Sweetie Crush

by Ceehoff

Chapter 1

"But, Rarityyyyyyy!" groaned a little white unicorn filly. "I really need help with my homework!"

"I can't, Sweetie Belle!" the filly's older sister argued. "I'm already behind on this order for a really, really, really, really important client. She expects it tomorrow morning!"

"Serves you right for spending the whole day at the spa. It won't take a while! I promise! Once it is over, you can immediately get back to work on the order. Please, Rarity? Please??" Sweetie Belle gave her the most pathetic puppy eyes ever.

"Sweetie Belle, honestly!"

"Will you??"

"No!"

"But...!"

"I said NO!"

That simple word was enough to shoot an arrow through the little unicorn's feelings and have it bleed profusely in its wake. She really needed to keep up a good grade in class, but she could not do squat if her selfish big sister would not help her. Her throat began to clog up and clench in hurt and teary disappointment. A loud, frustrated groan escaped her wee throat.

"Ugh! Fine! You did not have to act all spasmodic and jerky about it, you meanie! If you would act calmer, then there wouldn't be any problems! But, whatever! I'll do this homework all by myself, no help from you!"

Whipping around, she marched out of the room, huffing at her big sister. She marched downstairs and walked right up to her pile of schoolbooks, lying open on the floor. She slumped directly in front of them and lifted her pencil with her mouth to begin.

She froze...

Then, she hung her head.

"Who ihm I kiddthing? I cin't thoo thith buh mythelf..." she mumbled through her pencil, caught between her pouting lips.

Puh-tooie! She spat out the pencil and lied flat on her stomach, still pouting miserably. Her chin rested on top of her notebook. She could feel the paper sticking onto her chin from the dampness of her fur coat. She stared directly in front of her, looking at the front door blankly. Then, her eyes traced down to her books.

Long divisions... Sweet Celestia, were they so confusing! What kind of sick pony invented such rubbish? Did that stallion or mare hate little foals so much that he or she had given them such confusing math problems?

Well, everypony else did seem to understand it more quickly than she did. That was a blow to her reputation. What about Diamond Tiara? Pfft! Her skull was as thick as Canterlot's stoned walls. Now, there was a small victory.

But, it would be an even bigger victory, if she would just FREAKING UNDERSTAND IT!!

She slumped her forehead down on top of her notebook.

It was hopeless... She was doomed...

TWANG!

"Aw, dammit!" said a voice coming from another room.

Sweetie Belle's mind just snapped awake. Of course! Connor would help her. If Rarity could not, then why not...?

Wait... did he even know math? He used to be a human. Did humans even have math back on their world?

Probably not...

She hung her head in disappointment. Then, she looked back at her notebook with a certain undone math problem taunting her.

It was worth a shot.

She trotted into the room where Connor resided. The colt was grumbling as he was struggling to reattach his guitar string. He sure did miss having his hands. He had to use his teeth to reattach. However, he was not even progressing with it. He tugged at the string with his teeth. As he tried to slowly lower it onto the fret board, he yelped and released the string from his grip. He ran his tongue over his gums, feeling for a cut. Luckily, there was none.

"Rarity?" he called. "Can you hel--?"

"NO!" Rarity's spastic and stressed voice was heard through the ceiling.

The colt groaned and slumped onto the couch. He pouted as he gazed at his now five-string guitar. Well, if Rarity did not spend the entire day at the spa, then she would not feel so rushed to complete her very urgent and important order.

Sweetie Belle tilted her head in confusion. Was the colt supposed to be working at the Guzzling Gallop with Cherry Limeade? Why was he still in Rarity's house? The filly walked up to the ponified human.

"Hey, Connor," she spoke.

Her adorable little voice was enough to lighten up Connor's mood. "Oh hey, Sweetie Belle!"

"What are doing here still? Don't you have to work at the bar tonight?"

"Cherry Limeade gave me a day off. It was really nice of her, too. I guess it was because of that one night where I had to mop up Berry Punch's piles of vomit in the bathroom stalls. She was dancing a freaking conga in there!"

Berry Punch had a glass of Cranberry Soda in her hoof as she pranced around incoherently in the bathroom. She had a broom in her other hoof.

