Apple Bloom sat sipping an energy drink that she’d stored in the clubhouse to keep herself awake as Scootaloo settled into her seat. She was still hazy and barely able to keep her eyes open, but the caffeine in the drink was helping a lot.
“So what’s up Scoots?” She asked bluntly; she didn’t mean to sound annoyed, but she was so tired that everything she said came off as sharp and irritated.
“Silver came to me earlier to apologise, but he looked exhausted like he’d been up all night.” the excited orange filly began.
“Sounds like he really wanted ta see you Scoots…” Apple Bloom’s eyelids fluttered slowly before they snapped back open.
“That’s just what he said before he collapsed.” Scootaloo said as she took a sip of Apple Bloom’s drink.
“Wait, he what?!” Apple Bloom exclaimed in surprise.
“Don’t worry; Mister Bright Ideas was walking by and helped him. He said he’d be ok in a few days.” Scootaloo continued. “But I really hope he gets well soon…”
Their conversation was cut short by the clack of hooves against the wooden steps that led up to the clubhouse’s front door. As the steps drew closer the two fillies fell silent and looked at the door; it took several seconds for the door to open revealing a shaking, sleep deprived Sweetie Belle.
“Oh… hey guys what are you doing here?” Sweetie asked surprised to find her friends sat in the only place she thought she could be alone.
“Scoots was just tellin’ meh all ‘bout her new colt friend. Ain’t that right Scoots?” Apple Bloom nudged her orange friend causing her to blush lightly.
“Go on Scoots, tell Sweetie what happen’d with ya prince charmin’.” She continued and invited Sweetie in, offering her a soda as she did.
“Well he came to see me earlier; he must have searched all over Ponyville because he looked really worn out…” Scootaloo stopped and thought for a brief moment. “Actually he looked like he hadn’t slept in a while; in fact he looked a lot like you do now.” Scootaloo stated as she looked at Sweetie’s tired face.
Sweetie couldn’t deny it, she looked awful; if Rarity had seen her at that moment she would certainly have thrown a fit or worse, she might even have rushed her off to the spa for emergency relaxation treatment. Suddenly an orange hoof waved in front of her face and she found herself muzzle to muzzle with Scootaloo.
“Hey Sweetie, Equestria to Sweetie Belle. Are you still in there?” Scootaloo joked as she crashed Sweetie’s train of thought.
“Huh?.. Eh?” Sweetie shook her head and snapped back into reality, it was then she noticed that she was mere inches away from Scootaloo’s lips and she blushed lightly.
Sweetie could feel the orange filly’s every breath as it gently brushed her fur; it made her little heart race and her cheeks became a furious red. She turned away and rubbed her cheeks in a vain attempt to hide her red face.
“Sorry I kinda zoned out there what were you saying?” she asked trying to distract the others from her asking about her blush.
“… I was saying…” she thought for a moment. “Oh yeah, I was saying that he looked like he had gone through a lot to find me. Oh oh oh! He also said ‘I just had to see you’.” She mimicked in her best male voice.
“Sounds like he really likes ya Scoots.” Apple Bloom teased.
“So do you think you’re falling for him?” Sweetie asked from behind her soda can; she was using it as method of hiding her red face, although it didn’t cover much if anything.
Scootaloo took a few seconds to think and Sweetie’s heart began beating like a drum. ‘What if she does love him?’ the thought seemed to hurt, but she didn’t know why; surely if Scootaloo loved Silver then she should be happy, right? Then why did the thought of her loving him hurt so much Sweetie wondered.
“I don’t know…” Scootaloo answered and Sweetie’s heart nearly stopped.
“What?” the white filly asked nervously, still secretly fearing both possible answers at this moment.
“I don’t know how I feel, but I do think that he’s probably the greatest colt I’ve ever met.” Scootaloo blushed as the confession fell from her lips, but little did she know how much it hurt Sweetie.
Sweetie stared down at the table in front of her then back at the filly she loved; she wanted so badly to tell her the truth, but was too afraid of what she might think and so she suffered the pain alone.
It was at that moment Apple Bloom spoke up with a question that had been bugging her since Sweetie’s arrival.
“So why’d ya come out here at this time o’ night Sweetie?” she asked and Sweetie’s eyes grew wide with surprise and she looked around as if trying to search the walls for a suitable excuse.
“I… Err… couldn’t sleep so I… I… I thought I’d come up with ideas to get our cutie marks.” Sweetie stammered as she answered and secretly wished her farm filly friend would take the excuse at face value.
Her wish was granted as Scootaloo chirped in with her own remark about how she’d snuck into the clubhouse once or twice to write down an idea for a crusade so she wouldn’t forget it or lose the paper. Sweetie wiped the imaginary sweat from her brow and looked back at the orange filly she desired so badly; she seemed so happy when she spoke about Silver.
‘What’s wrong with me?’ Sweetie thought as each word the orange filly said seemed to cut her to the bone; still she bore the heartache for Scootaloo’s sake.
“So how’re we going to get our cutie marks tonight?” Sweetie joked in an attempt to lighten her mood; before she knew it the pain was subsiding and she was back to normal, or as close to normal as she could be.
