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// 09 - Everything is Going to be Okay 
// Story: Do It For Her 
// by Cxcd 
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School was a breeze.
Seriously! With a straight face, Scootaloo could confidentially say that school was easy, if not a bit tiring at some places.
First period had been history, dedicated towards learning about the founding of Equestria. Although the story told around campfires and fireplaces alike was good fun for the whole family, it wasn’t exactly the most accurate description of events in the real world. For instance: the storytellers always neglected to tell the part where the three tribes went to war for half a decade. Although brutal, it was oddly engaging, and most importantly, awesome. When she got home, she would definitely tell Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash.
Weirdly enough, the stuff Miss Cheerilee taught was common knowledge among textbooks. It didn’t take a scholar to go down to the local library and peer into a history book to find the full detailed chronological events. To be fair to herself, though, she was not willing to spend an afternoon hunched over in the candlelight to read a book. It was better to hear from the horse’s mouth than from words printed with ink onto dead trees.
Miss Cheerilee was out on the front porch of the school. She had a rope in her mouth that connected somewhere into the roof, tugging it back and forth as the bell atop the schoolhouse rang out, signaling the end of the day. Foals barreled out the door, acting like they had been sitting for hours. In reality, they had been sitting for an hour and thirty minutes. An hour thirty for first period, a thirty minute recess, and then another hour thirty for second period, and the class was dismissed just in time for lunch.
Scootaloo and Sweetie were one of the last ones to leave the class. Scootaloo flexed her jaw as she descended the front steps, it feeling sore from second period’s Ponish. She had to practice, and for some reason, the Equestrian standard was mouth writing, even if she was totally fluent in hoof writing.
The sun had long since risen. It wasn’t cold before, but in contrast, the sun was blasting heatwaves like no other. Scootaloo took a moment to bask in the warmth, closing her eyes and letting the sun warm her bones.
“Hey-hey!” Sweetie said, suddenly apparating next to Scootaloo. Scootaloo opened her eyes, following the filly as she began bouncing up and down. “Do you want to come over to my Mo- err, Rarity’s?” She asked.
“Um- If it’s not too much trouble…” Scootaloo said with an awkward smile. The prospect of hanging out with her friend filled her with immense joy. Sweetie beamed, turning around and beginning her trot towards Ponyville.
“C’mon, Lazybones!” Sweetie said joyfully, giggling.
“Oh- um-!” Scootaloo started with a quick gallop to close the distance. She eventually kept pace with the white Unicorn. “Is that- um- how long school usually takes?”
“How long?” Sweetie asked, stopping her bouncing and returning to a normal pace. “Usually, yeah. I heard that folks in Canterlot have to spend the whole day doing school. The whole day!”
“Sounds… bad.”
“I think Dusk went to school up there. We should ask him about it.”
“Yeah.” She nodded. “Schools in Manehattan were like- the middle ground. They usually lasted until around two.”
“Wait, what?” She shot Scootaloo a questioning glance. “You come from Manehattan? I didn’t know that!” Scootaloo laughed lightly as Sweetie knocked a chip off her shoulder. “What was it like?”
“Noisy.” Scootaloo responded. “It’s really quiet out here. In Manehattan, there’s always something happening. Ponies were always rude, and you should never drink the tap water.”
“What’s tap water?” Sweetie asked.
“The water that comes out of the faucet.” She explained. Sweetie made an oh sound. They both exchanged some quick laughs as Scootaloo looked up towards the sky. The weather patrol had been really at it today. It was impressively clear, all blue horizon for miles and miles.
Except for the single cloud above them.
“Well, well, well!” Scootaloo and Sweetie both stopped in their tracks upon hearing a new voice. Sweetie sighed, closing her eyes in frustration. Scootaloo raised her eyebrow, and against her better judgment, turned around. “Hey, blank flanks!”
