The weekend had finally arrived, and Scootaloo awoke with a smile on her face. The past few days had felt like a blur to her, being both an exciting step forward in her young-adult life as well as a glorious retreat from the feelings she harbored for one rainbow-haired soccer player. Scootaloo looked at the clock that lay next to her bed and let out a relieved sigh. Not too late. The young girl had decided to sleep in but was worried that she may not get up early enough to enjoy the morning hours. The clock read fifteen past ten; a perfect time to wake up if she ever saw one.
Sitting up in her bed, Scootaloo turned to her phone charging on her bedside table. Tapping the button to unlock her screen, she was greeted by two separate morning messages, each one belonging to the two most special girls she had in her life. While each message was relatively the same, wishing her a good-morning as well as expressing enthusiasm for the day ahead of them, each one had unique flourishes that touched Scootaloo’s heart and made her shake her head in disbelief as she rubbed the corners of her eyes. Whether it was Sweetie Belle’s almost irresponsible use of multi-colored heart emojis or Applebloom’s reminder that she gets first kiss of the day, Scootaloo couldn’t help but feel excitement in her stomach and the pleasurable sting of tears in her eyes whenever she thought of her new girlfriends. Or was it gal-pals? With a quick but cute response to each girl detailing her own eagerness to reunite with them, Scootaloo stood up and made her way to the bathroom. Today was the day of her first sleepover while in a relationship, which is why she elected to sleep in. Scootaloo didn’t know much about sleepovers—her previous guardians were never high on the idea—but she did know one thing… If she were going to have a sleepover, especially considering the two girls she was going to spend it with, she definitely wasn’t going to get much sleep that night.
After showering, brushing her teeth, and using the facilities, Scootaloo had to make sure her aesthetics were in order. A blush came to her cheeks as she recalled the lessons she’d learned over the last few days: they liked it when she dressed nicely, they liked a tad bit of makeup on her, and if she was going to wear lipstick, she would need to bring a lot, lot more of it, because her girlfriends had absolutely no issue with removing it with any chance they could get. With a comb, Scootaloo worked hard to create the “looks like she just got out of bed but not so bad that she actually looks like she just got out of bed” look that she patented as a child. Putting on a black, sleeveless T-shirt and faded blue jeans, Scootaloo considered herself worthy enough to be seen by those whom she wished to impress. Perhaps even a little… cute? She shook her head of her silliness and made her way to the kitchen.
“Good morning, little miss sunshine,” Blue Aura said as Scootaloo passed the dining room table. “Dressing to impress again, hm?”
Scootaloo giggled nervously as she got out a plastic bowl and a spoon. “Uh… n-not really. Just, hehe, trying to maintain a look, you know?” Aura nodded once before turning back to her paper. Whew.
“Meet anyone new?” asked Aura.
“No? Not really.” Scootaloo used her free hand to pick up a box of cereal before beginning her trek to the table.
“Is it a boy?”
“WHAT?” Scootaloo shouted as the bowl slipped from her hands, bringing along the spoon and cereal box with it. “Oops… Uh…” She scrambled to pick up what she dropped before placing the dishes in the sink. “Um… I wanted toast anyway.”
“I know you’re at that age, Scootaloo,” Aura continued. “You can tell me if you’ve got a boy on your mind, you know.”
Scootaloo chuckled at she placed two pieces of wheat bread into their toaster. She supposed her guardian wasn’t… entirely off base. But if she was being honest with herself, Scootaloo was just as surprised that everything was happening as much as Blue Aura would be. If someone had told her a week prior that she would be having a sleepover tonight with not only one but two of her girlfriends, both of which also happened to be her best friends, she would ask that person what controlled substance they happened to be abusing. She had just come to the conclusion that she was useless and wasn’t worth anybody’s time. The fact that she was actually one of the most important people in the world to Sweetie Belle and Applebloom was more than a shock to the heart. It was a completely new world for her.
“Uh, yeah, Aura…” Scootaloo mumbled as she stared deeply into the toaster. “I know I can. Trust me… it’s not a boy.” It was technically the truth, which is the best kind of truth.
Blue Aura sighed before closing her newspaper and walking alongside Scootaloo. “Okay, I’ll take your word for it.” She glanced at the young girl, taking note that she refused to meet her in the eye. “Regardless of your reasons, I’d say you look absolutely stunning.”
Scootaloo blushed. “… Thank you.”
“And when you do get involved with something like that,” Aura said as she wrapped an arm around her step-daughter and kissed her atop her head, “make sure you get somebody that cares and loves you just as much as I do. Alright, sweetheart?”
“Y-yeah…” Scootaloo muttered. “I will. Trust me.” Scootaloo’s heart warmed. Did Blue Aura know something? She seemed to skate dangerously close to the reality of things. Regardless, the fact that her guardian continued to support her, to love her, to actually try… As much as she fought against it, and as much as she didn’t want to let herself, Scootaloo felt a great deal of kinship with her adoptive mother. She’d never felt this level of interest and care for her well-being in previous foster homes, the tragic experiences that they were. With the new trials of having girlfriends, as well as the inclusion of having an actual loving parent in her life, Scootaloo’s heart was feeling increasingly vulnerable. It scared her. The higher up you go, the greater your downfall could be, and after dealing with Rainbow Dash she wasn’t sure she could take another hit. Still, despite all that, she couldn’t help but feel a spark of hope deep in the chambers of her heart. Perhaps, Scootaloo thought, life may finally allow her to be happy. Just this once.
“Now,” Blue Aura said after kissing Scootaloo one last time, “this is Saturday, so you know I won’t be getting home until very late. It’s going to be a really stormy night, are you going to be okay by yourself? The power might go out.”
Scootaloo quickly spun around. Shoot, I knew there was something I was forgetting.
“Uh, actually,” she said, worried she may be bringing it up a tad late, “I was kinda hoping that I could have a sleepover at the Apple’s home tonight. Me and Sweetie Belle, that is.” Scootaloo winced. Really should’ve mentioned that one earlier.
Aura’s face lit up. “Oh really? Well, wonderful! Then I won’t have to worry as much!”
Scootaloo blew an audible sigh of relief. Dodged that one.
“It’s nice seeing you have best friends that you can depend on,” Aura said as she buttoned her jacked and left money on the kitchen counter. “I’m glad you have someone to get close to. That’s hard to find these days, you know.”
“Yeah… I know. I’m glad too.” Scootaloo grinned, remembering just how loved her girlfriends made her feel.
“I left money here on the table in case you girls decide to go out.” Aura grabbed her purse before placing a hand atop Scootaloo’s head. “How will you be getting there? You’re not going to ride your scooter all the way out there, will you?”
Scootaloo shook her head. “Applebloom just got her license, so Applejack got her a truck. It’s… kind of a rust bucket, but it’ll get the job done.”
“Oh, how nice!” Aura replied. “You girls are all growing up, aren’t you?”
Scootaloo ducked out from under Aura’s hand and leaned against the counter. “Uh, kinda? I don’t really feel like I am. And I really don’t think Applebloom and Sweetie Belle are.” She chuckled. Those two acted like buffoons on a daily basis, almost the complete opposite of the image of maturity. But then again so did she, so maybe that’s why she loved them so much.
“Trust me,” Aura said, “you’re growing a lot faster than you think. Which reminds me, don’t forget we’ve having our mother-daughter clothes shopping date tomorrow after you get home from your friend’s. Alright?”
Oh, right. She had almost forgotten. But as bad or as boring as she would’ve initially thought that might be, Scootaloo had to admit she was a little excited to spend more time with her step-mother. It was an opportunity she’d be remiss to forget about.
“Got it,” was her only reply.
“Good.” Blue Aura kissed Scootaloo on the forehead before making her way to the front door. “Don’t forget to wear a jacket before you go out tonight. It’ll be windy and probably rainy, and I don’t want you to catch a cold.”
“I’ll be okay, Aura,” Scootaloo said as she waved her goodbye.
“And keep your phone on and nearby in case I need to call.”
Scootaloo nodded. “Roger that.”
“And tell Sweetie Belle and Applebloom I said ‘hello.’”
“Aura!” Scootaloo shouted, a smirk on her face.
“And don’t be embarrassed to bring… feminine products if you need them.
“AURA!” Scootaloo buried her face in her hands. “Just go!”
Blue Aura giggled as she stuck her key in the front door. “I’m just playing with you, honey. Have a fun day. Oh, and, um… your toast is burning.”
“OH CRAP!” Scootaloo turned back to the kitchen, a small plume of smoke rising from the toaster. She quickly grabbed a plate and ejected the pieces of toast onto its surface. Two pure black piles of charcoal were all that remained.
“Whelp…” Scootaloo muttered as she tossed the plate into the garbage, “yogurt it is, then.”
-o0o-
As the hours slowly passed by, Scootaloo attempted to find ways to keep busy. If she was being honest with herself, Scootaloo realized just how nervous she was to see Applebloom and Sweetie Belle again. Nervous, but excited. Butterflies fluttered in her stomach while watching TV, browsing the internet, and playing video games, and no matter what she did she could not get the feeling to relinquish itself. She giggled inwardly as she plopped down on her bed and realized that, actually, she didn’t want this feeling to go away. It felt new, upheaving whatever preconceptions she held pertaining to having a girlfriend. Maybe this was what being in a relationship was always going to be like, she considered. Perhaps this is what it’s like to truly feel alive.
Her phone buzzed as this thought crossed her head. Snapping herself out of her own mind, Scootaloo quickly scrambled to see what message might lie ahead. Only three people knew her number—Blue Aura, Sweetie Belle, and Applebloom—so it’s not like she’d be surprised at whoever it was. Still, every chance she had to have a new interaction with one of her girlfriends made her heart swell and her brain course with new ideas of what might be said. Her excitement paid off this time; a text from Sweetie Belle emblazoned the screen, rife with emojis and exclamation marks.
