//------------------------------// // Diagnosis // Story: Family 101 // by Kail //------------------------------// Twilight let out a relieved sigh as she walked through Ponyville. “Wow, I knew setting up the summer sun celebration took work but Celestia does that every year?” Quicksilver chuckled. “I thought you liked paperwork. You do enough of it when you’re researching something.” Twilight rolled her eyes. “That paperwork is fun. What we did the last few days was a red tape nightmare. I mean, we needed three different forms and a permit to increase the stage size by five feet.” Twilight threw her hooves in the air exasperatedly. “Five feet! The stage has extensions for up to twenty additional feet and if we wanted that much space we could have just done it. What sense does that make?” Lightning smirked. “And that’s why I’m glad I was a siege drone. My whole job consisted of me smashing into things.” Lightning laughed lightly. “Even my new job has me smashing clouds.” Lightning turned to Twilight with a smirk. “Nothing like having a consistent partner huh?” Twilight chuckled. “I suppose. All joking aside, I’m really glad to be home.” Twilight turned down her street and looked over at Lightning and quicksilver. “I’m this way, later you two.” The two changelings waved as Twilight headed towards her home then continued through Ponyville. As they came closer to the edge of town, and the road leading to Fluttershy’s cottage, Quicksilver turned to Lightning and quirked a brow. “You think Scootaloo’s been ok? We’ve been gone almost a week.” Lightning smiled. “Don’t worry. It’s not like she was in any danger around here.” Quicksilver nodded. “Yeah I guess you’re right.” Turning onto the small path that led to Fluttershy’s, Quicksilver started looking around for Scootaloo. Coming a few feet from the cottage Quicksilver quirked a brow. “Where is she?” Lightning opened her mouth to answer when she and Quicksilver were tackled to the ground. Looking at what had hit them, Lightning smiled as she saw a messy purple mane. Lightning turned to look at Quicksilver with a smirk. “Found her.” Scootaloo used a foreleg to hug each of her parents around the neck and smiled widely. “Hey guys! What took you so long? What’d the princess want?” Before either of them could answer, Fluttershy came running around the corner of her house. “Scootaloo, why’d you run off?” Seeing the two changelings pinned by Scootaloo, Fluttershy giggled. “Oh hello Lightning, Quicksilver. I guess Scootaloo saw you coming.” Lightning’s horn lit and lifted Scootaloo. Placing the filly on her back Lightning turned to Fluttershy. “Saw us? But she came out of nowhere.” Scootaloo stood up on Lightning’s back and pointed above Fluttershy’s house. “I was practicing on those clouds to see if my wings were better.” Quicksilver threw Scootaloo a questioning look. “Better? What d’you mean better?” Scootaloo fidgeted slightly. “Well, ya see, um.....” Lightning’s horn lit again and Scootaloo floated in front of Lightning. Squinting sternly, Lightning’s voice became firm. “Scootaloo. What have you been up to?” Scootaloo laughed nervously and rubbed her hooves together. Before Lightning or Quicksilver could ask again Fluttershy cleared her throat. “Why don’t we let Scootaloo get her things and I’ll tell you what happened.” Lightning hmm’ed before she set Scootaloo on the ground. As the filly scampered away she shot Fluttershy a grateful look before heading into the house. When Scootaloo was out of sight Fluttershy nodded to the table at the right of her house. After they’d sat, Quicksilver quirked a brow. “So what’s our little angel been up to?” Fluttershy sighed. “First, can you promise not to be too upset with her? What happened really wasn’t her fault.” Lightning leaned forward. “We wouldn’t be mad either way. Worried maybe, but not mad. Now, what happened?” Nodding, Fluttershy went into what had happened a few days ago, telling the two everything that’d gone on. But when she got to mentioning the hospital, Fluttershy hesitated. Lightning tilted her head, a worried frown on her face. “You took her to get her wings checked out? Was everything alright?” Fluttershy looked away anxiously. “Well, no. I mean yes. I mean....maybe?” Quicksilver put a hood on Fluttershy’s shoulder. “Hey, calm down. Just tell us what’s up.” Fluttershy nodded and took a calming breath before she continued. “The doctor said her wings seemed like they were just over strained but that he was worried about how they looked. I gave the hospital your address so they could contact you if they found out anything.” Lightning tilted her head in confusion. “But she was flying before we got here. That means she’s fine... Right?” Fluttershy shook her head slowly. “I don’t know. She looks ok and her flying’s perfect as far as I can see, but it’s best to check with the doctor.” Quicksilver nodded. “Thanks for telling us, and for looking out for Scootaloo.” Fluttershy smiled. “No problem. She was very well behaved.” Scootaloo came out the door with her saddlebag, drawing the attention of her parents. When Scootaloo met their eyes she pawed the ground nervously. “So.....Fluttershy told you?’ Lightning nodded and trotted over to the filly. “She did, and we’re going to have a talk when we get home. But I want you to know we’re not mad.” Scootaloo tilted her head. “Really?” Quicksilver chuckled. “Yep. But you will have a bit of a chewing out coming your way.” Lightning smirked. “That’s for sure.” Scootaloo groaned but smiled. “But I learned my lesson.” Lightning rolled her eyes. “Maybe, but we wouldn’t be good parents if we let you off the hook without a bit of lecturing.” Lightning turned to Fluttershy. “Thanks again for watching her. Bye.” Scootaloo and Quicksilver gave their own goodbyes as Fluttershy waved them off while the family made their way home. ============================================================== Lightning tilted her head as she listened to Scootaloo. “Wait. So you got help from a friendly diamond dog and his pet spider?” Scootaloo nodded. “Pretty much.” Quicksilver shook her head and laughed. “I’ve said it before, but the weirdest things happen around here.” Scootaloo laughed with her. “You can say that again.” Lightning gave a light chuckle and stood from her seat. “Well that was interesting. Anyway I’ve got something to check out. Silver, you can make dinner right?” Quicksilver nodded. “Sure. Later.” Scootaloo waved as Lightning headed out the door. “Bye mom.” Waving a hoof as she left, Lightning stepped out of her house and headed in the direction of Ponyville general hospital. As lightning walked through town she began to finally think about what could be wrong with Scootaloo. Fluttershy had only said that something might be wrong with her wings and with only that bit of information to go on, Lightning’s imagination was offering up more than it’s fair share of possibilities. Scootaloo’s wings could be stunted and it could mean that the filly wouldn’t be able to fly as well as others. Or her wings could be unable to handle the strain of flight and could make her grounded for long lengths of time between flights. Lightning almost stopped in her tracks as one very disturbing thought came to mind: What if, in time, Scootaloo would be unable to fly at all? Lightning shuddered at the thought. She remembered when she’d taught Scootaloo to fly, remembered the joy the filly gave off as she zipped through the sky. If that was taken away, how would it affect Scootaloo? Lightning shook her head to try and derail that line of thinking. I can’t jump to conclusions. I just need to ask the doctor what’s going on and hope it’s not serious. Sighing, Lightning continued towards the hospital, hoping that nothing was wrong. I really can’t catch a break can I? =========================================================== Lightning sat in the hospital’s waiting room, leafing through a magazine to pass the time until she was called in. After several more minutes a nurse approached her. “Ms. Lightning, Doctor Stable will see you in his office. Follow me please.” Tossing the magazine on the table with the others, Lightning followed the nurse. After coming to the door of Doctor Stable’s office, Lightning knocked. Hearing a muffled “Come in.” from behind the door, Lightning walked in and sat at one of the chairs in front of the doctor’s desk. Doctor Stable turned from a file he was reading and adjusted his glasses. “Good day Ms. Lightning. I’ll assume you’re here about your daughter?” Lightning nodded. “Have you found anything out about what might be wrong with Scootaloo?” The doctor steepled his hooves and sighed. “Yes and no. I’ve got an idea, but with what could be wrong it’s hard to tell.” Lightning tilted her head. “What do you mean?” Pulling out another file, Doctor Stable opened it and put an MRI photo in front of Lightning. “You see the exterior and interior muscles of Scootaloo’s wings here?” He pointed to a few circled parts of the photo. “The damage shown by these dark areas looked like simple muscle strain at first, but after running some tests, I think Scootaloo may have Spontaneous Wing Atrophy.” Lightning held up a hoof in question. “But don’t muscles atrophy from disuse? Scootaloo might not have been flying for as long as other pegasus foals but she’d been using her wings on her scooter. From what I can see her muscles were fine. I didn’t even have to train up her wing power, only teach her the correct wing positions and movement for flying.” The doctor nodded. “That may be but this illness is a bit tricky. You see, it’s a genetically transferred illness. It’s passed from mother to foal and only affects females. Add to that the various mutations of the illness makes it both unpredictable and hard to diagnose.” Lightning’s ears lowered. “So even if her wings are healthy this could cause them to....” Doctor Stable held up his hooves in a calming gesture. “Now don’t go thinking the worst just yet. It’s true that this can cause damage to Scootaloo’s wings and may permanently ground her, but I can’t say anything for sure yet.” Lightning’s eyes narrowed. “Why not? Didn’t you say you ran tests?” Stable sighed and massaged his temple with a hoof. “Like