• Published 5th Apr 2015
  • 6,747 Views, 208 Comments

Imperfections - The Abyss



When Diamond Tiara teases Sweetie Belle about gaining weight, Sweetie Belle takes drastic measures to lose it. She tries to hide her actions from her closest friends, but Sweetie Belle quickly discovers that she doesn't have to fight this alone.

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The Middle

“Today is the day…” Scootaloo whispered to herself as she buckled her helmet on. She stretched her hind legs then her forelegs, holding each pose until she felt limber. Sweat dripped down her brow only to be wiped away by her hoof. The past couple of days had been hotter than usual and today was no exception, but that came nowhere close to making her want to take a break from practicing.

Their sleepover had gone off without a hitch, and she had slept like a rock next to Sweetie Belle. They had spent the rest of the weekend crusading, and like usual, none of them had gotten their cutie marks.

There wasn’t a single cloud in the sky, letting the hot summer sun beat upon Scootaloo’s back. She’d been at it for nearly an hour already, getting in her morning practice run before she and her friends went to school. They were supposed to be getting up sometime soon, but she didn’t see them anywhere.

As the sun started to rise above the horizon behind her, Scootaloo stretched her wings and tightened her grip on the scooter. She eyed the ramp that lay ahead of her, a good thirty feet away. This time, she had made sure that this one was stable, unlike the one that had caused her to have that accident. She flapped her wings as hard as she could and pushed off, gaining speed quickly. Her injuries hurt for a brief moment, but she pushed the pain away and concentrated on what she was doing. The ramp came closer and closer, and before she knew it she was soaring through the air.

Scootaloo took the briefest of moments to enjoy the sensation of feeling weightless. It wasn’t often that she got to feel this way, so she cherished every time she launched herself into the air. As she felt herself reach the peak of her jump, she kicked the bottom part of the scooter out from under her, whipping it around two times before she caught it, nailing the trick with less than half a second to spare.

Phew! That was close! Scootaloo thought as she let her knees flex, taking the impact as she landed. She grunted as pain shot out from her left hind leg, but she kept things under control. Her scooter wobbled for a couple seconds, and just as she felt like she was about to fall off, she slid a hoof off of the platform and dug it into the ground, pushing as hard as she could to slow herself down.

“Hey, nice trick, Scootaloo!” she heard Apple Bloom call out. Lifting her head with a smile, Scootaloo looked back over her shoulder to see her friends back by the ramp. Apple Bloom was standing at its peak, her forehooves perched right on the lip of the ramp. “Is that the one you wanted to show us?”

“Yeah!” Scootaloo called back. Her muscles trembled with exhaustion, but she felt like she had it in her for one more go. “Wanna see me do it again?”

“Sure!” Apple Bloom said, her voice teeming with excitement.

“Shouldn’t we get going to school guys?” Sweetie Belle asked. “We only have about ten minutes to get across town.”

“Yeesh, is it that late already?” Scootaloo asked as she pushed herself over to where her friends stood. She hooked up the old wagon to her scooter and waited for her friends to hop in. “Don’t worry, we’ll get there in time!”

Staying true to her word, Scootaloo got the three of them to school in a jiffy with only a minute left to spare. The school day went like any other Monday: boring and uneventful. Well, uneventful until the end of the day, that is.

The three of them walked outside, the school bell ringing from the top of the schoolhouse marking the end of the school day. Since they had spent the entire weekend crusading, they all decided that they should take a day off, so everypony simply went their separate ways.

“Hey sis, I’m home!” Sweetie Belle called out as she walked into the Carousel Boutique. She was staying with Rarity for the week while their parents were on vacation. She didn’t hear her sister call back but she did hear the sound of a sewing machine coming from upstairs, so she shrugged and cantered into the kitchen.

Her saddlebag feeling a tad bit too heavy, she lit her horn and focused her attention on the strap between the two bags, just like Princess Twilight had taught her. A faint green aura appearing around it, she fed more power into the spell, starting to struggle a bit as her heavy books fought to keep her from succeeding. Sweetie Belle was determined to not give up, so she grit her teeth and put even more power into the spell. She felt her saddlebag start to rise from her back by a few inches, and she was just barely able to lift it high enough to allow her to walk out from under it.

