“Are ya sure about it, coz?” Babs strapped the protective goggles on her face.

“To-tal-ly.” Applebloom did the same, the sound of beakers bubbling and boiling filling the air. Such a sinister noise belonged more to a horror flick than an Apple Family’s barn. Babs put a handkerchief over her nose and mouth to not be overwhelmed by the foul stench of her cousin’s equipment. “‘Sides, do ya want me ta help with that thesis or not?”

“If we don’t blow up? Sure.”

“Don’t be a smartass. Ah did this plenty o’ times before. Besides, we did much more dangerous stuff when we were Crusaders.” Applebloom grabbed a phial and slowly poured two drops of a bright green concoction into a blue flask. The mere contact of the two liquids frizzled and shrieked, creating a diseased, evil purple cloud in the air.

“Yup. Usually it ended up with no Cutie Marks and burnt coats. Remember that time Scootaloo lost her eyebrows?”

“Yeah. At least ah found them pretty quickly. Now, don’t distract me…” The farmpony turned potion brewer grabbed another phial and poured half of it in the still sizzling blue potion. This time its surface glowed of that same purple, so bright to hurt the eyes, and bubbles formed and popped onto it, before calming down and setting for a dark cayenne paste. “Ready?”

“I think I need to go to the bathroom…”

“Ah’ll take that as a yes.” Appleploom grabbed the dark paste with a pair of iron clamps and poured its content onto a small apple tree in a vase. The soil glowed of that same colour and for a brief second it violently flashed, filling the whole barn of that bright light. Babs reopened her eyes to find its leaves shone greener with small, healthy flowers sprouting all over its branches.

“Guess it worked!” Applebloom said, triumphant.

“Awesome, coz!”

“Guess ah deserve a reward?” Applebloom leaned forward and puckered her lips, waiting for a kiss. Babs rolled her eyes and chuckled before softly brushing her lips against Applebloom’s.

“Ah wouldn’t kiss mah Granny like that!” She grabbed Babs by her wide hips, put her in a casquè and shoved her tongue down her cousin’s throat. Hard.Babs let out a long, suprised and aroused moan in Applebloom’s mouth, her eyes staring wide at the ceiling. After Applebloom’s wet muscle had done its job and savoured her cousin deeply, the kiss broke. “That’s how ya kiss.”

“W-wow...Sorry.” Babs hadn’t felt that post kiss haze in a while. Was she getting so accustomed to such a wonderful thing?
“No problem.”

Suddenly, a knock was heard coming from the barn door. “Applebloom? Babs? Is everythin’ alright?” Applejack said.

“Sure, sis.”

“Ah jus’ saw that big, bright flash comin’ from the door and forgive me for bein’ old fashioned fer thinking somethin’ was going on.”

Babs covered her mouth with a hand, a small chuckle escaping her lips. “Oh, there was somethin’ going on, awright…”

“Shush, ya sexy thing.” Applebloom muttered while placing a finger on Babs’ lips. “We were jus’ making some potions, sis.”

“...Ah stand by mah statement. Anyway, yer friends are here and guess what? Rainbow Dash passed by!”

“Really? Let’s go and say hi.” AB nudged her cousin with an elbow and threw her protective goggles on the ground.

The two went out the barn, finally taking a breath of fresh air as they saw a multicolored streak dashing across the sky above the farm. A bright orange one next to it, nearly matching it in speed. The two figures zigzagged and pirouetted, avoiding the few sparse clouds above before one of the two nonchalantly settled down on one of them, assuming the form of a polychromatic maned pegasus leaning on an elbow.

“Not bad, squirt. Still not Rainbow Dash good, but you’re getting there.”

“Really? I wouldn’t say that…” Rainbow Dash blinked and turned on her cloud to see Scootaloo standing few inches near her and mirroring her nonchalant position, a smarmy grin etched on her face.

“Not bad. At all.” She chuckled and patted the younger pegasus’ mane, ruffing it playfully. “Yo, AJ!”

“Hi, Rainbow! What brings ya here?”

“Oh, I have such a good news. And your sister is here, too. Just in time.” The mare waved at the two cousins just arriving. She jumped down the cloud and floated gently to the ground, swiping some dust over her light blue tank top. “Is Sweetie Belle with you?”

“Ah think she’s grounded.” Applebloom said.

“Really? For what?” Babs asked.

“Last time ah checked she said she’s been, and I quote Rarity, ‘unconscionable’. Dunno what that means.”

“Pppfff. Well, we should go unground her, then. Because guess what? The Wonderbolts are coming to town!”

