Sweetie Seed

by Pyrite-the-retriever

Chapter 3: Unspoken Issues

A familiar feeling took me over as Celestia's sun crept through the windows and cracks of the tree house. A pink fuzz enveloped my vision, waking me from my slumber. Vague memories passed through my mind of the night prior. Magic had left some hours after, Sweetie was disappointed, but shook out of it. A visit from Applejack sometime later, scolded us for being up so late and we went to bed straight after. We had set up all the blankets and pillows into a large bed in the middle of the house. Sweetie seemed to be cold by the window, so I remember her moving next to Applebloom, which ended up splitting my cousin and I. I remembered mumbles of Scoots complaining that she was cold by the window, but I fell unconscious soon after. I opened my eyes to the morning filling the wooden structure and mumbled to myself. Barely even a whisper.

“We kissed.” I practically breathed it out silently. The words sounded so foreign to me, but it had happened and that I could never forget.

I laid on my back with my right hoof under my head. As I went to move, I noticed something constricting my movements. Upon looking down, I saw a white hoof wrapping below my ribs. I turned my head and it click in my mind whose hoof it was. Next to me, I saw Sweetie bell curdled up in her blanket, holding me for warmth. One of her haunches rested on my waist and one hoof held me. I had assumed she was laying on her other hoof and her muzzle rested right under mine. I couldn't blame her for using me as a basic heater. Earth are known for being warm bodies, especially me. Plus the tree house wasn't known for its insulation.

I didn't want to stir and wake her, so I continued to lay, unmoving. I heard a light rumble come from Sweetie's chest. I felt her body stretch and shake from my strain. She yawned before cuddling back into me. I had pretended to close my eyes as Sweetie woke. She seemed to jump and I could imagine her ears down. She didn't move however, she laid her head on my shoulder, not as much under my muzzle as before, but still lying there. We stayed like that for a while. Both of us breathing softly and Sweetie resting on me. I wasn't sure if her eyes were opened or close, so I just kept mine shut. Before long, a rustle came across the room. From Scootaloo or Applebloom, I couldn't tell. I wasn't the only one to hear it, because as soon as it started, Sweetie rolled off me, quick enough to make it seem like she woke me. I did a slight stretch before turning over. Scoots was on her hooves, making her way over to the door. I chopped it up to be for bathroom reasons. Sweetie looked at me.

"S-sorry, I didn't mean to wake you if I did." She grumbled with a tiredness soaking her words. "We.. I had a bad dream and I think I may have hit you."

"I didn't feel anything. What was it about?" I responded just as quiet.

"I can't remember." she replied, seeming to push off the topic and look at the ceiling.

At that moment, Applebloom started making upset noises.

"Five more minutes, Appleja..." She muttered before standing up, not even finishing her sentences.

"Mornin' folks." She stretched like a dog from a nice nap. "We should head to the house for breakfast."

Scoots barged in the door at the mention of food. "I vote that."

We mutually agreed for food and began walking the dirt path to the house. Applebloom was chatting to Sweetie about a project due the next day and Scoots chimed in as she wished. Sweetie seemed a bit off set to me. She walked on the opposite side of the group from me and she quickly looked away when we made eye contact. I kept my ears up and pretended not to notice.

As we walked, Scootaloo seemed to drop back and scoot closer to me.

"Hey, you doing alright?" She spoke quietly.

"Um yeah, why do you ask?" I replied, not willing to tell her everything or anything that has been going on in my head of late.

"I don't know. You just seem off. Especially when you met Magic. You seemed to dislike him the second he walked it." Scootaloo said. She basically nailed me completely.

Unsure of what to say, I said whatever I could to show I had no hate for him. "I don't know. I got an ear full from Sweetie prior and... I guess I just expected... More?"

