It would be nice to say the second occasion the new hybrid life form Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo had apparently transmogrified into awoke that day, it was an easier experience than the first.
Alas, no such blissful respite was forthcoming. Aside from the first few initial seconds that is, when the two former fillies were under the shared delusion this had all been some dreadful nightmare...
...Which was soon shattered upon the unwelcome discovery of the longer limbs on their 'adult' body, and the fact that one could sense every anxious thought and feeling the other one was currently perceiving.
As you can imagine, it would be a minor understatement to tell you it was a lot for both to take in.
A high-pitched scream borne out of sheer panic soon followed, an odd aural manifestation of Sweetie's squeaky tones and Scootaloo's raucous yelp.
It sounded like an echoed combination of the two, bouncing off each other in an attempt to gain ultimate supremacy. In the event, the result could be declared a draw, as the bizarre noise ended up sounding like neither... but both, at the same time.
Such a unique phenomenon is harder to describe than you'd think, and in terms of unprecedented changes, they were to find out this was just the opening salvo.
In the meantime though, let's switch focus to good old loyal Apple Bloom, currently tucked up in bed with her newly amalgamated friends to undoubtedly keep them company during their hour of need.
As soon as the cacophonic roar escaped from their joint mouth, that was the farm filly's cue to rise from her light sleep and hug the freshly created creature with all her might.
This unexpected display of affection soon came to the notice of the strange being, who abruptly stopped its blaring racket to glance down in surprise at their now much tinier friend's caring embrace.
"A-Apple Bloom... what's going on? I-I'm scared... and so am I!" The speaking voice of the creature sounded just like its scream, a combination of Sweetie and Scootaloo's usual speech patterns to form an inimitable dual vocalisation. "What? I never thought I'd hear you say that about yourself, Scoots! Well, can you blame me, Sweetie?! This kind of thing doesn't exactly happen every day."
Apple Bloom lifted her head up from her warm administrations to wipe a few stray tears away, while listening nonplussed as her two best friends carried on their heated debate from earlier. Even after such a terrible accident and subsequent transformation, neither seemed ready to give an inch in the longstanding fight.
"This is all your fault! I told you that racing me was a bad idea! Not only is it incredibly dangerous, you'll always lose! W-What? I won, and you know it! And if you hadn't goaded me so much, maybe I wouldn't have tried so hard to beat you, and we wouldn't be in this mess! Excuse me?! You take that back..."
"Quiet"!!
If anything could rival the new creature's earlier screech for sheer volume, it had to be Apple Bloom's sudden yell. If the intention was to shut down their somewhat confusing argument, it certainly had the desired effect. Both Scootaloo and Sweetie moved their singular head together, to stare at a very irate farm filly ready to deliver a stern lecture of her own.
"Is any of that stupid stuff really important right now? You two have been turned into... somethin', an' you're still arguin' over who won some silly contest?! Who gives a hoot! You both need to stop this pointless squabblin', make up an' try to get used to being 'round each other til' all this is all over. Which I hope'll be soon, but from the way Twilight was talkin' earlier, maybe not."
As much as Apple Bloom would love to put her friends' minds at ease by telling them everything would be fine and they'd soon return to normal, she was essentially a truthful filly. Like her sister had taught her almost everyday, honesty was always the best policy, and better they find out the reality of the situation now than be shocked later on.
For now though, her firm reprimand had seemingly succeeded in making her pals take stock of everything, and with a long and meaningful gulp, the new being proceeded to hesitantly apologise to itself. Twice.
"She's right, Scoots. I-I'm sorry. Me too, Sweetie. It's only a dumb race, and now because of my recklessness I might be stuck with you for the rest of my life. Hey! I-I didn't mean to make that as harsh as it sounded. I-I know..."
"Look, will you two learn to talk with one voice or somethin'. Just tryin' to figure out who's sayin' what an' who's talkin' to who is givin' me the mother of all headaches." Apple Bloom had her hooves on her head, as if anticipating a major migraine to arrive any second.
"But, how do we do that? Yeah, tell us!" Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle inquired of their friend, as if she'd have a better understanding of their new capabilities than they did.
