“Ugh…”
Rumble lay on the couch in the living room, staring at the ceiling. Everything felt hot all over. His head throbbed like somepony was trying their best to drill a hole in it, his arms, legs, and wings felt shivery. He felt heavier than usual, his magic was probably on the fritz as well.
The colt closed his eyes, if only to let the burning sensation in them subside somewhat. What time is it? He couldn’t remember how long he’d just lain there. He remembered eating the lunch packet that had been made for him, and the rush to the bathroom that had followed. Before that, he remembered trying to read to get his mind off his upset stomach. He remembered eating breakfast alone, because Thunderlane couldn’t show up.
And before that, he remembered the party at Chitter’s place. His stomach churned just thinking about it. All those rousettes watching him like he’d wandered into the wrong house, and Chitter’s friends, all fillies, asking him questions throughout the night. What did he like? Was he in any club? Were they supposed to know him? Was he important at all?
Not to them, apparently. They were all in recitals, or clubs, or societies, or any other fancy word for ‘bunch of snobs who think they’re better than anyone outside their own little clique’. He pushed that thought away. After all, Chitter was just like that, too. She just didn’t let that stop her from hanging out with him, or anyone else she really liked.
He licked his lips. He still had that awful bile taste in his mouth. Rumble groaned to himself and tried to turn so he’d be on his hooves again. Rainbow Dash would be checking up on him soon, she’d promised.
Just as he managed to stand up and get some of his balance and energy back, the doorbell rang. He trotted over and reached for the handle to open up. “Hey, Rainbow Da-oh.”
He was greeted not by the sight of a blue mare, but rather that of a worried-looking orange filly. Scootaloo fidgeted in place, her scooter parked right beside the doorbell. “Err, hey, Rumble. Are you okay?”
Ponies have been asking me that a lot lately. Rumble felt a jab in his stomach, but he didn’t let it show. “Yeah, I’m fine. Just a little stomach bug, that’s all.”
Scootaloo was taken aback by that. “Really? You’re sure?”
“Sure I’m sure. Why wouldn’t I be?” He kept up a nervous smile for her.
“You don’t look so good. What happened with you and Chitter?”
Rumble looked away. “Nothing happened. It was just dinner with her family.”
Scootaloo gulped. “Okay, but what’s wrong with you, then? You missed class today.”
Rumble shrugged. “Just running a fever and my stomach hurts, that’s all.”
Without warning, the girl reached out for his right arm. “Come on, you’d better come with me.”
Rumble pulled back. “Why? Where?”
“Look, it’s a long story, but you just have to trust me. There might be something really wrong with you.”
Rumble rolled his eyes. “No, I’m pretty sure I’ll be fine.”
“No, you won’t. Just please come with me, I promise it’ll be fine.”
“Scootaloo, what are you doing? What’s going on?”
Scootaloo sighed and let her head hang guiltily. “This is my fault, Rumble. I overdid it when I drained you and now you’re sick. You need to get checked out right now.”
“You think I’m sick because you drained me? No offense, but that was days ago, and you only did that once. I’ve been drained before, you know, and even changelings can’t do damage like this that fast; it takes hours at a time for weeks. Ask Master Ten.”
Scootaloo backed away, anxious but clearly relieved. “Oh. But you really don’t know what’s wrong, then?”
Rumble squeezed his wings to his sides. “Well, I kinda know?”
“What is it, then? Do you have the flu?”
“No.”
“Wing rot?”
“No.”
“Poison oak?”
“I have the trots, okay?!” Rumble blurted out. “I already told you it’s just a stomach bug, it’ll wear off by tomorrow. It’s just something I ate, that’s all.”
The penny finally dropped. “Something you ate at Chitter’s, you mean.”
Rumble sighed. “Uhuh. It’s this red fruit stuff. It’s got germs in it, but not bad ones. Well, they’re not bad all the time, but apparently they can make you sick the first time you drink it. They put it in this hollow fruit and you have to suck it out, it’s pretty gross but it’s kind of a ritual thing.”
