair that protruded from my mane or tail even so slightly. All this time I was standing motionlessly, staring at the door. Only now did I notice it had no hole for a key. Somehow it looked more creepy than it should be. I looked up at Miss Rarity, a proud and yet soft expression on her face. A sense of peace and tranquility emanated from her, and this tranquility passed on to me. She stepped in and I followed her. Against all my worries, the place was ordinarily arranged and had more of a room in its look than the other lavish areas of Carousel Boutique. I spotted opulent curtains here and there, a few wardrobes, and yet plain emptiness occupied the largest part of the room. In the center of it all, there was a bunch of cushions, Sweetie Belle sitting on one of them. “What is Scoots doing here?” Sweetie’s voice creaked as she noticed me behind Miss Rarity. “My client will be here any minute.” “She is your client,” Rarity spoke softly, brushing my mane with a hoof. “And your goal is to take the measure of every inch of her body.” Sweetie looked at her sister with a disdainful glare. “You told me that you would not drag Scootaloo into this. You swore to me!” “And I haven’t broken it,” Miss Rarity said, tossing her head disdainfully. “Scootaloo’s here to get her measurements done, so I could start making the dress for a fashion show.” “What are you talking about?” I chimed in. “Is there something wrong?“ “Not at all, darling. I can assure you that I’ll spare no efforts to make your dress suit you perfectly,” Rarity said, her gaze traveling down until it got met with Sweetie’s. The sisters stood motionlessly for a few seconds, staring at each other. Miss Rarity was first to break the silence. “Usually, our boutique provides a special service in addition to dressmaking,” she said, throwing Sweetie a look of disappointment. “But I’m afraid my sister considers you not worthy of her time.” “I, I...” Sweetie stammered, somehow too embarrassed to reply anything coherent, crimson appearing on her cheeks. “I would never think that,” she managed eventually, her words clumsy and timid. “Scoots means to me more than all those ponies I’ve been with combined.” “So, what’s your problem then?” Miss Rarity asked, putting on a coy smile. “You should be glad that I’ve brought her here.” I was sitting on a nearby cushion while watching the squabble. I tried to think what was the point of all this, but couldn’t come up with any plausible conclusion. It seemed ridiculous for a sister to make her sibling do the things I imagined of. When have I become so perverted? The thought circled in my mind. “Do you trust me?” Sweetie asked suddenly. At first, I thought she was addressing Miss Rarity, but her sight switched to me, her deep green eyes boring into mine as if trying to devour me. She moved closer to me until our hips touched, making me shudder a little. “Why would you ask such questions?” I asked, muddled. It felt rather uncomfortable to sit so close to Sweetie, the touch of her body leaving me with droplets of sweat on my fur. The whole room suddenly felt hot as if somepony turned on a stove beside me. “I’m going to promise you something,” Sweetie said, almost whispering. “I have to be sure that you trust me.” “Of course, I trust you,” I said sincerely. “But I would trust you even more if you told me what the heck is going here.” “I’ll show you instead.” Sweetie leaned toward me. “And I promise you will like it.” “Wha—” Sweetie didn’t let me finish the phrase. Her lips brushed mine, sending a shiver over my body. My mouth stopped moving, half open and tensed, for I was afraid to make the slightest of movements. Sweetie closed her eyes and leaned in even closer, her elaborate puffs of warm air intermixing with my rapid breathing. Our lips joined, the sensation as sweet as I imagined my first kiss would be. Grating her tongue over my teeth, Sweetie’s forelegs reached past my back and rested on the cushions behind me. She pressed against me with the weight of her whole body, putting me on my back. I was lying supine now, Sweetie on top of me. I felt Sweetie’s tongue making its way into my mouth, and I accepted it. My heart pounded so hard I could feel every beat of it in my ears. I tried to focus my eyes but the world around me spun into a blur as if there was no world at all, only me and Sweetie. She caught my tongue, pushing it up and caressing it while hugging my lips with hers. Gradually I started getting used to the intruder in my mouth as if I'd been kissing for the better part of my life. While sliding my tongue into Sweetie, it seemed as natural as taking a morning walk on my scooter. I soon became bolder and found myself trying to draw the reins. My tongue swirled over Sweetie’s, pushing into her mouth and intertwining into a single whole. I clasped my forelegs around Sweetie’s waist, holding her tight and pressing her down onto me. After what felt like an eternity, Sweetie wrapped her tongue around the tip of mine for the last time and began to slowly raise her head, stretching a trail of drool between us. Only when she let go of my muzzle did I realize I’d forgotten to breathe. I took in a deep gulp of air, stretching my strained jaw that was totally unfamiliar with such affairs. I felt a viscous liquid drip on my thigh from above, slightly saturating my fur. The very thought of what it could possibly be made my wings stiff like a tightrope. Sweetie licked my upper lip with her tongue and threw a lascivious glance at me. My breath quickened as she began her slow journey down my body. Her lips met my neck first. She planted a trail of kisses along my throat, down my chest and belly, making sure to give attention to every bit of my body her tongue met with. I clutched my eyes as Sweetie made her way down my crotch, her tongue finding two small mounds of sensitive flesh. She took one of my nipples in her mouth, sucking on it while putting her hoof on another and gently caressing it. A pang of pleasure hit me, then another one. A burning itch spread all over my groin, one that can’t be eased with a single scratch. I wasn’t able to hold back the wetness between my legs anymore. A steady stream of my juices found its way out of my pussy. My clit pulsed, demanding attention. Sweetie threw a hungry look to me, making it clear that everything was going as she’d planned. I tried to cross my legs to hide the overly compliant reaction of my body but she put her hooves on each side of my thighs, spreading me apart. I moaned as Sweetie rushed down my crotch and kissed my lower lips, as sensual and eager as she’d done it with my upper ones. A tip of her tongue traced around my labia, lapping up every drop that leaked from me, her caress sending sparks through my body. Sweetie giggled quietly as I writhed in the throes of pleasure. She grinned and advanced on my pussy with a new resolve. She was using the flat of her tongue now, making a series of long licks all over my slit, from the base of my pussy and up to my needy clit, swirling her tongue around my hard nub and flicking it up. A gasp slipped past my lips as Sweetie plunged her muzzle into the depths of my tunnel, eyes shining with hunger as if she’d found a cave full of honey. My first instinct was to catch hold of Sweetie’s tongue and squeeze it hard as she swept it inside me, but her moves were deft enough that the moment my pussy contracted to grab my prize, Sweetie was already pressing against another spot, making me melt with pleasure. I didn’t notice when I gave in to desire. Not until I felt my throat become sore from constant moans that escaped me and echoed off the walls of the room. My body was under Sweetie’s control now. She was doing with me whatever she pleased. A swift touch of her tongue and my hindleg twitched involuntarily, another lick and the rhythm of my moans changed. A warm sensation enveloped my clit as Sweetie hugged me with her lips. I felt her teeth scrape across my flesh, nipping me. Sweetie’s horn glowed and my nipples got squeezed and yanked up as well. I screamed. But not because of pain. If there was something that could hurt, my brain wasn’t able to register it behind an unending flow of pleasure. I knew I was an instant away from the most wonderful sensation I’d ever felt. Lost in the bliss, my forelegs darted down to grab hold of Sweetie’s head and shove her tightly against my closed thighs, some animalistic part of me afraid that Sweetie would leave me at the last moment. But Sweetie Belle wasn’t going anywhere. She sucked on my oversensitive clit more severely than ever, her magic working on my nipples like a vacuum brush. A flash flickered behind my eyes. My body felt as if it weighed nothing. Warm waves of bliss began to course through me, from the bottom of my hooves up to the top of my head. And dizziness, dizziness, dizziness. I wasn’t lying on the ground anymore, nor was I constrained by the earth’s gravity. The cushions turned into clouds and I was soaring in the sky now, free to move wherever I chose. With every new wave of orgasm my mind perceived I sped up and rushed forward along the blue surface of the sky. I laughed and spun in a quick circle as I rammed myself through the clouds, making snowy dust from them. Even after the surge of bliss subsided I hovered in the air for a long while, enjoying the beauty of the sky and the scenery below me. Everything seemed so small from the height I was observing it. Clap. Clap. Clap. A steady applause suddenly reached my ears, in the way one would clop their hooves together at the end of a theatrical play. “Impressive,” Miss Rarity said, casting me back onto the ground. While having my way with Sweetie I completely forgot that we weren’t alone and Miss Rarity had been watching us all the way through. But more shameful was the fact that I forgot I was holding Sweetie’s head between my legs like a vice. I let go off her, throwing my hooves up. Sweetie made a series of quick breaths, gasping for air. Miss Rarity walked to the cushions and lifted Sweetie’s chin up from my groin. I nearly died of embarrassment when I saw Sweetie’s face. A copious amount of my juices found their place on her muzzle, soaking into her fur and hanging off her nose and chin. I saw Sweetie’s throat contract a little, sending a gulp of my cum down her belly. I found it more erotic than I wanted to admit. “Looks like we’ve got quite a squirter here.” Miss Rarity smiled, lowering her head and giving Sweetie a sensual kiss on her lips. After she broke it, her tongue moved aside to lap the remnants off Sweetie’s face. A moan of satisfaction escaped her as she tasted my cum on her taste buds. While watching the obscene scene, my brain struggled to comprehend what kind of reaction I should experience. I knew that Miss Rarity and Sweetie were close, but even then lustful kisses are not what one would expect from the siblings. An unsettling feeling bottomed out in my stomach, but I was too spent and horny to make a big deal about it at that moment. “How do you feel, darling?” Rarity asked me. I hesitated a while before speaking. “I never felt anything like that before,” I mumbled, residual waves of pleasure still circulating over my body. I turned my look to Sweetie. “You’re the best.” Sweetie Belle just nodded appreciatively and gave me a brief smile the way she usually smiles while sharing candies with me and Apple Bloom between classes. The whole process of eating me out seemed to be no big deal to her. It hurt me a little. I wanted my first time to be something special. “It’s good that you enjoyed it,” Rarity said. “I hope you didn’t forget one of the most important rules of etiquette: a lady always returns the favor. It won’t do to leave Sweetie in such a state.” She pointed at a small puddle under Sweetie’s hindlegs. “Oh...” The words stuck in my throat. Sweetie rubbed a hoof against a foreleg. “You don’t have to do it, really,” she said softly. “No, it’s fine,” I proclaimed, rather spontaneously. Although my and Miss Rarity’s opinions had often been opposed, in this case her remark was totally justified. I had to thank Sweetie for what she’d done for me. “I’m not sure if I’ll be able to use my tongue as skillfully as you, but I’ll do my best,” I said. Miss Rarity’s lips stretched into a smirk as she let out a little chuckle. “Enthusiasm is always good, but you won’t make Sweetie cum with a mere tongue no matter how hard you try. My sister loves it rough. Catch!” I almost missed a box Miss Rarity threw to me. Looking closer, I recognized that it was the same black box I’d delivered to the boutique a few weeks ago while working as a postpony. I opened the box and took out an elongated, pleasant to the touch object. It had a flare on the top and a set of straps at the base. “Is this...” I was too ashamed to name the word. Plus, the thing had such a broad girth that it was wider than my hoof. It had a horrifying length too. There was no way it could fit in anypony. Sweetie looked at me quizzically. “Have you never held a phallus before?” “Why would I?” I said, slightly offended. “It’s not like such things are selling on every corner.” Sweetie’s pupils dilated in panic at my words. She hung her head and began to stare at the floor as if she was ashamed to look at me. After having seen Sweetie’s eyes sparkling with lust, it was unexpected to see her being embarrassed by adult topics. It reminded me of the Sweetie who I’d known for years. “You probably think I’m a freak,” Sweetie muttered, her voice trembling on the brink of tears. “Of course not!” I cried, more loudly than I intended. “I mean, this whole thing fell on me at once, I just need more time to get used to it. You’re my best friend and you will always be no matter what. And I...” I almost dropped the word ‘love’ but decided that it was not the best time for sentiments. “Let me thank you,” I said simply, offering Sweetie a smile. Sweetie nodded, rubbing her eyes with a hoof. Rarity wiped off a tear as well. “So touching,” she said. Nervously, I exchanged looks between the artificial phallus, Sweetie and Miss Rarity. “How does this work, exactly?” I asked. “I’ll help you, darling,” Miss Rarity said, taking the thing in her telekinetic field. She levitated it to my rear, wrapping straps around my flanks. The latch clanked and the phallus found its place neatly under my belly. As I shifted my hooves I felt the strap-on bump up against my underbelly. I wondered how stallions could walk with such big things between their legs. Once I got ready, Sweetie turned her butt to me and flicked her tail to one side, a steady rivulet of her juices running down her thighs and matting her fur. Her clit winked fiercely, almost hopping from her pussy. “So I just