Scoots didn't seem swayed by what I was saying. She seemed to have a different route of thought. "Well, a piece of advice is... If you got the hots for Magic, don't let Sweetie know. She will skin you alive. I made a joke about it once that somepony else maybe after him and I thought Sweetie was going to track her down right then and there." She spoke quiet and nonchalant.

Upon the accusation, my ears fell back and a blush covered my cheeks. "I-.. I don't-" I tried to defend, but Applebloom spoke louder and Scoots seemed more interested in that.

"I think my project will be getting a pretty nice grade." Applebloom said in a cocky manner.

"Oh!" Scootaloo jumped to place her input. "Well, I just hope mine passes, I had to do it all on my own because I got stuck with Diamond Tiara." Scoots shook her head.

That was a name I hadn't heard for a while.

"Diamond? The old school bully?" I questioned.

"Yeah, she's better now, but she still doesn't like to do work." Applebloom stayed. "It's how she was raised and she's good at making ponies do what she wants. Although she has been puttin' a hoof here and there, researching.. Um what was it?" She turned to Scoots.

"We had to research the dynamics of how things grow, without magic." Scoots shook her head. "I watched so many plants for ages."

"Um, pretty sure you didn't have to literally watch grass grow? Just talk to Earth ponies who grow things. Like Applebloom." Sweetie chimed. "I got to research how clouds form, without pony interaction. It wasn't half bad."

"Why do we need to research things without magic or pony machines? Our whole life is dependent on it." Scoots huffed.

"Maybe because we have almost been taken over like four times. Equestria has almost been taken over by changlings, Nightmare moon, and King.. Soda or something." I replied. "I think they would be against us using most forms of magic."

"Yeah.. But we aren't going to be taken over. Each of us personally knows one of the ponies who will save us.."

"Except me.." I muttered, unheard.

We made it to the house and could smell the sweet smell of hay bacon and eggs cooking. Although, the meal was not ready for consumption so we walked up to Applebloom's room. We hung in there and chatted for a bit until Granny Smith walked in.

"Hello youngyuns, I may need to steal Applebloom fur a second. And one of you that's fast?" She said. "Applejack is busy and the hogs may have gotten out and Big Mac is too big to catch up to them.."

"I'm fast!" Scoots jumped at the opportunity to help, or show off, I couldn't tell.

"Alright Scoots, come with me!" Applebloom said.

Sweetie went to stand, but Applebloom turned before walking out the door.

"Y'all just stay here. We need to be precise, so we don't need more ponies then.. Needed." She debated the last word before hoping out of the door and closing it.

Dead silence. We tended to have comfortable silences, but not this one. It was so awkward. I didn't know what to say, so I walked to the window. Maybe I was the one making it awkward, I wasn't sure, but Sweetie just stayed quiet and that was unlike her. Upon the horizon, I saw a familiar carriage. My ride home. I sighed with disappointment. I didn't want to go home, but I had too. I didn't even know the next time I would visit again; regardless, I began packing up, leading Sweetie to look with confusion.

"W-why are you packing up?" Sweetie sounded concerned.

"Carriage on the horizon." I looked to her. "I'm going back to Manehatten."

"Oh.. Right." She tapped her hoof.

It was silence before I finished up my bags. I looked at the window to see the carriage driver talking with Granny Smith. My tail grabbed my haunch. I didn't want to go back. I turned to see Sweetie picking up my bags.

"Do you need help?" She said, floating them in a blue glow.

I felt like she wanted me gone so bad.

"Sure."

I walked toward her and I was only a few inches from her.

I grabbed her and our lips met. My bags cascaded from the sky and she resisted only little. Her eyes slid shut the same as me. We stayed there for a brief second before I backed off. There was something in her eyes and I knew then I wasn't going to leave. I thought to write my parents a note that I wouldn't be returning and they would be fine and buy me a place here to stay. Sweetie walked up to me for another kiss.

"Are we going?" Sweetie said, breaking my thought. Reality flooded back and my ears fell to my skull.

"Yeah." I walked passed her.