The fillies continued talking and joking for a few more hours before Apple Bloom decided she was too tired to keep going, and so she left the other crusaders to their own devices while she headed back to her cosy bed. With Apple Bloom gone it wasn’t long before the conversation died down; Scootaloo’s eyelids became heavy and soon she was fighting to stay awake, but it was a futile effort as she quickly found herself lying on the floor with her eyes slowly closing.
Sweetie inched closer to the other filly and gently lifted her head letting it rest on her lap like a pillow.
“You sure this is ok?...” Scootaloo sighed, her voice now barely a whisper as it trailed off and she fell asleep.
Sweetie waited for a few moments making sure that Scootaloo was completely asleep before she finally answered and then it was a whisper so soft that it was barely audible.
“Of course it is… I’d do anything for you…” she smiled and gently ran her hoof through Scootaloo’s purple mane. She knew this moment couldn’t last forever, but still she wished it would. After several minutes of quietly caressing her orange friend’s mane Sweetie shifted her gaze from where her hoof lay and drifted down to the soft lips that she cherished. They were so close, but still so out of reach and that knowledge alone tormented the white filly worse than any prank the bullies at school could pull.
She sighed and resumed stroking her friend’s mane; then an idea struck her. If she was careful and very, very gentle she might be able steal a kiss without waking Scootaloo; it wasn’t like she would ever know, right?
Sweetie leant closer, her breathing slowed and each inch made her heart pound harder; it made every second seem like an eternity. Their muzzles came closer and closer until the tiniest, most minute gap separated their lips.
“Hmmm?” Scootaloo moaned lightly as she stirred; Sweetie was so startled that she jumped straight out of her fur, throwing her head back and hitting it against the wall as she did.
Sweetie sat completely still and watched her friend as she returned to her slumber.
“Phew…” She sighed before relaxing again.
‘That was too close…’ she thought. ‘I’m not trying that again…’ but no matter how much she tried to stop herself from trying again she couldn’t and quickly found herself inching closer to her sleeping friend’s lips once more.
The second assault on Scootaloo’s lips was more successful and Sweetie managed to plant a small kiss before retreating to her original position with crimson cheeks.
“Oh Celestia, I can’t believe I did it…” Sweetie whispered to herself and stroked her lips with her hoof.
Sweetie sat cradling her friend; her cheeks were still a brilliant red as she stared at the lips she had just claimed and she wondered if she could get away with it again, only this time she would make it a slightly longer kiss. She leant closer once again; her lips found their mark easier this time around and she lingered on the sweet sensation of the orange filly’s muzzle pressed against her own. Suddenly she felt Scootaloo returning the kiss.
‘Ohmygosh, ohmygosh, ohmygosh!! She’s kissing me back!’ Sweetie thought and closed her eyes as she enjoyed the feel of her friend’s kiss.
“Mmm…” Scootaloo moaned lightly as she stirred once again causing Sweetie to break the kiss for fear of waking her. “…Sil… Silver…..” The orange filly said as she slept.
“Silver…?” Sweetie quizzed quietly. She felt strangely hurt as name of her alter ego slipped from her beloved’s lips; the fact she was dreaming of Silver made Sweetie feel oddly jealous, even… Angry?
Sweetie gently wiggled out from beneath the other filly and carefully laid her head on a makeshift pillow the she’d made from her crusader cape; Sweetie then picked up another one of their capes, using it as a blanket for her friend and gently tucking her in. Finally leaving a soft kiss on Scootaloo’s forehead, Sweetie left the clubhouse and headed back home.
***
Sweetie inched open the door of her parent’s home being careful to avoid making any noise that could disturb her mother and father; she snuck into the kitchen, sneaking a peek at the clock as she did. To her surprise it was almost six in the morning; she’d spent all night watching Scootaloo sleep.
The memory of her friend’s sleeping face made her blush lightly and put a hoof on her cheeks to conceal the redness; suddenly, she remembered the sensation of the kiss she shared with her friend and became a bright red.
Sweetie shook her head to clear her mind and began sneaking upstairs to her room. As she quietly climbed the stairs she thought about the voice she’d been imagining; it seemed like the voice only came when she was really tired.
‘That must be it.’ She reasoned as she ascended the staircase; again she thought about the voice and tried to convince herself that it was just due to the stress of her constant magic use. Finally, she reached her room and looked at her smaller mirror on her desk; it was still her reflection. Sweetie smiled lightly in relief and turned to her bed. As she lay staring at the darkened ceiling she sighed; the thought of Scootaloo loving Silver more than her still stung and no matter how much she tried to avoid thinking about it, the concern still lingered in the back of her mind. She placed both hooves on her face and took a deep breath.
‘At least she loves a version of me…’ she took a small solace in that thought, but it was only a minor comfort at best. At that moment Sweetie thought about abandoning the spell, but as soon as she’d considered it she remembered the orange filly’s crying face and dismissed the idea; she never wanted to make her cry ever again. Finally, she groaned and turned to face the wall in an attempt to sleep; her eyelids became heavy and she slowly drifted into sleep.