Scootaloo's got a dark secret, and that's okay. Until she starts hanging out with a boy.
Linked to Moonfire's Duellum Telum (that's where the belltower scene is)
It's been three days since the events of Quorum Sensing, and everything is fine.
Scootaloo is adjusting to her new life as a pony-turned-changeling, and nothing seems out of the ordinary.
There's absolutely no reason to suspect her dark secret will ever come out.
That is, until boys enter the picture.
A/N: This is, as you can tell, the requested sequel to my surprisingly popular (yet thankfully short) oneshot Quorum Sensing.
Note on the added 'Sex' tag: if you're looking for clop, this won't satisfy you. However, if you actively avoid stories involving foals with sexually charged scenes, there will be a few moments that will upset you. The tag is a warning, not an advertisement.
For more explanation/information about the odd manner and timing, see this blog post
“Not since the big one three days ago,” Scootaloo replied. The library was closed for the public at the moment, a necessity to get the facts straight in private.
“Okay, that’s good. And you’re not feeling sick in any way? No little wounds or cuts you can’t explain?”
The filly shook her head.
“And how are Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom taking it? Is the crusading any different?”
“Well...”
----
After Apple Bloom’s last fiasco with the cupcakes, the girls had decided to take their cooking talents (still left unproven and unillustrated, sadly) to the Apple family kitchen. The orange pegasus pony came racing towards the house on her scooter, always quick when it came to supplies.
“Did you get everything we need?” Apple Bloom started as her friend walked through the door.
“I got the herbs from the market, but they ran out of eggs, so I laid some myself.”
Two pairs of eyes stared at her blankly.
“What?” Scootaloo asked with a sarcastic tone. After all the chicken jokes she’d to endure, a little payback was more than overdue.
“Okay, let’s just get started. ‘Apple quiche’,” Sweetie Belle narrated, “can’t be that hard.”
Some time later, the walls had an eggy stickiness to them, there were pieces of apple strewn over the stove, and somehow a few apple seeds had managed to find their way into the ceiling, along with an odd green slime. The seeds looked pretty comfy, embedded up that high. All in all, it looked like a standard failure for the three. The slime was new, though.
“Scootaloo: you brought a thundercloud in the house and that got the apple seeds in the ceiling,” Sweetie Belle replied, “And Apple Bloom -”
“I’ll go get the bucket and soap,” came the groan.
----
“Things are still pretty much the same, actually. Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom don’t treat me any different, my parents are okay with it, and my body doesn’t even feel that different. Things are just like they were before. The only real difference is now I can make sticky stuff instead of just landing in it.”
“Yeah, word of advice: don’t wear any expensive clothes until you can get the hang of that, or at least stock up on lemons. It took princess Celestia weeks to get that stuff out of her mane, not to mention what it did to her carpets.” The mare grimaced at the unsavoury mental image.
“I’ll err...try to keep that in mind.” The filly blushed. For some reason, she felt that this sort of conversation would mean something very different if she were a little older.
Silence fell between the two. Twilight narrowed her eyes in sympathy.
“You know what I’m going to ask next, right?”
“Yeah.” The girl bit her lip at that.
“It’s okay. No one’s gonna see but us. You know your secret’s safe,” Spike added. The baby dragon was keeping track of their conversation, putting a check whenever Twilight said something she’d apparently planned to say. The whole thing felt like a parent-teacher conference, or something.
“I know. I don’t really mind, but it still feels kind of weird to do it, you know. Like I really shouldn’t.”
“You know it’s okay, so…can I have a look, please?” Twilight asked, her voice gentle and unnervingly calm.
With a sigh, Scootaloo concentrated and let her magic flow. Green flames tickled over her body as her very soul felt like it jumped from one pillar to another, first falling into an abyss, then landing safely and just standing still. Orange fur made way for black plates of keratin and a smooth skin, her mane made way for something that resembled a web but kept the colours, and her wings evaporated to form two hyaline protrusions. All in all, she looked weird, but still vaguely pony-ish, and not even an ugly one, at that.
The horn was what did it, though. No fangs, no holes, but that horn sticking out of her forehead still felt a little awkward.
“You know, you don’t look half bad,” Twilight offered.
“Thanks. Rainbow Dash said the same thing. Guess I’m lucky I didn’t get the holes or the fangs.”
“Well, you might still get those, actually,” Twilight started as she went to get a scroll, “when your changeling genes woke up, you got all of their abilities. You may have been born and raised as a pegasus foal, but you’re a full changeling now. That means you’ll have to learn to fake all the abilities a pegasus pony has, if you want to keep this a secret. It also means that even your basic shape can change even without using that green flame magic.”
“Okay, I guess I can get used to that. I don’t think I’d really want it to, though. I mean: I haven’t gotten tired of staying in one shape yet, and I really don’t want ponies to go calling me a ‘bug’ or something.” The filly rolled her eyes at the thought. Snips and Snails would never let her live this down, not to mention Diamond Tiara.
“Oh, that’s just silly, Scootaloo. You’re not a bug. Bugs have triangular bodies and sucking mouth parts, you clearly have a rounded body and chewing mouth parts. If anything, you’re more of a beetle than a bug.” The mare gave her that patented ‘Smile! It’s lecture time!’ look.
“Gee, thanks,” the changeling replied with more than a hint of sarcasm.
“Come to think of it, you might be part fly, too. Unless those fangs are hollow; then you’d be more of a flying arachnid, I suppose. Actually, would you mind growing an extra pair of legs? I think I’m going to need my notes on this.”
That train of thought got derailed by the sound of a baby dragon clearing his throat. Spike was not amused at the turn this conversation was taking, for reasons that took Twilight one or two logical steps to figure out.
“Right. Anyhow: Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom can keep it a secret, your family knows and so do me and my friends. Anyone else in the loop is a professional who’s been sworn to secrecy. We’re not going to tell the rest of the town, we’ve promised,” Twilight started.
“I know. I appreciate it.”
“Besides that, the reason why I wanted you to come over is to give you this.” Twilight used her horn to float over a book with a lock on it, “This will be your personal diary. Try running some energy into the lock and say ‘Open’.”
Hesitantly, Scootaloo followed the command. The lock opened, and the blank pages revealed themselves to her.
“That type of lock is rigged to only open when it feels your personal magic. It can tell the difference between Earth pony magic, pegasus magic, it knows only you can open it. I’m not sure if other changelings can force it open, but either way you can record things privately in that. That diary’s big enough to have more than a page a day for a whole year.”
“Umm, thanks, but…I don’t really have that much stuff to write about, do I?” Scoots narrowed her eyes in thought.
“You will now,” Twilight replied, “now that you have a horn and a magic that’s…I guess close to a unicorn’s, you should make a note of the important things that happen in the day, and any progress you make when you start practising spells. Besides that, there’s something a little more practical to consider. Something a little more unpleasant, I’m afraid.”
Scoots grimaced at the thought.
“See, princess Celestia had to be informed as well.”
“Obviously.”
“And she pointed out that if anything bad ever happened involving -- you know -- other changelings, it could get really confusing, really quickly.”
“So I just don’t turn into any other ponies. No biggie.”
“I think you and I both know that’s a temptation you won’t be able to avoid.” Twilight smirked a little to herself, “No: changing shape comes natural to you now, and you might find situations where you feel you have to. We all know you can learn to handle that responsibility. But while you do, keeping track of where you’ve been and with whom will help us figure things out if there’s ever any misunderstandings. If you know who you were with, we can check it. You won’t have to keep a detailed list, but a few notes at the end of every day will help.”
“Right. So keep track of witnesses or you get blamed for everything, got it,” Scootaloo summed up with the hint of a hiss.
“Nothing quite so drastic, but yes, that’s the long and short of it. Since you’ll be able to use magic now, you should keep a magic journal as well as keep track of who you’ve been with. Princess Celestia wanted me to tell you that a diary is what every magic-using pony keeps to record how their thinking changes as they grow up. She also wanted you to have this,” she gave the changeling foal the scroll.
Scootaloo checked it once, then twice. After the whole ‘Gabby Gums’ affair, she thought she’d never see the day.
“Princess Celestia sent me a letter?”
Twilight nodded down at her.
“That scroll is for your eyes only. Go on, see what she has to say.”
Scoots’ heart was pounding with nerves. What if Celestia decided to imprison her? What if she had to take pills to stunt her powers?
With a deep breath to steady herself, she opened the scroll and faced its contents.
Dear Scootaloo,
Word has reached me of your recent change, and I must say I was quite surprised. It’s been a long time since I’ve seen a changeling living peacefully among ponies, and in all honesty I hadn’t thought it would happen again, certainly not like this. I can only imagine what must be going through your mind now. Unfortunately, there are many questions that I fear I don’t have an answer to. That said, the ‘how’ and ‘why’ must be well-known to you by now, so perhaps shedding some light on the ‘what now’ is in order.
First of all: you are still considered a pony. You are not listed as an enemy of the State, nor of my throne. I’ll just assume you intend to keep it that way.
“So, what does she say?” the unicorn asked.
“She says I’m not gonna get thrown in jail for being turned into a changeling.”
If not, please be advised that my oubliettes haven’t been cleaned in centuries.
Scootaloo’s eyes widened at that.
“Umm…Twilight…’oubliette’ is a bad thing, right?”
“Well, it’s a sort of pit that’s used as a prison, so yes: that’s pretty bad. Why do you ask?”
“No real reason.” Scootaloo dismissed the question.
Little jokes aside, you’ll have to get used to your new abilities and the responsibilities that come with them. Being able to change shape is certainly a big temptation to play pranks, especially for a fun-loving foal like yourself. And as odd as it may sound: I won’t forbid it. Nor will anyone forbid it on my behalf.
Unicorn foals, pegasus foals and Earth pony foals all develop their own magic and other unique abilities as they grow. Many of them can cause quite a bit of damage, as I’m sure you’ve noticed. Your peers have to carry the same sort of responsibility, and to treat you any different would be unfair. You have changeling instincts as well as changeling abilities now, and you will have to learn to judge when to use your magic. I’m sure there will be some missteps along the way, and I have no doubt that most of them will reach my ears, but it would be unfair to deny you something that is now a part of you. All I ask is that you be careful and that you learn. It is no more and no less than what I ask of my other little ponies.
Scootaloo smiled in relief at the fact that even princess Celestia herself still considered her a pony.
That said, I’m afraid you will be on your own for many of your lessons. There are no other ponies in whom this change has been triggered, and any records of changelings and ponies living together in peace are muddled at best. The time that I spent with them was quite brief, certainly not enough to know how they learn to master their magic. As much as it pains me to admit, I cannot teach you, nor do I know of anypony who can. But rest assured: I’ve instructed my scholars to pour over the archives to see what references they can find. If they come across anything that may be of use to you, you’ll be the first to know.
In the meantime, I can only advise you to practise on your own and record your progress. Twilight will gladly teach you the basics, but keep in mind you are not a unicorn. What I do know of changelings is this: they need love to use their magic. You’ll be spending energy that keeps you alive, so do not overextend yourself. I am confident that you’ll find enough love to live, but concerning magic you will need to exercise moderation. Learn when enough is enough and you will be fine.
Scootaloo’s eyes fixed on the next line.
Here’s what advice I can give: do not confuse success with happiness, my little pony. Do not let anything or anypony ever tell you that you should stop trying to be happy. Be careful, but do not be fearful of yourself. Remember that while you are different, you are not that different. Do not be afraid to ask for help from those around you. My faithful students will gladly help you as you try to make sense of what to do.
And if you should wonder what to do in your adult life, lacking a cutie mark: if the prospect of working in Canterlot does not frighten you, I’m sure I can find a suitable position for someone with your skills if ever the need should arrive. But that is a concern for another day. For now, try to adjust as best you can, and feel free to have some fun, within reasonable limits.
I hope that this offers you some solace, and I look forward to hearing of any progress you make.
Yours,
Princess Celestia
Scootaloo let the princess’ words sink in for a bit.
“Well?” Twilight smiled widely, curiosity nearly driving her to take the letter for herself.
“I think she’s okay with it,” Scootaloo replied, “Everypony is.”
“Good. Spike, did I forget anything?”
The dragon went over the checklist and put his claw on one point.
“Yeah: the hospital thing.”
“Oh, right. Princess Celestia’s appointed a personal physician to you. He’s not an expert on changelings, but he’s the closest we’ve got. His name is Home Remedy. You’ll just have to drop by Ponyville Hospital sometime to get checked up, in case anyone missed anything when you changed. There’s also...” the unicorn let that sentence trail off.
“What?”
“My friends and I -- and your parents, I guess -- have all been given instructions by princess Celestia, as well as a small package. We all have a certain aromatic oil in our medicine cabinet now.”
“I don’t think I like where this is going.” Scootaloo’s insect wings gave a cursory buzz of nerves.
“The oil is commonly known as ling-nip: it’s something ponies are mostly immune to, but changelings are really sensitive to. It numbs their senses, makes them go drowsy. It’s a sedative and an anodyne, from what I understand.”
“Wuh-Wait, you have stuff in your house that’s designed just to knock me out?” the changeling filly backed away in fear just a little.
“Try to understand: you have a different body chemistry now. While you’re still in pony form, you can take everything we can, but we don’t know if being tranquilised will make you go back to being in changeling form. And we also don’t know if the tranquiliser that’s in your system while you change back is going to kill you,” the unicorn explained, leaning in for effect.
“But my parents didn’t tell me about that. Why wouldn’t they tell me?”
“Probably because they didn’t like it either, and they didn’t know how to tell you. I do. It’s for your own safety, as well as ours. It’s the only medicine we know for sure is safe, and we really don’t want to find out that you have a panic response or heart arrhythmia while you’re hurt. Home Remedy knows about you, so you won’t be at risk if you ever end up in Ponyville Hospital. It’s just those rare emergencies we want to be ready for, Scootaloo, the times that you need medical attention right away and the hospital’s too far. We don’t want to end up giving you something to help and hurting you in the process. We’re okay with the way you are, but it still means we don’t know that much about you. And it won’t be necessary most of the time, right? It’s just in case you get injured and we need to ease the pain; we can even dose it so you stay conscious.”
“That doesn’t sound so bad. I guess it does make sense that you don’t want to risk it. It’s still kinda scary, though: not having any doctors who can patch you up. I mean: I might turn into a monster and no one would be able to stop it.”
“Trust me, the doctor thing doesn’t come up as often as you might think. And you don’t have to worry about turning into a monster: there are monsters right here in Ponyville bigger than anything you can turn into,” Spike randomly noted.
The filly was going to question that, but she quickly saw the folly in discussing who’s the bigger monster with a baby dragon. Particularly one who’d already thrashed the town once. She rolled up the scroll from the princess and changed back into her pegasus pony self, whipping her tail as she did. For some reason, her tail and wings were a little harder to do.
“Okay, I think I’ve got all of that. Was there anything else?”
“Spike?”
The baby dragon shook his head and drew a final line on the checklist.
“Nope, you’re free to go. Just be careful no one else finds out, alright?” Twilight insisted.
“Don’t worry. I will,” the girl replied as she went out the door, “oh, and thanks. For -- you know -- everything.”
“That’s what we’re here for, Scootaloo,” came the cheerful reply.
She breathed a sigh of relief once she was out the door.
That had gone a lot better than she’d expected. No ban on changing shape, no quarantine, even princess Celestia didn’t set up any real rules. None that she wouldn’t have followed to begin with, at least. And the whole medicine thing wouldn’t come up anytime soon: she’d learned how to break her fall by now, and she’d never broken anything else. She could still be herself and have the whole changeling thing not matter. As she mounted her scooter and donned her helmet, the filly realised Twilight hadn’t even noticed Scootaloo’s little addition to her pegasus pony body. She’d gotten away with it.
And hey: if Twilight Sparkle doesn’t catch you making your wings bigger, nopony will.
Scooting around Ponyville was as exhilarating as always. Scootaloo had learned by now not to go at full speed, since nopony liked random dust clouds interrupting an otherwise quiet morning. Still, at a steady pace she felt the wind in her mane, her tail flapping in the wind and that delightful buzzing of her wings. Feathered wings for now, of course. She slowed, then stopped as she reached her destination.
The hardware store. That familiar grey stallion with the nail and hammer cutie mark smiled warmly at the steady customer. “Hey, Scootaloo. What can I do for you today?”
“I need six two by fours, please.” She noticed the buzzing sound from her scooting hadn’t subsided yet. The filly perked her ears just to check if they were working okay. Her wings weren’t moving, maybe someone else was doing the buzzing.
“Applejack told me you’d be coming by. Fixing that hole in the roof before the scheduled shower, huh?”
She rubbed her head embarrassedly at that. “Yeah, we had a little accident the other day.”
The shopkeeper raised an eyebrow as Scootaloo flew up to pay and to receive her wares. “You finally learned to fly, and you flew into the roof, huh?”
A nervous squee parted from the girl’s lips as she descended from the counter. “Sort of. Please don’t tell Rainbow Dash if you see her?” Since her idol had been around when that particular accident had happened, it was an unnecessary thing to ask. However, pretences had to be kept up.
Mister Lugnut grinned. “Why not? You know what they say: there’s two kinds of ponies. The ones who fly into things and the ones who can’t fly. I’m sure she’d be proud of you.”
“I guess. But yeah, I finally got some lift a few days ago, and the roof didn’t take it very well.” Technically she had managed to fly for the first time at about the same time she’d managed to fire her first energy bolt, so it wasn’t a total lie.
“Congratulations, then. But you be careful, now, don’t wanna overdo it with those wings finally getting you airborne. Try to stay safe.”
“I will, thanks.” She turned around to head back to the clubhouse.
“And don’t worry. I’m sure that now you can fly, you’ll be getting that cutie mark any day now.”
Scootaloo froze as those words rang in her head. She forced herself to keep sounding cheerful. “Yup. Any day now.”
As she went outside, that vague buzzing in the background started getting louder. Scootaloo looked left, then right. It sounded like a pegasus pony on a scooter, but that wasn’t too likely. After all, she was the only one in town who used her wings like that. She shrugged and loaded the planks up on her cart, then reached for her helmet.
And then she had just enough time to hear “Look out!” before something crashed into her.
The pegasus changeling shook her head to clear it. She was on her back, and there was a skateboard lying just a little further away. There was also something lying on top of her. Something warm. Something with a heartbeat that shot right up.
“Hey, Rumble,” she greeted the prone colt, “are you okay?”
He gasped, blushed, and dashed off her, too nervous to even unclip his black helmet. She just smiled as she got back to her hooves. “Oh, sorry, Scootaloo. I kinda lost control there.”
“That’s okay. At least you landed with your sides first. When did you get a skateboard, anyway?” She inspected the piece of hardware. It was definitely from the same store she’d gotten her scooter, but the board looked to be made of heavier stuff than what she usually stood on. Still, it was good for four-hooved or two-hooved positions. She idly wondered if the boy was up for a race.
“Couple of days ago. Still can’t figure out how to use my wings on it, though.”
Scootaloo gave the grey colt a lookover, visibly sizing him up before getting her scooter back upright. It wouldn’t be fair to beat him if he’d barely gotten any practice yet, she decided. He picked his board up as well and the two started walking along.
“You’re hard, you know.”
Rumble blushed, then anxsiously looked around for any passersby that might have heard the remark. “What? Nuh-no I’m not!”
Scootaloo smiled, not really understanding his apparent embarrassment. It didn’t occur to her to ask why he blushed, she just walked along with him beside her. “Yeah, you are. You just landed on me, I could feel your back. Your skin is almost as tight as mine, at least there. Your sides are still kinda squishy, though. You must work out a lot, huh?”
“Oh, you mean like that. Well, mostly I try strength stuff, and I can fly pretty fast. I can’t bank that well, though, so I was hoping a little skateboard practice might help. I mean, it works for you.”
“Yeah, that’ll help a lot. You get really agile if you practise your turns, and you work your sides. But you need to keep an eye on your wings, you have to keep them like you’re flying down, not up.”
He nodded. He angled his wings to give a cursory flap, then looked to Scootaloo, who demonstrated the proper form. He still blushed a little as he watched her, but after a few tries he got his wings going in the same motion she did.
“Just like that. That’ll keep you steady.”
“Thanks, I’ll try and keep that in mind. This is my stop.”
Scootaloo looked up. A perfume and makeup shop? What could he possibly want from there?
“Umm…” she started.
“Don’t ask.” He groaned with another nervous blush.
“Okay, I guess I’ll see you around, then. Actually, now that I think about it, why don’t I see you around? You’re in school with me, right?”
“I am, but Cheerilee doesn’t teach my class all the time. We mostly get miss Poppy. And I never changed classes, not like you and Featherweight did.”
“Okay, I get that, but why don’t I ever see you around on breaks? Or when school is out? Do you just disappear?”
“I guess, kind of.” He shrugged. “I don’t really like most of the stuff the others do, I just practise. I never really compete with anypony, and I don’t watch any real competition. I don’t have that much to talk about with anyone, and I’m still a blank flank. So I just find someplace where I can be by myself, that’s all.”
Scootaloo stared blankly at him as she wrapped her head around it. “Huh. You know, if you ever feel like just comparing speeds, I’m always up for it. No competition.”
“Thanks.” He smiled nervously, really blushing by now.
“See you later, then.”
And with that, she was off. Something bugged her, though, something about the way Rumble looked, or felt. It was almost like there was this taste in the air around him.
“All right, girls, let’s get to work,” Applejack looked up at the treehouse. “That hole ain’t gonna fix itself.”
“Unless we use magic.” Sweetie Belle looked towards her recently species-swapped friend.
Applejack turned to look at Scootaloo as well. The thought of her using her newfound magic hadn’t occurred to anypony yet. Everything that had happened had been so sudden, the adjustment was barely getting under way for any of them, including Applejack. She still didn’t know what to make of it. A pony turned changeling, how was anyone supposed to react to that? “Feel like trying?”
Scootaloo grimaced. “I don’t know. I haven’t exactly had time to get the hang of it.”
Sweetie Belle looked around the orchard. “Nopony around for miles but us. Wouldn’t hurt to try, would it?”
Scootaloo considered it. “I guess. As long as I don’t overdo it, I won’t run out of love. How am I supposed to start it up, though?”
Applejack rolled her eyes. “You could start by dropping the disguise.”
The filly’s wings bunched up at the tone, and the thought. “I’d rather not, if that’s okay. I’ve only switched a couple of times the past few days, I don’t think I like doing it that much. And I really don’t like the way it looks, even if everypony else says it’s okay.”
“I didn’t mean it like that, sugarcube. I mean that if you want to use magic, it might help if your horn is out. Unless you think you don’t need it. I don’t know how it works, either.” Applejack shook her head and lightened her tone.
“We could try together. I’ve never tried using magic either. What do you think, Apple Bloom?” Sweetie Belle asked.
“Hey, I ain’t stoppin’ ya. I’d be glad not to have to do the heavy liftin’ for once.” She chuckled along with her sister.
“So what do we do? Float the boards up and nail them in?” Scootaloo asked.
Applejack nodded. “That’ll do for a bit, I reckon. The new shingles still need a few days for the pesticides to sink in, but a little patchwork ought to stop the rain for now.”
“Okay, here goes nothing.” Scootaloo closed her eyes. She gritted her teeth and concentrated on her horn, which to her felt like it was right within reach, even if she didn’t actually have it at the time.
Next to her, she felt Sweetie Belle trying the same thing. Green light started flowing into the changeling’s eyes, signalling the magic was working. Her body quivered as the strange energies swirled and coalesced into something useful. Now that she had magical energy in her grasp, all she had to do was make it do something. So she concentrated on the hole in the roof and commanded her magic to put the boards there.
Tension built up in the air, reality itself objecting to this minor violation of the rules that existence had agreed upon since its inception. Scootaloo held the tension and built up her own energies just beyond the veil of the real. Next to her, Sweetie Belle was doing exactly the same, no doubt following instincts like her orange friend.
They both released.
The green light left the filly’s eyes with a loud clap and rushed forward to do her bidding.
The spell was cast.
They both opened their eyes and looked at the roof.
“Okay, so which one of us shot the second hole?” Scootaloo asked.
Applejack pressed her hoof to her head in annoyance. “And that’s why you always buy spare boards.” They’d only needed three, really, but right now six was definitely the magic number.
“Maybe we should just get the hammers.” Scootaloo flew up.
Applejack got the tools ready as the two other fillies got the boards up. The mare gave the new changeling a funny look.
“You learned to fly, too?”
“Came with the package.”
She pulled Apple Bloom up on the roof and got to work, lowering her voice to a whisper when Applejack’s back was turned.
“Hey, Apple Bloom?”
The filly looked up as she got ready to work her usual repairing magic, hammer held in hoof. “Whash wrong?” she mouthed with a few tacks in her mouth.
“I think I’m going to need some advice,” Scootaloo whispered, “about boys.”
If she hadn’t had a mouthful of sharp objects, Apple Bloom would have gulped at that.
Talking with Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle about Rumble turned out not to be the smartest idea Scootaloo had had in recent history. Apple Bloom barely knew the colt enough to put a face on the name – and she confused him for Shady Daze even then – while Sweetie Belle couldn’t stop asking why Scootaloo wanted to know about him to begin with. All in all, neither had been very helpful.
Thankfully, Applejack had good hearing, and rather than questioning the girl’s motives, she recommended getting information from a more reliable source. If Scootaloo really wanted to know about Rumble, the best pony to ask would be someone who knew the boy well. Rainbow Dash had had some dealings with Rumble and his big brother Thunderlane, and any excuse to see Rainbow Dash was good enough for the little filly.
So there she was, scooting and scouting around town at a leisurely pace.
She thought she caught a vague rainbow trail heading west, but she froze before she could follow it.
Her mouth watered, her stomach rumbled.
A smell had hit her nose and ingrained itself right in her brain. It spoke of succulent tomato, deliciously soft dairy, and a herbal mix she couldn’t quite place, which was odd, considering she didn’t even like tomatoes that much. Yet she had to know what this was, and if possible get a taste of whatever meal this wondrous aroma originated from.
She closed her eyes and sniffed the air a few times. Where could it be coming from, where? She’d never had to follow her nose before, she couldn’t quite pinpoint anything yet. Her heart felt close to breaking. Heaven was right within her grasp, a delicious new taste sensation just waiting for her to stumble across it, and she couldn’t find it.
She opened her eyes before anypony could catch her embarrassing sniffing. She blinked as she realised where she was standing.
Sugarcube Corner.
Of course.
She parked her scooter at the entrance and slowly walked in, checking if that delicious scent got any stronger. To her delight, it did.
Mr. Cake nodded in greeting. “Hello, Scootaloo. Bagels as usual, I take it?”
Scootaloo shook her head, trying to get out of that scent-induced daze. “Actually, I was wondering what that smell was. Is that something new?”
“Oh, yes, it’s savoury pies we’re making for a group of visiting gryphons. I hope the smell isn’t too bad?”
Bad? Bad? That delicious smell is supposed to be bad? Scootaloo leaned up to get a better look at some of the pies.They had a golden crust that looked crispy, and from the looks of it a small hole was in the top, allowing the sauce inside to seep out just a little. She licked her lips at the sight. “What’s in them?”
“Tomato sauce, beans, some cheese, and a mix of spices and herbs. It’s called ’chilly’, but it’s a really hot dish. You can try one if you want, but I should warn you, it’s not pony food.”
Scootaloo backed away. “Oh, I really shouldn’t. I don’t have any bits with me.”
“I could just put it on your tab, you know. You look famished.”
She wasn’t, not really, but for some reason that smell demanded her attention and her stomach insisted on growling as loud as it could. She had to have it. “I’ll come back for one later, if that’s okay.”
Before the stallion could inquire further, Pinkie Pie came storming out of the kitchen, carrying a tray of the golden heaps of deliciousness. “All pies ready and accounted for!”
“Pinkie Pie, why did you make one extra?”
“In case anypony wants to try a free sample, of course!” Pinkie replied cheerfully, putting one of the pies on the hotplate and rapidly slicing it into bite-sized chunks.
Scootaloo’s eyes lit up at the sight. It smelled even better on the inside, and it took all her force of will to contain that stray sliver of green slime determined to make its way from her lips to the floor. Her strange hunger was finally derailed by something, though.
“Umm, actually, now that I think about it… Pinkie Pie, could I talk to you for a little bit, in private?”
“Sure.” Pinkie ushered her to her room while Mr. Cake was left to wonder what the filly’s problem was. He just shrugged it off and carried on, chalking it up Pinkie being contagious.
Pinkie Pie sat down on her bed and patted next to her, motioning for Scootaloo to sit. “So what’s on your mind? Why didn’t you take that pie?”
“It’s complicated. You wouldn’t understand.”
Pinkie’s tail started twitching. “Try me.”
“I just didn’t have any money with me, that’s all. If I want a pie, I want to buy it.”
“But Mr Cake was going to let you have it and pay for it later. So what’s the problem?”
Scootaloo sighed. “Because I’d still be taking the pie. I don’t want to just take stuff. If I start just taking stuff, then… you know, the way I am now? I might start liking it and not be able to stop taking things. Maybe I’m just being silly.”
“Nah, that’s not silly. I know how you feel.”
Scootaloo raised an eyebrow at her.
“I live right over a bakery, remember? It’s not exactly what you’ve got, but I know where you’re going. I have to watch my sweet tooth, too. I know what it’s like to worry about what you can and can’t have, but it’s okay to get a little treat now and then. Just because you don’t want to keep taking things doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy anything. But those pies are for gryphons, you know, it’s not really something most ponies like to eat.”
The filly groaned and drooled. “I know, but that smell is just so good, I couldn’t stop myself. I had to know what it was, at least.”
“Oh, why not have a free sample, then?” Pinkie Pie presented her a little slice.
It disappeared into Scootaloo’s mouth before either of them could blink.
Scootaloo slowly chewed the piece. The crust gave way under her teeth, slightly salty and nearly melting on her tongue. Then that hit of chili came to tingle her taste buds, little flecks of cheese easing what would be a spicy assault to a gentle caress. Her tongue moved it back and forth, relishing the many spices and manoeuvring something chunkier towards her teeth. Slowly, she bit down on a bean, and the soft texture washed away some of the harsher hot touches.
She swallowed. Pinkie Pie winced. “Well? Told you it wasn’t regular pony food. Not too bad?”
Scootaloo stared straight ahead, lost in her own little delirium of deliciousness. “This… is the best pie… in the history of pie.”
“Huh. Guess the Cakes can make some more for you then?”
That got an excited nod from the little changeling filly.
“Well, always happy to help, and don’t worry about the you-know-what. I won’t tell you-know-who or that other pony. I think that pony whose name I’m not supposed to say might suspect something, though.”
“Err…”
“Oh wait, that’s me! I didn’t realise that. And I just realised you didn’t want to talk to me about just pies, did you? I mean, obviously I know about pies, but you don’t eat pies that often. At least, I don’t see you eating pies that often, maybe you should try it. Pies are yummy.”
Scootaloo let Pinkie rant on, something the mare was not at all used to. She narrowed her eyes at the filly’s unusually shy demeanour. “Is something wrong, Scootaloo? Somepony giving you the grumpies? Want me to turn that frown upside down?” Pinkie contorted her neck to illustrate.
Scootaloo shrugged and shook her head. “No, nothing’s wrong. At least, I don’t think anything’s wrong. The whole you-know-what’s been kind of a dud. Not a lot of ponies know, and the ones who do don’t mind.”
“Then what would you want to ask me that you wouldn’t ask a smart pony like Twilight?”
Scootaloo took a deep breath. “Promise you won’t tell anyone about this?”
The weirdest thing happened then. Pinkie Pie stopped smiling and just stared. All the bubbliness of Pinkie Pie, all the silly giggles and charades, it all just faded away for a little bit.
“I promise. Cross my heart and hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye. Now, what did you want to ask?”
“You know everypony in town, right?”
Pinkie Pie grinned, her cheer right back. “Sure I do. Every single pony in Ponyville is friends with me, even the ones that aren’t ponies.”
“So you know all the pegasus ponies too, right?”
“Of course. I’ve even got a balloon to stop’em for a friendly chat. Why do you ask? Want to plan a surprise for Rainbow Dash?”
Scootaloo sighed and gathered up her courage. “No, I’d just like to know... what can you tell me about Rumble?”
Pinkie Pie raised her eyebrow, confused. “Rumble?”
“Grey pegasus colt, always has his hair back–“
“Oh, I know him, but what do you want to know?”
“Nothing special, but just… stuff. I never see him around in school, and he seems like a pretty interesting guy. I don’t know anything about him, and I’m just curious. Suppose I want to talk to him about something, what am I supposed to talk about?”
Pinkie Pie giggled to herself. “Well, he is a pretty interesting little guy. He usually hangs out with his big brother, and he’s pretty fit, but he doesn’t do sports. He’s a bit of a weird little guy, actually. You know he got in on that waterspout training, right?”
Scootaloo nodded. “What I don’t understand is why he’d bother joining the grownups for something like that. What’s he trying to get at? What does he do all day?”
Pinkie shrugged. “Beats me. But I hear he’s got really strong wings, so he must work those a lot. I don’t know why, though. I guess he just likes going fast, like Rainbow Dash. Or like you.”
Pinkie’s earlier giggling made sense now. Scootaloo didn’t compete either, and she was the fastest foal in town. Granted, only on land, but that was due to her having to catch up on airtime.
“He might be trying to impress his brother, but I don’t think so. He’s not clingy and he never tries to get any attention. He might just be shy. I don’t see him around that much, either. But when I do, he doesn’t look sad, so I guess he’s alone, but not lonely.”
“So he’s got strong wings, and he keeps to himself. Is that all?” Scootaloo had been expecting something more substantial, considering the boy’s loner nature. Weren’t the quiet ones always supposed to be awesome in secret?
“Well, he has been hanging around with Diamond Tiara for a bit…”
“Wait, what? Diamond Tiara and Rumble? Together?” the filly exclaimed, not so much to ask as to repeat it for herself in case she’d misheard.
“Yeah, I don’t get it either. He doesn’t seem to like her very much, but all of a sudden he’s been tagging along with Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon, no idea why. I think Rumble just doesn’t make much sense.” Coming from a mare even Twilight Sparkle had a hard time figuring out, this was saying a lot. “But I’m sure he’d give you great advice if you want to train your wings.”
“Okay. That’s all I needed to know. Thanks for the pie, and the talk.”
“Don’t mention it.”
As her stomach finished digesting the little slice of heaven, Scootaloo’s head digested this new information. It wasn’t a lot more than what she’d started with, but it was something, at least. So Rumble mostly trained his wings, but obviously he didn’t have a lot of agility. He liked to keep to himself, but that was mostly because he didn’t have anything to share. He trained, but he didn’t care about getting recognition.
That didn’t make a lot of sense. Even Scootaloo liked it when her friends complimented her on her scooter skills or her dancing. She’d never go out to do it in front of a crowd, but still the feedback was nice. So who was patting his back?
It occurred to her as she mounted her scooter to head home – well, aunt Vinyl’s, her weekday home – that maybe Rumble had gone the extra mile and joined in with the waterspout training to impress someone other than his brother.
That was a scary thought.
Suppose Rumble really wanted me to notice him, and I never did?
Which begged the question, what would Diamond Tiara have to do with any of that?
Scootaloo came to school the same way she always did, racing in and skidding to a stop. She grunted as she took off her helmet and adjusted her backpack.
It was that awful time of the month again.
First Tuesday of the month, new topic day. A day every foal in Ponyville dreaded because it meant taking a new batch of books to school and taking the old batch back home. And that meant heavy backpacks in the morning and afternoon.
Some of the smaller foals liked to get their parents to carry the new load, but given her odd family situation that wasn’t an option. Not that she minded. She’d dragged heavier things behind her (mostly ponies) and she was already pretty strong. Today was more of a workout she didn’t much look forward to than a real chore. Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle were already heading in when Scoots heard a familiar buzzing.
“Hey, Rumble,” she greeted when he stopped. His backpack looked positively swollen and slightly reminiscent of an anvil.
“Come on, blank flank! You’ll be tardy!” a voice called out behind the girl. Upon turning around, Scootaloo noticed that Diamond Tiara hadn’t aimed that at her.
She was calling Rumble.
The boy gave a nervous and definitely forced smile.
“You’re carrying Diamond Tiara’s books?” They headed to the school building.
“And Silver Spoon’s. I thought, maybe, if somepony tried being nice to them, they’d be nicer too.”
“And how’s that working out?”
Before he could reply, they both caught the sound of doves cooing. A pair of turtle doves had made their nest in the tree right by their school. She couldn’t think of why, but for some reason Scootaloo couldn’t help looking at them. They looked so happy together, grooming each other with their beaks, almost kissing as they cooed to one another…
“Err… pretty good,” the boy replied, breaking her reverie.
She turned to face him. Something didn’t feel right here. His smell was still off, almost musky.
“Are you okay?” he asked as they resumed their walk.
“Of course I am. Are you?”
Rumble shrugged. “Yeah, why wouldn’t I be?”
She didn’t press the issue. Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle were waiting alongside Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon, Miss Cheerilee right behind them in case they got delayed at the door, as chatter was prone to do.
Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon collected their books from their new beast of burden, who just smiled as casually as he could, which wasn’t very. Miss Cheerilee patted his head and ushered him inside with a compliment, but the Crusaders weren’t buying it.
The girls all entered, the boy went to his class, and for some reason Scootaloo felt her heart sink.
Apple Bloom grumbled. “I think something’s wrong with Rumble.”
The Crusaders shared a look over lunch as they sat on the school roof. They always ate there, regardless of the former pegasus pony’s flying skills. The climb was easy and the view was great. Apple Bloom had been the first to speak up, but Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle were clearly thinking the same thing.
“You noticed that too, huh?” Scootaloo took a bite out of a vegetable and cheese wrap Octavia had made for her, no doubt after a talk with Pinkie Pie.
Sweetie Belle nodded in agreement. “It’s hard to miss. I mean, Diamond Tiara? Why would anypony try to be nice to Diamond Tiara?”
“He told me he thought it might make her a little nicer, too.”
“Suppose he’s got a crush on her?” Sweetie Belle asked, ever the romantic.
“The way she makes him carry her stuff? I don’t think so. Look.” Apple Bloom pointed over to the tree where Diamond Tiara was lunching with Rumble.
Rumble’s head hung a little low as Diamond ate a brownie right in front of him. One that had been in his lunchbox a few seconds before.
Scootaloo gulped and swallowed. She gritted her teeth in anger as the scene unfolded before her.
She took his brownie.
You do not take a colt’s brownie.
Scootaloo heard a shuffling behind her. The girls turned and all had the same idea when they caught the source.
Sweetie Belle lowered her voice to a whisper. “Hey, Featherweight, come here.”
Blushing a little, the pegasus colt crept upward towards the girls.
“You took pictures of everypony when Diamond Tiara ran the school newspaper, right?”
He nodded.
“Did you get anything on Rumble?”
Featherweight shook his head.
“No embarrassing pictures? Nothing at all?” Apple Bloom asked.
Again, a shaking head was all the boy replied.
“Okay, thanks.”
With a nod, the colt returned to his lunch.
The girls sighed as they tried to figure out Rumble’s predicament. He was clearly in trouble, Diamond Tiara was openly taking advantage of him.
And nopony was going to help, because no grownup would ever see what was going on here. Pondering this over, Scootaloo turned her head to look at a slowly retreating Featherweight.