“So you drank something you knew would make you sick? Why?”
Rumble looked to the ground. “Um, because I had to. It’s a rousette ritual, and Chitter’s a rousette. It’s something they drink if their magic is too weak, and since I don’t have any bat magic, I kind of needed it. Can’t really hang around rousettes if you don’t have any rousette magic. So I decided to drink it, and… traditionally, if you drink it, you drink all of it, even if it makes you sick. I wanted to fit in, I didn’t want to upset anyone, so I drank it.”
Scootaloo fumed. Her jaw clenched in outrage. “Well, fine! You wanna get sick over some girl, it’s your own fault. I was really worried about you!”
“Really? Why?”
A blush started appearing on the girl’s face, muddling her angry expression. “W-well, Rainbow Dash keeps telling me to hang out with you more, and I can’t do that if your girlfriend is making you sick.”
“I’m sorry, okay? I didn’t want to go in the first place, but I had to.” Rumble could feel his eyes watering, but he didn’t let any tears show, not in front of a girl.
“Because you didn’t want to upset Chitter?”
Rumble bit his lip and nodded. “Yeah. It’s complicated.”
“Whatever. See you tomorrow.” She mounted her scooter, revved up her wings, and took off, leaving the boy to ponder his mistake.
He stood there in the doorway, body flush with a fever, head pounding, and stomach just waiting for the next opportunity to torture him again.
Scootaloo is really starting to act weird. First she thinks she made me sick, then she acts jealous of Chitter. Scootaloo wouldn’t just rush off like that simply because of what I do with a girl. Scootaloo shouldn’t have any reason to think she could do more damage draining my magic, and she definitely wouldn’t be interested in me.
At least, the real Scootaloo wouldn’t.
The pieces of the puzzle fell into place once he factored in that possibility. Scootaloo could have been replaced by a changeling. The sudden aptitude in draining, the sudden interest in him, the aversion to Chitter, a rousette and as such a known enemy to changelings, it all made sense.
The only thing he couldn’t figure out was why a changeling would replace Scootaloo, or fixate on him. Ponyville had far more valuable targets, and changelings didn’t take risks with children, as far as Rumble knew. Master Ten had always stressed the importance of being able to defend against a disguised adult, since that kind of form allowed the imposters to preserve their strength. Why would any changeling give up such an obvious advantage?
His head throbbed again. Maybe he wasn’t thinking straight.
He closed the door behind him to go lie down.
Somepony knocked at the door before he got halfway. “Rumble? It’s me.”
“Rainbow Dash. Hi.” Rumble breathed a sigh of relief when he let her in.
Rainbow frowned when she saw the tension ease off the boy’s face. She waited until he closed the door and sat down on the couch. He kept his shoulders bunched up with nerves, and his wings were clenched tight. She slowly went to sit down next to him, not wanting to disturb him any more than he clearly was. “Rumble, what’s wrong? Did your brother say anything?”
Rumble shook his head. “He did, but it’s not that.”
“You want me to leave? I don’t wanna get you in trouble.”
The boy wiped his eyes to get rid of that pesky tear he’d almost shed. “No. Please don’t leave. I’ve got a problem, and I don’t know what to do.”
“Is it Chitter?”
Rumble sighed. “It’s nothing. Just something crazy, you’ll laugh.”
“No, I won’t. If Thunderlane’s upset you, or if Chitter’s said something, you can tell me.”
Rumble shook his head. “I think I’ll just go see my dad about it.”
Rainbow’s eyes went wide. “You what? It’s that bad?”
The grey colt nodded. “Yeah, it’s that bad. I think Scootaloo’s been kidnapped and replaced by a changeling.”
Rainbow let herself fall back onto the couch. “Oh. You just said that to make sure I’m the real me.”
“Not a lot of ponies know the truth about my parents. I’m sorry, I had to make sure.”
“It’s okay, kiddo.“ She ruffled his mane. “That’s really clever. But why would you think Scootaloo’s been taken? She still looks like the old Scootaloo to me, she still acts like it.”
