A few apples dropped to the ground on a typical quiet summer afternoon in Sweet Apple Acres. The gentle laughter of a few playful fillies broke the silence as they chased one another through the orchard. Three carefree friends merrily enjoyed the weekend away from school, and they couldn't have be happier to be spending all day together. Sadly though, once the night came, they'd be forced to say goodbye til the next morning.

***

"Wow, look at that sunset. I can't believe it's gettin' dark already." Apple Bloom wore wide eyes and frowned as she looked to her friends, who shared her discontentment.

"Dumb sun. Why can't you just stay put for a little while longer?" Sweetie Belle rhetorically asked, pouting and kicking at the ground.

"Well at least we have tomorrow, and the next day. The weekend's just starting, guys, don't be too bummed out," Scootaloo said, offering a halfhearted smile.

"Wait! I have an idea, how 'bout we all have a slumber party here at the farm!" the cheery earth pony suggested with a triumphant smile.

Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo then shouted in unison, "That's a great idea!" 

The three then trotted together down the short trail out of the orchard towards the farmhouse. As the went, they spotted Applejack standing near the barn doors with several empty bushel baskets sitting in front of her.

"Applejack! Big Sis!" the young earth pony called out, cantering to her sisters side with her friends at her tail. "We wanna have a sleepover here at the farm tonight! Can we?!" she asked, her eyes wide and full of hope.

"Now y'all know ya can't just bunker down here without lettin' me know ahead of time. Granny Smith'll have a heart attack with you three makin' racket all night, and Big Mac's in one of his moods again. I'm sorry girls but ya just can't, you'll have to stay the night some other time," Applejack stated, her normally solid willpower caving under the weight of three pairs of wide, teary eyes staring up at her. 

She took a deep breath and shrugged, shaking her head. "Come on now, don't look at me like that. There's nothin' I can do. Here, how about y'all go ask Fluttershy, I'm sure she'd love the company. Now go on and git, yer losin' daylight."

"Okay, thanks sis!" Applebloom led her friends back outside and down the road to town. 

The sun was dangerously low, and a dimly lit orange sky illuminated their darkening path. Luckily it didn't take long to reach the sweet yellow mare's home. They knocked on the door and wore their brightest smiles.

"Oh, hello there girls. Can I do something for you?" Fluttershy asked, not really expecting to be put on the spot.

"You sure can!" Sweetie Belle spoke up. "Can we have a slumber party at your house again? It was so much fun the last time."

The shy pegasus backed up a bit and looked them over. She realized it was getting dark and they'd need a place to take shelter soon, but knew it couldn't be in her home. "Girls, I'm terribly sorry but Angel Bunny's very sick and I can't take care of him and all of you through the night. You'll have to wait til he's better, then you're all welcome to come back anytime." 

"Awe, really?! Fine, thanks anyway..." Scootaloo didn't try to conceal her disappointment. 

"I'm sorry, I think I hear him coughing again, I have to go. Good luck girls, please get home before it gets too dark to see, okay?" With that she shut the door and and returned to tending to her ill pet. 

"Darn it. I guess that's it then..." Applebloom pouted and looked at her friends with her eyebrows lowered. 

"I guess so... Come on girls, let's just get home. We can try again tomorrow." Sweetie Belle wrapped her arms around the sulking fillies' necks and tried to cheer them up. 

They then trotted down the road towards the center of town where they'd all go their separate ways. As they reached the four way intersection that contained the paths to their homes, a passing purple unicorn happened to spot them.

"It's a bit late for you three to be wandering the streets, isn't it?" Twilight Sparkle pointed out. 

"Sorry, we're on our way home now..." Scootaloo said with her head hanging low. 

Twilight quickly detected the the apathy in her words. "What's got you girls so down?"

"Well, we were having a great day and didn't want to have to say goodbye, but Applejack and Fluttershy said we couldn't sleep over at their houses, now we have nowhere left to go." Sweetie stated with tears nearly escaping her wide eyes. 