“Hey, Scoots!!!” it said. “Applebloom picked me up and we’re headed towards your house!! Hope you’re ready to get kissed <3 <3” Several smiley faces with kissy lips and heart-eyes followed, hammering in the fact that Scootaloo had a lot to look forward to. Another knot formed in her stomach, her eagerness becoming more prevalent as each minute passed.
“I can’t wait! I’ve been waiting all day to see you girls!” Scootaloo replied, her phone autocorrecting her less than stellar spelling. “I’m ready for whatever you have in mind ;)” Behind the comfort of her screen, Scootaloo emulated confidence. Would she be able to say something like that in person? Probably not. Not yet, at the very least. But she’d heard that fortune favors the bold, and she’d take whatever win she could get. This was her first real chance to be assertive in life, to take the reins of her future and guide it in the direction she wanted to take it, not wherever fate decided to drop her off. The idea of it chilled her to the bone, but she had to try.
As she nervously waited for a reply, Scootaloo set off to pack her bag for the night. A pack of playing cards, her lipstick, a handheld gaming device paired with some games she thought she and the girls could play, pajamas, her toothbrush and other toiletries, and some snacks for late night devouring were all tossed into her backpack with the expectation that she wouldn’t have use for all of them. A thought crossed her mind. Wait… where will I sleep? Did she have a sleeping bag? Did she need a sleeping bag? Her body went red at the thought of Applebloom, Sweetie Belle, and herself crowded tightly together in Applebloom’s bed, having only each other for warmth in the cold, stormy night. Oh boy… Scootaloo shook her head of the thought. Now was not the time nor place to be having such fantasies. Those were saved for later when she was much more… alone. Besides, it was way too early in their relationship for her to be even considering such ideas, right? It’s not like she would ever agree to such a proposal anyway.
Although…
Before she could take her teenage perversion any further, once again her phone buzzed with the implication of a loved one messaging her. Wiping the drool from her mouth, Scootaloo whipped out her phone and swiped open the messaging app, revealing a picture of Sweetie Belle and Applebloom winking at the camera with the text, “Applebloom says hi,” inscribed underneath.
With a grin on her face and a quick maneuver of her fingers, Scootaloo saved the photo to her photo album. Having new girlfriends and a new view on life, Scootaloo affirmed the notion of taking more pictures and treasuring her memories. Her past “family” experiences were nothing really worth remembering, a sad dinner here and an ignored school activity there. With the constant moving and being in and out of homes, Scootaloo really had no photo albums to bring with her and no tangible memories to cling to save for a select few baby pictures. With this, Scootaloo had come to realize that nothing in this life has great permanence, and that she’s not guaranteed that her life with Blue Aura, Sweetie Belle, and Applebloom would last forever. But she’s here now, and she’s happy now, so she’s going to laugh, take pictures, and cherish the memories she held every damn day that she could.
Her cellphone rang in her hand, an image of a grayed out human shape displaying with the name “Sweetie Belle” written across the front. She noted that she’d have to take profile pictures for each of her girlfriends. Tapping her thumb against the “answer” button, Scootaloo brought the phone up to her ear and spoke. “Hey, Sweetie Belle! Uh… what’s going on?”
“Hey, Scootaloo! We’re on our way!” Sweetie Belle was in the cab of Applebloom’s truck, so Scootaloo figured the young country girl was going to chime in right about…
“Howdy, Scoots!” Ah, there it is.
Scootaloo snickered. “Hi, girls. I’m almost ready to go. Um, is there any reason you called? I kinda need to keep packing.”
“Yes, silly!” Sweetie Belle retorted. “We’re just around the corner! We’re gonna wait for you to come out!”
“Ah’m pretty sure she’s already past that part,” Applebloom joked in the background.
“Wait, WHAT?!” Scootaloo asked, ignoring Applebloom. “You just texted me a few minutes ago saying she just picked you up! How are you already almost here?”
“Um, I didn’t say I just got picked up,” Sweetie Belle replied. “We were kinda already three-quarters of the way here.”
Scootaloo smacked her palm against her forehead. “And you’re just now telling me about this?”
“Um… yes?”
“Ugh!” Scootaloo quickly ran to the hall closet, phone still in hand. “You guys just can’t keep showing up out of the blue like this without telling me!”
“Y’all know you love it!” shouted Applebloom, her voice distant.
Knocking a few folded blankets and pillow cases out of the way, Scootaloo reached to the very back of the shadowy closet in order to find what she needed. After a few seconds she struck gold, a sleeping bag Blue Aura had mentioned in passing once before while volunteering to take Scootaloo camping the following summer. With a tenacious tug on one of the straps that held the sleeping bag together Scootaloo flung herself backwards out of the closet, taking it and a pile of blankets out with her.
“Shoot,” she muttered. Covered in blankets and dust from the musty, rarely vacuumed closet, Scootaloo had lost her phone in the mess. “Uh, girls? Can you hear me?” Scootaloo hurriedly sorted through blankets, hoping to hear a voice and praying that she didn’t accidentally break her phone by stepping on it. After a few alarming seconds, she saw the familiar glow of a cellphone sitting face down on the floor. “Hello?” she called after picking it back up. “You still there, Sweetie Belle?”
“Yes!” Sweetie Belle grunted. “I’ve been talking to you! Weren’t you listening?”
Scootaloo stood up with her arm wrapped around the yellow sleeping bag. Looking around at the mess she made, she opted to clean up later when she returned from the sleepover. Blue Aura would understand, right? “Uh, yeah, no, I was totally listening. Heard every word!”
“Good, ‘cause we’re out on your driveway waiting for you!”
A slight rustle was heard on the phone. “Scootaloo!” Applebloom called, her voice now clear. “Get yer cute lil’ behind out here before Ah have to come in and wrangle it out myself!”
“Uh, c-coming!” While she had to admit the offer sounded somewhat tempting, Scootaloo had to concede. Tapping the button on her phone to end the call, Scootaloo quickly returned to her backpack and zipped it up before placing it and her sleeping bag by the front door. She sprinted to her room, checked herself one last time in her bathroom’s mirror, and grabbed her blue four-wheeled scooter before heading back to the front door. “Oh!” she exclaimed. “Almost forgot!” One quick trip to the coat hanger that held her dark grey hoodie and she was ready to go.
Scootaloo rushed out of the house and, after taking a moment to lock the door behind her, rounded the corner to see a rusted pickup truck idling in her driveway. In the driver’s seat sat Applebloom, the sleeves on her green T-shirt rolled up above her elbows and her patented pink bow cutely tied amongst her hair. While Applebloom was still looking at something on her phone, Sweetie Belle lit up at the sight of Scootaloo coming her way. They were much, much too cute for her, Scootaloo thought. So much so that she felt she would die from cuteness overdose. But if there were ever a way to go, then that route would certainly be favorable.
After heaving her backpack, sleeping bag, and scooter into the truck bed, Scootaloo opened the passenger side door and hopped inside.
“Scootaloo!” her girlfriends shouted in unison. She smiled as Sweetie Belle leaned in for a kiss, only to be smushed into the seat by Applebloom. To Scootaloo’s surprise, Applebloom quickly leaned over and planted a firm kiss on her startled lips.
“Excuse me!” Sweetie Belle shouted as she smacked Applebloom’s arm off her face. “What the heck was that?!”
Applebloom snickered. “Ah told y’all that Ah’d be the first to kiss Scootaloo today. Just stayin’ true to my word, ‘s’all.” She returned her hands to position on the steering wheel and smirked at Sweetie Belle. “No hard feelin’s, right?”
“Hmph!” pouted Sweetie Belle, crossing her arms. “My face has hard feelings.”
“Uh, hey, girls…” Scootaloo said, sheepishly. “Nice to see you too.”
Sweetie Belle turned to Scootaloo. “Scootaloo, Applebloom’s already being mean to me!”
“Ah am not!” retorted Applebloom. “It’s all tough love, y’know? Showing y’all how much Ah care!”
Leaning her head on Scootaloo’s shoulder, Sweetie Belle whimpered. “I think you’ll have to kiss me to make things better.”
Scootaloo rolled her eyes, but cherished the thought all the same. If that was the way to make Sweetie Belle “better,” then consider her a part time nurse. Mustering all the courage she had, Scootaloo grabbed Sweetie Belle by the chin and leaned into her, pressing their lips together. Sweetie Belle moaned as Scootaloo repeatedly moved between her top and bottom lip, eventually pulling away to give themselves room to breathe. Scootaloo’s head spun, hoping that her air of confidence paid off.
“You…” Sweetie Belle muttered, taking a moment to find her bearings. “You’re getting better at that…”
Scootaloo hid her grin behind her mouth and looked out the window, a bit too embarrassed to look at her girlfriends for the moment. For once, she had been the one to kiss one of them, not the other way around. She could definitely get used to the feeling.
“Hey!” Applebloom called. “How come Ah didn’t get a kiss like that?”
“You don’t deserve a kiss like that!” Sweetie Belle put a possessive hand on Scootaloo’s shoulder. “She only kisses nice girlfriends!”
Scootaloo leaned forward to meet Applebloom’s gaze. “I mean, I’ll kiss either of you if you really want me to.”
Applebloom shifted the truck into reverse before pulling out onto the road and heading back the way they had come. “Oh trust me, we will. Ah’ll make sure of that.”
Small, almost unnoticeable drops of rain began to patter on the windshield. As Scootaloo leaned back and took note of it, she contemplated the weight that night could hold over her relationships. The feign of calm collectiveness was there, and she seemed to be holding fast on that front. But the more she thought about it, the more Scootaloo realized that tonight was far more important than she had initially thought. So far, Sweetie Belle and Applebloom had been doing all of the work. They initiated the relationship, they were the first to kiss her, and they were the ones that had been there for her when she needed them to be. As far as Scootaloo saw it, it was her turn now. She needed to show that she could be a good girlfriend, that she was worth being with… that she shouldn’t be abandoned like she had been before. A bead of sweat dripped down her forehead, mimicking the rain outside, as the realization hit her. If she didn’t live up to their expectations, then she wouldn’t just lose her girlfriends but her best friends as well. A wave of anxiety passed over her at just the thought.
