Scootaloo awoke late the next morning in a haze, and threw herself from the warmth of her bed. Sweetie Belle had said to meet her early that morning, although she never fully explained the exact time which early meant. Barely giving a second thought to her morning routine and still not fully awake, she forgot to comb her already unkempt mane, which seemed even messier than normal.
Somehow, perhaps in her sleep or because of a sudden realization when she awoke, she had decided on informing Sweetie Belle of the situation before their date began, and then moving forward from there. Although she did not have any idea on how the filly would react or what exactly to go about doing next, it seemed to be the easiest and simplest way to tell her before they advanced any further.
The cool morning air with a lingering dampness about it, cleared away the fog of a rather sleepless night from her head. She immediately realized that although the heavy clouds of the previous night had now dissipated and the sun shone brightly upon the world around her, the storm must have been much more powerful than planned. With the help of a rather jumbled weather team, still scratching their heads about the mistake, the townsponies went about cleaning up its destruction.
Scootaloo’s eyes traveled across the scene in observation as she made her way towards Rarity’s boutique in which Sweetie Belle was spending the weekend. Large branches, broken off of the trees by the heavy winds, were scattered across the street. Ponies milled about them, either moving the branches to the side or hauling them off to be cut. Along with the branches, the path was peppered with bright green buds and young leaves. It oddly looked as though it was fall once again with the exception of green rather than the vivid shades of red, orange, and yellow. She tried her best to maneuver around the large, murky puddles as she came across them, but couldn’t escape receiving a little splatter upon her hooves. The liquid felt cool and almost grainy as it spattered up onto her fur. Her ears were filled with a few exhausted voices and the rushing of the much less stagnant water on either side of the road as it quickly traveled to lower ground.
The sun seemed to grow even brighter as the tiered, brightly patterned exterior of the seemingly unaffected Carousel Boutique came into view. Scootaloo squinted in the almost painful light as she approached its entrance. Before her hoof could event touch the handle, the door burst open, causing her to retreat backwards ever so slightly.
“Scootaloo!” Sweetie Belle squeaked joyfully, pouncing onto her like Rarity’s cat, except much less menacingly and nearly as painful. Scootaloo weakly returned the hug, the nauseous, uneasy sensation of anxiety taking over. “You okay? I hope you didn’t catch a cold or something because I made you stand out in the rain…I’d feel horrible,” she said with a frown as she examined the visible circles beneath her strained, glassy eyes.
“Nah…I’m fine. Just didn’t sleep very well,” Scootaloo mumbled in a failed attempt to widen her eyes.
“Yeah, I didn’t sleep well either. I’m just as nervous as you, if not more. But it’s not like we haven’t spent time together, right? It’ll be just like when we were friends except…well, now it’s more than that!”
Scootaloo opened her mouth to speak, but was unable to force out any words before being dragged, nearly against her own will, into the shop. She knew exactly what she had to tell the young unicorn, but instead of words, there came a painful quickening of her heartbeat and the horrid sensation of near vomiting.
"Have you had breakfast yet? Rarity bought us some pastries and made tea. I was going to cook for you, but…you know.” Sweetie Belle let out a soft, slightly angered sigh and shook her head. “Anyways, it’ll be really nice. We can just relax and talk for a bit.”
“Wait!” Scootaloo yelped, her heart pounding even faster. “R-rarity knows now?”
The excited filly let out a pleasing giggle. “No, of course not. She just thinks we’re spending time together is all.”
The pegasus sighed in relief. “Whew…good.”
Sweetie Belle turned back with a frown as she ascended the stairs towards the guest room, tugging Scootaloo along as she went. “You know, we’re going to have to tell her at some point.”
“But…I…” Scootaloo’s voice faltered as the world around her seemed to spin and blur. She gave herself a shake, hoping to lessen these newfound effects. “...Yeah…I know,” she muttered in defeat. The urge to tell Sweetie Belle the truth became stronger and stronger within her mind, yet her voice and body seemed to have thoughts of the exact opposite.
“You sure you’re doing alright?” Sweetie Belle asked as they reached the second floor, causing the pegasus to realize that she’d just let out a long and rather weak sounding sigh.
“Yeah, of course I am. The tea and stuff should help wake me up,” she explained, displaying an equally weak smile.
“If you say so,” the unicorn said in an almost curious manner as she opened the door to her room and invited her date inside. There was a small but rather elegant tea table set up in its center. Its light pink color unfortunately reminded Scootaloo of the blossoms she had admired at Sweet Apple Acres on the previous day. She gulped softly as her eyes traveled to the steaming white teapot at its center with a floral pattern embossed upon its surface, and the matching tea cups, saucers, and plates for their pastries. Her eyes then met with a flaky, golden brown pile of pastries upon a large silver platter.
