Silver Spoon dithered on the sidewalk in front of Scootaloo's house agonizing over the last twenty steps between her and her destination. It had been ages...several years, in fact, since she'd actually gone up to somepony else's house uninvited and knocked to gain admission. Even going to visit Diamond Tiara was comparatively easy, since she always had the Silver Family messenger announce her intentions before she left, meaning that the door was typically opened as she approached, always by a bowing servant, always at the same moment. The fact that the Silver Mansion had a front doorbell at all was slightly anachronistic, a relic of an age before doormares. It was rarely ever rung anymore, except by Diamond Tiara, who found it amusing to see if she could get to the door and hit the button before somepony greeted her.

Here in the suburbs, though, doorbells were apparently the norm. She supposed that at the very least it would prevent her from having to actually knock and risk damaging her exquisite hooficure. In truth, Silver Spoon was not particularly concerned about the state of her hooves; Carillon usually did all her hoofcare for her, but she knew that the unicorn put a great deal of effort into her work, and it seemed in very poor taste to ruin it so carelessly. She glanced down at the gleaming silver of her freshly polished forehooves. It really was very fine work, she reflected. Carillon's gentle caress in brushing manes and tails and arranging flowers belied a firmness and ferocious dedication to perfection, and nowhere was it more prevalent than in her hooficures. Silver Spoon had been to high-class spas before, and where professional ponies used rasps and files of steadily decreasing harshness to smooth and shine the hoof, Carillon's approach was more patient, more diligent, and ultimately more successful. She used only one file, a very gentle buffing block that--

Silver Spoon shook her head and sighed. She was stalling. She didn't care about hooficures, and she certainly wasn't particularly interested in doorbells and the general popularity thereof. She looked up at the front door to Scootaloo's house again and gritted her teeth. Ring the bell. It's easy. If they're home, they'll answer. If not, they won't. No big deal. You've talked to all of them before; why should you be nervous now?

She frowned at her inner monologue's transparent bluff. Silver Spoon knew perfectly well why she was nervous. She had every reason to be. It was Wednesday, she had just come from the schoolhouse, and Scootaloo had not been there. Again. She hadn't been there yesterday, either, nor the day before. When Silver Spoon had asked the Crusaders if she was sick, their response had been...frosty.

"Ah dunno," Apple Bloom had snapped. "What am Ah, psychic? And why do y'all care, anyhow?" she added coldly, narrowing her eyes at the earth pony. "You wouldn' even stick around to say goodbye after ya spent the night, hornin' in on our game night an' then takin' off without even sayin' thanks."

"I said thanks!" Silver Spoon cried. "I thanked Miss Octavia for--"

"Miss Octavia ain' the one who invited you, was she?" Apple Bloom interrupted. Silver Spoon trailed off, closing her mouth in a guilty frown. "Right. Anyway, Ah told you Ah dunno where she is, so just...leave me alone." She'd stalked off, flipping her tail in agitation as Silver Spoon stared at her hoofprints in the dirt outside the schoolhouse, her face burning.

Today, she'd tried a different tack, corralling Sweetie Belle--noting beforehoof that she and Apple Bloom didn't seem to be on speaking terms at the moment--and posing the same question.

The unicorn bit her lower lip and wrung her hooves nervously, not quite meeting Silver Spoon's gaze. "I...I don't know. She's probably sick, right? Maybe...the flu?"

"Well, that's what I thought," Silver Spoon agreed cautiously, "but Scootaloo told me herself that pegasi don't get the flu. Immune systems built to fly in thunderstorms and such, right?"

"Oh...yeah, I guess so..." Sweetie Belle rubbed the back of her head with a hoof. "I...I dunno, then. I mean, I haven't talked to her since Sat--uh...since the weekend." The unicorn's face flushed pink and she turned away, failing to hide the nervous blush. "Anyway, I...have to get home. I mean...I have to go to Rarity's place. Lots of, uh...homework. Yeah." She got to her hooves.

"Yeah...okay." Silver Spoon watched her leave with a nasty tightness coiling around her stomach. Since Saturday, she repeated, finishing Sweetie Belle's unintentional admission. They haven't seen each other since Saturday. She couldn't pretend to know the Crusaders' schedule to any meaningful degree, but one thing she knew for sure was that they had never gone more than a day without hanging out together. How often had they boasted exactly that when they were talking about what great friends they all were? Even she and Diamond Tiara's best attempt to drive a wedge between them--by nearly convincing Scootaloo not to attend the flag-bearer selection competition--had only managed to keep the trio apart for half a day. If Sweetie Belle were to be believed, the Crusaders hadn't seen Scootaloo in half a week.

Silver Spoon pursed her lips anxiously. Something had gone terribly wrong Saturday, and she had no delusions about who had lit the fuse. "I...think I should go..." She squeezed her eyes shut and shook her head, furious. Stupid! You couldn't stay for half a day at least? Maybe talk to Scootaloo, just to keep up appearances? No, you just had to run away...again. The last word sent a stab of guilt through her midsection that took her breath away. No, this is nothing like that, she assured herself. Not the same at all.

"Silver Spoon?" She looked up from the dirt between her hooves and started as she came muzzle-to-muzzle with Miss Cheerilee. The fuchsia mare was only a few hooves away, and stepped back in surprise as Silver Spoon jumped. "Oh, I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to startle you, I just thought...class ended some time ago, and you usually don't stick around this long." She paused. "Is everything alright?"

