Chapter 3
The Sleepover
“Alright!” Apple Bloom shouted, pumping her hoof in the air, “I’ve been dyin’ ta do somethin’ like this!” The filly raced up the ramp to the Cutie Mark Crusaders clubhouse, her hooves thundering across the wood.
Sweetie Belle grinned and bounced excitedly next to Scootaloo, keeping pace with the slowly cantering pegasus. “Aren’t you excited, Scoots?”
“Sure am,” she said, “Gotta make up for missing Wednesday.”
“Yeah, Apple Bloom’n I missed having you there. But you’re probably glad you didn’t come; my sister gave us make-overs.”
Scootaloo stuck out her tongue and made a retching noise, her eyes bugging out. “Yeah, maybe it was for the best.” Sweetie Belle giggled lyrically and the her friend grinned. They got to the ramp and Scootaloo sighed as her muscles ached in protest, going up the incline.
“You feelin’ alright, Scoots?”
“Yeah. I just hurt all over after yesterday.” She ruffled her wings and winced. “Rainbow Dash said It’ll get a little easier after I’ve been workin’ for a while.”
“It’s still so cool you’re learning to fly from Rainbow Dash,” the unicorn gushed, hurrying up to the landing. She turned and waited at the top, her eyes shining brightly. “I wish I had a magic coach. Mom and Dad are so busy I never really get a chance to learn anything from ‘em. Rarity’s the same way.” Sweetie huffed, but the smile didn’t leave her face. “Rainbow Dash is the best flyer around; it must be amazing learning from her.”
Scootaloo got to the landing and shook out her legs. The ache in her limbs had taken on a sharper quality throughout the day. When she was still she felt close to normal, but when she moved it was like she was trying to lift Big Macintosh off the ground. “So far all it’s been is painful.” She wrenched her head to the side and groaned in satisfaction as a ripple of pops ran up her neck. “Well, let’s go inside. Apple Bloom’s shaking the whole tree waitin’ for us.”
They joined the excitedly vibrating earth pony inside and sat in a circle, clacking their hooves together and shouting, “Cutie Mark Crusaders Sleepover!” in unison.
Apple Bloom asked, “So whaddya girls wanna do first? We got stuff for s’mores, we could tell ghost stories, play games…”
“It’s not even dark yet,” Scootaloo reasoned, “So let’s wait on the campin’ stuff. Why don’t we play a game?”
Sweetie Belle nodded. “Wanna go play tag?”
The pegasus’ sore shoulders and hips groaned in protest. “How ‘bout something that doesn’t require moving?” She grimaced. “I’m sorry. I dunno how much fun I’m gonna be until I get used to all this exercising.”
Apple Bloom smiled apologetically and put a hoof on the filly’s shoulder. “That’s alright. Flyin’s really important to ya, Scoots; I know I’m not gonna give ya a hard time for workin’ yourself ragged for it.” Sweetie nodded emphatically in agreement. “I got some board games. We could play Basilisks and Ladders?”
Scootaloo smiled warmly at her friends. “You girls are the best.” Apple Bloom bounced to her hooves and hurried over to a shelf. She pulled out several board game boxes and carried them over to her friends on her back. The three fillies ran through the stack, pausing only to light their lantern when it got too dark to read the spaces, talking and laughing the whole time.
Sweetie Belle giggled, exclaiming, “You stung my bumblebee!” pulling the last piece from the board in a gentle glow of magic. “You win, Scootaloo.”
Apple Bloom boxed up the game and cantered over to the table, picking up the lantern in her teeth. She set it down in the center of the group and pulled the lid off. She turned up the flame until it was just licking the top of the lantern and grinned. “Y’all wanna make s’mores now?” At their nods she tossed Scootaloo a bag of marshmallows and hoofed over some sticks.
Scootaloo pulled the bag open and grinned maliciously. “So how ‘bout some ghost stories?”
Sweetie Belle shivered. “I’m still getting over the Olden Pony story. Is there somethin’ else we can do?”
