The morning broke in rays of sunlight beaming steadily into the roseate curtains of the living room windows. Birds sang and rode the rustling wind as it weaved unsteadily through the naked branches of trees still in winter slumber. The sleepy little neighborhood remained dormant late into the pre-noon hours as the residents took advantage of the weekend by whiling away the hours deep in slumber.

The Scratch-Philharmonica household was no exception. The floor of the den was still littered with sleeping ponies splayed out on half-deflated air mattresses, their ears twitching as the music of the morning tickled their consciousness and struggled futilely to pull them out of their dreams. Sweetie Belle dozed balled up under her covers, the curls of her mane hanging loosely in front of her nose as she squeaked quietly on every exhalation. Apple Bloom was prone on her mattress, hooves dangling off the sides as she breathed heavily, her mouth open and her mane wrapped messily around her muzzle. Scootaloo's sheets were propped up over her back by her wings, which had unfurled slightly during the night. She snored quietly, oblivious to the sunrise symphony. One of her hooves was still resting on the floor near the sofa.

However, the hoof it had been touching earlier in the evening was no longer there. Nor was the pony it belonged to. Silver Spoon was in another room in the house entirely, sitting at the dining room table and staring across the room at the window facing out at the street.

She had been there most of the night. Roughly twenty minutes after Scootaloo had returned and...taken her hoof...the pegasus had started to snore audibly. Fully aware she was not going to be able to fall back asleep, the silver filly had gotten up and retreated to the dining room, just beyond the kitchen. She'd sat at the table for the rest of the night, just watching the night slide by outside the window. It had not been pleasant.

There was something uniquely cruel, Silver Spoon mused, about this level of betrayal. It stung in a way she couldn't really describe or understand, cutting more deeply than simple insults or direct attacks. At least when Diamond Tiara was mistreating her, she knew what to expect. She could prepare for and compartmentalize the slights on her intelligence, or her dedication, or her taste. Even the Crusaders' attacks had been comparatively mild, the same old jabs and sneers, the same old jokes and gestures. This was something new and horrible, and she wasn't entirely sure what to think.

Maybe it's not like that. Maybe she really does just want to be friends. Maybe she just thinks you're attractive and is taking advantage of it. Would that be so bad?

Since when have the Crusaders ever just wanted to be my friend? Besides, does that give her the right to do...that while thinking about me?

What difference does it make? She's not hurting anypony, and she's been really good to you so far. Even if that's why she took you under her wing in the first place, aren't you both gaining something?

What if it becomes more? What if the fantasies aren't enough? What if she wants to do something with me? What if she asks, and I say no? Will she be mad? Will she not want to be friends anymore? Will she go back to being who she was before?

...what if I said yes?

And so the internal conversation went. Around and around, never really resolving or progressing, taking each step in turn, and then ending in a whirl of panic until the cycle started again.

Silver Spoon heaved a sigh and slowly lowered her head to the table, resting her face against the cool wood and letting it soothe her sleep-deprived eyelids. Life could never just be simple. She couldn't just have friends without complications, or spend even one night at a sleepover without stumbling into an emotional catastrophe. It was all so unfair. Self-pity pushed tears to the corners of her eyes, and she let them gather, allowing herself to revel in misery.

"Silver Spoon?"

The silver pony's head snapped up and she turned in her chair to see Octavia standing in the kitchen door wearing a fuzzy white robe, her head tilted to the side and an expression of deep concern on her face. "Are you alright, dear? You're up awfully early."

Silver Spoon swallowed her shock and nodded. "Y-yeah...I'm okay."

The expression didn't change. Octavia was not fooled. "Are you sure? You know you can tell me anything you want, sweetheart. Even if you aren't sure you should."

I saw your daughter pleasuring herself, and I decided to watch instead of just closing the door and she moaned my name when she came and--

Silver Spoon shook her head. "I'm sure, Miss Octavia. I just...couldn't sleep."

The earth pony clucked her tongue sympathetically. "I'm sorry, dear. I know it's not always easy to sleep in an unfamiliar place. Can I get you something to eat or drink?" She gestured towards the kitchen behind her. "I can make you breakfast if you'd like, or perhaps some chamomile tea if you'd like to try and lie down and rest again."

Silver Spoon smiled shyly. "Some tea would be nice, I think. Thank you."