“Well, yer already here, Rainbow.” Applejack chuckled.

“Very funny. Anyway, of course I got some tickets for squirt here.” Rainbow patted Scootaloo head and hugged her tight with a wing, pulling her close. “And of course she would have wanted her friends to come with her and their sisters.”

“Really? Aren’t the others coming, too?”

“Twilight is busy doing Princessy things, Fluttershy is out of town and Pinkie Pie is visiting her parents.”

“Shucks.”

“So, anyway at least I got these five tickets for us!” Rainbow did swipe out five tickets from her pocket.

“Just five?” Scootaloo asked. “Rainbow, are you sure you haven’t forgotten somepony?”

“What do you mean, Scoots? I don’t need the ticket.”

“No, I mean...You sure you haven’t forgotten one of us?”

“Well, there’s you, Sweetie Belle, Applebloom, Applejack, Rarity and…” Rainbow pointed a finger to Babs. Her puzzled expression soon morphed into a grimace of embarrassment. “You’re...uh...You’re AJ’s cousin.”

“Yup. Babs Seed. Pleased to meet ya.” she said, as dry as a desert.

“I, uh, so you’re staying at AJ’s place?” she gave a sheepish smile.

“Yup.”

“I, um…Didn’t expect you’d tag along. Sorry.”

“Don’t worry. It’s not like I wanted to have fun.”

“Can’t ya jus’ get another one?” Applejack asked. “How difficult is that?”

“Hey, it’s not that I have unlimited tickets privilege, you know? These things are expensive and they could, I dunno, take them from my paycheck.”

“Oh, I can’t stand this.” Scootaloo said, jumping and flapping weakly her wings. “You can have mine, if you want.”

“Scoots…” Babs put a hand over her friend’s shoulder, still completely calm. “Look into my eyes and ask yourself, if you truly believe in your heart that I’d be capable of asking you to give up on seeing the Wonderbolts. And Rainbow Dash.”

Scootaloo stared blankly and blinked a couple of times. “I guess...you have a point.”

“No worries, girls. I’ll just stay here. Keep some company to Granny and Big Mac.”

“Sorry, Coz…” Applebloom stepped up and hugged her cousin tight, snuggling on her chest like a wounded puppy. Babs started stroking her mane gently as Scootaloo joined the hug as well, going the extra mile and clinging on top of the taller mare, her calves crossed around her back.

“We’ll, uh, we’ll bring ya somethin’.” Applebloom said while carefully removing the clingy pegasus like a mussel from a rock.

“Don’t worry. Suppose I could be working on my research or somethin’, too.”

“Oh, I can’t hear this!” Rainbow grasped the bridge of her nose, giving out a long, exasperated sigh. “I hope it’s just the pain to make you talk. Next show, you’re definitely coming. In the meantime, as a consolation prize…” Rainbow whipped out from her pockets a piece of paper and signed it swiftly, before handing it to Babs. It was a signed photo of the pegasus herself, clad in her uniform and giving out a victory sign with a proud smirk.

“Well...Thanks.”

“You’re welcome. Any friend of Scoots is my friend.” She patted Babs’ head, a little to her annoyance but she had to admit the flyer had been really kind. She had never been a great fan of the Wonderbolts but a gift is a gift.

“Oh my gosh! That is awesome! I mean, I have like dozens of them but one is already awesome enough!” Scootaloo ranted as she buzzed through the air as a bright orange flash. Just following her with the eyes caused her friends a mild headache for how fast she went.

“Yeaaah…” Rainbow said, a bit creeped out. She gently grabbed Scootaloo shirt’s collar to stop the rampaging pegasus. She hung on her fingers like a drying cloth, her arms wobbling weakly. “Maybe we should just get going. I mean, they really can’t start without me but it’s no reason to waste time.”

“Sounds pretty responsible for ya, Rainbow.”

“Besides, there might be more adoring fans on the way.”

“Of course…”

“Babs? There’s a letter for ya!” Big Macintosh yelled from the other side of the room. Babs had dozed off for a few minutes, her book lying on her face. She flailed her hooves around, nearly falling off from the couch as she tried to reach the voice's source.

“I, uh…” She slapped herself lightly, waking herself up completely. “Thanks, Coz.” The red stallion had walked to her side and handed her the letter.

“Sleep well.” He said with an imperceptible smirk as he left. The name on the envelope made a shiver ran up her back.

“Is it...from Alula?” She quickly ripped the envelope and dragged the letter out.

