//------------------------------// // 596 - Boyfriendship is Magic // Story: Lateral Movement // by Alzrius //------------------------------// “TIME TO UNLEASH SOME SMACKDOWN!” The war cry had barely left Scootaloo’s lips before she charged forward, her rapier held at the ready. Darting beneath her enemy’s spear, she quickly murmured the words of a spell, her free hoof making the requisite gestures. A second later she smirked, noticing the wet sheen that was suddenly coating the length of her blade. Not giving her foe time to react, she thrust upward, sinking her rapier to the hilt in the bad guy’s torso. Even before she’d pushed it all the way in, a sizzling sound reached her ears, the acid that she’d lined the blade with taking effect. “Not so tough now, are you?” she whooped triumphantly. But the reply she received came from behind her. “Scoots! Get clear!” Yanking her sword free, Scootaloo threw herself backward, watching as a thin glass vial went sailing past her. Tumbling end over end, it crashed against their adversary’s chest, striking almost exactly where Scootaloo had skewered them a moment before. The glass shattered on impact, but had barely begun to fall when their contents – volatile in the extreme – blew up. As far as explosions went, it wasn’t much of one, sounding more like a firecracker had gone off than anything else. Even so, Scootaloo felt a sudden ripple as the pressure wave washed over her, bringing with it a rush of heat, making her throw a hoof up over her face reflexively. When she lowered it a second later, she couldn’t help but grin as she saw that their enemy was now on fire, teetering unsteadily before falling over and laying still. The sight was enough to set Scootaloo to cheering. “Oh yeah! Who’s the mare now?!” “I’d say that’d be me,” grinned Apple Bloom, the vials in her saddlebags clinking as she all but strutted forward. “I mean, ‘cause my bomb was what finished him off and all.” “As if!” snorted Scootaloo. “If I hadn’t gotten up in his face, he would’ve turned you into a pincushion before you could’ve thrown that.” Apple Bloom raised an eyebrow at her friend. “I think I can outmaneuver a scarecrow,” she replied dryly. The comment made Scootaloo glance back at the burning collection of sticks and straw-filled rags, her cheeks coloring as she realized she’d been getting too into it. “I just meant if this was a real fight,” she muttered. “If this was a real fight, we would’ve needed a grownup to finish that thing off,” replied Apple Bloom, taking a flask out of her saddlebag and emptying its contents over the burning scarecrow. The concoction of flame-retardant chemicals immediately went to work, hissing as they smothered the fire. A second later the flames were quenched, and Apple Bloom gingerly pulled the spear – actually a butter knife tied to the end of a curtain rod – away from the now-soaked mass. “I mean, that’s how it actually happened, remember? That thing barely felt our attacks, and if it wasn’t for Applejack we wouldn’t have made it out of there.” “Aw, c’mon,” protested Scootaloo as she went to help Apple Bloom affix the makeshift weapon to another of the scarecrows that they’d made. “This is whatchamacallit…artistic license. The important thing is that we beat the monster and saved the day. Besides, it’s not like any of the other adventures we had over there had nearly as much action.” Huffing, the pegasus filly started affixing a tangle of thorn-covered vines to scarecrow’s chin in a crude approximation of the bristly beard the actual creature had possessed, complaining as she worked. “Most of the bad guys we met weren’t even really bad guys at all. Like when we went after those giant rats, and they turned out to be rat-people who were just down on their luck and needed a break. Or when we were attacked by that sea monster, who was actually some sort of mermare or something who was just lonely.” Scowling as she helped her friend drag the doomed dummy to the middle of the clearing, located at the edge of Sweet Apple Acres where they’d spent the last few days practicing, Scootaloo didn’t let up on her grumbling. “I mean, I’m glad we were able to help people who needed it, but I just wish things had been a little more exciting, you know? Maybe if they had, we would’ve gotten cutie marks in adventuring or monster-fighting or something cool like that!” “Well, I doubt Sweetie Belle would have,” frowned Apple Bloom as she drove the base of the scarecrow into the ground, “seein’ how she got her cutie mark already, and it wasn’t anythin’ like that.” Scootaloo’s ears folded back at that, a dejected look crossing her face. “Yeah…” That had happened shortly after they’d come back from their trip to Everglow. Sweetie Belle had immediately run home to check on her sister, knowing that Rarity had to have been worried sick about her. She’d been correct in that assumption, far more so than she’d realized. At the time, no one had realized just how heartbroken Rarity had been over losing her boyfriend, Long Road. He’d apparently gone off on some trip to Trottingham and had some sort of terrible accident, with Rarity never getting a straight answer about exactly what had happened to him. So when her little sister had vanished a short while later, it had apparently hit the fashionista pretty hard. Scootaloo had found out later – having been hanging out with Rainbow Dash at the time – that when Sweetie Belle had gone to see Rarity, the relief at her little sister being alright had caused the older unicorn to break down completely, the accumulated stress and worry hitting her all at once. Heartbroken at what she’d put her beloved big sister through, Sweetie Belle