stick it in there?” I asked, filling the air with anxiety. “Right,” Rarity said. She took a hold of Sweetie’s tail with her magic and tugged it up with a force, getting Sweetie’s hooves off the ground. Sweetie let out a muffled moan, but she seemed to like it. Her pussy made a little squirt in anticipation. Hesitantly, I made my way to Sweetie’s rear, my nose catching an acrid scent of her arousal. I let it fill my lungs, taking a series of deep breaths while admiring her puckered butthole and sleek folds glistening with moisture. “Put your hooves on her back,” Miss Rarity instructed. “Just like a stallion mounts a mare. Yes, just like that. And don’t try to be gentle. Thrust as hard as you can, up to the hilt.” Miss Rarity gave Sweetie’s ass a harsh smack. She traced her hoof over Sweetie’s tailhole, then moved down until she met Sweetie’s tender folds. Sweetie shifted her hooves anxiously as Miss Rarity rubbed the hoof over her pussy, Rarity’s eyes staring down at Sweetie and examining every inch of the most private part of her body. Seemingly satisfied with her sister’s abundant wetness, Miss Rarity let go of Sweetie, her hoof returning to the ground sticky with Sweetie’s juices. “What should you say when somepony helps your insatiable hole to be filled with a cock, dear sister?” Rarity said, her tongue sweeping over her lips. Sweetie took a breath in and out. “Please, fuck me like the whore I am, Scootaloo,” she muttered, almost pleading. Miss Rarity’s eyes sparkled at that and she moved her hoof all the way under her stomach until it found the spot under her tail. She let out a moan as she rubbed her hoof into her cunt. I have to admit, it creeped me out a bit that things had come to this. But I had no right to back down, not after I’d promised Sweetie that I’d pay her back. I stepped forward, my forelegs on each side of Sweetie’s back. I grabbed onto Sweetie, trying to line up the tip of my temporary cock with her pussy. That was much harder than I’d thought. While mounting Sweetie, my eyes were fixed on her neck and head, and I had to do all the moves completely blindly. Seeing me struggle, Miss Rarity stretched out her hoof to my groin and lined up the cock’s tip with Sweetie’s slit, all the while touching herself with another hoof. “So, I begin?” It was a rather rhetorical question. Sweetie looked as if she had long been ready for this. She waggled her ass excitedly and it seemed that hadn’t Miss Rarity been here, she’d have impaled herself on the cock long ago. I took it as consent and thrust in. By the end of the session, I could barely find the strength to breathe, my legs buckling under me as if I just ran a twenty miles marathon. I’d had to make Sweetie cum three times before her squirts receded and she was properly satisfied. All this time, while I’d been fucking Sweetie, Miss Rarity had been sitting nearby with a hoof between her legs, her cry of pleasure drowning out that of Sweetie, an almost impossible deed. I’d never tried to romanticize sex but I could have never imagined that it might be so dirty. I looked down at Sweetie’s prone form sprawling on the floor, her tail twitching uncontrollably. A stream of drool flowed out of her mouth while she moved her lips wordlessly. My stomach churned as I observed her. Perhaps I shouldn’t have listened to Miss Rarity’s incitements and, instead, been easier on my friend. “Are you alright, Sweetie?” I asked, worry settling in my chest. “Don’t flatter yourself, darling,” Rarity said while wiping her hooves with a napkin. “You have a lot to learn before you can hope to use my sister up.” Miss Rarity came closer to me, a tape soaring after her. She bent down and put the tape on my flank, stretching it around my body. “What are you doing?” I asked, taking a step back. “What does it look like to you?” Rarity said, holding me in place with her hooves. “I need your measurements to make the dress for you. That’s what we came here for, didn’t we?” I could only observe as Miss Rarity moved her hooves with a professional grace, using the tape as if playing an instrument. It took her less than a minute to get everything done. She wrote the numbers down in her notebook and trotted to the door. “Sweetie Belle, get up!” Rarity shouted, leaving the room. “You too, Scootaloo. Take a bath, then go have dinner.” “Yes, sis,” Sweetie muttered, standing up on wobbly legs. She followed her sister, but not before giving me a peck on the lips. Blushing, I headed for the bathroom as well. It took us a good amount of time to clean ourselves from sweat and cum that had clung to our thighs. After having done that, Sweetie sat down with her back to me and asked me to wash her rear and tail, and I was more than glad to help her. I took her tail in my hooves and began to soap it while wondering how I had never noticed before how beautiful its bicolor shade was. All the time I’d known Sweetie, I’d only seen her as a friend. But after what had happened between us today, I couldn’t bring myself to look at her the same way again. I still felt her taste on my tongue, her breath over my neck, her touch against my flank. That’s why it was twice as painful to realize that she waited for other ponies, many of whom she probably had never seen before, to do nasty things with in the same room where we’d been making love. That is just not like her. How could the Sweetie who flies into a panic the moment a colt pays attention to her be so nonchalant about sex like it is a stroll through the park? I hesitated for a long time before deciding to bring my worries up to Sweetie. “Don’t get me wrong,” I began slowly. “But don’t you think your sister is using you?” “What do you mean?” Sweetie asked, looking at me over her shoulder. “She forces you to have intimacy with those fancy ponies who visit the boutique, doesn’t she?” Sweetie pulled her tail out of my hooves and turned to face me. “She never forced me to do anything like this. She asked me! I thought we’ve already discussed this.” “There’s a big difference between helping a sister and ...” I had to shut my mouth to keep the word whoring from sliding off my tongue. I looked at Sweetie solemnly. “A pony should have sex with only someone she is in love with.” Sweetie threw her hooves up, letting out a groan of irritation. “Why can’t you understand me?” she shouted. “Wouldn’t you do the same for your mother or Rainbow Dash?” “I...” The question stumped me. “I don’t know.” “This means you don’t love them like I do. Rarity is more than a sister to me. I love her the same way a pony would love her special somepony. And if she asks me to attend someone else because her career depends on it, I will do it for her. Because dressmaking is the meaning of her life and she can’t live without it. And if anything happens to my sister, I’ll never forgive a pony who did that to her!” “I understand...” The words came out of my mouth with difficulty, a lump forming in my throat. What a naive filly I was if I really thought I might have a future with Sweetie. I should have known when Rarity and Sweetie kissed back then. Our kiss hadn’t been near as passionate as theirs. Perhaps, Sweetie had started all this because Miss Rarity had asked her to put on a show for her. That must be the case, given how the mare had been enjoying herself the whole time. “Umm, Scootaloo? Are you alright? You have tears in your eyes. I’m sorry I shouted at you. I don’t know what came over me. I can be so dumb sometimes. Hey, Scootaloo? Please, say something. I didn’t want to offend you. Scootaloo...” “It’s just a speck.” I wiped my eyes with a hoof. “Let’s go eat dinner. Miss Rarity must be waiting for us.”
Chapter 1. The sunny dayDon’t let anypony else’s success darken the sky above your head. Keep moving forward and it’ll be them to bite the dust under your hooves. The rain pattered on the windowpanes as I observed fresh paint peel off the swing that Diamond Tiara’s father had had his servants set up on the school playground just earlier this morning. Heavy drops of water splashed against the metal bars, creating uneven smudges and smearing paint over the whole thing. It bothered no one. Sure, the Rich family probably has enough money to hire more ponies to repaint this swing over and over again. They could build hundreds of swings across all of Ponyville and repaint them until local shops ran out of paint. Why should you worry about anything if you have enough money to build up a town of swings at whim? “Scootaloo, are you listening?” came a voice from the other side of my desk. I turned my head to see Miss Cheerilee’s face, her eyes boring into me. “What can you tell me from the lecture about Princess Platinum?” “I, she, it was...” I muttered, trying to find anything that could have sunk into my head while I had been watching the rain outside the window. Cheerilee tapped the pointer on her desk a few times, capturing the attention of the class. “This is a very important topic,” she said, tracing the pointer over the canvas representing the family tree of an ancient dynasty of unicorns. “It directly relates to the foundation of Equestria and there will be a test on this topic next week.” A chorus of frustration ran through the room, heavy sighs accompanying it. Of course, it was Diamond Tiara who stretched out her hoof and spoke up. “Miss Cheerilee, we already have a math test next week!” Diamond said, her voice harsh and loud. Not harsh enough to be considered as a blame, but harsh enough to take Miss Cheerilee aback. “We can’t just cram for tests all day. At our age, foals need free time to relax and explore their special talent!” Miss Cheerilee responded back but I didn’t hear her. Instead, I heard raindrops smashing against the windowpanes. Thousands of little drummers performed a concert nopony but me was listening to. Relentlessly, they played their grim march and yet their music was soothing, relaxing my mind and carrying me away from my daily concerns. “Scootaloo, are you gonna go home?” I turned my head to see the empty class. There was nopony left but Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle standing by my desk. They wore waterproof jackets and would have gone outside with the others hadn’t they waited for me here. “Yeah... I’m almost ready,” I said, flustered with embarrassment. I briefly swept my possessions off my desk into my saddlebags and moved to the hangers. I took my scooter that stood neatly against the wall, then pulled my waterproof clothes off the hook and put them on. They weren’t half as fancy as the jackets my friends wore. And, truth be told, I wouldn’t call it clothes at all, rather an old rag with holes for legs and head to merely protect a pony on a rainy day. “Are ya okay, Scootaloo?” Apple Bloom asked as the three of us walked out of class. “You look a might out of sorts today. More than usual. If there’s something bothering you, you can tell us.” “Yeah!” Sweetie Belle picked up Apple Bloom’s reassuring speech. “We, the Cutie Mark Crusaders, are always ready to help a pony in need. Especially if she’s our friend.” It was only then I noticed a necklace swaying on Sweetie’s neck as she bounced alongside me, a gleeful smile stretching across her face. “A nice trinket, did you make it yourself?” I asked, trying to change the subject. Sweetie stopped suddenly. She fiddled with the yellowish beads and raised an eyebrow at me as if I had said something terribly indecent. “It’s not a trinket,” Sweetie said, pouting her bottom lip. “It’s a necklace of a sun pearl gained from the Celestial Sea. And it was made by one of the best jewelers in The Crystal Empire!” “Ya should’ve seen Diamond’s face when she first saw it. She almost dropped her jaw onto the floor,” Apple Bloom said, tracing her hoof from her chin and down to the ground. “It must be worth more than her precious tiara.” “But how?” I asked, not trying to hide my amazement. Sweetie’s family isn’t particularly rich to be able to buy her daughter such expensive jewels. And, of course, there’s no way they could compete with the Rich Family. “I earned it by helping my sister,” Sweetie said as a light blush appeared on her cheeks. “After she opened her boutique in Canterlot there are many clients...” Sweetie paused, biting her lower lip. “Sorry, but I can’t come to The Cutie Mark Crusaders’ clubhouse today. You know, helping my sister.” Apple Bloom sighed deeply, turning to face me. “Scoots?” I shrugged. “You know very well that I’m working at the post office today. Mr. Crafty Crate would kill me if I took another day off,” I said, stretching my wing muscles and preparing to speed up the scooter. Apple Bloom let out another sigh, resigning herself to the inevitable. “Ah guess Applejack would be glad ta know that Ah’m goin’ to help her on the farm the whole day. And Ah thought Ah was a workhorse amon’ us.” “Don’t get upset,” Sweetie said, hugging Apple Bloom. “We’ll join you tomorrow. Right, Scoots?” “Yeah, maybe we can find a foal without a Cutie Mark who needs our help! I really miss this.” I hugged Apple Bloom as well, then jumped back on the scooter, kicking the ground with a hindleg and swiftly flapping my wings. “See you tomorrow!” I cried out as the scooter began to pick up speed, eventually turning my friends into two obscure figures on the horizon. Soon, I was on the way to the post office. It wasn’t that far from the schoolhouse, so if you know where to turn, you will be at the building’s entrance after mere minutes. I opened the door wide, stepping into a bustling room filled with ponies waiting for their letters. Wondering what could cause such a jam, I slipped through a queue that stretched almost all the way to the entrance and made my way to the reception desk. After I made sure that there was nopony at the desk, I walked further into the depository. “Hi, Derpy,” I said, watching my superior rummaging through the letter containers. “It’s a tough day, isn’t it?” “Scootaloo! I need your help. I accidentally flipped over boxes and now I can’t find a letter to Berry Punch. You didn’t happen to see it?” Bending down, I glanced around the room looking for where the letter could have possibly slipped away to. The depository wasn’t particularly spacious, but the mess caused by Derpy complicated the searching process. “And how long have you been searching for this letter?” I asked, moving the boxes back to their previous places. “Half an hour? Maybe?” Derpy said, a faint smile crossing her face. “Berry Punch must be peeved at the delay.” “It’s not just her, there is a crowd out there,” I said, then stretched out a hoof to pick up the missing letter that had slipped under the shelves. “Oh Celestia. I can’t get another reprimand. I already have three.” “No more today,” I