Through the dark of the tunnels, Scootaloo, Flake, Rarity and Rainbow Dash followed Chitin, while keeping their guard up. There was no telling what the insane changeling would try; Chitin seemed to have little control of even himself.
They traveled for at least twenty minutes, all in distrusting silence. They could tell by the look in Chitin’s cold eyes that he was hiding something. Once they had gotten to a certain point in the caves, they could hear rushing water up ahead. Scootaloo’s ears curved back to the sound that haunted her.
“Wait, wait, stop,” she said quickly. The others all briefly put their travel to a halt and turned to her in question. “Chitin, where are you taking us?”
“To Fluttershy,” he muttered.
“Why do I hear rushing water?”
“What about rushing water?” the twisted changeling wondered.
“The river in the caves,” she replied, “Is that where we are going?”
“Oh, right, right… Our water supply—you had jumped in to escape our hive when this whole thing started.” He grinned. “You must be terrified of rapids after that whole fiasco.”
Scootaloo didn’t say anything to that; she just frowned.
“She’s been through a lot, okay?” Rainbow Dash growled.
“Why are we going this way?” Flake asked him again.
Chitin turned to Flake and grinned. “You do want to find this pegasus, don’t you?” He leaned forward and furrowed his distrusting eyes. “Then, follow me.”
The others exchanged looks, turning back to Chitin with nervous expressions.
Chitin raised a brow. “You do want to see her precious face again, don’t you?”
“Uuugh, shut up!” Scootaloo snapped and tensed her posture.
“He’s just trying to get to your head,” Rarity said to the frustrated pegasus.
“Yeah, and it’s working,” Scootaloo growled, and pointed at Chitin with a squint. “You’re up to something! Why are we going to the underground river?”
“Heh, well if you think you can find Fluttershy elsewhere, then fine by me, turn around.” Chitin frowned with his crooked grin. “I assure you though, you won’t find her without me.”
Putting her hoof back down, Scootaloo exhaled through her nostrils. Her eyes wandered, and the others awaited her response. “Fine. Keep going,” she muttered, eyeing the twisted changeling. “You’d better not try anything.”
“Yes, yes…” Chitin chuckled and turned around. “Whatever you say.” With that, he kept walking forward. Scootaloo furrowed her eyes, and nervously continued to follow him with the others by her side.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
After Chrysalis had uncovered the cocooned lavender princess, Dozer stood back in question. He was giving her odd looks, not certain what to think of his Queen.
“Chrysalis,” he murmured to her quietly in question. “Whose side are you on, exactly?” She looked to him, and he tilted his head, squinting at her. “First you want us to find and capture the pony, and now you’re freeing them? Make up your damn mind!”
“I understand you’re confused,” Chrysalis replied.
“What do you hope to gain freeing the ponies that represent the Elements of Harmony, huh? We’ve imprisoned them for ten years, and now you all of a sudden think that they’re just going to just help us?!”
“I’m even questioning myself in that regard.” She turned back to the cocooned alicorn. “You don’t think that even I find this as stupid as it sounds?”
Dozer sighed and sat on his flank. He remained silent for a moment, and biting his bottom lip, he slowly shook his head. “To be honest… No.”
“What?” Chrysalis turned to him and raised a brow. “Just like that, you agree with my terms of action? Even I think it’s crazy.”
Dozer’s ears slowly curved back, and an expression of guilt became obvious to the Queen. Chrysalis eyed him in question, awaiting an explanation.
“You revealed this to me,” he said quietly. “You had asked me earlier why I had this saddlebag of potions. Perhaps you should know.” Chrysalis didn’t respond, nor did she frown. She waited for his response, trying to cut him slack like he did for her in regards to this discovery. “These potions… they belonged to Scootaloo.”
“Scootaloo?”
“The pony we were trying to hunt. They are hers.” He sighed. “I was returning them to her.”
“So… You are on the pony’s side?” She squinted, trying to understand.
“Chrysalis, Chitin has gone out of control, and I made a foolish mistake taking his orders. He wanted me to round up the ponies that we had freed so he could take them for himself.”
“Wait, ponies?” Chrysalis cut him off and questioned him further. “As in plural? You found some of the others in the cave already? And you freed them?”
