The safe haven stood tall, bearing a red cross for all to see. The sun’s light created a beautiful wave of colors as it shone on the windows. Inside, every nurse and doctor ran from door to door, pushing stretchers with patients atop them.
A heavy silence carried in Room 124, punctuated by the heart monitor beeping each second. Scootaloo’s eyes cracked open, but all she could see were blobs of color as she searched the room. However, she couldn't budge her head an inch. Her worries eased as she recognized the familiar heart monitor beeping next to her bedside.
Scootaloo’s ears perked up as a clatter of hooves came closer to the door. Two voices resonated in the corridor, but from where she lay, she could hear them clearly as if she were out there conversing with them. One was Applejack’s, and the other was a rougher tone belonging to a stallion she didn't recognize.
“Is she going be okay, doc?”
“I’ve got some good and bad news,” said the Doctor.
“Good news,” Applejack said. “Give me the good news first.”
“Well the good news is she’s close to waking up from her coma and should make a full recovery.”
“Oh thank Celestia.” There was a pause. “And the bad news?”
He sighed. “I think it’s best you see for yourself.”
Scootaloo heard the clacking of their hooves approaching the door. The knob twitched back and forth. Just then, the door creaked open as faint whispers reached her ears. Applejack was thanking the doctor, who said he'd be back to check in before closing the door.
“Oh, Scootaloo,” she heard the young cowgirl whisper.
Applejack walked to her bed. When she sat down, Scootaloo noticed a card in Applejack's hoof. Maybe Applejack didn’t notice Scootaloo's eyes were halfway open as she mumbled, “Fangs… leathered wings… what is this?” She felt pressure in her hoof as something gripped on it. A sigh echoed within the room as the heart monitor beeped. She wanted to let Applejack know she was awake, but her lips refused even the slightest motion.
“Is this some bad result of one of your crusades? Scootaloo, what happened to you?” Applejack sighed. “Doesn’t matter. I don’t know if you can hear me, but I’m not leaving you by yourself. I'll always be here for you.”
Scootaloo had a ghostly smile on her face. She wanted to reach out to her, touch her, whatever it took to let her know she appreciated her company. Scootaloo screamed, but nopony heard her as it was inside her head.
Her vision blurred as she couldn’t fight back the sleepiness. Applejack’s smile was the last thing she saw before she passed out.
Scootaloo covered her ears as she woke up. She heard a clicking sound followed by a clopping noise crashing like claps from an angry thunderstorm. It grew closer each passing second. A strange substance passed over her eyes, clouding her vision with a purple aura. Soon, the noises faded to a more tolerable volume. The light blinded her as the door opened. She shielded her eyes with a hoof and tried to identify the shadow standing before her. “Ugh, can you close the door?”
The fuzzy blob stepped forward and into focus. Twilight stood at the door away, her smile still seen through the light. “Twilight?”
Twilight walked in and over to the chair where she sat down. “Oh thank goodness, you're awake. How are you feeling?”
Raising a hoof, she blocked the incoming sunlight. “I hate the sun.”
After drawing the blinds, Twilight took a seat and tried her best to smile. “Better?”
“Yeah.” Scootaloo lowered her forelegs and placed a hoof on her head as her skull throbbed with pain as if something was clawing deep at the brain cells beneath. “No.”
Twilight blushed. “My fault. There might be some side effects to the spell.”
Scootaloo’s eyes widened. “You used a spell on me?”
Applejack yawned and stretched her hooves out from the chair. Her eyes fluttered a bit as she tried to make sense of what she was seeing. “Scootaloo?” Scootaloo smiled. She didn’t have time to respond as Applejack dove in and pulled Scootaloo into a bone-crushing hug. “I knew you were strong!”
“Yeah, that's nice,” she whimpered, “but...I can’t breathe.”
“Oops.” Applejack released Scootaloo from the hug and chuckled nervously. “Sorry about that.”
The door burst open again as two nurses and a doctor came inside. The nurses checked Scootaloo’s IV bag, one gripping on her foreleg and the other feeling her head.
Scootaloo groaned. She felt crowded amongst those surrounding and treating her. The doctor trotted up to her, levitating a clipboard. “How are we doing today?”
“A little drowsy,” Scootaloo muttered.
"Hmmm, can you follow my hoof?” Doctor Stables asked as he waved it around. He smiled upon noticing Scootaloo’s eyes following his movement. “Well, it seems the morphine is wearing off.”
“Is that a good thing, Doc?”
He nodded, smiling. “Indeed it is. Nurse, can you check Scootaloo’s temperature?”
Scootaloo raised an eyebrow at the odd request, but opened her mouth anyway.
The nurse walked closer, a long stick held in her hoof. “Say ‘aah.’”