It was two earth-ponies. The front and center one, the one who was talking, was pink. Her mane was mostly purple with a streak of white going down the side. She was notable for being one of the only ponies she had seen to wear something, being a diamond tiara. Scootaloo could practically feel the waves of toxicity and entitlement rolling off of her in waves.
The second pony had a gray coat with an eccentric silver mane. Strangely enough, this pony was standing behind the pink one, and currently had her eyes diverted towards the floor. Scootaloo resolved herself, straightening her spine at these two.
“Hello.” Scootaloo said coldly. “My name is-”
“Doesn’t matter!” The pink pony said, raising her hoof in a shushing gesture. “All I care about is whether your coming to my party.”
“Party?” Scootaloo asked. “What party?”
“Ugh.” She shook her head while rolling her eyes, turning to her partner in crime. “Can you believe her, Silvy?”
“Oh, uh-” The silver pony looked up, swallowing her spit. “Er- no. I can’t.”
“Exactly.” She turned back around, her muzzle high up in the air. “I’m Diamond Tiara, and I’m a pretty big deal.” Scootaloo had to resist a snort. “You are cordially invited to attend my Cutecenera, happening at one today at Sugarcube Corner.” This time, Diamond Tiara resisted the urge to snort. “I say ‘invited,’ but you don’t wanna be a blank flank if you don’t show up…”
“What does my flank have to do with anything?”
“It’s a saying!” Diamond protested. “Ugh- whatever.” The pink filly turned to say something to, but stopped herself prematurely upon looking straight up. “Uh oh. It’s Rainbow Crash.” Diamond Tiara said, turning towards the silver pony. “C’mon, Silvy!” She giggled, barging straight through Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle. “Ta-ta! Be there!” She said, fading into the distance. The silver pony barely raised her head, keeping silent.
Rainbow Crash? Who was that?
Well- her answers were answered when a pony descended directly in front of them.
“Hey, Dash!” Scootaloo said loudly, approaching the landed pony with a half-hug.
“Sup, squirt!” Rainbow grabbed Scootaloo with both her wings, noogying her sister. “How was school?” She looked up at Sweetie. “Good to see you, too!”
“Hi!” Sweetie waved.
“School was great!” Scootaloo said. “We learned about war!”
“Oh, did you now?” Rainbow asked, raising her eyebrow. “Let me guess- the pre-Thestral war?”
“No! The Tribal War!” Scootaloo beamed. “Isn’t it awesome? I can tell you more later, but we gotta go!” Scootaloo dislocated herself from Rainbow, suddenly walking away. Rainbow might’ve seen something of herself in the filly, just rolling her eyes and trotting next to the filly.
“Where you going? I gotta tell Mom where you’re going.”
“We’re going to Diamond Tiara’s Cutecenera!” Sweetie Belle said.
“Oh… that filly?” Rainbow sucked air between her teeth. “Sure. Why not.” Rainbow took to the skies. “I’ll tell Mom, kay?” Scootaloo nodded, watching as Rainbow dissapeared towards the cottage somewhere in the woods. Scootaloo smiled at Sweetie, and they began their trek towards the towering sugar spiral somewhere in Ponyville.







Sugarcube Corner loomed in the distance. Outside, there was already a decent amount of ponies gathered around the general area. It wasn’t just a bunch of school foals- it was the whole town. Ponies from very frail and old to newborns, varying in colors and tribes.
“That’s… a lot of ponies.” Scootaloo said warily. Sweetie looked over with a questioning glance.
“You gonna be okay?” Sweetie asked, bumping Scootaloo’s shoulder.
“I’m fine.” She said. “Just… a lot of ponies.”
“Okay…” Sweetie nodded. “Tell me if you need a break, or something.” Scootaloo just laughed. It wouldn’t come to that. “Hey-” Sweetie stopped walking, pointing towards a pony to the side, sitting at a table near a small restaurant, seperate from Sugarcube Corner. “Is that… Dusk?” Sweetie asked. Scootaloo squinted her eyes, looking at the pony who certainly looked like Dusk.
