Scootaloo awoke, startled briefly by her surroundings. She was almost certain that Luna had blessed her with a very impressive dream. When the sun arose this morning however; she found her night light still glowing faintly in the corner of her room, her bed still as invitingly soft as it had been last night, and she was no longer in a large room occupied with other sleeping colts and fillies. Her room, she still liked the way that sounded, even more so now that she knew this wasn’t a dream.
She climbed out of bed, her small wings buzzing a bit as she landed on the carpet that her parents had been wise enough to place on the hardwood floor beside her bed. It muffled the sound of her hooves hitting the wood, lessening the chance of her waking them up unintentionally if she got up in the middle of the night.
Scootaloo quietly approached her parent’s room, peeking in once she was close enough. They were still there, Cloudchaser-no, her mom, was on the left side of the bed, making her the more visible of the two ponies beneath the covers. A large blue wing lay draped over her protectively, its size and color were pretty easy to place to Dan-her dad. She bit her bottom lip to keep from screaming excitedly, a broad smile stretching across her muzzle.
She watched as her mom shifted beneath her dad’s wing, rolling over to face him. Scootaloo could hear soft whispers coming from them, accompanied by occasional quiet laughter. Before she realized it, she was walking into their room, approaching the bed as they continued their hushed conversation.
The filly reared up on her hind legs, placing her forehooves against the mattress for support. Her big purple eyes barely peeked up over the top as she strained to see what her new parents were up to. Pressing her hooves against the mattress seemingly caused enough disturbance to bring her mother’s laughter to an end.
Cloudchaser rolled over beneath the sheets, prompting her mate to rise up slightly above her. Needless to say, both parents were a bit shocked to see two purple eyes staring back at them. For a moment Scootaloo thought she might have done something wrong.
"H-hi." Scootaloo said. From her parent's point of view only the top part of her head bobbed a bit as she uttered her greeting, her purple mane bouncing slightly.
---
I had been warned by my mother that one day I would know the pain of being walked in on by a child. While I'm sure she never thought that child would walk on all fours and have wings, the effect was still the same. What redeemed the moment however; was seeing those big purple eyes stare back at me so innocently. Even if I had been mad, I don't think I would have stayed that way.
"Hey Scoots, how'd you sleep?" I asked, stretching my wings out a bit.
"Okay." Scootaloo replied nonchalantly, her head tilting slightly to the right as she spoke.
I heard Cloudchaser giggle lightly, as she tucked her hind legs beneath her before hoisting Scootaloo up onto the bed with us. It shouldn't have surprised me that she would be good with the filly, having foal sat for Rumble, and possibly a few others, must have had an influence on her.
Scootaloo giddily snuggled up beside Cloudchaser, a wing wrapping around her as she got comfortable. The sight nearly stopped my heart from the overwhelming level of cuteness coming from the duo next to me. It also made me feel…proud, but not in an arrogant way, just happy to call Scootaloo my daughter, and Cloudchaser would soon be my wife. Another part of me silently dared the world to try and harm them; I wouldn’t let anything happen to my family, even if it killed me.
“You okay?” Cloudchaser asked, pulling me from my thoughts.
“Yeah, just enjoying my morning with the prettiest mare, and coolest filly.” I replied.
“Sappy.” Scootaloo quietly whispered to Cloudchaser, causing the pair to laugh.
“Yeah, he can be,” the mare agreed, turning to face me. “But that’s what I like about him.”
I shared a brief nuzzle with Cloudchaser, not wanting to get too personal with Scootaloo present. I couldn’t have asked for a better way to wake up than in the company of my family, but all good things must come to an end, and the sound of my daughter’s rumbling stomach was the sign that told me it was time to move on with the day. Speaking of which, I was pretty surprised Rainbow Dash hadn’t barged in by now, blowing her whistle to get my ass up.
“Well, I’d say it’s breakfast time.” I stretched one last time before hovering over the mother, daughter combo beside me. No sooner had I landed, I felt a warm body on my back. I smiled, knowing who it was without asking. As I headed towards the door, my passenger’s wing’s buzzing happily for a few seconds, I turned when I didn’t hear Cloudchaser following us.
“You okay babe?” I asked, noticing what I thought was a brief look of pain on her face before it faded upon addressing her.
“Yeah, I’ll be there in a sec.” Cloudchaser replied with a reassuring smile.
I shrugged and continued towards the kitchen, still expecting Rainbow Dash to show up at any moment. I was impressed by her lacking presence when I made it all the way to the kitchen without being tackled, or yelled at by the cyan mare.