Scootaloo’s mouth suddenly and furiously watered as she gazed at the assortment of delectable looking treats. Her previous nausea disappeared altogether. Some were filled with berry jams, others with custards; they were then either drizzled modestly with chocolate or coated lightly with powdered sugar. Her stomach grumbled loudly.
Sweetie giggled. “Wow, somepony must be really hungry. Let’s get to eating, shall we?”
Scootaloo nodded her head vigorously, the thought of food now being pushed to the forefront of her mind. She felt somewhat ashamed, but she had eaten dinner early the previous evening so she could reach the clubhouse on time. She hoped that the new found energy from nourishment and the rush of sugar would better prepare her for her talk with Sweetie Belle. That meant she would wait until they had finished before once again attempting to bring up the elusive subject.
“Would you like some tea as well?” the unicorn asked in a posh accent before giving herself a shake. “Sorry…I think Rarity is rubbing off on me.”
Scootaloo couldn’t help but let out a soft chuckle as a light smile appeared on her face. The pony before her was too adorable for her own good. “Yeah, sure. What kind is it?”
“You’ll see!” the filly said with a squeak, a green aura appearing around her horn and the teapot as it was lifted to Scootaloo’s cup and tea was ever so gently poured out.
“You’re getting really good with your magic, Sweetie Belle!” Scootaloo praised with an approving nod.
The novice unicorn’s cheeks lit up at the compliment and her magic faltered slightly, causing her to nearly drop the pot as she poured her own cup. “Th-thanks, I guess you’re right,” she cooed shyly, setting the now shaking teapot back down.
Scootaloo thought that perhaps she shouldn’t be acting so kind if they weren’t, or may not be, dating, but quickly realized that she would have complimented her just the same as a friend.
“So, are you going to try the tea? I thought you were really curious,” Sweetie Belle questioned, rousing the filly from her thoughts.
The pegasus gave a quick nod before lightly clamping her teeth on the cup’s lip and tilting it slightly back to get a small sip of the steaming, golden green liquid. She allowed it to pool around her tongue for a moment, but quickly swallowed as it began to burn. “Tastes sort of like perfume or something,” she said after setting the cup back down upon its saucer and smacking her lips indecisively.
Sweetie Belle responded with a grin. “No silly, it’s a flower. Jasmine Blossom tea to be exact...I think maybe they use it in perfume sometimes. It’s one of my favorites!”
“It’s pretty good…anyways, let’s get to those pastries, huh?” Scootaloo gave her lips an eager licking and rubbed her hooves together greedily.
“Go right ahead,” Sweetie said with a soft smile after taking a sip from her cup. Scootaloo nearly lunged at the finishing of her sentence and picked out a few of the pastries she had been eyeballing, then placed them upon her plate. Sweetie Belle seized a pastry of her own and watched as the pegasus shoveled the sweet, airy treats into her mouth, one after the other. “You were hungry, weren’t you?” she asked with a giggle to which the filly responded with a muffled grunt and placed another load of pastries onto her already cleaned plate.
The unicorn took this as a queue to continue. “It’s funny, I’ve always really enjoyed Rarity’s cooking, but get extra excited when she buys pastries.” She paused, took a small bite, and then swallowed. “And it’s not just because they taste so good either. I think it must be all the different flavors to choose from…maybe sometimes I eat too many because of that.” She shrugged before taking another sip of her tea. “Am I rambling? Sorry, I’m still sort of nervous.”
Scootaloo looked up with a comforting smile, or it would have been comforting if it weren’t for the many different pastry flake dotted jams and custards slathered around her mouth. “No, it’s okay. I’m listening.” Sweetie Belle responded with a rather strange sounding snort before breaking out into a laugh which caused the pegasus to do the same. This, in turn, created a rather long session of laughter.
“I think you might need this,” Sweetie said with a laugh, levitating a napkin to the filly while she wiped another beneath her watering eyes. Scootaloo followed the suggestion and wiped away her tears as she struggled to hold back another series of laughs. She probably had, but couldn’t remember a time when she laughed so hard. It wasn’t even that funny, she thought to herself before being interrupted as her napkin was engulfed with magical aura and pulled away from her hoof. “No, I meant for your face, silly.”
Scootaloo’s cheeks heated up as the napkin was gently caressed around her mouth, successfully absorbing and wiping away the mess. It was an action she could have easily done herself. She knew she wasn’t a little foal any longer, yet at the same time it felt as though it was a very sweet and genuine gesture. Having similar thoughts, Sweetie Belle paused a moment, her cheeks growing just as red, but then continued. “You’re so cute when you blush!” the unicorn exclaimed, knowing that it would only cause her blush to deepen even further.
“S-shut up…” Scootaloo grumbled, her cheeks growing warmer by the second.
“It’s not a bad thing. It’s just nice to see it when somepony like you actually has some emotion.”
“Has some emotion?” the pegasus repeated curiously.