“Does that kid even have a voice?”
“He does,” Berry Pinch said as she walked up to the trio on the roof, clambering up on a barrel of rain water, “he just had a little run-in with a tree on the way here.”
“What do you mean by that?” Scoots asked.
“She means that my camera strap got caught on a branch,” Featherweight said in a raspy voice, rubbing that sore throat and blushing a little. Sweetie Belle winced at the thought. It sounded pretty painful..
“Really?” the white unicorn filly asked, croaking a little herself just from thinking about it.
“Yeah, he gets that once every couple of days,” Berry said as the colt flew off to enjoy his lunch, “but that’s not what I wanted to talk to you about.”
“And why-” Scootaloo started, suddenly realising Berry Pinch never spoke to them. As a matter of fact, Berry usually went home to eat lunch, and Scootaloo was pretty sure she’d seen her leave already.
“I know your secret, Scootaloo.”
Scootaloo shuddered, but tried to hide her nervousness. She gasped, though, and the air going in came with a weird taste. She sensed something, a presence she’d not sensed since...
No.
“What secret?”
“Yeah, what secret?” Apple Bloom asked.
Taking one moment to make sure the colt wasn’t looking, Berry Pinch held up one hoof and conjured the barest hint of a green flame, revealing the blackened surface beneath. The fake unicorn locked eyes with the girls.
“I know what you are,” the changeling stated flatly before completing her disguise again.
The Crusaders’ eyes widened in realization. Apple Bloom was the first to recover from the shock. The three furtively looked around, but their classmates were all preoccupied with their meals.
This couldn’t be happening, not like this. Not out in the open, this was crazy.
“You wouldn’t show something like that for no good reason, nopony would. What do you want? Protection?” Apple Bloom started.
“I can protect myself, thanks. I’m not interested in you, just Scootaloo. Come to the clock tower tomorrow at five. There are a few things I’d like to discuss with you, just you. Come alone, no tricks. If you don’t, I’m taking your secret straight to Equestria Daily.”
“We could just turn you in now, you know,” Sweetie Belle started, “you’re in plain sight, at a schoolyard. All we have to do is scream.”
“You could try that. You’re right: all you have to do is scream and ponies will come rushing in. But unless you three decide to jump me, all I have to do is run, and then I can be anywhere, or anyone, before any grownup even gets the chance to ask what happened. And when they do, even if you manage to catch me and hold me, what then?”
The three fillies looked to one another as they realised the full extent of what she was saying.
“You’d still have to explain why any changeling would be interested in you to begin with. I’m pretty sure your friend there doesn’t want that kind of attention any more than I do. So, Scootaloo: what do you say?”
Scootaloo glared at the filly in front of her, assuming it was a filly -- she couldn’t really tell from the hoof, and she wasn’t even sure if she’d recognise the difference on a full body -- before finishing her response.
“Five o’ clock at the belltower, huh? Okay. I’ll come alone. On one condition.”
“Name it,” not-Berry offered with a victorious grin.
“You don’t follow me or my friends around. You wanna talk to any of us, you ask. I don’t know if you noticed, but there’s this weird kind of smell that only we can pick up on. I’ll listen to what you have to say, but you do not get to sneak up on me or my friends.”
“I don’t think you realise who you’re dealing with,” Berry Pinch’s double threatened.
“Neither do you,” Scootaloo replied in kind. “I don’t know what kind of Hive you might have backing you up, but there are ponies, friends, who know about me already. And if I don’t want you bugging me, they’re not going to let you. So: I don’t try anything funny, you don’t try anything funny. Sound fair?”
The girl turned, suppressing a snort. It dawned on the pegasus that this girl looked sad when she’d threatened her back.
“Fine by me.”
And with that, she was off, jumping straight into a bush that briefly flashed green. What stepped out of the bush was a grey unicorn colt that had a seven pointed star with two crossed swords in front of it for a cutie mark.
Then there was silence. She was gone, and the Cutie Mark Crusaders were left to ponder what exactly had just happened.
A changeling walking right up to three kids, threatening them in broad daylight, and walking right off again.
It was the world gone mad.
All three were thinking the same thing.
This must be Tuesday.
“I can’t believe you’d agree to that, Scootaloo,” Apple Bloom slapped her friend’s head.
“What else was I supposed to do? You heard her, there’s nothing I can do. And besides, I think she really just wants to talk.”
Sweetie Belle raised an eyebrow. “But isn’t that dangerous? What if she tries to trap you?”
“Think about it. At the belltower we can both fly away. If there’s trouble, I can shoot the bell with my magic and everypony in town will notice. And why would she want to trap me? I don’t have anything any changeling could want.”
Apple Bloom raised a hoof to her head to ponder it. “I suppose you might be right about that. But what if you do get in trouble?”
“Then you won’t be anywhere near it, and I’ll get out as fast as I can. She wouldn’t show herself to all three of us if she didn’t want us to have a backup plan. And...”
“What’s wrong?” Apple Bloom started.
“Did you see the way she looked when I said I had friends backing me up? She looked sad.”
“Kind of, I guess. Maybe she lost her Hive,” Sweetie Belle offered.
Scootaloo felt the blood drain from her face. “Or she never had a Hive. She could be like me.”
Sweetie Belle’s eyes widened. “Wow. That would be kind of weird. But what do we do next?”
“Same thing we were going to do, right? Try to get our cutie marks?” Scootaloo replied.
“You really wanna keep going? I mean, with all this?”
“Why not? It’s not like it changes anything. Why would we have to do anything different?” the orange filly argued.
Cheerilee came out and called all the foals to class again. Berry Pinch -- the real one, presumably -- came trotting in as well. It was like nothing had happened, for anypony.
And Rumble still looked miserable, trailing behind Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon. He kept smiling, though, that only made it more unsettling.
Never mind that stupid changeling, what’s wrong with Rumble?
“So then we’re still on for this afternoon?”
Nodding, Scootaloo kept her eye on the colt.
Nothing had changed.
“Yeah, we’re going crusading, same as usual.”
Rumble ran, his wings locked in terror. The forest grabbed at him with every chance it had, little branches pushing and prodding into his flesh. It didn’t hurt, but that was the problem. The poking and prodding was making him sweat.
He stopped and panted. “I can’t... keep going... please... somepony help.”
He looked around, his head lolling from one side to the other. It was dark all around, a red dark instead the calming blues he was used to. The branches around were all gnarled, but it was the leaves that he couldn’t stand. Soft, tender leaves that kept on seeking out his tender spots, even now they beckoned in the wind and dared him to surrender. Little pink cherry blossoms appeared on the trees and started falling.
“Wait, what? That’s not right, those are-- “ a stray petal landed on his neck and made him jump “GIYAAH! This isn’t real. Those are oak leaves, they don’t have cherry blossoms. Wake up, Rumble, wake up!”
Regardless, a cloud of pink started to form around him. He swatted at a petal on his shoulder, then at one on his wing.
“Stop it. Stop it, stop touching me!”
His ears perked to a creeking. The roots of the forest were beginning to grow. Before he could react, his front legs were tied up and pulled over his head.
“Wait, no!”
He kicked and flailed, but only found his hind legs being tied up as well. He struggled against the vines even as the soft pink leaves stroked his face. His wings flapped in a panic, but when he saw the canopy overhead he gasped and stopped.
A single petal fell on his chest, then made its way down to his belly. He tried to struggle, but he couldn’t get it off. And more were falling, a cloud of pink to tickle and carress his body.
“Stop, please. Stop touching me. Let me wake up, just let me wake up, please.”
More petals fell, more gentle caresses to follow those muscle lines and set his nerve endings aflame. Rumble felt himself be stroked over his sensitive belly, the tiny leaves seeking out his soft spots. His stomach groaned, and his body started going into spasms, flailing helplessly against his bonds.
“Make it stop. Somepony, please…”
A fell wind rose up, and the pink petals were banished. A clap of thunder, and his bonds were released. The forest shrank and retreated, leaving the bewildered colt alone.
Rumble sat there, shivering. He didn’t dare see what the dream had in store for him next.
“Are you all right, little boy?”
Rumble shot up and turned towards his saviour. “Princess Luna? What are you doing here?”
Princes Luna approached, bringing a calm breeze with her that smelled of roses. She smiled down at him. “I am the Princess of the Night. It is my duty to guard the dreams of ponies and safeguard them. You called out for help, and quite insistently at that. So please, answer me, are you all right?”
He shivered as she approached. She sat down in front of him and unfurled her wings, as if inviting him under them. He stayed put.
“Yes, Your Highness. Just a little shaken up, no biggie. I’ve had worse. I’m confused, though... you know what I’ve been dreaming? What everypony dreams?”
She chuckled. “No. I sense nightmares, and I do my best to fight them off. Most of the time I do not even need to show myself. You, on the other hoof, appeared to be in greater distress than I’m used to.” She extended a hoof to his face, to which he recoiled. “You’re scared of being touched. Has someone been touching you?”
He shook his head. “Umm, no, not like that. I, umm...”
“I’m here to help, little boy. But I need to know what is wrong in order to do that.”
He sighed. “My name is Rumble, Your Highness, and I just have this problem with this girl. It’s really complicated.”
She smiled. “Well, then, Rumble, she must be quite an important girl for you to have such an impressive nightmare over. Where is she, then? I think I’d like to see this pony for myself.”
He blushed and looked away. Luna took a look at his wings. When she took note of their state, she scanned what remained of the forest. The dark blue of a natural night had begun to creep in again, and none of the trees made a move towards the boy. The wind caught a pink petal, and Rumble winced when she picked it up in her hoof and blew it away. When next her gaze fell upon him, she looked at him with sympathy and understanding. “It’s not a girl that caused this particular nightmare, is it?”
He bit his lip. “No, Your Highness.”
She sighed. “Do you want to talk about it?”
“No.”
“Do you need to talk about it?”
He sobbed. “I can’t. It hurts too much.”
“I could help give you some relief. Do you want me to --”
He backed away and started shaking his head violently, going into a panic again. “No. No, you can’t do that while I’m--”
She smiled down at him and held up a hoof. “All right, all right, Rumble, I understand. I do not force myself unto personal matters, rest assured. I shan’t pry, and I’ll leave you to work it out on your own. If you truly feel so strongly about it, I will not intervene in your dreams again unless you call for me.”
He let off a little sigh of relief. “Thank you, princess Luna. I will call if I need you, I promise.”
“Good. In the meantime, shall I drop you off at a Wonderbolt derby?”
While she didn’t get a verbal answer, princess Luna had learned by now that a ‘squee’ means ‘yes, please’.
Crusading after school had indeed been the usual fare for Scootaloo. Well, as usual as getting shot out of a cannon could be.
Honestly, Scootaloo was beginning to think the grownups should just stop giving the Cutie Mark Crusaders dangerous things if they were only going to complain when they actually used them. And besides, it’s not like they broke anything valuable. That old park shed was going to get torn down any day now, they were doing a public service. But yet again, the populace of Ponyville had decided that the girls had had enough opportunities to get their cutie marks for one day, and getting shot out of a cannon was definitely not their talent.
Not that it mattered for Scootaloo. Her cutie mark would never come, regardless of what she did. The best she could hope for was to find something she really liked doing and fake a cutie mark to go with it.
That other changeling bothered her a little, though. She didn’t want to drag her friends into any trouble, and they’d agreed that if they didn’t get a sign of her after the meeting, they’d get the authorities. Scootaloo, at least, was pretty sure it wouldn’t come to that, since the girl had kept her word and her distance, as far as she knew. That other changeling was probably hiding, and she couldn’t blame her.
But those concerns were to be addressed another day. Right now Scootaloo had another concern, namely flight practice. She’d bidden her friends a good day when the dust had settled and their sisters decided they’d had enough fun for one day, and after notifying her aunt Vinyl where she’d be – as well making an entry in her diary that could be summarised as ‘Boom’ – she’d taken her scooter to White Tail Woods.
This place was perfect. There was a main road she could ride her scooter on even if she tired out her wings, the trees were placed close enough to be a challenge but far enough to be safe, and the undergrowth would break her fall as long as she didn’t take too much altitude. Still, she went deeper into the forest just in case something happened to make her lose her shape. It hadn’t happened yet, but then she hadn’t had a lot of time to have it happen.
She pulled her scooter over when she found a clearing that looked remote and big enough for her practice. She took a deep breath and started flapping her wings, channelling a little bit of magic to make herself lighter. It didn’t take much, and since her transformation she’d found it quite easy to pull off, as if her pegasus powers were just waiting for the right time to pop up. She wasn’t a pegasus anymore, true, but her new form allowed her to assume some of the innate abilities. She hadn’t quite figured out why those abilities had waited for her change, though.
Slowly but surely, Scootaloo felt her body get lighter and the ground parted with her hooves. The buzzing of her wings filled the air, along with the sound of her steady breaths. Once she had some lift, she went straight up just to make sure she could do it properly now, keeping herself relatively close to the ground for safety’s sake.
Okay, step one complete. I’m off the ground, just like before. TIme for step two.
Speed.
Picking up the pace, she buzzed her wings as fast as she could and launched herself forward.
Then she dropped like a cannonball once the burst wore off.
Landing neatly on the soft forest floor, the filly contemplated her landing and made a mental note that she was right in keeping low altitude to start off. She knew she’d plummeted exactly like a cannonball, she’d gotten some experience in the matter just a few hours ago. Scootaloo rubbed her head and cleaned herself off as she thought about what had gone wrong. She’d done it exactly the same way she’d seen Rainbow Dash go, but apparently she couldn’t keep herself airborne after picking up speed, even with bigger (if fake) pegasus wings. That’s going to be a problem.
The quiet sound of a sob interrupted her train of thought, along with a smell she couldn’t quite place. Perking her ears, Scootaloo fetched her helmet and scooter and made her way deeper into the forest. The sobs weren’t too noticeable, but that musky smell lured her onward.
Eventually she reached another clearing. Right beside her, she found a skateboard and a black helmet. Right in front of her, she found a grey colt with a dark mane. All in all, she thought he was pretty good-looking, at least usually. Right now, though, he was hunched over and crying. Scootaloo sighed as she approached, keeping three steps distance just in case. She hardly knew him, but it was enough to know she had to act. “Rumble?”
He snapped his head towards her, and quickly dried his tears. “Scootaloo? What are you doing here?”
“I’m practising my flying. What are you doing here?”
“Same thing.” He forced out a smile.
Scootaloo took one step forward and tilted her head at him. “You looked like you were crying. And you kind of still are.”
Rumble shook his head and rubbed his eyes. “I am not. It’s just something in my eye.”
“It’s okay, Rumble. I won’t tell anyone. I promise.”
Just then, he stared right into her eyes as she took another step. His eyes watered, and he couldn’t hold her compassionate gaze for long. He shook all over, and he pressed his lips together to keep his secret in, to no avail. “It’s Diamond Tiara. She’s ruining my life. I have to do everything she says and there’s nothing I can do about it.”
“Why? Does she know something about you?”
He nodded with another sob and a sigh. “S-she knows the most horrible thing anyone could know about me, and she threatened to tell everypony. Now she’s got me, and I can’t do anything about it. I can’t even hit her because she’s a girl.”
Scootaloo tilted her head at the thought. Rumble looked like he was gritting his teeth in anger, which seemed decidedly out of character for him, from what little she knew. “That bad, huh?”
He nodded, another tear making its way down its face. “You have no idea.”
“But… come on, what could be worse than what she’s doing to you? She’s making you carry her stuff, and I saw her take your brownie. Diamond’s treating you like a slave, it’s not right. She’s going to keep taking your stuff if you let her. You know she’s not going to stop. Do you really think it’s worth it?”
Rumble wiped his nose on his foreleg and frowned, not even daring to look her in the eye. “You don’t understand. You don’t know how bad this is. Nopony could understand.”
“So what is it, then? Did you steal something?”
“No.” He winced, annoyed.
“Did you hurt anyone?”
He shook his head vehemently at that one. “No.”
Scootaloo thought it over. That really only left one option. “Did you wet the bed?”
“No!” His face contorted in shame. He shook his head back and forth slowly. “Well… not exactly.”
“Huh?” His words sunk into Scootaloo’s mind. Somewhere in those dark recesses they found the many lectures she’d had when she’d changed, particularly the lectures on reproduction. As it turned out, it was very difficult to explain how her condition came from her ancestors without explaining how ancestors gave their descendants anything to begin with.
This meant that her parents had had to explain the facts of life to her. Which they had.
And then aunt Vinyl had explained the facts of life to her, with quite a bit more enthusiasm and detail.
And then Octavia, then Twilight, not to mention the doctors… she’d be the smartest pony in class once that particular part of the curriculum came up. She wouldn’t be ahead on the practical side of it by any means, but one takes every advantage one can get in academia.
Yet, despite the confusing messages of all the explanations she’d had -- some decidedly more colourful than others – she had managed to rememberl the basic differences between boy parts and girl parts, as well as the complicated folds and creases that offered ponies some safety and kept their private parts private most of the time. She also recalled one of the things her aunt Vinyl had said about boys, or stallions in particular.
Suddenly she realised what that musky smell around him was. “Oh, oh! Oh. Wait a second, how is that embarrassing? That’s supposed to happen to a colt, isn’t it? It just means you’re growing up into a stallion.”
“Yeah, but it’s not supposed to happen when you’re ten. And it’s not something other ponies are supposed to know about.” He groaned.
Silence fell, and things seemed to well up in the boy, dirty little secrets that had been festering in his mind for too long. Scootaloo sighed in sympathy, wordlessly prompting him to get it off his chest.
“About a week ago, I woke up in the middle of the night after this really weird dream. I was hot all over and there was this smelly stain on my bed. My stomach was upset and I was, well, leaking. I’ve felt sick ever since, but my brother told me that’s normal. It runs in the family, he says. Then I started smelling bad, I keep getting these headaches and I can’t cool myself down. I went to see a doctor, and he said if it really got too bad, I should just start…”
He didn’t finish that sentence. He didn’t need to, Scootaloo knew that word by now – Thanks again, aunt Vinyl – and she figured it would be pretty embarrassing to admit to doing. Even if supposedly it was something every boy past a certain age did.
“And Diamond?”
“My mom was talking to Miss Cheerilee and Miss Poppy. She told them I might be a little distracted in class. She didn’t want my teachers to worry, swore them to secrecy. My mom told them the whole story, and I don’t know how, but Diamond Tiara overheard everything.”
He hung his head and stayed quiet after that admission. Scootaloo could almost see the weight of shame around his neck, dragging him down at every turn. Rumble was at a loss, and she couldn’t blame him. It was rough, no matter how one looked at it. She couldn’t just do nothing.
“Do you want a hug?” Scootaloo blurted out before she could stop herself.
The colt’s eyes narrowed in anger. “Are you making fun of me?”
She recoiled. “No, no, honest. Umm, look, if you want to be alone, that’s okay. I won’t tell anyone, I promise.” The filly backed away, her face showing only sympathy.
He clenched his eyes shut for a moment. “Don’t go. I’m sorry, I don’t wanna be alone. I thought I could stop worrying if I just focused on flying, but it’s not working.
“I know how that feels,” the changeling in disguise remarked.
“I guess you would.” He nodded towards her wings. “I just didn’t think you were the hugging type.”
Scootaloo blushed, and noticed Rumble was starting to follow suit. “Well, I didn’t think you were the type who’d need a hug. But you look like you need one now.”
She sat down right in front of him and wrapped her forelegs around his body. He didn’t protest, he didn’t even shake, he just grabbed her and squeezed for comfort. His whole body felt warm, feverish, even.
“Thanks, Scootaloo. You have no idea how much this hurts. You don’t know what it’s like to have your body going haywire with nopony to talk to.”
Scootaloo bit her lip. Yeah, I do, Rumble. I know exactly what that’s like.
Her hoof trailed idly over the boy’s back, and the oddest sensation started creeping up her limb. It was like she could see and taste with her hoof. Running her hoof up and down his back to comfort him, she got vague impressions of tiny lights moving up his spine. Little sparks signaled his heartbeat, his muscles tensing up, everything. She could see the energies inside him, except it wasn’t really seeing. The whole thing was confusing at first, but she eventually found it must be a different sense altogether, as different from sight as smell was.
What’s more, she could see what his problem was. Right behind and a little below his belly button, she sensed a great mass of red, a stale-smelling lump of what felt like dough. It was warm and starting to go bad, and it was turning Rumble’s insides red. All around, little lights went on and off around it, like it was poised to be purged but stuck somehow, or maybe just being held back.
He was holding on to some kind of energy that he had to get rid of, she realised. Some force of will and a cursory rub, and the red thing moved as the lights around it flashed. It didn’t look that bad, she could probably squeeze it out and absorb it. It’d be just like sipping on a milkshake, only different. It wouldn’t taste very good, but she’d never had pure energy like that, so maybe taste wasn’t the only thing she had to look for?
She stopped that train of thought.
She was thinking about feeding. Off Rumble. But then, that was the only way she could help him without embarrassing him. The alternative wasn’t exactly an attractive option, either.
Scootaloo sighed, pressing the boy close enough for their heartbeats to be felt in the other’s chest. Twilight had said she’d know when to use her powers. Princess Celestia herself had written, in an official letter, that she had to learn when the right time was.
If now isn’t the right time, when is?
“Rumble? This might sound kinda weird, but... what if I could take it away?”
He tensed up. “You mean --”
“I’m not gonna move, and neither are you. I just want to try to help, but I won’t do it if you don’t want me to. I’m pretty sure it’ll feel weird.”
He took a few deep breaths and clutched her tighter. The grey colt was getting close to bruising her in his vice grip, but she didn’t want to startle him bringing it up. “Please help.”
With a deep breath of her own to steady herself, Scootaloo started rubbing up and down his back, slowly letting her magic flow to pull at the red thing. Rumble groaned as she did, sweating more with each pull. She worried it slowly like a loose tooth, then made her stroke shorter and slightly faster. The lights behind his belly started flickering, muscles activating and little spasms beginning to work their way out from another spot further down.
“Wuh-wait... you’re gonna make me --”
“Shh. You’ll be okay. Just think about pretty girls and it’ll be over before you know it. You’ll feel better soon, I promise.” As she said it, Scootaloo felt a tension deep down in her chest, a sense of profound wrongness mixed with a compelling instinct. A slight buzzing echo crept in her voice, a comforting lull that made the boy’s grip loosen. She could feel her prey’s energies converging on the red, tightening their grip to squeeze it out even as she tightened hers.
“It’s okay.” She cooed gently, hoping he wouldn’t notice the double voice. “I won’t tell anyone.”
All the while, she kept up her rubs over his back, wriggling the red energy in his body back and forth.
Rumble’s wings had gone stiff a while ago, fully extended and staying that way. His body started shaking, and she was pretty sure he was suppressing a moan. The red in him started twitching inside, his body aching to be rid of this offending lump.
“D-don’t... make me...” His hips began to thrust despite his best efforts at staying still.
“It’s all right, I’ve got you.”
With one last firm pull with her magic, the energy shot up and out. Scootaloo forced it backwards, the opposite path it was trying to take, sending it up his spine and into her hooves. Rumble’s body twitched as the red left him, hips bucking in a reflex and face contorted in guilty pleasure.
The changeling kept on feeding, riding the throes of her prey as she sucked up all that excess energy. She could feel the colt’s body cooling down, wings finally relaxing, body slumping....
She stopped herself as that stale red energy made its way into her stomach.
Rumble was slumping. He wasn’t supposed to slump.
“Whoa, Rumble, are you all right?”
He raised himself up to look at her. He looked tired, but he was recovering pretty fast. He panted in relief, albeit with a guilty blush. She rubbed his belly as he recovered from the shock. To his surprise, there was nothing sticky. It didn’t look like anything had happened, aside from a hug.
“See? No mess, no bad smell. Feel better?” Scootaloo smiled nervously.
He chuckled softly. “Lots. Where did you learn to do that?”
Scootaloo averted her gaze and looked away. “Umm... it’s kind of something I’m good at, but I don’t usually do a lot.”
“Right, I guess you wouldn’t, since your wings only grew in a few days ago.”
The girl blinked at him, then looked at her wings. “You’re the first guy to notice that. And what’s that got to do with -- you know -- whatever it’s called?”
Rumble had regained his composure in full by now. He got back on his hooves, his face looked relaxed, his wings were up but not stiff anymore.
Scootaloo stilled her racing heart as she saw the colt get back to normal.
He’s fine. It didn’t hurt him. I didn’t hurt him.
“It’s a pegasus skill, right? Like pushing lightning out of a cloud? What did you think it was?” He furrowed his brow at her, pensive.
The filly hid her relief at him actually finding a better excuse than anything she could’ve come up with. “I thought it might be some kind of talent, but I never really tried it. You’re my first.”
“Well, you can do me like that any time.” He smiled.
She smiled with him, before the mood turned heavy again. “Look, about the Diamond thing, I want to help. It’s not fair that she gets to hurt you just because your body’s changing.”
“I appreciate it. But you can’t. If she tells anyone, I’ll never live it down. Ever.”
She sighed and put a hoof on his shoulder. “I’ll think of something. And I won’t tell anyone about the... you know....”
He winced. “Thanks. So what are you training for? Agility?”
Scootaloo rolled her eyes at the sudden change in topic, withdrawing her hoof. “Nah, I’ve got agility down. I was just trying to fly fast, but I went straight down instead. I don’t know what I did wrong. I can hover fine now, and fly slow. What about you?”
The boy groaned. “Agility, definitely agility. I got a lot stronger for that big waterspout, and I can fly in a straight line or a curve alright, but I still can’t bank worth anything.”
“Maybe you’re just not flexible enough.”
“Flexible?”
“Like this.” Scootaloo sat down and stretching one hind leg out, folding the other while her front legs stretched to reach for her hoof.
Rumble gulped at the sight of the girl, one slender hind leg extended and her spine curled to display that supple musculature. Her erect wings only served to draw his eye more towards the ribcage seen behind that tantalising flesh.
Scootaloo looked at the boy. He was flush again, and his wings quivered. She slowly released her stretch and got to her hooves. “Oh, right. Sorry about that. But what I mean is that you need to have some flexibility. And some strength in your core, you know? Like, here, feel this.”
She placed his hoof on her side, right on the soft spot below her ribcage. He tentatively felt the surface, breathing a little quicker. “You’re hard.”
“Exactly. I’m hard at my sides, which is what you steer with. And look at you.” She rubbed the side of his abdomen, which gave away quite easily.
“I’m soft at my sides.” He poked his own sides with her, and found his hoof giving way a lot easier than it did with her. He shivered when their hooves touched, she didn’t pay it any heed.
“Yeah, but your back is hard like an anvil. You just need to train the right muscles, that’s all.”
Rumble looked at her, but bit his lip.
“I guess you could say the same thing about me, huh?” Scootaloo tried.
He didn’t reply.
“Come on, Rumble. We’re all alone. Why did you really join in on making that twister with the grownups? Featherweight didn’t, and he could fly fine too.”
Rumble shrugged and looked away. “It’s not what you think.”
Scootaloo flashed him a knowing grin. She walked up to her scooter and helmet and started pushing it forward, with Rumble following suit. After what she’d just pulled, she couldn’t be sure of flight practice was still a good idea for either of them. Rumble didn’t question it.
“Really? So it’s not because you were trying to impress some filly you had a crush on?” She flicked her tail his way, a gentle stroke over his back that made his wings relax some more.
He sighed. “Actually, no. I was hoping it might impress Rainbow Dash.”
That answer took a while to sink in. “And you wanted to do that, why?”
Rumble looked up at the sky. “Ever look up just to see the clouds? Rainbow Dash clears the sky every single day. She assigns her patrols so every crop gets the water on time, she never misses a beat. And she still does a lot of the work herself, even things she doesn’t have to. She’s the most awesome pony in Ponyville, and that’s not even counting her Wonderbolts practice or her stunt flying. So... I guess what I’m trying to say is I’d like to be like her someday. It must be nice knowing everypony can get their food grown because of you, taking away so much risk. I dunno, maybe it’s just me.”
Scootaloo turned that over in her head. “So you want to be a Weather Patrol captain, like Rainbow Dash. That is pretty cool, actually. And I’ve got to admit, training with the grownups is a good way to get noticed. Must’ve been really cool to make that kind of wind and ride it, huh?”
The boy smiled a little. “Yeah, it was fun. But no one saw me.”
She smiled in sympathy. “You did want me to see you, huh? I was with my parents that day, you know, or I’d have come.”
He sighed. “It’s not what you think. I mean, you are pretty and cool and all, but I don’t know you, do I? I don’t think I’ve ever even talked to you this long before.”
The two got back to the main road. “So would you have let any other filly hug you like that?”
He hung his head low. “No. You’re kind of the only other athlete in my field and my age, so... I did kinda want to talk to you before, but I lost my nerve.”
“How come?” She frowned at him, confused.
“I thought maybe I could teach you how to fly.”
For the slightest moment, Scootaloo’s heart skipped a beat. She understood him completely even before he explained himself.
“I kept seeing you on your scooter, doing stunts and all, but you never flew. And I know you wanted Rainbow Dash to notice you, too. But I never saw you fly, and I just figured you didn’t want to ask help from a grownup because that’d make you feel like a baby. And if I offered, then you might think I think you’re weak, and I don’t. So I didn’t. I thought, maybe if you saw me flying really well, you might think to ask me.”
All too soon, they got back to the edge of the forest. Scootaloo shrugged as she put her helmet back on. “I could ask you now, if you like?”
“What?”
“Why not? You know stuff I want to get better at, I know stuff you want to get better at. I don’t know about you, but I wouldn’t mind a training partner. Besides, if we both get good enough, Rainbow Dash might notice both of us.”
“But what about your friends?” He put his helmet on and mounted his skateboard.
“What about my friends? I don’t hang around them all the time, you know. Apple Bloom still hangs out with Twist sometimes. I can sort of fly now, but flying fast is a little different, and I’m already way too far behind on airtime to have to wait for Flight Camp. You said you wanted to teach me sometime. Why not start now?”
He looked away, then kicked the ground softly. “It would be nice to have somepony else to talk to.”
Scootaloo gave a few flaps of the wing to warm up, buzzing in place. “So we’ll meet here again? We can set a date when we see each other in school.”
Rumble smirked. “It’s a date.”
“Perfect. And don’t worry, I’ll find something for Diamond Tiara, and I’ll make sure no one knows about your secret. I promise.”
“Thanks. And umm... don’t tell anyone about what we just did?”
“Hey, I’ve got more of a reputation to lose than you. If anyone asks, we practised flying together like two good, responsible foals,” she declared, hoof on her chest. “And I swear I won’t tell anyone. Cross my heart and hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye. No one will know.”
Scootaloo walked in with a suppressed grin on her face. She’d managed to find out what was bugging Rumble, she’d stood up to a changeling, and she’d done it all without getting her secret exposed to the whole town. All in all, it was a good day, definitely one that deserved more detail than ‘Boom’ in her diary.
Octavia called out in greeting to Scootaloo from the kitchen, no doubt preparing yet another one of her fridge fillers. That was one of the big differences she’d noticed between her week home and her weekend home; her mom made their meals on the fly and would always be in the kitchen for a while before dinner. This gave Scootaloo ample opportunity to talk to her mom, since the mare was pretty good at keeping track of the dishes while holding a conversation.
Octavia, on the other hoof, had that Canterlot drive for organisation ingrained in her. It was normal for her to be in the kitchen at four, preparing a meal that would only take twenty minutes to heat up in the oven, yet took several days to make. She also had several rules about foals in the kitchen, most of them being a ban of some description.
“Yes, I’m home,” Scootaloo called back.
With a sigh, she plopped down on a living room couch, before smiling to aunt Vinyl. The white unicorn was busy reading the papers, though why she did so with her sunglasses on was anyone’s guess.
“Get off the ground any better?” Vinyl asked as her brownish gray housemate exited the kitchen, another batch of zucateros in the fridge. Or zucotinos, whatever one calls a ball of vanilla and chocolate ice cream covered in brownie cake. Scootaloo’s mother called them ‘soccer balls’ and most other ponies just referred to them as ‘delicious’.
“A little. I haven’t got the hang of going fast, though.”
“I’m sure that’ll come in time, darling.” Octavia patted her head.
Scootaloo just smiled.
“So who’s the lucky guy?” Vinyl asked, never taking her shaded eyes off the newspaper.
“What guy?”
“The guy you got frisky with in White Tail Woods.”
Scootaloo clenched her jaw shut to stop from betraying anything. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
Her mind reeled. No one could have seen her and Rumble, she didn’t have anything on her. She’d promised to keep it a secret.
How could aunt Vinyl know already?
Octavia chuckled at the girl’s panic.
“Darling, next time you get that close to a colt who’s that excited, you might want to consider washing off the smell of boy musk before you come home.”
“I swear I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Scootaloo attested once more.
Vinyl shot Octavia a look from behind those sunglasses, one that elicited the Earth pony to sit down next to the orange filly. The unicorn cleared her throat. “Look, squirt, we know you wouldn’t let a grownup get that close to you, you know better. And you’re not dumb enough to be doing anything with a boy you shouldn’t be doing. But I’d still like to know what exactly you did and why you smell like that.”
Scootaloo grimaced, then hung her head in defeat. “I didn’t do anything. I was in White Tail Woods, like I told you. There was this boy, he was feeling down, and I cheered him up.”
“You ‘cheered him up’, dear?” Octavia asked.
“We just talked. Then we hugged, made him feel better about stuff that was bringing him down. And I promised I wouldn’t tell.”
Vinyl raised her eyebrow. “Really? You just hugged? You sure about that? Because from the way you’re smelling, that boy must have been feeling pretty cheered up afterwards.”
“Wait, you mean – Ew! No, I didn’t even see anything like – Eww, no. It’s not like that. We just hugged, I didn’t do anything bad. I didn’t even see… that.” Scootaloo gagged at the notion.
“Then why don’t you sound so sure of yourself?”
Scootaloo dragged a hoof over the floor, trying to find the right words. “I-I may have kind of, sort of... fed, off him.”
Somewhere behind those coloured lenses, Scootaloo sensed an emotion shifting. Nothing showed, though. “And he was fine with that?”
Scootaloo nodded. “I had my hoof on him, and I could see inside his body. There was something in there making him sick, I could feel it. And he even said he felt sick, so I took it away. It’s not a big deal.”
Vinyl leaned in. “You know it is a big deal, though, right? You can’t just look inside a pony’s body like that. That’s invading someone’s privacy, without them knowing.”
“But he wanted me to fix it. And he was happy.”
Vinyl backed off a bit, nodding in approval. “Okay, I get that. And I’m not going to ask who it was if you promised you wouldn’t tell. But you know you can’t just do that kind of thing, right? So you’re not gonna do it again?”
“No. I didn’t really like it anyway. I didn’t see anything bad, but it still felt like I shouldn’t. I just wanted him to feel better, so I did what I could.”
Octavia shot Vinyl a knowing smirk, before turning to Scootaloo. “Is it anypony you like, perchance?”
“No, not really. I don’t think so.”
Vinyl lifted her shades to stare with those magenta eyes. “But you are gonna hang out with him more, aren’t you?”
Scootaloo shuffled nervously in her seat, avoiding the glare. “I said I would. There’s no reason not to, is there?”
Vinyl Scratch sighed. “Look, I let you do a lot of crazy stuff around here because I trust you. And your mom and dad trust me to take care of you while they’re not around. I’ve never had to draw the line because your life might be in danger, but things are different now. You don’t know what might happen.”
“To be fair, Vinyl, neither do you,” Octavia retorted.
Scootaloo turned to face the Earth pony. Vinyl blinked in confusion. “Say what?”
“It’s true, isn’t it? You don’t know what might happen, but no one does. And Scootaloo has been quite responsible so far, aside from a few small slip-ups. If she said she would ‘hang out’ with this boy and she doesn’t, how is that going to look? She’s going to have to learn how handle things, might as well be now. And besides, she didn’t even know she was capable of doing that sort of thing, it’s a one-time occasion only. She knows better than to do that sort of thing again, don’t you, sweetie?”
Scootaloo nodded. “Yeah, definitely. I really don’t wanna do that to anypony.”
“Good girl. Then that’s settled.” Octavia got up, leaving the pegasus and unicorn to their own devices.
“I thought I could keep it a secret. I promised I wouldn’t tell.”
“And you didn’t. But if you like a boy, and you like him a lot, sooner or later we’re gonna know about it.” The unicorn chuckled.
“I do not like him. I don’t even know him that well. It’s just someone to hang out with, you know? I don’t have to just be with Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle all the time, I can make new friends too.”
Vinyl patted the girl on the head. “Oh, sure. As long as you stay safe, it doesn’t matter what boys you hang out with. That’s what your mom told me, so that’s the rule.”
Scootaloo smiled at that.
Doesn’t matter what boy I hang out with, huh? Okay, so if that other changeling turns out to be a boy I don’t need to tell you. Good to know.
“Oh, and another thing. If you don’t like him all that much, why are you drooling just thinking about him?”
“I am no-” Scootaloo objected, before putting a hoof to her face and catching the green slime that was starting to leak out.
Vinyl widened her eyes at that, even raising her shades to get a good look. “You’re going to need to get the hang of that really quick, or ponies might start noticing.”
With a suck of her mouth and a little bit of magic, she withdrew the rivulet of drool.
“There, all gone,” she said with a flourish, before noticing the drool had somehow made its way to the local headlines. That is, it had latched itself to aunt Vinyl’s paper.
“Scootaloo, did you do that on purpose?”
The disguised changeling shook her head violently, yanking the newspaper out of the mare’s grip.
Vinyl groaned and pressed a hoof to her forehead. “Scootaloo, I can handle your sleepovers, your stunts and your friends. I can even handle your scandals, your love poisons, and your property damage. But I gotta tell ya: green slime is going to take some getting used to.”
Scootaloo stretched out as she lay on her bed. She took out the book from her nightstand and touched the lock.
“Open.” She ran some of her innate magic into the lock.
A little click inside, and the book opened. She floated a pen over, then thought it over. She took it in her mouth, just to be sure.
A look at the entry for the previous day elicited a little private groan.
Wild changeling appeared, a girl. Wanted to meet me tomorrow at the belltower.
Went ‘boom’ with Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle.
Met Rumble in the woods. Fed off him. Not sure if I like him.
Keep drooling this green stuff.
She groaned. She was not used to voicing her emotions like this, even to herself. She liked to keep on the move, both in body and spirit. But this diary was supposed to be a help in keeping track of how she grew, and that meant facing what she thought and felt. She put the pen on the paper and resolved to get everything out her system now. Another day, another bunch of near-disasters. Fun ones, though, as always.
Met the changeling today on time. It’s a boy who calls himself Moonfire, but that’s probably a fake name. He used to be a pony, guessing a unicorn.
Scootaloo steadied herself for the next part.
He says he had to run, that his dad’s tried to have him killed. Not sure if that’s true, but he looks really scared. Even if it’s not true, he believes it. His parents don’t want him anymore, that’s the only thing I’m sure of.
She shivered at the thought.
He says he wants to teach me. I think he means it. He’s been on the run for years, he knows about all those abilities. Should see him once every Wednesday.
She tapped the thing with her hoof to collect her words.
He’s got this big superhero complex. He thinks I need saving, that every kid in town needs to be protected. He thinks we’re risking our necks every day. And on top of that, he doesn’t trust anyone. Wouldn’t even let us introduce him to Spike to get word to Celestia. The guy suspects everyone is on his dad’s payroll and out to kill him.
