Snails sat up and whimpered. Looking around, he sighed softly. The roof was still leaking in a few places, the endless dripping sound a constant rhythm as it fell into the large cups they had set out. The patter of rain against the roof was a only drowned out by the snoring of the other two colts.
Sitting up, Snails looked around and whimpered again. The sounds, the water, all reminded him of one thing…
‘Gotta pee, gotta pee gotta pee!’
Looking out at the light rain, Snails sighed, ‘well, might as well go home early, I won’t be able to come back in this weather.’
Getting up, he opened the door and, taking a deep breath, ran out. Between the splashes of the puddles and the pouring rain, it only took moments for him to change. Normally, he didn’t think about how long or how quick he could change. It wasn’t usually an issue. Usually.
Skidding to a stop, Escargot stood blinking, looking at Scootaloo. The little pegasus was wearing a yellow raincoat, and standing on her scooter, wings spread in shock. She was towing her wagon, which was loaded down with the weekend edition papers and flyers, along with a shocked Apple Bloom wearing a yellow and red raincoat.
Apple Bloom blinked several times, “Snails?”
Escargot’s mouth opened and closed wordlessly a few times before the terror set in. Turning, he ran for all he was worth to get home. His life was now officially ruined.
Part 25
We’ve Done It Girls
Gisa laid her wing over Snails’ back and snuggled up to the colt, “Really, how bad could it be?”
Keeping the pillow over his head, Snails trembled, “They could tell my parents, I could lose my home. I’ve already lost my friends, I’ll be the laughingstock of town!”
“Then the princesses will send me to Tartar Sauce for lying.” Snails said, voice cracking audibly as he spoke.
Lifting the pillow off Snails’s face, Gisa looked down at the colt, tears in his eyes. “Snails, if there’s one thing I learned about ponies, it’s that friendships can survive troubles and problems. The friendships you built with the girls are true. You need to talk to them.”
“Talk?” Snails looked up.
“Well, that or pay them lots of bits to forget about it. The griffin way might work too.” Gisa said with a smile. “But I’m not going to lose the only pony that’s cared about me.”
Snails looked at Gisa. The little grifflette, unwilling to take no for an answer, pushed Snails till he rolled out of bed with a thud. Groaning softly, Snails gazed at the ground, “But…but… I still need to clean the floor under my bed.”
“NO! No excuses.” Gisa said, and stuck her head against his side, pushing him towards the door.
Standing up, Snails give her a nuzzle, “Fine, I’ll go. You’re pretty strong for a little thing.”
Laughing, Gisa spread her wings and struck an action pose, making a fist with her claw, “Best combination of lion’s strength and winged eagle's might!”
As he walked out, he headed through the town. It had stopped raining, and the pegasi had cleared the sky for the day. Looking around, he wondered how many ponies the girls had told. Every look he got, every laugh he heard, just made him want to run and hide. Taking a deep breath, he shook his head, “Best not to think.”
Walking up to the treehouse, he perked his ears, hearing the yelling inside. He cringed nervously.
Apple Bloom stomped her hoof, “He lied to us, he used us!”
“He pretended to be our friend!” Scootaloo said, flaring her wings. “Wait ‘til Rarity finds out he’s been using her too!”
“Did he?” Noi asked, scuffing a hoof, “I mean, Escargot did put us first time and time again, no matter what we asked, or what help we needed.”
Apple Bloom turned to face Noi, “And yet he… she… it… didn’t tell us the truth!”
Sweetie Belle looked down and hugged her teddy bear, “She risked everything to save our lives. If I needed something, she was there for me, even if it was something she didn’t want to do.”
“The gall,” Dinky said, her horn sparking, “to treat his son like that!” Her face was almost red as she stomped a hoof.
“I know, right!” Scootaloo said, then stopped in confusion, “Wait, what?”
“I’ve been in his house. His dad doesn’t want Snails to use magic, ever. If he found out Snails was Escargot and has been learning magic with Sweetie Belle and I…” Dinky stomped her hoof hard.
