One or the Other

by Blind Alley

Chapter 20 - Why not?

Late afternoon and we were right back in the spot where everything had gone off the rails. Sweetie got out the cushions for us to sit on and we gathered around an extra large mushroom and olive pizza, stuffing our faces so we wouldn't have to say anything. She took small, frequent bites, while Scoots crammed in half a slice at a time between fiddling around with one of the new bras Fluttershy had delivered (along with a plea for Scoots to go to the store to actually try some on herself for a better fit) before we left Scootaloo's place. I suppose I couldn't really blame her for being distracted. It took me years to fill out and she'd done it all over just one night. It had Sweetie pretty distracted too, if the way she kept glancing at Scoots was anything to go by. The bra flattened her down a good bit, but I guess just knowing what was there was enough for Sweetie. Me, I just tried to keep my eyes on my food.

And none of us had answered the question.

It didn't take too long to get down to the last slice and then we were just sitting around. The most anypony was doing was Scoots tugging at her straps for the thousandth time. It was starting to feel like we were just going to wait until we fell asleep staring at the almost empty box when Sweetie finally broke the silence.

“What ARE we gonna do?”

Scootaloo shifted around uncomfortably. “Maybe we should sleep on it some more?”

“Uh-uh, no way,” I said. “It ain't gonna get less awkward. The longer we leave it, the worse it's gonna be. I can't have this hangin' over us forever.”

Sweetie fidgeted a little, biting her lip before she spoke again. “I've been thinking. Maybe it'd be better if we all just stayed friends?”

“It's kinda late for that, isn't it?” Scoots asked. “I mean, friends don't make out, and we've all done it twice now.”

“Okay, so we go back to just being friends.”

Scoots' ears laid back. “I don't know if I can.”

“Why not?”

“I've kinda been hitting on you girls for moons. Some days I just wanted to jump you and--” Her wings ruffled and she ducked her head a little. “I really like you.”

Guess that wasn't really too big a shock. I felt dumber than Maud's entire rock collection for not working it out sooner with the way she'd been acting. “Is there one of us ya like more'n the other?”

She shook her head. “Some days I might think about one of you more often but it's pretty even.”

“But if ya had ta pick--”

“That's not fair!” Sweetie protested. “You can't just ask one of us to pick!”

I threw up my arms. “Well what else can we do!? Tell me! What in Celestia's name are we suppose'ta do!? You like me 'n Scoots, Scoots likes me 'n you, and I-- I like you 'n Scoots. It don't add up! So how're we gonna decide who goes with who? Flip a coin?”

“That's what I mean! Staying friends is the only way to be fair!”

“And what? Go back to bein' scared about yer feelin's? Go back to bein' miserable? How am I suppose'ta be happy just hangin' out with either of y'all now knowin' we're all wishin' it could be somethin' else?”

“You really want-- …us?” Scootaloo asked. She was all hunched up like she was trying to be smaller than she is. I don't think she started that sentence out planning to say 'us'.

I sighed and buried my face in my hands. “I can't pretend I don't anymore. Maybe I woulda worked it out on my own, I dunno.” I ran my hands down my face then sat back a little with my arms back to brace on the carpet. “Maybe I needed that kick in the rump.”

Scoots snorted. “Or a pinch.”

“Y'all were askin' fer that.”

“Yeah, sorry. I got carried away.”

“S'alright. Just ask Sweetie what I did to her last night.”

“Why, what happened?”

“It doesn't matter,” a very pink Sweetie answered. “But-- uh, it was… nice.”

“Y'almost fell over.”

Scoots sat straight up. “'Fell over'? What the hay did I miss out on!?”

“Nothing! She's just a really good kisser.”

“Heh, yeah… Did she do that thing where she--?”

“The point is!” I half shouted. “I-- uh, I dunno what my point was. But we just can't keep puttin' it off. We gotta make a choice.”

Sweetie looked back and forth between Scoots and me. “But… how? I've been thinking about it all afternoon and it just doesn't work. I mean, what if you and I got together, Scootaloo? Where does that leave you, Apple Bloom? Just… sitting alone, watching us while we get to be together? I can't do that to you, not after all this. Can you?”

Me and Scoots exchanged guilty looks. I already knew how I reacted to seeing them together without me, and Scoots had just admitted she couldn't pick between us. Hay, that whole drama that landed us in the orchard kicked off 'cause she couldn't pick. Just looking at her I knew that the same things were running through her mind. Slowly, she shook her head. A moment later I followed suit.

“Then the only fair choice,” Sweetie gulped and turned her eyes down to the floor. It was plain as day that she hated what she was about to say. “…is neither.”

I hung my head, swallowed just as hard as she did and, just as reluctantly, nodded. “Neither.”

“Neither,” Sweetie echoed. Her voice sounded hollower than a cider barrel at the end of a hoedown, and twice as sad. But she was right. It was the only thing we could do. The only way to be fair. Besides, how they hay was I gonna explain to my family? Maybe this way I could keep on hiding it--

“Why not both?”

I looked up so fast I just about cricked my neck. “Scootaloo?”