She took a few steps forward and released the bag with a groan, letting it fall to the floor with a dull thud. “Hm… I think now is as good a time as ever to get an after-school snack!” she said happily as she pulled open the refrigerator. She scanned the shelves for anything but didn’t see anything good.

“Oh, I know! Rarity probably has some ice cream in the freezer!” Sweetie Belle darted over to the kitchen table and used her head to push one of the chairs over, taking care to not hit her horn on the hard wood. She got the chair into position and hopped on it. Lighting her horn, she pulled open the freezer with a lot less difficulty and smiled as her eyes fell upon her prize.

Tub after tub of varying flavors of ice cream lined the entire freezer. Sweetie Belle giggled as she pulled out the one closest to her. Vanilla? Nah, let’s get something better… she thought as she reached into the back of the freezer. A few moments passed in silence as she rummaged around with a hoof.

Oh, here we go! Rocky Road; perfect! Sweetie Belle grabbed the entire tub and hopped off of the chair. She pushed it back to the table and grabbed a spoon from the drawer next to the sink and went into the living room. She hopped on the couch and settled down on her back, laying her head on a thick pillow as she popped open the lid.

Seeing its smooth, unblemished surface made Sweetie Belle’s stomach rumble, so with a grin, she plunged the spoon into the tub. She closed her eyes and smiled as she put the first scoop of many into her mouth, savoring the sweet taste of the treat. It only took her a few minutes to eat nearly half of the container, and when she heard her sister’s hooves come down the stairs, her eyes shot open.

She saw what she did, and she had little time to hide Rarity’s ice cream. Sweetie Belle sighed, knowing that she was surely going to get caught. She knew her older sister hated it when ponies took her stuff without permission, and that’s exactly what she had done. To top it all off, she had grabbed her sister’s favorite flavor.

“H-hey sis!” she called out nervously. She put the lid back on the bucket of ice cream and pushed it behind her, hoping her sister wouldn’t see it. Rarity walked around the corner a couple of seconds later.

“Ah, hello there, Sweetie Belle!” Rarity said as she made a beeline to the kitchen. “Have a good day at school?”

“Yeah, I guess.” She cringed as she heard the freezer door open. She heard Rarity rummage around inside of it.

“Sweetie Belle? Do you know where my favorite ice cream is? I just bought some at the store this morning, and I don’t see it in here...” Rarity walked into the living room and spotted the carton sitting behind her sister. The look on Rarity’s face made it quite apparent that she wasn’t happy with her.

Sweetie Belle gulped.


Scootaloo pushed herself around town on her scooter, her thoughts all muddled. She liked the feeling of snuggling with her friend, and she’d be lying to herself if she said she didn’t want to do it again. She had gotten out of school a few hours ago and was still simply bored out of her mind, so she decided to swing by the Carousel Boutique to see if Sweetie Belle wanted to go do something.

She started to feel a bit nervous as she approached Rarity’s place of business. Although she’d come here more times than she could count, this time felt rather different. Her wanting to snuggle more made her bite her cheek as she raised a hoof to knock. As she struggled to figure out what to say, the door opened before her hoof struck the door. Rarity stepped out, looking all flustered.

“Eating half of my favorite ice cream without asking for permission...” Rarity muttered before she noticed Scootaloo standing to the side. “That is simply unacceptable.”

“Hey R-Rarity, is Sweetie Belle home?” Scootaloo asked hopefully.

“Oh! I’m sorry, Scootaloo, but Sweetie Belle is in big trouble right now.” Rarity pulled a rack of covered clothes out of the foyer of the boutique with her magic and shut the door behind her. “I am afraid that she cannot come out and play right now, and won’t be able to until I come back from my trip in a couple of days.”

“Oh... okay then,” Scootaloo said softly. She flicked her ears back and let her head droop in defeat as she walked back over to her shoulder. She pretended to mess with her helmet until she was sure Rarity had vanished around the corner. Scootaloo dropped her helmet next to her scooter and scurried over to one of the ground-floor windows. She poked her muzzle under the bottom of the window and nudged it upwards, and much to her relief, it slid open a few inches.

Yes! Her back hooves scraped against the wood of the building as she pushed herself up. She shoved the window open further with a hoof then slid inside, landing on her face with a soft ‘oomph’. Scootaloo shut the window behind her then flicked an ear about, trying to figure out where her friend was.

