Blooming Seed

School was out for the day. The four little Crusaders trotted out of the schoolhouse. They were excited for a new weekend, leaving plenty of time for crusading. Scootaloo and Babs planned to spend one day alone together and spend the rest of the weekend crusading with the others.

"To the Cutie Mark Crusaders’ clubhouse!" the four cheered together, galloping towards the treehouse.

"Last one there has ta do one of Applejack’s chores!" Apple Bloom yelled with a smirk. The four fillies picked up to full speed, rushing through Sweet Apple Acres.

Scootaloo and Babs Seed rushed towards the front of the pack, both of them thinking confidently, 'I will win!' Suddenly, Sweetie Belle stopped in her tracks, tired and sweaty.

Apple Bloom stopped, turning around to face the unicorn. “Ya alright?” she asked with a worried expression on her muzzle.

"Appl Bloom, don’t worry about me. I’m fine. You should race them," Sweetie Belle said with a smile. Both looked towards the clubhouse and watched as the two fillies—foals orange, purple, and pink—slowly disappeared.

"Ah'm too late ta win over 'em in this race anyway."

*****

Two panting fillies sat with their backs against each other by the treehouse. They both were tired from running, though the former Manehattan filly was the winner in this race.

"Hey?! Where did the others go?" Scootaloo said, just realizing that Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle were nowhere to be seen.

Babs rolled her eyes and giggled, "Bein' slow.”

The Earth pony filly suddenly smirked impishly and pinned Scootaloo down on her back. The pegasus let out a surprised gasp and stared at Babs Seed, purple irises meeting into those emerald green ones. The two were sharing a soft, gentle kiss, when the door suddenly burst open, revealing a giggling unicorn and blushing Earth pony.

The two fillyfriends stopped kissing in a hurry, rising to their haunches and blushing hotly. "Heh, heh, go on, Ah don’t mind,” Apple Bloom muttered nervously, digging a forehoof into the floor and avoiding their eyes.

Sweetie Belle couldn’t stop giggling, covering her muzzle with a forehoof. "Maybe you two could get cutiemarks in kissing?" she joked.

"Ha, ha, very funny," the pegasus sarcastically replied. Changing the subject, she smiled and added, "So, what are we going to do to get our cutiemarks today?”

*****

The Crusaders spent another long day crusading, trying to earn their cutiemarks in all kinds of different things. It was another disappointing day; they didn’t have their cutie marks yet. Nevertheless, they would never give up their journeys to earn a cutiemark.

They decided to end the day by buying treats at Sugarcube Corner. Four hungry crusaders entered the bakery and walked over to the counter, buying one milkshake each and taking seats at a table for four. Apple Blooom bought an apple-flavored milkshake, Babs an orange-flavored one, Sweetie Belle a vanilla milkshake, and Scootaloo bought a Zap-Apple-flavored treat. The pegasus chose this dessert because it was rainbow-colored—just like her idol.

Scootaloo wrapped her long, soft, purple tail around Babs’ short, pink, fluffy tail. The Earth pony filly blushed, her fillyfriend smirking back at her.

"So, if we didn’t get our cutie marks in cooking, maybe we could try milkshake making?" Sweetie Belle asked the other Crusaders, her voice squeaky and bubbly as usual.

"Oh, wow! Ah never thought of that before. Sweetie Belle, yer a genius!" Apple Bloom added eagerly. This wasn’t such a bad idea after all. "But…Ah think we should try it another day. Ah'm tired."

While the unicorn and yellow filly exchanged a few words between each other about their day of crusading, the other two Crusaders began to flirt across the table, affectionate and sly.

"So…ya wanna come over?” Babs, nudging Scootaloo in the side.

"Of course, Babsy! I got nothing else today, so why would I waste my time on doing nothing?" Scootaloo giggled, returning the other filly’s sly grin.

"Great, Scoots!” Babs cuddled her filly, smiling bright and wide, while she finished drinking her milkshake.