"A-conga-conga-conBLUAGH! A-conga-conga-conBLUAGH!" she sang as she vomited.

Sweetie Belle's face wrinkled. "Ew..."

"Heck, there was hardly a clean spot for me to stand on while I cleaned it up."

"Eww!"

"Yeah, I know... It was that intense."

She was not even sure she wanted to touch him. Hopefully, Connor took a bath. Still, she really needed some help with her homework.

"Well, since you're here, ummmm..." Sweetie Belle began to speak. "Can you help me with my homework? I'm stuck on something."

"On what?"

"Math..."

"Okay," the Connor's face beamed.

"R-really? You... really?"

"Sure, I'm all for it."

"So, you did have math on your world, after all! Okay then! Whew, you kinda scared me there."

"Of course, we had math. Pretty much every world does. Now, show me what you need help on."

She led him into the main lobby of the boutique, where the dresses were displayed for sale. They both walked up to the books. Sweetie Belle pointed at her notebook.

"Long divisions," she said. "I'm stuck."

A carefree raspberry escaped Connor's lips. "Pfft! That's easy!"

With that, they both lied down on their stomachs with their heads facing towards Sweetie Belle's books.

"Now," he spoke again. "Start solving the problem, and I will let you know when you need to stop."

"Okay..." She picked up her pencil into her mouth, gripped it between her lips and began to scribble onto the paper. Her face twisted and morphed as she wrote. Her eyes glared at the problem, determined to solve it. Well, so far so...

"Stop," Connor spoke. "You can't multiply six with five."

"Why not?"

"Because it's greater than twenty-seven. You have to multiply it so it would be less or exactly the number you have to subtract from. What's less than twenty seven?"

"Twenty-six?"

"That's true, but it's not divisible by six. You have to find a number that is divisible by six and less than twenty-seven."

"Ohhhh! I get it now! Um, let's see..."

Scribble, scribble, scribble!

"Like that?" she asked as she lifted the notebook up to the colt's view.

Connor nodded enthusiastically. "Mm-hmm! You got it!"

Her face beamed in joy. She got it!

"But, you're not done yet. Let's do the next one. After that, let's see if you can do the next ones by yourself."

"I'm on it!"

Scribble, scribble, scribble!

"Very good job, Sweetie Belle!" Miss Cheerilee said as she handed the young filly her homework, which was decorated with a cupcake sticker and a smiley face drawn in pink, scented ink. "You had gotten every single one correct!"

Sweetie Belle melted in her chair in bliss. She did it! Even when she got a little help from Connor, she had done the rest of the problems without any trouble. It only took two problems for her to finally figure it out and complete the rest of it by herself. If Connor had not helped her, she would be screwed.

She could not say anything but smiled in response. Then, Cheerilee turned to Diamond Tiara. Her face twisted severely at the slapdash effort put into her homework. Some of the answers did not make any sense. Heck, she even put "Appleoosa" in one of the blanks. This was math for Celestia's sake! She lowered the paper to look at Diamond Tiara, who was nonchalantly bouncing her periwinkle and white mane like she did not even give a flying feather. Even though the teacher was really put off by the filly's slapdash effort, she kept a poker face as she handed the little snob her homework.

"Diamond Tiara, youuuuu did good but..." What the hay was she talking about? It was all but good! It had nearly killed her to say that. "You still need a little more work on it, okay?" She smiled.

"What? Let me see that!" Diamond rudely snatched the paper out of Cheerilee's grip and stuffed her nose into it as she looked over all of the "X"'s marked in her homework.

"But! But..." the rich snob sputtered. "I was sure that I had gotten every single one of them correct!"

The teacher became a little more honest. "Well, if you ask me, nine-thousand seven-hundred seventy-five divided by five does not equal 'Appleoosa'. You miiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiight want to check on that."

"But Schmoopum Poopums said they were the correct answers!"

Whoops...

Everypony was staring at her. Diamond Tiara's eyes zipped back and forth as she tried to find something to correct herself.

"Uh... I mean...ummm, I mean Daddy! I thought Daddy said those were the correct answers!"

Cheerilee raised an eyebrow at the young filly's alibi. Filthy Rich was an ultimate business stallion. He would not be one if he did not know math. She called bull on Diamond Tiara's alibi.

