Chapter 11
Changes
As the rays of dawn streamed through her window, Scootaloo rolled out of bed and stretched out her back. She glanced around her bare room and sighed, dreading what might await her downstairs. She quietly opened the door and skittered down the hall to get ready for the day. Toothbrush in her mouth, she patted her mane into unruly perfection in the mirror. Her eyes scanned down and she turned to her side, standing on her hindlegs and extending her wings.
Rough and tumble to begin with, she had never had much extra weight on her frame, but after several solid weeks of intense physical training, she was starting to notice some definite changes to her physique. Ropy bands of muscle stood out across her back and twisted down her shoulders and hips to her legs. She smiled around the frothy brush. She thought she looked pretty damn good. Spitting into the sink, she checked her reflection one more time and flexed a foreleg. She smirked at herself and carefully left the bathroom, slinking down the stairs.
Mrs. Taker sat motionless on the couch. Scootaloo paused halfway down the stairs, watching her foster parent. After a minute of silence, she tentatively descended into the living room, carefully watching for any sign of movement. She stopped again, directly behind the couch, eyes trained on the back of Mrs. Taker’s head.
“I’m, uh…I’m goin’ to school now.”
Mrs. Taker didn’t indicate she even heard Scootaloo, staring forward at the wall blankly. Scootaloo bit her lip and inched her way towards the door. Once outside, she slowly swung the door shut, still regarding Mrs. Taker through the gradually shrinking crack. When it latched with a click, the mare still hadn’t moved. Scootaloo closed her eyes and hung her head, letting her forehead press up against the wood. After a moment, she resignedly turned and climbed onto her scooter, heading out to the street.
Cruising down the block, she perked up a little straighter on her ride and veered off away from the direct path to the schoolhouse, a small smile growing on her lips. She skidded to a stop in front of Sweetie Belle’s house just as her friend was closing the front door.
Sweetie Belle beamed brightly, bouncing over to Scootaloo. “Heya, Scoots!”
“Hey, Sweetie.” Scootaloo grinned at the unicorn, her painful evening and tense morning evaporating from her mind. “Want a ride?”
“Sure!” She climbed up behind Scootaloo, wrapping her forelegs around the filly’s chest. Scootaloo sucked in a breath sharply, admonishing her racing heart. She cleared her throat and began to kick off when Sweetie Belle stopped her. “Oh…Did you ask about magic lessons?”
Scootaloo craned her neck back to flash Sweetie a bright smile. “Oh, yeah! Twilight said she’d be happy for you to come!” Sweetie squeaked with joy, hugging Scootaloo tighter. Feeling heat rush to her cheeks, Scootaloo looked forward and bit down on her lip. Clearing her throat, she said, “I got a tutoring lesson after school today. Can ya come to that?”
Sweetie Belle hopped off the back of the scooter. “Lemme ask first. Mom and Dad said Twilight could teach me if she said yes, but I should let ‘em know it’s starting today.” She hurried inside, leaving Scootaloo to get her blush under control.
“C’mon, Scootaloo,” she muttered to herself, “Play it cool like Rainbow Dash said. Figure out what’s goin’ on in your head, ‘n then just ask her.” She scowled at herself. “You’re too cool to be all blushy, got it?” Unsure if her body was in agreement with her or not, she sighed and watched the door to her friend’s house.
After a few minutes Sweetie bounded back out, nodding happily. Scootaloo pumped a hoof in victory and stood still as Sweetie Belle climbed back up behind her. Her face behaved as the filly’s hooves grabbed back around her and she gripped the handles, preparing to kick off.
A distant clatter of hooves on cobblestones grew closer. “Sweetie Belle! Scootaloo!” They turned to see Apple Bloom galloping all out down the road, an ecstatic grin lighting up her face. She skidded to a stop next to them as they climbed off the scooter, panting heavily. “I got it! I finally got it!”
“Got what?” they asked together.