Apple Bloom watched their exchange in silence, no thoughts running through her mind. She just stared at them as a blush crept across her cheeks. She felt her heart race a little and her mouth grow dry. She watched her two friends flirt and had no idea what Sweetie Belle was talking about next to her. Finally, her mind snapped back to reality. Apple Bloom turned to her unicorn friend, confused. “Huh?”

The unicorn glared at her, annoyed. "You didn’t listen, did you?"

"Ah…Ah think Ah'm gettin' ill…" Apple Bloom muttered nervously, offering a slight chuckle. Her three friends just stared back at her, worried.

Sweetie Belle groaned and looked at Scootaloo, arguing, "I told you the lake was too cold! See? Apple Bloom is getting sick because of that lake, how cold it was.”

"No, it’s alright! Ah'm not sick 'cus of that lake... And it would’ve been worth if we actually did get our swimmin' cutie marks," the yellow filly dismissed. She didn’t want anypony to be blamed for this. "Ah'll just go home and rest. Y'all have fun without me."

Apple Bloom rose from her chair, leaving her half-empty milkshake behind and her friends watching her leave, worried and confused. Without a word, Apple Bloom trotted home, Luna already beginning to raise the moon in her sky.

*****

It was a lie. Well, sort of. She did feel sick. But, she felt sick because she saw Babs and Scootaloo growing closer every day. The thought of Babs Seed spending more time with Scootaloo than with her made her heart ache a little. It made her…sad.

Nearing Sweet Apple Acres, the sky above was covered in bright stars and a full moon lighting the village blow, Apple Bloom was on the verge of tears. Willing herself not to cry, she galloped into the barn. 'Ah must stop bein' so sensitive!' she thought to herself stubbornly. She was annoyed with herself, annoyed at how easily her emotions could darken, especially when Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon insulted her.

Apple Bloom was definitely an emotional filly, but that was because she was changing, just like Applejack told her. 'More you grow, then more ya change,' she remembered, Applejack's words echoing through her mind.

*****

"We are best cousins forever! Right, Babs?" the yellow filly asked. The two cousins were sitting on Apple Bloom’s bed in their room. They had spent the whole day together and were about to fall asleep.

"Of course! We are best cousins forever, and nothing will tear us apart,” Babs Seed said confidently. The orange filly hugged her cousin and received another hug in response.

"Forever and ever? Right?" Apple Bloom turned to Babs, her expression a mix of both happiness and sadness.

Babs smiled warmly and rustled Apple Bloom’s mane teasingly. "Forever and ever. Nopony is ever going to take me away from you."

"Oh, we will have so much fun! We’ll go on adventures everyday and finally get our cutiemarks. Ah hope we get our cutie marks together..." Apple Bloom nuzzled her cousin’s chest, her face buried in the orange filly’s chest as she began to fall asleep.

Babs wrapped her forehooves around Apple Bloom and pulled her close, whispering in her ear, "You will always be my favorite.” Those words brought a smile to the yellow filly’s muzzle as she finally fell asleep. The former Manehattan filly fell asleep with her, holding her cousin tight in a protective embrace.

*****

Sobs and sighs, a wet pillow and a crying filly. Apple Bloom was crying her little heart out. ‘But Ah thought Ah was her favorite. Not Scoots! Sh-she betrayed me.’ The yellow filly wanted Babs to spend alone time with her, not with Scootaloo.

She wept from a mix of anger, sorrow, and rejection. Although the two cousins did spend time together and they acted like the best friends in the whole world, when Apple Bloom saw her cousin with Scootaloo she felt both happy and jealous. ‘You will always be my favorite.’ Yeah, sure! Ah'm not special like Scootaloo is to you, Babs…’

Apple Bloom knew she was being so selfish and stubborn right now, but she was in love, madly in love. She couldn’t help it, and wished she run away and never come back, though she would never dare to do so.

Maybe when she was older, she could move to Manehatten. At least, then, she didn’t have to see Scootaloo and Babs act as they did. Apple Bloom finally stopped crying and looked at the clock on her nightstand. It was midnight. ‘Ah bet Sweetie Belle is home, that means...Babs is home, but…Scootaloo is here too…’

Groaning, annoyed, the filly clenched her pillow, frowning. 'No! Scootaloo is my best friend! Ah can’t keep being selfish like this!' Turning around and still hugging her pillow, finding it impossible to sleep, Apple Bloom stared up at the canopy above her bed.