"It still needs work, young mare," the schoolteacher simply said, leaving the filly to sulk and pout at her desk.

Sweetie Belle beamed like the sun. It was victory! Now, she was maintaining a good grade, and she rubbed it in her school bully's face without literally having to do it.

It was all thanks to Connor! It was really nice of him to help her. She would have had a crap day if it was not for him. The rest of the school day flew pleasantly and relaxingly by.

"Where is he?" Scootaloo craned her neck around a tree.

"I have no idea..." Sweetie Belle scratched her head, stupefied.

"Ya know, fer a big colt like Connor, he's a pretty good hider. It'll take forever jus' to find 'I'm!" Apple Bloom said as she stuck her head inside a huge hallow knot of a tree.

"Really, Apple Bloom? You think he would hide in that small space?" Scootaloo raised an unimpressed eyebrow at the country filly.

"Erm, ya never know," the yellow filly blushed.

"It was really nice of him to play 'Hide-and-Seek' with us," Sweetie Belle smiled as she spoke. "Cherry Limeade really does know how to give her employees some free time. What a nice mare!"

"For a city mare, that is. You don't see that everyday," Scootaloo added in.

"Amen," Apple Bloom nodded.

They continued to search for him. They parted bushes, leaves, and tall grass. They even looked behind thick trees and huge boulders. Still, there was no sign of Connor. Damn, he was a good hider.

The Cutie Mark Crusaders were standing in a triangular formation with Sweetie Belle in the front. Scootaloo and Apple Bloom were following behind, shoulder to shoulder. Their heads zipped back and forth, determined to find the hiding colt.

Tap, tap!

"What? Did ya see somethin'?" Apple Bloom replied.

"No," Scootaloo twisted her face.

"Oh... Then, why did ya tap mah shoulder?"

"I didn't."

"Of course you did! You jus' did it a second ago."

"No I didn't!"

Apple Bloom rolled her eyes. "Pfft, whatever! Say what ya want, but ya really did tap me on the shoulder."

"Whatever," Scootaloo brushed by it.

Tap, tap!

"What? Did you find him?" Scootaloo snapped to attention when she felt a tap on her shoulder.

"No," Apple Bloom answered like she was implying that the orange pegasus was numb-skulled.

"Then why did you just tap my shoulder?"

"Ah didn't!"

"Yes, you did! I just felt it! How can... Ohhhhh, I get it. You're just messing with me now..."

"Why would ah do that?"

"Because you believe that your life would not be complete without any comeback?"

"What is wrong with you, Scootaloo? You've been actin' very weird lately, ya know that?"

"You're the one who is acting all weird lately! I didn't do anything and you point hooves at me! It's not my fault that you're a ssssss... skitsy, scootsa, scuzzo, skiddsaroony..."

"Schizophrenic?" Sweetie Belle corrected.

"Yes, that's it! But, what are you, a dictionary?"

"Oh, come on, Scootaloo! You were the one who was about to act like a dictionary!"

"Whatever... Let's just find our cash colt already."

Tap!

"For Luna's sake, Apple Bloom! Stop it!"

"Ah didn't do nothin'!"

"Aha! So you did do something!"

"What makes ya say that??"

"Grammatically speaking, you can't say 'I didn't do nothing'. Besides, in speech perspective, it means you did not do 'nothing', so that means you did do something!"

"Ah can't help speakin' like that! And look who's the dictionary now!"

"Watch it, Apple Bloom!"

"Girls! Wait, wait, wait, waitwaitwaitwaitwaitwaitwait!" Sweetie Belle said as she separated the two fillies. She had a serious expression on her face. "If you both claim that you did not tap each other's shoulders, yet you still feel somepony tapping them... who's been tapping your shoulders?"

Doink... Their minds snapped awake. They both turned slowly around to find a colt frozen in some sort of sneaking position.

"Bye now!" Connor turned and ran away.

"Git' 'im!" Apple Bloom shouted.

With that, the three young fillies started chasing the colt. They darted and dodged by trees and bushes to keep up with him. However, Connor was not running too fast, though. He was running at a medium pace, like he was rolling around with them.