Scootaloo opened her mouth. The nurse almost put the stick in her mouth, but paused as she looked in Scootaloo’s mouth. She recoiled. “Oh my.” Hesitantly, she leaned forward and continued examining the inside of Scootaloo’s mouth before she told her it was okay to close it. “This is new,” she said.
Scootaloo closed her mouth. “What?”
She turned towards the doctor. “Can I see you for a moment, Doctor?”
He arched an eyebrow, but nodded. “Sure. We’ll be back soon to make sure everything is going well,” he said to Applejack and Twilight before leaving the room with the nurse.
Scootaloo waited until the mare was gone. She turned to Twilight and asked, “What’s her deal?” Twilight levitated a mirror in front of her and Scootaloo saw what had spooked the mare. A sharp fang protruded from where her normal tooth used to be. She had seen that face plenty of times in her dreams, yet the shock of being robbed of her Pegasus traits still stung.
“You okay, Scootaloo?” Twilight asked.
“Yeah, I’m okay. I’ve got one fang and my normal Pegasus teeth!” A disturbing smile crept on Scootaloo’s face as sweat trickled down her head.
Applejack looked at the filly. “Scootaloo?” When she received no response from Scootaloo, she turned to Twilight. “Uh, Twi, I think something is wrong with Scootaloo.”
Twilight nodded. “Agreed.”
“What are you guys talking about? I’m not freaking out!” Scootaloo let out a nervous chuckle. It sounded like it was forced out to mask the sweat forming in her head. Her eyes opened wide as she looked between the two.
Applejack moved back a little. “I’m getting kind of scared.”
Twilight forced out a smile and walked slowly towards the mare, holding out a hoof as if she were an owner trying to calm their angry dog. “Scootaloo, please calm down.”
Scootaloo chuckled. “You’re so funny, Twilight!”
Applejack leaned over and whispered in Twilight’s ears, “I’m hoping she won’t see her wings,” Applejack turned to Scootaloo. She froze. face hoofing, she realized her mistake. “She heard me, didn’t she?”
Scootaloo looked over her shoulder. Although she couldn’t see what was wrong, she sensed something out of order with her wings. She extended one of her wings, and she squinted her eyes. Her heart skipped a beat and she gasped. Her wings looked leathery, but still were the same color as before. It was something out of a horror story.
Scootaloo’s scream pierced Applejack and Twilight’s unprepared ears.
Twilight shielded her ears with her hooves. “Scootaloo, calm down!”
Scootaloo ignored Twilight’s plea and kept screaming as she looked at her featherless wings.
“Scootaloo, please stop—” Twilight was interrupted when the doctor came bursting in.
“What’s wrong?” he asked as he looked around.
Twilight grunted. “Everything is fine. Thank you, Doctor!”
He looked at Twilight, hooves clung to her ears, then at the shrieking Scootaloo. “Doesn’t look like it to me!”
Twilight groaned. “Scootaloo, can you please stop?”
Scootaloo ceased screaming when her own cough interrupted her. She started coughing a lot until one of the nurses brought a glass of water, which she eagerly downed.
Once she was finished, Twilight tried again. “Breathe, Scootaloo.” She inhaled, then exhaled, repeating the process until Scootaloo mimicked her. “You okay?”
Scootaloo performed the technique one time before she gave a nod. Applejack shifted in her spot and sighed as she looked at Scootaloo. “Are you sure?” Scootaloo nodded, but froze for a moment before shaking her head. “Oh, Scootaloo.” She leaned over to Scootaloo and hugged her.
Scootaloo blushed as Applejack’s forelegs squeezed her around her waist. She looked around the room before turning her attention back to Applejack. When Applejack broke the embrace, she tried to hide the blush as she cleared her throat. “S-so uh w-wh—” She stopped herself for a breather before continuing. “Where’re the others? I imagined waking up to a welcome party.”
“The others are back at the farm. Can't maintain itself, ya know?”
Scootaloo wanted to protest, but she decided against it. “Yeah, I guess.”
Both sighed and a silence settled in.
“Do… do you miss your feathers?”
“Yeah.” Scootaloo looked for a moment before she looked back up with a smile. “Least I don’t have to worry about preening anymore.”
Applejack chuckled. “Yeah.” Scootaloo tensed up and turned around when Applejack’s hoof landed on her shoulder. “I’m here if you need anything.”
Scootaloo smirked, even though she knew it was forced. “T-t-thanks.” She waited for Applejack to offer to leave, but the pursing of her muzzle told her differently. She forced a yawn and stretched her hooves out in the air, smacking her lips. “Boy am I tired!”
Applejack eyes widened. “Oh, I didn’t mean to keep you up.”
