//------------------------------// // Chapter 30: Forgiveness // Story: New Discoveries // by Phantom Shadow //------------------------------// Two Days Later “Are you sure this is a good idea, Scootaloo?” asked a worried Sweetie Belle. “Of course I’m sure. What’s the worst that could happen?” asked Scootaloo, a reassuring smile across her face. “I can think of a few things...” she muttered, as she let out a worried sigh. The two fillies were walking home from school and life had seemingly gone back to normal. Since the storm had passed, the skies were clearer than they usually were. The weather was a lot warmer and the air was much crisper than it normally was; the calm after the storm, some assumed. However, despite the beauty of the day, the two fillies had been discussing something; something that they knew was going to have to come to light sooner or later. They had only been “together” for a few days now. Apple Bloom couldn’t have been anymore happier for her friends than before. And, because this sort of thing happens every now and then, like Princess Luna said, not much of pony society seemed to notice the two of them together as they were; either that or they didn’t really seem to mind or care. However, the guilt-ridden Sweetie Belle couldn’t help but worry about her older sister. She had been lied to about the whole situation from the start, believing every word the filly said to be true. Even though she had managed to put it all in the past and forget about “Scott” and the whole ordeal with him, Sweetie Belle couldn’t help but feel guilty about the whole thing. Scootaloo understood what she meant and had told her that the only way she’d be able to fully recover from her guilt was to tell Rarity the truth about what had happened. The white filly was very resistant to the whole thing, but not because of fear of disapproval of them being together. What made her so resistant was that she had made such a big deal about a pony that didn’t even exist in the first place and Rarity had believed her and felt really bad for her. Her fear was how she was going to react about being lied to about “Scott” and the mess she had made about him. “Don’t worry about a thing, Sweetie Belle,” said Scootaloo as they neared the Carousel Boutique, “She might be a little annoyed about the whole thing, but I’m pretty sure she’s going to forgive you for it. I mean, it’s not the first time you did something like this, right?” “That’s not the point,” said the white filly, “What if she takes this too hard? What if she’s so hurt about this that she won’t let me see you anymore?” “Come on, Sweetie,” said Scootaloo, “You know that she won’t do anything like that. She’s your sister, after all!” “Maybe not, but it’s still something to consider, right?” Scootaloo rolled her eyes as she opened the door of the Boutique for her friend. As the two fillies walked in, Sweetie Belle’s heart began to race more than it usually did. They had talked about doing this for a while and when they did, Sweetie Belle was pretty confident that Rarity was willing to forgive her. Now that it finally came to her saying it to her face-to-face, all her confidence seemed to be in question and doubt began to cloud her judgment. “Maybe this isn’t a good idea,” she said, trying her best not to make her voice crack, “I’m pretty sure she’s far too busy to talk to us anyway, so maybe we can do this another time.” “Will you relax!” said Scootaloo, a slightly annoyed look on her face, “She’s not going to do anything to you. Will she get a little annoyed about it, sure, but she’s not going to disown you or anything. Besides, I’ll be right there by your side so you’ll have nothing to worry about.” To help with her reassurance, Scootaloo nuzzled her friends’ neck and softly planted a kiss on her cheek. This caused the unicorn filly to blush and the Pegasus filly to let out a small giggle; even now, they were still getting used to the whole premise of them being together like this. “Alright,” said Sweetie Belle, as she let out a small sigh, “Here goes nothing.” Soon, the two fillies began making their way up the stairs and towards Rarity’s work room, where they assumed she would be. They didn’t even have to reach the top of the stairs to know that she was there; the sound of her sewing machine being operated signified that she was in there, working on a dress or something of a similar nature. When they reached the door, Sweetie Belle could feel sweat beginning to form on the back of her neck and her heart starting to pound into her ribs. She tried her best to compose herself but it was too obvious that something was wrong with her, judging by the look on her face. Scootaloo noticed this and tried to calm her down by reminding her to take deep breaths and relax. Although it helped a little, it didn’t get rid of the anxiety of what she was about to do. Soon, after a few moments of deep breathing, the two fillies opened the door and saw Rarity working on a dress of some kind. When she heard the door open, she turned her head and looked at her sister and her friend, a smile on her face. “Hello, girls,” she said as she directed her attention back to her work, “How was school?” “Good,” said Sweetie Belle as she tried her best not to make her voice crack, “How are you?” “I’m fine, thank you very much,” she said, offering another smile to them. Before anything else could transpire between them, Scootaloo nudged Sweetie Belle on the leg. When she had her attention, she nodded once and gestured her head towards her sister, signaling that it was time to stop with the pleasantries and tell her what she needed to tell. Knowing very well that she couldn’t avoid this anymore, she took one last breath and said, “Rarity, can I talk to you for a moment?” The older unicorn turned off the sewing machine and looked at her sister. Judging by the sound of her voice when she asked her the