Chapter 18: Crossroad
Celestia's sun began to slowly set in the evening sky, ending another day for the denizens of Ponyville. As the skies began turning a fiery orange that blended perfectly with the various shades of yellow and red, the once cool weather only became colder as ponies continued going about their business or began to bring their long day to an end. Among them, Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle were trotting towards the former's house, both of them with smiles on their faces.
"Today was one of the best days ever," announced Sweetie Belle as she jumped in the air excitedly, her breath visible as she spoke.
"You can say that again," Scootaloo agreed as she lightly shivered.
"Okay. Today was one of the best days ever!"
The two of them shared a laugh as Scootaloo's house slowly came into view. When they were in front of it, they turned to face to each other, both of them smiling at one another.
"I had a lot of fun today," said Scootaloo. "It feels great to finally spend some time with you alone."
"Mmm-hmm," she agreed with a nod. "I'm glad I was finally able to keep my promise to you."
Scootaloo felt her cheeks starting to warm up as she nodded her head in agreement. "Well, since we're not doing anything tomorrow, do you wanna do something like hang out?"
A sheepish grin came across Sweetie Belle's face. "Actually, I have to do something tomorrow and I don't know how long it's going to take, so I'll have to get back to you on that. If there's enough time, then we will, okay?"
"No problem," Scootaloo said with a smile. Then, Sweetie Belle leaned in and planted her lips on Scootaloo's, both of them sharing their tender butterfly kiss before embracing one another.
Nuzzling her neck, Sweetie Belle said in a soft tone, "I love you, Scoots."
"I love you, too, Sweetie," Scootaloo responded, feeling comfort in her warm body leaning up against hers.
Then, the two of them bid each other farewell as they went their separate ways. As Sweetie Belle trotted towards the Boutique, she let out a sigh as her thoughts began to focus on what she had to do tomorrow.
Here's hoping my plan works, she reassured herself. Time to put 'Operation: Get-Rumble-Out-of-My-Head-and-Hook-Him-Up-with-Apple-Bloom' in motion!
As she arrived at the Boutique and trotted through the doors, she couldn't help but roll her eyes and let out a laugh. I really need to come up with a better name for that.
"Rarity," she called out as she headed for the stairs. When she was upstairs, she trotted towards her work room and said, "I'm home!"
"Oh, hello, Sweet'ums," she responded with a smile on her face. "Sorry, I was just working on this outfit for a client that just came in today."
Sitting on her haunches in the room, Sweetie Belle said, "It's okay. So, how was your day?"
"Oh, it was nothing short of magnificent!" she answered, a romantic sigh escaping through her nostrils. Looking at her sister busily working on the dress in her hooves by running it through her sewing machine, Sweetie Belle noticed that there was something a little different about her; her eyes looked like they had stars dancing in them. Her cheeks were a small shade of pink and, when she took the dress from her machine to an ironing board, it looked like she was dancing across the room.
Seeing all these notions, Sweetie Belle giggled and asked, "You look like you're in a good mood."
"The absolute best, my dear sister," Rarity said. "I haven't felt like this since...since...I can't even remember when!"
She let out another loving sigh as she glided over to fetch more string for her sewing machine. It was when she saw her sister in the mirror that she said, "Oh, do forgive me for being rude. How was your day, dear?"
"It was great," Sweetie Belle skipped happily. "Scootaloo and I had the best day ever!"
"That's wonderful to hear. I'm..."
She stopped in mid-sentence as her sister's words hit her, making the smile she wore instantly vanish. The thoughts hadn't entered her mind all day, but now that they were brought up, they were knocking into her head like falling apples. Her once cheerful state dissipated as panic began taking its place, erupting anxiety in her chest. With all her thoughts continuously shifting from one to another, she didn't even notice Sweetie Belle trot past her and inspect her current work-in-progress.
"Wow! That outfit looks really pretty!" she complimented. "Who's it for?"
Rarity shook her head in an attempt to get her mind on track as she said, "Savannah Café. She's...coming to Ponyville for...for the Festival."
Sweetie let out a gasp. "Really, and she asked you to make her outfit? That's so great!"
"Y-yeah, great," Rarity said, making circles in the rug with a hoof. "Sweetie, why don't you start getting ready for supper? I'll be along momentarily."
"Okay."
As Sweetie Belle trotted out of the room, Rarity hung her head as she bit her lower lip, the events from earlier flashing before her eyes while the words that were just spoken echoed in her ears.
Oh no! Now what am I going to do? I've dug myself deeper than ever, she thought as she sat on her haunches. Now that we've proclaimed our love for each other, how am I going to tell him the truth? How do I break it to him that...that...
She didn't attempt to finish her thought as she put her hooves on her eyes in a desperate attempt to stop herself from crying. Much to her dismay, the tears still streamed down her face as her breathing became shallow. Quickly, she put a hoof over her mouth; if she couldn't stop her crying, the best she could do was try to muffle it so that Sweetie didn't hear it.