Still managed to get him to get help from Fluttershy, though. We’re taking him there later, to get his wing patched up. I don’t even know how he can walk with that thing. It’s not even bent, it looked dead. Like a piece of clay that was squished before it was put in the oven: too mangled to be any good, too hard to fix without breaking it. The kid’s crazy to be living like this.
Moonfire seems nice, though. Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle didn’t think he was all that dangerous. And he did show me some good things. I’ve got no reason not to listen to him, and I might get him to safety if he listens.
Scootaloo drew a line under that train of thought and started a new segment.
Chocolate’s good if I’m running out of love energy. It’ll do the trick if I’m drained.
Heart’s Desire is poisonous. Do not eat, it will hurt. For a long time.
Honey Thistles – looks like a normal thistle with holes with it –are dangerous. Can’t hold shape when I’m close to those. Avoid at all costs.
Green goo is made on autopilot. Just need to spit it out and swallow it once a day to stop it from leaking out. Spit a loogie if I want to make more of it. Can’t let it harden.
She drew another line under that bit of information. Scootaloo took a deep breath and flipped the page to check her previous entries. She couldn’t afford not to write this down. She had to face it.
Fed on Rumble yesterday. I put my hoof on him and I could see inside of him, little lights and smells of how his body worked. Went through my hoof, like it could see and smell. Then I took out a blob of energy he was holding. He was okay, he didn’t notice. He was sick because of some kind of energy piling up in him. Not just any kind, the grownup kind.
A little shake went through her whole body, both with guilt and pleasure.
It’s wrong to feed like that. I didn’t just pick up on what ponies give me, I put my hoof on him and I got a hold of a part of his body. He was holding on to it, he wanted to get rid of it, and I did. I think he liked it. I didn’t do anything indecent, though. I was careful, and I didn’t look at anything I shouldn’t have.
To her surprise, she felt better after putting that on paper. It made her feel like she was still herself, that she still knew right from wrong.
I don’t want to look at Rumble like that. It’s not something I ought to see. I don’t think I left any kind of magic in him, I just sucked something out. And it felt pretty powerful, but it tasted stale. He’d been holding on to it for too long.
Another deep breath, and another couple of lines.
I never want to touch a pony like that again. I’m not going to touch Rumble like that again. Aunt Vinyl let me see in her forelegs today, and I can switch it on and off now. But I’m never using it again, ever, even if it’s an emergency. I don’t need to see ponies like that, and ponies don’t want me to see them like that.
Another line, and one final topic to tackle.
I’ve been thinking about Rumble. We’re going to hang out more now, and I’m going to help him with his problem. Diamond Tiara’s taking advantage of him, and I’m going to fix it.
I’m not sure why, but I’ve got a plan. It’s been bouncing around in my head all day, and it might work. It’s a good plan, I’m sure of it, but I think I’d be crossing the line if I did. Haven’t told Apple Bloom or Sweetie Belle about it, hope they don’t think it’s crazy.
I”m not sure what to think of it. I just had this idea and it’ll probably work, but I don’t know if I should. I’m thinking about crossing the line now, I know it.
For a colt I don’t even know. For Rumble.
The filly rubbed her head in frustration. She was dodging the important topic here. Steeling her resolve, she put down the words that she dreaded to face.
Maybe I kinda like him.
Staring at the words in her diary, Twilight’s advice came back to her. This was supposed to help her keep track of how her thinking shifted. Magic was based in part on emotion, and that meant facing new emotions when they welled up. The way she understood it, magic was about remembering. It was the memory of feeling that sense of rightness and power and channelling it to make a change in the world.
Really, though, she needed to ask Twilight about magic sometime. She just hoped her lessons wouldn’t involve being stuck inside and reading all day. She’d much rather find out about how Twilight used the memory of friendship to shoot giant rainbow lasers. There was a class that would keep her attention.
Right now Scootaloo had the memory of thinking she liked Rumble to channel. The single sentence, pure and simple, pretty much conveyed everything she needed to know to recall it.
Content, Scootaloo locked her diary and went to bed. It’s not like she needed to think of reasons why she thought she liked Rumble.
As she turned under the covers, the reasons did come to her, though.
There was him aspiring to be like Rainbow Dash, in a way, not that far from her own ambitions in that regard.
There was him being pretty athletic, and good at flying, but not so good that he’d be cocky about it. Added to that was him not being arrogant about anything. He was nice to her, and honest, even though she didn’t know him that well.
“Scootaloo, darling?” Octavia asked from the doorway.
“Yeah?”
“Not asleep yet, I see. Is everything okay? You’ve been a bit distracted since that slip-up the other day.”
Octavia looked down at the filly for a moment, before tucking her in a little tighter. “Well, all right, then. As long as you’re sure nothing is the matter.” She kissed her on the forehead. “Good night, Scootaloo. Sweet dreams.”
Octavia got up and headed out, one hoof already extended towards the light switch.
“Um, Octavia?”
She stopped her hoof just on the switch. “Yes?”
“I-if I had to keep a secret for someone, and it was really important for them, I’d have to keep it, right?”
Octavia weighed that in her mind. It took her a good while before she answered. “I suppose that all depends on what it’s worth. You kept that Gabby Gums affair a secret, but you had reasons for it. If you think other ponies can’t be trusted with it, and someone thinks you can, you should try to respect that. But if it is something vitally important and there is trouble, you should tell someone. Why do you ask? What’s wrong?”
Scootaloo looked away. “Nothing.”
“This is about that boy you were with yesterday, isn’t it?” Octavia narrowed her eyes.
“Sort of. It’s just got me wondering.”
“Perhaps you should ask your mother about that sort of thing?”
“Um, could I ask you about it instead?”
Octavia chuckled softly. “I don’t see why not. What’s on your mind?”
“This isn’t what’s happening or anything, but just pretend it is. Suppose you knew something bad was going on, that somepony was in trouble. If they had a big secret you knew and somepony else knew. And that somepony else took advantage of them for that.”
Octavia’s expression turned grave, her ears perking up. “Scootaloo, does anypony know about you?”
“No, not me. Somepony else. And it’s not real. But suppose it was. What would you do?”
“I’d say that sounds like blackmail to me, darling. That’s not something you want to let happen to anypony. It’s not right.” She shook her head.
“But I couldn’t tell anypony about it, because I promised I’d keep a secret. If I told anyone about it to help, then I’d be hurting them just as bad as the other pony.”
“Quite the conundrum, I’ll admit. But, assuming you found yourself in such a position -- completely hypothetical, of course – I’d tell you to work it out on your own. If this friend trusted you with this secret, then they must think you can be trusted with it. Even if you want to help, you cannot break that trust so easily. I suppose the smart thing to do in such a situation, if you ever find yourself in one, is to find a way to help without having to share this secret. Or, barring that, get this pony to open up to someone else who can be trusted with the secret and who can help.”
Scootaloo turned that explanation over in her head a few times.
“But of course, nothing bad like that ever happens in Ponyville, does it?” Octavia joked. “You’ll never find yourself in such a dreadful situation. “
“No, of course not. I was just wondering.”
The mare gave a knowing wink before switching the light off. “Good night, Scootaloo.“
“Good night, Octavia.”
Closing her eyes, Scootaloo tried to stop thinking of Rumble and just get on with sleeping. The weekend would arrive soon enough. She’d drop that Moonfire kid off at Fluttershy’s on Saturday, then head on up to her parents’ place on Sunday.
Everything would be fine. The changeling kid was alright, and Rumble was alright.
And neither of them was likely to be thinking much about her. Nothing to worry about.
Rumble yawned when the show was over. Thunderlane gently prodded him with a wingtip. “Come on, big guy, time for bed.”
Rumble groaned in protest. “But I wanna wait for mom and dad.”
“They said the movie wouldn’t end ‘till eleven. That’s way past your bedtime.”
Thunderlane scooped up his little brother from the couch and carried him upstairs on his back. He slipped Rumble into bed, then tucked him in. “Good night, Rumble. Sleep tight.”
“Good night. Hey, Thunderlane?”
“Yeah?” The stallion stopped his hoof just short of the light switch.
“Umm, I need advice. About girls.”
Thunderlane frowned. “Don’t you think you should ask dad about that?”
Rumble blushed and tensed up under the sheets. “I’d rather ask you, if that’s all right.”
Thunderlane shrugged and moved over to sit on the bed. “Okay, then, what’s on your mind?”
“Suppose there’s this girl. Suppose I think I kind of like her.”
Thunderlane chuckled. “Diamond Tiara? Is that why you’ve been carrying her stuff?”
“That’s different. But I’m not saying I do like a girl. Just suppose. And I said I’d hang out with her sometime. What should I do?”
Thunderlane rolled his eyes. “Do what you said you’d do, maybe? Hang out?”
“But what if I get that… you know, the thing? I don’t want her to see that. I don’t want anypony to see that.”
“And that’s normal. But you can’t hide inside because of a silly thing like that. It won’t happen if you’re careful, trust me. I had the same thing, remember? It never bothered me too much. It doesn’t bother anypony, really.”
Rumble squirmed under the covers. “But that’s just it. It does bother me. I get warm and my stomach gets upset.”
“Yeah, that’ll happen. And you’ll start feeling weird as you grow up. But that’s all that’ll happen, every stallion gets it at some point. And if you really want to have fun with a girl, you shouldn’t let that stop you. You know what’s decent and what’s not, right?”
“I know.”
“Tell me,” Thunderlane commanded gently.
“It’s okay for a girl to hug you if she’s friends with you. It’s okay to hug her back if she’s hugging you. It’s okay to touch a girl if you know she’s okay with it and she doesn’t tell you to stop,” Rumble cited.
Awkward silence fell.
“Go on.”
“It’s not okay to touch a girl you don’t know. It’s not okay for a girl to touch you if it makes you feel funny. It’s definitely not okay to kiss a girl just like that. And it’s not okay to hurt a girl, ever, in any way.” He suppressed a groan at the trouble that last rule had been causing him lately.
“Good, just remember all that and you’ll be fine.”
Rumble shifted a little under the covers, blushing even more. “But… just suppose I really want to kiss her, and I don’t know if she does? Like, kiss for real?”
“You mean on the mouth? Like in movies?” Thunderlane frowned.
Rumble nodded, and Thunderlane silently wished he hadn’t acted like the cool older brother so often and let the colt watch films he was too young for.
“Trust me, if a girl wants to kiss you, you’ll know.” Thunderlane felt a little embarrassed at having this conversation with his little brother. “That sort of thing comes from two ponies. It’s not something you decide on your own, it just happens. And everypony feels different when they’re in love.”
“I’m not talking about love, Thunderlane. I mean just liking a girl.”
Thunderlane nodded and smiled. “If you just like a girl, then you won’t want to kiss her, not like that. What you’re talking about is when you really, really like a girl and want to be with her all the time. You don’t know a girl like that, do you?”
Rumble pouted ever so slightly and shook his head. “Not really.”
“Don’t worry about it, big guy, you’ll get to all that when you’re a little older. You’ll understand then.”
The stallion walked to the bedroom door to turn off the lights. “Hey, Thunderlane?”
“Yeah?”
“If you know so much about girls, how come mom and dad keep telling you find a girlfriend?”
“Because I’m smart enough not to let them know which mare I’m dating. And when you start dating and mom and dad ask about it, you’ll know why I don’t talk to them about it.”
“Huh?”
“Good night, Rumble,” the stallion replied dismissively, turning the lights off at last.
Scootaloo took a deep breath as she got off her scooter and parked it next to the school building. Flexing her tired wings brought her mind back to that changeling kid, Moonfire, and the unsettling injury he had to walk around with. Still, she had to set her priorities.
She heard a noise behind her that made her head turn. The turtle doves in the tree beyond were cooing to each other again, pressing their beaks together. She couldn’t look away from the couple, for reasons she couldn’t place. They were just stupid birds, she knew, but they knew love and she was pretty sure they stuck together for life. And the way their eyes moved and how they groomed each other made her wonder.
Would turtle doves feel that on their beaks like we do on our lips?
Her train of thought got interrupted by a familiar buzzing sound Doppler-shifting towards her. A grey pegasus colt on a skateboard was pulling a cart that carried two fillies. He looked unsteady on his hind legs, and his cargo moving about and shouting didn’t help his concentration much. Scootaloo winced as Rumble headed towards the school at neck break speed with Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon in tow.
The colt hit his brakes, but seeing as skateboards don’t have brakes that didn’t really amount to much. He flapped his wings backwards to slow down, then stomped a hoof into the ground to break his momentum.
Rookie mistake.
With barely time to gasp, Rumble was flipped over and catapulted off his board, landing headfirst on the ground and skidding to a painful stop under the doves’ nest. He got a mouthful of dirt and a heavy blow to his throat and chin.
Scootaloo would have run to him, but she stopped when she noticed Rumble’s passengers walking out of the cart. Silver Spoon chuckled as Rumble got up and gagged, spitting out some of the grass that had been scooped up with his mouth. He looked fine, otherwise, though. Scootaloo guessed he’d practised breaking his fall and toughening up like Rainbow Dash had. Still, she had to restrain herself from doing anything.
Diamond Tiara walked up and hugged him from behind, looking to Scootaloo with an unsettling smirk.
Rumble just kept coughing and gagging, resisting the urge to tell her off even as Silver Spoon chuckled.
“Thanks for the ride, sweetie.” Diamond Tiara’s voice dripped with fake sugary sweetness.
“No problem,” Rumble lied under gritted teeth, gagging and rubbing his tongue clean.
Scootaloo went unnoticed by her two rich classmates, they didn’t even turn to look at her as she inspected Rumble’s hind hoof. It didn’t look like he’d sprained anything, but the fur was pushed back to reveal some red, possibly a friction burn. And he was definitely not happy about the grass and soil that had just been in his mouth. Wiping out and getting a mouthful of dirt was not fun, she knew, and him landing right under a bird’s nest could only add to the insult. “Are you okay?”
Rumble put up a weak smile, the best he could muster in this situation. “Yeah. You make it look a lot easier than it is.”
Scootaloo glared at the fillies, their back turned to her. Revenge plots started surfacing in her mind’s eye, and all of them so easy. Just one thought, one flick of the tongue, and she’d have them both. All it would take was just a little bit of that convenient green goo to ugly up those trimmed hooves and keep them in place. She could just fix them to the ground, and they’d be powerless. Another shot each, and they’d be gagged on top of it. All she’d have to do was wait for the opportune moment.
And anything she decided to do when they were caught, they deserved. She could feel her web bubbling and boiling in her belly, ready to lash out.
“Scootaloo? You okay?”
Scootaloo swallowed the green goo that had started coming up in her mouth. She smiled nervously, hoping no green stuff was showing. “Yeah, I’m fine. Just a little angry, I guess. I don’t like seeing someone get picked on like that.”
Rumble shrugged and shed his helmet, starting to walk towards the school with the filly in tow, skateboard and cart trailing behind. “It’s okay. I’m just picking them up and dragging them along, it’s not like you don’t do the same thing for your friends.”
“Yeah, but you shouldn’t be pulling stuff like that. Your balance is all off on a skateboard, you can’t lean forward against something solid to make up for it. You’re better off pushing it forward instead of pulling, leaves you more stable.”
“Oh, right. Hadn’t thought of that. Well, I had, but you know… “ He motioned to the chatting fillies who’d made him their transport.
Scootaloo looked behind her, again being drawn to those cooing turtle doves. She noticed Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle coming towards her and stopped. Rumble walked on, no doubt wanting to avoid drawing attention to the pair.
Sweetie Belle winced as she approached. “Did you see that? Rumble could have gotten hurt, and Diamond Tiara just smiled. She’s really taking advantage of him. Maybe we should do something about it.”
“You’re right, we should,” Apple Bloom agreed. “Scootaloo, do you have any ideas?”
“Umm… yeah. Diamond Tiara’s blackmailing him, he told me.”
Apple Bloom tilted her head. “Blackmailing him? With what, pictures?”
Scootaloo looked away, weighing her words carefully. “She knows this really bad secret about him, and she threatened to tell everypony.”
“What could be so bad he’d let her do that to him?” Apple Bloom asked.
“Something really bad.”
“Wait, he told you?” Sweetie Belle’s voice cracked in shock.
“I went and asked him, and he told me. I can’t say what it is, but it’s really bad and he needs help.”
Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle winced in sympathy.
“Okay. But is it something she can prove or just something she’d say?” Apple Bloom asked as they went inside.
Scootaloo thought it over for a moment. “Just something she’d say. But if she does, everypony will believe it, and even if they don’t, Rumble can’t show his face in school anymore.”
“That bad? Oh my,” Sweetie Belle started. “So what are we going to do about it?”
Scootaloo sighed and shrugged without a word.
“We can’t just let Diamond get away with it, can we?” Apple Bloom started.
“No. Rumble’s a nice guy, we should help,” Sweetie Belle insisted.
Scootaloo bit her lip. “There’s one thing I can do. I’ve thought about it, but I don’t know if I should.”
Apple Bloom turned to her friend. “Now what in tarnation would stop you from doing it in the first place, then?”
During lunchtime, the Crusaders convened on the school roof. Apple Bloom lowered her voice to a whisper. “Are you sure you wanna do this?”
“I have to. It’s the only way,” Scootaloo replied.
Sweetie Belle started motioning with her hooves to try and get a clear picture. “So... wait, hold on. You want Diamond Tiara to come clean to Miss Cheerilee.”
“Yup.”
“And you know Miss Cheerilee won’t punish her, because then Rumble’s secret would come out, too.”
Scootaloo nodded. “Exactly. The only way to keep it under wraps is to make Diamond Tiara confess and promise not to do it again.”
Apple Bloom knitted her brow. “I don’t know, it’s awful risky. What makes you think Diamond will stop? Won’t Silver Spoon have anything to say about it?”
“Silver Spoon doesn’t know, I think. And even if she does, she won’t do anything if Diamond Tiara doesn’t want her to. Diamond’s the one calling the shots, she’s the one we need to get.”
The yellow filly looked her friend in the eyes. Scootaloo was clearly not too happy with the idea, or how easily it had come to her. “You really thought this all out? That’s pretty clever. And creepy.”
Scootaloo hung her head. “I don’t know why, but it just came to me. I would have done it yesterday, but I-I chickened out.”
Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle shuffled a little closer at the mention of the word ‘chicken’.
“Are you sure you’re okay, Scootaloo?” Apple Bloom asked.
“No. I’m not sure, I mean. I’m not supposed to get ideas like that, I don’t plot stuff. And I definitely don’t try things like that right off the bat.”
Sweetie Belle patted her on the back. “Things are a little different now, right? You’re still you, just with stuff on top of that. And being more careful isn’t a bad thing.”
“I know. I’m just scared of doing this, but I feel like I have to. If I don’t, I’d be letting somepony get hurt just because I’m scared. I can’t let that happen, especially if I’ve got... you know...”
Apple Bloom nodded in agreement. “We could try it.”
Silence fell, before Sweetie Belle had an idea. “You don’t have to do it alone, though. We can talk to Rumble, maybe get a grownup to stop it.”
“No. I promised I wouldn’t tell anyone. Rumble doesn’t want anypony to know, so he’s not going to tell anyone else. And I don’t want him to have to admit that he’s being bullied by a girl. It’s not fair, but that’s how it is. I have to do this.”
Apple Bloom shook her head. “I still don’t understand what you’re going to do, exactly. You can’t force Diamond Tiara to stop.”
Scootaloo swallowed a bite and turned to glare at her. “You mean you can’t. But I can.”
Apple Bloom nearly choked on her lunch. “Whoawhoawhoa, are you thinkin’ what I think you’re thinkin’? Isn’t that dangerous?”
“It’s really dangerous. But I have to, don’t I? I’m the only one that can do it. I can force Diamond Tiara to come clean, I know I can.”
Sweetie Belle raised an eyebrow. “Um, no, you can’t. You can’t even make boards float.”
“But I won’t be trying to make boards float, will I? I’ll be doing something that’s a lot more natural to me, something a lot easier.”
Realisation dawned on the girls. Sweetie Belle rubbed her chin as she thought. “I guess, but… there’s got to be a better way of doing it. Do you even know what you’re saying?”
The changeling girl groaned in frustration. “It’s true, isn’t it? I can threaten her, scare her, I could try casting a spell to make her do it. That’s a lot closer to my instincts than just fixing a roof. Besides, she deserves it.”
Sweetie Belle patted her on the back. “You don’t mean that, Scootaloo. You just want to do something bad to Diamond Tiara because you’re angry. But even if she is hurting Rumble like that, it’s not okay for you to hurt her. Besides, even if it is easier, have you ever tried it? Even if you knew how, do you think you’d be able to pull it off? Especially without anypony noticing?”
Scootaloo’s ears flattened. She let her head hang. “No, but what else can we do?”
Apple Bloom tilted her head at her friend. “You really like Rumble, don’t you?”
Scootaloo sighed. “No, not like that. I hardly know him, I’ve barely even talked to him.”
Sweetie Belle nudged her friend. “But you want to know him, right?”
“Could we not talk about this, please? It doesn’t matter if I like him or not, I just don’t want Diamond Tiara to keep hurting him. He fell because she made him drag her around, she’s taking his stuff and she’s humiliating him right in front of us. She’s going to get him hurt, really hurt, and she doesn’t even care. She can’t do that and get away with it.”
Sweetie Belle looked around for anyone who overhear them conspiring up on the roof. “So you really are serious about forcing her to come clean? You’re going to threaten her or cast a spell on her to make her do it? What would that make you?”
Scootaloo shrugged. “A monster, I guess.”
“Right. You’re not a monster, no need to start being one now,” Apple Bloom assured.
Scootaloo’s ears perked as she heard those annoying cooing doves again. She muttered under her breath, her mind fixated on those things for a moment. She shook it off and got back on track. “Okay, so I’m not doing that. And we can’t talk to anyone about it. Then what are we going to do?”
“We’re going to need time to think. There’s got to be a way to get Diamond off his back without getting anypony else involved. We just need to be smart about it. And no forcin’ anypony to do anything against her will. Even if Diamond Tiara’s been mean, she’s still a-” Apple Bloom stopped herself from finishing that sentence.
“A pony?” Scootaloo’s voice had a distinct edge in it at that.
“A classmate. And as much as we’d like to, we can’t be mean to her. Even if we could, there’s no telling if she’d listen. She might call our bluff, and then we’d have to really hurt her. I don’t wanna do that, and I don’t think you do either, Scootaloo.”
“You’re right. I don’t.”
“We’ll think of something,” Sweetie Belle offered.
Scootaloo went out with the rest of their class when the day was up. Rumble got his helmet on and waited for Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon to board the cart again. The Cutie Mark Crusaders sighed and looked away from the scene.
Scootaloo chanced a glance towards Rumble and instantly regretted it. Diamond Tiara was really putting some effort in her act. She acted just like Rumble’s girlfriend.
Including kissing him on the cheek before she boarded the cart.
Scootaloo froze, unnoticed by the other foals who were already headed home.
Apple Bloom turned to her friend, Sweetie Belle waved a hoof in front of her face. “Um, Scootaloo?”
“She kissed him. She just kissed him.” Scootaloo was fuming, staring blankly ahead as the colt pulled his load along with his wings and some pushes with his hooves. He still looked horribly unsteady, another accident waiting to happen.
Sweetie Belle tried to snap her out of it. “Look, I know it’s hard for you to see a boy you like to get kisses from another girl, but –“
“That’s not the point at all. If a boy kissed a girl that didn’t want him to, she’d cry and she’d get help. But what’s Rumble supposed to do? He can’t beat up a girl and if he told anyone what she was doing, he’d never live it down. Even just saying he’s in trouble is as bad as what she’s blackmailing him with.” Scootaloo hissed under her breath.
“Err, okay, but… you’re not gonna do anything stupid, are ya?” Apple Bloom tried.
As she saw Rumble cart away, Diamond Tiara turning back one last time to stick out her tongue at the trio, Scootaloo’s mind raced with revenge plots. This time, she kept everything as an option.
“It… is… on!”
Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle shot Scootaloo a disapproving glare.
Diamond Tiara’s body shook as she stood in front of them, trying to look as apologetic as she could, but that wasn’t saying much. “Okay. So I just, like, walk in and confess and everything will be fine. Cheerilee can’t punish me without embarrassing Rumble, so I get off clean. No harm done, right?”
Apple Bloom nodded. “If you can convince Miss Cheerilee. If you can’t, you know what’ll happen.”
Diamond Tiara shuddered at the thought. She turned to her target and took a deep breath. “I know. I’ll convince her, I promise. Just… don’t let anypony see me?”
“We won’t,” Sweetie Belle insisted.
Scootaloo remained silent, lost in her thoughts.
Diamond Tiara walked over to the house across the street and knocked on the front door.
Cheerilee opened the door and looked down at the filly. “Yes? Oh, hello, Diamond Tiara. What can I do for you?”
The filly shivered as she looked up at her teacher. “I-I kind of did something bad. I feel awful and I want to fix it. I just don’t know how.”
Cheerilee ushered her in towards her living room table. Still shaking, Diamond Tiara sat down as the mare pulled up a chair of her own. Diamond didn’t even look her own teacher in the eyes.
“What did you do this time?”
The mere thought of her previous shenanigans made the girl wince. “The worst thing ever. I-I blackmailed Rumble. I’m still blackmailing him.”
“I heard you talking to his mom. I know about his thing, that he makes a mess of his bed at night. I threatened to tell everypony if he didn’t do as I said. All the nice things he’s been doing for me, and me acting like his little girlfriend? It’s all fake. He hates it, and he hates me. But he can’t do anything about it, obviously.”
Cheerilee’s jaw nearly dropped. “Young lady, that is the most despicable thing I have ever heard. And here I thought you were finally making new friends. You did all that... I’ve seen him giving you his desserts, I’ve seen you kiss him on the cheek. And you’re doing that against his will?
Diamond gulped and nodded. Her voice barely came out as a whisper. “Yeah.”
“Do you have any idea how much trouble you’d be in if you were just a few years older? I didn’t think you could still shock me after that horrendous run on the Foal Free Press, but I stand corrected. Why would you even confess to something that horrible?”
“Because I feel horrible. Rumble never picked on me, I never cared about him being a blank flank or anything. He’s just some boy in our school. And I made his life miserable just because I could. I see how much he hates it when I make him be nice, and… that hurts me, too, a lot more than it’s supposed to. I don’t want a boy to cringe when he’s around me. It makes me feel ugly.”
Cheerilee nodded. “And what do you expect me to do now?”
The girl shrugged. “I don’t know. I just want this feeling to go away. I mean, if you punish me, then Silver Spoon’s going to ask why I’m getting punished, and then--“
“Then I’d have to explain one of the boys in our school was getting picked on by a girl in my class. Rumble would never live it down.”
“So, can I just walk away from this, please? I don’t want to keep hurting him. I mean, I only did it because… you know…”
The teacher sighed in sympathy. “I know. I do understand, I suppose. At least you have enough heart to come clean.”
Diamond kept her head low. “I’m sorry. I’m really sorry, it’s just that it’s not fun for me, either.”
“I can imagine it wouldn’t be. But really, you shouldn’t be that worried about it. No one knows about the warts, and you can’t even see them under that tiara. Those things go away when you grow up, it’s no different from Apple Bloom and her friends with their cutie marks.”
“I guess. It’s just hard not to lash out.”
Cheerilee mulled over it for a moment. “Well, you told me, at least. That counts for something. This is between you and me, all right? Just this once. Nopony else needs to know. Just let Rumble off the hook, and I won’t bring it up again. Not to Rumble, not to anyone. But if you want to talk to me about it, just remember you can, always.”
Diamond Tiara gave her teacher a weak smile. “So… I’m all right?”
“You’re all right. But please, in the name of all things good and wholesome, do not do anything like this again. You don’t have to hide behind all those harsh words and horrible things just because you think you’re ugly. You’ll outgrow it, it’ll get better in time.”
“Yeah, warts clear up, I know. I just get scared. Are you sure you can’t see them?” Diamond Tiara turned her head around a few times.
Cheerilee stopped the girl’s fidgeting and looked over her tiara and forehead. “They’re all covered, don’t worry.”
Finally, Diamond smiled. “So everything is okay now? I can go and we won’t have to talk about it anymore?”
The mare sighed. “I’ll let this slide, just once, if only to save Rumble from any more embarrassment. But promise me you’ll try to talk to someone about your issue.”
“I’ll try.” Diamond Tiara hopped off the chair. “Thank you. And sorry again.”
Cheerilee sighed and walked the girl to the door. “Just hold up your end of it. A pretty girl like you shouldn’t go around abusing boys like that.”
With a nod, Diamond Tiara walked out towards the fillies under the tree. Scootaloo grinned as the door closed. Her expression was one of sheer glee mixed with malice and a decided killer instinct.
Apple Bloom was first to speak up. “Did it work?”
“It worked. Cheerilee said she won’t bring it up again, no punishment.”
Sweetie Belle winced, taken aback by Scootaloo’s expression. “Are you all right, Scootaloo?”
“Oh, I’m just perfect.” She kept up that wicked grin. It was starting to unsettle them a bit. Scootaloo looked genuinely malicious now, her eyes narrowed and her posture lowered just a tad, like a predator waiting to pounce.
Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle shared a glance, prompting the girl to loosen up the act.
“Sorry. I might have overdone it a little bit.”
Apple Bloom rolled her eyes, trying her best to look casual. “Uhuh, you do look a little too enthusiastic about this.”
The girls all shared another look, and Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom silently decided that Scootaloo shouldn’t have to suppress that grin if it came natural. It wasn’t something they should be scared of.
Maybe Scootaloo had a good reason to grin.
Maybe changelings just had a knack for it.
And besides, it’s not like this was the first time they’d seen that scary grin plastered on Diamond Tiara’s face.
“Scootaloo, are you absolutely sure about this?” Apple Bloom trotted a little faster to try and keep up with her frantic friend.
“I’m sure. You’re not gonna back out now, are you?”
“N-no. But maybe you should calm down a little. You’re looking a mite angry.”
“Don’t be silly. I’m just getting into character.”
“Then maybe you should stop for a moment.” Sweetie Belle darted in front of her winged friend. “And take a deep breath. You can’t get too excited over this, you don’t know if anything bad might happen. We don’t wanna hurt her, remember? Not for real.”
Sighing, Scootaloo nodded and took a deep breath like she was told. “Fine, I’m calm now. So can we please just do this?”
Right on cue, the girls spotted Diamond Tiara walking out her front door. She went round a corner, through a narrow side alley that was out of sight and abandoned. On a sunny day like this, it didn’t look dangerous, but it would make for a good ambush.
“I’m ready,” Apple Bloom started. “Just like we planned, okay?”
“Just like we planned,” Scootaloo confirmed.
Sweetie Belle looked intently at the pair, before nodding. “And we weren’t planning on hurting her.”
Scootaloo gritted her teeth. “Not much.”
As one, the trio homed in on their prey. Diamond Tiara turned and raised an eyebrow at them. She didn’t even bother moving further down the alley, since they didn’t pose any threat to her.
Big mistake.
“What do you want, blank flanks?”
“Oh, just a little friendly conversation.” Apple Bloom sounded as sugary sweet as she could while Sweetie Belle flanked Diamond.
“Yeah, we saw you and Rumble and we thought you might want to talk about how you two get along, you know, just girl talk. You’re off to see him now, aren’t you?” Sweetie Belle inquired as they resumed their pace, just to make it look like they were letting her go. They wouldn’t need long to spring the trap, after all.
Grinning, Diamond took full advantage of the opportunity to brag. “That’s right. My little Rumble-Wumble is waiting for me to show up. He’s going to take me to the park, and then we’re going to eat some ice cream.”
Sweetie Belle put up a fake smile of admiration. “Wow, he must really like you a lot.”
“He does.”
“Yep,” Scootaloo agreed, “he loves you, warts and all.”
Diamond Tiara froze, only now realising she was being surrounded and blocked off from the alley’s exit.
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“It’s just figure of speech. It means he likes you despite your little flaws. Why, did it hit a sore spot?” Scootaloo continued, raising her voice just enough to sound menacing.
As much as she tried to hide it, Diamond Tiara suddenly felt a little tingle at the back of her neck. It was a single drop of cold sweat making its way downward.
Sweetie Belle waved her hoof in front of her face like a fan. “Ooh, did it just get hotter? It feels like this blistering heat is going make me boil.”
“Must be the weather ponies. You know how they always try to keep things running smooth around here.” Apple Bloom looked up at the clear sky to emphasise her words.
Diamond Tiara stopped and looked at the girls just as Scootaloo moved to stand in front of her. She had a glare in her eyes that spoke of sheer malice. It scared her, more than she could remember anything scaring her.
“We know your little secret. You don’t really like Rumble, do you? And he doesn’t like you,” Scootaloo started.
Gulping, Diamond Tiara shook her head. Apple Bloom snorted. “You’re taking advantage of him, just like you did with us when we were on the Foal Free Press. Right?”
Diamond Tiara stopped backing up and went on the offensive. “I’m just having a little fun with him. Why do you care?”
Apple Bloom’s eyes widened at the question. “We care because he’s a classmate, and the only reason you’re gettin’ away with this is because he’s a boy and you’re a girl and he can’t fight you. If things had been a little different, he’d have beaten you up by now, and he’d have had every right to.”
Diamond groaned and rolled her eyes. “Please, it’s not like I’m hurting him. I’m not hitting him or biting him or anything.”
Scootaloo fumed inside at the girl’s callousness. A little sliver of her changeling powers bubbled up and she wanted to glue the girl to the ground. She stopped herself, though, she knew how to strike this prey now. “Listen up, Diamond, we know why you wear that tiara. We know what you’re hiding. You’re gonna go over to Rumble’s right now and tell him it’s all over.”
“Oh, come on. If you really wanted Rumble, you could have just asked. He’ll do anything I say, we can share.”
Sweetie Belle glared at Diamond Tiara. “You really are a monster. You can’t treat a boy like that. And you think we’d want to? What do your parents have to say about that?”
Diamond pointed a hoof at the unicorn filly. “Hey, keep my dad out of this! You can’t make Rumble stop doing what I say. If he wants to hang out with me, let him.”
Scootaloo’s ears perked at Diamond only mentioning her dad.
“You really don’t get it, do you?” Apple Bloom interjected. “We know you’ve got some kind of dirt on Rumble. And we’ve got the dirt on you.”
“So why don’t I just spill the dirt on Rumble and tell him it’s your fault?” Diamond leaned in to Scootaloo. “I’m sure he’d love to know the girl with a crush on him got his life wrecked.”
Again, Scootaloo felt the green goo bubbling and boiling in her belly. She could feel the hatred coursing through her veins and pulsing in her eyes. For the briefest moment, she could swear her arms and wings itched, but she didn’t dare break eye contact. “Go ahead. It doesn’t matter if you think I have a crush on him. It doesn’t even matter if you tell everyone whatever it is you know about him, not anymore. Rumble’s a cool guy, you see.”
Diamond backed away in fear, that intense gaze boring into her head. For the briefest moment, Scootaloo caught a green twinge in those eyes, but whether that was a reflection or a bit of magic lashing out, she couldn’t say. She didn’t care.
“And he’s also a nice guy. And he’s a good flyer, and he’s pretty strong. Plus, once he gets his cutie mark, he’ll have a talent he can work with. So if he can’t be a cool guy anymore, it won’t matter. But you? You’re a pretty girl.” Scootaloo took another confident step forward, getting close to Diamond Tiara’s face. “And you’re mean, and you’re vicious, and no one would ever like you for who you really are. If you can’t be a pretty girl anymore, then you’re nothing. Besides, after all the other stuff you’ve pulled, who’d believe anything you say about Rumble? You’d get into trouble, and Rumble would be fine in a few months. But you? All we need to do is wait for recess and yank that tiara away once. Then no one in school will ever look at you the same way again.”
Diamond Tiara’s eyes watered up. All three Cutie Mark Crusaders stared at her disapprovingly.
“Now you know how it feels,” Apple Bloom started. “If you do anything to us or to anyone in class ever again, we know what to do. So are you gonna start behavin’?”
Diamond Tiara’s eyes darted from one girl to the other, then to the ground. She lowered her head in defeat. “A-all right. Just don’t tell anyone, please?”
Sweetie Belle put a hoof on her shoulder. “We won’t tell anyone. But you have to promise to keep this whole thing to yourself, too. Cheerilee can’t know about what we did or what you did. Not one word.”
“I promise. I’ll do anything, just don’t tell anyone.”
“We won’t. You just stop bothering Rumble and don’t try anything funny. You try anything with him or anyone else, and everyone gets to see what that tiara’s hiding.” Scootaloo suppressed the urge to hiss, as well as the creeping realisation she might have started growing fangs right then and there. Nothing showed, though, thankfully.
Diamond shook her head, wiping away a tear. The girls backed off and let her pass.
Apple Bloom curtly tilted her head towards the end of the alley. “All right, get going. And remember what we said.”
Whimpering to herself, the filly bolted. Sweetie Belle looked on in sympathy as their classmate ran, almost for dear life. “Don’t you think that was a little harsh? Maybe we should follow her just to make sure she’s fine.”
Scootaloo rubbed her arms, trying to get that itch out of them. “Yeah, maybe I can get her in a web and apologise for her. I don’t know how to knock her out, though, except the old-fashioned way. You can hold her while I choke her.”
Apple Bloom’s jaw dropped at that. Sweetie Belle’s wasn’t far behind.
“What?” Scootaloo looked on in confusion, still scratching her arms.
“Did you just hear yourself sayin’ that? I mean, think about what you just said you’d like to do. Does that sound right to you?” Apple Bloom kept her voice calm and steady, but the panic shone through, regardless.
The image of Diamond Tiara caught in a green goo surfaced in Scootaloo’s mind, along with the act of hitting her prey on the head or choking it until it lost consciousness. It was only then she realised what that itch in her arms might be. “No. It doesn’t. I don’t know where that came from.”
“I think I do, Scootaloo,” Sweetie Belle tried.
She didn’t reply.
“Cuh-could we go somewhere now? I think I need to get my head together.”
Scootaloo took a big sip of her chocolate milkshake, visibly relaxing as it made her way down into her belly. Moonfire was right, apparently chocolate did really help give changelings a boost of love energy. Sweetie Belle looked around Sugarcube Corner for any witnesses, but no one paid the girls any heed. “Feel better now?”
“Lots. The itching’s stopped.”
Apple Bloom breathed a sigh of relief. “What happened there?”
“I got angry. I felt all my hate coming up at once. I think my body, my other body, had some kind of reaction to it. My horn’s throbbing.” Scootaloo kept her voice down.
“Do you need to check yourself? You could try the bathroom.” Sweetie Belle looked if anypony else was headed out back.
Scootaloo shook her head. “I’m fine. It’s like my horn, I know how it is even if it’s not there. Anyway, it’s done now.”
“Yup,” Apple Bloom agreed. “And we didn’t get our cutie marks in bully-busting.”
“Or in blackmailing,” Sweetie Belle added.
“Or in ninja spying,” Scootaloo finished with a chuckle.
“That was pretty cool, though, I have to admit, but let’s not do this sort of thing again, ever? I feel bad for Diamond Tiara.” Apple Bloom winced.
“Yeah, me too,” Scootaloo rubbed her forehead right where her curved horn should be.