“We could play Truth or Dare,” chimed Apple Bloom, squishing a marshmallow onto the end of her stick. “That’s always fun.”
Sweetie Belle beamed. “Okay!” Scootaloo shrugged and nodded, rotating her marshmallow over the small flame. “Who goes first?”
“Apple Bloom!” Scootaloo shouted, “Truth or Dare?”
“Dare!”
“I dare you too…” she cast her eyes around the clubhouse, her face lighting up with a grin when she spotted the broken wheel, all that remained of their ill-fated golden apple float, propped up against the wall. “…Ride that wheel like a unicycle with your forehooves!”
“That’s easy!” the earth pony hopped up and trotted briskly to the wheel. She grabbed onto the axle with her forelegs and kicked off the ground. Long red tail flopped onto the back of her head, Apple Bloom tottered around the clubhouse, zigging and zagging on the wheel. “See, what I tell ya? Piece a caa—!” Apple Bloom’s center of gravity teetered backwards and the wheel shot out from under her. It skidded into the wall and fell to an axle, wobbling like a top, while the filly fell to the floor with a thud. Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo hid their snickers behind forehooves while Apple Bloom rubbed her sore rump.
“Go ahead an’ laugh, girls,” she muttered. Her friends collapsed onto their backs, cackling madly. Apple Bloom’s frown slowly cracked and she rejoined the circle, laughing with them. Eventually the two sat back up, wiping the mirth from their eyes and grinning. “Alright, ya got me. Sweetie Belle! Truth or Dare!”
The filly rubbed her chin with a hoof, her lower lip pursed out. “Truth, I guess.”
Apple Bloom’s smile became predatory. “Between me an’ Scoots, who do ya like the best?”
Scowling, Sweetie Belle huffed. “That’s so not a fair question. Dare, then.”
Jumping back to her hooves, Apple Bloom grabbed Sweetie Belle by the shoulders and whispered into her ear. Scootaloo watched the unicorn’s eyes shrink to pin pricks. Her face lit up. “What is it?!”
Sweetie Belle opened her mouth, but Apple Bloom clamped a hoof over it. “You’ll see Scootaloo. S’mores first!” After they ate their treats, Apple Bloom turned the flame on the lantern down to a low flicker and skipped outside.
Scootaloo followed the other two fillies from the clubhouse, a questioning eyebrow raised as they quietly made their way through the orchards. They entered the farm yard and snuck towards the house, creeping over to a pile of hay. Apple Bloom surreptitiously peeked over their cover. The farmhouse lay dark against the evening sky, a lone beam of amber shining bright from an upstairs window.
“Perfect!” Apple Bloom chimed, her voice pitched in a low stage whisper. “Looks like my big sis is still awake. Alright, Sweetie Belle, go for it!”
The filly swallowed heavily, craning her neck around the hay before slowly crossing the thirty feet of open space between their hiding spot and the front porch.
Scootaloo’s raised brow grew higher. “What’s she—”
“Hush, Scoots. Just you watch an’ see,” Apple Bloom said with a small giggle.
The little unicorn, head low to the ground and tail tucked around her, took quick but tiny steps, closing the gap as quickly but quietly as possible. At the edge of the porch, Scootaloo could see her friend’s chest heave in and out with several deep and steadying breaths. A trembling hoof settled on the step up to the landing and slowly pulled Sweetie Belle onto the porch. With tiny, controlled steps, she made her way soundlessly to the house. She rose onto her hindlegs and grasped the pull-string to the brass bell hanging by the door in her teeth. Scootaloo’s grinning face, stained with mischief, turned towards Apple Bloom. “Ding dong ditch?”
“Yep,” she snickered, “Three times.”
“You’re evil.”
“Why, thank you kindly.”
Sweetie Belle’s chest heaved with a deep breath and she swung her head violently, bringing the bell to riotous life. She dropped the chord from her jaw and sprang off the porch, galloping with abandon across the yard. The jangling continued to roll through the air as she dived head first into the hay pile, wriggling out the other side to join her friends, stray bits of gold caught in her mane.
