Do It For Her

by Cxcd

03 - New Friend

It was the next day. The sun was high in the sky as Celestia’s sunlight shone down upon them to enjoy. Rarity was locking up the shop, levitating an ‘out for lunch’ sign on the front of the Boutique’s door, while Sweetie waited patiently for her to finish. With a nod of the head, the two descended down the familiar village streets towards a particular destination. One Rarity had mapped out in her head due to the immense joy it put forth, and one Sweetie had mapped out in her head due to the total boredom it endured. It was none other than the Ponyville Spa.

Rarity and Sweetie both wore red scarves. It wasn’t necessarily ‘cold’ outside, but Rarity insisted she wore one due to the ‘spring fashion,’ and Sweetie wore a similar one because- if her sister wore one, then she might as well, too.

Both were particularly tired. Sweetie wasn’t quite ready to stay up that late into the night as they did last, and Rarity was emotionally exhausted from said talk last night. Despite this, they still walked along in comfortable silence.

Many considered Sweetie to be a carbon copy of her sister. A natural clone, despite having more than a decade of years between them. However, being a clone could not be further from the truth. Despite their uncanny similarity, Sweetie still could not be convinced to go willingly to any spa. Even if going to the spa mainly consisted of waiting for her sister to get finished whilst playing with a friend. She would rather be playing outside. However, as Sweetie followed her sister, it had seemed as if Tartarus had frozen over.

Spas had the tendency to either rock Sweetie to sleep, or creep her out from unfamiliar ponies touching her viciously. Her response would usually be falling asleep. To which she would be yelled at by the spa staff to wake up. And then she would fall asleep again. See- it was a vicious cycle. The last time Sweetie willingly participated in spa activities left her sore and uncomfortable. Never again, she swore. Which, to be fair, she had kept up her own deal. She wasn’t going to the spa to get spa’d, she was going to the spa on solely diplomatic means.

Rarity was positively itching to get her treatments underway. All that talking last night made her hooves begin to crack! Although- to be fair, any normal ponies wouldn’t see anything wrong… even with a microscope and a ten times zoom lens. But Rarity could feel it. And Rarity was positively disgusted with herself.

When the familiar purple roof of the spa came into sight, Rarity audibly let out a sigh of relief.

“I hope I didn’t keep poor Fluttershy waiting…” Rarity said, picking up her pace as she approached the front doors. “It’s never polite to keep a lady waiting! Even if you are one yourself!” She let out a laugh that sounded more like a tee-hee. Sweetie rolled her eyes.

“Let’s get this over with.” Sweetie said as she removed her scarf, rolling it around her hoof, and stepping inside the open doors.

The first thing she noticed was the tidal wave of heat.Nothing but steam and humidity clashed against her coat. Sweetie could feel the shower she took earlier that morning practically undoing itself as she immediately started sweating. So much for first impressions.

“(Hello!)” A high voice rang out from behind the counter. It was a mare with a pink coat and a slicked back baby blue mane held by a white headband. “(Welcome to the spa- Oh, Rarity!)” She said, her eyes alight with recognition. “(Our most valued customer!)”

“(Hello, darling!)” Rarity greeted, approaching the front desk. Sweetie could barely remember her name. It was a pair of twins. Was it… Aloe? No- she was Lotus. Or- was she? “(We should speak Ponish for my sister.)”

“Oh, uf courz, miss Rity.” Lotus said. “How eez you doing?”

Sweetie blinked in momentary confusion. They had been speaking Fancy no less than two seconds ago, and hearing somepony flick a mental switch like that was a little hard to wrap her head around.

“I’m doing fine, miss Lotus.” Sweetie greeted. This only garnered a laugh from the pink pony.

“Miss Sveetie. I am Aloe.”

“Right, sorry.” Sweetie sheepishly lowered her head. Aloe laughed again.

“Ees’ fine. Real. We mus’ta confuse ze ponies most times. Aha-” She turned tail, waiving along the two ponies to follow. They entered through a wall of beads, going deeper into the spa. “Miss Fluttershai and er’ plus one is deeper.”