It was a Unicorn mare, and she looked identical to Dusk in every way but gender. Purple coat, darker mane, and a pink stripe. The biggest difference had to be her height, being a multitude of inches shorter than Dusk himself. Scootaloo and Sweetie exchanged glances, approaching the mare.
“Dusk?” Sweetie asked. Dusk himself- or herself- was sitting down, talking with an orange earth-pony with a stetson. She turned around in her chair, looking down at the two fillies.
“Oh- Scooteroll!” Dusk smiled. “And Silver Bell! Aren’t you two just adorable?”
“What.” Scootaloo said. “Dusk, did you- um- turn yourself into a mare?”
“Oh, no.” Dusk shook his head. “I’m actually Dusk from an alternate dimension!” Scootaloo remembered briefly seeing the book Dusk had been reading before, the day Scootaloo went on that trip with Rainbow. It seemed like he had been able to translate that spell from his muzzle. “My name is Twilight Sparkle!”
“Are you here to replace Dusk?” Sweetie asked. Twilight blinked.
“Er- no? It’s like a science experiment-”
“Are you here to kill anypony?” Scootaloo asked. Twilight’s jaw opened slightly as she turned towards Scootaloo.
“N-No! I would never-”
“And you aren’t going to seduce anypony into making babies?”
“You fillies watch too many movies!” Twilight stomped her hoof. “I’m not going to do any of those-”
“Then your chill.” Sweetie said. She looked over to Scootaloo. “Come on! The party’s just starting!” They both let out a little giggle, galloping towards Sugarcube Corner. Twilight stared as the two fillies left. She let out a sigh, turning back to her table-mate.
“Aw, don’t mind them.” The orange earth-pony said. “Ah’ve yet to meet Scootaloo. Ah’ really wouldn’t mind havin’ her over.”
“Oh, I’m sure Apple Buck would love to hang out with her.” Twilight said, rolling her hoof.
“Apple Bloom’s her name over here.”
“Of course.” Twilight blushed a little. “I-I do wonder what happened to Scootaroll- or- Scootaloo, sometimes. Butterscotch only told me that something bad happened to her. I don’t even think he really knows.”
“Maybe one day.” The orange pony said. “Maybe one day.”
The two fillies slowly approached the crowd. From somewhere inside, they could faintly hear the sounds of a gramophone whirling away music. It was overshadowed by the sound of intense foal screaming. Scootaloo didn’t feel panicked… yet. And Sweetie was right by her side, too, so everything would be fine.
“Well…” Sweetie looked around the crowd. “Let’s go grab some food!”
“Y-Yeah.” Scootaloo’s voice wavered. Sweetie stopped, putting her front hoof on the step up into Sugarcube Corner. She turned her head, looking at Scootaloo concernedly.
“You don’t have to do this, you know.” Sweetie said slowly. Scootaloo opened her mouth, but closed it, shaking her head.
“It’s fine. I’m fine.” She said, partially by accident. “Just go.”
“Okay…” Sweetie jumped up the last few steps, pushing open the door to the inside. It swung close with Scootaloo still on the outside. Scootaloo took a deep breath, putting her forehead against the wood.
She was going to be fine.
Scootaloo used her head to push open the door, walking inside.
And then Tartarus began raining it’s fury on Scootaloo.
A colt. A filly. Another colt. Screaming.
There was just too much. Too much of everypony. Everything. The streamers were too bright, there were too many balloons, and there was just so much noise. From the foals screaming to the sound of the jukebox playing wildly. It entered one of her ears and straight out the other.
She tried looking to her hooves, but they felt farther away. Her hooves were filling with blood. Somepony came from behind and grabbed her throat, beginning to squeeze aggressively. The air left her lungs and refused to come back, no matter how much she tried breathing. She closed her eyes, feeling the world around her rotating like she was on a ship.
