A Little Serendipity

Their lips wrapped around each other - tasting, feeling. Teeth nipped, tongues slipped, breath hitched out in moans.

"This is wonderful Bloomy... so wonderful." Applebloom reached up, and felt the swell of her lovers breast. She heard the soft sigh of her partner, felt the shiver ripple through her. She felt a hand feel its way down her stomach... the butterflies transformed into a pounding, desperate warmth. She grabbed her partners hand, and pushed it down her jeans, and into her panties. The hand began to touch her gently - pushing, rubbing. Applebloom began to loose control. She looked at her partners face.

"Scootaloo..."

Applebloom gasped and snapped awake. She sat up, and looked around. She was in her room - it was dark, still late at night - and she was drenched in sweat, breathing in staccato bursts. "Not again," she muttered, sinking back down onto the mattress. This was the third dream this week. They just wouldn't stop! She turned and looked at her alarm clock; it was three in the morning - she had work in four hours. With a sigh she dropped back against her pillow. She knew she wasn't going to get back to sleep any time soon. Every time she had this dream, she became plagued by the memories of the past week.

It had been the worst in recent memory. She'd lost one of her closest friends.

She got up and walked over to a desk, opened one of the drawers and took out a scrapbook. Her grandmother had made it for her graduation - a sort of tradition in the Apple family household. It contained pictures of her childhood. She opened it up, and scanned through the pages. Her former best friend looked up at her in almost every single one. In some they were smiling, holding hands (how innocent that seemed at the time), in others they were embroiled in the heat of competition, battling with each other in soccer, field hockey. A sudden memory rose up, the two of them burning their field hockey skirts (which they had hated with a blazing passion), dancing around the fire drunkenly, raising hell. Only a week ago, that memory would have filled her with fondness. Now, it only brought her misery. She slammed the book shut and tossed it aside. She leaned back in her chair, and closed her eyes.

~

She wouldn't return her calls. She wouldn't answer her texts. She even ignored the repeated knocks at her door. Her best friend... was it gone? Was that the end of it? Just one night of drunkenness, and-

"Bloom! Watch what yer doin!" Applebloom was startled out of her thoughts. She had been in the kitchen, idly mashing up some apples for a new jam the family was planning on selling. She looked down, and realized that she had made a total mess of things. Instead of putting the mash into the bowl, it was scattered all around the table. There were large chunks of uncrushed apple mixed in with the mush, and stems and seeds abounded. Her sister pushed her aside, and began painstakingly correcting her mistakes. "Dammit Bloom, what's a matter with you?" her sister asked. Bloom backed away from the table.

"Nothing. Just a little distracted." Applebloom muttered.

"Well, you're not going to be much use then," Applejack sighed. Applebloom felt her cheeks go hot with embarrassment.

"Sorry," she muttered under her breath. Applejack wiped her brow, and turned to face her sister.

"Anything you wanna talk about, sugar cube?" her sister probed. Applebloom shook her head.

"Don't think you could help," Bloom said. She shrugged her shoulders. "It's just... things are starting to fall apart a little bit." Applejack nodded, and put a hand on her sisters shoulder.

"It gets like that sometimes. But you can get through it." Applejacks face lit up with a smile. "You're strong, little sis. Apple family strong." She pounded her fist against her chest. Applebloom managed to eek out a smile. "Remember Bloomy - life will always get tough. It doesn't matter what led up to it, that's all in the past. What people will remember you for, what will form your future, is how you handle it. If you let it break you, and fall, it'll be tough to recover. But if you face it head on, and stand tall, you'll never falter again." Applejack took her other shoulder.

They stared into each others eyes - eyes that were just like their mother's - and felt that powerful, blazing love that only kin can feel for each other. "Whatever it is Bloomy, I know you won't let it break you. You're my sister. You're an Apple. And an Apple never falls." Applejack winked at her. "'Less we pick it first." They stood together, reveling in some unseen power that flowed between them. It lasted a few moments... and then it disappeared, folding into the aether. Applejack stepped away, and went back to work fixing up Applebloom's mash. Applebloom searched for words, some way to thank her sister, but she just couldn't find them. She ran out of the room, picking up a coat on her way out the door.

"Hey, where ya goin?" called her sister.

"I'm fixing what's broken!" shouted Applebloom. She walked out the front door, pulled her coat over her, and stepped double time to her car. She wasn't going to let this stand. That's what weak people did. When weak people encountered a problem, they waited for someone else to dig them out. But the strong know that the true solutions to life's problems lie within themselves. Maybe the weak persons method works one time, someone might bail them out, or they might gain divine provenance. But what about the second obstacle? Or the third? When they are faced with an obstacle that no one can help them with, they lie helpless. They don't know how to overcome it. However, the strong will be able to do it easily. They've conquered such problems before and conquered them on their own.