Calm yourself, Rarity, she thought as she wiped her eyes. No point in worrying about that now. Tomorrow is another day. I'll think of a way out of this then. For now, I shouldn't worry. Just act casual for the rest of the evening and everything will be alright.
Sniffling and wiping the remaining tears off her face, she put on the most natural smile she could muster and began trotting down the stairs, ready to conclude the day with their usual evening routine.
Rarity and Sweetie Belle were trotting down a dirt path along side of each other. She had been trotting with a smile on her face for most of the journey, but it only struck the filly now that she had no idea where they were or where they were heading.
By the looks of their surroundings, she could see that they were inside some kind of forest, except it wasn't the familiar Everfree Forest. Whitetail Woods, maybe? She didn't dwell on the location for very long; the thought of the two of them aimlessly wandering in any murky forest sent uncomfortable chills down her spine.
Her smile quickly becoming a look of worry as she inspected her surroundings, she turned to her sister and asked, "Rarity, where are we? Where are we going?"
"Don't worry, my dear," Rarity said reassuringly, though she didn't turn to look at her. "Everything will be fine...trust me."
The last two words seemed to echo in her ears as the two of them exited the forest and entered a grassy clearing. It was only now that she saw the skies, except it wasn't like anything she expected. At first glance, one would say that it was a thin layer of clouds with the sun trying to peak out from behind them. However, the whole entire sky was lit up, as if the clouds were all made of lights. There wasn't a sun, nor were there any form of a sky. Instead, it was just a layer of bright lights that shone across the sky.
"We're almost there," Rarity chimed, taking Sweetie Belle by surprise. Focusing her attention back on the road, she had to stop trotting for a moment as she gazed upon what lied around her.
Her heart skipped a beat as the field of grass with a few mountains in the distance changed without her even realizing it. Now, it appeared that the majority of the field was gone except for the small pathway that they were currently traveling upon. The ground on either side was gone; it was like they were on a bridge over a canyon, except the ground underneath them was replaced with a bright light similar to the skies. Galloping to catch up Rarity, Sweetie Belle looked down towards the white light beneath them, only to quickly shield her eyes with a hoof from the immense brightness.
"Rarity..." she began in a shaky voice. Before she could say or ask anything, she was taken off guard by Rarity stopping her trotting.
"We're here," she said as she looked at her with a smile. "It's time."
Sweetie Belle tilted her head and raised an eyebrow. "Time for what?"
She didn't respond with words, but instead by pointing a hoof in front of the two of them, motioning for Sweetie Belle to look at where she was directing. When she looked ahead at the path before them, her eyes went wide and her heart began to beat a little faster than before.
In front of them were two paths, one that broke off to the left and the other that branched to the right. They were similar to the path they were on, narrow and linear with the bright light on either side of them as well as across the horizon. However, what made these two paths different was what was waiting for them along the horizons...or rather, who.
Standing in the middle of the left path was Scootaloo, while Rumble was standing on the right. When the two foals saw her standing at the fork in the road, they both stood up with hopeful expressions, complete with smiles and unfurled wings. Sweetie Belle's eyes shifted from one to the other and back again, her pounding heart starting to hurt her ribcage.
"Hi, Sweetie Belle!" Scootaloo shouted to her as she rapidly waved a hoof, her smile widening.
"Hello," Rumble said softly, lowering his head in embarrassment.
"Rarity," Sweetie's voice cracked as her breathing began to intensify. "What's going on? Why are...?"
"Come along, Sweetie Belle," Rarity interrupted, all of her words starting to echo. "We must be going."
Not waiting for a response, Rarity began trotting down the right path, where Rumble was waiting for them. However, Sweetie Belle looked down the left path to see that the smile and hopeful look on Scootaloo's face was gone, a look that was a mix of shock and disbelief appearing in its place.
Seeing this, Sweetie said, "Rarity, I...I think we should go this way."
She stopped her trot and looked at her with a smirk. "This isn't up for discussion. Now come along, there's no time to dally."
"But...but I don't want to go that way. I want to go this way."
Rarity’s eyebrows furrowed as she looked down the left path and back, a stern look falling upon her face. "That's not an option. We're going this way, so come on."
Letting out a defiant huff, Sweetie Belle began trotting down the opposite path, heading towards Scootaloo. She had only taken a few steps before she felt her tail being pulled, making her slightly stumble to the ground. Regaining her bearings, she looked behind her to see that Rarity had her tail in her mouth and was pulling her back.
"Where do you think you're going?" she inquired through the hair in her mouth. "You're going this way."
"No!" she protested. "I don't want to!"
"What did you say?"
"I said no! I'm not going and you can't make me!"
