Chapter 8
Apple Bloom rested her head on her forehooves as she lay flat on her stomach on her bed. Today was the day that Scootaloo and Diamond Tiara would be having their date, and as much as she wanted to tag along to keep an eye on them, Sweetie Belle had managed to convince her not to.
“Dang it. Ah couldn’t ask Diamond ‘bout her and Scootaloo yesterday, what with that movie bein’ so scary an’ all…” That was half the reason that Apple Bloom was down, but there was something else, too. “Diamond Tiara was actin’ mighty funny yesterday… An’ what was that stuff ‘bout us bein’ friends? We’ve always been enemies, though ah’m not sure why, now that ah think about it…”
“Apple Bloom?” Applejack called from outside the filly’s room. “You alright in there? You’ve been awful quiet today.”
“Ah’m fine, Applejack!” Apple Bloom called back. She then thought about what Diamond Tiara had said once more, and considered that Applejack was older, and thus, might remember things better than her. “Actually, Applejack, ah have a question ah wanna ask ya…”
The train ride to the amusement park was a lot longer than the ticket said that it would be. The ticket promised a fifteen minute ride to the amusement park, and Diamond Tiara was sure that it had been at least an hour. Just to make sure, though, she asked the next train attendant that passed by for the time.
“Three forty-eight,” the attendant told her. So in other words, only eight minutes had passed… There was no way that was correct, but the train attendant had moved on before Diamond Tiara could argue.
“Crazy, isn’t it?” Scootaloo asked as she looked out the window, resting her head against one foreleg on the table, whilst her other one twirled her Wonderbolts cap about, in a vain attempt to somehow speed up time. “We used to drive each other crazy, and now we’re…”
“Going on a date, I know,” Diamond Tiara said, turning her attention to Scootaloo. “I don’t get it. Of all ponies, why you?”
“Same here,” Scootaloo said. “All you’ve ever done is give me and my friends a hard time. Whenever you spoke to me, I just wanted you to shut up before I hurt you.”
“How brutish,” Diamond Tiara scoffed. “Typical of a Pegasus. Even if you can’t fly, you’ve definitely got the part down right.”
“… See? Even now, you’re driving me crazy. But, I don’t want to cancel and go home now.” Scootaloo sighed. “Growing up sucks.”
“You can say that again…” Diamond Tiara rubbed her forehooves together, and looked down at the table separating the two. “But, how do you even know that you… you know…”
“Like you?” Diamond Tiara nodded. “I’m not stupid, y’know?”
“Could’ve fooled me,” Diamond Tiara muttered.
“Okay, so I’m not the smartest filly in the class, but I at least know when I’m in love with somepony! Besides, it’s the only possible explanation for… how I was feeling about you?”
Diamond Tiara grew very curious. So Scootaloo was having weird, confusing feelings, too? She had to know more. “What kind of feelings?”
“… That’s… Well, what about you? Didn’t you have any?”
Diamond Tiara hesitated for a second. “W-Well, yeah. That’s how I realised that I… But, it took me a while to figure out what they were. And what to do with them.” Diamond Tiara sank down into her seat. “I’m still not entirely sure, to be honest.”
Scootaloo nodded. “Is that why you kissed Apple Bloom?” There it was. The questions she needed to ask, before going any further. The question she dreaded asking, and dreading knowing the answer to. But, just like applying disinfectant to a cut after falling off of her scooter, she knew that the best way to deal with it was to just power through straight away.
She underestimated just how hard it would be, though, and now, part of Scootaloo’s brain was scolding her for bringing it up.
“W-What are you talking about?” Diamond Tiara asked. She didn’t know how Scootaloo found out, but that didn’t matter right now. All that did matter, was trying to convince Scootaloo that she was wrong.
“Apple Bloom told me about you two kissing each other.” Scootaloo shifted her attention to the pink filly, who was wearing that same face she always wore whenever she was struggling to think up a convincing story on the spot. She had grown used to that face, sitting through so many detentions with her. “And about your date yesterday.”
Diamond Tiara turned her head to avoid eye contact with Scootaloo. “I… Well, that is, I just…”
“Why would you tell me you like me, then kiss somepony else?”
“I was… Uh… It…”
“Did she… Did Apple Bloom force you to?”
“No!” Diamond Tiara quickly answered, but then soon regretted it.
“I thought not,” Scootaloo said. “… Are you just toying with us, then? Stringing us along, so that you can hurt us both real bad?”
“That’s not it either!” Another quick answer. Scootaloo knew that the quick answers were sincere. It was the stuttering answers that would tell her if Diamond Tiara was lying.