"Not at all, dear." Octavia retreated into the kitchen and filled a kettle with water, putting it onto the stove and starting the fire under it. Then she made her way back into the dining room and sat down across from Silver Spoon, putting her elbows on the table and resting her hooves together in front of her nose. She considered Silver Spoon silently for several moments, her gentle gaze calmly panning across the younger mare's face. Finally, she took a deep breath and said, "You know, Silver Spoon, I am rather versed in the art of detecting when I'm being fibbed to."

Silver Spoon's eyes widened suddenly. "I...I'm not fibbing, Miss Octavia," she stammered.

"Come now, Silver Spoon." The grey mare smiled. "I've been Vinyl's partner since our second year at the conservatory. I raised Scootaloo from a filly. I have spent the better part of my life deciphering the various half-truths and little white lies that the two best fibbers in Equestria could weave. I won't say you're lying to me, but I know I'm not getting the whole truth." Silver Spoon blushed and looked down at the table in front of her. Octavia continued, her voice quieter. "Sweetheart, I don't mean to pry. If you truly want to keep your secrets, I won't press further. I simply worry about you. I can tell that you're hurting, and I care too much to let you suffer alone if there's anything I can do." She paused for a moment, then asked, "Do you want me to leave you be?"

Silver Spoon stared at the wood of the table, her eyes absently tracing the grain as she agonized, trapped in the middle of a vicious internal struggle. She had spent so long keeping her secrets to herself, avoiding sharing with anypony except Carillon and occasionally Diamond Tiara that she wasn't sure she was was comfortable inviting another pony--especially one she had so recently met--into the fold. Then again, Octavia was one of the few ponies she knew who seemed genuinely caring and trustworthy. Perhaps she could help, after all. "M...Miss Octavia..." she murmured.

"Yes, dear?"

Silver Spoon pursed her lips, then looked up at the older mare from behind her bangs. "Do you...do you think Scootaloo really wants to be my friend?"

She expected surprise. She expected wide eyes and disbelief. She expected platitudes. She expected rote exclamations of absolute faith, of superlative purity and belief in her daughter. She got none of it.

Octavia inhaled slowly through her nose and lowered her forelegs to the table, crossing them so that the grey of her hooves disappeared in the snowdrift of her robe. Then she sighed and said, "I think so. It can be very difficult to tell for certain, I know." She smiled wanly. "I know your relationship, so to speak, has been...contentious. And she has made a rather sudden about face concerning that relationship, I must admit. I can understand your misgivings. All that being said, she does seem to have taken quite a shine to you." She smiled. "And she was very adamant about having you over for game night."

Of course she was. Silver Spoon pursed her lips. "When you say she's...'taken a shine' to me...what exactly do you mean?"

Octavia opened her mouth to speak, but was interrupted by the low whistling of the kettle in the kitchen. The earth pony jumped up from the table and hurried into the kitchen to retrieve the kettle before it could awaken the rest of the household. Holding the handle carefully in her mouth, the grey mare tip-hoofed into the dining room, balancing a tray with various tea-making accoutrements on her hoof as she made her way back around the table. Setting both the kettle and the tray down, she poured the steaming water into one of the broad, shallow teacups and dropped a teabag in. "How do you take it, dear?" she asked.

"Oh, um...one sugar, no milk." Octavia prepared the cup and slid it across the table to the silver filly. She took it in her hooves and held it between them, letting the warmth seep into her chilled fur and inhaling deeply the fresh, complex scent of the steeping leaves.

Octavia poured a second cup, adding a tea bag and nothing else. Then she placed the kettle back on a trivet on the table and settled back into her chair. "To be perfectly honest, I wouldn't be concerned." She smiled. "Scootaloo is very fond of you, and genuinely so. I wouldn't let her previous sins color your appreciation of her current feelings."

Silver Spoon felt her heart sink a little as she mulled over Octavia's reassurances. She had rather hoped Octavia's responses would make her feel better about Scootaloo's intentions, not worse. Instead, all she had really done was add evidence to further confirm her suspicions. Obviously she too thought it was strange that Scootaloo would suddenly decide to be such a dedicated friend out of the blue like this. "Scootaloo is very fond of you..." Something about Octavia's assertion made her feel uneasy. It almost sounded as if Octavia had some idea of Scootaloo's feelings...maybe even approved of them.