Not a moment later, she heard the sounds of somepony throwing up coming from upstairs. Knowing that it had to be Sweetie Belle, Scootaloo’s eyebrows furrowed in concern as she scampered upstairs. She turned the corner, and stopped in front of the closed bathroom door.

“Sw-Sweetie Belle?” Scootaloo hesitantly called out, pressing her right ear against the door. She heard sobbing from inside, so she cautiously pushed against the door. Luckily enough, it swung open. “Are you okay?”

“Go aw-ay-hay-hay!” Sweetie Belle sobbed as she threw up in the toilet. Her mane was a mess and held flecks of barf, but it seemed like she didn’t care.

Scootaloo stood stock still, not sure what to do. She spotted something shiny in Sweetie Belle’s hooves, and it looked like she was trying to force it down her throat. “Hey, stop that!” she yelled, momentarily stunning her friend. As Sweetie Belle turned to look back at her, Scootaloo spied a spoon in her hoof. Looking at her with concern etched all over her face, she swatted it out of her grasp. “What do you think you’re doing?!” A sour pungent smell hit her nostrils, making her crinkle her nose. She flushed the toilet to get rid of the smell and turned back to find her friend pushing her out of the bathroom.

“Just leave me alone!” Sweetie Belle yelled at her.

Scootaloo froze, unsure of what to do. Her friend stared at her, tears threatening to pour down her face at any moment. She felt so helpless at that moment. Her eyes danced across Sweetie Belle’s face, trying to figure out what she was going to do next, but when she saw her face relax just slightly, she quickly closed the distance between them and pulled Sweetie Belle into a hug.

Sweetie Belle feebly protested for a couple of seconds then gave up, instead choosing to sob into Scootaloo’s shoulder. Scootaloo felt Sweetie Belle start to slip from her grasp, so she sat down next to her, hoping to comfort her friend.

They laid there for many minutes, but Scootaloo would have sat there till the end of time if it meant making her friend feel better. Though after a couple more minutes, Sweetie Belle’s sobs slowly died out.

“Uh... Sweets?” Scootaloo asked, gently shaking her back with a hoof. Soft snoring answered her. “Oh... hehe. She cried herself to sleep...” She stood up and went back to the bathroom, grabbed a washcloth, and started cleaning Sweetie Belle’s face and mane. When that was done, she tossed it in the sink and carefully pulled Sweetie Belle onto her back, balancing her between her two spread wings.

Scootaloo walked as softly and quietly as she could, taking care to not let Sweetie Belle slip off of her back. She walked her to her bedroom and then clambered onto the bed, nearly losing her balance in the process. Sweetie Belle mumbled something and twitched in her sleep, but Scootaloo paid that no mind. The sun was already starting to set, so she pulled back the sheets on Sweetie Belle’s bed and tucked her in.

She looked so peaceful sleeping there, and though Scootaloo so desperately wanted to find out what was wrong with Sweetie Belle, she knew that now was not the best time to press her with questions that would surely stress her out more. No, she needed time to sleep and recuperate.

Knowing that Rarity wouldn’t be back for at least a couple of days, Scootaloo figured that she should stick around. In her mind, Sweetie Belle needed her help, and as one of her closest friends, Scootaloo knew that she wouldn’t leave her side until she found out what was going on. That’s what friends do for each other, after all; they watch out for each other.

So with that thought in mind, she lay down next to her friend and snuggled up against her, just like they had done a few nights ago in the tree house. “Ain’t gonna lie... your bed is a lot more comfortable than the floor of the tree house, Sweetie...” Scootaloo whispered. She usually didn’t go to bed so early, but if it meant staying by her friend’s side, then she would do it. Besides, it had been a while since she had gotten a good night of sleep.

Scootaloo slid up close to her friend and gently wrapped a hoof over her friend’s forelegs, then she tucked her friend’s head into the crook of her neck. Though she wasn’t really that tired, her friend’s warmth quickly pulled her towards the world of dreams. Right before she fell asleep though, she thought back to what she had caught her friend doing. She grimaced as she saw Sweetie Belle pushing the spoon down her throat to throw up in her mind’s eye. Scootaloo had half a mind to wake Sweetie Belle up to ask her about it, but decided against it. In stark contrast to just a few minutes ago, Sweetie Belle looked too blissful to wake up as she slept in her embrace.

Scootaloo bit her lower lip and nuzzled the back of Sweetie Belle’s head, determined to find out what was going on when they woke up.