She reopened her eyes, and the lights streaming in from the outside began screaming. Her pupils felt constricted, and no matter how much she tried, she suddenly couldn’t move. Her body refused to listen as she was stuck. If could, she would’ve began screaming.
Suddenly, the blobby and unfocused face of Sweetie Belle entered her vision. She could barely make out the pink area that Sweetie’s mouth was supposed to be. She said something. Mumbled something incomprehensible. It came out as a stream of vowels and unintelligible words. She was underwater.
Scootaloo felt her knees give out. They quite painfully hit the floorboards. Sweetie began her mumbling again, this time louder and higher pitched. Scootaloo could barely watch as Sweetie began wildly looking around. Blackness appeared around her vision, slowly sucking in and reducing her consciousness.
The last thing she remembered was Sweetie grabbing her around the withers, and pulling her towards a far away objective.
Then everything went black.







Scootaloo woke up by inhaling a huge chunk of air. She came to with a start, jumping up from her resting position and hitting her head against something solid.
“You okay?” The concerned voice of Sweetie said. Scootaloo mumbled, rubbing her eyes blearily as she blinked back her focus. The place they were in was dark and quiet, Sweetie just barely having enough light to make out a little more than her outline.
“Where are we?” Scootaloo asked.
“You looked a little… sick?” Sweetie said slowly. “I thought it might’ve been because of all the foals, and I didn’t want you to pass out in front of everypony… so I dragged you under this table.”
Scootaloo blinked back confusion, looking around her. It was a decently sized circular table, and if Scootaloo had to guess, the table holding up the cake due to how circular it was. That, and the table was covered by a very thick white cloth with a black inner lining. Because of how thick it was, it let in a surprisingly little amount of light and sound.
“Thanks…” Scootaloo mumbled rearranging herself into a better sitting position. The table was high enough that she could sit somewhat comfortably, her mane barely brushing against the bottom of the wood.
“Scootaloo…” Sweetie took a deep breath in. Scootaloo turned to look at her with a confused expression. She looked almost nervous. “I-I’ve seen you get all loopy before… at school, but…” She took another deep breath in. “That was level ten. I mean- you passed out!” Scootaloo sighed, turning away from the Unicorn.
“I-I’m freakin’ stupid.” Scootaloo whispered. Sweetie gasped, reaching across the spacious underbelly of the table and laying a hoof on her wither.
“Don’t say that!” She whisper-shouted. “You’re not stupid-”
“Of course I am!” Scootaloo batted away Sweetie’s hoof. She gasped, pulling herself back to the other side of the table. “I get these- freaking manic episodes! I-I don’t even know why! They just-” She gritted her teeth, covering her face with her hooves. “It started when I started talking… maybe I should just stop.”
“Stop talking?” Sweetie said. “B-But I like it when you talk!” Sweetie blurted out. Scootaloo uncovered her face, raising a barely illuminated eyebrow. “I-It’s really fun to hang out with you, and-” Sweetie sighed. “I didn’t have a problem before you talked, but I don’t want you to go back!”
“I’m sorry.” Scootaloo whispered, burying her face into her hooves. “I’m sorry.”
The two sat in awkward silence. There was more than enough space for their own personal bubble. It was dark and quiet under this mat, even if the sounds of the party outside were still audilble. Sweetie could barely make out the sounds of Pinkie shouting about pinning the tail on the donkey.
Finally, Sweetie turned to look at Scootaloo.
“Let’s do therapy.” Sweetie said suddenly. Scootaloo slowly uncovered her face. She wasn’t crying, but she certainly felt like it.
“What?”
“I mean- let’s sit here, and let’s do therapy.” Sweetie turned to face Scootaloo. “I’m your therapist. Tell me what’s wrong.” Scootaloo kept staring at her for several seconds, before forcing herself to laugh. Her response was burying her face into her hooves once more.
“Why do you want to help?”
“Because I’m your friend, silly!” Sweetie laughed. “I care about you. Isn’t that what friends do?” Scootaloo grumbled into her hooves.