Sweetie Belle rubbed the same spot on her own head, curious. “Can you really feel your horn like that?”
“Kinda. It’s weird, but… I’m seeing the doctor on Sunday, he’ll probably know what it is.”
Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle looked at their friend as she sipped from her milkshake.
“What?”
The proverbial elephant in the room could be ignored no more. Sweetie Belle rolled her eyes. “You’re worried about that Moonfire kid, aren’t you?”
“No, I’m not, not really. It’s just that--”
“If you can feel your horn right now, he can feel his busted wing all the time.”
“Exactly. But it won’t matter after tomorrow. Fluttershy will take care of him, she might get him to accept some help. We won’t have to worry about him after that. And you don’t have to worry about me, I’ll be with my parents for the weekend when we’re done. You can go back to crusading without me.”
Apple Bloom exchanged a look with Sweetie Belle. “Look, just ‘coz you think you can’t get your cutie mark ever doesn’t mean we’re gonna start crusadin’ for one without you. If anything, we’ve got better chances of success with you around.”
“How do you figure that? What could possibly make things better for you than before? You want me to use my powers for regular stuff? We can cause enough damage without it, I’m saving it for emergencies.”
“Alright. But you can feel true love now, though. And the signal doesn’t get mixed,” Sweetie Belle reasoned.
“I don’t know what it’s supposed to feel like. And even if I did, it wouldn’t help find your talents, would it?”
“So you can’t tell when a pony finds something they love to do?”
Scootaloo let that sink in for a bit.
“Huh. Good question.”
Even with a good night’s sleep, Scootaloo was feeling shaken about the justice she’d delivered on Diamond Tiara. Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom looked worried at her sudden rush of power hunger, but all in all they couldn’t really blame her. They were still slightly stunned at what they’d managed to pull off – and get away with – to the point that they barely noticed they were late for their meeting with the other changeling.
They’d decided to walk there after Scootaloo’s outburst, not wanting her to suddenly flare up in green. Even with a night to sleep on it, Scootaloo looked off after her first big use of changeling magic.
“Okay, so what do we do when we see him?” Sweetie Belle asked.
Scootaloo pondered it for a second. “Just play it cool. Let him know who’s boss first, try to startle him out of that stupid hero act, then we can worry about leaving him with Fluttershy.”
Right as she said it, Fluttershy’s cottage came into view. They could see the colt in disguise pacing about in front of the bridge. With Moonfire out of the shadows of the belltower and not rushing off, they got a good look at what they presumed was his original shape.
A grey unicorn colt with fairly thin forelegs, Moonfire’s pony form looked sort of like a typical rich kid, the kind who spent most of their time following some sort of rigid regime. His mane hung back in thick tendrils with little flecks of darker grey on the ends, leaving the base of his horn exposed. His tail was short and brush-like, with the occasional darker tip on the ends of it to match his mane.
They caught up with him just as he realised he was supposed to meet them on the bridge, and apparently that acute changeling hearing he’d warned them of earlier didn’t factor into ambushes when he was distracted.
“Good morning!” Scootaloo yelled at the top of her voice. Judging from his reaction, he really hadn’t noticed them. And judging from his experiences with ponies trying to kill him, this didn’t amuse the boy one bit.
Moonfire’s body tensed up so much the girls could see the outline of his ribcage for a moment. “And here I was worried I was late.”
The colt hopped off of the railing and started for Fluttershy’s cottage, barely suppressing his ire. “You coming?”
Scootaloo and Apple Bloom flanked him while Sweetie Belle covered the rear.
If he objected to being herded like this, it didn’t show. Or maybe it was just lost with all the other objections the boy might have fruitlessly tried to voice.
“Okay, just let me do the talking first. Fluttershy might be a little scared, but she’ll understand if I explain it,” Scootaloo offered.
Moonfire nodded and picked up his pace to a trot. The girls didn’t let him gain one inch of moving space between them, squarely keeping him in line to their target.
“Just relax, will ya?” Apple Bloom started. “Everything’s gonna be fine.”
Scootaloo didn’t bother waiting for a reply to that. She just knocked on the door when they got there.
No turning back now.
“Hey, girls. Who’s this?” said a soft voice from their right.
The girls turned to see the yellow pegasus mare with a pink mane.
“This is Moonfire,” Sweetie Belle replied. “He’s a... a friend. But we kind of need your help.”
“Are you busy with anypony’s animals right now?” Scootaloo inquired.
“Oh, no. I just fed the chickens. Nice to meet you, Moonfire,” Fluttershy said as she walked inside, beckoning them to follow. “What’s wrong?”
Once the four were in, Scootaloo took a deep breath to steady herself.
“Um, do you know how to fix a broken wing? I mean, one that’s healed bad.”
“Well, yes, I do.” The mare looked worried. “Did something happen to your wing, Scootaloo?”
“No, my wings are fine, thanks. It’s Moonfire’s wing that’s kind of messed up.”
The mare looked at the unicorn colt intently, then to Scootaloo. “Um, Scootaloo? Your friend doesn’t have wings,” Fluttershy stared the boy over to make sure she wasn’t mistaken.
“Yes, he does. They’re just not showing. The same way I’ve got a horn that’s not showing.”
The mare’s eyes widened, a tiny gulp escaped her throat.
“He’s like me. Go on, show her.”
Moonfire dropped his disguise.
Scootaloo felt the shift in the atmosphere. Fluttershy had a wave of terror go right over her. She could smell the mare’s fear, taste the emotional discharge of the initial fight or flight response.
And if she could feel that, then Moonfire probably had it worse.
Nice to know how she thinks of changelings.
“Please, don’t be afraid,” Moonfire started.
To her surprise, Scootaloo felt Fluttershy’s eyes go over Moonfire’s busted wing. The fear about her evaporated, and she went neutral again, as far as the filly was concerned. She couldn’t quite tell what Fluttershy was feeling, but at least it wasn’t abject terror.
“W-what happened?”
“I took a dare back in Manehattan. A stupid dare for pears of all things!” He rolled his eyes.
“Wow. Are pears bad for us, too, maybe?” Scootaloo inquired.
“No, I just don’t like pears. Never have liked them.”
“Oh. Guess it was one of those dares, then.” Scootaloo rolled her eyes as she recalled a few of her own.
“If you mean it was to see if I could survive a twenty foot drop, then yes, it was one of those dares. But why don’t we get back on track?” Moonfire looked back at Fluttershy.
Sweetie Belle jumped in between the changelings and Fluttershy before things got any uglier. “Right, anyway, could you please help him? He can’t go to a normal doctor.” She leaned in to whisper. “He’s really scared of other ponies.”
“Yeah, he’s kinda paranoid.” Apple Bloom smirked.
“First, like I said Wednesday, the paranoid are only called that until they are proven right. Second, I’m not afraid of ponies, I’m just being careful about who I interact with,” the male changeling said with an indignant expression.
“I-I’ll just go get my first aid kit.” Fluttershy got up and floated up the stairs.
Once the mare was out of the room, Moonfire hissed, “Are you trying to make me angry?!”
“Are you trying to look angry?” Scootaloo replied calmly. “Relax, Fluttershy knows you’re safe now. Lighten up: you’re with good ponies now, remember?”
Moonfire sighed, “I know, I’m just always on edge. It’s been a long time since I’ve been messed with like that.”
“Well, if you’re that sensitive, we could stop,” Sweetie Belle tried.
“Won’t matter soon if she has what I think she does. Wouldn’t make much sense if she didn’t have it.”
Scootaloo tilted her head. “Twilight said it’s called ‘ling-nip’. It’s a tranquiliser that won’t poison you. It’s the only medicine we’re sure won’t be bad for you. Or me.”
“Sounds kinda like honey thistle.”
“It’s made from honey thistle,” Fluttershy said as she came back in, holding a porcelain jar with holes in the side of it and a little tub covering it. There was already a candle inside the jar, implying this was going to be aromatherapy.
That set off a few alarm bells in Scootaloo’s head. Considering how Moonfire had acted when he’d shown her what those plants could cause, she felt cold sweat roll down her back. If this stuff was the concentrated version of something that made her drop disguise just by touching it, she wasn’t sure if she wanted to know what it really did.
Then again, if the grownups were carrying something that was bad for her, better to find out now than when it mattered. Scootaloo smiled nervously. “Eheh, well, then we know it’s powerful stuff right? I mean, it’s not like there’s a lot of options.”
Moonfire sighed. “Yeah...”
He looked at his wing. It was partly bent near the tip, with a needle-like outgrowth where it had broken. A little callus marked the point of the injury, swollen around to try and patch it up. Like a reed that got bent in a storm, only made of hardened flesh with its own pulse and breath. He winced as the dull pain sharpened a bit.
“Let’s just get this over with.” He looked around. “Where do you want me to lay?”
“Um... H-how about on the couch?” Fluttershy asked.
Moonfire jumped up onto the couch and laid down with his right wing facing away from the couch.
Scootaloo felt the world slowing down for the slightest moment. She saw Fluttershy take the oil out of its bottle, pour it into the little cup, then put a candle underneath it.
Scootaloo was on the floor, fluttering in and out of consciousness under the influence of the scented oil vapour. Calling it ‘scented’ would have been a stretch, even, since she couldn’t detect any smells coming off it. She was barely aware of the fact that her horn was pushing against the couch as she vainly tried to move.
When did my disguise drop?
She vaguely heard Apple Bloom talking to her. Her hearing wasn’t too compromised, at least. “Scootaloo? Are you okay?”
Fluttershy came over and put a hoof on Scootaloo’s neck, a quick check of her pulse and breath. “She should be all right, Apple Bloom. Just take her out back and give her some fresh air. I’ll take care of your friend. It’s okay, she’s just sedated.”
Scootaloo groaned when she felt something under her, something warm and soft. Her friend carried her out of the house and into the back yard, in the shade of the trees. Fluttershy’s animal friends gave the pair a weird look, but they behaved once the mare herself popped her head out and whispered something Scootaloo didn’t catch.
Next thing she knew, she felt her limp body be placed on the ground and something gently tapping her face back and forth. She couldn’t feel the contact on her skin, but the left and right motion of her head still registered.
“Scoots? Are ya with me, Scoots?”
“Yeah, I’m… I’m okay. I think the first whiff of it just caught me off guard, is all.”
“Good. Fluttershy said you should be fine in a little while, as long as you keep breathing nice and steady.”
Scootaloo closed her eyes and tried doing just that. To her surprise, it did make her feel better, but did nothing about her immobility.
“It’s not working. I still can’t move. It’s like something just went in my brain and cut the wires to my body.”
Apple Bloom winced in sympathy. “I’m pretty sure that’s what it’s supposed to feel like.”
“Where’s Sweetie Belle?”
“Still with Moonfire.”
Right at that moment, the little unicorn joined her friends.
“That didn’t take long,” Apple Bloom noted.
“Yeah, Moonfire started talking about his parents. I don’t think Fluttershy wanted me to hear him talk about all that.”
Scootaloo sighed and tried to lift her paw. It still wouldn’t budge. “At least we know he’s safe. If anypony can talk some sense into that guy, it’s Fluttershy.”
“I hope so,” Sweetie Belle agreed. “How are your arms? Any itching?”
Scootaloo tried to shake her head, but again her muscles didn’t quite get the message.
“No itch, no. But I think my teeth are acting weird. Maybe I’m starting to grow fangs or something.”
Apple Bloom rubbed over Scootaloo’s thin wings, checking for any tell-tale signs of holes popping up.
“Could be. That Moonfire kid has holes and fangs, maybe it’s a growing up thing?”
“I’ll ask my doctor when I go see him. I just hope I’m not paralysed all day, that’d be hard to explain. Can’t imagine what my parents would think, either.”
“I bet Rumble would know what to do,” Sweetie Belle blurted out.
Scootaloo’s gaze narrowed. “What?”
“Oh, come on. It’s obvious you’ve got a crush on him. Think about it: your arms started itching when Diamond was talking about him, you got angry when you saw him kissing her. You would have lost it if it hadn’t been for us.”
The changeling sighed. She wanted to lie, but the heavy feeling over her body made it hard to come up with anything.
“Maybe I do like him, a little. But it’s not like I’ve got a crush on him. I barely know the guy, I’m not even sure I know where he lives. I just want to go flying with him sometime. Doesn’t mean I want to kiss him or anything.”
Apple Bloom snickered. “Not yet, you mean.”
“Will you stop going on about Rumble? I just want to be around him sometime, talk to him. He can show me what I’m doing wrong with my flying, and he wants me to help him with his agility. Not like I’ll get a chance, anyway. I’m always doing something else now. Everything’s gotta be planned and scheduled all of a sudden because of all this.”
Apple Bloom shrugged. “So throw him in your schedule, then. I never have any trouble with my chores at the farm, and I still hang out with you.”
“Yeah, but--“
“But nothin’. You say you wanna hang out with him, but you’re just making excuses to back out of it because you’re scared. If you really want to hang out with Rumble, you just need to walk up to him and tell him when and where.”
“What about you guys? You said you wanted me to keep crusading with you. Which is it?”
“That’s not a problem, Scootaloo,” Apple Bloom assured, giving her prone friend a hug from behind. “You’re only saying that because you’re worried about hanging out with him. You can meet him after we’re done, or when we’re takin’ a break. Just because you wanna stay friends with us doesn’t mean you can’t make new friends, you know that. Especially if it’s a boy you like.”
Scootaloo groaned at her friend’s insistence. “You’re right. I shouldn’t be worried about it, I wasn’t before. But I don’t know what I’m supposed to do when there are other ponies around. I know what I want to do when I’m alone with him, when there’s no one watching us.”
“And that would be....” Sweetie Belle started, raising her eyebrow at the possibilities.
“Learn to fly right. No one watching us mess up, nopony making kissy sounds because a boy and a girl decide to hang out.”
“No, you’d be making the kissy sounds,” Apple Bloom joked.
“Maybe,” Scootaloo blurted out.
Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle looked to their friend, who seemed to be slowly regaining her strength. Apple Bloom leaned in to make sure she heard right. “Did you just say you did want to kiss Rumble?”
“Yes. Uh oh. I didn’t mean to say that. I wasn’t trying to say that, I wasn’t supposed to... that stuff stops me from lying, too? Seriously?”
“Look at it this way: better you find out now than later,” Sweetie Belle offered.
“I am really going to have to watch out for that stuff.” She slowly got back to her feet and tried to conjure up her disguise again. A few flickers of green flame played over her, and her wings changed colour, but the black skin of her body remained.
Apple Bloom put a hoof on Scootaloo’s shoulder and held her steady. “Don’t overdo it, Scootaloo. You can’t take any chances.”
Scootaloo closed her eyes and took a deep breath to brace herself, and when they opened she was her old pegasus self again. “There. That did it.”
“Are you sure you’re all right?” Apple Bloom kept her hoof in position just in case.
“A little woozy, but I’m fine. We should let Fluttershy know.”
“I’ll go,” Sweetie Belle offered. “You don’t want to go anywhere near that nip right now.”
Scootaloo nodded as she made her way to the front door with her friends, giving the house a wide berth. Sweetie Belle ducked in and quickly came back out.
“She said he’s out cold now. She’s going to keep him in for a few days.”
Apple Bloom nodded and smiled proudly. “That’s perfect. Now we know where he’ll be. And if there’s any trouble, he knows where to run without giving you up.”
“Yup,” Scootaloo agreed. “That’s one disaster I don’t have to worry about. Time for the next one.”
“I guess there’s no easy way for me to say this, but... what you have is a parasite. It will feed off you for as long as it can, and it will only survive by leeching off your care and attention.”
Scootaloo grimaced as she heard the stallion speak. Doctor Home Remedy was one of those ponies most other ponies thought was named for his talent, which involved medicine. This was, in fact, a gross misnomer.
He was crude, he had bad taste and the only reason ponies tolerated him in society was because he somehow made them feel better.
“And how long is this... ‘parasite’ going to feed off me?” the mare asked.
“As long as it can, Madam. I wouldn’t worry, though, we have a fine department for cases just like yours. Many ponies learn to live with this experience, even take some enjoyment out of it,” Home narrated, bemused at the thought.
“Suppose we wanted to neutralise it? Would it be dangerous?” the stallion asked.
Scootaloo gritted her teeth at the notion.
“Neutralise it? Now? I suppose you could, but I wouldn’t recommend rushing the decision. Most ponies go for a safe removal when it’s grown enough. But even then, it would still drain you. You’d be stuck with it, I’m afraid.”
The stallion sighed. “So what are we supposed to do?”
Doctor Home hit a buzzer on his desk. “Nurse Redheart? Would you kindly escort these two to the west wing? I think their case would be better suited for treatment there.”
The mare walked in and gestured to the pair, then went to guide them to the west wing of Ponyville Hospital. Scootaloo pretended she hadn’t eavesdropped when the couple -- she never caught their names-- walked past her in the waiting room. Her hearing really was getting a lot more acute now.
“Next,” Home called out.
The filly took a deep breath before entering. This Home guy had a few screws loose, she felt.
If nothing else, he sure had a funny way of telling a couple they were expecting a baby.
“Ah, you must be Scootaloo. Have a seat, I’ve been expecting you.”
Scootaloo hopped on the chair before the desk and got a good look at Home. A burly unicorn stallion with a coffee brown coat and bristly mane, he had a beard to match and a look in his eye that suggested he may be on some form of medication himself. “Now, then, I take it you’ve managed to keep your disguise up?”
“Um, yeah, mostly. I’ve been trying to adjust, like I’m supposed to. There’s a lot I don’t know about yet, though.”
“Oh, right. Princess Celestia warned me the written records weren’t going to be ready soon. I’m sure I can be of some assistance, though. What do you need to know first?”
Scootaloo gulped in a big breath of air for her first big question. “Am I going to grow holes and fangs?”
Home Remedy shot her a pensive look, before locking his door with magic and putting some sort of shimmering protective ward over it. He did the same with the shutters of his window. “Why don’t you start by showing me what you do have right now.”
Reluctantly, Scootaloo dropped her disguise. The stallion took in her form, then circled around the seated changeling. “Let’s see... hardened skin, no holes, no real fangs to speak of... say something for me, please.”
“Like what?”
Home nodded. “Mild double voice echo, yes, I suppose that’s to be expected. Okay, to answer your question, no, you shouldn’t grow any holes right away. Those cavities are meant to increase your contact surface, nothing more. You can absorb energy quicker when you have them. There might be some communication abilities connected to them as well, but that’s not relevant, since you’re the only one like this.”
Right. The only one. “So if it’s just for feeding, I won’t grow holes anytime soon?”
“Not unless you find yourself seething with anger, hatred and a general contempt for everything around you. So not before puberty, no.”
Scootaloo breathed a sigh of relief. That does explain why my arms itched when I got angry. “What about my flying? Is that ever going to get normal? I mean, I can kind of fly, but I can’t pick up speed for some reason.”
“Sure, that’s a pegasus problem. Your magic is less refined than the real deal, but you should be able to learn to copy it perfectly if you have a good example. If you absorb some energy from a pegasus who cares about you, it’ll give you a good enough idea of how to fake it.”
“Wouldn’t that mean draining somepony?”
He shook his head. “Not really. Changelings feed in two ways: passive and active. You can survive on the passive mode easy enough if you don’t overextend yourself. You just pick up on love and other energy like that when it’s freely given. Feeding actively is an acquired skill, and it’s more akin to vampirism. It’s not even limited to changelings; ponies of all races have been reported to demonstrate that kind of ability. It’s rare for us to get it naturally, but it’s possible to learn. You might want to look into it, since that’s the magic that’ll come naturally now. Not that I’d recommend feeding on ponies, mind you: you shouldn’t eat something if you don’t know where it’s been.”
Scootaloo nodded. “Okay, that’s a relief.”
“Any more questions?”
If there’s another pony changeling around, would you treat it or dissect it? She clenched her teeth together, not wanting to risk it. “No, sir.”
Home popped the cap off a bottle on his desk. It contained a fluid that looked eerily familiar. “Good. Then you won’t mind indulging me in a little experiment. Have you been under the effects of ‘ling-nip yet?”
Scootaloo backed away from the bottle, pressing her back into the chair. “Umm, I’ve tried it once or twice, just to be sure I could handle it.”
“Clever girl. You know this is made from a plant?”
“Sure?”
Home raised an eyebrow. “A plant you might run into in the wild?”
Suddenly she realised the danger she’d managed to dodge the past few days. She averted her gaze from him.
Home smiled. “Thought so. This stuff is made from honey thistle. You can’t miss them, they look like regular thistles with these holes in them, and if you get close to them your disguise falls off.”
“So why doesn’t the Royal Guard keep a stock of this stuff handy?”
“Glad you asked. They do keep a stock of thistles, but they keep those locked up tight in a greenhouse. Some ponies -- a minority, but more than you might think -- are allergic to them. And some of them are deathly allergic. They swell up and choke on their own tongues as soon as they see the things. Now, I can write you a doctor’s note saying that you’re one of those ponies, just in case you run into any of them and need an excuse to walk away. However--”
“I might be too close to them by then.”
Home Remedy nodded. “And as fun as it would be to start betting on when you get found out, we can’t have your secret out in the open just yet. So, I have to ask, do you have any experience with magic at all?”
Scootaloo blushed at that. “Just making potions, walking on clouds. I’ve tried casting spells a few times, but that kinda blew up.”
“All right, then. What I’m about to show you is a very basic detection spell. It runs on a sigil, so even a novice like you can learn to do it quickly. Close your eyes and try to get some magic flowing.”
Taking a deep breath, Scootaloo concentrated on her horn. She knew it was glowing, even if the light was blocked out.
“Now focus on the image of a leaf with three holes in it. Black surface, green edge, three holes. Try to see the bottle in front of you with your mind’s eye if you can’t get it right away. Don’t force it, relax. You’ll know it when you get it, trust me.”
Trying her best not to squint, she got the image right. “Got it.”
“Good. Now, you should feel a pull or a push between your horn and the bottle. Try to take the feeling out of your horn and into your paws, or hooves, whatever those things are supposed to be. Just try and feel the push,” Home gently commanded.
With her eyes still closed, Scootaloo waved her black paw around. “Yeah, I can feel it when I’m waving past it.”
“Excellent. Now open your eyes and try putting your disguise back on.”
With barely a thought, she complied.
“And now tell me, how many bottles of ‘ling-nip are in this room and where are they? Without closing your eyes.”
Scootaloo looked around and tried to replicate what she’d just done. The magic, the image, the push, she could get all of it quite easily if she just held a relaxed concentration.
“There’s four. The one on your desk, the one in your file cabinet, the one behind the radiator, and the one you’re hiding behind your hoof there.” She pointed to a spot behind his right hind hoof.
Doctor Home chuckled. “It seems you’re a natural. And now you know why we don’t use it as a weapon that often. Changelings can see it coming a mile away, it’s just not reliable as a weapon. That’s not to mention some of the countermeasures. It’s become a mutual destruction kind of thing by now. At any rate, I don’t see anything wrong with you, no deviation from our earlier results, no reason to think your change will have any negative effects. Your genes altered your magic, your magic altered your genes, you’re stable now and you’ll stay that way. You are as healthy as can get.”
She breathed a sigh of relief. “Well, coming from a changeling specialist, I guess that’s a good thing.”
“Oh, I’m not a changeling specialist; I’m a parasitologist. I study parasites.”
Scootaloo’s eyes widened. “W-wait. Just so we’re clear, you know a lot about me... because you know a lot about parasites?”
Home bobbed his head back and forth, looking for the right words. “Well, parasites, symbiotes, and commensals, it’s semantics, really. They all need others to survive, and aside from that it just depends how much damage they do to their host.”
“So do you know all these things or are you just guessing? About the holes and the feeding, I mean.”
The doctor cleared his throat and tried to sound as friendly as he could, which wasn’t very, considering the circumstances. “Scootaloo, try to understand, nature, even magical nature, works with certain rules. My specialty, my talent, is knowing what rules apply to diseases and to the things that try and feed off ponies to survive. As much as you might want to deny it, some of those rules apply to you, yes. That doesn’t mean you’re going to hurt anyone. Besides, you’ve got nothing to worry about. You’re not even old enough to start dating yet.”
Home’s expression went grave. “Do I need to save a spot for you in the west wing?”
“What? No! No! But... suppose I like a boy, and he likes me. In a couple of years, I mean. How am I supposed to handle that, food-wise?”
He leaned back and shrugged dismissively. “That’s pretty simple. Every parasite evolves to infect its host more slowly and spread further. Diseases become slower to kill over time, not faster. And your kind evolved to dodge diseases, not be one, so you’re probably not even that dangerous.”
Probably? “Wait, I just realised something. I thought you’d keep this a secret because you’re a doctor. But are you talking to me like I’m a patient or a parasite?”
“Definitely a patient. I don’t normally talk to parasites. Although there was that one time a talent leech infected a ventriloquist. That was just weird.”
Scootaloo shuddered. “So I don’t count as a disease, not medically?”
“Not yet, anyway. If Celestia’s aides find anything in the records, you’ll know. A lot of the older stuff is in a different language and laden with symbols, so research takes time. As far as I know, the parasitism came from a learned behaviour, one you didn’t learn. If I had to take a guess, I’d say you’d sooner start acting out whatever function your kind had when they were still living with ponies. Whatever kind of symbiosis they had in the old days, that’s what you’ll be doing automatically. You’re not a predator, I can say that much for a fact. There’s no reason to think you’d be hurting anyone around you, unless you really want to. And I’m pretty sure Celestia and Luna wouldn’t mind having more like you in their service, so knock yourself up.”
“You mean ‘knock myself out’.”
“Yes, that,” Home replied quickly, pretending his little slip-up wasn’t an inappropriate thing to say to a ten-year-old.
Scootaloo decided she’d really prefer to have a responsible adult with her on her next doctor’s visit. Or at least a pony with a gag at the ready.
“Okay. So I don’t need to take anything? I don’t need to watch my food, I can practise flying?” the filly persisted.
“You can swim through cliffs and dive off reefs. Although you might need to adjust your shape for some of that.”
Scootaloo didn’t bother replying. She just headed off as fast as she could. Her ears did catch what he then told nurse Redheart over the buzzer, though. “Nurse? Add twenty bits to the betting pool. I’m feeling lucky.”
Scootaloo breathed a sigh of relief when she exited the hospital. She smiled at her waiting friends.
“So what did the doctor say?” Apple Bloom started.
“He said I should be fine around boys, no reason to think it’ll be a problem.”
“Great. Now you can go tell Rumble you wanna hang out with him,” Sweetie Belle suggested.
“Err, I really should get up to my parent’s house now. Maybe I’ll ask him later.”
Two pairs of hooves started shoving Scootaloo forward. Apple Bloom grunted. “Oh no, you’re gonna tell him right now. He’ll be wondering why Diamond Tiara isn’t picking on him anymore, and he might think you spilled the beans on whatever it was.”
“But what am I supposed to say to him, Apple Bloom?” Scootaloo objected once she got clear of her friends and got ready on her scooter, Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom taking the cart.
“Just say what you were planning to say. Come on, he’s only a boy, and you promised you’d hang out with him, didn’t you? It’s not like he’s freaking out over it.”
“Rumble, why are you freaking out like this?” Thunderlane asked, his back turned to the colt as he tried to read the newspaper. His little brother kept on pacing around the living room for some reason, always circling behind the couch.
“I promised Scootaloo I’d teach her to fly sometime, and she’d teach me how to bank better.”
“So what’s the problem? Is Diamond Tiara jealous?”
Rumble stomped his hoof on the floor in frustration. “I am not with Diamond Tiara, that was different.”
“Okay, let me just ask you this, then: where did you say you were going to teach her?”
“White Tail Woods, same place I always practise.”
Thunderlane nodded and turned to peek over the couch. “So you won’t be going anywhere where nopony can find you. And when were you going to do this?”
Rumble groaned in defeat. “I don’t know. A couple of times a week, maybe? She’s really busy, and I haven’t gotten around to asking her yet. I just figured she’d ask me.”
“Okay, get out.”
“What?”
“You heard me, get out. Go find her and ask her if she’s got time soon. What do I always tell you about getting to your goals?”
Rumble sighed and recited the mantra. “Always keep going, only stop when you’re satisfied, just like dad always says.”
“And what are you doing now? Pacing around, waiting for some girl to tell you when she can show you some stuff. You’re not flying now, I don’t see you reading about flight, and yet you’re whining about how you want to get it done right now. If you really want to learn how to get more agile and she said she’d show you sometime, go find her and ask. Stop beating around the bush.”
Rumble took a deep breath and sighed. “You’re right. I should just go and ask.”
The grey colt braced himself, went to the door and opened it.
He was greeted by an orange filly with her hoof raised, as if wanting to knock.
Awkward silence descended on the two. They stared into each other’s eyes as the memories of their previous encounter floated back to them. At Rumble’s back, there was his big brother, his idol and the one pony he could always come to with anything. At Scootaloo’s back, there were the other Cutie Mark Crusaders, her best friends and occasional partners in crime (or at least they would be if anypony ever had the heart to arrest them.)
And yet between the two, there was a silent agreement that the moment they’d shared would be between them and them alone. The feelings between them were for their hearts only to know. And even if they weren’t sure what their feelings were about the other, they knew they couldn’t just go blabbing out about it.
Not that it made a difference, since everypony around them had made their assumptions already.
Both their faces turned red. Their heads began pounding with nerves, with the eyes of their friends and sibling on them.
This was going to end badly if no one stepped in.
“What time?” Rumble asked curtly.
“Monday, right after school. I’ll come by your place with the stuff we need.”
“See you then,” Rumble replied nervously, before closing the door.
Thunderlane walked past his brother as the little colt needed some time to let the blood flow out of his head and his cheeks to turn from tomato red to their usual greyish white.
“Thanks for the advice, bro. That... that really helped.”
“Don’t mention it,” Thunderlane replied, trying to hide his shock.
He opened the door just to check something.
“Huh. No Flitter, no Cloudchaser, no Derpy. Must be just him. Lucky guy.”
Scootaloo walked along the road out of Ponyville with aunt Vinyl by her side. The Saturday morning had come and gone, with Moonfire’s medical emergency and hers still lingering in her head.
Vinyl turned to look at her cousin, handing her the bag. “You sure you’re up to it? I could still go and ask Pinkie Pie for her balloon.”
Taking a deep breath and flapping her wings like a hummingbird, Scootaloo went off the ground. “Thanks. But I can go on my own from here.”
“See you tomorrow night then, squirt.”
Scootaloo had done this trek a hundred times by now. Take off around the hill on the south end of town, move on up and keep slightly due west, and just keep going up. With Pinkie Pie’s balloon, it was a laidback trip that let her see all the sights going up.
On her own wingpower, it was like being born again. Every little cloud she passed would have mocked her before. No matter how good she was on her scooter, her flightless state had always left one little detail to bother her.
Without flight, she couldn’t go to school in the clouds without walking over the clouds like a baby. Without flight, she’d have to get up at an unsightly hour to have her parents drop her off an hour before anyone else got there. Worst of all, without flight, she couldn’t go home when she wanted to. That had always stuck with her. No refuge, no safe place. It was different on the ground, having her little homebase to fall back on. But now as the cloud home came into sight, she felt giddy with excitement. She landed and knocked on the door.
A mare opened up, a pegasus with a pink coat and the lightest blue mane, with a rain cloud for a cutie mark. She reached down and scooped Scootaloo up in a hug, only to find a yellow stallion with a deep ocean blue mane and a sun shining from behind a cloud for a cutie mark grabbing her from behind.
Scootaloo was squished in between them for a moment, lost for words. She relished the moment in between the two.
Mister Sun Dancer and Missus Rain Dancer.
Best parents ever.
Once dinner was done, the Dancer family relaxed in front of the television, their usual ritual when Scootaloo was home.
Rain Dancer petted her daughter’s mane as they watched the news, some inanity about a filly in Manehattan beating up a classmate. “You can drop your disguise if you want. You know we don’t mind.”
Scootaloo sighed. It was her first trip back home since the change, but her parents had already seen her at the hospital. That didn’t make it any easier, though. “Does it matter if I don’t?”
Rain Dancer nuzzled her. “Only if it matters to you.”
Closing her eyes, Scootaloo let go for a moment and shifted back to her changeling form. Still no holes or fangs, but parchment-like wings instead of the feathered ones her parents had, not to mention the awkward dagger of a horn.
Rain Dancer just kept on petting. Scootaloo could feel the love flowing from her mom. It still hurt a little, though, the lack of fur to stroke. It just didn’t feel the same. Nothing did.
Sun Dancer caught her pondering and changed the subject. “So, what’s new, Scootaloo? Get up to anything interesting with your friends?”
“Well, we shot ourselves out of a canon, that was new.”
The stallion pondered and smirked. “Hmm... did you survive?”
“Yes, I-hey! Of course we survived. We’re always careful.”
Rain Dancer gave Scootaloo another squeeze. “Good girl. And still no cutie marks for your friends?”
“No. They’re still blank flanks. And umm... I made another friend, who’s also a blank flank.”
Sun Dancer leaned in, grinning to himself. “Oh? Anything we should know about, sweetie?”
Scootaloo shook her head. “It’s pretty confusing, and I don’t know if I should talk about it.”
Rain Dancer looked down at her daughter with a confused look. “What’s wrong with your friend that you can’t talk about her?”
“It’s a boy.”
Rain Dancer squeezed her daughter tight enough to make her gasp for air. Sun winced in sympathy as she got excited at the news. “Oh, my little girl’s got a crush on somepony!”
Suddenly Scootaloo was reminded of why she didn’t like her friends hugging her that often. It was bad enough to have a mother who was a health hazard, let alone having to deal with ponies in her own weight class.
“I do not have a crush on him. Well, maybe. We met once, we talked, and he said he’d teach me how to fly better. I still can’t get any speed, and I don’t know why. And he needs help training for agility.”
Sun Dancer nodded. “Oh, so you’re gonna practise for the Little Ace competition, huh?”
“You mean the one in Cloudsdale? But that’s in Cloudsdale, I can’t-- oh, yeah, I can fly there now. I guess we could try that. We’ve got about six weeks for it, right?”
“Eight, actually, and that’s plenty of time to get good enough, especially for you. Assuming you can keep your head on training.”
Rain chuckled. “Are you sure you don’t just have a crush on this boy, Scoots? Is it anypony we know, per chance?”
“I doubt it.”
Sun Dancer shrugged. “Well, if you are going to hang out with a boy, we’re going to at least need to know his name, even if you’re not ‘together’ together. Just in case there’s an emergency, so we know where to go.”
Scootaloo sighed in resignation. She’d done the same thing with Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom, after all. The trouble she could get in by neglecting to tell them just wasn’t worth it. “His name’s Rumble. But you don’t know him.”
Rain Dancer tapped her chin in thought. “Rumble? Rumble... I’ve seen that name. Grey fur, mane combed back? Exceptionally high wingpower for a ten-year-old? That Rumble?”
“Yeah. That Rumble.”
Rain Dancer whistled. “You got him to teach you how to fly? Sweetie, I’m impressed. From what I hear, that boy hardly talks to anyone. If you can get two sentences out of him in one day, that’s hitting his quota.”
“He is not that shy, mom. And I don’t know what I’m supposed to do aside from just learn to fly.”
The two adults shared a brief look. “Just do what feels right, sweetie. We trust you.”
Scootaloo looked up, her horn brushing up against her mother’s fur. “You really mean that? After everything?”
They both nodded. Rain Dancer resumed her stroking over Scootaloo’s mane. “You’re not malicious, Scootaloo. And you’ve proven you can handle responsibility. Besides, it’s better to learn from a flyer your age. He’ll go at your pace, and you can go at his. Just as long as we know what’s happening, we’re okay with it. You know what’s right and what’s wrong, don’t you?”
“I know. I’m not gonna do anything I shouldn’t, and I’m not gonna just use him or anything. He’s nice, and I... I just don’t know if I like him a lot or a little.”
Rain gave her daughter another warm hug, curling up her wings around the filly to rub her back. “Well, I’m sure you’ll make up your mind after you meet up a few times.”
The stroking motion, and the love behind it, soothed Scootaloo’s nerves. She lay her head down on her mother’s lap and basked in the warmth. Up in the clouds, with her loving parents, Scootaloo could let everything go and just unwind.
“Thanks. You’re the best.”
Scootaloo was still smiling come Monday afternoon. Once school was out, she bade her friends a good day and headed back to her week home to get a pair of broomsticks. After that, she was off to Rumble’s.
The boy was already suited up with his helmet and bracers, and wasted no time getting on his skateboard. Looking at him from the side, Scootaloo silently admired the colt. Standing upright on his skateboard, chest and abs on full display while his wings mimicked her own strokes, he looked pretty cute, she had to admit.
She shook her head to clear it once they reached White Tail Woods.
“I know a spot,” he said, leading the way.
When they got to their destination, Scootaloo’s eyes widened.
Some spot.
A large clearing of trees that bordered on a grassy hill, it was perfect for their purposes. The hill could be used a launch pad, and it wasn’t up so high that they’d risk getting hurt if they fell. Aside from that, they had a good open airspace and level ground for any sort of exercises they wanted to try.
“Hey, Rumble, I’ve been thinking. You ever consider trying the Little Ace competition?”
“Umm, no? Why?”
Scootaloo looked away for a moment, before giving him a coy smile. “Well, if we’re both going to be practising, we might as well get something for it, right? Set a goal, maybe something Rainbow Dash would notice?”
The colt thought it over. He grimaced as he realised the implications. “Wouldn’t that mean we’d be competing?”
“You’ve got a problem competing with me?”
“N-no, it’s just that you’re--”
Scootaloo leaned in, cutting off his retort. “I’m what?”
“You’re a lot like Rainbow Dash and I know you really want to impress her. But Rainbow Dash overdoes it sometimes. I don’t wanna get caught up in that sort of thing.”
She backed off at that. “Don’t worry, it’d be friendly competition. It wouldn’t matter who’s better than the other, just that we got better.”
“You promise?”
Scootaloo extended her hoof to make it official. “I promise.”
Gingerly, Rumble shook that hoof. “Okay. So we’re aiming for the Little Ace competition. First two weeks we practise the basics, second two weeks we practise a routine, and then we get Rainbow Dash to see what she thinks.”
Scootaloo nodded in agreement. “Sounds like a plan.”
Rumble flexed his wings a few times to warm them up. “So what do we do first? You or me?”
Scootaloo dashed to her cart and got a pair of broomsticks for them. “Agility training’s good for a warm-up. Here, just grab this broomstick and put it behind your shoulders, like this.”
Scootaloo wrapped her front legs around the stick and let it hang behind her head. Rumble followed suit.
“Now you slowly turn left, then right. Back and forth, back and forth,” the filly started, showing the proper form.
Rumble tried to get the same range as her, but he struggled. “This kinda hurts. Are you sure you’re not supposed to stretch first?”
“This is stretching. It’ll be a little stiff at first, but trust me, it gets a lot better after a day or two. Just keep going.”
Scootaloo mentally counted the reps, then proceeded to the next exercise.
“Okay, and now you drop the left side of your body, make a good curve with your spine.”
Scootaloo showed how to do it, bending her spine so her rib cage nearly became level with the ground. Rumble tried again, but he wound up contorting in pain.
“Okay, that’s really starting to hurt.”
“Wait, let me.”Scootaloo moved behind him to steady his back.