Silver Spoon nodded quickly, blinking away the tears she hadn't realized were collecting in her eyes. "Yeah, yeah, everything's..." An idea struck her, and she interrupted herself. "Well, actually, do you know if Scootaloo is sick or something? I mean," she sputtered, waving a hoof in faux nonchalance, "I just need to know, since she's my project partner, and we have a lot to do, and..." And I'm worried sick about her because she actually likes me, and I'm worried I did something to hurt her, and I think I might-- "And I figured I could, you know...take her homework to her if she needs it," she finished with a furious blush coloring her cheeks.

Miss Cheerilee studied her for a moment before sighing lightly. "Well, her mother has contacted me to excuse her from class the last several days, yes. In fact, I was just about to go and deliver her makeup assignments myself."

"I can do it!" Silver Spoon said. "I wanted to go check on her anyway...since...you know, since we're project partners."

Cheerilee raised an eyebrow ever so slightly. "Yes, I recall." She eyed the younger mare for a moment longer and then shrugged and reached into her saddlebag, pulling out a sealed envelope with a note taped to the front. "Alright, Silver Spoon, if you insist. Here are the assignments, all the instructions are on the front, and if she has any questions...well," she said, a ghost of a smile tugging at the edges of her lips, "you've been very enthusiastic and involved this week. I'm sure you can provide all the help she needs."

Silver Spoon's eyed widened as she took the envelope in her hooves. "Oh...thank you," she murmured, her cheeks warming slightly. "I...it's making a little more sense now."

"Clearly," Cheerilee said, beaming. "I wonder why that is." The heat on Silver Spoon's face intensified, but Cheerilee simply said, "Anyway, thank you for offering to take those for me. Say 'Hi' to Scootaloo for me, and let her know we all miss her and hope she gets better soon!" She waved and trotted off, her bright pink tail bouncing playfully behind her.

Silver Spoon pursed her lips around the envelope in her mouth. It was thick and heavy, a collection of all the class- and homework they'd done over the past three days. Despite Cheerilee's encouragement, Silver Spoon knew she was still woefully behind, drowning in the tremendous amount of work she'd assigned them. Without either Diamond Tiara or Scootaloo to help her, she'd been plowing doggedly through each assignment on her own, focusing on the work with somewhat more intensity than was strictly necessary. At school, she kept her muzzle to her paper to keep from catching Diamond Tiara's steely glare out of the corner of her eye. At home, she spread her schoolwork out on her bed and read each question three or four times before answering as completely and accurately as she could just to keep her mind occupied and well away from the events of Friday night.

It had been a futile effort. No matter how hard she tried, no matter what else she flooded her brain with, Silver Spoon couldn't help flashing back to the two key moments that kept playing in her mind's eye, back to back, over and over, always with the same result. A jolt of adrenaline, a rush of heat, and a flood of genuinely frightening and confusing emotions that she desperately tried to quell to very little effect. In the few brief lucid moments she'd managed over the past few days she'd actually found herself wondering why something so otherwise innocuous should be so terrifying. Obviously, it was embarrassing, and not a little startling, but once the initial shock and shame had worn off, shouldn't it have simply waned to an awkward memory? Something she would look back on and smirk at as simply being one of those things, like having a magic surge in public, or a pegasus struggling against an involuntary pterection in the middle of class? Somehow, she couldn't shake the lingering unease of the whole fiasco, and she suspected she knew why.

With a deep sigh of resignation, she finally plodded the rest of the way up the walk and, with an instant's hesitation, poked the little white doorbell button with a hooftip. The gentle peal echoed inside the house, answered almost immediately by Vinyl's muffled voice. "I got it!" A clatter of hooves approached the door and it swung open to reveal the unicorn's signature crimson gaze peering down at Silver Spoon from behind her shocking blue bangs. Vinyl blinked, clearly surprised to see the bespectacled filly standing on the front porch. "Silver Spoon?" The earth pony smiled wanly and nodded. The unicorn tilted her head. "What in Equestria are you doing here?" she asked bluntly.

Silver Spoon wrestled her nervous smile into something approximating a friendly greeting. "H-hi Miss Vinyl. I was just, uh...coming to bring Scootaloo's homework by. You know, since she missed the last three days of class." She pulled the envelope out of her saddlebag and presented it to the unicorn, who took it in her magic aura.

"Thanks," Vinyl said, her attitude still inscrutable.

Several long seconds of silence passed between the mares. The normally boisterous Vinyl Scratch was oddly mute, studying Silver Spoon's face with suspicious eyes. Silver Spoon's cheeks warmed as she waited for the unicorn to say something else. Eventually, she broke down and asked, "So...is Scootaloo sick, or...?"

"No," Vinyl said shortly.

"Oh," Silver Spoon said, the blush deepening. "That...that's good," she murmured. "I was worried...I mean, she--"

"Were you?" Vinyl interrupted, her eyes narrowing very slightly.

Silver Spoon blinked. "I...of course I was. Why wouldn't I be? She's my friend." Even now, deep in the throes of confusion and chagrin the word was warm and pleasant on her tongue when applied to Scootaloo. Saying it bolstered her confidence substantially. "And I wanted to come by and visit her, make sure she was alright."

"I see," Vinyl said, still uncharacteristically laconic. Another long pause. Silver Spoon wondered if Vinyl was testing her, trying to see if she was dedicated enough to the idea to stick around until she was invited in. It seemed a strange, almost juvenile course of action, especially for an adult pony. Then again, the word 'juvenile' applied to Vinyl rather comfortably, Silver Spoon had discovered. Finally, the unicorn pursed her lips and said, "She's not exactly up to entertaining at the moment."