They began descending. The doors along the halls split off into a million different spa activities. It was honestly amazing how so much could fit inside of a building. Perhaps Aloe and Lotus had commissioned Time Turner to create a bigger on the inside space.Every time she passed a door, she could see inside, where many mares were getting massages, dirt on their faces(?), and sinking into mud. Every once in a while, she even caught a glimpse of a stallion. Which was strange, because Sweetie assumed most stallions went to the Cobbler for their hoof-duty.

“Ooh, isn’t this exciting, Sweetie?” Rarity asked, leaning to the side to get closer to her sister.

“Oh- uhh- yeah.” Sweetie agreed, lost in her thoughts.

“What’s wrong, dear? I thought you’d be excited!”

“I-I am! It’s just-” Sweetie looked over at an open door, witnessing as a particularly muscled stallion drove an elbow into the crook of the local postmare. She gulped. “I-I’m scared of messing up, okay?”

“Oh, Sweetie…” Rarity soothed, placing a comforting hoof over her sister’s withers. “Before I got my Cutiemark, I didn’t have any friends, either!”

“What?”

“It took me realizing my special talent to make the prettiest outfits for our pla-”

“Rarity!” Sweetie said, breaking her sister for a moment. “That’s not what I meant- I have friends! It’s just- I’m scared of not making a friend.”

“Oh.”

…

“Alright.”

Sweetie felt even worse now.

This place scared Scootaloo.

She didn’t know exactly why, but the unsightly halls and blue walls of the spa made her feel a special type of insecure. They were in the exact middle of the spa, not a dose of sunlight coming through. Which was strange, considering the other rooms were massive and luxurious, sunlight streaming through the open roof all day long. Instead, this empty waiting room was only lit by the dull hum of fluorescent tubes.

It felt sterile. Like the hospitals she had once become accustomed to. And unlike those hospitals, this place had one big redeeming factor, like a candle in an otherwise all-consuming black void. That candle was Fluttershy. Fluttershy kept close right by her side, a feeling that she had become accustomed to. They were sitting on the ground, opting to not sit on the likely moldy red seats lining the walls.

Despite her close proximity, there was still a gap between the two. They were close, in terms of Scootaloo’s distance, but they weren’t that close. Scootaloo enjoyed the feeling, but actually physically touching a pony was a whole new level. Perhaps that’s why she hated the spa. It was a place where being touched, shoved, and dragged around was just something that was expected.

Fluttershy looked down, offering the small filly a comforting smile. Scootaloo’s gaze flashed up for a moment, before looking down in nervousness at the static of the linoleum tile floor. She was nervous. Hay, they were both nervous. Scootaloo was supposed to meet a new pony. The last pony she had meant turned into her caretaker- but this was a stranger outside of the carefully controlled environment of the orphanage. As much as she knew, this was just some pony off the street.

Even worse… it was a filly.

Who was her age.

Why did she ever agree to this?

Fluttershy gave yet another relaxed smile. Scootaloo took a deep breath.

Then immediately lost her breath when the door clicked open.

There wasn’t one new pony. There was two.

They both looked very similar to one another. They were both unicorns. The taller one had blue eyes, the smaller one having green. The tall one had an elegent purple mane and tail, swirling down into an expertly crafted style that must’ve taken hours. The smaller one’s hair looked significantly less timely, probably just having a brush go through it once or twice. Hers was a two-toned pink and purple with little curls. The way the two ponies walked into the room- the way they presented themselves upon seeing the orange foal- it was like they were mentally linked. Like they were on the same wavelength.

Scootaloo looked into their eyes. The two ponies were similar, yes, but different in soul. The taller one looked down upon Scootaloo in a very familiar gaze. Calculating. Scootaloo’s heart locked up when she recognized the gaze. It was the same gaze doctors and psychologists gave Scootaloo when they were going to try and fix her.

“My, my!” The tall one said. “Oh, your coat colors are marvelous!”

What.

“I could practically design an entire fall ensemble with your colors!”

What?

“Have you ever tried modeling?”

So the calculating gaze was not the same as the doctor’s and therapists gaze. Instead, it seemed her gaze was solely creative. And perhaps a dress-maker of some sort? Fluttershy cleared her throat, nodding her head towards the smaller pony. The tall one made a good attempt at a smile, instead coming off as slightly embarrassed.

“Oh, I do apolagize. Where are my manners?” She conducted herself. “My name is Rarity, and this is my sister, Sweetie Belle.” Rarity nodded towards the smaller unicorn.