said, waving the envelope at Derpy. Derpy turned to me, eyes sparkling like stars. Her smile grew wide when she saw the missing letter fluttering freely in my hoof. She made a quiet noise of joy, joining her hooves in one resonant clap near her chest. Her whole appearance looked as if she was not a full-grown mare but a filly who just received a sugar candy. Without any further delay, Derpy snatched the letter and rushed out into the entry hall as quickly as a pony possibly could, ladling out praise to me before disappearing around the corner. Smiling, I came up to the desk where the list of locations of the deliveries lay. I checked it. There were twenty-one ponies I had to deliver parcels to, not the busiest shift I’d had there. I took the cart rope and pulled it to the table where bundles of parcels were. I carefully packed up half of the boxes into the cart so there wasn’t a risk that something could fall out. Once done, I moved out into the street, dragging the cart behind. I tied its rope to my scooter and was ready to begin my routine job. By the time I rode the scooter, the rain was already ceasing, leaving rare droplets stroking my muzzle. I put on a helmet and began to beat my wings. There is hardly a thing that can compare to driving through the fresh air when cool flows of the wind blow against your face, fluttering your mane and tail; when you take a full breath without fear of something or somepony constraining you. It’s the time when you move forward and nothing can stop you. It’s my time. My body is relaxed and my thoughts are as clear as the sky on a bright day. I rushed down the street, driving the scooter deftly and sliding around passersby who happened to cross the road. Some old mare shouted out words of indignation as my scooter flew in front of her, blowing her hat up into the air. I didn’t care. When I’m on the road, there is no force that could stall me. At the restaurant, I turned left to take a shortcut and then moved up the Flower Alley. I’ve been riding a scooter around Ponyville as long as I can remember and I know the whole town like the back of my hoof. My father used to joke that I learned to drive a scooter before I could walk. Although, I’m not sure that he was actually joking. On the top of my list were Lyra and Bon Bon. I had to deliver to the two mares a package before the evening. Soon, a big cottage appeared in front of me and I had to swerve right to avoid hitting the wall. Having successfully parked, I got the package from the cart and moved toward the door. After a few knocks, the aquamarine mare emerged from the doorway. “Hi there,” Lyra said, beaming with pleasure. I greeted Lyra back. She took the package from me and stepped into the room to put it down. She returned back then, a coin glittering in her hoof. She tossed it to me and was about to close the door when I stopped her. “I’ve already been paid for that,” I said, flipping the gold bit, “You don’t have to pay twice.” “Oh, I know,” Lyra said, “It’s to help you.” “To help?” I asked, tilting my head to the side. Lyra glanced over my shabby clothes that were stained with mud and the rainwater. It was only a brief moment but I noticed that look on her face. The look a pony would only give to a poor and miserable pony like myself. “Thanks, but I’m fine,” I said, stretching out the hoof with the coin to give it back to Lyra. Lyra stared at me stupidly for a few moments before speaking. “Oh, I didn’t mean to offend you.” She shifted her hooves slightly. “I have to go. Thanks for delivery.” With that, Lyra turned around and closed the door behind herself. After a few seconds, I put the coin in a pocket and walked to my scooter. The other ponies weren’t that generous with tips. Some of them didn’t have a habit of giving them at all. Some did already know what I think of handouts. The rest of them didn’t care about me. I liked working with the latter the most. After having stopped by all the places I needed and after there was nothing left in the cart, I moved back to the post office for the next batch of parcels. Upon arrival, I was replacing bundles from the shelf into the cart as a high-pitched scream reached out from the main hall. “Scootaloo!” Derpy shouted out. I dropped everything and galloped to the voice, my mind racing with thoughts of what kind of trouble Derpy got herself into this time. I burst into the hall, but all I could see was a table laid with two cups of tea and two dishes filled with muffins. And there was Derpy sitting peacefully on the chair and humming a soft melody. “Join in,” she said, patting a nearby stool. I sighed. “I don’t have time for this. There is a lot of work to do.” Derpy threw a glance at me, furrows appearing on her forehead. She wrinkled her muzzle rebukingly as her eyebrows plunged into a frown. From the look on her face, it was supposed to be a stern reproach but her appearance was so naive and cute that my impassive demeanor changed into a cheery smile. “You win,” I said, strolling to the muffins. My stomach rumbled as the tasty savory scent reached my nostrils. It was only then that I realized I hadn’t eaten anything since morning. “You’re being too hard on yourself,” Derpy said, chewing a muffin. Her mouth was so stuffed with food so I had to perk up my ears to catch her words. “I’m just doing what I have to do,” I said, taking a bite of a muffin. “Sometimes, it wouldn’t hurt to think about yourself too. You won’t do the job well if you run around the town with an empty stomach.” I let out another sigh. Though deep down I knew that Derpy was right, I couldn’t allow cutting myself any slack. We ate our dinner in the silence only broken by a stallion that came to take his letter. After we finished I thanked Derpy and slid off the stool, gathering the crumbs into my mouth. The wind blew against my face as I made my way to Carousel Boutique. Avoiding a rain puddle, I slowed down and pulled to a halt right before the fashionista’s house. I knocked and was waiting for ten long minutes, but it seemed nopony was going to open the door. Bored, I began to twirl the parcel in my hooves. It was a black elongated box without any images or inscriptions on it. There was just a small piece of paper pasted at the corner, with the only words To Rarity. I shook the box a little, but no sound came out. I could only guess what was in there. Finally, the door opened and the snow-white mare with groomed mane appeared before me. “Hello, Scootaloo,” Rarity cooed. “I’m afraid Sweetie can’t come out to play. She’s quite busy today.” “Yeah, I kinda know, she’s now helping you with your clients,” I said with a bit of bitterness. I could only dream of helping Rainbow Dash at The Weather Factory. “Really?” Rarity cocked an eyebrow. “What else did she say?” “Ahm, nothing. She was just happy to spend more time with her sister.” “Oh, it’s true,” Rarity murmured, “So then, why are you here, darling?” “I have a package for you,” I said, passing the black box to Rarity. “Oh, it’s just wonderful.” Rarity took the box and rubbed it against a cheek. “Sweetie would like it,” she said. “Is it for Sweetie?” “Yes, it’s my humble present for her. She just adores such toys.” So it was a toy, after all. Maybe it was a new model, I thought as I hurried off to the next pony listed in my notes. It started to get dark when I returned back to the post office. I’d spent the better part of the time helping Fluttershy to catch her critters from where they’d been grazing on before my scooter scared them away. As I stepped into the entry hall, I saw Derpy hunching over a heap of papers. It was her responsibility to fill up accounting that had piled up over the previous weeks: how many letters had come in, how much of them had been sent, which parcels had been received, the incidents that had occurred... That kind of stuff. Although I always found all of this a waste of time, I couldn’t leave Derpy to a bureaucratic monster all alone. So I walked to the heap to help her. But after an hour of deliberate work, we only made it to the halfway point. “It’s not that I’m not grateful to you,” Derpy hesitated, “but don’t you have to go home? Your mother must be worried about you being late.” “Yeah, you’re right,” I said, spinning a pencil in my mouth, my eyes focused on charts and numbers. If you think about it, it’s just like preparing for the math test without having to do your homework. “So are you going home?” “What?” I turned to Derpy. “It’s already late. I don’t want you in trouble because of me. I can do the rest by myself.” “Right, I’m supposed to be home,” I said, placing the pencil onto the table. There was an uncomfortable silence for a few seconds. “Well, I’ll be going then.” After saying goodbye to Derpy, I moved to the exit. Once outside, I felt the cold wind brush slightly my fur. The moon already began to take its rightful position in the sky, so I decided to drive straight to a fruit stall before it got closed. I bought a haystack with orange pieces inside of it and with that pulled my scooter home. Soon, the house on two pillars appeared before me. With a sigh, I pushed the door open and stepped in. After taking off my wet clothes, I placed the scooter against a corridor wall and trotted into the kitchen with the haystack swinging in my mouth. I stood on a nearby stool and slung the stack onto the top shelf of the closet specifically designed to store hay. “You promised me that you’d stop drinking,” I said as I looked over a cluster of empty bottles scattered around the floor. “How much have you drunk today?” My mother kept silent and, as if to spite me, picked up a wine bottle that was standing on the corner of the table. She made a big gulp and put it down with a muffled thump. “Stop it!” I tried to snatch away the bottle but got a slap on a foreleg I was stretching out. “Go to your room, Scootaloo,” my mother said. Disdainfully, I turned around, rubbing the hurting leg. I gathered empty bottles from the floor and threw them into the trash basket, then washed the dishes. “I’ve brought hay and vegetables,” I said. She didn’t look at me. Grabbing a nearby bowl, I dumped hay into it and moved to my room. Before I fall asleep, I begin my daily ritual. At first, I’m just lying in bed motionlessly and with my head completely empty. But after a while the thoughts from my early foalhood start to crawl from the depths of my consciousness onto the surface of my mind. Over the years, the full image of those days partly blurred away and if you ask me what day it was, I couldn’t answer. Perhaps summer or spring. Maybe early autumn. But what I remember clearly is the blinding sun hanging in the bright sky. It was that kind of a day with the streets full of foals playing and frolicking in the sunshine, everypony smiling and resting after hard days’ work. Yes, my memories begin here, from the day when I saw my mother smiling the last time. My mother was sitting on the bench under the shadow of an oak. She was watching me as I tried first simple tricks on my very first scooter. I still remember the feelings of its grips in my hooves, the grating sound the wheels made when I braked hard. While doing a tailwhip, I lost my balance and fell to the ground. Pain ran through my body as I hit my hip hard. But before I had time to start crying, my mother was already beside me. She cleaned the wound and began to bandage my bruised side. She hummed a soothing melody as she did so. I remember her words, that it was just a scratch compared to my previous falls. I remember that she smiled at me and, as if by magic, all my pain and tears were gone. After finishing with my wound, she carried me and my scooter to the bench. I pressed against her back and we both were lying peacefully under the shadow of the oak until somepony’s hoof awakened me. I opened my eyes and saw my father standing in front of me. He wasn’t alone. Next to him stood a mare I hadn’t seen before. It’s funny, I’ve almost forgotten what my father looks like, except for his deep violet eyes that I inherited from him. But I distinctly remember the appearance of the mare he was with. She had silk red fur and her mane curled into two white locks separated with a pink stripe. She had an iris for a Cutie Mark. “Hello, little one,” she said to me, her smile wide and her eyes kind. I remember my mother was weeping. She never cried in my presence like this before. I got scared and cried to my father for help. I whimpered that there was something wrong with my mother. I begged him to help her. But he just said that he must go. He turned around. With that, the mare he’d come with followed him. At first, my mother was doing fine. We often walked together and she watched me while I practiced on my scooter. She didn’t smile anymore but her eyes followed my every step to be ready for a sudden tumble I was prone to. But time passed, and little by little a void began to form in her heart. I remember stallions that she brought to our house. Remember how their content expressions turned into gloom ones when they first saw me. They never came by again. Nopony wanted to date a mare with a foal behind. My mother would drink a glass or two after another unsuccessful romance, then she would drink more and more after each attempt. Because of that, she started having trouble at her work. She no longer walked with me nor had anything that could brighten her day. Alcohol was all she had. I tried to help her to quit it but it lasted a few days at best. Then things would only become worse. Every night I go to sleep with a hope of seeing my father the next day. He will hug my mother and they both will laugh as if nothing had happened. We will live as a family again. As I fell into the depths of slumber, the rain began to patter on the windowpanes. I like this sound. It carries me away from the sunny day.
