Next morning was even worse than the day before. Scootaloo’s head was spinning and aching like set on fire. In fact, her entire body was aching except for the wings which probably already gave upon the pain.
Her swollen throat would hardly allow her to swallow any larger gulp, if she could get out of the bed to fetch some food. Quite ironically, she was now much hungrier and thirstier than she was when healthy.
Then, of course, there was the fever. Not only Scootaloo felt like a fluffy ball, but she was also quite smelly thanks to the sweating. It was rather agitating for her, because she wasn’t used to smelling herself like this, not even from her previous sicknesses.
She tried to get up, because as much as her back and neck resisted, she still needed to eat and drink at least a little bit, but it was hardly a surprise to see that no matter the effort, she could merely sit up, let alone walking to the kitchen and making herself a meal.
Her eyes immediately aimed for her nightstand table where she noticed a small sheet of paper, a plate with sandwiches and a cup of tea, all arranged for her to notice it.
Despite being hungry and thirsty, she picked up the little sheet of paper first, put it close to her eyes, and read it. It was still a challenge for her tired, bloodshot eyes to recognize the letters even on such a small distance.
Good morning, Scootaloo,
Yesterday I came to check you to your room and you looked really bad. I assume you could use a few days in bed and also a breakfast and hot tea. I placed it all on you bedside table so be careful not to spill the tea on you, it is hot.
I need to go to the town hall for a meeting, but I will be home soon.
I love you,
Dad.
As soon as Scootaloo read this letter, she felt just a little bit better. Not that she was healthy again, her body was still aching like hell, but at least her heart was uplifted.
Scootaloo picked up one of the sandwiches and slowly ate it. It was nothing difficult to chew or swallow, and she was grateful for that, because every swallow hurt her terribly. Then she drank her tea; it was still warm, though not hot. And Scootaloo felt much better now, when she ate and drank something.
The quick glance on the wall clock revealed her that she slept more than twelve hours, which made her miss the visiting hours in the hospital before Rainbow Dash would be released home. That made her head drop back onto her pillow in regrets and ever persisting weariness.
“Whatever, I’ll go see her later,” she thought to herself then, “I am in no condition to be strolling in the town, anyway.”
She closed her eyes again, and almost immediately felt the darkness pulling her consciousness away. She was far too exhausted to put up any fight, but she wouldn’t even if she could; sleep was the only relief from the pain she had right then.
Three hours later a gentle knock on the door woke her up. She wasn’t certain whether she really heard it or was just hearing things, but soon one more knock on the door proved the truth.
“Come in, dad,” she called in her hoarse tone, but to her surprise she saw a face of a little, yellow filly instead of her father’s to peak into the room.
“Oh c’mon, Apple Bloom!!” Scootaloo coughed, “You shouldn’t have come here! Now you are gonna get sick too!”
“Scootaloo, ah work all day in the fields! Some flu will not get under my skin! Besides, your father said you could probably use some company,” Apple Bloom replied, letting Sweetie Belle inside.
Scootaloo curled deeper in her bed embarrassed that her friends can see her sick like that, and said: “Great, dad told everypony, didn’t he?! That’s so typical!”
“Also, we bought you some vitamins, you might need them,” Sweetie Belle added, and placed some oranges and apples on her bedside table. She also picked up an empty plate and cup and brought them down to the kitchen.
“So, how are you feeling?” Apple Bloom asked after Sweetie Belle left in her southern accent.
“I am sick, Apple Bloom, that’s a bad question!” Scootaloo said skeptically.
“Ah know, but ah though about how bad it actually is,” Apple Bloom asked again, this time with more clarity.
Scootaloo sighed and answered in an annoyed tone: “Well, I have a headache, my entire body is in pain, and the fewer makes my coat vaporizing! Are you happy now!?”
“Ok, ok! I can tell you are not feeling that well,” Apple Bloom said and let the sick pegasus relax a bit.
Few moments after, Sweetie Belle entered the room again, carrying a new cup of hot tea. She placed it next to the fruit, however she needed to make some place first, so she removed a pencil case and an old photograph from the nightstand table, and put them onto Scootaloo’s work desk.
“Thanks, Sweetie Belle,” Scootaloo thanked, her grumpiness washing away.
