//------------------------------// // Chapter 11 // Story: Applejoy // by BronyNeumo //------------------------------// Chapter 11 Rainbow Dash’s nose twitched. This was an involuntary movement, more of a reflex than anything else, brought on by the perceived presence of something bothering her face. To the barely-conscious pegasus, the sensation was strange. If she had been able to think about it, she would have thought that something was brushing against her closed eyelid. As a last-ditch effort to retain her sleep, her hoof lifted to the level of her eyes in a half-conscious attempt to remove the irritant. Unfortunately, this action had little effect as the slowly-waking pony soon found herself waving her hoof around in front of her face in a dazed early-morning stupor, futilely attempting to ward off the encroachments of the sun as its light streamed in through the window, falling across her still-closed eyes. Groggily, Rainbow Dash’s eyelids slowly blinked open, taking in the extent of the bright early-morning light for the first time. She was momentarily confused, groaning and closing her eyes again at the intruder, before she finally gathered the presence of mind to realize that it was time to wake up. She shook her head, allowing the last drowsiness to leave her mind as her eyes quickly focused themselves to their new, brighter environment through a quick series of blinks. She attempted to sit up, but found herself restrained to the bed somehow. Looking down at herself, she let out a contented sigh to see the two sleeping ponies holding her down. Scootaloo had her forelegs wrapped around Rainbow Dash’s waist and was snoozing happily. Applejack had managed to roll over onto her back in the night, her head having come to rest against her wife’s chest. Sighing in resignation, Rainbow leaned forward to deal with this first problem. Tenderly, she began to nuzzle the orange farmpony. She brought her muzzle up to Applejack’s check and rubbed it against her, grinning as she began to feel her wife stir beneath her. “Wake up, AJ. It’s morning.” Applejack responded by half-consciously rolling over onto her stomach and burying her face into the pegasus’s cyan fur. Listening closely, Rainbow Dash could hear the sleepy earth pony mumble into her chest. “Jus’ five more minutes.” Rainbow Dash smirked. She leaned forward once again, this time opening her mouth only slightly. Using only a slight amount of pressure, just enough to be felt, she nipped at the skin on the back of her wife’s neck, grinning mischievously as the mare awoke with a start. “Wha…? Buh…. Dash? What in the hay was that for?” Applejack glared at the pegasus as she finally stopped reeling from the jolt of being awoken so suddenly. “Good morning, beautiful.” Rainbow Dash giggled as she reached out a hoof to stroke her partner’s messy blonde mane. Her hoof became snagged almost immediately. “Looks like somepony woke up on the wrong side of the pig-sty this morning.” “That isn’t funny, Dash.” Applejack continued her glare at the cyan pegasus, even as she winced at the removal of her hoof from her tangled mane. “I know,” Rainbow Dash drew the earth pony into a hug, licking Applejack across the cheek as their faces came closer together. She smiled as she watched the orange pony’s expression soften. Applejack felt her anger falter almost immediately. Rolling her eyes, she turned her head to kiss the pegasus, forcing her to settle back into the pillows as she did so. “Why can’t Ah stay mad at ya, Sugarcube?” “Because I’m too perfect?” “Well yer not… ya know what? Ah don’t feel like arguin’ with that right now.” They pressed their lips together again, holding each other in that position until neither could take it any longer and both had to break apart just to breathe. Applejack rolled over onto her back next to Rainbow Dash, taking the opportunity to bury her muzzle into the cyan pony’s neck, receiving an affectionate nuzzle to her cheek in return. “Ah love ya, Dash.” Applejack cooed as she snuggled her head into her lover’s neck. Rainbow Dash sighed, wrapping a foreleg around her wife and resting her head as well. “I love you too, AJ.” She opened her eyes, having closed them in bliss mere seconds ago. Her vision focused, settling on the filly that still slept before her. Scootaloo’s chest was rising and falling in slumber as she gripped Rainbow Dash, her smaller forelegs wrapped around the elder pegasus’s midsection. Rainbow Dash giggled at the sight of the filly blindly snuggling her. “Hey… hey AJ, look at that. Look.” Applejack sat up again, still keeping her forelegs wrapped around her partner. “Awww. Ain’t that cute? Ya see? Ah told ya you’d make a great big sister.” Applejack grinned, leaning in to give Rainbow Dash a quick peck on the lips. Both their heads snapped back to look at Scootaloo as