All the Ways to Love

by Snow Quill

A Lifetime to Savor, Dance, and Gift. Shall We Keep Count Together?

Scootaloo groaned as she opened her eyes, squinting under the bright lights. “Ugh, what...what happened?”

She heard a gasp and glanced over at Sweetie, whose face was red and puffy from crying. Apple Bloom was beside her, her eyes wet as well. Scootaloo lifted her hoof and Sweetie grabbed it, squeezing gently. “You had an allergic reaction, Scoots, a pretty bad one. It’s okay though, you are in a hospital wing in the castle.”

Apple Bloom leaned forward and delicately brushed away Scoot’s bangs, “Nurse said they want to monitor you for a few hours, so we should be able to go home soon.”

Scootaloo groaned again, “Put in the hospital because of a flower...Please don’t tell Rainbow Dash about this.”

Apple Bloom chuckled and Sweetie cracked a smile, “Of course we won’t.”

Scootaloo nodded, “Good.” She then sighed, looking down at the IV drip in her other hoof. “I’m sorry.”

Sweetie blinked and tilted her head and Apple Bloom jerked her hoof back as she frowned, “‘Sorry?’ Just what are you apologizing for?”

Scootaloo winced at Apple Bloom's tone, refusing to look at her. “Cause, well, this was your date and it was going so well but then-”

“Then nothing. You can’t help an allergic reaction.”

Sweetie nudged Apple Bloom and the earth pony sighed, “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have snapped. But seriously, you got nothing to be sorry about. Just like it wasn’t Sweetie’s fault about the Opera falling through, this ain’t your fault.”

Sweetie nodded, “Yeah. This weekend has had a lot of ups and downs and even though something bad happened on every date doesn’t…” Sweetie frowned and looked down for a moment, speaking quietly now, “Wait, what if it does mean something?”

Apple Bloom groaned, “Of course it doesn’t. Life happens, sometimes you get a bruised apple or find a worm. It’s not a big deal.”

Sweetie huffed, “Okay but just think about it! We were doing fine but then I insisted we had to do this and now look at us. I didn’t tell you to bring fancy dresses so we couldn’t go to the Opera. Those creeps bugged us at the roller rink and now, Scootaloo had a bad reaction to flowers in the maze. Each of our dates have gone wrong in some way.”

Apple Bloom huffed in return, “But we still made it work didn’t we? We got donuts instead, those creeps got tossed and we got free food, and we had a good time earlier and soon we can go back to the hotel and hang out again.”

“But it’s still not what we planned.”

Scootaloo glanced over at her marefriends, who were frowning at each other now. Her voice was uncharacteristically small and vulnerable, “So, what does that mean?”

Sweetie gulped, eyes watering again as she spoke in a hushed tone. “What if it means we aren’t supposed to be together?”

Apple Bloom scoffed, “Now that’s just nonsense.”

Sweetie opened her mouth to retort, but an elderly voice interrupted her. “Excuse me, I hope you don’t mind me intruding, but I couldn’t help but overhear.”

The trio turned their heads as the thin curtain separating the room into two was pulled back by magic. On the other side, in a bed of her own, was an old unicorn mare, her coat a pale shade of yellow with curly brown hair. One of her ankles was wrapped and elevated. “It sounds like you’ve had quite the weekend so far. Might this old mare offer some advice?”

Sweetie and Apple Bloom glanced at each other before shrugging. The mare smiled, “You are young and I can tell quite in love. You are right that sometimes things happen for a reason, life has ups and downs, but would you stop eating apples if you found one or even two with a worm?”

Sweetie shifted in her seat, “No, I guess I wouldn’t.”

“And you, would you stop appreciating the storms and rain because all you see is the sun ahead?”

Apple Bloom furrowed her brows, “I think I understand and, no, I know that sometimes we need a little rain.”

“There are signs to look for, and then there are explanations imposed on events to make ourselves feel better. Life isn’t some equation you can solve with chalkboard my dear, and neither is love for that matter. If you spend time picking apart every little thing that you define as having gone ‘right’ or ‘wrong’, you won’t get to enjoy any of that time.”

The three sat back in awe of the wisdom of the words. Sweetie let out a deep breath, “I never thought of it like that.”

The mare chuckled, “Not many do. Now, you girls have been dealt some bad hands, but you are still at the table aren’t you?”

They nodded and she continued. “Then that’s all that matters. Even when the world stops making sense, even when you are down on your luck and at rock bottom...As long as you have each other, well, then you can make it through anything.”

Sweetie smiled and bowed her head at the older mare, “Thank you. I think that was just what I needed. Oh, uh, my name is Sweetie Belle and this is Apple Bloom and Scootaloo.”

“A pleasure to meet all of you. My name is Fine Line.”

Apple Bloom leaned over and tilted her head at the mare, “Say, how did you figure out all that stuff? It sounds like something you might learn from experience.”

Fine nodded, “Something like that. My late wife, Luna bless her, and I met at a Gala years ago. You might know it as the first one Twilight Sparkle attended with her friends. Oh that whole night was a disaster, yet, something good and right came out of it. After that, little things like changing a date plan or dealing with rude ponies seemed like just that...little.”

She nodded towards Scootaloo, “Even something as scary and challenging as a medical emergency was dealt with swiftly and calmly. You three have good heads on your shoulders and hearts full of love for each other. Don’t let little ripples turn into big waves and capsize you, okay?”

Sweetie looked at Apple Bloom and Scootaloo, mulling the words over. Finally, she smiled and pecked their cheeks. “She’s right. I’m sorry for almost losing my head there. I love you.”

Apple Bloom squeezed Sweetie, “It’s alright, I love you too.” She then leaned over to gently headbutt Scootaloo, pressing their foreheads together. Scootaloo closed her eyes, squeezing Sweetie’s hoof and pressing into Apple Bloom. “I love you girls. We got this, we can get through anything.”

Fine Line wiped away a tear at the affectionate display, memories of her own love, Charm, and the hard times they had faced together dancing through her mind. “You girls truly have something special.”

The group separated, smiled and happy tears reflected in their faces. Sweetie chuckled softly, “Yeah, I guess we do.“

Comments

[Myrkin]

This was so sweet and heartwarming! :)

[Snow Quill]

11090483
Thank you! I’m glad you enjoyed it

[AngieMarie985]

This was one of the sweetest stories I’ve read concerning the CMC in a long time. They really DO make awesome marefriends, and I’d really love to see another story involving their future.

[Snow Quill]

11391772
aww thank you! I'm glad you enjoyed

[new55]

That was a good story.