Sweetie Belle bounced along with her friends. The day was bright and sunny, and without any school to keep them busy, she and her friends had a day of "crusading" to do. Not that Sweetie had a problem with school, but spending most of such a glorious day inside was a crime akin to forgetting to wipe your hooves when going inside.
"Did you want to try for the hoof-stand cutie marks?" Scootaloo was bouncing a little in excitement. "That would be the coolest thing ever if we got them!" As if to demonstrate, she immediately jumped forward, flinging her back legs in the air and balancing on her forelegs only.
"Wow, that is pretty neat." Apple Bloom didn't even get to finish before her friend was wobbling, then falling. Moving quickly, she caught Scootaloo and stopped the pegasus filly from landing on her own back. "You need to be more careful, Scootaloo."
Rolling to her side and getting back on her own hooves, Scootaloo struck a pose even Rainbow Dash would be proud of. "I need more practice!" When she jumped froward and repeated her stunt, she felt a gentle touch on her back legs. It wasn't enough to support her, but it was enough for her to balance with. Looking up/down at her back legs, Scootaloo gave a cheer. "Great work, Sweetie Belle! You're the best!"
As her face pulled into a big grin, Sweetie Belle's horn fizzled and popped with the effort to help her friend. "I don't know how long I can hold it… oh no!" As Scootaloo started to walk around on her forelegs, Sweetie had to work even harder on her magic.
Scootaloo stopped moving when she saw her friend's face. "Let go, Sweetie Belle." She waited until Sweetie's horn stopped glowing before falling back onto all-fours. Rushing up to Sweetie, she hugged her friend tightly. "Thanks for that, you are getting to be amazing with your magic!"
The praise was like honey to an ant, Sweetie Belle's face pulled into a bigger grin and she hugged Scootaloo back. "No, you are amazing, I just helped a little. How can you balance like that?" She gave her friend an extra little squeeze and then they both let go at the same time.
"My wings help a bunch, did you see how I flicked them to keep steady? And from there it is just like being on my scooter." Scootaloo buzzed her little wings in demonstration, "But maybe that is something to work towards. What else do we have for today?"
"I'm going to go practice apple bucking later." Apple Bloom smiled wide at the thought. "Applejack said she would help me practice." She looked to Scootaloo next.
"Rainbow Dash is going to kick some clouds down low so I can get some practice working with them. Just as soon as my wings get bigger I will be the best weather pony in Equestria!" Scootaloo stuck her tiny wings up and hit a pose.
Sweetie Belle kicked a hoof on the ground with a scuff. "And Rarity said she was going to give me another lesson with the sewing machine today…" All three Crusaders looked around and gave a sigh.
Apple Bloom smiled at her friends, fighting the slightly depressed mood. "Then let's go get our things done we have to, and meet up back at the tree-house after, okay?"
All three lifted their hooves. "Cutie Mark Crusaders, learning from others!" Laughing, all three turned and took off in different directions from the tree-house.
~~~~~+++++~~~~~
Sweetie Belle walked along the path back to Ponyville with her head held high. She had spent most of the morning crusading, and now she got to spend some time with her sister.
"Hey, uh, Sweetie Belle!"
The voice caught Sweetie off-guard, she turned to see her sister. "Rarity!" Something in the back of Sweetie Belle's head yelled at her, but she never would have done half the crusading she had if she ever listened to that. "I thought we were meeting at home?"
"Of course we were, but I couldn't resist coming out for a stroll." Rarity reached out both forelegs to hug her little sister.
Her warning voice ignored, Sweetie Belle stepped up and hugged back, only to squirm a little. "Uh, Rarity, you are squeezing-" Her eyes widened when two black pony-like creatures dropped down out of a nearby tree, on buzzing wings, and flew toward her. "LET GO! RARITY, HELP!" But her sister kept a tight grip, a mean-looking grin plastered on her features.
"I'll get this one, the other two said they would be with their siblings."
Sweetie struggled for real now, her brain kicking her, reminding her that not-Rarity had acted odd from the get-go. "Let go of-" Sweetie Belle froze in terror as the not-a-pony leaned in, opening its mouth wide and clamped on to her shoulder. Two sharp fangs sank into her soft flesh, before a rush of warmth blossomed there.
"Don't give her too much!"
Looking up at not-Rarity, Sweetie felt her panic start to pour out of her. Smiling and staring into her sister's face, she suddenly couldn't even remember why she was struggling. "I love you, Rarity." She hugged her sister back tightly. "Are we going to… to…"
"Follow me." The changeling disguised as Rarity gave the filly a last squeeze, adoring the love Sweetie gave up without restraint. "I have a special game to show you."
Sweetie's face split in a huge, if slightly blank, smile. "A game? I love games!" She felt a slight chill run through her, something making her feel cold. But it didn't matter, her big sister was with her. "Where are we going? Is it to a game? I love games!"