“My cutie mark!” Apple Bloom spun to the side, revealing her flank. A red apple, cut into five wedges, was arranged in the shape of a pentagon with the pips facing out. She bounced in excitement, still heaving in large gulps of air.
“Oh my gosh!” Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle both shouted, tackling their friend to the ground in a crushing hug. They rolled across Sweetie Belle’s yard in a giggling dogpile, transported mentally back a few years to when they were completely inseparable, the recent barriers of burgeoning romance stripped away. They roughhoused and cackled, pinning each other and being pinned in a whirling ball of foalhood.
Scootaloo’s intense training paid off when she arrived victorious on top of a heap of squirming hooves and torsos. “Hah!”
“You ain’t playin’ fair, usin’ your wings like that!” Apple Bloom scoffed through her giggles. “I’d beat ya blindfolded in a hoof-wrestle.”
“Oh yeah?” She smirked at the struggling filly, playful teasing lilting her voice. “Like how your sister beat Rainbow Dash at hoof-wrestling in the Iron Pony competition?” Apple Bloom stuck out her tongue in response.
“Guys,” Sweetie Belle groaned from underneath the two, “Can’t...breathe.” Chuckling, they climbed off the squashed unicorn and pulled her to her hooves. She took several deep breaths. “So what happened, AB? How’d you find your special talent?”
Her face lighting up again, Apple Bloom began talking a mile a minute. “It was so cool! I got home kinda early yesterday an’ AJ was prunin’ trees. She asked if I could help get rid of the dead branches, but y’all know how heavy Mac’s cart is, right?”
The two nodded, not willing to try and interrupt as Apple Bloom plowed on.
“So I had ta carry all them buckets ah branches myself, one at a time to the kindlin’ pile! Well, one of the trips, I got this idea! See, there was this scrap of wall from the ol’ barn that we replaced last reunion that’s just been sittin’ around in the yard. It was plenty sturdy and pretty square, so nopony wanted to chuck it or break it down for fire wood. Followin’?”
They nodded mutely.
“It was like I got struck by lightnin’ or somethin’! I ran as fast as I could back to where we smashed up that rickshaw, remember that? I grabbed the wheels n’ some other stuff, raced back home, took some tools, and started puttin’ everything together as fast as I could. When I was done, I’d turned that piece ah barn into a pallet carrier! Since it’s so wide an’ low to the ground, I could move it like it didn’t weigh a feather! AJ was mighty cross it took so long for me ta get back from that one trip, but when I loaded up the carrier with all them other buckets an’ hauled ‘em all away, I tell ya I ain’t never seen her look so proud!”
Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle exchanged a happy grin, watching their friend’s face practically shine in the reminiscence.
“An’ just like that as I was carryin’ the buckets away, there was a flash on my flanks, an’ this baby was there!” She showed off her cutie mark again. “It looks like that ‘cause my special talent is makin’ stuff; takin’ stuff apart and puttin’ it back together into somethin’ new!”
Bouncing on her hooves, Apple Bloom leapt forward and hugged Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle around their necks. “I’m so excited!”
Sweetie Belle embraced Apple Bloom with one hoof, her other wrapping around Scootaloo’s back to hold them both. “I’m so happy for you, AB!”
“So’m I!” Scootaloo hugged both her friends, lifting them both off the ground an inch in her enthusiasm. She blinked and set them both down, grinning sheepishly.
Apple Bloom grew quiet in their group hug, shifting her gaze to the side. “…I…I’m sorry I haven’t been spendin’ time with you girls recently. I ran out last night ta tell ya both when it happened, but I couldn’t find ya. Got me thinkin’ about how I didn’t really know what y’all were doin’ anymore. I’m sorry.”
Sweetie Belle looked at Scootaloo with relief in her eyes. Scootaloo smirked good naturedly, nodding her head. The pegasus patted Apple Bloom on the back and assured her, “S’alright, AB. You started seein’ Rumble, and it was exciting! I get it.”