the filly began to shift around in her sleep. She stretched, wrapping her forelegs even tighter around the pegasus she held, causing Rainbow dash to chuckle lightly. Her head came back down to rest on her idol’s stomach, and she unconsciously rubbed her cheek into the cyan pelt. “I love you, mom.” “Mom? Ya haven’t been messin’ around behind mah back now, have ya, Dash?” Applejack had to cover her mouth with her hooves to stifle an outburst of laughter as the pegasus glared at her. “Not funny, AJ.” Rainbow Dash reached out a hoof to gently prod the sleeping filly. “Hey… hey Scoot? You awake?” Scootaloo stirred at the gentle touch. Her eyes batted lazily open, giving her a sideways view up Rainbow Dash’s chest at her concerned face. Her eyelids flew up in a flash. Scootaloo snorted as the shock jolted her awake, jumping up onto her hooves as she realized where she had been laying. Scootaloo looked frantically between Rainbow Dash’s stomach, where a small puddle of drool had begun to form, and her face, her mind buzzing faster than she could keep track of. “OhmygoshRainbowDashI’msosorry.” Scootaloo looked mortified as she fired off apology after apology in quick succession, beginning to back away from Rainbow Dash as if she had offended her. She drew closer and closer to the edge of the bed. “Scoot, wait!” Rainbow Dash winced as Scootaloo’s back-pedaling hooves suddenly found no purchase, dropping the filly to the floor. Rainbow Dash was up on her own hooves as quick as she could, peering over the bed at the smaller orange pegasus. Scootaloo had managed to fall onto her back, her hooves straight up in the air. She was blinking in confusion, dazed, but unhurt. Dash sighed in relief. “Are you Ok, kiddo? What’s wrong?” “I’m sorry! I’m sorry! I don’t know what I was thinking!” Scootaloo looked like she was panicking, her eyes nearly bulged out of their sockets and her breathing grew rapid. Rainbow Dash jumped down off the bed and embraced the quivering filly. She held Scootaloo until her breathing subsided and she seemed to calm back down. “What’s wrong, Scoot?” “I thought… I thought you would be mad.” “Why would I ever be mad at you?” “Because I was… I was… sleeping… on you…” “It’s Ok. It’s Ok, Scoots. I don’t mind.” “You don’t… but… but you’re married.” “We’re family now, Scootaloo.” Rainbow Dash smiled as she hoisted the filly back up to the level of the bed, depositing her on the more comfortable mattress before climbing up herself. “If you ever feel like you need somepony to hold, even if you are asleep, I’ll be there for you. I am the element of Loyalty, after all.” Rainbow Dash grinned at the filly. She felt the mattress move underneath her and looked to her side to see Applejack crossing over to her side of the bed, her eyes shining. “You won’t get jealous, right AJ?” Applejack responded by giving the pegasus another peck on the lips. “See, even Applejack agrees with me.” Rainbow Dash turned back to see that Scootaloo had sat down on her haunches. The filly’s purple eyes shone as she gazed up at her idol. Suddenly, Scootaloo looked down, whispering softly. “You remind me of her.” She paused for a long moment before continuing. “Mom. You remind me of my mom. She was always so nice, just like you. I remember when she would let me sleep in her bed, before she got sick. She was always so warm and soft. I would wake up every morning on her belly.” Scootaloo started shaking her head slightly, as if she was ashamed. “When I woke up today, I felt you. You were so warm, and you were so soft…. I thought… I thought you were my mom.” Scootaloo looked back up when she felt a hoof fall across her shoulders. Rainbow Dash gazed down into the filly’s shimmering eyes and smiled as lovingly as she could. “If you need a mom, I can be that too.” “I don’t know what I need. I don’t even know what I want.” Scootaloo shook herself, her gaze was faltering; uncertain. “You’ve both given me so much, I know I should be happy and thankful, but… but I just feel like there’s something… something missing. And I don’t know what.” Rainbow Dash exchanged a nervous glance with her partner. For several moments, they tried to think, but their eyes kept returning to Scootaloo’s pleading face. They had no idea what to do or say. Thankfully, they were spared when the bedroom door burst open. Applebloom charged into the room, a giddy smile spread across her face. Scootaloo seemed to brighten almost instantly at the sight of her friend. “Hey, Scoot! Wanna come play today? Ah was just comin’ ta get some breakfast when Ah thought you might like to eat with me!” “Sure, AB, that sounds great! I’m starving!” As the two fillies raced towards the kitchen, Rainbow Dash and Applejack sighed in relief, looking back over at each other. “You’d better not be jealous. You’re being very quiet.” Rainbow Dash