Well, of course he was. He was playing 'hide-and-seek' with them. It would be no fun for the Cutie Mark Crusaders if Connor went all-pro with the game. They were young fillies, after all.

Giggling and squealing sounded as the three ponies chased the colt out of the forest and out into a grassy field. The running colt looked behind himself to see howWHOA, crap! Man, they were fast runners! They were like heat-seeking missiles closing in on him. Beside the fact that he was going slower on purpose, he had to shake them off. He darted left and right, making sharp turns and feigns. The three fillies dived and lunged as they tried to tag him.

"Haha! Whatcha gon' do now? Whatcha gon' do now? You can't catch me! Whatcha gon' do no--?"

He saw a white little unicorn dive straight for him. Her cute little white face and her two little forelegs grew large as she dived straight toward him. Connor was about to dodge, but instead, he felt the weight of a bookbag wrap around his collar and pin him onto the ground. They fell into the grass with a "poof!".

"Haha! Gotcha, Connor! You thought you would get away, didn't you?" Sweetie Belle said, glaring playfully at him. She still had a smile on her face.

"For a second there, I thought I was, but you got me!"

They both laughed warmly. For a second, Sweetie Belle felt a little spark go through her heart as she still had her wee hooves wrapped around him. Connor was a really nice guy, taking the time off just to play with her and her friends, as well as helping her with her homework. Plus, he looked pretty dashing the way the sun shone down upon him.

Her wandering thoughts had been interrupted as the other two crusaders dog-piled on top of them and started to squirm and trample playfully over them.

"Ha HA! We got 'im! The Crusaders triumph! Free cutie marks for everyone?"

With that, the three little fillies turned their heads around to look at their flanks.

Nothing...

Crap...

They all hung their heads in disappointment.

"Well, so much for our 'Hide-and-Seek' cutie marks. Darn it," Scootaloo sighed.

"But we can still play, right?" Connor suggested.

They looked at each other again.

"Why not? Good call! Sweetie Belle's the Seeker!"

"Aw, why me??"

"Quit complaining and start counting! No peeking!"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah..."

The other three darted out of sight the moment the wee unicorn covered her face against the tree.

She called out every single number until she reached fifty.

"Okay! Here I come!"

Trip!

"OOF! OWWWW!!" She cried as she gripped her back leg. She started to roll around in the grass, groaning in pain. Apple Bloom peeked through the leaves of the bush she was hiding in.

"What's goin' on out there?" she whispered.

"Careful! She might be faking it! It's a trap! Keep low!" Scootaloo hissed.

"Ohhh... owowowowowowowww!"

"Still faking it... She's fine."

"Owwwwwwwwww! Ungh!"

"She's a stubborn one, isn't she?"

Sweetie Belle's groans of pain began to dissolve into pitiful sniffles and tears.

"Now she's really trying! Nice try, Sweetie Belle! You're not going to fool us!"

The unicorn's sniffles became more pitiful. If one had a heart of iron, it would immediately break after hearing that sound.

"She's really determined this time. She is going to have to find us the original way instead of--."

Connor was put off by the pegasus' obliviousness. "That's enough, Scootaloo! She's really hurt! We got to help her!"

With that, he descended from the apple tree and dashed over to the injured filly. Tears were dripping down her cheeks, but she did not cry loudly. She did not even blubber. Connor craned his neck to take a look at what was wrong. Her ankle was swelling up. Plus, there was a small line of blood tracing up her hoof.

She scraped herself deeply and sprained her wee ankle. Yikes...

"Quick! Somepony get something to cover the wound! A leaf or something!" They were in the woods, after all. What were the chances of them finding an idealistic band-aid anyway?

"Here you go!" Apple Bloom handed him a... band-aid?

"What the...? Where did you get this?" Connor was stupefied.

"Pinkie Pie's been stashin' items all throughout Ponyville fer some weird reason. She said it was for emergencies or somethin' like that. I dunno, but ah'm really lucky to find a regular band-aid out of the many objects she stashed."

Connor did not know whether to thank Pinkie Pie for her sense of emergency or think that she was so completely random. She scared him.

