"Sooo...Apple Bloom." Sweetie Belle was lying on her mattress on the floor, with her chin propped up on her forelegs as she grinned at the earth pony lying on the bed next to her.

Curled up under her sheets, Apple Bloom eyed the unicorn suspiciously. "What?"

"How are you and Pipsqueak getting along with your project?" The glint in Sweetie's eye carried volumes of implication.

From her perch on the sofa, Silver Spoon watched the conversation unfold with pleasant surprise. The marathon had paused briefly between screenings of Hoof and Mrs. Doubtfarrier while everypony got their bed set up--a hushed shouting match had determined that yes, Silver Spoon would be sleeping on the couch, no matter how guilty it made her feel--and resumed after a good-natured tussle in the bathroom had ended with Sweetie Belle "falling" into the tub and squealing as Apple Bloom turned the water on. The fight had summoned a haggard and unamused Vinyl from the master bedroom, and the unicorn's quiet suggestion that perhaps it was time for bed was universally agreed to.

As a result, Silver Spoon had assumed the night was essentially over. In her experience with Diamond Tiara, 'lights out' usually translated into 'no talking', but apparently this was not the case at a Crusader sleepover. The last movie had ended, and even though the living room was now lit only by the moonlight pouring through the front window the evening's conversation had picked up again without pause. Even Scootaloo was still wide awake, resting her chin on crossed forelegs and watching Apple Bloom's eyes widen at the question.

"We're fine!" The earth pony answered with a touch more intensity than was necessary. "Ah mean...it's goin' fine."

"Just fine, huh?" Scootaloo asked, smirking.

Apple Bloom scowled at her. "Yes, 'jus' fine'. How else would it be goin'?"

"I was kind of expecting 'great', or 'awesome', or 'not good at all, because we just keep making out instead of--"

"Sweetie Belle!" Apple Bloom snapped at her, the anger in her voice not quite masking the alarm. "It's not like that! We're just...project partners."

"So you haven't mustered up the courage to kiss him yet, then?" Scootaloo asked.

Apple Bloom narrowed her eyes at the pegasus. "Ah'm not gonna kiss him. What's the matter with you two, anyway? Why cain't we jus' work on the project without y'all makin' it weird?"

"Because being weird about Pipsqueak is like, your whole deal." Scootaloo smirked. Silver Spoon's eyes widened in surprise. This was an interesting new facet of the Crusaders' world. She had never really considered that the three friends probably had their own crushes and insecurities to contend with. She was suddenly intrigued. "Come on, you have to spend all those hours together anyway, right? You can probably even convince him to meet you at the park or something if you wanted to make it romantic 'n' all. You don't think this would be the perfect chance?"

"No, Ah don'," Apple Bloom said flatly. "It's jus' schoolwork. Nothin' else." There was a beat, and then she continued more quietly. "'Sides, he's not interested in me like that."

"How do you know?" Sweetie Belle asked. "Have you asked him?"

Apple Bloom shook her head. "No, an' Ah'm not gonna. Ah don' want to make the last season of school we've got together uncomfortable because Ah asked him somethin' Ah shoulda never bothered with."

"But what if he likes you, too?"

Apple Bloom actually laughed. "Come on, Sweetie Belle, think about it. Why would a stallion like him even look twice at a filly like me? He's strong 'n' sweet 'n' smart 'n' funny an' he could have any mare he wants. Why would he pick a plain ol' Ponyville farmpony?"

"The same reason he'd pick anypony else," Scootaloo scoffed. "'Cuz you're fun and kind and smart and pretty and all those things colts like."

Apple Bloom smirked at the pegasus. "You think Ah'm pretty, huh?"

Scootaloo shrugged. "Sure. Why wouldn't I?"

"'Cuz Ah ain't. Sweetie Belle's pretty."

"Yeah, and so are you. And so's Silver Spoon." She glanced sideways at the mare on the sofa, who blushed and smiled shyly back. "You're all just, you know...differently pretty."

"That's sweet of y'all to say an' all, but--"

"No buts." Scootaloo sniffed importantly. "You should totally tell him. Maybe not real soon, but before he gets away. He's going back to Trottingham for college, you know."

Apple Bloom nodded. "Ah know," she said glumly.

"You may not get another shot."

"Ah know."

"So are you gonna tell him?"

There was a long pause. Then, "Maybe."

Scootaloo sighed. "Good enough for now, I guess." She looked up at Silver Spoon. "What about you, Spoon? Anypony you've got your eye on?"

"Hu-what?" Silver Spoon blinked, startled by her sudden introduction to the spotlight.

"Anypony you've got an eye on?" Scootaloo repeated, raising an eyebrow at her.

