Mondays were always the worst days in her mind. They were the start of work and school, they often dragged on for ages, and they were overall tiresome. This Monday, however, was different for her. It was her sister’s birthday. That and all schools in Ponyville were closed. To make matters even better, she was spending the whole day with her friends. She was even spending the night with them! Nothing, Apple Bloom thought, nothing could ruin this day.

Scootaloo’s scooter skidded to a halt. In the cheeriest voice possible, she turned to Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle and informed, “We’re here!”

In response, the two hopped off the scooter and approached the tent entrance. It was a clinical white tent, with signs plastered all around the entryway. Yellow signs with bold black text warned children to stay away from the tent, followed by biohazard symbols. Seeing this prompted Sweetie Belle to finally ask a question that had been scratching at the back of her head for quite some time. “Um, Apple Bloom,” she asked wearily, “Why are we here again?”

The young filly furrowed her eyebrows together in annoyance. “Didn’t I already tell ya’ll that,” she pondered aloud. The two shook their heads vigorously, both making their confusion very obvious to her. Unfurrowing her brow, Apple Bloom cleared her throat and explained, “Well, today’s my sister’s birthday, and so I figured we’d give her a surprise gift.”

Looking at each other, the two other fillies continued to wear their confusion on their faces. Sweetie Belle was the first to turn back to Apple Bloom, bearing yet another question. “And that surprise is..?”

Rolling her eyes, Apple Bloom pushed open the tent’s opening just enough to glance inside. Peering in, she saw the rows of beds. “Alright, the coast is clear,” she whispered. She waved a hoof to the other two, encouraging them to follow her.

Reluctantly, the two followed her inside. The three sneaked under a table set to the side. To their surprise, not many nurses were in the tent, though to be fair, it was around lunchtime. “Didn’t our sisters tell us not to come here?” Sweetie Belle asked.

“Aw come on,” Apple Bloom whined. “We’re only gonna be in here for a second. Just need ta find Applejack’s stuff and drop this in it.” Apple Bloom pulled out a crumpled-up letter she stuffed into her bike helmet.

“Couldn’t you have just given it to her this morning?” Sweetie Belle asked, eyeing the foals resting on the beds. Machines were attached to each of them, beeping and buzzing. Tubes were stuck up their noses; an observation that made Sweetie Belle cringe.

“Quit worrying,” Scootaloo reassured. “We’ll be fine.” Sweetie Belle groaned. Scootaloo scanned the area with Apple Bloom, trying to find Applejack’s stuff.

“There it is,” Apple Bloom whispered. The three looked over to see a brown saddlebag near the far back wall of the tent. A brown Stetson rested beside it, along with a half-empty bottle of water.

Sweetie Belle squinted. “How are we supposed to even get to it?” she asked. “It’s not like we can just walk up to it.”

“I got this,” Scootaloo said confidently. Grabbing the crumpled letter from Apple Bloom, Scootaloo scanned the pathway in between the table they hid under and the row of beds in front of them.

Seeing there weren’t any adults nearby, she dashed over to the row of beds, diving underneath it. She turned around and winked at the crusaders, and began crawling to the bag. She made sure to stay away from the edges of the bed, hoping not to be spotted.

Spotting hooves belonging to a volunteer nurse walking down the row she was under, a small bead of sweat rolled down her forehead. Slowly but surely, she inched her way toward her goal. Eventually, she finally spotted the end of the row she hid under.

A set of pale-yellow hooves blocked her path. Shoot! Scootaloo glanced behind her, almost being able to make out Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle. I can’t give up now, she thought.

Looking around, Scootaloo spotted a pebble somepony forgot to brush away. She could use it, but where would she throw it? There, she thought, spotting a metal pole that held the tent up.

Picking up the pebble in her mouth, she took aim. A loud clang followed. “Eep,” a small voice yelped. The yellow hooves began moving, walking over to the pole. Now’s my chance! She pulled herself to the bag, trying to stay as low to the ground as possible.

Opening one of the flaps, she shoved the letter in and raced back to her hiding spot. She waited anxiously. One second passed. Then two. Then three. “A pebble?” the voice questioned. “Where…?” The yellow hooves moved back to the bag. A smirk grew on Scootaloo’s face. The plan had worked. Successful in her mission, she turned around and began crawling back to her friends.

As she did, she heard the foals above her. They groaned, sniffled, coughed, and wheezed, sending a chill down Scootaloo’s spine. She couldn’t even fathom what pain they were going through.

“C-Can we just get out of here?” Sweetie Belle croaked. “I-I don’t wanna get sick…” The soft whisper of her friend snapped her out of her thoughts. Almost there, Scootaloo thought.

“Oh relax,” Apple Bloom scoffed. “We’ve only been in here for about a minute.”

“A minute and 45 seconds,” Sweetie Belle mumbled.

Coming out from underneath the bed and sprinting to the table her friends hid under, Scootaloo whispered, “I got it in!”

Sweetie Belle took this as a good opportunity to pester Apple Bloom again. “Now can we go? Please?”

“Yeah yeah,” Apple Bloom replied, waving a hoof to signal them to follow her. The three crept to the entrance, sliding outside without notice.

As soon as the sun shone on their faces, Sweetie Belle pranced over to the scooter. She wanted to get as far away from the tent as possible. Taking a gasp, she exhaled. “Thank Celestia it’s over!”

Apple Bloom rolled her eyes. “Come on, ya big baby. It wasn’t that bad. So, where’d ya stick it, Scoot?”

Hopping onto her scooter, Scootaloo replied, “I stuffed it into the front flap. Didn’t have much time to put it in though… Sorry if your gift comes out crumpled.” She scratched the back of her head awkwardly.