Nodding glumly, Apple Bloom squeezed them both. “Y’all are my best friends an’ I don’t wanna lose either of ya. Just ‘cause I got my cutie mark don’t mean anything. We’re crusaders through n’ through, right?”
A wide, pleased grin on her face, Sweetie Belle chimed, “Yep!”
Apple Bloom straightened, her eyes wide and hopeful. “Why don’t we all go do somethin’ after school today? Just like old times?”
Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle exchanged a glance and sighed. Shaking her head in disappointment, Scootaloo said, “I’ve got tutoring with Twilight and Sweetie Belle’s starting up magic training with her today, too.”
Apple Bloom pouted. “What about afterwards?”
“I, uh…I have chores I have to catch up on, ‘cause I didn’t get them done yesterday.” Scootaloo grimaced, her banished memories resurfacing. “Sorry, AB.”
“Tomorrow maybe?”
Scootaloo’s grimace turned to a cringe. “I got another training day with Rainbow Dash.” Apple Bloom gave her the most pathetic pair of sad eyes she had ever seen. “Friday?” she quickly offered, looking hopefully to Sweetie Belle.
“Friday works for me.”
“Well, alright then!” Apple Bloom chimed, bouncing up and down in their hug. None of the three quite wanted to let go, now that their ties, damaged by busy schedules and shifting priorities, had been reknit. They grinned and held each other, basking in the collective presence.
A distant ringing floated on the wind from the schoolhouse, signaling the start of lessons. They stared at each other with wide eyes.
“Ponyfeathers!” the three shouted, scrambling apart, clambering onto the scooter, and racing down the street as fast as Scootaloo’s wings could take them.
Twilight glanced up from her desk as the sound of buzzing and giggles grew louder just outside the library. She struggled to decide between smiling and sighing, wondering if she’d actually get anywhere tutoring both Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle at the same time. She settled on a beleaguered smirk and swung the door open with her magic.
“Hi Twilight!” Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle chimed, trotting inside the library.
“Hi girls. Pleasant day at school?” Twilight shut her book and stood as they nodded. She headed towards the kitchen. “Can I get you two anything? Something to drink?”
Sweetie Belle glanced hesitantly at Scootaloo, who smiled reassuringly at her, asking, “You like pineapple juice, right?”
Sweetie’s hesitation lessened and she grinned. “Mhmm!”
Twilight headed out of the room, calling over her shoulder, “Two pineapple juices coming up. Scootaloo, can I talk to you for a minute?”
“Sure.” She headed into the kitchen, casting a sideways glance at Sweetie Belle. Her friend’s nervousness had jumped from being left alone and she glanced around the room with a small frown on her lips. Scootaloo turned back to find Twilight frowning at her with concern. “What’s up, Twilight?”
Twilight dropped her voice low. “Rainbow said you got home alright last night, but is everything okay? Any problems this morning?”
The filly tried to hide her wince and she sighed. “Yeah, everything’s alright. Mrs. Taker just...well, she’s letting me come over for tutoring and stuff, and she hasn’t, like, punished me or anything, but she’s been really quiet.” Twilight’s frown deepened and she put a comforting hoof on Scootaloo’s shoulder. Scootaloo smiled weakly. “I think...I think I really hurt her feelings and she doesn’t know what to say to me anymore.”
Twilight nodded sadly and ran her hoof across Scootaloo’s mane. “I’m glad things are at least mostly okay...She’ll probably come around eventually. Just know we’re here if you need us, okay? You don’t have to face this alone.”
Biting her lip, Scootaloo hugged Twilight around the neck. “Th-thanks, Twilight. I’m still kinda scared, but...” She shook her head. “Thank you.”
For once, when Twilight hugged Scootaloo back the unicorn’s usual awkwardness wasn’t present. The embrace was only comforting. “Always.” Scootaloo pulled away and smiled at Twilight. Twilight smiled back and said, “I’ll get the juice. Why don’t you girls head upstairs.”