Silver Spoon felt something cold and unpleasant slide through her middle. "Oh...alright. Well," she said, "can you at least let her know I came by?" Vinyl nodded curtly. "And...you know...tell her I'm sorry? That she's not feeling well, I mean."

Vinyl's eyes narrowed further, more obviously now. "Yeah, sure."

Silver Spoon forced a smile again. "Th-thanks." She stepped backwards, eager to escape Vinyl's frosty glare.

Suddenly, Octavia's jet-maned head appeared from her study halfway down the hall. "Vinyl? Who is at the--" She trailed off as she locked eyes with Silver Spoon. Shock flickered across her face, followed by the briefest hint of something cold and dark, but it was displaced almost immediately by a warm, inviting smile. "Silver Spoon! How wonderful to see you, my dear. Please, come in." She trotted out of her studio.

Vinyl glanced over her shoulder, indignation plain on the half of her face that Silver Spoon could still see. "But Tavi--!"

Octavia waved a hoof impatiently. "Honestly, Vinyl, could you possibly be more rude? Move." The unicorn gave Silver Spoon another chilly glance before tossing her mane and stomping down the hall past her mate, tossing the tan envelope roughly down on a table as she passed. Octavia shook her head and smiled again at the young mare on the porch. "Come in, dear. It's awfully cold out there, isn't it?"

Silver Spoon cautiously returned the smile. "A little, yeah." She entered at Octavia's behest, and the earth pony closed the door behind her. Somewhere deeper in the house, another door slammed, and a few moments later a heavy electronic beat began pulsing down the hall.

Octavia sighed. "I'm so sorry about that. I'm afraid Vinyl is...a bit perturbed at the moment."

Silver Spoon winced. "Scootaloo?"

Octavia nodded. "One would hope, I suppose, that we would have grown better at staying composed when our daughter was in crisis by now, but perhaps it's something that a parent never really adjusts to, seeing their child in pain."

"In...pain?" Silver Spoon said, blinking.

"Of course," Octavia said. "She has been...reticent to share, obviously, but it hardly takes a clairvoyant to see that she is hurting. Nor does it take one to recognize the sequence of events that led to her current state," she added with a significant look.

Silver Spoon's ears flattened against her skull, and she rubbed her foreleg anxiously with a hoof. "Y...yeah, I guess...I mean, Sweetie Belle said she and Apple Bloom hadn't spoken to Scootaloo since Saturday, so I knew something must be really wrong."

"Scootaloo has been somewhat reclusive the past several days," Octavia agreed. "Not that anypony has come to inquire, of course. Still, she hasn't left her room in some time. We have been doing our best to give her her space while still supporting her as best we can, but you understand it is rather difficult to know exactly what we can do to help when she refuses to speak to us about it." She smiled at Silver Spoon. "Perhaps she will respond better to a friend."

Silver Spoon's cheeks seared with a guilty blush. "I'm not sure she still considers me a friend..." she muttered darkly.

Octavia clucked her tongue sharply. "Nonsense. Pegasi are very loyal, sometimes to a fault. If she ever considered you a friend, she will continue to do so for as long as she can. Come along, dear, let's see if she's awake."

"Awake?" Silver Spoon glanced at the windows in the living room as she followed Octavia down the hall. The curtains were still burning with a russet glow in the late afternoon sun. It was entirely too late for anypony to still be asleep, and too early to have gone to bed already. "Why would she be asleep?" she asked.

Octavia chuckled softly. "Pegasi have to get their boundless energy from somewhere, don't they?" She smiled over her shoulder as they came to a stop outside Scootaloo's bedroom. "Scootaloo sleeps whenever and wherever she can. It was something her mother and I had to adjust to." She rapped sharply on the wood and called through it in a lilting tone. "Scootaloo, dear, are you awake?"

The grunted response was muffled by the door, but still audible. "No."

"You have a visitor, sweetheart. Please open the door."

"Not interested." Scootaloo's voice was thick and gravelly, like somepony trying to speak after losing a turkey call contest.

"I didn't ask if you were interested," Octavia responded, a sudden edge of authority sharpening the words. "Please open the door," she repeated, the tone leaving no illusion that it was a deniable request.

There was a rustling of bedclothes and a creaking of springs followed by a heavy thump and the lazy dragging of hooves across the floor. Then the handle twisted and the door pulled open a fraction.

Silver Spoon's stomach twisted horribly at the first sight of Scootaloo's ragged, darkened face. Her normally bright eyes were half-lidded and dim, with distinct tracks in the fur beneath. Her mane was matted and heavy, lying in tangles across her forehead. The guilt hovering over Silver Spoon thickened, and she swallowed anxiously as she forced a smile to her lips. "H-hey Scootaloo."

The pegasus' face brightened, her eyes widening. "What are you doing here?" she asked sharply.

"Scootaloo!" her mother scolded her, but Silver Spoon was unfazed.

"It's okay, Miss Octavia," she said, the smile feeling more natural now. "I know you probably weren't expecting me, but I just wanted to come by and make sure you were alright," she told Scootaloo. The other filly blinked and opened the door further, revealing the other half of her face and the darkened room beyond.

"You...did?"

Silver Spoon nodded. "You've been out since Monday. I've got your homework, by the way. Miss Cheerilee wanted me to bring it by, since I was coming anyway."

"Thanks," Scootaloo said absently, her eyes still panning over Silver Spoon's face as if unsure whether she was real or not.

"Also, I think maybe we should...talk," Silver Spoon said, her face warming in preemptive embarrassment.

"Yeah, definitely," Scootaloo said, nodding quickly. "Uh..." She glanced over her shoulder. "My room's kind of a wreck, but..."