Dear Babs,

Oh my gosh, I’m so, so, sorry! I was so angry with you and I really wanted to get back on you for that evening. When I heard of the bet, Oh Celestia, it seemed such a good idea at the time!!!!!!!

“I’m no writer, but that’s more exclamation marks than needed.”

Anyway, I could say sorry a million times and it still won’t be enough. I know I’ve been a lousy friend, but once you get back from Ponyville, I hope I can get you back to normal. You told us about your family reunion and I hope you didn’t get in trouble with anypony.

“Kinda late for that…”

I hope you can forgive me for my repellent behaviour. If you wonder where I picked up the spell…

“No, I don’t…The wondering part, I mean.”

Remember that time I said Princess Twilight came to our Magic Class to give a brief lecture about body modifications? She told us of that one time she grew her friend a pair of butterfly wings and I always wanted to try something like that? Add alcohol, a dirty mind and a very pissed off Alula and voilà!

“Well, if the Princess saw how you are using it…” A smile blessed her face. She had never hated Alula for that little...Actually enormous comeuppance she had gotten. It was the least it could’ve happened with a bunch of frisky, completely drunken mares with nothing better to do, a lousy bet and an almost complete mastery of the rules of reality.

More importantly...Did Babs ever need to complain about it? Even more importantly...did she ever want to go back to normal?

…

Uncomfortable questions for an uncomfortable situation. At least, she thought, Babs ought to write her back. She went upstairs in Applebloom’s room looking for pen and paper, all the while wondering about the direction her life was going to take.

“What do you think about it? Isn’t Rainbow Dash awesome? Of course she is! Why am I asking this? Do you like my shirt?” Scootaloo was absolutely exploding with energy, her legs crossed and trembling like spastic jelly during a hurricane. Her wings were flapping like crazy, to the annoyance of a couple of unlucky spectators just behind her. The young pegasus looked like she was going to take off and join the stuntponies in mere moments.

“Hum, Scoots? They haven’t really started yet…” Sweetie Belle squeaked timidly, slightly creeped out by her friend’s...not unusual enthusiasms but still out of place. She turned to her left and saw Rarity and when the two sisters’ gazes crossed the two mares turned their backs to each other, a hint of a blush appearing on their cheeks. In the stadium’s field a parade was taking place, cheerleaders squad dancing and carrying the Wonderbolts’ Banner, heating up the crowd for their glorious entrance.

Scootaloo tapped her hooves nervously on the bleachers, trying to calm her nerves and think only about the awesome tricks Rainbow Dash was going to show her.

“Well, ah bet she’s jus’ assuming, right Scoots?” Applebloom chuckled and gave a friendly path to her friend.

“Youch!” The mere touch of her friends on her wings felt like a stab wound. Her wings were so sensitive to make her nerves feel utterly wrecked.

“Sorry, Scoots! Did ah hurt ya?!”

“No, Its just…” A strange warmth dwelt in her belly spreading to her crotch. Her thighs clenched around her crotch as overwhelming desire wracked her very self. It was like her own body was begging to be held and touched, social norms be damned. It had never happened before, not this way. Or maybe…? “My stomach?”

“Ya know, those hayburgers didn’t seem that good ta me…” Applejack’s stomach grumbled and she started massaging her belly. A spot of sickly green dwelt among her freckles.

“Yeah, it may be it. You two look awful!” Sweetie said.

“Should we head back home, dear?” Rarity said, visibly concerned for the young pegasus.

“What? No! The show hasn’t even started yet! I haven’t even seen Rainbow yet!”

“Geez, Scoots. Calm down. Why are ya yellin’?”

“I always talk like this! This is my normal tone of voice!”

Applebloom rolled her eyes and gave a light tap to Scootaloo’s back of her head.

“I’m sorry. What was I saying?” she said, noticeably calmer. her head had even stopped spinning and the furnace between her legs had quelled.She could finally take a breath of relief and calm down, allowing her stiff wing to hung at the sides of her body, completely relaxed. Still, she had no idea what just happened and the thought was very distressing.

Applejack’s stomach grumbled like thunder. “Well, glad ya feel better, Scootaloo...But ah’m still not okay!” The farmgirl ran away, hoping to make quick way to the bathroom.

“Applejack, darling! Wait for me!” Rarity said while following the clearly in need farmpony.

The three Crusaders stood there wide eyed, realizing they were not under adult supervision anymore. Sweetie Belle wiped a drop of cold sweat out of her brow, glad that she finally didn’t have to look in her sister’s eyes, not without feeling embarrassed. “So...I guess I can finally tell you about my plan.”

