The Unbearable Lightness of Being Sweetie Belle

by Distaff Pope


11. Strange Love

        “Alright, everypony,” Lyra said as she walked through the door to our class, several stacks of papers floating next to her. “So, apparently, you’re all supposed to audition for the big school play next week. Actually, Bright Lights tells me that the audition is required to pass the class, so…” She started floating booklets over to everypony in the class. “You should probably get to reading the script.”

        “Are you kidding me?” Dazzler said from her spot in the class as far away from me as possible. The anger in her face melted away after a second, and a smiling mask replaced it. “I mean… Couldn’t you have told us about this earlier? You know, in between lectures about humans.”

        “Sorry, Dazzler,” Lyra said, frowning as she finished passing out the scripts. “I know, I messed up; but on the bright side, everyone is working with the same handicap. Except Bright Lights, I guess.”

        “Great,” Dazzler said, irritation slipping into her voice. “Care to tell us what part you’re going after, so we don’t waste our time?”

        “Actually, I won’t be auditioning,” Bright Lights said, causing a few students to murmur in surprise. “Since the acting teacher is supposed to direct the play, I’ll be… the assistant director, and that wouldn’t be fair to anypony if I auditioned and was the assistant director. That’s… I think that’s a pretty clear conflict of interests. Besides, I always wanted to try my hoof at directing… I mean, assistant directing.”

        “Right,” Lyra said as the class’s attention shifted back to her. “So… Just do your best, and I’m sure you’ll be fine. All you have to do to pass is audition; you don’t actually have to get a part.”

        “That’s good,” Diamond Tiara said, flipping through the script. “Because it looks like there are only eight speaking parts in this play.”

        “Anyways,” Lyra said, clapping her hooves together. “Today we’re going to be talking about…” She glanced at Bright Lights. “What are we going to be talking about again?”

        Bright Lights sighed and floated a few sheets of paper over to Lyra’s desk. “Method acting.”

        “Right, so we’re going to be talking about method acting, which is kind of like… Imagine you had to play a human in a play…” The class groaned as the focus of the lecture shifted from acting to humans. Again.

***

        The bell rang. “So,” I said, kissing Tiara’s neck before continuing. “What part do you think you’ll try out for? I think you’d make a great Green Hoof.”

        Tiara laughed. “You really think I should try out to be the leading mare in a musical? Sweetie, I can’t sing. I can barely act.”

        “Come on,” I pleaded as we trotted towards the exit. In one corner of the room, Bright Lights was talking with Lyra about something, occasionally glancing in my direction. “You’re great. I’m sure you can get any part you want.”

        “Sweetie, you’re only saying that because we’re dating,” Tiara said, rolling her eyes before nuzzling at my neck. “You’re great at a lot of things, but being impartial isn’t one of them.”

        “I don’t have to be impartial to know that you’re super-great and can get anything you want,” I said as we reached the door.

        “Sweetie Belle!” a voice from behind me yelled. I turned around to see Bright Lights trotting towards me. “I need to talk to you for a minute, if that’s okay with your…” She gestured a hoof towards Diamond Tiara. “Marefriend?”

        Tiara nodded. “That’s fine.” She leaned in next to my ear and whispered. “Don’t kiss her.”

        “I wasn’t going to,” I squeaked as Tiara trotted out of the room before turning my attention back to Bright Lights. “Sorry, what did you want to talk about?”

        “You… or your audition. I guess… I’d like you to try out for the part of Green Thumb.”

        “What?” I asked, my ears perking up and my jaw actually dropping. “But… I’m not a good actress. Why would you want me to try out for the lead? Are you planning some kind of prank? Am I going to end up on a stage coated in red paint?”

        Bright Lights stared at me, forehead scrunched up as she tried to follow my thinking. “Why would I… No. No, this isn’t a prank. The play’s a musical, and I think the lead needs to be a strong singer. You’re the strongest singer in the class, and you’re also the most improved actor. I think you can do the part justice, and I’d like to see try out for it.”

        She frowned as she studied the doubt on my face. “You came here wanting to be an actor, right?” I nodded at her. “And… I admit your acting left a lot to be desired when you first got here, but you’ve improved a lot since then, and you’re a great singer. Can you look me in the eye and tell me there isn’t even a little bit of you that wants to be a Bridleway actor? Can you honestly say the idea of performing for hundreds – no, thousands – of ponies doesn’t send a shiver of excitement up your spine?”

I shook my head. I tried to do what she said, but just thinking about all those ponies watching me, hanging off of every word I said made my heart pound a little faster. “No, it definitely sounds fun, I’m just… I don’t know if I’m good enough–”

        “But I’m telling you you’re good enough,” Bright Lights said, interrupting me. “Sweetie, after we have our run in Ponyville, we’ll be playing in the Royal Canterlot Theater for Princess Luna for one night only.” Bright Lights sidled up next to me as my head filled with images of me performing in the oldest theater in Equestria. “Imagine it, Sweetie, for one night, your name will be lit up in lights, the cream of the Canterlot nobility will all come to see you perform, and if you trust me, you’ll receive a standing ovation by the princesses. Even if you never want to act again, can you imagine how wonderful it will be for your career? Everypony will want you to play for them; you’ll be able to get whatever you want.”

        “I don’t know,” I said, struggling not to smile at the idea of my name in lights. Performing for all those ponies would definitely be fun, but… my life wasn’t that bad now, and I didn’t want to agree to anything without talking to my friends. “It sounds really fun, but…”

        “Fine,” Bright Lights said, her smile cracking. “If not for you, then… could you do it for me? Please? I want this show to be successful. More than anything, I want it to go right, and… I know we don’t spend much time together, but… I hoped you could help me.” Her whole body deflated. “I’m sorry for bothering you, go have fun with your marefriend.”

        “Well, you just want me to audition, right?” I asked. If all I had to do to make her happy was audition… Besides, the idea of getting to sing in the Royal Canterlot Theater… that was like a dream come true.

        “That’s all I want,” Bright Lights said, the smile returning to her face, “Although…” She shook her head. “Nevermind.”

        “What is it?” I asked, panicking as her smile began to evaporate. “Tell me what you want. There’s no harm in telling me, right?”

        “I was just thinking… Obviously, I’m going to be impartial when I decide who plays what role, but I could help you get ready for the audition. You don’t want to embarrass yourself when you do audition, right?” Bright Lights asked, something I couldn’t recognize glinting in her eyes.

        “Uhmm… I’m mainly auditioning as a favor to you,” I said, frowning.

        “Right, so… Could you please do a few rehearsals with me before the audition? I just want you to be as good as possible.”

I was about to tell her I had a lot of plans this week, but then I saw the pout on her face, and something inside me got all buttery and warm. She was so cute and kind, and Tiara and the rest of my friends would understand if I took some time to help Bright Lights. (I really needed to figure out if she preferred being called Bright or Lights.) “I guess I can help, but I’m also doing a few shows this week, and–”

“That’s fine,” Bright Lights said, her ears perking up. “I know you have work, I’ll just help when you have some free time. What are you doing after school?”

“Well, Tiara, Melody, and I were going to have dinner at Hayburger before one of my shows…” I said, frowning and guessing what she was about to say next.

“I understand you want to spend time with your… friends?’ Bright Lights asked, tilting her head at that. “But… perhaps I could come with you while you look through the script? Would that be okay?” Okay, so that actually wasn’t what I thought she’d say. It was definitely better.

“I guess we can do that,” I said, turning to look back at the door. “Just… It’s kind of supposed to be a date thing. The three of us have been trying to spend more time together, and–”

“Sorry,” Bright Lights said, trotting after me. “Are you saying you’re dating two mares at once and that… they’re okay with it?”

“Uh-huh,” I said, walking down the hall of our school. “I mean… Diamond Tiara had some issues with it at first, but she’s gotten a lot better about it lately. Ooh, just the other day, I caught Melody leaning into Tiara, and they’re really kind of cute when they don’t think I’m watching… Not that I secretly watch them to make sure they’re getting along.”

“Of course,” Bright Lights said, catching up with me and moving to walk by my side. Was she walking too close to me? Not that I was complaining, but… “So… are you just dating the two of them, or can you date other ponies as well?”

“No, I can totally date whoever if I clear it with Diamond Tiara… and Melody, I guess, but she doesn’t care as much. Why do you ask?” And didn’t she usually take another route to get to her next class? I wasn’t sure because we didn’t talk much, but I usually didn’t see her when I walked to my music class.

Bright Lights frowned for a second. “There’s… no reason, really, just curious.”

“Okay,” I said, turning to another hallway and catching sight of Melody waiting for me in front of the music class. The second our eyes met, my pace quickened and I felt little butterflies of excitement come to life in my stomach. A second later, my foreleg was wrapped around her neck, and our lips were pressed together. We… I kind of got in trouble if I did too much kissing in school, but nopony usually complained if it was short and sweet, although all kisses are pretty sweet. At least, all the ones I had were pretty sweet, maybe I should – what does Life Bloom say? – increase my sample size. No, I couldn’t do that without talking to Diamond Tiara, and she probably probably wouldn’t be up for kissing experiments, no matter how fun they are.

“Hey,” Melody said, pulling away from me as our (too short) kiss ended. She turned her head to look at Bright Lights, standing next to me. “You look… really familiar, but I haven’t seen you at the lunch table. Are you a new friend of Sweetie Belle’s?”

Bright Lights returned the smile. “I’d certainly enjoy that, but right now, I’m just a concerned assistant director trying to make sure the school’s end-of-the-year play is as good as it can be.”

“Of course, we’re friends,” I said, turning to look from one of my marefriends to Bright Lights. “I mean… if you want to be friends, I’d totally love to have you around. I think we have enough space for one more pony at the lunch table, but some of us might have to squeeze together.”

“I wouldn’t mind having to squeeze against you,” Melody said without missing a beat. That was so sweet of her offering to… Or maybe she just wanted the chance to eat lunch all pressed up against me. It was probably that last one. I mean, if I was her, I’d totally jump at the chance to press-up tight against my marefriend and spend all of lunch feeling the warmth of her body, the softness of her fur, and… Was it lunchtime yet? Could I spend music class leaning against her? Vinyl didn’t usually care what we did as long as we did the work and–

“Well, I’m sure you’ve got to get to your next class,” I said, tugging Melody towards the room with my magic. “We don’t want to be late for music class, right Mels?”

Melody sighed at the nickname, but the feeling of my hoof brushing against her flank made her sigh for… different reasons. She really liked it when I did that, and… yeah, I can totally understand why. “Sweetie, what’s gotten into you?” she asked as I shepherded her into the classroom, leaving a confused Bright Lights behind.

“Oh, well, I got to thinking about you pressed up all against me at lunch, and how super great it would be to full your warm fur against mine, and I started feeling all kind of warm and flustered, and–” I was interrupted by a kiss to my cheek.

“We can talk about this later, if you want, alright, Sweetie Belle?” she said, pulling away from me and giving me a tiny smile that didn’t come with teeth. “If… No, I’d prefer it if we talked about that privately.”

“Why?” I asked, tilting my head at her. “What could be so bad that…” I paused as I dimly recalled Rarity’s talk from a few months ago. Something in my gut told me this had something to do with that. Maybe I should ask her more about what two mares could do, because if it was as fun as kissing, it couldn’t be that bad. We’d definitely have to talk more about that later. I smiled at Melody in understanding and nodded. “Got it,” I said, turning and looking at the front of the class as the bell rang.

***

        “So, Sweetie,” Diamond Tiara asked as I sat down for lunch. “What did the teacher’s pet want?”

