BZZZT! BZZT! BZZT!
How do I keep forgetting to shut this stupid thing off? It's summer. I don't need an alarm to wake me up early. Especially when I didn't sleep very well. I could tell I was tossing and turning all night. Why, I can't remember. Too tired to think at the moment. Had to turn off this stupid alarm first.
I reached my hoof out to hit the snooze button. Stopping the noise will at least give me the chance to think. I kept moving it around, but I couldn't feel the clock anywhere. Where was that thing? I kept inching myself further away from the center of the bed, but I still couldn't hit the clock. Where in the hay was it? My eyes hadn't completely opened yet, so I didn't think about how far away I was. I managed to hit the snooze button, but victory was cut short when my face hit the floor right after.
WHUMP!
Ow. At least I was out of bed now.
Weird. It felt like my nose hit the floor later than it should have. It didn't feel broken, but maybe I oughtta check the mirror first. You can be hurt without realizing it for a while. Had that happen way too many times to not know that fact. I hope I didn't smash in my face. I don't wanna be stuck with a messed up nose for the whole summer.
My energy was slowly returning. Just enough to crawl over to the mirror on my desk. I didn't think about the fact that my hooves felt softer on the floor or the fact that I was using the knees on my hind legs. I just wanted to make sure I wasn't bleeding. Mom said she'd be out by the time I woke up, so I'd have to go to the doctor by myself if that was the case. I pulled myself up to my chair and looked at the mirror.
The fall from my bed woke me up, so I couldn't possibly be dreaming. How I wish I was. It wasn't me that I saw in the mirror. Well, it kinda was, but it kinda wasn't at the same time. My mane and eyes were still the same color, but my face was all flat and my nose was smaller. I jumped at the sight of it, causing my chair to lean back...and fall over with me on it.
BA-DA-THUMP!
Ow. Falling on the floor twice in the first ten minutes of waking up. Great way to start the day, Scootaloo.
But what the heck was that? I had to look again. I went over to the mirror and looked closely. Definitely not dreaming and definitely not crazy. At least, I hope not. I reached out to the mirror and noticed my hoof wasn't a hoof anymore. Now, it was like some sort of claw. It had the shape of a claw (more like a bear's than a griffin), and moved like a claw, but the nails were too short to cut anything and the ends felt soft and squishy. Not quite claws but I didn't know what else to call them.
Next was my face. I felt it to see if it was real, and I didn't feel my coat. I should have guessed I was hairless by the fact I wasn't orange anymore, but I was this very light brown color, like toasted bread. This color was all over my body, so I guess my whole body was hairless, except for my purple mane. I felt my mane and realized my ears were now round and at the sides of my head instead of on top. My neck was shorter than it used to be, and my shoulders came out to a point where you could see them. This whole body felt freaky, but everything felt like it belonged where it should. But what about...I turned my barrel to get a look at my back and-
MY WINGS! MY WINGS WERE GONE! So was my tail! It was just a smooth slide all the way down to my hind legs. I stopped thinking about that when I realized something else important. I was standing on my hind legs this whole time! The bottoms looked almost like a griffin's hind paws, but these were flat on the ground rather than just on the the tips. I set the chair back up and sat down on it so I could take a closer look at these things.
I brought one up as much as I could, which wasn't easy, seeing as how my hind legs were longer than they were before. Just like my claws, the bottom was squishy and the nails were dull and short. I could move them just a little bit, but not much. I put it back down and looked at the mirror.
Just what was I now? Everything familiar was still where it should've been, but it didn't look like anything I had seen before. What was thing even called? I had claws and paws like a griffin, but I didn't have wings or a tail or fur, so I wasn't a griffin. I wasn't a bear or anything I might have seen in the forest, so that was out. I didn't even know how I got like this! I wasn't messing around with any magic and we've been told to stay away from Discord just in case he had something planned. So what was the deal? It was too early to be dealing with all this, but even if I went back to bed, I wouldn't be able to go back to sleep. Not like this.
I didn't really think about it, heading into the kitchen, but it was actually really easy to walk on my hind legs. Maybe it's because I've seen Spike do it so many times that I learned how just by being around him? Either way, it's neat to have this view. I supported myself with the wall so I wouldn't fall over, and managed to make it into the kitchen.
