• Published 13th Dec 2014
  • 1,290 Views, 8 Comments

Scoot Over Sweetie - Brass Polish



Scootaloo can’t help but question Babs Seed’s decision to spend a night with her rather than Sweetie Belle.

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2 Metal Detector

Soon enough, the plans for Babs Seed’s accommodation were laid out. For the rest of the day, Scootaloo, Sweetie Belle and Babs Seed had a competition with Button Mash and Gilt Eyes to see who could beat the high score of “Livid Phoenixes”. Scootaloo couldn’t help but notice that there wasn’t much chatter during their time at the arcade, which was unusual because normally, the Cutie Mark Crusaders and their friends were always talking about things like special talents and Twilight Time and various escapades.

Oh, well. I’ll have plenty to say to Babs tonight, she thought.

She was looking forward to retelling her discovery about young flyers to Babs Seed.

The five foals had dinner at a burger joint that evening, and they all agreed that it had been the best day off school they’d ever had. Soon, Sweetie Belle, Button Mash and Gilt Eyes had gone home to their parents. Scootaloo was leading Babs Seed to her house, wheeling her scooter along as they walked. Scootaloo was about to bring up her show-and-tell project, but Babs spoke first.

“You mind if I told you a secret?” she asked.

“Um, OK,” replied Scootaloo.

Babs Seed whispered into Scootaloo’s ear.

“I wanted to ask if I could stay at your place because unicorns kinda drive me nuts,” she admitted quietly.

Scootaloo didn’t respond, so Babs continued.

“I mean, Sweetie Belle’s nice and everything, but the last time I was here for that Festival of Flora, she wouldn’t stop talking about herself learning to use magic. And she’s not the only one. You remember my unicorn friend from Manehattan, right?”

“Yeah,” Scootaloo nodded.

“She’s the same way,” Babs moaned. “She’s getting better and better at levitating stuff, and she won’t shut up about it. I just… I didn’t wanna risk losing my mind and blowing up in Sweetie Belle’s face if she kept yammering about it.”

Scootaloo faltered. “I see. Um, did you think she’d be mad if you just asked her not to talk about it?”

“I don’t wanna wreck her confidence,” Babs Seed said. “I know how important magic is to unicorn foals. Look at Gilt Eyes. He’s probably the best unicorn colt I’ve ever seen. Did you see the way he used the joystick without touching it with his hooves? No wonder he beat us in Livid Phoenixes.”

Scootaloo’s heartbeat sped up a bit. If Babs Seed was tired of hearing unicorn foals go own about what they could do with their horns, she was sure to disapprove of Scootaloo ranting about the troubles pegasus foals face with their disproportionate wings. The conversation she’d been hoping to share with her Manehattanite friend would surely be disastrous now. She didn’t know what else they could talk about now. And it would be unlikely that they would be able to simply go to bed right away. They, along with Sweetie Belle, Button and Gilt Eyes, had drank a lot of soda during the day and were all pretty hyper. In fact, Scootaloo and Babs Seed each still had a half-empty soda can on them. Scootaloo’s parents didn’t mind that she and Babs Seed were taking sodas to bed with them as it was a long weekend.

“So, there’s my bed,” Scootaloo pointed out when they’d entered her bedroom.

Babs Seed shuffled a bit. “That’s exactly what Apple Bloom said the first time I went into her bedroom. I, uh, don’t know if she told you this, but I kinda made her sleep on the floor that time.”

“You’re not gonna make me do that, are ya?” chuckled Scootaloo.

“No way!” Babs Seed shook her head. “I’m not… I mean, you know I don’t…”

Scootaloo shook. “Hey, relax. I was kidding.”

“Alright,” Babs Seed calmed down. “Sorry. I’m still really ashamed about that.”

Oh, great. I’m bumming her out, Scootaloo thought.

Scootaloo and Babs Seed hopped onto the bed, and they each grabbed a pillow and claimed a side of the bed. Almost instantly, the atmosphere went rather dull. Neither could seem to strike up a conversation or suggest a game. Scootaloo could think of nothing to say apart from what she’d told her classmates that morning, and she was sure Babs wouldn’t want to hear it. For a while, the two fillies just sipped their sodas, making quite a lot of noise.

“Wanna hear a joke?” asked Scootaloo without thinking.

“It’s not gonna be another one like that first one, is it?” asked Babs Seed.