“Plan?” Scootaloo asked, still holding her belly.

“So, after my date with Babs—”

“By the way, how did that go?” Applebloom smirked and blinked at her friend, nudging her with the elbow. Maybe a little too strong, since Sweetie Belle wobbled dangerously close to Rarity’s seat and dangerously near to another spectator, threatening the entire stadium with a domino effect of disaster.

“Oh, good. Really good.” Sweetie regained her balance and nudged back. “The movie was nice, Babs was a true gentlecolt, we had so much fun...I even met Buttons!”

“Buttons?!” Applebloom spat out. “He’s such a creep…”

“He’s not a creep.” Sweetie pouted, her mind wandering into a sad place. “Alright, he made a mistake but can you honestly say you never made one?”

“Heh...right…” Scootaloo sighed sadly. “Still, I don’t like him that much.”

“Anyway, I think we should…” Her horn generated a small spark and the noise of the crowd was softened considerably, like the heads of the trio were inside a balloon. Nopony else could’ve heard the three, nor their noise could be heard. “Do it all together!” she said. “With Babs, I mean.” Sweetie said, blushing.

“Ah don’t understand. Doin’ what...Ohooooooo!” Applebloom’s eyes shrunk with lustful realization.

“You mean, all of us together?!” Scoots wings stiffened instantly at the mere thought of it. A small patch of drool formed at the corner of her mouth. “All of us...With her...In one bed.”

“Well,a big bed would be better. Like, very big! But yeah, that’s the point.”

“All of us...Wow…” Applebloom pursued her lips, shrinking in her shoulders. “That would be somethin’...And exactly when do you think we should...?”

“Well, not now!” Scootaloo chuckled nervously. “I mean, I’d like that but Babs has a life, you know? It’s not like she’s our personal toy. We can’t go there and say ‘pants, off! Now!’ and she’s all like ‘But I can’t! I have to make fondue!” and we are like ‘We don’t care! Now pants off!’And besides, don’t you think there is more to being with her than just stupid rutting? I mean, we aren’t animals, right?” During her rant, a blushing Scootaloo had even managed to float a few inches above her seat and was still beating her small wings with a loud buzz.

“That was, uh…” Applebloom gulped. “Ah was goin’ ta say that those very words. Well, maybe not all of ‘em.”

“Why fondue?” Sweetie said.

Gotta talk with Rainbow...Scootaloo thought. If she was right on what was happening to her body, the Wonderbolt recruit was the the only pony on the planet she felt comfortable even guessing about it.

“You sure about it, T?”

“Sure I am.” Diamond Tiara whipped out a small mirror out of her pocket and checked if her lipstick was smeared. “Your friend did say she was okay with it, right?”

“Still, going to her door, without even a warning beforehand... A bit impolite if you ask me.”

“It’s because of our evening plans?” Tiara gave a cheeky grin.

“Especially because of our evening plans.” Spoon giggled.

“Well, last time we saw each other, she was okay with us. As far as everypony knows, we are just two friends, asking one more to hang out after just passing by her place.” She raised an eyebrow, sporting a devilish grin. “What’s the problem with that?”

“Oh, you’re so clever! That’s why I love you.” Silver Spoon leaned down and gave a small kiss on Tiara’s cheek.

“And don’t you forget that.” She hummed a little song and knocked on the door. “Love you, too. “ she whispered and quickly kissed her fillyfriend back. Big Macintosh arrived and opened the door, towering over the two mares.

“Good morning, Big Mac!” Tiara chirped.

“Mornin’, Miss Tiara.” He said in his usual, inscrutable monotone. “How you doin’.” He smiled ever so slightly.

“We are fine. Is Babs at home? We’d like to see her.”

“I’ll go call her, if she’s not asleep.” He took a step back in the house before turning his head towards the two while on the way. “Make yourself comfortable.”

“Thank you!” Tiara singsonged and stepped in the house, all the while basically devouring the stallion’s chiseled rear with her eyes. “Goddess, he’s so hot…”

“Isn’t a bit early?”

“So, what? She’s, like, free to sleep whenever she pleases. I sleep in the afternoon sometimes.”

“I meant for ogling somepony else.” Spoon whistled and put on a whimsical grin, crossing her hands behind her back and standing on her hooves. “And when I’m with you, we do everything but sleeping…”

“Oh, you are one nasty little mare.” Tiara pinched Spoon’s cheek sweetly.