Dozer nibbled his bottom lip and nodded, feeling a sense of guilt. “Er… Yeah… A couple of them.” His ears perked and he turned back. “I… I should get back.” Looking back to his Queen sincerely, he could see the understanding expressions in her eyes. He tilted his head in question to her reaction, and she nodded.
“You round up the others. I’ll gather the ponies still in cocoons.”
“You’re suggesting we split up?”
Chrysalis nodded. “Time is short. We must bring these ponies together before it’s too late!” She pointed a hoof. “Go, Dozer. We shall all meet back at the tomb when we have the ponies.”
Dozer nodded respectfully, and he turned and galloped back to the others. After he had left, Chrysalis turned back to the cocooned princess in her possession, and she sighed quietly to herself. Lowering her head, her horn glowed a warm green, and she began melting the cocoon.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Chitin guided Scootaloo and the others to an opening in the cave. Through the wide entrance, there was the familiar underground river that Scootaloo remembered being dragged through. Not far down stream, she could see the vortex that sucked her down into the tunnels that spit her out into the wasteland when she first escaped. The entrance they stood in was just an opening in the wall high above the rushing waters. They all stopped to look around, confused.
“Why did you take us here?” Scootaloo muttered, and then down below on a rock, she saw a pegasus sitting there, surrounded by rapids. At first she was hardly recognizable, as she was a dull grey, but her mane flowed with grace just like her old friend’s did, and it was clear that it was indeed who she hoped they would find—she was just clearly drained like Scootaloo was in the beginning. “Fluttershy!”
At a first glance, Flake and the ponies were confused. Why wasn’t the stranded pegasus flying away?
“Heh, I told you I’d take you to the pony,” Chitin said with a grunt.
Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes and leaned forward to shout to the mare below. “Fluttershy!!” her shouting echoed through the wide open tunnel, but her distance from Fluttershy combined with the loud rapids drowned out her voice.
“It is weird that she isn’t moving from that spot.” Rarity puzzled the situation. “Perhaps you should get her, Rainbow Da—” As she turned to look to the agile pegasus, she paused at the sudden realization that Chitin had disappeared, and now there were two Rainbow Dashes. The others all glanced to the two identical mares, and suddenly the cave fell silent apart from the thunderous crackles from the rushing rapids beneath their cave.
The two Rainbow Dashes gave them a puzzled expression, confused as to why they were being looked at the way they were. Then the two mirrored pegasi turned to look at each other, and they jumped in shock.
“AH!!” One of the Rainbow Dashes stepped back from her doppelganger. “You!! Bloody changeling, this isn’t a joke. Turn back, Chitin!”
“What?!” the other was quick to respond. “Don’t you play this game with me!”
“I mean it, Chitin!”
“AGH!! I am not Chitin!”
“Oh, no no no,” Scootaloo muttered and stepped up to them. “Chitin, whichever you are, turn back, right now! We don’t have time for this crap.”
The Rainbow Dash to Scootaloo’s left pointed at the other. “That’s Chitin!”
“What?!” The opposing Rainbow Dash looked to her accuser and shouted back at her, “Stop it! You’re Chitin!”
Scootaloo’s ears fell back, feeling a deep sinking feeling in her gut. She couldn’t tell them apart. She took a quick glance behind her, looking to Flake and Rarity, and they were equally as clueless. “Uh…” Scootaloo turned back to face the mirroring pegasi and chewed on her bottom lip anxiously. She couldn’t act on the offense without knowing which Rainbow Dash was the true element of loyalty.
“I will not lose my friends’ trust to the likes of you!” the one to Scootaloo’s right exclaimed.
“You can’t lose friends, ‘cause you don’t have any!” the other snapped back.
“Agh!! I’ll make you eat those words!” With that, the pegasus to Scootaloo’s right leapt into the other, ramming her shoulder into her foe’s chest. There was a loud thump upon collision, and the two Rainbow Dashes collapsed to the ground with the attacker on top. “You bloody changeling!” With that, she threw a few punches with her right forearm, slamming her hoof into the other’s face.
Scootaloo and the others gasped when a fight broke out. They wanted to step in and stop it, but without knowing who to trust, they couldn’t properly act.