Silver Spoon waved a hoof dismissively. "You've been sick. I won't hold it against you."

Scootaloo smiled faintly. "Alright. Come on in."

"Well, I'll leave you two to talk," Octavia said brightly as Silver Spoon made her way into the darkened bedroom. "If you like, Silver Spoon, dinner will be ready at seven, of course."

Silver Spoon smiled back at her. "Thanks, Miss Octavia."

Scootaloo shut the door behind her mother as the older mare trotted away, humming quietly to herself. The familiar shapes of the pegasus' bedroom slowly emerged from the gloom as Silver Spoon's eyes adjusted to the darkness, only to immediately vanish again as she winced in the sudden wash of light as Scootaloo stripped the covers from the fairy lamp on her bedside table. "Yeah, sorry about the mess," Scootaloo said, halfheartedly collecting a few misplaced books and other detritus from the floor and putting them in a different, equally unsuitable location. "I haven't done a whole lot of cleaning the last couple days..."

"No, I figured not," Silver Spoon said. "Like I said, it's no big deal."

"Thanks," Scootaloo said. A heavy silence fell over the two mares as they stood in the center of the room, each awkwardly hoping the other would speak first. Silver Spoon actually opened her mouth to speak but lost her nerve before she could make a sound and disguised the gesture by licking her lips nervously instead.

Finally, Scootaloo heaved a deep sigh and said, "Look, Spoon, I...I just wanted to say..." She winced and rubbed the back of her neck with a hoof. "I know why you left early on Saturday."

Silver Spoon blinked, stunned. "You...do?"

Scootaloo nodded. "Yeah, and I just want to say I'm really sorry." She frowned at the floor between her hooves. "I should've talked to you first, told you how I felt, asked if it was okay." She looked up from beneath her vivid mulberry bangs. "I am really, really sorry."

Silver Spoon blushed lightly and smiled. "It's okay, Scootaloo. I don't really mind."

Scootaloo's eyes widened. "You...don't?"

Silver Spoon shrugged. "Not really. I mean, yeah, I was startled at first, and kind of embarrassed about it, but I had all weekend to think about it by myself, and I guess I just decided that...well, it's not really any of my business. I mean, it doesn't really affect me, and it's a little...awkward, I guess, but I can live with that." The blush deepened, but she smiled, feeling the awkward tension dissipating slowly as she spoke.

Scootaloo returned the smile, and her cheeks darkened slightly as well. "Heh...thanks. I'm glad you're not too freaked out by it or anything. Still, I'm sorry I didn't ask first. I guess I was just, you know...worried about how you'd react."

Silver Spoon tilted her head curiously. "I guess? I honestly wouldn't have expected you to, though. It's not really the sort of thing you discuss with anypony else, is it?"

"Huh?" Scootaloo said. "Why wouldn't I?"

"It's sort of personal, isn't it?"

Scootaloo shrugged. "It's just hoof-holding."

"Not the hoof-holding, the...you know. The other thing." Even without saying it aloud, Silver Spoon's cheeks burned with awkward embarrassment.

"What other thing?"

Realization rolled over her like ice water. She doesn't know. The blush intensified. "Scootaloo," she said quietly, "I saw you...in your room."

"In my..." Scootaloo's eyes widened comically, her pupils shrinking to horrified pinpricks. "You...you saw..." she stammered. Silver Spoon nodded, looking away. "Oh no, oh no, oh Luna no..." Scootaloo shrank to the floor, covering her head with both her hooves and her wings. "I can't believe...buck me, I knew that was a stupid idea!" She lowered her hooves and looked up at Silver Spoon. "Spoon, I am so sorry."

I'm not. Silver Spoon ignored the foolish little voice and just smiled sheepishly from behind her burning cheeks. "It's alright, Scootaloo. I mean, I already told you I had all weekend to think about it, right?" Scootaloo nodded weakly. "Like I said, it's your business. I'm just sorry I didn't respect your privacy."

Scootaloo's ears pricked. "Yeah...I thought I closed my bedroom door behind me, anyway."

"Oh." Silver Spoon grimaced. "Well...yeah, you did."

"And you opened it?" Scootaloo said, affronted.

"I was worried about you!" Silver Spoon protested. "I got up to use the restroom, and I saw your door closed, and I figured you'd just decided to sleep in your room instead of the living room, and then I heard you...making...noise..." She trailed off, her blush now vividly mirrored on Scootaloo. The pegasus coughed and looked away, distinctly uncomfortable. "Anyway," she forced herself to continue, "I thought you might be choking or something, so I just decided to open the door and peek in to make sure you were okay." There was a pregnant pause, and then she added, "You were." Scootaloo chuckled in spite of the awkward atmosphere. After another, much longer pause, Silver Spoon added, "I heard you say my name."

Scootaloo pursed her lips. "Yeah, I thought you might've." She sighed and slowly got back to her haunches. "Buck...this is not how I wanted you to find out, you know," she groused.

Silver Spoon giggled. "Well, why don't you try again, then? Tell me now. The way you want me to find out."

Scootaloo nodded. "Yeah, okay." She took a deep breath. "Silver Spoon, there's something I need to tell you."

"Yes, Scootaloo?" Silver Spoon said, playing along.

"I...I like mares."

Silver Spoon nodded. "Alright."

Scootaloo tilted her head. "That doesn't weird you out or anything?"

Huh... Silver Spoon thought with a mote of surprise. No, it really doesn't. Somehow she had always thought this sort of conversation had to be painfully awkward, and that she would feel some kind of subconscious revulsion at the thought of somepony being attracted to the same gender. Instead, she realized it really didn't affect her emotionally at all. Not negatively, anyway. She shrugged. "Not really. Starlight Glimmer married a mare, didn't she? And Rainbow Dash isn't exactly shy about her preferences, either, and everypony still loves her."