Nodding, Scootaloo left the kitchen and gestured for Sweetie Belle to follow, boldly heading for the stairs with Sweetie Belle close behind. Nervousness held tight over the little unicorn and she chewed her lip. She dropped her voice so only Scootaloo could hear her. “I’ve never been in Twilight’s room. What’s it like?”
“Like a library.” Scootaloo smirked. “’Cept for Rainbow’s stuff; that looks like a poster shop.” They reached the top of the stairs and headed into the lower loft of Twilight’s room. Sweetie Belle glanced around, noting the many bookshelves built into the walls, cluttered desk, and reading area in front of the fireplace. Craning her neck to see the upper level, she noted the Wonderbolts posters plastered all over the walls. Scootaloo giggled, watching Sweetie’s expression. “Told ya.”
“So, uh…” Sweetie Belle pawed apprehensively at the floor. “What’re these like, Scoots? I really haven’t done a lot of magic…”
“Hey.” Scootaloo gently bumped her shoulder into Sweetie Belle’s. “Twilight’s nice. Remember that she’s tutoring me ‘cause I have trouble with stuff. She’s never gotten angry at me for not gettin’ something. Don’t worry, ‘kay?”
Taking a deep breath, Sweetie smiled weakly. “Thanks, Scoots. For…well, for everything.”
Scootaloo felt her cheeks burn and willed her heart to slow. “You’re welcome, Sweetie. This should be good. You’ll get to learn about magic, and we can hang out some.”
The apprehension flowed out of Sweetie Belle’s face and her smile widened. “I can’t wait for Friday, but it’s really good seein’ you more, Scoots.”
“Yeah…” Scootaloo murmured, dazzled by Sweetie’s grin. A little voice in her head demanded she find a way to always see that smile. She blurted out, “D’you wanna come to my flying practices? Twilight comes to watch an’ hang out, I’d like—err, I mean, if you wanted to come, it’d be pretty cool…” She bit her lip to stop her own rambling. ‘Wow, you’re smooth,’ she admonished herself.
“Sure, Scoots! That sounds like fun!”
Scootaloo’s smile matched Sweetie Belle’s in ferocity. A silence that was somehow both comfortable and awkward fell over the pair as Scootaloo debated between looking away and fidgeting, or continuing to stare at Sweetie's face.
The clack of Twilight’s hooves coming up the stairs came as both a disappointment and a relief. Their tutor entered with two glasses floating in front of her and she smiled as she floated them to Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle. “Alright, Scootaloo. I’m going to start Sweetie Belle off running through the basics, so why don’t you start today with reading practice.”
“Sounds good!” Scootaloo offered Sweetie a warm smile and trotted over to the fireplace with her juice. She cracked open the book that had been laid out for her and tried to focus on the words.
Twilight cantered over to her desk. “So Sweetie, I talked to your sister and parents earlier today about what you’ve learned so far. I thought we’d get started working on precise control and bulk power for levitation spells, since that’s the most practical and common form of unicorn magic.” She took the lid off a small box on her desk and floated out several balls of different sizes and materials. She beckoned Sweetie over with a hoof, who tentatively approached.
Scootaloo’s ears flicked and an amused smirk broke out on her face as Twilight’s voice fell into a warm and informative tone she had taken to calling ‘the lecture voice,’ saying, “These are called practice stones. Some of them are rather heavy.” She gestured to a series of iron balls ranging in sizes from a large marble to the size of a stallion’s hoof and floated them close to Sweetie’s face. She dropped them back in the box and brought a plum-sized ball that was lined with hinges and seams forward. “This one here is designed to crumple with a very small amount of pressure.” Sweetie watched as the ball collapsed to half its size and a small gasp escaped her mouth. Twilight’s smile widened. “The heavy ones will help you strengthen your levitation ability and the delicate one will help with control.” She sprung the collapsed ball back open and set it inside the box. “Does that make sense?”
