“Alright Scootaloo, this is it. The night you finally tell the girls the truth,” Scootaloo mumbled to herself as she paced back and forth outside the CMC clubhouse.
Scootaloo shivered, despite the warm summer air. She was not looking forward to this, but her mother had insisted she tell her friends sooner rather than later, and a weekend sleepover was as good a time as any.
Of course, it was also a good time to panic.
What if Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle freak out? she thought as she fiddled with her tail. What if they don’t believe it’s really me? What if-
Don’t worry, my little firefly, the voice of Scootaloo’s mother echoed in her mind. Your friendship with them is stronger than you think. They will not abandon you.
But what if they do? Scootaloo asked.
Please, Scootaloo. Have a little more faith in your friends, her mother replied.
Scootaloo took a deep breath and let it out.
You’re right, mom. I shouldn’t worry. I mean, if Rainbow Dash took my secret as well as she did, there’s no reason Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle won’t too! Except that I told Rainbow before the wedding and…
Scootaloo facehooved.
“Enough with the doubts, Scoots. Just get in there and do it before you lose your nerve. Again,” she mumbled to herself.
“Hey, Scootaloo! What took ya so long?” asked Apple Bloom.
Inside the clubhouse, Scootaloo found her friends waiting for her. Apple Bloom was setting up the sleeping bags and Sweetie Belle was curled up in a bean-bag with a book. She gave Scootaloo a wave before turning back to her reading.
“Sorry girls, I just had a few... family issues to work out,” said Scootaloo.
Another half-truth. How many more am I going to make before I just say it? she pondered.
Apple Bloom looked at Scootaloo with a raised eyebrow.
“Ya seem to be havin’ a lot of those lately. Is somethin’ wrong?” asked Apple Bloom.
“No, nothing like that. The royal wedding just made my mom a bit... edgy,” answered Scootaloo.
“Scoots, the weddin’ was three weeks ago,” Apple Bloom deadpanned.
Scootaloo sighed. So much for stalling. “Ok, so it’s more complicated than that. The truth is I...”
Scootaloo rubbed her legs together nervously, took a deep breath, and forced herself to speak.
“I... have something I need to tell you two,” she said.
Apple Bloom gasped, and Sweetie Belle looked up from her book.
“Don’t tell me yer movin’!” said Apple Bloom.
“No, no. Nothing like that. It’s more of a... secret that I’ve been hiding from you girls,” said Scootaloo waving a hoof.
“Whew. For a moment there Ah was scared ya were leavin’ us! So… what’s the secret? Ya have a coltfriend or somthin’?" asked Apple Bloom.
Scootaloo blinked and then facehooved.
“Really, Apple Bloom? Your first guess is a coltfriend?” she asked.
Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle shared a look.
“Your guess, not mine,” said Sweetie Belle.
Apple Bloom answered with an eye roll.
Scootaloo sighed.
“Well, it’s not that. You see, I...” she started, but she just couldn’t bring herself to continue. Instead she looked at the floor.
This is even harder to do than I thought it would be...
Scootaloo felt a hoof rest on her back.
“If it’s really that tough to tell us, then ya don’t have to. Though ah can’t promise not to bug ya till ya do,” said Apple Bloom.
Scootaloo shook her head.
“No, I do have to. Hay, I should have told you two sooner. And my mom told me I’m out of excuses because of the wedding, but...” she sighed again.
“Ya’ll are still nervous about it. Whatever it is, ah promise ah won’t think worse of ya for it,” said Apple Bloom.
“Unless you’re a serial killer,” added Sweetie Belle.
Silence fell over the clubhouse for a moment, as Apple Bloom turned to glare at her friend.
“Sweetie, where do ya come up with that trash?!” she asked.
Sweetie shrugged.
“I'm not saying she is, just that I would hold against her if she was,” she said.
Scootaloo couldn’t help but giggle despite her rising dread.
“Really Sweetie? The first thing you think of when I say I have a secret is that I’m a serial killer? Apple Bloom’s guess was dumb, but wasn’t nearly that dumb!” she said.