“Get off of me!” The victim of the sudden attack kicked her doppelganger off of her, and sent her slumping backwards. Standing up and wiping her bleeding lip, the wounded pegasus prepared to strike back. “I’ll buck you all the way to Tartarus!!”
“Okay, that is quite enough!” Rarity stepped in, frowning at the two snapping pegasi. The two turquoise mares turned to her, both impatiently squinting at her. The one to the left of her had a bruised eye and a bleeding lip from the other’s attack, which was now the only way to identify their difference. “We don’t have time for this! We’ve come this far already; we need to get to Fluttershy. Chitin, whichever you are, change back into yourself. I am personally willing to forget this whole thing if you would just cooperate!” She tilted her head, expressing her concerns. “Really, Chitin, why do you continue to persist on being so single-minded?”
The wounded Rainbow Dash nodded and turned to her doppelganger after hearing Rarity’s rant. “Yeah, Chitin, come on! All we want is for everypony to be on the same page… Why do you have to make it so complicated?”
“Stop calling me Chitin,” the other exclaimed, frowning. “Stop pretending like you care. You don’t know what having a friend even means!”
“Jez, you really can’t be reasoned with!”
“What’s there to reason?! Stop pretending to be me!” Anxiously, the pegasus without battle scars placed a hoof upon her chest to gesture herself, looking to Scootaloo with desperate expressions. “I am Rainbow Dash!” She trailed her eyes to Rarity and Flake as well. “Guys, it’s me!”
“What are you planning now?!” the bruised pegasus raised her voice and growled. “You can’t expect to attempt to pull off acting like me and get away with it! My friends aren’t stupid!”
“Planning? I’m not planning anything!” Angry, the other spectrum pegasus sneered back at her. “There’s no time for this. We need to get Fluttershy and carry on finding the others. Whether you choose to be on our side or not, Chitin, I could care less!” She leaned forward and stomped a hoof. “But damnit, make a choice!!
“AAAH I am not Chitin!!”
“ENOUGH!!” Scootaloo shrieked at the top of her lungs, startling everyone around her. Everypony turned to her, wide-eyed and alarmed. “Chitin, I don’t understand why you are attempting to impersonate our friend’s identity and steal her trust, because let me assure you, it won’t work!” She looked to both of the startled Rainbow Dashes and cringed furiously at them. “Whichever of you is Chitin, understand this. We know Rainbow Dash far better than you give a buck to realize. So go ahead. Try to convince me. Which of you is Rainbow Dash?!”
The pegasus without battle wounds pointed at herself. “Come on, it’s me!”
“HA!” the other turned to her doppelganger, squinting with a bruised eye. “You don’t know what mess you’ve gotten yourself into, Chitin. My friends aren’t idiots.”
Scootaloo just gave them a bored expression, and waited until there was a significance between the two. One of them was her loyal friend, and she was determined to figure it out before she placed any judgement upon either of them. “I said convince me.”
The two Rainbow Dashes looked at each other. Expressing determined frowns, they could see it in each other’s eyes that they were not going to back down with ease. The wounded pegasus sighed and nodded, stepping up to her. The other just watched her confront Scootaloo, keeping a tense frown.
“For a long time, you’ve looked up to me,” said the wounded Rainbow Dash. “We’ve always been great friends, and there is nothing that could ever break our bond.” She gestured with her hooves, expressing a smile. “You’re right. There’s no way this changeling could convince my awesome friends that he is actually me!” She turned to the other Rainbow Dash, and trotted toward her. “There is no way you could ever match up to just how awesome I am.” She leaned closer and yelled in her face, “Hear me, Chitin?! You’re a fool! Nopony could possibly mistake you for me, because you don’t know a thing about me, or my friends.” Then the pegasus turned back to Scootaloo with her bleeding lip and smiled brightly at her. “Right, Daring Do?”
The room fell silent at those last words; what she had called Scootaloo. Rarity and Flake both exchanged looks with each other, grinning and raising a brow. They all caught on.