“Then why? Do you really like me?”
Diamond Tiara closed her eyes, and nodded. There was no way she could say it out loud, on a public train like this.
“Do you like Apple Bloom?”
Diamond Tiara hesitated for a moment… and then slowly shook her head.
“… Y’hear that, Apple Bloom? She’s not interested.”
Diamond Tiara’s eyes snapped wide open, and she quickly spun around to look behind her. “N-No, that’s not-” There was nothing there. There was nopony there. Diamond Tiara stared at the air for a few seconds, and connected the dots in her head. “Oh…” She turned back to Scootaloo, who was giving her a hard stare.
“Lemme guess, you like Sweetie Belle, too?”
“No! Just you tw-” Diamond Tiara quickly slammed her hooves over her mouth. She really needed to work on thinking before she spoke.
“I see.” Scootaloo turned her gaze to the table below her, taking in this new information.
“… I… I didn’t mean to,” Diamond Tiara said. “M-Miss Cheerilee said that, it’s not a bad thing to like more than one pony… and, I tried to choose between you, but there are just so many different things about both of you, and it was hard to choose, and I couldn’t say no to either of you when you both told me how you felt and then-”
“Okay, okay. Calm down already.” Diamond Tiara nodded, and took deep breaths as she tried to calm herself down. “I… don’t know about liking more than one pony at a time, but… how could you agree to go out with both of us?”
Diamond Tiara’s ears flattened against her head. “I… thought it would help me make up my mind. D-Daddy says that, when you have to make a difficult choice, it helps if you can sample each one.”
“… What, kissing Apple Bloom didn’t count as ‘sampling’?”
“I-I didn’t mean to do that!” Diamond Tiara shouted, but then calmed herself down again when Scootaloo motioned for her to quiet down. “I… It all just happened so fast, and I thought that would be it. That I would choose Apple Bloom over you. But then, you said that you liked me, and I didn’t want to risk making the wrong choice by not even giving you a chance, but then…” Diamond Tiara lowered her head down onto the table, and held it in her forelegs. “Nopony ever said love was going to be so hard! This isn’t anything like the bedtime stories mum used to read me.”
“Diamond, you may be a spoiled brat,” Scootaloo began, earning a glare from the pink filly, “But you can’t have everything you want, no matter how rich you might be.”
“…”
“You’ve gotta choose, Diamond. You gotta pick, either me, or Apple Bloom.” ‘Obvious answer is me, of course.’
“I know I do… T-That’s why I agreed to both dates. Like I said, after I date both of you, I should be able to make my choice… right?”
“… I don’t know…” ‘But then, if I show her the most awesome date she’s ever had, she’s just gotta choose me, right?’
“Look, I didn’t kiss Apple Bloom yesterday. And I didn’t tell her how I felt, either. So, so long as I don’t kiss you today, it’s no big deal, right?”
“… I guess,” Scootaloo said. The idea sounded reasonable enough… sort of. “Okay then, Diamond. But no more! After today, you have to make up your mind, and until you do, no more accepting dates from either of us! Agreed?”
Diamond Tiara nodded. “That… sounds fair.”
“Alright then.” Scootaloo grinned, and turned her attention back to the window. “Then, let’s just forget about all of that today, and pretend that this is our first date. I’ll show ya what you’ve got to look forward to if ya pick me.”
“Can’t wait,” Diamond Tiara said in a sarcastic tone. “Considering how well you plan out you ‘Cutie Mark crusades’, I’m sure today is going to be a lovely day of getting lost, and covered in tree sap.”
“Heh, just you wait,” Scootaloo said. ‘Apple Bloom won’t even stand a chance!’ “So… About these ‘feelings’ you had for me…”
“Just drop it,” Diamond Tiara said, her face turning red as she once again avoided looking at Scootaloo.
“Hey, that’s fine. But if you don’t tell me yours, I won’t tell ya mine…”
“… Ugh, fine. Since you seem so desperate to hear it.” Scootaloo rolled her eyes, but remained silent. She was pretty curious. “It’s… weird. It was like, whenever I thought of you, my face heated up, and my stomach felt all… weird. And I couldn’t think straight, and everything was just so…”
“Weird?” Scootaloo asked.
“Yeah. And then, when I think back to that time you helped me in Manehatten… you… looked kind of cool…”
It was Scootaloo’s turn to blush now. And also, her turn to answer. “Y-Yeah, that’s kinda similar to my feelings, too. Except, I don’t think you’re ‘cool’. Well, maybe, the way you stood up to those two jerks was kinda cool, but mostly, I think you’re…”
“… Think I’m what?” Diamond Tiara asked.