“I don’t know if I’d call her the teacher’s pet,” I said, setting my tray down in front of me. “I mean, she really does most of the teaching in class… I think teacher’s assistant would be a better way of describing her.”

        Tiara rolled her eyes at me. “Okay, whatever. What did she want?”

        “She uhmm… she wants me to audition  for the lead in the school play. Also…” I gestured towards the pony taking a cautious step over to our table. “She kind of asked if it’s okay to sit with us. It’s okay, right?”

        I caught a scowl flicker across Diamond Tiara’s face for a second. “It’s fine, I don’t know where she’s going to sit with this table being so crowded though.”

        In response, I wrapped my forelegs around both her and Melody, and drew them against me. Also, being sandwiched between my marefriends felt way nicer than I imagined, and I imagined it feeling pretty nice. Ooh… Maybe I could organize a group kissing session after I was done practicing with Bright Lights. Or maybe I could convince Tiara to let Bright Lights join our group. Tiara and Melody were already getting along okay, so maybe I could add more ponies to the mix? More ponies would be fun. More ponies are always fun.

        “You don’t have to make room,” Bright Lights said gesturing to Socket’s usual spot. “It doesn’t look like anypony’s sitting here.” Huh… where was he at? Was he sick or…

        “Scootaloo,” I said, looking at the pony sitting directly across from me. “Was Socket here today? Is he sick? Should we stop by and visit him, or...?”

        “He was at his class today,” Scootaloo said, shrugging. “But he also said he wanted to meet up with the engineering club, so… maybe he’s doing that.” She kind of trailed off and went back to pushing her food around her lunch tray.

        “Alright…” I said, narrowing my eyes at my friend. My gut told me something was on her mind, but… we could probably talk about it later. I turned to look at Bright Lights. “So… what’s up?”

        Bright Lights smiled at me and my stomach got all fluttery while my head went light. “You invited me to have lunch with you, and I simply had to take you up on that offer.” She glanced at Tiara. “Of course, if I’m not wanted here, I’ll gladly leave.” I turned to look at Tiara as well, giving her my best puppy dog eyes.

        Tiara just sighed at me. “Why would I have a problem with another pony joining the group? I’m not going to stop you from making new friends, Sweetie.”

        “Really?” I asked, my ears perking up. “So you don’t mind if she helps me rehearse for the play after school today?”

        Tiara’s ear twitched, but her smile held up. “Why wouldn’t I? Just… our date later tonight will be just the three of us, right?”

        “Of course,” I said, nodding my head. “Why would I bring somepony I’m not dating to a date?”

        “Because you want to date them,” Tiara said, rolling her eyes. Yeah, she had a point there. Plus, I really did want to date Bright Lights if she was up for it, she was just so cute and kind and… she was helping my singing career out in a big way. There were definitely worse ponies for me to want to date.

        “And… you’re just staring off into space with that look in your eyes,” Tiara said, sighing. “Which I can only assume means you’re imagining dating Bright Lights.”

        “I’m right here,” Bright Lights said, raising an eyebrow. “I’d appreciate it if I had a role in the conversation about me.”

        “Fine,” Tiara said. “Here’s the basics: Sweetie Belle’s... what’s the word, Melody?”

        “Polyamorous,” Melody said between bites of carrots before looking at Bright Lights. “That means she likes dating multiple ponies.” While she talked, I continued imagining Bright Lights, Melody, and Tiara laying in my bed, kissing, and… Again my mind flashed back to the big talk with Rarity.

        “Right,” Tiara said, taking back over for Melody. “And… she really likes the thought of dating lots of ponies. Like, right now, I’m pretty sure–”

        She was interrupted by me letting out an airy sigh as I imagined what three ponies licking my horn in unison might feel like. Even better, I realized with Bright Lights in the group, I could try to kiss her horn. That would probably be really nice, especially if I could convince somepony to kiss my horn while I kissed her horn.

        Tiara sighed. “She’s definitely imagining a scenario that involves a lot of ponies kissing. Anyways, she’s probably going to try to convince you to join her little herd, so just… fair warning.”

        Bright Lights just smiled. “I can think of worse fates than joining a group of mares who love each other. Of course, I would never want to impose on you.”

        “Great,” Tiara said, biting something back in her voice. “Well, Sweetie’s polyamorous. I’m… willing to tolerate it, and for somepony to join the group, everypony has to approve of them.”

        “Then I suppose I know who I need to work on persuading,” Bright Lights said, voice still upbeat.

“Yeah, and Sweetie and I can talk about that later. Now, can we talk about something else?” Tiara sighed and tapped my shoulder. “Equestria to Sweetie Belle, Equestria to Sweetie Belle.”

        “Huh-what?” I said, my daydream suddenly dissolving as I tuned into the cafeteria table. “Is Bright Lights joining the herd?” I asked, trying to recall what my friends were talking about. “Because if so, that would be fun.”

        “We can talk about that after our date tonight, alright?” Tiara said, kissing my cheek and calming me down. “So, you’re really going to audition for the lead in the play?”

        I nodded at her. “Bright Lights says my acting’s improved this semester, and it’s not like I’m going to get in trouble for dreaming big. Besides, Bright Lights is going to help me get ready for the audition.”

        “She’s also helping Lyra with casting,” Tiara mumbled. “I think she’s giving you more than enough help.”

        “Now, Tiara,” Bright Lights said, a look of indignation flickering across her face. “This play is my best shot to get my name known by Equestria’s high society. I’m not about to jeopardize that just because I have a crush. Besides, if Sweetie does get this role, it will mean great things for her music career. You don’t want to get in the way of that, do you?”

        “No,” Tiara said, talking into her lunch tray. “If it helps Sweetie, of course I support it.” She turned and tapped my shoulder. “And eat your food, you’ve been daydreaming since you sat down.”

        “Alright,” I said, nibbling at the parts of my salad the broccoli hadn’t touched. I can’t believe Rarity put me on a diet just because I ate my body weight in sugar the day after Nightmare Night. Actually, I guess I could understand that, but why did she have to put broccoli in, like, all my food? Was I being punished for something?

        As I ate, a silence fell on the table. Apple Bloom and Life Bloom sat in their corner, whispering to each other about potion stuff (they’d been inseparable since Nightmare Night), Scootaloo was pushing her food around her plate, and the rest of us just nibbled on our lunch. “So,” I said, looking at Apple Bloom. “How’s the potion-making going?”

        “It would be goin’ better if Applejack stopped askin’ me to make a bunch of easy potions to help around the farm. I’m tryin’ to make a potion good enough to earn my cutie mark, but every day she asks me for a potion pretty much anypony can make.” Scootaloo and I just glanced at each other.

        “Well,” I said, trying not to solve her problem for her. “You like helping your family though, right?”

        “Of course!” she said. “I love my family, but… I gotta get my cutie mark, and… Helpin’ them ain’t helpin’ me.”

        “Just keep at it,” Scootaloo said. “I’m sure you’ll get it any day now, right, Sweetie?”

        “Right,” I said, nodding my head at Apple Bloom. “Just… this is something you have to figure out on your own, right, Life Bloom?” I asked, giving her a look that screamed not to be completely 100% honest in the situation.

        “Of course,” Life Bloom said, nodding in acknowledgment.  “A cutie mark is about personal discovery, you can’t be rushed or told what your cutie mark is, even if it’s patently obvious to everypony else.”

        “Maybe I should just make that foresight potion myself and see what my cutie mark is,” Apple Bloom said, sighing.

        “I wouldn’t do that,” I said, frowning at my friend. “The epiphany is… It’s one of the best feelings ever, you shouldn’t cheat yourself out of it.”

        “I know, I know, I have to be patient, but… I’ve been waitin’ for years, and nothing I do seems to work. I don’t get it, I’m great at potion making, so why don’t I have a cutie mark?” Apple Bloom said, rolling her eyes and thunking her head against the table. “And don’t tell me I’ll figure it out, I know I’ll figure it out, but I want to figure it out before I’m Granny Smith’s age.”

        “Anyways,” I said, trying to change the subject to something less upsetting. “What’s… what’s up with you, Scootaloo?”

        “Just… thinking,” she said, pushing a slice of bread around her tray. “Nothing big.” That tone absolutely screamed she needed somepony to talk with, and I was a really good listener.

        “Come on,” I said, frowning and putting my puppy dog look on reserve. “You can talk to me, you know I’ll always be there to listen to your problems.”

        “Yeah, I know,” Scootaloo said, sighing. “I’m just worried if I do, you’ll get upset, and I really don’t want us to get in another fight.”

        “Oh, please, it took you being a huge jerk for us to get in a fight last time. I’m sure we’ll be fine,” I said, giving her my “everything’s okay” smile

        “Alright,” she said, looking from her food to me. “Promise you won’t get upset?”

        I nodded.

        “My talent really doesn’t have anything to do with this school, and I… well, we’re all old enough that we don’t have to go to school anymore. I was thinking maybe after the year was over, I could go to Manehattan or Las Pegasus and try to find work there. I’m not going to get any better on my scooter in Ponyville, so… why should I stay here?”

        What?

        She had to be joking.

        What?

        Scootaloo wouldn’t just leave me.

        What?

        But she was, she wanted to abandon me for Manehattan, just because… because...

        ”What?” I yelled, maybe getting a bit upset. “But… we’re best friends. You… you can’t just leave me… leave us.”

        Scootaloo sighed. “Believe me, if it wasn’t for you girls, my bags would be packed. Instead, I’m torn. I don’t want to leave my friends, but you’re all that’s keeping me in Ponyville. Oh, and even if I do leave, we’ll still be friends. If you need me for something, I’ll be here as fast as I can.”

        Bright Lights opened her mouth to say something, but Tiara just glared at her until she closed it. “Apple Bloom,” I said, turning to my friend. “Can you tell her why she shouldn’t leave? Tell her we need her. Tell her something.”

        “She… kinda has a point, Sweetie,” Apple Bloom said, frowning at me. “We’re all growin’ up, and we have to find our own place. Maybe that place isn’t Ponyville. I’d be lyin’ if I said I’d never thought about leaving before.”

        Life Bloom nodded. “With the exception of the Academy, there are very few jobs in the sciences in Ponyville. It seems inevitable I’ll relocate once my education here is completed, although I don’t imagine that will happen until I have my doctorate.”

        Traitors! Vultures! At least I still had my marefriends… “Tiara, Melody, you won’t leave, right?”

        “Well… I might not,” Melody said. “I’ll be going out for one of the orchestras when I’m done, so there’s definitely a chance I’ll stay here, but I’ll go wherever I get a job.”

        “And Daddy said he’d be happy to rent me an apartment in a city that’s… a little less Ponyville. Before we started dating, I was planning on heading for Manehattan at the end of the year.”

        “I can’t believe this,” I groaned, looking around at all my traitor friends (and Bright Lights). “We’re best friends, doesn’t that mean anything?”

        “Excuse me,” Life Bloom said, raising an eyebrow at me. “Can you honestly say you never considered leaving Ponyville?”

        I frowned. “Well… of course I’m going to leave Ponyville eventually, if I want to become a famous singer, there’s no way it can happen in Ponyville. I thought I’d head to Manehattan in a few years and get a job singing in a nightclub.” Life Bloom tried to say something, but I talked over her. “I wasn’t going to leave you all, though. I was going to convince you to move with me. Imagine it, the seven of us moving to Manehattan together, renting an apartment, it would be such a great adventure.”

        Scootaloo raised an eyebrow at me. “Sweetie, you know I think of you as my best friend, right? Well, you and Apple Bloom are. Anyways, I don’t want you to take this the wrong way, but you’re acting a lot like the Nightmare Night you. You don’t want us to leave you, but you expect us to move with you to Manehattan when you want to move. That’s… pretty selfish, Sweetie.”