“Well then, I’ll admit, that was a nice little speech.” The other Rainbow Dash then stepped up to Scootaloo, casually passing by her doppelganger. “Buuuut… You are wrong.” She took a quick turn to face her duplicate and frowned with a grin. “My friend here is more than a friend.” She turned back to face Scootaloo, warmly smiling. “She is my little sister. And sure she has always looked up to me, with her strong will and desire to become just as awesome, but no more than I have ever looked up to her…” Scootaloo’s ears fell back hearing those words. She felt the emotion from the way she said that, and she smiled back at her. “As far as I am concerned, she’s always been the most loyal filly I’ve ever known, and it astounds me just how much she has taught me by just being who she is. And I am so very proud to see how amazing she has become all grown up…”
After their short moment to look into each other’s understanding eyes, Rainbow Dash turned back to her duplicate and frowned once again.
“And one other thing, Chitin…” she said, “Her name isn’t Daring Do. It’s Scootaloo!”
Silence. Chitin was indeed caught, and he was frozen standing there with his jaw hanging open in Rainbow Dash’s form. He looked at all the eyes glaring at him, and his eyes slowly furrowed as he growled. A green burst of fire engulfed his body as he transformed back into his changeling self, and he snarled at them. “Scootaloo, huh…?”
“Leave,” Scootaloo bluntly exclaimed, pointing a hoof down the tunnel where they had come from. “And don’t even think about coming back.”
“Heh.” Frowning, Chitin lit up his horn in a red aura. The others stepped back, keeping their defenses up. “I think I’ve just about had enough of you, pegasus.”
“Don’t you even think about it!” Before Chitin had a chance to attack Scootaloo, Rainbow Dash leapt into him, crashing into his side. They tumbled over and bumped into the wall of rocks. Chitin’s horn was beaming red, and he prepared his focus his spell to strike Rainbow Dash. Rainbow saw it coming, and prepared her defense against it. Before he could cast his spell, Rainbow leapt hard into him, shoving him out into the opening of the cave, and they fell toward the river below.
“Rainbow Dash!” Scootaloo ran for the ledge, and watched Rainbow and Chitin fall; Rainbow held onto Chitin to keep him from flying away, and they hit the water, submerging beneath its surface. Rarity and Flake both stepped up to the ledge, looking below for any signs of either of them. They had disappeared. Then after a few silent moments, there was a red flash that lit up from beneath the rapids—Chitin’s spell had gone off below the water.
Wide-eyed and worried, Flake, Rarity and Scootaloo waited at the cave opening, looking below the waters to see any signs of their friend. Scootaloo leapt out into the cave, and flew downstream. “I gotta find her!”
“Scootaloo!” Flake called out to her, expressing his concerns. “Be careful!”
Flying downstream, Scootaloo found the two bodies floating toward the vortex. Chitin was struggling to get out of the water, but the rapids were too much for him to escape. As for Rainbow Dash, she was found unconsciously drifting downstream. In a panic, Scootaloo dove down after her.
Soaring down toward Rainbow Dash, she reached out her limbs to catch her. Before she could reach her, Rainbow Dash involuntarily submerged. “No! Damnit!” Keeping her wide eyes focused below, she waited to see the pegasus again. Chitin had reached the vortex, and Rainbow Dash was found spinning around the funnel as well, flushing down toward the hole where Scootaloo had been sucked down in the beginning of her adventure.
“No!” Chitin began chanting from the water. “This is not how I go! AAH!!” He continued splashing around, trying to fly out, but at the velocity he was being thrown around in the funnel, he couldn’t. “Nooooo—!!” Then, just like that, he was swallowed down into the abyss below. Rainbow Dash was closing in on the eye of the vortex as well, and Scootaloo was having a difficult time catching her.
“No, Rainbow Dash! Come on, wake up!” Closer and closer to the abyss, the pegasus in the water continued twirling around the funnel. “NO!” Taking a desperate dive into the river, Scootaloo grabbed onto the unconscious pegasus. Flapping her wings as hard as she could, she made her best effort to pull her out. The rapids proved too powerful, however, and she was now being dragged toward the hole, too. “Come on! Come on!!”