She put her hooves on his sides, feeling out his ribs before lowering her touch to his abs. For a moment, her breath got caught.
She was touching him.
Again.
She deadened the reflex of looking inside his body, though, instead just moving her hooves to keep his back aligned properly. It took all her force of will to keep her breath steady. She could feel his warmth, his strength. It made her hooves feel warmer, too, especially when he managed to get past the pain and get a better range of motion. With his abs stretching like that, she could feel every ropy little fibre tensing and flexing under her hooves.
“Don’t go too deep. You want to keep it nice and slow at first.”
Rumble’s wings unfurled. Even if she was only keeping a light grip on him, she could feel the heat washing off the boy. Her passive feeding reflex told her his attention was fixated on her, and the rush of strength she felt told her it was a good kind of fixation. The warmth flooded out of him now, flowing steadily into her as she kept his lower back straight. She tensed up to fight the reflex of pressing her belly into his back.
When he’d completed the exercise, she backed away slowly. He winced and rubbed his sides. “You do that all the time? It’s really tiring.”
Scootaloo chuckled nervously, hoping the warmth she’d just felt going into her wasn’t anything he needed to hold on to. “You just need to train muscles most ponies don’t know they have, that’s all. Give it a day or two, you’ll see.”
“Okay. What else?”
“Now you stretch a little.” Scootaloo sat down and extending one hind leg with the other folded underneath. She reached out for the hind hoof and took a few careful breaths, while Rumble tried to do the same. “Don’t overextend this one. You’ll hurt yourself if you try too hard.”
He didn’t reply. He was obviously busy trying his best not to stare at her supple body. From this position, she knew the outline of her ribs was on display, and her haunches looked all tight and taut. She took a bit of guilty pleasure in his looks. Without a word, Scootaloo switched sides and Rumble followed suit. A few more careful breaths and she released the position.
“Next is the cat stretch,” Scootaloo started before doing just that, stretching out her front legs like a cat would and leaning back, before leaning forward.
She heard something snap in front of her. Rumble blushed and looked around the forest. “I swear that was just a twig.”
“Okay, that’s enough of a warm-up. Feel any more flexible?”
“A little, I guess. Does that really help?”
“It does. I’ve got another trick that might help, but you wanna do that after you’ve trained a bit. It’s pretty advanced.”
“Okay. So you want to get your speed up, right? Could you show me how you normally fly?”
With a nod, Scootaloo sent her wings buzzing. She went up high, clearing the small hill, then bolted forward.
She plummeted, just like before. The support under her wings just dropped when she picked up speed. She landed on the far side of the hill, skidding and rolling to a halt. She rolled her eyes as she got up, then quickly buried her nose under her hooves.
She didn’t move. She didn’t dare breathe.
Rumble came up behind her, calling out. “Scootaloo? What are you doing? What’s wrong?”
She didn’t answer. She just shook her head as panic overtook her. The colt ran down the hill to sit beside her. “What’s the matter? Did you get hurt?”
She whispered something, but he had to lean in to catch it.
“What was that?”
“You didn’t tell me there was a circle of honey thistles here.”
Right in front of her, a patch of certain doom extended in half a circle. Black plants with thorny leaves and holes in them, and one whopper of an alarm bell going off in her head. That hill she’d skidded down hid a death trap for changelings; honey thistles all neatly arranged among the maple trees. The thought of a changeling flying low over this place and getting stuck on tree sap, only to land in a field like this, made her shudder.
“Umm, I didn’t know that was a problem. What’s wrong? Are you scared of them?”
Scared? You don’t know the half of it. Stupid, stupid, Scootaloo. You forgot to turn your spell on. Home Remedy’s never gonna let you live this down now if he hears this. Stupid rookie mistake.
“I’m allergic to them. Like, deathly allergic. If I move too close or breathe in the smell, I’m not dying, I’m dead. I-I don’t know what to do. I can’t afford to move.”
Without a word, Rumble got under her and picked her up, never letting her hooves move away from her nose. “Okay. I’ll just carry you straight up and we’ll find a better spot, no problem.”
Once she felt the distance between the offending plants and her grow large enough, Scootaloo allowed herself to enjoy the ride on the colt. He felt warm and comforting, and soft. She felt her body warm up again, and a knot formed in her belly along with a shaking she couldn’t quite place.
Hang on, why am I shaking now? I was scared of the thistles, but I wasn’t shaking before. What’s wrong with me?
It only now dawned on her that she was still feeding off him passively. Home Remedy had said this was harmless, but still it made her shudder. Rumble didn’t notice, thankfully.
As they set down, Scootaloo had to suppress a blush as much as Rumble did. When they’d both caught their breath again, Rumble spoke up first.
“So you can’t go anywhere near those plants?”
“No. I only found out at the hospital a few days ago, but they told me it’s bad, really bad.” Scootaloo kept her eyes on the ground, embarrassed.
“Okay, I’ll keep that in mind, but umm....”
“What?”
The boy winced in sympathy. “You still wanna try to fly after that, or do you wanna call it a day?”
Scootaloo hummed contentedly as she headed home. The flying lesson hadn’t been too strenuous for her or Rumble, and she at least got some progress. She rubbed the back of her shoulder to soothe a mild burning.
You just need to train muscles you didn’t know you had.
That seemed to be another thing she had in common with Rumble. But she didn’t take too long to ponder it, she had another appointment to keep. Actually, she had another appointment to make.
After dropping her stuff off at aunt Vinyl’s, she made her way to the library.
The sight that met her when she entered sent ripples through Scootaloo’s body and mind. It felt off, menacing, even. With all the things that had been going on, this was the straw that broke the proverbial camel’s back. Seeing what she was seeing now threatened to upset her already shaky mental balance.
It was Rainbow Dash, reading.
“Hey, squirt,” Rainbow Dash greeted, lounging on a few pillows with a Daring Do novel held in her hooves. “Twilight’s not here right now, but she put me in charge of the library for a bit. I don’t know where everything is, but you shouldn’t have any trouble finding the standard stuff.”
Scootaloo stood in the doorway, frozen in shock. Rainbow looked up, concerned. “What’s wrong?”
Scootaloo shook her head. “N-nothing. It’s just... I didn’t know you like to read.”
Rainbow Dash chuckled. “Really? Guess you didn’t hear about that little stunt at the hospital, then.”
“What stunt?”
“Never mind. What do you need?”
Scootaloo closed the door behind her and walked up to the mare, carefully looking around for anypony else. “I, umm, I was hoping I could ask Twilight to teach me about magic.”
Rainbow Dash closed her book and got up. She flew past Scootaloo and fetched a small tome, before placing it on the table in the middle of the room. “Why would you need Twilight to teach you about magic?”
Scootaloo shrugged. “Because she’s a unicorn. And with me and my thing, I’m gonna have to learn sooner or later.”
Rainbow Dash didn’t bother to look at her. She just opened up the book and motioned for the girl to sit next to her. “But what makes you think Twilight would be the best to teach you?”
“She is the best at it, and princess Celestia said I should ask her.”
Rainbow Dash raised an eyebrow at her. “And how do you think Twilight got so good?”
Scootaloo groaned. “I don’t know, she had a good teacher, she practised a lot.”
Rainbow put her hoof on the first page of the book. Scootaloo only now noticed the title.
Cantrips and Invocations: an Introduction to Magic Practice.
“She did. And she read a lot about it. Princess Celestia decided what books and what material she’d get, that’s how she kept Twilight from overloading again. You heard how she got her cutie mark, right?”
“Twilight? Yeah, she told us.”
“Well, when she said Celestia was her teacher, she meant Celestia was the one who kept her schedule. That’s what she told me and Rarity, at least. Princess Celestia didn’t teach her the way Cheerilee teaches you, not all the time. But Twilight did need an expert to set up her schedule and make sure she took breaks when she needed to, as well as keep her from doing stuff she shouldn’t try. Twilight did a lot of the learning and a lot of the work on her own, most unicorns do. Rarity didn’t have a serious magic teacher and she’s pretty good at it, too. So you don’t really need Twilight around to teach you magic, either.”
Scootaloo nodded in resignation and grunted to herself. “But I have to read this to learn how to do magic?”
Rainbow Dash curled a wing around her in comfort. “You have to understand what it says. Then you have to go out and practise, and do it right. That’s how you learn to do anything. Why, don’t you like reading?”
The girl shook her head. “Not that much, no. It’s kinda boring.”
To that, Rainbow rolled her eyes. “Yeah, it can be, but it grows on you, you just have to give it a chance. I’ll read with you, if it makes you feel any better. Look here.”
Scootaloo followed Rainbow’s hoof over the first chapter’s introduction. Rainbow Dash read it aloud for her, slowly. “Magical practice of any kind hinges on exercising will. The fundamental skill of any mage is to identify and concentrate on the desired result. This leads to a mage’s perennial problem: the conflict between thought and will.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” Scootaloo started.
Rainbow continued, undisturbed. “The act of wishing is rarely effective, and only works when it is backed by desperation and the mind is silenced by fatigue.”
Scootaloo frowned. “I still don’t get it.”
“What it’s trying to say is that it’s not enough to just think or wish for something to happen. You need to be able to will it with everything you’ve got. So squinting your eyes harder or tensing up more doesn’t help, even though that’s what you’ll wind up doing a lot of the time, I suppose.”
Scootaloo thought back to her earlier attempt to nail in the boards, and why her thistle detection spell worked better. “So what makes one spell work and one fail?”
Deciding to indulge the filly, Rainbow flipped a few pages ahead. “It says here that magic takes power to do anything, but it takes mirror to do what you want it to.”
Scootaloo leaned in to check the text. “What kind of mirror?”
“Listen to this: ‘magic mirror’ is the default state of the energy being summoned by the mage. If magic can be said to be like drawing, a mage’s power determines the amount of ink she has and the range of mirror determines the colours used. A mage channeling anger will be able to do different spells from one channeling calm.”
“So it only works when you’re trying to feel angry or calm? That sounds stupid.”
“Are you even trying to read this, squirt?”
Scootaloo blushed. “Sorry. I’m just anxious, that’s all.”
Rainbow Dash let hoof wander over a few pages, quickly skimming the text for the filly. “Oh, here’s what you want, then: the most basic exercise for any magic user to master is the cantrip. It is a mental image or scene that reliably summons the feelings and thought complexes needed to execute the spell.”
Scootaloo tried to let that sink in, but the words just floated around in her head. “Maybe I should get Apple Bloom to help me, she’s better at this sort of thing.”
“Hold on, I think I’ve got this. Ever go swimming?”
Scootaloo nodded. “Sure.”
Rainbow Dash pointed to the pillows she’d sat in before. “Try remembering what water feels like, how it keeps you afloat. Picture this whole room flooded, but focus it on that one pillow.”
Scootaloo winced. “Umm, isn’t that going to, I don’t know, flood the room?”
“Just try it. Trust me on this.”
Scootaloo closed her eyes and complied. She tried to recall the few occasions when she’d gone over to Sweetie Belle’s place for a swim in her family’s pond, and concentrated on the feeling of weightlessness. Once she had that, she sent the feeling out, bubbling out into her horn and wrapping around the pillow.
“Open your eyes.”
Slowly but surely, the pillow Rainbow Dash had pointed to started twitching, then rising in the air. Scootaloo kept it up for a few seconds, before a rumbling stomach and a sudden rush of vertigo broke her concentration. She reeled, having to lean back on Rainbow’s chest. “Whoa, headrush.”
Rainbow Dash had a hoof on the changeling’s back to steady her. “Easy, kid, easy. That’s how they teach pegasus magic at flight camp, but it doesn’t work the same for everypony. Still, it’s a good place to start from, right?”
“Yeah. Not sure why I feel so dizzy, though. I didn’t get this from shooting bolts out of my horn.”
Rainbow Dash put her hoof on the next part of the text. “Advanced spellcasting that requires channeling a foreign mirror can be dangerous and should be approached with great caution. To learn a new spell is to change a fundamental part of one’s identity for a short time. It is for this reason that pony magic tends to be separated by race, but not by blood. While their magic power is the same, for one to channel the other’s mirror is to go against their nature. If it is in a pegasus pony’s nature to be like an Earth pony, then Earth pony abilities will be natural to them. A unicorn nature, however, does not supply the physical conduit of a horn, it only yields understanding of magic. While zebra magic and unicorn magic do the same things, their mechanisms are different, and the same can be said of any other race’s innate magic, pony or otherwise.”
“Wait, so what makes one pony have one mirror and not the other?”
Rainbow chuckled and kept her hoof on the text, hoping the filly would finally try to follow. “The range of mirror a pony can summon will depend on individual skill. Pony talents, in particular, determine which kinds of mirror are readily accessible and which kinds need to be made familiar by practice.”
Regaining her balance again, Scootaloo rubbed her head as she took it all in. “So I know how to shoot bolts and change shape because it’s in my nature, but I need to learn how to lift things by learning what ‘lift mirror’ feels like. Or something.”
Rainbow patted her on the back with her wing. “Now you’re getting it. See? You don’t need Twilight to teach you, you’re smart enough to figure this sort of thing out on your own. What other spells did you wanna learn?”
Scootaloo looked away. “Nothing special, really. Just... stuff. I can handle it from here. Thanks for showing me, Rainbow Dash.”
Rainbow put her hoof under the girl’s chin, forcing her to look her in the eye. “What’s wrong, kid?”
She sighed. “Nothing, honest. I’m glad I know how to start now, but...”
“But what?”
“Why would you help teach me magic now if you never taught me how to fly?”
The mare chuckled. “You never asked, for one thing. I’ve never seen you crying over it, I’ve never heard your friends or Cheerilee tell me it was bothering you. Besides, you just needed to grow some more. What was I supposed to do, strap a kite to your back? ‘Coz I tried that with Apple Bloom and she didn’t like that too much.”
“No, I guess not.”
“Look, kid, I know you think I’m awesome. You can’t start a fan club for me and not have me notice. But I didn’t get to where I am by trying to be somepony I’m not. I put effort into what I wanted, and I didn’t copy anypony else. I’ve seen you on your scooter, you’re good. And you’re a better dancer than I was at your age. You’re like me, but you’re not me. And that’s a good thing.”
Scootaloo smiled up at her idol. “You really mean that?”
Rainbow Dash gave her a playful nudge. “Sure I do, squirt. And hey, now you’ve had the growth spurt you needed, if you really need a flying instructor, you know where to find me.”
“That’s okay, I already found one,” Scootaloo blurted out. She bit her lip immediately after.
“Really?”
She blushed. “Yeah, one of the kids in school needed help with agility, so I’m kind of, sort of, training with somepony now. We were going to surprise you.”
Rainbow Dash brought her hoof up to her chin and thought. “You’re going to try for the Little Ace competition in a few weeks, huh?”
“Yeah, me and... my friend.”
Rainbow Dash nodded. “That’s great, you should practise with someone your own age. Let me know when you get good enough to show your stuff, I’ll give both of you some advice if you need it. In the meantime, you’ve got this to work on.”
Scootaloo closed the book and picked it up. “Is it okay if I take this home for a few days?”
“You do know this is a library, right?”
Scootaloo slapped herself.
“Just be sure to bring it back in two weeks and don’t damage it,” Rainbow insisted.
As she made her way out, Scootaloo was stopped by one final call from her idol.
“Oh, and Scootaloo? A bit of advice I can give you right now; if you’re going to compete, try not to let it go to your head. I know it’s hard, but when other ponies start noticing you, it’s easy to forget that what you think of yourself matters, too.”
She froze in the doorway. “You called me by my name.”
“What?”
“You never call me by my name. Why start now?”
As she looked back, Scootaloo couldn’t help but notice how casually Rainbow Dash treated this.
“I call every kid in town ‘kid’ or ‘squirt’, I thought you knew that. That way, when I call them by name, they know it’s important, and they know they should listen. And did you listen to me, Scootaloo?”
Scootaloo thought it over. “Don’t just be loyal to others, be loyal to who you are?”
Rainbow winked. “Exactly, and don’t you forget it.”
“Don’t worry, I won’t. I promise.”
It felt weird to be back in White Tail Woods the next day, with Rumble walking beside Scootaloo. She noticed he kept his wings folded down today, a reflex she followed after the other day’s exercise. Other than that, there was nothing out of the ordinary. The boy remained silent about their flight training, and didn’t talk much to her. She could only guess that what her mother had heard about his word quota was right, and at the moment he must have spent everything before noon.
Not that she was complaining. After all, it wouldn’t do to have the whole class make kissy noises at them just because he talked to her during their field trip. Cheerilee had taken them to learn about the plant life around Ponyville, leaving Rumble’s teacher some time to grade their homework. Scootaloo didn’t talk much to him, either, instead keeping her attention on her friends and on her teacher as much as she could. Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom were going on about getting their cutie marks in baking, and Apple Bloom insisted that just because they couldn’t bake one kind of pastry, that didn’t mean their talent couldn’t be baking something else. Scootaloo suppressed the urge to argue, given the book she’d borrowed pretty much stated that was not how talents work.
However, they were all somewhat preoccupied with the lesson. After explaining the nature of the trees in the forest and the uses for their sap, Cheerilee stopped the group and pointed to the base of one of the trees.
“Now, class, who can tell me what this is?”
Scootaloo flew up to get a better view over the crowd, with Featherweight and Rumble following suit. Cheerilee was pointing a hoof towards a mushroom with a white base and a red cap with white dots.
“It’s a toadstool, Miss Cheerilee,” Featherweight replied. “A fly agaric.”
Cheerilee smiled. “Very good, Featherweight. And what’s special about this toadstool?”
“It stinks to draw in flies,” Berry Pinch offered, “and it’s poisonous. If you eat it, you get dizzy and sick to your stomach.”
“Correct.”
Cheerilee turned and had them continue on the path, before stopping again near a plant with pink heart-shaped flowers on its stalk.
“Apple Bloom, I take it you know which flower this is?”
Apple Bloom nodded. “That’s Heart’s Desire. It’s a magical plant.”
“Very good. Sweetie Belle, do we normally eat this plant?”
“No, Miss Cheerilee, we don’t.”
“And why is that, Scootaloo?”
“Because it’s poison.” She bit her tongue. If her whole class hadn’t been there, she’d have slapped herself.
Cheerilee shook her head, surprised. “No, it’s not, Scootaloo. It’s actually a good component for certain potions, and quite harmless on its own. We don’t eat wild plants because we don’t know what else has been there.”
Scootaloo tried to look casual, but she felt a few odd looks on her. She shook it off as her imagination running wild, it’s not like anyone had any reason to suspect her, except maybe Diamond Tiara, but she had a way to keep her at bay, regardless.
As they went on, Scootaloo started feeling a slight pressure in her head. It didn’t hurt at first, but after a while the pushing and pulling on the horn she wasn’t wearing at the time got insistent to the point of being annoying. Cheerilee stopped behind another tree, letting the rest of class circle around.
Scootaloo stopped before she even saw the plant Cheerilee wanted to show them. She didn’t need to. Her horn already told her exactly what the rest of class was staring at, even if it was occluded by the tree.
Uh oh.
“Ah, and here’s another interesting magical plant. Gather round for this one, class. Scootaloo, come see this, please.”
Scootaloo looked left, then right. In her reverie, she hadn’t realised everyone had kept on walking to form a circle around the plant. Rumble and her friends had waited, leaving them in between her and the tree.
She scratched her front leg nervously. “I’d rather not, if that’s okay.”
Cheerilee shot her a questioning gaze. “What’s the matter, Scootaloo?”
Scootaloo looked to Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle. They both clearly recognised the thing behind the tree, but they just stood there with a confused and hesitant look. She couldn’t blame them, there was no way she could get out of this without looking suspicious.
“She’s allergic to honey thistles,” Rumble started. “Like, really badly. If she gets too close, she could choke.”
Scootaloo’s ears flattened. She kept on scratching her front legs nervously. Cheerilee raised an eyebrow.
“Is that true, Scootaloo? I didn’t see it on your medical file.”
Scootaloo blushed and started sweating. “Yeah, it’s true. I only found out a few days ago at the doctor’s, it wouldn’t be on there yet.”
“We had to stop our race the other day because there was one of those things on the side of the road,” Rumble lied.
“So what?” Diamond Tiara started. “You get itchy and wheezy when you’re close to those things?”
Scootaloo took a step back from the tree and her class. “N-no. I just can’t get close to them, at all. It can get really bad, and I don’t wanna know how bad. Even a little bit could be--” She made a gesture with her hooves over her neck to illustrate the choking hazard.
Cheerilee nodded. “All right, then, stay there and give it a wide berth when you pass it by. Back to the lesson, class, can anyone guess what sort of magical properties this plant would have? Take a good look at the leaves, and the holes in them.”
Scootaloo gulped nervously, still not daring to walk over and look at the thing. The rest of class, however, inspected it curiously, Diamond Tiara at the front. “It’s got something to do with changelings?”
“Correct, Diamond. You see, some plants have a magic that is linked to another creature, and oddly enough, this magic can make them look like the animal they affect. There’s a very strange-looking variety of catnip that grows in the Everfree Forest, for example. This particular plant, as Scootaloo pointed out, is called a honey thistle. When you break the leaves, the sap that comes out is sticky and sweet, like honey. It is also a very potent poison for changelings, and it nullifies their magic almost instantly.”
Scootaloo gritted her teeth as Cheerilee spoke. She noticed Diamond Tiara looking at her. “Miss Cheerilee, if that plant is poison to changelings, why don’t we grow more of them?”
Scootaloo took another step back, and the pushing and pulling of her phantom horn finally subsided. All of class was stealing glances at her now, the one filly broken off from the group. Rumble moved closer to her, Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle followed, and the group seemed to link back to her again. It didn’t change anything about the danger she was facing right now, though.
“Because some ponies are allergic to it. We wouldn’t want Scootaloo to have a fit and need a hospital, would we?” Cheerilee answered.
Scootaloo stared right back at Diamond Tiara. Something shifted in the girl’s expression, some bizarre sort of acceptance or a moral debate that found itself silenced. “No, I guess we wouldn’t.”
Featherweight raised his hoof. “But wouldn’t it be safer if we had something to protect against changelings? What if there was one right here, right now, and we didn’t have that plant to be sure? What if somepony was taken and they were starving because no one knew?”
Cheerilee shook her head. “Changelings don’t work that way, Featherweight. They never trap a pony for more than a few days, and they’re smart enough not to take the shape of a foal they can’t imitate. Changelings who replace a pony are always found out, always. And besides that, changelings are intelligent. They can talk, they can listen to reason, and it’s wrong to just sow poison around for them, especially when one of your friends might be allergic to it.”
Featherweight kept his hoof to his chin, pondering. “Guess that’s true. But how can you tell a changeling from a pony, aside from that plant?”
“Without a spell to make them drop their disguise, you can’t. But a changeling who is only out to feed doesn’t cause that much damage. It’s more dangerous for one to be around us than the other way around, and in a large group even they stick out like a loose spike.”
Scootaloo put up the straightest face she could without betraying the complete abject terror that was coursing through her body at that moment.
Thanks again, aunt Vinyl, those poker nights are finally paying off.
Cheerilee started walking off with the rest of the class in tow, but Featherweight kept on looking at the flower. With the group moving again, Scootaloo finally got past the tree and saw the thistle, with Featherweight still inspecting it.
“Thanks for the warning.”
“Don’t mention it,” Apple Bloom replied.
The pull and push on Scootaloo’s absent horn got worse as she passed the flower, then faded once she got farther along.
Then she felt the presence spike up again.
She barely had time to turn to see Featherweight fiddling with the flower and getting some sort fluffy seeds from it. Little dust motes had flown up from the plant, lit up by the sunbeams filtering through the canopy and borne on the wind.
And Scootaloo was standing downwind. Featherweight put the ball of fluff in his saddlebag and looked at the seeds he’d accidentally spread. “Umm, Scootaloo? I think you’d better hold your breath.”
A fell and loud gust of wind broke her reverie, blowing the seeds back and giving the colt himself a firm shove back against the tree. Scootaloo looked to her right, and saw Rumble’s wing stretched out. On the forest floor, the gust had created a clean cone, all the branches and stray leaves blown back by the force.
Scootaloo blinked, amazed. He did that with just one wing? He really is good.
“What is wrong with you?” Rumble started. “She just said she’s allergic to that stuff, and you nearly blew it in her face.”
Featherweight rubbed his head, reeling from the impact. “Come on, is it really that bad?”
Scootaloo nodded. “Yeah, it is. The doctor told me so, even a little seed like that can set me off.”
“Rumble, what did you do?” Cheerilee interrupted.
“Featherweight nearly got thistle seeds on Scootaloo, so I blew them back.”
Featherweight shakily got on his hooves, dusting himself off with his hooves and wings. “I just wanted something as a reference for the Foal Free Press.”
Cheerilee looked the two boys over, then took in the results of Rumble’s sudden burst of wind. She furrowed her brow, clearly impressed but not amused in the slightest.
“Rumble, don’t be so rough next time. And Featherweight, stay well away from Scootaloo if you are carrying seeds. One tiny bit of fluff might not be enough to hospitalise her, but it’ll still bother her. Now let’s get moving, we have a lot more to learn today.”
Scootaloo flew up to the couch and dropped herself with a sigh. Vinyl Scratch looked down at the prone filly. “Something wrong, kiddo?”
“We had a field trip to White Tail Woods today. Ran into a honey thistle.”
Vinyl took her sunglasses off and went wide-eyed. “That stuff the doctor told you about? What happened? Did you drop your disguise?”
“No, I felt it, so I didn’t get too close, but the rest of my class looked at me a little weird. I think everypony bought the allergy excuse. But then they started talking about poisoning changelings and Featherweight wanted some seeds. A couple of them nearly touched me, and I don’t know what would have happened if they had.”
“So you ran?”
Scootaloo threw her hooves up in the air in exasperation. “No! I couldn’t just run, it would have looked weird. I froze. But you should have seen it, Rumble made this big gust of wind and blew it back. Only flapped his wing once, too. He’s a lot stronger than he looks.”
Vinyl blinked. “Huh. If he can do that, he’d have to be. But nopony suspects anything?”
“I don’t think so. Diamond Tiara might, but nopony would believe her. But it got me thinking, and I can’t get it out my mind.”
Vinyl folded her arms to rest her head on the couch’s armrest. “What do you mean?”
Scootaloo looked her in the eyes. “Why didn’t we tell Miss Cheerilee about me?”
“Because she’s not just your teacher. If she knows, then she’ll treat you different, and your whole class would start suspecting. Why, do you wanna tell her?”
Scootaloo shook her head. “Not right now, no. But the way she talked about changelings, it just felt so weird. She stuck up for them, and I don’t know if she’d have said anything different if she’d known.”
Vinyl rubbed her cousin’s belly to comfort her. “Cheerilee cares about her students, squirt. She can’t always see everything, but she’s got her heart in the right place, you know that. That’s exactly the reason we didn’t tell her. If she knows, then she’ll let everyone in your class know.”
“But why is that a bad thing? Would ponies really hate me if they knew?”
“No. But it’d be a shock, and watching them deal with that shock isn’t something you’re up to yet. They’d have to get used to seeing you as something different from what you were, even though you didn’t turn bad. And you don’t want that while you’re still getting used to it yourself, do you?”
Scootaloo nodded, then suppressed a giggle when her aunt started tickling her belly ever so slightly. “You’re right, I don’t think I could handle that right now.”
“Give it a few years, kid. When you’re all grown up, then you’ll be able to handle everyone knowing you’re different. In the meantime, just try to handle being different, okay?”
Rumble took off, going up a few meters off the ground, with Scootaloo watching him intently. He stopped flapping his wings once he’d gotten to the height he wanted, then shot forward. Completing the circle around the clearing they were in -- thistle-free, he’d checked it three times -- Rumble only started flapping his wings again when he stopped. “Okay, so what you wanna watch out for is your magic. Keep the floaty feeling up while you get some thrust. You have to feel it out, going up and forward. You don’t need your wings to be moving all the time. Just fly like Rainbow Dash does.”
Scootaloo nodded, then gave a few cursory flaps of the wing to rise up to his level. She turned to him and took deep breaths, steadying herself. Just like the book had said, she had to turn her magic into the right thing. She filled her head with images of floating on water, of standing firmly on flimsy clouds, and of grasshoppers. She wasn’t sure why grasshoppers should be on her mind during flight training, but it was an image that stuck.
“Got it. So I just picture it, keep my wings steady and --” She burst away, nearly making the boy lose his balance. Scootaloo could feel the speed coursing through her body, her wings steady and extended as she went through the air. She completed the circle in a heartbeat. She grinned in triumph, her eyes closed to relish the moment.
And then she crashed into Rumble and sent them both back down to the forest floor.
She lay on top of him, her chest and his close enough to feel each other’s heartbeat. Hers shot right up at being so close to him, but at least this time she didn’t get that inner vision of him. Not that she’d need it to know how he was feeling about their position.
They both shook their heads and blushed.
Scootaloo slowly backed away. “Eheh, sorry.”
“Don’t mention it. I owed you one, remember?”
Scootaloo let him get up. He was starting to smell of musk again, but she didn’t think it had rubbed off this time. She sniffed the air, and Rumble followed suit. He put his foreleg to his nuzzle. “I’m stinking up again, aren’t I?”
“Nah, it’s not so bad. Besides, nopony around here but us.”
Rumble rubbed the back of his head nervously, then lowered his arm when he realised that spread the musky odour ever more. “Right. So do you wanna do some laps around or not?”
“I think I’d rather see you do some tricks. Do your sides still hurt?” She pointed to the region just under his wings, quietly noting a few lower ribs were showing. Rumble had looked athletic before, but the tiny bit of muscular tension he was still holding made it even better.
“Not really. They’re a little stiff, but okay.”
“Then we’ll try zig zags, just like on a scooter or skateboard. You just throw your body to one side as you go and use your core to stay stable.”
Rumble nodded. “Got it.”
Scootaloo went to the air again and started going forward just as before, relying on her magic to stay up as well as go fast. She threw her weight around to the left, then right, keeping her abdominal region tense to keep from flying off course. She swayed left and right, completing another lap, then called down to the boy. “Come on up, the air’s fine!”
Rumble looked transfixed for a moment, then rubbed his head and flew up behind her, mimicking her swaying but keeping his eyes fixed on her rear. Scootaloo stole glances at him as he followed her, with neither of them going too fast. Something felt off about him, though, but she couldn’t put her hoof on what.
“You know you can fly next to me, if you like.”
“I think I’d better keep my eye on you, just to make sure I’m doing it right.” He blushed and stayed behind her.
On and on they went, flying along steadily and going from left to right in a calm rhythm. Scootaloo kept her breath even and calm to make sure her magic didn’t suddenly shift and send her plummeting, but Rumble started panting after a while. She looked back at him to check, and saw he was flapping his wings to keep going.
“Are you okay? I thought you said we weren’t supposed to flap our wings for this?”
He forced out a smile. “I’m fine, just a little tired. But how much more are we gonna do?”
“Three more laps?”
Rumble gulped and nodded, and Scootaloo turned her head back to the front. He wouldn’t be... he couldn’t be, there’s no way. Everypony I’ve talked to said it wouldn’t be a problem.
Except maybe Moonfire. And he’s the only pony who’d really know.
Nah, he’d have told me sooner if it was an issue.
“Umm, Scootaloo? That was the third lap.”
Broken out of her reverie, Scootaloo landed back down. When she came closer, she noticed Rumble was sweating profusely after what she considered a pretty light workout. And he was a stronger flyer than her, so that could only mean one thing.
“You’re not getting sick, are you?”
Rumble recoiled at the sudden question.
“I-I don’t know. I don’t think so. I’ve just been getting this headache in class for the past two days, it comes and goes. But I feel fine, honest.”
Scootaloo gave him a pensive look. “If you say so. Just don’t overdo it, okay? I wouldn’t want you to get hurt before the competition.”
Rumble rolled his eyes. “I’ll be fine.”
Driving her scooter out of White Tail Woods, Scootaloo kept her eye on Rumble. He waved her goodbye when they got to the town borders, and she stopped to watch him ride along on his skateboard.
He does look pretty good, and he knows his stuff. He seems to like me.
She stopped herself, pondering. She put her hoof to her chest.
Whoa, my heart’s pounding just thinking about him. And my stomach feels kinda weird. I guess I do really like him. And he likes me, I can feel it. I feel full, and I’m getting his talent for flying, too. He’s feeding me everything I need.
Uh oh.
He’s feeding me everything I need. And he’s getting sick.
Scootaloo rushed to the library. She parked her scooter at the door and went in, barely remembering to take her helmet off.
“Hey, Scootaloo,” Spike greeted. “What’s up?”
Scootaloo looked around furtively. “Are we alone?”
“Yeah. Twilight’s helping Applejack with the harvest, and nopony else is around. Why, what’s wrong?”
Scootaloo took a deep breath. “I think I’m starting to feed.”
Spike shrugged. “And?”
“And what? Don’t you know what might happen if I start feeding?” Scootaloo tensed up, annoyed at the dragon’s casual response.
“Not that much, from what I hear. It doesn’t make you drop your disguise or anything, so what’s the big deal?”
She walked over to him, trying to keep her rising anger contained. “The big deal is that I’m starting to drain other ponies and they might get sick.”
“So stop draining them.”
Scootaloo groaned. “You’re not listening to me! I can’t stop draining them, it’s automatic! I need something to switch it off so I don’t make anypony sick to be around me.”
Spike stared at her. “Um, doctor Home sent us a note, we know about as much as you do. And I thought he said you can’t hurt ponies if you’re not trying. So stop trying.”
“You don’t understand. I’m not trying to drain anypony, but I think ponies are getting sick.”
Spike shrugged again. “Then doesn’t that mean they’re just getting sick? How do you know you’re the one doing it?”
Scootaloo sighed in frustration. “Never mind. Do you have any books on... I don’t know, creatures that feed off love?”
“Sure we do, they’re right here.” Spike hopped up on a ladder and grabbed a dusty tome. He had to stop himself from falling off when it was yanked from his paw and landed neatly on the table. He looked down at her, startled. “Whoa. When did you learn to do that?”
“A day ago, give or take. It’s getting pretty easy to do, though.” Scootaloo put her hoof on the cover, but found the whole book flipping when she tried to open it.
“Yeah, that kind of magic gets easier the more you do it.” Spike descended from the ladder. “Is the book locked?”
“I guess so.” Scootaloo tried to pry it open with her hooves, then squinted her eyes.
“I wouldn’t do that if I were you. That book’s probably spellproof.”
She groaned. “Why is this book locked?”
Spike looked the thing over. “Um... because it’s for adults only?”
“And why would it be for adults only?”
Spike pointed to the title of the book. “Ghost Worms, Eyebiters and Spirit Lice, a Compendium of Energetic Parasites?”
She stared it, oblivious. “I don’t get it.”
“It’s every parasite that feeds off love, hate, or any kind of magic. And it has pictures.”
“So?”
“So you probably don’t wanna know what sort of things are out there or how ugly they can look. It’ll give you nightmares. Look at the size of this thing: that’s enough to get worried, and I can tell you right now it doesn’t say anything about changelings, either. These are just the ones who can’t talk.”
Scootaloo let off a resigned grunt. “Fine. But how am I supposed to know if somepony’s being drained or not?”
“Headaches, sudden weakness, dizziness, and they start telling you really private things for no real reason. When ponies get drained, their inhibitions go, too, so they don’t always know what they’re saying. They can’t lie anymore, either.”
Scootaloo caught herself staring at the baby dragon. “How would you know that?”
He proudly pointed to his chest with his thumb. “I’m Twilight’s number one assistant. You didn’t think she got all those books herself, did you?”
She weighed that information in her head and she had to admit, it did make sense. “But... the parasite thing, where did you get that?”
Spike sat down next to the girl. He scratched his chin and thought for a moment, before looking up. It was a touchy subject, apparently. “Back in Canterlot. It’s in the military guidebooks, Shining Armour showed me. Because there’s no safe way to tell who’s a changeling and who isn’t, you never watch out for the changeling. You just watch out for whoever he’s feeding off of. Really, ponies don’t normally notice they’re being drained, and if they are, they see a doctor. You’re not supposed to be as dangerous as you might think, not by accident.”
Scootaloo sighed as her heart rate dropped down and her head pounded with the sudden panic receding. “I guess you’re right. I just got scared, you know.”
Spike raised an eyebrow at her. “You think you’ve got it bad? Try worrying about a growth spurt after every birthday present you get.”
Scootaloo chuckled. “Okay, it could be worse. But is there really nothing else I can read about this? I need to know what to watch out for.”
Spike shrugged and fetched another book. “Well, Twilight went looking for some other creatures that might be like changelings, but not exactly. Here, she bookmarked this.” He opened the book and put his finger on the entry. The creature itself looked like a rather large cross between a cat and Parasprite in that it was just one big ball with a face on it. It didn’t have wings, though, and its paws were barely visible. “Chiltan: an ancient spirit said to be the guardian of the righteous,” Spike narrated. “Invisible to the naked eye, they only appear to those whose life is being extinguished, and always in numbers. Their healing powers act through a gold-like dust that reinvigorates the body and can restore life to the dying.”
Scootaloo blinked. “How does that have anything to do with changelings?”
Scootaloo looked at the cat-like creature. “Does that thing look remotely like a changeling?”
“No, but neither do you, most of the time.”
“Touché.”
“Maybe changelings have a sense for which ponies are healthy and which ones aren’t, like these things do. That might be how they’re related. It’d make sense, wouldn’t it?”
Scootaloo put a hoof to her chin, pondering. “It would. But that doesn’t mean anything, it could still be my fault.”
“So tell them to see a doctor to make sure?”
Scootaloo sighed and nodded. “Yeah, that’s probably best. Thanks, Spike. Would you mind telling Twilight I stopped by when you see her?”
“No problem. Oh, I almost forgot, she left a note for you.” He jumped up and rushed up the flight of stairs, then came down holding a note aloft in his claw. “Here. She heard you got the book on basic spellcasting and she wrote down the best thing for you to start with.”
Scootaloo looked the note over. Her eyes fixated on the chapter title Twilight had circled and underlined twice. Scootaloo had seen the chapter in the index, of course, but hadn’t thought much of it at first. Home Remedy had brought it up in passing, but even that hadn’t really sunk in.
Scootaloo felt her courage sink into her hooves, her face draining of blood. Spike, as always, noticed. “Are you sure you’re okay, Scootaloo? You look a little pale.”
She chuckled quietly and nervously. Pale would be appropriate, considering what Twilight recommended for a discipline.
Scootaloo sighed with the book in front of her. She’d had dinner, she’d done her homework and chores, along with the flight training with Rumble. Rumble started popping up in her head more and more now. The way his mane flowed, the little twitches of his muscles, his smile...
Focus, Scootaloo. He’s a friend, who happens to be a boy. Doesn’t matter what everypony else thinks, it’s not serious. You just like how he looks, that’s all.
And you like how nice he is, and you like how he’s a good flyer and trying to impress Rainbow Dash just like you. He’s pretty much the only boy in town who could keep up with you, or who isn’t scared of you. He’s about as a good a match for you as Big Mac is for Miss Cheerilee.
… Darn it.
She’d have to write it in her diary tonight. Scootaloo was starting to get feelings for the boy. Stupid, sappy, butterflies-in-the-stomach feelings, that she couldn’t tell were her own or just the result of what she kept being told. Nevertheless, it was precisely because of those feelings she’d have to face this.
