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// Chapter 17 - Dinner 
// Story: Roads of Life 
// by PonyWrites 
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It had been nearly six weeks since Scootaloo had felt anything close to nervousness thanks to her pills. She now liked to think she reacted sensibly to stressful situations. Rumble was still mad at her, and rightly so. She knew all that would take was time. But as the four of them were getting ready to go to her father’s house for dinner she was, in the most succinct terms, freaking the fuck out. “Rumble, you can’t wear that shirt!” She exclaimed.
        “What’s… wrong with it?” The boy asked, perplexed.
        “It’s fucking wrinkled, he’s going to fucking murder you!”
`        Somehow Rumble doubted this, but relented. “I’ll go iron it.” He left Sweetie’s room, slowly unbuttoning his shirt. Scootaloo plopped on the bed and held her temples to keep her brain from falling out. “Apple Blooooom,” She groaned, “You’re showing too much neck! I don’t want my dad thinking I’m dating a bunch of sluts!” 
        The girl who was the most recent target sighed and walked over to her and lifted her chin, and looked delicately into her girlfriend’s eyes. “Every time I do this I’m doin it out of love, I swear.” With her free hand she quickly slapped Scootaloo on the cheek. “We’ll be fine.”
        “Are you sure because I really love you guys and I want dad to know how much I like you all and I want you to make a good impression and,” Another slap.
        “Scoots, breathe with me.” Apple Bloom took a long inhale through her mouth, and Scootaloo did the same. Out, In, out ten times. 
        “OK. Everything is fine. Everything is fine.”
        “Why didn’t we try that sooner?” Sweetie Belle marveled as she finally decided what earrings to wear. 
        “Well now we’re edumicated about anxiety and stuff.” Apple Bloom twanged sarcastically. 
        “So how do I look? Since you’ve criticized everyone else for not looking victorian enough.” Sweetie did a twirl.
        Scootaloo took another deep breath. “You all look fantastic. I’m pretty sure if I had a dick it would be a constant boner around you three.” They all laughed. 
        “At this rate we might have to start calling you our boyfriend.” Apple Bloom chuckled. 
        “Maybe.” Scootaloo seemed to mentally back away, still chuckling, looking momentarily at the wall. 
        Rumble returned with his purple shirt wrinkle free. “You’re not going to make me wear a tie are you?” He said, noting the relative calm that had settled in the room. 
        “You don’t have to wear a tie,” Scootaloo said as she hugged him. “After all, I’m not wearing a dress no matter how formal it is. It’s just my father, and we all look good. Guys I’m sorry I snapped at you, I’m just stressed.” They all forgave her readily. Even Rumble. 

        Her father greeted them at the door wearing a nice shirt and slacks, which is what he wore most of the time. Scootaloo did note that he ironed them as well. “Hello there… Oh, Rumble what are you doing here?” 
        Scootaloo was impressed that she was the first to speak up. “He’s our boyfriend. It’s complicated.”
        “Well I understand why you said make enough for five. Please come in.” Scootaloo resigned her fate to being in a constant state of shock of how well her dad responded to new information. She swallowed the last of her anxiety and entered. Scootaloo sat on the side with Sweetie, and the other two on the other side, with the patriarch at the head. They passed the dishes around. Scootaloo could almost place the cherrywood table… she ran her fingers along it and found a crayon smudge. “This is great aunt Ida’s table isn’t it?” 
        “Yes. When was the last time we even visited? You must have been five. Well, they were quite supportive of me getting divorced, and this was their present. They’re still a little bitter about the whole ‘not talking to you for thirteen years’ thing. But the bridge isn’t completely burned.” 
        “We should go up there this summer.”
        “That’s not a bad idea.” 
        “Did you cook all this?” Rumble asked.
        “No it dropped from the sky.” The comment caused Rumble to laugh. 
        “Well it all looks and smells fantastic.”
        “At least you're the same Rumble I remember.”
        Apple Bloom spoke up next, “Rumble here is a culinary master himself, ain’t ya?” The boy blushed.
        “Yeah, you could say that. I’ve learned a lot from Scootaloo recently though.” 
        “She was always in the kitchen. I dare say she helped more than a few meals be edible. My wife was a terrible cook but she always insisted on it, so like so many things I stopped fighting.” Reg looked at his plate. Two seconds of uncomfortable silence passed. “Oh, we usually bless the food, if that’s alright?” 
        Rumble set down his fork with a smackerel of quiche on it and nodded. Everyone else also consented. He said a quick prayer lifted his head back up. “Alright, pass the butter.” 
        They ate and talked. Rumble seemed to really hit it off. In fact he was the one to explain how weird sexuality can be sometimes, and how Scootaloo was only attracted to one boy--him. Reg reasoned out that because she dated him briefly about a year ago it was to convince herself because she found a boy attractive. Scootaloo was grateful she wasn’t the one to explain it. Apple Bloom explained their arrangement, giving details of the night when Sweetie and her fought like cats and ended up tied together. She was laughing, as hindsight often lets a person. Sweetie Belle went on about how some bonds in the relationship were stronger, like Rumble and Apple Bloom and her and Scootaloo. 
        “So you’re sitting by arrangement of marriage right?” Reg laughed.
        “Dad, we’re in high school. I might not even marry her!” Scootaloo pointed to her closest girlfriend. She realized Sweetie was glaring at her and knew she was going to get a proper scolding later. 
        “I’m kidding, I’m kidding,” her father backpedaled. “Well, I think what you all have is good. I believe you can all love each other. It’s not a finite resource after all.” Scootaloo let out a silent sigh of relief. The conversation took a turn to less weighted topics. Rumble and Reg were talking about the recent football game, and it went from there.