Then just as she was closing in on the abyss, she was caught in an aura of magic. “Wh… what?!” Slowly, she ascent from the vortex, being lifted out of the water along with Rainbow Dash. Drifting through the air, the aura took them to a ledge of safety, and gently placed the two pegasi on the rocks. Scootaloo stood up, confused, and she spun around to see where the aura had come from. She found Flake flying over to her, and he was holding Rarity. For a moment, she had thought it might have been Rarity who had just used her magic to save her, but her unicorn magic wasn’t nearly strong enough to lift two bodies like that.
“Are you two alright?” Rarity asked her in a panic, and Flake put her down. “Scootaloo, that was crazy!”
Scootaloo was dazed from what had just happened. She turned to Rainbow Dash, who was still unconscious, then back to Rarity in question. “Did you just… do that?”
“Huh?” Rarity raised a brow and trotted closer to her. “Do what?”
“Did you levitate us out of the water?”
“Uhh, no?” Rarity blinked.
Scootaloo blinked a few times as well, confused. “But, then who?” Scootaloo then caught something at the corner of her eye. Startled, she spun around to face that direction, and witnessed an alicorn princess trotting toward them. She was in awe, and it was at first difficult for her to know how to react.
“Twilight Sparkle…?” she murmured. “You’re free..?”
Twilight eyed the two pegasi who she had just captured out of the water, and acknowledged that Rainbow Dash wasn’t moving. Quickly, she attended to the unconscious mare. Scootaloo’s ears fell back, uncertain how to respond to this. Rarity and Flake were both equally confused.
“Rainbow Dash,” Twilight called to the downed pegasus, and she nudged her. That’s where the others noticed what Twilight saw—Rainbow Dash had a black burn mark on her chest. When Chitin cast his spell under the water, it must’ve struck her there. She stood up and looked straight at Scootaloo. “Did you get your bag of potions back yet?”
Scootaloo just nervously shook her head. “How do you know about my potions?”
“You still had an extra burning recovery potion in that bag,” Twilight exclaimed. “Rainbow Dash can still be healed without it.” The princess looked up to Scootaloo with her expressed concerns. “But… you need to trust me on something.”
“Wh… Trust you?” Scootaloo winced at her suspiciously. “You’re a changeling, aren’t you?”
The alicorn shook her head in response. “No, I am not. I am Twilight Sparkle.” She looked down to the injured mare. “I wish our hello could be less stressful, but we need to tend to Rainbow Dash right away.”
Squinting, Scootaloo leaned forward. “Trust you for what, exactly…?”
“She is in hiding right at this moment,” Twilight said in a sincere tone. “She’s in the vicinity, but I had to come see you alone, first, to avoid any conflicts.”
“Who?” Scootaloo began turning to look for who Twilight was talking about. “Who’s in the vicinity?”
“I’ll call her here; she can help Rainbow Dash. But I need your word, that you won’t retaliate,” she directed her request to all three of them.
Scootaloo raised a brow at her. Then she trailed her eyes down to Rainbow Dash, who was obviously dying the longer she was in her condition. She turned around to look to Rarity and Flake, and they both just looked back at her. The tension was high, but nopony really knew what to do.
Turning back to the princess, Scootaloo sighed. Twilight’s appearance was very sudden, and if anything, it was questionably suspicious. However, Rainbow Dash’s life was at stake, and it was resting on the trust of this mare—who she knew may or may not be a changeling.
Slowly nodding her head, Scootaloo agreed. “Who is here that can help Rainbow Dash?”
Twilight turned her neck to look behind her. “Alright,” she called out into the shadows. “They’ve agreed not to fight. Come on out.”
Then from behind a boulder from in the shadows, out stepped a taller, crowned changeling. Scootaloo’s ears fell back and she cowered at the sight of her. Rarity put her hooves to her mouth and gasped intensively. Flake stood his ground and furrowed his eyes, gritting his teeth.
“Chrysalis…” he growled.
Chrysalis stepped up to the others, eyeing them all. The expression on her face was tense. Eventually she stopped, and she stood idle, glaring down at the others. Keeping silent, they exchanged uncertain looks with each other.
“Twilight—if that’s who you really are,” Flake muttered, “Explain to us what is going on.”
Twilight nodded, understanding their concerns. She raised a hoof, gesturing to him directly. “I don’t reckon we’ve met.”