Sweetie seemed to be observing Scootaloo from a distance. Her eyes were full of… understanding?It was a strange combination of emotions Scootaloo hadn’t seen before, and it was slightly confusing.

Sweetie looked conflicted for a moment, glancing between the two older ponies in the room before finally deciding to take a step forwards. And then another step forwards. And another. So many steps, in fact, that Scootaloo and Sweetie were separated by less than five hooves.

“Um- Hi?” Sweetie ventured nervously. Scootaloo kept her gaze locked onto Sweetie’s eyes, whose seemed to be darting around the room in a panic manner. “I- know you probably don’t trust me, um… I wouldn’t trust me neither.” She cringed. “I didn’t mean it like- ugh.” She mentally berated herself. She steeled herself, staring at Scootaloo with resolve. “I like your coat colors, too!” She said quite loudly.

Scootaloo blinked.

Fluttershy, despite looking like she didn’t want to, decided to leave the two fillies in their own privacy by walking over to Rarity and whispering something into her ear. She nodded, turning around and walking out of the room.

“Ta-ta, Sweetie and Scootaloo!” Rarity said, waving a hoof. “We’ll make our spa adventure short for you two. Be back soon!” Rarity left. Fluttershy was the only one left, looking at Scootaloo and giving her a reassuring nod of the head.

Sweetie waited until they were out of earshot.

“Hey- listen.” She laid down, much like how Scootaloo was. Her voice sounded somber, and she spoke slowly. Scootaloo was taken off guard, actually finding herself listening intently. “I know you don’t know me- and I don’t really know you- but um-” She cleared her throat, looking down. “My parents weren’t very nice to me, either.” That got her attention, Scootaloo’s ears straightening up. Sweetie tried to flash a smile, but it ended up looking creepy. She let out a frustrated grunt, looking back down.

“Um- If you’ll let me, um- I can help you.”

Those words.

She had heard it a thousand times before from a varying range of colorful and dull ponies, young and very old. They had all said the same thing. They had said the same thing each and every time there was a new doctor, a new therapist, and new prescription.

Those ponies wanted to help her.

She wants to help her.

No matter how hard Scootaloo looked, Sweetie’s eyes were full of understanding and optimism. The real kind. Not the fake kind handed out on a bruised silver platter at the therapist’s office, but rather eyes full of true optimism. The kind that was relatable.

Scootaloo warily eyed the pony in front of her. She felt a familiar tugging in her heart. She hoped, prayed, and believed…

Believed…

Believed what? That she would change for these ponies? That she would fall back into the same vicious cycle of despair. No. Trust isn’t handed out, it’s earned. If Sweetie wanted trust, she would have to…

Earn it.

But… Scootaloo couldn’t help but feel a little conflicted. Here was a pony willing to help, willing to put her neck out for her, and she was actively trying to stop it. How could a pony earn trust if they weren’t given a chance? Scootaloo had to give out a little first, right?

That was all it was, right? A big cycle? A large loop of trust-giving?

Scootaloo stood up suddenly. Sweetie flinched back, surprised at her sudden movements. She turned around, gripping an old magazine by the title of ‘ponies.’ She laid back down, flattening out the back page and grabbing a pen lodged randomly in one of the pages.

“Is this-?” Sweetie asked, observing her. “A game? We’re gonna draw?”

Scootaloo looked up, giving the smallest of nods.

“O-Okay. Alright!” Sweetie beamed a huge smile, getting up herself and gripping an old pen in her hoof. “Let’s draw!”

The two had moved to a darker room. Two beds sat side-by-side. Rarity was forcibly thrown barrel-first onto the left bed, a threatening elbow appearing not two seconds later. Like a bat from Tartarus, it landed directly in the middle of her spine. Rarity let out a shriek of pain.

And then a quiet sigh of relief.

Fluttershy was getting much of the same treatment on the right bed. Only less elbows. And less pain. Compared to Rarity’s idea of a spa day, Fluttershy’s treatment looked almost not worth paying for. Fluttershy was laying in much the same position, only one light hoof was pressing into her shoulder blade, barely giving any pressure at all.

A sickening crack filled the room as Rarity’s eyes fluttered closed, resting a cheek on her hoof. They then fluttered back open, smiling at Fluttershy’s horrified face.