Connor placed the band-aid gently over Sweetie Belle's wound. However, he knew it was not enough. She still had a sprained ankle. How was she able to walk back? The colt lowered himself onto his knees right next to the groaning unicorn.

"Scootaloo, Apple Bloom, lift her up onto my back."

They immediately obeyed. They gently lifted her up and placed her onto Connor's back. The colt slowly lifted himself up and started walking back to Ponyville.

"Playtime's cancelled, girls."

"Therrrrre you go!" the doctor exclaimed. "All done! The estimate time would be about one or two weeks. During that time, I advise you to not let her engage in any sort of exuberant activity. She needs to keep it relaxed until it fully heals."

"Thanks, Doctor."

Sweetie Belle wiggled her back hoof, inspecting the splint with an unpleased look on her face. It looked so clunky on her. Great, now Diamond Tiara would never stop bothering her about it. Even worse, that meant that she would have to be exempted from activities that might possibly get her her cutie mark. Could this day get any worse?? She wiggled it so much, that it throbbed mightily. She yelped in pain.

"Uh, uh, young lady! You have to keep it relaxed until it's alllll better. Okay?" the doctor said with a gentle expression.

Sweetie Belle sighed, depressed. "Okay..."

The doctor turned to a small jar and pulled out a small object. He turned back around with a warm smile on his face.

"Annnnd, since you've been such a good filly, you get a special treat. A lollipop!"

A lollipop? She was not a baby, wise guy...

Still... who would not like a lollipop once in a while?

She gingerly took it and started to lick it pitifully. She was still depressed by the predicament at hoof.

"Again, thank you, doctor," Connor nodded in approval.

"Is she yours?"

"Oh, no! She's a sister of one of my friends. I was just looking after her, since her sister was so busy with work."

"I see. Well, make sure you tell her about Sweetie Belle's conditions."

"I will. C'mon, Sweetie Belle. Let's head back to the boutique," Connor said as he lowered himself to the unicorn's level.

It took her a couple of seconds to break out of her sad state and force herself to climb back onto the colt's back. Once they exited the hospital, they saw the other two crusaders looking desperately at their direction.

"Is she all right?" Apple Bloom was the first to speak.

"Yes, she is. She just has to refrain from physical activity for about one to two weeks."

"What??" Scootaloo squeaked in disbelief. "One to two weeks?? But, we have so much planned in order for us to get our cutie marks!"

"I'm sure she will catch up. Don't worry!"

"'Don't worry!'? We can't just get our cutie marks without her! We formed this society so we can all get our cutie marks! Together! Geez, shame on you for thinking that way!"

"Okay, I'm sorry, Scoot! The point is that you are both going to have to wait until her ankle is fully healed. I'm really sorry, girls."

Apple Bloom sighed sadly. "S'okay... Ah'm sure we can wait..."

"It won't be as much fun, though," Scootaloo added in.

"But it will be all worth it," Connor said, coaxing them. He turned to Sweetie, who was still sitting on his back. She stared sadly into space. She was as silent as a statue. She did not even mutter a word. "I guess we will see you guys later."

He turned to leave. The two crusaders waved at Sweetie Belle.

"Git well soon, Sweetie Belle!" the country filly called.

"Yeah! Like she just said!" the orange pegasus called.

The white unicorn said nothing.

Minutes passed by as the colt walked through town with the defeated, white unicorn filly sitting on his back. As he walked he heard small sniffles escape from Sweetie Belle's nostrils. He looked behind himself to look at her. Man, did his heart break! The poor little thing hung her head so low, it looked like her wee neck snapped in half. Her eyes were swollen with tears. Her lip quivered. It was like looking at a starving, helpless infant. It tore up the colt's heart to see her in such a state of sadness. No unicorn this cute should look so sad.

He was so lost in sympathetic thoughts, that he realized that he was already in front of the boutique. He pushed his way through the door, walked into the living room, and set Sweetie Belle on the couch. Her little hind hoof was high in the air like a dried up sapling. As his eyes traced up to her face... Oh, God, it nearly ripped his heart out. The poor thing! She was so determined to get her cutie mark, and now she had to sit and wait for mostly two weeks in order to pick up where she left off. To Connor, two weeks pass by quickly. However, it seemed like years to a foal, especially a foal who had such determination to achieve her goals.