“Why not both?” she repeated, a little louder. She was sitting up straight again, looking at me almost defiantly. “I want you both. You,” she pointed at me, “want us both. And you,” she pointed at Sweetie, “want us both. So… why not both?”

Sweetie cocked her head like she'd never heard the word before. “Both…?”

I scratched the back of my neck. “I didn't think of that. I guess it, uh, would be fair, wouldn't it?”

Scoots looked back and forth between us, arms crossed then recrossed over her bust. “It's what we all really want, isn't it?”

“I mean, y'all've both said that ya wanted both, but…”

“Don't fear the road less traveled,” Sweetie whispered.

“Sweetie?”

She bit her bottom lip a little bit and gave her tail a flick. “I had a nightmare last night. Princess Luna--”

“Whoa-whoa-whoa! Princess Luna!? You told the Princess!?” Scoots' wings went full mast. “Are you nuts!?”

“You told Rainbow Dash!” she shot back.

I twisted a bit of hair between my fingers. “And, uh, Big Mac sorta overheard us in the orchard. I had a talk with him yesterday.”

Scootaloo groaned and slumped forward. “Aaaand I should probably mention that I ran into Discord when I went to see Fluttershy…”

“Discord!?” Sweetie gasped. “You told DISCORD!?”

“No, YOU told Discord! He sensed you blasting-- Oh, hey, hold on a sec, you blasted Apple Bloom? What the hay happened!?”

Sweetie pinned her ears back and shrank away. “I didn't mean to! I was just upset after you ran off and I fired off a spell by accident.”

Scootaloo didn't look happy with that answer, but she carried on anyhow. “Yeah, well, Discord noticed and decided to stick his nose in. And then he told Fluttershy!”

I held up my hands to get them to stop. “Hold up now, nopony panic. None of y'all told Pinkie right?” They both shook their heads. “Thank Celestia fer that. Fluttershy don't gossip, neither does Big Mac, and Dash ain't one to gossip 'bout much but Wonderbolts and Darin' Do. And we all know we can trust the Princess. She ain't never gone 'round talkin' 'bout nopony's dreams before.”

“What about Discord?” Sweetie asked.

“Fluttershy'll handle him. Once she explains that tellin' everypony is wrong he'll back off… Er, publicly, anyhow. He's gonna show up again though, y'know he will. Reckon he ain't never seen a pot he didn't wanna stir.” Privately, I wouldn't have put it past him to have been the one to put the idea of bringing that darned salt lick to the party in my head in the first place. That draconequus was crazier than an honest politician in an election year.

“Oh, crud,” Scoots sounded like somepony who was just realizing they'd left the oven on. “Big Mac is gonna kill me…”

“Naw! Might glare at ya a bit, though, bein' a big brother 'n all. He's… he's okay with it.”

“With…?” Sweetie waved her hand around between all three of us.

“Uh, depends how much he overheard. He don't mind the mare thing, though. Said all he cares about is that I'm happy.”

Scoots looked over at Sweetie. “What did the Princess say?”

“That I shouldn't be afraid of 'the road less traveled'. Oh, and that our sisters have handled worse than a love triangle.”

“I guess so,” Scoots said slowly, shooting me a look for confirmation. I just shrugged. I wasn't a hundred percent sold but, technically, the apocalypse is worse than a love triangle. At least it oughta be.

“So, neither or both?” Sweetie rubbed the base of her horn like she had a hornache. “What if everypony freaks out?”

Scoots shrugged. “Who says they have to know?”

I stiffened up right quick. “I ain't lyin' to my family!”

“Me neither!”

“Then…” Scoots' face lit up, “we don't lie.”

“Whatchu mean?”

She leaned forward eagerly. “Something Rainbow Dash told me. She said that even if we try it might not work out. I mean, ponies break up all the time, right?”

“That's a cheerful way to look at it,” Sweetie mumbled.

“So we call it a… a test run! I mean, we don't know if a three-way relationship will work, right? What if you decide you don't like mares after all? Or one of us falls for somepony else instead? If anypony asks, we can say we're still working things out! That way we only have to tell them once we're sure. The Wonderbolts practice stunts, like, a gazillion times before an official performance, and relationships are way harder, right?”

Sweetie and I shared a look. “That… almost makes sense,” she said.

“Yeah.”

“I mean, it IS a big choice… maybe it's not such a bad idea to take it one step at a time?”

“Just sorta… figurin' it out as we go.”

“Trying new things--”

“Testin' out ideas--”

She started smiling like it was Hearth's Warming come early. “It's like figuring out a whole new part of ourselves!”

I grinned back. “Yeah, we've always done that together before!”

“We do everything together!”

“And Big Mac told me he and Sugar Belle are still friends, and they're married. So, sayin' we're friends ain't lyin'! And sayin' we ain't a couple ain't lyin' neither!”

“Yeah!” Scoots held out her fist over the forgotten pizza box. “Cutie Mark Crusader Girlfriends?”

Sweetie's fist shot out fast enough to do Rainbow Dash proud. “Cutie Mark Crusader Girlfriends!”