She began pulling as hard as she could in a desperate attempt to free herself from her sister's grasp. She could feel immense pain starting to course through her flank, no doubt from the various strands of hair starting to pull out. Tears started streaming down her face, not just from the pain, but from the fact that her sister was deliberately trying to force her to go down a path she didn't want to go down.
"You can't do this to me!" she cried, trying to make her voice clear. "You can't tell me what to do!"
"YES I CAN!" Rarity shouted as she released her sister's tail from her mouth. Then, she used her magic to levitate Sweetie Belle as she began walking down the path towards Rumble.
"LET ME GO!" Sweetie Belle shouted, squirming in midair.
"Absolutely not," Rarity protested calmly, though it was clear she was annoyed. "You're going this way. You WILL listen to me, whether you like it or not."
As she walked, Sweetie continued to flail her hooves around, managing to sway back and forth in the air. Suddenly, one of her hooves accidently knocked into Rarity’s horn, making her clutch it with a hoof while squealing in pain. The worst of it was when she lost her magical grip around her, causing the filly to hit the ground. Since the pathway was so narrow with little to no room for movement, she immediately rolled off the side, falling down towards the empty light underneath them.
"HELP ME!" she managed to scream at the top of her lungs. "SOMEPONY HELP ME!"
"Sweetie Belle!" she heard a voice yell out to her as she closed her eyes and let out a high-pitched scream. Hearing her name being called, she lightly opened one eye and managed to catch a glimpse of both Pegasi jumping off the paths and heading down towards her.
"Sweetie Belle!" the voice called out again. Opening her eyes, she reached out a hoof so that one of them could take it. As they approached her, the lights behind her began to brighten more and more, making it hard to see who it was that was directly in front of her.
Then, as the light engulfed her and distorted her vision completely, she felt somepony grab her hoof and begin to pull her back up.
"Sweetie Belle!" she called out for a third time, using a hoof to lightly shake the filly awake. The moment her eyes shot open, Rarity let out a sigh of relief and said, "Thank Celestia you're awake. I was so worried."
Her breathing heavy and sweat along her forehead, Sweetie Belle looked at Rarity before directing her attention outside. It was morning now and the sun was shining, despite the vast amount of clouds that were strewn about.
"Are you alright?" Rarity asked in a soothing voice, redirecting her attention back to her.
"I..." she began, unsure of whether or not she should tell her what she just experienced. Deciding it was for the best if she didn't, she let out a sigh and said, "I'm fine."
Rarity put a hoof on her forehead, lightly wiping away several strands of her disheveled mane out of her face that were held in place from the sweat. "That's so good to hear. I came in to wake you when I saw you tossing and turning. I've never seen you move in your sleep like that before, so I tried to wake you. Were you having a nightmare?"
Her breathing finally relaxing, she replied, "Mm-hm. That's all it was...just a bad dream."
"Well, I certainly know what that feels like."
"What do you mean?"
Rarity let out a sigh through her nostrils. "I had a nightmare as well. It was...simply dreadful."
Sweetie Belle lowered her head in sorrow. "I'm sorry to hear that. What was it about?"
She scanned the ground for a moment, visions of the forest and grassy clearing flashing through her mind. After a moment, she scoffed and said, "It's nothing to worry about. Let's just have some breakfast together and put all these bad thoughts behind us, shall we?"
She smiled and responded softly, "Okay."
Rarity then proceeded to trot out of the room. When she was in the doorway, she stopped for a moment, turned to Sweetie Belle and asked, "May I ask you something?"
"Sure, sis," she responded.
"You...you do know that I love you, right?"
"Of course I do. Just like you know that I love you."
Rarity smiled at her before leaving the room, closing the door in her passing. When she heard the sound of her hoof-steps descending the stairs, Sweetie Belle let out a deep sigh as she sprawled out on her bed with a worried look on her face.
"Was that all it was?" she asked herself. "Was it just a bad dream or was it something else?"
She tapped a hoof on her chin as the memories of the dream floated around in her head. Recollecting what happened, she didn't know what terrified her more: the roads with Scootaloo and Rumble on either of them or the way Rarity had been acting. Was she really trying to force her to do something she didn't want to, like stay away from Scootaloo?
"Nah," she said with a wave of a hoof. "Rarity isn't like that. Sure, she's been acting strange lately, but she would never try to make me do something I wouldn't want to do. I guess that means only one thing."
She stood on her head in a triumphant manner. "I have to do everything I can to get Rumble and Apple Bloom together! That way, I won't have to choose between them like in my dream, Apple Bloom will have a special somepony all her own, and everypony will be happy!"
Jumping off the bed, she left her room and began making her way to the bathroom with a smile on her face and a single thought crossing her mind:
What could possibly go wrong?
Rarity trotted down the stairs and entered the kitchen, a look on her face that a mix of sadness and guilt, bordering on fear. Letting out a deep sigh, she rested her head on the refrigerator for a moment as she began recollecting the worst part of her nightmare: the way she had been acting.