“Well, Rarity’s been reading a lot of weird books lately. I guess I’ve been poking through her stuff too much,” said Sweetie.
“Ah’ll say. Ah never took ya for th’ kind tah read books about space ponies,” said Apple Bloom.
Now that she mentioned it, Scootaloo noticed that Sweetie’s book was indeed a science fiction story. Unless there was some other genre she didn’t know about that had laser wielding robots on the cover.
“Oh, this isn’t my sister’s. Pinkie Pie gave it to me. She said something about how it’d be ‘enlightening’. I’ve only read a few chapters so far, but it’s really dumb. I mean, why would anypony build robots that run on peanut butter?” said Sweetie Belle.
“Huh. That’s weird,” said Apple Bloom, putting a hoof to her mouth.
“The robots or that Pinkie Pie gave her a book?” asked Scootaloo.
“Both really. But ah think we’re gettin’ off track. Don’t ya have somethin’ to tell us, Scootaloo?” asked Apple Bloom.
Scootaloo sighed once again.
“Yeah. You’re right. Ok... The truth is... I’m... I’m...” she hesitated.
Scootaloo took a deep breath, then took another one, before closing her eyes and saying: “I’m... not a pegasus.”
The room was silent for a moment.
“Uh… Scoots? Ya sure about that? Ah mean, ya have wings and all,” said Apple Bloom.
“No, I’m serious. I’m not a pegasus. I’m not even a pony!” said Scootaloo, before shoving her face into her hooves, not able to look her friends in the eye. She knew that it was only a matter of time before they figured it out now.
“So… yer some kind of winged zebra? Ah don’t see any stripes...” said Apple Bloom.
Scootaloo learned something very important that night: it’s hard to facehoof if your face is already in your hooves.
“Scootaloo, you said you wanted to tell us because of the wedding. And if you’re not a pony then... you’re a changeling?!” asked Sweetie Belle, her voice hesitant.
There it was. The sentence Scootaloo had been dreading for years. She didn’t say anything, but green flames started forming over her.
A flash later, and Scootaloo was in her true form. In front of her friends. Scootaloo heard her friends gasp. She kept her head down, waiting with bated breath to hear their reactions.
“Scootaloo...” started Apple Bloom.
Scootaloo cringed.
“Yer the weirdest lookin' changeling Ah’ve ever seen,” said Apple Bloom.
Wait... What? thought Scootaloo.
“Ah mean, ain’t changelings supposed to be black? And have holes in their legs? And have a weird fin thingy instead of a mane?” asked Apple Bloom.
Scootaloo looked up to see Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle giving her puzzled looks. She had been expecting many different responses from her friends, but that was not one of them.
It was true that Scootaloo’s changeling form was remarkably similar to her pegasus one. She was still orange, even though it was clearly a hardened shell rather than a coat. Her legs were full and hole-free. Her mane and tail, while a bit more patchy, were clearly still her usually purple style. The only really noteworthy differences were that she now had a horn, her wings now looked distinctly insect-like, her new fangs, and her barrel now had some form of purple ridge.
“Seriously?! Your friend is a changeling and your first question is, ‘Why aren’t you black?!’ Yes, my chitin is orange, but I’m still obviously a changeling!” exclaimed Scootaloo, her voice now possessing an echo.
“I don’t really see it. You look more like a unicorn with an extra shiny coat and extra pointy horn,” said Sweetie Belle with a shrug.
“Really? So there’s nothing weird about the bug wings, the fangs, or the natural click of my voice?” deadpanned Scootaloo.
“That echo thing is called a click?” asked Sweetie Belle.
Scootaloo just groaned and put her face back into her hooves.
Then it hit her.
"Wait... you two... aren’t upset?” she asked, looking hopefully back at her friends.
Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle looked at each other for a minute and shrugged.
“Nope,” said Apple Bloom.
“Not really,” said Sweetie Belle.
Scootaloo’s jaw dropped.
“S-Seriously?! You’re not mad I’ve been lying to you all this time? You’re not going to attack me after the wedding?! You’re not even going to accuse me of replacing the real Scootaloo, or something?!” she asked, her voice full of disbelief.