Applebloom started up the car, and put it into drive. She wound it through the streets, a look of tenacity set upon her brow. This would not stand. She would not give up her best friend without a fight.

~

"Scoot! Scoot!" Applebloom pounded on the door as hard as she could. A dull ache began to form in her knuckles, but she ignored it and pushed on. "Dammit Scootaloo, I know you're in there! Answer me!" She slammed the door with her fist again, and let out a frustrated grunt. She had been at Scootaloo's front door for nearly ten minutes now. She had pounded and called out with all her strength, but there was never an answer. She was beginning to give up hope. Maybe this was all just for nothing... just fruitless. Maybe-

"You're gonna break it down if you keep that up." Applebloom gasped. She turned around slowly, willing that the owner of that voice would be who she thought it was. She closed her eyes... and slowly opened them. Scootaloo stood there, leaning against the fence. Applebloom felt unbridled joy fill her. She opened her mouth... and quickly closed it. The joy began to curdle. It began to turn into something darker... anger. Resentment. Frustration. She bit her lip, and leaned against the door she had been pounding on only a moment before. She tried to think of something to say, but everything that came into her head was just too vicious. She had come here to smooth things over with Scootaloo, not destroy things again. Still, she felt like she should say something.

"Wassup?" She asked. Damn. That was pretty lame.

Not much." Answered Scoot, scratching the back of her head, "How about you?"

"Oh, you know..." What could she say? Worrying my ass off? Thinking my most precious friendship had ended? Destroying myself emotionally? "... the usual." Scootaloo walked away from the fence, moved up the stairs to the porch, and stood in front of Applebloom. Applebloom looked at her- really looked at her. Scootaloo was avoiding her eyes. Her features were etched with foreign emotion. Regret, maybe? Disappointment? She just couldn't tell. Come on, this was Scootaloo! She used to be able to read her like a book. But now, she was obscured. It was like they were seeing each other through a fog.

"Do you wanna come in?" Scootaloo motioned to the door. Applebloom nodded, and Scootaloo led them inside. When Scoot closed the door behind Applebloom, the red-head sighed. She was just going to have to come out with it. It might hurt Scootaloo, but she needed to make her feelings known.

"Scoot, listen-" her words were cut off. Scoot had embraced her.

"I'm sorry." Scootaloo's voice came out in harsh gasps, as if she was desperate for air. "You don't deserve this. I care about you so much. But... " Scootaloo took a few steps back, turning her face to try and keep her friend from seeing her expression. "Every time I see you now, I just feel confused. No, not even when I see you. Whenever I think about you, everything starts to get weird. You're my most loyal and loved friend, and I never imagined that I'd want anything more then that. Especially since... well, you know."

"Know what?" Applejack took a step closer to Scootaloo, staring her straight in the eye.

"Well, we're both..."

"Girls. Yeah, crazy world we live in," snarled Applejack. "It must be so tough admitting that you like other women. I have no idea what you're going through." Scootaloo shook her head sadly.

"That's just it... you don't," sighed Scootaloo. Applebloom could only stare at her, open mouthed.

"I'm sorry, what?" asked Applebloom. "Are you bein' serious?"

"Dead," answered Scootaloo. "You see, when you came out, you had friends and family that would accept you. It was hard, but you knew you could get through it. But me... no, I don't think I could. I know it was tough, but when it really comes down to it, you had it easy. Not to mention, you told me that you had feelings for girls your entire life. Well, I haven't. I dated boys through high school, not because I had to, but because I wanted to. I had fun with them... I was attracted to them. I even loved some of them. But throughout all that, I had feelings for you. I felt so conflicted. I wasn't sure what I was."

"Then why put a label on it?" Applejack put an arm around her friend. "That's the problem with society today. To most people, sexuality is black and white. Gay and straight. But that's just not true. I know plenty of straight women who have slept with other women, and don't feel regret about it. And I know a few straight men who admit they get a rush when they see a really good looking guy. You shouldn't feel bad Scoot. You weren't cheating on those guys, you just had feelings for someone else. Even people in love get that way sometimes. Any person who says their love is so powerful that they're blind to any other person is lying. No matter how committed you are to somebody, you're still going to want to sleep with other people. You know?"