smiled wanly as she teased her wife, reaching a hoof forward to nudge her playfully. Applejack grinned mischievously before leaping forward. An unsuspecting Rainbow Dash was thrown helplessly onto her back by the orange missile. Before the pegasus could get a word in edgewise, she found her muzzle occupied by that of her partner. Applejack pressed down into Rainbow Dash in a deep, passionate kiss. Their tongues slipped into one another’s mouths and engaged in a slippery dance, heated by the fiery passion that the two lovers had known for years. Applejack broke the kiss only to speak, her eyes staring hungrily down at the pinned pegasus below her even as she did so. “Ah ain’t jealous so long as Ah get the best parts o’ ya ta mahself.” ============================================================================================ Rainbow Dash blinked as she stared at the small room. The Cutie Mark Crusader’s treetop clubhouse had seen better days, but it was still well-used by the three friends, well after they had each received their cutie marks. Rainbow Dash picked her way around the cluttered room. The floor was littered with toys, used papers, and a myriad of other items the fillies used for their own enjoyment. She scanned the darkened room, hoping to find something that might belong to Scootaloo. If her suspicions were correct, then this would be the place Scootaloo kept her possessions, whatever possessions she even had. Finally, in the back of the room, she caught sight of a scooter and helmet, propped against the back wall. Picking her way over to them in the overcast darkness, Rainbow Dash spotted what she was looking for. Sitting on the floor right next to the scooter was a small box marked ‘Scootaloo’. She reached the box, bending down to open it. Whatever trepidation she had about snooping was lost on her. After all, if she was going to help Scootaloo move in, she had to see if this stuff was worth bringing to the filly’s new home. She opened the box and found it to be largely empty. The space at the top was occupied by a few trinkets, small keepsakes which Rainbow Dash paid no mind to. Underneath, however, a glint caught Rainbow Dash’s eye. Reaching down, she pulled out what turned out to be three framed photographs. The first was of Scootaloo, Applebloom, and Sweetie Belle. The three friends were playing in a field, no cutie marks gracing their flanks yet. Rainbow Dash smiled at the old memories of when they were younger, gingerly setting the picture back into its box. Rainbow Dash didn’t recognize the two ponies in the next picture. The picture was even older than the first one though. After staring for only a few moments, she decided that the mare and stallion featured must have been Scootaloo’s parents. She looked back to the third picture in her hooves, which had been on the bottom of the stack. It was very familiar to her. Rainbow Dash nearly jumped, catching herself just in time to avoid dropping it. She stared at the framed photograph for several moments. As numerous thoughts surfaced in her mind, she voiced one to the empty treehouse. “I had no idea.” =========================================================================================== As night fell, the overcast cloud bank that had blocked the light of the sun had remained in place over the sleepy community. The quiet, snow-covered farm and the surrounding countryside were bathed in darkness, unabated by the light of the moon, which was lazily tracing its wide arc across the night sky, even unseen as it was. Its light did not shine into the windows of the farmhouse as it had the night previous. This night, however, Rainbow Dash found herself wishing it did as she stared out the window at a night sky only slightly less black than her bedroom. She wished to see the moon; to be able to look upon its bright, kindly face, but her eyes met nothing but darkness. She sighed; blinking at the darkness, hoping for something to distract her from her thoughts. Suddenly, she felt the bed move underneath her as somepony shifted around behind her. A hoof was lain across her chest, and Rainbow Dash smiled as she felt a wet nose nuzzle affectionately against the back of her neck. “What’cha thinkin’ about, Sugarcube.” Rainbow Dash sighed again, rolling over to face her wife. Applejack lifted her hoof to stroke the pegasus’s cheek, her green eyes sparkling with mirth. For a while, Rainbow Dash could do nothing but stare into those shining eyes – she could see them even without the aid of light in the darkness. “You’re still awake?” “Ah’ve been listening to you sigh every few minutes for an hour now. What’s wrong?” Rainbow Dash didn’t answer. She just gazed ahead, letting Applejack answer her own question. “You’re still worried about her, aren’t ya?” “Is it that obvious?” “Oh, Dashie.” Applejack reached