He looked at the ceiling to the sound of shuffling, grinding, and mumbling of one Rarity at work. She was too busy to even realize her little sister's pain. Connor figured he should play "sibling" for a while until Rarity comes downstairs.

He just had to help get Sweetie Belle out of her sad shell. But, how?

Then, he gently took hold of the little filly's ankle and gave it a gentle and warm kiss. Then, he heard shifting right next to him. He turned his head to find a surprised Sweetie Belle staring at him.

"What... did you just do?" the filly asked in surprise.

"When I was a kid, whenever I had an injury, my mom would patch me up and give it a kiss. She said it would help heal the wound more than medications would do. I-I'm sorry. I should've..."

"No, it's fine. Really. I just... never experienced that before."

"Really?" He was surprised at what she said. "You mean to tell me that your mother never did it to you?"

"Nope."

"But, why? It's motherly instinct, right?"

"I guess, but with or without it, I'm perfectly fine. All I know is that she loves and cares me, no matter what."

Connor smiled. For a filly who could not understand math, she was pretty damn smart.

"But, I have to say, that... felt pretty good... what you did back there."

"Well, I'm glad you liked it. I guess a parent's love is generic..."

"Well, that, too, but I wasn't talking about that."

"What?"

"I was talking about you playing with us. Not very many ponies play that with us, considering that we are..." Her eyes lowered in sadness. "...pretty freakish without our cutie marks."

The hell did she say? Bullcrap! That was bullcrap. Connor leaned in toward the wee filly. "You're not a freak to me. I think you're a good, sweet, normal, little filly."

"You really think so?" she asked as her lips slowly turned into a small smile.

"You're as normal as any other foal to me. You're not a freak. You're you. That's all there is to it. Nothing else matters."

Sweetie Belle smiled as her heart melted. Such a kind thing to say!

Something snapped inside the colt after he what he said a few seconds ago. "Hey, do you want to listen to some music? Just to pass the time?"

"I would love to," the filly beamed.

"D'oh! That's right... I still have to fix this string. Well, I guess I'll have to--."

Sweetie Belle's horn began to glow a light green aura. Then, the string fastened itself back onto the fretboard. Rarity's little sister smiled.

"I've been practicing," she said.

"Wow! Thanks," Connor said.

He began to play his guitar, playing his usual song by Metallica. He definitely improved since the first time he played it. Sweetie Belle snuggled into the feather pads of the couch. A soothing chill itched up her wee spine as she felt the pad filled her entire back with comfort. She could not even feel her aching ankle. The atmosphere surrounding her eased all uneasiness and conflict. She gazed upon the colt, who was plucking the strings and singing in a gentle, airy voice.

It was so strange. That was the first time a colt kissed her. It was way different from her mother's. Her father's even. No, she felt a whole new wave of feeling through Connor's kiss. Hay, her ankle was still feeling tingly from it. A good tingling...

Her eyelids were feeling a little heavy. Either it was the colt's guitar playing or a wave of internal content, she did know. In fact, she did not even care. It was about time that she took a nap. Through her fluttering, sleepy eyes, she looked at Connor.

This colt was different. He treated her to how she liked to be treated. Such a kind pony.

And pretty... pretty... cute, too... she thought as she trailed off in sleep.

Sweeite Belle fell fast asleep, making smooth and silent breaths.

BRRRIIIIIIIINGG!

"Have a wonderful day, class!" sang Miss Cheerilee as all of the schoolfoals collected their books and pencils.

Yeah... "Wonderful" she said...

Sweetie Belle limped out of the school, looking as pitiful as a puppy with a broken leg. She still had her splint on.

Clop... clop-clop... clop-clop... clop-clop... clop-clop...

Her hoofbeats were way out of their usual rhythm. Plus, her ankle still freaking hurt.

Actually, it was not just her ankle that was hurting.

Stupid Diamond Tiara...

"Hey! Sweetie Belle!" called an older voice.

She knew who the voice belonged to, but it was not enough to break her out of her sad shell.

Connor walked up to the sad little filly. "Rarity is busy... again. So, she asked me to come over and pick you up. Is that okay for you?"