They peered around the edges of their cover, watching light flood out of the bay window. Applejack’s silhouette was framed in the open doorway. Her Stetson turned side to side as she searched the porch. The fillies heard indistinct muttering as Applejack shut the door. The downstairs window went dark a moment later.
Apple Bloom stifled a giggle behind a hoof. “Alright, now go do it again.”
“Wait a minute!” Sweetie Belle balked, “Let her get all the way upstairs first!” Scootaloo joined the earth filly in clamping hooves over muzzle, playfully poking Sweetie in the ribs. “Knock it off, I’ll go in a minute!” she hissed.
After several minutes of silence from the house, Sweetie Belle stepped with trepidation from their hiding spot, her trek across the yard even more skittish. Scootaloo and Apple Bloom both had their hooves shoved tightly against their mouths to contain their laughter, tears springing to their eyes from the strain. The little unicorn got back to the porch, her small frame vibrating with nervousness. She grabbed the cord and rung the bell again, launching herself from the porch after two rings.
She tripped over her hooves and went sprawling in the dirt halfway to the hay pile. Scootaloo and Apple Bloom both lost the reins on their giggles as she scrambled back to standing and hurled herself the rest of the distance, collapsing against the two laughing fillies and taking large gulps of air. They quieted down, watching the light flood the yard again.
“Anypony out there?” The farm pony’s voice was tinged with annoyance. She thunked the door shut and cast the yard back into darkness. The three could hear the sound sound of tromping hooves going up stairs dully reverberating from the house.
“Aw man, she’s mad now, AB,” Sweetie Belle whispered with worry, “I did it twice, that’s good enough.”
“The dare was three times.” Apple Bloom smirked wickedly. “Or do ya want to tell us which one you like the best?”
The filly grumbled loudly. “Alright, alright. But I’m gonna wait a while, so she’ll calm down.”
They hunkered down to wait, watching the house around the hay. The adrenaline slowly worked its way out of Sweetie Belle’s system, her jitters ebbing away and her breathing evening out. After a while, she set her jaw and headed across the yard, her steps quiet, but bold. Easing onto the porch, she turned and waved with a grin on her face. As she grasped the string, the door swung open.
“Aha!” Applejack shouted. Sweetie Belle shrieked and scrambled backwards, taking off across the yard. Scootaloo and Apple Bloom joined her gallop back through the orchards, the mare’s cry of, "Apple Bloom! Y'all girls better knock it off, 'fore I tan your hide!" echoing through the trees. They giggled madly as they ran back to the clubhouse, flopping around the lantern’s tiny light and breathing heavily.
“Alright, Scoots,” Sweetie Belle said with a breathless chuckle, “Truth or Dare?”
The pegasus’ muscles screamed in protest when she sat up. “Ooh, better go with truth. And don’t you make me have to choose between you two or anything.”
Sweetie sat up, rubbing her face with a hoof. “I can’t think of any questions…You have any, Apple Bloom?”
Eyes lighting up, Apple Bloom leaned forward over the lantern. “I got a good one.”
Scootaloo groaned. “You’re gonna ask me somethin’ awful and make me do a dare, aren’t you? Everything hurts, AB!”
“Okay, how’s this? I’ll ask a question we all haveta answer an’ I’ll go first. That fair?”
Frowning and nodding appreciatively, Scootaloo said, “Alright, shoot.”
“Do y’all have a crush on anypony an’ who d’ya think’s the cutest colt in class?” Apple Bloom giggled, a tinge of pink coloring her cheeks. “I Pinkie Promise it’ll stay between us if’n y’all do, too.”
Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle exchanged a wide-eyed glance. They turned to Apple Bloom and nodded mutely. The three mimed the promise’s hoof motions together before Apple Bloom gushed, “I got a crush on Rumble.” Her muzzle burned red as she bounced in her seat. “He’s such a cute colt, an’ he ain’t got his cutie mark neither!” She giggled and clapped her forehooves together.
