//------------------------------//
// Chapter 15: Heart-to-Heart 
// Story: New Discoveries 
// by Phantom Shadow 
//------------------------------//

	Sweetie Belle's eyes slowly opened as she sat up and rubbed her forehead with a hoof.  She had just woken up from a small nap she had taken; the medication for her nose had a side-effect that made her a bit drowsy.  However, when she looked out her bedroom window, she noticed that it was still night.  Surprised, she looked over at her clock to see that it was a little after 12 now.

Not able to fall back to sleep, she got out of bed and made her way to the kitchen for something to eat and drink.  As she walked out of her bedroom, she saw that the light to Rarity's work room was still on.  However, she didn't hear any noises coming from the room.  A little suspicious, Sweetie Belle walked over to the door and peeked inside.

When she did, she saw that Rarity was asleep on her desk, her glasses that she wore when she worked next to her.  All over the room were different kinds of fabrics and materials she used to make her dresses.  On one of her many mannequins was a dress that she was working on.  It wasn't finished yet but she had to admit to herself: it looked very pretty.

Not wanting to disturb her sister, Sweetie Belle turned off the light and slowly closed the door.  Then, she silently trotted down the stairs to have something light to snack on.  However, before she reached the kitchen, a thought had come across her mind.

She figured that it would be a while before Rarity was confident enough to let her out of the house.  Therefore, she decided to take advantage of this moment and get some fresh air.  So, after having an apple and a glass of water, she slowly opened the back door, stepped outside and closed the door behind her, making sure not to lock it so she can get back in.  Then, she slowly made her way into Ponyville.

As Sweetie Belle made her way into town, she noticed that the city was a lot different at night; there wasn't anypony around and nothing but silence filled the air.  She heard a distant rumble and saw that several storm clouds were approaching on the horizon; no doubt a storm was coming and would probably hit them tomorrow.  However, she didn't think about that now.  All that was on her mind was one thing: Scootaloo.

About five minutes later, she arrived at the fountain in the center of town.  When she got there, she walked over to the ledge of the centerpiece and sat on her haunches, looking at herself in the reflection of the water inside.  As she stared at herself, she couldn't help but let out a deep sigh as the thoughts of the day began rushing through her mind again.

"What am I going to do?" she asked herself in a quiet whisper, "What should I do?  Where do I go from here?"

"I don't know, but one thing's for sure, you shouldn't be here," a voice had answered.

Immediately, Sweetie Belle swung around to confront the voice that had answered her question.  When she did, she was surprised to see that nopony was there.  Her eyes darted back and forth, searching for the pony that had spoken, but saw nothing but an empty town.

"Up here, my little pony," the voice had called, coming from right over her head.

Slowly, Sweetie Belle raised her head up to see who was there.  When she did, she let out a small gasp and immediately bowed her head.

"Princess Luna?" she asked as she looked up at the Alicorn princess above her, "What are you doing here?"

"I could ask you the same question," Princess Luna said, "What are you doing out here at this hour, Sweetie Ball?"

Before she could answer the sapphire-blue pony, she said, "Um...princess...my name is Sweetie Belle, not Ball...how do you know my name?"

Luna landed next to the small filly, her wings resting at her side, "Well, being the princess of the night, it is my royal duty to know everypony's name.  Sorry for the mispronunciation, Sweetie Belle.  Being imprisoned on the moon for so long, I'm still trying to memorize the names.  But, you haven't answered my question: what are you doing here?"

Letting out a small sigh, Sweetie Belle lowered her head and said, "I was just...well...I don't know...thinking, I guess."

"What about?" asked the princess.

"It's kind of hard to say," said the filly, "I don't think you'll understand."

Smiling, Luna said, "Try me."

She let another small sigh.  This would be the first time she had spoken to anypony about what had happened since it started.  Because it was the first time, she didn't know how to begin to explain it.  Eventually, she decided to tell the princess like it was, hoping she'd understand and be able to help her.

"Well, you see...I've developed...um...well...'feelings' for one of my friends..." the filly began, "I don't know why they've started but I've never felt this way about them before."

"What kind of 'feelings?'" the princess asked.

"Well, my heart speeds up, I can't look into their eyes, and when I do look into their eyes, it seems like everything around me just stops; nothing else seems to matter except the two of us."

