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// 1 Drinks for Two 
// Story: Potion Panic 
// by gaitiem 
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	It was the Thursday after Hearts and Hooves Day, and Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo were out of school and headed to the treehouse. Apple Bloom had forgotten to write her essay due that day, but Miss Cheerilee said she could finish it after class and turn it in for full credit. AB was in a bit of hot water when it came to her grades, so she told the others to go on without her.
"Are you sure?" Sweetie had asked. "You'd be walking home all by yourself. Is that safe?"
"You’re startin’ to sound just like mah sister. Quit yer worryin’! I walked home alone before I knew either a' y'all, and nothin’ bad ever happened. I'll be fine."
"Less weight for me to scoot around," Scootaloo joked. "Seriously though, don't worry about it Sweetie. The way is totally safe. See you at the treehouse, Apple Bloom!" 
“Tarnation…” Scootaloo stopped to hear what AB had to say. “I don’t know how long I’m gonna be on this, girls. If y’all get antsy, go ahead an’ crusade without me. I’ll catch up when I’m able,” Apple Bloom told them. “See y’all later, and, Sweetie Belle, don’t worry so much, okay.”
They left on that note, but as they were setting up the scooter, Scootaloo added "Though, if you’re worried about yourself, Sweetie Belle, we could always get a blanket for you to cower under on the way."
"Aw, don't tease me, Scootaloo" Sweetie said, half whining. “Just cause Apple Bloom’s not here to call you out on it...”. She looked up at Scootaloo from the red waggon that they had hitched to the end of the scooter to serve as a passenger car, and thought how it wasn’t always there. "Remember when we always went home together, before we met Apple Bloom?"
"Oh yeah," Scootaloo said, reminiscing. "We got the red waggon from her. Before, you always just stood behind me holding around..." Scootaloo realized it was awkward to say, "...my hip."
"Yeah, hehe." The awkwardness of the subject was not lost on Sweetie Belle. She wondered why it seemed so weird now. Maybe they had matured in the time they had met Apple Bloom, and were more aware of how it was and wasn't appropriate for young mares to act. Maybe having a third friend made being so close as a pair seem strange. She didn't want for things to go back to the way they were; the waggon was way safer than two people balancing on a scooter, anyways. All the same, she wondered if she could remember what it was like to be that close to another pony. Besides awkward, obviously. She was brought back to the present moment by the waggons sudden stop. They had arrived at the treehouse. 
No matter what they thought about their friendship before they knew Apple Bloom, there was no doubt they were better off now. As Crusaders, they had their own house, colors, and sense of purpose. As a team, they usually had enough filly-power to get done whatever they needed to. As friends, they always had enough plans for fun stuff to do between the three of them that the drag of crusading never wore them down. Misfits as they were, their cogs meshed together just fine.
Scootaloo opened the door for Sweetie as they made their way inside. "So how should we prank Apple Bloom when she gets back?" Scootaloo asked Sweetie, half-teasing. 
Sweetie looked around for something to rig or sabotage for comic effect. She wasn't sure she wanted to go along with pranking her friend, but she wanted to at least know that she could, and then decide not to. The treehouse was full of drawings and lists, plans for things to try and ideas for how to organize membership and represent cutie-mark-less ponies everywhere. None of that was any good, or at least not for a prank. 			“I wish we had this chance a week ago,” Sweetie said “when Hearts and Hooves Day was still coming up.”
“That’s true,” Scootaloo agreed. “We could have...” she paused, thinking, “... I don’t know, maybe wrote her a love letter from a ‘secret admirer’, and tricked her into meeting him at a certain place, but instead of her special somepony, she finds... Gummy! ‘Give me a kiiiiiiss’” she said, doing her best Gummy impression.
“Hehahaha, that would have been pretty mean, though,” Sweetie corrected her, reluctantly.
“Yeah, you’re right,” Scoots admitted. “I don’t think either of us know how to write like a love letter like a colt in the first place.”
“It wouldn’t have to be a colt,” Sweetie postulated.
“I’ve never heard of mares sending mares loveletters. What would two mares even do together if they met up?”
“I dunno. Same stuff as mares and stallions, I guess. Eat together. Spend time together.” Sweetie thought a moment. “Kiss?”
Scootaloo wanted to stay on the topic of pranking Apple Bloom. “We could always just rig a bucket of water at the door so it falls on her head.”
“I don’t know,” Sweetie disagreed, “It would be better to do something original.”
“If you have any better ideas, I’m all ears,” Scootaloo challenged her.
Sweetie looked more intently around the room. Finally, she noticed an assortment of beakers and vials on a shelf. It was Apple Blooms alchemy 	equipment.
“We could do something to her potion-making stuff,” Sweetie suggested. “Mix in the wrong ingredient so that, when she tries to use it, it ends up making a mess or doing something funny.”
“Do you know anything about sabotaging potions?” Scootaloo asked. “Cause, I don’t.”
“Hmm,” Sweetie hummed. Scootaloo was right. They couldn’t use that idea. She looked and thought harder about something they could do. 	She noticed a bag of potions hanging from a hook next to the shelf. “Maybe one of those potions will have something we can use.”
“Hitting her with her own medicine…” Scootaloo smirked. “Good eye, Sweetie. Let’s do it!”