        After a wonderful dinner they retreated back to the Apple farmhouse where they proceed to make out furiously and quickly ditch the clothes. Scootaloo was quickly reduced to her undershirt and boxers before she put a stop to it.
        “Not in the mood?” Sweetie hooked an arm around Rumble’s waist, perhaps in an attempt to make her jealous.
        “I’m always in the mood, but I just wanted to talk to you. Would you, like… call me a boy for a week? I don’t even know if it would prove anything but it might help. I’m so confused honestly.” 
        Apple Bloom immediately responded. “Sure. You have a boy name you’ve been thinking of?” 
        “Leave it to me to not think that far.” They all sat down on the bed in varying states of undress thinking of ideas.
        “I’ve got it!” Rumble exclaimed, “Scooteroll!”
        “That’s good, I like it.” Scooteroll said with a giant smile on his face.
        “Can we have sex already? You got me all riled up and then just stopped.” 
        “Sorry,” he said raising up and kissing Sweetie. “I just wanted to be sure about a few things.” 

        The group lay cuddling together, breathless and exhausted. “I want it noted you might be a boy but I’m still not gay.” Rumble said. 
        “Shit that means I’m straight now doesn’t it?” Was Rumble going crazy or was his “boyfriend’s” voice already deeper?
        “Oh how tragic,” Sweetie feigned sympathy, “I guess that means we’re over, because I only date lesbians.”
        “Oh come on you’re both bisexual.” Scooteroll protested.
        “I’m giving you a hard time hun.”
        “I think Rumble’s also giving me a hard time…” he said. 
        “Three naked wo--- Two naked woman and a boy with a vagina! What’s not to get horny about?” Rumble defended himself. 
        Scooteroll laughed, “Easy tiger. You must be worn out after that. I’m tired myself. Let’s call it a night.” Apple Bloom turned off the light, and Scooteroll cuddled with his girlfriend, with his boyfriend at his back. And something felt so right about it.

        Scooteroll remembered why he didn’t like staying at Apple Bloom’s house when she was awoken at six am to get breakfast. It was the weekend, it was time to sleep in! But he got dressed and made his way down to the kitchen because you don’t pass up an Apple Family Breakfast. Rainbow Dash came in a few minutes later looking like death in need of coffee. “Hi sis,” the athlete grumbled. 
        Scootaloo grumbled her own reply. “Actually if you could call me Scooteroll for like a week. I’m trying to figure out if I’m a boy.”
        “Whatever bro I’m too hungover.” Applejack walked in, looking chipper as always. Her sister commented about her sunny disposition not even she shared. 
        “Y’all should have told me how great lesbian sex was!” The four youngest of them groaned.
        “Thank you for that wonderful image,” Scooteroll replied. “I’m going to have to rinse my brain with bleach.” Rainbow poured more coffee, first for herself then for her brother. She set the mug down in front of the nodding-off teenager.
        “So you’re a boy now?” 
        “Yeah. I kinda like it but I’m giving it a test run. Cuz I don’t know what the fuck to do.” 
        “Most of life is not knowing what the fuck to do.” Rainbow chuckled. “Hey that means Rumble’s--” The glare she immediately received from the sophomore cut off her joke. “Nevermind.”
        Big Mac served up pancakes, bacon, eggs and sausage. One by one the zombies around the table perked up with the helps of carbohydrates and caffeine. 
        “Oh,” Rainbow Dash remembered with a mouthful of food. “How was dinner with your father?”
        “It went great. He actually understands me and he approves of… all this.” Scooteroll motioned to her harem. “Something about as long as I love deeply it doesn’t matter because I’ll be a step ahead of Solomon.”
        “The guy in the bible with 700 wives and 300 concubines?” Rainbow asked.
        “Yep. Lucky bastard.” That earned a chuckle from the table. 
        “So wait, have I been away so long I didn’t notice you two started dating again?”
        “Yeah, there’s a story behind it. Would you like to hear it?” Rainbow asked.
        “As long as it’s not erotica.” Scooter grumbled.