“Hey, Scoots?” Applebloom’s voice cut through the darkness. “Y’all doin’ alright? Yer bein’ mighty quiet over there.”
Scootaloo took a moment to bring herself back to the moment at hand. “Uh, yeah, just… thinking about stuff.” Seeing Sweetie Belle’s concerned face made her realize she didn’t want to dive down that rabbit hole. Looking at Applebloom, she quickly changed the subject. “S-so Applebloom… Uh, are you sure your family’s okay with having us sleep over?”
“Sure as sherbet!” Applebloom replied.
“Uh… so how sure is that, exactly?”
Applebloom raised an eyebrow. “Um… very? Ah don’t rightly know. It’s just kinda somethin’ Ah say sometimes.”
Scootaloo nodded and returned her gaze to the houses buzzing by, happy that the center of attention had been taken off of her. Before long they came to a red light, the rain above now falling heavily on the truck. She turned back to Applebloom, who was looking inquisitively at the many handles behind her steering wheel.
“Uh, Ah think this one is the wiper switch.” Grabbing the switch and pulling it one notch downward, Applebloom beamed as the windshield wiper jerked to life and began sliding its way back and forth across the window. Until, that is, it quickly slammed to a stop right in the middle of the windshield, prompting her to quickly jerk the switch up and down to no avail.
“Hmph,” she muttered, “Ah don’t know what Ah expected.”
Sweetie Belle giggled. “Looks like you bought a hunk of junk!”
“Ah didn’t buy this ‘hunk o’ junk,’ Applejack did!” Accepting her fate, Applebloom removed her hand from the switch and began driving once the light turned green. “’Sides, it’s not like y’all have a car to drive us in. So Ah don’t wanna hear any complaints from you, missy.”
“Are we gonna be able to make it to your farm?” Scootaloo asked. “You’re almost out of gas.”
Applebloom quickly looked through to the fuel gage, seeing that the needle was nearly on empty.
“Aw, shoot!” she cried. “Uh, we’ll make it to the farm just fine, Ah’ll just have to ask Applejack to refill it with some tanks we got once we get there.”
“I thought she was going over to Rarity’s,” Scootaloo said.
Applebloom nodded. “She wanted to make sure Ah got home with y’all safe n’ sound. Y’know… sister stuff.” Sweetie Belle smiled in agreement. “Then she was gonna take off. But, she did say she was gonna buy pizza for us!”
“Yay, pizza!” shouted Sweetie Belle as she put an arm around each girl’s shoulder. “You excited to have the best night ever, Scootaloo?”
Scootaloo shifted in her seat, exhaling deeply in an attempt to calm her nerves. There was no going back now, and this ‘best night ever’ increasingly became more horrifying to Scootaloo than exciting. Take your future by the reins, Scootaloo. As soon as it became evident that she may be taking too long to answer, Scootaloo turned to Sweetie Belle and put on the best fake smile that she could.
“You bet I am.”
-o0o-
Applebloom pried open another box of pizza, firmly grasping a slice and placing it on the paper plate she held. “Y’all want another piece?” she asked to nobody in particular.
“I’ll have one,” Scootaloo said, a slice already in her mouth. “This stuff is really good. Way better than the guys that Blue Aura orders from.”
Taking the plate over to her girlfriend and setting it down, Applebloom ran a finger through Scootaloo’s short, purple hair as she sat on the couch next to her. “Sorry we didn’t have any home cookin’ ready fer y’all, but Big Mac n’ Granny Smith had a job to do ‘fore comin’ home tonight.” She bent over and picked up another plate filled with pizza before sticking a slice in her mouth. “’n Applejack sure was anxious to get outta here. Didn’t even bother to wait fer us t’ get home. Wonder why she was so rarin’ to go to Rarity’s.”
Sweetie Belle, sitting on the other side of Scootaloo, rolled her eyes as she set her plate laden with uneaten pizza crusts and peeled-off mushrooms down on the coffee table. “Gee, I really can’t imagine… It’s okay, though. I’ve had your family’s home cooking before, and if we ate that then I think we’d be too bloated to do anything else tonight.”
Applebloom swallowed. “Uh, what’s all that s’posed to mean? Y’all saying ya don’t like our cookin’?”
“Mmm!” Scootaloo interrupted, food still in her mouth. “Uh, I’ve had your Granny Smith’s cooking too, and I think she means that it’s so good that we literally wouldn’t stop eating it.” It was true, too. The last time she had been over, Applebloom’s grandmother had made the three of them bowls of some sort of southern soup that she prided herself over. It was good. Too good, in fact. She ended the night with three and a half bowls of it in her stomach. Scootaloo was dumbfounded how their entire family somehow weren’t all five-hundred pounds. Applebloom was as fit as could be, but Scootaloo knew that she ate well. At least in Scootaloo’s opinion, Applebloom’s dietary habits showed up in all the right places.
Sweetie Belle giggled. “See? Scootaloo gets me. We’d be eating so much that we’d end up like Augustus Gloop from Willy Wonka!” The three swung their heads back in laughter, knowing just how true that would be. Scootaloo took a moment to look back and forth between her girlfriends as they laughed. Seeing them with unfiltered joy filling their faces was the most beautiful sight Scootaloo had ever seen. There was something so pure about it; so unabashed and sweet that she wished she could burn the image into her mind forever. It calmed her nerves a little, if only for the moment.
“Besides,” Sweetie Belle continued, “if we did that we’d have no room to for any extra-curricular activities. Right, Scootaloo?” She leaned over and pecked Scootaloo on the cheek, instantly turning it to a bright crimson.
“Uh, y-yeah…” she muttered, already embarrassed. “S-so, hey, what are we gonna do now that we’re almost done eating?” As if to punctuate the end of her sentence, a wayward pillow soared into her field of vision and pegged Scootaloo in the head, flipping her plate upward and slapping her last slice of pizza across her face.
“HEY!” she shouted, quickly ripping both the pillow and pizza slice off of her. Looking to her left, she saw a solitary Applebloom grinning proudly at a job well done. “You got pepperoni in my eye, you butt!”
“Pepperon-eye!” Sweetie Belle bellowed as she quickly stood and handed Scootaloo one of the couch pillows that sat behind her.
Applebloom revealed another pillow from behind her back and held it up in the air. “Pillow fight!”
Oh, crap. Scootaloo jerked to her right with just enough time to duck underneath Sweetie Belle’s incoming barrage. Rolling underneath the coffee table, Scootaloo held her weapon tight as she constructed her battle plan. This was decidedly not the romantic evening she originally hoped for, but now was not the time for disappointment. Bolting upright, Scootaloo quickly tossed a pillow into Applebloom’s face before retrieving it and fleeing into the kitchen.
“Get back here, ya chicken!” Applebloom called, her and Sweetie Belle following suit. As Applebloom crossed the threshold into the kitchen, a soft and fluffy mass collided with her stomach. Scootaloo’s trick had worked, and now she was on the offensive. Scootaloo ripped a surprised Applebloom’s pillow out of her grip and began assaulting the poor girl with two hands. Rolling onto her back, Applebloom jabbed Scootaloo’s shin out from underneath her and she was sent tumbling downwards screaming with glee. Scootaloo landed atop Applebloom, her face pleasantly buried into her soft chest. Any other time and Scootaloo’s heart would’ve been jumping with joy, but for the moment only pure adrenaline pumped through her veins. Stealing back the pillow that was rightfully hers, Applebloom brought it down over the back of Scootaloo’s head, causing Scootaloo to flail her arms in an attempt to free herself from the bountiful suffocation she now faced.
“Dogpile!” Sweetie Belle proclaimed as she threw her pillow atop Scootaloo’s back before slamming herself down upon the duo.
“OHHH!” bellowed the simultaneous cries of Scootaloo and Applebloom, the air getting knocked from their lungs. Applebloom took her pillow off of Scootaloo’s head, a generous measure given that the two of them were now in a great deal of pain. As oxygen and her senses returned to her, Scootaloo smirked ever so slightly at the sexy sandwich she was now a part of. Remove the pillow fight from the equation and this was more of the direction she was hoping this sleepover would go. With a little less clothing, to be sure. A blush came to her face as she locked eyes with Applebloom, cognizant of Scootaloo’s thoughts no doubt, grinning ear-to-ear as similar thoughts bounced around her head. Scootaloo quickly turned her head and tried to avert attention back to the problem at hand.
“Ugh, Sweetie Belle!” she yelled. “Get your big butt off of me!”
Sweetie Belle pivoted herself until she lay parallel to both Scootaloo and Applebloom. “Did you just say I had a big butt?”
Applebloom grunted as she fruitlessly tried to push the two girls off of her. “Yeah, an’ Ah can definitely back that up. Y’all’re—ugh!—definitely heavier than ya look!”
Sweetie Belle spun onto her back and assumed a more comfortable position. “I dunno… I don’t think I should let you girls up if you’re calling me names. Don’t you agree, Scootaloo?”
“GET OFF!” she replied.
“See? Scootaloo agrees with me!” Sweetie Belle began to facetiously check her nails and smiled as her two girlfriend writhed beneath her.
“Y’all better get off ‘fore Ah get ya off myself!” Applebloom shouted, now swatting up at Sweetie Belle with her pillow.
Sweetie Belle effortlessly plucked the pillow away from her attacker. “I’d like to see you try,” she said with a giggle.
Scootaloo coughed. “Is this how I die?”
“Alright, Scoots,” Applebloom commanded, “on the count of ‘three’ Ah need ya to roll to my right side. Ready?”
Scootaloo nodded.
“One…” Before Applebloom could continue, Sweetie Belle arched her body upwards before slamming her rear into Scootaloo’s with great force, squishing them even more.
“AHH! THREE!” Applebloom cried, putting all her effort into grabbing for Sweetie Belle and twisting her body to her right. Try as she might, Scootaloo was really at the mercy at the two better positioned girls around her. Like a titanic skyscraper the pile of teenagers toppled, coupled with pained grunts and groans as Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo were sent spiraling onto the floor.