Shuffling on her hooves, Sweetie mumbled, “So, the heavy ones are kinda like going to the gym and working out, right?”
“Exactly.”
Her voice growing stronger as she talked, the filly continued, saying, “And the other one is so I can hold stuff without worrying about breaking anything?”
“That’s a big part of it, but it will also help you with precise things.” Twilight took the hinged ball back out of the box. “Your sister does a lot of very fine needlework using levitation spells, which requires an extremely delicate and exact application of magic. I’d bet that not only could she hold this without collapsing it, but that she could collapse each section of it one at a time.” Twilight narrowed her eyes in concentration and half of the ball shrunk in on itself while the other half remained its normal size.
The lingering apprehension in the younger unicorn fled as she gaped at the ball. “Wow…”
Twilight chuckled. “I have pretty good control, but I’d guess Rarity is better than me. She’s had a lot of practice doing that sort of magic and she started out talented at it anyway.”
Her eyes still trained on the half-crumpled ball, Sweetie marveled, “That’s still so cool.”
Twilight shook her head, still grinning. “Well, cool or not, we’ll practice at precision until you can hold it without collapsing it. After that we can try controlled collapses like this. Sound like a plan?”
“Totally!”
As Twilight started walking Sweetie Belle through levitating some of the smaller balls, Scootaloo admonished herself when she realized she had been doing more listening than reading. She redoubled over her book and tried to not pay attention to the sound of her crush’s voice when she asked a question, or her tutor when she provided an answer that was more interesting than Scootaloo thought it had any right to be. ‘Stupid magic not being boring,’ she grumbled in her head.
A few minutes into Sweetie’s practicing, Rainbow Dash flew in through a skylight and landed gently on the upper loft. Scootaloo glanced up from her book and waved, getting a grin and a nod in response, and refocused. Rainbow cantered out of sight. At first, the sounds of rummaging drifting down from the mare were soft, but they gradually grew louder and were joined by grumbling.
Twilight looked up at her marefriend and quirked an eyebrow. “Hey Sweetie Belle, think you can keep this one floating for a few minutes while I go talk to Rainbow?”
Her eyes almost crossed from looking at the ball hovering just in front of her face and her tongue stuck out in focus, the filly grunted, “Mhmm.”
“Great, be right back.” Twilight quickly climbed the stairs up towards her bed. Rainbow Dash muttered darkly, tossing pillows aside and digging through drawers in the bedside dressers. “Rainbow?”
The mare glanced up in surprise, a guilty smile on her face. “Sorry, am I bein’ noisy?”
Twilight snickered. “A little. I wasn’t expecting you home for a few hours; everything okay?”
“Oh, yeah,” she said, waving a hoof dismissively, “A magical storm got kicked up outta the Everfree Forest and those are always a pain to break up, so I’m a little tired. Thought I’d relax for a bit until my hooves stop tinglin’, and do my flight practice in an hour or two.”
Twilight clicked her tongue in sympathy. “Aww, lemme see.” She cantered closer and lifted one of her marefriend’s hooves to her mouth. She planted a small kiss, feeling the dull hum of residual magic against her lips. “Wow, no kidding.” Rainbow chuckled as Twilight lit her horn, siphoning off the wild magic from the pegasus. “Better?”
Testing her legs with a couple small hops, Rainbow said, “Much. Thanks babe.” She kissed Twilight gently on the lips and ruffled the mare’s mane into messiness. “Still think I’ll take that break for a bit.” Sighing, Rainbow turned back to the dresser as Twilight patted her mane back into some form of straightness. “Now if only I could find it…”
“What’re you looking for?”
“I could’ve sworn I left Daring Do and the Wooden Mask right here…”
Grinning, Twilight cantered towards the balcony and nodded her head towards the fireplace. Rainbow looked down, seeing Scootaloo with her muzzle in a familiar-looking book. “Sorry, Rainbow,” Twilight murmured, “I didn’t know you were rereading it.”