“… C-Cute,” Scootaloo said quietly. She wasn’t sure if Diamond Tiara had heard her or not at first.
“… L-Let’s just not say anything until we get there.”
Scootaloo nodded. “Sounds good to me.”
“Well, here we are,” Scootaloo said as the two fillies entered the main square of the amusement park, looking around at the various stalls and gift shops around them. There were a lot of ponies around, mostly foals and teenagers though, as a lot of adults were likely still at work.
“Yes, we are,” Diamond Tiara said, her attention fixed on the large water fountain in front of her, where a few foals were having a water fight with each other. She wasn’t particularly interested in the fountain, or the water fight. She just found it difficult to face Scootaloo, or spare more than a few words on her.
“So, what should we check out first? The coaster?”
Diamond Tiara shook her head. “The line will be too big right now.”
“Oh.” Scootaloo turned to Diamond Tiara, who quickly turned her head to face away from the Pegasus. “You, uh, come here often?”
“Daddy brings me here a lot during summer,” she answered, still facing away.
“Oh.” The two didn’t say anything for a bit, and then soon began to move towards the large map sitting in the middle of the square. They both stared at it together for a second, before shifting their eyes slowly to glance at the other filly… and then pulling their gazes back to the map. “How about the flume?” Scootaloo asked.
“I don’t do water rides,” Diamond Tiara replied. “Do you realise how long it takes for me to brush my mane in the morning?”
“But they’re fun! And there’s one real close by!”
Diamond Tiara turned to Scootaloo to argue with her further, but was stopped by the excited look on the filly’s face as she looked over the map. Was the idea of a simple water ride really so exciting? Diamond Tiara had been on them before, and she didn’t really see the appeal… ‘Hold on a second…’ “Is this your first time at an amusement park or something?”
“Of course not!” Scootaloo responded, before lowering her head to face the ground. “I’ve been here before, just… only once. Before my mum left.”
“…” Diamond Tiara turned back to the map, pretending that she was planning out a route to take, when in reality, she was shocked by what her brain was telling her to say. “Ugh, fine! I suppose it’s better than you moping around all day…”
“I wasn’t moping,” Scootaloo said. “If you don’t want to-”
“Come on, let’s go already!” Diamond Tiara said, walking past the map, in the direction of the log flume ride. She noticed that Scootaloo wasn’t following her, and turned back to the orange filly. “Unless you’re afraid of a little water?”
Scootaloo narrowed her eyes. “Me? Afraid?”
“Actually, I think I recall hearing something about chickens not liking water.”
“What d’you call me?!” Diamond Tiara began running through the park, and Scootaloo quickly gave chase. “Get back here, you!”
Diamond Tiara was glad that there was nopony from school who could see her right now. If word got out that she was playing an immature game of chase with a blank flank, she’d never be able to live it down. But then, the questions till remained: why was she playing around like she was five years old again? And more importantly, why was she enjoying it?
As she chased the annoying pink filly, who occasionally made chicken sounds to mock her, Scootaloo was asking herself a similar question. She easily caught up to Diamond Tiara, being the more athletic pony, and before she knew what she was doing, she had tackled the other filly to the ground. Lost in all the fun that she was having, Scootaloo seemed to have forgotten that who she was chasing wasn’t one of her friends, but was the obnoxious rich filly who liked to give her a hard time…
“Hey! Get off of me!” Diamond Tiara shouted, flailing her hooves about in an attempt to free herself.
“Oh! Uh, sorry ‘bout that…” Scootaloo climbed off of Diamond Tiara, and helped her up to her hooves right away. “I guess I got a little carried away.”
“You think?” Diamond Tiara spat, her tone angry, as she dusted herself off. “Honestly. Pinning a cute, fragile young filly such as moi, against the dirty, dusty ground. You should be ashamed of yourself.”
“Hey, you’re the one that started it with the whole chicken thing!”
“Would you rather I call you blank flank, instead?”
“I have a name, you know? You could try using that!”
The two glared at each other, sparks flying between their eyes and teeth bared as they growled at each other. They stopped as they heard giggling around them, and looked around to find two mares looking at them.
The mares turned away as they noticed the two fillies looking back at them, and Scootaloo and Diamond Tiara faced each other again, this time with confused expressions. “What’re they laughing at?” Scootaloo asked.
“Probably at you,” Diamond Tiara said with a grin.
“Or maybe they’re laughing at that stupid tiara on your head,” Scootaloo said, poking said accessory.