Chapter 2. Something BrokenThere’s nothing more important in this world than family and loyalty to your friends. The taste of victory does feel sweet, but only then when you have the ponies to share it with. My usual day would begin with doing morning exercises and walking down to the kitchen to make some breakfast. On a rare occasion, I would eat a cupcake or a few, but most of the time a bowl of oatmeal and orange juice were all my morning intake. And though sometimes it was hard to keep myself in shape, I tried to do it as best I could. After breakfast, I would leave to my mother a note that read: food in the fridge. Then I would pack up my saddlebags and move to school. On a day off, I hanged out with the Crusaders, hiking around or playing board games when there was nopony to help to obtain their Cutie marks. Sometimes I would have the luck to spend the better part of a day with Rainbow Dash. But over time, my sessions with her became more and more infrequent. As everypony had expected, she had been doing very well at The Wonderbolt Academy. She’d started to get invitations to attend the closed royal performances. And though I was really glad for her success, a part of me that I didn’t like hated the fact she’d been spending most of her time with those pompous ponies. Trying to find my place, and more importantly, to earn some money to support the family budget, I ended up as a postpony at the post office – the most appropriate job for a pegasus I was capable of at that moment. Unfortunately for me, Mayor Mare wouldn’t let me work a full-time job as full grown ponies do. It’s considered that it can have a bad impact on a foal’s school performance. But I say that’s ridiculous. Who even cares about those useless lessons? Rainbow Dash doesn’t need history or math to do all the awesome tricks she’s famous for. Because of that, I did some unofficial work for local ponies in the evenings. One of those ponies was an old mare, Mrs. Buttercup. She had problems with walking, so I went out to buy her products and helped her to clean the rooms. She wasn’t rich by any means and my salary was as small as it could be. But I didn’t really care about it. I loved to spend an occasional evening with her, listening to her stories and drinking tea with honey pancakes. If you ask me, I could swear she bakes the most delicious pancakes in all Equestria. Every bite you take is like a sweet dessert, melting in your mouth as soon as you place it on your tongue. I would graze on the pancakes and put the rest of them into my saddlebags. Back home, I would set the table and watch my mother eat her dinner. We wouldn’t speak much but I always knew that she loved me and appreciated my help from the heart. Then I would make my way into my room where I would pull the small metallic box out from under my bed. Inside of it, there were all my savings I’d earned in the past year. I would put a few more bits in and calculate my future expenses. Part of the money was for groceries and for the upkeep of the house. But more importantly, it was money for one thing I’d been dreaming of for over a year since I’d met Babs Seed. Babs had told me that there was a street scooter racing in Manehattan. Later, she’d even sent me the brochure with all the information I needed inside of it. Since that day, I’d known what I wanted to do with my life. But Manehattan is an expensive city. More than that, I needed a special sports scooter to participate in the race. And though I almost saved up enough money to begin my career as a street racer, I couldn’t spend everything at once and leave my family without means of support. But in spite of all difficulties, I still believed that I would succeed. Deep down, I even thought that one day my father might notice me after I’d won some big tournament. I imagined him coming up to the podium and congratulating me under the squall of applause. I imagined him speaking to me and being finally proud of his abandoned daughter. Many months would pass and I would live my routine life, daydreaming about my parents uniting and my beautiful future as a racer. It was until one day that my dreams were shattered and my whole life changed. The bell rang and the last boring lesson in Cheerilee’s class had finally come to an end. Running out from the schoolhouse, I was glad to spend time with the Cutie Mark Crusaders after a long day. But first, I decided to go home to drop off my saddlebags and get a snack. And though it was still drizzling out, nothing seemed to cloud my bright mood as I hurried down the street on my scooter. I was getting up the steps of my home when strange ponies at the doorway crossed my way. My eyes went wide as I saw the two of them hauling the cupboard out of my house. Not knowing how to react, I stopped halfway the stairs, a bewildered expression on my face. “Get out the way, kid,” a burly stallion with a large notepad yelled. “What are you doing?” I replied, not moving from where I stood. “They are my things. I will call a royal guard!” The stallion seemed to tense up a little, but then immediately brought back his harsh demeanor. “Calm down, kid,” he said. “It’s all legal. We are confiscating property for your family debt.” “What debt?” I asked stupidly. The whole scene didn’t seem real to me. “You must be wrong.” The stallion sighed, drawing out a document and showing it to me. “Your mother gambled away her house last night.” He shrugged and took a cigarette from his pocket. He lit it up and let out a puff of smoke. “You have time to find a new home until the end of the year.” The stallion then turned his back to me and began to give instructions as to where my cupboard should be carried out. “It can’t be. It just can’t be,” I mumbled, squeezing through the stallions and then galloping into my room. I threw myself onto the floor and yanked the metallic box out from under my bed. I lifted the box up and immediately flung it against the wall with full force. The container made a dull ringing sound before falling onto the wood planks. No coin did slip out from the box. It just lay on the floor, still and empty. When I walked into my mother’s room, she was sitting in the middle of her bed, hunched and staring uselessly at the piece of paper. I could smell the acrid odor of ethanol permeating the whole room. It made me sick to the pit of my stomach and I struggled with myself not to puke my guts out. It seemed like my mother had locked herself here since the morning, drinking. I doubted she’d eaten anything all day. “Do you have anything to say?” I asked, not hiding my disgust. “I’m sorry, Scoots,” my mother said without any emotion in her voice. “You are sorry?” I felt anger rise up inside me. “You’re not sorry about anything! All you care about is drinking. How could you take my money I’ve been saving for a year? And now you’re in debt to some shark. We might get thrown out because of you!” My mother raised her sore eyes from the piece of paper and looked at me. “I have built this house. I have raised you. Don’t you dare blame me!” she yelled, stirred awake from her daze. “If not for you and your father, I would have lived another life!” I stood silently at the doorway, not knowing what to say, tears welling in my eyes. “I didn’t mean that,” my mother said eventually, holding her head with both hooves as if in a great pain. “It has nothing to do with you. This is all your scumbag of a father. He is the pony who ruined our lives.” “Don’t say that about him! It would’ve been better if my father had been left here instead of you. He would’ve never stooped to this!” My mother made a circular motion with her hooves around her temples like she always does to try to soothe herself. I could see a sharp pang of pain crossing her face whether because of a hangover or because of contemplating my words. “Maybe it’s for the best,” she said hesitantly. “After everything I’ve done, you’d be better off with a foster family where you can live a normal life like all other foals.” “But I don’t want a foster family. I don’t want a normal life. I want my family, my life with my mother smiling when I’m training at the park and my father teaching me new tricks...” Tears ran down my cheeks as I spoke. “Scootaloo...” my mother whispered. Without any further word, I turned around and went out of the room, kicking the door shut behind me. My mind was racing with chaotic thoughts as if it was a train full of ponies speeding toward a sheer cliff. Everything screamed and wailed inside of my head. I quickened my pace and headed to the exit, grabbing my scooter along the way. Once I was downstairs, my temper flared up at the display. There were those ponies hustling around and hauling the things out from the house. It was the first time I wanted somepony dead. My face creased with contempt just by glancing at their repulsive smirks and hearing their loud laugh. Did they revel in ponies’ misfortune? At that moment I was sure they did. Having walked outside, the first thing I did was breathe in a deep gulp of fresh air. The oxygen entered my brain and my temper began to cool down at a great rate. I drew in a few more breaths, then jumped on my scooter. In a minute, I was in Ponyville’s park, racing in circles and trying to perform the most elaborate tricks I never attempted before. By doing so, it was hard to not lose my balance, which in turn caused me to fall off the scooter a few times during my most eager attempts to finish the trick properly. I ignored fresh bruises flourishing over my body like flowers in spring and just hopped back on my scooter to continue the practice. All my attention was focused on how to perform the trick: at what speed must I move? When is the perfect moment to get my scooter up from the ground? At which rate must I flap my wings to line up with the scooter while we both glide in midair? By the time the sun began to set, my muscles were aching, signalizing me that it was time to take a break. I trudged my way to an old oak, placed the scooter against the tree’s trunk and wearily threw myself onto the bench that was specifically located here to catch the shadow of the oak’s foliage. I sat there, contemplating how to improve my balance techniques. I’d made noticeable progress in that regard during the last month but there was still room to improve my hoof stance and wing amplitude. Yet the only thought of being able to perform such a complex trick in near future made my heart pound in my chest. After resting under the tree for a few more minutes, I headed toward The Cutie Mark Crusaders’ clubhouse, sluggishly striking my hindleg on the ground as I rode the scooter with the last strength that I had. “Where have ya been?” an angry voice asked as I began opening the door of the clubhouse. I stepped in only to see Apple Bloom sitting in the middle of the room with her hooves folded across her chest. She made a frowny face when she saw me enter. “We agreed to get together right after school,” she said, throwing a harsh look at me. “Decided to take a ride before coming here,” I said, stretching a thin smile. Suddenly, a sharp gasp came out from the other side of the room. Sweetie Belle jumped to her hooves from the table he’d been sitting at and ran toward me. “You have blood on your hip,” Sweetie said, a worried tone in her voice. She glanced over my shabby mane and tail thoroughly as if wondering how is it even possible for a pony to get herself in such a bad condition. “It’s nothing,” I said, stretching to my wound to rub the blood out. “It’s not nothing,” Sweetie countered. “It can get infected. What were you thinking?” Not waiting for my answer, Sweetie ran off to the nearby cabinet and after a half minute came back with a bottle of clean water and a vial of iodine in her hoof. She carefully splashed some water on my wound, then soaked a piece of cotton in the antiseptic substance. “I swear,” Sweetie said, “I used to think I was going to get a nurse’s Cutie Mark after we first met.” I let out a chuckle that immediately turned into a sharp ouch as soon as the iodine cotton touched my wound. Finishing with disinfection, Sweetie fussed about with my hip for a few more minutes, putting the finishing touches to it. She ended up staring at the bandage as if contemplating what else she could do for me. “Nurse Sweetie Belle,” I said with a hoarse voice, imitating a sick pony, “My hip hurts so bad. When can I get it kissed to ease the pain?” Sweetie momentarily turned away from my flank, her face a shade of red. “It’s not funny,” she said, gathering her medical possessions and carrying them away back to the cabinet. “So, what do we do?” I asked, still scrunching my face. Despite the joking, my pain was quite real. “Well,” Apple Bloom said dramatically, “Ya missed the most interesting part anyway.” She paused, rambling about silently to catch my attention. “So, what's this about?” I finally asked. Apple Bloom drew a smirk on her face as she continued. “Rumble came by the clubhouse when ya were out. Wanted our help with his blank flank.” I let out a gasp. “No way. Why did he choose such a bad moment?” I felt a slight blush creep under my cheeks, so I had to gather myself before continuing. “I mean he’d had so many chances to come here!” Apple Bloom burst out laughing. “He didn’t come here, right?” I said impassively. “Nah. He just visited my sister ta buy some apple juice.” Apple Bloom sighed. “But next time ya will think twice before missing our convention.” “It’s not that I wanna help him so much!” I said, more emotionally than I intended. “Of course, of course.” Apple Bloom smiled a sharp smile. “Stop it, girls,” Sweetie chimed in from the table. I noticed a large amount of papers scattered around her. “It’s your right to bicker with each other instead of preparing for tomorrow’s test but I don’t want to get a bad grade because of this.” “We have a test tomorrow?” I asked, puzzled. “Kind of,” Apple Bloom said, “Have you had your head in the clouds all day again?” “I wish I could,” I said, then trotted over to join Sweetie at the table. Apple Bloom just shrugged and followed after me. The three of us sat together, surrounded by various books and text notes Sweetie had prepared earlier. As it turned out, there was going to be a math test tomorrow, the worst thing that can happen to a schoolfoal. “Apple Bloom, do you understand how to solve these equations? It doesn’t make sense for me,” I said, annoyance settling in my voice. “Not really. What about ya, Sweetie?” Sweetie Belle looked over the math symbols and after a few seconds made a serious nod. “Should subtract this, then divide the result by the value in that field and you got the right answer,” she explained, showing each step with her hoof at the same time. “Wow. You’re really smart,” Apple Bloom said with admiration, her eyes tracing Sweetie’s hoof over the paper. “Nothing special. Rarity taught me this during one of my home studies with her.” Sweetie Belle stretched out one hoof dramatically while placing the other on her forehead. “A true lady cares not only about her appearance but also how sharp her wit is,” Sweetie said, imitating her sister. “If only everything in life was a math equation that could be solved...” I said absentmindedly. “Ah? What do ya mean?” Apple Bloom asked, raising an eyebrow. “Never mind,” I said. The next day, the foals in the schoolhouse were bustling about worriedly after the test’s results had been announced. Only two students from the whole class got a perfect score – Twist and Sweetie Belle. Miss Cheerilee even made a little speech that was meant to inspire us to study harder, taking