//------------------------------//
// A Matter of Trust 
// Story: Patients (Part 1) 
// by DubstepIsAmazing 
//------------------------------//

Scootaloo yawned. As her eyes fluttered awake, she was relieved to see that she was still being held by Rainbow Dash on the sofa, just like she promised. The two of them shared a rainbow colored blanket; it was the one on Rainbow's bed. She had gotten it while Scootaloo was asleep. Her blue fur had dried up from the previous night's tears and was now softer than ever. Laying her head back on her chest, she felt it rise and fall as Rainbow slept peacefully.

Looking at the clock, she was shocked to see that it was only 4 in the morning. She had been asleep for only a couple hours! Celestia didn't usually raise the sun until about 6 or 6:30. Of course, as a schoolfilly, Scootaloo saw it as an opportunity to get some more sleep. Yet, she couldn't. There were some questions that she had after her encounter with Luna.

Escaping Rainbow's embrace, she silently trotted over to the kitchen, grabbed a glass and poured herself a large cup of milk. After putting it in the microwave, she sat at the table listening to the monotonous ambience of the machine in the background. With it droning behind her, she mulled over the questions in her head.

Did Luna believe their claims? Would their confession impact the relationship she had with the Crusaders? After all, she had helped the three of them with their individual problems in the past. Sweetie Belle had Luna's help in recreating a headdress made by Rarity for the performer Sapphire Shores after the filly destroyed it as an act of revenge. Luna helped Apple Bloom understand why she was having nightmares over the meaning of the random cutie marks she received at one point. Finally, the princess of the night influenced Scootaloo to confront her fear of not being cool enough for Rainbow Dash on the first camping trip they went on. It didn't take much to see that Luna's bond with the Crusaders had grown over the years. The issue with this particular scenario is that the Crusaders antagonized her sister right to her face. Although they may not see eye to eye on all matters, the two alicorns were actually extremely close; close enough to go toe to toe with anyone who dares to spread rumors or misinformation about the other.

Scootaloo was interrupted by the sudden beeping of the microwave. Trudging over to take out her now-warm milk, she couldn't help but think of all of the additional repercussions that the dream could have. For example, the princess could think differently about the Rainbow, Applejack, and Rarity because of this. It was one of the few things Scootaloo didn't want to be responsible for.

"Getting an early start, huh?"

Whirling around, she saw Rainbow sitting up on the couch, giving her a tired smile. Her usually smooth, multicolored mane had morphed into a lazy, nappy mess. Scootaloo sat back down at the table and nodded before taking a sip of her milk before her sister walked over and took a seat next to her.

"You look like something's on your mind," Rainbow observed, "What's up, Scoots?"

She stared at her now-half empty glass of milk, trying to think of an answer to give her. 

"I dunno, Rainbow Dash. It's just...I'm wondering what'll happen if Luna tells her sister what we told her."

"Whaddya mean?"

"Like, how will it affect what she thinks of the three of us? How will it affect you?"

"What was so bad about what you told her that it might have a negative impact on me?" Rainbow questioned with slightly narrowed eyes.

Scootaloo again became nervous, but she gave up trying to hide the truth.

"We saw Diamond Tiara in the asylum before you came to pick us up," Scootaloo confessed, avoiding her gaze, "We asked--"

"What?! You saw Diamond Tiara in there?! She's a filly!" Rainbow cried, now fully awake.

"Yeah."

"Why?"

"She told us to come back at night so she could explain why. It was why I was just coming through the door when you were leaving the other day."

"Oh. Well, what'd she say?"

"She said that Celestia and the Elements of Harmony weren't what they seemed," Scootaloo continued, "She thinks that they're hypocrites. Spike was there too; he agreed, but to a lesser degree. He still believes that you're all genuinely good ponies."

"Well, what do you think, Scootaloo?" Rainbow asked, now putting the spotlight on her.

This was the one question she hoped Rainbow would never ask. In essence, this was basically asking if she trusted the cyan-colored pegasus. She loved her very much; that was never questionable. However, after everything they've been through, from Rainbow taking her under her wing to the recent events of Discord's game, there were reasons to and to not trust her. Diamond's claims only influenced the latter choice. 

"I just want to help her get outta there, Rainbow Dash," she said.

"That doesn't answer the question, though. What is it with you three and avoiding simple questions?"

"But that's no simple question, Rainbow," Scootaloo exclaimed, "You're asking me if I think the strongest beings in Ponyville are hypocrites! You're asking me if YOU'RE a hypocrite!"