around the pegasus, drawing her into a tight embrace and kissing her cheek. “Ya have such a big heart, ya know that right?” “Some good my big heart did Scootaloo.” “Oh, come on, Dash. Ya said it yerself, she has a home and a family now, Ah’d say she’s better off than ever thanks ta you.” “That’s just it, AJ!” Dash sat up in bed, leaning against the backboard and resting her head on the wall. “You heard her story. Five years. Five years, AJ. She’s lived alone for five years and I didn’t do anything until now.” “Aw, Rainbow.” Applejack sat up herself, leaning over to give her wife a tight hug. “Ya didn’t know. You couldn’t possibly have known.” Rainbow Dash hugged her back, gripping her mare tight and burying her eyes into Applejack’s sweet-smelling mane. “I should’ve done something.” They were both silent for a few moments, just holding each other close in their shared bed. “Look at this.” Rainbow Dash reached over to a side table and lit a candle so they could see easier. Applejack propped herself upright, watching with interest as Rainbow grabbed something off the small table and brought it over to her. “I found this when I was moving some stuff into her room.” She turned the picture so that the tiny flame shone off the glass, allowing Applejack a view of the picture underneath. It showed Rainbow Dash herself, suspended in the air with her wings flapping and a determined look on her face. Writing was scrawled across the bottom corner in a barely legible scrawl. It was Rainbow Dash’s own hoofwriting. ‘Always follow your dreams! – Rainbow Dash’. Applejack blinked in confusion at the framed autographed picture. “I gave this to her years ago. She’s kept it all this time. She even got it framed.” “Ya know how much she cares about ya.” “That’s exactly it! She looked up to me. She looked up to me and I barely noticed her for five years. Five years, AJ!” Rainbow Dash picked up a pillow and began hitting it. “Five… whole… years…!” She hit the pillow again and again as Applejack stared on in confusion. “Five whole years and I didn’t do anything to help her! She looked up to me! I should’ve been there for her and I wasn’t!” She threw the pillow across the room, watching as it hit a wall and fell to the floor. She stared at it, her breath ratcheting, before she sniffed loudly and grabbed Applejack. Applejack could only pat the pegasus’s head as comfortingly as she could as Rainbow Dash buried her face into her mane and began to sob. “I’m… I’m a terrible pony.” “No. no yer not, Dash.” Applejack blew the candle out, plunging the room into darkness as she gripped the pegasus tight. “You’ve done so much for her just these past two days, Dash. You’re a wonderful pony, and don’t ya forget it.” In the darkness, they lay together for longer than either cared to keep track of. Rainbow Dash’s breathing eventually returned to normal and her sobs stopped as she inhaled the sweet scent of apples from her wife’s mane. Applejack held onto her mare as she cried and even after she had stopped. She stroked her Rainbow mane absentmindedly the whole time, silently showing her affection for the pegasus. Finally, Rainbow Dash withdrew from her lover’s mane, leaving a few hairs wet with tears. She gazed into Applejack eyes and sniffed. “You’re the best, AJ.” “Ah know.” “I can’t sleep. Not now. I don’t even know what to think anymore.” “Do ya wanna go downstairs?” “Don’t you need to sleep?” “Ah care about you, Sugarcube. If you can’t sleep, Ah can’t sleep. Now come on, Ah’ll make ya some cider.” Applejack gave her wife a quick kiss before they climbed from the bed and silently made their way down the stairs. “Wait, Dash. Stop.” The two ponies paused at the bottom of the stairs. For a few moments, they listened. “Do ya hear that?” “Yeah… it sounds like… like…” “… voices. Ah think they’re comin’ from over there.” Wordlessly, the couple crept down the hallway from the stairs. They passed through the kitchen, apple cider forgotten, and advanced upon the hallway leading into the new wing of the house. As they drew closer, the whispered sounds grew louder and suddenly cut off altogether. They kept walking, drawing towards a door which stood ajar. It was Scootaloo’s. As they reached the door, they could no longer hear the voices, but they peered around the open door. It only took a few seconds for them to register what was happening inside. ========================================================================================== Applebloom couldn’t sleep. She lay awake in her bed, tossing and turning in a vain attempt to find a position comfortable enough to nod off in. The lack of a moon wasn’t helping her. Applebloom had always considered the moon to be a kind of night-light. Sometimes she would lie awake, staring at the moon out her window until she felt the comforting embrace of sleep