“I’ve been a terrible friend.”
“No, you haven’t-”
“Yes I have!” Scootaloo unburied her face, shooting her front hooves out in a wild gesture. “Y-You were there! I mean- at the spa with Rarity! I just sat there like an idiot! I didn’t even say anything!”
“That was before you started-”
“I know!” Scootaloo shouted. “I know, I know, I know! But-” Scootaloo adjusted herself on the wooden floor, turning her head away. “I just- I just willingly started talking because I wanted to. Why didn’t I before? I-I think I’m just a dumb attention seeker!”
“Scootaloo, you’re not an attention seeker.”
“Then what am I?” She shouted, turning back. “All of this- horseshit for me just to decide to be normal! W-Was I faking it? Did you know they sent the best foal psychologists in the country of Equestria to figure out why I wasn’t behaving normally? Gee, I wonder how much out-of-pocket money that cost Doctor Sunshine.” Scootaloo leaned back into one of the wooden posts of the table, closing her eyes.
Sweetie sat silently on the other side. Her features were crestfallen. She bit her lip, looking at the ground in contemplation. She looked at the grain visible below the area between the thick fabric and the floor. She could barely make out the shadows of moving foals.
“Tell me about your parents.”
Sweetie could almost feel the drop in temperature as Scootaloo slowly turned to look at Sweetie in her eyes. Her big, bright, violet eyes burning a hole into Sweetie’s soul.
“You’re feeling like this for a reason.” Sweetie shifted forwards. “Tell me about your-”
“No.” Scootaloo said emotionlessly.
Sweetie took a breath of her own, looking away from the pony and towards the ground. This was her friend, and she wanted to help her. And sometimes, in order to repair a crack, she has to drill the hole bigger.
“I had a mom and dad.” Sweetie said slowly. Scootaloo was still staring at Sweetie, her features still unreadable. “Had. I was an accident. My parents- real parents, didn’t want me. To them, I was an inconvene- inconvenece-” Scootaloo finally let her features rest, looking away from Sweetie.
“Inconvenience.”
“Inconvenience.” Sweetie nodded. “The moment I was old enough to take care of myself, they left.” Scootaloo stayed silent. “Sometimes, they didn’t even leave any food in the house. Or- not any food a little filly knew how to make, anyways.” Sweetie chuckled darkly. Scootaloo still stayed silent, looking at a spot on the floor. “But… they didn’t care enough to give me food, but they cared enough to hide me. Whenever Rarity came over for a visit, they would lock me in my room, and tell me to be quiet.”
Scootaloo’s eyes flashed up for a moment.
“One night… I was playing by myself like usual. I was by the front door, and…” Sweetie’s smile faded. “I heard keys in the lock. Rarity decided to come for a surprise visit, and… she wasn’t really ready to see me.” Sweetie shook her head. “My parents sent me to my room. All I remember that night was yelling. Lots and lots of yelling.” Sweetie rubbed her head, below the horn. “I woke up the next day, and there was a foal protective service agent knocking at the front door.”
Sweetie stopped talking. Scootaloo grumbled something incomprehensible, crossing her hooves and looking up at Sweetie with a side-eye.
“What happened next?”
“A legal battle.” Sweetie shivered. “I don’t know why they wanted to keep me. I-I really don’t. The court had a hard time figuring out what to do with me. It was obvious that my parents weren’t very… all there in the head. And- I didn’t want to stay with Rarity. I-I saw Rarity as this pony who destroyed my life. I… I really hated her.” Sweetie sighed. “I was fostered for the next year. Complete strangers I was forced to live with. I didn’t know who they were at the time…” Scootaloo noticed visibly as Sweetie smiled fondly. “The Cakes had the best food.” She knocked the wooden floorboards. “I lived here the longest. I remember that.” She sighed, looking up. “Oh, then I went to live with Lyra and Bon-bon. I don’t think they really knew what they were doing, but- they always tried to read to me before I fell asleep.” She scuffed the floor. “Ditzy and Time Turner loved me. So did Dinky.” Sweetie laughed. “I think I might’ve lived with everypony in town for a while.”
