//------------------------------// // Confessions and Problems // Story: Oh no, they're Goddesses now! // by James Pwyll //------------------------------// "Um...Apple Bloom? Scootaloo?" The other two young Goddesses turned to their friend Sweetie as soon as she'd spoken. "Yeah, Sweetie?" Scootaloo asked back. The other girl nervously poked the ends of her fingers together, a blush creeping onto her cheeks. "Can...can I talk to you about something?" Apple Bloom smiled to her. "Of course ya can! We're all best friends!" Sweetie smiled with some relief, though she remained understandably nervous. "Well, it's just...there's someone I know. Someone we all know, and...erm...I think I might...like them." Now, unlike Sweetie's sister Rarity, it took no time whatsoever for Scootaloo and Apple Bloom to get an understanding of what she was talking about, and so they rushed forward, both starry-eyed, speaking enthusiastically to her. "Wow! Really?! That's so great!" Scootaloo remarked. Sweetie looked to them, taken aback. "R...really?" Apple Bloom nodded. "Yeah! In fact, ah've got someone ah like too!" Sweetie gasped. "Wait, really?!" Scootaloo smirked moments afterwards. "So do I!" Sweetie was now just as happy as they were, but a moment of confusion soon came to her. "But...why'd you two never say anything?" Scootaloo chuckled. "Probably for the same reasons you never did!" Sweetie's blush grew slightly fiercer at that, and she scratched the back of her head. "Oh, yeah, good point." The three Goddesses giggled together, and when they were done, Apple Bloom suddenly looked like she got an idea for herself. "Say now...how about we all tell each other our crushes at the same time?" The other two looked to her, then to each other, before smiling and giving simultaneous nods. "Sounds good to me!" Scootaloo declared. "Yeah! Let's do it!" Sweetie concurred. With a firm nod, Apple Bloom raised one hand, displaying three of her fingers. The others knew instantly what she was doing, and watched as she lowered one finger, then another. And then, with the lowering of the third finger, the silent countdown was done, and all three girls immediately declared their secret crushes at once. "SPIKE!!!" Instantly, their smiles vanished, and they started to lose some of the color in their faces as they glanced to one another. It couldn't be, they told themselves. They must have been hearing things. But after several minutes of not saying anything, Sweetie Belle cleared her throat, determined to try and confirm what she'd heard. "Um...did you two just say your crush was...Spike?" The other two looked to each other, then back to her. "Did you say your crush was Spike?" Scootaloo asked back. Just like before, Sweetie was struck with immense nervousness, and she turned away. "This isn't happening! This definitely isn't happening! This can't be happe-OW!!!" She glanced back, seeing that Apple Bloom had just pinched her on the arm. Though Sweetie rubbed that spot and looked to her friend with a little annoyance, Apple Bloom herself merely sighed. "Ugh...nope, not dreamin'. We all have the same crush." Scootaloo groaned at this. "Ugh! This totally sucks! Now we're gonna have this whole thing of fighting with each other over some boy!" She glanced away briefly, her face one of slight amorousness. "A cute boy, sure, but still..." Sweetie sighed deeply. "I thought coming to you two about this would help...but all I did was make things worse." Apple Bloom smiled, offering her a pat on the shoulder. "Hey now, this was gonna come out sooner or later, Sweetie. Better we get this sorted out early." Scootaloo looked to her, eyebrow raised. "Sorted out? How? You expect us to just walk up to Spike and just ask him to say which one of us he'd rather be with?" Apple Bloom pondered that, tapping her chin as she did so. "Ah know it sounds odd, but what other choice do we have?" "Oh, I can think of something, I'm sure." The arrival of the second voice caught all of the girls off-guard, and their heads swiftly snapped upwards, just in time to see a flash of light, followed by the arrival of a rather patchwork-looking Goddess reclining in mid-air above them. Eris stretched while she was up there, before looking down to the three girls with a mix of both mischievousness and genuine curiosity. "So, three girls, one boy. Tale as old as time." Now, these three young Goddesses, as well as every other deity in the world, knew full well that Eris was always one for trickery, but given their current predicament, there was also a feeling that any help would be appreciated at this point. "You...you have an idea, Eris?" Sweetie asked innocently. Eris smirked. "But