Twilight cringed at the nearly overwhelming cuteness being thrown in her face, and with a sigh, she caved. "Well, you're all welcome to stay the night in the library if you'd like. I'll even let you read some of my favorite books." 

"Really?! You're the best Twilight!" The three jumped up and yelled together. 

They followed the generous purple pony back to her library home and began to plot the night ahead. If they wanted to maximise playtime they were going to have to stay up as late as possible. Upon entering the library, Twilight was quick to grab a specific book on slumber parties and levitate it over to the three curious fillies. 

"'Slumber 101: All You've Ever Wanted To Know About Slumber Parties But Were Too Afraid To Ask'... This sounds lame." Scootaloo sat the book down on the floor and trotted the bookshelf to find something more exciting.

"I assure you it's not lame at all - there's plenty of useful information in there that helped me through my first slumber party, and I'm sure it can help you three have the best one yet. Look, do what you will, but I'm trusting you not to trash the library while I sleep, alright? I have a long day ahead of me tomorrow and need my rest. So have fun girls, and if you'd like you can play in the basement, but just don't touch my equipment." The lavender unicorn smiled at the fillies before yawning and trotting upstairs, wishing them a goodnight as she closed the door behind herself. 

Applebloom's curiosity was piqued. "Ooh, the basement, that sounds fun!" 

"Hold on, let's take a look at this book first. Maybe it'll give us some fun ideas." Sweetie opened the book and skimmed through the table of contents. 

Her friends joined her, hoping to find something interesting that they could do. "Makeovers, pillow fights, truth or dare... this is all boring little kid stuff." Scootaloo held to her previous opinion.

As the other two ponies continued looking over the book, the orange pegasus made her way back to the bookshelf. She skimmed over titles near the one the other book came from and spotted something interesting. "'Slumber 202: Taking Your Overnight Sleepover To The Next Level Of Fun - The Mature Mare's Guide To A Good Time'. Guys, did you hear that? This sounds good!" 

The two quickly shut the other book and joined the pegasus in browsing through these more promising contents. Their eyes widened as they read things they didn't fully understand. "Spin the Bottle? Seven Minutes in Heaven? Experimentation? Guys, I can already tell this is gonna be great." Sweetie Belle said looking up at her friends with a wide grin.

"Yeah! I remember AJ sayin' she played Seven Minutes in Heaven with Rainbow Dash back in the day and they became closer friends then ever. Surely that means this'll make us better friends too!" Applebloom excitedly deduced. 

Scootaloo rapidly nodded. "You're totally right, so what should we do first?"

The three quickly went back to the book, first on the list after all the boring sounding ones was Spin the Bottle. 

"So, you spin a bottle and then what? Well, first we need a bottle anyway. Let's go do this in the basement, I'm sure we'll find everything we need down there." The white unicorn led her filly friends towards the dark stairway. 

They flipped a light on to reveal a nicely furnished basement filled with oddly colored furniture and an assortment of scientific equipment. "Perfect!" Sweetie Belle shouted as she jumped over to the nearest countertop and grabbed a small bottle of iodine.

Scootaloo agreed and opened the book back up to the appropriate page to explain the rules. She looked them over and read out loud as she skimmed through. "This game is meant for three or more ponies. First take the bottle and place it on a hard surface, preferably on the floor, then sit in a circle around it. Easy enough right?"

The three did as instructed then the pegasus continued reading. "Next, ensure that everyone in the group are close friends and open minded. Okay? Check. Now that you're all set up, each pony will take turns spinning the bottle across the surface. After you spin the bottle, you must then kiss on the lips, whichever pony the bottle is pointing at. This game is meant to open the door to new relationships."

The three looked at one another while sitting in the circle. Scootaloo scratched the back of her mane and smiled. "Um, maybe we should play something else." 

"What's the matter? Chicken?" Applebloom teased and Sweetie giggled. 

"No I am not a chicken! Fine, let's just do this, who's going first?" Once again the three fell silent as each nervously glanced at the other. 