Snorting and shaking her head, Rainbow said, “Scoots’ reading practice is Daring Do? You’re the best teacher.”
Twilight kissed Rainbow’s cheek. “Best way to get faster at reading is to read a lot, and the best way to encourage reading is to make it something fun.”
Amusement coloring her low tone, Rainbow pointed between the two fillies. “Too bad she’s not gettin’ much reading done.”
Twilight frowned in confusion and glanced back and forth between her charges. Her bewilderment grew when she saw Scootaloo furtively watching Sweetie over her book in stolen glances. “What—?”
Rainbow leaned in conspiratorially, dropping her voice to an unnecessary whisper. “She doesn’t know she gave it away to me last night, but Scoots is totally sweet on Sweetie.” Twilight’s eyes widened in comprehension and a smirk split her muzzle. Rainbow nodded, stifling a chuckle. She looked back down and whispered, “Be fair here; Sweetie Belle is totally adorable with her face all scrunched up like that.”
Twilight shook her head and chuckled. “I’m gonna have to rethink how to tutor them both if Scootaloo’s gonna get anything accomplished.”
“Oh, but it’s so cute, Twi’…Look at ‘em…Scoots pretending to read while she stares at Sweetie Belle practicing magic…reminds me of us.” She let out a mock wistful sigh. A sly smirk spread across her muzzle and she cupped her hooves around her mouth, shouting out, “Scootaloo! Bank left!”
With a yelp, Scootaloo threw her forehooves up in the air, sending the Daring Do book sailing over her head. She leapt upright, spreading her wings out and locking them into position. While her wings were solidly placed, her footing was not, and she scrambled along the floor before flopping to the ground. Sweetie Belle almost dropped the iron ball in her giggles. Face red as a tomato, Scootaloo got back to her hooves and stuck her tongue out at the two snickering mares.
Rainbow waved brightly down at the fillies and turned back to the bed, flopping down on her back and resting her head on her hooves. “Did, uh...d’you know if everything’s alright with Scoots at home?”
Twilight sighed. “Mrs. Taker has started really ignoring her instead of dealing with anything, I think. Scootaloo thinks it’s because she hurt her feelings, but I don’t think that’s what’s going on. Maybe it is, but I’m worried Scootaloo’s gonna get the silent treatment from now on.” She sighed again. “At least it isn’t as bad as we thought it might be. This is bad, and we should watch it closely in case it gets worse, but hopefully it is just ‘hurt feelings.’ Time will tell, I guess.” She ran a hoof through her mane and looked away.
Rainbow nodded and frowned. “Yeah, we’ll see. Least she’s not alone.” A shadow of old pain crossed her face. She shook her head and smiled weakly. “Well, I guess I’ll just nap, unless there’s somethin’ Spike could use some help with downstairs.”
Twilight shook her head. “Spike went out earlier. You know him; ever since he hit fourteen he’s been his own dragon. I hardly see him at all anymore.”
Rainbow’s ears flicked, picking up the melancholy just under the surface of Twilight’s voice. “…Wanna talk about it?”
Sighing, Twilight cantered over to the bed and sat on the edge. “It’s no big deal, really. It’s just…Spike hatched from that egg when I got accepted into school. He’s been there by my side for fifteen years now, Rainbow. When I was little, he was like a baby brother to me. Then I got older…he’s almost been a son.”
Rainbow rolled over on her side and gently stroked her marefriend’s back with a hoof, her voice dropping low and caring. “I know that, Twi’; I’ve seen the way you look at him. And you’ve done a great job with him. It’s good he’s settin’ off on his own a little, seein’ as he’s his own dragon now.”