Scootaloo eyed her curiously. "Well yeah, but I thought earth ponies were usually, you know..." She made an indistinct gesture with her hooves. Silver Spoon raised an eyebrow at her. Scootaloo tried again, this time with words. "Like...Applejack--AB's sister--was pretty upset when Starlight and Trixie started dating, even though they were best friends. And she was kind of weird to my moms when they met for the first time, too." She shrugged. "I guess I just figured earth ponies didn't approve of same-sex relationships."

Silver Spoon frowned at her, stung. "What, you think just because a few earth ponies--the Apples, no less--are prejudiced, we all must be?"

"No, nothing like that!" Scootaloo said, holding her hooves up defensively. "I mean, Mama Tavi is an earth pony, and she married a mare, so it's not like a universal thing or anything, it's just...well, you and DT were always making fun of me and the other Crusaders about it, so I just assumed..."

Silver Spoon sighed, guilt settling on her shoulders as she realized where Scootaloo's fears had manifested. "Yeah, right, we did...look, Scootaloo," she said, "I'm really sorry for that. I mean, I'm sorry for everything, but that...that was totally uncalled for. The truth is, I don't care. I don't see any reason you shouldn't just like who you like. The only reason we even started making fun of you for it is because it really seemed to fit, and you seemed kind of touchy about it. Well, and your moms..."

"Yeah, I know." Scootaloo pursed her lips. "Honestly, I was touchy about it. I didn't want to be...'like that'. I didn't want to be anything like my moms." Her ears drooped, and she looked at the floor between her hooves. "They've gotten some flak, you know, for being gay, and I just...I didn't want to have to deal with that too."

Silver Spoon nodded. "So...what changed your mind?"

Scootaloo smiled. "You did."

Pleasure fluttered through Silver Spoon's stomach at the comment, but she ignored it as best she could. "How so?"

"Honestly?" Scootaloo said, "I'm not real sure. There's just something...special about you. I mean, I've had a few crushes before, you know, on celebrities and characters, but...well, you were the first mare I really fell for." Silver Spoon's cheeks burned at the flattery, and she looked away shyly. "I don't really know when or how it started. I guess I just finally stopped looking at you like an enemy and just...looked." Silver Spoon chanced a look back at the pegasus and felt her breath catch at the sight of a cool half-smile on her face. "And I really like what I saw."

"A crush, huh?" Silver Spoon murmured, mostly just to get Scootaloo to stop talking before her face caught fire. The pegasus nodded, still smiling. "That's a pretty big deal, Scootaloo. I don't think anyone's ever had a crush on me before."

Scootaloo laughed. "What? That's ridiculous. You're, like...awesome. Why wouldn't everypony have a crush on you?"

Silver Spoon's head spun at the praise. "Well, it's nice that you think so, but I think you might be a little biased."

The pegasus shrugged. "Maybe. I doubt it, though. You're fun and funny and really pretty, so I'm sure--"

"Okay, okay!" Silver Spoon said with a touch more intensity than she meant. "I mean..." She smiled shyly. "I get it. And I appreciate it, Scootaloo, I do, it's just..."

Scootaloo's eyes widened suddenly. "Oh, buck, I'm sorry, I didn't think...this must be super weird for you, isn't it?"

Silver Spoon looked away. "I'm sorry, Scootaloo, I just...look, you're really cool and fun and all, but--"

"But you're not into mares," Scootaloo finished with a somber nod. She sighed. "Yeah, I kind of figured that was the case, but I didn't really want to ask because I wanted to keep pretending you might be interested in...something with me." She looked at the floor between her hooves.

Silver Spoon's heart ached to see Scootaloo so defeated. "Well, I may not be interested in a...relationship, necessarily," she said slowly, "but I don't see why we can't just be really good friends, right?" Scootaloo looked up at her from behind her bangs. She smiled back. "And honestly, I may not be a big fan of walking in on you doing it, but if you want to keep...'grooming' yourself thinking about me," she smirked, and Scootaloo's cheeks flushed crimson, "I can't think of a bigger compliment. I don't mind."

"Really?" Scootaloo raised a skeptical eyebrow. "It doesn't seem weird to you?"

"Well..." Silver Spoon hemmed for a moment before pursing her lips and saying, "Okay, I'm going to be honest with you for a second, and I don't want you to be upset or angry or anything like that, alright?"

Scootaloo raised the other eyebrow now. "Should I be?"

Silver Spoon sighed. "I would be, I think, but I know you're a lot more patient and understanding than I am."

Scootaloo rolled her eyes. "Yeah, yeah, whatever. Alright, I'll do my best, then."

Silver Spoon paused for several seconds, then said, "Scootaloo...you didn't just ask to be my friend because you had a crush on me, did you?"

Scootaloo blinked. "Huh? What do you mean?"

"I mean," Silver Spoon said, her face burning with embarrassment as the ridiculousness of what she was saying occurred to her, "when you offered to be my friend, it wasn't just because you were attracted to me, right? You didn't just want me around because you thought I was...cloppable, right?"

Scootaloo's eyes widened momentarily at the vulgarity. "Holy Luna, Spoon, where the buck is that coming from? Who in Equestria could have convinced--" Her face suddenly darkened, and she hissed, "Tiara."

Silver Spoon shook her head vehemently. "No, no, this isn't Di's doing...for once. This..." she sighed, "this is something that just...came to me. Saturday morning. When I was still dealing with what I saw the night before."

