Chapter 3: Arduous Decisions
As the day slowly crept into late afternoon, the Cutie Mark Crusaders found themselves making their way from the schoolhouse to their designated homes. They wanted to go out and “crusade” for their beloved Cutie Marks that day, like they did most days, but the given circumstances prevented them from doing so; Apple Bloom had chores to do around the farm and Scootaloo had some errands to run with her parents. So, they agreed they’d go out tomorrow and continue their quest for their Marks then.
As Scootaloo slowed her scooter down in front of the Carousel Boutique, Sweetie Belle hopped out and removed the helmet from her head, placing it in the red wagon.
“See you tomorrow, Sweetie Belle,” said Apple Bloom and Scootaloo in unison, waving goodbye to the unicorn filly before departing down the road.
Sweetie Belle waved a hoof at her friends as they slowly disappeared over the horizon. Then, she opened the door of the Boutique and made her way to her bedroom. On her way, she saw that Rarity was in the kitchen, making some tea over by the sink. However, as she passed the kitchen and began heading towards the stairs, she was surprised to see a brown stallion in a blue suit sitting at the table, a stern look on his face. She didn’t need to take a closer look to know that the stallion was Filthy Rich, Diamond Tiara’s father.
Before she could fathom a thought on the matter, Rarity spotted her younger sister and said, “Oh, there you are, Sweet’ums. We’ve been waiting for you. Can you please accompany us for a moment?”
Her heart began to race as she entered the kitchen, taking a seat at the table with Rarity and Filthy Rich. When she did, she looked at the brown stallion and offered a smile at him. He smiled back and nodded his head, acknowledging her gesture.
Clearing her throat, Rarity said, “Sweetie Belle, I was talking to Filthy Rich about Diamond Tiara and her behavior towards you and Scootaloo. It seems we are both concerned about this matter and felt the need to talk with you about this.”
Fixing his tie, Filthy said, “Allow me to be the first to apologize for my daughter’s behavior towards you and your friend. I just want you to know that I have nothing against you or your friend being ‘together’ as you are. I blame myself for Diamond’s behavior; I know I’ve been told repeatedly to stop her inappropriate behavior and I have been unable to do so as of late.”
He straightened himself up before continuing. “I wanted to tell you this face-to-face so you know how sorry I am for this matter. I will see to it that my daughter stops harassing you and your friend as soon as possible.”
“Oh,” said Sweetie Belle, looking down at the ground, unsure of what to say. However, she decided to say the most appropriate thing she could say to him. “Thank you.”
He nodded and got up from his seat, thanked Rarity for the tea he must have drank before, and departed for the door of the shop. When he was gone, Rarity had poured herself another cup of tea, or at least Sweetie Belle assumed it was another cup. When she was done, she sat at the table with her sister, both of them sitting in silence for a moment.
After what felt like an hour, even though it clearly wasn’t, Sweetie Belle said, “Thank you, sis.”
“No need to thank me,” the older unicorn said with a smile, “I’m more than happy to help you in your time of need.”
The white filly got up from the table to go to her room when Rarity asked her, “Sweetie Belle, can I talk to you about something?”
She stopped her trotting and looked at her sister. “Sure, what’s up?”
Rarity rubbed the back of her neck with a hoof and asked, “How was your day at school?”
Blinking twice in surprise, she said, “Okay, I guess.”
“You guess?” Rarity asked, raising an eyebrow.
“Yeah, I mean, aside from Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon, the day went pretty well.”
If she hadn’t just been talking with her father just a few moments ago, Rarity would have face-hooved. However, she simply smiled and said, “Well, hopefully Mr. Rich will stop this once and for all.”
“Yeah, hopefully,” Sweetie mumbled to herself.
A moment passed before Rarity asked, “So, how’s Scootaloo?”
“Oh, she’s fine,” said the filly, offering a smile, “She had some grocery shopping to do with her parents today and Apple Bloom had some chores to do at Sweet Apple Acres, so we couldn’t go ‘crusading’ today.”
“I see,” said Rarity, taking a sip of her hot beverage.
As silence dawned on them once again, Sweetie Belle smiled and began making her way to the stairs. Like before, she only took a few steps before Rarity called out to her, stopping her again.
“Sweetie...” she said, a look of worry on her face.
“Yes?” said Sweetie Belle, a small hint of annoyance in her tone.