“That’s just it: she doesn’t. Not around me, I mean. She’s doing these crazy things, it makes no sense.”
“Uhuh. Like what?”
“Well, for starters, she managed to drain me really hard when we had Defense Against Changelings. She’s got a really strong pull, she can suck out magic like it’s nothing.”
“So can your teacher,” Rainbow Dash argued. “And so can a lot of ponies with a talent for it, especially pegasus ponies. Being able to suck out magic or energy doesn’t make you a changeling, you know that. Changelings just do it more, and even they need to use spells to really hurt you. Have you seen Scootaloo cast a spell?”
“No.”
Rainbow nodded calmly and comfortingly. “Okay, so that’s not a good reason. Anything else?”
Rumble sighed. “She’s been acting really weird around me lately.”
“Weird, how?”
“Like, she sounded like she was impressed when I showed her my workout schedule. And she acts like she doesn’t just want to hang out with me to train. And then there’s the way she looks around Chitter.”
Rainbow nodded again. “Is Chitter making you feel bad?”
“No.” Rumble held his head in his hooves. “Not really. Chitter’s fine. Chitter’s great.”
“But?”
Rumble sobbed quietly. “But I had to go her place again last night and it was horrible. That red stuff, well, look at me, it made me sick.”
Rainbow nearly gasped when she heard him say that. “You drank the red stuff?”
He nodded, slowly and solemnly. “Yeah.”
“Did they make you drink it?”
“No,” Rumble lied. “I decided to. But that’s the worst part. I couldn’t talk to any of Chitter’s friends, either. I don’t have anything in common with them, and all the other rousettes there kept staring at me. But this isn’t about Chitter, it’s about Scootaloo. And Scootaloo’s started acting like me and Chitter shouldn’t be so close. It’s like she’s jealous of her or something.”
Rainbow Dash did her best to hide a grin. “Uhuh. And you don’t think that’s possible for the real Scootaloo?”
Rumble threw his hooves up in frustration. “Of course not. The real Scootaloo would only hang out with me because you told her to. And by the way, I still don’t get why you told us to hang out. I’m not getting any better with her around.”
“One thing at a time, big guy. You don’t think the real Scootaloo would be jealous of a girl who hugs you and smiles at you and kisses you on the forehead?”
“She hasn’t seen Chitter do that, but yes.”
“And of course you’d know what the real Scootaloo acts like, because you’ve known her for a long time.” Rainbow leaned in closer and raised an eyebrow.
“Well, not really, no. We only started hanging out after you told us to.”
“Then you don’t know what’s normal for her?”
Rumble sighed in defeat. “I guess not.”
“Then you can’t be sure if she’s jealous or not.” The mare smiled knowingly.
“But that’s ridiculous. Why would Scootaloo have a crush on me?”
Rainbow backed away with a chuckle. “Whoa there, big fella, nopony said anything about a crush. Maybe she just wants to spend time with you, get to know you, learn your moves a little, just be friends. That doesn’t sound too weird, does it?”
Rumble weighed it in his mind for a second. “Not really, no.”
“And then this other girl comes along, turns out you’ve been spending lots of time with her when Scootaloo’s not around, and this girl knows all about you when nopony else does. Scootaloo might get a little worried about you not being around when she wants you to be, right? I mean, just for practice.”
Rumble tilted his head left and right. “But what about Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle? I haven’t seen Scootaloo hang out with them in weeks. Isn’t that a little suspicious?”
She shrugged. “Scootaloo’s a busy girl. She’s finally learned how to fly, remember? She can hang out with me now, and you. She’s got a lot of catching up to do, but once that’s done, she’ll hang out with them again, I’m sure.”
“I guess.”
Rainbow Dash put an arm around his shoulder. “Why don’t you tell me what’s really bothering you, huh? You didn’t just come up with Scootaloo being kidnapped.”
He shrugged. “I don’t know.”