had tried to soothe Rarity with a song, having picked up the basics of musical magic during her time on Everglow. She’d apparently succeeded at the task, with Apple Bloom (who’d been there to witness the whole thing) telling Scootaloo after the fact that the song Sweetie had sung had been the most beautiful thing she’d ever heard. It had managed to calm Rarity down, but in the process had achieved something far grander. It had earned Sweetie Belle her cutie mark. A pink heart whose rounded tops were approximations of the curls in her mane, and with a purple musical note over it, it had reminded Scootaloo of the cutie mark that Lex’s girlfriend, Sonata, had. Which wasn’t that surprising, since she was apparently a really good singer too. What had concerned Scootaloo a lot more was what that meant for the Cutie Mark Crusaders; after all, now that she’d found her special talent, Sweetie Belle’s crusade was over. Fortunately, Sunflower – who had also been there – had come up with an answer for that. Sweetie Belle could stay on as part of the CMCs if she was crusading for Apple Bloom and Scootaloo to get their cutie marks. It was a great idea, one that had been eagerly embraced by all three of them. No one wanted the Crusaders to break up, after all. So they’d unanimously accepted that Sweetie Belle was still part of the group and moved on, content that nothing had really changed. Except that it had. As much as Scootaloo hated to admit it, things weren’t like they used to be. Or rather, Sweetie Belle wasn’t how she used to be. She still went on expeditions with them while they’d tried new things – just last week, she’d come along to help them see if they could get cutie marks in mattress testing, singing a gentle lullaby while the two of them had tried out various beds at the furniture store (at least until the manager had thrown them out) – but in Scootaloo’s estimation, her heart wasn’t really in it. Or at least, she didn’t seem as excited to try new things as they were. Another thing that was beginning to bug her was how Sweetie Belle’s support always seemed to come in the form of a song. It had been fun at first, but lately she’d been using it for everything. Scootaloo liked a catchy tune as much as the next pony, but a small part of her felt like Sweetie Belle was showing off how she’d discovered her special talent and they hadn’t. She knew that wasn’t the case, that their friend would never rub her good fortune in their faces like that, but the thought was one that refused to go away. That wasn’t the only thing that had changed about the Sweetie Belle though… “Say,” noted Apple Bloom, “don’t you think it’s takin’ Sweetie Belle and Sunflower an awful long time to go pick up lunch?” Scootaloo felt a groan welling up from deep inside her. “They’re probably off sucking each other’s faces again.” For the life of her, Scootaloo couldn’t understand what the big deal was about having a boyfriend. Sunflower was a nice guy, sure, but Sweetie Belle’s brains turned completely to mush whenever he was around! If he was in her field of view, she had trouble paying attention to everything else around her. Every word out of his mouth seemed to make her blush, giggle, or squeak. And if Scootaloo had to hear one more time about how cute Sunflower was when he got embarrassed – which apparently happened whenever Sweetie Belle caught him purring, or saw him with his tail fluffed up, or heard him complain about getting wet – she was going to scream! And then there was the kissing. Sweet Celestia, the kissing. Their lips were pressed against each other’s so often that it was like their teeth were made out of magnets. Miss Cheerilee had actually needed to make a rule forbidding kissing in class, that was how bad it had gotten! She’d mentioned all of that to Apple Bloom, and while her fellow blank flank agreed with her, she’d also pointed out that there wasn’t really anything they could do about it. It was Sweetie Belle’s destiny to sing, and apparently it was normal for boyfriends and girlfriends to be crazy about each other, even if the emphasis was on the “crazy” part. Apparently, you didn’t need somepony to slip you a love potion – or a love poison – for a crush to drive you completely nuts. “Come on,” sighed Scootaloo, hefting her rapier. “We might as well practice our routine again. There’s no way those two are going to be back anytime soon.” “I guess you’re right,” frowned Apple Bloom, kicking a nearby tree and grabbing the apples that fell off of it, tossing one to Scootaloo. “I’m sure by now, the two of them have completely forgotten about us.” “Sw-Sweetie Belle,” gulped Sunflower nervously. “Are you sure you want to do this? I mean, really sure?” “I am,” insisted the unicorn filly, looking at him with an earnest expression that made Sunflower feel like he was going to float away, despite his wings being tucked at his sides. “I’ve given this a lot of thought, and I won’t say I’m not scared, but I know in my heart that this is right. Don’t you think so too?” He nodded immediately. The way she was looking at him now, he would have agreed with her if she’d said it was a good idea for him to shave off all of his fur and pluck the feathers from his wings. But a small part of him couldn’t help but wonder if things were moving too fast, and somehow that idea bypassed his brain completely, heading straight toward his mouth. “You don’t think you should talk to a grownup first? Like your sister or one of her friends?” The suggestion made Sweetie Belle frown, and even that made his heart skip a beat. “I know what they’d say!” she huffed, her voice cracking into an adorable squeak. “That it’s a bad idea! That I’m