“Hey, girls!” Diamond lifted her gaze to see Babs Seed greeting them while skipping down the stairs. She quickly passed her tongue on her lips as her gaze wandered on her friend’s really generous bosom. Not that she hadn’t noticed the first time Tiara saw her but now it was right there and was even jiggling at every step. Silver Spoon gave her a small tap on the wrist, distracting her from the tantalizing gaze, and threw her a look that basically said Jeez, girl! Just wait some more, alright?

The best part of a relationship this close was giving away with unnecessary words.

“Slept well?” Spoon giggled, pointing at the Manehattan mare’s ruffled mane.

“When did he get so cheeky?” Babs muttered as she fixed her mane. “‘Sup, girls?”

“Oh, nothing new. Just passing by to say hi to a friend.” Tiara looked around with a curious look. “Just you and your cousin? Well, your male cousin?”

“Well, there’s Granny too but she’s kind of asleep right now. Insert joke in three, two, one…”

“Seriously, is this some kind of cur—” Silver Spoon said in the exact moment Babs snapped her fingers, expecting the joke with uncanny precision. The grey mare slapped her hands upon her mouth in stupor.

“That was a good one, Babs.” Tiara chuckled and gave a small, congratulatory pat on Babs’ shoulder. “Anyway, we had some free time and we were wondering if you could finally join us for that milkshake.”

“What, right now?”

“Well, unless you had something better to do…” Tiara shrugged and pointed at the nearly empty household.

“I wanted to study some more and I, dunno, Big Mac may need me for somethin’ and—”

“Go. Have fun.” Mac said from the other side of the room, completely deadpan. His voice calm but still able to be heard clearly.

“Well...If he is okay with that, why not?”

“Awesome! Let’s get going, like, right now!” Tiara slipped behind Babs and started pushing her outside, all with a happy smile on her face. She exchanged a brief smirk and a wink with Silver Spoon. A sultry, dirty and incredibly unsubtle smirk that made Sweetie’s word ring in her head even louder.

“Knock, Knock.” Scootaloo said as she timidly leaned her head inside the Wonderbolts’ lockers room.

“Gaaaah!” Soarin let out a high pitched scream, covering his bare chest with a towel and blushing like crazy. “Who let her in?!”

“It’s okay, Soarin. She’s my friend.” Rainbow said while slipping out of her uniform and putting on her sports bra. “What’s up, squirt? Care to see some behind the scenes?”

“First of all, great show, you guys.”

“Thanks!” Rainbow and Soarin said at the same time as the stallion was still hiding his modesty.

“Second of all…” Scootaloo shrugged, a small blush staining her cheeks. “Rainbow, I kinda need to tell you something. You don’t mind, right?”

“Well, of course, squirt. Wait up for second, guys.” The others answered with a grunt as the two headed out of the lockers room. Rainbow nonchalantly closed the door behind her with a hoof as she finished wiping her mane with a towel. “So, what’s happened, Scoots? Is there a problem?”

“Kinda...Sorta. Yeah, there is problem. Lots of problems.” The young pegasus hugged her own shoulders as that dangerous, all consuming heat started to ripple again under her skin.

“Woah, you don’t even look good, squirt.” Rainbow put a hand on Scootaloo’s forehead to check on her temperature. “And you’re way hotter than normal. Did you catch a cold or something?”

“Oh, I wish...Look, could we go into a more private place? It’s pretty personal and I feel like I can only talk about it with you.”

“Well, sure.” Rainbow spread her wings and pointed at a nearby door in the same hallway of the lockers room. She flew off and unlocked it, holding it open for Scoots as she flew outside. The two found themselves taking a small flight circling the stadium’s parking lot, floating slowly above some big shot’s luxury carriage. Scoots’ small wings were buzzing loudly but steadily as her arms were still around her shoulders, shaking lightly. “So, uh...What’s up, squirt?”

“I feel funny down there…” She muttered hastily, trying even to muddle the words as much as possible due to shame.

“You...what?”

“It’s like my body is screaming at me how much it wants to be...Oh, I need to be straightforward with you, Rainbow! It’s that time…”

“Is it that time…” Rainbow’s pupils popped with surprise as she stopped in mid air as she started circling around Scootaloo like a maniac fly. “No way! The E word? Now of all times?!”

“Yup.” Scootaloo held her belly in midflight. “It’s like my whole body is screaming ‘Make babies! Make babies like no tomorrow! You know how it is! My loins are on fire and I hate it!”