take her over. Tonight, however, she was afforded no such reprieve. For what felt like the hundred and first time, Applebloom rolled from one side to the other, sighing as she did so. This wasn’t working; she still felt fully awake. Groaning in frustration, she lifted a pillow above her head and dropped it, allowing it to cover her face. She blinked a few times into the soft surface, finally throwing the pillow off her head as she realized it wouldn’t help her at all. Her room was dark, excessively so, in her opinion, but her eyes had adjusted to the light well enough that she could still see around. The rest of her room lay dormant. Nothing moved in the grey darkness, nothing except for her as she rolled over again, sighing in exasperation. She wound up lying on her stomach; her face buried into her other pillow. She wanted nothing more than to be able to fall asleep, so why couldn’t she? She knew the answer before she even asked the question. She couldn’t sleep because her mind was occupied. Her brain was swirling with thoughts about one pony in particular: Scootaloo. It was one thing to find out that her friend had lost her parents. Applebloom had, herself, never even known her own parents, so she was used to the idea. It was another thing entirely to find out that one of her best friends had been living as an orphan for almost the entire time she had known her. Her breath was warming the pillow. Each time she exhaled, a cushion of hot air was pressed into the fabric of the pillow case. The heat was becoming uncomfortable. She rolled over again. Applebloom was gradually getting uneasy. She stared at the ceiling for several moments before posing her thoughts to the ever-present darkness. “Why didn’t she tell us? We’re her best friends.” She lay for only a few more minutes before the thoughts and unanswered questions became too much for her. She threw her blankets off and sat up in her bed, making her way to the side of her bed and jumping down onto the floor. She trotted to the door and put a hoof to the latch, slowly opening it to make sure it didn’t squeak. She had made up her mind; she had to talk to her. Carefully, she made her way down the hallway. She froze as she heard voices coming from her sister’s room. A soft light was visible through the crack underneath the door. She stood still in the middle of the hallway for several seconds, hoping that neither Applejack nor Rainbow Dash would chance to look out into the hallway. She sighed in relief when she realized they weren’t talking about her. She snuck past the closed door and made her way to the head of the staircase. She cautiously picked her way down each step, careful to avoid each step she knew would make a noise if stepped upon. The first floor of the house was dark, but she knew where to go. Crossing the house, she drew closer to the hallway extending off the kitchen, drawing herself up to the closed door that marked Scootaloo’s room. She put a hoof to the latch and trotted inside. “Scootaloo, you awake?” =========================================================================================== The darkness was all-encompassing. With no light, there were no shadows, but to Scootaloo, it appeared as if dark shapes moved across her walls and floor of their own accord. She snuggled up further into her bed, drawing the blanket up to her face. She felt alone; utterly alone and scared. She was buried up to her chin and blankets, yet she still felt a chill race through her body. The bed and the room itself seemed entirely too big for her. She felt dwarfed by the pervasive blackness of the night. She shivered in her blankets, closing her eyes against the imaginary abyss. She had spent many a night alone in the dark, yet for some reason, this night felt different. She didn’t understand it. She knew that her life had taken a massive turn for the better, yet she could not shake the overwhelming feeling of emptiness. She felt alone; small; helpless. She had a room to sleep in, a home to live in, and a family to turn to, yet she still felt alone. She blamed the oppressive darkness. She felt like it was enveloping her; overpowering her. She lay alone in her new room, and she wanted nothing more than to sleep, to forget the trials of the world and slip away from it all, yet her mind would not allow it. She lay perfectly awake, exposed to the terrors residing in her own mind. Try as she might, she could not stop thinking of them. Images of her parents and fragments of half-remembered conversations from her youth filled her mind, coursing through every waking moment in a terrible ebb and flow of unwanted memories. Deep in the recesses of her mind, a horrible thought emerged and came to the forefront of her consciousness. She tried to fight it, tried to keep it from making its presence known, but her