"Uh...well..." Silver Spoon floundered, tapping her hooves together and staring down at them. "I...um...well, no...not really."

"Nopony at all?"

Silver Spoon shook her head. "No. I mean, I used to...there was this one pony...but they weren't interested, so I haven't said anything about it since."

"Really? Who was it?"

Silver Spoon blushed deeply. "I...I'd rather not...say. It was a long time ago."

"Anypony we'd know?" Sweetie Belle asked, her eyes glinting hungrily.

"Um...yeah..." Silver Spoon said cautiously. "I mean...it's somepony in our class, but--"

"It's Snips, isn't it?" Apple Bloom suddenly interjected with a sly grin.

"Ew," Sweetie Belle said. "I sure hope not. Snips is gross."

"He's also a jerk," Scootaloo said. "If it is him, I'm glad he wasn't interested."

Silver Spoon blushed hotly. "No! It...it wasn't Snips."

"Glitter, then!" Sweetie Belle said.

"Ah doubt it's Glitter, Sweetie," Apple Bloom drawled, rolling her eyes. "Seein' as how Glitter doesn' exactly go that way."

"That's just it, though!" Sweetie Belle said enthusiastically. "It was a long time ago, right? Maybe it was back before Glitter was, you know, Glitter. Before anyone knew anything about her. Back when she was just Snails, right? It would totally explain why she wasn't interested!"

There was a murmur of understanding from the other Crusaders, and the three ponies all looked up at Silver Spoon curiously. The blush intensified and spread to her ears. "N-no! It wasn't Glit--Snails. And it isn't Glitter." She sighed. "Look, girls, I...as much as I love being...included like this, I'm not sure I'm...comfortable talking about this stuff..." She winced and rubbed the back of her neck with a hoof. "Sorry..."

Scootaloo shrugged. "Don't apologize, Spoon. We were just messing around. If you really don't want to talk about it, we don't have to." She grinned mischievously. "It was totally Snails, wasn't it? Oof!" The pegasus grunted as Silver Spoon threw a pillow at her, catching her full in the face and rolling her off the mattress. The other Crusaders laughed as she flailed her hooves, trying to escape the sheets.

"Alright, hotshot," Silver Spoon said, "if you're so interested in talking about crushes, who's yours, huh?"

Scootaloo finally managed to extract herself from her bedclothes and set about rearranging them on the mattress. "I don't have crushes, Silver Spoon. Other ponies have crushes on me." She looked up at Silver Spoon with a surprisingly seductive smile. Caught off-guard, Silver Spoon felt an unbidden thrill of excitement shiver down her spine at the glance. Scootaloo was clearly well-versed in the art of the allure, and the shy silver filly was mortified to realize just how enticing the pegasus' act really was.

Slightly shaken, she forced a dismissive laugh. "What are you even doing, looking at me like that? You think you could get me to fall for you?"

The bewitching smirk broadened into a grin, and Scootaloo said, "Why, is it working?"

"What do you think?" Silver Spoon intoned.

"I'm thinking...yes."

Silver Spoon rolled her eyes. "Only in your dreams."

Scootaloo shrugged. "If that's what you want."

"The only thing I want is for you to turn that look on Sweetie Belle instead, 'cuz it's freaking me out," Silver Spoon said, a touch more truthfully than she would like to admit.

"Hey, don't point that thing at me," Sweetie Belle said as Scootaloo did as she was told, leaving Silver Spoon to breathe a bit more easily. "You are so not my type."

"I'm everypony's type, Sweetie Belle."

"How about we change the subject before Scootaloo starts somethin' she cain't stop, huh?" Apple Bloom interrupted the banter, shaking her head. "Like what are you two doin' fer your project, Spoon?"

"Oh, uh..." The silver pony glanced down at Scootaloo, who had abandoned her attempts to seduce Sweetie Belle to look up at Silver Spoon and shake her head vehemently. "It's...a secret."

"A secret?" Apple Bloom looked back and forth between the project partners, bewildered.

Scootaloo nodded. "Yeah. Can't tell you just yet. Gotta make sure it's gonna work, first. Then I'll tell you all about it."

"What could y'all possibly be workin' on that's so crazy it has to stay secret?"

"Trust me, it does. And anyway, you wouldn't be interested," Scootaloo added, shrugging. "I'm sure it's just as boring as your project with Pipsqueak."

"Actually, our project isn' that borin', turns out." Apple Bloom rolled over onto her back and put her hooves behind her head. "Miss Cheerilee wants us to do some research on diff'rent accents across Equestria, an' how ponies who grow up speakin' one way never really stop."

"She picked the right group, then."

Apple Bloom smirked. "Ah know it. Ah even told Pip we could ask mah cousin Babs to help us out, she bein' from Manehattan an' all."

