Spellbound Fireflies (19 page)

Rainbow read the letter silently to herself.  She lost all the strength in her hindlegs and fell to her haunches, stooping over the laid-out missive to read it again and again.  The letter opener clattered to the floor from her open jaw.

After the tenth reread, Rainbow carefully slid the letter back into its envelope.  She opened her personal drawer in the desk and unceremoniously stuffed it under a pile of papers, journals, and a small wooden box.  Slamming the drawer shut, she closed her eyes and took steady breaths as her mind reeled.

The image of Twilight looming above her, smiling and giggling, pushed her jumbled thoughts aside and she opened her eyes.  Grinning, she got to her hooves and climbed up the stairs, calling, “Twi’?  You alright?  Derpy’s gone now; no need to be embarrassed!”

Rainbow disappeared up the stairs, leaving the letter in its dark hiding place: out of sight, but only temporarily out of mind.

“Y’all’re kiddin’!” Apple Bloom’s mouth hung open in astonishment as she sat on the club house’s floor.  “Two more weeks an’ you’re gonna be flyin’, Scoots?!”

Beaming with pride, Scootaloo answered, “Yep.  Rainbow said if I make the next speed test, I’ll be ready for takin’ off.”

“You should see her in the air, Apple Bloom,” Sweetie Belle gushed, “I’ve seen full-grown mares who’re clumsier than she is.  She was born to fly!”  On the last word, she wrapped a hoof around Scootaloo’s neck and hugged her shoulder to shoulder.

Scootaloo grinned and shook her head.  “It
feels
great to glide, and after the first couple’a times I knew what I was doing up there, but I can’t
wait
‘til I can really cut loose.  All this controlled hoverin’, slow spirals, and current control is baby stuff.”

Briefly tightening the sideways hug and then letting go, Sweetie quietly said, “You still look great up there, Scoots.”

Her smile widened.  “Thanks, Sweetie.”

“I wish I coulda seen it,” Apple Bloom pouted, “I should’a been there ta see it.”  She sat up straight and her eyes widened.  “Wait a minute, why can’t I?  We’re high up enough, you could glide right off the clubhouse!  Whaddya say?”

Scootaloo groaned and stomped a hoof petulantly.  “I promised Rainbow no gliding on my own until we’re done.  This last few weeks is supposed to be really hard and I could hurt something...”

“Aw, c’mon, ya didn’t even hardly start on the new stuff, it can’t be that bad.”

“Sorry, AB, but I promised Rainbow.”  Scootaloo sat down on her haunches as Sweetie Belle did the same, forming their usual circle.  Her frown turned into a smile.  “Don’t sweat missin’ the gliding, anyway.  This stuff’s all practice still.  You wanna see, just come watch when it’s time for me to really fly.  
That’s
the real show.”

Straightening up, Apple Bloom’s tone brightened.  “Oh, you better
believe
I’ll be there, Scoots.  You can count on it!”  The three friends beamed at each other.  “So what y’all wanna do today?  Ya wanna do some crusadin’?”  She shifted slightly, eyeing her cutie mark with a small amount of guilt.

Scootaloo waved a hoof dismissively.  “Nah, let’s just hang out.  Sweetie an’ I’ll get ours eventually; hangin’ out’s been awesome without crusading since you got yours, AB.  You girls’re my friends and that’s what’s important.”

Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom nodded resolutely.  Apple Bloom glanced around the small room.  “So what y’all wanna do?”

A glint of reminiscence lit up Sweetie’s face.  “You know, this is just like that sleepover we had right after Scoots started training.”

Grinning, Apple Bloom exclaimed, “It is, ain’t it?  Ah man, I wish we could have another one.”

Scootaloo shrugged.  “Why not?”  She turned to Sweetie Belle.  “Isn’t Rarity still up at the house talking to Applejack?”

“She should be.  I could go ask.  I’ll go ask!”  She jumped to her hooves and bolted down the ramp.

A thoughtful frown settled on Apple Bloom’s face.  “What about your curfew?  Ain’t your foster folks gonna be cross?”

“Nah, it’s fine.  S’long as I get my chores done, they don’t really care where I go.”  Apple Bloom’s frown deepened.  “Don’t worry, AB.  I got my chores outta the way this morning and I’ll go get tomorrow’s done when we get up.  They won’t say anything about it.  I’ve missed dinner without askin’ a bunch of times stayin’ late at Rainbow and Twilight’s, or goin’ over to Sweetie’s.  Heck, I didn’t say anything that time last week when your sister had us all over for the cook-out and we stayed up roasting marshmallows half the night.”

Relaxing a little, Apple Bloom nodded, tentatively mumbling, “O-okay…if you say so, Scoots.”