Diamond Tiara quickly raised her hooves to defend her head ornament. “Don’t touch it!” she shouted, with a more malicious tone of voice than the more playful one she used earlier.
“W-What? I was just-” Scootaloo stopped when she remembered the incident in Manehatten. Diamond Tiara flipped when she saw her tiara being thrown into a mud puddle… Maybe, to her, that tiara was something precious? Something more valuable than just a gaudy fashion statement?
“Anyway, let’s just go. You want to ride the flume, right?”
Scootaloo nodded, and the two continued to walk through the park together. Scootaloo looked down at Diamond Tiara’s forehoof, and entertained the idea of reaching out to it for all of one second, before immediately dismissing the move as cheesy, and just plain gross.
A seven minute wait for the two fillies, but it might as well have been a whole hour. At least when they were moving and passing by the various attractions and features, they were able to keep themselves busy with their own thoughts. Now, they were forced to either stand around in complete silence as the line slowly moved, or… talk to each other.
Scootaloo wouldn’t mind talking, but there was just one problem: what would they talk about? She needed a topic that Diamond Tiara would be interested in. Something she wouldn’t just shrug off, or throw back at the Pegasus filly. It would help if she knew more about Diamond Tiara, but all she knew about her was that she was a rich filly who liked to give blank flanks a hard time.
“Oh,” Scootaloo started, getting Diamond Tiara’s attention, “I, uh, noticed you Silver Spoon mess around a lot in class, but she always get good grades anyway. What’s up with that?”
“I know,” Diamond Tiara said. “She’s such a bookworm. She already knows the stuff we’re supposed to learn in class before even going, so she just plays around all the time.”
“You do, too. Except you don’t already know everything.”
“Well, I can’t help it if Miss Cheerilee’s classes are, like, so boring!”
“Yeah,” Scootaloo agreed. “No offence to Miss Cheerilee, can’t she teach the class in a way that doesn’t put us all to sleep?”
“And then she scolds us for falling asleep, or not paying attention,” Diamond Tiara huffed. “So unfair.”
“I bet if Rainbow Dash was the teacher, school would be awesome! I might even learn stuff!”
“I’d hate that,” Diamond Tiara said. “She’d replace every class with Gym class.”
“Hey, you’re an Earth Pony! You’re supposed to be good at physical activities.”
“I prefer to think of myself as a hornless Unicorn. Smart, beautiful, and full of grace.”
Scootaloo rolled her eyes. “Yeah. You’re definitely all of those things,” she said, putting emphasis on her sarcasm. “Y’know that Snips and Snails are Unicorns, right? You saying they’re smart and beautiful?”
Diamond Tiara practically gagged at the implication. “Are you trying to make me sick before we even get on any rides?”
Scootaloo giggled, before noticing that the line had moved quite a bit ahead of them. She motioned this to Diamond Tiara, and the two moved along. “Seriously though, today was definitely the most boring day ever. It’s like Miss Cheerilee knew I was waiting for it to end, and intentionally made it drag on.”
“Oh?” Diamond Tiara said with a sly grin. “You were ‘waiting’?”
Scootaloo blushed, but flicked her mane coolly to try to hide it. “Y’know, ‘cause classes were so boring. Even a day with you would be better.”
“Yeah, well, it seems that, for once, we agree on something. School, is boring.”
“You alright, Cheerilee?” Berry Punch asked as she poured herself and her guest two glasses of wine.
“I don’t know,” Cheerilee said, looking around nervously. “You ever get the feeling somepony’s talking about you? And not in a good way?”
“All. The time.”
“So, what’re those notes you pass back and forth with Silver Spoon about, anyway?” Scootaloo asked. She had completely forgotten about her nervousness moments earlier, and was now talking to Diamond Tiara as she would any other day before all this weirdness started.
“That’s a secret,” Diamond Tiara said. “But they’re definitely more exciting than the ones your and your blank flank friends pass around.”
“How would you know? You read ‘em?”
“Yes. I sit next to Apple Bloom, remember?”
“… This needs to be brought up at our next meeting.” A thought crossed through Scootaloo’s mind as she remembered her recent fight with Apple Bloom. ‘… If we even have a next meeting.’
“Will you stop complaining already?” Scootaloo once again had to stop to allow Diamond Tiara a chance to catch up, the latter filly glaring at the back of Scootaloo’s head as she walked behind her at a purposefully slow pace. “So you got a little wet. You never been out in the rain before?”
“My mane is a mess!” Diamond Tiara shouted. “I knew I should’ve sat in the middle. Back and front always get it the worst…”
Scootaloo sighed, and tried to think of a way to calm Diamond Tiara down. “Look, your mane will dry, right? So what’s the big deal?”