        “I didn’t expect you to move with me, I just… really wanted it. I didn’t think you’d all betray me and leave for… wherever you want to go.”

        Life Bloom tilted her head. “So… us leaving you is a betrayal, but you leaving us is perfectly fine? That seems rather hypocritical.”

        It… I sighed. “But I don’t want to be alone.” I looked to Scootaloo and Apple Bloom. “I really didn’t have any friends before you two, and… I don’t want to go back to being alone. I like having friends.” I sniffled and felt a hoof rest on top of mine.

        “And you won’t be alone,” Scootaloo said, giving me a reassuring smile. “We’ll always be Crusaders, and I promise no matter how far away we are, we’ll write to each other every week, right?”

        “Of course,” Apple Bloom said. “And we’ll visit each other all the time no matter how far away we get. I know anytime I get a few free days to myself I’ll head over to visit you or one of the other girls.”

        “Friendship is not tied to geography,” Life Bloom said, looking at me through her glasses. “Friendship thrives in spite of it. I still correspond with my friends from before the Academy and plan on visiting them this summer. I intended to visit them over winter holiday as well, but will instead be assisting Apple Bloom with her potion making.”

        “Ooh! Can I help?” I asked, my ears perking up. “I don’t really have any plans for Hearth’s Warming, so I’d be happy to–”

        “Actually, we’re heading out of town,” Apple Bloom said. “Applejack doesn’t want me to get distracted, so we’re heading to another family farm that’s empty for the winter.”

        “That’s fine,” I said, hiding my frown. Why did I feel like there was a bit of sand in my mouth that I couldn’t get rid of? “Hope you get your cutie mark, then, I guess.” Ooh! That was something we could talk about that wasn’t as depressing as all my friends leaving. “What’s everypony going to do over winter break?”

        “I’m just going to visit my parents,” Scootaloo said. “By the way, you should totally see Cloudsdale in winter sometime, everything just looks so… cool.” I giggled at her choice of words.

        “I’ll be visiting my parents as well,” Melody said. “It’s been so long since I last saw them, I can hardly wait.” She frowned as she saw the look of disappointment on my face. “I’m sorry, didn’t I tell you? I could’ve sworn I mentioned it.”

        Tiara sighed. “I think she was daydreaming when we told her our plans for the holidays, which means… I’ll be out of town as well, Sweetie.”

        “That’s fine,” I said, trying to sound collected and calm and happy. “I’ll just spend time with…” I looked around at all my friends. “Oh. You’re all leaving, that’s fine too.”

        “I’m not,” Bright Lights said. “I’ll have to work on on staging and designing the scenery for the play. I don’t have time to go home.”

        “Great,” I said, my eyes lighting up while Tiara scowled for a brief second. “You can help me rehearse then, right? You know, if I get the part.”

        Bright Lights smiled. “I’d be happy to keep you company over break, Sweetie Belle.”

“Yeah,” Scootaloo said. “Also, I think Socket’s staying, so you two can hang out as well. I think he’s been feeling kind of left out lately.”

        “Did you hear that?” Tiara said. “You can spend time with Socket. I’m sure you two will have tons of fun over break. You have so much in common.”

        “Hanging out with Socket could be kind of fun, I guess,” I said, frowning at her. “Maybe he, Bright Lights, and I can do something over break.”

        “Sounds great,” Tiara said, biting her tongue. “Just as long as you’re happy, that’s what matters.” She glanced at Bright Lights. “Just remember our relationship boundaries. alright, Sweetie Belle?”

        “Of course,” I said, smiling at her. “You know I wouldn’t… do… anything…” I trailed off, the rest of the sentence catching in my mouth for some reason.

        “You’re going to be without somepony to kiss for two weeks,” Tiara said, frowning. “I honestly don’t think you’ll last.”

        Bright Lights smiled at Tiara. “If it would make you feel better, I can promise not to see Sweetie over break. Sure it might affect her performance in the play, but I’d hate to come between you two… or three.” She glanced at Melody.

        “It’s fine with me,” Melody said. “I’m not going to get in the way of Sweetie doing what makes her happy. Besides, you seem like a very nice pony.”

        Tiara groaned. “Can we please just talk about this later? Right now, all I want is to eat my lunch in peace.”

        “Of course,” Bright Lights said. “Sweetie, do you mind if I tell you a bit about your role in the play?”

        I nodded my head at her.

        “Alright, well, you start the play working as a poor orphan mare working at a florist’s…”

***

        “I think that’s enough practice for today,” Bright Lights said as Diamond Tiara gave a relieved sigh. “I’d recommend reading the script once more before tomorrow, but what I really want is for you to think about your character. Get in her head. Feel what she feels. You need to become her if you really want to sell ponies on the delivery and become a Bridleway star. If that’s not what you want, then feel free to ignore all my suggestions and just… have fun tonight.”

        “No, no, I want to be a big star and make your production as great as it can be,” I said, frowning at the script. “Just… I have a date with Melody and Tiara tonight, but after that, I can totally spend all night rereading the script and getting into character. I promise, it will be my top priority after the date.”

        She smiled at me. “Don’t stress yourself out, Sweetie, just… you realize you’re in a competitive field, right? Ponies have to dedicate their lives to singing or performing if they want be the best at what they do, and… That is something you want, right?”

        I nodded at her.

        “Great,” Bright Lights said, getting up on her hooves and flipping her mane as she headed to the door of the auditorium. “I’ll see you tomorrow then, Sweetie.” She turned to look at me and gave me one last smile. “I knew my hunch was right when it told me you were exactly what I needed to make this production a huge success.”

        “See you tomorrow,” I said, waving a hoof at her as she trotted out of the auditorium. “So…” I looked at Melody and Tiara. “What do you think?”

        “She seems nice,” Melody said. “I think she just wants you to succeed in the play.”

        Tiara rolled her eyes as she got to her hooves. “I can’t believe you two are actually buying that line. She’s totally manipulating you, Sweetie.”

“Is not,” I said, following her towards the door. “She’s just… She might come on strong, but she’s just really nervous about the play being successful.”

        “She’s trying to control your life, Sweetie. She’s only been your ‘friend’ for a day, but now she’s giving you life advice and telling you how to spend your time,” Tiara said as we reached the door. “Bright Lights might as well be taking a page from my playbook.”

        “But she’s not being mean,” I said, feeling a stab of anger rise up in my throat. “You made me feel terrible all the time, but she’s just… pushing me to be better. You know what I think?”

        “No,” Tiara said as we headed towards town, Melody a few steps behind us.

        “I think you’re jealous,” I said. “I think you hate the idea of sharing me with anypony else, so you’re trying to make her look bad.”

        Tiara’s ear twitched. “Really? I’m jealous? You’re the pony who had a freak-out about your friends leaving, while I’m the one who’s trying to tolerate you dating other ponies, but you’re calling me jealous.”

        “Yeah, well… if you weren’t jealous, you wouldn’t have a problem with Bright Lights, right Melody?” I said, looking to my other marefriend for support.

        “I would really prefer not to comment,” Melody said from behind me. “I… I think you both have valid points.”

        “See,” I said. “She thinks I have valid points.”

        Tiara sputtered. “That’s… You’re ignoring half of what she said. Are you that set on dating a pony you barely know? At least with Melody you knew her for a few months before dating her.”

        “I’ve known Bright Lights for just as long,” I said, trying to fight down my irritation. Why was she being so difficult? Bright Lights had been nothing but nice, but Tiara didn’t like her because… I don’t even know why. Because she wanted me all for herself?

        “You knew she existed, you didn’t have an actual conversation with her until today. But… oh wait, she’s cute, so you want to date her,” Tiara said. “Because that’s all that matters to you; if a mare looks cute and you think it would be fun, you’re all for dating her. Because that’s what matters, right? Having fun?”

        “Of course,” I said. “What’s more important than having fun and making sure other ponies have fun? You make it sound like me wanting to enjoy myself is a bad thing.”

        “Having fun isn’t bad, Sweetie, but I want more than fun. I want a relationship. I want somepony to love me,” Tiara said, stopping in her tracks.

        I frowned. That was… “Of course I love you,” I said, trotting up to her and nuzzling her neck. “Why would you think I didn’t?”

        “Okay, yeah, you love me, but you love everypony. It’s not like you love me anymore than you love Scootaloo or Life Bloom or any of our other friends,” she said, pulling away from me.

        “You’re right,” I said. “I do love all my friends. I like to think I love everypony, but I love them all in different ways. I love you in a way I don’t love anypony else, that’s just… it’s our love, and nopony else will ever have that, no matter how many mares I date.” I glanced back at Melody. “And I love you in your own special way too, because you’re Melody, and she’s Tiara, and it would be silly if I loved you both the same way. But I do love you, Tiara.”

        She sighed and I felt the warmth of her cheeks nuzzling my neck. “And I love you, Sweetie Belle. If you really want to add Bright Lights to our group, I won’t stop you, but I still don’t think this will end well.”

        “Really?” I asked, my ears perking up as I kissed Tiara’s cheek. “You mean it? You’re sure you’re okay with it, because if you aren’t, I totally won’t do it.”

        “I know,” Tiara said as we started walking back to town, an invisible burden weighing her shoulders down. “But you won’t be happy, and… I have to love you in your own way. If I can’t let you be you, then… I don’t know, it’s not real love, right? I just… don’t stop loving me, alright?”

        “I wouldn’t dream of it,” I said, trotting behind her. “Why would I stop loving one of the two best marefriends in the world?”

        Tiara smiled. “Sweet talker.”

        “Well, being sweet is in my name,” I said, giggling.

        Tiara and Melody both sighed. “We really need to stop giving her opportunities to pun,” Tiara said, looking back at at Melody. Melody just nodded.

        “Wait,” I said, stopping where I stood. “Tiara, did you just say you loved me?” Tiara nodded.

        “Ooh! I think that’s the first time you actually said that, do you know what this calls for?” I asked as a wave of giddiness bubbled up inside me.

        “Probably something involving Sugarcube Corner,” she said, rolling her eyes.

I nodded at her before bounding off into town. “I’ll meet you girls there, I’ve just got to drop my saddlebags off first. First one of you to Sugarcube Corner gets kisses by me. So does the last one!”

Before they could say much else, I was halfway to Carousel Boutique.

***

        Angry voices came from the boutique as I trotted towards it. Yes, I was in a rush so I probably should’ve just barged in, but on the other hoof, I could hear what grown-up ponies were talking about. I pressed my ear against the door and recognized the voices as Applejack’s and Rarity’s.

        “I can’t believe you!” Rarity yelled. “You expect me to just leave my sister behind so we can go on vacation?”

        “Now, Ah ain’t sayin that, mah diamond, I just figured since your folks were gettin’ back soon, we could maybe slip away for a while.” Applejack said. Even though her voice wasn’t as loud, it sounded like she was closer to the door.

        “But they aren’t getting back. Apparently, they decided it would be fun to spend the holidays in Mareami because, and I quote, ‘the weather there is just so nice.’ Oh, and also I’m supposed to give Sweetie their love.” At the mention of my parents, I bit my lower lip. I loved my parents – why wouldn’t I? They were great – but thinking about why they weren’t around ever… Well, when they were out of sight, I tried to make them out of mind.

        “You’re tellin’ me they can’t be bothered to come back home for the holidays?” Applejack asked, her voice wavering. “Don’t they know the whole point of… Don’t they know you’re supposed to spend the holiday with family?”

