//------------------------------// // The End // Story: Imperfections // by The Abyss //------------------------------// Sweetie Belle stirred awake, her back wondrously warm. She felt Scootaloo breathe in and out, her belly slowly expanding and deflating with each breath. With a light giggle, she rolled out of Scootaloo’s grasp and laid on her other side, facing her. “S-scoots?” Sweetie Belle slowly asked. Her stomach felt a bit funny, an unexpected result of her actions from last night. Scootaloo woke up a few moments later. She blinked at Sweetie Belle, then smiled when she saw that she was awake. After clearing her throat, she croaked out, “Morning, Sweets... how’re you feeling?” “Alright, I guess. My stomach’s feeling kinda weird, but I think it might be because I’m hungry...” She flicked her eyes to look into her friend’s. “I’m sorry you had to see me doing... that yesterday.” Sweetie Belle glanced away as she saw Scootaloo’s smile fade into a look of concern. “Yeah, what the heck was all that about? You sick or something?” Scootaloo propped herself up, then laid her head back down on the pillow as she waited for Sweetie Belle to explain. “No, I’m not... but, um... well... yesterday, Diamond Tiara pointed out that I was getting kind of fat...” “So?” Sweetie Belle shrunk under the sheets, curling her forelegs up to her chest. “Um... well, I don’t know if you know this, but I put a lot of effort into looking good everyday when I get up. I’d much rather lose sleep getting ready for the day rather than sleeping in. Anyways, Diamond Tiara suggested that instead of working out, I should just throw up whatever I eat. That way, I could eat whatever I want to, and I wouldn’t have to groom myself twice in one day.” “So what you’re telling me is that you’d rather take the easy way out? Come on, Sweetie Belle! I know you better than that.” Scootaloo’s eyebrows furrowed as she rolled over onto her belly. She sat up and flicked her tail around her flank. “Besides, why would you even listen to what Diamond Tiara has to say? I’m pretty darn sure she doesn’t have her best interests at heart like I do.” Sweetie Belle shifted a bit closer to Scootaloo. “She was right, though. I am getting fat. After I got home yesterday, you know what I did? I ate half a tub of ice cream without realizing the consequences. But once I did? I could have sworn I actually felt my belly getting fatter because of that, so to keep myself from getting worse, I did what those celebrities do: I... I got rid of the problem.” “And did it make you feel better?” Scootaloo asked softly. She wrapped her hoof around Sweetie Belle’s left foreleg and held on to it tightly. “Come on...” “...No, it made me feel worse. It made my stomach hurt, and, uh... well, my throat sort of burned afterwards, too.” “So how can that possibly be good for you?” Scootaloo asked. “Do you really want to throw up three times a day for the rest of your life? That’s like... twenty-something times a week! What if you were at a restaurant, or eating dinner with your parents? Everypony’s gonna have a little bit of fat on them, so I don’t see why you should be so worked up about having a little fat on you.” “I guess...” Sweetie Belle looked out of the window at the rising sun as she spoke. “I just saw how skinny Diamond Tiara was and sorta thought that that was how I should look too.” “Come on, when have we ever wanted to be like that whiny brat?” Scootaloo asked with a chuckle. “Just because she’s skinny doesn’t mean that she looks nicer than you, you know? It’s all about who you are and what’s in your heart.” She poked Sweetie Belle’s breast with a hoof. “I really don’t like seeing you hurt yourself, so can you promise me you won’t ever do what you did again?” Sweetie Belle sat up, mere inches separating them. “I do.” She leaned forward with a smile and nuzzled Scootaloo’s neck as she pulled her into a hug. Sweetie Belle squeezed as hard as she could for a few moments. “Thanks for being there for me, Scootaloo...” she murmured. “Yeah, you know I have your back.” Scootaloo wrapped her forelegs around her friend’s back, then as they let go of each other, she placed her hoof on Sweetie Belle’s. “And listen, if you ever feel like you have to throw up to look better, just find me, alright? We’ll be able to work things out.” “Okay...” Sweetie Belle said with a blush. Not a moment passed before she heard her stomach grumble. Scootaloo grinned at that. “Hehe, now I don’t know about you, but skipping dinner makes me really hungry! Wanna go get a quick snack at the