"Oh..."

"Look, Scootaloo," she said, "I don't want to make you think that our friendship seems fake or forced or anything like that, because honestly, it's totally the opposite." She walked over to sit next to Scootaloo. The pegasus watched her carefully every step of the way. "Our friendship means a lot to me, and it's so much more than I ever thought it might be. You've been kind and helpful and concerned, and you've even introduced me to your other friends, and they've been equally kind and thoughtful and everything. It's all so...sudden and perfect that I just thought, you know, when I saw and heard you in your room, that maybe it was all an act. That you and your friends--and even your parents--were just trying to make me feel welcomed so I would stick around for you to...you know...look at." She looked up at Scootaloo with an anxious expression. "Is that crazy?"

Scootaloo smirked. "Yeah, a bit. But it's totally understandable," she added as Silver Spoon's ears drooped. "I mean, look at who's been pretending to be your friend for years already. It makes sense you'd be kind of wary about anypony else just wanting to be your friend with no strings attached." The smirk widened into a mischievous grin. "Not that getting to drink you in from time to time isn't a pretty major bonus."

Silver Spoon giggled and blushed in spite of herself. Nopony had ever spoken like this about her before. Oh, she'd been complimented on her beauty once in a while, but always in a generic, platonic fashion. Friends of her father, commenting on her good looks and fine apparel, or disingenuous servants fawning obsequiously over her in vain attempts to garner favor. This was flattery of another variety. Scootaloo was admitting a genuine interest in her both in a personal and a physical sense. This compounding of affections was at once exhilarating and overwhelming.

Scootaloo really wanted her around. No, she really wanted her around. Silver Spoon couldn't even remember the last time she'd felt wanted, rather than simply tolerated. Her heart soared, and she felt tears welling on her eyelids at the sight of the playfully lascivious expression on Scootaloo's face. Part of her knew--or at least implied--she should feel awkward about it, perhaps even offended, but she couldn't. She watched Scootaloo's eyes absently tracing down the braid of her mane, following the curve of her back, and coming to rest on her cutie mark before returning swiftly to her face, her adoration reaffirmed by her examination. The unguarded admiration Silver Spoon saw written in every hair on Scootaloo's face was intoxicating, and she relished it.

At the same time, she couldn't shake the realization that her admirer was a mare. She may not have any personal disapproval for Scootaloo's sexuality, but she simply had no interest in a relationship of that type. Naturally, she was aware that Scootaloo was a very attractive mare, at least in her own unique, tomcolty way, but Silver Spoon had never really harbored interest for other females. She knew perfectly well that whatever emotions she had been feeling in response to the sight she had stumbled upon Friday night were just the result of her--unfortunately--stagnant 'love' life and the shock of what she'd seen. Compound that all with the fact that Scootaloo was the only pony in years to show her any real compassion and affection, and it was only natural that she would be feeling some misplaced attraction to her. It was just that simple.

At the sight of the tears in Silver Spoon's eyes, the look on Scootaloo's face abruptly faded, and her eyes widened in horror. "Oh Luna, I'm sorry, Spoon! I didn't mean to...I'll stop! I didn't mean to make you feel weird or anything." The pegasus deliberately got to her hooves and took a few steps away, intentionally putting some distance between their bodies. "I know you're not...you know, into mares."

Silver Spoon hastily brushed the tears away from her eyelids. "No, it's okay, Scootaloo, it's not that. It's just..." She got up and walked back to Scootaloo's side, settling back to the floor with her flank resting against the other mare's. "You're right. I don't want to be 'with' you like that. I'm sorry, it's just...you know." Scootaloo nodded, ears drooping. Silver Spoon nuzzled her affectionately. "But that's not why I'm crying."

"Are you sure?" Scootaloo eyed her cautiously.

She nodded. "Yeah. Like I said, it doesn't bother me if you think I'm attractive enough to look at in 'that' way. It's just that nopony else ever has. And it's so...amazing, just to hear somepony sound so appreciative of my existence, you know?" She sniffed and brushed another tear from her eye. "It kind of got me choked up."

Scootaloo shook her head, incredulous. "Damn, Spoon. Not that I don't believe you or anything, but...how does a mare like you go this long without somepony--anypony--telling you how fun, sweet, sexy, kind, funny, smart, sexy--"

"You said 'sexy' twice," Silver Spoon interrupted, blushing.

"I know," Scootaloo said, unfazed. Silver Spoon giggled. "I don't get it."

Silver Spoon shrugged. "I dunno what to say." She smiled and leaned into Scootaloo's side; the pegasus wrapped a wing around her shoulders and held her close. "But I'm glad you were the first to."

Scootaloo smiled down at the filly under her wing. "Me too."

"So you're gay now, then?" Silver Spoon picked up a sheaf of paper strewn across the floor and shuffled it into a neat pile that she then added to the stack already growing on Scootaloo's desk.

"Well," Scootaloo said, "more like bisexual." She collected a book from her bed and slid it back into place on her shelf. "I mean, I still like stallions and all, I just...you know, like mares, too."

Silver Spoon nodded, tugging the yellow sheets up the length of the bed and tucking them under the mattress. "That makes sense. A lot of pegasi do, right?"

Scootaloo nodded. "Rainbow Dash does, and so do most of the other Wonderbolts, apparently." She watched Silver Spoon manipulate the sheets with a perturbed expression. "You know," she said, "I appreciate the help, but you really don't have to clean with me. You could just hang out and watch me clean, since it's my fault it got so messy. And you really don't have to make my bed." She scowled theatrically. "I don't even make my bed."