subconscious battle was of no use. In some terrible way, she began to feel as if she was betraying her parents. She could not shake the feeling that by coming to live with Rainbow Dash, she was betraying their love; their memory. She began to cry. As her ratcheting sobs were lost upon the empty space of the big room, a new sound appeared. The gentle clopping of hooves sounded from outside the close door, growing louder and louder as it approached her room. Scootaloo cowered into her bed, sniffling in a vain attempt to stop the flow of tears before the approaching pony reached her door. It was no use. The handle rattled and the door was gradually drawn open, a soft creaking filling the room as it swung inward. “Scootaloo, you awake?” “A… A-Applebloom?” “Are you Ok, Scoot?” “I… I don’t know.” Applebloom trotted over to the bed, jumping up into the folds of fabric and mattress and crossing to lie down next to her friend. “Ah’m sorry, Scoot. Ah hope Ah’m not bothering ya.” “No… No you’re not.” “How do ya feel?” “I’m… I’m glad you’re here. I was getting lonely.” “Well, now you’re not lonely no more.” “I guess not.” “Scootaloo? Have you… have you been crying?” Scootaloo tried to look away. She didn’t want her friend to see the tears in her eyes. She hated herself for them. “No.” “Aw, Scoot. It’s Ok.” Applebloom reached out to draw her friend into a hug. “Do ya wanna talk ‘bout it?” “Th-thanks AB.” Scootaloo squeezed her friend back, letting the softness of Applebloom’s coat comfort her. For a while, the two fillies lay quietly. Finally, Scootaloo began to speak. “I… I just can’t stop thinking about them.” “Yer parents?” “Yeah. I haven’t thought this much about them in a long time. I don’t know what’s wrong with me. I should be so happy… but… but I’m not.” “Why didn’t ya tell us, Scoot?” “What?” “Why didn’t ya tell us about yer parents? Sweetie Belle and Ah would’a helped ya, ya didn’t hafta keep it a secret.” “I… I know, AB. I know you would’ve tried to help… it’s just… it’s just so painful to talk about. I never felt comfortable bringing it up.” “Ah’m so sorry, Scootaloo. Ah’m sorry ya had ta go through that. Ah’m sorry Ah couldn’t help ya before.” Applebloom tried to smile for her friend, but could only watch in dismay as Scootaloo buried her face into her mane. Applebloom felt tears starting to wet her fur. “Scoot? You alright?” “It… it hurts so much, Applebloom. It won’t… it won’t stop.” “Oh, Scoot. Ah know. Ah know it hurts. Ah never even knew mah parents. At least you got ta know them. You got ta know what they were like.” “I think that makes it worse. You never knew your parents, so you never had to lose them. I did… I… it just hurts so much.” Applebloom hugged her friend a little tighter. “You’re a great friend, Scootaloo. You don’t deserve this.” “I can’t… I can’t help it. Every time I think of them I feel terrible. I feel like… I feel like I’m betraying them. I don’t even understand it.” “Don’t ya wanna live with us?” “I do. I really do. I can’t… I can’t help it, AB. I mean, they loved me. They loved me and now that I’m living here… it feels like… it feels like I’m turning my back on them.” Both fillies were silent for several moments. “You must think I’m such a wimp.” “No.” Applebloom ran a hoof through her friend’s mane, trying to put on a brave face for her sake. “Yer not a wimp, Scoot. Ah think… Ah think yer parents would want ya here. They would want ya to be happy. They would want ya to be in a good home.” “Th-thanks, Applebloom.” Scootaloo smiled painfully, prompting another hug. “You’re a great friend.” “Ah don’t like seein’ ya like this, Scoot… Ah… Ah care a lot about ya.” Scootaloo looked up. Despite the lack of light, she could see her friend’s face. There was concern there, buried deep within her eyes. For a second, Scootaloo swore she could see a sparkle there, as if some unseen flicker of light had glinted off a stray tear. “I… I care a lot about you too, Applebloom.” Scootaloo saw her friend smile, as if that was just what she wanted to hear. She didn’t know why she had said it, it just felt… right. Suddenly, Scootaloo was very aware of how close they were to each other. They both lay in each other’s embrace. She could feel Applebloom’s soft coat against her own. She could see her friend’s face mere inches from her own. Applebloom moved so slowly that Scootaloo wasn’t even aware she was moving until it became increasingly obvious. She watched as her face drew even closer; as if she could feel the mere inches between them slowly dropping away. Their breath mingled together between them. Scootaloo could sense it on her nose. Applebloom closed her eyes; she was almost on top of her friend. Applebloom’s face grew to fill Scootaloo’s vision before she too let her eyelids fall. When they kissed, it felt like the most natural thing in the world.