Rolling her eyes the brave pegasus decided she'd go first. "Looks like you two are the chickens. Here, give me that bottle." 

She placed a hoof on the cap and gave it a forceful nudge. It began to rapidly spin, turning round and round while each filly stared at it with wide eyes. As it came to a stop, Applebloom gulped. The bottle was pointing straight at the nervous earth pony. Their eyes met, each was sizing up the other's willingness to go through with the game. Determined to prove they were not chickens, and knowing that's what they'd be called if they backed out, they leaned towards one another. The lucky white unicorn had a wide grin stretched across her face as she watched them inch closer. Their lips were only a few centimeters apart and they closed their eyes as they prepared to make contact. Tired of waiting, Sweetie sent a small burst of magic into Applebloom's back, forcing her into the kiss. Blood rushed to their cheeks as they enjoyed their first kiss, heavy blush set in on their noses and they held their lips together for a surprising amount of time. After what seemed like an eternity, they parted.

The purple maned unicorn stared at the two, waiting for some sort of description or detail on exactly how it felt. "Well? Say something, anything." 

The two fillies stayed staring at one another, desperately trying to read the other's emotions. Scootaloo decided to speak up. "So... did you like it?" 

Sweetie Belle leaned in and waited for the blushing earth pony to share her thoughts. "I... I don't know. Did you?" 

The orange pegasus shyly nodded and looked down at the bottle. "Yeah, it was... nice." 

Feeling left out, the unicorn grabbed the bottle in her aura of magic and set it into motion. "My turn," she stated happily.

The bottle stopped spinning pointing between the unicorn and the pegasus, directly away from Applebloom. "I guess that means you, Scootaloo." She cheerfully said and jumped up to give her a kiss. 

The still flustered orange pony didn't have time to react before she was once again engaged in a kiss with one of her best friends. Applebloom sat back and watched, wondering if her other friend kissed any differently. The unicorn definitely seemed more confident than either of the other two. She stood on her hooves and continued pressing forward as her lips gently pulled on her friend's. She parted them and with one final step, Scootaloo fell over on her back. However, the unicorn didn't feel that she had her fair turn yet and climbed on top of her. She continued aggressively sucking on the filly's mouth, but the pegasus didn't seem to object at all. In fact, she was enjoying herself more than she'd like to admit. Sweetie Belle couldn't help but smile mid-kiss as she felt her friend's lips parting even more. Their tongues made contact and forced them both into a new level of passion. Applebloom couldn't help but feel a little left out, knowing her kiss was nowhere near as good. 

The pegasus wrapped her arms around the excited filly above her and her wings spread wide. As Sweetie Belle began running a hoof down the filly's soft, warm stomach, Applebloom interrupted. 

"Ahem, so can we do the next game now or what?" 

The unicorn let out a deep sigh and rolled over onto her back. She closed her eyes and caught her breath. Scootaloo seemed nearly euphoric as she wiped her messy mouth and let her arm plop back down onto the floor. She was staring up at the ceiling with blissfully narrow eyes and a crooked grin. 

"Alrighty then, next game!" Applebloom quickly opened the book back up and turned to the appropriate page. "Seven Minutes in Heaven: Unlike the previous games mentioned in the book, this one is meant to provoke more passionate and ecstatic actions between the two players. See? Y'all did the passionate stuff too soon..." Applebloom glared at the two still blissful fillies.

"Sorry, I kinda got carried away." Sweetie admitted. 

"Well next it's my turn, and you're gonna play with me," the earth pony commanded as she went back to the book and Sweetie Belle shrugged.

"To play, simply go into a closet or closed off area and wait for your partner to join you. You have seven minutes to share any physical affection you wish to with your partner. The point of this exercise is to explore your sexuality towards your partner while not fearing being judged by the outside world or your partner. The darkness represents the secret nature of your actions, and the small space represents the world you create with your partner for those seven minutes in heaven. Okay, so, there's a broom closet over there, and Twilight has a timer on her desk. Okay, let's go Sweetie Belle!"