“… Of course you don’t get it. You walk around with your mane looking so scruffy all the time.” Diamond Tiara felt something heavy on her head, and cast her gaze up, to see Scootaloo placing something on her. “W-What’s that?”
“Here. Now nopony can see your ‘messed up mane’.” Scootaloo backed up, and Diamond Tiara noticed that something was different about her. She was no longer wearing her Wonderbolts cap from earlier.
Diamond Tiara lifted a hoof to her head, and sure enough, she was now wearing a cap. Her tiara was already stashed away in her bag, to protect it from falling off during the log flume, so the cap fit rather nicely, and she had to admit that it felt pretty comfortable.
“Don’t think you can just keep it, though! That’s my favourite cap, and I want it back before we leave today!”
Diamond Tiara flinched. It seemed that this cap really meant a lot to Scootaloo… and she was letting her wear it. “… Yeah, well, I suppose this makes up for ruining my mane in the first place.”
“So close!” Scootaloo’s ears perked at the familiar voice, and she turned her head to see who it was. She recognised the black Pegasus stallion known as Thunderlane, with a couple of mares standing beside him, giggling at something. “Third time’s the charm!”
Scootaloo watched as Thunderlane picked up a hammer in his, and swung it down onto some sort of target below him. The target was connected to a weight, which shot up the small tower in front of him, flying upwards towards the bell… but stopping in the ‘silver’ area.
“No way!” Thunderlane shouted, before turning to the two mares watching him. “Uh… Eheheh… We’re still up for dinner, right?” The two mares exchanged looks, giggled once more, and then turned and walked away. Thunderlane kicked the ground and huffed, before turning his attention to a trio off mares passing by. “… Hey, ladies! You got a moment?”
Scootaloo shook her head and sighed as she watched the stallion leave. “Typical Thunderlane. Rainbow Dash said he’s gonna get his flank kicked something bad one of these days.”
“What was he doing, anyway?” Diamond Tiara asked, approaching the machine that the stallion was just using. “‘Iron Will’s Test Your Strength 2000’?”
“Hit the target hard enough to win a prize,” the stallion standing next to the machine explained. “You want to give it a try?”
Diamond Tiara shook her head. “No thanks. That hammer looks heavy.”
Scootaloo rolled her eyes, and approached the machine. “Heh, this is nothing,” she said, picking up the hammer with her forehooves. She struggled to keep a firm hold of it, and tried to not let it show. ‘Okay… so it’s a little heavier than I thought.’ “J-Just watch. I’m gonna show you how awesome use blank flanks can really be.”
“Oh, this I have to see,” Diamond Tiara said, before backing away a little as Scootaloo began to raise the hammer. The Pegasus filly swung the hammer down hard onto the target, and watched the weight rise up, higher and higher… and stopping in the ‘bronze’ area.
With a frown and a huff, Scootaloo dropped the hammer, and turned away to leave. However, the stallion at the machine stopped her before could. “Valiant effort, kid. Don’t forget your prize?”
“‘Prize’?” Scootaloo asked. “What prize?”
“Your prize for reaching the ‘bronze’ area. Here.” The stallion reached into a bag, and pulled out a small key ring, with a small plastic animal attached to it. Diamond Tiara started giggling, and Scootaloo gave the key ring a look of pure hatred. “Is… something wrong?”
“It suits you nicely,” Diamond Tiara said, taking the chicken key ring and dangling it in front of Scootaloo. “Here you go. You earned it.”
Scootaloo’s face turned red, and pushed the key ring away from herself, and towards Diamond Tara. “Don’t want it. You can have it, instead.”
“But you won it, fair and square.”
“Well, I’m giving it to you! Consider it a present or something.”
“Pretty cheap present,” Diamond Tiara scoffed, before suddenly being struck with inspiration. “Hmmm, but then, you’re like, the master of ‘cheap’, aren’t you? Cheap cheap, bw-kak!”
“Ugh, whatever!” Scootaloo said, turning around and walking away.
“Hey, you forgot your friend!” Diamond Tiara said, catching up to Scootaloo and taunting her once more with the key ring.
“I said it’s yours!” Scootaloo responded, picking up her pace to get away from the offending key ring.
“And I said I don’t want it!” Diamond Tiara shouted, also moving faster to keep up with Scootaloo. Try as she might, she couldn’t remove the grin that had somehow stuck itself onto her face.