"Hello?" I called out. No answer. Yup, Mom's out already. In this case, I'm thankful. I'd hate to think what would happen if she saw me like this. I noticed a note on the counter, weighed down by an apple.
Scootaloo,
Gone to work a little earlier today since someone called out sick. I won't be out until sundown. We'll go out to eat for dinner, I promise!
- Mom
That's been a once-a-week thing for a while, Mom. Why do you keep needing to tell me? Oh, well. At least this gives me some time to figure out what happened to me and maybe how I might be able to change back. Maybe I can convince Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle to come over and help me figure this out. I just they don't freak out too much over...wait, there's more on the note.
P.S.: I called over a friend to keep you company while I'm gone. I told them to be over before noon. Behave yourself now!
A friend? Just who is she talking about? This puts a dent in my plans. How are they gonna react if they see me? It was still early, so maybe I could come up with some sort of disguise and pretend I'm sick for the day. I won't be able to call the girls here, but at least I'll have the time to-
CRREEAAK
Shoot! No time for that! I hid behind the counter and watched the door as it opened. Of course Mom gave them a key. I've been sleeping in a lot lately since it's summer, so she probably didn't want them waiting at the door for a long time. But who did she invite? I looked and my eyes turned wide as I saw a mane of different colors.
"Hello?"
Rainbow Dash?! Mom invited Rainbow Dash to look after me? How'd she even do that? That's so cool, Mom! I could- No! Wait! This is bad! This is worse! Of all the ponies to come here and see me like this, it had to be my hero. I kept out of sight. Maybe I can get around her, grab a blanket and pull my sick act.
"Huh. Guess the tyke's still in bed," I heard Rainbow Dash say and start trotting to the hallway. Darn, right where I needed to go, too! Okay, plan B: The laundry room ought to have something to disguise me, but it's on the other end of the living room. If I can just sneak my way there, I can do this. I stepped carefully, paying attention to Rainbow Dash's movements, but not to the stool I bumped into and knocked over.
KA-KLACK! I swear, everything sounds louder when you're trying to be sneaky.
"Who's there?" Rainbow Dash turned around, quick as a flash. Well, that was it. Game Over. I stood up with my claws in the air, because she sounded like she would have attacked me if I didn't show myself.
"Wait, Rainbow Dash! It's me!" I shouted.
"What the...?" She walked closer to me and took a long look at my face. "Scootaloo?"
"Yeah...it's me," I answered, putting my claws down. "I'm freaky, aren't I? You can say it."
"Are you kidding me?" Rainbow Dash laughed. "You look...AWESOME!" She flapped the tips of her wings in excitement.
"What?"
She started looking all over my new body. "This looks so cool! Are these claws? You're so tall! You think I can do this? How'd you do it?"
"I don't know," I answered the last question she asked. "I woke up in this body. I was racking my brain trying to figure out how this happened when you came in."
"Really? Weird." She rubbed her chin. "Well, there has to be something. Ponies don't just turn into...whatever this is...for no reason. This never happened to me, and I've been in pretty weird situations."
"So you don't have a clue, either," I sighed and sat down on the couch. "What if there's no way to turn back, and I'm stuck this way forever? I can't go outside like this. Everypony who sees me would run scared."
"Come on, Scoot! There's no reason to start thinking the worst," she said. "I'm sure there's an explanation for this somewhere...I'm just no good at this myself. But you know who is?"
"Who?"
"Twilight, of course!" Rainbow Dash smiled. "If there's anything to be known about magic, and I know magic's gotta be at the bottom of this, then that egghead will know it."
"You really think so?" I asked.
"Hey, there hasn't been a problem that's come along that she hasn't been able to solve," she boasted. "We'll have you back to normal by sundown. Just watch."
I still wasn't totally sure. But if Dash says that Twilight will be able to help, then I should believe her. "Alright," I nodded.
"Good. I'm gonna make you some breakfast, and then I wanna see what you can do with this body of yours," she said as she walked to the kitchen.
After eating, (Rainbow Dash is surprisingly good at cooking) we came out to the backyard of the house. There were walls, so most ponies couldn't see us. I worried more about any pegasi that might be passing by, but Dash assured me that most pegasi pay more attention to where they're going than what's on the ground.
"So what are we going to do?" I asked her.