“Well, you’re always trying to act cool like Rainbow Dash, so seeing you let your guard down is really sweet.”
Scootaloo was about to speak, but suddenly lost herself in thought. She seemed to be connecting with Sweetie Belle much more than she had with Apple Bloom, although it could just be her imagination. “You look really cute when you blush too, ya know,” she said, her heart lurching painfully before quickly picking up its pace, pounding confusedly even faster than before. She hated herself for making the truth even harder to tell, but at the same time, what she had said felt as though it was an accomplishment rather than a hindrance.
“Thanks,” Sweetie mumbled shyly, turning away at the opportune time to miss the strange look which had befallen her date’s face. Scootaloo attempted to collect herself as she continued. “I’m really, really, really glad we’re doing this…I’ve liked you for ages, but just wasn’t sure how to say anything. I hope I don’t jinx us by saying this is going really well so far.”
“Ages?” Scootaloo repeated.
“Yeah, it wasn’t when we first met or anything like that…but not really that long after,” the unicorn said with a shrug.
Scootaloo gulped as quietly as possible, her heart racing even faster. This was yet another reason that she should choose Sweetie Belle instead, or perhaps just an excuse. “I never would’ve guessed.”
“Yeah, probably because I was so nervous that I tried to hide it,” she said with a shameful frown, her green eyes looking even wider and cuter than normal. “We would’ve been together a lot sooner if I wasn’t so shy about it.”
“About that,” Scootaloo stated before freezing with shock, realizing that she’d somehow actually forced out the first couple of words which she’d been urging herself to say since she had arrived. Sweetie gazed forward intently, causing the poor filly to shake slightly beneath the spotlight. “Uh…I…uh…I wanted to say…that doesn’t mean we can’t still make the best of it, right?” She quickly wrapped her hoof around the soft white one which lay nonchalantly upon the table before her as if to prove her point. Scootaloo blinked slowly as she heard an excited gasp expel from the unicorn’s mouth, once again disappointed by her own actions.
As her eye’s reopened, she noticed Sweetie Belle staring back in a dreamy manner. “And how do you plan on doing that?”
Scootaloo sighed, but in content rather than worry, as she leaned forward, making sure not to knock the teapot or any other item upon the table off onto the floor below. Sweetie Belle blushed deeply as the pegasus tilted her head slightly and puckered her lips. She lifted her flank away from her chair and leaned forward as well, giving Scootaloo’s hoof a tight squeeze. Scootaloo’s cheeks lit up as a soft but exceptionally loving moan escaped from Sweetie’s mouth and traveled into her own. Both of their eyes quickly fell shut.
As the deepening kiss continued, seemingly for a rather long, but surprisingly comfortable amount of time, Scootaloo’s mind blazed with thoughts. Perhaps there was some way to date both of them, but not lie? They would surely understand. They were best friends, after all. Maybe all three of them could date one another. Was that possible, or even acceptable? She contemplated the thought for a moment and realized how awkward it would be to explain such a thing to them. Even more awkward than what she already must say. Perhaps keeping it a secret was the best option, even though Rainbow Dash had specifically explained that lying was not good for relationships. She wasn’t necessarily lying though. It was just that nopony had yet asked her. Although that still felt completely wrong.
Scootaloo’s thoughts quickly dissipated as Sweetie Belle broke the kiss while letting out a blissful sigh, and then gazed into her companion’s light purple eyes which were still slightly glazed over with fatigue. “Want some more tea?” she asked, in a rather dreamy tone.
“I’m good,” Scootaloo replied, suddenly realizing her stomach felt as though it was going to burst from all the pastries which had settled within.
“Same here, Rarity said she’d take us to the spa after we finished. I know you’re not really into super girly stuff like that…and we already did have tea which is pushing it; but it is a nice offer and I think it would be fun and relaxing.”
After a nearly sleepless night, the prospect of being pampered, massaged, and then soaking in a tub of steaming water did seem rather enticing to the pegasus. “Sure, why not?” she responded, her smile already giving off a sense of relaxation as she dreamed of the warm embrace of the water.
“Really?” Sweetie asked in both surprise and excitement, nearly jumping out of her seat, then stammering on her hooves as they hit the floor. “Thanks! I promise that on our next date we can do whatever you want because that’s a really important part of a relationship.”
“What is?”
“Making exceptions, of course…or at least that’s what Rarity told me. So then everypony involved can be happy.” Scootaloo thought for a moment and nodded her head in agreement. “Anyways, come on, let’s get going! I’m sure Rarity will be excited too.”
As Scootaloo struggled to stand with the exceptionally large load in her stomach, she came to the conclusion that putting off such an important subject which must be discussed instead of letting the two fillies’ date get any farther, probably wasn’t the greatest of ideas. Perhaps she truly was too tired. Maybe explaining to the fillies the next day would be a better option.