        “No, they don’t, Applejack. At least Sweetie has me around; when I was her age…” Rarity growled. “I was left alone for days when Dad had a game, and when it was off-season it was even worse. At least…” She took a deep breath and switched to her diplomat voice. “They made sure I had everything I needed growing up.”

        “Everything but parents to be there for ya’.” Applejack said, her voice closer to Rarity’s now. “Ah don’t know how I’d cope with folks like that. Folks that are more interested in havin’ big fancy vacations than raisin’ their kids.”

        Rarity sighed. “I don’t know how many postcards I got that read ‘Greetings from Haywaii, wish you were here!’ It’s… did they not see how cruel that was? To leave your child behind and then send them a postcard that…” Rarity let out another growl. I didn’t want to hear this, I don’t like hearing things that make me sad, but… I needed to know. Know why they didn’t want me around, and maybe this conversation had the answer.

        “Come on, now, sug,” Applejack said, her voice reassuring. “Don’t pay your folks no mind. They ain’t worth botherin’ yourself over.”

        “I know,” Rarity said after a while. “And… thank you, if it wasn’t for you, I would’ve done the same thing to Sweetie they did to me.”

        “Don’t you worry ‘bout it, sug. Now, about this vacation… Ah know how much ya care for Sweetie, but can’t ya just find a sitter for her? It ain’t like we’re goin’ anyplace fancy,” Applejack said. “Besides, can ya honestly say she’d like spending a couple weeks on an old farm?”

        “No,” Rarity said. “But then, that doesn’t sound particularly enjoyable to me either. I’m not going to leave my sister alone on Hearth’s Warming, Applejack, and there’s nothing you can say to convince me.” At least somepony wanted me around.

        “Now, I ain’t ‘bout to suggest that, but… what if ya left her after Hearth’s Warming? Ain’t nopony’d begrudge ya that, right? Just a week with you, me, and Apple Bloom.”

        I moved from my spot at the door to peek through the window. Rarity was staring at Applejack with an eyebrow raised. “And just why is your sister going on our romantic vacation?”

        “‘Cause, she needs to focus on gettin’ her cutie mark. Havin’ Sweetie around would just distract her. ‘Sides, Ah don’t need Sweetie tryin’ to seduce li’l Apple Bloom and add her to her herd. Don’t got no time for Apple Bloom to get into all that romantic stuff, anyhow.” What? I didn’t even want to date Apple Bloom… At least, she wasn’t that high up on my list.

        Rarity’s eyes froze into a glare, and I shivered just looking at them. “Excuse me, Applejack, I’m afraid I misheard you. You didn’t just–”

        “Ah ain’t sayin’ nothin’ bad ‘bout your sister,” Applejack said, apparently unfazed by Rarity’s glare. “Just don’t think it’s right, her foolin’ round with other ponies like that.” Why? What was bad about liking multiple ponies? I didn’t feel like I was doing anything wrong.

        “Oh, you don’t hate her, you just hate the things she does, is that it?” Rarity asked, her glare somehow getting colder.

        “Yup,” Applejack said, nodding before catching her mistake and backpedaling. “Oh, come on, Rarity, it’s… ponies ain’t meant to herd, and if you don’t want to teach her how to do things better, that’s your business, but I ain’t about to let my Apple Bloom be alone with her. Don’t want her to get any wrong notions in her head.” She… Applejack really thought what I was doing was that bad? It’s… she didn’t like me?

        Rarity was actually shaking now and had that look on her face that told me to run before she exploded. “Oh yes, Applejack, it would be terrible if Apple Bloom saw a non-traditional relationship. Why, she might start thinking it’s okay for two mares to date, and we wouldn’t want that, would we?”

        “Now, that’s just a durn fool argument. There’s probably more mares datin’ mares than datin’ stallion in this town – but there’s only two herders I know of, your sister and Pinkie, and we all know Pinkie ain’t exactly right in the head.”

        “Isn’t she also an Apple?” Rarity asked. “And more importantly, considering just how polyamory works, I don’t think it’s fair to say my sister and Pinkie are the only herders in town. If they were, they wouldn’t be herders.”

        “Look, Pinkie can still be an Apple even if Ah don’t approve of some o’ the things she does, and you know good and well that if it weren’t for Pinkie and Sweetie, the rest of their herds would find nice normal relationships,” Applejack said.

        Rarity’s teeth ground. “That’s just… so hypocritical. How can you complain about herders, when Pinkie spent a very lovely evening with us? Or is herding just wrong when it doesn’t affect you?”

        “And Ah only did that cause you kept pesterin’ me to. Don’t go puttin’ me in the same deviant boat as you,” Applejack said. Okay, they definitely weren’t talking about my parents anymore, and… I really didn’t want to hear this anymore.

        Luckily, it sounded like Rarity agreed with that thought.

        “Get out!” Rarity yelled, slamming the door open with her magic just as I got on the hoofpath leading from the boutique.

        For a long time nopony said anything as Applejack and Rarity stared at me, and I stared back, debating whether or not I should run away crying. “Sweetie Belle,” Applejack eventually said, her face red as she shuffled out of the boutique. “Uhmm… it ain’t nothin’ personal, but… maybe ya should stay away from Sweet Apple Acres for a li’l while. Just don’t want Apple Bloom gettin’ distracted until she earns her cutie mark.”

        I just stared at her as she walked away, as a voice in my head told me to be really nasty to her. “Sweetie Belle,” Rarity said from inside the boutique, “please come inside. I suppose there are some things we need to talk about.” I nodded dumbly at her as I shuffled back into the boutique.

        “So…” Rarity said, looking at me.

        “Why don’t Mom and Dad want me around?” I asked as whatever was keeping me from crying snapped.

        Rarity’s frown deepened. “Oh dear, you heard that as well?” She sighed and sat next to me, stroking my mane with her hoof. “It’s not that they don’t love you, they do, but… I honestly don’t know. It’s a question I asked myself many times when I was your age. I think it would be better if they completely ignored us, but then they have to get us those wonderful gifts or take us on vacation with them, and… For a few days it feels like we’re all a normal family.

        “I can’t answer your question, Sweetie Belle, because I don’t know the answer. I wish I did, but…” She trailed off. “If you come up with the answer, you’re a smarter mare than I.”

        I stared at her and frowned. If it was bad for me, how much worse was it for her. At least I had her to watch over me when Mom and Dad went on one of their trips, but she didn’t have anypony when she was my age. I tried to imagine what the last few years would’ve been like without her, and… I don’t know how I could’ve made it through this semester without her.

        “I’m glad I have you to watch over me, and… I’m sorry you didn’t,” I said, leaning against her as she stroked my mane.

        “It’s alright,” she said, smiling softly. “I have you now, and that’s what matters.”

***

        An hour later, I finally walked into Sugarcube Corner to find Tiara and Melody staring at me. “What happened to you?” Tiara asked as I sat in front of the remains of my room-temperature shake.

        “Sorry,” I said, looking at my melted shake and frowning. There was nothing more disgusting than a melted shake… Except broccoli. Broccoli was always more disgusting. Like, it wasn’t even a contest. Maybe a broccoli-flavored melted shake would be more disgusting than just normal broccoli, but even then, it still had a sliver of the goodness that came with being a shake. “Rarity and I had a… talk.” Well, it was less a talk, and more us sitting next to each other for a while, but it was a really good sitting session, and we didn’t really need to say anything.

        “Well, we can always order another shake,” Tiara said, raising a hoof up and causing Pinkie to appear right in front of us.

        “Heya, Sweetie, the usual?” she asked, tilting her head at me and noticing the faint redness around my eyes. “Looks like you could use some cheering up. Ooh! Is this the part where you found out some people don’t like herds? Dissy told me that part was coming up.” She pulled the shake out from somewhere and sat next to me. “Now, how can Auntie Pinkie help you?”

        I wanted to ask how she knew what happened, but then remembered it was Pinkie Pie. That pretty much explained it all. “Actually, it’s not… bugging me that much,” I said, looking at my new milkshake. “I don’t understand it enough to be upset, I mean… I like spending time with ponies I care about and don’t want to play favorites, and apparently that’s… bad for some reason? Like, Applejack thinks it’s so bad she doesn’t want me to spend time with Apple Bloom? I know I should be upset, but I just don’t understand it.”

        Pinkie rolled her eyes. “Jackie’s banging on that drum again?” She laughed and shook her head. “Sometimes, she can just be so silly, especially when it comes to Apple Bloom. Anyways, to answer your question, some ponies think herds are weird or icky or whatever. I really don’t get it either, but the important thing is that you do it right. You can’t just treat a herd like you’d treat a normal relationship or you’ll go completely nutso or everything will end up on fire or sometimes both at once.”

        “What do you mean?” I asked. “What do you do differently?”

        “Well, it’s kind of… actually, there’s something both herds and singles absolutely have to do right,” she said before chugging my melted shake.

        “What’s that?” I asked, trying not to gag at the sight of somepony drinking my old disgusting shake.

        “You have to have rules,” Pinkie said, slamming the melted shake down. “I’m sure you already figured this out, but you can’t use being polyamorous as an excuse to just kiss everypony you see… I mean, you can, but you have to make sure the ponies you’re dating approve first, and that makes managing really large herds super difficult unless your herd is pretty relaxed. Like, I date a lot of ponies, but I’m not really dating them if that makes sense. It’s more like ‘Hey, I wonder what Roseluck’s up to to today?’ or ‘Maybe after work tonight, I can see if Berry and Ditzy are up for a night out.’ You know, that kind of thing.”

        I actually didn’t know what kind of thing she was talking about, but… we had rules, so I guess we were doing something right. “Oh! That’s another thing. You just can’t do the whirlwind storybook relationship if you’re poly. I mean… you can try, but that means either giving one pony special treatment or spreading yourself too thin. When you’re dating a bunch of ponies, you just can’t give one pony as much time as you could if you were just dating one pony. Plus, it’s super emotionally exhausting.”

        Pinkie tilted her head. “It’s a bit better if you have everypony dating everypony else, but there’s still going to be favorites and cliques and a huge chance that everything turns not fun.” She took a deep breath and struck a dramatic pose. “But you don’t choose the herd life, it chooses you.” She winked at me. “And it looks like the herd life likes laughter.”

        Okay? Did we… I’m pretty sure that conversation happened in one of the loops, although we might’ve talked about it after the loop. I couldn’t remember. Plus, I don’t think it really mattered. Pinkie knew what she knew, and figuring out how she knew it just led to headaches.

        “What’s she talking about?” Tiara asked, raising an eyebrow.

        “Oh, Pinkie kind of had this idea that our group kind of corresponded with the Elements of Harmony. She thinks I’m Laughter and Life Bloom’s Honesty. I… don’t completely see it,” I said.

        “Really?” Melody asked, her eyes lighting up as she turned to look at Pinkie. “Do… do you think I have an element or… No, of course you don’t, you hardly know me. Besides, why would I ever be chosen as an Element Bearer or… correspond with an Element.”

        Pinkie laughed and patted Melody on the head. “Don’t be silly, filly, anypony can have a connection with one of the elements. I’m just a baker and a party-thrower extraordinaire, but I’m also the Element of Laughter… or the Bearer of the Element of Laughter. I’m not exactly sure how all that works.” She frowned and tilted her head for a second before springing back up. “Anyways, the point is that if you could see everypony in Equestria, you could probably find funnier ponies who deserve the title more. The thing is… you don’t have to be a Bearer to have an affinity for an element. And if you look at any group of friends, you’ll see traces of the Elements in them.”

        She stared at Melody for a few seconds with her sky-blue eyes causing Melody to inch away from Pinkie. “Hmm… You, I think, are… Kindness. Definitely Kindness.”