"Sure." Scootaloo brightened. "Hey, maybe you could even ask Rarity about her accent. I really want to find out where she got it from."

"That's not an accent," Sweetie Belle scoffed. "She talks like that on purpose."

"Yeah, but why? It's not like anypony else in your family talks that way."

Sweetie Belle shrugged. "I dunno. I never asked. It's just how she speaks. Has been for as long as I've been alive."

"Well, what about you, Sweetie?" Scootaloo asked. "What's your project supposed to be?"

"A disaster," Sweetie Belle said darkly. "Diamond Tiara is a mule and a witch. No offense," she added, glancing up at Silver Spoon.

Silver Spoon shrugged. "None taken. She is. She always has been."

All three Crusaders stared at her. "Really?" Sweetie Belle asked.

Silver Spoon nodded. "Sure. That is, if you mean she's really stubborn and really mean, then you're right. She never was to me--at least not at first--but you'd have to be a fool not to see that she's always been a pretty nasty piece of work. Anyway, you just have to know how to work with her. It's a challenge, and it means you'll have to give up some of your dignity, but it's possible."

"I doubt it," Sweetie Belle muttered.

Silver Spoon shrugged. "Well, the alternative is not getting the project done at all, I guess. If you're interested, though, I can try to help you out."

The unicorn contemplated this for several seconds, the agony of two equally heinous options plain on her face. Eventually, she sighed. "I'll think about it."

"How did you and Diamond Tiara end up friends, anyway?" Scootaloo asked. "You're nothing alike, at least not when you're on your own."

Silver Spoon shrugged. "First day of school. She was the only pony to give me the time of day, so I latched on. I didn't have any other friends, and she was a lot nicer back then. We just meshed really well, so we became friends. It's just one of those things. I mean, how did you three become friends?"

"Well, Ah met these two mules at DT's Cuteceñeara, as Ah think you recall."

"Well, yeah, but what about you and Sweetie Belle?" Silver Spoon looked down at Scootaloo. "You seemed like you were pretty good friends from the first time I saw you in class."

Scootaloo shrugged. "Actually, I'd only known her for a few days at the time. Less than a week, I think."

Sweetie Belle nodded. "You showed up outside the Boutique Friday afternoon. First day of school was the next Monday."

"Showed up?" Silver Spoon asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Yeah," Scootaloo said. "I was a runaway. From a foals' home in Baltimare."

Silver Spoon's eyes widened in shock. "Wait, really?"

"Uh, yeah." Scootaloo gave her a curious look. "I ran away from home when I was just a filly. Picked up by the police for stowing away on a train in Baltimare, and got sent to the home when I told them I was an orphan. You didn't know that?"

Silver Spoon shook her head, stunned. "I had no idea. I mean, I knew you were adopted, obviously, but I didn't know where from. That's awful."

The pegasus shrugged nonchalantly. "It's no big deal, honestly. I mean, it was kind of a big deal at the time, sure, but that was a really long time ago."

"Still." There was a pause, and then Silver Spoon said, "Wait, isn't Baltimare a pretty long way off?" Scootaloo nodded. "And you ran away from there, too?" She nodded again. "How did you end up in Ponyville?"

"Bad and good luck in equal measure," Scootaloo said. "I was trying to get to Canterlot again. I wanted to see Princess Celestia and see if she could help me...you know..." She blushed. "Fly."

"Awww..." Silver Spoon couldn't resist the vocalization. She immediately covered her muzzle with her hooves, ears burning in embarrassment. "Sorry," she whispered.

Scootaloo chuckled softly. "Nah, it's alright. I know, it was a naive filly-dream, but...I guess I just figured if anyone could help me fly, it would be the most powerful alicorn in Equestria, right? Anyway, it was stupid. I didn't really have a plan or anything, I just figured I'd hop on a train and see how far I could get. I honestly assumed every train had to go to Canterlot eventually, so I went to the Baltimare train station and stowed away on the first train I found."

"I'm guessing that train was headed for Ponyville, then?" Silver Spoon asked.

Scootaloo shook her head. "Not that one, no. That one was going to Las Pegasus. Not, as you might imagine, a good place for a filly." Scootaloo smirked wryly at Silver Spoon's expression. "Fortunately, somepony found me before I got all the way there and...persuaded me to take a different train when I got to the station. Even gave me a hoofful of bits to buy a ticket with." Scootaloo rolled over on her back and put her hooves behind her head again. "Of course, I didn't have a clue what to do when I got here, so I just decided to try and find someplace to spend the night and figure it out in the morning. I ended up curling up under the front porch of the Carousel Boutique. That's where Sweetie Belle found me the next morning."

"The rest is pretty much history," Sweetie Belle chirruped, beaming. "We've been best friends ever since."