“It’s fine.”
“No you need all the rest you can get.” Applejack smiled and rose from the chair she sat on. “Are you going to be alright?” Scootaloo gave her a nod, and she walked off.
Scootaloo settled in her blankets and laid her head back on the soft, fluffy pillow. She lifted her head as she looked up at the turning blades of the ceiling fan and hearing the wheels of a wheel chair squeaking in her ears. Scootaloo looked outside to see it was now nighttime. She didn't know how much time had passed thanks to the medicine they gave her. Scootaloo sighed and continued to watch the ceiling fan as it rotated.
She closed her eyes and took a deep breath.
A chilling shiver coursed through every follicle of Scootaloo’s coat. It wasn’t caused by the excitement alone; she was actually feeling the wind blowing on her coat. The speed of her flight made the air more resistant to her movements, but she kept flying with all her strength. She wanted to grin, to shout her joy to the world, but opening her mouth would cause the wind to abruptly fill her lungs, and make her lose control. Instead, she simply smiled.
Screeeeeech
Scootaloo bolted her head upright as the deafening sound woke her up. The sound was close to a griffon dragging its talon down a dry chalkboard. She tried to block the sound out with her hooves, but to no avail. She still heard the sound. She groaned and looked around for something to help her.
The curtains on the windows, blocking out the moon’s light couldn’t help. The wires hooked on the machine was a no-go either. Her eyes widened when she turned around and saw the pillow her head rested on. She grabbed it and put it above her head, hoping it would block out the noise.
Thankfully it worked as the sound continued to decrease until it vanished. She removed the pillow and exhaled. She looked around to find only the machines beeping, a flashing bright light now and then as a guard passed by the room with a flashlight.
She couldn’t escape her thoughts through the slow and mellow beeping. Questions swarmed around her head, just floating around with no answers. The fear of the unknown scared her the most; she didn’t know what she was. She was basically a walking mystery!
Scootaloo was even more scared as the hearing could bring in more unwanted problems. Like she couldn’t be around a crowd of ponies, she would be forced to eavesdrop in their conversations, private ones, personal ones! Scootaloo sighed and shifted her head in a more comfortable position.
She calmed down when she looked over and saw Applejack asleep in the chair. She was thankful to have her by her side. She closed her eyes and let out an exhale.
“Ah!” Scootaloo bolted her head from her pillow as she woke up, sweating. When she heard the rooster perform its usual morning call, a wave of relief washed over her. Scootaloo rubbed her hooves down her face and grunted as she sat upright. Her mane was messy and bags lay under her eyes. But those were the least of her problems.
Scootaloo shook her head, yawned a bit, and rose up from her back in time for Applejack and Twilight to come walking through the door, pink platters hovered in a purple aura. "Looks like somepony didn’t sleep too well,” Applejack said.
“I figured you might not like the hospital food, so we got something from Sugarcube corner instead.” Twilight levitated Scootaloo a platter and a fork.
“Yeah, its good!” Applejack shouted with a mouthful.
“Applejack, remember your-barp!” Twilight closed her mouth and blinked, a blush forming around her cheeks. “Excuse me.”
Applejack gulped down the pancakes and burped loudly. "Are you sure you got enough sleep, Scootaloo?"
Scootaloo opened her eyes when the fresh-baked pancake was placed on the plate in front of her. She breathed in the fresh smell of batter cooking in the kitchen. Taking in all the scent of maple syrup and cake batter, Scootaloo picked up a pancake with a fork and stuffed it inside her mouth.
She replied with a shrug.
Twilight seemed to accept the response and resumed talking, “So, uh, how you feeling?”
Scootaloo replied with another shrug, chewing her pancakes.
Twilight shifted in her chair. “I was hoping we could run some tests after we're done with breakfast.”
A noise startled both ponies. Turning around, a stallion in a lab coat froze near the door at the time he noticed all eyes were locked in them. “Sorry, didn’t mean to startle you.” Dr. Stables walked into the room and smiled at the family huddled up in such a small room. “Glad to see you’re awake, Scootaloo. How are ya feeling?” Her answer was interrupted by a yawn, but Dr. Stables seemed happy with the response when he chuckled. “Well, telling by the pancakes, I’d say you’re doing fine.”
A couple pages were flipped from the clipboard in his left hoof, his eyes darting back and forth. It didn’t help as a “clunking” sound rolled from his tongue. He looked around and huffed. “Is the parent here?”
“Here,” Applejack said, raising her hoof in the air.
Scootaloo couldn’t help but blush at that.
“Ah. Well can I speak with you outside?”