“Man, I’m starving!” Scootaloo said as she sat down on the grass next to a large, sparkling lake. It was a bright, dry day, so the two fillies decided to have their dinners outside. Diamond Tiara had a rather large salad, along with some onion rings and some cupcakes. She took out a blanket from her saddlebag, and lay it down on the grass, before sitting down on it. Scootaloo shrugged, and moved from the grass to the blanket.
Scootaloo pulled out her own dinner, which consisted of an orange, and a pear. Diamond Tiara raised an eyebrow. “Is that it?” she asked. “I know athletes need to keep their figures, but isn’t that overdoing it a little bit?”
“Can’t be helped,” Scootaloo said. “Dad has enough trouble paying for bills without me buying ridiculously oversized meals.” She glared at Diamond Tiara’s laid out dinner as she said that, and frowned as her stomach rumbled. “Besides, he was up all last night with a fever, so I couldn’t prepare anything beforehoof. To be honest, I almost cancelled today.”
“So why didn’t you?” Diamond Tiara asked. “I know I would have.” She was about to take the first bite of her salad, before what she said ran through her mind. She was immediately worried that Scootaloo might take it the wrong way. “N-No offence, just that, I wouldn’t be able to have fun if I thought daddy was sick or anything.”
Scootaloo grinned, making Diamond Tiara feel uncomfortable. “‘No offence’, huh? That’s a new one. Offence is all you ever intend towards me.”
“W-Well, I…”
“Anyway, dad actually told me I shouldn’t cancel. He said he doesn’t want me to ditch plans I’ve made with friends ‘cause of him. And he promised to go straight to the hospital if he still felt bad, so…”
“Still…” Diamond Tiara looked down at Scootaloo’s pitiful dinner, and scowled at the sight. She didn’t like it. She didn’t like the idea that the Pegasus filly was abusing her body by not giving it the nourishment it needed. “… Here.”
Scootaloo titled her head as Diamond Tiara pushed her salad towards her. “Eh?”
“I-I’m on a diet!” Diamond Tiara immediately spat out. “My dad always packs me too much, and I usually share it with Silver Spoon, but since she’s not here right now, I guess you can have some.”
Scootaloo was shocked, to say the least. Diamond Tiara… was actually offering to share her food with her. She was doing something nice. And Scootaloo certainly wasn’t going to complain. With a smile, Scootaloo wasted no time helping herself to a generous portion of the rich filly’s large salad. “Wow, thanks! Y’know, if Silver Spoon ever goes on a diet too, I’d be totally up for helping you with your extra food!”
Diamond Tiara rolled her eyes, but inwardly smiled as she saw Scootaloo eating the salad that she herself, with just a little help from her mother, had prepared.
“Come on, blank flank! The park’s closing!” Scootaloo ignored Diamond Tiara’s demand, opting instead to pull out another bit coin from her bag and place it into the crane machine in front of her. “This if your tenth try! As fun as it was to watch you utterly fail the first few times, it’s starting to just get stupid now.”
“I’ll get it this time!” Scootaloo said, focusing hard as she moved the crane towards the centre of the machine, and then lowered it when it was in position. “Alright! Gotcha now!” The crane grabbed a hold of the Spitfire plush toy sitting amongst the sea of other plush toys, and then began to pull up. However, it quickly lost its grip on the prize, and Scootaloo was disheartened as she once again blew a whole bit on absolutely nothing.
Diamond Tiara sighed, too exhausted to even come up with some witty remark this time around. “Are we done now? Seriously, we’re going to miss the train at this rate.”
“…”
Diamond Tiara moved closer to the other filly, but stopped when she could see Scootaloo’s reflection in the crane machine’ glass window. She looked… sad, but determined. She was still staring at that plush toy, with a kind of fire in her eyes that Diamond Tiara had only ever seen before during one of her ‘crusades’. Scootaloo wanted that plush toy. So much so that she was about to blow the rest of her money on it, if that’s what it took.
“Ugh! Fine!” Diamond Tiara pushed Scootaloo aside, earning a surprised yelp from her, followed by an angry glare.
“Hey, what gives?!”
“You’ve already proven you won’t get a Cutie Mark in this game. But lucky for you, I’m here.” Diamond Tiara pulled out a bit coin from her purse, inserted it into the machine, and then began to move the crane. “You want the orange-maned one, right?”
“… Spitfire. Yeah. Not that you’ll actually get it.” Despite her claim, Scootaloo still watched with half-hope, half-curiosity as Diamond Tiara moved the crane above the Spitfire toy, and then lowered it. The crane once again grabbed the toy, and started to pull up. However, despite the previous times that this had happened with Scootaloo, the toy did not fall off. Not only that, but it came with a partner.