        “You… just looked at me and knew?” Melody asked, tilting her head to look up at Pinkie. Pinkie just laughed.

        “No, silly, you’ve been coming to Sugarcube Corner for months, and I see how you treat everypony when you’re here. I just did the staring thing to seem deep and mysterious.” At the last few words, she waved her forelegs up and down and drew out the syllables to make herself sound spooky.

        “And then spoiled it by telling us the truth,” Tiara said, rolling her eyes. “Anyways, I’m guessing there’s no chance I have an element, right?”

        Pinkie tapped her chin in thought. “Well, I came up with this theory back… I came up with this theory before you joined the group, so I didn’t originally have a place for you, but you know who else didn’t originally have a place in our group of friends? You know who else originally started out as our enemy?”

        Tiara sighed. “Something tells me it’s–”

        “Discord!” Pinkie yelled, jumping up into the air. Was there a term for that bouncy thing she did? There had to be. I made a note to look it up later. “He wasn’t our friend at first, but then he was because of the power of friendship, and now we’re best buddies. You’re…” She twirled around dramatically before pulling a crown out of her mane and rested it on her head. “The Element of Forgiveness.” Oh! I still had her tiara in my room until she earned it back… Considering how good she’d been the last two months, I should probably give that back to her soon.

“That’s not a real Element,” Tiara said, frowning. “You don’t have to make something up just to make me feel better.”

        “I’m not,” Pinkie said. “Sure, the Elements of Harmony are the big ones, but there are other virtues, other things friendships need to thrive, so they should have their own element.” More laughter. “Come on, you’re the first Element of Forgiveness, doesn’t that make you feel even a little better?”

        Tiara smiled. “I guess it’s not that bad. Kind of cool, right, Sweetie?”

        I nodded at her before kissing her. Good news deserved celebratory kisses. “Coolest thing ever,” I said before pulling her towards me for another kiss. “Ooh! We should totally stop by my room at the Boutique, I have something for you.”

        Both Tiara and Melody did a spit take, or they would have if they’d been drinking anything. Instead, they just kind of made fish faces. “That…” Tiara said before regaining her composure. “Wait, what do you want to give me?”

        “Your tiara,” I said, before giving her another kiss. “You’ve been so good lately, you totally deserve it.”  An expression that could have been either relief or disappointment formed on her face before quickly twisting into a smile. “Oh! But if I give Tiara her tiara back, I should do something nice for Melody as well…” I frowned in thought. “I know, what if the three of us had a party at Tiara’s place after my show Friday. I know we could all probably stand to blow off some stress after our auditions.”

        Tiara frowned at me. “Are you sure, Sweetie? It’s… Friday’s going to be pretty busy for you already. You’ve got the audition after school, and then after that you’re performing for Button’s birt–”

        “I know my schedule,” I snapped, interrupting her and making me feel terrible for a few seconds. I took a deep breath. “I mean, I just think it would be fun if the three of us spent some time together without anypony else around.” I leaned in next to Tiara and whispered. “And… maybe you could find some of that rum punch?”

        “Ah,” she said, nodding in understanding. “That sounds fine to me. Daddy will be out of town this weekend, so it kind of works out. That is, if you’re fine with it, Melody.”

        “Oh, and that would be my cue to leave,” Pinkie said, looking at the several customers standing in front of the register. “See you girls later.”

        “Bye,” I said, waving after her as she dashed behind the register. “Thanks for the talk.”

        “Anytime!” she yelled from the opposite side of the register, causing several ponies near her to wince. “Just come to me if you ever need advice on the herd life.” A few other ponies turned to look at me and I wilted under looks that… weren’t quite mean, but they definitely weren’t friendly.

        “So…” I said, slinking low in my seat until the gazes passed. “Are you two getting along okay?”

        Tiara smiled and glanced at Melody. “Better than I expected, honestly. It… she’s almost as sweet as you and not quite as hyper.” Hey! I wasn’t hyp– Okay, I was totally hyper, but I still didn’t like being called it. “When I spend a day with her, I feel relaxed instead of exhausted.” Melody blushed at that.

        “Hey!” I squeaked, suddenly feeling a tightness in my chest. She thought I was exhausting? Did she not like me? “Do you want your tiara back or not?”

        She laughed and kissed my cheek. “I love spending time with you, Sweetie, I just appreciate the differences between you and Melody. Love ponies in their own way, right?”

        I nodded along. “Alright, but I still don’t think you should call your marefriend exhausting.”

        “You called me jealous, earlier today,” she said, grinning at me.

        “Yeah, but I was kind of mad at you,” I said. “It’s not like I’d normally call you jealous.” Even if she kind of was.

        “And that makes you calling me jealous better?” Tiara asked, raising an eyebrow.

        I sighed and shook my head, closing my eyes. “No. I just… I don’t know, the idea that you might not like me got me...” I trailed off, suddenly thinking about my parents.

        Suddenly, I felt a pair of warm lips press against my cheek, and then another pair on the opposite cheek. I opened my eyes to find myself sandwiched by my two favorite mares in the world. (Although if I had to choose between having them as marefriends and having Rarity as a sister… I don’t want to make that choice.) “It’s alright,” Melody said as she broke the kiss, scooting around to lean against me. “We both love you, Sweetie. Yes, you might be a bit exhausting sometimes, but that doesn’t make us like you any less, alright?”

        “Alright,” I said, nodding at her and smiling before returning the kiss. “So… you two aren’t going to leave me just because I’m so high energy? Because if you are, I can totally change.”

        “I wouldn’t dream of it,” Tiara said, nestling against my other side. Around us, a few ponies were glancing our way like we were some kind of exhibit to be looked at. Ugh, I hated those looks. Why is three mares dating so interesting that it’s stare-worthy? It’s just like two mares dating but plus one. A teeny part of me wanted to put on a real show for them like we did for Scootaloo, but… I didn’t want to put Melody through that. Instead, I decided to just enjoy the feeling of my two marefriends leaning against me while we talked about silly stuff and I sipped my shake.

***

        “Very good,” Bright Lights said as we finished our reading. “I can tell you practiced last night. If you keep putting in this much work, you shouldn’t have a problem getting the part. That is… You still want it, right?”

        I nodded at her. “I do.”

        “You want to see your name up in lights? To be the pony everypony should know?”

        “I do!” I said, imagining how great it would feel to be the best singer/actress in Equestria. Imagining how it would feel to have everypony in Equestria love me. Next to me, Tiara just sighed, her tiara sitting on her head again. Now that she’d earned it – at least, in my mind, she had –it seemed to fit her better, it was less osten… ostent… less showy and now just seemed like a part of her.

        Bright Lights smiled and leaned in close to me. Her honey-scented perfume made my head get light. “That’s what I hoped to hear. Remember that ambition, Sweetie. Hold on to it, and there’s nothing you can’t accomplish.”

        “And what are you getting from all this ‘help’ you’re providing Sweetie Belle?” Tiara asked. “Or are you just doing it from the kindness of your heart?”

        Bright Lights leaned back, taking the honey smell with her. Why couldn’t Tiara just trust her? I mean, I trusted Tiara, and she’d been nothing but mean to me for years. “Well, I do want our play to be a success,” Bright Lights said, “and I think Sweetie Belle is my best chance for accomplishing that, but I’ve always been honest about that.” She frowned at Tiara. “But that doesn’t mean I can’t want what’s best for Sweetie Belle, as well. It’s… we can both get what we want this way.”

        “Yeah,” I said, turning to Tiara. “Come on, this is what I want. I always wanted to be an actress, and this musical… it’s giving me that dream back.” I leaned in and nibbled one ear. It might have been a cheap trick, but it was a quick way to win arguments with Tiara, or bury them before they could even get started. “You want me to follow my dreams, right?”

        Tiara sighed. Not her usual sigh of irritation, but a sigh of contentment and satisfaction. She was a sucker for ear nibbles, just like I was a sucker for horn kisses. We both had ways of getting what we wanted. “Of course I do,” Tiara said as she practically melted into me. “I’m just… Promise me you’ll be careful?”

        “What’s there to be careful about?” I asked, ending my nibbling and tilting my head. “It’s just acting.”

        “I don’t know,” Tiara said, melting into a puddle by my side while Bright Lights looked on with eyes narrowed. “Just… something in my gut makes me worry.”

        I giggled at that. She was just looking out for me even when I didn’t need looking after. How could I be irritated by that? “Well, I appreciate the worry, but I’ll be fine,” I said, cuddling up next to her before looking back to Bright Lights. “So… you really think I’m good?”

        “Of course,” she said, smiling at me before glancing to Tiara. “You know how to move ponies so you get just what you want. You’re going to be a great actor.” I couldn’t help but smile at that, even as I felt a tiny little tinge of nausea in my stomach for a reason I couldn’t quite understand.

***

        “Hey, Rarity,” I said as I trotted into the Boutique, while my sister worked on pacing a hole in the Boutique’s floor. “What’s up?”

        “Oh, nothing,” Rarity said, smiling at me as she continued pacing. “Just… thinking about Applejack.”

“Really?” I asked, frowning in thought. “Are you two still friends? Did you break up? Wait! If you’re not friends anymore, then can the Elements still work? What if somepony invades? What if… What if Tirek comes back, what will we do then? You have to make up with Appleja–”

        “Sweetie, it’s fine,” Rarity said, cutting me off. “We are still dating as far as I know, we just had one of our fights, and honestly, this one wasn’t that bad.”

        “But… you kicked her out,” I said as I plopped down just outside of the circle Rarity was pacing. “That seems like a bad fight to me.”

        Rarity sighed and sat down across from me. “Normally, I suppose it would be, but… considering our track record, the fact that nothing wound up broken makes it one of our tamer fights.”

        I tilted my head at that. “Okay… I’m confused, I thought you two loved each other. Fighting doesn’t sound like loving, unless…”

        “I’m going to interrupt you before you can finish that thought, Sweetie,” Rarity said. “Yes, most relationships put a high premium on getting along, but… How to put this in terms you might understand? Passion, I suppose, is the root of it. Applejack and I are both exceptionally passionate ponies, and–”

        “And that’s why you love each other so much, right?” I asked, filling in the blanks for her.

        “Partially yes… It’s also why our fights are so exceptionally volatile, and…” She paused as the door to the Boutique opened up, revealing the pony we were just talking about, her hat in her hooves.

“Hey, Rarity, it’s been mighty hard goin’ without ya the past few days. Think maybe we can hash things out?” Applejack said as she trotted into the Boutique. As she did, Rarity closed the door with her magic and bolted it. “Don’t see much point in endin’ a fight when we both still have things we wanna say.”

My sister nodded. “Agreed. Sweetie, go upstairs. Something tells me you’re about to get a lesson on the two-fold nature of passion.”

“Ya mean yer gonna have her listen to this?” Applejack asked as I hastily trotted upstairs.

“I’d prefer it if she didn’t,” Rarity said, “but considering the… nature of our arguments, I don’t harbor any hopes she’ll completely tune us out. Besides, she was just wondering how our passion could be a bad thing. I suppose this will sate her curiosity.”

“That’s just it!” Applejack said as I reached the top of the stairs, “Ah get yer parents bein’ rotten–”

“Aloof,” Rarity correct, her voice going ultra rigid. “They care, they just aren’t very hooves-on.”

“You call it aloof, I’ll call it rotten,” Applejack said. I paused at the top of the stairs and pressed myself against the wall so they couldn’t see me. “But that ain’t mah problem. Mah problem is you.”

“Me?” Rarity asked, her voice rising. “I’ve done everything I can to prepare Sweetie for the world. While I admit I haven’t been a perfect sister, I’m trying my best.”

