//------------------------------// // Forming Friendships // Story: Multicultural Crusaders // by niightear //------------------------------// 🎀🎀🎀 After waving a hoof at the blaring alarm clock and turning it off, Apple Bloom jumped out of bed, a spring in her step as she entered the bathroom to brush her teeth and mane. She soon became aware of Sweetie Belle's awake nature as the latter came into the bathroom and slid a piece of paper over. I'm making pancakes for breakfast, want some? "Yah, actually," the zebra drawled, "two please!" Sweetie waved her tail around in a 360° circle five times, seemingly trying to remember how many pancakes to make. Either she's makin' three fer herself or Scootaloo only wants one. With how unfriendly she was yesterday, the latter's more likely, ah'd say. After finishing her bathroom stuff, she exited and walked to the table, taking a seat. Scootaloo sat across from her, reading something, though the zebra couldn't tell what it was. "What're ya lookin' at?" Apple Bloom asked. "Nothing." Scootaloo was clearly lying as she hovered the phone in her saddlebag. "Applejack told me-" "Applejack's your sister, Apple Bloom. She's not a godly creature or anything, unlike the great Faust." Scootaloo continued. Sweetie hovered a note over, seeming to read something like, Why are you so nice to me but not to her? "I feel a strange attraction to you, Sweetie Belle, but not to Apple Bloom. I mean, she's probably a good pony - er, zebra - once you get to meet her, but I'm unfriendly towards those I don't know well sometimes." Scootaloo explained. Strange attraction? She's crushin' on her, ain't she? Ah'll bet fifty bits she doesn't realize. The kirin twitched her tail as she walked over. "Why are you anxious?" the changeling asked. "Are you worried I'll snap on Apple Bloom?" Apple Bloom frowned as Sweetie nodded, hovering a plate in front of each of her friends. "Sorry..." Scootaloo murmured. "It's fine Scootaloo," Apple Bloom said, "let's jus' eat, sound good? Good, cuz ah'm starvin'!" Apple Bloom was not aware of her friends judging her as she simply ate with her hooves. She looked up at Scootaloo and Sweetie, who were giving her a look of disgust. "What?" Apple Bloom asked. "Is that not how yer supposed ta eat? It's how AJ taught me, and Granny, and Big Mac, and basically everyone!" Sweetie hovered a knife over, cutting her pancake into smaller pieces before stabbing one with her fork. "It's probably since she's a zebra and can't use magic like us." Scootaloo shrugged. "Speciesist..." the zebra grumbled, "I'm not being speciesist, I'm just stating a fact!" the changeling's eyes became pure purple, and her wings began to become more spiky, before she realized what was happening and snapped out of it. "What in Celestia's name was that about?" Apple Bloom asked. Sweetie shrugged. "It just happens when I get mad," Scootaloo answered, smoothing down her wings. "The changelings in the hive I come from accepted friendship when Celestia came to them after Equestria was formed, and thus managed to partially reform." "Partially?" Apple Bloom inquired. "You know about Thorax, right? Y'know, normal changeling, less holes and blue instead of green?" Apple Bloom nodded, and Scootaloo continued, "He's a reformed changeling now. Trying to get into Chrysalis' hive to get the others to accept friendship. He eventually just gave up and came to the hive I live in. Since my hive accepted it so long ago, newer changelings in the hive get less reformed as generations move on. We won't go back to being fully feral changelings, though, just feral changelings with coat colors, manes and less holes." The other two creatures in the room blunk from confusion. Scootaloo rolled her eyes. "We won't go back to being normal changelings, we'll still have our colors and manes." Scootaloo simplified. "Ohhhhh." Apple Bloom said. Sweetie nodded. The door creaked open, and in came Twilight. "How are you three settling in?" the longma asked. "Good." Scootaloo said, hovering the dirty dishes into the sink. Sweetie nodded. "Besides the fact that somepony's bein' grumpy fer no reason whatsoever!" Apple Bloom glared at Scootaloo. Sweetie Belle sighed and scribbled something on a piece of paper, giving it to Twilight. After a few seconds, Twilight sighed. "Scootaloo, Apple Bloom, are you two arguing?" "No!" both fillies exclaimed. "Scootaloo, apologize for being mean to Apple Bloom." Twilight said. The changeling sighed. "Sorry Apple Bloom..." "Apple Bloom, apologize for, according to Sweetie Belle, annoying Scoots and making her not want to be friends." Twilight read. "Ah'm sorry Scoots..." Apple Bloom sighed. "Now, I came here to see if Sweetie needed help communicating with you two," Twilight hovered a necklace over, "if not, then this amulet - the Amulet of Alstroemeria - will help you with that." Sweetie scribbled something on a piece of paper, giving it to Twilight. The longma whispered something in her ear, to which the kirin filly nodded. "We're mostly communicatin' with 'er fine, ah think." Apple Bloom shrugged. "Ah'm not sure though." "Maybe just in case, then." Scootaloo shrugged. Sweetie hovered the necklace onto her neck, looking to Twilight for what to do. "If you ever need to use it," she said, seeming to have to recall her knowledge of what it did, which came off as strange to Apple Bloom, who was used to Twilight remembering everything she read, "simply ignite your horn and think what you want to say, and every creature will hear it as if you said it out loud." "Ah think you should test it out, it sounds interestin'!" Apple Bloom exclaimed. She was used to Sweetie writing everything she wanted to say on paper, or struggling to use her magic to project it into a pony's brain, which she (Sweetie) knew she (yet again, Sweetie) could do, she just struggled with. Sweetie nodded, igniting her horn, thinking for a second. Did it work? Can you hear me? Her voice was quite high-pitched, much like Pinkie Pie's, although it cracked more, likely due to her young age, or her voice unused to being used, although it was being used through magic, so why would that affect it? "It worked!" Apple Bloom exclaimed. "Great job, Sweetie." A blush was visible on Scootaloo's face, and her horn seemed to be vaguely glowing. She's soakin' up her own love for Sweetie, ain't she? But she's still oblivious of her crush on Sweetie, Apple Bloom chuckled, will she ever realize? Pro'lly not, but if she does, that'll be the best thing ah'll ever dang see. "Well, classes start later today, so make sure you're ready." Twilight said. The three fillies nodded, starting to get ready for class.