Why wouldn't she? the voice in her head asked dryly. She married a mare, after all. Maybe they're hoping Scootaloo will turn out like them. Maybe this is exactly what they wanted. Her stomach sank horribly at the thought. Maybe Scootaloo's parents were trying to get them together. Maybe this whole night had just been part of a larger setup. It sounded crazy, but the more the contemplated it, the more feasible it sounded. Maybe Diamond Tiara was right; maybe it really was them against all of Equestria after all.

Before Silver Spoon could contemplate this possibility further, Octavia's eyes suddenly shifted to gaze past her shoulder, and the concerned smile widened into a greeting one. "Why, good morning, Apple Bloom. Up with the sun as usual, I see."

Silver Spoon turned to see Apple Bloom entering the dining room, her sleep-tossed mane hanging limply across her face with only her muzzle visible through the hair. The muzzle yawned widely and smacked its lips as she felt her way into a chair and fell into it. Resting her chin on the table, she muttered, "Mornin'." Then she turned very slightly towards Silver Spoon and said again, "Mornin'."

Silver Spoon blinked, puzzled as to how Apple Bloom could possibly see her through the sheaf of red hair hanging in front of her face. "Uh...good morning."

"Would you like some tea, Apple Bloom?" Octavia asked, already pouring a cup. The filly rolled her head back and forth across the table. Apparently this indicated a positive answer, as the older mare finished pouring and added a great deal of milk before sliding the cup over in front of the muzzle on the table.

"Thanks," Apple Bloom said, flaring her nostrils as she sniffed the tea. "What're you doin' up so early?" she suddenly asked, rolling her head so it was pointed at the filly next to her.

"Oh...I just...couldn't sleep," Silver Spoon said, blushing.

"'S too bad," she murmured, yawning again. Then she groaned as she pushed herself up off the table, using both hooves to separate her mane and push it back over her shoulders, revealing her face. "Scootaloo snorin' too loud, Ah guess?"

The blush deepened. "Something like that."

The earth pony shrugged. "Ya get used to it. Eventually you'll be able ta sleep with 'er no problem."

She knows! Silver Spoon ignored the panicky little voice. "I...don't think that will be necessary."

"Huh? Why? Ain't ya gonna come over next Friday?"

Silver Spoon gritted her teeth, her heartbeat quickening. "I...I'm not sure." She frowned. "I don't think so."

Apple Bloom raised an eyebrow at her. "Why not?"

Silver Spoon winced. "I...I don't know if sleepovers are really my thing."

"Oh." Apple Bloom shrugged. "Well, ya don' have to sleep over. You can always jus' go home before we all settle in fer bed."

"Oh, yeah. I guess so..."

Apple Bloom tilted her head to the side. "Hey Spoon, you okay?"

Silver Spoon didn't answer. She turned her gaze back to the table in front of her and watched her tea steam, little curls of vapor lazily wafting off the surface of the water and fading into nothing as the heat slowly bled away. She sat silently for several moments, listening to her pulse hammering in her ears. Finally, she muttered, "I think I should go home."

"What?!" Apple Bloom exclaimed. Silver Spoon jumped at the outburst, but didn't look up from the table. "Why? Ain't ya gonna wait 'til Scoot gets up, at least?"

Silver Spoon squeezed her eyes shut against the tears that had never really gone away. "I can't."

"Why not?" The yellow filly asked again. "What's the matter?"

Silver Spoon just shook her head. "I...I can't--"

"Cain't what? Come on, Spoon, the least y'all can do is say goodbye before ya take off."

Octavia pursed her lips, her previously pleasant tone colored with something colder that made Silver Spoon's ears plaster themselves to her skull in shame. "I'm afraid I must agree, Silver Spoon. While I understand you may be in a hurry to get home, it would be most unkind to leave without at least speaking to the pony who invited you."

Silver Spoon winced. She couldn't face Scootaloo again. Not yet. But she couldn't explain that to the affronted earth ponies next to her. She couldn't tell Apple Bloom that the sight of the pegasus' cool smirk and half-closed eyes would immediately recall images from the night before, images that still clung to the edges of her consciousness, rudely inserting themselves between unrelated thoughts. She couldn't explain to Octavia how she was struggling not to burst into frustrated tears just trying to comprehend what had happened. All she could do was repeat herself. "I can't."