"I guess," sighed Scootaloo. "This is a lot to take in. I'm not exactly..."

"Open to this sort of thing?" nudged Applebloom. Scootaloo nodded. "Well, maybe you should be. Better to try this stuff out now while you're young then when you're committed to a family."

"Try it out? You mean, you would wanna, you know..." Scootaloo scratched her head sheepishly.

"Fuck?" Scootaloo gave a very Belle-esque gasp. Applebloom laughed. "When did you get so squeamish Scoot?"

"I don't know," shrugged Scootaloo. "But, but what if it doesn't work out? Can we still be friends?"

"Maybe. But nothing's for sure," countered Applebloom. "But I don't know if we can really be friends right now. If I left this house right now, do you think you'd be able to face me again without feeling uncomfortable? Do you think we'd ever be able to have a conversation without you wondering what could have been? Would things really go back to the way they were?"

"No, probably not," realized Scootaloo. Applebloom nodded.

"So... what are we gonna do about all this?" The arm that Applebloom had slung around Scootaloo's shoulder made it's way down her back. She grabbed Scootaloo by the waist, and pulled her close. She ran her other hand through Scootaloo's hair. She had let it grow out a little bit... it didn't look bad.

"What..." Scootaloo's breath hastened, and her heartbeat quickened. "What do I do?"

"Whatever comes natural." Applebloom's hand may its way down from Scootaloo's hair, down onto her cheek. She brought her face close, and guided Scootaloo's lips to hers. The first kiss went through them like thunder. Applebloom could feel Scootaloo's knees weakening, and she tightened her grip on her waist. They came apart.

"Oh man," whispered Scootaloo. Applebloom could only giggle.

"No men here sis." She kissed her again, deeper this time. She felt Scootaloo's hands running down her back, onto the top of her jeans. Their lips parted, and Applebloom whispered, "go ahead." Scootaloo's eyes widened. Applebloom felt the hands go lower, and grasp her butt. She felt a shudder rip through Scootaloo, and felt a sort of base pleasure. They kissed again - their lips dancing - and Scootaloo tightened her grip. Applebloom began to feel a familiar heat, and felt her cheeks redden.

"I can't tell you how long I've wanted this," sighed Scootaloo. Her normal voice seemed to have vanished- it had transformed into some softer one. It reminded Applebloom of the wind blowing through the trees- skimming over the grass. Her eyes sparkled, and the kisses grew deeper, and longer. Their bodies unconsciously moved against each other. They began to preform a dance of desperation, as if they were trying to get closer then just skin to skin contact. As if they were trying to break through their fragile mortal shells, and move into each others very souls. Scootaloo took Applebloom's hand, and led her up the stairs. Applebloom could feel her heart pounding, a strange, violently beautiful feeling she hadn't felt in a long time. She hadn't felt this since... since her first time. This incredible anticipation. The etherial feeling of floating outside the boundaries of time and space. Being so wrapped up in someone that you couldn't form a coherent thought.

'This is how it feels before you make love,' Applebloom realized. It had been so long since she had been with someone she thought she could love. All the women before this were brief flickers of physical pleasure. They never lasted, never lingered. Applebloom thought about them sometimes, with some fondness. But not the fondness that a true, powerful experience has on you. More like the fondness of a fleeting joy, a cool breeze in the summer, or a particularly tasty meal. But this moment, with Scootaloo... she knew she would never forget this. She knew that this moment, this memory, would become ingrained in her consciousness.

It took them only a few moments to go up the stairs. These few moments, in two peoples lives, in the vast fathoms of the human subconscious, with millions of shared experiences coalescing at once, were not even a drop in the ocean. To most people, this is nothing. But to these two, these star struck lovers, who at that moment had nothing in their minds or hearts but each other, this would be the start of something incredible. Something beyond words. The best way to put it might be that it would be magical. That is where the true magic lies, not in the simple tricks performed by an illusionist, but in the blossoming hearts of young lovers. To follow these two into their bed would be to tread on the sanctity of love. This is their memory, and their memory alone.

~

Authors Note: I don't normally do these, but here goes. Now that things have settled down, and I have time to write again, I'm going to do my best to update more. It's tough to find times to write, but I owe it to you all to give as much to this story as I can. I wanted this chapter to be longer - especially after such a long wait for it - but truth be told, this is where it should end (the chapter, I mean- not the story). I feel like this chapter has a different tone then the others, and maybe that's because I'm still finding my voice. Hope you all enjoyed it. Also, keep an eye on 7 Days, you may be in for a surprise in a week or so.