"Come on, Rarity! You can't do this to me! This is so UNFAIR!" Sweetie Belle complained.
The young filly had been released from the hospital earlier that afternoon and was home now. The nurses said she was safe to go home, but they advised that the small unicorn take it easy for a few days; no strenuous activity or anything "too active". They had administered pain medication in case her nose began hurting. Her nose was slightly bandaged, but only on the bridge, allowing her to breathe freely through her nostrils.
Because of the events that had happened, and knowing how "accident-prone" her sister could be at times, especially around her friends, Rarity had placed Sweetie Belle on a temporary "house arrest" for a few days. She had already called and explained the situation to her teacher, Ms. Cheerilee, so she was excused from school for a while. However, the idea of staying cooped up in the Boutique for a few days wasn't settling too well with the young filly.
"Now, I know it seems to be a bit 'unfair,' Sweet'ums, but I'm only doing it because I want your nose to heal properly," Rarity explained, "When you and your friends are together, things tend to get...well...'out-of-hoof,' if you know what I mean."
Sweetie Belle sighed. "I know. I guess I need to be a little more careful, huh?"
"You can say that again," said Rarity with a smile, "Now, I need to work on my latest fashion designs that I had postponed, so, if you need anything, just let me know."
"Okay," the young filly said, "Thanks, Rarity."
With that, Sweetie Belle made her way up the stairs and into her room. When she got there, she closed the door behind her and let out a sigh. She was only in the house for no more than five minutes and she was already annoyed with being there. Having nothing else better to do, she went over to the window and stared out at the busy town.
"Maybe this won't be so bad," she said to herself as she watched all of Ponyville going about their business. Still, she let out a deep sigh and trotted away from the window.
As she thought about it now, being under "house arrest" wasn't such a bad thing after all. For starters, her sister might get so distracted with her outfits that she might actually forget about "Scott." Secondly, she would be able to get her thoughts on Scootaloo in order and where they belonged. Finally, she'd be able to do all of this without having to worry about running into the Pegasus filly in question.
She had spent most of the previous night thinking long and hard about what she had said about Scootaloo. Although the thought of her, falling in love with one of her best friends, had crossed her mind, she hadn't fully accepted the idea. Sweetie Belle, making her way to her bed, tried her best to wrap her mind around all of it. She needed to come to some sort of conclusion and fast!
"Well," she said as she let out one last sigh, "At least it can't get any worse than this."
No sooner did the words leave her mouth that she was startled by the sound of the Boutique's doorbell ringing. Her heart raced as she left her room and made her way downstairs to see who it was.
It's probably just another business pony asking to see one of Rarity's dresses or something. Still, I better check it out, she thought, as she reached the bottom of the stairs. When she did, she let out a gasp of shock as she froze in an instant.
In the doorway of the Boutique, she saw her sister talking with two small fillies that were standing there. She didn't need to see who they were to know that it was Scootaloo and Apple Bloom. She had forgotten all about what she had said to them, that she would see them when she got out of the hospital. Immediately, she hid herself as best as she could and listened to what they were saying.
"Hey Rarity," she heard Apple Bloom say, "Is Sweetie Belle home?"
"Well," Rarity said, a hint of nervousness in her voice, "Yes, she is, but..."
"May we see her?" asked Scootaloo, "We were really worried about her and was hoping we could visit with her."
"I don't know about that," the older unicorn said, "She's still healing and I don't think that will be such a good..."
"PLEASE!" the two fillies said in unison, giving the white unicorn puppy-dog eyes, "WE PROMISE WE'LL BE GOOD!"
Rarity sighed and said, "Very well, but you must promise me that you will not roughhouse or cause any problems. She's still recovering."
"We promise!" they both said. With that, Rarity stepped aside and let them in, an unsure look on her face.
The moment Sweetie Belle saw them running in, she quickly galloped up the stairs and into her bedroom. There, she closed the door and made her way to the bed. Before she could go in it, there was a light knocking on her door. She didn't even have time to answer before it opened, revealing Scootaloo and Apple Bloom standing there, both of them with smiles on their faces.
"Hey, Sweetie Belle," said Apple Bloom, as Scootaloo began to close the door behind them, "How are you feeling?"
"A-alright, I-I guess," she said, trying to avoid looking at them, especially Scootaloo, "I-It still hurts, but not as much as it did before."
"That's good," replied Scootaloo, "At least you're starting to feel better! Don't worry, you'll be fully healed and ready for more Crusading before you know it!"
After Scootaloo closed the door, she trotted over next to Apple Bloom and gave her a sly wink. Since Sweetie Belle was trying to avoid eye contact, she hadn't seen the gesture.
"Well, thanks for visiting, but I...um...err..." said the unicorn filly. She fished her mind, trying to think of something to say. She turned her back on them, trying to figure out some sort of excuse to get them out. Try as she might, she just couldn't think of anything; the surprise and shock was over-clouding her mind.
Before she could even say anything that would be a reasonable excuse, Scootaloo asked her a question, one that stopped her heart in an instant.
Rarity watched, as the two small fillies ran past her and up the stairs, heading towards her younger sister's room. As they galloped up the stairs, Rarity couldn't help but stare with a worried look across her face. She knew what usually happens when the three of them were together, especially in the same room.
"Maybe it'll be alright," she said, trying to reassure herself, "Maybe nothing bad will happen. I really need to stop worrying about them so much."
With that, she began making her way upstairs to her work room to continue working on her latest dress designs. When she reached the top of the stairs, she began to turn right, making her way to her work room. However, she paused and looked to her left in the direction of Sweetie Belle's room. A feeling of doubt began flushing over her; something about the three of them, secluded in one room, especially behind closed doors, just screamed the word trouble.
"Maybe I should check on them," she suggested to herself, "Just to make sure everything is alright. Once I know that they aren't doing anything wrong, maybe my nerves will be at ease."
So, she turned left and headed towards her sister's room. When she was in front of the door, she raised a hoof, ready to knock on the door. However, before her hoof connected with the door, she heard somepony on the other side ask a question that froze her in a heartbeat.
"So, Sweetie Belle, tell us a little bit about Scott."
The moment the question was asked, Rarity's eyes went wide. She nearly had to put both her hooves in her mouth in an attempt to stop a scream that was ready to come out. It wasn't out of shock or even disappointment, but of joy and excitement.
If she won't tell me about Scott, she'll definitely tell her friends all about him, she thought to herself. Now I can finally get to know a little bit about him!
With that, she practically held her breath as she leaned her ear against the door and began listening in to their conversation.