"And do you think I am?"

"No! You're the Element of Loyalty! Why would you be?"

"Then what's the problem?"

Scootaloo took another sip of her milk before answering.

"I have to choose between you and Diamond Tiara," she responded, "What kind of friend would I be if I didn't believe her? She's in a really bad spot to begin with! But if I agreed with her..."

She looked away, tears quickly approaching, She felt the eyes of Rainbow Dash trained on her.

"...I don't know what you'd think of me...I don't know what you'd do to me, what you'd say to me..."

She pulled her into an embrace again and stroked her wavy, purple mane with a frown.

"I'd try to get your trust, then," she replied, in a matter-of-factly tone, "Is that all?"

Scootaloo looked up at Rainbow Dash in surprise. 

"You...wouldn't be upset?"

"Why should I be? If you don't trust me, you don't trust me. That just means I get multiple opportunities to show you why you should."

As a smile spread across her face, Scootaloo still had a troubled look; there were some things that she was leaving out.

"I'm guessing that's not all," Rainbow deduced, "You look like there's something you're not telling me."

"Diamond also said that Celestia was the cause of her being there."

Rainbow's smile disappeared instantly. Scootaloo could tell what was going through her head. Why would the princess of Ponyville be responsible for such a thing? What could she possibly gain from it? Do her parents know?

"I'm sorry...what did you just say?"

"Celestia's responsible for her being in the asylum," Scootaloo repeated, "Apparently, she--"

"That's ridiculous! Are you sure she's telling the truth?" she asked suspiciously. Scootaloo nodded.

"You're going to the asylum soon! I can show you her room and you can ask her yourself!"

"Oh, I'd love that, because the idea that Celestia is at fault here is proposterous. Nopony goes into that asylum unless they are seriously, mentally ill!"

As Rainbow ranted, Scootaloo felt the effects of the warm milk start to kick in. She yawned and had trouble seeing straight. Drowsiness was quickly overtaking her, and Rainbow quickly made note of this.

"Hey," she said softly, "I forgot to say this a couple days ago, but I'm sorry."

"Wh--what for?" Scootaloo slurred, laying her head on the table.

"For how I treated you in the forest. I know that you didn't cheat. Your strategy was actually something I didn't think about, especially since I know a thing or two about science. Using physics to win was a very interesting idea, but I was just...angry," she said.

"I shouldn't have won, Rainbow Dash," Scootaloo admitted with a quivering voice, "I wish I didn't win..."

"I'm glad you did, though," Rainbow said, picking her up and taking her to her room, "You definitely showed me that you're stronger than you show yourself to be. You took my punches and kicks like a champ and were able to think on the spot. That was an impressive performance, Scootaloo!"

Scootaloo presented a broken smile as she fell asleep in her sister's forearms. 

"I'll get your trust back, Scootaloo," she whispered, "I'll make sure of it."





Sweetie Belle was back at the asylum, this time alone. Despite it being early in the morning and still being tired from Luna's interrogation, she had only one reason to go there and one reason alone. All she wanted to do was talk with Spike.

Now, some of you may wonder: why go all this way this early just so she could come back with her sister later? After all, today was Tuesday: Applejack and Rarity were due for a visit in the afternoon, and Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle had agreed to tag along. But there is one problem with that thinking. 

After all of the events of that night, there's no doubt that Luna would share what she learned with her sister, who would then turn around and tell the Elements of Harmony about it. News regarding an Element or one of the princesses usually spread like wildfire, especially amongst the eight of them. It would definitely spell trouble for the three of them when they hear what they were told. 

So, the question still remains: why come this early just to go back? The answer is simple: she doesn't know when or if she'll ever see Spike again after that day. Of course, this may all just be her overthinking things, but if it wasn't, she was hoping to be prepared.

Sweetie Belle looked like she was wide awake; her mane was freshly oiled and curled, and oil kept her pristine white coat fresh. However, she was still extremely nervous. Although the hallway was brightened, everything seemed so dark. It didn't help that she almost fainted on the way there. She left the boutique, went to the asylum, and all of a sudden, she went from the front door to Spike's bedroom door. Was she scared? Of course; she was on her own. Neither her sisters, nor the Crusaders knew where she was. She placed her hoof in front of his door, preparing to knock.

"Okay, Sweetie Belle," she whispered, "You're just here to talk; don't worry! He's just your friendly Ponyville dragon."

Mustering up the courage, she knocked on the door three times...only to have every ounce of it vanish when she stopped. She waited for the door to open, only for silence to fill the air. Exhaling, her heart slowed down a little.