“Is it maybe you just didn’t think any girl besides Chitter would like you?”
Rumble fell silent for a while. Eventually, he just shrugged. “Maybe.”
“Well, I don’t think you have to worry about that, Rumble. You’re pretty cute, you know, and you’re a good flyer, and you’re dedicated. Lots of girls will like that, once you’re old enough.”
The boy shrugged. “I guess.”
“So is it maybe that you wanted an excuse not to talk to Scootaloo?”
Rumble grumbled. “What’s there to talk about?”
Rainbow Dash gulped. “I can think of one thing, but, err…”
“But Thunderlane told you not to butt in?” Rumble asked.
Rainbow Dash nodded. “He’s gettin’ a little angry about me talking to you. And I think you know by now how he feels about Scootaloo.”
Rumble’s heart sank. “Oh. Yeah, I guess he would tell you to stop.”
“He did. And I told him he was wrong, and that as a Weather Patrol captain it’s my job to make sure every young flyer in Ponyville is safe. I am supposed to look after you, you know that. It’s my job, just like it’s Cheerilee’s job or Twilight’s job. But if you don’t want our help, you’re the one who has to tell us. Thunderlane doesn’t like me talking to you. Do you?”
Rumble nodded quickly. “Yes, please. I need help. What am I supposed to say?”
Rainbow took a deep breath to steady herself. “The truth about you and Chitter.”
The boy groaned. “That’s just silly.”
“I don’t know, is it? If you’re going to start hanging out with ponies, sooner or later they’re gonna want to know what’s going on with you. Cheerilee’s been asking me for months, and Pinkie Pie’s got a whole file on you. I don’t know how much longer I can keep distracting her.”
“It’s Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash.”
“Okay, maybe you’re in the clear from her. But haven’t your friends asked about it, too?”
“Lance and Featherweight have, sure. But I can’t just tell them. I mean-”
“I know, Rumble, I know. I understand, really. But bottling things up like you’re doing is never going to work, not in the long run. Don’t you think maybe Scootaloo’s just curious about you? Don’t you think it’s worth trying to see if she’s okay with it?”
He groaned. “Maybe. But what am I supposed to do? It’s not like I have a crush on her, or if she’s got one on me.”
“Of course you don’t; you’re too young for that kind of sappy stuff. But maybe you could just open up once, tell her the truth so it doesn’t hang over the two of you when you fly together. Assuming you want to fly together.”
Rumble thought it over for a second. “I do. I’m tired of flying alone. And Featherweight doesn’t have my wing power yet, he doesn’t even try. Scootaloo’s the only pony around here I can talk to about that. I mean, besides you. Why couldn’t she just be another boy? I wouldn’t be in this mess if she was.”
Rainbow Dash chuckled. “Maybe you wouldn’t, but she is a girl, and you can’t change that, and neither can she. You shouldn’t have to avoid her just because she’s girl. Just tell her the truth, I’m sure she’d understand. And besides, tomorrow’s the best day of the year to do it. Thunderlane’s gonna be out of town then, he won’t be able to stop you. Just get it off your chest, just once, see how it feels. What do you say?”
Rumble sighed. “If I tell Scootaloo, do you promise to give us both a flying lesson? For real?”
“You mean the two of you together? At the same time?”
He smiled. “Wouldn’t be fair if it wasn’t.”
“Deal.” She extended her hoof for him to shake. “And no more talk about Scootaloo being kidnapped, okay? You’re going to give yourself nightmares.”
“Yeah, you’re right. I don’t know what I was thinking. Maybe it’s just the fever talking.” Rumble groaned, along with his stomach.
Rainbow Dash smiled and patted him on the head before rushing to the kitchen. “Say no more. I’ll fix you up some soup that’ll get the grey out of your cheeks.”
“My cheeks are always grey, Rainbow Dash.”
“Then it’ll make’em a livelier grey. You just lay back and relax.”
Rumble did just that and thought of what to say tomorrow.
He’d have a lot of explaining to do.