of course, little Sweetie. Remember who you're talking to here. In fact, I have just the thing to help sort this whole mess out." She reached behind herself, then pulled out an object small enough to fit snugly into the palm of her hand. Without even a word, she tossed it down, with Apple Bloom catching it before it hit the ground. The other two gathered around her, and together they looked to this gift from the Goddess of Chaos. It was an apple, and more specifically it was a golden one. And while this caused some confusion for the girls, their attention was soon drawn to what appeared to be writing on the apple. They squinted their eyes, and it was Sweetie who eventually read it out loud. "For...the...fairest?" A wicked grin crept onto Eris' lips. "Oh, indeed! Throw that thing at the boy and watch as he decides which of the three of you to give it to. If he chooses one over the other, then hey, at least it won't be any fault of yours." The girls looked to her, still very much uncertain about all this, but as they quickly glanced to one another, it was clear that they really didn't have any better ideas than that themselves. So, a long sigh escaped them all. "So...to Spike then?" Sweetie asked. A hesitant nod from the others was her answer, and Eris, delighted that things were going her way, merrily rubbed her hands together before raising one of those hands and getting ready to snap. The girls saw what she was about to do, and while they at first tried to protest, the snap happened before they got the chance. Instantly, they were whisked away, taken by Eris' chaotic powers to a completely new location. It was a field of some sort, lush, green and pretty, and while they were initially irritated at this unwanted transport, they didn't say anything, for another voice soon spoke out to them. "Er...hi?" The three froze in place, slowly looking behind themselves to find that it was, to their horror, Spike who had spoken. The young God was currently sitting on the ground, reading an open book, no doubt given to him by Twilight as part of his studies. Naturally, he was confused to see these three suddenly pop in from out of nowhere, yet he seemed to take it rather well. "So...can I help you?" Simultaneously gulping, the three girls gave each other nervous looks, and it was obvious that none of them wanted to actually be the one to do what they came here to do. After a time, however, they all knew, even without saying a word about it, what was the right course. So, stepping forward together, they looked to the young God. "Spike? We've got somethin' ta ask ya." Apple Bloom declared. Realising that they were sounding serious, Spike put his book aside, getting to his feet and then placing his hands on his hips. "Alright then." The girls hesitated, then stretched out their hands, the large golden apple nestled snugly among all of them. Spike looked to the thing with some uncertainty, then back to the girls, who were now starting to blush quite noticeably. Spike too hesitated here, but realised that they probably wanted him to accept this gift. So, accept it he did, and like them, it wasn't long before he noticed the writing. "For the fairest?" He looked back up to them, and for the first time started to notice the blushes they all wore, as well as just how difficult it was for them to even look him in the eye. Now, the youth of the world were sometimes known for their bouts of obliviousness, as well as outright denseness sometimes, finding it hard to notice things that were right in front of them. But Spike was not one of those youths. He looked to the apple, then back to the uncomfortable-looking girls before him, and instantly put all the puzzle pieces together in his mind. In this stunned feeling, he dropped the apple, gaining a distinct blush on his own cheeks, and after just staring at them for the longest time, he slowly pointed to them. "You mean...all of you?!" They didn't answer, which was really all the answer he needed, and he let out a deliberate gulp so loud it probably would have been heard in neighbouring countries. To say that the four had no idea how to proceed would have been putting it lightly, as all of them had completely stalled right now. In fact, if some random passer by, had just come upon them, they'd probably be forgiven for thinking they were a collection of statues, given how utterly frozen with awkwardness they were. Yet, as the minutes wore on, Spike eventually managed to get some words out, albeit tinted with youthful nervousness. "Well...this is unexpected." Scootaloo, in spite of herself, chortled. "Yeah, tell me about it!" Spike sighed deeply, scratching the back of his