“But you’re not… Ya should be protecting her from deviancy, not givin’ her an advanced class on it,” Applejack said, trying to bring her voice down a bit.

“Oh, yes, because Celestia forbid Sweetie ever find out about the facts of life. No, I’d be much better off trying to preserve her innocence for as long as possible, that’s your preferred stance with Apple Bloom, right?”

“You’re sayin’ that like it’s a bad thing, but mah sister ain’t the one datin’ anypony who smiles at her real nice. Ah know mah sister ain’t gonna be workin’ the streets of Manehattan; Ah don’t know if Ah can say the same about Sweetie.” What did she mean by that? Was there anything wrong with being a street performer in Manehattan? I mean, if it earned a living…

Rarity apparently thought there was something wrong with that as she let out a scream that had me shoving my hooves in my ears. “At least I try to treat my sister like she’s an adult. You, on the other hoof, can’t go a day without checking on Apple Bloom. And oh look, my sister managed to free herself from a time loop after earning her cutie mark, while Apple Bloom can’t even manage that. Yet for some reason, you’re the one calling me a bad sister.”

“Yeah?” Applejack asked, raising her voice to meet Rarity’s. “Well, you’d be just as rotten as your parents if it weren’t for me teachin’ you not to ignore her. Don’t think most ponies need that particular lesson, but Ah guess it kind o’ runs in the family.” Something crashed downstairs, and I decided I’d heard enough to get Rarity’s point. I didn’t even need to sneak back to my room as the sound of yelling and things shattering masked any noise I might’ve made.

***

Five hours later, a pillow was shoved over my ears as I tried to ignore the sounds of everything in the house breaking, and Rarity and Applejack yelling louder than a tornado. They weren’t actually arguing now, just… yelling insults at each other.

You inbred country yokel!” Rarity yelled, punctuating it with something else breaking. (How was anything in the house still intact?) “I’m sorry, but I don’t think you’re qualified to give family advice unless it’s on what alcohol pairs best with kissing your cousin!”  (crash!) Oh. They were actually talking about family stuff. Yay.

“Ah told you that in confidence!” Applejack yelled back. “But hey, at least I have actual kinfolk, and–” (crash!) “–wasn’t just left to fend for myself, ya stuck-up hussy!” (smash!)

"Oh yes, there it is, the great Apple Family values," Rarity said (well, yelled, pretty much everything they said was yelling right now). "How easy it is to be born to the greatest family in Equestria. To hold your head up high and judge us lesser families for not measuring up to your impossible standards. You think you're better than the rest of us just because circumstances made you an Apple and not an orange." My sister's voice turned from anger to sadness here. "You act as if... as if you have some inherent superiority over the rest of us, but... You have a great family, I won't deny that, but... I'm proud of what I made. Sweetie and I have a decent life, she has somepony to care for her while our parents..." There was more sobbing. "How dare you try to make me feel like a failure for that."

For a while, nopony said anything while my sister sobbed. It was... uncomfortable, and I really kind of wanted to just run down there and give her a big hug and tell her how great she was, but the rest of me thought that would be a really bad idea.

"Ah'm sorry, mah dearest diamond. Yer right, maybe Ah do get a bit full o' mahself sometimes... And maybe... ya made a great home for your li'l sister here, and don't let nopony tell you otherwise. Ah'm.... If Sweetie wants to go date every mare in Equestria and yer okay with it, that ain't none o' mah business," Applejack said. So... they just spent hours emotionally wrecking each other, and now Applejack was apologizing? Like Rarity would forgive her just like that?

“Oh, no, Applejack, it’s... You just wanted to help, and maybe I should have listened to what you had to say instead of just dismissing you out-of-hoof," Rarity said, and if I strained really hard, I could make out some sniffling. Well, it was probably less sniffling and more sobbing. "Perhaps you’re right, perhaps Sweetie does need a bit more guidance than my laissez-faire attitude can provide." I really didn’t like the sound of that, but at least they weren’t fighting anymore.

“Please, I insist you accept my apology, my apple, I can’t live with the knowledge I was so cruel to you,” Rarity continued. Please tell me they weren’t about to–

“Ain’t you who should be apologizin’, Rarity. This whole fight’s mah fault, I should’ve just–”

“Enough of that talk,” Rarity said, cutting Applejack off. “I won’t have you pitying yourself. I shall accept the blame for this fight.” Oh great, they were arguing about who should apologize now. Hopefully that wouldn’t last too long.

***

        Two hours later – Two hours – they were still apologizing to each other and fighting over who was responsible for the fight. If I wasn’t curious to see just how long they could keep arguing, I probably would’ve marched down there and accepted full responsibility an hour ago just to get them to be quiet. It was ten at night, and I had class in ten hours. I sighed and rolled out of bed to look through the script again. If I couldn’t sleep, at the very least, I could get ready for my auditions.

        I flipped through the pages, paying special attention to the songs and the notes I’d have to hit. Bright Lights wanted me for this part because I could sing, so studying the music and singing the songs a few times would probably be a good idea. At some point during my reading, I noticed the downstairs had gotten… kind of quiet. They weren’t yelling anymore, but if I listened hard enough, I could definitely hear them making some sort of noise. Giving the script one last look through, I decided I definitely didn’t want to know what was going on downstairs right now, and trotted back to my bed.

        Just as I was about to fall asleep, I heard a sound like the moan Tiara made when I nibbled her ear multiplied by a hundred. Or maybe infinity.

***

        Whatever Rarity and Applejack were doing downstairs, woke me up six more times while I was trying to sleep. Sometimes it sounded like Rarity making the noise, sometimes it sounded like Applejack, and sometimes it sounded like them both at once. Now, I had class and my auditions and my show for Button to deal with, and I’d barely gotten any sleep. I yawned at myself after I finished putting on my makeup (lots of makeup to hide the bags under my eyes) and trotted downstairs to head to school and see just how bad the fight was.

        Literally everything in the downstairs was broken: the counters, a sink, the clothes horses, some display cases, windows, the wall, and in the middle of the storm were Rarity and Applejack, surrounded by a nest of debris and cocooned in Rarity’s fabric rolls. They both looked like kind of a mess, but… neither of them looked hurt, so I guess that was something. As I hit the bottom step, it gave a squeak, causing Rarity to stir from her sleep and look at me.

        “Sweetie, what are you doing up? Wait… what are you doing here?” Applejack’s hat sat on Rarity’s frazzled mane, and my sister’s movements were loose and languid without any of her usual primness.

        “I’m staying here while Mom and Dad are out of town… I’ve been here for like the last three months,” I said, staring at her. Was she alright? I mean, besides the fact that she was a total crazy pony when it came to Applejack. Like… she was normally the best big sister in the world, but last night… Last night it was like somepony replaced her and my friend’s sister with madmares.

        “Ah,” she said, unconsciously drawing closer to Applejack. “I suppose after the first hour of fighting, I forgot about everything that wasn’t the fight. I hope hearing all that wasn’t too upsetting for you.

        “It’s fine,” I said shrugging and trying to hide a yawn. “After the first couple of hours, I kind of just got used to the yelling. Are you two alright, though? I heard a lot of things breaking last night.”

        Rarity just laughed while Applejack turned over in her sleep. “Yes, we’re both perfectly fine. We yell and break things in our fights, but we never physically hurt each other. At least… we don’t when we’re fighting.” Okay, I really didn’t know what she meant by the last thing, and I really didn’t want to know.

        “Right,” I said nodding my head. “So… is that normal for you? Like, I’m pretty sure demolishing half your house in a fight isn’t exactly normal.” Or healthy.

        She just smiled at me. “And that, Sweetie, is the risk of letting passion rule your relationship. Of course, the other times, when our passions align with each other… Well, I’m already planning several grand romantic gestures for my sweet apple, and I’m sure I’ll be receiving a rather extravagant fruit basket in the next few days. Plus… Well, Sweetie, would you be too terribly upset if I left you with a friend after Hearth’s Warming? Obviously, if you’re not–”

        “Go ahead,” I said, shrugging and turning towards the door, still struggling with the depths of my sister’s craziness. On the other hoof, if I wanted to ask her something, doing it while she was in this post-fight bliss would probably be the time to do it. “Oh!” I said, turning back to her. “Is it okay if I have a sleepover at Diamond Tiara’s tonight?”

        Rarity yawned and stretched one hoof in the air. “If it’s okay with Mr. Rich, it’s fine with me. I trust you, Sweetie. Besides, considering… Well, it would be hypocritical of me to deny love right now, no matter what strange form it might take. Now, have a good day at school, Sweetie.”

        “Thanks,” I said as I headed to the door to the Boutique and unlocked it.

        “Oh, Sweetie,” Rarity said as I headed out the door. “Could you be a dear and hang the ‘closed’ sign up on the door? I don’t think I’ll be getting any work done today.” As I hung up the sign for her, the best big sister/craziest pony in the world collapsed back on to her makeshift bed, making sure to drape an arm over Applejack as she fell.

Was my relationship with Tiara and Melody going to make me that crazy or was Rarity just… a special case? I shuddered at the idea that love might make me as crazy as her as I trotted to school.

***

        “So,” Bright Lights said, sitting at the lunch table (I really needed to figure out why Socket wasn’t sitting with us soon), “are you ready for the audition this afternoon?”

        I nodded at her, trying not to yawn. I’d be more ready if I could get some sleep, but the last time I tried to sleep in class, I had to spend an afternoon dealing with Headmistress Octavia’s death glare. Not something I want to do again. “Great,” Bright Lights said, smiling broadly. “Now, I’m going to have you sing this part.” She flipped through the script and pointed at one song in particular. “This is Green Hoof’s establishing scene, we need to learn that she’s an orphan, poor, destitute, and generally shunned, but we also need to see her desire for grander things and unfounded ambition. Can you get in that mindset?”

        “Yep,” I said, looking through the excerpt she’d highlighted.

        “Good,” Bright Lights said. “Remember what I taught you, to be a great actress, you need to become your character. You’ve improved so much over the semester, I know you can do this.”

        “Thanks,” I said, ears perking up. “Oh! Tiara and Melody and I are having a sleepover at her place tonight, do you want to come? You know… everypony’s okay with you joining our group if you are.”

        “I’d love to,” Bright Lights said, a small smile forming on her lips. “Unfortunately, something tells me I’m going to be busy this weekend talking with Lyra about who should get what part. I’d hate for her to accidentally cast somepony in the wrong part.”

        “Right,” Tiara said, rolling her eyes. “Because you’re being completely impartial with your casting, right?”

        Bright Lights just smiled at her. “Of course not, I’m nurturing the best talent I can find and hoping it will thrive. If Sweetie Belle doesn’t deliver an outstanding performance today, I’ll just find somepony who’s better.”

        She turned her head to look back at me, and as our eyes met, I felt a twinge of anxiety in my stomach. I had to get this right. She’d spent so much time helping me, I couldn’t just disappoint her. “You can count on me,” I said, giving her a smile of my own.

        “I know I can,” she said. “Now get to rehearsing.”

***

        I paced outside the auditorium, waiting for somepony to call my name. Why did they have to do this in alphabetical order? ‘Hello, Sweetie,” a familiar and unpleasant voice said from the doorway to the auditorium. Dazzler trotted out towards me, her expression unreadable.

        “What do you want?” I asked, looking at her. “Trying to get under my skin before the audition? Because it won’t work.”

        She frowned at that. “And why in Equestria would I do that? I’m not a bully. I derive no pleasure from going out of my way to torture you, I just… don’t like you, and I’m perfectly content to ignore you. Now, if you had something I wanted, that would be an entirely different issue.”