Apple Bloom answered by walking over the Scootaloo and giving her a hug.
“Not a chance Scoots. It makes sense why ya’d try to hide it, and we were right next to ya the whole time durin’ the wedding. We would have noticed if ya were workin’ with those bad guys,” she added.
“And if you replaced Scootaloo, why would you have told us you were a changeling in the first place? It doesn’t matter if you have feathers or not, you’re still our friend Scootaloo!” added Sweetie Belle as she joined in the hug.
Scootaloo didn’t say anything. She was too busy fighting the tears threatening to fall from her eyes and returning the hug to answer. She could taste their love for her, still as strong as had always been. It felt like a weight had been removed from her... well she had a thorax, not a chest, but the weight had definitely come off of something.
And you were worried they’d leave you, said Scootaloo’s mother over the hive mind.
You were right mom. You were right.
The hug lasted several minutes, before the three broke up. Then the questions began.
"So... why don’t you look like those other changelings from the wedding?” asked Sweetie Belle.
“That was because Chrysalis, the queen of those guys, was draining her hive of all their energy for the invasion. When we’re really hungry our chitin fades to black, our legs start rotting, and our mane and tails start falling out,” said Scootaloo.
“That’s terrible!” said Apple Bloom.
“Yes, it is. And it’s also illegal. Changeling queens are not allowed to take energy from the rest of the hive to the point that they start decaying that badly. In fact, Chrysalis broke pretty much every changeling law in the book during the invasion,” said Scootaloo.
“Changelings have laws?” asked Sweetie Belle.
“Yeah. Don’t take the form of a pony that’s still alive and healthy, don’t take love that isn’t being directed to you, don’t reveal yourself to ponies unless you’re getting married, and loads more,” answered Scootaloo.
“So... changelings don’t kidnap random ponies and take their places?” asked Sweetie Belle.
“Nope. It’s why nopony knows about us. Really hard to find a race of shapeshifters if there’s no reason to think any exist. Or at least, they didn’t until the wedding. The High Queen Council wasn’t happy about that,” Scootaloo sighed.
Sweetie Belle raised an eyebrow.
“But then what’s the point in having cocoons? Or fangs? Or, hay, disguises?” she asked.
Scootaloo shrugged.
“Just because there are laws against it doesn’t mean it’s not possible. It has to do with how we were created. It’s a bit of a long story, and it happened a REALLY long time ago,” she explained.
“Really? Just how long have changelings been around?” asked Sweetie Belle.
“Let me put it this way: Clover the Clever was a changeling,” answered Scootaloo.
Sweetie Belle put a hoof to her muzzle.
“Huh. You know, that actually makes sense. I mean, she did cast a spell of love to banish the windigoes...” Sweetie Belle trailed off, looking at Apple Bloom.
Scootaloo followed her gaze and noticed that Apple Bloom seemed a little… distracted. She kept looking around the clubhouse and playing with her bow.
Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle shared a look, before silently agreeing to put the changeling questions on hold for a bit.
“Apple Bloom? Is something wrong?” Scootaloo asked.
Apple Bloom gave a small jump.
“No! Ah just... well...” Apple Bloom stuttered.
She nervously glanced between the other two before letting out a sigh.
“Ah’ve... Ah’ve been hiding a secret too. And since ya went and told us yours, Ah reckon Ah should do the same. Ah ain’t a pony neither,” she admitted.
Scootaloo raised an eyebrow (or at least whatever a changeling would consider an eyebrow).
“Wait, are you a changeling too, Apple Bloom?!” asked Sweetie Belle.
“No... but it’d probably be better if ah was. At least then ah’d know Scootaloo would be fine with what ah am,” said Apple Bloom.
That... didn’t sound good.
“Just... just promise me ya’ll won’t freak out, ok?” asked Apple Bloom, her nervousness all too clear.
“Uh... Apple Bloom? I’m a shape-shifting bug whose race feeds on love. I think I can handle you being something other than a pony,” said Scootaloo.
“Me too,” said Sweetie Belle with a nod, “You don’t WANT to know some of the stuff I saw when I... er...”