bakery before we go to school? I have a few bits left in my bag that’ll buy us some muffins!” “Sure!” Sweetie Belle perked up at that and jumped off of the bed. “I’ll carry our bags if you want.” “Yeah, that’d be cool! Also, do you promise to not throw them up after eating them?” Scootaloo asked with a giggle. “Of course I do, you silly filly! I already told you I wouldn’t!” Sweetie Belle nudged her friend’s shoulder with her own and trotted past her, a smile spreading on her face. With the promise of delicious snacks, the two of them raced to the bakery. They both ordered two blueberry and chocolate chip muffins each, then scarfed them down. After throwing away their wrappers, they tossed their saddlebags onto their backs and made their way to school. Luckily enough for them, they only had to suffer just one more day before they got to the five-day weekend. School passed by uneventfully and they were let out earlier than usual. As it turned out, the teacher had planned a vacation and wanted to get out of there as soon as possible. Of course, none of the students really paid attention that day, and they were more than happy to encourage Miss Cheerilee to let them go as early as possible. After some convincing, everypony was able to convince the teacher to just push the rest of the math lesson to next week. The three of them walked outside, their spirits high. “Whatcha feel like doin’, gals?” Apple Bloom asked. “Wanna go tubin’ down the river?” “Nah, I think Sweetie Belle and I just want to chill out, if that’s alright. Maybe we can all find a good place to nap on the farm?” Scootaloo glanced at Sweetie Belle, who nodded back at her with a small smile. “I’d be down to go tubing later, but not right now. That math lesson bored me so close to death I just wanna sleep for a while.” Apple Bloom shrugged. “Sure, if that’s what y’all wanna do. You guys wanna race there?” Her muscles tensed up and she ground a hoof into the dirt. “Three two one, go!” she yelled. She turned around and galloped down the path, leaving Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle standing in the school’s courtyard with a bunch of the other students. Scootaloo stared in shock as Apple Bloom disappeared down the path, her dust cloud getting smaller with each passing second. “She sure is pretty quick, huh?” “Yeah... she’s almost as fast as you are on your scooter.” “I’d probably say that she’s faster!” “You think?” “Totally...” Scootaloo paused as she looked around. “Speaking of which... where is my scooter?” “Oh, you mean this old piece of junk?” Scootaloo’s and Sweetie Belle’s heads whipped around to find Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon standing behind them. “You know, Silvie...” Diamond Tiara started, one of her hooves on Scootaloo’s scooter. “You’d think that having friends that are so in shape would make you want to get in shape too. It’s a pity that you’re just so lazy, Sweetie Belle.” Silver Spoon sat down and rolled her eyes, looking away from everypony. “Ain’t that right, Silver?” She nudged her friend, trying to get her to back her up. “Huh?” Silver Spoon feigned ignorance. “Oh, yeah, sure...” she said in the most uncaring of ways as she inspected a hoof. Diamond Tiara chuckled and turned around to find herself nose to nose with Scootaloo. Momentarily shocked, she took a couple steps back, but Scootaloo matched her step for step. “Hey, you know what kind of crap you’ve put Sweetie Belle through these past couple of days?!” Scootaloo asked, her tone harsh and demanding. “I’ve never seen her get so messed up in my life, and it’s all because of you!” She jabbed Diamond Tiara right in the chest, pushing her another step back. “Do you really just judge ponies based on their looks?!” “Well duh, she’s just a stupid blank flank!” Diamond Tiara spat out, failing to see the look of disgust on Silver Spoon’s face. “So you’re just gonna judge her based on what she doesn’t have?” Scootaloo scoffed. “You know, you were just a stupid blank flank not so long ago! How simple-minded are you?” She heard Sweetie Belle giggle behind her, making her turn around. But instead of seeing a look of elation and happiness upon her friend’s face like she had expected, she saw one of alarm and horror. Right as she was about to cock her head to the side and ask what was wrong, she heard a small grunt behind her. Taking a step back, she found Silver Spoon standing between her and Diamond Tiara, holding one of the bully’s hooves in her own. “That’s enough, Diamond!” Silver Spoon shoved Diamond back. “How