Scootaloo climbed through the window of her room exhausted after fighting...whatever that was. She grunted in pain as she squeezed through her window. Her sides ached in pain from the swipe that lizard monster managed to score on her. It didn't help that she had also hit several walls and cars during the fight, so suffice to say that her body was in quite some pain.
"This hero thing is going to be harder than I thought,” she muttered to herself as she sat on her bed, grunting slightly in pain. She started to peel off her costume, wincing as the fabric was pulled over her wounds.
She looked down at the claw marks on her side to inspect them. Not as bad as it feels, she thought, taking notice of the scabs that were already forming. If she hadn't known better, she'd sworn that she had gotten the injury months ago. She picked up her costume, inspecting the damage. It looked as if it had been run through a shredder, probably from the swipe she took.
Great. One night and I need a new costume, she thought, throwing the suit across the room. She then flopped onto her bed, grunting in pain a little as her injury hit the sheets.
Knock, knock....
The sound coming from the door caught her attention. Scootaloo quickly pulled the covers over her body in order to cover her injury before responding. “Doors open,” she called out, trying to sound as nonchalant as possible.
Cup Cake walked in, a look of concern on her face. “Oh thank Celestia you’re okay,” she said rushing over to her niece, throwing her arms around the filly. “I was so worried. We were watching the news and there was a giant lizard or something attacking downtown and you and Dinky were-” She was interrupted by Scootaloo’s hoof on her mouth.
“I’m fine Auntie. So is Dinky. We weren’t even around that part of town,” she lied, returning her aunt’s embrace. She noticed a figure in the doorway and looked up. Pinkie stood just outside the room, giving Scootaloo an almost piercing stare, as if she could see through the lie. “Ummm... Anyway, I’m a little tired,” she said stretching in exhaustion.
“Sure get some rest,” Cup said releasing the pegasus and making her way to the doorway. She paused, and looked back at Scootaloo.
"Honey, why is your window open?" Cup asked, pointing towards the open window. Scootaloo looked towards the opened window, her mind wildly searching for an excuse as she mentally kicked herself for leaving it open.
"Uh...for the fresh air." Scootaloo finally said, smiling broadly. "You know how stuffy it gets in the summer."
Cup smiled, apparently believing Scootaloo. "Alright then. I would prefer you close it at night. Just in case." She said, stepping out through the now empty doorway.
Where did Pinkie go? Scootaloo thought, wondering if she had imagined the pink mare’s presence. That look certainly didn’t seem very Pinkieish. “I’m just tired,” she muttered to herself as the door closed. It didn’t take long for her eyes to close, as she drifted off to sleep, letting herself surrender to exhaustion, her dreams filled with the images of her earlier battle.
///////////////////////////////////////////////
The Lizard slinked along the rooftops of a quiet corner of Manehattan, searching carefully for her target. She had already memorized the scent and was now tracing it through the air, smiling slightly as it became stronger and stronger as she neared one of the many brownstone apartments.
In her head, she heard the voice of her other, mammalian personality shouting and protesting.
Please, leave her alone! She’s done nothing wrong! Just leave her be!
The Lizard shook her head, “Ssshut up...” she grumbled, her eyes focusing on her target with pride as she caught sight of the young unicorn through her bedroom window. She was lying in her bed fast asleep, a content smile on her face.
“Time to ssstrike,” the creature chuckled aloud. Now was the best chance she could take out her target without being noticed. It was almost two in the morning and the entire street was dark and quiet. She could easily sneak in, and eat the filly in one bite, and then slink out again, content that she’d be unnoticed.
Please! Leave her alone! I’ll give you anything you want, just leave Dinky alone, Cheerilee shouted in the monster’s mind.
The Lizard simply rolled her eyes. “You have no power over me anymore mammal,” she replied nonchalantly, blocking out the rest of her other half’s pleas. “Now where wasss I?” she asked herself turning her attention back to the window. She crouched low and prepared to pounce when a sudden noise caught her attention, causing her to hesitate.
The window directly to the left of Dinky’s window burst open to reveal a lighter gray pegasus peering into the darkness, obviously looking for something. “WHO”S OUT THERE?!” she shouted angrily, her eyes narrowing as she searched the darkness.