“No, no. Pinkie Pie told me this one,” Scootaloo said quickly.

“OK, let’s hear it,” nodded Babs.

Scootaloo cleared her throat. “What’s black and white and red all over.”

“Oh, come on. That’s the oldest joke in the world,” groaned Babs.

“Well then, what’s your answer?” asked Scootaloo.

“A newspaper.”

“Nope.”

“OK, an embarrassed skunk.”

“Nope.”

A sunburnt zebra, then.”

“Nope.”

Babs’ eyes widened. “Oh. Uh… I don’t know. What is black and white and red all over?”

“And embarrassed newspaper,” Scootaloo grinned.

“What? Why would a newspaper be embarrassed?”

“Because it got a sunburn,” Scootaloo chuckled.

The two friends burst into laughter. But within a minute, they were both silent and stoic again.

Rats, Scootaloo thought. That was the best joke I know. Now what?

“Uh, do you know any jokes?” she asked.

“No, sorry,” frowned Babs Seed.

It was as if Scootaloo had lost her memories. She could not think of a decent way to strike up a stimulating conversation. And from the looks of things, Babs had nothing to say as well. For a moment, Scootaloo looked up at her Wonderbolts pinups and considered talking about them. But then she remembered that she already told her that she liked aerial acrobatics, so this would be old news.

Oh, man. Maybe it would’ve been better if Babs stayed with Sweetie Belle, thought Scootaloo. At least they’d have something to talk about. I have to make her choice worth it. But how?

Then it occurred to her that she hadn’t really learned much about Babs’ fellow Crusader members due to her excitement over the new recruits from Barrow in Harness.

“So how are your fellow Manehattanite Crusaders?” she asked.

“Oh. Uh, they’re fine,” replied Babs Seed with a smile.

Scootaloo felt sure that they were on to something, but all of a sudden, Babs was lookin glum.

“Their siblings on the other hoof…”

“Uh, their siblings?” Scootaloo repeated with a bad feeling in her stomach.

“They both have little brothers,” Babs explained. “And sometimes their parents make us take those colts with us when we do our Crusader stuff.”

“What are their little brothers’ names?” asked Scootaloo.

“I’ll tell ya what I call them,” sniffed Babs Seed. “Those little putzes.”

Scootaloo grew rather concerned. Babs Seed was scowling as if her life depended on looking almost pained.

“Have ya ever used a metal detector?” she asked.

Scootaloo was surprised. “Uh, no.”

“Don’t ever do it,” Babs advised. “They’re heavy. If you wanna find any metal stuff in the ground, try and find a unicorn who can use that kinda spell. You know, like the way Sweetie Belle’s sister can find buried jewels.”

“Um…”

Scootaloo was curious as to why Babs Seed brought up metal detectors of all things, and why the subject of her friends’ little brothers made her think of it, but she was worried that it might be an unpleasant topic for Babs. The more she looked at her, the more uncomfortable she looked. And was it her imagination, or was Babs Seed squeezing her pillow?

“I’m glad I’ve got an older sibling,” Babs piped up. “If I had a little brother or sister, my life would be worse than Tartarus.”

“What do your friends’ siblings have to do with metal detectors?” asked Scootaloo.

Why did I ask?! she thought as soon as she’d spoken.

Babs groaned forcefully. “We were allowed to borrow my friend’s parents metal detector, and they asked me to hold onto it cause I’m the strongest of the three of us. Cause of that, her parents said I was responsible for it.”

Babs Seed took another sip of her drink. Scootaloo attempted to take the opportunity change the clearly unpleasant subject, but Babs continued her rant immediately.

“I wasn’t worried until I found out that my friends had to take their little brothers with them cause their parents were busy. And let me tell ya, when those little putzes saw that metal detector in my hooves, they seemed to think it was some kinda piñata. I had a heck of a time holding it outta their reach and they ended up shoving me around instead. And they wouldn’t listen to their sisters when they told them to leave me alone. They tried to distract them so we could get on with our treasure hunting, but I couldn’t relax. Those little putzes kept creeping up on me. I think they knew that I’d be blamed if the metal detector got broken, and they saw it as a way to be bad without getting in trouble. How fun is that for me, huh?”

She blew her mane out of her face.