“You are welcome,” she replied simply and looked back at the table, but continued after a while of scanning the old photo, “Scootaloo, who is this pony, I have never seen her in the Ponyville before?”
Scootaloo gazed upon the table to see who Sweetie Belle was referring to, but then her eyes set on the old photograph and her expression changed drastically. She hesitated for a while as if it could hurt her; old memories were definitely bound to this photo as well as no small amount of pain.
After a while of silence she spoke: “That’s my mom.”
Faces of both her friends were displaying their initial shock, but Apple Bloom very soon switched to a rather angry expression and aimed it towards Sweetie Belle.
“I am sorry, Scootaloo,” Sweetie Belle apologized immediately.
“No need to,” Scootaloo replied simply, “You meant no harm.”
Hearing the tone of the sick pegasus, Apple Bloom was desperately searching for anything that could change the topic of discussion a bit and cheer her friend up a little bit, because she could pretty well say what was she feeling right then.
Then her gaze fell down on the floor and she spontaneously shouted happily with a little orange pinion in her hooves: “Hey look! I found a feather!”
“Yeah, that is going to be mine, but keep it if you want. Pegasi feathers represent the true freedom,” Scootaloo said uninterested, but happy for something else to talk about.
“There is another one,” Sweetie Belle said, pointing on the floor and following Apple Bloom’s example for the moment.
“Girls, this is a room of a pegasus; there will probably be tons of small feathers on the ground,” Scootaloo replied with a small chuckle on her face.
“Yes, but… There weren’t any feathers around here yesterday,” Sweetie Belle thoughtfully pointed out and Apple Bloom nodded after a short consideration.
Scootaloo’s face suddenly sobered, she overcame the pain in her back, sat up and looked on the ground. There really were a lot more feathers than it should be. Both, Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle looked rather confused, but Scootaloo had an expression of a fearful anxiety.
“Every pegasus loses a feather or two every once in a while…” she said, pointing on the ground, “These are my flight pinions…”
Then her pupils shrunk with the fear of realization. She slowly turned her head to look on her wings, but the sight made her unable to talk or move as her breath got stuck in her throat.
“What is it Scootaloo?!” Apple Bloom tried to reach for Scootaloo’s mind through the obvious shock, but Scootaloo was not responding.
After a moment of waiting for her reply, Sweetie Belle decided to force her way around Apple Bloom and look herself, however when she did make her way to the bedside, she too lost her speech over what she saw.
“What is it?!!” Apple Bloom barked suddenly, because none of her friends was answering her, and then she pulled the cover off of Scootaloo only to unleash a furious shower of thousands small feathers.
“What in the hay…” she said, still unable to understand what was going on, “This can’t be normal!”
Scootaloo lost a considerable amount of her feathers and mane all over her body, but worst were her wings which were completely bare of any coat that used to cover them.
“Yeah,” Sweetie Belle joined her, “Some cold wouldn’t make all of your feathers fall off like that! What is wrong with you?!”
“I… I…” Scootaloo was unable to say a word.
“Scootaloo, talk to us!” Sweetie Belle anxiously shouted to snap her friend out of her state, “What do we do?!”
Scootaloo slowly turned her head and said: “I need to go to the hospital!”
Her voice was full of fear and pain of her body, but there was something else… There was some other pain that could just be noticed in her watering eyes, when she looked at her friends through the veil of a mortal fear.
Another quick knock on the door echoed and doors opened. Through them was peering a grey head with a short, black mane.
“Ah, girls. I thought I heard…” he stopped, when he noticed Scootaloo’s scared look.
He opened the door entirely in one quick swing, looked at his daughter, and asked anxiously: “Scootaloo, what’s wrong?!!”
Scootaloo slowly turned her head towards him and showed her hooves full of feathers. Her father’s face lost all of its color in a blink of an eye.
“It came back,” Scootaloo said in an absently quiet voice.
“No, no, no, no! No this again!” her father muttered, trying to pick his daughter from the bed, “C’mon Scootaloo, we need to go to the hospital!!”
Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle blindly followed them downstairs and then all the way across the town to the hospital, even though they had little troubles keeping up with the grown-up stallion.
One question though kept irking their minds, along with other fears and anxiety, and that question was: ‘Again’??