*****

When Apple Bloom was finally about to fall asleep, she heard voices whispering in the room nearby. She released her pillow and jumped off her bed, trotting out of her room into the hallway. It was dark and everypony was probably asleep. Or, at least, Applejack, Big Mac, and Granny Smith were.

Light peeked under the door of one room. The door was ajar, and the curious filly leaned up against it gently. Apple Bloom heard familiar voices within the room and couldn’t help but look inside.

"Babs? Did you close the door?"

"Don’t worry, Scootaloo, everypony is asleep." The yellow filly heard their every word. Scootaloo sounded worried, while Babs seemed completely confident. Apple Bloom loved the way Babs Seed was so tough, confident, and protective. It always made her blush when Babs protected her, or told bullies off.

She peeked through the door, keeping as quiet as possible. A blush crept onto her cheeks and her eyes widened with shock. Inside the room, the Earth pony was on top of the pegasus, biting down on the filly’s neck below. Scootaloo let out a soft squeak, staring at the ceiling with her maw agape. Babs was licking and biting her filly’s neck, causing her wings to spread and tense.

Seeing them like this (especially her cousin) made the yellow filly’s face hot, blushing deeply. She wanted to go back to her room. However, she could not lift her hooves. Apple Bloom couldn’t tear her eyes from them, even though she badly wanted to close her eyes. This was too much for her to handle.

Not even noticing that Scootaloo was looking towards the door, the yellow filly finally came back into reality when the pegasus spoke. "I think there’s somepony by the door…"

Apple Bloom gasped in surprise but quickly covered her muzzle. The fillies inside the room turned towards the door. Babs let go of her filly and trotting towards the door. The yellow filly backed away as quietly and as fast as possible. She ran to her room and quickly closed the door.

Panting like she’d just seen a monster, Apple Bloom jumped up onto the bed and tried to make herself comfortable. Still, she could not sleep. The scene haunted her, and she had no words or thoughts to explain it away. As a tear ran down her cheek, she thought, ‘There’s no way Ah can have Babs all for mahself... like a fillyfriend.’

*****

Babs closed the door and locked it, satisified that nopony was behind it after all. "There was nopony. Ya don’t have to worry, Scoots." The Earth pony filly turned around and trotted over to her fillyfriend, joining her on the bed again."It’s even locked."

Scoots smiled and nuzzled Babs neck and whispered with a smirk. "Who’s your favorite filly?" The pegasus smirked impishly and licked Babs’ neck while watching the door. 'I know that was you, Apple Bloom.’

The former Manehattan filly was leaning her neck backward, running a hoof thought Scootaloo's mane as she replied, "You, Scootaloo. You are my favorite filly."

In truth, Babs Seed’s favorite filly was Apple Bloom, but she wanted to make Scootaloo feel special by saying the pegasus was her favorite. She missed spending time with her cousin. She loved spending time alone with Apple Bloom, being best cousins ever, but Scootaloo was somehow taking that time away from them. Feeling worried and sorry for her cousin, Babs couldn’t stop wondering why Apple Bloom acted so strange today.

Scootaloo stopped what she was doing and stared at Babs. "Are you alright? Don’t tell me you’re getting sick, too.”

“No, sorry. There’s just so many thoughts in my mind. I’m wondering if Apple Bloom's alright." Babs Seed said, staring back into the pegasus’ eyes.

"Don’t worry, I am sure Applejack is taking care of her," the orange pegasus replied with a grin, running a forehoof onto Babs’ chest and further down.

Babs stopped Scootaloo’s descent and laid down. "I don’t wanna do this…Sorry. We should get some sleep."

Scootaloo frowned, disappointed, and laid down beside her. She whispered, annoyed, "Hmph! Fine.” The two orange fillies soon fell asleep. Everypony in the house slept peacefully, except for Apple Bloom, who couldn’t sleep at all,  no matter how hard she tried.