“Okay, chapter 11: The Vampiric Arts.”
A little piece of paper and a pen (also something Twilight had recommended in her note) lay beside her. She opened the book with a deep sigh of resignation and went forth.
Right, here goes.
“The vampiric arts are among the oldest yet least understood fields of magic. In works of fiction, the facts surrounding these disciplines have been warped more than those of any other branch of magic. First and foremost, it should not be confused with the dead art of blood magic.”
Okay, that’s reassuring. So everything from the movies is wrong.
“Vampirism is the art of manipulating and absorbing energies from a foreign body into the mage’s own. It is a universal discipline, not a disease.”
Phew.
“However, the myths of contagion do contain a grain of truth. Physical energy will always tend to flow from a highly energetic individual to a lower one, meaning a drained individual can inadvertently begin to drain a healthy one, hence the notion of it being communicable. Regardless, this is easily counter-acted and does not imply transference of mastery. For a powerful being to drain a weaker one, effort is required to both hold the motion and stop the added energy from bleeding out. For this reason, the first aspect for an aspiring vampire to master is isolation.”
Great. That’s just great.
“Energy will leak out through several key points, notably the sensory passages -- ears, eyes, nose and tongue -- and the extremities. Being able to feel this energy bleeding out and stopping the flow is the first step to mastery [See Chapter 3: The Basics of Energy Work]. ”
Scootaloo took a note of it for future reference.
Close off energy leaks.
“Also, close proximity to the target is recommended, but not required, depending on skill level. The legend of the vampire’s kiss is a bastardisation, much like the rest of the mythology. This particular myth stems from the importance of the tongue as an energy conduit. Two major energy circulations meet at the tongue, and touching tongues with a target can bypass the body’s defenses. This is a highly effective method of draining energies, and even if the difference in energy levels is high, the tongue lock can allow for easy absorption or manipulation. It is for this reason that many vampires learn to weaponise the natural charisma of high energy in order to seduce and incapacitate their targets.”
Never, ever, kiss with tongues touching.
“Another means of energy loss is sexual discharge.”
Scootaloo recoiled from the book, eyes wide.
Okay, bad word, very bad word. Why would Twilight tell me to read this? Why would anyone want a foal to read this? Isn’t this supposed to be off limits for me?
She raised an eyebrow as she continued.
Then again, if Twilight told me to read it, it must be right for me. She’s never been wrong before.
“Sexual arousal sends energy into reproductive activities, and discharge will unload these energies. A frequent discharge can unbalance the body, leading to symptoms similar to those of a vampiric attack. However, the body will usually protect itself from this type of exhaustion. Depending on the age of the student, mastering a separation of arousal and orgasm should be considered as a preliminary exercise, both to keep energy reserves stable and to prepare the body for increasing levels of energy [See Chapter 13: Purple Magic].”
Scootaloo shook her head as she considered it. Sexual arousal, that was what Rumble was having trouble with. She didn’t like the word, since it had been made pretty clear to her that she was far too young to worry about it, but still, she could do that. She knew he could get nervous and sweaty around her, if she really wanted him to.
Maybe if I pin him down, give him a little belly rub...
She pictured him blushing and squirming underneath her, wings fluttering about as he feebly kicked his hind hooves.
He’d look so cute.
She blushed.
And then he might get the thing.
She snapped herself out of it and forcefully reminded herself she was supposed to find things that wouldn’t end up with Rumble in an embarrassing position. She took a deep breath to calm down her heart and cool off a bit -- at least there was one vampire exercise she could already do quite easily -- and continued reading.
“In under-aged students, the recessive sexual urges will tend to take the form of fantasies of affection, playful domination, or even predation, all of which can serve as a baseline for channeling magic mirror. As long as the boundary between fantasy and reality is respected and obsession is avoided, there are no ill effects. Extended daydreams combined with breathing exercises can help a natural talent develop, even if the student is sexually immature. The practice aids in the maturing process, but does not trigger it in and of itself. A child with a vampiric talent is still only a child, and should be treated as such, regardless of their powers. However, the same cautions of avoiding obsession must be respected.”
Scootaloo tilted her head curiously at that.
“Where other mages can be relatively harmless when isolated and engrossed in their work, a vampire dealing with obsession will invariably turn on a live target. As with all other disciplines, a student should never be allowed to continue their practise at the cost of their mental health.”
Oh. I wonder how old Twilight was when she first read this?
“Not all energy is equal. Male energy and female energy are present in both genders, and both are spent in discharge, only in varying amounts. An excess of male energy can lead to damage to the magic conduits by means of burning, while an excess of female energy can lead to severe chills in the extremities. In all cases, balance is key, and discharge should not be avoided entirely. Males of various species, in particular, can suffer from negative effects of a stockpile of both energy and bodily fluids that require removal.”
So that really was-- she cringed at the thought -- sexual energy I took off of him. And it would have been bad for him if I hadn’t.
She looked up and checked her notes. She had her answer, really. She just needed to do what the book said and close off the leaks where energy could get out. If she did that, she’d be higher in energy than Rumble and she wouldn’t be draining him by accident.
Still, she had to know more.
“Special care needs to be taken with regards to emotional vampirism. Every emotional discharge carries with it a certain energy. An outburst of anger, a sudden spike of fear, a warm love, all these things release energy that can be absorbed. This is a common and safe means for vampiric abilities to evolve, however one should note this does not imply empathy. Energy can be identified by its charge, but the charge is not always obvious. A skilled mage can release energy that appears to be laden with fear, yet is actually poisonous with rage.”
Scootaloo perked up.
“It is for this reason that creatures who feed off one particular kind of emotional energy tend to be more sensitive to only this kind of energy by nature. A creature that feeds off love can recognise it as well as identify an emotional outburst with a clear charge, but this doesn’t result in a full spectrum of empathy.”
That explains why I could feel Fluttershy’s fear when she saw Moonfire.
She looked further. The book went on to describe historic examples of vampirism, the many abilities associated with it, and how these were warped over the years to suit the fancies of reading and viewing audiences.
Wait, that’s it? Just that one thing about creatures that feed off emotions? That’s all? They couldn’t be a little more specific?
She groaned.
“Well, might as well check the chapter on energies.”
She leafed back through the book until she got to the part she needed. A random thought occurred to her, though.
Why would Twilight lock a book with pictures of parasites, yet do nothing about a book that’s got stuff on sexual energies?
Rumble lay in bed, his wings stiff and his stomach churning.
Deep breath in... deep breath out...
He tried to calm his breath, but to no avail. All he accomplished was making his body shake, and musk started oozing out of his pores.
Guess I’ll have to spray myself with deodorant again tomorrow.
He caught himself licking his lips while Scootaloo danced around his mind. He could see her clearly; shaking her blank rump, stretching out her slender legs, those cute wings that were finally growing larger.
He forced his front hooves to stop where they were, but he couldn’t stop himself from bucking under the sheets. Slowly, one of his hooves started trailing over his chest and belly, followed by one going lower.
No. I can’t do that, it’s dirty. Not ‘till I’m older.
Still Scootaloo ran through his mind’s eye. She was so close, he could smell her. His left front hoof stroked in between his hind legs again.
Maybe I should go to sleep and tell... no, what am I thinking? I can’t tell princess Luna about that!
He sighed and looked to his night stand. There was a box of tissues ready and waiting. He didn’t know if it was mom, dad, or his brother who’d set it up, but when he’d asked, everyone at the dinner table had just said it was in case he got the sniffles in the night.
Funny, they never put that there every other time I had the sniffles.
He sighed in defeat and closed his eyes. In his mind’s eye, Scootaloo was sitting right in front of him. He could feel her mane and his touching, her nose puffing out excited breaths, he was close enough to feel them both glowing as she blushed.
Huh. The real Scootaloo wouldn’t blush for me. It’s just a daydream at night. Just get it together, Rumble.
His left front hoof started stroking again, out of his control. The fantasy became more and more real, despite himself. The phantom Scootaloo leaned in and placed her lips on his.
It was bliss. When their tongues touched, all the tension in his body evaporated. His nose scrunched and something came out of his mouth that was somewhere in between a girly giggle and a lustful moan. His dream girl nibbled his lips and let her tongue play over his.
Rumble forced his eyes open, but it didn’t dispel the mirage. As much as he tried, he couldn’t shake the feeling of a tongue exploring his. Something held him down in the daze, and he could sense Scootaloo wanted more. Their lips touched again, making him moan. His mouth felt sealed, only his tongue was allowed to move. He circled it around her warm, sensuous lips, each breath taking him a little further away from his decency and closer to shame.
Stop. I don’t want to. I’m not like that. Please stop.
Sweating, shaking, and panting, Rumble’s fantasy ended. He checked the clock, it was just past midnight. His parents would be in bed by now, they wouldn’t notice if he switched on the lights. He looked down at himself, and noted the bump in his bedsheets. In a reflex, he raised his right front hoof to his lips. They felt warm, and the touch on his lips gave him another bout of guilty pleasure. His tongue lapped at the appendage, before withdrawing at the offending saltiness of arousal sweat.
He raised both his hooves in front of him in the moonlight. Something felt off about them, about everything around, even.
Why does everything look green all of a sudden?
Looking around, he couldn’t see any greenish glow coming from the moon, nor of any stars overhead. Deciding to ignore it, Rumble let his arms drop and sighed in defeat. He glanced at the box of tissues on his nightstand.
The doctor did say I’d have to start sometime. I just wish I knew how.
He switched on the little light on his nightstand, raised his sheets to expose his body, and grabbed some tissues.
Rumble closed his eyes and started rubbing himself over his belly, slowly at first but gaining confidence as he went. One hoof went lower, to his sheath that had started poking out from under the folds. And inside his sheath, his sword waited, at least that’s the words the grownups had used to describe them. He touched it, and the sensation elicited a private moan. He felt his instincts take over.
Okay, Rumble, deep breaths. You’re just cleaning your sword, like the doctor said. You can do this, just be careful.
And whatever you do, no matter what...
Do not think about Scootaloo while you’re doing this.
Scootaloo was feeling pretty good about herself that morning. Diamond Tiara hadn’t been casting glances at her despite the suspicious behaviour during their field trip the other day, Rumble was looking a lot less tense than before, and Miss Cheerilee had just announced a surprise for the whole class.
Yes, it seemed that things were finally looking up, and her life could get back to some normality.
Until she noticed that familiar smell again.
No. He wouldn’t. He’s not seriously going to...
Cheerilee opened the door once everyone was seated and poked her head out, talking to someone who’d arrived late, apparently. “Come on, Moonfire, there’s nothing to be afraid of.”
Scootaloo’s eyes went wide. She casually looked left to Apple Bloom, then right to Sweetie Belle. Neither of them knew what to make of it. A colt’s voice answered their teacher, but they didn’t catch it.
They just saw Cheerilee smiling. “Oh, don’t worry about it. Everypony gets nervous on their first day of school.” She ushered the boy in with a hoof.
Scootaloo’s whole body tensed up. A grey unicorn colt, with a mane that looked like a bunch of dark-tipped tendrils, along with that vague smell only a changeling could detect in another changeling, it was definitely him.
“This is Moonfire, he’s recently moved here from Baltimare,” Cheerilee announced to the class of foals, gesturing his way. The boy didn’t seem to be too excited about this, either.
Wait, if he doesn’t like it here, then why... oh, no. Why, Fluttershy, why? Why would you send the changeling to class? Couldn’t you send something a little less dangerous, like your grizzly bear?
“Did you really meet Cap’n Squall?” came a Trottingham accent from the back. Scootaloo had to restrain herself from strangling Pipsqueak from a distance. Apple Bloom had told her the two boys had had a run-in earlier, but the name Squall didn’t ring any bells at the moment. Still, if Moonfire knew some other foals around town, that would be a plus.
Moonfire cocked an eyebrow. “Meet? He’s the one that adopted me.”
Wait, adopted? He’s already had ponies acting like family? Then why would he still be so--
“Are you staying with Fluttershy now?” Scootaloo blurted out.
“For now, at least. She is the captain’s half sister,” Moonfire said.
The words felt like a blow to her chest. Little details and past experiences ran through her mind as she pieced it together. She wasn’t sure if Moonfire himself even knew what was going on, but it was clear to her.
Fluttershy thinks he’s family. Her brother took care of him before, so she thinks she should keep doing it now.
She looked to her friends again, they seemed to be thinking the same thing.
Did we bring a family together by accident?
“So why aren’t you with the captain, then?” Silver Spoon broke the silence that followed with a slightly condescending tone.
“He thinks I need some ‘proper’ education. Something about me being like him without it,” the changeling dismissed.
“And a fine lesson that is, too,” Cheerilee agreed, “so, if no one else has any questions, we can get started with today’s class.”
Scootaloo suppressed a groan.
I hope this doesn’t come back to bite me.
Scootaloo saw the boy climbing and jumping about the same way the girls did to get on the school’s roof. She sighed when he closed the gap. “Okay, Moonfire, what are you doing here? I thought you were trying to lay low, or at least wait until your wing got better.”
Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom quickly scanned the area for anyone listening on them. Nopony was within earshot, and this spot was pretty much reserved for them. Still, they both looked a little worried about the chances that this would end in a changeling duel, if such a thing existed.
“Unfortunately, for the both of us, the fates seem to be intent on twining our lives together,” Moonfire countered.
“You need to learn to talk normally. You’re going to stick out like a nail in the railroad if you keep that up,” Sweetie Belle noted.
“And you know what happens to nails that stick out.” Apple Bloom smirked his way.
“I meant: she’s here, the mare that’s after me.”
Great, the assassin story again. “You’ve seen her?”
“No. But there’s irrefutable evidence that says she’s here.”
“The evidence being...” Apple Bloom inquired.
“In the clock tower, there was no rope next to my bed. Monday I went back there and saw a pile of rope sitting next to it.”
The Cutie Mark Crusaders stared at him blankly.
“The maintenance pony that works on the clock tower comes by only once a month, he’s already been there this month. And none of you moved any rope when we were in there for your lesson. So, the only logical explanation is that she found out; she’s here, waiting for me to slip up.”
Apple Bloom sighed. “If that is true, you are going to be safer in a crowd.”
“That’s what I thought, as well. Anyways, I’m gonna go join Diamond Tiara for lunch,” Moonfire said before jumping down from the roof.
The girls gasped softly, then went as blank in the eye as they were in the flank.
“What?” Moonfire started.
“You’re having lunch, friendly lunch, with Diamond Tiara?” Scootaloo asked.
“Yes.”
“Diana Almond Tiara?” Sweetie Belle persisted.
“Her middle name is ‘Almond’?”
“Bad taste at best, poison at worst,” Apple Bloom explained.
“I know that she’s not all buddy-buddy with you-”
“Then why eat with her?” Scootaloo interrupted.
The colt’s expression turned unamused, “Why not? There’s no reason to not be kind; to not sit with her.”
The girls all turned to each other. It didn’t take a genius to see what was going on there.
“Oh, also: we’ll have to change where we meet to Fluttershy’s house.”
Scootaloo nodded. “No problem. It’ll be easier to go to and not get noticed.”
“Now, if you have no more objections, I will get out of your manes,” Moonfire said as he walked off to join Diamond.
Sweetie Belle shook her head once he was out of earshot. “Maybe we should tell him Diamond Tiara’s bad news?”
Scootaloo thought it over. “Nah, let him figure it out on his own.”
Apple Bloom frowned. “This is gettin’ way too complicated. Why do you suppose Fluttershy made him to go to school?”
Sweetie Belle shrugged. “Probably the reason he said. We did send him to Fluttershy’s to get better and get help. If Moonie can get to be a normal kid, that means it worked, doesn’t it?”
Scootaloo finished her sandwich and wiped her mouth. “Sure. As long as he keeps his distance, everything’s fine.”
Apple Bloom’s ears perked. “What do you mean, ‘keep his distance’? Don’t you wanna be friends with him?”
“Sure I do. But he’s nothing like us, Apple Bloom. He’s way too serious, and he talks funny. Hay, you’re even starting to talk funny around him. ‘Stick out like a nail in the railroad’? What was that about?”
Sweetie Belle shrugged. “We went to the movies while you were at your parents’ place. I thought it was a funny line. You don’t wanna stop hanging out with Moonie, do you?”
Scootaloo sighed. “No. But I just don’t want to be around a colt who’s going to constantly remind me of how things can come crashing down for me. I wouldn’t mind it if he wasn’t such a downer.”
Apple Bloom smirked. “Well, today is Wednesday. He’ll be around Fluttershy this afternoon, that’s sure to help.”
Scootaloo suppressed a chuckle. “I don’t think he’ll start acting normal just because Fluttershy’s there. It doesn’t matter, I’ll get used to it. It just stinks that I can’t stop him from rubbing off on me.”
Apple Bloom rubbed her chin, thinking. “Maybe we can try to rub off on him, Scootaloo. If you want Moonie to loosen up, I’m sure the three of us can get a little smile on his face somehow.”
“I told you: DON’T CALL ME MOONY!” The disguised changeling shouted after them.
The girls chuckled at the boy’s chagrin as they ran off.
“So, what did we learn today, girls?” Apple Bloom started.
Scootaloo got on her scooter and put her helmet on as her friends jumped in the cart. “Moonfire does not like nicknames.”
Sweetie Belle nodded. “Learning self-defense hurts.”
Apple Bloom nodded in kind as she put her helmet on. “When a boy says ‘fight me with all you’ve got’, he does not mean you should try sitting on him.”
Scootaloo revved her wings up and sped towards Ponyville as Sweetie Belle got her mane right under her helmet. “Seriously, though, do you think we’ll need to know all that stuff? Fluttershy didn’t act like he was lying about the killer thing.”
Sweetie Belle shrugged. “Does it matter? Nopony’s gonna be able to get to him, not without anypony noticing.”
Scootaloo slowed down, then rubbed her eyes. Apple Bloom got up in the cart. “Somethin’ wrong, Scootaloo?”
“No. I’m just thinking. Moonfire said that Captain Squall guy adopted him.”
“Which was probably a lie.”
Scootaloo rolled her eyes. “Okay, probably. But he still talked like he cared about the guy. And he said Fluttershy was that captain’s half sister.”
Sweetie Belle nodded. “And that means Fluttershy is his family, which makes her Moonie’s family, sort of. So what’s the big deal?”
“What’s the big deal? If Moonfire’s been with somepony from Fluttershy’s family, don’t you think she’d send a message to them?”
Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom looked to one another, then stared at their friend.
“Don’t you get it? If Fluttershy thinks Moonfire is family because her brother thinks so, she could make it official. What if she decides to adopt him?”
Apple Bloom frowned. “I don’t know. Could she do that, if she wanted to?”
“I guess she could. If he doesn’t have any papers, and she can get him to agree, she could let him stay without anypony ever knowing what he is. But isn’t that a good thing?” Sweetie Belle shrugged as Scootaloo got back to flapping her wings, albeit more slowly.
“Yeah. If Fluttershy really cares about him that much, he should stay with her. I’m just a little nervous about having him around.”
Stop worrying, Scootaloo. Everything’s fine. Fluttershy’s been around Moonfire for whole days, and she’s not getting sick just from caring about him. You’ve already done the stuff from the book, you’re not feeding on purpose. And neither is Moonfire.
Fluttershy’s fine around him. So Rumble will be fine around you.
But then... why do I have to keep saying this to myself over and over?
Rumble and Scootaloo parked their transport against a tree and undid their helmets. Rumble turned to the girl. “You wanna start off with a couple more rounds over the clearing?”
Scootaloo nodded with a smile. “Sure.”
With a slow and deliberate flapping of her wing, Scootaloo got off the ground. It was getting a lot easier to fly the way Rainbow Dash did, not having to flap like a hummingbird all the time. Her muscles weren’t that much stronger yet, but her magic was definitely stronger than before. Reading up on conserving her energy had really helped, but deep down she had to admit a lot of her technique wasn’t coming from any books.
Rumble’s a good teacher. She looked down at the boy, who remained on the ground. “Aren’t you coming up?”
“I’m trying.” He groaned and flapped his wings as fast as he could, which wasn’t even close to the speed Scootaloo could get even before she’d learned to fly. He panted and struggled, but his hooves never left the ground. His face contorted as he kept up his frantic pace.
“Whoa, whoa, stop.” Scootaloo landed smoothly in front of him. “You’re not ready to do that kind of thing yet, you’re gonna pull a muscle.”
Rumble grunted. “I know. But what am I supposed to do? I’m not getting any lift.”
Scootaloo tilted her head at him. “Did you take anything? Any pills for the... you know...”
He shook his head. “No, I haven’t taken anything. They don’t give you pills for that.”
“Oh, right. Well, are your wings tired?” Scootaloo reached out for his wings, wordlessly asking for permission. He didn’t mind. She stroked along their lengths to check for muscle tension. There was definitely something under there that was too high-strung.
He grunted. “They are now. But I was fine all day, and I didn’t wear anything out getting here. It’s just that I can’t flap hard enough to get off the ground.”
Scootaloo’s heart sank. No. This can’t be you, you haven’t been trying to feed off him. “So... does that mean your magic is exhausted?”
He plumped his rump down on the ground, then kicked a branch with a foreleg. He frowned in frustration. “Yeah. I must have overdone it again.”
She perked up at that. “Wait, you’ve had this before?”
“Of course I have. I’ve had this, like, five times. I thought I was careful enough now, but I guess not. When I was practising for that big twister thing, Rainbow Dash told me it could happen if I used too much power. And it did. Even she’s had it a few times, that’s what she told me. Pegasus magic can run out just like unicorn magic. I just need to rest to get it back, it shouldn’t take more than a few hours.”
Scootaloo let off a private sigh of relief. “But what do we do now, then?”
Rumble shrugged, obviously embarrassed. “Umm... you could keep working on your strength without me. If it is my magic that needs to rest up, I should take it easy today. You can get really messed up if you overdo it.”
Scootaloo nudged him. “Come on, it can’t be that bad. Rainbow Dash wouldn’t quit, why should you?”
“Umm... yeah, she would, and she’s said so. Don’t you remember that comic they made of Rainbow Dash? With the gremlins and the double Rainboom?”
Scootaloo groaned. She remembered it all too well. It was a silly story, really, and she didn’t remember much of it. She did remember part of the ending, particularly not liking the idea of her idol being grounded for several months with nopony helping her out after burning all her ‘happiness’ as the comic put it. “Yeah, I’ve got it in my collection somewhere. I didn’t really like it.”
Rumble pressed his hoof to his face. “So you didn’t read the warning about pegasus magic exhaustion?”
“The whatnow?”
He raised an eyebrow at her. “The reason Rainbow Dash agreed to let them make that thing? The reason they made it in the first place? It was a public service thing, had this whole big warning flyer at the end of it.”
Scootaloo rolled her eyes and looked away. “I think I missed that part.”
He recoiled in confusion. “You didn’t read something Rainbow Dash wanted everypony to know... because it made her look bad? What about her training routines? Did you read about the Wonderbolt diet thing?”
“No, why would I?”
Rumble frowned. “Because I thought you wanted to be like her?”
“I do, but I don’t go obsessing about every little thing Rainbow Dash does. Do you?”
Rumble furrowed his brow. “No, I try to do the little things that let her be so awesome in the first place, I thought you would, too. Aren’t you supposed to be her biggest fan?”
“What do you think I am, president of the Rainbow Dash Fan Clu-oh.” She looked away and blushed. “Yeah, point taken.”
Rumble stared at her blankly. “The point is, Rainbow Dash tries to set an example, just like any Wonderbolt would. And she did help put out a warning not to overdo it. You can say what you want, but I’m not risking flying today. Rainbow Dash would kill me if she found out.”
“Okay, I get it, I’m sorry. I just…” She sighed. “I’m not used to other ponies trying to do the same thing I am, okay? I’m used to doing this on my own, it’s weird.”
He smiled. “It’s okay, I understand. I just don’t take the risks you do, and you can see where that got me.” He wriggled his now useless wings to illustrate the point. “I think you might be better than me, actually, now that you can get off the ground.”
Scootaloo nodded solemnly. “Well, if you’re not flying, then I’m not flying.”
“You don’t have to, Scootaloo. Not just because Rainbow Dash wouldn’t.”
“It’s not. Maybe Rainbow Dash would keep going without her training partner, maybe she wouldn’t. But I wouldn’t. You wanted to teach me how to fly better, and now I am flying better. I wanted to teach you how to fly better, and you still need help with that. So I’m going to help.”
“What do you have in mind?”
Scootaloo ran her eyes over his body, ignoring the nervous shiver it yielded. “You’ve stretched, and you’ve been doing stuff at home, too, right?”
“Yup.”
“So maybe we can do the advanced stuff today. It’s pretty simple: first you stretch normally, then you push against something to tense up the muscle you’re stretching, then stretch again. Works like a charm, and pretty fast, too.”
He squinted. “I don’t get it.”
“Look, try stretching your shoulder. First you fold it like this.” Scootaloo crossed her left arm over her chest, fully extended and keeping it steady with her right hoof. “And you stretch lightly. Got that?”
Rumble copied the motion, then nodded.
“Then you tense up and push your hoof forward. But be very careful, you can hurt yourself really bad if you go too far. Can you feel it?”
She saw his hoof be pushed forward ever so slightly. “Just like that. Then you count one, two, three, and then you relax and stretch further.”
He followed her instruction, keeping his eye on her. She noticed his wings were starting to swell slightly at the base as his eyes kept darting over her. He chuckled. “Hey, you’re right. I can go further now.” He pushed that arm a little further, increasing his range.
She smiled. “Told you it’d work. Now the other leg, and remember to count.”
He nodded and followed her movements. Silence fell as Scootaloo led him through the basic cat stretch, hoof joint and triceps. When they were done, Rumble winced. “You do that all the time? That’s pretty rough.”
She shrugged. “It’s not that bad. You get used to it, and you need to be nice and flexible if you want to do tricks on a scooter, or do really wicked dance moves.”
He blushed, and for a moment Scootaloo swore she saw the image of him staring at her dancing running through his mind. She paid it no heed. “So now that we’ve done the front legs, we do the hind legs. But you need to be even more careful here, it’s easy to pull something.” She bent forward to reach for her hind left hoof, front legs stretched out and her back curled up.
Rumble stared at her ribs as he followed the motion, but he didn’t get anywhere near her range. “I still can’t do it that well.”
“Don’t worry.” She switched sides, and he followed suit. “I needed help with this when I started doing it, too. Stretch the other side again and I’ll push you.”
She got up and moved over to him as he curled forward, trying to reach his for his hooves. His wings stood erect, a sight she’d gotten used to by now. It wasn’t just the muscles stiffening up, she realised, but more blood flowing up, to the point where they could even start throbbing. “I’m gonna give you a light push now. If it gets uncomfortable, let me know.”
“I will.” He smiled, never turning to look at her.
Carefully, gingerly, she put her hooves on his back and pushed. Rumble was tense all over, but it was starting to get better. He’d definitely loosened up since their first encounter, she could feel that much. Those ropy muscles were growing just the way they needed to, not really bulking more but keeping their strength. She caught her breath when she noticed he was feeling warm again.
Don’t look, Scootaloo. Don’t look in his body, it’s not right. “And now switch sides.” She slowly let go and repeated the motion on his right side.
Something was pounding under her hooves. Rumble’s wings throbbed, and her acute changeling hearing picked up on his breath speeding up. He gulped. “Um, Scootaloo? We’re friends, right?”
“Of course we are. We’ve got a lot in common, we like the same things, we like hanging out together. Why wouldn’t we be friends?”
Scootaloo felt a wave of relief wash over him. “Then, could I ask you something? It might sound kinda weird.”
She felt her heart rate speeding up. “What is it?”
“Umm...” Rumble slowly released the posture. “Are there more stretches like this? Where you have to be pushed by somepony else?”
“Yeah, sure. Usually I ask my mom, or my aunt. It helps if you’ve got somepony who knows when to stop. You don’t always know when you’re going too far until after you hurt yourself. Why do you ask?”
He took a deep breath, and Scootaloo realised she still had her front hooves on him, even though he’d left the posture. “I-I... could you rub my neck and shoulders, please? There’s something pulling at me there.”
She smiled and rubbed her hooves over his shoulders, then over his neck. She found a small bit of sinew that felt hard to the touch. “There?”
“Right there.” He sighed as her hoof circled around it. Scootaloo kept it up, even as she noticed the boy shuffling closer to her. His back was inches away from her belly, his wings already touched her sides. He was breathing faster and faster.
“What’s the matter, Rumble? Are you sick?”
The smell of his sweat started filling the air, but it wasn’t his musk, like before. It was more of a fear sweat scent. “No. Not really. Well, maybe. I’m not... I’m not breathing quicker because I’m sick, okay? I-I...”
Scootaloo bit her lip. She let her hooves wander over his shoulders, then over the front of his neck. She pulled him closer to her, close enough to whisper in his ear. “Tell me. Tell me what’s wrong.”
He took a deep breath to steady himself, then spat it out. “Scootaloo, do you... do you like touching me?”
She froze. He was so close. His wings were stiff as a board now, and if she pulled him any closer she’d be pulling him into an embrace. Her legs were open, just like his, his tail twitched and tickled over her leg, and in the end she didn’t see any problem with it. “I don’t not like it. I can stop if you want me to.”
“No.” He shook his head. “I... I like it when you touch me. When you pat me on the back, when you hug me, I like being that close to you. And I don’t think I feel like that with any other pony. Do you like touching other ponies like me?”
“No,” she blurted out. “No, you’re the only one. I like having somepony else around who’s built like me, you know? And, well, we’re friends. I like seeing you happy, that’s what friends do. And it feels good, being that close, even if it is a little weird.”
“So could I, um, could you maybe...”
Before she knew it, she was on him. His hard back pressed against her belly, her spread hind legs touching his, and her forelegs draped around his shoulders. “If you needed a hug, all you had to do was ask.”
He smiled. He looked sad, though. “Thanks. Sorry I’m turning into such a sap. I haven’t really been feeling like myself lately.”
“Stomach acting up again?”
“Not just that. I’ve been thinking about something, and I want to stop thinking about it.”
“Is it the thing?”
He chuckled nervously. “No. It hasn’t gotten that bad. But... I’ve been thinking about kissing you, and you kissing me. I know we’re just friends, but I can’t stop thinking about it, it’s driving me nuts. My lips keep feeling dry, I can’t stop my tongue from feeling all tingly when I see a girl, and, when I see any girl, I keep thinking about you. I don’t know what I’m supposed to do about it, and it doesn’t seem fair to keep it a secret from you.”
She squeezed him tighter in her hug. “You’ve got a crush on me.”
He blushed. “I’m sorry. I swear I don’t know when it happened. I won’t bug you if you don’t want me to, I promise. But I can’t stop thinking about it, and I can’t stop thinking about you.”
Scootaloo clutched him even tighter. Who’s talking here? Is this him, or did I cast a spell on him? No, I couldn’t have, I’d have remembered it.
“It’s okay, Rumble. The truth is, I’ve sort of been thinking about you, too. You’re strong, you’re nice, you’re the only colt I know who likes the same things I do. You’re the only boy who’s ever tried to keep up with me, and you’re the only one who can get ahead of me. It feels nice, knowing there’s somepony else around like me.”
“So, does that mean we’re, you know...”
Scootaloo shook her head, before letting a hoof trail over his chest. “I’m not sure. We might, but don’t think we’re supposed to be. I like you and you like me, but that’s all, isn’t it?”
“So you won’t kiss me? You know… just once?”
Rumble looked up at her. From her angle, she could see his hind legs, his tail entwined with hers, those hard abs and taut chest, and then a face that’d make a dragon’s heart melt. He was shooting her puppy dog eyes.
What did the book say again? The tongue is the lock. As long as I keep my tongue and his far away, I can’t have any accidents.
She leaned over and planted her lips on his forehead. His eyes closed, and all at once, his body went limp in her grasp. She felt the affection he held for her, the respect and admiration for a fellow athlete, and the giddiness of a boy trying to muster up the courage to talk to the girl he liked.
And she felt the fear washing out from him. Even without looking inside, even without a perfect sense of empathy, the fear was undeniable. He was scared she’d reject him, scared she’d make a fool out of him in school, scared of losing her affections, she could taste it.
She pulled away and gave him a friendly smile. “How was that?”
Slowly, his eyes opened. He blinked and chuckled weakly. “Not what I was thinking of, but it was great.”
Scootaloo gulped nervously when she saw his eyes. “Feel better?”
He nodded. “Uhuh. You really know how to help.”
She bit her lip and looked away. Rumble cocked his head, before getting up and breaking the close hug. “What’s the matter?”
Oh, nothing. Just that your eyes are glowing green and I’ve probably been sucking you dry. You’ve been a real big help, Rumble, letting me steal your ability to fly.
She looked at him standing in front of her again, and hoped he wouldn’t see the shame on her face or the reflection of the faint green light flowing out of him.
It’s not a bright glow, though. And he looks fine, even happy. He’s not wobbly on his hooves, his wings look relaxed, he’s just standing there with a green glow in his eyes. Maybe that’s just what it looks like when I heal somepony. Yeah, that must be it. “N-nothing. What do you wanna do now?”
Rumble looked up at the sky, checking the position of the sun. “We’ve still got some time before dinner. What else do you do to loosen up?”
“I dance. Do you know how to do a spin on one arm?”
In one smooth motion, Rumble put his left foreleg on the ground, folded the rest of his legs close to his body, then spun around before spreading his legs out to slow his spin. He stopped, standing on one leg. “It’s pretty easy once you know how. And if you’ve got strong arms.”
Scootaloo smiled nervously. “Yeah, it is. So... what other moves have you got?”
Scootaloo’s heart was pounding by the time she got home. She fetched the book she’d borrowed from the library before heading back out, making sure Octavia heard her when she said where she’d be.
As she trotted along the streets of Ponyville, her mind tried to get around what Rumble had just told her.
He likes me. A lot. And I like him, don’t I? He’s cute, he’s good at sports, he can keep up with me, he can even dance.
So why am I so scared all of a sudden?
Scootaloo stopped, the library right in sight.
What am I gonna say? “Hey, Twilight, I’ve got a crush on this boy and half the town knows about it. By the way, I might be making him sick and I’m not sure how to stop it.”
Ugh. Why is this so hard? I need... I need time to think.
The sound of cooing drew her attention. She was a stone’s throw away from Ponyville Park, and some of the trees in Ponyville Park were occupied by turtle doves. The one she’d heard cooing landed on a branch on one of the trees on the edge, and immediately began courting the dove sitting there.
Is that one of the turtle doves from our school? Nah, couldn’t be. Looks familiar, though. And it feels familiar. Wait, that can’t be right. How would I even know that’s the same one? She gulped and rubbed her stomach. Why do I feel so weird? Why am I so scared all of a sudden?
The dove that had flown in was making big gestures with its wings towards the occupant of the branch. It looked to be doing some silly mating dance, but the female -- Scootaloo guessed the dancing one was the male -- didn’t look too impressed. The male kept getting closer and closer, leaning in to rub its beak against the female’s. The female backed away, before flying off. The male shook its head curtly, then flew to another tree.
Scootaloo took a step towards the park, then stopped herself. She looked down at the foreleg that had moved without her consent.
What’s wrong with me? Why do I feel like tracking a stupid dove? Did I…
Oh no. I must have drained that dove, too, and now it’s trying to find new mates. What the hay is my range on that, anyway? What if… what if I drain my parents? I could end up making my parents get a divorce, I could end up making my friends hate me. I could end up making everypony hate each other. I could end up --
“Scootaloo? Are you daydreaming about accidentally ending all life as we know it?”
Scootaloo then realised she had her front hooves clutching her face, and turned to the one snapping her out of it. “Umm… yea, Spike, kind of. How’d you guess?”
“Let’s just say I’ve seen that face plenty of times. What’s the matter?”
She patted her saddlebag to make sure the book was still there. She still had it, which brought to mind her original quest. “I was going to return this book. But then I saw that dove and…” She looked at the park, the crazy dove long lost in a mass of birds, bees, and pegasus ponies.
He followed her eyes, but didn’t seem to follow. “Umm, what dove?”
“Nothing.” Scootaloo collected herself and got up, heading towards the library like she’d intended to. “I need to talk to Twilight, something’s come up.”
As Scootaloo made to leave, she noticed some of her classmates were in the park, staring at her. Must’ve been some daydream. Oh well, at least Diamond Tiara didn’t see that. She stopped that train of thought. I hope she doesn’t hear about it, either.
Spike opened the door for her when they reached their destination, and Scootaloo took a deep breath to steady herself. Twilight Sparkle was, as was often the case, reading a book. She looked up and smiled in greeting. “Hi, Scootaloo. How’s the magic practice coming?”
Scootaloo got the book out and placed it in front of Twilight. “Err… good and bad, depending on how you look at it.”
Twilight closed her book. “What’s the matter? Is vampire magic too hard to master? I was sure it’d work.”
Scootaloo looked away. “I think I am getting the hang of vampire magic, actually.”
“And that’s a good thing, because that means you’re learning control.” Twilight paused, letting a heavy silence fall.
Spike winced when Scootaloo bit her lip. “Uh oh.”
Scootaloo just shook her head.
Twilight patted the seat next to her. Slowly, Scootaloo motioned to sit down in front of the magic book. Twilight opened it up on the segment of vampires. “Okay, why don’t we start with what you know. Can you take in somepony else’s energy by touching them?”
Scootaloo nodded. “Yup. That’s pretty easy.”
“And can you control your own energies enough to keep from affecting other ponies?”
Scootaloo shook her head sadly. “I don’t know. I thought I did, I did it like the book said, I concentrated on those nerve points and the air around me. I made a… bubble thing like I was supposed to, that was easy. I don’t even need to think about it.”
“So what’s the problem?”
Scootaloo’s head dropped. “I’m still draining, without trying. And not just ponies, anyone I concentrate on. Even animals.”
Twilight raised an eyebrow. “Wait, what?”
“There’s one pony I’ve been hanging out with more. I think he’s getting weaker, and I can’t stop it. And then just now I saw this turtle dove… flirting with other doves in the park. I know it sounds crazy, but I think it’s one that’s nesting at our school. I couldn’t stop myself from staring at those stupid things and I think I sucked the love out of one of them.”
Twilight patted her on the back. “Okay, I understand that you’re scared you might be doing something wrong. Everypony gets that at some point, and sometimes it can drive you nuts.” She grimaced as she recalled her own little psychotic episodes. “But your powers do not work that way, Scootaloo. You can feed without knowing it, but you can’t drain without knowing it, I thought teaching you about vampirism would make that clear. You’re not a threat.”
“But you don’t know that, you’re just guessing. You thought I was related to some cat thing.”
“Oh, the Chiltan?” Twilight floated a book over containing the information. “Yeah, I found one reference in Canterlot that said they were similar species, but that’s about it. Apparently most of the pre-classical works on magical fauna are missing.”
Scootaloo perked her ears in surprise. “Really? How come?”
Twilight grimaced and let her head lean from one side to the other, before fixing her gaze on Scootaloo.
Scootaloo groaned. “Oh. So that stupid invasion that didn’t make any sense still managed to mess something up, huh?”
Twilight pondered it for a moment. “It wasn’t a stupid invasion, Scootaloo. It was planned, and it did have a good chance of working.”
“Yeah, right.”