Sweetie’s recent achievements as an example. As for the less diligent students, Apple Bloom managed to get a B grade. I barely passed through a C threshold. It didn’t bother me at all. I’d spent the whole day with my head thinking unpleasant thoughts as to where I could get enough money to pay off my mother’s debt. Working at the post office, it would take years to merely pay a half of it. By that time, my mother and I would be left without a roof over our heads. But what was most scary was the fact that Ponyville’s authorities would have an official reason to throw me away in the Orphanage in Canterlot. With those thoughts, I spent the rest of the week trying to figure out what to do next. I tried for different vacancies but everypony just laughed at me before showing me the door. In the end, my spirit sank, my mind like in a thick fog. Still, there was the last hope I didn’t dare to resort to until then. It was another day after school. Our trio was walking down the school park, tired and exhausted. Trying to lighten the mood, Apple Bloom was telling a story about how she accidentally caught Diamond Tiara making eyes at Featherweight while the colt just pulled out his camera and made a shot. Sweetie Belle let out a little chuckle, presumably imagining Diamond’s face at that moment. I, on the other hoof, was deeply immersed in my emergency plan to be able to pay any attention to anything else. After a while, our roads parted and we made a deal to get together at the clubhouse later this afternoon. I pretended to make my way home, watching Apple Bloom get out of sight. I waited half a minute and walked off towards the road to Carousel Boutique. Casually, I caught up with Sweetie Belle, falling into step beside her as if we were going to the same place. “Scootaloo? What’s the matter?” Sweetie asked, looking in my eyes. No matter how I tried, I couldn’t fight off the anxiety that was overwhelming me. All the words I’d prepared earlier just flew out of my head like sand through a sieve, only leaving thick grains of uncertainty. I was about to say goodbye and turn away when Sweetie stepped forward, getting face-to-face with me, a concerned expression on her face. Her sun pearl-necklace almost blinded me as she stood here before me. It swayed up a little, then settled back on her neck. I stared at it with my eyes fixed. Such luxury was definitely beyond any of my dreams. But, apparently, it was nothing to Miss Rarity, since she could easily pay her little sister such an expensive jewelry just for posing for a crowd in her fancy dresses. “I want to be a model,” I blurted out almost involuntary. “You do?” Sweetie asked with confusion. It was written on her face that it was the last thing she expected to hear. It was late to turn aside, so I continued. “That’s why I came to talk with you. You’re the only pony I know who can understand me.” “Oh.” Sweetie let out a short sigh, her expression something between an amusement and an I will not fall for your and Apple Bloom’s prank again. “I thought you hated fashion,” she said. “You know what that’s like. You pretend you hate something just because you’re afraid of being embarrassed.” I let out a nervous giggle. “There’s nothing to be embarrassed about,” Sweetie decided to reassure me. “It’s perfectly normal for a pony to have a passion for dresses.” Sweetie pondered for a while before adding, “Despite what Rainbow Dash might say. But if you want to keep it private, I won’t tell anypony. It’s good that you shared it with me.” I had never felt so disgusting in my entire life. Lying to my best friend when she was being sincere. But I wasn’t in the position to choose. “I’ve been dreaming of dedicating my life to fashion and dresses as long as I can remember,” I said. “And you mentioned your sister was so busy lately that she was complaining about a need of an extra pair of hooves...” I trailed off pointedly. Sweetie kept silent, contemplating something for long seconds. “I don’t think you fully understand...” “Sweetie, please. I need this job. Please, talk to your sister.” I rubbed my eye with a hoof to wipe off a tear. It was that little that came from me sincerely during our conversation. Sweetie’s head sank to the ground. If she’d had any thoughts that it might have been a prank, now they were gone. “I can’t promise anything, but I’ll talk to her,” she said. We walked the rest of the way to Carousel Boutique in silence. Previously I’d thought I would not feel any worse but I’d been wrong. I’d done what I’d persistently avoided. I’d let my emotions out. I’d almost burst out weeping in front of Sweetie Belle like a beaten kitten. I felt a big bitter lump form in my throat, preventing me from breathing freely. At Carousel Boutique, Sweetie told me to wait outside while she was talking to her sister. A brief shiver crawled over my fur as I saw her disappear behind the door of the luxurious building. For a second, I imagined Rarity’s expression of disdain toward my proposal of being her protege. How could a pony of such upper class accept an urchin like me? What was I thinking? Half an hour passed and I gave up all hope when suddenly Sweetie Belle came out. “I’ve arranged everything.” She made a gesture with her hoof toward the entrance, inviting me in. I sighed with relief. The black clouds over my head parted and I saw a narrow passage running up to my future. The rest was up to me and my ability to prove myself as a pony worth Miss Rarity’s attention. “Thank you, Sweetie.”
Chapter 3. Carousel BoutiqueDon’t wait for somepony else to solve your problems. If something bars your way, buck it away with all your strength instead of crying about it. I’d happened to be at Carousel Boutique a couple of times before. Miss Rarity had generously provided the studio for Crusaders’ missions of finding out our Cutie Marks. Sometimes we’d be even allowed to spend the night here when our crusade had lasted longer than we’d planned, and that had occurred more often than one would expect. Truth be told I’d never particularly liked this place. But never before had its environment oppressed me as badly as it did right now. From the tip of my ears down to the bottom of my hooves, I felt a strange feeling resembling that of claustrophobia, as if all those mannequins in rich dresses encircled me, crawling towards me like breathless puppets. I had to watch my hooves to find a space to step on. Then there was a scent in the air. The scent of some acrid perfume. Was that lavender? “Hello, darling,” the fashionista interrupted my line of thought. Her white coat was as silk as always, catching the sun’s touch and turning its beams into a golden glow playing on the surface of her fur. I tried to make a curtsy to impress my prospective mentor but I instantly regretted it. My movements were clumsy and rigid so I got tangled in my own legs and was a breath away from tumbling forward. Miss Rarity let out a gentle chuckle, covering her mouth with a hoof. “No need for those pretentious formalities when there’s nopony but us here,” she said with a smile that turned into a smirk on her face within a mere second. “Although in your case, one would consider it a mockery rather than a gesture of respect.” Miss Rarity glanced over me for a few moments as if assessing my worth and, after propping the glasses on her nose, turned to trot to the kitchen. Sweetie Belle slightly pushed my flank, signalizing me to follow her sister. “So, I heard you wanted to work under my guidance,” Rarity said as we walked. I could notice a trace of uncertainty in her voice. Did I already fail to impress her and she was considering that it was a bad idea to let me in? I had to make an effort to threw the thought away. “I’d be happy to serve you,” I replied, staring down at the floor. It was burnished to such a degree that I could see my stiff face on its surface. It made me even more nervous than I already was by that moment. In the kitchen, Sweetie and I sat down at the table while Rarity moved away to the stove. Humming a soft melody, she returned with three cups of hot tea in her telekinetic field. The three of us sipped our tea silently for a long minute. Eventually, Rarity seemed to collect her thoughts. She took off her glasses and spoke up, her voice calm yet confident. “I want to make it clear, Scootaloo,” Rarity begin, “I have business relationships with ponies, importance and authority of whom are second only to Princess Celestia herself. And, as is often the case with ponies of such worth, they are bound to have their dirty secrets and quirks a common pony would never even think of.” Rarity paused to take a sip from her cup. She brushed a stray lock of her mane back in its place before continuing. “Every now and then, some rich gent would want to inveigle his young love by giving her a gift of fabulous value, as let’s say my splendid dresses. All of this is out of sight of his meticulous wife, of course.” Rarity smirked as she spoke. “Sometimes, he would come in, having drunk more wine than he possibly should. And though there’s no such thing that would loosen somepony’s tongue better than a few glasses of a strong drink, they will be happy to tell you about how they hate one another even while speaking to you without a single drop in their throats. Gossip, rumors and hypocrisy swarm around nobility’s tails like flies around mule’s wastes. Those are games of high society and there are two rules I should play by: do everything I can so that my client would leave this place satisfied and make sure every speck of that stays inside these very walls. Let me get this straight, Scootaloo. Can you hold your pretty tongue behind your teeth?” “Rarity!” Sweetie Belle chimed in, “I told you before, you can rely on Scoots.” “Please, Sweetie, don’t interrupt me while I’m doing my business,” Miss Rarity replied in a moderate voice, almost tender. However, it had an opposite effect on Sweetie Belle to the one intended. She pouted out her bottom lip and defiantly turned her head away from her older sister. As for myself, I simply didn’t know how to react. It was a completely different world for me. A world foreign and, to some degree, quite ugly. This isn’t the place for me, the thought circled in my head. What am I doing here? Of course, I did already know the answer. I did know what would happen if I turned away and walked out. What really mattered was my ability to do the job right, the same way I’d been treating errands for others ponies. Yes, it’s just another job. I can handle it too. “I’ll do anything you ask. And I promise I’ll keep quiet,” I said, gathering all my determination I had left. “But I don’t have any experience with… well, with ponies from high society.” Rarity smiled. For the first time since our conversation, she smiled to me with not a strained smile but with a genuine one, her face gentle and motherly warm. “Oh, don’t worry, darling,” Rarity murmured. “I will make a lady of you.” Thus began my life under the patronage of Miss Rarity. Although to be precise, it had little to do with her. When Rarity had told that she would teach me, what she had really meant was that she was going to pin everything on Sweetie Belle. As a businessmare, Rarity spent most of her day in the workshop room all alone, making dresses. Up into the night, when stars began to light up in the dark sky, she would come out from her den only to either throw a sideways glance at me when I held a wrong spoon for a wrong dessert or to stroke my leg when I stood in a wrong pose in a wrong place. Not that I hated such an outcome. Quite the contrary, spending time with Sweetie was much more pleasant than that with her sister. I could have said that I even began to like what I was doing but it would be a lie. Firstly, Sweetie was constantly tense while she was tutoring me. It seemed she had taken responsibilities as my mentor quite seriously. She never took easy on me and regularly reminded me that it was not just a stupid game of imitating nobility but an important mission the outcome of which would decide the fate of whole Equestria, or at least my fate, hers and her sister’s. Secondly, there was something more irritating than Sweetie’s grunts about proper etiquette – my schedule. As rigid as it could be, it left me with almost no time to practice with my scooter. Every weekday I left Carousel Boutique late at night, exhausted and drained like a dry lemon. Having returned home, I plopped down onto my bed – the only piece of furniture in my room that remained untouched by the pony collectors. Then it was another day. I hurried to school and then back to Carousel Boutique. On weekends, I spent days grinding various names and titles of Canterlot society. Could you imagine that there are one hundred and twenty-four kinds of greetings a pony should say to the gentry, depending on their status, title, age, and privileges? It was driving me crazy. For the same reason, I was forced to quit my regular job at the post office. With permission of Miss Rarity, I threw a small farewell party, by the end of which I had to console Derpy who began sobbing the moment my hoof crossed the threshold of the office for the last time. It appeared to be harder than I thought. But in the end, we hugged each other, Derpy wished me good luck and gave me a full basket of hot fresh muffins. A whole week went by, and I’d been doing nothing but meticulously cramming down every bit of nonsense Miss Rarity had prepared for me and posing before the mirror in Sweetie’s dresses. Eventually, my efforts produced tangible results and it was the first time I received Miss Rarity’s attention that was worth more than an occasional skeptical look in my direction. She also didn’t point out any of the mistakes I’d been prone to while trying to act like a lady. One night Miss Rarity escorted me to the front door with a pouch in her hoof. Usually, there were no more than a few bits, barely enough to buy food and other necessary needs. However, it felt much heavier when she hoofed it over to me this day. I peeked in and could count at least one thousand bits in big gold coin. More than I’d ever held in my entire life. “It must be a mistake,” I mumbled under my breath, “I don’t deserve this kind of money.” “Poor child,” Rarity murmured softly, sporting the signature gentle smile of hers. “What made you think that you deserved even a slice of what I’ve been giving you all that time? You get it all because I decided that. Did you really think that I would do it for you because of your wide eyes?” Miss Rarity paused, making the last sentence a real question. She held a gaze on me, waiting for my answer. “I just thought that because I and Sweetie are friends, you might...” “Well, you