“Must’ve been nice.” Scootaloo said quietly.
“What?” Sweetie turned to look at Scootaloo, who was observing the wood grain of the table. “What was nice about that?”
“Being cared for.”
“Were you not fostered?” Sweetie asked. Scootaloo stayed silent, still staring at the table above them. Scootaloo breathed out sharply, squeezing her eyes shut.
“When did you realize… everything was going to be okay?” She asked quietly. It was obvious the question was forced. It almost sounded like she didn’t even want to ask it, but Sweetie knew it’s importance.
“After the first week.” Sweetie responded. “I cried. A lot. I hated her so, so much.” Sweetie sighed. “One night, I ran away into the Everfree.” She shrugged like it wasn’t anything big. Scootaloo’s eyes widened. Living on the edge of the Everfree let Scootaloo gain insight into what it was like inside, and she wanted nothing to do with it. “I ran until I couldn’t even recognize the stars anymore. There was this… massive timber wolf. It was going to eat me, and suddenly…” Sweetie sighed. “Rarity was there. She blasted it into a million pieces like it was nothing.” Sweetie lowered her head in shame. “I hugged her. Really tight. That was when I realized everything was going to be okay.”
Scootaloo was silent for a few moments. She flexed her jaw, instinctively biting her cheek as she stared at Sweetie. She looked content. And happy. While retelling her story, she didn’t even shed a single tear. It was like… it was almost like she had gotten over it.
Was it okay to get over it? Was it okay to forget everything you ever were? Was it okay just to drop it?
“I don’t think it’s happened yet.” Scootaloo admitted. Sweetie looked at her with her bright eyes.
“Don’t think what?”
“I… I don’t think I’ve realized it’s going to be okay.” Scootaloo’s lip quivered. She looked at the tablecloth for a moment. “I-I’m scared it’s going to go away… I think. I-It’s happened before.”
Memories. Memories of days long gone.
Scootaloo took a deep breath in, her voice quivering terribly. It wasn’t like she was going to cry like before- she was scared. She had no idea why she was scared. She only knew that she was.
“I-I never had a mom.” She said quietly. Sweetie froze up, suddenly staying completely silent and still. Like she was scared to scare away Scootaloo. “I- uhm… I-I killed her on the way out.” Scootaloo rubbed her knee, sliding down the pole slightly. “I-I was born four months early… not a lot of foals survive being born that early.”
Sweetie almost interjected, but bit her tongue. Her eyes involuntarily drifted to Scootaloo’s wings. The small and stubby wings. Almost like they didn’t have enough time to develop. Scootaloo took another shaky breath, like talking was wearing her out.
“I-I did have a dad.” She admitted, turning to her side. “He wasn’t ever… really happy, I guess. I-I don’t remember much of him, but um… He wasn’t happy I killed his wife- um- my mom.” Scootaloo cleared her throat. Her throat involuntarily flexed as she tried swallowing her spit. “I-I had a brother.”
This was news to Sweetie. Her ears perked up and her head tilted to the side.
“I remember my brother.” Scootaloo smiled, looking at Sweetie in her eyes. A single tear rolled down Scootaloo’s cheek. “I remember him being obsessed over me.” She laughed, smoothing her mane with a hoof. “M-My dad probably saw me as the thing that killed his wife. My brother saw me as his mom’s final gift.” She smiled again, leaning into the table leg. “My dad got fired from his job. And- my um- my brother made a pact with his friend group.” She genuinely laughed, smiling and looking to her side at Sweetie. “Imagine a group of teenage colts just… loosing it over a baby foal. Like- googly eyes. Like a bunch of fillies.”
“Were they your family?” Sweetie gained enough courage to finally asked.