I began down the stairs and my heart strings began to break. I never liked leaving here and now more than ever. My home was so different from here and I think I liked here better. It's quiet and safe, except for the monsters that rampage through here from time to time. Plus my closest friends are here... Or now only two I felt. If Applebloom even counts. She's my cousin, I'm not sure if that counts as 'friend-by-force'.

My hooves clacked against the wooden staircase, seeming as if this would be the last time I do so. My head weighed more than usual and as I got to the end of the staircase, Scoots and Applebloom barged in. One look and she dropped her ears knowing what was happening. We exchanged goodbyes as the rest of the family came to do the same. I hugged Applebloom and her eyes were slightly red. Scoots lifted a hoof and we bumped hooves. I hugged Big Mac and Granny Smith. She gave me advice to never use the microwave to dry a mane and she muttered that Granny Smith apples are better than all. Applejack gave me a warm smile and a hug and Sweetie had dropped my bag near the door. She was nowhere to be found. I threw my bag onto my back and crawled into the carriage. I waved goodbye and looked up to see Sweetie in the window, ears down. She waved goodbye to me and I looked at her, giving a slight smile. Before I could register it, I was on a hill, looking at the farmhouse shrink and shrink until it was no longer visible. I turned my head and huffed.

The trip was long, but I slept through most of it. I looked out to see the familiar skyscrapers that touched the clouds and heard the ringing of cities ponies in a rush to nowhere. I saw a mother and her daughter. Two unicorns walking together in the streets. The mother looked to the confused girl with a new excitement as they walked. The little one looked around, seemingly unsure of where she was. Her mom had stopped unknown to the daughter as she collided into her mom's rear leg. Shaking her head, she looked up to the the sign of the store they had stopped at. It was a small candy shop I had known. It was off and out of the way and family owned. The little pony had a smile bigger than her face as she ran through the door. The mom had to open it quickly so her daughter wouldn't run her horn into the glass. The mother wore a smirk, knowing she made her daughter happy and went inside. My carriage had started moving again. I would probably never see how this story ended or what would become these two.. Or even what story they had going on at home.

Manehatten hadn't changed. The buildings still were a decomposing cement color with black and yellow specks of windows. The ponies in the streets still screamed the same thing and the crowds were a mix of colors and classes shown through their clothes. The city still had its mixed smells of damp stone and the blob of scent from every restaurant down the corner. We turned a few more blocks before we came upon and apartment building. It was a tall and thick building with a rustic red to it. The old building rested like an old dragon too broken and filthy to move. It wasn't all bad, it was my home after all. I grabbed my bags and walked to the door, using my key to get into the building. Just as I thought, my parents had paid the carriage pony and he quickly walked off to other things. There was a nice pony at the counter. She wore a red hat, that went with her red mane and her coat almost matched the gold decorations of the bell pony hat. Her cutie mark was a little bell with a colorful range of notes coming out of it.

"Hello Bell Tone. I'm back." I muttered, giving her a smile.

"Good day Babs. How was your trip? You seem a bit down." Bell replied back.

"It was fine, just... Glad to be home I guess." I gave her more of a warm smile.

"Well, a year more and you can open that mane stylist place you always wanted. I-in a small town." She wore a concerned expression, but pushed to cheer me up.

"Thanks. I know, I'm just biting through it. I have to go though." I said.

I got to the elevator and waved her a goodbye. She was a lovely unicorn. She had always been there to talk or watch me when my parents were out. She was kinda like my therapist too, back when I was bullied for having no cutie mark and then I changed schools. It was better at the new school, but I still had some bullies, except I had made friends too. Bell Tone would probably be the only person I would tell about my confusions, but I never got around to it. She has a brother who is a colt cuddler.