Octavia sighed. "Very well, dear. I really do wish you would stay, but I won't keep you."

Silver Spoon didn't look up. Guilt tore at her, tightening her throat as panicked thoughts whirled through her head. They were right, of course. At the very least she ought to stay and thank Scootaloo for inviting her. She had had a good time, after all. The whole evening prior had been like something out of a silly, sappy coming-of-age movie, all fun and laughter and friendship like she'd never dreamed of before. But none of that mattered, because it had all been a lie. A setup. It was all just a way to get Silver Spoon to hang out and just exist, so Scootaloo could stare and snuggle up to her.

Silver Spoon shivered at the memory of having Scootaloo's warm, svelte frame pressed against her back, the steady rise and fall of her chest rolling against the muscles of Silver Spoon's shoulders, her hot, sultry breath playing across the thin fur of her ear, tickling the back of her neck and sending tantalizing chills down her spine. It was so obvious now in retrospect. Of course Scootaloo had just been trying to get close to her for her own sexual satisfaction. Why else would somepony as popular and smart and attractive as Scootaloo even look twice at somepony like her?

Silver Spoon blinked away the tears in her eyes and pushed herself away from the table. Her tea was still untouched, the water now barely lukewarm as the sugar slowly crystallized and settled back to the bottom of the cup. "Thank you for the tea," she murmured to Octavia. "And thanks for having me. I had fun." This was true. No matter what else had happened, she had had fun.

Octavia gave her a sad smile. "You're welcome, dear. And you're certainly welcome to join us again any time you wish." The smile faltered a little as Octavia furrowed her brow in concern. "You know I am always available to talk if you need me. Our house is always open to you, sweetheart. And of course, I do hope you'll be able to make your next lesson."

Silver Spoon's heart leapt a little at the mention of her viola lessons. A glimmer of joy flickered in her mind, momentarily dispelling her troubled thoughts. "Yeah...yeah, I will. Definitely." She smiled. "I wouldn't miss it."

Octavia beamed. "Wonderful. Well, I'm sorry you didn't sleep better, and I wish you could stay for breakfast, but I understand if you need to leave." She got up from the table. "I'll walk you out."

Silver Spoon nodded glumly. "Thanks." Then she hesitated for a moment before turning to Apple Bloom. "See you later, Apple Bloom."

"Yeah...see you."

"She what?"

Sweetie Belle's shrill, almost ultrasonic shriek snapped Scootaloo awake as thoroughly as if she'd been slapped. The pegasus' eyes bolted open and stared into the semi-darkness of the curtained living room as Sweetie Belle's voice continued its dramatic lament.

"But, but, we were gonna spend all day hanging out today! We even made plans! We were gonna play games and watch TV and she was gonna let me give her a makeover and everything!"

Apple Bloom's deadpan drawl was barely audible from the dining room across the house. "Well, it looks like yer gonna hafta reschedule, cuz she took off real early this mornin'. Didn' say why. Jus'...left."

Scootaloo's ears pricked at this. The 'she' in question was easily identified. She glanced up at the sofa to her right and was dismayed--though unsurprised--to see it empty. Her stomach tightened. Left. Silver Spoon left? She struggled out from between the sheets of her bed, carefully--and with a twinge of embarrassment--wrestled her wings back down on her back, and made her way through the kitchen and into the dining room.

Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle were sitting on opposite sides of the table with plates of food in front of them. Apple Bloom was already most of the way through hers, still picking at the last few strands of hashbrowns with a hoof. Sweetie Belle had yet to start in on her meal, the stack of pancakes, pile of hashbrowns, and scrambled eggs still untouched.

The unicorn was rocking back and forth on her chair, a pantomime of melodrama. "I don't understand! We were all having so much fun and getting along and everything. Why would she leave?"

Apple Bloom shrugged nonchalantly. "Ah dunno. Ah guess she jus' didn' want to hang out with us any more." The scowl on her face was laced with subtle hints of hurt feelings that only her best friends could detect.

Scootaloo's stomach tightened further. Feigning disinterest, she said, "She who? Silver Spoon?"

Apple Bloom glanced over her shoulder at the pegasus. "Mornin' Scoot. Yeah, she got up real early this mornin'. Said she couldn' sleep an' that she jus' had to go home." She rolled her eyes. "Figures, right? After she made all those plans with us las' nigh' an' all."