A light clicked on in the apartment below Dinky’s home. A reddish-brown stallion leaned out the open window. “Derpy! Will you shut up?! It’s two in the morning!” he shouted angrily.
Derpy? The Lizard thought, quickly rummaging through her mammalian alter ego’s memories in order to identify the mare. Cheerilee’s memories told her that the mare was Dinky’s mother. The Lizard crouched lower, not wanting to attract any unwanted attention as she watched the pegasus closely.
Derpy meanwhile, looked down at the stallion in the apartment below angrily for a second, before unexpectedly slamming a fist down on the fire escape that was hanging next to her with a deafening clang. The ladder on the side of it slide out of place, narrowly missing the stallion.
“Whoa! Crazy mare!” he shouted before retreating into his apartment and slamming the window shut.
Derpy meanwhile, returned to staring into the darkness for a few more moments before returning to her own home.
Lizard stared at the spot the pegasus had struck. She didn’t need enhanced night vision to see the abnormally large dent. “Perhapsss a change of plan isss in order,” she told herself, not in the mood to fight two ponies, let alone one who seemingly had enhanced strength of some kind. Letting out a low growl, she retreated into the night.
//////////////////////////////////////////////////
Scootaloo awoke the next morning feeling incredibly well rested. In fact, she felt more rested than she had in weeks. She yawned, stretching her forelegs wide. The pain in her side was almost completely gone. Curious, she put a hand to her side, where the Lizard had tried cut her open. Her eyes widened when she realized the injury had almost completely healed. Other than a little soreness that came when her hand touched the area, there was no indication that she’d nearly been filleted by car sized gecko.
That's odd... She thought, quickly clambering out of bed and getting ready for the day. After she brushed her teeth she sat on her bed. She reached behind her bed and pulled her costume out. “Great gotta get this fixed. I guess it was too much to ask that this thing would fix itself over night,” she grumbled. Wait Featherweight said he’s pretty good at sewing, she thought, recalling his visit the previous day. “I’ll be meeting him somewhere other than my house though,” she muttered to herself as she left her room and trotted down the stairs.
Scootaloo entered the dining room to find Aunt Cup and Pinkie quietly eating bowls of cereal. Pinkie looked up from her bowl and gave her an almost disappointed, piercing look, as if she had seen Scootaloo doing something terrible. Scootaloo averted her gaze. It appeared that the twins had already been taken to school, since the kitchen was vacant asides from Aunt Cup, Pinkie and herself. That probably meant that the high school would be letting students out in just a few hours.
“Good morning,” Aunt Cup smiled as Scootaloo reached the bottom of the stairs. “Sleep well?”
“Best night’s sleep I’ve had in awhile,” Scootaloo replied, smiling as she grabbed a bowl out of the kitchen and sat next to Pinkie on the right side of the table. “Um, I’ll be heading out a little later Auntie,” Scootaloo said, busily pouring herself some cereal. “Anything you need me to do before I leave?”
Aunt Cup shrugged slightly. “Not here, but Pinkie’s breakfast the other day has left us dry on eggs. Do you mind fetching some more from the store on your way home?” By now Aunt Cup had finished her breakfast and was already starting to clear off the table.
“Sure thing Auntie,” Scootaloo replied as she lifted her bowl of cereal to allow Aunt Cup to wipe up some of the milk that had spilled.
“So where are you and Dinky going today, the movies again?” Pinkie asked without looking away from her bowl, her usual cheeriness strangely absent. Instead, her voice carried with it an air of disinterest.
Scootaloo gave Pinkie a quizzical look. “Umm...I’m not really sure. I kinda figured I’d just meet her after school and we’d go from there,” She replied, “You know, stuff, things...” To be honest, she was a tad weirded out by the way Pinkie was acting. It was totally different from her normal, happy and hyper self.
“Are you going to be back in time for dinner?” Pinkie asked again, almost as if she were interrogating Scootaloo.
“Probably...” Scootaloo trailed off as she realized that she hadn’t actually made it home for dinner in several days. On top of that, she had promised several times to be home in time for dinner, only to get distracted and miss it or arrive late.