“Oxygen!” Scootaloo screamed, bracing herself up with her elbows. She heaved in heavy swaths of air, thankful to no longer be compressed on both sides. “I thought that was the end.”
Sweetie Belle sat up, rubbing her head at the point where she’d landed. “Oh, don’t exaggerate. You make it sound like I weighed a ton.” She was unable to get another word in before a pillow soared past Scootaloo’s head and implanted itself angrily on Sweetie Belle’s face.
“Sure felt like it!” Applebloom called, taking both pillows before standing tall and handing one to Scootaloo. “Don’t y’all be tryin’ to act all cute about it, neither. Ah thought we were teamin’ up!” Despite the serene closeness Scootaloo had just felt with her two girlfriends, she knew such crimes couldn’t go unpunished. As Sweetie Belle removed the pillow from her head she quivered in fear at the mischievous faces her two partners steadily encroached on her looking for revenge.
“Uh… girls?” Sweetie Belle asked, slowly backing away. “Y-you’re not mad, are you?”
“O’ course not!” Applebloom replied. “We’re just wantin’ a hug.”
“Yeah!” followed Scootaloo. “I just love getting body slammed by your butt.” Somewhat true, but that wasn’t important right now. As they backed Sweetie Belle into a wall, a pleading, almost sympathetic look crossed her features as she puppy-eyed Applebloom.
“But… it’s like you said, right? We’re partners!” She pulled a protective pillow up to her chest. “‘Peace in our time’ and all that… right?”
Applebloom turned to Scootaloo with a nod before returning her gaze to Sweetie Belle. “There will be no peace…”
Sweetie Belle found herself swarmed with pillows both left and right, and despite her valiant efforts to block the incoming barrage she found herself succumbing to the fluffy assault. Scootaloo couldn’t help but giggle to herself; she was having much more fun than expected! The night that she accepted her friends’ offer to be in a relationship filled her with both joy and anxiety, as well as a fear of what the oncoming tides of change would bring. Scootaloo had been afraid that by gaining two girlfriends she had at the same time traded out two best friends, and that there would be no going back to how things were before. But this night—these moments—sparked a sense of realization for her: maybe she hadn’t traded anything. They were still the same cute, silly girls that she had always known, and the harmony they all shared had only been strengthened in return. So far, it seemed as if being their girlfriend just meant they cared about each other and made out with each other a lot more, and Scootaloo certainly had no qualms with that. Maybe she had less to worry about than she thought.
Sweetie Belle leapt with an excited squeal behind Granny Smith’s rocking chair, a small respite from the constant bombardment of cushiony softness. As Scootaloo lined up a shot to finally take their collective opponent down for the count, Sweetie Belle dashed away up the stairway and onto the second story of the Apple’s home.
“Y’all ain’t gettin’ away that easily!” Applebloom called, abandoning Scootaloo at her post and following Sweetie Belle up the stairs. Scootaloo was now alone, although she had to admit it was one of those “hate to see you go but love to watch you leave” kind of moments. Shaking the thought from her mind, Scootaloo tucked her pillow underneath her armpit and followed the sound of the brawl her girlfriends were having. A cute, fluffy brawl that was as fun as it was charming. At least they’re not fighting about who’s gonna kiss me first anymore.
Scootaloo rounded the corner and saw only a blur of red before she was smashed in the stomach by a large pillow. Not a second later was she hit again with an uppercut to the jaw, with enough force to send her tumbling backwards.
“Woah!” she cried as she slammed her back on the floor, confused and dizzy as her skull smacked against the wood flooring.
“Aw, geez,” Applebloom said, tossing her pillow to the side and kneeling down next to Scootaloo. “Ah’m sorry! Are y’all okay? Ah was bein’ a bit rough on ya, wasn’t Ah? Figured Ah could get ya’ll when ya weren’t expecting it.”
Scootaloo’s double vision finally coalesced into one, an image of her yellow-skinned girlfriend appearing worried in front of her. “I-it’s okay, Applebloom,” she said, her stomach finally catching up with her body and air returning to her lungs. “Heh, that was a good one. Took the air out of me…” She had forgotten; though her sweet and beautiful girlfriends they may be, they were also still Applebloom and Sweetie Belle. No matter how close they were, things were gonna get rough.
Applebloom caressed Scootaloo’s cheek with her hand, still obviously feeling badly about her actions. “No, no, Ah was bein’ careless. Sweetie Belle ducked into one of the rooms and Ah got all cought up in the heat of the moment, and…”
“It’s okay, Applebloom,” Scootaloo whispered, her voice warm as she rubbed Applebloom’s arm. “You know me. I hit my head harder than this every day when riding my scooter. I can make it through being hit by a pillow.” She giggled, remembering all the times she ate it falling off of her scooter. Sweetie Belle was usually the one to freak out about it, making sure Scootaloo was always okay after sailing into a bush or a tree… or a lake. Still, she’d always known that Applebloom could be just as worried at times, perhaps even more, and little moments of care like this always meant the world to her. “Don’t worry. It takes a lot more than a fall on my ass to take me out.”
Applebloom smiled, a sigh of relief escaping her. Shifting her body above Scootaloo’s head so that her face now looked upside-down, Applebloom’s half lidded eyes entranced Scootaloo’s. “As long as y’all say yer okay, then Ah’m good with it.” She returned her wayward hand to Scootaloo’s cheek, soothing her once more. Scootaloo had to admit, she was selfishly enjoying all of the attention she was getting. Although, she was yearning for just a bit more.
“Maybe… you could get that kiss now?” she asked, sheepishly looking up at her girlfriend. “You know… if you really want it…”
Applebloom grinned, acting as if she wasn’t going to do so anyway. Unmoving from her position, Applebloom placed her upside-down mouth over Scootaloo’s, engaging in a long, breathless kiss that seemed to last an eternity. Scootaloo closed her eyes, enjoying every sensation she was feeling at the hands of her beloved. She smelled like apples. She tasted like apples. Feeling brave, Scootaloo took her right hand and cupped the back of Applebloom’s neck, forcing her deeper into Scootaloo’s mouth until it was finally breached, her tongue finding its way through Scootaloo’s teeth and meeting with her own. Scootaloo’s eyes shot open. A new experience, to be sure, and one that she always figured she’d dislike. She’d watched lovers kiss in multiple movies before, and while the act of locking lips with another always enticed her teenage mind, she found herself reeling from the idea of tongue-wrestling with another person. But now, as her tongue swam along Applebloom’s and her nose was entrenched deeply in the nape of Applebloom’s neck, she couldn’t help but want to comb every inch of her mouth in ways she’d never imagined.
Feeling the desire to breathe, Applebloom retracted her tongue and separated herself from Scootaloo, looking down on the young girl in a lustful wonder as they took in the brave new world they had just entered.
“Woah…” Scootaloo said as she looked up at the inverted Applebloom, still feeling her tingle on her lips. “So this is what it feels like to be Spider-Man…”
Applebloom chuckled, brushing a lock of hair behind Scootaloo’s ear before leaning down and leaving a peck on her forehead. “Ya got that right, Tiger.”
Scootaloo took Applebloom’s arm and brought her wrist to her lips, lightly pecking at it while she considered her next move. Her initial plan was going well so far; she hadn’t totally messed up and caused some disaster that would make her girlfriends think twice about being with her. She had to pick her next words carefully, saying something thoughtful and romantic that would totally sweep Applebloom off of her feet and move their relationship closer.
“S-so, uh… w-what do you wanna do next?” Ugh… smooth, Scootaloo. Real smooth.
If Scootaloo’s wording was demonstrably awkward, then Applebloom hadn’t noticed. Pulling herself out of the trance that Scootaloo had just put her in, Applebloom placed a thoughtful finger to her chin. “Uh… Ah dunno. Pillow fort?”
Scootaloo smiled. Confined place? Soft surroundings? Nothing but the three of them to occupy themselves with? She was so in. Terrified beyond belief, to be fair, but still in. “Sounds good to me,” she said with a beaming smile.
“HEY!” a shrill voice called from down the hall. Leaning up, both Scootaloo and Applebloom gazed to the nearest open doorway, a morose Sweetie Belle glaring daggers at them. “I’ve been hiding in here with my pillow for five minutes! Isn’t anybody gonna come get me?”
Scootaloo looked at Applebloom, who looked just as bewildered as her.
“…Oops.”
-o0o-
A few hours had passed, yet the thunderstorm continued to rage through the night. Scootaloo leaned back, straining to hear the maelstrom of rain hammering down on the roof of Applebloom’s house over the loudness of the television. They now found themselves cooped up in a pillow fort forged at the end of Applebloom’s bed, a mishmash of pillows, blankets, chairs, and even more pillows all funneled into a television set up along the opposite wall. Scootaloo had to admit, she was genuinely impressed by Applebloom’s architectural skills. Sure, it was just a pillow fort, but she could see Applebloom’s creative eye at work in stacking pillows to just the right height, making sure blankets were at an adequate tautness, and that it all centered around the focal point of the television they now watched, providing a roomy yet comfortable home away from home that they could all cuddle in. Applebloom’s skills were not only convenient and admirable, but also kinda hot. Both of their ambitions were. Whether it was Applebloom’s desire to constantly work harder and do better, or Sweetie Belle’s talent of micro-management and making sure things were refined to perfection, Scootaloo had to give herself some credit. She had scored some pretty great girlfriends; as potentially volatile their relationship might be at this point. Having no discernable skills or a final goal in life to strive to, Scootaloo had always considered herself a tad un-dateable. She was never the prettiest, or the smartest, or the most talented. Up until recently she had always given that title to a certain… unnamed rainbow-haired individual, but beyond all common sense she found two amazing girls that decided she was good enough for not just one but both of them. Scootaloo’s eyes watered as she glanced to her left and right, a girlfriend under each arm as they watched a movie together, and counted her blessings once more as she marveled at the life she had. There was no way she could give it up now.