Scootaloo hadn't heard anything after the words 'couldn't sleep'. Her heart skipped several beats as the implication crashed over her. How long had Silver Spoon been awake? Had she woken up in the middle of the night, or had she not even fallen asleep? Scootaloo's wayward hoof suddenly seemed a lot less innocuous in the harsh light of this new information. She swallowed hard, still trying to maintain her composure. "She...didn't say why, did she?"

Apple Bloom shook her head. "Nah. Jus' that she had to go. Seemed really guilty about it, though." She pursed her lips and scowled. "Prob'ly 'cuz she knew she was duckin' out on us."

Guilty... "Maybe," Scootaloo muttered.

Apple Bloom eyed her curiously. "You okay, Scoot? Ah thought you'd be a lot more spurred off."

"Huh? Oh, yeah, I'm fine," Scootaloo said. "Just tired." She frowned. "And I'm not really spurred so much as I am...worried, I guess. I wonder if I...if we did something to make her not want to stick around."

Sweetie Belle gasped audibly. "Maybe she really did want to be a Crusader, and Apple Bloom made her mad because she said she didn't want her to be one!" The unicorn gave Apple Bloom a scathing glare.

Apple Bloom drew herself up indignantly. "Ah never said Ah didn' want her to be a Crusader, jus' that Ah thought we should take it slow!"

"Still," Sweetie Belle said, "you should go apologize."

"Me?!" Apple Bloom bristled. "What about you, Miss Oh, Ah talk to Princess Luna all th' time an' Hey Silver Spoon, tell us how yer mom died!"

Sweetie Belle reeled back as though she'd been struck. "I never said either of those things!"

"You might as well've!"

"Girls!" Scootaloo shouted over the bickering mares. They both fell silent, resorting instead to malicious glares. "I...don't think it was either of your faults," she said quietly. The other Crusaders looked at her curiously. Adrenaline surged into her bloodstream. This was it. The moment was staring her in the face. They deserve to know. They're your friends. They'll understand. She swiveled her ears around, listening intently to locate her parents, who she was nowhere near ready to tell just yet. Mama Vy was still snoring loudly in the master bedroom, and the sound of running water indicated that Mama Tavi was still in the shower. The Crusaders were temporarily alone.

Alright...moment of truth. She swallowed hard, a blush already rising to her cheeks. "Look, I...I think I might know why she left..."

"You do?" Apple Bloom tilted her head to the side. "Well, why then?"

Scootaloo's heart raced against her ribs. The words rose to her lips and died there twice before she finally managed to choke out, "So...last night...I kind of...might have...uh...held...her...hoof..."

Apple Bloom immediately rolled her eyes and snorted dismissively. "Oh, great. So she just starts gettin' comfortable with us an' you have to go an' ruin it by takin' the joke too far, as usual."

Scootaloo's face burned. Her pulse hummed in her ears and she feared her heart might burst. "It...it wasn't a joke."

There was a brief moment of silence. The other two Crusaders looked at one another, then back at her. Sweetie Belle said, "So, wait...what are you saying, exactly?"

Scootaloo looked down at her hooves, a horrible prickling sensation running down her back and tears of pure terror collecting in the corners of her eyes. "I...I have a crush on Silver Spoon. I..." She swallowed again, her mouth painfully dry. "I like mares."

Silence. None of the Crusaders spoke for several seconds. None of them moved. Scootaloo stared at the floor between her trembling hooves, blood thundering in her ears. Say something! Anything! she screamed at her friends from inside her head. Every passing moment was longer and colder than the last until finally, mercifully, Apple Bloom broke the stalemate with a nervous laugh.

"Come on, Scoot, a joke's a joke, but you don' really think we're gonna fall for that, do you?" She and Sweetie Belle shared another laugh.

Scootaloo gritted her teeth so hard her jaw started to ache. "It's not a joke. I mean it."

"Sure you do."

"No! Stop that!" Scootaloo suddenly snapped, the prickling on her back intensifying horribly as the tears in her eyes broke free and rolled down her cheeks. "I'm being serious!"