Sweetie Belle nodded, “Escargot’s so good at magic. You haven’t seen the way her eyes light up when she gets to use levitation, or practice spells- it just comes so naturally. But Snails is banned from magic, and his dad would flip if he found out. You saw how Snails used magic to save our lives.”
“Yeah but, he kept this from us!” Apple Bloom said, “and mah sister says, lying an’ keepin secrets from friends and family is always wrong.”
A light tap at the door was enough to stop the argument for a moment. Turning, Noi walked over and opened the clubhouse door slowly. Snails sat at the door looking mournfully at the girls.
Walking over, Sweetie Belle and Dinky gave him a gentle hug before the two let him go and looking at him. “You could have told us.”
Walking in slowly, Snails sat down, head low, “No. No, I couldn’t. I was hoping for a cure at first. A way to turn back to a colt permanently. I was hoping I could hide it ‘til I found one. Then I could make up some excuse why Escargot had to go that wouldn’t hurt any of you.”
“If that’s so, then what changed?” Apple Bloom asked, her face still red with anger.
“I was told that if I got a cutie mark as Escargot, the cure wouldn’t work. Zecora was getting the ingredients to brew the potion, but the big rain storm started and…” Snails looked down
Scootaloo walked over and sat beside Snails, “And that was the night you saved us?”
“Yes.” Keeping his head low, Snails shook his head slowly.
“Oh, come on! He led an Ursa Minor into town because Trixie said she could beat it up!” Apple Bloom sat down.
“And when she came back, she tied me to a throne and had me pull her around town. If I wasn’t fast enough for her, didn’t start moving quick enough.” Snails sighed and rubed his flank and back absently as he remembered the pain. “She would whip me. It took a while for those to heal.”
“Ah… Ah kinda forgot about that part.” Apple Bloom said and looked down.
“Face it girls,” Dinky sighed and laid her chin on the table, “It’s our fault too. In class, whenever Snails said something, or had an idea, like taking part in the flag waving contest, we laughed at him.”
“Would you have laughed at Escargot?” Snails asked, looking up.
Scootaloo shook her head, “No, but that’s different.”
“Why?” Snails asked, looking at her.
“It’s…. Because… Well, you’re Snails…” Scootaloo looked at Snails, frustrated for a moment, before giving in, “I’m sorry. I guess we gave you good reasons not to trust us.”
“It’s not that I didn’t trust you. It’s that I was so scared, and now that you know, I’ve got no hope of living a normal life. I’m sorry to hurt you all. You really were great friends.” Standing up, Snails turned to the door.
Sweetie Belle looked back at the others before grabbing Snails, “No, Snails. We’re sorry. I know why you couldn’t tell us, but we still need to talk about this.”
Scootaloo stood up and walked over, “Yeah, like how did it happen?”
“Back on the day of the princess pageant, I fell into a pool in the Everfree that cursed me. Now when I get hit with cold water, I turn into a filly. Hot water turns me back.” Looking at them, he nodded, “And I do care about you all. Now though, with everyone knowing...”
“We haven’t told anyone but Noi, Dinky, and Sweetie Belle, and that’s because they were involved too.” Scootaloo said, then looked at Apple Bloom, “And we won’t tell anyone else, right?”
Apple Bloom puffed her cheeks out then huffed. “Fine. But I don’t like keeping secrets.”
“The more ponies that know, the more chance my father will find out.” Snails said softly, scuffing his hoof again on the floor.
“And the more chance of him…” Dinky growled, “We will keep this secret. And don’t worry, things won’t change between us. Right?”
Sweetie Belle stood up and held out a hoof, “Right!”
One by one, the girls put their hooves against Belle’s. “Cutie Mark Crusader promise.” They said one by one, then looked at Snails.
“Me?” Snails blinked a few times.
“Duh, yeah.” Noi said, and giggled
Touching their hooves with his, the girls giggled and hugged Snails.He smiled brightly and hugged back, feeling relieved for the first time in a while. The shell on his cutie mark glittering as the morning light shone through the window.