Sweetie Belle sighed as the movie wrapped and the credits began to roll. “Such a good movie. Rarity and I used to watch it all the time when I was a kid.”
“Y’know,” Applebloom began, shifting herself to allow more comfort amidst the pillows and Scootaloo’s arm, “Ah think the movie would be a lot better if it were named ‘James and the Giant Apple’…”
“How would that change the story at all?” Sweetie Belle crossed her arms. “It would be exactly the same, except they’d live inside a giant apple.”
“It wouldn’t be the same!” Applebloom retorted. “It would be like… uh…” She glanced at Scootaloo in search of backup, only to find a bemused expression looking back. “Look, Ah don’t know what it’d be like, Ah ain’t a writer! Ah’m just sayin’ it would be a bit more believable, is all.”
“B-belie—” Sweetie stammered, unable to process what her girlfriend just said. “How would—”
“I think we should just give her this one, Sweetie Belle,” Scootaloo interrupted, not wanting an argument to prop up. “I just think her head is full of apples.”
Applebloom playfully swatted Scootaloo’s stomach. “Is not! Y’all don’t know nothin’!”
“What is it filled with then, Applebloom?” inquired Sweetie Belle.
“Uh, well, I’m thinkin’ a lot about yer butt, if that’s what yer wonderin’.”
Sweetie Belle giggled. “Yeah, I bet you are, you perv!”
“Hey, Ah can’t help it! Sittin’ here, cuddlin’ all up on Scoots, havin’ you right there next to her… A mind can’t help but wonder.”
Applebloom joked, but she was right. Having both of their bodies pressed against her, their intoxicating smells surrounding her at all times… Scootaloo was having a hard time focusing. Her blush had not left her since they configured themselves that way at the start of the movie, and she hoped nobody noticed her constantly shifting leg position trying to prevent her antsy teenage thoughts from getting the better of her. Now that the movie was over, Scootaloo hoped that someone would pick up the conversation.
Sweetie Belle dug her head into Scootaloo’s neck and closed her eyes, seemingly at peace with the world. “I’m really glad you wanted to be our girlfriend, Scootaloo. Everything has gotten so much better since you showed up.”
“R-really?” Scootaloo asked.
“Yeah,” said Applebloom, draping her left arm around Scootaloo’s stomach and wrapping her right arm around her back. “Sweetie Belle and I had been together for a while now, and it was nice n’ all. Like, we loved each other n’ still do, but…”
“It wasn’t enough,” finished Sweetie Belle.
“Yeah, it wasn’t enough.” She began innocently rubbing Scootaloo’s stomach. Oh gosh, she thought, why are you so cute?
“So…” Scootaloo began, “how long were you two together before you asked me out?”
Sweetie Belle gazed outwardly, looking as if the answer were floating somewhere in front of her. “Um, I don’t know. About four months?”
As much as it pained her to admit it, that number hurt Scootaloo. Any number would’ve hurt her, really, as it was time that they had spent together without wanting to tell her about it. And as silly as that seems now, wrapped in the arms of her lovers, she still wished that she could’ve been with them from the start.
“Yeah,” Applebloom said, “we’d been wantin’ to ask you from the beginnin’, but were just kinda afraid to do so.”
“Afraid? Why would you be afraid?” Scootaloo asked.
“Well, ‘afraid’ might not be the right word. We just weren’t sure y’all were… into that, is all.”
Ohh. Scootaloo understood. Her whole ordeal with Rainbow meant more to them than she’d initially thought. That day she had cried in front of them on her couch not only sparked a desire in them to see her happy, but was also a realization that she was into girls just like they were. It made sense that they weren’t going to just up and tell her about their relationship and risk the awkwardness that followed if she had been purely into guys.
Her jealousy subsided, if only a little. The idea of the two of them sharing a deep kiss without her involved still flustered her, even though she had only been with them romantically for less than a week now. That feeling, she decided, would eventually subside as she spent more time with them and made up for the months she wasn’t there. A burning question still eluded her, however, one that prompted itself in her mind once again given the position she was in.
“Uh…” she mumbled, too embarrassed to get the words out. “So… have you two ever… you know…?”
Applebloom arched an eyebrow. “Uh… ‘you know’ what?” She looked at Sweetie Belle, whose expression also conveyed confusion.
Scootaloo cleared her throat, realizing she may be afraid of the answer. “You know… have you ever done… it?”
“It?” A moment of muddled thoughts passed through Applebloom, followed by a crimson wave of realization. “OH!” she said, cheeks red as her hair. “IT!”
Sweetie Belle choked on spit. “UH… you mean, like… you know…”
Scootaloo chuckled to herself. She didn’t expect her girlfriends to get so flustered at the question, but had to admit the result was kind of cute. Still, she needed an answer.
“Um, no… we haven’t.” Applebloom briefly met Scootaloo’s gaze, embarrassed of either the fact that the topic was brought up or rather that she hadn’t fulfilled the criteria. “We’ve kissed a lot. Like… a lot a lot. And we’ve felt each other up once or twice. But never… you know… further down the ranch. So to speak…”
Did that count as a countryism? giggled Scootaloo.
“Yeah,” Sweetie Belle added. “It’s kind of a big step, and we’ve only been together for a while. Besides… we’ve kinda been… waiting…”
“For what?” Scootaloo asked.
“For a special moment.” She nervously played with the end of her hair. “We talked about it—before we asked you, that is—and kinda hoped that… if we were ever going to do it… um…”
Applebloom placed her hand on Scootaloo’s. “Well, we were kinda hopin’ that… if we ever decided to take that jump that, uh… you would be there with us, Scootaloo.”
Blood rushed to Scootaloo’s head. Well, her head and… elsewhere. They were wanting to take the next step in their relationship with her? That was never the answer she thought she would get. She had steeled herself to hear how long ago they had done it, along with how many times since then. She knew the answer would hurt her, but it was something she had to figure out. But this? She was reeling thinking of a way to respond.
“Uh… I… uh… y-you…” was all that came out.
Sweetie Belle joined her hand with her girlfriends’, taking note of the seriousness of the situation. “We really love you, Scootaloo. Like, a lot. And ever since we got together, there was never a situation where we ever thought about doing it without you.” She moved her mouth closer to Scootaloo’s, hovering over it for a moment before locking their lips together. She continued to rub Scootaloo’s hand as she rapidly kissed the girl, moving from her lips to her cheek before diving down her neck. Scootaloo shivered, still not used to engagement beyond her lips. As shocking as that feeling was, she certainly wasn’t going to stop her.
Applebloom soon followed, sealing her lips on Scootaloo’s and wasting no time probing her mouth with an excited tongue. Scootaloo’s body was heating up, unable to fully come to terms with what was happening. Both Applebloom and Sweetie Belle began rubbing her body, gliding their hands from her waist to her shoulders, all in a soft and loving fashion. Scootaloo moaned. That felt good. An itch inside her began to grow, reaching a desire to be scratched. Scootaloo knew what that meant, as her heart began to beat out of her chest. She could tell Applebloom and Sweetie Belle felt it too, the glazed look in their eyes giving credence to the thoughts that swam in their heads. With a free hand, Scootaloo slinked up Applebloom’s waist and cupped her chest, eager to grab at the bounty her friend shared. Sweetie Belle’s pecking soon reached Scootaloo’s shoulder, taking time to pull down her shoulder strap and nibble on her sensitive skin as she trailed her way up and down Scootaloo’s arm. Scootaloo gasped, her goose bump covered skin extra sensitive as her heightened senses fought to take in everything around her.
Applebloom’s left hand began drifting, making its way to the top button on Scootaloo’s pants. Oh boy… This is it! Scootaloo’s body was acting faster than her mind, and any trepidations she had about the moment were left behind as she arched her back to allow Applebloom easier access. Just as Scootaloo’s excitement reached a peak and Applebloom began to fiddle with Scootaloo’s button, a harsh, vibrating sound pierced the air. Taking a moment to come back to Earth and understand the situation, Scootaloo realized that her phone was vibrating in her pocket.
“Damn it!” she yelled, knowing that she had to look at it. Blue Aura told her to keep aware of her phone in case something went awry, and she’d become too responsible of a person to be able to ignore it.
Applebloom giggled at her girlfriend’s outburst. “Is that yer phone buzzin’ in yer pocket, Scootaloo, or are y’all just happy to see me?”
Scootaloo gave Applebloom a look before twisting her body to pull her phone out of her tight pants pocket. “First off, I have no idea what that would even mean.”
“Heh, Ah don’t really know either, to be honest.”
“And secondly… shut up.” Angry that the moment was ruined, Scootaloo unlocked her phone to see a pink social media notification had popped up. “A MyStable message? Who would message me on there?”
Sweetie Belle blew a lock of hair out of her face. “Who cares? Let’s go back to that thing we were just doing.” At the back of her mind, Scootaloo could tell that she was just as flustered and pent up as herself, but curiosity had gotten the better of her. She didn’t have too many friends that would message her online outside of these two, and she just had to know what was so important to tell her on a stormy night like this.
“Hold on a sec…” She swiped right on the notification, opening the app and planting her right in her message inbox. It was there that she saw the little message atop of all the others, with bold text indicating that it had gone unread. For a moment, all Scootaloo could hear was the torrent of rain slamming down atop her head. The message was small, and it had been sent to her by Rainbow Dash.
“R… Rainbow?” she muttered, opening the message. Applebloom and Sweetie Belle frowned. The one who hurt their beloved had not only messaged her, but in the middle of a hot make-out session that was gearing up to be much more. There was no way this would end up well.
“Hey, Scoots,” she read aloud, her girlfriends’ gaze filled with ire. “Just thought I’d message you on here ‘cause it’s the only way I know to get ahold of you.” Scootaloo huffed. So now she wants to message me? “I was just checking in and seeing how you were doing. You seemed kinda mad at me the other day and I was wondering… Did I mess up or something? Is it because I forgot to message you to hang out? I know we hadn’t really talked for a few weeks there, and I’m sorry for that, but I just wanted to know… Is everything okay?”