She did not answer. The colt's eyes bunched in concern.

"Is that okay for you?" he asked again.

This time, the white filly answered with a slow nod.

"Cool! Let's go, then!" Connor smiled, hoping to cheer her up.

Two minutes passed by like it was half an hour. Sweetie Belle did not utter or breath one word since they left. She was still hanging her head and looking sadly at the ground. Connor shifted his eye over to the little filly.

He could have sworn that a spear gored his heart when he looked upon what he saw. Hanging her head and limping helplessly, she walked beside him. He could see her little lip trembling. Was she still moping over her injury?

Well, that was kind of a stupid question... It was clearly obvious.

Still, he could not allow himself to see her sad like that. Let's see... what happened earlier today that was really funny?

He began chuckling. "Hey Sweetie Belle, guess what?"

...

"I was working at the bar earlier before I got an early leave, and I saw Cherry Limeade shaking up a cocktail soda. She was shaking it so hard, that the lid popped off and she drenched herself in orange soda!"

...

"Plus, an ice cube snuck into her pants, and she was literally dancing 'The Mule'! She was all 'Ahhhhhhhhh! It's cold! It's cold!', and was bucking all over the place! She even slid on her a--I mean, her butt like a dog with worms! Bahahahahaaa! Look! I even recorded it on my iPhone! Boy, am I glad Twilight gave me this continuum charger for my iPhone! I would have missed the whole thing!"

He smiled, looking like an overly-optimistic buffoon. Still, there was no response from the sulking Sweetie Belle.

Wow... if even she did not laugh at that what the colt just said, something was definitely up.

"Hey... Sweetie Belle," he spoke gently.

She still did not answer.

"Sweetie Belle," he spoke a little louder.

Nothing.

"What's wrong?"

...

"What happened at school today?"

...

Now, he was feeling a little annoyed. He only wanted to help her, but how could he if she would not answer him? He hated being ignored, just like how he hated being ignored in high school back at his own deceased world. It drove him crazy when he felt ignored. Still, Sweetie Belle was only a little filly. Especially after the little time they had spent together two nights ago, he did not want relationships to be sour.

He sighed sadly with a hint of anger.

"Okay... whatever. Don't tell me, then. I was only trying to help..."

Sweetie Belle gave in reluctantly.

"That stupid Diamond Tiara..."

He knew it.

"Aw, jeez... What did she do now?"

"So despicable! So despicable beyond belief! Ugh, of all the things she pulled on me, this was the most despicable!"

"What did she do?" He expressed concern.

"She got a hold of one of my tests, erased my name, and then replaced it with hers! She did the same on her test, but she erased her name and replaced it with my name!"

"...And?"

"What else? Now, I 'failed' my pony history test! Pony History, for Celestia's sake!"

Connor blinked in disbelief. He was shocked. "Wow... That...that is despicable! She sure has sunk to a new low."

"If she'd sunk any more, she would drown. I even tried to tell Miss Cheerilee! Did she believe me? No! She said I had to study harder! Ugh! She doesn't even know how hard I studied last night! Two hours! Ugh, even for the best teacher in Ponyville, she still has no clue!"

"Hey, Sweaty Butt!" called a nasally prissy voice.

Oh, dear...

"Very unfortunate of you to flunk that history test! Well, I guess that means you will have to... study harder next time!"

Diamond Tiara laughed. Silver Spoon laughed, too, but she was not very enthusiastic about it. She had an uneasy look in her eye as she laughed. Connor could feel a small tongue of seething rage boil next to him. Sweetie Belle was at the end of her rope.

"That's it, you sneaky, cowardly, piece of--!" She launched herself at the pink snob, until she felt her ankle clench painfully. As a result, she fell flat on her face in the dirt road. Diamond Tiara laughed even harder. Silver Spoon was shocked when she saw the white unicorn on the ground. The pink snob jabbed her elbow into the gray pony's ribs, forcing a laugh out of Silver Spoon.

"Oh, I mean, hahahahaaa... eh hehhhh..." she trailed off uneasily.

They both left, flicking their haunches into the air. Connor looked onward in disgust. What a bi--...