“Ohhhooo...That is…” Rainbow tried with all herself to hold an embarrassed chuckle. “That’s a real pickle you got, squirt.”

“How the hay do you manage...How the hay do you manage to hold up when you get it?” Scoots’ wings buzzed some more before a sharp pain hit one of them. “I mean, you are older than me…And this feels so strong compared to the other times!”

“Well, you got some options. The first one that I don’t recommend at all, is letting some random stallion to knock you up. That would fix it.”

“No way!”

“Good. Because I would be an awful big sister if I let you do that. The second one is more painful: You’d just have to grin and bear it until it goes away.”

“Oh, that’s even worse! It’s just a couple of days and I want to…” Scoots blinked. “I don’t know what I want!”

“Tell you what. I’ll ask Twilight when she comes back from the Crystal Empire. Maybe she knows some spell to somehow make it more bearable.”

“Is that how she helped you?”

“I’ll tell you when you’re older.” Rainbow chuckled and patted the head of an adorably pouting Scootaloo. “Or else…”

“Else? There’s something else? Maybe a quicker else?”

“I dunno. You find somepony with magical spooge that won’t be able to knock you up, just to give your body some breath. But I dunno...Where would you find somepony like that?”

“Heh…” Scoots chuckled, realizing that maybe, just maybe she knew a pony like that. With some horror she had realized they had never clarified that particular thing, but there was a ray of light at the end of that tunnel. A ray of light that once again would have been there for her, helped love her...Maybe? In that sea of emotions wrecking her body and her mind like a small lifeboat in the middle of a storm there was a feeling she couldn't ignore anymore. Maybe she never could.

“Rainbow...There’s another thing I want to talk about.”

“Again? Sure. Hope it’s something, well, easier to solve.”

“Actually, it might be even harder…” Scootaloo’s cheeks flushed red and rubbed her mane with a nervous chuckle.

“Ouch.” Rainbow stopped in mid flight and settled on the ground with Scoots following her, their hooves tapping on the worn out asphalt. “Well, I’ll do my best to help. What is it?”

Scoots gulped. Her heartbeat grew louder and more frantic. “There is...There is somepony.”

“Somepony you like, right?”

“Yeah, of course. It’s always like that, right?”

Rainbow gave a little nod.

“Maybe it’s just the fact that my hormones are going cuckoo but...But I think I really love this pony.” Her heart was slamming quicker than before against her ribcage as a drop of cold sweat crossed her brow. Drunken butterflies raged in her stomach as she finally said it.

“With the capital L?”

“I...I’m not sure. But it’s the closest thing I ever felt.”

“Yeah, sounds like love. Nopony is quite sure of what it is but they still feel it.” Rainbow’s gaze wandered away, a nearly nostalgic look etched in her purple eyes. “When did you, you know, noticed that?”

“A couple of days by now. Maybe even longer than that, but only now I’m quite sure of it.”

“So what’s the problem? Want some advice on how to woo your beau?”

“The thing is...I think that pony, no, that pony does love somepony else.”

Rainbow took a deep breath and raised her index finger, before emanating a long, exasperated sigh. “Ouch. I really...I don’t know what to say to you on this…Are you sure about it?”

“Yeah. And they are quite happy, too. I had my chance once, but guess what? I blew it! I friendzoned her when we...When we were so close!”

“You did...what?!” Dash raised an eyebrow, her voice cracking slightly but still betraying a hint of anger in it.

“Yeah! I, dunno, could have insisted, realize it was serious, buck up and came open on it earlier but that’s what I did. And not even in person! I thought...I thought it was okay and she, I mean that pony, was okay with being just friends but when I thought about it, I realized that...I realized that I loved her!”

“Scoots?”

“Yeah?”

Rainbow Dash gave a light but still painful slap on Scootaloo’s head, making a dull noise out of her thick skull.

“Ouch! What was that for?!”

“You friendzoned her?! Really?! Who does that?”

“What was I supposed to do? I wasn’t ready for it and—”

“Wake up, Scoots!” Rainbow grabbed her by the shoulders, shaking the smaller mare back and forth. “Nopony is ready for it! It’s like when you put your head down in the sand to escape the rising tide!”

Scoots blinked.”Wait, couldn’t we just fly away?”

“It’s a metaphor, for Pete’s sake! The point is you hide something from yourself, something that matters and you will regret it.”

“I already do…” She moved her gaze to the ground, her head giving way to gravity before Rainbow’s gentle fingers pulled her back up.

“Just tell me something. Is that pony one of your friends?”

“Yeah…Was it that obvious?”