Applebloom chuckled. “A lil’ late to the fair now, RD.”
“Yeah!” nodded Sweetie Belle, “We have her all to ourselves! Right, Scootaloo?” As they both looked up at their girlfriend, the two girls were startled to see that tears were forming in Scootaloo’s eyes.
“Stupid…” she mumbled as she locked her phone. “So… stupid…” Scootaloo threw the offending object across their fort, slamming into a pillow and landing face-down on a blanket.
“Scootaloo…” Applebloom yearned.
“Why does she have to do this to me now?!” Scootaloo’s hands flew to her face, concealing the streams of tears that fell steadily from it. She thought she was over it. Over her. She had everything she needed. A mother who loved her, and two amazing girlfriends that were as much her entire world as she was theirs. So why was she crying so much?
“No, don’t cry!” Sweetie Belle exclaimed. She wrapped an arm around the back of Scootaloo’s waist. “Hey, come on… it’s okay! Rainbow is old news, remember? You deserve so much better than her!” She glanced at Applebloom, who looked just as confused as she was. Perhaps even hurt.
Scootaloo hated herself. This was supposed to be a night about them. Showing them that she could be everything they needed her to be. That she could be a good girlfriend. That she was worth something. And now, with a simple message, she was making things about herself.
“Sugar cube, it’s all right! Please don’t be cryin’ like that” Applebloom pleaded, repeatedly running her hand through Scootaloo’s hair. “Could ya at least tell us why that message is makin’ y’all feel like this?”
Scootaloo merely shook her head. It was too difficult for her to talk right now. Of all the times in the world, Rainbow had to come and show her face again now? After all this time, days spent with her girlfriends as they brought her up and made her feel like normal again—better than normal!—Rainbow’s intervention felt like it was all being undone just like that.
“Scootaloo…” Sweetie Belle said quietly, rubbing her girlfriend’s back, “Come on… talk to us.” Scootaloo head remained lowered. “Scootaloo? My dear? My darling? My girl with the cutest and nicest butt in all the land?” Applebloom chuckled at Sweetie Belle’s efforts, and even agreed with her. After a moment of pained silence, Scootaloo raised her head.
“I… I’m the worst,” she said.
“W-what?” asked Sweetie Belle.
“… I’m horrible. I’m the worst girlfriend to ever exist.”
Applebloom was quick to interject. “Woah, woah! Hey, now! Y’all are not the worst girlfriend to ever exist.”
“Yeah,” added Sweetie Belle, “you probably wouldn’t even be in the bottom five-hundred!”
Applebloom deadpanned Sweetie Belle.
“… What?”
Turning back to Scootaloo, Applebloom continued. “Now what in the heck are y’all talkin’ ‘bout? O’ course yer not a bad girlfriend! We love you!”
Scootaloo sniffled before wiping tears from her eyes, a vain effort as they were quickly replaced. “I’m so sorry, girls. I tried my best.” She looked up at Applebloom, tears now rimming in her eyes as well. “No matter what I do, all of our troubles seem to come back to me. I should never have gotten in the way.”
Applebloom furrowed her brow. “Now just hold on a sec! That’s some pretty stinkin’ thinkin’ there, Scootaloo, and y’all know it. Now what in Sam Hill got in yer head that you were gettin’ in the way? Didn’t we just go on tellin’ y’all about how happy we were ‘bout you showin’ up?”
Scootaloo turned away from her girlfriends. She could hardly look them in the eye. “It’s just… I’d been trying so hard to be happy with what I have. And I am! But every time that I feel like things are going right for me, or that I might have a real chance with something, I always end up… afraid.”
“Afraid?” inquired Sweetie Belle. “I don’t really know what you mean, Scoots. Shouldn’t you be glad things are going this way?”
Scootaloo nodded. “This night was supposed to be about you two. I was trying everything I could to show you that I was worth all the effort you two have shown me, and that I, you know, could be as good a girlfriend as you two are.” She sniffled. “But every time I think of Rainbow Dash, I’m reminded that every time I start loving somebody is when they start pushing me away. Other friends, other foster parents, just… everybody.”
“Scoots…”
“It’s not like I love Rainbow anymore. I don’t. But every moment I’ve had with you girls the last few days has made me so, so happy. Like… I really love you two. And I’m afraid that the deeper I go in… the harder it’s gonna be when I lose you.”
Sweetie Belle and Applebloom both dove into Scootaloo, wrapping her in the warmest and most genuine hug they could muster.
“Please don’t leave me…” Scootaloo cried, letting in her girlfriends’ love as they, too, began to cry.
“We’re never, ever, gonna leave ya, sugar cube,” Applebloom calmingly said.
Sweetie Belle pecked Scootaloo on the cheek. “When we said we’d be best friends forever, we meant it.” Applebloom nodded in agreement. “We love you so much, Scootaloo. I don’t think we could ever love somebody more than we love you. But… if for some weird reason that day ever came, it’s not like we’d just abandon you.”
Scootaloo opened an eye as Applebloom pet her hair. “Really? I thought—”
“Scoots,” interjected Applebloom, “she’s right. You meant the world to us long before we started datin’. Ah promise you, on the Apple family, that if our relationship goes south, there’s no world where Sweetie Belle an’ Ah won’t still be yer best friend.”
A warming calm ran over Scootaloo’s heart. She had been so close to that revelation earlier in the night, she just didn’t complete the thought process. They were her best friends first and foremost, no matter what. Unfortunately, it too a lot of making out and crying for her to finally realize that. They were the Crusaders, and for the first time in her life she had found some people, a family, that would be there with her to the end.
“Thank you, girls. I… I love you. I’m sorry I ever doubted you. Doubted us.” Scootaloo pecked each of them on the cheek, her fears finally subsiding. “You were right, I don’t need Rainbow. I’ll try to just forget about her. For now, at least.”
“Ah love you too, Scoots,” Applebloom said, snuggling deeper into the crook of Scootaloo’s neck. “Everythin’s gonna be okay. We promise.”
“Yeah,” agreed Sweetie Belle. “We’ll take care of you.” She quickly sat up, an idea obviously formed in her head. “Applebloom, I think we need to do some cheering up for Scootaloo.”
Scootaloo wiped her eyes clean. “I think I’m gonna be okay, you guys. Thank you.”
Applebloom smirked and gave Scootaloo an unsure look. “Ah don’t know, Ah think Sweetie here is right. Y’all could use a lil’ pep in yer step, Ah reckon.” She giggled, starting to prop herself up onto her feet.
Sweetie Belle booped Scootaloo in the nose, an act which Scootaloo found to be offensively cute. “Tag! You’re it!” Sweetie Belle shouted, as both she and Applebloom crouched out from under the entrance of their pillow fort and ran giggling out into the hallway.
“Girls!” Scootaloo called, a giggle cutting through the tears. “Wait for me!” She quickly lunged forward and crawled her way out of the fort before standing up and taking a brief moment to dust herself off. Her heart raced as she sprinted off to find her friends, eager to see what they had in mind for her. Leave it to them to brighten my day in an instant. Scootaloo could not remove the smile on her face as she checked each room to see if either of the girls were hiding within. She had never known someone to make her heart feel this way -- to turn her feelings completely around and make her realize that she had somebody there for her no matter what. Scootaloo laughed. She was going to be okay.
Curious, however, as to where her mysterious cohorts had scampered off to. A lull in her excitement appeared as she trotted downstairs to find complete darkness and not a noise to be heard.
“Where on earth…” she muttered, checking the downstairs bathroom to see if they had managed to hide themselves in the bathtub together. Now there’s an idea! Finding no such thing, Scootaloo returned to the living room and decided not to follow along in their abrupt game of hide and seek.
“Girls?” called Scootaloo, apparently to nobody. She walked into an adjacent family room, still devoid of any sign of life or electricity. “You’re kinda freaking me out here, heheh… Not to say that I’m… you know… a coward… or anything.” She eyed a decorative set of plates engraved with images of chickens. Moving through the room, a sudden thudding noise caught her by surprise.
“Ahh!” she yelped, bringing her fists up into defensive positions near her chest. “Hello? Applebloom? Sweetie Belle?” She paused. “… A ghost?” Turning her body toward the kitchen, no image—paranormal or otherwise—seemed to appear. She carefully and silently moved towards the doorway, making sure she made no sudden movements. After draping her arm around the corner as she fumbled for the kitchen light switch, Scootaloo quickly flicked what she assumed to be her target while jumping out into the doorway.
“Ah-hah!” she declared triumphantly before realizing nobody was there. “Ah… huh?” She looked around. She looked under the table. She even looked in the fridge. “Where the frick are you guys!?” And what was that noise? As if to answer her question, the thudding noise returned in an even louder turn out. This time, however, she totally wasn’t freaked out by it and totally didn’t almost pee her pants again.
Totally.
What she did do was realize that the noise was, in fact, coming from the kitchen door leading out towards the barn swaying in the heavy winds of the storm. A sigh of relief came from Scootaloo. No Ghost of Apples Past here. Laughing to herself that she even worried at all, Scootaloo peered outside the flailing door and spied the Apple’s barn across the way. So too did she notice that it’s large front doorway was ajar. Got ya.
Scootaloo stepped outside, becoming instantly soaked as a deluge of rain cascaded upon her. Being as dark as it was, her only source of light was the dim glow streaming across the mud laden gap between her and the barn.
Scootaloo sprinted, hoping to minimize the effect of the storm on her hair and clothing. This act was stymied by the fact that every step she took made her feet sink lower and lower into the mud. Each step made her grunt in frustration, praying to whomever was watching that her girlfriends were actually in the barn and she wasn’t just chasing a particularly bright tail-end of a firefly. As each second passed, her clothing became heavier and heavier, and her once cutely coiffed hair had lumped right in front of her eyes. Wiping aside her thick, purple hair, she finally sloshed her way into the barn and collapsed on her hands and knees, thankful to be free from the terrible storm that seemed never ending in nature.