"Well...while you're like this, maybe you'd like to see just what you can do with it." Rainbow Dash picked up the red rubber ball I like to play with and held it in her hoof. "Even if you can't fly, there's gotta be something you can do that nopony else can."
"If you say so," I replied.
"That's the spirit!" She smiled. "Heads up!" With that, she tossed the ball up in the air towards me. Without even thinking about it, I jumped and knocked it back with my head. Well, that still felt the same, at least.
"How's that? That didn't hurt at all!"
"Good!" Dash said after she caught the ball. "Now let's see you use those new limbs of yours. Try catching the ball!" She bounced the ball off her head and sent it in my direction. I held my claws out and thought about how Spike grabbed on to things. Before I knew it, I caught the ball and was holding with every talon spread out across it.
"Hey, I did it!" I cheered.
"Attagirl, Scoot!" Rainbow Dash grinned. "Now try bucking it!"
"Okay!" I looked down at my hind legs. It felt so...different to see them bend the way they did it, but the basic idea should still be the same, shouldn't it? I let the ball bounce a couple of times off the floor before finally swinging my leg forward and hitting the ball with the paw. I think I might've hit it a little too hard, since Dash jumped out of the way.
"Woah!" She dodged the ball and let it hit the wall behind her. "I didn't think it would go that fast. At least we know your kicks are just as powerful."
"Thanks, Rainbow Dash!" I smiled.
"Okay! Let's see what else you can do!"
We spent time passing the ball to each other, with me hitting it back in different ways. I tried swinging at it with my foreleg, hitting it off my knee, my chest, and my flank. She tested how fast I could run by throwing it in a different direction. I haven't had this body for more than a couple of hours, but it already felt like I was always like this. I wasn't thinking about how to move in this compared to how I moved as a pony. Maybe Rainbow Dash was trying to get me used to it by playing with me. I'd say it worked.
"See, Scoot?" Rainbow Dash said as we came back into the house. "Having this body isn't all bad. You can still do a lot of things. So long as you're not having trouble moving around, things will be just fine."
"Thanks," I replied. "But what about..." I looked at my back at where my wings should have been. It still felt weird not to have them or my tail. I know I can't fly yet, but I would have liked to fly eventually.
"Just hang tight, okay?" Rainbow Dash put her hoof on my shoulder. It was still something to be almost at eye-level with her. "We'll get Twilight, and we'll work on this all day if we have to."
"Right. I'd hate to go out looking like this, though," I said looking down at myself. I might be fine with it now, and I know Rainbow Dash and her friends will be okay with I, but what about the rest of the town? The panic this would cause would probably be worse than the parasprites! "Think we can find a disguise or something?"
"Hmmm...I don't think anything you have is gonna fit." Dash rubbed her chin. "How about Rarity? I'm sure she'd be excited to try to make something for you. Celestia knows she's just itching to try something new."
"Sounds like a plan," I agreed. "Maybe I can talk with Sweetie Belle, too."
"Okay, let me get her on the horn," Dash snickered at her own joke and grabbed the phone. After a couple of rings, Dash smiled. "Hey, Rares, it's Dash! There's a bit of an emergency and I need your help! You see, I...oh, sorry...I was asked by Scootaloo's mom to look after the kid. But when I got here, she looked...different. Like...walking on two legs, hairless and-"
I heard a great "WHAT?!" come from the phone, making me jump. After jerking the phone back, Dash brought it back to her ear.
"I know it sounds weird, but she actually doesn't look...huh?...Seriously?!...Yeah, me too. Okay, I'll tell her and we'll be there right away." After that, she hung up the phone.
"Tell me what? What's going on?" I asked, trying my best not to panic.
"Okay, get on my back and I'll tell you on the way."
I hopped on Rainbow Dash's back and clung onto her neck. After stepping outside and with a great flap of her wings, we were up in the air. The wind whipping past me was very chilly, and without my coat, I noticed.
"Do we have to fly so high?" I asked Dash.
"Sorry, Scoot, but we can't risk anyone on the ground seeing you," she explained. "It's a short trip to Rarity's through the air, so we won't be long."
"Alright, so are you gonna tell me what happened?"
"Right. Sorry. When I told Rarity what happened to you, she said that the same thing had happened to Sweetie Belle!"
"Really?!" I was utterly shocked. I'm not the only one?