were wrong,” Rarity interrupted me. “I merely make an investment. Quite a risky one, I should say. You have yet to earn back everything I’ve spent on you. Do you understand?” “Yes, Miss Rarity,” I muttered. “Go buy yourself some shampoo. I’m badly tired of your greasy mane. And for Celestia’s sake, if I ever see you stashing away food from my table into your saddlebags, I will kick you out of this place right away.” I felt a shade of red crawl across my face as I tried to quench my embarrassment. Next thing I did when I got out of Carousel Boutique was buy a whole crate of shampoo and a several bags of various vegetables and fruits. On the next day, Sweetie was explaining to me what kind of dresses a pony should wear given a particular situation. I was trying to keep myself from dozing off when the entrance bell rang. A pair of ponies entered the boutique, making Sweetie jump off her seat and walk hastily toward them. A stallion, dressed in a rich costume, beamed with joy as Sweetie approached him. His marefriend put on a boring demeanor at that, though it faded quickly as she gave his side a playful push. I was standing out of earshot but based on a jumble of words I could catch and how they acted with Sweetie I guessed that they knew each other very well. Soon, Miss Rarity showed up and, after a short talk, led her guests to the upper room to take all necessary measurements for a new dress. Sweetie followed them as well, hopping in excitement. Perhaps it was just my imagination but I could’ve sworn I saw the guest mare give Sweetie a harsh spank on her flank. Not on her Cutie Mark spot – the place you would expect to get whipped on when you’re caught in wrong-doing. The mare spanked Sweetie right under her tail all the while casually talking to Miss Rarity. The four of them then disappeared out of my sight, leaving me alone among the mannequins I got used to being with yet still feared to look at. I lay down on the nearby sofa and began staring at the adorned ceiling to pass the time. I was thinking about Miss Rarity’s plans for me. When will she allow me to help Sweetie? When can I get started to prepare for my first performance? A shiver went down my spine as I imagined that. I didn’t know why but something in Sweetie’s behavior creeped me out. The way she trembled while waiting for a new client, the way she blushed red when I tried asking questions, the way she looked at those ponies with those bright eyes of her. If I didn’t know better I’d say she was addicted to their attention. I sighed. I was just making up silly stories. Of course it was not strange that Sweetie would copy her sister’s habits. And everypony in Ponyville knew how Miss Rarity adored fashion. Well, she never showed the signs of following it with blind obedience, but neither did Sweetie. If I hadn’t been at Carousel Boutique all day, I would’ve never guessed that my friend was obsessed with the desire to satisfy the needs of the fashion ponies so badly. An hour passed before Sweetie returned to the drawing room, her coat moist and fresh back from the bath. She combed her mane and sat down on the sofa beside me. “So, how was the dress?” I asked, yawning. My eyelids drooped down, so I had to make an effort to keep them open after an interrupted nap I’d taken while waiting for Sweetie. “Nothing special. Just another dress,” Sweetie said, no emotion in her voice. “Well, I wouldn’t say that, considering how eager you were,” I said playfully. “I wasn’t eager! I just love my sister and I want to help her! You’d have done the same if you’d had one!” “Are you ok?” I asked, taken aback. “I was just kidding.” “There’s nothing funny about it. Rarity’s success depends on how I do here.” “I understand.” Somehow my words came out quieter than a whisper. Perhaps that was due to the fact that I actually didn’t understand a thing, but it was important for Sweetie, apparently. “Sorry if I hurt you,” I said. “Just let’s not talk about it, ok?” Sweetie said softly. “I don’t want you getting mixed up in this.” Sweetie’s words baffled me, so for a moment I found myself stroking my forehead with a hoof in confusion. “But how can I help you, then?” I asked finally. “You’re not here to help me,” Sweetie said. “You’re here on your own to help my sister with her dresses.” My eyes went even wider at that. “I don’t understand,” I said. “Isn’t this what you’re doing here?” “Well, yes... and no.” Sweetie rolled her eyes, groaning in frustration. “It’s complicated.” With that, our little conversation ceased, I and Sweetie getting back to our routines at Carousel Boutique. During the rest of the day I tried to get out anything else about Sweetie’s responsibilities, however in vain. Eventually, I gave up and decided that I’d already caused Sweetie enough trouble. I had my own goals, the most important of which was to gain Miss Rarity’s respect. By the end of the second week, I began to feel uncomfortable when facing Miss Rarity. Not that it was a pleasant experience in the first place, but now things got only worse. Time passed, my salary grew and yet my responsibilities stayed the same. In other words, I didn’t get any closer to getting a job a pony doesn’t have to be ashamed of getting paid for. I needed to be something more than a pet that knows how to behave in public and nothing more. I wanted to help Sweetie with real issues, either to make a new dress or to have the consultation with a new customer. So one day, when I heard a chime of the entrance bell, I took it as my chance to prove Miss Rarity that I was worth something. Fortunately for me, Sweetie had just run away to the ladies’ room while Rarity toiled over her dresses at her office, as usual. Not wasting a second, I rushed off to the door to greet the guest. A handsome stallion in a short costume appeared before me as I slowed down, suddenly recalling the manners I’d been absorbing all that time. The stallion raised up his darkened-lens glasses, then gave me a quizzical look that inquired as to how a filly like myself got here. “Welcome to Carousel Boutique, sir. The place where your wishes are getting fulfilled by our hooves.” I’d coined the last phrase myself during one of a few breaks when I’d been left alone here. I was especially proud of it. I then bowed low before the stallion, stepping aside to make way for him in the boutique, every word gentle like honey, every movement precise like clockwork. I’d been preparing for this exact moment almost for a month now. That is why my shock was even more intense when the only reaction that came from the stallion was a laughter, loud and almost hysterical. He even had to take off his glasses to wipe his eyes. By that time, Miss Rarity moved toward the entrance almost in a gallop, as if a wildfire nipped at her fetlock. “Hoiti Toiti!” Rarity shouted as she got closer. “I offer my deepest apologies for this confusion. She shouldn’t be here. If there’s something I can—” “No need to worry, Rarity,” the stallion interrupted. “What is her name again?” “Scootaloo, my name is... Scootaloo,” I exclaimed but quickly trailed off, almost whispering the last words as I caught a glimpse of anger on Miss Rarity’s face. I thought I’d known what anger looked like. Well, I was wrong. One would expect anger to boil inside of a pony until it bursts away on the surface, scalding her features. You would see a wrinkled forehead, bared teeth, narrowed eyes. Except Rarity’s face was still and smooth. There was nothing that distorted her usual look of sweet serenity. She wore a perfect mask of cold anger. Her eyes, resembling two crystals of ice, observed me deliberately, sending a chill running up my spine. “Scootaloo? I like her,” the stallion said enthusiastically. His words, however, didn’t melt the ice in Miss Rarity’s eyes, but at least she turned her gaze away from me. “So, Hoity Toity,” Rarity said, “to what do I owe the pleasure? Are you here for the dresses or should I prepare the fitting room as well?” “Only dresses today, but I’m looking forward to seeing this little angel next time.” As they talked, two pegasi I hadn’t even noticed earlier walked into the boutique and after a few minutes walked out with a bunch of dresses in their hooves. They carefully put the dresses in a carriage that stood nearby and then harnessed themselves to it, ready to fly away. “See you soon, dear,” Hoity Toity said, winking at me and ruffling my mane with a hoof. He stepped into his carriage and a moment later was carried up to the sky and over the horizon. “What were you thinking?” Rarity shouted at me the first second we got into the boutique. “I’m sorry,” I muttered, fighting back tears. “I thought I was prepared. I just wanted to be useful.” “Useful? Do you have any idea what you got me into?” Now, when nopony was looking, Rarity let her anger a bit of freedom. It made things less tense. It’s always better when you can see the true nature of somepony’s behavior. “He didn’t look angry,” I protested. “In fact, he said he liked me.” Rarity let out a puff of air, rolling her eyes. “That’s the exact problem,” she said. “If there’s something Hoity has laid eyes on, there’s no way to deny him that. Besides, I don’t know how to react. You aren’t even a colt, to have drawn his attention so much.” Rarity breathed out another sigh, contemplating something. “Well,” she finally said, “you wanted to be useful? I guess your wish will come true pretty soon. Now, back to your studies. I’ll personally examine everything you’ve learned so far.” That day I was walking home with my head drooped. Miss Rarity had trusted me, and I’d let her down by acting like an idiot. How could I look into Sweetie’s eyes after that? All I could hope now was that I was the one to blame for my behavior and that it wouldn’t cause much trouble for Sweetie. Eventually, I got to the door of my home and threw myself in. Immersed in my thoughts, I didn’t notice a pair of hooves on my way to my room. I bumped into them before realizing that my mother was standing before me. It took me by surprise. It’d been almost a month since we’d last crossed paths, the day when we’d yelled at each other. “Scootaloo, we need to talk,” she said. Her voice was clear, and I couldn’t catch any hint of booze emanating from her mouth. How long had she been sober? A few days? A week? “What do you want?” I snapped, “There’s no booze in my room.” “Scootaloo, please. I’m not here to fight.” Mother’s words were quiet, almost whispers and yet there was resolve in her features. “Sure, if you say so. Now let me in. I’m tired.” Walking into my room sluggishly, I hardly had any energy left for listening to the preaching by a pony who struggled to make ends meet. Though the word ‘struggle’ is a bit of exaggeration, I think. After she lost her regular job, she wasn’t eager to try to find a new one. At least not until she realized that she needed money to be able to wash away her problems with alcohol. I guess things had gotten even worse since then that she eventually resorted to gambling. For a while, there was almost a complete silence, only the wooden floorboards creaking as I dragged my hooves across the empty space of my room. Then I heard a muffled weeping. I stopped. “I know I gave you a thousand reasons to hate me,” my mother said. She tried to get herself together, but it didn’t work. Tears began to fill her eyes. “I’ve never been the best mother... Perhaps I’m one of the worst. But I love you, Scoots. You’re all I have left to live for.” I stood motionless, my eyes staring at the wooden boards. I wanted to respond. Wanted to say to her that it was all artificial, and all she cared about was self-flagellation and indulging in her own pity. But I couldn’t find anything in my head, at that moment it was as empty as my bare room. “It’s okay,” were the only words I could manage. My mother stepped closer to me, her fur brushing against mine. I felt her wing touch my back. “You know, Scoots.” Mother’s voice cracked as if it was painful for her to talk. “When your father left us, I thought I didn’t have the strength to raise you. But I was wrong. Look at you. You’re the best daughter a mother could have.” She smiled then. It was just a pale smile, almost imperceptible. Nopony would’ve even noticed it. But for me, it was like seeing the shining sun after living years in the dark. Stretching a hoof out, my mother pulled me close to her and wrapped her wing around me. A warm sensation engulfed my body, so familiar and yet almost forgotten. I felt my mother’s fur tickle my face as I returned her hug. “I love you too, mom,” I whispered. “I’m sorry for what you’ve been going through because of me. I can’t change the past but I promise I’ll make it up to you one day. You deserve better than this.” I loved my mother very much, but years living with her had taught me that naivety is a bad quality for a pony. I’d undergone too much of Mother’s attempts at remorse that hadn’t resulted in anything. Despite this, I hadn’t any time to think through it. Right now I was reliving one of the best moments of my life. We sat down on my bed then and just talked. My mother told me the story how she’d met my father. I listened carefully, and when it was my turn, began to brag about how I and my friends got our Cutie Marks by helping Diamond Tiara. We talked about mundane things too. It was late when my mother kissed my forehead and turned off the light. I wasn’t dreaming about a perfect family that night. I had it for real.