"We will meet you back at the cave. Good work." The more "bitey" changeling flashed with green fire, shrinking down and quickly appearing just like the filly being led away.
~~~~~+++++~~~~~
Scootaloo climbed onto her scooter and pulled her helmet on. Waving one last time to her friends she set her wings and started buzzing them rapidly. Kicking off with a back hoof Scootaloo was flying along on her namesake, squeezing her eyes half closed against the wind hitting her face.
The world became a blur for the filly, trees and houses flew by and she only vaguely heard ponies call out welcomes to her, by the time she heard them she was always well past. Looking up, expecting to see the mare she thought of as her big sister, part of Scootaloo daydreamed about flying, actual flying.
In her head, the filly soared through the sky, zooming around and through clouds, over houses and trees. Nothing could stop Scootaloo.
"Hey, Squirt!"
The two words yanked Scoots back to reality. She spun her head and saw her idol, hero, and big sister—all in one—standing just behind her. Reaching out a hoof, Scootaloo grabbed hold of a lamppost, did a screaming one-eighty turn and was speeding back toward Rainbow Dash. Turning her scooter sideways at the last moment, she ground out nearly ten feet of ground coming to a stop. "Hiya Rainbow Dash!"
"Uh… Hey, Squirt!" Rainbow Dash smiled at the filly, spreading her wings a little.
"Are… are you okay, Rainbow?" Scootaloo walked a little closer, catching up her scooter and tossing it onto her own back. "You don't look so-" She froze, but not out of shock or anything else she could do, her legs were literally stuck to the ground in an odd green puddle. "Hey, what gives?"
"Squirt… uh…" Rainbow Dash looked behind the filly, nodding to somepony out of sight of Scootaloo. "Just relax, nothing bad will happen."
Scootaloo's back-fur tingled and she knew somepony was behind her. She turned her head to look and found it to be no pony. "Hel-!" Her voice was cut off when the black, pony-like creature moved fast and latched their mouth to her flank. Pain snuffed out her yell, but something else happened. A hot rush and some tightness, her brain processed the sensation and she was reminded of getting bitten by a snake once.
Her heart began to race for a moment, but then a cool haze seemed to pour down over the world. She smiled as her eyes drooped a little. "Hey… leggo my flank. Ah need that for crusadin'!" Her words were slurred, but Scootaloo couldn't work out why that would be bad, or even what was happening to her. Looking down, she saw the goop her hooves were stuck in. "I am stuck…"
"You gave her too much. Now she doesn't even taste good!" Rainbow Dash lifted a hoof and struck the goop around the filly's legs, shattering the odd substance and lifting Scootaloo up under a wing. "Hide them in the house until sundown. I got this one, go and help with the last."
The undisguised changeling nodded, burning with fire to become a duplicate of the filly that not-Rainbow Dash was leading away.
~~~~~+++++~~~~~
"And I do it like this?" Apple Bloom showed the style she had been practicing. Lifting first one leg up, she gave a little hop. Curling her back legs under her, all her weight shifted forward, Apple Bloom started to let herself fall backwards. Two hard thuds sounded as her little legs bucked into the tree. Shaking, the plant gave up a bounty of nearly ten apples, but still twice that many remained.
"Pretty good action there, sugarcube." Applejack stepped up and squinted at the tree. "Ah think just-" She spun and lashed out, a resounding thud echoing through the orchard as her hooves collided with the tree. Sure enough, the remaining apples all fell, every single one. "There. Now, you get the next one and see if you can get more'n a third."
"You got it!" Apple Bloom beamed widely and marched to the next tree.
"Hey Apple Bloom!"
Two voices stole Apple Bloom's attention right away. "What are you girls doing here? Didn't you have lessons with Rarity and Rainbow Dash?" She watched her fellow Crusaders walk between the trees and up to her.
"Who-all are ya talkin' to?" Applejack walked over to where her little sister had gone. "Well shucks sugarcube, you shoulda said your friends were comin'." Applejack waved to Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle. "You girls want to skedaddle? Ah bet yer got something planned."
Apple Bloom tilted her head and looked at her friends, questions painted all over her face. "Well, we didn't-"
"We sure do, Applejack!" The changeling disguised as Scootaloo reached out a foreleg and put it over Apple Bloom's shoulder, and whispered, "We got something really cool in the clubhouse, you gotta come see this."
The line was more than enough to catch Apple Bloom's attention, she turned her head to look at Scootaloo in curiosity, when Sweetie did the same on the other side.
"This is going to be awesome!" The moment they said it, the changeling realized their ruse was on the brink of being smashed to pieces. "We can take my scooter!"
Apple Bloom quickly backed away from her two friends. "That… that's okay, I think we can walk." She looked around for an escape from near-death-scooter-rides. "Uh, hey, let's race there!" Without another word, Apple Bloom took off at a gallop.
"Well ya better try ta catch her!" Applejack gave a laugh as the two remaining fillies took off after her little sister. "Dang those little scamps are just adorable."