“Okay Pinkie, leave her alone. Honestly, did you think she was going on a date with that Featherweight colt?” Aunt Cup asked, rolling her eyes at Pinkie with a bemused expression.
At that, a switch seemed to flip and Pinkie perked up immediately. “Oh darn it Cup Cake you ruined it!” she playfully pouted. She then looked at Scootaloo with a wry grin. “I had her this close to fessing up.”
Scootaloo let out an inward sigh of relief and rolled her eyes. “Seriously Pinkie, Featherweight’s not my coltfriend. He’s just a regular friend who happens to be a colt,” She said, trying to not let her own mild annoyance at Pinkie’s intrusiveness show. Of course I am planning on seeing him later, but I’m not telling Pinkie that.
“So you say,” Pinkie teasingly accused, grinning broadly.
“Oh whatever,” Scootaloo said rather grumpily as she finished her cereal and grabbed her scooter and backpack, heading for the door. “If you need anything call me Auntie. I’ll be out practicing tricks,” she said as she left.
“Be careful!” Aunt Cup called after her. Nopony noticed, however, as Pinkie’s expression shifted back from the wry grin from a few seconds ago to one of silent disappointment.
Scootaloo herself only made it a few feet out the front door when she remembered an important detail she had forgotten.
She had forgotten her costume. She glanced back at the front door, hesitant to go back in, lest Aunt Cup and Pinkie see the costume. She instead made her way around to her window and climbed the wall like she had the night before. She smiled at the feeling of being disconnected from solid ground. I wonder if this is what flying feels like, she thought absentmindedly, as she grabbed the tattered clothing from behind her bed and jumped back out the open window, swinging away on a strand of webbing.
///////////////////////////////////////
Dinky sighed happily as the final bell rang, finally freeing her from school for the day. Now I can talk to Scootaloo about that fight. I wonder if she’s seen the videos yet, she pondered, as she packed up her things and left the classroom.
The events of the day before had caused quite a bit of viral videos to show up on the internet, so Dinky was eager to talk to Scootaloo and plan their next move. As Dinky walked through the halls, the rest of the students also poured out of the front doors. Dinky weaved through the crowd expertly and reached the front steps, quickly spotting Scootaloo waving towards her.
“So you had an eventful night,” Dinky quipped as she walked up to Scootaloo.
Scootaloo shrugged. “Well, that’s one way put it. To be honest I feel like I got hit by truck,” she emphasized her words by stretching slightly. “It did throw a little perspective on this whole hero thing,” Scootaloo continued looking over the crowd of students as they got into cars with their parents or started walking home. Dinky raised an eyebrow.
“Really? How?” she asked as they made their own way down the street.
“Well, At first I just wanted revenge, but when I got it, I felt guilty.” Scootaloo said plainly, “Then, thanks to you, I tried helping others. I can’t say that it was my destiny or anything, but it’s what my powers were meant for,” She said the last sentence with determination, as if she really meant it.
“Wow that was pretty deep,” a voice behind them said, startling them. They turned to see Featherweight standing there, a knowing smile on his face.
“We were... talking about... Scootaloo helping her Aunt in the bakery,” Dinky said awkwardly, trying to cover up their flub.
Scootaloo sighed and looked at Dinky flatly. “Could you be a worse liar?”
“Well I don’t see you coming up with anything better,” Dinky countered, looking at Scootaloo.
“Hey, let’s not start a catfight here fillies. I’m a smart colt, I probably would have figured things out pretty quick either way,” Featherweight interjected, apparently trying to calm things before they got too heated.
“Well, that does remind me,” Scootaloo said as she reached into her bag and pulled out the tattered costume. “I took a few heavy hits last night and my costume could use some repairs. You said you were good at sewing, I was hoping you could fix it.”
Featherweight looked at the remains of fabric. “What is this a clown costume?” he asked as he inspected the workmanship. Scootaloo and Dinky shared a look, but remained silent. “I mean, I’ll take a look at it, but why don’t we talk about improvements?” he suggested.
Dinky gave him a quizzical look. “Improvements? Like what?”
“Well, this looks like it’s a little loose and oversized so we could make it a little more form fitting. We could also add like a web pattern or something. If you want we can go to my house and talk some more. My parents won’t be getting back from work until later so we won’t be getting bugged.” Featherweight replied.
