"Sweetie, what have you been practicing this week?" Twilight said, looking over at Sweetie Belle, who was almost bursting with excitement. Immediately, she walked over to the broom that lay on the floor, ready for practice like always now a days. A grin set upon her face, Sweetie looked from her friends, to the broom on the floor, to Twilight, before finally focusing on the broom once again.
Carefully, she furrowed her head in concentration. Immediately, a light green glow lit her horn up, and she picked up the broom with only little effort. Right now, it was an effortless practice for her - it was easy enough now, compared to when they had first started Twilight Time.
"Very good, Sweetie," Twilight said, nodding. She raised one eyebrow slightly. "Though did you learn anything new from last time you were here?" An encouraging smile was on her face, and it only furthered the confidence Sweetie Belle was currently beaming with.
"Just wait a moment," Sweetie squeaked out, before suddenly, she changed her gaze from the broom to the books on the wall. With a grunt of effort, Sweetie's horn began to visible spark up from the effort she was putting into the magic.
Soon, two books were enveloped in a green glow, which slowly lifted from the shelf that they were on to float alongside the broom. It was taking a toll on Sweetie's concentration to do it, but still, a relieved smile was on her face as she kept the objects aloft.
"That's amazing Sweetie!" Twilight said, looking in approval at the three objects floating midair, before the smile that was on her face widened even more as she broke her gaze away to look at Sweetie. "How long have you been working on that?"
"Oh my gosh!" Apple Bloom said, quickly trotting over towards Sweetie Belle, closely followed by Scootaloo who said nothing. "You didn't tell us that you learned that!"
With another small grunt of effort, slowly, the books were lifted back into the shelf, and the broom was dropped carelessly on the floor with a clatter. Gasping with exhaustion, Sweetie waved one hoof in front of her, to stop her friends from talking. When she regained her breath, Sweetie looked up with a tired yet excited grin.
"Well, you know how I didn't come to last week Twilight's time because I was sick?" Twilight nodded, which prompted a nod out of both Applebloom and Scootaloo as they looked at Sweetie.
"Well, I wasn't really sick… I was practicing this," Sweetie said, blushing a bit, poking her hoof at the floor.
"I told you that you could do magic if you put your mind to it! And only two weeks ago did you just perfect levitating your broom." Twilight said, nodding in approval, before putting one hoof around Sweetie. "I'm so proud of you! And I'm sure your sister is too!"
"Yeah…" Scootaloo said, though the pegasus wasn't looking directly at Sweetie Belle. Instead, she was looking off into space.
"That's great! Maybe you'll get a cutiemark in magic like Twilight!" Applebloom said, pointing at Sweetie Belle's flank. Immediately, Sweetie Belle brightened even more.
"Do you think?" Sweetie said, excitedly, looking back at her blank flank.
"Well, you never know, if you put your mind to it. Right Scootaloo?" Twilight said, looking over at Scootaloo, who was now staring at the ground. "Scootaloo?"
Scootaloo blinked as she lifted her purple eyes from the floor, blinking. "Uh, yeah. Of course!" She said, looking over at Sweetie Belle, grinning, before it slowly melted off her face and she looked at the ground.
"Well, then, let's all get started on working today," Twilight said, lifting out Apple Bloom's seeds and Scootaloo's parts from under the table with her magic.
"Well then, I'll see you three girls next week!" Twilight said, waving her hoof in the air as Sweetie Belle, Apple Bloom, and Scootaloo walked out. "Don't forget to read that book about magical theory, Sweetie! We might have to start on another spell for you to learn."
"Alright Twilight!" Sweetie Belle said, trying to balance the heavy book on her back. "Though I don't think I'll read it all in one week..."
"Well, just try to get through the basics then," Twilight said, nodding, before stepping back into the library, closing the door gently behind her.
"You having trouble with that?" Scootaloo said, her voice lacking her usual exuberance as her purple eyes carefully watched the book tilting, ready to fall off Sweetie's back. One eyebrow raised as she lifted one hoof to steady the book once more.
"Uh… yeah… I just gotta take it slow." Sweetie Belle said, twisting her head around as she tried to see how the book was holding up, but only succeeded in knocking the heavy book to the ground. A huff of annoyance came from Sweetie, as she rounded around, trying to once again lift the book onto her backside.
"Why don't you use your magic to carry it Sweetie?" Apple Bloom suggested, kicking the book gently with one hoof. "I mean, if you can lift a broom and two small books at the same time, this should be a cinch, right?"
"Ooo! Your right!" Immediately, Sweetie narrowed her eyes in concentration, letting the book drop gently on the ground. Soon, a green glow blinked into existence around the book, slowly lifting it about a foot into the air.
"How long do you think you can keep that up?" Apple Bloom said tilting her head to one side, examining the feat of magic carefully, looking around that.
"Hopefully at least to the Carousel Boutique." Sweetie said, her eyes still completely focused on the book to keep it aloft. "Then we can go up to my room, right Scootaloo?" A smile broke her face as she turned the book in Scootaloo's direction so she could look at her without breaking her concentration.