What was the purpose of that dream? Was that a look into the future? Is that what I'm to become? Surely there must be a reason behind it all, she thought as her breathing became shallow for a moment.
She bit her lower lip as her eyes darted back and forth. Does this mean that, no matter what I do, Sweetie is going to resist? Are my efforts to end in vain? Am I becoming...a monster?
She was snapped out of her thoughts when Sweetie trotted into the room. Quickly, she put a smile on her face and took a bowl out of the cabinet and placed it on the table, trying to put all the thoughts about the dream behind her for now. Flipping her mane out of her face, Rarity trotted over the table and silently watched as Sweetie Belle took out a box of cereal and the milk to make herself breakfast.
Sitting down, she asked in a nonchalant way, "So, Sweet'ums, any plans for today?"
"Yeah," she said as she poured the cereal in her bowl. "I'm going to...help Apple Bloom with...um...stuff."
"That's nice," she replied, desperately trying to sound chipper. "I'll be doing a little bit of shopping today, seeing how I didn't get a chance to finish yesterday."
"Oh yeah, sorry about that. Do you want me to come with you? Maybe I can help!"
"That's sweet of you, but I insist you help Apple Bloom with her...'stuff'. I'll manage on my own, thanks. Just be back before it gets too late."
"I will. Aren't you gonna eat something?"
"N-Not right now, thank you. I'm...not hungry at the moment."
They fell silent after that, Sweetie Belle eating her breakfast while Rarity just sat there, her mind trying to piece everything together at once. It wasn't long before Sweetie finished her cereal and dismissed herself, heading directly for the door while bidding farewell to Rarity.
When she was confident she was alone, Rarity rested her head on the table, her eyes looking downwards.
Maybe I'm thinking too much into this, she thought. Perhaps I'm looking at this the wrong way. I mean, just because it's a premonition of some kind, doesn't mean it has to be a bad thing.
Her ears slightly perked up at this newfound thought. Maybe it means that I shouldn't force Sweetie Belle to do something she doesn't want to. Perhaps it means that I should go about this issue at another angle. Hmm, but how? How can I convince her that she'd be better off with...?
Rarity didn't have to finish that thought before she lifted her head off the table, her gaze becoming more and more devious. That's it! Why didn't I think of this sooner? Instead of trying to persuade Sweetie Belle, I should be encouraging Rumble to confess his feelings to Sweetie Belle! It shouldn't be too difficult, seeing that he already has a crush on her. Once he confesses his feelings for her, maybe she'll see that her feelings might be mutual and, in turn, she'll realize that she's happier being with him!
A toothy grin came across her face as she let out a small chuckle, rubbing her hooves together as her perfect plan formed in her head. However, her small moment of victory was short-lived when another thought came across her mind, resulting in her ears flattening against her head.
Poor Scootaloo will be heartbroken if this works, she thought. Huffing, she straightened her posture as a determined look came across her face. But it's for Sweetie Belle's best interest. I'm sure Scootaloo will want that for her and put it all behind her in due time. Besides, like Applejack said, their love for each other might be just a passing phase. As much as it'll pain me to hurt her like this, it’s the only way I can guide Sweetie Belle down the right path of that dreaded crossroad in my dream.
Nodding her head in confidence, she got up and headed for the door. Once she was outside, she began trotting towards the inn, completely forgetting about the two major things she had planned for that very same day.
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rarity, you selfish whore. i hope your happiness burns in the flames of righteous justice.
Way to go Raricunt
A long time ago I remember reading new discoveries and I enjoyed it immensely, I read the story before I really got a fimfiction account and before I liked fanfics, time has passed and I got to say your writing is simple but has a clever wit to it I hope you continue this series and of course happy writing;
I love it. Rarity..though, this will end badly.
It sounds like Sweetie Belle has already made her decision.
5631814 5631883
Not to say that you're wrong, but cut her some slack! She may be going about it in an ass-backwards way, but her intentions are still good!
5631888
A long time ago, back when my writing was worth a damn...
5632037
True, very true...
5632194
I'll let Trixie take this one...
No, you became a monster the second you started this whole thing.
5632220 Is this chapter have a side of Luna? I can sense that was Luna ' s doing...she has done it before.
5632220 the road to hell is paved with good intentions. just saying.
5632930
Hmm...played an important role in "Discoveries"..."Festival of the Night"...coming to Ponyville...simultaneous dreams...I wonder...
5632932
...touché
When are things going to hit the fan? Not to be impolite, but it feels like the last few chapters have been more or less the same.
5633853
Before any fireworks display, one must first set the ordinance. The more that are set, the bigger the explosion and more believable the emotional impact is!
5632932 i thought it was paved with good things and temptations.
Poor Sweetie Belle, having nightmares now.