Chapter 4. Kisses And Sweetness“Ya know, Ah’m startin’ to forget when was the last time we all hung out together properly. Since ya and Scootaloo began to date, y’all’ve missed almost all the crusades Ah’ve planned.” “A-Apple Bloom!” Sweetie Belle’s voice cracked another squeak, face crimson with embarrassment. “You got it wrong. We are not dating! Scootaloo merely asked me to help with her career at Carousel Boutique. That’s it.” Apple Bloom laughed. “Ah’d rather believe cows can fly than our Scootaloo got carried away with fashion. Ah ain’t know why but ya two spend all the time together. It looks like y’all have some sort of secret romance.” Apple Bloom’s smirk grew wider. “Tell me, have ya kissed yet?” By now Sweetie was blushing hotly even by her own standards. “Scootaloo, say something,” she nearly pleaded. I had to make an effort to keep a straight face, a smile playing on the corners of my mouth. Usually, I would play along with Apple Bloom to see what peak of cuteness Sweetie Belle could reach. However, this particular topic was something I wasn’t comfortable to speak about, let alone joke. It would’ve been better if my friends hadn’t brought up this matter at all. “It’s all serious, Apple Bloom,” I said, “there’s a reason why I work at Carousel Boutique.” Apple Bloom’s grin became sour, then faded into a straight line. “If ya say so. But Ah still don’t believe that ya fell in love with dresses somehow. Ya holding something back from me and Ah certainly don’t like it.” I didn’t like it either but telling the truth would make things only worse. If I had to choose between revealing my mother’s problems with alcohol and appearing a little bit of a nut, I would rather choose the latter. “What about we all go to The Hay Burger,” I proposed. “We could have some tasty burgers, chips, fresh juice and forget about my personal life already, my treat.” “Do ya think ya can so easily buy me?” Apple Bloom countered. “I’ll buy one burger for each day I’ve missed as a crusader,” I said, mentally whacking my head as a number of days I’d missed dawned on me. It was going to be a hell of a basket of burgers. Apple Bloom’s eyes began to narrow as she stared at me. “With apple topping,” she said, stretching the words. Thus, the three of us headed for The Hay Burger, Apple Boom marching ahead and singing the Cutie Mark Crusaders’ anthem. As we walked, I could feel the weight of my pouch in my hoof. It’d been a strange feeling for me until recently but I began to get used to it. In the restaurant, I ordered a whole tray of apple burgers and watched my friends hungrily devour their meal. They looked so carefree. I, on the other hoof, was taken with thoughts of coming expulsion from my house. I ate my share of the burgers and got up from the table. “We have to go, Sweetie. Miss Rarity is waiting for us.” Sweetie Belle pulled away from her burger, quizzical expression on her face. “We don’t have to hurry. There’s still enough time,” she said. “It’s better if we’ll come earlier,” I insisted. “Ya need to relax, Scoots,” Apple Bloom slurred, trying to fit two burgers at the same time. “Ya always punching above your weight. It wouldn’t hurt to slow down a bit.” It was somehow funny that I’d lost track of how many times I’d heard that kind of advice. Perhaps, one day I would be able to use it for my own good. But first I had to pave the way for that very day with my own hooves. Sweetie and I walked back to Miss Rarity without much talking. My friend dragged herself behind me, still grouching about not having had enough time to hang out with Apple Bloom. As we turned the corner, the extravagant view of Carousel Boutique appeared in front of us. But before I could take another step, my eyes went wide with horror as I saw a multicolored tail protruding from the doorway. I barely had time to spin around and jump into a nearby bush. Sweetie Belle came up to me, her eyes narrowed, her mouth forming a curved line. She shook her head questioningly. “Don’t tell me you’re still avoiding Rainbow Dash. Why don’t you reveal your job to her?” “Are you joking?” I said, puzzled. “What would she think of me if she found out I’m going to become a model?” Sweetie’s demeanor didn’t change a bit at my words, so I had to emphasize my point. “She would think it’s the uncoolest thing ever!” I exclaimed. “Nah, I’m sure Rainbow Dash will understand you,” Sweetie said, waving her hoof in a reassuring manner. “Perhaps, but she would never look at me the same again.” I quickly lowered my head back into the bush as Rainbow Dash turned to leave the boutique. Unfortunately, I couldn’t hear what she was talking about with Miss Rarity from here. All I could do was hope that my employer hadn’t mentioned me. Seeing my nervousness, Sweetie just rolled her eyes and let out a puff of air. “Will be waiting for you in my room,” she said, trotting off to the boutique. I waited until Rainbow Dash crossed paths with Sweetie. They said hello to each other, then Rainbow flew off. I stepped out of my cover as soon as her silhouette blurred in the sky, which didn’t take long. She was named the best flyer in Equestria for a reason. Having walked into the boutique, I was going to go up to Sweetie’s room when Miss Rarity stopped me for a talk. The thing is, Miss Rarity doesn’t usually talk to me much and if she does, it has to be something important. The incident with Hoity Toity was the first that came to my mind. She must have gotten into some kind of trouble because of me. I felt panic begin to well up inside my chest. “I’m so sor—” I didn’t get a chance to finish my apology. Miss Rarity pressed her hoof against my lips, silencing me. “Don’t worry, darling,” she said, her voice soft and oddly soothing. “If anypony should apologize, it’s me. I shouldn’t have raised my voice at you.” Rarity set the hoof down on the floor and spun around with a flourish, her perfectly coiffed mane bouncing as if in slow motion. “I would have never made it if I hadn’t been proactive enough and took every chance that came my way,” Miss Rarity said as she swept her hoof around pointing out the expansive interior of the boutique, rows of ostentatious gowns and a pile of requests that ponies from all over Equestria had made, in hopes of getting the dress designed and sewn by the famous fashionista herself. Rarity turned back to me and continued, “I have to admit, I thought of you as a frightened pup who would run away the moment a stranger’s shadow fell upon its tail. But now I’m beginning to see a pony who is ready to trample over others, if necessary.” I didn’t like where Miss Rarity was going with this. “I don’t think opportunism is a source of pride for a pony,” I said. Rarity’s lips stretched into a smirk at that. “You don’t have to be ashamed of your ambitions, darling. As they say, all’s fair in love and business.” “Even if you have to lie to a pony who you consider your best friend?” I asked, the deception toward Sweetie still fresh in my head. “Sometimes lying is the only way to preserve a healthy relationship. You’ll see better when you grow up,” Rarity said, stretching out her hoof and running it along my mane. She lifted up my chin, her eyes focused on mine, warm and kind. “Why don’t we get you your own dress?” “What?” I asked, confused. “You deserve better than to model Sweetie’s cast-offs. It’s time for you to have your own dress that’ll bring out your features.” “But I already owe you so much,” I said, and it was utterly true. My stash had been growing faster than I’d ever hoped for. Rarity put her hoof on my lips once again and made a hushed sound before speaking. “This time it’s my gift to you.” Miss Rarity led me upstairs, past her office and to the place I hadn’t had a chance to be in. We stopped before the fitting room I was strictly forbidden from walking in. I was never really interested as to why that was the case but now when I stood before the steel door with double locks I couldn’t help but wonder what lay behind it that required such protection. I saw Rarity’s horn glow bright blue and the top lock went loose. She strained her forehead harder and the door cracked open. There was another flash and a small mirror accompanied with a fancy comb came from seemingly nowhere. Rarity groomed her mane in a few deft moves, then switched to me, straightening every hair that protruded from my mane or tail even so slightly. All this time I was standing motionlessly, staring at the door. Only now did I notice it had no hole for a key. Somehow it looked more creepy than it should be. I looked up at Miss Rarity, a proud and yet soft expression on her face. A sense of peace and tranquility emanated from her, and this tranquility passed on to me. She stepped in and I followed her. Against all my worries, the place was ordinarily arranged and had more of a room in its look than the other lavish areas of Carousel Boutique. I spotted opulent curtains here and there, a few wardrobes, and yet plain emptiness occupied the largest part of the room. In the center of it all, there was a bunch of cushions, Sweetie Belle sitting on one of them. “What is Scoots doing here?” Sweetie’s voice creaked as she noticed me behind Miss Rarity. “My client will be here any minute.” “She is your client,” Rarity spoke softly, brushing my mane with a hoof. “And your goal is to take the measure of every inch of her body.” Sweetie looked at her sister with a disdainful glare. “You told me that you would not drag Scootaloo into this. You swore to me!” “And I haven’t broken it,” Miss Rarity said, tossing her head disdainfully. “Scootaloo’s here to get her measurements done, so I could start making the dress for a fashion show.” “What are you talking about?” I chimed in. “Is there something wrong?“ “Not at all, darling. I can assure you that I’ll spare no efforts to make your dress suit you perfectly,” Rarity said, her gaze traveling down until it got met with Sweetie’s. The sisters stood motionlessly for a few seconds, staring at each other. Miss Rarity was first to break the silence. “Usually, our boutique provides a special service in addition to dressmaking,” she said, throwing Sweetie a look of disappointment. “But I’m afraid my sister considers you not worthy of her time.” “I, I...” Sweetie stammered, somehow too embarrassed to reply anything coherent, crimson appearing on her cheeks. “I would never think that,” she managed eventually, her words clumsy and timid. “Scoots means to me more than all those ponies I’ve been with combined.” “So, what’s your problem then?” Miss Rarity asked, putting on a coy smile. “You should be glad that I’ve brought her here.” I was sitting on a nearby cushion while watching the squabble. I tried to think what was the point of all this, but couldn’t come up with any plausible conclusion. It seemed ridiculous for a sister to make her sibling do the things I imagined of. When have I become so perverted? The thought circled in my mind. “Do you trust me?” Sweetie asked suddenly. At first, I thought she was addressing Miss Rarity, but her sight switched to me, her deep green eyes boring into mine as if trying to devour me. She moved closer to me until our hips touched, making me shudder a little. “Why would you ask such questions?” I asked, muddled. It felt rather uncomfortable to sit so close to Sweetie, the touch of her body leaving me with droplets of sweat on my fur. The whole room suddenly felt hot as if somepony turned on a stove beside me. “I’m going to promise you something,” Sweetie said, almost whispering. “I have to be sure that you trust me.” “Of course, I trust you,” I said sincerely. “But I would trust you even more if you told me what the heck is going here.” “I’ll show you instead.” Sweetie leaned toward me. “And I promise you will like it.” “Wha—” Sweetie didn’t let me finish the phrase. Her lips brushed mine, sending a shiver over my body. My mouth stopped moving, half open and tensed, for I was afraid to make the slightest of movements. Sweetie closed her eyes and leaned in even closer, her elaborate puffs of warm air intermixing with my rapid breathing. Our lips joined, the sensation as sweet as I imagined my first kiss would be. Grating her tongue over my teeth, Sweetie’s forelegs reached past my back and rested on the cushions behind me. She pressed against me with the weight of her whole body, putting me on my back. I was lying supine now, Sweetie on top of me. I felt Sweetie’s tongue making its way into my mouth, and I accepted it. My heart pounded so hard I could feel every beat of it in my ears. I tried to focus my eyes but the world around me spun into a blur as if there was no world at all, only me and Sweetie. She caught my tongue, pushing it up and caressing it while hugging my lips with hers. Gradually I started getting used to the intruder in my mouth as if I'd been kissing for the better part of my life. While sliding my tongue into Sweetie, it seemed as natural as taking a morning walk on my scooter. I soon became bolder and found myself trying to draw the reins. My tongue swirled over Sweetie’s, pushing into her mouth and intertwining into a single whole. I clasped my forelegs around Sweetie’s waist, holding her tight and pressing her down onto me. After what felt like an eternity, Sweetie wrapped her tongue around the tip of mine for the last time and began to slowly raise her head, stretching a trail of drool between us. Only when she let go of my muzzle did I realize I’d forgotten to breathe. I took in a deep gulp of air, stretching my strained jaw that was totally unfamiliar with such affairs. I felt a viscous liquid drip on my thigh from above, slightly saturating my fur. The very thought of what it could possibly be made my wings stiff like a tightrope. Sweetie licked my upper lip with her tongue and threw a lascivious glance at me. My breath quickened as she began her slow journey down my body. Her lips met my neck first. She planted a trail of kisses along my throat, down my chest and belly, making sure to give attention to every bit of my body her tongue met with. I clutched my eyes as Sweetie made her way down my crotch, her tongue finding two small mounds of sensitive flesh. She took one of my nipples in her mouth, sucking on it while putting her hoof on another and gently caressing it. A pang of pleasure hit me, then another one. A burning itch spread all over my groin, one that can’t be eased with a single scratch. I wasn’t able to hold back the wetness between my legs anymore. A steady stream of my juices found its way out of my pussy. My clit pulsed, demanding attention. Sweetie threw a hungry look to me, making it clear that everything was going as she’d planned. I tried to cross my legs to hide the overly compliant reaction of my body but she put her hooves on each side of my thighs, spreading me apart. I moaned as Sweetie rushed down my crotch and kissed my lower lips, as sensual and eager as she’d done it with my upper ones. A tip of her tongue traced around my labia, lapping up every drop that leaked from me, her caress sending sparks through my body. Sweetie giggled quietly as I writhed in the throes of pleasure. She grinned and advanced on my pussy with a new resolve. She was using the flat of her tongue now, making a series of long licks all over my slit, from the base of my pussy and up to my needy clit, swirling her tongue around my hard nub and flicking it up. A gasp slipped past my lips as Sweetie plunged her muzzle into the depths of my tunnel, eyes shining with hunger as if she’d found a cave full of honey. My first instinct was to catch hold of Sweetie’s tongue and squeeze it hard as she swept it inside me, but her moves were deft enough that the moment my pussy contracted to grab my prize, Sweetie was already pressing against another spot, making me melt with pleasure. I didn’t notice when I gave in to desire. Not until I felt my throat become sore from constant moans that escaped me and echoed off the walls of the room. My body