I sat down suddenly, causing Scootaloo to slide off my back. As much as I’m sure I would come to enjoy our time together, a chef needs his back passenger free, for mobility reasons.
Scootaloo didn’t stick around long, the appeal of a good video game being much more interesting than watching me make breakfast. I smiled a little as I heard the game’s title theme; I was already turning out to be the best influence ever. I had this parenting thing in the bag, though to be fair, the whole diapers phase had been skipped entirely, and Scootaloo was an awesome foal.
I heard heavier hoof falls coming from behind me, Cloudchaser's. I felt confident I could distinguish hers from a thousand other ponies if I had to. I turned to see a smile on her muzzle, but something about her eyes told another story.
"Cloudchaser, are you sure everything's okay?" I asked, ignoring the sizzling of eggs for a moment.
"Yeah, I'm fine, really. Just a little sore is all...nothing too hard for me this morning, okay?" Cloudchaser replied in a hushed voice.
"Yeah, no problem. Just don't pull a me and keep things to yourself, okay?" I offered her my best supportive smile.
"I think Equestria would be in trouble if somepony tried acting just like you," Cloudchaser laughed, giving me a quick kiss.
“So, they stuck you with weather duty on a Saturday?” I asked.
“Yeah, I kind of owe Cloudkicker for picking up some of my time for me. Without her, somepony might not be here right now,” Cloudchaser tilted her head towards the filly in front of the T.V, too preoccupied to listen in on what was being said. “That, and I try to get in as much time as I can before we all get called back to the Wonderbolt Academy again.”
“Makes sense, I guess. You guys have a pretty wacky schedule though.” I chuckled.
“Speaking of, you’re getting signed up buster,” Cloudchaser said. “I know you have training to do, but this would be for registry purposes.”
“That doesn’t….but why?” I felt my ears droop a bit in confusion.
“Don’t shoot the messenger,” Cloudchaser shrugged. “It’s just something all pegasi have to do.”
“Fine, I need to talk to Rainbow Dash anyways. I’ve been expecting her to barge in here all morning…I’m kind of worried about her to be honest.” I said.
“I’m sure she’s fine, she just “sleeps in” occasionally.” Cloudchaser winked, trying to be as subtle as possible.
I’m going to hope she means what I think she thinks I thinks she means, and not something else…I think. I thought to myself.
---
“Dash, you okay in there?” I called out through the cloud door. Oddly enough, it was solid enough to knock on…for a pegaus anyways.
Nopony around town had seen her out and about, zipping above the sky in her usual lightning fast style. It was odd to me, she always came off as a pretty earlier riser to me, unless…uh oh.
With a little extra umph behind my shove, I forced the door open. Forced open is a poor choice of words though, more like caused the chair that was against the door to topple over. She was too damn lazy to bother locking her own door, really?
The inside of Rainbow’s house looked like what you would expect of a jockey college student from Earth, minus the clothes draped over the couch, and the “trophy” wall was thankfully lined with actual trophies. To top things off, the scent of alcohol was heavy in the air, giving me a pretty good idea of what happened to the mare.
I didn’t have to look too hard to find her. A cyan lump lay stretched out across the couch, one wing touching the warm cloud floor, given her odd position. I sighed as I remembered that ponies reacted differently to alcohol. Instead of getting a hangover, or getting drunk, they just got a little dopy and it sent them to sleep. I knew this first hoof through experience.
“Dash…Dash…” I gently poked the mare in the side.
“The doctor stole the bits, I swear…” Rainbow Dash mumbled.
“Did he now?” I asked, placing a hoof over her nose.
She grunted and snorted, flailing a bit as she tried to rid herself of the obstruction on her nostrils. Finally she opened her eyes and darted up towards the ceiling, albeit a bit unsteadily.
“D-Daniel? What are you doing here?” she asked, finally landing.
“Well, I’m kind of anxious to know what happened to the doctor now, but I originally flew up here to check on you, and get registered. Not that it’s not great to see you and everything.” I replied.
“Oh, heh, can we do that tomorrow maybe?” Rainbow Dash asked, climbing onto the couch once more before falling back down in her original position.
I rolled my eyes, sure Dash was a big mare and could make her own decisions, but for being so gung-ho about training, she certainly had a strange way of showing her enthusiasm. I was tempted to drag her outside by her tail, but I valued my life too much.
“Did you force your way in?” Twilight asked, her sudden presence startling me.
“Her door wasn’t even locked, she just props something up against it.” I replied, pointing to an overturned table chair.