Twilight looked down at the changeling in disguise. “I’m serious. It only looks stupid because we won. The changelings had very clear targets and a pretty clever strategy, if you look at it from a distance.”
“How? I heard Rainbow Dash talk about how you took out dozens of them in a just a few seconds.”
“She’s right. We punched and we kicked and we shot magic at them, and dozens of them went down. And when we were through with that, we were faced with dozens more, in closed quarters. And that’s with about half of them taking the high ground, with another few dozen pouring down from the sky. The Royal Guard got as many civilians to safety as they could, but… don’t think we weren’t at risk. It’s a good thing we didn’t open the vault, or they’d have gotten the Elements of Harmony, too. A whole army with vampiric magic can be pretty daunting, even for someone like Celestia, and changelings are the only race that can really pull that off.”
“Why would you say something like that? Do you want me to get nightmares?”
Twilight patted her on the shoulder. “I want you to understand that you’re not beneath ponies, Scootaloo. Just because a bunch of changelings attacked and we beat them doesn’t mean that all changelings are easy to defeat or that they need to drain somepony to be powerful. It also doesn’t make them dumb, it doesn’t make you dumb. You have skills, and you have the potential to grow as much as you like. Don’t talk badly about what you’ve become just because you’re not sure of what you are. You can learn how to master your magic, we have books for that.”
“Except nopony can teach me, and the books are written for unicorns. I don’t know how changeling magic works, and you’re still just guessing. You don’t know if those things had a plan or if they were just dumb,” Scootaloo argued.
“You’re right, I don’t. It’s a real shame I don’t have a big brother who’s in the military and who could read their strategy afterwards, like relying on deception and taking out the head of the defenses first. That, and relying on Celestia’s policy of never using lethal force, but between you and me, I think she might change that policy if it ever happens again. They just didn’t count on the magic of love and my brother’s magic combining into a spell that big. They should have known, really, it’s not like they didn’t know about the magic of friendship.”
Scootaloo rolled her eyes as Twilight degenerated into a rant.
“And why is it everypony always assumed I was an only child?” Twilight turned to Spike. “I never said I was, I never acted like one. And it never came up, ever. When was I supposed to say ‘Oh hey, by the way, my foalsitter was a princess and my brother’s captain of the Royal Guard’? I didn’t think it mattered, and nopony ever asked.” She turned back to Scootaloo. “Didn’t anypony ever wonder where I learned how to handle children, or where I learned to stick up for myself? I did get invited to the parties in Canterlot, you know, I just never actually went. Did I look miserable and lonely when I first came to Ponyville? When was I supposed to bring it up? When was I supposed to introduce him? I haven’t seen Rainbow Dash’s family, or Fluttershy’s. No one ever complains about that.”
Spike cleared his throat to stop her from rambling more.
“Sorry. What I’m trying to say, Scootaloo, is that you have nothing to worry about. You can’t drain a pony or any other animal without trying, it just doesn’t work that way. If your friend is getting weaker for some reason, it’s a reason other than you. And as for the flirty dove, animals act weird around Ponyville sometimes. We are pretty close to the Everfree Forest, and there are a few unicorns who practise spells around here, it could just be a misfire.”
Scootaloo clenched her jaw and gulped. Twilight tried to look in her eyes, but the girl just kept staring at the book. “Scootaloo, what aren’t you telling me?”
The girl closed her eyes, guilt written all over her. “What if I had a real reason to think it was me? What if I was trying and I didn’t know, and I saw something that proved it? Would I be in trouble?”
Twilight flipped a few pages in the book. “You mean like glowing eyes?”
“Yeah. Glowing green. Would that be bad?”
“Not necessarily, no. The eyes are the window to the soul, they’re the only part of the brain that you can see. If you use any kind of magic on a pony, doesn’t matter what kind, the eyes can give it away. What were you doing when it started?”
Scootaloo fidgeted on her seat, blushing. “I umm… that’s personal.”
Twilight blinked in surprise. “Wait… you didn’t think you were draining anypony of their magic or their life, did you? You thought you were draining them of their love energy.” She grinned mischievously. “Scootaloo Dancer, do you mean to tell me you have a boyfriend now?”
Spike slapped himself on the forehead.
“No! No, I do not have a crush on Rumble. I hardly know the guy, I just like him! Why is it every time I bring him up somepony tells me I must be in love with him? Don’t I get to decide if I’m in love or not? Half the town already thinks I’m his girlfriend, and why? Because we look cute together? Because we have a lot in common? Because he’s really… really cute and nice and a good flyer and… ugh.” Scootaloo put her front hooves on the table and let her head drop on them, defeated.
“I never said anything about it being Rumble, but I’ll admit I can see why ponies would think that about you two. Still, things can get confusing really quickly, at any age. Feels good to get things off your chest, though, doesn’t it?” Twilight patted her on the back.
“A little.” Scootaloo kept her head buried in her hooves. “I don’t know what to do. I don’t know how I’m supposed to feel, and I’m not even sure if I really like him or if I’m just hungry for him. I-I kissed him on the forehead and that made his eyes glow green. And he was already so weak he couldn’t fly.”
Twilight furrowed her brow in thought. “But energy flows from strong to weak, if you’re not trying. Did he feel better or worse after you kissed him?”
Scootaloo raised her head and pondered. “Better, I think.”
“Then there’s a good chance you were giving him more power, not taking it away. Do you really have any reason to think it’s you hurting him? Does he have an idea of why he’s weakened?”
“He thought he’d spent up his magic somehow. Said something about Rainbow Dash and that comic they made about her.”
Twilight nodded in agreement. “He’s probably right, then. I was there for that waterspout thing, I saw him and I saw Rainbow Dash warn him about it. How would you even know you’re draining love? Have you tried that before?”
“I’ve been practising. I can move energy if I want to.”
“That’s basic vampirism. Can you do emotional vampirism, magical vampirism, auric vampirism? Can you feel out the love someone has for you and take hold of that?”
“No, but I can look into a pony’s body. I can see little lights flashing where their muscles are. I don’t like it, though, I switched it off.”
“Okay, let’s try a little experiment, then.” Twilight extended her left hoof. “I’m going to start thinking as many good things about you as I can, really concentrate on you, and you’re going to suck some of those emotions out. I’ll be channeling positive emotions, so it’ll make you feel stronger.”
Scootaloo winced. “Umm, I don’t know…”
“It’ll be fine. You just touch my hoof and wait for my energy to feel right, and then you can try to feed. If things get out of control or you can’t pull loose, Spike will pull us apart, right, Spike?” Twilight nodded towards her assistant.
“Got it.” Spike saluted the two and moved to sit in between them.
Twilight gave Scootaloo an encouraging look. “Ready?”
Scootaloo took a deep breath. “Ready.” She touched hooves with Twilight, but closed her internal eye for safe measure.
“It’s okay if you want to look inside me, Scootaloo. Princess Celestia used to do that, too, it’s not just changelings who can do that.”
“I’d really rather not.” She did seek out the energy, though.
“Okay, suit yourself. Can you feel my thoughts and emotions shifting?”
The changeling closed her eyes and licked her lips as the taste of admiration came flowing through her hoof. “Yeah, I can feel it. I can feel you caring. You got scared when you saw me jump on my scooter, you laughed at the talent show… is this really how you feel about me?”
“No. I do care, of course, but what you’re feeling right now is me pumping it up a little. It’s an advanced skill, you need it for certain spells. Now try to reach out and suck that energy up.”
Scootaloo took another steadying breath and sucked through her hoof. She had a very clear view of what she was aiming for, like a filter built into her magic. She pulled and sucked, and she could feel strength flowing into her limbs. Twilight’s energy faded after a while, and the sucking didn’t yield any more power.
Scootaloo withdrew her hoof. She looked up at Twilight, who just smiled.
“See? No harm done. And you did need to make an effort to do that, didn’t you?”
Scootaloo gulped, Spike winced. He pointed to Twilight’s eyes. “Umm, Twilight?”
Twilight brought a mirror over with her magic to check her reflection. “Huh. My eyes are glowing green. That’s weird, I don’t feel any different.”
The girl winced. “Are you absolutely sure you’re okay, Twilight? I did just drain you of love, or friendship.”
“I told you, Scootaloo, you can’t drain me. At worst, we’d hit a point where we’re both equally strong, and I’m pretty sure you’d explode long before that.” Twilight didn’t look at the filly, she just kept staring at the mirror. “Besides, I was channeling an emotion on command, you didn’t touch anything I felt deep down. My magic doesn’t feel any weaker, either.”
“But… what about Rumble?”
The purple unicorn shrugged. “If Rumble is getting weaker, then he’s probably just tired himself out and maybe getting sick. At worst, he’ll most likely skip school for a day or two and be fine afterwards.”
“Okay, if you say so.” Scootaloo sighed.
Twilight put the mirror away and looked at the girl. It was obvious what she was thinking. “And as for you having a special somepony, give it time. Love isn’t something you just think about, it’s something you feel. Right now you’ve got a lot of things going on, and it’s normal for your feelings to be confused. If you really like Rumble, if you really care about him and want to be with him, you’ll know. And if you don’t, you can still be friends.”
Scootaloo looked up at her. “So I just have to wait, and nothing bad will happen? Like with my cutie mark?”
“Yes, exactly like--” Spike made a gesture behind Scootaloo’s back to keep Twilight from finishing that sentence. Twilight bit her lip. “Okay, no. Bad things can happen, but worse things can happen if you rush it. Take your time, listen to your heart, and try to enjoy the things you are sure of.”
Scootaloo nodded before getting off her seat. “I will. Thanks, both of you. I think I’ll just wait it out and stay friends for now.”
“Good call. I’ll see if I can make an appointment with Doctor Home tomorrow, just to be safe. Between what I know and what he knows, I’m sure we can figure out how love works for changelings.” Twilight winked.
Scootaloo was already at the door. “That sounds like a good idea. I’ll see you around!”
“See you around!” Spike and Twilight called out as she left.
Twilight sighed. “Spike, I’m going to need a timer, a hard brush, and some chocolate, please.”
“Huh? Why?”
Twilight rubbed her left foreleg, squinting as her horn glowed. “Because my whole arm has gone numb and my magic isn’t fixing it.”
Scootaloo was waiting for him at their training spot in White Tail Woods. Without a word, Rumble got off his skateboard, shed his helmet, and walked up to her. His eyes betrayed his emotions, his crush already grown into full-blown affection.
She smiled back at him, looking right into those eyes. She licked her lips, he licked his.
They inched their muzzles closer to each other. They could feel the hot breath of the other pony on their face.
Their lips met. Slowly, gently, their front legs found their way around each other’s waist. They pulled each other closer as their tongues met.
As soon as the tip of Rumble’s tongue met Scootaloo’s, it was over. She felt a shock go through her body, locking her in position as Rumble’s energy flowed into her. His strength, his drive, his admiration for Rainbow Dash as a weather pony, it all got sucked out of him. She feel it flow into her, merging with her own consciousness. He was strong, fit, everything she could ever want out of a meal.
Scootaloo tried to move, to loosen her death grip, to no avail. Rumble barely managed to moan as that sickly green glow in his eyes returned. His grip loosened while hers became rigid, his wings slumped while hers stood proud and erect. She clenched her eyes shut and tried to ignore the tear running down her face.
I’m sorry, Rumble. I’m so sorry.
She let go. Rumble’s eyes had closed, and his whole body was limp. She tried to shake him to wake him up, but all that did was make his head loll to the side. She stroked his face, noting the cold touch.
This is just a dream, I know it. This isn’t real. But is it going to be? Am I dreaming or having a vision?
Wake up, Scootaloo. Come on, wake up. Just wake-
She gasped and snapped her eyes open. She put a hoof to her chest to still her pounding heart. It was morning, a few hours before she had to go to school, still.
Get a grip, Scootaloo. Rumble will be fine. Twilight said she’d meet doctor Home today, they’ll figure out what I’m doing wrong. And I’m not about to kiss him like that, anyway.
Scootaloo sighed.
Please, let Rumble be all right. And don’t let Diamond Tiara find out.
Sitting in class had never been such torture. If Diamond Tiara had seemed merely mildly suspicious before, now Scootaloo could feel the girl’s eyes boring into her.
Rumble was absent. All Cheerilee had said when attendance was called was that he was home and sick. Scootaloo rubbed her aching head and tried to concentrate on the lesson.
Stupid spelling. Stupid grammar.
“Scootaloo? Are you paying attention?”
Scootaloo’s head snapped up. “Yes, Miss Cheerilee?”
“Then would you mind repeating what I just said?”
Scootaloo thought for a moment. “A lot of ponies overuse colons, so don’t use your colon unless you really to?”
Cheerilee glared at her, for reasons Scootaloo couldn’t place.
What? We’re talking about grammar, aren’t we?
“Alright, close enough. Now, can anyone tell me what other common mistakes we should avoid?”
Sweetie Belle raised her hoof. “Things are all right, never alright. There’s a space in between.”
“Very good, Sweetie Belle.”
Yeah, way to go, Sweetie Belle. Way to take the attention off me. And off of… him.
She sighed. Moonfire fit in nicely with the rest of the class, turned out. Nopony really seemed to notice.
He’s still around, still just acting normal. So why shouldn’t I?
Why do I keep feeling so scared?
Scootaloo let her pencil dance over the paper. Her eyes were fixed on what she was writing, her mouth deftly moved the object, but her heart was elsewhere. She sighed when she was done.
Math homework, check.
She sat back and put the pencil down. Her chest started pounding, along with her head. She bit her lip and tried to force her thoughts into other things, but it didn’t matter. The same thing kept happening, the same thought kept haunting her.
Rumble’s sick. He’s at home right now, and he’s sick. Maybe I should go see him, just to check.
She wrote a note for Octavia and her aunt Vinyl, then went out the door. After donning her helmet and mounting her scooter, she was off. Ponyville seemed so distant now, like a different world. The weight of the boy’s predicament weighed heavily on her heart. She barely even acknowledged Diamond Tiara when she passed her by. They locked eyes for a moment, then went their own ways. Scootaloo’s stomach churned. Great, now I get to worry about Rumble and Diamond Tiara. Keep it together, Scootaloo, Diamond’s not gonna try anything now, not with her warts to keep a secret.
Her train of thought ended when she reached Rumble’s place. A simple house like so many in Ponyville, yet the sight of it made her limbs feel weak. She steeled her resolve as she walked to the front door. Please be okay. Please just say you ate something bad, that you’ve got the Feather Flu, that you just needed to rest.
She rang the doorbell. Please tell me I didn’t do this to you.
A light grey pegasus stallion answered the door, one with a fur slightly darker than Rumble’s and a mane style that resembled Big Mac’s, albeit a slightly shorter cut. “Oh, hi, Scootaloo. What brings you here?”
Scootaloo smiled up at the stallion. “Hi, Mister Flash. Is Rumble home? He missed school today.”
Rumble came up behind the stallion. His eyes were bleary, his legs were wobbly, and his voice had turned raspy. “Hi, Scootaloo.”
Scootaloo winced. “You look pretty sick.”
Mister Flash rolled his eyes. “He’s fine, he’s just exhausted. Mister Hurricane over here doesn’t know his limits yet, he overworked himself a little. I’m guessing he was trying to keep up with you.” He winked at the girl.
Scootaloo’s ears flattened against her face. “Umm, maybe. So are you sick, then?”
Rumble shook his head. “No, I’m not. Not yet, anyway. I’m just home for today to rest up, and if I wake up tomorrow with a fever, then I’ll know what’s wrong.” He looked up at his father. “Um, dad, is it okay if I go for a walk? I’ve been cooped up inside all day.”
Lightning Flash nodded slowly. “Sure, get some fresh air. But Scootaloo, don’t rope my boy into a race or anything, he’s not up for it. Bring him back in one piece, okay?”
She got back on her scooter and slowly pushed it forward, Rumble trotting at a steady pace beside her. “Don’t worry, he’s safe with me.” I hope.
Rumble looked behind them once they were out of earshot. “I think Diamond Tiara might be following us.”
Scootaloo shrugged. “Don’t worry about her. The worst thing she can do is say we’re together.”
Rumble gulped. “And… would that be a bad thing for her to say?”
Her heart started pounding again. She felt her face flush being so close to him, almost like he was glowing just for her. “Doesn’t sound bad to me. You?”
Silence fell. Rumble swayed on his legs and leaned against her, almost making her fall off her scooter. She caught her breath along with him. He’s so soft and warm, maybe I should -- no, don’t look inside him like that, it’s not right.
He pulled away and shook his head. Scootaloo looked around, they’d gotten to the east border of town where the Summer Harvest Celebration usually ended, the spot with all the cliffs and pretty views in town, also known as Lookout Point. “Do you wanna go sit somewhere?”
Reluctantly, Rumble nodded. “Isn’t this where all the couples come to sit?”
Scootaloo shrugged. “Must mean it’s a good place to sit, right?” She looked to the side. If they took a turn here, they’d be heading for Ponyville Hospital.
I wonder if Twilight’s made that appointment with doctor Home yet.
Home Remedy rubbed his temples. “So you’re telling me Scootaloo suspects she’s making this boy sick, even though she’s not consciously trying to drain him.”
Twilight nodded. “Right. And I had her absorb some of my energy, charged with my feelings. It didn’t hurt me that badly, but the leg she touched was numb for hours.”
The stallion leaned back in his chair. “Huh. That’s interesting. And she just tried to absorb your emotion?”
“Yeah, just that. I felt… empty afterwards, sure, but it only removed the feeling. Everything else worked fine, including my magic.”
Home nodded pensively. “And changelings only know how to absorb emotional energy by nature, so that’s the only thing Scootaloo might be feeding on. You said your eyes were glowing green, too?”
Twilight nodded. “Yes, quite brightly, even. That doesn’t sound like a feeding response to me, not for a species that has to blend in and lay low.”
Home Remedy closed his eyes. “No, it doesn’t. Narrows down the options, though. And you’re sure she’s doing the right exercises so her energy doesn’t leak out?”
Again, she nodded. “Very sure. She’s already mastered basic telekinesis, I didn’t get any reading while I ran a diagnostic spell, and she didn’t notice me casting it, either, even at that close range. She doesn’t have the skill to do any real damage, I’m sure of it.”
“What about remote control?”
Silence fell. Twilight bit her lip. “Is there a reason to suspect it?”
“Scootaloo changed because her genes were receptive to a morphic field, her magic changed on a fundamental level, and that changed her body. Changeling magic is strongly linked to morphic field mechanisms. It’s not unreasonable to think something’s invading her consciousness, or at the very least altering her bodily functions for its own needs. Has she been behaving differently, aside from hanging out with a boy?”
Twilight shrugged. “I’d have to ask her family, but not as far as I can tell. She’s more careful now, she thinks things through more, maybe a little paranoid but nothing that I can’t explain with her situation being what it is.”
Home turned in his chair to look out his window. He grumbled to himself, lost in thought. “Why would your eyes start glowing?”
“I’m sorry?”
He turned his chair to face her again. “You said the boy’s eyes glowed green. You said your eyes started glowing green after she fed. Have Scootaloo’s eyes started glowing at all?”
Twilight shook her head. “Not when she fed, no.”
Home Remedy stared at her in disbelief. Twilight continued that train of thought. “Which doesn’t make any sense, since energy would move from me into her. I should have gotten less colour in my eyes, not more. If she’s not actively hiding it...”
“Which I presume she hasn’t learned yet...”
“Then that means she’s not just feeding. She’s injecting something, maybe a sedative to numb prey. Wouldn’t she notice that, though?”
Home Remedy shook his head. “Not if it’s in her nature. If her innate magic is producing a sedative effect, she wouldn’t even be aware of its existence, let alone controlling when she injects it. And she was born a pegasus pony, after all. Aside from making thunderclaps, they don’t have any active magic to be familiar with.”
Twilight groaned and pressed a hoof to her forehead. “And Scootaloo never learned how to make lightning because she couldn’t fly. She’s only learning magic now, she doesn’t know what to look out for. Oh dear, I think we should call her parents.”
“To say the least. If that girl’s randomly injecting sedatives into ponies, she’s going to get found out.” He sighed. “Well, at least we know she can only do it by touch, that makes it easier to control.”
Twilight grimaced. Home’s right eye twitched, his.horn gave off a random spark. “You are sure she can only do it by touch, right?”
Twilight Sparkle cowered under the doctor’s glare. “Well… it didn’t seem that important, but… she did mention something about accidentally draining a bird.”
The air in the room felt heavy. Home Remedy froze, as if in terror. He took a moment to compose himself, so as not to panic the mare, but she’d noticed, regardless. “A bird, you say? Well, that narrows it down even more.”
“What’s the matter?”
Home grunted. “Tell me exactly what she told you about the bird.”
The pair sat on a hill overlooking the lands outside of Ponyville. Scootaloo’s scooter and helmet sat against a tree, unneeded for the moment. She took the opportunity to take in the sight, with her body and mind both sitting still.
Rumble groaned and slumped against her. “Scootaloo? I… I need to tell you something. But I’m scared you’ll laugh. Promise you won’t laugh?”
Please don’t, Rumble. I know what you’re gonna say and I just can’t stand to hear you say it. “I promise I won’t laugh.”
Rumble gathered up his courage and sat upright again. “I think you’re really pretty.”
She blushed. Okay, that’s not the worst thing you could have said. “Thanks. I think you’re pretty… cute, or handsome, too. Sorry, I’m not that good with words.”
“That’s okay, Scootaloo. You’re not a dictionary.”
Not right now, no. Give me a minute and I might be.
Rumble pouted his lips and forced himself to look away. “Scootaloo? Are we going to be together now? Like, together together?”
She shrugged. “Maybe. I kinda like hanging out with you. I’ve gotten a lot better at flying thanks to you. Bet we’d make a good team if we ever competed together.”
His ears flattened. “So… what do we do now?”
Tell him, Scootaloo. He’s only saying that because you’re making him. Tell him you can’t. Tell him you’re busy. Tell him anything! “First we’re gonna finish training. I’m gonna get nice and fast, and you’re gonna get flexible. I’ll help you stretch, and rub your muscles if they hurt, and if you want me to.”
He blushed and looked into her eyes. “That sounds nice.”
Scootaloo’s heart was pounding. She could feel her adrenalin surging through her, her magic almost flaring up in a desperate attempt to blow off some steam. “We’ll show Rainbow Dash how good we’ve gotten, and she’ll say we’re awesome, both of us. Then we’re gonna get up to Cloudsdale and show’em what Ponyville pegasi are made of. And after that… we’ll just have to wait and see.”
Rumble’s breath slowed down. His head hung low, his cheeks were flush. He bit his lips. “Scootaloo?”
“Yeah?”
He winced embarrassedly, forcing himself to look her in the eyes. “Are we ever going to kiss? For real?”
No, Rumble, not when you’re taking that big of a chance. I can’t risk draining you when our tongues touch. Never. “Maybe one day. If we don’t get tired of hanging out together, and if we feel like it. Why do you ask?”
He rubbed his head and groaned. “Scootaloo, I-I really wanna kiss you, on the lips. Like, right now.”
She turned to look at him and gasped. No. Please no, not now.
Rumble’s eyes glowed green. He put up the best smile he could muster as his muscles decided to relax. His breath came in ragged. “I-I don’t fuh-feel so good, Scootaloo. I really wanna kiss you, but I know I shouldn’t. I wouldn’t want you to catch what I’ve got.”
The changeling barely had time to catch her breath. “Rumble, I need to tell you something. I think there’s something wrong with you and it might be my fault.”
He lay his head down on her shoulder, keeping those sickly green eyes fixed on her. “Scootaloo…”
Scootaloo wanted to push him away, to feed him back his magic, but nothing came when she concentrated. She just couldn’t get it to work if she didn’t put her hooves on him, and that might give her away. “I’m sorry, Rumble. Get up, please, I’ll take you home, you’re not well. I think I made you sick.”
He kept on staring at her, smiling dopily. “Scootaloo…”
She shook him, and her heart skipped a beat when he didn’t respond. “Rumble? How many feathers am I holding up?” She curled one wing so she held up three feathers, right in front of his eyes.
He didn’t look at the feathers. He just kept his eyes looking at hers, smiling that unsettling smile. “Scootaloo…”
She took his front hooves and pressed them against hers, focusing on her magic to transfer her energy into him. She pushed and prodded and pushed again, making sure not to look inside his body again. She couldn’t risk that reflex turning into feeding again. She concentrated hard, harder than she could remember doing. She even got the same headache as she got last time she had to do a math test. It didn’t help. Come on, stupid magic, work!I don’t want to take his life, give it back!
Just like before, she kept what she took. Nothing flowed forth from her limbs, and Rumble’s strength remained low and falling. Don’t do this. Please don’t do this. “Rumble, can you hear me?” She shook him. He wouldn’t rouse.
Scootaloo felt a tear run down her face. She picked him up and hung his head over her shoulder, before hugging him close. “This is my fault. This is all my fault.”
“I knew it!”
Scootaloo froze. She snapped her head back to face the source of the voice.
Right in the middle of a turn in the road, right in front of a damnably convenient bush, stood a pink Earth pony filly with a white and purple mane. She was barely a few meters away, well within pouncing range for a fit changeling in disguise, if she’d just drop Rumble to the ground.
Unfortunately, the glow in Rumble’s eyes was also visible from that far. Diamond Tiara recoiled from the girl. “I knew it. You’re a changeling, and you drained Rumble. You don’t like him, you just wanted to feed off him. It all makes sense now.”
Scootaloo’s eyes widened. “No…”
Diamond turned and bolted towards Ponyville, screaming all the way “Scootaloo’s a changeling! Scootaloo’s a changeling!”
Scootaloo turned to take off after the girl, before a weak voice snapped her out of it. Rumble was still muttering in his daze. “Scootaloo…”
Diamond Tiara was halfway to the first houses. I could still catch her if I really wanted to. I could glue her to the ground, stow her away and have Twilight do something with her memory, maybe.
The muttering boy’s voice weakened. “Scootaloo…”
Scootaloo clenched her eyes shut. Ponyville Hospital’s the other way. And Rumble’s fading.
She gulped. Get it together, Scootaloo. Rumble’s going to die if you don’t get him to the hospital right now.
She picked up her helmet, wrapped Rumble’s front legs around her waist, and took off.
I’m sorry, Rumble. I’m sorry I kept it a secret. I’m sorry I hurt you.
Scootaloo raced towards Ponyville Hospital with Rumble on her back. He kept on moaning, barely awake. “Scootaloo… Scootaloo…”
She took a sharp turn towards the front of the building and burst through the doors. Her scooter came to a screeching halt right in front of the front desk. The ponies on duty barely had time to gasp before she shouted, “It’s an emergency! Rumble’s collapsed!”
One nurse scrambled to find a bed for the boy to be carted off in, another put a hoof on his neck to check his pulse. “He’s still alive, but he’s slipping.”
“What’s going on here?” A stallion called out, no doubt drawn to the sound of tires slipping on tiles. “Nurse Redheart, what’s the matter?”
The nurse shook her head, motioning towards the stallion. “Doctor Home, it’s Rumble. Something’s drained him, he’s barely alive.”
Rumble’s breath slowed down. His eyes fluttered open and shut. “Scootaloo…”
Twilight Sparkle came up behind the doctor. “He’s been drained? By what? Who brought him in?”
Nurse Redheart looked around. Doctors, nurses, patients, no orange fillies on scooters. “S-Scootaloo? She was right here a moment ago. She just barged in and dropped him off.”
Rumble floated up in Home’s magical grip and was deposited on a hospital bed, which was immediately carted away to the emergency ward. Home Remedy looked in the boy’s eyes, keeping up with the pace of the bed. “Green glow, falling pulse, breath fading… Rumble, can you hear me? Flick your tail if you can hear me.”
Rumble’s tail stayed still, he just kept on moaning. “Scootaloo…”
Twilight trotted beside the bed. “Rumble? Did Scootaloo do this to you? Do you remember what happened?”
Home rolled his eyes. “He can’t hear you. His body’s drained of energy, he only looks like he’s awake.”
Home lifted up one of the boy’s forelegs and checked under his wings. “No bite marks, no obvious rashes, no foaming at the mouth, but no conscious response… we can’t afford to wait for a blood test if he’s this far gone.”
“What do we do, Doctor Home?” Redheart pushed the bed into an open room, well away from prying eyes.
Home closed his eyes and thought. “Get an intravenous solution for a code V.”
Redheart flinched. “Are you sure?”
Home looked the boy over again. “He’s got all the signs of contamination, and he won’t last long enough to check. Hook him up.”
Redheart darted out of the room, leaving the two unicorns alone with the dying colt.
Twilight bit her lip. “What’s happened to him?”
Home shook his head, smiling despite the grim situation. “We’ll know if the solution works. In the meantime, Miss Sparkle, I’m told you know how to create a barrier?”
Twilight nodded. “Yes.”
Redheart returned with a bag of liquid with a large red ‘V’ printed on it. Home didn’t bother to look. “How big, maximum?”
Twilight’s gaze fluttered from the bed to the doctor. “Umm… city-sized, if need be.”
The needle connected to the tube went in Rumble’s right foreleg. Redheat flipped a valve to let the clear fluid flow into Rumble’s body. The effect was immediate, sending the boy into spasms and making his weak moans turn to cries of outrage. “Scootaloo! Scootaloo!”
The doctor tried to hide it, but somewhere behind that stoic exterior Twilight could sense a wave of relief washing over him. “Perfect. Do so, please.”
Twilight blinked in confusion. “I’m sorry, what?”
Home just kept on smiling casually while his patient flailed, nearly dislodging the needle with his medicine. “Put up a barrier around Ponyville, big enough to envelop the entire city limits, including Sweet Apple Acres. And don’t leave a hole at the top, just make sure we can all still breathe.”
Redheart pressed down on the boy’s arms, trying to keep him steady. Rumble kicked and flailed like he was possessed, crying out Scootaloo’s name while his body burned out what little bit of energy he had left.
Twilight frowned. “I don’t understand.”
Home grunted. “If Scootaloo did this to Rumble, then that means she may have done it to other children as well, and they could be doing it to other children still. Scootaloo is currently a health hazard, she may have turned viral. She needs to be found and Ponyville needs to be quarantined or this could start happening all over Equestria.”
The struggle in the other room intensified. Redheart pushed down on the boy writhing in bed, trying to keep the needle and the medicine in him. “Doctor, I can’t hold him!”
Home Remedy concentrated on the patient and forced the boy’s hooves down. Rumble grimaced and fought with all he had, but the magic held him firm. “I’ve got him. You can let go.”
Redheart slowly let off. Rumble’s struggles intensified, then began to die down.
Twilight winced. “Is he going to be okay?”
Home looked on as the struggling ceased. Rumble’s green glowing eyes fluttered shut, his breath became shallow again, eventually he just slipped into oblivion. Home shrugged. “That’ll depend on how much damage he’s suffered. Could you place that barrier now? I’d rather the quarantine is set up before this spreads.”
Twilight took a deep breath and sent power into her horn. Purple light filled the room, then shot up harmlessly through the ceiling. Over the sky of Ponyville, a giant purple screen formed, falling over the town and hardening into a glass-like dome. Home looked out the window. “Perfect.”
Twilight rubbed her head and winced. “It’s not a very strong barrier, though. It’ll keep in ponies on their own, but a crowd could break through.”
“No problem, we just need to keep track of who enters and leaves Ponyville. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I need to find a Weather Patrol pony to relay a message to the Royal Guard.”
Twilight shook her head to clear away the dizziness. “That’s fine, I can get Spike to do it. It’ll arrive instantaneously.”
“Oh, you are convenient to have around, Miss Sparkle.”
“Twilight? What’s the matter? What happened?”
Twilight turned to the new arrival. “Oh, um… Rainbow Dash, this is doctor Home Remedy. Doctor Home Remedy, this is Rainbow Dash, she’s the captain of the Weather Patrol here. Home is the new doctor for… you know...”
Rainbow nodded, catching her breath. “Right, the thing that happened at the place. What’s up with the forcefield?”
Twilight looked behind them, towards Rumble’s prone form. He still moaned in his slumber. “Scootaloo… Scootaloo…”
Rainbow winced. “Oh. Quarantine?”
Home nodded. “Quarantine. Scootaloo needs to be brought in right now, she dropped that boy off and then she slipped out.”
Rainbow shook her head. “Wait, did she do this to Rumble?”
Home sighed. “Can’t say for sure yet. But we need to round up all the children in Ponyville and examine them right now. There’s a good chance Rumble isn’t the only one in danger here.”
Scootaloo panted as she parked her scooter. Tears flowed freely down her face, her helmet discarded in an afterthought. Slowly, sullenly, she strode up the ramp to enter the Cutie Mark Crusader clubhouse.
Funny how things go. A couple years ago she’d have run for an hour to get home to her room. Mere months ago she’d have driven across Ponyville to get to her aunt Vinyl’s place. Now she couldn’t run anywhere but here.
She lay her head down and curled up into a ball.
I’m sorry, Rumble, I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to. I should have felt it. I should have paid attention.
Her mind turned to the records she’d kept in her diary.
I should have noticed. I could feel it, deep down. I wanted to be close to you at first, then I got scared to ask to hang out, then I had to keep telling myself I wasn’t doing anything. I should have known. Twilight, Home Remedy, everypony… they told me I was harmless. They lied.
I killed you.
I killed you, and all you did to deserve it was like me. Why’d you have to like me, Rumble? Why couldn’t just say ‘Eww, cooties’?
Scootaloo coughed and wheezed, only now realising the exertion she’d gone through. Her throat felt dry from scootering across Ponyville so quickly. She’d gone at her top speed, maybe even as fast as Rainbow Dash. Her wings burned with fatigue, and she could feel her concealed horn throbbing. It throbbed harder when she pictured Rumble.
Stop it, dumb horn. You’re not even on my head, not really. I’m not gonna let you take more of Rumble’s life. I’m not gonna let you take any more life, from anypony.
She sighed and buried her head in her hooves.
What am I gonna do? I’m poison, I’m a parasite.
I’ve killed the first boy who ever really liked me. The first boy I ever really liked.
I’m gonna be alone for the rest of my life. I have to be alone for the rest of my life.
What am I supposed to do? How am I ever gonna get a job? How am I gonna survive?
How’s anypony gonna survive with me around them?
“Figured you’d be here.”
Scootaloo snapped her head up. She dried her tears off with a wipe of her arm. “Rainbow Dash, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to.”
Rainbow Dash walked up to her and sat down. “Scootaloo, what happened? You’re shaking like a leaf, how fast did you go?”
“As fast as I could. I couldn’t stay with him, Rainbow Dash, I had to get away as far as possible. I’m sorry, I’m so sorry.”
“Scootaloo, listen to me.” Rainbow Dash shuffled closer, but didn’t touch the girl. “Ponyville has been put on lockdown, there’s a forcefield to keep anything from getting in or out.”
The filly looked out a nearby window. Sure enough, there was a purple field around the whole town, the outer wall of it wasn’t even that far from the clubhouse.
Rainbow bit her lip. “You can’t run from this, Scootaloo. And you don’t have to.”
The filly sobbed. “You don’t know that. Nopony does.”
“Listen to me, Scootaloo. Home Remedy had Rumble hooked up to an IV. Whatever it is you think you did, there’s a way to fix it. But we still need to know who else might be in trouble. What happened before you dropped Rumble off at the hospital, exactly? Start from the beginning.”
Scootaloo clenched her eyes shut. She turned her face away. “Um, Rumble’s the guy I’ve been practising with. We were going to tell you when we had a routine. He wanted help with his agility, I needed help with flying fast.”
Rainbow Dash flashed the tiniest of proud smiles, but it was there. “Okay, good. And what happened? Who else was involved?”
“Nopony but the two of us. Rumble started getting weaker, but not physically at first, he just couldn’t fly anymore. He thought it was just his magic getting exhausted. I thought it was just his magic getting exhausted. But then I started flying better, and I think I sucked out his magic. And… “ Scootaloo bit her lip.
Rainbow gave her a moment to gather her thoughts. “And?”
She sobbed. “And I couldn’t give it back. I wanted to, I tried to give it back, I tried so hard. But all I wound up doing is make it worse. His eyes started glowing green, and he didn’t even notice, I couldn’t even tell him. He likes me, Rainbow Dash, and that hurt him. He wanted to help, just because he’s a nice guy, and I killed him for that.”
“Rumble is not dead, Scootaloo. But I need to know how it happened. Was he tired when he was with you, did he say anything that didn’t make sense?”
“What does that matter? He’s in the hospital because of me.”
“Yeah, and he might have died if it wasn’t for you bringing him there so fast. Just because you think you did this doesn’t mean it’s your fault, and it doesn’t mean this happened because you drained him.”
Scootaloo felt the blood drain from her face. “What?”
“I don’t care what you think you did, kid. I’m trying to find out what happened to Rumble. What were his symptoms, what other signs were there? When he was with you, how fast did he go from normal to fainting?”
The changeling in disguise shrugged. “I-I went to his house after I’d done my homework. He told me he’d stayed home from school because he needed rest, he’d see a doctor tomorrow if he was really getting sick. He tagged along with me because he’d been inside all day, and… we sat on the edge of town.”
Rainbow Dash smiled. “Lookout Point?”
Suppressing her blush, Scootaloo nodded. “Lookout Point. And then… we talked. He wanted to know what would happen later, and I just told him what I thought would happen.”
Silence fell. Rainbow gulped. “Go on.”
“I told him about how he’d get better, and then we’d train together, go to the competition, how you’d be proud of us.” She looked up at her idol.
Rainbow Dash smiled. “And I would be, you know.”
“He, um, he wanted to know if we’d be together more. Together together. And then he… he said he wanted to kiss me. On the lips.”
Rainbow’s ears perked. “Really? Rumble wanted to kiss you... on the lips? You’re absolutely sure that’s what he said?”
Scootaloo nodded. “He’d been saying that before, too. But that book you and Twilight made me read said that if our tongues ever touched, I’d be able to suck out every little bit of his energy. I didn’t want to drain him, but I didn’t want to hurt his feelings, either. So I never kissed him like that.”
Rainbow Dash sighed. “Scootaloo, I know this is really personal, and I wouldn’t ask if it wasn’t an emergency, but… what else have you and Rumble done together? Have you hugged?”
Scootaloo nodded without a word.
“And have you kissed him on the cheek?”
The girl shook her head. “On his forehead, the first time he asked for a kiss, a couple of days ago. That’s when the glowing in his eyes started.”
“Okay, so you didn’t do that much. If Rumble’s caught anything from you, it’s not something that spreads easily.”
Scootaloo let her head hang. “There’s more.”
Rainbow Dash craned her head so she could look the girl in the eye. “Is it important?”
“It’s supposed to be secret, but it’s really important.”
“Then tell me what you can tell me, and I’ll keep it a secret if I have to.”
“The first time I met Rumble, the first time I really -- we really talked, I fed off him on purpose. He had some trouble with energy piling up, and I took it away. I thought I was careful, but I… I probably hurt him.”
Rainbow shook her head. “Don’t think about that, Scootaloo. After he asked you to kiss him, at Lookout Point, what happened?”
“He said he really wanted to kiss me, but he knew he shouldn’t. He thought he was getting sick, and he didn’t want me to get sick too. Then his eyes started glowing and… he just went faint, Rainbow Dash. He started moaning my name and he collapsed. He didn’t get weaker, he didn’t wobble… I thought he’d be fine if I just cheered him up a little, I’d have left him at home if I thought he was really sick. He didn’t have a fever or act weird when I came to see him, he didn’t give me any warning. Ponies don’t go down like that without a warning.” She felt her throat as her voice cracked from the crying she’d done.