was under Sweetie’s control now. She was doing with me whatever she pleased. A swift touch of her tongue and my hindleg twitched involuntarily, another lick and the rhythm of my moans changed. A warm sensation enveloped my clit as Sweetie hugged me with her lips. I felt her teeth scrape across my flesh, nipping me. Sweetie’s horn glowed and my nipples got squeezed and yanked up as well. I screamed. But not because of pain. If there was something that could hurt, my brain wasn’t able to register it behind an unending flow of pleasure. I knew I was an instant away from the most wonderful sensation I’d ever felt. Lost in the bliss, my forelegs darted down to grab hold of Sweetie’s head and shove her tightly against my closed thighs, some animalistic part of me afraid that Sweetie would leave me at the last moment. But Sweetie Belle wasn’t going anywhere. She sucked on my oversensitive clit more severely than ever, her magic working on my nipples like a vacuum brush. A flash flickered behind my eyes. My body felt as if it weighed nothing. Warm waves of bliss began to course through me, from the bottom of my hooves up to the top of my head. And dizziness, dizziness, dizziness. I wasn’t lying on the ground anymore, nor was I constrained by the earth’s gravity. The cushions turned into clouds and I was soaring in the sky now, free to move wherever I chose. With every new wave of orgasm my mind perceived I sped up and rushed forward along the blue surface of the sky. I laughed and spun in a quick circle as I rammed myself through the clouds, making snowy dust from them. Even after the surge of bliss subsided I hovered in the air for a long while, enjoying the beauty of the sky and the scenery below me. Everything seemed so small from the height I was observing it. Clap. Clap. Clap. A steady applause suddenly reached my ears, in the way one would clop their hooves together at the end of a theatrical play. “Impressive,” Miss Rarity said, casting me back onto the ground. While having my way with Sweetie I completely forgot that we weren’t alone and Miss Rarity had been watching us all the way through. But more shameful was the fact that I forgot I was holding Sweetie’s head between my legs like a vice. I let go off her, throwing my hooves up. Sweetie made a series of quick breaths, gasping for air. Miss Rarity walked to the cushions and lifted Sweetie’s chin up from my groin. I nearly died of embarrassment when I saw Sweetie’s face. A copious amount of my juices found their place on her muzzle, soaking into her fur and hanging off her nose and chin. I saw Sweetie’s throat contract a little, sending a gulp of my cum down her belly. I found it more erotic than I wanted to admit. “Looks like we’ve got quite a squirter here.” Miss Rarity smiled, lowering her head and giving Sweetie a sensual kiss on her lips. After she broke it, her tongue moved aside to lap the remnants off Sweetie’s face. A moan of satisfaction escaped her as she tasted my cum on her taste buds. While watching the obscene scene, my brain struggled to comprehend what kind of reaction I should experience. I knew that Miss Rarity and Sweetie were close, but even then lustful kisses are not what one would expect from the siblings. An unsettling feeling bottomed out in my stomach, but I was too spent and horny to make a big deal about it at that moment. “How do you feel, darling?” Rarity asked me. I hesitated a while before speaking. “I never felt anything like that before,” I mumbled, residual waves of pleasure still circulating over my body. I turned my look to Sweetie. “You’re the best.” Sweetie Belle just nodded appreciatively and gave me a brief smile the way she usually smiles while sharing candies with me and Apple Bloom between classes. The whole process of eating me out seemed to be no big deal to her. It hurt me a little. I wanted my first time to be something special. “It’s good that you enjoyed it,” Rarity said. “I hope you didn’t forget one of the most important rules of etiquette: a lady always returns the favor. It won’t do to leave Sweetie in such a state.” She pointed at a small puddle under Sweetie’s hindlegs. “Oh...” The words stuck in my throat. Sweetie rubbed a hoof against a foreleg. “You don’t have to do it, really,” she said softly. “No, it’s fine,” I proclaimed, rather spontaneously. Although my and Miss Rarity’s opinions had often been opposed, in this case her remark was totally justified. I had to thank Sweetie for what she’d done for me. “I’m not sure if I’ll be able to use my tongue as skillfully as you, but I’ll do my best,” I said. Miss Rarity’s lips stretched into a smirk as she let out a little chuckle. “Enthusiasm is always good, but you won’t make Sweetie cum with a mere tongue no matter how hard you try. My sister loves it rough. Catch!” I almost missed a box Miss Rarity threw to me. Looking closer, I recognized that it was the same black box I’d delivered to the boutique a few weeks ago while working as a postpony. I opened the box and took out an elongated, pleasant to the touch object. It had a flare on the top and a set of straps at the base. “Is this...” I was too ashamed to name the word. Plus, the thing had such a broad girth that it was wider than my hoof. It had a horrifying length too. There was no way it could fit in anypony. Sweetie looked at me quizzically. “Have you never held a phallus before?” “Why would I?” I said, slightly offended. “It’s not like such things are selling on every corner.” Sweetie’s pupils dilated in panic at my words. She hung her head and began to stare at the floor as if she was ashamed to look at me. After having seen Sweetie’s eyes sparkling with lust, it was unexpected to see her being embarrassed by adult topics. It reminded me of the Sweetie who I’d known for years. “You probably think I’m a freak,” Sweetie muttered, her voice trembling on the brink of tears. “Of course not!” I cried, more loudly than I intended. “I mean, this whole thing fell on me at once, I just need more time to get used to it. You’re my best friend and you will always be no matter what. And I...” I almost dropped the word ‘love’ but decided that it was not the best time for sentiments. “Let me thank you,” I said simply, offering Sweetie a smile. Sweetie nodded, rubbing her eyes with a hoof. Rarity wiped off a tear as well. “So touching,” she said. Nervously, I exchanged looks between the artificial phallus, Sweetie and Miss Rarity. “How does this work, exactly?” I asked. “I’ll help you, darling,” Miss Rarity said, taking the thing in her telekinetic field. She levitated it to my rear, wrapping straps around my flanks. The latch clanked and the phallus found its place neatly under my belly. As I shifted my hooves I felt the strap-on bump up against my underbelly. I wondered how stallions could walk with such big things between their legs. Once I got ready, Sweetie turned her butt to me and flicked her tail to one side, a steady rivulet of her juices running down her thighs and matting her fur. Her clit winked fiercely, almost hopping from her pussy. “So I just stick it in there?” I asked, filling the air with anxiety. “Right,” Rarity said. She took a hold of Sweetie’s tail with her magic and tugged it up with a force, getting Sweetie’s hooves off the ground. Sweetie let out a muffled moan, but she seemed to like it. Her pussy made a little squirt in anticipation. Hesitantly, I made my way to Sweetie’s rear, my nose catching an acrid scent of her arousal. I let it fill my lungs, taking a series of deep breaths while admiring her puckered butthole and sleek folds glistening with moisture. “Put your hooves on her back,” Miss Rarity instructed. “Just like a stallion mounts a mare. Yes, just like that. And don’t try to be gentle. Thrust as hard as you can, up to the hilt.” Miss Rarity gave Sweetie’s ass a harsh smack. She traced her hoof over Sweetie’s tailhole, then moved down until she met Sweetie’s tender folds. Sweetie shifted her hooves anxiously as Miss Rarity rubbed the hoof over her pussy, Rarity’s eyes staring down at Sweetie and examining every inch of the most private part of her body. Seemingly satisfied with her sister’s abundant wetness, Miss Rarity let go of Sweetie, her hoof returning to the ground sticky with Sweetie’s juices. “What should you say when somepony helps your insatiable hole to be filled with a cock, dear sister?” Rarity said, her tongue sweeping over her lips. Sweetie took a breath in and out. “Please, fuck me like the whore I am, Scootaloo,” she muttered, almost pleading. Miss Rarity’s eyes sparkled at that and she moved her hoof all the way under her stomach until it found the spot under her tail. She let out a moan as she rubbed her hoof into her cunt. I have to admit, it creeped me out a bit that things had come to this. But I had no right to back down, not after I’d promised Sweetie that I’d pay her back. I stepped forward, my forelegs on each side of Sweetie’s back. I grabbed onto Sweetie, trying to line up the tip of my temporary cock with her pussy. That was much harder than I’d thought. While mounting Sweetie, my eyes were fixed on her neck and head, and I had to do all the moves completely blindly. Seeing me struggle, Miss Rarity stretched out her hoof to my groin and lined up the cock’s tip with Sweetie’s slit, all the while touching herself with another hoof. “So, I begin?” It was a rather rhetorical question. Sweetie looked as if she had long been ready for this. She waggled her ass excitedly and it seemed that hadn’t Miss Rarity been here, she’d have impaled herself on the cock long ago. I took it as consent and thrust in. By the end of the session, I could barely find the strength to breathe, my legs buckling under me as if I just ran a twenty miles marathon. I’d had to make Sweetie cum three times before her squirts receded and she was properly satisfied. All this time, while I’d been fucking Sweetie, Miss Rarity had been sitting nearby with a hoof between her legs, her cry of pleasure drowning out that of Sweetie, an almost impossible deed. I’d never tried to romanticize sex but I could have never imagined that it might be so dirty. I looked down at Sweetie’s prone form sprawling on the floor, her tail twitching uncontrollably. A stream of drool flowed out of her mouth while she moved her lips wordlessly. My stomach churned as I observed her. Perhaps I shouldn’t have listened to Miss Rarity’s incitements and, instead, been easier on my friend. “Are you alright, Sweetie?” I asked, worry settling in my chest. “Don’t flatter yourself, darling,” Rarity said while wiping her hooves with a napkin. “You have a lot to learn before you can hope to use my sister up.” Miss Rarity came closer to me, a tape soaring after her. She bent down and put the tape on my flank, stretching it around my body. “What are you doing?” I asked, taking a step back. “What does it look like to you?” Rarity said, holding me in place with her hooves. “I need your measurements to make the dress for you. That’s what we came here for, didn’t we?” I could only observe as Miss Rarity moved her hooves with a professional grace, using the tape as if playing an instrument. It took her less than a minute to get everything done. She wrote the numbers down in her notebook and trotted to the door. “Sweetie Belle, get up!” Rarity shouted, leaving the room. “You too, Scootaloo. Take a bath, then go have dinner.” “Yes, sis,” Sweetie muttered, standing up on wobbly legs. She followed her sister, but not before giving me a peck on the lips. Blushing, I headed for the bathroom as well. It took us a good amount of time to clean ourselves from sweat and cum that had clung to our thighs. After having done that, Sweetie sat down with her back to me and asked me to wash her rear and tail, and I was more than glad to help her. I took her tail in my hooves and began to soap it while wondering how I had never noticed before how beautiful its bicolor shade was. All the time I’d known Sweetie, I’d only seen her as a friend. But after what had happened between us today, I couldn’t bring myself to look at her the same way again. I still felt her taste on my tongue, her breath over my neck, her touch against my flank. That’s why it was twice as painful to realize that she waited for other ponies, many of whom she probably had never seen before, to do nasty things with in the same room where we’d been making love. That is just not like her. How could the Sweetie who flies into a panic the moment a colt pays attention to her be so nonchalant about sex like it is a stroll through the park? I hesitated for a long time before deciding to bring my worries up to Sweetie. “Don’t get me wrong,” I began slowly. “But don’t you think your sister is using you?” “What do you mean?” Sweetie asked, looking at me over her shoulder. “She forces you to have intimacy with those fancy ponies who visit the boutique, doesn’t she?” Sweetie pulled her tail out of my hooves and turned to face me. “She never forced me to do anything like this. She asked me! I thought we’ve already discussed this.” “There’s a big difference between helping a sister and ...” I had to shut my mouth to keep the word whoring from sliding off my tongue. I looked at Sweetie solemnly. “A pony should have sex with only someone she is in love with.” Sweetie threw her hooves up, letting out a groan of irritation. “Why can’t you understand me?” she shouted. “Wouldn’t you do the same for your mother or Rainbow Dash?” “I...” The question stumped me. “I don’t know.” “This means you don’t love them like I do. Rarity is more than a sister to me. I love her the same way a pony would love her special somepony. And if she asks me to attend someone else because her career depends on it, I will do it for her. Because dressmaking is the meaning of her life and she can’t live without it. And if anything happens to my sister, I’ll never forgive a pony who did that to her!” “I understand...” The words came out of my mouth with difficulty, a lump forming in my throat. What a naive filly I was if I really thought I might have a future with Sweetie. I should have known when Rarity and Sweetie kissed back then. Our kiss hadn’t been near as passionate as theirs. Perhaps, Sweetie had started all this because Miss Rarity had asked her to put on a show for her. That must be the case, given how the mare had been enjoying herself the whole time. “Umm, Scootaloo? Are you alright? You have tears in your eyes. I’m sorry I shouted at you. I don’t know what came over me. I can be so dumb sometimes. Hey, Scootaloo? Please, say something. I didn’t want to offend you. Scootaloo...” “It’s just a speck.” I wiped my eyes with a hoof. “Let’s go eat dinner. Miss Rarity must be waiting for us.”