“In a lot of ways… yeah.” She nodded. “My brother was the one always taking care of me. He fed me, changed me, rocked me to sleep. The other colts did little jobs around the city to keep us afloat. They… really cared about me. Every dime they earned went into buying diapers, toys, bottles… My brother didn’t mind that I killed his mom-”
“Please.” Sweetie held up her hoof. “You didn’t kill your mom.”
“Yes, I did-”
“You had no control-”
“But-”
“Stop.” Sweetie commanded. Scootaloo closed her mouth, biting her tongue. Sweetie shifted herself over to Scootaloo’s side, putting a hoof on her shoulder and getting close. “You didn’t kill your mom. It wasn’t your fault. You’re beating yourself up over something you had no control over.” Scootaloo let go of her tongue, looking away from Sweetie and towards the floor. Sweetie slowly let her hoof slide off her shoulder.
“He didn’t mind that I took away his mom.” Scootaloo finished. Sweetie nodded, egging her to continue. “Apparently I look like her, too, so…”
“And then… one day…” Scootaloo began. The smile vanished, leaving behind a cold and desolate visage. Sweetie understood where the story was going. “I-I must’ve been about three at the time. In my room, a few of the colts were in there. It was late at night- like two in the morning. They were acting kind of squirmy. Or, like antsy.” Scootaloo felt a lump form in her throat. “I-I remember hearing the front door open, and my brother…” Scootaloo suddenly let out a choked sob.
Sweetie was there in an instant. Scootaloo had tears streaming down her face as Sweetie sat next to her, hoof over her neck and letting her lean into her shoulder.
“M-My dad opened my bedroom door. T-There w-was the smell of a-alcohol. M-My brother put himself between me a-and him, a-and-” Scootaloo leaned into the crook of Sweetie’s neck. “M-My dad k-kept swinging u-until h-he wasn’t breathing!”
Sweetie held her tightly as she felt her shoulder becoming wet.
“T-The other colts t-tried to f-fight, but he wouldn’t go down!” Scootaloo yelled. “T-There was so much blood! I-I don’t even remember how my brother’s supposed to look like! I-I just remember h-how bloodied he was!”
Sweetie stayed silent, letting the smaller Pegasus sob. Over the sound of crying, Sweetie could still hear the party going. They were still dancing, playing, and talking like nothing had happened. Completely unaware to the stories told underneath the cake table.
They both closed their eyes, just reveling in the moment. It took a little while, but the crying slowly died down into sniffling.
“I-I’m sorry- It’s s-stupid, and-”
“Do you feel better?” Sweetie asked. Scootaloo slowly moved back, breaking the impromptu hug they were experiencing. She sniffled again, rubbing her eyes.
“Y-Yeah.” Scootaloo said. “I-I feel like- a-a weight is gone.” She sniffled again, rubbing her eyes even harder. “I-It’s s-stupid-”
“Maybe you should do this more often.” Sweetie suggested, patting Scootaloo on the shoulder. “That’s really messed up you had to go through that.”
“I-I’m-” Scootaloo shook her head, looking away. “Why-why do you care s-so much?”
“Because I’m your friend.” She stated simply. “And that’s what friends do.”
Scootaloo stared for a moment longer. She let a goofy smile spread across her muzzle as she hit a realization.
“You know…” Despite the tears streaming down her face, she let out a little laugh. “I think everything’s going to be okay.” Sweetie joined in a little laugh. They both hugged each other under the table.
“Wow! That is an amazing Cutiemark!” Scootaloo broke the hug, staring at Sweetie Belle. Just past the veil of the tablecloth, the party seemed to come to a complete halt. The music was no longer, and all that persisted was the laugh of two very annoying fillies.
“Nice try, blank flank!” Diamond Tiara said snobbishly. Scootaloo looked up to Sweetie Belle.
There was a fire in her gut. A fire she couldn't explain. A fire she never had before, and it began eating at her from the inside. Scootaloo tensed, pulling up the tablecloth, and yelling.
“You got a problem with blank flanks?!”