"Maybe he's asleep?" she wondered, knocking once more. 

However, after the first knock on her second attempt, she heard a muffled, "Alright, alright, I'm coming, I'm coming!" followed by the sound of medium-sized footsteps hitting the floor and slowly approaching the door. Each footstep had a bit of a clacking sound to it due to the claws at the edge of his feet. 

As he got closer and closer, a million thoughts raced in her head per second. 

What would he say? How would he think I look? Does he even want me to be here? 

Spike opened the door and looked into the eyes of a very anxious Sweetie Belle. Her green eyes had shrunken, her knees were shaken, and she looked like she was about to faint. He himself looked like he was ready to go for a night on the town; his scales, teeth, and claws were sharpened, polished, and not looking even a bit dull. 

"H--hi, Sp--Spike! I mean, good m--m--morning!" she stuttered.

"Hey, Sweetie Belle," Spike said casually, "What are you doing here so early?"

"Oh...no reason," she said with a quivering voice. Spike looked at a nearby clock; it read 4:55 AM.

"It's almost 5 in the morning," he observed, "Clearly, you're here for a reason. And where are the other two?"

He looked down the hallway and saw no sign of Apple Bloom or Scootaloo. Sweetie Belle's nervous smile was still going strong. He gave her a warm smile.

"Well, it looks like it's just you. Do you wanna come in? You look like you can barely sta--"

"YES," she almost shouted, causing Spike to jump a little.

"...stand. Okay, then."

Going back inside the room Sweetie Belle followed him inside and closed the door behind them. This was one of the first times she'd been in Spike's room. Needless to say, it looked...perfectly plain.

Besides the bed Spike was currently sitting on, all he had in his room was a bright red chair next to the bed, a television in front of it, fresh flowers, a clock, a phone, a recently filled glass of water, and a picture of him and Twilight on his bedside stand, and a clock above the door. It smelled more like a hotel room than of a hospital bedroom; Sweetie detected the scent instantly: Strawberry Surprise, made specially by Strawberry Sunrise. The room was filled with a sweet aroma.

"So, what's up?" Spike asked, bringing Sweetie back down to earth.

"Hm? Oh! I--I just came to talk!" She insisted, taking a seat in the red chair.

"About?"

Everything seemed to line up well in her head on the way there. Now, she was tongue-tied. There was only one way out, as far as she could see.

"Please don't be mad...but we may have kinda sorta potentially possibly told Luna about what you and Diamond told us."

Spike kept a straight face.

"Okay. I had a feeling she would get you three to crack eventually. Diamond did too; she and I were discussing it before we went to sleep that night."

Sweetie Belle was shocked.

"You didn't think we could keep the secret?"

"That's not what I said. In fact, I know that you three are perfectly capable of keeping secrets. Luna just knows the right questions to ask and the right buttons to push to get you to tell you what she wants to know."

She was silenced. Luna had definitely pushed a button of hers that night.

"Anyway, Luna is more chill than her sister. You should be able to sleep pretty well now."

"Speaking of sleep," Sweetie said, glaring at him, "That berry you gave us when we left was responsible for a set of nightmares that night!"

"What? How? I eat one of those berries every time I don't want Luna to see what I'm dreaming about!"

What could be so bad that he doesn't want Luna to see? she thought.

"Well, it didn't work for us," continued Sweetie Belle.

"Have you ever thought that maybe it wasn't the berry? Diamond Tiara uses it too, and she gets a good night's sleep."

"Why wouldn't it be?"

Spike shrugged. "Well, what was your nightmare about?"

Sweetie Belle looked away. "How we each got eliminated in Discord's game."

"So, maybe that nightmare wasn't the berry, but you," Spike predicted, "If I recall correctly, Luna eliminated you."

She nodded. "It was a beautiful attack, but after that, it was just painful! Nothing but darkness and pain!"

"So, maybe your fear of Luna was responsible for that nightmare. If you said all three of you had a nightmare, then Apple Bloom and Scootaloo had a nightmare of Pinkamena."

"That's right!"

"Hm. Well, that's just my two bits. I'm sorry about the berry, though."

Spike smiled as Sweetie Belle curled up in the chair even tighter. 

"Anything else?"

"Nope," she insisted, causing Spike to chuckle.

"Heh," he said with a small smile.

"What?"

"Oh, nothing. It's just that you and I both know that you still have a lot on your mind. In addition to that, you're here for a reason."