“Whoa! You got two!” Scootaloo exclaimed, her wing popping out of her sides as she watched the Spitfire and Soarin plush toys fall into the prize hole. Diamond Tiara picked up the Spitfire toy, and offered it to Scootaloo. “… Uh, thanks. That was pretty cool…”
“There’s one of these machines near my daddy’s main office building in Manehatten. I spent a lot of time playing on it when he had boring talks with his friends.”
“What kind of boring talks?”
Diamond Tiara shrugged. “I don’t know. Something about their wives… and chains… and I think they mentioned vamponies at some point. It seemed to just go all over the place.”
“Huh… Well, thanks. This is just the right size to go next to my Fleetfoot autograph!”
“Yeah, well, I’ll be keeping the other one,” Diamond Tiara said, looking down at the Soarin plush toy in her hoof.
Scootaloo grinned, and nudged Diamond Tiara teasingly. “What, you got a thing for stallions in uniform?”
Diamond Tiara grinned back. “Maybe I do,” she said, opening her saddlebag and placing the toy inside, next to the chicken key ring from earlier. ‘I could care less about some dunce from the Wonderbolts, or some stupid plastic farm animal. But, I don’t want to get rid of them…’
“Oh no!” Scootaloo shouted as she noticed the time. “We’ve gotta get going! The train’s gonna leave without us!”
Diamond Tiara groaned and slammed a hoof into her face. “That’s what I’ve been trying to-” Before she could finished, the sound of retreating hoofsteps caught her attention, and she looked up to see Scootaloo running away very quickly. “H-Hey! Don’t leave without me!”
Apple Bloom waited nervously at the Ponyville train station as she checked the clock on the wall. The train should be arriving soon… along with the two fillies that she was waiting for. ‘Ah can’t believe ah forgot about it. That Diamond and ah used ta be friends. Applejack said we were inseparable those four weeks, so why can’t ah remember it at all?’
Applejack, who tagged along behind her little sister to make sure that everything went alright, frowned as she watched Apple Bloom looking around like Fluttershy during the dragon migration. ‘Ah thought she finally remembered, but ah guess not. It was around that time that ma and pa passed away, an’ the doctor said her memory loss is attributed to the shock… Maybe ah should’ve arranged a play date between them sooner, but ah had no idea Diamond Tiara would have taken it so personally. None of us did.’
The train pulled into the station, and suddenly, Apple Bloom lost her nerves. She quickly turned around, and ran away. Once she was around the corner, she stopped herself, and took a deep breath. “No. Ah can’t run away. Ah hurt Diamond Tiara by forgetting ‘bout out friendship, and she deserves an apology… An’, so does Scootaloo. Ah… Ah shouldn’t have fought with her like that. Friends don’t do that to each other.”
After taking a moment to ready herself, Apple Bloom turned around, started to walk back to the train station.
The two fillies departed the train, and almost immediately felt the day’s exhaustion rush through them. Scootaloo stretched her legs and her wings, whilst Diamond Tiara turned around to quietly yawn, using her hoof to cover her face.
“So… that was fun, right?” Scootaloo asked, turning to Diamond Tiara with a smile.
Diamond Tiara faced her, and simply nodded. She realised that she was still wearing Scootaloo’s cap, and lifted it off of her head to offer it back to the Pegasus. “Uh, here.”
“Oh, right.” Scootaloo took her cap back, and placed it back onto her head. She then remained still and silent as she stared at Diamond Tiara, who did the same as she stared right back. “Soooo…”
“Soooooo?” Diamond Tiara asked, her face turning red as she tried to look away. ‘T-This is the part on TV where the couple k-kiss, right?’
“Um, well, I guess we should, like, say goodbye now. Right?” Diamond Tiara only nodded in response, but neither filly moved afterwards. “Uh, y-you said you wouldn't kiss either of us, until you made your decision…”
“Y-Yeah…”
“… But, y’know, it’s kinda unfair. I mean, you kissed Apple Bloom…”
Diamond Tiara shook her head. “I already said I wouldn’t-”
“You said you’d have this one date with me.” Diamond Tiara nodded again. “… Well, isn’t a kiss… a part of the date?”
Diamond Tiara thought about this seriously for a few moments. ‘S-She’s right. Technically, it wouldn’t be a date if we don’t kiss.’
“So… d’you wanna?” Scootaloo asked, lowering her cap as if it would hide the blush spreading across her face.
“… J-Just one, right?”
Scootaloo nodded, and the two fillies took a moment to wonder how exactly to proceed. Scootaloo took the initiative, and took a step forward. Diamond Tiara gulped, and wondered if it would be too late to back out. Scootaloo placed her forehooves on Diamond Tiara’s shoulders, and slowly moved her face forward.