She has no hate in her heart, that one. I had reached my floor and I walked down the creaking surface. The blue carpet had purple swirls as well as few stains from careless ponies before me. I came up to my door. 203. I used my key again and walked in. It was a small apartment. Wood planks lined the wall and a warm colored red carpet stretched out on the floor. A small kitchen was to my left, my mom was in there working hard on preparing dinner. A sandwich was left on the counter, my name was on it for lunch. Lunch hour has passed during my ride and she knew I would be hungry when I got back. I thanked my mom and told her hi as well as I took the sandwich. Walking further into the apartment, lead me into a small living room and dining room. My dad was crouched over the dining room table, papers were sprawled out everywhere. There were red stamps on them, although I didn't take much of a look. A familiar and bitter scent filled my muzzle as I tried to go closer. I mumbled a hi to my dad before walking into a hall to my right, my room being down there. Turning back, I saw the bottle of whisky on the table.

I walked in my room. I closed the door and dropped my bags as I slid against the door. A sat and stared in my room. It was small, but not bad. I had a single pony bed tucked in the corner, a nice sized closet to my right and a desk straight in front of me. A few things were sprawled on the floor, like my blankets and the few stuffed animals I had. My hooves softly pressed against the carpet as I walked over to my bed. I collapsed on it and opened my sandwich. I scarfed it down pretty fast. I looked to a stuffed pony in the corner I had. It was a shrewd made pony, with its stitches uneven and visible down its chest and face. It had black button eyes and a pastel purple and pink yarn mane and tail. The yarn was brushed out to look curly, but overtime it developed more of a curly and frizzy style. There was no cutie mark on the flank of the white fabric and a horn was prominent on the head. It was a supposed doll of Sweetie Belle. It wasn't a creep thing I did.

During a visit with the crusaders, they were on a mission to find their cutie marks. I had mine, but I decided to try to see if I could make a hobby out of it. We each made ourselves, some were better than others and we traded them around. Some friend thing Twilight came up with when we didn't know what to do with the disasters of dolls. I had gotten Sweetie's before I knew what emotions were and Applebloom had gotten mine. Sweetie got Scoot's and Scoots got Applebloom's. I grabbed the doll and held it. Back when these were made, I was confused and hopeful for my future self. Now as I held the doll, I felt confused still and guilty and disappointed in what I was becoming. My eyes felt red.

"Honey Babs? Can you help me with dinner?" My mom spoke loud enough so I could hear, although her smooth voice kept it from being a yell.

I walked out to see my dad on his hooves.

"Love, I could help if you'd like?" My dad spoke.

"Dear, it's fine, you have work you need to do. Me and Babs can do this. Right Babs?" She looked at me with a smile.

"Yeah." I smiled back.

My dad finally gave in and hugged me a welcome before sitting back down at the table. I walked to see my mom making grass tacos with a side of rice and corn. She was having trouble juggling everything and seemed to be huffing out of breath. As she saw me, she straightened up. I walked in and did as she told me and my dad did eventually follow in to help in anyway. We watched him try to cut tomatoes for the salad but every time he put the tomato under his hoof, it would pop before he could cut it. He growled some curses, but mom and I contained out laughs. He looked at us with ears down before breaking into laughter himself. My mom walked over to him and pressed head into his shoulder laughing and I eventually broke as well. My parents looked at each other with love before kissing. They backed away and looked at me.

"We are glad you are home Babs." My dad said.

"Next time we will come with you, honey Babs. We haven't seen the family since the reunion!" My mom said before giggling. Her ears perked up. "Oh check the rice!"

I turned to see the rice was on high, but when I opened it, the rice wasn't burnt at all. I loved my family and they were just ponies who made mistakes. Our family has had its ups and down, but it would always be one unit. I would rather us all have to leave Manehatten then just me. I wasn't sure how long I could go without them. I remember days like this when Sunflower was here and I hoped for a full family dinner soon because I believed my sister would come in next weekend. I watched my parents work as a team to get the food out on the table and set it and we sat down for supper. I will forever hope to meet a pony that I will be so in sync with and love so much, just like my parents.