Her heart pounding in excitement, Apple Bloom was first to the clubhouse and raced up the ramp. "I WIN!" She did a little dance in celebration and headed inside, and froze. "Who… what… what are you?"
The changeling smiled wide at the filly. "Your new best friend. Hold still." The filly, however, didn't seem quite ready to be captured and started to turn. "You can't ru-"
Apple Bloom's back hooves connected with a solid THUMP, sending the black creature flying across the room. "Help!" Her yell was shrill, all the shock of the attack poured from her lungs.
"What happened?" Scootaloo was first inside. The scene made her blink. "Uh… what is that?" She pointed at the shell-shocked changeling in the corner of the room. Apple Bloom turned to point at their compatriot, opening her mouth to explain.
Sharp fangs pressed into Apple Bloom's shoulder, she turned her head to see another of the monsters behind her, right where Scootaloo had been. She wanted to yell, to scream, to lash out again, but a strange lethargy came over her as the hot sensation that blossomed in her shoulder started to spread out through her body.
"Get up, quickly! You need to bite her with a half dose, I used up most of mine on the pegasus!"
Apple Bloom blinked up at the larger bug-like pony. "Wh… I don… who are…" Every time she thought she had a sentence put together in her head, the thoughts were scattered before she could finish saying them. She blinked at the pony.
The downed changeling got up, wobbled over to the subdued filly and leaned in to bite her other shoulder.
"Come with us." The changeling re-disguised as Scootaloo and turned, leading their latest capture away.
Something felt wrong about following her friend, her strange friend, but Apple Bloom just couldn't pin down what it was. In the end, all she could think of was them asking for her to follow. She smiled wide and trotted along.
Barely recognizing the odd little house on the edge of town, Apple Bloom couldn't for the life of her remember who lived there. Following the quiet-Scootaloo inside, she smiled wider. "Now there is twelve Crusaders! But why are there ropes?"
The real Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle looked up from their position bound on the floor.
"Cutie Mark Crusaders, escape artists…" Sweetie Belle blinked at her own joke and giggled. "Hi Apple Bloom. Are you the real Apple Bloom, Apple Bloom?"
For some reason Apple Bloom found her friend's words worth giggling at, even as stout rope was wrapped around her, binding all four legs together. "What are they?" Trussed up, she was put down on the floor with her friends. "What are those things?"
"Dunno…" Scootaloo was having trouble focusing, she kept blinking to attempt to fix the problem. What her friend was talking about, however, was the three little round ball things that were placed in front of them. "Big chicken egg!"
Apple Bloom saw the one before her open first, watched the little worm-thing inside crawl out and toward her. "Must be a strange chicken!" She giggled a little and stretched her head forward to lick the side of the thing. "Ugh, tastes horrible!" The worm moved quicker than the filly could really track, pressing itself up and against the side of her neck. "Ouch! Hey that… that doesn't hurt… where are you going?"
The larva squirmed and wriggled at the opening it had bitten and began to crawl into the pony's neck. Instinctively avoiding any major blood-vessels or organs, it traced the path it needed to take slowly, squirming ever closer.
A strange pressure grew, Apple Bloom's neck felt oddly itchy, but then it stopped. A chill passed over her body, a strange chill. She watched another of the things approaching Sweetie Belle beside her, but found herself yawning widely and closing her eyes. "Sleep ti-"
Sweetie Belle looked at the odd worm-thing and laughed. "I remember Diamond Tiara dared me to eat a wormy once!" Leaning forward, she opened her mouth and giggled as the slimy thing crawled into her maw obligingly. Gulping hard, she expected to feel it flow down into her belly, but halfway down, it squirmed in her neck. Coughing, she felt a little soreness that was gone before she really felt real pain.
Finding the easiest of paths, the larva crawled the short distance to the filly's spine and bit, its special teeth breaking a tiny hole through the bone there and letting it attach. Sensation came to the parasite, it felt the pony's body, its heartbeat, every vital part of her in the poisoned state. It even felt her mind curiously poke the sensation it was causing her, so it reached out and pushed her into sleep.
"Girls? Apple Bloom? Sweetie? Why are you both-" Scootaloo stopped talking to her unconscious friends when she spotted the worm approaching her. She struggled and tried to shift, something didn't quite feel right. "What did you do to them?"
Bound up, the pony wasn't getting away. The larva wasn't fully capable of thought, but it could sense a warm pony body, and as it connected with flesh it initiated its first bite.
Scootaloo felt the pain in her belly start and then go completely numb. "What… what is that thing? What is it doing?" She watched as the worm slipped inside. The feeling of it moving inside was strange for the filly, she tossed and squirmed, almost managing to break free of the ropes before she felt a sharp pain in her neck. "No, stop, I don't want to…" Her words stopped, she couldn't say anything as a chill passed through her, spreading from her body up into her head. She trembled a moment before the world went dark.