“And it gets worse. My friends gave up on trying to control their evil little brothers and started complaining about me not being able to hold the stupid metal detector still. Like I wasn’t under enough pressure! What was I supposed to do? I couldn’t kick those little putzes away. I’d probably get in even more trouble than if I busted the metal detector. It was probably the worst thing I ever went through.”

Again, Babs Seed stopped gushing about her awful experience to take a sip of soda.

I’ve got to change the subject, Scootaloo thought desperately. Come on. Think of another topic.

Babs jolted. Scootaloo stopped racking her brain for something else to talk about and looked at her Manehattanite friend. Babs Seed was wincing and there were tears in her eyes. Scootaloo saw her houseguest had become utterly depressed. But then Babs rubbed her nose.

“Nose burp,” she muttered.

Oh. That’s a relief, Scootaloo thought. That’s a perfect topic.

“Don’t ya hate it when that happens?” she said as soon as Babs recovered.

“Uh, huh,” nodded Babs Seed. “Ya got a recyclables bin?”

Scootaloo pointed to a green bucket across the room sitting next to her steel garbage can. Babs aimed carefully and threw her empty soda can across the room.

“Great shot,” Scootaloo remarked when the can had landed in the bin.

Babs huffed. “A soda can was the only thing we were able to find in that lousy treasure hunt.”

Oh, no. We’re back to the metal detector story, thought Scootaloo.

“And it took all my strength to keep from throwing it at those little putzes when they tried to tackle me on our way back to the apartment.”

Scootaloo decided she had no choice but to let Babs Seed finish her unpleasant story.

“So now if my friends’ parents make them foalsit their little brothers,” Babs continued, “I just refuse to do anything adventurous with them. They think I’m being a bad sport. They wouldn’t be saying that if they had an expensive thing that weighed a ton to look after. I really hate disappointing them. They’re the first friends I made back home. I don’t wanna blow it with them, but I just can’t stand being around those little putzes when we’ve got something going on. They see me as some kinda punching bag and I HATE IT.”

Babs Seed yawned.

“Tired?” asked Scootaloo instantly. “Guess we should hit the sack.”

Scootaloo feigned a yawn and began to rearrange her pillow.

“Yeah, sure. Let’s get our heads down,” Babs Seed agreed, adjusting her own pillow.

Scootaloo shut the light off and the two Cutie Mark Crusaders relaxed in the dark bedroom. Scootaloo was far from tired though.

I knew there was a reason I never hosted a slumber party before, she thought gloomily. I’m no good at entertaining ponies. I’ll bet Babs would’ve had a great time if she’d stayed with Sweetie Belle tonight.

“Hey Scoots.”

Scootaloo turned her head. Her eyes had adjusted to the darkness by now, so she could see Babs Seed’s complacent face quite plainly.

“Yeah?”

“Thanks for hearing me out,” Babs smiled. “It feels good to get all that stuff off my chest.”

“Oh,” Scootaloo blinked. “Uh, no problem.”

Scootaloo turned back onto her side, but Babs Seed spoke again.

“Uh, Button Mash said you had a really cool show-and-tell project in class today. Could ya tell me about it?”

Scootaloo gulped. “Uh… well… it’s about pegasi and their wings.”

“Oh. Is there a long speech with it?” asked Babs Seed.

“Yeah,” Scootaloo nodded.

Babs Seed yawned again. “Well, maybe it can wait till tomorrow.”

“Yeah. OK,” said Scootaloo. “No problem.”

“Alright,” Babs Seed turned over. “Night, Scootaloo.”

“Night, Babs,” Scootaloo replied.

The only sound in that room for the rest of the night was peaceful snoring.

Sweetie Belle showed up the following morning and told Scootaloo and Babs Seed that Apple Bloom was up and about. After they’d finished breakfast, Sweetie led them to the fountain in town. Apple Bloom was there watching Pinkie Pie getting a head start on setting up for the Enamour’s Day Festival.

“How you feelin’, cousin?” Babs Seed asked.

“Way better. I ain’t got that awful cough anymore and my nose ain’t totally blocked up,” Apple Bloom replied brightly. “Sorry ya couldn’t stay with us last night.”

“No worries,” Babs Seed smiled. “I had a good time staying with Scootaloo.”

“You did?!” Scootaloo spluttered.

“Well, yeah,” Babs Seed said, a surprised expression on her face. “It was fun.”

“How was it fun?” demanded Scootaloo. “You were miserable.”