“It’ll be fine,” she assured, “This’ll be awesome!  It’s like a book-end on all my training!”

A smile cut through Apple Bloom’s trepidation.  “Book-end?”

Putting her hooves on her hips and giving her friend a mock glare, Scootaloo challenged, “What?  You try hangin’ out in a library all the time and not say stuff like ‘book-end.’”

Apple Bloom giggled, covering her mouth with a hoof.  “If’n you say so.”  She smiled fondly at Scootaloo.  “I still remember how plain tuckered you were that sleepover, an’ you only had a single day of trainin’.  Now look at ya.”  She smirked and shook her head.

Scootaloo stuck her snout in the air.  “Yeah, I know I look good.”

Laughing louder, Apple Bloom narrowed her eyes mischievously.  She stood suddenly and cantered to an upturned crate serving as a table.  She faced her friend with a wide and challenging grin and brought a foreleg to the wooden surface.  “Hey Scoots.  Wanna hoof-wrestle?”

Scootaloo sneered playfully.  “You’re goin’ down, AB.”  She swung a leg around in a windmill, flexing and relaxing the muscles running from her fetlock to her shoulder in a rippling wave.  She stepped with deliberate and teasing slowness to the crate and slowly drew her hoof up to meet her friend’s.  “Ready?”

“Go!”  They locked their limbs and pressed against each other, a tremor of strain shaking their entwined hooves, but neither side giving an inch.  Apple Bloom grit her teeth while Scootaloo continued smirking.  The earth pony put her weight into it and gained some ground before losing just as much.  She narrowed her eyes fiercely, willing Scootaloo’s leg to give in.

A soft patter of hooves leading up the ramp signaled Sweetie’s return.  “My sister said…yes?”

“Oh hey, Sweetie,” Scootaloo sing-songed nonchalantly.  “I was waitin’ for you to get back before I did this.”  All the muscles in her leg tightened instantaneously and she slammed Apple Bloom’s hoof to the crate in a single sweep.

Apple Bloom gaped at her friend, idly rubbing her shoulder.  “Lan’ sakes, Scoots, you’re strong.”  She shook her head and giggled out, “
Ow!
”

Leaning back and crossing her hooves behind her head, Scootaloo said, “Yeah, I’m awesome.”  She glanced over at Sweetie Belle and raised an eyebrow; her friend was pointedly not looking at either of them, scuffing her hooves along the floor.  Dots of pink had settled on the filly’s cheeks.

Looking at her friend, the thought struck Scootaloo that she should just ask Sweetie Belle to be her special somepony.  Over the past several weeks, getting tutored by Twilight together, having Sweetie join in on watching her flight training, and just spending more and more time after classes broke for summer had put Scootaloo at ease around her friend once again.  She didn’t blush uncontrollably, or lose her ability to speak in complete sentences anymore.  Distancing herself from the stress and worry about ‘dating,’ she had followed Rainbow’s advice and just listened to herself.

After a lot of listening, Scootaloo was very sure of a two facts: colts held no interest for her, but fillies did.  Factoring Sweetie Belle out of the equation, she had paid attention to what she looked for and at in the ponies around her.  Despite watching herself, the level of ‘interest’ she found in fillies still managed to creep up on her and take her by surprise, making her cheeks burn with a combination of embarrassment and giddy curiosity.  On a nondescript day without any fanfare internally or externally, Scootaloo quietly accepted as fact that she was gay.

With one of the pivotal questions in her mind answered, Scootaloo felt a weight lift from her shoulders and frolicked in the exhilarating freedom of not worrying about it anymore.  
‘I’m gay,’
she would tell herself,
‘I’m gay, and that’s all there is to it.’

In the relief, she had put off the second question plaguing her: what to do about her feelings for Sweetie Belle.  Rainbow Dash had said that once she knew what she wanted, she should just ask Sweetie on a date.  That was a lot easier said than done, she found.  As relaxed as she was around her pretty friend when they were just spending time together, the thought of asking Sweetie Belle
out
sent her pulse skyrocketing  and her mind down a twisting tunnel of fears and worries.

However, every once in a while she caught Sweetie Belle blushing and trying not to look at her.  When that happened, Scootaloo got the sense that they’d both be happier if she just asked.  Frowning in contemplation, she opened her mouth.

“Well anyway,” Apple Bloom said, breaking Scootaloo’s train of thought and catching her attention, “What do y’all wanna do now?”

A memory of the previous sleepover drifted to the pegasus’ head.  Her face paled and she stammered out, “N-not Truth or Dare.”

“Yeah, not that,” Sweetie Belle agreed vehemently.  Scootaloo jumped at the force and barely hidden worry in the unicorn’s tone.

