//------------------------------// // Chapter 6 - Troubled Bloom // Story: One or the Other // by Blind Alley //------------------------------// Once we finally calmed down, Sweetie had pointed out the time and suggested we start getting ready for bed. I volunteered to brush my teeth and change first while she got out the sleeping bags, and Scootaloo cleaned up the pizza boxes. Truth be told, I mostly wanted to get a few minutes to myself to think. That whole kissing business had gotten out of hand real fast. Sweetie being curious was one thing, but the way Scootaloo acted there was no way she wasn't into mares. Nopony “accidentally” grabs somepony's rump like that. Guess that's what she meant by not noticing colts. I'll bet she doesn't. I gathered up my pj's, toothpaste, and toothbrush from my bag and headed out of Sweetie's room and down the hall to the fancy bathroom with its shiny tiles and white stone counter top. I made good and sure the door was latched before I started undressing. Once my overalls were unfastened, I shed my shirt and ran the sink with cold water. A few good splashes across my face took the edge off the heat, but didn't help me work out what all I should do next. I braced my hands against the edges of the sink and stared down at the swirling water. So my best friends were probably into mares, that didn't change anything important, right? They were the same ponies I'd known since we were all blank flanks. They were still Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle, and they were still my best friends no matter what. If it turned out that they just plain weren't into stallions, what did it matter? Ain't like they'd be hurting anypony, right? I nodded to myself as I made up my mind to support them no matter what, especially Sweetie. Poor thing, living so scared like that. Anypony who gave her a hard time over this was gonna have me to deal with, that was for darn sure! That just left the… 'other' problem. I let go of the sink and picked up my toothpaste and brush. I might've squeezed the tube a mite more than I needed to so that there was enough minty goo on the bristles to make me gag. I took a deep breath through my nose and kept brushing anyhow. Maybe if I did it long enough it'd get the weird feeling out of my mouth. Thank Celestia Scootaloo had at least kept her tongue to herself. I brushed a little harder. It didn't mean anything. Kissing was just supposed to feel good, right? Couldn't it just be a physical thing? Like a doctor tapping your knee with a hammer. Doesn't matter what you think about the hammer, your leg is gonna move. Maybe it just felt better when they were the right type for you. If I kissed a colt I'd like it even more, right? It'd be all neat and easy instead of confusing. I wouldn't be dwelling on it that way. Wouldn't feel like I could still feel Sweetie pressed against me, or like Scoots' hand was still on my rump. My lips wouldn't still tingle and my darned heart would've slowed down already. It was just like when I'd catch myself looking at them. A mare didn't have to be attracted to somepony like Sweetie to know that she was awful easy on the eyes. Besides, she was just a great pony to have around. Anypony would want to be around her! As for Scoots, well, it wasn't my fault she was such a darned showoff! If I could make her stop I'd do it in a heartbeat, only… well, how are you meant to tell a pony to stop bending over so much? And it wasn't my fault Sweetie didn't do up all her buttons either! I wasn't trying to sneak looks, they were just always around, that's all! After a good, furious scrubbing, I finally spat out the toothpaste, caught some water from the sink to rinse with, and set my brush off to the side out of the way. I shut off the water and tugged my overalls the rest of the way down. A quick unhooking around my back and I was down to just my plain, red underwear. Not wanting to be caught so close to naked after all that'd happened, I hurried about getting into my red plaid pajamas and wadding up the rest of my clothes inside my overalls. Then I was out the door. No time for more lollygagging or taking care of any nagging itches. Not that I had any. I wasn't about to let kissing my best friends get me that worked up no matter what my body was saying about it. I'd cool off on my own if I just left things alone, just like always. Then I reached Sweetie's door and looked inside. What I saw almost made me drop my bundle of clothes. Scootaloo and Sweetie were making out, and they were making out hard. They'd gotten together the same way they'd done with me, arms around one another, and were going at it like there was no tomorrow. There were only one difference: Scootaloo's hands weren't the only ones wandering this time. Their tails were both sweeping back and forth, Scootaloo's wings were half open and quivering, and Sweetie looked like she was pressing her chest against Scootaloo on purpose. A storm of feelings ran round and round in my head faster than I could wrangle them. I was confused. I was scared. I was queasy and tingly and worried and excited and-- One of Scootaloo's hands wandered the other direction, sliding right up Sweetie's side further and further. --I was angry. “Scootaloo! Sweetie Belle!” They flew apart like they'd been zapped. “AB,” Scootaloo started, “I wasn't--” “I think I saw what y'all were doin' pretty darn well!” “It wasn't her fault!” Sweetie cut in. “I just thought-- since you and I, and you and her-- I thought it was fair--” I narrowed my eyes at the pair of them. “And y'all just waited 'til I was gone, that it?” Sweetie wrung her hands together. “Well, you seemed so sure you weren't-- but Scootaloo and I are both--” “Yeah, what's eating you?” Scootaloo put her fists on her hips and glared right back at me. “You're acting like we're cheating on you or something.” A horrible chill ran right from my ears to my toes. “I-- I reckon we should call it a night. Sleep off that salt lick. We can talk about all this tomorrow.” I made a beeline straight for the sleeping bag Sweetie must've laid out for me before she'd gone to town on Scootaloo. Sweetie hurried out into the hall, pausing only to grab her silky, pink nightie from her dresser. Scootaloo brushed past me on the way to her own bag, shooting me a dirty look along the way. I barely noticed. My whole body felt hollow and stiff like it was all just a fever dream. I wasn't jealous; I couldn't be jealous. It didn't make a lick of sense for me to be jealous! There was no way under Celestia's bright sun that I was jealous! It was the salt lick, had to be. What in Equestria had made me bring that stupid thing along!? I fumbled my way into my sleeping bag, back facing the rest of the room. Sleep was what I needed. Just a good night's sleep to clear my head. Everything would make sense again in the morning. We'd all just move on and forget anything strange had ever happened. We'd laugh it off over zap apple jam on toast, and go back to being best friends. We'd go work on new plans for the Crusader Camps and friendship tutoring, watch Scootaloo practice stunts, hang out at Sugarcube Corner and drink milkshakes the size of our heads, or maybe go hang out with Diamond Tiara and have some of that fancy food of hers. Because I wasn't jealous, I didn't like mares, and I wasn't going to let anything come between me and my friends. And I definitely didn't feel like crying myself to sleep.