“Huh, interesting…anyways, I need to borrow you, for reasons.” Twilight said.
“Just shut the door on your way out…” Rainbow trailed off drowsily.
Twilight giggled to herself at her friend’s behavior. I found it a bit irritating, but knowing Rainbow Dash, she’d be back on her hooves, bright eyed and bushy tailed tomorrow.
“Shall we?” Twilight offered.
---
“So, this is it then?” I asked, looking down into a small open box.
“Yes, essentially you have two essences flowing through you. One Discord put in you, while the other is the one you were born with,” Twilight explained. “You look, and feel like a pegasus because I made your human essence repressed. It’s still in you, just dormant to a degree.”
“So this is why you had me hold that stone to my forehead for fifteen minutes?” Isabella asked.
“Pretty much.” Spike replied.
“When you wear this, it will bring your human essence to the surface, effectively changing your form…in theory.” Twilight mumbled nervously.
“Theory, oh boy.” I sighed.
“This is the only way. I’m afraid that anything else might fracture what humanity you have left, or outright kill you,” Twilight’s tone was a bit on the defensive side. “At least have the courage to give it a try. We’re here if something goes wrong.”
I looked to my sister who nodded in confirmation. I knew she wouldn’t leave me, and she had been upset about this in the beginning, though it had turned out for the better in the long run. Still, the thought of seeing my old self once again was extremely tempting, one that I opted to respond to. Besides, I was in the comfort of my home, nopony else would see me if things went wrong.
“Wouldn’t this have a negative impact on all the progress I’ve made with Lean Streak?” I asked.
“It shouldn’t, I took that into consideration. I wouldn’t have even brought this up if there was a chance it would affect you negatively in some way. Trust me, I did my research.” Twilight replied.
“Okay, let’s give it a try.” I said.
Twilight smiled as the necklace levitated out of the small box. It disconnected at the back by some kind of magnet, which made sense. It’d be hard to handle a small clip without fingers since I was still lacking them.
I took the necklace in my hooves, the purple aura around it dissipating. Hesitantly, I wrapped it around my neck, a click indicating that it was secure. Without warning, the stone in the center seemingly glued itself to my front. I looked to Twilight for answers for this unexpected action, feeling nothing out of the ordinary, yet.
“Give it a minute.” Twilight said, her eyes fixated on the accessory that was suppose-oh God!
I doubled over as a sudden shockwave of pain surged through my body. I watched through squinted eyes as the floor started to retreat from me. This was nothing compared to the sensation of having all of your muscles being put to sleep, only to come awake all at once. My vision started to swim from the rising pain as bones popped and reshaped themselves. A blinding light surrounding me, my ears ringing painfully.
Eventually my hearing returned, the sound of voices that sounded like they were under water being the first thing to grab my attention. Soon, I regained my sight, at which the image of…fingers, stirred my mind from its fuzzy state. I tried to move them, which took a bit of effort as I became reacquainted with old, familiar muscles.
“How do you feel?” Twilight asked, stepping into my field of view.
“…heavy.” I replied, trying to hoist myself up on my elbow, only to fall.
“How long does this spell reversal last?” Isabella asked.
“As long as he wears the necklace. I’m just relieved it didn’t leave any lasting side effects.” Twilight sighed.
“So it could have done something to me.” I deadpanned.
“Would you have tried if I told you there might be a slight…problem?” Twilight asked, pulling the towel thrown over my torso down slightly.
“Hey!” I fussed grabbing at the fabric only to have my hand swatted away.
“Stop being a foal.” Twilight scolded as she slowly slid the fabric down to barely expose my thigh.
There, just barely exposed by the light of the room was my cutie mark. I was a human though; humans didn’t have marks magically appear on their skin. In fact, an injury I sustained as a pony was healed when I changed back into a human once, so a cutie mark shouldn’t still be branded on my body.
"Well, that was unexpected, and kind of underwhelming actually." Twilight mused jotting down a quick note.
“It looks like you got to keep your butt picture.” Isabella chuckled.
“Fantastic…” I said sarcastically, trying to stand.
I stumbled forward into a safety net of Twilight’s magic. I tried to let muscle memory take control, feeling like a toddler learning to walk.
“It’s all in the hips…I know a pony that could help with that.” Isabella smirked.
“Not helping…” I mumbled.
“I think he needs time to adapt. He’s trying to use muscles on a frame that isn’t natural to him anymore.” Twilight said, helping me over to the bed, which was now the right size instead of being too big, and quite spacious, for Cloudchaser and myself.