long are you going to keep this up, huh? Why do you keep acting like you’re better than everypony else?” “My Daddy is gon—” “Nopony cares what your Daddy’s gonna do, D’!” Silver Spoon shoved her old friend back again. “I’m sick of listening to you be mean to everypony around you just so you can make yourself feel better!” “Silver Spoon, what are you—” Diamond Tiara’s ears flicked back. “I hate that I once called you a friend!” Silver Spoon yelled at Diamond Tiara. “What kind of horrible pony makes fun of her own friends?!” “They aren’t my friends, Silver Spoon! They’re blank flanks; they’re below us!” Diamond Tiara spat back, her face scrunching up in confusion. “I was talking about me, you dunce!” Silver Spoon yelled. “I have just as much fat as Sweetie Belle, and every time you made fun of her for being fat, you drove a nail into me!” Tears formed in her eyes. “How could you not see the pain you were putting me in?!” she yelled, letting the tears flow freely down her face. “I’ve been sucking in my gut ever since you started making fun of them for being fat!” “Silver Spoon, you know I wasn’t talking about you, so why are you getting so upset?” Diamond Tiara asked slowly, talking in a manner as if she considered Silver Spoon a little crazy. “How can you be so blind?” Silver Spoon shoved her old friend harder than ever, making her trip over her hind legs. Diamond Tiara fell into a puddle of mud, covering her pristine coat in a thick layer of the goop. “I’d rather have no friends than be friends with you!” At that, she turned and ran away, running down the path away from Ponyville. “Hey, stop!” Sweetie Belle called out, reaching out with a hoof. She missed Silver Spoon as she ran past her, so she got up and galloped after her, running as fast as she possibly could. Silver Spoon slowed down after running a hundred or so feet, stopping off on the side of the road near a small grove of trees. Sweetie Belle watched Silver Spoon slump down to the ground in the shade, crying her little heart out. Sweetie Belle felt bad for Silver Spoon. She knew how tough it was to not have friends, and to have given up on your only friend like that must have taken a lot of strength. Walking up to her, she settled down next to the crying filly and rubbed her back, making her look up in shock. “H-hey,” Silver Spoon stuttered out, wiping the tears from her eyes with a hoof. Many moments passed before she looked away from her and said, “I’m sorry for all the pain Diamond Tiara and I put you three through. I always kinda felt bad about not stopping her, but... you know, I just wanted to have a friend so bad that I...” she trailed off, crying. It took her nearly a minute to calm down enough to get to the point where she could talk again. “These p-past couple of days have really shown me just how little my old friend thinks of me...” Silver stood up on trembling legs and looked at the ground in front of her. “I’ll see you two in school on Monday...” she said, letting out a forlorn sigh. “I promise I’ll never make fun of you ever again, and I hope that you guys can forgive me...” “Wait, you really gonna waste this awesome five day weekend?” Scootaloo asked with a giggle. Silver Spoon shrugged, her head hung low. “I was just gonna stay home, I guess. I don’t really have anypony to play with anymore, so... yeah,” she finished rather lamely. “You have us,” Sweetie Belle said, her voice strong and firm. Silver Spoon looked up at her, a hopeful expression on her face. “Anypony who stands up for me and my friends is definitely a friend of mine.” She looked over her shoulder at Scootaloo. “Ain’t that right, Scootaloo?” “Totally!” Scootaloo shot back. “Hey Silver, we were gonna go hang out at Sweet Apple Acres! Wanna come? Apple Bloom wants to go tubing later, and we kinda need a fourth pony for the second tube! You can ride with me if you want!” “Re-really?” Silver Spoon asked, tears of joy welling up in her eyes. “Do you guys mean it?” “Of course!” Sweetie Belle pulled Silver Spoon into a brief hug. She felt her new friend’s tears soak into her coat and mane, but she didn’t care. Her new friend’s happiness was all that mattered to her. “You know, I bet Apple Bloom’s wondering where we all are!” Scootaloo said. “Hop on in; I’ll get us there in a jiffy!” “So... what do you say, Silver?” Sweetie Belle asked with a smile, letting go of Silver Spoon. “You want to be friends with us?” Silver Spoon smiled at both of them, then hugged Sweetie Belle back twice as hard. Her tone full of happiness and joy, she said, “Definitely!