An hour or so later, Applejack and Apple Bloom both walked through the doors of their home in Sweet Apple Acres. They had left the hospital shortly after Sweetie Belle had asked to get some rest; Applejack thought it was best that they left the two sisters alone for a while.
"Boy, Sweetie Belle sure did scare us half to death back there," said Apple Bloom as she entered the kitchen, "Ah was so worried that she wasn't gonna wake up!"
"Me too, sugar cube," said Applejack, as she followed her sister, "Ah'm just glad she didn't seriously hurt herself. By what you described, it sounded like she had broken her nose or somethin'."
"The way she was layin' there, it sure looked like she did!"
Apple Bloom walked over to the refrigerator and pulled out a bottle of freshly made apple juice. As she did so, Applejack went over to the counter to slice up a few apples for her. When she pulled out an apple slicer, her attention was quickly drawn to the notebook and pen that Rarity had given her earlier that morning. She stared at it for a moment, remembering what the white unicorn had asked of her. The orange earth pony sighed; she didn't want to stick her nose into her sister's business. However, given what had happened to Sweetie Belle, she felt that she owed her this much and, against her better judgment, agreed to herself to do it.
Applejack sliced up a few apples and placed them on a plate. Along with it, she placed a few freshly baked apple fritters, hoping it'd be enough to keep Apple Bloom busy so she can write what she needed in the notebook without her seeing. When she placed the plate of treats on the table, Apple Bloom immediately began munching on the fritters. As she did so, AJ walked over to the notebook, let out one last sigh and cleared her throat.
"Apple Bloom," she began, "Can 'ah ask you something?"
"Sure, sis," the filly said with fritter in her mouth, "What's up?"
"Well, 'ah wanted to talk to you 'bout...well...'bout Sweetie Belle."
Apple Bloom took a sip of her juice.
"Have ya'll noticed anything strange goin’ on with her lately? Ya know, anything outta the ordinary?"
"Now that ya mention it," said Apple Bloom, "She has been actin' a bit differently lately. Ah don't know why but she hasn't been herself lately."
Applejack quickly began jotting the notes in the book with her mouth. When she was done, she placed the pen down and asked, "How would ya describe her behavior?"
"Well, she appears to be...ah don't know...‘out of it’. She stares blankly into space, doesn't really make eye contact, and doesn't talk to me or Scootaloo at all. It's so strange. She's never really like that."
"When did ya'll notice this behavior? Was it recently?" she asked.
"As a matter of fact, it all seemed to begin yesterday," the filly said, "We were crusadin’ when Scoots accidentally hurt herself. After Sweetie and I fixed her up, we all went to Sugar Cube Corner for a treat. It was there that we noticed Sweetie Belle's strange behavior. We tried seeing if there was something wrong but she seemed to want to avoid it. Then, out of nowhere, she said she needed to help Rarity with some things at the Boutique and ran off. We were gonna check on her, but Scootaloo and ah' got into a small argument and sorta forgot about her."
As Apple Bloom put a slice of apple in her mouth, Applejack jotted it down in the notebook. "Has she mentioned anypony to ya? Ya know, any other friends she might have?"
"Other friends?" asked Apple Bloom, "She hasn't really mentioned anypony else! Not to say that she doesn't have any other friends but she hasn't said anythin’ ‘bout them to me or Scootaloo."
Applejack wrote in the notebook as her sister finished her juice. Then she asked, "Just one more thing, if ya don't mind me askin'. What do ya know 'bout a pony named 'Scott’?”
"Scott?" asked Apple Bloom, as she took another fritter, "Ah didn't know there was a pony named 'Scott' in Ponyville. If there is, ah've never heard of him."
"Are ya sure?" asked Applejack, "There isn't a Scott in yer class or somethin'?"
"Not that ah know of."
Letting out a defeated sigh, she took the pen in her mouth and wrote it in the notebook. When she was done, she put the pen inside the notebook and closed it up. All the while, she felt a wave of defeat beginning to overcome her; she'd hoped that she would have had something new to tell Rarity. Unfortunately, she had nothing new to report to her, nothing that wasn't already written in the notebook. She knew Rarity would be disappointed in her for not getting any new information, but anything was better than nothing she told herself.
"Whatcha got there, sis?"
The moment the question was asked, Applejack whipped around to see Apple Bloom standing beside her, her eyes fixated on the notebook before her.
"Oh...ah...it's nothin'" Applejack fibbed as she slid the notebook away from her.
"Is that Rarity's notebook?" she asked, noticing the name on the cover, "What are ya doin' with it? Were ya writing in it?"
"Well...um...not exactly..." she stammered, trying to think of something to say.
Apple Bloom narrowed her eyes at her sister. "Were ya writin' what ah was saying in it? And what's with all the questions all of a sudden? What's goin' on?"
Applejack let out a defeated sigh. She was not good at lying to anypony, let alone her own sister; her element was honesty, after all. By the look on Apple Bloom's face, Applejack knew that she knew she was lying. She figured it was best to tell her younger sister the truth. After all, she knew Apple Bloom was bound to find out sooner or later.
"Alright, Apple Bloom, ah'll tell ya, but you have to Pinkie Pie Promise not to tell anypony about it, understand?" she asked.
"Ah promise," she said, reciting the creed to her sister, "Cross my heart, hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye."
AJ walked over to the table and sat down, her sister following suit. She cleared her throat and said, "As it turns out, Sweetie Belle has a crush on somepony named Scott."
Apple Bloom stared at her, her eyes wide and shock written all across her face.
The orange mare continued. "Rarity wanted me to find out what you and Scootaloo knew 'bout him. That's why ah've been questioning her behavior and all. She wants to make sure that this 'Scott' pony isn't gonna hurt her sister, is all. Apple Bloom, if ya know anything 'bout this, you have to let me know right away, alright?"
"Wow," was all that Apple Bloom could say, "Sweetie Belle has a crush on somepony and she never even told us! That's...that's..."
"Apple Bloom," Applejack said, "Did you understand what ah said?"
All the filly could do was nod. She was at a loss for words at the moment. She was surprised and shocked, not so much that Sweetie Belle had a crush on somepony, but because she never told her or Scootaloo about it. Why would she keep a secret like this from them, her two best friends? The question revolved around her thoughts all the while.
With that, Applejack got up, took the notebook and said, "Ah need to bring this over to Rarity. Stay outta trouble until ah get back, alright?"
"Okay," said Apple Bloom, her eyes still widened. Apparently, she was still taking it all in at the moment.
Before anything more could be said, Applejack made her way out the door and into town. All the while, Apple Bloom sat there, completely lost in thought. Some time had passed before the filly could find her voice and the thoughts to match.
"There's gotta be a reason she'd keep something this big from us," she said aloud, her eyes looking all around the room, "Ah don't know why, but one thing's for sure: Scootaloo needs to know about this."
She let out a sigh; she didn't want to break a "Pinkie Promise," especially one she made to her sister, but she knew that Scootaloo needed to know about this. Besides, how else was she going to let Applejack know what Sweetie Belle was up to without letting Scootaloo in on it?
"Don't you worry, sis," she said, a smile on her face, "Scootaloo and ah will get to the bottom of all this! We'll find out everything we can about this ‘Scott’ pony!"
With that, she got up and went into her room, ready to tell Scootaloo the whole situation first thing after school the next day.