“I’m fine, I just need-“
“Rest,” Twilight interrupted with an almost motherly tone. “Trust me, just leave it on for the rest of the day, and take it off before you fall asleep tonight.”
“Fine…” I pouted.
“It’s good to have the old you back.” Isabella smiled, it was a smile I hadn’t seen in a long time, a genuine one.
“I never left.” I grinned as Twilight ushered her and Spike out of the room.
“Rest, I mean it.” Twilight said sternly.
“Yes mom.” I snickered.
My laughter died quickly as I brought my left hand into view. I had to focus to flex my fingers, much like I once had to do with my wings as a pegasus. I was once again caught between two worlds, the one I was born into, and the one I now belonged in, had a family in.
Phantom tingles from imaginary wings on my back registered with my muddled brain from time to time. Twilight had pulled off the ultimate switcheroo to make me a pegasus, to the point that being human was as foreign to me now as it had been to be a pony when I was still a human.
It was an impressive, but scary accomplishment, one that had saved my life. I idly rubbed the gem in the middle of the necklace, its soft blue glow occasionally stealing my attention. So what now? Was I just supposed to go back to being a human and forget about all of this? I mean, that is what I had originally wanted, a part of me had craved it. Cloudchaser had really thrown a wrench in all of that though, in a good way.
I was happy to be back to my old self. Though if I wanted to get technical, the pegasus was now my old self. This was just an illusion, an elaborate one, but an illusion all the same. A small stone was giving my humanity form. It was a bit hard to take, that the spell mishap had damaged me so badly, beyond the physical realm.
I closed my eyes with a loud sigh. This wasn’t a decision for me to make alone, and honestly I didn’t know what to do; I needed expert advice. At least, she considered herself the expert between us. I knew I wanted to settle things with Thunderlane, but after that was said and done, what was I going to do with myself?
I let my thoughts slip away to exhaustion, believing a power nap would provide answers. Wishful thinking perhaps, but it was worth a shot.
---
Cloudchaser smiled as she took care of the last stray cloud. A family would be waiting for when she got home, not just a stallion that loved her and the upside down world she sometimes brought with her.
Scootaloo was proving to be pretty well behaved. As much as she didn’t want to draw conclusions, she couldn’t help but accredit it to not having a family for so long and trying to impress them. Cloudchaser wanted her to be herself, not something she wasn’t, she knew for a fact no filly or colt was perfect, and those pretending to be would drive themselves crazy.
She put that conversation towards the back of her mind for later as she landed in front of her door. Cloudchaser had been a bit hesitant about moving in with Daniel at first, but after the first night back, she just kind of lost the will to leave him. Not because he was the best or most attractive stallion, but that was the magic of the bond, fate does funny things to a pony. Now she had grown accustomed to the big house and the bed that could fit Celestia comfortably. Not out of luxury, but of necessity, well it had been out of necessity once.
Cloudchaser opened the door, the snores of her stallion making her smile. Scootaloo was nowhere to be seen, leading her to believe she was still out with her friends. She assumed Rainbow Dash had worked with him a little, even though it was a late start this morning. The mare quietly made her way to their bedroom, hoping to check up on him without waking him up. It was an endeavor she nearly failed when she saw what was laying on the bed.
Cloudchaser managed to cover her mouth with her hoof in time, preventing a rather loud gasp from escaping. She knew who it was by his scent, Daniel. Still, seeing him in a form she thought had been lost to him was quite a shock.
She quietly flew over to the bed, gently landing on the mattress with little to no bounce. Cloudchaser observed the human up close now, taking in his bare form. She had seen him before, but never without his shirt on, or…no, she wouldn’t do that to him, not yet anyways. Her attention was now drawn to the necklace he wore.
Cloudchaser moved her hoof in to touch it, only to gasp in surprise as five fingers gently wrapped around her foreleg before she could. Her eyes met his, though they were smaller now. They had a mysterious look to them now, but she could still feel the same gentle presence as another hand cupped her muzzle.
“Hey…” Daniel said quietly.
“Hey, big guy.” Cloudchaser smiled.
The mare slowly climbed onto his chest, looking down at the human with a warm expression. She felt those hands slowly travel to her back and along her neck. Cloudchaser knew what was coming, and sighed happily as she felt the beginnings of a head and ear scratch session. She smiled dopily, resting her head against his body as the glorious massage continued. Any feelings of worry or stress were melting away at his touch.
“Mmm, how long does this last?” Cloudchaser asked giddily.
“As long as I wear this, supposedly,” her mate replied. “Do you really enjoy this that much?”