"That sounds like 'love' to me," Luna said, offering a small smile, "How long have you known your friend?"

"A while, I guess," she said, her voice soft, "It was such a long time ago that I can't really remember how long we've been friends.  Is this normal?  Am I supposed to feel this way about my friend?"

"Well, this sort of thing happens every now and then," explained the princess, "Friends who have known each other for a long time often start to develop feelings for each other, especially at a young age like yours.  There's no need to feel so uncomfortable about it."

Sweetie Belle lowered her head in shame. "Well, to be honest, that's not the real reason why I'm uncomfortable about it."

"Really?" Luna asked as she raised an eyebrow, "Then what's the 'real reason?'"

"You see...um...well..." she stammered, not sure if she could bring herself to say it, "My friend...is...is a...a...is a filly."

Small tears began to stroll down her cheeks as the princess looked at her.  She could tell that the little filly was extremely unfamiliar with what was happening to her.  Seeing her in this state, she decided to let her in on something that she felt she should know.

"Well, that's not..." she began to say.

"I KNOW IT'S NOT NORMAL!" she shouted, interrupting the Alicorn.  She began to cry, tears streaming down her face. "I didn't mean for it to happen, but it did!  What makes it worse is that I've been lying to everypony about it, even to her, pretending it's a colt that doesn't even exist!  Now, everypony knows about him and wants to meet him, and there's no way they can meet somepony that I made up!  I don't know what to do, I just don't know!"

Then, she lowered her head into the ground and continued to cry.  The princess was surprised by her sudden outburst and slowly began to comfort the filly.  She wrapped her wing around her small body, hoping it would ease the sadness that she was going through.  Some time had passed before the crying had died down to a low sobbing.

When Luna was confident the filly was done crying, she said in a soft tone, "I wasn't going to say that, you know."

Sweetie Belle looked up at her, disbelief in her eyes.  All she could do was stare at her, unsure of what she meant or what she was going to say.

Luna cleared her throat and said, "What I was going to say was: that's not as uncommon as you may think it is.  That's nothing to feel uncomfortable about either."

The unicorn filly slowly sat up and asked, "Really?"

The princess nodded with a smile on her face, "This sort of thing happens quite often in Equestria; Mares develop feelings for other mares, just like stallions develop feelings for other stallions.  It's completely normal, especially for fillies and colts at a young age.  For example, another mare had a problem just like you...oh, what was her name...Bam Bam, I think it was...the one with the candies as a Cutie Mark..."

Sweetie Belle thought and said, "You mean, Bon Bon?"

"Yes," she said, slightly blushing at her mistake, "You see, she too had developed feelings for her friend and she's a lot older than you are.  She, too, didn't know what to do about her feelings and lied to everypony about it as well.  But you know what I told her to do?"

The filly searched the ground for an answer.  Then, she looked up at the princess and shrugged.

"I told her to simply tell her friend the truth," she answered, "And I advise you do the same with your friend.  Who knows, maybe she has the same feelings about you."

"But what do I say?" she asked, "How do I tell Scootaloo the truth, especially after lying to her about it for the past few days?  How do I break it to her?"

Sighing, the princess lowered her head and answered, "I'm sorry, Sweetie Belle.  I don't have the answer to that one.  All I can say is that you should follow what your heart tells you.  Granted, your friend, Scootaloo, might not appreciate that you lied to her, but in the end, I'm sure she'll forgive you."

"Follow my heart?" she asked, unsure of what that meant.

The Alicorn nodded.  "Your heart will never steer you wrong, my little pony.  If Scootaloo is as close to you as you say, then she will forgive you for lying to her."

With that, the princess stood up and unfurled her wings.  "Now, I must be off," she said, as she began walking away, "I must complete my nightly duties."

"Okay," said Sweetie Belle, "Thanks for listening and understanding.  I feel better now that I've talked to somepony about this mess."

"You're welcome," said Luna, as she hovered over her, "Just remember that love always finds a way.  Just follow your heart and you'll get through it with your friend just fine.  Now get yourself home, young one.  It's way past your bedtime."

With that, Sweetie Belle turned and began making her way back home.  She didn't know when, or even how yet, but one thing was perfectly clear: she needed to tell Scootaloo the truth.