Twilight turned and offered Rainbow a small smile. Rainbow had seen that specific type of smile only a few times before; once on Princess Celestia when she had decreed Twilight would stay in Ponyville and twice on her own father’s face when he related an old story about meeting Rainbow’s mysterious mother. It spoke of age and a rare form of happy regret. “It is a good thing. He’s just grown up so fast.”
Rainbow sat up suddenly and pulled Twilight into a gentle, but heartfelt kiss. She softly stroked Twilight’s mane and murmured, “I really love you, ya know that?”
Nuzzling Rainbow’s cheek, Twilight said, “I love you too, Rainbow…Not that I get tired of hearing it, but what brought this on?”
“You’re just…” Rainbow smirked and shook her head. “Every day you have some little way of remindin’ me how lucky I am.”
Twilight’s smile grew and she pecked Rainbow on the snout. “I’m the lucky one.”
A strained squeak floated up from the lower level. “Twilight—?” Sweetie Belle groaned, “—this is getting heavy!”
Blanching, Twilight leapt to her hooves. “Sorry, sorry!”
Scootaloo chuckled as Twilight rushed down the stairs to relieve Sweetie Belle of the weight. She refocused on her book and tried to get past the first paragraph. Rainbow’s snickering floating down from the loft made her grin and she lost her place again. She laughed at herself. ‘I’m never gonna get anything done here again,’ she thought, ‘Havin’ Sweetie here is either the best or worst idea ever.’
Scootaloo was more than happy to wait and find out which one it would be.
Mr. Taker shut the door behind himself and frowned thoughtfully at the couch. By his guess, his wife hadn’t moved the entire day. He cantered over slowly and rubbed her back with a hoof.
Mrs. Taker blinked herself out of her reverie and shook her head clear. “Oh, Under, you’re home,” she murmured, her voice rough from disuse. She brushed her bangs to the side and stood up. “I should get dinner started.”
Mr. Taker followed her into the kitchen, his frown deepening and brow creasing. “Care?”
The mare brushed a lock of mane from her face, briskly moving to the cupboards.
“What’s wrong?”
Pulling down her cutting board and setting an assortment of veggies on the counter, she trotted to the knife block.
“Care, please talk to me.”
She strapped a chopping knife to her hoof and began to mince with practiced speed.
Mr. Taker’s hoof settled on her shoulder. “You’ve barely said a word since yesterday.”
He stood there silently, feeling his wife’s shoulder rise and fall with each chop. Halfway through a carrot she stopped mincing, but her shoulder continued to jerk under his hoof. A strained sob broke her silence.
His voice rose to near panic. “Honey? Honey talk to me!”
She turned from the board and buried her face in his chest. She choked out, “I don’t know what to say!”
Bewildered, he stroked her mane gently. “Care, honey, what—?”
“It’s all wrong, and I don’t know what to say to her! I…I don’t know how to fix this…”
“What happened? Something with Scootaloo?” She tensed against his chest, sniffling loudly. “Do you want me to talk to her? What’s going on?”
“N-no, I-I need to fix this…This is my fault, I need to…Oh, Under, what do I say to her? How do you tell a twelve-year-old that…that you didn’t know you were blind?”
Completely at a loss, Mr. Taker shook his head and stammered wordlessly. Shaking his head again, he cleared his throat. “What happened?”
“I forgot,” she sniffled, “I can’t believe I forgot, but I did.” She pulled away and wiped at her eyes, turning back to the cutting board. “D-don’t worry, Under. I’ll…I’ll fix this. I just need time.”
“Honey,” he said, his tone growing even and direct, “I’ve always left Scootaloo’s care in your hooves, but if you need help, if things are hard and you need me to step up—”
“N-no, thank you.” She sniffed loudly to clear her throat, the tremor in her voice fading. “I can handle this…I just need to figure out how.”
When Scootaloo arrived home and set to work on her chores, Mr. Taker watched his wife intently, seeing her spine straighten and her throat freeze at every hooffall from the filly. As the silence in the house stretched out, his worry grew.