“Sounds good to me,” Scootaloo said, smiling. “You in?” she asked, turning and looking at Dinky expectantly.
Dinky’s eyes widened. “Ummm... I actually should get some homework or something done. I’ll see you guys later,” she said as she started backing away. “Oh wait before I forget, we need to be able to get in contact with each other in case of emergency. So can you guys give me your cell numbers and I’ll shoot you both a text later with my number in it?” she asked as she fished her phone from her bag.
Scootaloo nodded, “Yeah, that sounds good. Oh hey you dropped your school I.D. yesterday I put it in the costume’s pocket,” she said as she took the tattered outfit back from Featherweight and reached for the pocket. She met open air though, mainly due to a massive hole in the bottom of the pocket. “Oh crap.” she muttered, looking rather disappointed.
“Oh don’t worry about it, I can get a new one, just give me your number,” Dinky said reassuringly. Scootaloo nodded.
“Okay then. Mine’s 212-196-7466, and Featherweight?”
“Mine’s 212-196-9470.” he added.
Dinky nodded. “Okay then, you guys should get the text with my number in a few minutes. I’ll see ya later,” she said as she walked away, leaving Scootaloo and Featherweight alone.
“Alright then let’s talk about that costume. I was thinking we could add some more blue, like on the the side of the shirt,” Featherweight said, causing Scootaloo to giggle a little. Featherweight raised an eyebrow. “And what, might I ask is so funny?” he asked.
“You’re acting like the fillies in the sewing club,” Scootaloo said, unable to contain her giggles.
“I am in the sewing club. It’s not just for fillies,” Featherweight defended, as he started walking towards his home.
“Oh, of course not,” Scootaloo said sarcastically.
///////////////////////////////////////////
Dinky arrived home about an hour after leaving Scootaloo and Featherweight alone. “I hope they do something romantic,” she giggled to herself as she walked in the door of her and her mother’s apartment.
“Who’s being romantic?” a voice said from the kitchen.
“Probably no one,” Dinky replied as she sat on the living room couch. A grey coated pegasus walked in carrying a sandwich on a plate.
“Well did you have a good day at school?” Derpy asked as she offered the plate to her daughter.
“Yeah it was okay I guess,” Dinky replied as she accepted the plate, holding it aloft with her magic. “I mean I still hate math though and biology is a breeze,” she gave her mom a quick hug as she made her way towards the staircase. “Thanks for dinner. I hate to leave you by yourself, but I have a little studying I have to do.”
Derpy smiled, “Alright then, but make sure you get to bed on time muffin. I don’t want you falling asleep in class.”
“Sure thing!” Dinky replied as she made her way up the staircase. She quietly opened the door to her room and closed the door quietly behind her. She then walked over to her desk and turned on her computer. She quickly pulled up the videos of Scootaloo’s fight that had been floating around on the internet and watched it for a minute, paying close attention to the features of the oversized reptile. She set the sandwich down on her desk next to the computer and looked up to the shelf above her head. It was crammed with biology encyclopedias she had gathered over the years, mostly for school, but a few were of her own choosing.
She used her magic to pull down one Cheerilee had gotten her for her last birthday that held information on every known reptile in the world and even a few mythical ones. She started flipping through the heavy tome, marking off anything that had similar features to the beast in the videos she was playing.
After a few hours she had hit the back of the book and started flipping to the pages she’d marked. “Why do all of these seem so familiar?” she muttered herself. She lost her concentration and the pages flipped closed, leaving the hardcover front of the book open. On the front page was a small message jotted down in elegant writing:
To an amazing student and a great friend - Dr. Cheerilee
Dinky stared at the message in shock, the name setting the gears in her head in motion. She quickly flipped through the marked pages to confirm her suspicions. All of the reptiles she had marked were ones that Cheerilee had experimented with while trying to discover the cure for lost limbs.
Dinky looked at the monster on her computer screen as it threw a car at Scootaloo. Memories of the damage to Cheerilee’s home and her mentor’s strange behaviour the last time they had spoken flashed through her mind.
“Oh, Celestia. Doctor what have you done?” Dinky asked, as the video finished, her eyes wide in both concern and fear.