“I am Flake. And I stand for the ponies.” He stood taller and eyed her sincerely. “If you have any negative intentions against them, you must go through me, first.”
The response Flake had received was far different than he had expected. Twilight smiled and nodded to him. “I respect that, Flake. I truly do.”
Flake raised a brow in question and he looked to Scootaloo.
“These ponies are my friends, too,” Twilight continued. “I am pleased to see a changeling stand up for them.”
“I, um…” He didn’t know how to respond.
“I would love to get better acquainted, but right now we have different matters on our hooves.” She turned to Chrysalis and gestured her to move forward. Chrysalis stepped up closer to the others, and stood by her side, face to face with Flake, Rarity and Scootaloo. They gave very uneasy looks at her, but with the way Twilight was presenting her, they held back on retaliating.
“I speak for Chrysalis, in the respect that she can be trusted,” Twilight declared. “You asked me how I am free.” She gestured to the Queen of changelings. “Well, she released me from my cocoon prison.”
“Why?” Flake bluntly went to the point. “What is going on, Chrysalis?”
Twilight sighed and opened her mouth to respond. Flake, however, immediately cut her off, “No, Twilight. I want to hear this from the Changeling Queen herself. She hasn’t said a word to us yet.” He glared up at her while stepping closer, and she raised a brow in response. “This is totally out of character. You wouldn’t free Princess Twilight without a very good reason!”
Chrysalis was at first silent. Twilight looked to her and nodded. With that, Chrysalis sighed before she spoke. “Have patience. I will explain everything soon. Right now, though, I need to heal Rainbow Dash. Without my help, she won’t have long.” She gestured to the unconscious mare. “The spell I had forbidden my changelings to use was cast upon her. I am the only changeling who knows a spell to reverse the internal burns and cure her.” She looked into Flake’s eyes. “I have to put her in a cocoon for the healing process to work.”
Flake winced in response to that. Now they were talking about cocooning Rainbow Dash—typical for a changeling to suggest. He looked to Scootaloo, and she returned a glance at him.
“If Chrysalis wasn’t on our side, she would have captured all of us already,” Rarity exclaimed. “And we can’t just sit here and delay our decision—Rainbow Dash needs help!”
Scootaloo exhaled nervously. “Yeah… I know… For her sake, I guess we don’t have any other choice.” She looked to Chrysalis and nodded. “Alright… I can’t believe I’m resting the life of my friend in your hooves.”
Flake turned to Scootaloo, surprised that she chose to trust the Queen. He remained silent, and decided to stay out of it, allowing her to make the call.
“Very well.” Chrysalis’ horn lit up with a violet aura, focusing her spell on Rainbow Dash. Then she cast a jolt of magic upon the unconscious pegasus, and it concealed her in a transparent purple mesh. She exhaled a sigh and looked to the others. “It could take a few hours for her burns to heal, but she should be okay as long as she remains in her cocoon. The mesh she is concealed in will keep her at a sleeping state while it performs its healing process. This isn’t like our other cocoons, as it is more fragile and can easily tear. So it wouldn’t be wise to move her.”
“So we’re stuck here for awhile?” Scootaloo questioned the Queen.
Chrysalis nodded.
“Alright… Well, I guess you’ve got some time to explain what is going on then, now that we’re supposedly on the same page,” Scootaloo exclaimed. “However, hold that thought for the moment. Now that we’re settled, I’m turning back to get Fluttershy.” She pointed to Flake and Rarity. “You two stay with Twilight and Chrysalis until I get back.”
Flake and Rarity both nodded respectfully.
“Try not to fall in the water again,” Flake suggested.
“Heh. I’ll be back in a bit.” Scootaloo lifted off of the ground, and turned around, making her way upstream where she saw Fluttershy.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Up ahead, she noticed that Fluttershy was still perched on that rock surrounded by water. She raised a brow, still wondering why the grey pegasus wasn’t moving from that spot. It wasn’t very safe there, with rapids surrounding the small platform she was on. She got closer to Fluttershy’s platform, and landed on the rock, with Fluttershy facing the opposite direction. The rapids were loud here, and it was difficult to hear well—it’s no wonder Fluttershy didn’t notice her approach.