Sweetie tried to lift the bag down, but couldn’t only move it so much with her magic. Scootaloo tried to fly up and get it, but couldn’t make it that far off the ground. Eventually, Sweetie did what she assumed Apple Bloom must have done and used a chair to get up higher. Scootaloo was still trying to fly when Sweetie started looking through the potions. “What in the…” she said, looking at one of them. Scootaloo realized her efforts were in vain and went to see what Sweetie was confused by. 
She read out loud “‘Improved Formula for Silver Spoon and Diamond Tiara’? What the hay!? Why is she making potions for them instead of us?”
Sweetie Belle thought for a second. “Maybe she’s been selling them. Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon do get big allowances...”
“I guess that’s true,” said Scootaloo. “Doesn’t really seem fair, though. We never even get to try her potions. What if she made one that could help my wings grow, or make your voice less squeaky?”
“My voice isn’t squeaky!” squeaked Sweetie Belle.
“Hey, why don’t we try this one!” suggested Scootaloo. “Just a little sip, just to see what it does. They won’t even notice.”
Sweetie exclaimed, “What!? But we don’t know what it is!”
“They wouldn’t be paying good money for it if it were dangerous, and Apple Bloom wouldn’t be working for them unless she was making some serious bits!” Scootaloo postulated. Sweetie Belle would take more convincing than that. “You’re not scared again, are you? Maybe we should have got that blan-” before she could finish her word, Sweetie took the potion out of her hoof and took a brief swill.
Sweetie rolled the taste around in her mouth trying to come to a consensus on the sensation. “It tastes…” she paused, confused, “how sunlight... sounds.”
Scootaloo didn’t think to question that assessment. “Feel any different?”
Sweetie looked at herself in the clubhouse mirror for any abnormalities. “Not that I can see. Maybe it doesn’t work on unicorns?” Sweetie said, unsure.
“Let me see it,” Scootaloo said, taking a sip from the vial. “Huh, yeah, sunlight. Other than that, though…” she awaited a sensation “...I’m not getting any effects. I think it might be a dud.”
“Or maybe it only works on Earth Ponies,” Sweetie said, fairly sure of herself now.
“Welp,” Scootaloo yawned, “I’m bored. Let’s go and see if Apple Bloom can’t catch up like she said she would.”
“We should leave a note saying where we’re going… where are we going?” Sweetie asked her friend in the process of leaving.
“I need to get this weird taste out of my mouth. Wanna get a smoothie?” Scootaloo proposed.
“I do! I’ll tell her we’ll be there, then.” Sweetie quickly scribbled a note while Scootaloo limbered up her little wings for the journey ahead.

Some time later, Apple Bloom arrived on the scene.

“‘Went to get smoothies ‘round half past three’” Apple Bloom read out loud. “‘Come find us if you don’t have homework or chores.’ Big if. Guess we’ll have time to crusade this weekend.” Apple Bloom was about to leave when she noticed her bag of potions on the floor. Calmly, she asked out loud “Did those fall?” 
A sense of urgency surged through the little filly and she exclaimed “Oh no, no, no! Please don’t be cracked! I borrowed those vials from Zecora. I can fix it, I can fix it-” she chanted to herself. She opened the terrible bag to find all vials intact, to her great relief, yet something was off. 		“This potion used to be filled to the highest tick. Is it leakin’?” Apple Bloom carefully examined the potion for any signs of a crack or bleed, but found nothing. The glass should not have been permeable; nothing should have been gone. “Ah, that can’t be right! I could ‘a’ sworn it was all the way to the top tick. Maybe I’m thinking of the other potion. It’s not like anypony would have uncapped it to pour some out, or drink some.” For a split second, she caught herself suspecting that her friends might have drank from her potions. 
“Nah, couldn’t be that. They wouldn’t just taste test my potions f’r no reason,” she said outloud, less sure than she meant to convey to herself. 	The thought resurfaced, this time with a friend. “Did I see my wagon outside on my way in?” She barely thought about it before now, but it seemed really odd now that she had thought about it. “Why would they take the scooter if it couldn’t both use it? If they were splitting up, it would make sense, but the note said they were going to the same place.” She left the treehouse to double check. The red waggon was indeed there, all by it’s lonesome. As she anxiously walked away from the treehouse she said to herself “Maybe I should quick stop by the smoothie shop, just to tell ‘em why I can’t join ‘em.”
“Don’t worry, Apple Bloom,” Applejack said, overhearing her. She appeared out of the blue, and Apple Bloom wasn’t sure how long she had been there. “I’ll pass the message onto them on my way to Twilights. I’m sure you’re just itchin’ to get to your chores.”
“Oh, Applejack,” Apple Bloom said, surprised and worried. “You sure I couldn’t come with you? I could make myself useful to Princess Twilight.”
“Sorry, little sis,”  Applejack scolded, “but the needs of the farm must come before those of the farm-pony. I’m sure your friends will understand.” 
Apple Blooms bubble thoroughly burst, she headed for home and her family duties, while her sister trotted into town. “I’m just bein’ paranoid,” she tried to assure herself. “There’s no way they got into my stash. An’... even if they did. I can fix it. I can-” she chanted to herself in that way as she walked away.