head. "This...this isn't a good situation, girls. I mean, I think of all of you as my friends. And if I were asked to say if I'd be happy...well...being with one of you, I'd...I'd..." Sweetie looked to him, her face a hopeful one. "Y...yes?" Spike's blush grew. "Well...I'd probably be happy. You're all great and fun to be with, so...yeah, I'd probably be pretty excited about it." His face then became more serious. "But actually having to choose? That's something I'm not sure I can do." It was a difficult situation, that much was certain, and the girls now knew, even though they didn't say it, that it was not a good idea to have come here and put this boy in this position. After all, if it was unreasonable for someone to come along and ask each of them who their favourite friends was, then it was certainly unreasonable for the three of them to come here and ask Spike a question this sensitive. It was a difficult moment, and one that Apple Bloom displayed her frustration over by kicking a rock, sending it flying into the sky. "This ain't fair! If he didn't have ta pick jus' one of us we wouldn't be in this mess!" Then, after hearing that, Scootaloo looked to her with an arched eyebrow. "Wait...does he have to choose?" All eyes were on her now, and she herself started to look deep in thought. "It's just...well...I was thinking. Where's it written that a God or Goddess has to have just one special someone in their life?" Apple Bloom raised a finger, opening her mouth to answer, only to be struck with the realisation that she actually had no response to that. "Ah...ah don't think it is written anywhere!" Sweetie looked from one friend to another. "So, wait, you mean it's an option for all of us to be with him?" Scootaloo shrugged. "I think so?" Suddenly, Spike found that three pairs of Goddess eyes were upon him, and if you thought his blush was strong before, you should've seen it now. It was as if every drop of blood in his body had all congregated into his cheeks for the sole purpose of creating the most powerful blush in world history. But the more important matter here was that the girls were clearly looking for his input and possible consent on the matter, and while this was definitely new territory, there was one issue above all that Spike seemed to care about. "Well, it would mean you three wouldn't be given any cause to resent one another. And I did say I'd be happy with any of you, so..." He knew this was about as big a decision as he was likely to make in his life, at least until his proper role as a God came into its own, so this wasn't something he was going to rush. He stayed silent for some time, and the three young Goddesses beside him, to their credit, did not urge him on for an answer. But there did come a time when the boy looked to them all with a smile. "You know, this will mean you three will also be involved with each other, and not just me." The girls blinked to him, then glanced at one another, before jointly looking back to him with a smile. "Ah don't think that's gonna be a problem, Spike," Apple Bloom answered. Spike, now content with how things had gone, gave a nod. "Alright...I guess it's the four of us then." Then his face became more serious. "But don't forget. This is all still new territory for us. None of us have ever had a relationship, much less a relationship like this one, so I think we should just take it step-by-step. No rushing anything." Simultaneous nods followed his words. "Agreed," Sweetie answered. Scootaloo, looking particularly pleased with all this, stretched out her hand, palm facing the ground. The others looked to her oddly, and she simply smirked back. Then Sweetie and Apple Bloom began to understand, stretching out their hands and covering hers. Spike, witnessing this, arched his eyebrow with incredulity. "Really? The 'hands coming together to show we're all a team' cliché?" Scootaloo shrugged. "Hey, if it works, it works." Spike couldn't argue with that, and so took a step forward, placing his own hand over theirs. He looked to each of them, these three friends who were now something more, and chuckled nervously. "This is gonna take quite an explanation to Twilight when I get home today." Unbeknownst to the youths, however, Eris was watching from above, juggling her recently-retrieved golden apple in one hand. But while the four down below were fairly happy with all this, the same could not be said of her, and she grunted with obvious annoyance. "Ugh! And I was hoping for a good old war to come out of this." Unceremoniously, she bit into the golden apple, munching it a few times before simply shrugging her shoulders. "Oh well...maybe tomorrow then."