“Fluttershy,” she called to her. Fluttershy’s ears twitched and her head perked, and she turned around rather quickly. She had hardly any colour in her eyes, and her cutie mark was even fading. It occurred to Scootaloo that the grey pegasus must have had hardly any love left in her at all—she was drained nearly dry, and it wouldn’t have been long before the lack of love would surely kill her.
Fluttershy was terrified at the sight of Scootaloo, and she nearly had a panic attack. She gasped and stepped back. “G-get away!”
“Fluttershy,” Scootaloo said calmly, holding out her hoof. She kept an eye on Fluttershy’s footing, hoping she wouldn’t tip back and fall into the water. “I’m here to help—”
“Get away from me!!” she shrieked again, and her hind leg slipped off the rock, nearly sending her into the rapids. “Ah!” She collapsed to her haunches, making Scootaloo flinch. She stood back up, shivering and breathing fast, and her pupils were dilated from panicking.
“Fluttershy, calm down,” Scootaloo said slowly, trying to keep a low tone for the frantic pegasus. “I’m not a changeling.”
“Y-yeah right!”
“I’m Scootaloo,” she revealed to her.
“S...Scootaloo?” Fluttershy murmured, still breathing fast. “Y-you’re not Scootaloo. You can’t be Scootaloo!”
Scootaloo wasn’t sure how to convince her. The fear in Fluttershy’s eyes was still as intense as ever. She had to convince the panicking mare that she was in fact Scootaloo, or this would never end well.
“Scootaloo is a filly! You don’t know anything about my friends!” She remained cowered by the edge of her platform, and she lowered her head against the rock, sobbing. Tears rained from her innocent eyes, and she whimpered and gasped. “L-leave me alone! W-what did I ever do to any of you changelings?!”
It was understandable that she believed she was a changeling due to the circumstances. It was still unclear, however, that if Fluttershy considered her a threat… “Why won’t you fly away…?”
“Stop!” she cried, “Just stooop!”
Nibbling her bottom lip, Scootaloo took in a breath. She had an idea that might work, but she wouldn’t know for sure unless she tried it. Seeing the intense shivering fear Fluttershy was experiencing made Scootaloo feel sick to her stomach. The innocent mare wouldn’t even attack her—being that she was the element of kindness, it made sense. Taking in a breath, Scootaloo started humming a soft tune.
“W-what are you doing??” Fluttershy murmured, and then her ears perked to the familiar tune. And slowly, she began to rise from her haunches. The melody was capturing her attention.
Acknowledging that it was seemingly working, Scootaloo took in another breath, and continued whispering the melody, singing words to go with the tune. “Hush now, quiet now… Time to lay your sleepy head.”
Fluttershy’s eyes slowly widened, and her shivering slowed down. Her ears rose up, and she gradually made her way to her hooves.
“Hush now, quiet now… It’s time to go to bed.”
Scootaloo stopped and stood still, waiting. She knew Fluttershy well enough that if she tried to force her to know who she was in a more aggressive manner, she would lose Fluttershy’s trust for certain. The song was familiar to her—she sang Scootaloo to sleep with it when she was young. Slowly, the grey mare tilted her head, tears trickling from her eyes as she squeaked her name, “Scootaloo…?”
She nodded. “Yeah… I’m here to help you. I’m not going to hurt you.” She held out a hoof. “Now… Just, please, step away from the water.”
Fluttershy turned back to realize that she was inches from falling in. She was so overwhelmed with fear that she didn’t even take the river into account. She gasped and took a step away from the rapids, looking back to Scootaloo. “But you’re… supposed to be just a filly. H-how long was I in that cocoon for?”
Scootaloo was first hesitant to tell her. But she knew the truth was going to come out sooner or later, so it was best to be told now. “Ten years, Fluttershy…”
A tear gleamed in her eye, and she held a hoof to her mouth and gasped.
“I know… It was hard for me to accept, too.” When Scootaloo took a step closer to Fluttershy, the colourless mare took a step back and whimpered again. “It’ll be okay, Fluttershy. It’ll all be fine…” She held out her hoof again. “Come.”