too young to make such a big decision! That I should wait, because I can always go through with it later!” She stomped a hoof, the gesture poetry in motion. “I don’t want to do this later! I want to do it now!” Seeing how strongly she felt, Sunflower moved forward and pulled her into a hug. “Okay,” he murmured, loving the way her mane smelled. “If this is what you want, then I think it’s a good idea.” “Sunflower,” she murmured, her eyes fluttering closed as she tilted her head back. “Sweetie Belle,” he purred softly as he leaned in. “Um, guys?” cut in a third voice. “As cute as the preteen romance is, can we hurry things along? I really want to get this over and done with.” Blushing, Sunflower reluctantly let Sweetie Belle go, the filly’s cheeks bright red as she stepped away from him. “Sorry, Starlight,” she mumbled. Standing on the other side of the alley between Mr. Breezy’s Fan Shop and Quills and Sofas, Starlight Glimmer waved a hoof. “It’s no big deal, I’m just supposed to be making a new friend right now so I can tell Twilight that I completed my friendship lesson, and since Dark Streak’s checked out of her hotel I need to hurry up and find somepony else.” She glanced around then, a self-conscious look crossing her face. “Not to mention that if someone sees me doing…this, they’ll think that I’m backsliding.” Sunflower wasn’t completely sure what that meant, but he could guess. Sweetie Belle had dragged him here while they were supposed to be getting lunch for the rest of their friends. At first, he’d thought she’d wanted to make out in private, but to his confusion this older mare had been waiting for them. That had been when Sweetie Belle had told him what was going on. About how she’d heard about this lady, Starlight Glimmer, from her sister. About the idea she’d come up with. About the part she wanted him to play. He’d had some doubts at first, but if this was what his girlfriend wanted, then it was his duty as her boyfriend to support her. Besides, Sweetie Belle seemed to have her mind made up anyway, giving Starlight a firm nod. “Okay,” she announced, standing up straighter. “I’m ready.” That was apparently more than could be said about Starlight, the mare hesitating. “Look, I know I’m still new at friendship, but I don’t know about this…” “Friends are supposed to help each other, right?” offered Sunflower. “Sweetie Belle told you why she wants to do this, and you agreed that it was a pretty good reason. Plus, it’s not like it’ll be hard to undo if she changes her mind. So what’s the problem?” Despite the uneasy look on her face, Starlight nodded. “I guess there isn’t one, when you put it like that.” Shrugging off the last of her doubts, she turned toward Sweetie Belle. “Okay,” she announced, her horn lighting up. “Here we go…” Sunflower watched in silence as she fired a beam of energy at the smaller unicorn, Sweetie Belle giving a yelp as it made contact with her. The sound made a rush of anxiety shoot through Sunflower as he watched Sweetie Belle go rigid, and for a moment nothing else happened… Then her cutie mark sprang free of her flank. Wide-eyed despite having been told what to expect, Sunflower watched as Starlight levitated it over to her, ushering it into the glass jar she’d brought and screwing the lid on tight. Only then did the aura around her horn expire, Sweetie Belle letting out a breath as she was suddenly able to move again, stumbling. Sunflower was by her side in an instant, propping her up. “Are you okay?” “I’m okay,” murmured Sweetie Belle, sounding like she’d just spun around a few dozen times. Despite that she craned her head around, her eyes widening as she looked at her flank and saw the empty space where her cutie mark had been. “It worked! I’m a blank flank again!” “In the old days I would have replaced the mark with an equals sign that would have suppressed your special talent,” admitted Starlight as she placed the jar containing the glowing symbol in front of the pair. “But this way you won’t have any sort of interference doing what you’re good at. You just won’t get a boost from it the way you normally would have.” “Thank you so much, Starlight!” gushed Sweetie Belle, grinning toothily. “Now I can finally be a Cutie Mark Crusader again!” “You know you were still a Crusader before, right?” teased Sunflower gently. “Your friends said so and everything.” “I know,” admitted Sweetie Belle. “But I could tell they felt differently. Now I’m really back on the team, instead of just cheering them on while they try to get their cutie marks!” Sunflower gestured to the glass jar with the glowing heart-and-note symbol inside of it. “And you really want me to be the one to keep this?” “Absolutely!” squeaked the filly. “Anypony else would just let it out again and say it was for my own good. And I’m not sure I wouldn’t be tempted at some point either. But I know I can trust you to keep it under wraps until Apple Bloom and Scootaloo get their marks too. Besides,” she blushed, giving him softer smile. “I like the idea of my destiny being with my boyfriend.” His cheeks heating up, Sunflower gave an awkward laugh. “Aw, well, now I feel like I should give you something special too.” Although she couldn’t purr, Sweetie Belle’s voice was a close approximation as she leaned forward to nuzzle him. “Well, I have a few ideas about that…” Rolling her eyes as the two started kissing again, Starlight gestured toward the mouth of the alley. “Well, I’ll just be going then. Friendship lessons wait for no mare.” When the pair didn’t respond, Starlight chuckled to herself, turning and trotting away, leaving the two of them to bask in the success of Sweetie Belle’s cutie unmarking.