Sweetie paused for a moment.
“Actually, you don’t want to know what I was doing then either. Just trust me, I’ll be fine," reassured Sweetie Belle.
Scootaloo and Apple Bloom gave Sweetie Belle funny looks, but decided that Apple Bloom’s secret was more important right that moment.
Apple Bloom let out another sigh. “Ok... ah’ll show ya then...”
Apple Bloom closed her eyes and slowly started undoing the knot in her bow. It was painfully clear that she was stalling. When it came off, Scootaloo blinked and...
Apple Bloom was gone.
Scootaloo blinked again and noticed that no, Apple Bloom was not gone. Her coat was just black and burnt looking (Scootaloo made a mental note to clean the clubhouse sometime soon; that last attempt at firework based cutie marks was still on the walls), and her mane now made Scootaloo’s messy changeling locks seem fashionable. Then Apple Bloom opened her eyes, revealing solid red orbs with black irises.
“So... what do ya’ll think?” Apple Bloom nervously asked, her voice sounding twisted and broken, even more so than Scootaloo’s click.
“So... you’re a shadow pony?” asked Sweetie Belle.
Apple Bloom just stared.
“What the hay’s a shadow pony?” she asked.
“Well, Rarity mentioned that evil shadow pony who took over that Crystal Kingdom place, so...” said Sweetie Belle.
“Crystal Empire, Sweetie. And I don’t think that’s an actual type of pony,” said Scootaloo.
“Even if they exist, Ah ain’t one. Ah’m a ghoul,” said Apple Bloom.
Scootaloo froze.
Apple Bloom’s a ghoul?! No… no, she can’t mean…
Calm down, Scootaloo. Check first before you say something you’ll regret. Not all ghouls have ties to our enemies, Her mother commanded over the hive mind.
“A ghoul? Isn’t that a kind of like a zombie?” Sweetie said as she put a hoof to her muzzle, snapping Scootaloo back to attention.
“They're similar, but not the same thing, Sweetie,” said Scootaloo before she turned to the ghoul.
“Apple Bloom, I need you to be a hundred and twenty percent honest with me. Have you always been a ghoul?” Scootaloo asked.
“What? No! Ah turned into one after ah ran into a town full of ‘em in the Everfree,” said Apple Bloom with a huff, her friend’s sudden confrontation putting her on guard.
Scootaloo let out a sigh of relief. She had not made friends with one of changelingkind’s enemies.
“Whew... ok, for a second there I thought you were- wait, there’s a town of ghouls in the Everfree Forest?!” Scootaloo exclaimed.
“Not anymore. It vanished the mornin’ after ah found it. Zecora says it ain’t gonna appear again for at least a couple hundred years,” said Apple Bloom with a shake of her head.
Apple Bloom then turned to face her friend, her eyes full of fear. “But never mind that. Why’d ya’ll freak out like that? Yer not upset with me about this are ya?”
Scootaloo sighed, feeling guilty for doubting her friend, even for a moment (and sending a quick thank you to her mother).
“No, nothing like that. It’s just... well, let’s just say that all-natural ghouls don’t get along with changelings. At all. But if you’re just a normal pony cursed into being one, then I for one am perfectly fine with this, and I’m sorry I freaked out. You’re still my friend Apple Bloom, undead or not,” explained Scootaloo.
Apple Bloom smiled, and tears started forming in her eyes.
“Mine too!” said Sweetie Belle before grabbing Apple Bloom into another hug.
CRACK!
Sweetie had hugged Apple Bloom a little too hard. The force caused Apple Bloom’s head to snap off and fall to the ground.
The room was silent for a moment before Apple Bloom’s head groaned.
“Ah hate it when this happens.”
After Apple Bloom pulled herself back together (which proved to be easier than it sounded), she found herself facing a wave of questions instead of Scootaloo.
“So… how long have you been a ghoul?” asked Sweetie Belle.
“About six months. Longer if ya count the two weeks Zecora was sealin’ the curse," said Apple Bloom.