Letting out a sigh, Rarity said, “I need to ask you a serious question and I need you to give me an honest answer.”
The moment the statement left her sister’s mouth, the annoyance that was inside her had vaporized into nothing, leaving only concern and worry. She trotted over to the table and sat down next to her sister, the look never leaving her face.
The moment Rarity saw the look on Sweetie Belle’s face, she began to question whether or not to talk to her sister about this, especially now. Doubt began running through her mind, the decision to ask her sister what she was going to ask her becoming more and more difficult with every passing second.
Don’t do it, Rarity, she thought to herself. She’s fine the way she is. There’s no need to be planting seeds of doubt in her mind. But...but I need to know. I need to know the truth.
“What’s wrong?” Sweetie Belle asked, snapping her out of her thoughts.
“Well...I’m not sure how to put this...” she said, fumbling with a curl in her mane as she spoke, “...I suppose the ‘direct approach’ is probably best.”
She cleared her throat, took a small breath and asked, “Sweetie Belle, are you happy being with Scootaloo?”
Sweetie Belle stared at her for a few moments, not really sure what she meant by that. However, she decided to answer it the way she thought it should be answered. “Of course I’m happy. Why wouldn’t I be?”
She offered a smile at Rarity, hopping that she had answered properly. However, Rarity shook her head, her mane bouncing around as she did.
“What I mean is...well...” she said, sighing again, “Do you...you know...regret being with her?”
“‘Regret?’” Sweetie Belle asked, raising an eyebrow, “Of course not. Why would I regret being with her?”
“Well...” Rarity began, looking around the room, not really sure how she would react to what she was about to say, “Hypothetically speaking, is there ever a thought in your mind...you know, a tiny part of you...so small that you can’t even see it...”
Before she could continue, Sweetie Belle cocked her head to one said and asked, “Hypo...what?”
Smiling, Rarity said, “‘Hypothetically’. Just a scenario that is not real, but used for the sake of the question.”
“Oh,” said Sweetie Belle, still unsure what it meant.
Sweat began forming on the back of her neck, causing her to scratch at it with a hoof. Rarity could see that the small filly was getting more and more suspicious with each sentence that came out of her mouth, making her decision to talk about this even harder than before.
Taking one last breath, she said, “Do you ever think that you’d be much happier with a colt instead of a filly?”
The moment she asked the question, the white filly’s eyes went wide with shock and confusion; it was a look that Rarity was hoping she wouldn’t see. Now that she was looking at it, she regretted even asking her the question.
Then, Sweetie Belle’s eyes furrowed and she asked, “What are you saying?”
Her heart pounding in her chest, practically hurting her ribcage, Rarity said, “All I’m saying is that, maybe...just maybe...you’d be much happier with a colt instead of a filly.”
“What makes you think I’m not happy?” she asked.
Sighing again, Rarity said, “It’s just that...well...you always seem to come home upset because of the torment and ridicule you get from the foals at school. I was just thinking that...”
In a fit of anger, Sweetie Belle slammed her hooves on the table, taking the older unicorn off guard for a moment.
“I AM happy!” she shouted, her voice cracking, “Maybe it’s YOU who isn’t happy that I’m with Scootaloo! I thought you said you were supportive of us being together!”
“I am,” said Rarity, her tone becoming more firm and direct, “It’s a hypothetical question Sweetie Belle and it doesn’t give you any right to raise your voice at me.”
The moment the statement left her mouth, Sweetie Belle lowered herself in shame; she had lost herself in the moment, causing her to raise her voice at her sister. Seeing that she had done wrong, she softly said, “I’m...I’m sorry.”
Lowering her own tone, she said, “No, Sweet’ums, I’m the one who should be sorry.”
Then, she got up and stood next to her sister, lightly wrapping her hooves around her in an embrace. “I am supportive of you two being together,” she said softly, “It’s just that I see you upset almost every day you come home. I just want what’s best for you. I’m looking out for you in any way I can. I don’t want you to think that I am not behind you and your choice to be with Scootaloo.”
“It’s okay,” she said, offering a hug in response, “But I am happy with her. It’s just Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon that is making me feel upset, honest.”
Smiling, Rarity said, “Well, hopefully that will all end soon.”
With that, they released their embrace, allowing Sweetie Belle to make her way up to her room. When she was out of earshot, Rarity sighed and sat back down, taking another sip of her tea.
Then, she mumbled to herself, “Well, that went swimmingly.”