He heard squeaking coming from the downed filly. Sweetie Belle lifted her face from the dirt, revealing a crying face stained with mud from the mixture of tears and dirt.

Oh, God... Connor felt like crying himself. The way the little unicorn was sprawling on the ground, crying with the clunky splint wrapped around her little leg just tore up the colt's heart. Why did such a sweet little filly have to live through such cruelty? She did not deserve it at all. Not one little bit.

He knelt on all four knees as he lowered himself to Sweetie Belle.

"(Sniff!) Why?... (Sniff!) Why did this happen to me? Just why?!" she said with her voice cracking at the very end.

"Heyyyy, heyyyy... It's okay."

"Okay?! It's not okay! I sprained my ankle, so I can't do anything to get my cutie mark, I'm constantly being tortured by that Diamond Tiara, I 'flunked' an important test, and I STILL CAN'T GET MY CUTIE MARK!! It's everything but okay!!"

Connor lifted her face up to wipe away the mud and tears. "Okay, so everything's but okay, but that's only for today. There's a whole new day coming up, and you need to be ready for it, whether it's pleasant or not. However, you can't let that insecure, snobby, biiiiiiiihhhhhg-mouthed brat of a pony get to you."

"But she's always winning when it comes to embarrassing me and my friends. It's so frustrating!"

"I know it is. Believe me, I've been there before. However, I've heard of something called, "You may have lost the battle, but not the war". You've just got to fight every single one of them head-on until the enemy starts to wear out. Therefore, you will start to win more battles, and eventually, you will win the war. However, that depends on your will to go forward or go down."

"You really think so?" she looked into the colt's eyes.

"Absolutely. Plus, for a pretty little filly like you, I think you will do just fine," he smiled as he tousled her curly, periwinkle and light-pink mane.

"But, Diamond Tiara says I'm a freak..."

"Uh-UH! What did I say earlier?"

"Erm... don't let Diamond get to me?"

"Exactly. Plus, you're not a freak; you're pretty like your older sister. Diamond Tiara's the real freak. Snobbish, bratty fillies who dress themselves in cumbersome riches and wear insane amounts of perfume that I could hardly breath are not even close to being pretty. Especially with those attitudes. Am I right?"

"R-right!" A smile was forming on Sweetie Belle's face.

"That's the spirit!" Connor looked up into the sky. "Hoo boy, we'd better get going. Looks like a real big storm's coming!"

BOOM! The rain fell immediately.

"C'mon, Sweeite Belle! On my back!"

BAM! They both busted through the door, dripping profusely. They were covered from head to hoof in rainwater. They panted and laughed from all the running they had to do. Sweetie Belle climbed down off of Connor's back. They both tensed their legs and got ready to shake...

"NOOOOOO!!" screamed Rarity, immediately using herself as a shield to protect her dresses. "Please, no!! I've just finished these dresses and I would literally tear you to pieces if you get one drop on them!"

Whoo, was that a close call.

The white unicorn tossed them a couple of towels. "Dry yourself the proper way, if you are to live in this boutique."

The colt and filly rolled their eyes. Proper way... more like slow and inefficient way.

Connor dropped his towel. "No, thanks, Rarity. I've gotta go back to work at the bar. Who knows if some thirsty ponies happen to shelter themselves in the bar in this rain? I'll see you later."

"Very well. Goodbye, Connor! Thank you ever so much for picking up my little Sweetie Belle!"

"Anytime! See ya, Sweeite Belle!"

"See ya, Connor!"

The door closed, separating the colt from her sight. Sweetie Belle was still waving, though.

"Sweetie Belle, he's gone already..." Rarity raised an eyebrow at her little sister.

"Yeah... I know..." She never took her eyes off the door.

The older sister shrugged and went back to what she was doing before.

Eventually, the little unicorn filly stopped waving. Her eyes were halfway closed, and her smile grew relaxingly wider. She sighed deeply as she sank down to the ground, landing on her elbows. She was keeping her sleepy head up with her hooves.

He called me pretty! Nopony has ever said that to me before... Plus, he plays with me, helps me with problems, consoles me when I feel sad. I... think I love him now... Yeah! I love him!

Well, that was it... It happened.

Sweetie Belle was crushing on Connor.

To be continued...