“Ugh!” she called, feeling her clothes drag her down towards the dirt. She hated getting wet, and had lost all her energy attempting to make the trek into the barn. Through the sound of the storm and her heavy breathing, Scootaloo heard the barn door close behind her. Good. That either meant that Sweetie Belle and Applebloom were here, or she was about to get murdered. Either way…
“Glad y’all finally decided to join us,” came the familiar voice of Applebloom.
Scootaloo chest still heaved, too exhausted to look up at her comrade. “You know…” she said between breaths, “you girls really… could’ve told me… -heh- that you were leaving the house…”
“That wouldn’t be nearly as fun,” replied Sweetie Belle, who appeared to be standing right alongside Applebloom.
As her breath caught up with her, Scootaloo finally decided to look up. Upon doing so, she had to make a quick double take after disbelieving what she saw. Before her stood Applebloom and Sweetie Belle in front of a small, lit fire pit—no surprise there—but instead of wearing what they had been for the rest of the night, they apparently decided to remove their tops altogether. Standing there in nothing but their bras—albeit with their lower halves still fully clothed—the two girls stared down Scootaloo with devilish smirks on their faces.
“We got all wet from comin’ out here to the barn,” Applebloom began, “an’ we figured, ‘Who are we hidin’ from?’ so we decided to get a lil’ more… comfortable.”
“Buhhh…” spilled from Scootaloo’s mouth, her jaw agape and her eyes doing everything but meeting her girlfriends’ gaze. They were… really, really hot! Scootaloo had just ran through the rain for a prolonged amount of time, but she felt like her face was turning that water into steam at an alarming rate.
Sweetie Belle giggled. “Do you like what you see, Scoots?” They began to move closer to their prisoner.
“Muhh…” Scootaloo replied. Her eyes darted between the two beautiful forms in front of her. Applebloom wore a simple crimson bra, while Sweetie Belle’s was surprisingly laced and intricate. Not too surprising, to be honest, given her sister’s influence on her attire. The two girls hefted Scootaloo up by each arm and tossed her backwards. Scootaloo closed her eyes, thinking that her girlfriends had decided to toss her backwards onto the floor for some reason. She was relieved, however, when she instantly came in contact with something soft, albeit a bit prickly in places. Looking down around her, she found herself to be laying down upon one of the Apple family’s untied hay bales. She giggled quietly to herself. A literal roll in the hay.
Applebloom climbed atop Scootaloo and straddled her. Ohhhhhh boy. “Sweetie Belle n’ Ah reckoned y’all needed to take out some of your aggression,” she said, slinking her torso along Scootaloo’s until they were face to face. “’sides… Ah kinda wanted to continue with where we left off.” A sensual smirk left Scootaloo’s heart beating out of its chest.
Sweetie Belle crouched down alongside them, eyeing Scootaloo with the cutest face she had ever seen. “I remember one time I was really mad at Rarity for something. Which—to be honest—I can’t even remember why anymore.” She giggled. “But that night I ran over to Applebloom’s to cry. Uh, not that I wouldn’t go to you too, Scoots! It’s just… she was closer…”
Scootaloo nodded.
“That was the first night Sweetie Bell n’ Ah kissed,” continued Applebloom, still looking down amorously at Scootaloo. “Ah could tell she was so sad, so angry, an’ Ah just… leaned in.”
A crimson blush met Sweetie Belle’s face. “I’m… really glad you did.” They smiled at one another, warming Scootaloo’s heart. “I was so angry at her, and Applebloom’s love helped me get past it. And, well, look where we are now because of it!” She gestured at the two of them, how far their relationship had grown in such short of time. “The point is, Scootaloo, that sometimes when you’re mad at something… the best way to deal with it is through somebody else.”
Scootaloo swallowed. They wanted her to use them? To take out all her emotional and sexual frustrations out on them? She never even thought of that as an option. It somewhat scared her. But, if Scootaloo was being honest with herself, it enticed her all the same, and it certainly was all she needed to get her engines revved.
Applebloom grabbed Scootaloo’s soaking wet shirt and pulled it over her head, revealing a small, purple bra that modestly covered her. She fought the urge to cover up, knowing full well that she didn’t have to in front of them. She gazed up at Applebloom, attempting to withhold the excitement she held inside.
“I… I want to…” she conceded. And she did, indeed, want to. Her anger at Rainbow, her self-doubt, her confusion regarding her place in life; she needed to get it all out.
“Good,” replied Applebloom as she leaned down. “So, get mad.”
“Get angry,” added Sweetie Belle.
“An’ do whatever it is y’all want to us, ‘cause Ah think that we’re rea—” her voice was cut off by Scootaloo assaulting her mouth with her tongue, eager to pick up where they had left off before Rainbow’s rude interruption. Applebloom’s eyes shot open in surprise as Scootaloo took the offensive, but spent no time worrying about it as she quickly moaned into her girlfriend’s kiss.
Taking the proverbial reins, Scootaloo spun Applebloom down onto the hay while she, in turn, mounted on top. She began to grope away as Applebloom smirked.
“Angrier” Applebloom said, her eyes closing as Scootaloo’s fingers traced every inch of her torso. “Come on!”
Scootaloo huffed. They wanted to see what she really wanted from them? Well then, she’d show it to them. With a quick unlatch and a tug, Scootaloo’s spiked belt that hung from her waist was pulled off, and the button that she had oh-so-much wanted Applebloom to undo previously in the night was swiftly popped open. She turned to Sweetie Belle and cupped her cheek with her hand, bringing their two heads together as well as their soft and tender lips.
Sweetie Belle squeaked with joy, but she knew she could get some more out of Scootaloo. She broke their kiss, to Scootaloo’s obvious dismay, as Sweetie Belle’s playful side began to seep out. “C’mon. I know you can do better than that.”
Lustful rage overtook Scootaloo as she swiped her wet and sticky hair back and pounced on Sweetie Belle. Their lips locked, and for the first time Scootaloo penetrated Sweetie’s lips with her tongue. She was sweeter than Applebloom, like she had just eaten some mints before Scootaloo had shown up.
Sweetie Belle giggled but stalled their kiss. “Surely you’re angrier than that. Come on, Scoots! I bet you don’t even have a war face!”
Whatever that had meant, it struck a nerve with Scootaloo as she balled a fist in frustration. In one swift motion, Scootaloo bent down and continued to kiss Sweetie Belle while her hands reached around and rapidly removed Sweetie’s bra. Sweetie Belle playfully screamed, crossing her arms over her chest to not allow Scootaloo access. Without parting from Sweetie Belle, Scootaloo reached over and unhooked the clasp between Applebloom’s two cups, revealing her chest as well.
Applebloom chuckled. “Now that’s more like it. C’mere!” She leaned over and brought down Scootaloo’s loosened pants, revealing her modest panties.
Purple.
Scootaloo giggled as Applebloom laid herself down alongside Sweetie Belle, allowing herself to tower over the two with full control. With one hand groping Applebloom and the other running through Sweetie Belle’s hair, Scootaloo removed Applebloom’s bow and tossed it aside. Her heart raced, and a luscious furor rushed through her veins. She had never even gotten close to feeling this way before and, boy, was it addicting. To actually be in control—of everything—intoxicated Scootaloo as the scent of their musk filled the air. Yet a tinge of fear quickly found its way into her stomach. Was something wrong here?
“Uh… Scoots?” asked Sweetie Belle. Scootaloo shook her head, realizing that she had been frozen in place. The nerves that came with the moment at hand were starting to catch up to her. Push through, Scootaloo, she thought. You wanted this.
Leaning down, Scootaloo began to unzip Sweetie Belle’s zipper. “Uh, take… take your pants off,” she directed at Applebloom.
“Well, alright!” shouted Applebloom. With graceful dexterity, Applebloom lifted her torso into the air and shimmied her pants down past her bottom before flicking them off completely. Sweetie Belle moaned in pleasure as Scootaloo kissed her way down Sweetie’s stomach and removed her pants altogether. Okay. One last step. She hesitated, knowing just how important the moment in front of her seemed to be. Scootaloo flinched in surprise as Sweetie Belle sat up and once again enveloped Scootaloo in a deep and loving kiss. Scootaloo’s hands took to Sweetie Belle’s back as she caressed her lover’s smooth and sensual curves.
“Wow…” she said, “y-your skin is really soft.”
“Thanks,” batted Sweetie Belle, “Rarity taught me to moisturize.” Scootaloo grinned to herself, knowing that it was obvious she was stalling. Applebloom put on a pouty face as she saw Scootaloo go back to kissing Sweetie Belle.
“Hey, Ah’m still here, y’know!” As Sweetie Belle parted her lips from Scootaloo, she rejoined them with Applebloom as the two enjoyed swapping spit with one another.
Scootaloo sat in wonder at the two goddesses before her. Gosh, why is this so HOT?! Her palpitations increased as the realization of just how incredibly sexy her two partners actually were. I don’t think that’s the warmth of the rain water I’m feeling right now.
Opening one of her eyes to Scootaloo, Applebloom pushed the orange girl back as she slowly rolled her body along the floor of the barn. The two parted in their kiss as Sweetie Belle gently kissed her way up the inside of Scootaloo’s leg. Pangs of pleasure began shooting their way up her body as Sweetie Belle got closer and closer to the point of no return.
Sweetie Belle ran her delicate fingers along the rim of Scootaloo’s panties. Her legs squirmed as the itch she needed to get scratched grew in intensity. But as Sweetie began to slide her fingers past the hem of those delicious purple panties, Scootaloo’s hand instinctively snatched at Sweetie Belle’s arm and locked it in a firm grasp.
“What?! What’s wrong?” shouted Sweetie Belle.
“Sorry!” replied Scootaloo, unsure of her own actions. “I… I’m sorry! I just, uh…” She stalled for time, looking around the room for an excuse. What was wrong with her? In the back of her mind, she knew that this moment was what she had been waiting for all day.
“I just want to be in a more comfortable position, is all,” she said with a forced giggle. As Applebloom and Sweetie Belle looked confusedly at her, Scootaloo stood up and laid herself back down on the hay bale once more. “O-okay… let’s do this.”