Upstairs, Sweetie Belle went into her bedroom and closed the door behind her. Then, she let out a sigh and trotted over to her bed. There, she lied on her back and stared up at the ceiling, letting the conversation that just transpired sink into her mind. As she thought about it more and more, she began to question herself, not sure if there was a ring of truth behind any of what Rarity had said.
As the thoughts continued to run through her mind, Sweetie Belle got up and made her way to the window. She looked at the streets of Ponyville in all its glory, as ponies of different shapes and sizes made their way to and fro. As she continued to watch the citizens of their home town going about their business, she couldn’t help but ask herself something out loud.
“Would I really be happy with a colt instead of a filly?” she asked, allowing the question to wrap around her mind. Truthfully, as much as she wanted to say “no” to the question, she couldn’t because she hadn’t been with a colt in order to say “no”. However, it because of this that she couldn’t say “yes” either. Therefore, the question went unanswered as she trotted away from the window and over to her dresser.
There, she had a picture of her and her fellow Crusaders, all of them with smile on their faces. As she looked at the picture, she smiled and sighed, allowing the thoughts that were there to dissipate into nothing.
“It doesn’t matter anyway,” she said to herself, “I’m happy being with Scootaloo and that’s all that matters.”
Looking away from the picture, she lied on her bed again, this time, with a smile on her face. She closed her eyes softly and said aloud, “We’re together and we’re happy. What could possibly change that?”
He sat in a seat of a large, refine building, a structure he wasn’t used to being in. The comfortable chair he sat in wasn’t anything like he was used to either; he’d been in chairs that were far more comfortable than this one. However, he didn’t let those thoughts distract him from why they were here.
As he waited, he tapped his hoof on the hardwood floor, listening to the sound that it made. Nope, it definitely wasn’t what he was used to, but he decided to get used to it; he was here for Celestia knows how long, so he figured it was best to stop comparing it to his former home and get used to it.
After a while, the door that was near him opened and two ponies walked out. One was his older brother and the other was an amber mare, whom he was told was the mayor of the town they were in, Ponyville.
“Everything is in order for your brother,” the mayor said with a smile, “He’ll be ready to start first thing tomorrow.”
“Great,” said the older stallion. “Is there anything he’ll need?”
Without answering, the mayor pulled out a few scrolls and handed it to him. “Everything is here on these lists. We’ll inform the local school about him starting, so he’ll receive a nice, warm welcome.”
“Thank you so much, ma’am,” he said, offering a hoof-shake to the mayor.
Then, he and his older brother left the building, known as Town Hall, and made their way to the small inn that they were going to be staying in for a while.
As they trotted, the older stallion said, “Well, little guy, you’ll be starting school tomorrow. Are you excited?”
The young foal sighed and said, “Yeah, I guess so.”
Seeing that he wasn’t as excited as he was letting on, the older stallion said, “Hey, don’t be like that. I know this isn’t what we wanted, but we have to be here. It was a hard decision to leave home, but it’s what had to be done. Things will get better, I promise.”
The young colt said nothing. He just sighed and continued to walk with his brother to the inn, their new “home sweet home”.
After they checked in and made their way into their two-bedroom room, they decided to have some dinner. As the older of the two prepared their meal, the small colt sat at the table, staring blankly at the tile floor.
Seeing that he was still upset, the stallion said, “I know you’re still pretty upset that we had to leave home, but we should make the best of it, you know. Who knows, maybe you’ll make a lot of new friends when you start school tomorrow.”
Sighing again, the young foal rolled his eyes and said, “I doubt that. You know all the new foals get picked on their first day in a new school.”
The stallion scoffed, “That’s not true. You weren’t picked on when you started school before.”
Smiling, the foal said, “Yeah, that’s true. But I didn’t make too many friends in school either.”
He trotted over to his younger kin, rubbing his hoof on his back, “Don’t think that way, little bro. This is a different town with different ponies. Once you see that the ponies here are nice, you’ll make a ton of new friends.”
The foal smiled at his brother again, offering him a light hug. The stallion returned the gesture before releasing it to tend to their dinner before it burned.
As he continued to make their meal, the young colt sighed and looked at the ground, letting his thoughts continue to float around his head.
Maybe he’s right, he thought to himself. Maybe things will be different here than they were back at home. Maybe moving here won’t be a bad thing after all.