The orange pegasus, however, had been looking off in the distance again, a frown set on her face. It seemed that she didn't even notice Sweetie talking to her.
"Uh, earth to Scootaloo?" Apple Bloom said, lifting one hoof before waving it in front of Scootaloo's face, a smirk on her face. "What are you thinking about right now?"
"Wh-What?" Scootaloo said, snapping out of her daydream, blinking as she saw Apple Bloom's hoof waving in front of her face. "Hey!" She cried, using her own hoof to force Apple Bloom's out of the air.
"You're still coming over right?" Sweetie said, looking eagerly at Scootaloo. "I really want to do that sleepover we were talking about!"
"Oh, uh, right!" Scootaloo muttered, shaking her head slightly. "You still want me to?" There was a bit of hesitance that lingered in Scootaloo's voice
"Of course I do!" Sweetie Belle said, giving Scootaloo a strange look. What's with her today? "Why wouldn't I want you to come over?"
"... No reason," Scootaloo said, giving a half-smile to Sweetie Belle. "I'm just a bit tired today." She said, lifting run hoof to run it through the back of her mane.
"You sure?" Apple Bloom said, raising one eyebrow skeptically as she stared at Scootaloo, raising one hoof to point at her. "You seem pretty out of it today."
"Yeah, don't worry about it," Scootaloo said, trying to put a big grin on her face, waving one hoof in the air, as if to wave off all their concerns.
"If you're sure…" Apple Bloom said hesitantly before breaking away from the path her friends were going down. "Well, this is where I leave you two!"
"You sure you can't come, Apple Bloom?" Sweetie said, tilting her head slightly, disappointment clear in her voice.
In answer, Apple Bloom shook her head. "Can't. Got a few chores to do today. But I'll probably be free sometime this weekend. We can do something then, right girls?"
"Of course, Apple Bloom!" Sweetie Belle said, nodding in agreement, smiling still. "We still got a list of things to do to find our cutiemarks!"
"Well, then I'll be off then!" Apple Bloom said, waving one hoof at Sweetie and Scootaloo before wandering off further down the path. Sweetie quickly waved back - but she also noticed that Scootaloo hadn't.
"Scootaloo? Are you alright… you seemed a bit out of it ever since we left Twilight's house." A worried look had overtaken Sweetie's face as she looked over at her friend, eyebrows furrowed. Once again, Scootaloo hadn't acknowledged the conversation that had gone between her and Apple Bloom - she hadn't even said goodbye. Now, the other things she could wave off,
"Yeah… I'm fine," Scootaloo muttered, kicking one hoof into the ground before looking up, a forced smile on her face. "Let's just get to your house, alright?"
Sweetie Belle frowned for a moment, and nearly lost concentration on the book she was still keeping aloft, but it only wobbled for a moment before becoming steady again. "If you're sure…. come on then!" Sweetie said cheerfully, moving forward once more towards Carousel Boutique. But every once in awhile, she looked backward,, her face scrunched with worry as she looked at Scootaloo.
All together, it only took a few short minutes to get to Rarity's place - where she was currently staying. Her parents were out of town once more, so Sweetie Belle was sleeping at Rarity's once again. Not that she really minded it - she liked it, really. While she wanted to tell her parents about her magic skills as soon as possible, she supposed it would have to wait.
Quickly, Sweetie knocked on the door, which made the book wobble once more, before tilting and falling on the ground with a thud, just as Rarity opened the door. "What if that rac- oh Sweetie Belle! I didn't expect you to come home so early - and is that your book?" Rarity said, raising one eyebrow as she pointed one hoof at the book on the ground. Without waiting for her to reply, Rarity waved her hoof gesturing for the both of them to come in. "Come on in! You too Scootaloo!" Rarity said, finally acknowledging the orange pegasus.
Once again, Sweetie lifted the book with her magic, thought it was sparking much more now. "Maybe this wasn't the best idea after all… I'm going to be exhausted tomorrow. Right Scootaloo?" Sweetie said, grinning as she walked inside. But frowned as she got no response. "Scootaloo?" Sweetie said, tilting her head, worried once more as she turned around while dropping the book on the table inside.
"Uh… what?" Scootaloo said, blinking out a daze once more before giving a half-grin at Sweetie. "Uh… yeah! Maybe it was?" She said, giving Sweetie a light punch on the shoulder. "Why don't I go over to my room while you tell Rarity about your… um… magic feat." Scootaloo said awkward. Without giving Sweetie a chance to speak, Scootaloo trotted away, heading up the stairs.
Now, a frown really adorned her face as Sweetie Belle stared after Scootaloo. It was almost forgotten, though, when Rarity came behind her. "What did you want to show me, Sweetie?"
For a moment, Sweetie lingered there, turning towards her sister to talk, before closing her mouth once more. "Uh… before that, can I talk to Scootaloo? I think something's wrong with her."