Fluttershy eyed her from behind her dull coloured hair, still nervous and scared. Scootaloo kept her posture, holding her trusting hoof out to her, and she waited on her own time. Until, finally, Fluttershy stepped closer to her. Slowly, the frightened mare made her way closer to her at her own, cautious pace. When she was close enough to reach, Scootaloo calmly moved forward. Fluttershy flinched, but she didn’t seem to object this time. Now that she won her trust, Scootaloo wrapped her forelimbs around her shoulders, and gently hugged her.
“You’re going to be fine, Fluttershy,” Scootaloo murmured. “You’re okay.”
A soft weep, and then Fluttershy burst into tears again. She sobbed and gave into the embrace, hugging her back. Her cries were hard enough that she couldn’t bring herself to say any words.
“You took care of me all those years ago, like a mother,” Scootaloo whispered. “It’s my turn now, to return the kindness.”
Fluttershy just continued to cry, and her grey coat glowed a brilliant gold. Her colour had returned to her former yellow, and her cutie mark was bright once again.
“When I got out of my cocoon, h-he came at me so fast. I didn’t know what to do, or where to go. I was so scared!” she sobbed.
“Chitin,” Scootaloo revealed his name to her.
Fluttershy sniffled and stepped back. “He said he needed my form, and he left me on this rock… a-and he…” She gestured to her back, whimpering, “He b-broke my wings… So I couldn’t get away.”
Scootaloo’s eyes widened at that revelation. It made sense now, why she wouldn’t retreat from this spot.
“Fluttershy, I’m sorry…” she whimpered for her. “I’m here with some friends—we’re not alone. I am sure one of us can help heal you.”
“There are others?” Fluttershy murmured.
Scootaloo nodded. “Yes, though… You should know something about them.”
Fluttershy blinked nervously.
“A couple of them are, uh… changelings.”
“What??” Fluttershy gasped again, stepping back. “W-what are you talking about?!”
“It’s okay, Fluttershy,” Scootaloo tried reassuring her, gesturing with her hands to calm her down. “These changelings can be trusted. They’re on our side.”
Fluttershy’s eyes wandered, and she bit her bottom lip nervously. “How can you be so sure?”
“One of them helped me get into the hive to save the rest of you—his name is Flake,” Scootaloo exclaimed. “If he really wanted to, I’m sure he would have captured me all over again.” She sighed. “The other changeling is rather new to our group. I’m still uncertain what I’m supposed to think about her, but she seems to mean well.”
Fluttershy blinked. “Who?”
“Uh… Chrysalis.”
“The Queen?!” the frantic pegasus stepped back once again, breathing fast. “D-don’t you bring me to her!”
“Fluttershy,” Scootaloo tried reassuring her yet again, “It’ll be fine. Like I said, if they wanted to put us in cocoons, they would have done so by now.”
Fluttershy murmured and looked away, lowering her head. “I don’t know.”
“Trust me,” Scootaloo said, holding out her hand once more. Fluttershy looked to her, to see that she was smiling. “Follow me. Despite all the darkness, there is always hope for a new day. I will see to it that there will be peace again.”
Fluttershy’s ears perked to that inspiring comment.
“...Trust me?”
The golden mare’s eyes wandered for a few moments, until she looked back up to Scootaloo, and she slowly nodded.
Scootaloo let out a relieving sigh. “Good… Now, let’s get you off this rock.” She crouched down. “You don’t look too heavy, think I can carry you on my back?”
“Uhm…” Fluttershy nibbled her bottom lip, nervously. “Are you… sure it’s safe?”
“Heh, I can fly now,” Scootaloo said proudly. “I won’t drop ya.”
It took Fluttershy a few moments to warm up to the idea, but eventually she gave in. She knew she couldn’t stay here, after all. “Okay… Just be careful.”
“Of course.”
With that, Fluttershy climbed upon Scootaloo’s back, with a moment of prior hesitation. When she was ready, Scootaloo spread out her wings, and flapped them carefully to keep her balance. Fluttershy squeaked and held onto her back, keeping herself from falling. Then with a few powerful thrusts, the became airborne, and Scootaloo turned and flew downstream to meet up with the others.
“By the way…” Fluttershy said quietly, “I like your cutie mark. Congratulations.”
Scootaloo grinned proudly. “Heh. Thanks, Fluttershy.”