Silver Spoon shrugged, tugging at the comforter now. "I don't mind," she mumbled around the fabric. "I never get to do this sort of stuff at home. It's strangely satisfying."

Scootaloo looked at the ceiling and shook her head. "Suit yourself. Still, you're setting a bad precedent with this whole bed-making thing. My moms are gonna start expecting me to make it all the time if you're not careful." She pursed her lips gravely. "I whined and sulked and bitched long and hard to get that chore overlooked."

Silver Spoon giggled as she finished the job with the pillows. "I bet. Speaking of your moms," she said, "do they know?"

Scootaloo laughed once, derisively. "Are you kidding? I don't even tell them when there's a stallion I like. You think I'm going to let them anywhere near this minefield?"

Silver Spoon raised an eyebrow. "Why not? Wouldn't they be, like, the ideal resource? They've both been through it before, right?"

Scootaloo rolled her eyes. "Yeah, that's exactly the reason, too. They're gonna be full of stories and tips and warnings and advice and none of it is gonna apply to me because I'm not them." The pegasus tossed a book onto the desk with a scowl. "To hear them tell it, their romance was just perfect. Mama Vy met Mama Tavi at the conservatory, and spent a year wearing her down until Mama Tavi agreed to go on a date with her. Apparently the rest is history."

"'Wearing her down'?" Silver Spoon repeated. "That doesn't exactly sound like the start to a healthy relationship."

"Well, it was a little more subtle than that," Scootaloo said. "It's a long story, but supposedly Mama Tavi wasn't interested in a relationship with anypony, mare or stallion, and Mama Vy decided that that had to change, so she stuck around and flirted with her and fawned over her and basically just courted her for a year until Mama Tavi gave in and went on a date with her."

"Must have been some date."

Scootaloo giggled. "You'll have to let Mama Tavi tell the story some time. Apparently Mama Vy really pulled out all the stops."

"Looks like it worked out for them," Silver Spoon said with a smile. "They're really good together."

Scootaloo made a face. "Disgustingly good. They're so in love it's gross."

"Do they not fight or anything?"

"Oh, no." Scootaloo shook her head. "They fight all the time. Loudly, sometimes. But it's kind of weird, cuz they'll fight about stupid stuff, like whether the timpani or the orchestral bass drum is a more important element in classical music."

Silver Spoon blinked. "You can't be serious."

Scootaloo smirked. "Mention it at dinner, and you'll see what I mean. Anyway, they fight all the time, but I've never heard them fight about money or their jobs or anything like that. They just sort of...work all that important stuff out behind closed doors, I guess. They get along really well, most of the time." She sighed. "I guess I just don't really want to talk to them about it because there's no way they could see where I'm coming from. Mama Tavi met her soulmate on the first try, and Mama Vy says as soon as she met Mama Tavi, she knew they would be together forever." She made a face. "It's like living in a romance novel."

Silver Spoon giggled. "Alright, then what about the Crusaders?"

Instantly, Silver Spoon knew she'd struck a nerve. Scootaloo's wings and ears both tightened against her body, and she scowled at the wall behind her desk. "What about them?" she asked, her voice suddenly dark and cold.

"Oh," Silver Spoon said quietly. "I guess they know, then?"

Scootaloo grunted at the wall. "Yeah, they know."

There was a long stretch of silence. Silver Spoon anxiously examined Scootaloo's face. The pegasus' lips were pulled taut in an angry grimace, but none of that emotion was reflected in her eyes. Instead, the ashen lavender irises shimmered, and the trailing edges of her eyelashes dipped very slightly, betraying the fury as a front intended to hide...what? The pieces of the puzzle began to assemble themselves in Silver Spoon's mind. Slowly, she said, "Scootaloo, what happened on Saturday? After I...left, I mean."

Scootaloo didn't respond. Silver Spoon pursed her lips and walked over to the pegasus' side. "Scootaloo--"

"I told them." Scootaloo turned away from Silver Spoon as she interrupted her, and the earth pony trailed off as she settled to her haunches next to her friend.

"Told them about yourself, or me, or...?" she prompted.

"Both," Scootaloo said. "They were arguing about why you left, and I decided to tell them the truth." She sighed. "I knew I should have waited, found a better time and a better way, but I just...they were at each other's throats, saying horrible things to each other and accusing one another of being the reason you left, and I couldn't sit there and watch them fight like that, not when I knew the truth about..." She took a deep shuddering breath. "Anyway, I told them what I'd done...holding your hoof, I mean, not...you know, the other thing." She tapped her hooves together nervously. "Of course, Apple Bloom thought it was just a joke, but when I told them I was serious..." She swallowed hard as her voice began to shake. "They didn't take it too well."

Silver Spoon grimaced. "Oh, Scootaloo...I'm so sorry." The pegasus didn't say anything. She simply continued to stare absently at the wall, her wings hanging loosely at her sides and her ears flat on her skull. "What...what happened?" Silver Spoon asked.

"They hate me." The dark, deadpan tone of Scootaloo voice sent a sickening chill through Silver Spoon's stomach. "Apple Bloom called me a freak, she called my parents freaks, and she told me she didn't want to be my friend anymore."

"Oh, no..."

"Yeah." The tone darkened further. "And Sweetie Belle agreed with her."

"But...I thought Sweetie Belle--"

"Yeah, well," Scootaloo snapped, gritting her teeth and squeezing her eyes shut, "I thought a lot of things, too, like how we were the kind of friends who could survive anything, who would stick together and support each other no matter what..." She turned to look at Silver Spoon, tears breaking over the edges of her eyelids and her voice quavering and soft. "But I guess I was wrong."