“Miserable?!” Babs repeated. “No I wasn’t. Yeah, I was talking about something that bugged the heck outta me, but I did tell you I needed to talk to someone about it, didn’t I?”

“Yeah, but I couldn’t do anything about it,” Scootaloo frowned.

“You didn’t have to do anything,” insisted Babs Seed. “You were there. That’s all I needed.”

“Really?” asked Scootaloo.

“Sure. We don’t always have to actually do stuff together,” said Babs Seed. “Sometimes, just hanging out is enough.”

Scootaloo cheered up right away. “Yeah. You’re right. And I was worried about making your stay at my place worth it.”

“Hey, spending time with friends is always worth it,” said Babs Seed. “Heck, even my friends back home still let me hang out with them even though I won’t do anything adventurous with their brothers around.”

Scootaloo was delighted, but Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle were a little lost.

“Are ya still having bully problems, Babs?” asked Apple Bloom.

“Sorta,” Babs Seed shrugged. “But it ain’t too bad now. I’ve told my big sister about it a while ago. There ain’t an awful lot she can do about it, but at least everypony knows about my problems.”

“You’ve got a great attitude, Babs,” Scootaloo beamed. “Can’t believe I was worried about being a worse host than Sweetie Belle.”

Sweetie Belle coughed.

“Oh, no! She got my Broncoitis!” cried Apple Bloom.

“Guess I did make the right choice!” said Babs as she, Scootaloo and Apple Bloom began to run away from Sweetie Belle.

“I was just kidding!” Sweetie called. “I’m not sick!”

She watched as her friends stopped running and walked back to the fountain with annoyed faces.

“You Ponyville Crusaders got a twisted sense of humour,” smirked Babs Seed as they rejoined a red-faced Sweetie Belle.

Scootaloo chuckled. “She looks like a sunburnt newspaper.”

She and Babs Seed exploded with laughter.

Author's Note:

I don't understand why everyone seems to wish the worst upon Scootaloo.

Comments ( 7 )

BABE, GET OVER HERE!

Y-yeah Babs?

They made a story about us.

Is it a romance story?

No, but it's about us having a sleepover. I read it and it's really good!

*looks at cover art* OMIGOSH we look SO cute together!

I know. *nuzzles* I love you Scoots

I love you too, Seedie. *kisses cheek*

Comment posted by Brass Polish deleted Dec 13th, 2014
Comment posted by Manaphy deleted Mar 20th, 2016

I don't understand why everyone seems to wish the worst upon Scootaloo.

Neither do I. I love Scootaloo, she's awesome!

VGI

They wish the worse out of Scootaloo?

I don't know about that, but she was my first serious, not OC, MLP-related art inspiration.

This story is sweet. Sweet and short. Thumbs upped and shelving.

Possible errors and corrections:

1. Scootaloo was her houseguest had become utterly depressed.
- Uh...something's not right here. Maybe, "Scootaloo's houseguest..."

2. “Nose burp,” he muttered.
- I know Bab's and Scoots are tomboyish but...


Sweet lessons that are just like in the shows:
1.
“No worries,” Babs Seed smiled. “I had a good time staying with Scootaloo.”
“You did?!” Scootaloo spluttered.
“Well, yeah,” Babs Seed said, a surprised expression on her face. “It was fun.”
“How was it fun?” demanded Scootaloo. “You were miserable.”
“Miserable?!” Babs repeated. “No I wasn’t. Yeah, I was talking about something that bugged the heck outta me, but I did tell you I needed to talk to someone about it, didn’t I?”
“Yeah, but I couldn’t do anything about it,” Scootaloo frowned.
“You didn’t have to do anything,” insisted Babs Seed. “You were there. That’s all I needed.”
- Awesome punchline-lesson! Simple, straight to the point, and utterly understandable. Just like in the shows.

2.
“Are ya still having bully problems, Babs?” asked Apple Bloom.
“Sorta,” Babs Seed shrugged. “But it ain’t too bad now. I’ve told my big sister about it a while ago. There ain’t an awful lot she can do about it, but at least everypony knows about my problems.”

- Way to add some realism to this bullying thing people go through. Many times, just speaking out about being bullied will not solve the problem completely. But at least, everyone knows about it, and you don't have to suffer in secret. Plus, the bully's reputation will be negatively affected too.

This story is really cute! I love both scootaloo babs a lot so I really enjoyed this short story.

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