“I insist,” she drawled through her cheek. “you must tell me- oh! -all about her!” She said excitedly. “She’s just an absolute- owh -cutiepie!”

“Oh, well-” She started. “She’s- um- very sweet?” She ventured. Rarity raised an eyebrow, almost beckoning Fluttershy to continue. “She doesn’t talk very much…” Rarity’s eyebrow went higher. “...or at all.”

“Please, darling.” Rarity laughed lightly. “I already know all that. You practically bawled it out at the hotel room.”

“Oh. Right.” Fluttershy cleared her throat politely, adding a quiet ‘I didn’t think I bawled that hard…’ Rarity adjusted her withers higher up on the mattress- before a very strong pair of hooves pulled her right back into place, following what appeared to be a karate-chop into her spine.

“No- darling, I want to know more about her history.”

“Oh. Right.” She rolled her withers. “I told you everything I know…”

“But you said so right in that letter you sent me! There’s an entire file with her history! Surely there must be something in there?”

“I didn’t read it.” Fluttershy admitted. Rarity gawked, her mouth wide open.

“Well, why not?” She asked. “I couldn’t have helped myself!”

“Um…” Fluttershy looked around the dark room. “Well- The past is in the past. Scootaloo shouldn’t be judged for what happened to her. It shouldn’t define her, and it shouldn’t be talked about unless- um- necessary?” Rarity figited uncomfortably, before letting out a sigh.

“I understand.” Rarity finally sighed.

“I already know more than I should…” She whispered. “Her wings are misshapen because… um… she was born kind of early? At least, I think so?”

“That would make sense…” Rarity let out a sigh as the massager got to work.

Then, Rarity’s eyes opened wide in confusion.

“Wings?” She asked. “She had wings? I thought she was an amputee!”

“Maybe a little more black?” Sweetie suggested, coloring the eyebrow a little bit darker. Scootaloo thought for a second before taking a slightly different angle viewing ti. She felt a crink in her neck pop and release as she tilted her head to the side. She let out a hum that sounded vaguely like an agreement, picking up her own pen and continuing her drawing escapade.

Sweetie adjusted her legs, turning to her other side as she began working on the jaw. As much as it pained her to admit, Scootaloo’s drawing skills were a few tiers higher than her own. As a matter of fact, the few parts where Sweetie drew were… noticeable.

But the message was there. It was still a perfectly fine piece of art. Only off-centered on the page, drawn from two half-dried ballpoint pens and on the back of an old issue of ‘ponies,’ depicting the top mare from over a year ago. Surprisingly, it was Baroness Bluebelle. (Which was strange, considering her own controversies about certain body-altering spells.) The picture they had been drawing was of a pony that bore a slight resemblance to Sweetie, only being a Pegasus instead of a unicorn, blowing on a wish flower to the wind.

Sweetie’s eyes momentarily drifted to the filly’s wings. She couldn’t help but feel bad every time she did. It was one of those things most ponies didn’t immediately notice. She surely didn’t. Hay, maybe Sweetie subconsciously assumed she was an Earth-pony on first glance, even after the conversation with her own sister last night. Although she didn’t know anything about wings, they looked unfortunately stubby. Perhaps something a new-born would grow out of within the first few months.

Guilt began at the forefront of her brain, so she forced herself to look back down.

Scootaloo was smiling to herself. She was over the moon. Was this what it felt like to have a family? Were they a family now? Well- she’s been taken care of before by the orphanage. More like she was being actually cared for now. Sweetie seemed to care for her, as much as it seemed impossible to the Pegasus.

Scootaloo let the pen drop, watching as it rolled off the paper. Sweetie blinked, stopping her own drawing.

“Are we finished?” She asked. Scootaloo looked up with a wild smile, nodding rapidly. “Sweet! Hold it up!” And she did, covering half of herself as she did. Sweetie let out a giggle, sitting up to get a better view. “I like it! We could be artists!” Scootaloo nodded, beaming. “You’re really good at drawing!” Scootaloo did a ‘so-so’ with her hoof, brushing it off. “I mean it!”

Both of them turned to witness the door opening. Suddenly, Scootaloo began noticing all of the small mistakes. The way the eye didn’t look quite right. Maybe her chin should’ve been further out. Her wings didn’t look right- not that she had a lot of space to argue about little wings.