Applebloom took this moment to lay her body atop Scootaloo’s. Scootaloo enjoyed the feeling of her weight pressed along her body; it wasn’t too heavy, just enough so that she felt safe and warm underneath Applebloom. They began to kiss once again, Applebloom’s coarse hands coasting along Scootaloo’s body before removing the small bra that she wore. Now in only their panties, Scootaloo was feeling more and more uncomfortable.
Licking her lips, Applebloom trailed kisses down Scootaloo’s stomach before winding up once more between the young girl’s legs. With a moment of hesitation, she outreached her hands and grabbed each side of Scootaloo’s panties. She slowly, and what was assumingly supposed to be sexily, began tugging and pulling away as Scootaloo’s legs trembled more and more. Before they were half way down her thighs, Scootaloo grasped once more at the arms pulling at her, crossing her legs as best as she could.
“Wait!”
Applebloom removed her hands and sat up. “What now?” she asked, not angry but visibly put off.
“I… um…” She had no words to say. Come on! This was what she wanted! Everything in her mind was screaming to proceed, yet her heart and her body could do nothing but lock up and say “NO!”
“You don’t want to do this, do you, Scootaloo?” Sweetie asked, worry crossing her face.
Scootaloo put her hands in her face. “Girls, I’m so sorry!” She pulled her panties back up as tears filled her eyes once more. “I do want to do it with you two, more than anything, it’s just… it’s wet, and it’s cold, and I just…”
“Ya want it to be special,” finished Applebloom. She stood up and walked over to Scootaloo, sitting down beside her as Sweetie Belle followed. “Ah get that, ‘n Ah want that too.” She placed her hand on Scootaloo’s. “We thought this was a good idea, havin’ fun out here in the hay n’ all. But… yer right. It is kinda… dank out here.”
Sweetie Belle giggled. “And we are kinda covered in mud.”
“We don’t want y’all do do anythin’ yer uncomfortable with.” She stroked Scootaloo’s cheek as a smile formed on her face. “If this ain’t a special enough moment for you, then we completely understand.”
Scootaloo sniffed. “So… you guys aren’t mad at me?”
“Of course not!” chided Sweetie Belle. “We love you Scoots! Besides… it’ll happen eventually, right? No need to rush it. Out here. In the muddy, smelly barn that’s filling up with flood water.”
“Hey!” interjected Applebloom. “That’s my muddy, smelly barn that’s filling up with flood water. And Ah’ll politely ask y’all to respect it!” she said with a chuckle. Scootaloo laughed as well, feeling a bit better knowing that her girlfriends completely understood her. To Scootaloo, this was the final sign she needed. Whether it was her as a person, their relationship to one another, or their own sexual experiences, Sweetie Belle and Applebloom were completely accepting of her. She was going into this night expecting to hide what a silly mess she could be a lot of the time. Well… most of the time. It was now abundantly clear that it was that silly mess that they fell in love with to begin with.
“Wow…” she said, her painful tears being replaced with those of joy, “I really do love you two. With all of my heart.” She turned to them with the most earnest look she could muster. “You know that?”
Once more, tears began to rise in Applebloom as well. “Sugarcube, of course we do. We love you too.” She wrapped Scootaloo in the tightest, most Apple-family-like hug she had ever given her. Sweetie Belle followed with as tight a hug a dainty girl like her could give.
“We’re here with you until the end, Scootaloo.” Picking up Scootaloo’s bra, Sweetie handed back the girls’ respective clothing as they began to prepare for the trek back to the house.
“Hooey!” Applebloom said as she opened the barn doors, a torrent of water flooding in above their toe line. “Sure did rain a lot while we were in here. Guess time flies when you’re… y’know… foolin’ around, heh…”
Sweetie Belle screeched as water got in through her shoes. “I hate getting wet!”
Scootaloo raised an accusing eyebrow.
“I mean from the rain, you perv!”
Scootaloo giggled as she tapped Sweetie Belle on the butt. “It could be worse. Come on, I’ll race you guys back to the house.” Without any agreement or consent from others, Scootaloo rushed past the open doorway and trudged into the waters beyond.
“Oh, hell no!” Applebloom called, annoyed of the unfair challenge presented to her. Waving Sweetie Belle out of the barn – screaming as she was forced to wade in the pop-up stream that was the backyard – Applebloom quickly shut the barn doors and began stomping her way across the muddied waters. Without asking, Applebloom stuck her head between the back of Sweetie Belle’s legs and dug her shoulders into the rear of her knees.
“Applebloom, what in the world are you—WOAH!” Before she knew it, Applebloom had lifted Sweetie Belle onto her shoulders and was carrying her across the stream. “Excuse me?”
“Wouldn’t want a fine lady like you to get her feet wet, now would we?” called up Applebloom, maneuvering her way back to the house undeterred by the small girl above her.
“You didn’t seem to be that concerned about it before!” said Sweetie Belle as she waved her arms to and fro in an attempt to gain some balance.
The duo caught up to and eventually surpassed Scootaloo, who’s shoes had become stuck in the deep, thickening mud they had to cross.
“Having some second thoughts about challenging us there, Sugarcube?”
Scootaloo wiped her hair from out of her eyes. “Not a word, Applebloom!” she scolded as she tugged on her leg in an attempt to remove it from the confines of the muddied dirt below her.
Applebloom shrugged as she adeptly made her way across.
“Bye, Scoots!” taunted Sweetie Belle.
Scootaloo shook her head. In the last few hours she may have been touched in the heart more than any other times in her life combined, and the love that grew in her heart swelled into excess. That being said, she was still the competitive, rambunctious kid that she always was, and there was no way she was letting those two beat her. Forgoing what was probably the intelligent choice, Scootaloo slid her feet out of her shoes and stumbled forward, her bare feet smacking the mud as she sprinted her way towards the house. She neared her girlfriends as they came within feet of the door, and with what can only be described as Rainbow-Dash-like speed and dexterity, Scootaloo brushed past them to slam open the door and step inside.
“BOOYAH!” she called, her fists in the air as she slid her bare feet around the linoleum floor of the kitchen.
“Oh, what?!” Applebloom disappointedly moaned, letting Sweetie Belle down as they both stepped in and shut the door behind them. “Ah had that!”
Scootaloo slammed her hands against her crotch in a provocative movement. “Suck it!”
Sweetie Belle cringed. “Ew… And we both know I wouldn’t if you had one.”
The three laughed as they all took a moment to catch their breath. “Ah have to say,” Applebloom began, “Ah’m impressed. Ah didn’t think y’all had it in ya.”
Scootaloo shrugged. “What can I say? I’m fast on my feet. And with my fingers!” She clasped a hand over her mouth, realizing she actually said her dirty joke out loud instead of just adding it on in her head.
Applebloom raised her eyebrow. “Is that so?” She sauntered her way up to Scootaloo and gave her a peck on the cheek. “Y’all are gonna have to show us that sometime or another, then.”
Heat once again rose in Scootaloo’s face, turning her complexion a deep crimson. Wanting to move on to another subject, Scootaloo grasped at the first idea that came to mind.
“Uh… I should text Aura. Let her know that I’m all good.” She fruitlessly felt for her phone in her pocket, only to realize that it was nowhere to be found. A quick scan of her memories gleaned her the memory of throwing it against the wall of the pillow fort in rage against Rainbow Dash.
“Shoot!” she muttered, turning to the girls. “Be right back!” The two nodded as Scootaloo sprinted up the stairs and back into Applebloom’s bedroom, the pillow fort sitting exactly how it was previously. Crouching down to go through its entryway, Scootaloo found her phone sitting face down near the wall. She picked it up and flipped it over, noticing that three messages had been left by an unknown caller. Well, she thought, that can’t be good.
She pressed the play button on the first call and held it up to her ear.
-o0o-
Sweetie Belle and Applebloom were talking casually when Scootaloo ran down the stairs, color drained from her face.
“I need to go. Now.” She looked around for her things, forgetting that most of them were still in Applebloom’s room.
The two looked startled. “Uh… Sugarcube? What’s wrong?” Applebloom made her way over to Scootaloo, who only pushed her aside as she made her way towards the front door.
“Scootaloo!” shouted Sweetie Belle. “What’s wrong?!”
Scootaloo spun in place, looking at them with an emptiness in her eyes. “Blue Aura got in a car crash. On her way home from work, she… she’s in the emergency room.”
Sweetie Belle and Applebloom’s hearts collectively sunk. Looking at each other for a brief moment, Applebloom turned back to Scootaloo with nothing to say.
“Scoots, Ah… Ah’m so…”
“Applebloom!” Scootaloo interjected, putting on her hoodie. “Get your truck ready. I need you to take me there, now.”
Applebloom studdered. “S-Scootaloo, Ah… the truck ran outta gas, ‘member? Applejack said she’d fill it back up when she got back home.”
“Shit…” Scootaloo muttered under her breath. Unsure of what to do, Scootaloo’s shaking hands ran through her hair as tears fell from her face. Turning to the front door, she made her decision.
“Fine,” she said as she grabbed her scooter propped up against the wall and unlocked the front door, “I’ll go there myself. Sorry I have to leave like this.” She opened the door and ran out into the rain, unfolding her scooter as she did.
“Wait, Scootaloo!” shouted Applebloom. “Y’all can’t ride there in your scooter! It’s pouring out there! It’s flooded, it’s almost eleven, y-you don’t even have your shoes or socks!”
“I have to!” Scootaloo screamed, knowing full well that Applebloom didn’t deserve her ire. “She’s my m… my guardian. I have to.” She turned around and began running her way to the main road. “Sorry I ruined our sleepover. I’ll make it up to you sometime.” Without waiting for any other rebuttals, Scootaloo greeted the sidewalk with her scooter and took off as fast as she could in the direction of the hospital.
Sweetie Belle turned to Applebloom, both covered in rain and without any sense of hope between them. “Wh… what do we do now?”
Applebloom shook her head, clearly not having the slightest idea.
“Ah don’t know.”