“So THAT’s what you were doing! Told you, Sweetie! She didn’t go to Appeloosa!” Scootaloo cheered and gave a hoof pump.
“But what do you mean sealing it? You still look like a ghoul to me,” asked Sweetie Belle.
“Nah, Zecora just made sure Ah’m not contagious. The ghoul that got me just touched mah hoof," said Apple Bloom.
“So, how do you look normal? And keep your head from falling off all the time?” asked Sweetie Belle, “My hug wasn’t THAT strong…”
“Twilight put a spell on mah bow. Makes mah coat an’ eyes look normal while helpin’ to hold mah body together,” answered Apple Bloom.
“Speaking of which, what’s it like, moving your body parts when they’re not attached to you?” asked Scootaloo.
Apple Bloom grumbled a bit. “Ah don’t like fallin’ apart in the first place. It feels… weird. Like, well, havin’ parts not attached to mah body.”
The clubhouse was silent again while Apple Bloom’s friends gave her unamused looks.
“Well, y'all take yer head off and try to tell me what it feels like!” Apple Bloom said with a huff.
Sweetie Belle put a hoof to her muzzle and gave a hum.
Scootaloo and Apple Bloom stared at her.
“Sweetie, you can’t honestly be considering...” Scootaloo started.
“What? No! I’m just trying to imagine how it would feel. I mean, I’m not sure if my head can come off that way,” reassured Sweetie Belle.
Neither Apple Bloom nor Scootaloo were sure how to respond to that. Really, what does one say when her friend is wondering if her head is detachable?
Sweetie Belle noticed the looks she was getting.
“Uh... I was just kidding?” she said while tapping her front hooves together nervously.
Apple Bloom was not impressed. And she was starting to suspect that Sweetie was hiding something too.
“Sweetie?” she asked.
“Yes, Apple Bloom?” answered Sweetie Belle nervously.
“You ain’t a pony neither, are ya?” asked Apple Bloom.
Sweetie didn’t answer right away.
“Now that you mention it, you’re awfully calm for being the only normal pony in a room with a ghoul and a changeling,” added Scootaloo.
“Well, to tell you girls the truth... I don’t know,” said Sweetie Belle.
The clubhouse was again silent for a moment.
“Ya don’t know? How the hay can ya’ll not know if ya’ll are a normal pony or not?!” asked Apple Bloom.
“Hey! I only found out two days ago! I was hoping to find out more about myself before I told you two. Do you really think I’d pretend to be a normal pony when both of my friends aren’t?” Sweetie answered with a huff.
Yet again, the clubhouse fell silent.
“That’s... wow. Only two days? Really? ” said Scootaloo in surprise.
“Yeah... mah first few days as a ghoul were really rough. Ah’m impressed ya ain’t panickin’ about this," said Apple Bloom.
“Two days isn’t much, but it’s still a little time to work things out. Of course, I still don’t know much about myself. For all I know, I could have always been one,” Sweetie Belle answered with a shrug.
“One of what, exactly? Ah mean, if ya’ll are ok with showin’ us that is,” asked Apple Bloom.
“Yeah, it’s OK. Hay, maybe you girls can help me figure this out,” said Sweetie Belle with a wave of a hoof.
Sweetie trotted over and set her plot into the bean-bag, showing her stomach to the other crusaders. She hit her side with her hoof a few times, before there was a loud click. Then Sweetie pulled her gut open.
“AH!!” Scootaloo screamed before covering her eyes. She did not need to see this. “Sweetie! Why in Equestria would you think that would be a good idea!? You don’t have to hurt yourself to show us your secret!”
“Actually... you might wanna see this, Scoots,” said Apple Bloom.
Scootaloo peeked, and saw that Sweetie’s insides didn’t have blood, organs, or anything that could be considered flesh. The hole in her barrel revealed that her insides were made of metal and were full of wires, gears, and other weird looking things. In fact, the part of her ‘skin’ that Sweetie had pulled off looked more like an open door than a wound.
Like a switch had been flipped, Scootaloo suddenly became aware that several parts of Sweetie’s body seemed... fake. Small lines weaved across her coat, her eyes shined like they were made of glass, and her horn tip was a patch of some sort of glowing green material. It didn’t take long for Scootaloo to figure out what she was looking at.