Sweetie Belle smiled warmly. “Rumble’s a great choice! He’s really nice.”
“Yeah, he is,” Scootaloo agreed, “You gonna ask him to be your special somepony, Apple Bloom?”
The filly flinched, her blush darkening to match her brother’s coat. “I couldn’t do that!” she cried. “What if he said no? I’d be too embarrassed. I wouldn’t be able to show my face at school ever again!”
Frowning, Scootaloo placed a hoof on her friend’s shoulder. “It wouldn’t be that bad, AB. Nopony would laugh at you about it. They’d all forgot it happened a week later, even if Rumble told his friends.”
Sweetie Belle nodded, her hoof settling on the other shoulder. “And I know if somepony I wasn’t interest in asked me on a date, I wouldn’t go around telling everypony about it and hurting their feelings. Rumble’s a nice colt; he wouldn’t do somethin’ mean like that.”
She gave her friends a tentative smile. “Thanks girls. But I couldn’t say anythin’ to him; I’d be too nervous. So how ‘bout you, Scoots? Who d’ya have a crush on?”
Scootaloo pulled her hoof away and bit her lip. She shrunk down in her sitting position. “I…don’t, really.”
“Aw, c’mon Scoots!” Apple Bloom chimed, the color already gone from her cheeks. “There’s gotta be somepony that caught yer eye!”
She shifted on her haunches, casting her eyes down. “Not really. I mean, Rumble’s nice and so’s Featherweight, but I haven’t thought about, like, goin’ on dates with them…I haven’t thought about that at all.” Her eyes wavered; she felt like a little foal.
Apple Bloom frowned. “I don’t believe it; c’mon Scoots we Pinkie Promised not ta tell. We won’t make fun of ya.”
“I believe her,” Sweetie Belle said gently, Scootaloo lifting her head at the tone. “I believe her, ‘cause I haven’t thought about it either. A lot of the colts at school are nice, but I just haven’t felt like that towards any of ‘em.”
Apple Bloom’s eyes were wide and her jaw was slack. “You mean neither of you’ve thought about dates or if somepony was cute?” Scootaloo shook her head. A frown creased Sweetie Belle’s muzzle and she opened her mouth, but quickly snapped it shut and shook her head as well. “Well, alright then…I guess it’s your turn now, Scoots.”
The game petered out after a handful of questions and dares apiece and devolved into idle conversation and laughter. When the flame of the lantern began to gutter from a lack of oil, they rolled out their sleeping bags and curled up to sleep. After getting comfortable, Scootaloo groaned and scooched her way out of the bag and ran through her fifty wing-jacks and stretches. Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle bit their lips to keep from chuckling. Scootaloo hurried through the routine and to her relief found it easier than the previous evening. Once finished, she snuggled back into her bag next to her friends, and they talked in whispered giggles into the night.
A skittering squeak roused Scootaloo to wakefulness. She perked her head up and peered through the inky night towards the door. A lone branch from a neighboring tree rattled against the door frame in the wind, its bare ends dragging along the boards of the clubhouse. The filly rolled her eyes and flopped back against her pillow. The breeze ruffled her mane and she rolled away, facing Sweetie Belle’s quivering bag. She raised an eyebrow.
Before she could open her mouth to see if the unicorn was awake, Sweetie Belle rolled over and wrapped a foreleg around Scootaloo. The filly’s shivering subsided as she pulled Scootaloo closer in her sleep.
Scootaloo blinked rapidly, pressed up against her friend’s bag. She moved to pull away but Sweetie Belle’s grip tightened. Slowly, she nestled back into the bag’s pillow, wide-eyed and watching Sweetie’s face as she slept.
A smile spread across her muzzle as she quietly lay in her friend’s embrace. In the added warmth, her eyelids grew heavy and she slowly nodded off to sleep.