“Oh, it don’t matter,” Apple Bloom assured. “The present inside is a locket, so I doubt ya could do any damage.” Pausing, she tapped her chin. “Though the letter might be a bit worse for wear….”

She shrugged, remarking, “Oh well.” Looking over to Sweetie Belle, she waved a hoof. “Hop on! Let’s get back ta yer sister’s boutique.”

Sweetie Belle hesitated, recoiling. “Uh,” she replied, looking to the scooter, “t-that scooter is really cramped….”

“So? Ya rode on here while we were headin’ here.”

“Yeah, but…”

“What, you wanna walk all the way back?” Apple Bloom asked, slyly smirking.

Gulping, Sweetie Belle reluctantly hopped onto the back of the scooter. “You better not be sick,” she muttered.

With that, Scootaloo kicked off, sending the three fillies racing down the dirt road. As they zoomed through the streets, she felt Apple Bloom grip harder onto her back. “Wooo hooo,” Scootaloo shouted, the wind brushing across her face.

Seeing all three fillies near each other was an odd sight to the pedestrians around them. Not many foals were walking around town and those who were typically kept a safe distance. Most were too deterred by either a paranoia of getting sick or, in most cases, a fear of getting tested.

Sure enough, a keen eye would notice the small bandages on each of the fillies. Since they took a small sacrifice to be together, nopony interrupted their fun.

Soon, they arrived at Rarity’s boutique, and Scootaloo skidded to a halt. “We’re here,” Scootaloo announced chipperly. All three hopped off of the scooter.

“The fun’s just startin’ girls,” Apple Bloom assured, walking up to the boutique door. “Yall excited for tonight?”

Scootaloo nodded emphatically, whereas Sweetie Belle looked off to the side. “Um… are we sure this is a good idea?”

“Quit bein’ a spoil sport,” Apple Bloom quipped. Opening the door, the three fillies entered, a small bell chiming as they entered. “’Sides, it ain’t like we can back out now. Yer sister’s the only one not workin’ today, remember?”

Sweetie Belle grumbled. As they entered the kitchen, Rarity set down a few large bowls onto the kitchen table. Spotting the three, Rarity smiled. “Hello girls,” She greeted. “Did you have fun out there? You did remember to stay away from the other foals, correct?”

“Course,” Apple Bloom lied. “Though Sweetie Belle might’ve been a tad too paranoid ta have fun.” Apple Bloom chuckled, leaning over to give Sweetie Belle a noogie.

“Ack! Apple Bloom,” Sweetie Belle complained, pulling away. Trying to fix her mane, she groaned. “Don’t do that! You’ll ruin my mane!”

Sitting down at the kitchen table, Rarity responded, “Well, it’s better to be ‘paranoid’ than careless. You really don’t want to catch it. Trust me.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Apple Bloom conceded, joining Rarity at the table. Feeling their stomachs grumble, the other two fillies followed suit, sitting down around the table.

Looking down at the bowls, they were greeted with gooey cheddar cheese mac and cheese seasoned with oregano, black pepper, and a small bay leaf on top. Next to the bowls were glasses of freshly squeezed, pulp-free lemonade.

The alluring aroma of the exquisitely made meal made their mouths water. “Sweet mother of Celestia,” Apple Bloom muttered.

“Wow,” Scootaloo gawked.

Rarity tsked, “Now now, don’t go praising something you haven’t even tried. Take a bite first.” Levitating her fork, she jabbed the pasta and moved it to her mouth, taking a small, lady-like bite. After she had chewed and swallowed her small nibble, she reminded, “Haven’t you learned not to judge a book by its cover?”

“Well, it smells good, that’s fer sure,” Apple Bloom replied. Scootaloo, reminded of its fantastic scent, sniffed in the air again… only, she couldn’t.

“Uh, hey, do you have any tissues?” Scootaloo asked, looking around the room. “I need to blow my nose.” Soon, a purple box of tissues was levitated over by a blue aura. “Thanks,” she said, pulling one out of the box.

“Mmmm-mm,” Apple Bloom hummed. “Sooooo goooood.”

A slight blush grew on Rarity’s face. “Oh, come now, I’m sure Granny Smith is a far better cook then I,” Rarity replied.

Apple Bloom gulped down another large bite. “Maybe with apples, but I think yer mac and cheese is leagues better than Granny’s. She just uses them microwave cups.”

“That stuff’s still pretty good, though,” Scootaloo said, taking her first bite. Surprisingly, it wasn’t as flavorful as she thought it’d be. Not bad at all, just a bit flat.

“It’s not really my thing,” Sweetie Belle chimed in, taking a bite for herself. “Those cups always taste watery.”

“How the heck does somethin’ taste ‘watery’?” Apple Bloom asked, giggling.

Soon, the three fillies were chatting up a storm, Rarity even chiming in every so often. Time flew by, and soon they each found their bowls completely empty. “Whew, I’m stuffed,” Apple Bloom sighed.

“Same,” Scootaloo replied. She watched as Rarity took the empty bowls to the kitchen sink and began washing them. “So… what do we do now?”

“We could… play a board game?” Sweetie Belle suggested. “We have Monopoly.”

“Eh, good enough for me,” Apple Bloom replied, hopping down from her chair. Waving a hoof in gesture, she said, “Come on girls! Let’s get this party started!”

Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo got up and began following Apple Bloom. As they left the kitchen, however, Scootaloo felt a small headache start. She put a hoof to her forehead and rubbed where the ache stemmed from. Dang… oh well. Shrugging, she went off after her friends.

Author's Note

Hope you've enjoyed this first chapter! I had a lot of fun working on it. It's a nice change of pace from what I was working on prior. I don't really have much to add, so stay safe and have a happy Pride Month!