“Sweetie... You’re a robot?!” asked Scootaloo.
“I think so. I might just be a cyborg, or something,” said Sweetie with a shrug. Her voice still sounded normal, surprisingly.
Sweetie snapped her body shut with another click. There was no sign that she had just opened herself up besides the lines dotting along her side.
“That’s weird... how come I never noticed your robot parts?” Scootaloo asked.
“That’s one of the things I actually know. I think. Pinkie said I have some kind of filter spell on me or something. Unless you know I’m a robot, you can’t really see my robotness. Or least that’s what she calls it,” explained Sweetie Belle.
“Ah know yer our dictionary and all, but Ah don’t think that’s a word, Sweetie. And how does Pinkie of all ponies know somethin’ like that?” asked Apple Bloom.
Sweetie gave a huff of annoyance.
“She’s the only pony who knows my secret aside from Rarity. And really, it’s Pinkie Pie,” she said.
“Wait a minute...” said Scootaloo, noticed Pinkie’s book again, “Is that why Pinkie give you that book? To learn more about being a robot?”
“It’s Pinkie Pie!” Sweetie exclaimed again as she threw her hooves up.
“I can’t tell whether she knows exactly what I am and isn’t telling me, or she’s making up everything she told me! I mean, she can’t seem to decide if I’m an alien, from the future, an alien from the future, or some part of an evil army of robots planning to take over the world! And that book is so stupid! How am I supposed to learn anything about myself from reading a book about peanut butter robots?! I don’t run on peanut butter! I don’t even LIKE peanut butter that much!” cried Sweetie Belle.
Sweetie took a few breaths after her rant. Scootaloo took said rant as a sign that Sweetie Belle wasn’t taking the whole being-a-robot thing as well as she was trying to make her friends think she was.
Mom? asked Scootaloo, I don’t suppose you know anything about this? I think Sweetie could use some answers.
Oh my... I’ve never seen anything like this before. I’ll ask among the other hives. Perhaps some other queen has encountered something, or rather someone, similar to your friend.
Ok, let me know if you find anything mom, thought Scootaloo.
Of course, my firefly, came the answer.
“Uh... Sweetie? Is there anythin’ ya do know about yourself?” asked Apple Bloom.
Sweetie Belle let out another sigh. “Only that my insides are made of metal and I have a ‘full-robot’ mode. I still eat, drink, and sleep like a normal pony, but I’m not. Hay, for all I know I really AM part of a plan to take over the world. I don’t even know if I’m alive...”
Before Sweetie could say anything else, she found herself being hugged this time.
“I can feel your love, Sweetie. As far as I’m concerned, you’re no less a living being than me, Apple Bloom, or anypony else,” said Scootaloo.
“And ah know for a fact that ah AM somethin’ that’s supposed tah be one of the bad guys. Even if ya’ll are part of some plan ta take over the world, ya’ll are still our friend too, Sweetie,” added Apple Bloom.
For the third time that night, the three fillies who were not really fillies fell silent, enjoying each other’s embrace. At least, until Apple Bloom realized something horrifying.
“Wait... if all three of us ain’t normal ponies, does that mean NONE of us can ever get our cutie marks?!” she asked.
“Well… Changelings don’t get cutie marks. We just... sort of chose one when we’ve found our talent. I was just going with you guys to try and figure mine out rather than to actually get the mark to prove it,” Scootaloo said as the three of them broke up from their hug.
“I’m not entirely sure, but I don’t think robots can get cutie marks. I mean, I don’t have a flank to get a cutie mark on, just metal and… whatever the hay my coat’s made of,” added Sweetie Belle.
“And since Ah ain’t alive no more, Ah can’t get one either. Ah was just tryin’ to help y'all get yours after turnin’..." stated Apple Bloom.
The club house fell silent yet again as the girls considered this news, and then Apple Bloom screamed:
“THEN WHAT THE HAY HAVE WE BEEN CRUSADING FOR!?!”