Silver Spoon felt tears of her own slipping down her cheeks as she reached out and embraced her friend, pulling her into a tight hug that Scootaloo didn't return. Instead, the pegasus simply buried her face in Silver Spoon's shoulder and quietly cried, her voice muffed by Silver Spoon's chest and tears soaking into her fur. It was a far cry from the wracking, shuddering sobs that Scootaloo had once supported Silver Spoon through, but the orange mare was clearly hurting, and Silver Spoon knew she had probably never been this vulnerable before with somepony besides her mothers. Silver Spoon just let her cry, gently rubbing her back with a hoof and drawing a strange sense of joy at the thought that she was able in some small way to be here for her friend in the same way Scootaloo had once been there for her.

Unlike Silver Spoon, though, Scootaloo seemed to regain her composure fairly quickly, and once the tears had stopped, she simply stayed where she was, her face pressed into Silver Spoon's shoulder and her sides slowly flexing as she breathed, occasionally sniffing away the remnants of her tears. She stayed in this position long enough that Silver Spoon began to get worried. "Scootaloo...are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," the pegasus said. "I'm just enjoying the way you smell." She pulled away and gave Silver Spoon a slightly watery wink.

Silver Spoon rolled her eyes. "So it's going to be like this forever, then?"

Scootaloo giggled. "Nah, I was just kidding. I'll quit if you want."

Silver Spoon contemplated this offer for several seconds. "No," she finally said, "you don't have to." She smiled shyly. "It's actually pretty uplifting, you know, knowing someone's attracted to me...even if I can't return the favor."

Scootaloo smiled. "Awesome. And yeah, I honestly never expected you would. Hoped, yeah, but..." She shrugged. "Nothing ventured, et cetera."

Silver Spoon nodded. "So I guess that's why you've been out for the past three days, then?"

"Yeah," Scootaloo said. "I just...couldn't face them. Or you. Not yet."

Silver Spoon pursed her lips nervously. "Oh, I'm sorry. Should I not have come?"

Scootaloo shook her head. "No, no, I'm actually really glad you did." A small smile graced her muzzle. "Honestly, of the three of you, I was the most worried about you. Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle made their choice," she said darkly. "You didn't have that option."

"Well," Silver Spoon said slowly, "I kind of did, didn't I? I mean, you might have...made a move without asking, I guess, but I had all night to think about how to react." She frowned. "And I still ran away."

"Well, yeah, but..." Scootaloo puzzled for a moment. "Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle have been my friends for years. It just seems like they should have given me a chance to explain myself, right?"

"Honestly, I don't know that I'm a good pony to ask these questions," Silver Spoon said. "I've only ever really had one friend, and she was not exactly a good representative." She paused, then added, "That said, I think a lot of the problems we had as friends might have been...less severe if I'd gotten a chance to actually talk things over with her."

Scootaloo sighed and nodded. "Yeah, that was kind of what I was hoping for when I told them. I never expected them to just up and freak out on me like that."

Silver Spoon shrugged. "It's a big thing to deal with, isn't it? They've been your best friends forever, right? Having you admit your...interests like that can't be easy to hear," she said.

Scootaloo grimaced. "It's probably a lot worse when that same pony's been telling you exactly the opposite for as long as you've been friends."

"Probably."

The pegasus sighed deeply, shaking her head. "I don't know how you do it, Spoon, and I can't believe I'm going to say this, but I think I might have to go talk to the other Crusaders and...apologize."

Silver Spoon smiled and nuzzled her friend. "I'm glad to hear that. I like your friends a lot, and you girls have been inseparable forever. It was really weird not seeing the three of you standing together in the schoolyard." She stopped nuzzling and simply rested her cheek against Scootaloo's shoulder, listening to the pegasus breathe. "It would be a shame to lose a friendship like what you have if it could be saved just by talking about it."

Scootaloo nodded and tentatively rested her head against Silver Spoon's. The earth pony's pulse quickened slightly as Scootaloo's scent and warmth washed over her. She knew it was just a natural reaction to being so close to another pony, but that reassurance was accompanied by an uneasy sense that her body was less convinced than her mind. Nervously, she pulled away. Scootaloo's face fell a bit, but then brightened as she said, "Yeah, you're right. You know, you seem to be a lot better at this whole friendship thing than you think."

Silver Spoon smirked, trying to ignore the blush rising to her cheeks. "Yeah, well, when you've spent a few years carrying both ends of a friendship, maybe you just pick up some tricks along the way."

Suddenly, Scootaloo's ears swiveled towards the door, and Silver Spoon was unsurprised when it rattled under somepony's hoof a few moments later. "Scootaloo?"

"Yeah, mom?"

"Dinner will be ready soon. Will Silver Spoon be joining us?"

Scootaloo glanced at Silver Spoon, who nodded. "Yeah."

"Wonderful! Please get cleaned up and come out." The earth pony trotted back down the hall, humming softly.

Scootaloo smirked. "You know, she never gets that excited when I tell her any of my other friends are coming over for dinner."

"Really?"

The pegasus nodded. "Yeah. She likes you a lot."

"I'm flattered," Silver Spoon said, blushing.

"Then again," Scootaloo grinned and winked, "she did marry Mama Vy, so maybe she's not the best judge of character."

Silver Spoon stuck out her tongue at her friend, and the two ponies laughed together as they left the room.

Author's Notes:

Pterection (ter ek shun): the reflexive stiffening of a pegasus' wings in response to sexual arousal.

See also: slang wingboner.