Applebloom quickly trotted into the broom closet and pushed the clutter out onto the floor. The unicorn set the timer for seven minutes and instructed Scootaloo to start it as soon as the door closed. The orange pegasus nodded and continued staring up at the ceiling. The excited earth pony had already settled herself in the closet and was patiently waiting on her partner to join her. As the unicorn made her way over, she told Scootaloo to hit the timer, then quickly shut the door. 

It was pitch black in the closet and the two fillies were giggling as they blindly touched one another with their hooves, trying to figure out exactly what the other was doing. Sweetie's hoof brushed across the earth pony's soft cheek and made it's way around her neck. Before she knew it, Applebloom was pulled into a deep kiss with one of her best friends. She couldn't see a thing but her vivid imagination was going wild. Still excited from her last make out session, the unicorn was quick to open her mouth and let her tongue out. The invigorated earth pony didn't mind at all, welcoming the passionate affection. With her sense of sight completely taken away, her others flourished. The taste of her friend's curious tongue dancing in her mouth, the sweet scent of her soft mane and shiny coat, the sound of their lips lightly smacking with each reconnecting kiss, the feel of a warm body tightly pressing against her own, all made her head spin with unfamiliar desires. 

They separated for a moment to breathe. "Sweetie Belle," Applebloom spoke out of breath. "How long do ya think its been?"

The unicorn shrugged, then realized she couldn't be seen. "I don't know, why?" 

"I don't wanna stop yet is all." The loving earth pony touched her muzzle to her friend's and felt her warm breath brushing her lips. 

"Me neither." The unicorn reconnected with another kiss, this time feeling a deeper emotion than before. 

It was still dark but their eyes had adjusted enough to see one another. Suddenly they were blinded by light, Scootaloo stood in front of the source. "Guys quick! I think Twilight woke up!"

Before either could move, the lavender mare came trotting downstairs with rage in her eyes as she looked over the mess. "What's going on down here?! Why is my iodine on the floor, why do you have that inappropriate book down here, why are my closet things all over the floor and why are you two in there looking so guilty?!"

Twilight stomped her hoof in frustration. The fillies were all silent so she decided to take them all upstairs. "You girls are going to have some explaining to do in the morning, but for now I really need to sleep. I don't know what I heard or what you two were doing down there but I'm going to find out." She looked over Sweetie Belle and Applebloom who were both blushing and staying close.

She led them into a spare room with two beds. "Alright - Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle will share that bed, Applebloom, you go to the other one. I want you two to stay apart til the morning and until I work out what to do with you and who to talk to about this. Now go to sleep and I don't want to hear another peep from anyone. Got it?!"

They each nodded and Twilight shut the door with a groan. After they were sure she was gone, they all started giggling quietly.

Scootaloo was the first to speak. "Sorry guys, I forgot to start the timer. You were in there for a really long time and I was falling asleep."

"I figured as much." Applebloom whispered from across the room. 

Sweetie Belle slid out of bed and made her way over to her friend, giving her yet another welcomed kiss. Then she returned to her place beside the blushing orange pegasus. "Let's get some sleep, we're probably going to be in a lot of trouble tomorrow."

"Okay." The other two said together and rolled over under the blankets. 

About an hour later, Applebloom was fast asleep and snoring loudly, a tiny smile on her face. Scootaloo tossed and turned, not feeling remotely tired. She turned to face her sleeping friend and rested a wing around her. Sweetie Belle opened her eyes and smiled at the pegasus. "Can't sleep? Me neither, I've been up for a while now." 

"No, I keep thinking about all this random stuff, and it's driving me crazy." Scootaloo cleared her throat, "Maybe you can help me?"

Sweetie considered it, then cringed as she heard Applebloom let out a deep breath in her sleep. "I... I can't, we'll get in trouble."

"I guess you're right." Scootaloo sighed and rolled over to face the wall, a growing sense of depression and jealousy filling her mind.

"'Night Scootaloo..." Sweetie looked down, wishing she could go cuddle with Applebloom.

Each laid awake, wondering what tomorrow would bring.