I stuck my fist out to bump theirs. “Cutie Mark Crusader Girlfriends! But, uh,” I sat back again. “Maybe we oughta set some ground rules before we do anything crazy?”

“Like what?” Scootaloo asked.

“Well, uh,” I twisted a lock of hair. “I'm not comfortable lyin'. I know this is a practice run but, uh, if we get caught doin'… somethin', I think we oughta agree to come clean. Like, if AJ catches me kissin' you, Scoots, I'm not pretendin' that you ain't involved, Sweetie. That has disaster written all over it.”

Scoots sighed. “Yeah, yeah that makes sense. What about you, Sweetie? You got anything?”

Sweetie fidgeted around a little. “We don't have to lie if we're caught but… can we agree not to announce it to anypony unless all of us are ready? Just the part about the three of us being together, not our orientations. And when we do tell, can we promise to do it together?” She gulped and shivered. “I really don't want to face Rarity or my parents alone when they find out about us.”

I scooted off my cushion and settled in next to Sweetie. “Hey now, y'all ain't doin' none of this alone.” I put my arm around her shoulders, just like the other night, right when everything went all screwy. “No matter what, we're with ya, right, Scootaloo?”

Scoots scrambled over to Sweetie's side like she'd been waiting for the excuse all day. “Right!”

I felt Sweetie relax just a bit when Scootaloo settled in next to us and slipped her arm around her waist. “Thanks.”

“How 'bout you, Scoots? Y'all got anythin' ya wanna add?”

“Uh… yeah. I know I've been kinda, y'know, pushing it the last couple of days… or moons.” She rubbed the back of her neck awkwardly with her free hand. “But, uh, maybe we should all agree that if one of us isn't comfortable with something, then we don't do it.”

I nodded. “Good call. And if we got a problem then we gotta talk about it. No more hidin' things. If ya want somethin' or don't want somethin', or if you're uncomfortable, then ya gotta speak up. I dunno about you two, but I ain't a mind reader.”

“Why do I feel like you're both talking about me?” Sweetie mumbled.

“I'm talkin' about ALL of us. I shoulda spoke up the other night about why I was upset. And I probably shouldn't've pinned ya against that tree, Scoots. And both y'all shoulda told me what ya were up to after we hit the hay.”

Scoots slumped a little. “And I guess I should've just come clean this morning about what happened to me. And I shouldn't have lied to you, Sweetie. Or run off.” She folded her ears back. “I'm sorry.”

Sweetie hesitated a moment, biting her lip, then she leaned in and planted a quick little kiss on Scootaloo's cheek that made her ears pop straight back up again. “I forgive you. And I'm sorry, too. For keeping this all bottled up for so long. And for blasting you, Apple Bloom. And I'm sorry for being so nervous.”

“I get why you were scared. I'm pretty nervous too,” I admitted. “I dunno how Granny and Applejack are gonna feel.”

“I, uh, guess I'm probably not as nervous as you two. I think everypony who doesn't actually know already probably thinks I'm gay anyhow, so don't worry about anypony finding out about that part. I mean, I've been trying to hit on you pretty much all the time.”

Sweetie hesitantly put her own arms around both of our waists. “You have no idea how glad I am that I wasn't imagining that.”

“Would it have killed you to say something sooner?”

I snorted. “Considerin' she only just turned eighteen, it wouldn't've been Sweetie who got killed.”

“…Yeeeaaah, good point. So, while we're apologizing, you gonna say sorry for pinching me?”

“Nnnope!”

“…Yeah, that's fair too.”

We all giggled a bit, trailing off until it was just us sitting together in silence. I kept my arm around Sweetie's shoulders, while Scoots kept hers around her waist, and all three of our tails looped together comfortably. All in all, it was a little slice of heaven. Sure, I was only halfway on Sweetie's cushion, my hand was caught between their shoulders, and there was a whole heap of future trouble to worry about, but I could've sat that way forever.

“So… either of you gonna eat that last slice of pizza?”

I rolled my eyes. “Dang it, Scoots.”

“Way to kill the moment,” Sweetie agreed.

“Hey, I'm hungry!”

“Go on then, Scoots. It's all yours. I can grab somethin' else later.”

“You're still hungry?” Sweetie asked. “Are all of the Apples bottomless pits?”

“Heh, AB sure isn't 'bottomless'.”

I narrowed my eyes. “You're just beggin' fer another pinch.” Scootaloo got a glint in her eye that sent a little tickle up my spine, just like that look she'd had after the pinch.

“Dun't tmpt muh.”

“Don't talk with yer mouth full!”

Scoots rolled her eyes and swallowed. “So… now what?”

“Sleepover?” Sweetie suggested.

“We, uh, we ain't gonna do more girl talk, right?”

Sweetie smiled sheepishly. “We probably shouldn't touch that again.”

We all fidgeted in silence for a few moments. Sweetie picking at her skirt, Scoots tugging at her straps, me twisting a bit of hair.

“So…” Scoots began, “you wanna make out instead?”

Silence.

“Yeah, okay.”

“Sounds good to me.”