“And I bet she’s in love with another of your friends.”

“How did you…?”

“Hey, you said it wasn’t easy.”

“What do I do now?” Scoots gently removed Rainbow’s hand from her shoulders and hugged her own again, turning her back to the Wonderbolt. “I know I’ll have to deal with it, but what do I do with my friends?”

“I think...I think your gonna have to just buck up and tell them.”

Scootaloo’s eyes went wide with panic. “No way, I can’t! Ba- er, they would hate me if I did that! They wouldn’t want anything to do with me…” Scootaloo’s wings and ears drooped down, as she slumped forward. “I don’t think I could stand that.”

Rainbow gave her not-so-little-anymore sister a pat on the head. “Hey now, give your friends a little credit. Surely they would prefer you be honest with them than just bottle it up until you burst, right? I am not saying you should go up to Bloom and say you are taking Babs yourself, just, make sure the air is cleared, ya know?”

Scoots looked up at Rainbow with her head tilted to the side. “How did you…?”

Rainbow grinned. “Yeah, they aren’t near as subtle as they think they are. Neither are you, squirt.”

“Rainbow?”

“Yeah?”

“You are my hero.”

“So, I say to her that she’s just, like, totally wrong and she has never ever even saw Prance in picture! Right, Spoony?”

Silver Spoon nodded several times as she slurped loudly from her straw.

“Uh, uh…” Babs said, equally captivated by Diamond Tiara’s story. “And what did you do, then?”

“I had my daddy give a call to Photo Phinish herself directly from Prance to make her say she had never ever even met that pompous little brat! Ah!” The two former bullies gave themselves a high five as a mean chortle escaped Babs’ lips. At the end of the day, Diamond Tiara was just as she remembered. A bit mean but so inexplicably fun to be around. At least she wasn’t being mean to her friends this time…

“That’s cool, Tiara. What you’ve been up these years, besides, ya know, putting brats in their places?”

“Enjoying my best years, Babsy. I can call you, Babsy, right?”

“Please do. Everypony is kinda doin’ it already.”

“Cool. It sounds just so swell, doesn’t it, Spoony?”

“Hu uh…” Spoon nodded while playing with her straw. Her gaze was darting rapidly between Tiara and Babs, undecided on who to focus.

“Right. So, anyway, I’m enjoying my youth until my daddy is absolutely sure he can entrust the family business to me.”

“Cool. How about ya, Spoon?” Babs said.

“Me? Oh, I work as an intern for Tiara’s father.”

“Ah...Keeping the business in the family. Cool.”

Tiara slurped noisily the rest of her milkshake. “Can you believe how good these are? I tell you, there are few good things about Ponyville and this is one of them!”

“True ‘dat.”

“You know what? I’m kinda glad your cousin wasn’t there! I mean Applebloom, of course. Who knows what tantrum she might have thrown when we showed up at her door?”

“Actually I told her I was totally okay with hanging out with youse guys. And to Sweetie as well. Give them more credit, T.” Babs said.

“I suppose I could. I mean, time has passed and our skirmishes kinda lost some of their panache. I mean, I couldn’t even come up with a few new nicknames! Look at this, frankly it’s embarrassing!” Tiara whipped out from her purse a small notebook and put it on the table for Babs to see.

“Uh.” Babs raised an eyebrow, blushing a little as a collection of truly vile things stood before her eyes. “Isn’t it a bit...vulgar?”

“Yeah, I know. I just kind of gave up halfway through. Vulgarity is the death of wit, after all.”

“I told her to just give up.” Spoon said. “She could do so much better with her time.” The grey mare giggled and gave an affectionate pinch to Tiara’s cheek, who cooed in delight.

“Aaaawwww…” Babs giggled. “Careful girls. With all the sugar youse guys are throwing around we are risking cavities…”

“Actually those are a new recipe. Sugar free but not any less yummy!” Pinkie Pie passed by while serving at the tables.

“Huh, okay.” Babs eyed intensely the empty glass. “Couldn't tell the difference…”

“It means I did a good job, then!” Pinkie Pie giggled and started flapping her arms in place, before realizing she couldn’t fly away like a superhero ready to go and save somepony else. The pink mare shrugged and happily proceeded with her work, the three friends staring at her with a bewildered look.

“How exactly are you two related?” Tiara asked.

“I dunno. I seriously dunno.”

“So, anyway…” Tiara rolled her eyes and looked around her, grasping Spoon’s hand in the process.”We are together. Me and Spoon.” Tiara leaned over and basically whispered the words.