"You...you are?" Sweetie Belle gaped at her. "You...you really like...mares? But all this time--"

"I know," Scootaloo muttered miserably. "I know, I was just...I didn't know, alright? I didn't know what I was feeling or thinking or anything, and now--"

"But...you really aren't messing with us, Scootaloo?" Sweetie Belle's voice shook as she spoke, and Scootaloo felt a sickening jolt of guilt as she realized the unicorn had tears in her eyes as well. "Because this really isn't funny..."

"I'm not messing with you." Scootaloo looked away, suddenly unable to meet Sweetie Belle's gaze. "And no, it really isn't funny."

"You...you lied to us." Scootaloo snapped her head up to look at Apple Bloom, alarmed by the venom in her voice. The earth pony's face was twisted in a melange of emotions, none of them good.

"I...what?" Scootaloo said.

"You lied to us, Scootaloo." Apple Bloom sneered at her, eyes narrow and accusing. "All this time, you swore up an' down that 'you weren't like yer moms' an' 'oh, no, Rainbow an' I are jus' friends'."

"We are," Scootaloo said weakly. Apple Bloom gave her a look that killed the next sentence before she could even form it.

"Don' you dare, Scootaloo!" she snapped. "You really think we'd believe a word you say after everythin' you've put us through?"

Scootaloo stared at her, stunned. "Everything I've put you through?"

"Ah defended you, Scootaloo!" Apple Bloom said. "Ah told mah sister you were straight, an' that there was nothin' goin' on between us! Ah lied about that night, over an' over, cuz you said you had enough problems tryin' to keep ponies from thinkin' you were a fillyfooler! Ah lied to mah sister, Scootaloo! For you!"

Scootaloo winced. "Yeah, but--"

"An' all the hell we have to put up with at school, tellin' ponies to lay off an' leave you alone, all 'cuz we thought they were wrong about you an' just couldn' see it. That just 'cuz you acted gay an' looked gay an' everythin' else didn' mean you were gay. Well, they were right, weren't they Scootaloo?"

The word stung every time she said it. Scootaloo shook her head, tears streaming down her cheeks. "N-no! They were--"

"Yer a fillyfooler, ain'tcha?" The word was an epithet, barbed and cruel.

Scootaloo squeezed her eyes shut, falling to her belly on the floor and putting her hooves over her head. "I...I don't...I guess so, yeah, but--"

"Then they were right!" Apple Bloom had worked herself into a froth now. She was standing up, towering over the pegasus on the floor and shrieking at the top of her voice. Scootaloo trembled, a fear like she had never known coursing coldly through her as she weathered the storm. "Yer sick, you know that?"

Scootaloo blinked, stunned. "W...what?"

"I said yer sick," Apple Bloom sneered coldly. "Fawnin' over mares. It's not natural, an' you know it."

"Hang on," Scootaloo said, a surge of hurt and anger suddenly clearing her senses. "What do you mean it's 'not natural'?"

"You know what I mean," Apple Bloom said. "Mares don' belong with other mares. It's jus' wrong."

"So what, you think my parents are 'sick' too, then?" Scootaloo said darkly.

A flurry of emotions chased each other across Apple Bloom's face, but eventually cool disdain settled into her features and she sniffed, looking down her muzzle at the prone pegasus. "Ah guess Ah do."

Sweetie Belle gasped. "Apple Bloom, no!"

Rage seared through Scootaloo's chest. It was one thing to insult her, but her parents were completely guiltless. They didn't deserve to be slandered like this. "Fine, then!" she snapped, jumping to her hooves. "If they're so sickening to you, why are you even still here?" Apple Bloom opened her mouth to answer, but Scootaloo didn't pause, stepping forward and putting her muzzle within inches of the earth pony's. "If you think what they do and feel isn't natural, then you can get the buck out of their house!"

At this distance, neither pony could miss that the other's eyes were glistening with tears. Apple Bloom blanched for an instant but recovered quickly, ignoring the shimmer in Scootaloo's irises. Baring her teeth, she growled, "Well maybe Ah will! Ah don' need to be surrounded by all you freaks anyhow!"

"Apple Bloom!" Sweetie Belle repeated from the other side of the table where she sat, cowering and trembling. "Don't say that!"

"Then go!" Scootaloo screamed, rearing back and shoving Apple Bloom, hard. The yellow mare stumbled backwards, but managed to keep her footing. "Get out! Get out of my house, get out of my face, get the BUCK out of my life!" The heat of unshed tears suddenly became a chill as they slid down Scootaloo's cheeks. The shame they brought with them only intensified her anger.