However, the thoughts of his friendless past resurfaced back in his mind, causing his thoughts to change.
Who am I kidding? No one really liked me before and I don’t think they’ll like me here, he thought again, sighing as he did. How is this place any different? What could possibly ever change?
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I'm gonna say it was Pipsquek, at the the end, with HIS OLDER BROTHER!!!!
I'm gonna say Rumble because he has an older brother and has a character tab to be used once revealed, as said in the description.
Rumble for the win please.
Rumble probably.
greaaaat. Make a sweet lesbian story then introduce a guy. YAY LOVE TRIANGLE. feh.
If it is rumble, you will ow many people cookies.
I too, will say Rumble.
Rumble is logical, although truthfully I only know him from some guy being him on a roleplay I was doing(game/life-story, let's stop there).
Rumble could only be the one I would think. Also, why are some people so judgmental of lesbians? They are humans and deserve the same treatment as the rest(I think I know some lesbians, we are still great friend nonetheless).
P.s: That second part= unnecessary but an answer I would love :/
2178212
Pipsqueak has an older brother? Where was I when this came about?
2178341>>2180108
Quite frankly, I think the term "lesbian" is too strong a word for Sweetie/Scoots because of their ages [not to say that you're wrong in calling them that, but it just seems a little too extreme for my tastes].
I think some people are judgmental about gays in general [including lesbians] because it's out of the norm for them, much like adult men liking a show about talking, mythological, pastel-colored horses...
2178264>>2178267>>2178307>>2179657
Only time will tell...
2180172 Since not a lot is known about Pipsquek, I was hoping you would work with his character a bit. Plus reading things in his accent is fun!
Assuming it is Pipsquek.
2180172
i just don't want to see the whole "story has too much girly love, let's throw in a boy to be macho and make them be "normal" girls!"
2182490
what kind of writer do you take me for?
but seriously, I know what you mean and I can honestly say that that is not my intention.
2182588
glad to hear it!
Am I the only one that would like to see Pip/Rumble/whoever to end up with a herd with Scoots and Sweetie. Maybe not a long term herd, but one that gets things started for them, because ponies are herd creatures by nature and with the male:female ratio around, I can see there being herds of 3-6, maybe some larger ones of 8-10 around, depending on how the stallions and mares mix things up.
Rumble. That's who I kinda expected it the first place.
I shall have that cookeh!
So nervous! Love these stories though, seriously, they are so great
especially since I love me some "ScootaBelle"
media.tumblr.com/tumblr_mc208i9Faa1rtb5ob.png
I'm so sappy, I hope nothing comes between Scoots and Sweetie, but since this story has been so great so far I doubt that I'll be anything but totally pleased with wherever you take this. Plus I love your Rarity
Thanks for writing this and New Discoveries! I'm gonna stop talking now....
2189307
that...is an interesting concept, actually...
2191084
thanks for the support, mate! Glad you're liking the story and the direction it is going
My guess is is the colt is a dude version of Nyx, or Dyx, if you will. Sweetie Bell realizes she can't be a lesbian anymore because she loves Dyx too much.
2224034 ... You are a bad person, and you should feel bad.
Now write "I will not make atrocious puns" one hundred times on the board.
Rumble's the only colt with a brother in the series that I am aware of.
2226579
"I don't always make puns, but when I do, I make sure to leave an impression." -Dos Equus
In all seriousness, though, was Rumble named in canon? I'm thinking it might have been in Family Appreciation Day, but I'm too
much of a bad personlazy to fact check that right now.2226890 Hurricane Fluttershy. Rainbow Dash asks Rumble where his brother (thunderlane) is.
2224034
who and who?
2226890
Rumble is canon, mate
2228825
1. It's a pun. Nyx is an infamous fan character, pronounced "nicks." I'll leave you to get the rest.
2. I figured he was canon; I was just asking what episode he appeared in, which JetStreamGW was kind enough to answer.
And since I haven't really said anything substantive about the latest chapter yet, I'm liking Rarity more than I thought I would when I first learned what she was going to be asking. She's honestly worried about her sister's well-being and is trying very hard to be accepting, something I found refreshing after the hordes of stories where someone's homophobic in some way for no reason (usually Applejack).
2229703
I can relate with the homophobia aspect and tried to stray away from it as much as possible. Hopefully, I did a decent job.
The colt is Rumble. I recognised his picture in the description. His brother is Thunderlane