Scootaloo’s real wings twitched.

“Why- I miss this old place.” Rarity said, walking through the door wobbily, as all of her bones had just been smashed into a million different pieces. “Something about humble spas are my favorite!”

“Oh, yes.” Fluttershy agreed. She looked up, noting Scootaloo in the room. Her eyes widened and her face fell into a real smile. “Scootaloo!”

“Why, hello you two!” Rarity gushed, trotting over. “I hope you had a good time with each other.”

“Sure did!” Sweetie hopped up, clutching Rarity’s leg. The two hugged for a moment. “Look what we drew!”

“Oh, it’s very nice!” Rarity said, looking at it up and down. Scootaloo laid it on the ground, pushing it forwards. Rarity raised an eyebrow. “Surely you should keep it. You drew it, after all!” But Scootaloo persisted, pushing it forwards again. “Doe, fine. I concur. This will look great on the ice-box!” She levitated it up, holding it next to her. “I do believe this is where we part.”

“Can we hang out again sometime?”

“Sure, dear.” Rarity nodded, turning to look at Fluttershy. “If you’re okay with it?”

“Oh, I don’t mind.” Fluttershy giggled. “I’m sure they could get into some… fun situations.”

“Indeed. Farewell now!” Rarity began walking out.

“Bye, Scootaloo!” Sweetie waved, immediately following her sister out.

A few moments of silence passed. Fluttershy warmly smiled.

“I guess we should go, too…” Fluttershy said quietly. “Let’s go home-” She was suddenly interrupted by the strangest of sensations.

Scootaloo had latched onto her hind leg. Fluttershy turned halfway around, observing the sudden shift in behavior. She cooed, sitting down and wrapping Scootaloo in a proper hug.

A barrier was broken.

“Hey, Rarity?” Sweetie asked, now wrapped back up in her red scarf.

“Yes, dear?” She responded, trotting forwards on the street. Due to it being early morning, even after the immersive spa visit, the streets were desolate and bare.

“Would it be weird if…” Sweetie scoffed. “Never mind.”

“What is it, dear?” Rarity slowed down, letting her sister catch up.

“It’s stupid.” She said, now parallel with her sister.

“It most certainly is not!” Rarity quietly screeched. “Come, you can tell me!”

“Would it be weird…” Sweetie carefully spoke, making sure not to trip over herself. “Would it be weird if I started calling you- like- ‘mom?’”

“Eugh-” Rarity stopped walking. She stood with a cocked head, staring at her sister who stopped further up on the path. Sweetie turned around slowly, a cringe on her face.

“I’m sorry- It’s nothing-”

“T-That’s okay.” Rarity interrupted. “Just- caught me off-guard, that’s all.” She slowly began walking again, a concerned expression on her brow. “Where did this come from?”

“I mean- you’ve been more of a mom to me than… she had ever been.” She looked away from Rarity as they began walking together again. “I mean- you’ve helped me with my homework. Washed off tree-sap.” She let out a little blush. “Even sang to me after nightmares…”

“D-Dear…” Rarity said, her eyebrow still creased. “Well- I wouldn’t be opposed to it… but…” She bit her tongue. “Are you really comfortable with that?”

“Yeah.” Sweetie nodded. “I mean- if you are.”

“No, only if you are.”

“That’s what-” Sweetie sighed. “This isn’t getting us anywhere. Let’s just go home… mom.”

Comments

[AustisticVeganPussy]

Dapper

[PatRoison]

A story about Fluttershy and Scootaloo? Count me in!

[Daemonabacus]

This is such a nice story. The relationship you made between Rarity and Sweetie Belle is pulling at my heart. I love it.

[Crimson Eclipse77]

Looking good so far. I'd be glad to see more!

[Halloween Spirit]

I feel like this story is going to give me a d'aaaaw overload and I don't mind it.

[TheGJ90]

SO SWEET! NO PUN INTENDED!

[MooseWhisker]

“Maybe a little more black?” Sweetie suggested, coloring the eyebrow a little bit darker. Scootaloo thought for a second before taking a slightly different angle viewing ti. She felt a crink in her neck pop and release as she tilted her head to the side. She let out a hum that sounded vaguely like an agreement, picking up her own pen and continuing her drawing escapade.

Small typo

[Cold Spike]