Rainbow Dash winced in sympathy. “Yeah, they do. Sometimes you can’t tell when a pony’s weakened, that’s not your fault. What’s important is what you do when it happens, and you did the right thing by getting him to the hospital so quickly. But you didn’t have to run away like you did. You might be sick too, do you understand that? You just rushed across Ponyville, you could have fainted halfway, or passed it on to who knows how many other ponies. What do you think would have happened if you'd passed out and I couldn’t find you?”
Scootaloo shook her head dismissively. “I feel fine, I don’t have anything. And I had to run, I had to get away from there. Rumble’s dead--”
Rainbow angrily threw her hooves in the air. “He is not dead, stop saying that! You saved his life! Rumble is still being treated, and the only thing I could hear him say is your name. He wants you to be with him, right now. And if he caught something from you because you touched him, then you need to get treated for that, too.”
Scootaloo shook her head again and backed away. “No, I can’t go to the hospital.”
“They’re rounding up every kid in Ponyville right now, Scootaloo. You have to get to the hospital, or you might collapse just like Rumble did. Nopony’s going to blame you, nopony knows.”
Scootaloo sobbed again. She bit her lip. “Diamond Tiara knows.”
Rainbow Dash recoiled in horror. “What? How?”
“She saw Rumble when I held him, when he went down. She saw his eyes glowing green, because I was draining him. She knows I can’t take honey thistle, and she knows that means I can’t take changeling poison. I… she ran when she saw me and Rumble. He was fading, I couldn’t risk wasting time chasing her.”
The mare sighed. “And she screamed you were a changeling at the top of her lungs?”
Scootaloo nodded solemnly.
“Well, we can deal with that. What are the odds anypony’s going to believe her?”
Scootaloo backed away. “Please, can I just stay here? Can’t doctor Home come here to treat me? Nopony needs to know what really happened, you can say some changeling replaced me and I’m dead. I could hide, I could change my name, change my shape.”
“No, Scootaloo. There’s nothing wrong with you. Even if ponies know you’re a changeling, you have rights. And no one, no one, is going to take that away from you. You’re just scared and confused, but you’ll get through this, I promise, you just have to trust me.”
The changeling bit her lip and shook her head. “I can’t. I don’t want to go. I don’t want anypony to look at me like I’m monster.”
Rainbow Dash looked at her with sympathy and sadness in her eyes. “So that’s it? You’re just going to sit here like a scared little filly? What about Rumble?”
She looked away and snorted. “I don’t need him. I can fly now, I took everything I wanted out of him, why should I keep hanging around him?”
“He’s still fighting for his life, Scootaloo. And he’s probably still calling out your name. If he really likes you as much as you think he does, don’t you think he’d want you to be by his side right about now?”
A tightness formed in Scootaloo’s chest. Even in her pegasus shape, she could feel the phantom sensations of her horn throbbing. “N-no, I don’t want to.”
“Look, I don’t want to force you, but… I will if I have to. You’re already taking a big risk just being here. That sting in your chest right now? That dry feeling in your lungs? That's the adrenalin rush wearing off, and when it does it's gonna hit you hard. You're gonna want to be somewhere safe when that happens. That forcefield is not going to go down before every kid in Ponyville is brought in to get checked. Rumble is suffering, and when your parents hear what happened, they’ll be worried sick about you. Everypony who cares about you is going to be worried because they don’t know where you are, because you ran from the ponies who can help you. What if it was you lying in the hospital and Apple Bloom or Sweetie Belle ran like that? Would you want them to stay away or would you want them by your side?”
Scootaloo shook her head. The throbbing of her phantom horn increased like an infernal drum. “I can’t. My head hurts, stop trying to confuse me.”
Rainbow smiled. “Be honest with yourself, squirt. With everything that’s happening, everything that might happen, is this really the place where you want to be right now?”
The filly gritted her teeth. Her body felt like it was about to explode. No. I can’t do this, it’s too much. My horn, it hurts so much…
I’m… I’m dying, I’m really dying. I’ve got to get away, I have to get out. All this pressure, it’s gonna make me-- She gasped, and her eyes shot open. Her whole world evaporated into light and sound, and she felt herself be pulled into the maws of oblivion. Funny… I was kind of expecting it to hurt. Isn’t this supposed to hurt?
She let go. The light took her. The noise marked her departure.
Boom.
Rainbow Dash recoiled from the small explosion. She blinked to get the lights dancing around her eyes to go away. “Scootaloo?” Nothing. The girl was gone.
Rainbow dashed out of the clubhouse and took off, surveying the area around. She put her hooves to her mouth to form a cone. “Scootaloo! Where are you?!”
Scootaloo found herself floating in a world in light.
Am I dead? I feel like I’m dead. All that pressure, it’s like I just… blew up.
A loud thud and a rough landing into darkness pulled her out of her musings.
Did I just explode again? You can do that twice?
She waved a hoof around and found a doorknob. When she turned it, she was greeted by the sight of bright lights and the smell of disinfectant. Looking back, she found she’d landed in a storage closet.
Wait, paradise doesn’t have storage closets. And I’m pretty sure Tartarus would be darker and… smell different. Sulphur doesn’t smell like a hospital, does it?
She caught a tumult coming from the corridors. The voices of adults and children mixed to form a distant din of distress.
Scootaloo looked around again to take in the corridor. I’m in Ponyville Hospital. I didn’t explode, I teleported. But how? I never learned how to do that. She looked at her front hooves. Did I take that from Twilight, or did she give that to me?
“Scootaloo…”
The sound made her freeze. She turned to walk towards the source of the sound.
“Scootaloo…”
She stood in front of the door, hoof raised to the doorknob. She stopped herself and gritted her teeth before steeling her resolve. I have to. Rainbow was right; he needs me there. It wouldn’t be fair if I didn’t.
She went in and walked up to the prone colt’s bed. His eyes were still glowing, but half-lidded it didn’t stand out so much. Scootaloo climbed a chair next to the bed and sighed. He just lay there, breathing shallowly and moaning her name every now and again. She felt her heart sink at the sight of him. “I’m sorry, Rumble. This is all my fault. I didn’t want you to get hurt like this, honest. This wasn’t supposed to happen.”
Rumble didn’t respond. Scootaloo sobbed to herself. She saw the big silver bowl on the nightstand and looked in her own reflection. Even warped, just looking at herself made her resolve all the more powerful. Just say it. He deserves to hear it.
She took a deep breath. “I don’t think you’re just cute, Rumble. I think you’re really, really cute, and handsome and tough. You’re everything I’d want in a special somepony, and I wish I was old enough to understand what these feelings are, but I’m not. I hope you can hear me.”
He twitched in his daze. “Scootaloo…”
Her ears perked at the sudden motion. “Rumble, I want you to know that I think you’re the greatest guy I’ve ever met. You’re the only pony who can keep up with me, aside from Rainbow Dash, and she’s… well, Rainbow Dash. I can’t thank you enough for helping me out the way you did, and I’m glad I got to help you, even if it was just a little.”
Rumble bucked his hips under the sheets, grimacing. “Scootaloo…”
She gasped when she saw his eyes open more fully. It’s working. It’s actually working.
“Y-you’re awake. Don’t worry, Rumble, you’ll get better. You’re gonna get to fly at the Little Ace Competition, and everypony will know you’re the best. Every filly in Ponyville and Cloudsdale will want you to be their special somepony. You’ll be beating all the cute girls off you with a stick.”
Again, he twitched, keeping his mouth firmly shut this time. His cheeks swelled with the twitch.
Scootaloo recoiled. Okay, don’t overdo it, Scootaloo. Next thing you know, he’s gonna--
He beat her to it. Snapping awake and reaching for the bowl on the nightstand, Rumble opened his mouth and heaved. He threw up a green slime that oozed from his mouth and, more disturbingly, his nose. He looked at her for a second, agony written on his face, then his whole body tensed up and another wave of the green mass came out.
Scootaloo carefully put a hoof on his shoulder. “Rumble? Are you okay? A-are you awake now?”
Rumble groaned and nodded. “C-can’t… t-t-t--” Another heave, another glob of green.
The changeling filly shook her head in confusion. I never put anything like that in him, did I? She looked at the offending green mass, which she now noticed had a slight glow to it.
What really stood out, though, was that it was moving. Upon closer inspection, she found Rumble hadn’t thrown up a green goop at all. Instead, he’d thrown up his lunch, filled with green maggots, each wriggling and squirming in the bright light of the outside world. She looked at him again in confusion. “What happened to you? What did they hook you up with?”
“A vermicide.”
Scootaloo snapped her head towards the door. Her escape path was blocked by Home Remedy, Twilight Sparkle, and Rainbow Dash.
Home grabbed one of the maggot-like things in his magic and let it wriggle in thin air, displaying it for all to see. “Akishra oculae, known in ancient times as ‘The Eye of the Beholder’, known nowadays as ‘Homebreaker Worms’. They infest creatures that have a strong sense of love and feed off the emotional energies to reproduce. Then, when critical mass is reached, they manipulate their host into spreading it to their partner. Once the partner is infected, the now love-drained host is driven to seek out a new partner, until they are exhausted. Death is the inevitable result.”
Cheerilee and Filthy Rich barged in along with a pink mare, presumably Diamond’s mother, given the identical mane style, trying to keep up with a fuming Diamond Tiara. The filly pointed an accusing hoof at Scootaloo. “That’s her! That’s the changeling that drained Rumble, I saw it!”
Home looked towards the door. Fillies and colts started crowding around, all looking towards their classmate. Cheerilee glanced towards the changeling, who still looked like an orange pegasus. “Is that true, Scootaloo?”
Scootaloo gulped. She let her head hang. “I-I, um…”
Home held up a hoof. “Hold on for a moment. What made you think Scootaloo is a changeling?”
Diamond snorted. “I saw her draining Rumble at Lookout Point. He fainted because she held him, and his eyes were glowing green. That’s how you can tell, isn’t it?”
Home rubbed his temples, suppressing a scowl. “Kitten, you live a stone’s throw away from the Everfree Forest. In that place alone, there are three species of animal that can turn you into stone, five that can grow extra limbs, and at least eight that breathe fire. What makes you think there’s only one thing in this world that can make your eyes glow green?”
Diamond shook her head, only now noticing the wriggling thing Home held up. It seemed to blink in and out of existence, like a ghost of some sorts trying to hide. She looked back at her classmates and Miss Cheerilee. “But… I saw it! You all saw how she acted around that honey thistle thing. She made Rumble sick!”
Twilight shook her head. “No, sweetie, she didn’t. Those ghost worms Rumble just threw up made him sick. Look at him.”
Rainbow nodded. “Scootaloo panicked, she thought Rumble was having some kind of attack. She didn’t do this to him. She just ran because she thought she’d be in trouble. And if she hadn’t come back, she might be in the same situation Rumble is here.”
Scootaloo felt her face go flush. She forced herself to keep her poker face up as the arguments worked their way into Diamond’s head. This isn’t going to work. Lying isn’t going to work, she knows and everypony believes her.
Diamond grunted. Filthy Rich prodded his daughter. “Look at him, Diamond.”
Reluctantly, Diamond turned to stare at Rumble. His face had sunk, his mouth hung open, and she could hear his stomach churning.
Home nodded towards the boy. “Does that look like anything a changeling trying to hide would do? Especially if they neglect to skip town after they’re done?”
Scootaloo still hadn’t raised her head. Her heart was pounding, she didn’t dare look up. Her wings shook, her lungs burned, her head throbbed. She had to force herself to stay put and not bolt, or even worse, teleport again.
Diamond grunted. “No. But where did those worms come from, then? I’ve never heard of anything like that.”
Home picked up the bowl in his magic and let Rumble recover, careful not to spill any of the now-solidified parasites on the floor. “There are a few dozen species of these kinds of ghost worms. This particular one makes cysts that then pass through the digestive system and land on the ground. Once in the body, they can fade in and out, even do rudimentary possession. Speaking of which, Cheerilee, which girls in your class have been with Rumble recently, that you know of?”
Cheerilee pondered it for a moment. “Just Scootaloo and… Diamond Tiara.” Snails and Featherweight, the two colts closest to the girl, flinched. “But Diamond’s taken the medicine, she didn’t have any reaction to it. And Scootaloo looks fine, too, so he didn’t get it from her. Could he have gotten it from his parents?”
Home closed his eyes and shook his head. “Not this species, no, you can tell by the ridges on the head. This is a specialised parasite, it only spreads to mates. It usually infects birds, and either spreads through asexual cysts or live eggs that are deposited on the tongue. When two bird mates groom each other, they spread the infection. It doesn’t spread to young because most young birds die too quickly. The worm can’t sustain a population that way. We’re still giving his parents the full cleansing, along with Scootaloo’s two friends, but I doubt that’ll make a difference at this point. If neither Scootaloo nor Diamond Tiara are the source of the infection, then Rumble caught it from ingesting cysts. You need to be more careful where you graze, boy, you never know what else has been there.” He patted the barely conscious boy on the belly, eliciting a weak groan. Just to be safe, Home put another bowl on the bedside table.
Scootaloo’s eyes went wide, but she kept staring at the ground. The birds. Those stupid, sappy birds. “Rumble never grazed, nopony in our class does, we know it’s not clean. You said those things spread through cysts, too.” She raised her head up. “Rumble fell off his skateboard a while back, he landed right under a bird’s nest near our school. He got a mouthful of dirt and grass. He fell, pulling you.” Scootaloo pointed a hoof to Diamond Tiara. “It’s not my fault he’s like this, it’s yours. It was always your fault!”
Diamond recoiled. Cheerilee held up her hooves. “Okay, calm down. Everypony’s safe, everypony who might be infected has had the treatment or is getting it. No one’s in danger anymore, the high-risk ponies got the stronger medicine. Doctor Home, is Rumble going to recover?”
Home looked the boy over. “His whole body was infested with half-ethereal magic-draining parasites. His brain got its strings pulled by a cluster of worms. He’ll live, but I wouldn’t ask him to do differential equations anytime soon.”
Cheerilee, along with the rest of the adults, breathed a sigh of relief. Diamond Tiara looked away, feeling the glares of her classmates boring into her. Cheerilee rubbed her temples to clear her head. “And Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle?”
Home shrugged. “We had to give them the emergency treatment just in case, but at worst it’ll make them queasy for a day or two. You just can’t risk it with worms like these. I’ll have to ask the animal manager to get any doves brought in as well. It's a good thing Miss Sparkle noticed the birds when she did, or we might have had an epidemic on our hooves. These things are crowd killers, and containment is the only way to deal with them, but we should be able to nip it in the bud this time.” He looked at Scootaloo with a raised eyebrow. “Come to think of it--”
“Say you’re sorry, Diamond.”
Diamond Tiara looked up. “But daddy--”
Filthy cut her off with a firm glare. “Rumble’s in the hospital because of an accident you caused. Are you glad that happened?”
Diamond gulped. “N-not really, no.”
The pink mare next to Rich petted Diamond’s mane. “Then tell Rumble you regret it.”
Heavy silence fell on the girl. She sighed. “Rumble, I’m… I’m sorry I got you into this. I didn’t think you’d end up in the hospital, it was an accident.”
Rumble perked his ears and forced out a weak smile along with a nod.
The pink mare, definitely Diamond’s mother, nudged her again. “Now apologise to Scootaloo.”
Scootaloo felt all the eyes in the room fall on her. Her throat dried up, she could feel her heart pounding right up into her head, and her legs felt wobbly.
Filthy nodded when Diamond fell silent. Missus Rich motioned to Scootaloo. “Honey, you accused your classmate of being a changeling, you ran into town and got everypony to think there was a changeling attacking children. And worst of all, you almost made poor Scootaloo believe she really was a changeling just because she has a honey thistle allergy. Now, it’s okay that you’re worried, really, but you were wrong.”
Filthy Rich nodded again. “Exactly. So please, just admit you were wrong and apologise like a big girl.”
Diamond Tiara clenched her teeth together, clearly embarrassed at her parents making her do this in front of everypony in class. She sucked in a big breath of air through her mouth and walked up to Scootaloo. She forced herself to look the girl in the eyes. “I’m sorry I called you a changeling, Scootaloo. I saw Rumble like that and I panicked. You did the right thing, and I was wrong. And I’m sorry for making you feel bad about your allergy. You’re obviously not a changeling.”
Scootaloo froze. She was sure her right eyelids twitched, but she didn’t dare blink to stop it. “A-a-honest mistake. Don’t mention it.”
Home shrugged. “Obviously. These things feed on the same energy changelings do, they’re competitors. If she really had been a changeling, we wouldn't be having this discussion. She’d have just drained Rumble and these things would have died of starvation.”
Maybe it was the excitement of the day. Maybe it was the exertion of racing across Ponyville at top speed, twice, followed by her very first teleportation. Maybe it was the revelations she was faced with. Whatever the case, Scootaloo’s brain decided now would be a good time to take a well-deserved nap. She rolled her eyes, wobbled on her hooves, then passed out, hitting her head against the edge of the hospital bed.
Home sighed at Diamond. “Now look what you did.” He lifted a hoof to his chin. “Just out of curiosity, did she come in with the rest of the children? She doesn’t have bandages, so she didn’t get an injection, and she was on the list for emergency injection, not pills. Did anyone see her come in at all?”
Cheerilee shook her head. “No.”
Rainbow Dash shrugged. “Don’t look at me, I don’t know how she got here so fast. I turned my head one second, next thing I know she’s here.”
Home frowned. “Did anyone here see her with the group? Does anypony know if she’s had the medicine? Pills or injection?”
The entire occupancy of the room shook their heads.
Home grunted. “I swear, this town... Nurse! I’m gonna need another bed, and get that blasted checklist in here!”
Scootaloo sighed and looked at the clock on the wall. Four in the afternoon, school would be out by now. “Dumb hospital room. Can’t they put something in here to keep you busy?”
Her ears perked when she caught the sound of voices coming down the hall. As if called for, Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle came galloping in, with Twilight right behind them. Sweetie Belle jumped on the bed and wrapped her forelegs around Scootaloo. For once, the winged filly didn’t protest.
Apple Bloom hopped on the bed as well, sitting at the far end. “Are ya all right, Scootaloo? We would’ve come sooner, but with all the ruckus yesterday we never got a chance.”
Scootaloo nodded, before looking to her room mate. “Yeah, I’m fine. Rumble’s off worse, though.”
Sweetie Belle winced and looked at the prone boy, who was still fast asleep even at this late hour. Scootaloo wasn't looking too lively herself. “Umm, is he…”
Scootaloo smiled. “He’s getting better, slowly. But you should have seen those ghost worms he coughed up last night, he really got it bad. Doctor Home said his whole body was ready to cave in.”
“But he’ll be out of the hospital soon, though, right?” Apple Bloom cocked an eyebrow towards the boy. His breath was slow, and his body remained still under the covers. He was still hooked up to the IV and everything.
“I guess, but…” Scootaloo closed her eyes.
Twilight sighed. “Girls, Rumble was infected with a very dangerous parasite, one that has its own magic. He’ll get better in time, but it’s not going to be tomorrow or the day after that. With his magic and his life force drained like that, it’ll take a few days before he can walk again, and it’ll take a few weeks before he can fly again. He’s going to need peace and quiet to get back to his old self, so chances are he won’t be in school right away and he won’t be playing very much when he is. But don’t worry, he’ll recover. The damage isn’t permanent.”
Apple Bloom nodded. “What about you, Scootaloo? Why are they keepin’ you here?”
Scootaloo sighed. “Because I overdid it yesterday and they’re scared I’ll pass out again, and they're probably right. I went too far, and now I have to stay here for a few days, just so they can check up on me. I burned up a lot of energy rushing Rumble here and then running, and after that I teleported here.”
Sweetie Belle covered Scootaloo’s mouth with a hoof. “Shh, you wanna give your secret away?”
Scootaloo gently pushed that hoof away. “Rumble’s out cold. He could barely keep his eyes open when his mom and dad were here, even Rainbow Dash couldn’t keep him up for long. He’s been coughing up dead worms all night, he’s barely awake even when his eyes are open. He’s not gonna say anything, trust me.”
Twilight smiled knowingly. “But how are you feeling, then? You can teleport now?”
Scootaloo wriggled to sit upright in the bed, carefully stretching out her wings. “I'm tired, like, really tired. I feel heavy in places I didn't even know existed. I don’t know about the teleporting. I felt scared when Rainbow Dash went to get me. I felt like everything was falling apart. And my horn, it really hurt. I felt like I was going to explode, and then I did. I fell into this big light, and then all of a sudden I landed in a closet right next to Rumble’s room.”
Twilight chuckled. “Well, congratulations. Teleportation’s a tricky spell to master, and long-range teleportation at will is supposed to be near impossible.”
The filly blushed, embarrassed. “I got that from you, didn’t I? When I absorbed that little bit from your leg?”
Twilight nodded. “Looks like. Presumably, that’s just part of your abilities. When you’re feeding off the affections a creature has for you, some of their traits come along, too.”
Scootaloo shook her head, trying to take it all in. “So changelings can take the abilities of the ones they drain? They’re strong enough to steal that kind of thing?”
Twilight sat down and shed her saddlebags. “Not quite. I think it’s more that the love somepony feels for you is charged with how that pony is. You probably did get some of Rumble’s flying skills just because he liked you, but you got a part of my magic because I let you have it. Judging from the distance you managed to travel, I’d say you burned up everything I gave you in one go, and some bits of yourself along with it. You’re still not strong enough to steal or assimilate anything, so you can’t steal spells.”
“So wait, if you were just tired, why aren’t you home yet?” Apple Bloom glancing towards the unconscious colt in the next bed. "They don't need to keep you here just to rest up, do they?"
Scootaloo groaned. “No, but they thought I might be infected too, so I had to get hooked up to that IV, like him. My stomach's a little messed up, and on top of everything else, it's not worth the risk.”
Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle gagged. Scootaloo winced when she noticed the bandages on their arms. “You too, huh?”
“Yeah, they got every kid in Ponyville to take the pills, and they hooked up Rumble’s parents to the same stuff as him, but we had to get the shots because we're closer to you. I heard that the pills could get the cysts out, but that only works if you’re there quick. If they hadn’t found out what species it was, you’d be gettin’ a lot more stuff in your system right about now, too,” Apple Bloom attested.
Scootaloo shrugged. “Wouldn’t matter. Me and Rumble never kissed, I didn’t get any worms. I’m not even sure if changelings could get them at all.”
She closed her eyes and sniffed. Her stomach grumbled as she got a sudden hankering for chocolate. She opened her eyes, and Twilight grinned. “Surprise. Dark chocolate milk with a whipped cream topping and ground chocolate granules, courtesy of Pinkie Pie. She was going to give you a griffon pie, but chocolate seemed more appropriate.”
Scootaloo carefully reached up for the floating cup, pouting her lips towards the straw. It still felt warm and everything, no doubt courtesy of Twilight’s magic. She took a tentative sip and suppressed a moan. The warmth, the taste, that little buzz of happiness, it made her wings flap weakly with joy. She flashed them all a dopey smile. “Thanks. I needed that. That worm medicine really does a number on your stomach.”
Twilight nodded. “And we cleared that little treat with Home Remedy, so he won’t give you any trouble about it.”
Scootaloo looked at the saddlebags Twilight had brought. There was a lump in one.
Twilight followed Scootaloo’s gaze to the bag. Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle followed suit. Silence fell between them for a moment.
Scootaloo caved in first. “What did you find?”
Twilight bit her lip. “We, well, Celestia’s researchers, found something in the archives that might concern you.”
Scootaloo took another sip of her shake. “I don’t wanna hear it.”
Twillight flinched. “I beg your pardon?”
“I appreciate it, and I’m happy that there’s a book on what I am, but right now I don’t think I want to hear it. I don’t wanna know if I’m related to bugs, spiders, or those fuzzy cat things you mentioned.” Scootaloo looked away, sighing.
Sweetie Belle patted her on the shoulder. “But you’ve gotta hear this, it’s great news, right, Apple Bloom?”
Apple Bloom nodded in agreement. “Yeah, you wouldn’t believe what they found.”
“Really? What’s the book called?” Scootaloo raised an eyebrow.
Twilight gulped. “Lifegivers, the Bestiary of Healing Spirits. But I guess you already figured that out by now, huh?”
Scootaloo nodded and sobbed. “Yeah, I did. It was pretty obvious when those worms came out.”
“What’s the matter?” Sweetie Belle rubbed comfortingly over Scootaloo’s back. “That’s great news, isn’t it? Changelings used to be healers, you’re a healer. They started off taking away anger and sucking out poisonous magic.”
Scootaloo took another sip, letting her eyes roll in her head with sheer pleasure. She didn’t respond.
Apple Bloom tried nudging the lump under the sheets where Scootaloo's hind hooves were. “Isn’t that a good thing?”
Scootaloo sobbed. “No, it’s not. Look at what I did.”
Twilight leaned in. “What you did is save Rumble’s life, Scootaloo. When you tried to give back his magic, you wound giving him your own magic. It acted like a sedative, it made his pain go away and it suppressed his infection. You stopped those things from killing him, not to mention spreading. These things pop up every twenty years or so, and they can cause a lot of grief. You’re a hero, Scootaloo, you stopped this from getting out of hoof. Really.”
Scootaloo glared at the mare. “Is that true? Or are you just making that up so I feel better about myself? How can you be so sure?”
Twilight backed away, slowly. “Well, I, um, I once saw that changeling queen, the one in Canterlot, with my brother. He said he got a sudden headache, and she made his eyes glow green with her magic. I assumed it was because she was casting a spell on him, and when I confronted everypony about that he said she was healing him.”
The changeling filly shrugged dismissively. “So?”
“My brother was not brainwashed when he said that. He was telling the truth. The shield around Canterlot had to stay up, otherwise Celestia would have called some of our forces back from the other big cities. Chrysalis really was healing my brother, and you were healing Rumble. I have the source material right here, it turns out those cat things used to share an ecological niche with you.”
Scootaloo squinted. “Cat things? You’re still looking for those--”
“Chiltan, they’re called. They were healing spirits, I suspect their method of transferring energy is at the basis of the myth for flutterponies.” Twilight floated the book out of her bag, prompting Scootaloo to her hooves in her ears.
Twilight read the book aloud. “Listen to this: Chiltan are protectors of the righteous, knights among spirits. They are summoned by blood, drawn to death, and they favour a kind heart. It is said that they can turn the love between two ponies into new life, if one is dying. However, there are ponies who return differently.”
Sweetie Belle looked to the oblivious mare as Scootaloo clenched her ears and eyes shut tighter, her chocolate milk forgotten for the time being.
Twilight kept her eyes fixed on the text. “In some cases, ponies are restored with a set of wings, like those of a butterfly. It is believed that these ponies have an innate ability to process love energy, possibly a form of vampirism. The processed love absorbed by a Chiltan spirit would trigger a new form, capable of harnessing this energy more efficiently.”
Scootaloo still wasn’t listening. Apple Bloom winced at the mare. “Um, Twilight?”
“While rare, flutterponies are long-lived and very capable at magic. They share their protective nature with the healing spirits that created them, and have been known to keep entire settlements protected from any danger. Isn’t that great, Scootaloo? Changelings have been living with ponies since before the tribes united, and there’s even a second stage in evolution you might reach… if you die and one of those spirits happens to show up, but I’m sure you can work around that if you try.” Twilight only now saw the girl doing her best to block out everything. “Scootaloo?”
Sweetie Belle nudged her friend. Scootaloo opened her eyes and got her hooves out of her ears, before returning to her chocolate milk. She took a big gulp of it and sighed.
Twilight’s ears drooped, the book went back in the bag. “What’s wrong? I thought you’d be glad to hear more about what you are.”
Scootaloo sobbed. “I know. And I appreciate it, but I can’t deal with this right now, Twilight. I don’t wanna hear about how I’m different from ponies now, or what powers I’ve got, or how I can do all these cool things now. And I definitely don’t want to hear some long and epic backstory about the history of changelings and how I’m the long-forgotten heir to that, like some dumb fantasy story. I’m sure it’ll come in handy someday, but, please, could you not tell me this right now, with Rumble being like that?”
Twilight tried to pat her on the head, but stopped herself when she noticed the girl’s tension. “But that’s what I’m trying to say, Scootaloo. You did a good thing for him. If you hadn’t been around, Rumble could have died.”
Scootaloo looked the mare right in the eye. “And if I hadn’t been so scared of using my changeling powers, we wouldn’t be here in the first place.”
Twilight’s jaw hung slack for a moment. “Oh.”
Scootaloo shook her head. “I’m sorry. I don’t wanna sound ungrateful, but… I really can’t hear this right now. I can’t hear about how I could have stopped this if I’d just looked inside his body one more time, or if I’d gone ahead and drained him, or if I’d used my changeling powers to get him away from Diamond Tiara before he had his accident.”
Sweetie Belle hugged her. Apple Bloom clambered over and hugged her as well. “It’s okay, Scootaloo. They found the book now, it’s not goin’ anywhere.”
Sweetie Belle nodded. “Exactly. You just take your time and try to work it out for yourself.”
Twilight smiled at the three. “I understand completely, Scootaloo. It’s a lot to take in, and you shouldn’t rush it. I shouldn’t rush it.”
Scootaloo hugged her friends tightly and smiled at Twilight. “It’s okay, I appreciate the help. Really, I do, but-- ”
Twilight cut her off before she started crying. “Have your parents come in yet?”
Scootaloo released the hug. “Yeah. My mom managed to catch a break around noon, and my dad got in just after she left. They’re okay, they got checked out. Everything’s fine, really.”
Twilight looked over to Rumble. “Girls, I think we should go now. If I heard nurse Redheart correctly, it’s nearly snack time for Rumble.”
Sweetie Belle cocked her head. “So? We can cheer him up if he gets a snack, right?”
Scootaloo patted Sweetie Belle’s mane. “Trust me, you can’t.”
Apple Bloom grimaced. “We’ll write cards for him in class. Diamond Tiara’s feelin’ mighty bad about this, too.”
Scootaloo chuckled softly. “Figured she might. Maybe now she’ll start being more careful. I hope she’s not taking it too hard, though. She’s done pretty awful stuff, but this… this was still an accident.”
Nurse redheart knocked on the door. “Excuse me, Twilight? Are you and the girls going to stay during snack time?”
“No.” Twilight grabbed her things, including the now empty cup of chocolate milk. “No, we’ll be back later. I’ll bring you some books so you don’t get too bored.” She winked. “Fun books, I promise.”
Scootaloo’s smile broadened ever so slightly. “Sounds great.”
The three were off, and silence hung over the room.
“You can open your eyes now, Rumble.”
Slowly, the boy turned in his bed. “H-how…”
Scootaloo smiled. “I can tell. And I wanted you to hear all that. I’m really sorry, Rumble, honest.”
Nurse Redheart came in with a bowl of apple sauce, spoon already planted firmly in the middle. “Okay, big guy, let’s try to fill up that emptied-out stomach, huh?”
The boy smiled and wriggled in the bed. Redheart sighed. “Still can’t move on your own? Can you talk now, at least?”
He nodded as the nurse pulled him upright to lean against the top of the bed. “L-little.”
Nurse Redheart extended the spoon to him, a few chunks of mushy apple on it. “Good. Now eat up as much as you can, okay? If you feel your stomach acting up again, just give me a signal and I’ll get the bowl ready.”
Rumble leaned forward and and closed his lips over the apple chunks. Scootaloo winced when she heard his stomach protest, his whole body tensed. He worked it down, though, with a force of will.
“Good, big guy, good. Come on, second bite.” Redheart presented a second spoonful, which Rumble got into his mouth. His cheeks swelled with the stuff, he chewed and wiggled it around, then swallowed again, albeit with a painful grimace. Redheart waited before getting the third spoonful in front of his mouth. “Think you can handle a third one this time?”
Rumble took a couple of deep breaths to steady himself, then he had to burp. Redheart recoiled slightly, but Rumble nodded at her, leaning in to take the food. His forelegs still hung limply at his sides, though. Rumble swallowed, despite the protests from his stomach. He pursed his lips together and clenched his eyes shut while his belly jumped up and down, desperately trying to keep his food in. Redheart patted him on the back and got the bowl ready. “It’s okay, Rumble. If you need to throw up, it’s fine. You’ll get back on solids eventually.”
He nodded and calmed down. Nothing had come up, not even little apple slice. “U-ufi… f-fine-fu-thu… thankyu.”
Nurse Redheart got up and ruffled his mane gently. “You’re welcome, big guy. We’ll see if we can work our way up to five bites for dinner, okay?”
Rumble smiled weakly and sat back. “K-kay.”
Scootaloo looked at him as Redheart went back out. Thanks, Twilight. You knew just the right time to leave me alone with him. “Rumble? Are you awake?”
Rumble’s eyes were half-lidded. “Ummake. Uwake.”
Scootaloo bit her lip. “I wanted to say I’m sorry I didn’t tell you about… you know. I wasn’t born that way, I was changed. Well, I changed because of how I was born, but I only turned a little while ago, it was a stupid accident. Even the doctors aren’t sure how it happened. Guess it doesn’t matter now. I’m sorry I didn’t try to help sooner. I thought I was draining you, I was so scared. I didn’t want you to think I was a monster, so I kept it to myself. And this happened to you because I was scared to use my powers.”
Rumble’s eyes fluttered open and closed.
Scootaloo kept on looking at him. “I don’t know if you can hear me, but… I do like you. I like you a lot. And I want you to know my secret. I want to trust you with that, you deserve it. Just… please, don’t hate me for keeping it after you told me yours?”
Rumble gulped. “Enderstid.”
Scootaloo perked her ears. “What?”
Rumble tensed up all over and managed to turn his head her way. “I-I… understand.”
The tears she’d holding back finally started flowing forth. “Thanks. You should rest up now, though, you look really worn out.”
He meekly shook his head. “Fuh-fellsleep ‘n forgot. Mumom, dad, dun rihmemburr. Dunwanna forget.”
Scootaloo smiled at him. “Go back to sleep, Rumble. If you forget, I’ll tell you everything again.”
“P-prmis?”
“I promise.”
With that, he drifted off again. Scootaloo yawned as another headrush came over her. While she wasn't anywhere near as bad off as Rumble, she was still having trouble moving, and thinking straight. Might as well take a little nap myself. She got under the covers, closed her eyes and drifted off to sleep away the exertions the past few days had wrought upon her body and mind.
A little powernap will do me good, too. Rainbow Dash would tell me to.
Scootaloo looked around. Wooden floor, smell of pastry, warm air from the ovens out back. It’s Sugarcube Corner, but where’s Pinkie Pie?
“Scootaloo?” Rumble stood right before her. His face didn’t look sunken, his ribs weren’t showing from the loss of appetite, he looked perfectly healthy.
“I’m dreaming. You’re not real, you can’t be.” Scootaloo backed away and checked the windows. There was nopony around for miles.
Rumble followed her to the windowsill. “I was thinking the same thing. Are you the real Scootaloo or am I dreaming you?’
Scootaloo turned back and found a big glass with two straws in it, filled to the brim with a mix of banana, vanilla and chocolate milkshake, all present but none mixing with the others. They could both smell the flavours, and see the milkshakes swirling around in perfect harmony, like a rainbow shake. Rumble walked up to the glass and picked up a letter that, by Scootaloo’s reckoning, hadn’t been there a few seconds earlier. Rumble read the letter aloud.
My Dear Little Ponies, Scootaloo and Rumble,
it has come to my attention that you recently suffered a great deal of stress, and one of you has even had to endure a treatment that affected your appetite. I’m told the two of you are getting along quite well, the word ‘love’ seems to be dropped rather often.
Rest assured, I take a broader view at things. While I have no doubt the bond between you two feels strong, you are far too young to understand what love is, at least in the same way adults do. Still, you deserve a moment alone, if only to work things out.
Yes, you are dreaming. And yes, that is the real Scootaloo and the real Rumble sharing the same dream. Rumble, the shake in front of you will feel as if it fills your stomach, but it will not spoil your appetite. Your stomach will not be filled, but your mind will think it is. It’ll make dinner easier to swallow. Scootaloo, you are welcome to discuss anything you wish with Rumble, he will not remember any words you say to him.
“What? That’s so unfair!” Rumble nearly threw the letter away.
Scootaloo took it out of his hooves.
In this dream, you are free. Both of you will react and feel things as if you were awake. If either of you have any secrets to share, you can see what would happen if you did.
I will not be intruding on your privacy. This dream is for you and you alone.
Enjoy a well-deserved moment of respite, my little ponies.
Yours,
Princess Luna.
Rumble pouted. Scootaloo took a seat and patted the spot next to her to sit. “What’s wrong?”
He rubbed his head. “You said something to me right before I fell asleep. I can’t remember what it was, but I remember it was important.”
Scootaloo winced in sympathy. “Did you catch the part about me being a changeling?”
Rumble frowned and kept up his pout. “N-no, I didn’t. But, really? You’re a changeling? How?”
The girl shrugged and presented the glass to him. “Part of what I was born with, part of an accident, kind of. Are you okay with that?”
He shrugged. “A-are you? I mean, does it hurt?”
Scootaloo suppressed a chuckle. “I’ve got a lot to tell you, Rumble.”
Rumble took a sip and looked at the ground. “I’ll bet. It’s a shame I won’t remember when we wake up.”
Scootaloo read the letter again. She turned to the boy and put her front hooves on his shoulders. Rumble blushed. “S-Scootaloo?”
She looked him in the eyes. “It says you won’t remember what I say. But you might remember what I do with you. And the only ponies allowed in our room are the ones who know my secret already. So I could make sure you remember the… you know… I could show you, if you think you can handle it. Nopony else is gonna see.”
Rumble gulped and nodded.
At his command, she closed her eyes and called forth the green flames to tickle over her fur and wings. Even in the dream, she could feel her form shifting, insect wings growing out along with her horn and skin turning dark. She opened her eyes and chuckled nervously, betraying her double echo voice. “What do you think?”
Rumble smiled at her and looked at her forelegs. “No holes?”
She shrugged. “When I’m older, I think. Nopony’s really sure, but Spike’s in the same boat as me and it doesn’t bother him. What do you think? Does it bother you?”
He shrugged back at her. “Why should it? You can look different, if you like, and the way you look now isn’t all that different.”
She smiled and breathed a sigh of relief. Silence fell for a moment. “Go on, you know you want to. I can feel it.”
His breathing quickened, he put his hooves on her sides and pulled her closer. “Are you sure?”
Another smile, and a nod. “Just like in the movies.”
Slowly, tentatively, they approached. Their bellies touched, their forelegs wrapped around the other, their wings stood erect. They got close enough for their chests to touch.
Their lips found one another, and stayed there.
They kissed, on the lips, though not touching tongues. They felt each other's breaths, little puffs playing over their noses.
After what seemed like an eternity, they broke away and got to work on the dream milkshake, keeping one foreleg handy to keep the other pony close.
“Huh,” Rumble said.
“I was expecting that to be a little better,” Scootaloo replied.
The boy shrugged and smiled, leaning forward to nuzzle her. “I don't see what the big deal is, honestly. Maybe when we’re old enough for it?”
Scootaloo didn’t reply, she just nuzzled the cute boy of her dreams.