Not noticing either of her friends’ discomfort, Apple Bloom whined, “Aw man, y’all are no fun.”  She tapped her chin thoughtfully and a smile pulled at her muzzle.  “Well, last time we didn’t do nothin’ outside ‘cause you were so sore, Scoots.  Feelin’ up for playin’ outside this time?”

Scootaloo glanced questioningly at Sweetie Belle, but found the filly recomposed and looking back at her expectantly.  Flexing her wings and forelegs, Scootaloo smirked.  “Wanna play tag?”

“She’s still out, Care, I’m getting worried.”

“She’s…she’s done this before.  She’s at a friend’s house, I’m sure.”

“Honey, you said you’d fix this weeks ago now, please let me help, this is hurting you.”

“I…I just don’t know what to say.”

“Tell her the truth.  She’ll understand; she’s a smart filly.”

“I know she is, Under…Why didn’t I see it?”

“You made a mistake.  So did I.  Now we just need to
fix
it.  I’d help if you’d let me.”

“I…I think it’s too late.  I don’t think I can fix it anymore.  I don’t think she’d listen if I tried.”

“I’m tired of feeling like I’m wearing somepony else’s skin in my own house, Care.  This has to change.  Talk to her.  Just try.  Even if it doesn’t work, you have to try.”

“I…I just don’t know how…”

“Care…”

“I-I just need more time…”

Twilight stood from her desk and stretched out her back, opening the door in a glow of energy as her pupils knocked.  “Hey, girls!”

“Hi, Twilight!” Sweetie Belle chimed, rushing past her friend.  Scootaloo followed slowly, a wide, but tired smile on her face.

“I’ll go grab some juice.”  Twilight cantered into the kitchen while the fillies headed up the stairs.  Halfway to the top, Scootaloo paused, feeling a tremor of weakness run through her extended leg.  She sighed and leaned against the wall.

Sweetie paused and turned back to her friend, her brow knit.  “Y’alright, Scoots?”

Taking a deep breath, Scootaloo pulled herself up the next step with a wince.  “Yeah.  Rainbow wasn’t kidding about these last few weeks bein’ tough.  Wing-ups are easy compared to liftin’ weights.  An’ you’ve seen all the crazy stuff Rainbow’s made me do.  I thought I was gonna hurl when she spun me around and let me go upside down and backwards yesterday.”  She shook her head.  “Ugh.  I thought I was done bein’ sore.  Nothin’ burns as much anymore, but it all
aches.
”

Sweetie Belle nodded in sympathy.  “Least you’re almost done, right?  ‘Nother week?”

“Yeah,” Scootaloo agreed with an exhausted grin.  “I can taste it, Sweetie.”

The little unicorn giggled and hopped back down a few steps, pressing into Scootaloo’s side and guiding her gently up the remaining stairs.  Scootaloo’s smile turned warm and affectionate, and she tried to not lean too heavily on her slight friend.  They made it to the top of the stairs and she sighed in relief, shaking out her legs.  “This sucks.  I won’t miss feelin’ like this.”

Rainbow snorted derisively from the loft.  “You’re not gonna be one of those lazy pegasi that never trains, are ya, Scoots?  Get used to the burn; it’ll be an old friend for ya soon.”

Scootaloo straightened, looking up, but not spotting her coach.  “Rainbow?”

“Oh, no.  If you want
this
Daring book, you’re gonna have to fight me for it, and right now I bet I could take ya with just my tail.”

Sweetie Belle covered her mouth to stifle her giggles and tried to give Scootaloo a supportive look.

“Har har, very funny,” Scootaloo mocked.  She plodded towards her reading nook and dropped heavily onto a chair, letting out a long sigh.

“Is that whining I hear?” Rainbow sing-songed.  “Might have to double the weight tomorrow.”

Laughing ruefully, Scootaloo called back, “You’re mean!”

Twilight arrived at the top of the stairs, floating a couple glasses of juice.  “Stop picking on my student!” she playfully chided.

“She started it.”

Twilight chuckled and delivered the drinks to the two fillies, cantering to her desk and taking several weighted practice stones from their box.

“Actually, Twilight,” Sweetie Belle said, approaching the desk, “I was hopin’ I could work on the precision one today.”

“Alright, Sweetie Belle.”  She dropped the iron balls back and removed the small, hinged one.  “Although, last time you did pretty well at keeping it from collapsing.  I think you’ve got it down.”

The filly’s voice dropped and became reserved.  “…I wanna try to do those half collapse things.”

Twilight blinked.  “You sure?  That’s still pretty advanced.”

Sweetie Belle gripped the small sphere in her magic and floated it close to her face, glaring at it in determination.  “I just need to get a little better at the detail stuff…”