question, she immediately thought that something was wrong. So, a worried look was strewn across her face, not sure of what she was going to say. “What’s wrong, dear?” she asked, as she approached her sister and sat on her haunches in front of her, “Is everything alright?” “Well, not exactly,” the filly said, almost cowering into submission at her sister’s close proximity. Scootaloo noticed this and lightly rubbed a hoof on her back, hoping that it would be comforting for her. “‘Not exactly?’” she asked, her worried expression becoming more obvious, “What do you mean by that?” “Well...you see...I...um...” she stammered, trying to get the right words out. Then, she decided to start with the obvious, “Do you remember the whole situation with ‘Scott?’” “Of course I do, Sweet’ums. Why would...” Rarity began before stopping herself. The moment his name was brought up, she began to get on the defensive. “Tell me he’s not bothering you after what he did to you! If he is, you tell me right away and I’ll personally deal with him. The nerve of him; he hurts you and then he begins bothering you like it’s your fault!” Sweetie Belle shot a scared look at her friend, the fear and doubt beginning to kick in on overdrive. However, Scootaloo simply nodded and nudged her head towards the older unicorn again. “Actually,” said the white filly, her voice as almost as quiet as Fluttershy’s, “It’s not that at all. You see...I...I...um...” Rarity noticed her sister’s reaction and began to calm herself down. She was getting herself all worked up before she even knew what Sweetie Belle was going to say. As a result, she couldn’t help but feel a little embarrassed about her sudden outburst. “Sorry, Sweet’ums,” she said, as she cleared her throat, “I shouldn’t have gone off like that, not without hearing what you had to say first. Now, what was you wanted to tell me about Scott?” With everything building up at once, the small filly didn’t even have time to think as she blurted out, “I lied to you about Scott!” Rarity sat there with a wide-eyed expression. She didn’t know if she had heard her sister correctly. So, she asked, “What...what did you say?” Knowing that there was no turning back now that she said it, Sweetie Belle said, “I...I lied to you about Scott.” Still not sure of what she meant by this, Rarity asked, “What do you mean by that?” Letting out a small sigh, she said, “I lied to you about almost everything that happened over the past few days, sis. There is nopony named Scott from Los Pegasus. I made up the whole thing and lied to you about it.” Rarity’s eyebrow rose as she asked, “What do you mean ‘almost everything?’ What are you trying to tell me?” Sweetie Belle turned her eyes to Scootaloo, who only nodded in response. Then, Sweetie Belle told her sister everything that had happened. She told her about how she felt when Scootaloo had hugged her several days ago, how she felt about her, how she tried to hide her feelings for her by making up a colt named “Scott” and trying to convince everypony that he was real. She even told her about how she tried to run away after she tried to confess her love to Scootaloo the first time. In short, she told her everything that had transpired from several days ago till now. As Sweetie Belle finished her story, all Rarity could do was sit there with a stunned gaze on her face. She found it very easy to absorb everything in, especially with the realization that Sweetie Belle met up with Scootaloo on the day before the storm hit. With everything being laid to bear, all the puzzle pieces over the past several days began fitting together, making perfect sense. “So, let me get this straight,” said Rarity, “You told me that there was somepony named ‘Scott’ and that you liked him, but in truth, you were actually talking about Scootaloo?” Sweetie Belle, still fearful of what her sister might say, simply nodded her head in response. Her scared face was apparent as she lowered her body into submission, bracing herself as if her sister was ready to pounce on her at any given moment. “Then, after telling Scootaloo how you felt, and thinking that she rejected you, you tried to run away?” continued Rarity. “Yes,” answered Scootaloo, who was quiet the entire time. Seeing how Sweetie Belle was unable to really speak at the moment, she decided to answer the last question for her. “But I stopped her before she could do anything or go anywhere." “Is that so?” asked Rarity, as she focused her attention to her little sister, “Well, Sweetie Belle, I can honestly say that I am very disappointed in you for lying to me about this whole situation.” Sweetie Belle was on the verge of crying as she whispered, “I’m sorry.” Rarity noticed this and simply smiled. “However, I am glad that you decided to tell me the truth, instead of having me worry about somepony bothering you that doesn’t even exist in the first place.” Then, Rarity walked over to her cowering sister and gave her a small hug. The moment that she did, all the fear and doubt began to leave Sweetie Belle’s body, as she returned the embrace. Scootaloo couldn’t help but smile as the two sisters shared a tender moment with one another. “Thank you for understanding,” Sweetie Belle whispered, “Does this mean that you don’t mind me and Scootaloo being...you know...together?” The moment the question left the filly’s mouth, Rarity released her embrace and stared at the two of them. In truth, she didn’t know if she was really comfortable about the whole situation: her own sister being with another filly. Unsure of what else to say, Rarity simply said, “I don’t know. I’ll need to think about it.” With that, she simply walked around her sister and left the work room, leaving the two fillies alone. Unsure of what was going to happen, Sweetie Belle lowered her body in shame as Scootaloo began rubbing her back again, telling her that everything will be alright.