“What?”

“I said we are together.” Tiara said again, this time lowering her voice so much to leave only her lip movements.

“What?”

Spoon grunted and whipped out a piece of paper, scribbling down on it ‘We are together’, and passing it to Babs.

“Cool.” Babs said simply and returned at scooping down the bottom of her glass, scooping down the leftover cream with her straw and licking it off. “Wait, what?”

“Just cool? Couldn’t you, like, say something else?”

Babs stared at the two for a moment, still processing what she had just found out. Then suddenly her eyes went wide with realization, and she exclaimed,“Oh, what a wonderful occurrence! Truly Equestria is blessed with being made participant of your love! A new star is up there in Luna’s night and—”

“Alright, alright, we get the picture. Sheesh.”

“Seriously, girls, I’m happy for both of ya. I think it’s cute. But, uh, what does that have to do with me?”

“Oh, nothing. I mean, not that it’s nothing. Just to make some small talk. I mean, there are so few ponies that know.” Spoon wore a smarmy grin while Tiara puffed up her cheeks and stuck out her lower lip, pouting like nopony’s business; it was such an endearing look, any sense of seriousness was simply sucked out of the room.. Spoon just giggled at her.

“So...is this like a secret?”

“Uh, uh.”

“And I’m one of the few ponies to know?”

“Kinda.” Spoon said.

“Huh. I’m kinda flattered. This means that youse girls...trust me for that?”

“Y-Yeah! Why we shouldn’t?” Tiara sighed. “I missed you.”

“You...You did?” A morsel caught Babs’ stomach.

“Yeah. I missed having friends. Anypony willing to be friends. I had Spoony, but…” She reached for her fillyfriend’s hand, grasping it gently. A faint smile graced her lips. “It’s not quite the same thing.”

Babs leaned forward, planting her elbows on the table, and listening with the utmost attention to Tiara’s words.

“When you grow up...You feel the need to find something else. Something new.” She said with a somehow bitter smile. “I was afraid that because of how I behaved back then, everypony would turn their back on me.”

“I did not.”

Tiara chuckled. “Yeah...and more importantly, even your cousin didn't. Maybe we both saw there was something more in life...Or perhaps she had come to think I wasn’t worth the effort.”

“Nah. I think it’s the former. Coz’ isn’t perfect but—”

“But she’s not as bad as me. I know. Still, even if we have a long road ahead of us, nothing stops us from being civil, right?”

You really do have a long road ahead of you, that’s for sure. Even so, Babs still thought this with a smile. “Yeah, I guess.”

“Thank you.”

“Uh? For what?”

“For not giving up on me. Anypony else would have left me in that mud...”

“Hey, we are friends right? I’m not that filly anymore.” Babs blinked, reaching for Diamond Tiara's hand to grasp. “Well, okay I am, but that doesn’t mean that filly can’t make it up for it.”

“It’s enough for us.” Spoon said before giving out an embarrassed sigh. “Sorry for that gibe last time we met. You know, the mud thing.”

“Tell you what. We’ll stop talking about it all starting…” Babs counted to three with her free hand. “Now!”

“Cool! That’s, like, a new start for us.”

“Ya know...Maybe you want to continue this in private?”

“How about a sleepover? Our first sleepover as friends?”

“Sleepover...You sure? Maybe I should have told Big Mac I was going to be gone for so long...”

“Hey, we are adults, aren’t we? ‘Sides, He totally knows us. I’m sure he won’t think we have kidnapped you or something.” Tiara chuckled.

“I kinda...You’re kinda right?”

What was the harm, after all? Babs had really wanted to spend some more time with them? What was the worst that could’ve happened at a sleepover?

“I’ll bring the wine…” Spoon winked and lifted a small bag containing a clearly expensive bottle of red wine. The label read ‘Susiebeeca’. Diamond Tiara got up and left some bits on the table and stretched her arms.

“By the way, Sweetie Belle told me about…” Spoon coughed a little and adjusted her glasses as a faint shade of red tinged her cheeks.”Ya know…” She pointed down right at the spot where everypony else had been interested in Babs’ body and she made it quite clear, crystal clear even, her idea for the evening.

“Dammit Sweetie Belle…” Babs’ hand struck her forehead, drawing a small pain. “The thing one does to keep a friend…”

Author's Notes:

What's this? A chapter without awesome sex? Surely the author will do everything to be forgiven in the next...Before you asked, yes: I asked Susiebeeca permission first. Susiebeeca found it hilarious.