"Well, let's see now..." Apple Bloom climbed out of bed as she pondered, tapping her chin pensively whilst doing so. "Tell ya what. Why don't you try doin' what me an' Applejack did, whenever we had a disagreement? We would sit down together an' not get up again 'til we'd agreed on a way to end it. In other words, only say somethin' if it's what both of you believe, or things are goin' to get very counfoundin' 'round here, if you're just gonna be quarrellin' with yourselves the whole time."
To a pair of fillies as radically different as Sweetie and Scootaloo obviously were, this seemed almost like mission impossible. But seeing no other viable alternative other than to reduce everyone else to a state of bewilderment, they decided to give it a try. And what better place to start, than right now?
"We... would like to look at ourselves in the mirror again first." The two of them concurred together, in that weird new voice of theirs. "We feel curious about our new appearance, and would like to get a closer examination."
"A-Are ya sure 'bout this?" Apple Bloom rose an eyebrow out of trepidation. "I don't want ya faintin' again. Rarity and Scoots aunts should be over any minute now. Only Twilight is still here to explain things to them as soon as they arrive, an' the rest of the students an' teachers went home ages ago. Lyra and Sweetie Drops patched things up, by the way. It's amazin' how witnessin' a horrific event can make ya appreciate the preciousness of life."
"Uh huh." The hybrid creature wasn't exactly listening to a word their farm friend was saying, having left the sanctity of the duvet to brave their new reflection a few yards away.
It was pretty much what it'd been before, with Scootaloo's orange fur and Sweetie Belle's purple mane and tail being the obvious standouts of this adult body. But the addition of a full-size pair of wings and horn would also take some getting used to, and having a lightning cutie mark combined with a song note symbol either side of their flank was just plain... ridiculous.
"We wonder if this means we'll be able to do both scooter tricks now, and sing well." The creature speculated, as it examined it's greenish-lavender eyes closely, a mix-up of their former owners' colours. "We wish to explore this matter further later, as well as other things. But for now, we are hungry, and we wish to eat tasty junk food while we ponder our next move... Hey, speak for yourself! I want a piece of fruit! Bor-ing! Not while I'm around! It's cookies and ice cream all the way, baby! I am not going to get fat on account of your unhealthy diet, Scoots! Don't worry about it, Sweetie! When I take you out for a ride each day every day, we'll soon shift those pounds! P-Pardon?! I told you before, I refuse to go on that thing! You have no choice! I can't wait until we're separated to use my pride and joy again! I'll go stir crazy...!"
Great, I should've realised it wouldn't be more than a few seconds before they resumed their petty bickering again. They just can't help themselves, can they? Apple Bloom facehooved with a sigh, upon witnessing the hasty disintegration of her friends short-lived truce. It feels kinda weird though, calling Sweetie and Scoots 'their' or 'them' all the time. Perhaps I should give them a temporary name, until the enchantment is removed: Sweet Scoot? Scooty Belle? Hmm, this'll require some thought, and maybe some input from the girls themselves...
At that precise moment though, Apple Bloom's train of thought and the new creature's solo argument were unexpectedly interrupted, as the door to the infirmary burst open to reveal none other than top fashionista and businesspony herself, Rarity. She was closely followed by two pegasus mares lovingly holding hooves, who anypony who knew them could tell you happened to be Scootaloo's aunts, Holiday and Lofty.
"M-My darling Sweetie Belle, T-Twilight told me everything!" A visibly devastated Rarity sobbed, as she galloped anxiously into the room. Her frantic demeanour was in stark contrast to the aunts behind her, who seemed more stunned than anything else. "Please let me look at you, my dear. I'm sure it can't be as bad as how she describes it... shriek"
Alas, despite being forewarned in advance as to the enormous changes wrought on her beloved sister, the sight of a full-grown Sweetie with differently hued fur, large wings and two unique cutie marks was too much for the notoriously emotive Rarity.
So it was that in front of one filly, two aunts and an uncommon creature that the swooning unicorn became the second pony to pass out in that very room today, the stress of everything which had occurred just too much to process...
.... And for once, she hadn't even bought her infamous fainting couch with her either. Darn it.