        “Then why are we talking?” I asked, tilting my head. “Do I have something you want, or…”

        “I’m trying to be civil. Melody so desperately wants us to get along, the least I can do is say hello to you once in a while. Perhaps in our little talks, I’ll find a quality of yours that redeems your failings,” she said, her voice level.

        “Thanks,” I said, rolling my eyes. “You really know how to make a mare feel appreciated.”

        “Listen,” she said, trotting close to me and lowering her voice to a whisper. “You know I don’t like you, you know my reasons for disliking you, and it’s very clear you’ve decided to return that sentiment. If I had to guess why, I’d say you think me too… direct, or perhaps you just don’t like the idea of having somepony dislike you.” Her eyes narrowed. “You always struck me as overly sensitive, and it’s easy to imagine that you’d react to somepony disliking you for legitimate reasons by twisting things around in your head so that I’m the villain. Or did I miss my mark terribly?”

        “I didn’t twist things around,” I said, glaring at her.

She smiled. “Wonderful. I do so love knowing I have a read on a pony’s character. It makes dealing with them much easier. Now, on to my main point. Melody wants us to get along. I actually care about Melody, so… I’m willing to attempt neutral relations with you, if you’ll also promise to behave amicably. Deal?”

        “Deal,” I said, smiling at her as my anger vanished as if a flip had been switched. This was great, if she got to spend any time around me, she’d see just how nice I was, and we’d be best friends in no time. Then I wouldn’t have to dislike her.

        Dazzler matched my smile exactly. “Wonderful. In that case, I wish you good luck with your audition. Who knows, you might be good enough to be my understudy.” Or maybe you’ll be good enough to be my understudy, I thought, keeping my smile trained on her as she trotted off. Even if we were going to try to be friendly with each other, Bright Lights expected me to do everything I could to get that part, and I wasn’t about to disappoint her for the sake of my friendship with Dazzler. Besides... I wanted this. I turned my attention back to my script and ran through my scene again, doing my best to think like Green Hoof.

        “Poor, all my life I’ve always been poor...”

***

        “But I’ve got to get out of Skid Rooooow!”

        I blinked as the song ended, dispelling the cobwebs of Green Hoof in my mind as Lyra and Bright Lights looked between me and their notepads. A tiny voice in my head told me I needed to water some plants, but that was Green Hoof talking… or at least, that’s what I thought Green Hoof would think about. Trying to completely become somepony else kind of does weird things to your head.

        Bright Lights smiled as I came back to being myself. “Well done, Sweetie, we’ll let you know what we think before finals start next week. Miss Heartstrings, what did you think?”

        “Oh, she definitely had a great singing voice. Definitely the best singing voice we’ve heard so far. That’s good, right?” Lyra asked.

Bright Lights nodded. “Thank you for your time, Sweetie Belle, our decision will be posted on the door to class Monday morning. Have a great weekend.”

I smiled at her and Lyra and gave the bow I’d learned to give my audiences at the end of the show, smoothly dipping my head and bobbing the forward half of my body down for a few seconds. Long enough to seem respectful, but not long enough to slow things down as Rarity put it. I definitely couldn’t slow things down too long; it was almost 5:00, I needed to be getting ready for Button’s party in less than an hour, and there was something else I wanted to do before that. I needed to get trotting.

***

I knocked on the door to Twilight’s castle, panting for breath as I finished my run from the Academy to her castle, the cold seeping through my coat. Why did the castle have to be so far from the Academy? That didn’t seem fair. The door creaked open after what felt like an hour of waiting and Twilight peered down on me. “Oh, Sweetie Belle! I wasn’t expecting you here; didn’t Rarity tell me you have a show today?”

I nodded. “Need… to be quick, just had a question for you.”

“You know you can ask me anything,” Twilight said, gesturing for me to step inside. “What’s on your mind?”

“Rarity… and… Applejack,” I panted as I trotted into the castle and sat next to the door, savoring the warmth of the castle… Did it have heated floors? Why couldn’t I have heated floors (and live in a castle)?

“Oh,” Twilight said, the smile on her face vanishing. “Oh...” She pushed the massive castle door shut. “What do you know?”

“I don’t know,” I said, frowning and shaking my head, trying not to think too hard about the things I heard last night. “I mean… they got into a pretty big fight last night, but this morning, Rarity was sleeping next to Applejack in the Boutique’s storefront like they were in love. I… I just want to know how it works.”

“You mean their relationship?” Twilight asked, tilting her head. “That’s… the rest of us girls and I have been asking that same question. All my reading says that this is a very unhealthy relationship, but… somehow they make it work.”

“Everything in our house is broken. There is a hole in her wall,” I said, staring at her. “That doesn’t sound like working to me.”

Twilight sighed and rubbed her head. “I know, I know, it’s completely terrible, but… Well… How has your relationship with your sister been lately?”

“Pretty good,” I said, wondering where she was going. What did my relationship with Rarity have to do with her relationship with Applejack? “I don’t think we’ve gotten into a fight in…” The penny dropped. “Are you saying that…”

“I think their relationship serves as an outlet for them to vent their own frustrations. Instead of lashing out at other ponies when they’re upset, they just… save it for each other. At least, that’s my theory.”

“But that’s crazy!” I said, hopping up on my hooves. “They just… Why would anypony want that?”

“I don’t know,” Twilight said, gesturing for me to follow her deeper into the castle. “But they’re getting better. At least, I think they are… I haven’t seen Rarity show up on my doorstep in tears for months, so maybe their fights are getting better.”

“Yeah… I don’t think so,” I said as Twilight opened the door to a sitting room. “If they’ve gotten better, then their old fights would have to have levelled the town, and I don’t recall them destroying Ponyville… Unless you count that one time Rarity tried to remodel the town, but I don’t think that was Applejack-related.”

“It wasn’t,” Twilight said, rolling her eyes and glancing off towards some other part of the castle. “Although there was a fight after that where Applejack and Rarity argued about whether Rarity was leading Spike on… That was a fun fight to watch.”

“You watched it?” I asked, trotting over to a pile of seat cushions. “Isn’t that kind of… rude?”

“Well, I didn’t mean to,” Twilight said, taking a seat that was surrounded by towers of books. “Rarity and Applejack came over to apologize, and then they started fighting, and by the time I realized what was going on, they were already in full argument mode, and I didn’t want to draw attention to myself, so I just hid behind a wall of books…”

“And that worked?” I asked, raising an eyebrow at her.

“It did until Rarity punched a hole in it,” Twilight said. “Then, I kind of got mad at them for damaging one of the library’s books and teleported them out of the building. The next time I saw them, Rarity was all over Applejack and they were offering me a fruit basket to apologize…” Twilight sighed. “It’s always a fruit basket when they make up. Fruit baskets from Applejack, gems from Rarity, and big expensive gifts to each other. Ask Applejack to tell you the story behind her crystal apple sometime.”

“Wait… I’ve heard of those somewhere,” I said, tilting my head. “Aren’t they…”

“Rare magically-crystallized apples. Only one tree in the Crystal Empire grows them and it produces roughly five apples a year. There are less than forty known to exist, and I’m not sure where Rarity found it… or how she afforded it.”

“Huh…” I said, nodding my head. “Well… Yeah, that is a pretty good question. So… do my sister and Applejack love each other?”

“I think they do,” Twilight said. “I don’t really understand how they make things work, but… I think their love for each other is the only reason they’ve made it through all the crazy.” She laughed. “I’m sorry, I just… I tried to imagine how they’d make married life work, and it’s really funny and kind of terrifying. Anyways… I’m sorry I couldn’t help you out anymore, but if you figure out how their relationship works, please tell me, because we’re still wondering if we need to hold an intervention for those two.”

“Alright,” I said, looking at the clock on her wall. “I’m sorry, but I really need to get going, I was just…” I trailed off and my eyes watered, as I recalled the all-night fight. “I just want to make sure she’s okay. She’s done so much for me, and if she…” I shook my head. “I just want to make sure she’s okay. Anyways…” Twilight didn’t want to hear about my fears. I didn’t want to hear about my fears. My usual happy smile flipped back on. “Thank you so much for taking the time to talk with me, I can’t imagine how busy you are.” I threw my forelegs around her neck for a quick friendly hug. “Anyways, I really have to get going, so I’ll talk to you later, alright?”

“Uhmm… okay,” Twilight said, frowning as I turned around and trotted to the door. “If you’re sure everything’s ok–”

“It is!” I said as I trotted out of her sitting room and headed to the streets of Ponyville.

***

        “Hey, Button,” I said, trotting into the town hall and pavillion. “Happy Birthday!” The brown earth-pony colt had changed completely over the past few months. Where before he had been kind of short and pudgy, now he had this tall gangly awkwardness to him that… Well, it kind of fit. And he had his cutie mark now, it was… I think it was a joystick from one of those arcade games he spent all the time playing.

        “S– S– S– Sweetie?” he asked, his eyes staring at… Well, he wasn’t really looking me in the eyes. “Wha– How?”

        “I’m great,” I said, smiling bigger at him and trotting to give the birthday boy a quick – very quick – hug. “How are you? How’s the old school?”

        “It’s… Uhh… Good?” he asked, tilting his head and still staring at my flank. It… I’d prefer it if he would actually talk in full sentences instead of just staring at me. Of course, I did the same thing when somepony kissed my horn, so… Oh, wait! Did that mean he liked me? That wouldn’t be good.

“So…” I said, taking a step away from him. “I should probably practice before your party starts… I’ll–”

        “I can go with you!” he said, his voice hitting the upper register of my hearing. His voice was almost as bad about cracking as mine used to be. “I can tell you all about the school, and you can tell me how your school is.”

        “Uhmm… I’d love to, but I really do need to practice for your party. Your mom’s paying me a lot for this show. Maybe we can… I don’t know, I kind of have to go somewhere after the party, but we should definitely catch up sometime, alright?” There had to be some way I could let him down without hurting his feelings. “Ooh! I know, I could introduce you to my marefriends. I bet you’ll love Melody.”

        He froze, his face spasming between expressions so quickly it threatened to tear itself apart. “Mare… friends? You… you’re… herder? And…”

        I nodded at him. “That’s what it’s called, I guess, I just don’t understand why you should only date one pony. If I like five or ten or however many ponies, why can’t I date them too?”

        “Oh…” he said, staring at me as something entered his eyes. I might’ve made a mistake. “Hey, Sweetie… Uhmm, do you like me?”

        “Of course, I do,” I said, packing as much enthusiasm as I could into my smile. “You’re a great friend, I just… I guess I’m not that attracted to stallions.” There, that was honest and it still let him down easy. After all, it wasn’t his fault, it was mine.

“Are you sure?” he asked, a pained smile on his face. “You could just be… maybe you haven’t seen the right stallion yet.”

        I shook my head. “I’m pretty sure, Button,” I said. “When I look at my female friends, I can’t help but notice them: Scootaloo’s lean  muscleyness, the stockyness of Apple Bloom’s back legs, the way Melody moves and sounds like soft velvet, or the perfect shape of Diamond Tiara’s…” I trailed off, noticing the weird look on his face. “Anyways, I don’t see that when I look at you or other stallions, I just kind of see… you. I mean, you’re tall and thin and kind of lanky, but it doesn’t really…” I shrugged. “There’s no spark, I guess. But… if I was going to date a colt, it would totally be you.” There. That should’ve spared his feelings at least a little bit. I mean… that was about as close to saying I would date him as I could get without actually dating him.

        The look on his face didn’t make me feel like I’d spared his feelings. Instead, it looked like I’d just trampled them into the dirt before feeding them to some wild animal. “Uhmm… I’ve got to go rehearse,” I said, sprinting into a side room of the town hall. “Happy birthday, again!”