“Sweet Celestia yeesss….” Cloudchaser sighed, stretching out across him. “I could go to sleep just letting you do this…”
“You’re a silly pony.” Daniel said, as her head flopped to the side, her ear fell over his heart.
Her smile grew wider as she listened to its steady rhythm. It wasn’t like a pegasus’ heart, it was slower and seemed more peaceful. There was a time when she would have been terrified to get this close to him. Now, she almost felt safer than when he wrapped his wings around her. Even though he was much taller than her, she knew he wouldn’t hurt her. The instinct to flee from the clutches of a larger being were silent.
Cloudchaser opened her eyes, breaking free of the ear scratch induced euphoria to stare at Daniel. She felt the massage slow down, his hands settling in only to rub, and occasionally play with her ears. There was a confused look on his face, one that made Cloudchaser smile as she continued to stare at him.
“What’s on your mind?” Daniel asked, stroking her mane.
Cloudchaser had to know, if their bond went beyond physical form. The mare was taking a rather large leap of faith as she repositioned herself to where her muzzle was inches from his lips. His hand slowly caressed her cheek, applying a little pull as he brought his lips against hers.
Cloudchaser cooed in delight, melting against him as his arms slid around her. Her tail swished happily against him, tickling the human slightly.
“I love you.” Cloudchaser said, breaking their kiss.
---
“I love you too,” I smiled. “So, which me do you like better?”
“Better? If I knew there was a better you I would be in bed with him right now.” Cloudchaser booped me on the nose.
“Har har, very funny. Seriously though, I was a little worried you'd be freaked out. I mean I've wanted this, but do you want it? Or do you want me to look like you?” I asked.
“I think you should do what you want. This,” Cloudchaser poked at the gem on my chest. “Doesn’t make you who you are. I'll always love you, no matter what. What makes you happy?”
“My life with you guys.” I replied.
“Then I think you have your answer.” Cloudchaser nuzzled me. “How about this; you wear it around the house for a while, so you don’t get in trouble with your job. That way you have a bit of flexibility.”
“Have I ever told you how much I love that brain of yours?” I ask rhetorically, kissing her forehead.
“One of us has to have one…but if you really want my opinion on which one of you I like better, I think we’ll have to take you for a test run.” Cloudchaser growled playfully.
Oh boy... I thought to myself with a grin as our lips to-
"Hey, umm," Like a light switch, Scootaloo's voice shut my mood off. "I was-YOU GOT YOUR HANDS BACK!"
"Heh, yep, sure did. I was just getting reacquainted with th-owe!" I grunted as Cloudchaser delivered a sharp blow to my rib cage. "What was that for?"
"Pre-emptive strike." Cloudchaser replied sweetly. "What's on your mind kiddo?"
“Well, Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle brought it up. I’ve never had a sleep over at my house since…you know…” Scootaloo trailed off. “I was wondering if maybe I could have one?”
I looked to Cloudchaser who shared a similar look of concern, at least we were on the same page. I didn’t want to tell Scootaloo no, but I couldn’t tell her yes either. Truth be told, we weren’t exactly prepared for a sleep over so spur of the moment, but it’d be rather blasphemous of me if I said I never had last minute stuff like this.
“When were you wanting to have it?” I asked, looking down at the filly, trying not to give in to those big purple eyes.
“Um…m-maybe tonight?” Scootaloo tapped her hooves together nervously.
Cloudchaser raised an eyebrow at me, thankfully not out of irritation. I was tossing my options back and forth, trying to come to a conclusion about how to address the issue. I stared at the mare that was still resting on my torso, her face slowly gaining that knowing sly smile.
“Wellll...okay,” Cloudchaser gave in speaking for both of us, her smile growing a bit as Scootaloo’s nervousness faded into the brightest smile I had ever seen. “Just give us a little heads up next time, okay?”
“Yes ma’am.” Scootaloo blushed dashing out of our room to presumably prepare for her guest.
“Sorry babe, it’s the eyes that got me.” I chuckled.
“Uh huh, I think somepony already has you wrapped around their hoof. “ Cloudchaser grinned.
“Yeah, just like her mom.” I said, running my fingers through her mane.
“Mmhmm, don’t you forget it either.” Cloudchaser teased, gracing my lips with a quick kiss.
I found it a bit strange that I wasn't bothered by kissing a pony as a human. Such thoughts had once clouded my mind and left me a little conflicted, but now I didn't feel any problem arise as I shared this moment with Cloudchaser, just as it should be.