I said, this illness is tricky because of the various mutations it can take on. For example, one mutation of the illness can simply do a bit of damage and then goes dormant for the rest of a pony’s life. Another could continue to get worse until the pegasus’s wings are useless. And then there are the mutations that affect how quickly either one of those situations happen and if it will happen at all.” Stable focused on Lightning again. “The only way I can know for sure is to examine her birth mother and find out what type she had. This way I can narrow down the strain and prescribe treatment if any is needed.” Lightning’s head dropped. “But I’ve got no idea where her birth mother is.” Doctor Stable nodded sadly. “I’m aware of that. Sadly, it’s the only way to narrow down what strain I’m dealing with. We get so few cases of it that there’s no way to catalog all the possible strains until we actually encounter them. My only advice for now is to keep an eye on Scootaloo and see if her wings get any worse.” Lightning grit her teeth glared at the doctor. “So I just sit back and do nothing while my daughter could be losing her wings? Do you have any idea how much flying means to her?” Stable recoiled slightly. “I’m sorry but that’s the best I can offer. We simply don’t have the technology right now to discern what strain of the illness this is.” Lightning sighed. “Ok, I understand. Sorry about snapping at you.” Doctor Stable smiled slightly. “It’s quite alright. Believe me, I hate giving bad news just as much as patients hate hearing it.” Lightning stood and turned to leave. “Thank you for telling me about this.” Stable nodded. “You’re welcome. Like I said, just keep an eye on your daughter for now. I’ll keep trying to find out what strain we’re dealing with but it’ll be slow going without the birth mother’s information.” Lightning nodded and exited the doctor’s office and headed out of the hospital. Once outside she sighed heavily and decided to go for a short flight to clear her head. Flapping her translucent wings she lifted off and began making a lazy circuit of the town. =========================================================== Lightning finally went home after flying for the better part of an hour and didn’t feel much better than when she’d started. Opening her home’s door she walked in to see Quicksilver sitting on the couch in the living room. Lightning walked over and sat next to Quicksilver, leaning into her partner and putting a foreleg around her waist. Quicksilver embraced Lightning and looked at her concerned. “What’s wrong?” Lightning sighed and nuzzled into the crook of Quicksilver’s neck. “I got some bad news from the doctor.” Quicksilver’s brows shot up in surprise. “About Scootaloo? What’s wrong, is she sick?” Lightning squeezed Quicksilver and spoke in a whisper. “She might lose her ability to fly.” Quicksilver gasped. “What? How?” Lightning buried herself further into Quicksilver’s neck. “She’s got some kind of illness that affects pegasi. And the only way to get answers about it quick enough is to find her birth mother.” Quicksilver sighed. “And we’ve got no idea where she could be do we?” Lightning shook her head. “None.” She lifted her head and stared up at Quicksilver. “What do we tell Scootaloo.” “I don’t know Lightning. I mean how do you tell a kid who loves flying that she might lose her wings?” Neither of them spoke for several long minutes, choosing to simply hold each other and try and think of a way to solve this. Eventually Quicksilver yawned and shook her head. “Well, we won’t think of anything if we’re tired. Let’s go to bed.” Lightning nodded and let go of Quicksilver. “You go ahead. I’ll be up in a bit. Where’s Scootaloo?” Quicksilver motioned to the stairs before heading that way. “She’s in bed. She’s got a quiz tomorrow and wanted to get some sleep.” Lightning nodded and leaned back against the couch, resting her head on the back of it. Quicksilver walked over to Lightning and kissed her cheek. “Don’t stay up all night worrying. You need sleep if you wanna help Scoots.” Lightning gurnted and closed her eyes. “I know. I just wanna sit here for a bit.” Quicksilver nodded and headed up the stairs to their bedroom. Lightning sat silently, processing everything doctor Stable had told her and trying to think of a way to help Scootaloo. After a few minutes Lightning got up and walked up the stairs. As she passed Scootaloo’s room she paused and turned to the filly’s door. Finding it open a crack, Lightning quietly slipped in and smiled a what she saw. Scootaloo was sprawled out on her bed with the covers kicked off to the side of her. Lightning gently repositioned Scootaloo and pulled the covers up to the filly’s middle. Scootaloo turned in her sleep and snuggled into her pillow, mumbling incoherently. Lightning smiled and stroked Scootaloo’s mane. After watching Scootaloo sleep for a few seconds Lightning turned to leave. As she closed Scootaloo’s door she made a silent promise to herself and the sleeping filly. I’ll find a way to help you Scoots. Even if I have to go to the ends of Equestria to do it.