        Before he could say anything, I shut the door to the room and started practicing. If I could just get through not talking to him for the next four hours, I’d be fine and wouldn’t have to see him again for… at least a month. I could live with that.

***

        When my set ended, I shuffled quietly out the back door of the town hall, doing my best to make sure Button didn’t see me. His mom would probably talk to me later about payment, and… if she didn’t, I could live with it. If not getting paid was my punishment for making Button look like… I think I made him cry. Yeah, if not getting paid was my punishment for that, that was totally fair.

        As I snuck out of the town hall, I shifted my thoughts from making Button cry to the evening I had planned with my marefriends. Rum punch and kissing? What could be better? By the time I’d reached the street leading to Diamond Tiara’s, my head was filled with thoughts of fun pretty things and there wasn’t even a tiny place left for my fears about Button.

        I hummed my audition song and knocked on the door to Tiara’s as the sun slipped below the horizon. Why wouldn’t I be humming? I was just a few minutes from having punch and kissing? Everything was great. “Hey!” I squealed, wrapping my forehooves around Tiara as she opened the door. “Are you ready for tonight? I can’t tell you just how excited I am.” I let out a sigh before kissing her neck. “I can’t wait to put this week behind me.”

        “Uhmm… are you sure we shouldn’t be studying for our finals?” Melody asked, a few paces behind Diamond Tiara. Seeing her, I let go of Diamond Tiara and trotted over to my other marefriend to give her the same greeting.

        “I don’t see why,” Tiara said. “First, we’ve still got Saturday and Sunday before our first final, and second, can you really say no to Sweetie Belle when she sets her mind to something?”

        Melody sighed and shook her head while I kissed at her neck. It was so fun when she tried to keep her composure before going all gooey. She never lasts long, but I love that she tries. “No,” she said before a soft moan escaped her lips. And just like that, she was melting.

        “So come on,” I said, grinning as I pulled away from Melody, leaving her to melt into nothing. “Let’s get the drinks and… I don’t know, should we just start kissing or do kissing games or… Drinking games! I’ve heard those are a thing, but does anypony know any?”

        Both my marefriends shook their heads. “Shoot,” I said, trotting into Tiara’s living room. She’d already gotten a few bottles of various drinks out and set them up on the coffee table, and there was a big bowl of rum punch next to them. Have I mentioned how much I love her? She’s the best. I gave a squeal and kissed Tiara again, this time pressing my lips against hers as my tongue slid into her mouth. We drew closer to each other as our tongues entwined and probed into the other’s mouth. When the kiss finally ended, there was a satisfying ‘pop’ as the vacuum seal formed by our lips broke. “Ooh, this is going to be so great,” I said, trotting to the bowl of rum punch and pouring a cupful before glancing back at Melody. “And don’t worry, I totally plan on kissing you just as much as I kiss Tiara, I just… This looks so great.”

        I took a sip of my drink and the second the fruity taste hit my tongue, my sip turned into several long gulps. As I turned back to pour another glass, I felt somepony wrap a hoof around my barrel and kiss my cheek. “Don’t you think you should pace yourself?” Tiara asked, whispering into my ear.

        “Uhmm… should I?” I asked as I poured another cup. “I mean… It’s really tasty, so…”

She sighed and thunked the based of my horn with her hoof. She did that every time I did something kind of silly. It was her way of telling me I hadn’t thought something through all the way. “Yes, you absolutely should pace yourself, unless you want to get blackout drunk and wake up in a puddle of your own vomit.”

        “Wait,” I said, suddenly taking a step away from the punch bowl. “That’s… that’s a thing?”

        “If you don’t pace yourself, it is,” Tiara said, pouring her own cup of punch. “So that’s why you’re going to pace yourself, alright?”

        “Alright,” I said, taking a tiny sip of my second cup of punch and resisting the urge to drink it all. I guess tiny sips weren’t that bad, they just weren’t as fun as big gulps.

        “Uhmm… are you sure we should be doing this?” Melody asked, still standing at the threshold to the living room.

        “Of course,” I said, putting my cup of punch down and trotting over to Melody. I wrapped my forelegs around her and kissed a trail from her neck up to her lips, and as our lips pressed together, she melted into me. She was always a sucker for lip kisses. “It’ll just be so fun, the three of us kissing and drinking, how can you not want that?”

        She blinked and tried to focus her eyes on Diamond Tiara. “Sh– should we let Sweetie do this? I still don’t think this is a good idea.” Why were they talking about me like that? Like they could just… control me or something? Marefriends don’t manipulate other marefriends.

        Tiara just nodded. “It will be fine, she has the two of us to keep an eye on her. Besides, a couple of drinks aren’t that bad,” she said as she poured a cup of punch for Melody.

        “It’ll be fun,”I said, before planting another lengthy kiss on her lips and drawing her as close to me as I could. “And, I promise that none of us will get drunk. We’ll just get tipsy and fun. Everything will be fun.”

        “Well,” she said, taking the punch from Tiara. “If you’re sure… I mean…” I gave her my best pleading puppy look. “You know I can’t say no to you when you do that.”

        I grinned as she took a sip of her punch. “I know.”

***

        Two hours later, the three of us were laying on the floor, staring at the ceiling as we finished a marathon kissing session. My whole body felt like it had been completely drained of stress and filled with a pleasant flushed tingling feeling. I smiled at the ceiling as the three of us struggled to catch our breaths. Kissing for an hour straight really took a lot out of you.

        “So…” Melody said between breaths, “you’re right, this is fun.”

        My smile only grew as I slowly rolled my head over to look at her. “Told you.”

        Melody giggled, and oh my goodness, she had the cutest giggle. It was all girlish and light like the clinking of a champagne flute. My eyes went back to the bottles of drinks on the coffee table. Did we have champagne? I’d never tried that, but it looked fun when everypony had some for New Year’s, and the sparkling grape juice was definitely tasty, so if it was anything like that…

        I rolled over and shakily got to my hooves before wobbling over to the coffee table. “Hey... Tiara,” I said as I looked over the bottles of alcohol. “Do we… do we have any champagne?”

        She nodded. “Yeah… It’s the tall one… with the gold foil. Why?”

        “Because I want to drink some, duh,” I said, grabbing the bottle with my magic and unwrapping the foil and revealing a weird metal cage thing around the cork. “Uhmm… DT?”

        Tiara sighed from her spot on the floor. “Yes?”

        “How do I open this, again?” I asked, magically pulling the cage back and twisting the cork. “The stupid cork thing is stuck.”

        “You’re not supposed to… You’re…” She struggled to think of something while I twisted the cork and shook the bottle in an attempt to get it out. Why did they have to make it so hard to– My thought was interrupted as the cork popped free and bonked against my horn as a spurt of champagne splashed against my face.

        “Are you alright?” Melody said, stumbling to her hooves and staggering over to me. “That looks like… Should I kiss your horn and make it better?”

        I laughed and licked from the corner of my lips. It tasted like the sparkling grape juice but better and with more alcohol and… Why didn’t ponies drink more often? I felt amazing. “Melsy, you can always kiss my horn,” I said, before smiling and kissing her cheek, prompting another giggle from her. Her giggles were just… the best thing ever. Well, no, horn kisses were the best thing ever, but her giggles were still really nice.

        The next thing I knew, her lips were wrapped around my horn and her tongue was tracing the spiraled groove in my horn. My back leg spasmed and my magic flickered, sending the champagne bottle a foot closer to the ground before I managed to catch it and set it down on the ground. After that, I allowed myself to melt into her kiss and float into a land of absolute amazing happiness, where everything was just perfect.

***

        I don’t know exactly how long the kiss lasted or how long I was floating through post-horn-kiss bliss, but when I finally drifted back into my head, I was lying back on the ground with Melody curled up next to me, and Diamond Tiara resting her head on my stomach. I moved a hoof to stroke her mane and stared at the ceiling. “That was fun,” I said.

        “It was,” Melody said, twisting her body around so she could look down at me. “What do you… what should we do next?”

        That was… I frowned in thought. We had alcohol, we had kissing, what should we–

        Before I could finish the thought, Melody burst out laughing. “Oh… you’re right, this was fun, Sweetie Belle. I just… I don’t think I’ve ever been this relaxed.”

        “So… you’d be up for doing this again?” I asked, looking at her.

        She nodded. “Oh, absolutely, this is… it’s like…” Melody laughed again before blowing a raspberry on my chest, causing me to giggle and squirm.

        “Okay,” Tiara said, rolling her eyes and lifting her head off my stomach while I squirmed. “Any reason you’re doing that?”

        Melody shook her head as the raspberry kiss ended. “None! And isn’t it great?” She got up on her hooves and traipsed around us before heading to the quickly-emptying bowl of rum punch and pouring herself another cup. “It’s… I can do anything I want. For the first time in… I don’t know how long, I feel free. Ooh! Uninhibited, that’s the word.”

        “Of course you do,” Diamond Tiara said, waving a forehoof around in front of her. “That’s what alcohol does, it lowers your inhibitions and makes you feel fine.”

        “Better than fine!” I chimed in. “It feels great. Like… I’m not stressing out about anything right now.”

        Melody laughed. “Sweetie, you don’t stress out about anything anyways, you’re the happiest pony I know.”

        “Actually, she… gets stressed every now and then,” Tiara said. “Like… she was pretty upset after that fight with Scootaloo and…”

        “And it’s more than that,” I said, as something inside me broke. A thing I’d spent years definitely not talking about was now rising up from my stomach and about to burst out of me with or without my approval. “Sometimes, I feel like… like I only pretend to be happy because that’s what I’m supposed to be. Because… Because that’s who I am, happy-go-lucky Sweetie Belle, and if I’m not me… You know, if I get sad or something, I won’t be me and then everypony will leave me, so I just kind of ignore it, you know? But when I’m drinking, there’s just… there’s nothing to ignore, and I feel so much lighter.” A big dumb smile formed on my lips. Somehow, saying all that made me feel even lighter. I looked at my marefriends, the two ponies I knew would love me no matter what, and my smile grew.

        They both laughed. In my face. And the weight returned to crush me. “Oh, that’s a good one,” Tiara said, wiping a tear from her eyes. “Just… trying to imagine you as one of those mopey depressed ponies who always feel miserable… I couldn’t do it. You’re Sweetie Belle, you might get upset every now and then, but… that mare you described is like the opposite of you.”

        Melody smiled and brought a cup of rum punch over for me. “You always know what to say to get me to laugh. You… Why would anypony ever want to leave the sweetest mare in Equestria?”

        My smile grew. Happiest mare in Equestria, that was me, alright, and if it wasn’t… No, that was me. All my friends thought so. “You’re right,” I said, giving a little laugh, “it was a joke. Can you imagine me being all sad and depressed like that?”

        They both shook their heads and I drained my cup of punch. Happy. Be happy. Happy. Happy. Happy. That’s who I was. “Sure, you cry, but it’s only for like… a few seconds, and then you’re back to normal,” Tiara said, taking a sip of her own drink.

        “Right,” Melody said, “but for you to be so… gloomy… It’s easier for me to imagine the sun not rising than that.”

        “Yep,” I said, rolling to my hooves and trotting over to the rum punch for another drink and trying to think of how great kisses were instead of thinking on… other things. “You know me, I’m a great joker.” After taking another drink of punch, I pressed my lips against Tiara’s and sucked the last drops of rum off them. Melody and Tiara were right. This was me, I loved kissing and all things fun. I planned a party so I could drink and make out with my marefriends. Why would I ever think otherwise? Why would I ever want to be otherwise?