Apple Bloom was crying now, too. "Fine! Ah will! Buck you, Scootaloo!" The earth pony whirled on her hooves and stomped past Scootaloo, smacking the pegasus in the face with her tail as she did and rattling the plates in the cupboards with each earth-shaking step.

"Apple Bloom, wait!" Sweetie Belle shrieked, clambering out of her chair and tripping around the end of the table, her legs shaking violently. "Wait!" She winced as Apple Bloom slammed the front door hard enough to make the dining room chairs jump. Then she turned back to Scootaloo, eyes wide with horror and tears rolling down her cheeks. "Why? Why did you have to say that?"

Scootaloo's jaw fell open. "Me? What do you mean 'why did I have to say that'? What about her?" She blinked as revelation dawned, and her voice suddenly dropped to a whisper. "You...you agree with her, don't you?"

Sweetie's voice trembled pitifully. "I...I don't...I don't know--"

"You do!" Scootaloo spat, her anger redoubling. "You think we're all freaks and sick and unnatural and all that shit too, don't you?"

"No! I just--"

"Well you can just get lost, too, then!" Scootaloo stormed out of the dining room, crashing her way through the kitchen and into the hall. She pointed a hoof at the front door and sneered back at the unicorn in the dining room. "You heard me! Get out of here!"

"Scootaloo, it's not--"

"Go!"

Sweetie Belle sat frozen for several seconds, wringing her hooves and sniffing as tears streamed down her face. "S-Scootaloo, I d-don't...it's not th-that...I just--"

"Go!" Scootaloo screamed through her own tears. The word almost caught on the sob rising in her chest, but she stifled it.

Sweetie's self-control was less substantial. She burst into bitter wails and broke into a run, stumbling through the kitchen and bumping into the furious pegasus as she fled, leaving the door open behind her. Scootaloo stomped to the front door and slammed it as hard as Apple Bloom had. A plate crashed to the floor in the kitchen. The shattering ceramic snapped her out of the blind rage that had been suffocating the devastating sorrow trapped in her chest, and it suddenly washed over her in black, horrific waves.

My friends. My friends hate me. They think I'm a freak. Unnatural. Sick.

Scootaloo retched horribly, her throat tightening and the bile in her stomach souring the back of her mouth. A clattering of hooves behind her drew her attention, and her ears pricked backwards to hear Octavia say, "Scootaloo! What happened?"

"Yeah, we heard screaming and doors slamming and...wait, where are your friends?" Vinyl added, a nervous question mark in her tone.

Scootaloo didn't answer. At the word 'friends', she suddenly burst into wretched sobs, falling to her belly in the hallway and putting her hooves over her head. Her parents were beside her in an instant, cooing and fretting with words Scootaloo couldn't begin to listen to. Everything had gone wrong. Everything. The sleepover, the hoof-holding, the confession...disasters. And at the heart of it all, one stupid, stupid pegasus who didn't know when to keep her mouth shut and her feelings in check. A nearly perfect evening, ruined because she couldn't keep her hooves to herself for one bucking night.

"Scootaloo!" The shouted name brought Scootaloo briefly back to the present, and Octavia took advantage of the moment by pressing her muzzle up against her daughter's. "Sweetie, what happened? Please, talk to us."

Scootaloo shook her head. She couldn't talk. Even if she'd wanted to, every time she opened her mouth, another wave of misery would twist her gut and wrench another deep, shuddering sob from her lungs. Octavia looked up at Vinyl, panic vivid in her eyes. The unicorn shook her head and simply laid down next to her daughter, pressing their flanks together and nuzzling her ear gently. "It's alright, Scoot. You take all the time you need. We'll be here for you, no matter what happened, and we'll help you fix it, alright?"

"No," Scootaloo finally choked out, her voice raw and tremulous. "You can't."

"Come now, sweetheart," Octavia said, leaning down to rub their cheeks together. "I'm sure--"

"No!" Scootaloo shouted, struggling to her hooves. Her mothers pulled away and looked at one another, alarmed. "You can't help me! This is all my fault, okay? I bucked up and ruined everything, and there's nothing anypony can do!" With another pitiful wail, she turned and fled down the hall and into her room, slamming the door behind her.