…
The kiss felt different than with Apple Bloom, was the first thing that crossed Diamond Tiara’s mind. She assumed that kisses would be the same with everypony, but she was surprised to find a very difference experience when doing it with Scootaloo.
With Apple Bloom, it was almost as if the two were in perfect harmony with each other. Each filly moved in perfect synch to make up for where the other was doing something wrong, and they both put equal effort into the kiss.
With Scootaloo, it was as if the Pegasus filly was leading Diamond Tiara the entire way. Like Scootaloo was in control… and, it felt more exciting than with Apple Bloom. Both kisses felt different, and Diamond Tiara wasn’t sure which one she liked more…
And she didn’t have much time contemplate it, as she turned her eyes away the moment the kiss ended, and found Apple Bloom staring at the two of them with a shocked look on her face.
Scootaloo noticed Diamond Tiara looking horrified at something, and turned around to see what it was. “A-Apple Bloom!”
Apple Bloom, not sure how to react to what she had just seen, cursed herself for coming back, and turned around to once again flee the scene.
“Wait!” Scootaloo shouted, but it had no effect. “N-No! C’mon, we have to stop her!”
Diamond Tiara gave Scootaloo an uncertain look. “Are you sure? Won’t she just be mad at us?”
“Well, maybe,” Scootaloo said, resisting the urge to say ‘definitely’. “But, we can’t just leave her, can we? She’s… She’s my friend, and…”
Diamond Tiara looked at where Apple Bloom had been standing moments earlier, and then back at Scootaloo. She was right; they had to catch up to Apple Bloom, and talk about this. Otherwise, things would just get ugly…
“Anyway, let’s go!” Scootaloo shouted, taking off after Apple Bloom, with Diamond Tiara following behind her. They left the train station, but didn’t get far before a tall figure approached them.
“There you are!” The figure revealed itself to be a white Pegasus mare, with a striped green and pink mane. “I’ve been looking all over for you!” she said to Scootaloo. “Where in Equestria have you been?”
“Uh… out,” Scootaloo said, looking at Diamond Tiara with a nervous smile on her face. “What’s going on? I’m kinda in a hurry.”
The Pegasus looked down at Scootaloo with a frown on her face, and let out a sigh as she lowered herself down to the filly’s eyelevel. “Scootaloo… it’s your father. He passed out in the streets today, and he’s at the hospital right now.”
Scootaloo’s blood froze, and her jaw hung open as she simply stared back at the mare with a look of shock and disbelief. “D… Dad’s… Is he okay?”
“He’s fine. He woke up, and the doctor said he’ll recover. But, there’s something we need to talk abou-” Before she could finished, Scootaloo darted past the mare, running through the streets at full gallop. “Wait!”
‘Dad… Please, please be okay…’
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Well, I was GOING to say that this one made me laugh more than any of your others...until that ending. Yikes. But, putting that moment aside, I seriously laughed so very hard at this. The one with Apple Bloom was honestly a bit dull, but this one was just so hilarious and adorable. My guess is that Scootaloo is more rowdy and wild than Apple Bloom, and that leads to more amusing moments between her and Tiara. But, every single part was so adorable and perfect. From that Spitfire and Soarin part, to the sharing of the dinner, to the water ride, to all the chicken jokes, to that cute little chase...all of it was great! Even that part with Cheerilee and Berry Punch was drop-dead epic. But, all the parts with Apple Bloom...well, that balanced this part. It helped the comedy have the somber side, too. You are so amazing; you COULD rival even my own writing skills!
Honestly, this is starting to remind me of The Bachelorette. And that's awesome!
Aw man I hope Scoots dad is alright, and I have a bad feeling about what the pegasus wants to talk to Scootaloo about
.
I hope everything turns out okay in the end.
Diamond Tiara needs to make up her mind and pick a special somepony.
Threesome! Threesome! Threesome!
I remember that. Time moved a lot slower when you were younger. Especially when bored.
I have a sinking feeling about what that talk is about, too. Poor, poor Scoots.
Neat chapter! The beginning took me by surprise with the fast-paced interrogation towards Diamond Tiara. Additionally, I was taken aback by how calm Scoots acted when she found out the truth about the kiss. With much more descriptive action of the date as opposed to Apple bloom's backstory focused date, their date was much more fun to read about. I love the daddy drama in this fic, and am curious to find out more about it! (Incidentally, towards the end, I read the words pass out as passed away and died)
Ah personality clash, fun.
Alright...this society is starting to make me angry...