"No kidding," Silver Spoon said. "That's pretty cool. Did she live with you before she got adopted, then?"

Scootaloo shook her head. "No way. I didn't want anypony to know I was a runaway, because the last time I let it slip, I got sent to a foal's home. I wasn't gonna risk that again. I just told them I lived with my parents way out on the edges of town. I didn't give specifics, and nopony asked. I actually lived in the Crusaders' clubhouse for a long time, even before Applejack showed us where it was." She shrugged. "And that's it, really. It's kind of a boring story."

Silver Spoon almost laughed. "Scootaloo, that's anything but boring. That's incredible. I had no idea. I mean, everyone noticed that your parents were never around, but nopony knew why. So you just lived on your own for, like...a year?"

Scootaloo shrugged again. "Or so, I guess. I don't really know. Time does weird things when your whole life is finding food and staying warm. Heck, I don't even know when my birthday actually is."

Silver Spoon blinked. "Wait, you don't?"

Scootaloo shook her head. "I never celebrated it when I lived in Cloudsdale, so the Baltimare Foal's Home didn't know what it was, so I never found out. These days I just celebrate the day my parents adopted me."

Silver Spoon smiled. "That seems like a pretty good substitute to me."

Scootaloo nodded. "Yeah, it is."

"You know, your parents are pretty cool."

"I guess."

"No, really," Silver Spoon insisted. "You don't even realize how amazing you have it. Your parents are always there for you, always looking out for you, always keeping your best interests in mind...seriously, Scootaloo, I would kill to have what you have."

Scootaloo smiled wryly. "Don't let Mama Tavi hear you say that, or she'll adopt you, too."

Silver Spoon pursed her lips. "I should be so lucky."

Scootaloo laughed. "Well, I guess I wouldn't mind too much having you around more often. You know," she said, "it really sucks that we waited this long to start hanging out. We've got a lot of stuff to catch up on if you're gonna be one of us someday."

"What, a Crusader?"

"Yeah," Scootaloo said. "That is, if you want to."

Silver Spoon nodded fervently. "Definitely. You girls are the best."

"Of course, I'll have to check with the other members of the group first." The pegasus turned to the other two fillies lying on the living room floor, watching the conversation with interest. "What do you think, girls? Should we start the process of making Silver Spoon a Crusader?"

Sweetie Belle grinned broadly, her eyes shining. "Heck yeah! We need another member who actually appreciates fashion and manestyling and all that jazz."

Silver Spoon giggled. "Well, I don't know if I'm quite as...enthusiastic about it as you, but I'll do my best."

"Apple Bloom?" Scootaloo asked.

The earth pony didn't answer immediately. She was staring at the ceiling with a troubled expression on her face. After a moment, she said slowly, "Ah...guess."

"You guess?" Scootaloo asked, raising an eyebrow at her.

Apple Bloom sighed. "Look, don' get me wrong, Ah think yer pretty neat an' all, it's just...well..."

"Lots of bad memories?" Silver Spoon said quietly.

Apple Bloom winced and nodded. "Yeah. Ah'm sorry, Silver Spoon, it's jus'...the Crusaders've been together fer a long time, an' these girls are the only friends Ah had back when, well...you know. Back before Ah got my cutie mark." She smiled shyly at the unicorn to her right and the pegasus to her left. "Ah just...don' want to lose that special somethin' we've always had." She blushed and tapped her hooves together in front of her muzzle. "Y'all understand, don't ya?"

Silver Spoon nodded. "I do. And I wouldn't want to butt in where I didn't belong anyway. If you'd rather the Crusaders just stay the three of you--"

"Four," Scootaloo interrupted her.

"Pardon?"

"There are four Crusaders. Apple Bloom's cousin Babs is an honorary Ponyville Crusader, even though she's the founder of the Manehattan Crusader branch."

Silver Spoon blinked. "This Crusader thing is a lot more complex than it looks from the outside."

Sweetie Belle giggled. "Well, we were fillies. Lots of free time and way too much energy means you come up with a lot of silly ideas. Some of them just never go away."

"Anyway," Silver Spoon continued, "if you're not comfortable with adding me to your group, I totally understand." She smiled. "I'm perfectly happy just being allowed to call you my friends."

Apple Bloom smiled tentatively. "Yeah, Ah'm happy about that, too. And Ah don't wanna say you shouldn't ever get to be a Crusader, jus' that...maybe we should get to know each other a lot better, first?"

Scootaloo nodded. "That sounds good. What do you think, Silver Spoon?"

The silver filly smiled. "I think that sounds wonderful."

"Well, what are we waiting for, then?" Sweetie Belle chirruped. "We've got all night, so let's get started!"