"Why, of course! She did seem… more out of it than usual for her." Rarity said, tilting her head towards the stairs. "Go see what's troubling her… then you can tell me about what you did in Twilight Time, okay?" Rarity said, putting a hoof on Sweetie's shoulder, before letting go.
Nodding, Sweetie Belle quickly trotted off and the up the stairs, and down the hallway at the top. Poking her head through the door, Sweetie Belle noticed that Scootaloo was sitting by the window, looking out.
"Scootaloo? Are you alright?" Sweetie said, walking over towards Scootaloo, the worried look that she bad before appearing again.
"Why would you say that, Sweetie?" Scootaloo said, trying to force a smile as she looked up from the window she was looking out of, but it slipped away easily."
"C'mon, Scootaloo, you can tell me. You were like this since we left Twilight's house!" Sweetie said as she sat her rump down next to Scootaloo, frowning at her. "What's wrong? We've been best friends since… like forever!"
"Exactly!" Sweetie flinched as Scootaloo cried out, an orange hoof now pointing right at her chest.
"What do you mean?" Sweetie said, flattening her ears against her skull as she looked at Scootaloo, eyes widening.
"Do you remember how we became friends?" Scootaloo said, her voice dying down from the yell it had been, to a mere whisper.
"Of course!" Sweetie said, nodding her head as she thought back to the day that she had seen Scootaloo.
"Ha! It's a pegasus that can't fly!"
Sweetie narrowed her eyes as she trotted towards the group of ponies that had gathered around the playground - it was the first day of school, and a new pony had joined their school year. Apparently, she wasn't able to fly. How they gathered that, Sweetie Belle wasn't sure. But she knew it must have not felt good to move from Cloudsdale to Ponyville just to be bullied on the first day.
"Hey! Stop it!" Sweetie cried as she ran over to the group, pushing past them to see Scootaloo laying on the ground, holding one hoof up to hide herself. "it's not you can do magic! So she can't fly yet, what's wrong with it?" Sweetie said, glaring at Onix. "It's not her fault! And isn't your best friend Rumble? He can't fly either!"
For a moment, Onix looked like he was going to make a jab back - and indeed he did. "Well, Sweetie, you can't do magic either!"
"I know I can't! But we're young! None of us even have our cutiemark yet! So we shouldn't worry about flying or magic yet!" Sweetie said, nodding.
For a moment, the group around her muttered, before slowly breaking apart, going their separate ways. All who was left was Onix, who quickly stomped away, and Sweetie Belle and the other filly.
A smile adorned her features as Sweetie turned towards the filly. "Your name's Scootaloo… right? I"m Sweetie Belle!" Sweetie said,, plopping down next to Scootaloo..
For a moment, nothing happened as Scootaloo looked at her hesitantly, before getting up to a sitting position. "Yeah… I'm Scootaloo…" A smile slowly lit up the pegasus's face.
"You see! We came together because we both didn't have what our species had… magic and flying…." Scootaloo said, sighing as she looked at her own wings, before looking at Sweetie Belle, directly at her horn. "And… now you know how to use your magic. And I still don't how to fly…" Scootaloo said, looking at the ground, a sigh escaping her. "I know, I don't have to… but it's what made us friends in the first place. It's what brought us together."
For a moment, Sweetie was stunned into silence. Was that really how Scootaloo saw their friendship? For a moment, Sweetie just stared at Scootaloo in shock. But then, she wrapped her forelegs around Scootaloo's neck, and felt the pegasus stiffen slightly at the sudden hug. "Scootaloo, just because you can't fly still and I can do magic now, doesn't mean we're not friends!" Sweetie said, hugging her tighter, closing her eyes. "Scootaloo… that might have been one similarity we had before, but now we have many more. We're still part of the Cutie Mark Crusaders, no matter what. And that'll always bind us."
"You… you think so?" Scootaloo murmured, arms now hugging Sweetie back now, even tighter.
"Yeah! When I met you and made that whole speech to Onix before he moved to Baltimare, I meant that it didn't matter if you could fly or not, or if I could do magic or not - we are all ponies here - and we are still. And not only that - we're friends." Sweetie said softly, as she held Scootaloo in her forelegs. "It's okay… things are changing. But we'll always be friends. The Cutie Mark Crusaders forever, right?"
"Yeah," A sob was let out as Scootaloo tried to laugh, and the two friends just sat there for a while, enjoying each other's embrace, Sweetie holding Scootaloo comfortingly while the other let out another small sob. "I'm sorry… I'm being stupid."
"No… I probably would have felt the same way if you flew first," Sweetie said, sighing, before the two fell into a lapse of silence as they held each other. Only a soft form of a comforting hum that came from Sweetie Belle filled the room with noise..
After what seemed like hours, the two broke apart, with Scootaloo wiping whatever wetness had been built up away as she looked at Sweetie, a genuine grin on her face. "So… you want to go down there and show your sister your new trick?"
Sweetie shook her head slightly, curls falling in front of her face. "No… I'd rather just spend some time with you here." Sweetie said, a soft smile on her face.