“Right… sorry.” Applejack swooped in for a hug, squeezing Scootaloo tightly. As a result, the sound of a whimper and a tapping against a shoulder rapidity could be heard. “Right!” She broke the the embrace, blushing. “Sorry, I got carried away.”
The light from the hallway cut off since the door had closed, Scootaloo resumed eating her pancakes. Scootaloo would cast glances at Twilight as she chewed on her breakfast. Scootaloo guess she overdid it as Twilight caught her and stopped eating. “What, you wanna ask me something, Scootaloo?”
Scootaloo shook her head.
“It’s okay, Scootaloo.” Twilight levitated the platter down on the small table and turned to Scootaloo. “Go ahead.”
Scootaloo held the platter in her hooves, staring at the soaked pancakes laying on the purple platter. It was now or never. She let out an exhale. “Twilight, do you think…” she trailed off as she mumbled the last words.
“What did you say?”
“I said, do you think you can use that spell you did earlier to make me have normal hearing again?” Twilight shook her head to Scootaloo’s displeasure. “Oh.” Her ears drooped to her side.
“I’m sorry, Scootaloo. I wouldn’t know if it would solve this or make it worse. For all I know, the spell could leave an everlasting effect on you!” Twilight sighed. “I’m sorry, but this one is only temporarily.”
“So I’m doomed to suffer through noises?” Scootaloo asked with a hint of sadness in her tone.
“Hey, don’t talk like that.” Twilight reached over and pulled Scootaloo closer. “Don’t think of this as a burden, Scootaloo, ‘cause it’s not. You can do so many things with this.”
“Like what? Listen better?” Scootaloo asked with a sarcastic tone.
Twilight shook her head and giggled. “Sort of. You can be an open listener, if not, a better one. Just open your mind to the possibilities, Scootaloo, before thinking of the bad. Okay?”
Scootaloo looked at Twilight, who had a reassuring smile on her face. “Okay,” she said, a smile appearing on hers.
“Alright now, I think you would agree we would both like to return to eating these pancakes before they get soaked in syrup.” Twilight levitated her platter back into her hooves and dug in.
Scootaloo chuckled. “Yeah.” Her smile vanished as she saw the state her pancake was in, a soggy and dampened mess. She sighed and closed the lid.
The sound of multiple hooves storming through the hallway on the marble floor sounded like a stampede. Scootaloo roamed around the hall, head darting from each side at the doors she passed. Applejack and Twilight walked behind at a safe distance. Every turn she made, all eyes were planted on her.
The single fang, the slitted pupils, and featherless wings were indeed eye catching. It also brought some nasty comments from some of the maids. ‘Oh Celestia, it’s a batpony! Are the rumors true? Does it suck blood or worse!’ Scootaloo couldn’t help frown at their imagination. Who came up with these rumors anyway? Town folks? Canterlot snobs?
Or was it the royal guards? Whoever it was, Scootaloo wanted nothing more than to punch them right in the nose. “You’re just going to do some tests, right?” Scootaloo asked as Twilight walked up.
“Yep, and we’ll be done.”
Applejack chuckled. “I could hold your hoof if you’re scared.”
“I am not scared!” Scootaloo shouted as her muzzle scrunched up.
"Alright, I'll meet you two right here, I just have to sign you out." Twilight waved them goodbye and walked up to the counter where a mare in glasses stood behind. Scootaloo saw that Twilight was going to be a while as she scanning the clipboard like a eagle. Scootaloo groaned.
"I'm so bored!"
Applejack chuckled. “Where’s almost done. Just hold on, sugarcube.”
“But I’m dying of boredom here!” Scootaloo hung her head down. She lifted her head to the door as a familiar sound she heard whispered in the window. “Rainbow Dash?” She ran to the door and placed her face on the glass window as she looked at the activity.
“Scootaloo, don’t go outside! Your eyes might be—” Twilight’s voice trailed off as Scootaloo searched for Rainbow Dash. It probably wasn’t anything serious, something about something being sensitive due to a long period of isolation.
Scootaloo was positive it was nothing to be worried about.
Some ponies passed by the hospital. Some pulled carriages or for the weaker ones, carts filled with either food or clothing. A mare passed by pushing a stroller which Scootaloo could have sworn was empty. It was clearly a sunny day as she felt the heat even when she wasn’t outside. The sun’s light was bright as well.
She searched for a rainbow trail in the skies in hopes she would see a blue pegasus zooming around, performing loops. All she saw was a flock of birds or Pegasi hovering by. “Where are you, Rainbow Dash?” she asked as she looked. She turned behind her to see Twilight and Applejack still looking over what was written on the clipboard. Applejack would sometimes grab a pen and sign her name.
While Twilight just looked over the information on the other board, Scootaloo whipped back to the front as the familiar sound returned, but loudly this time. “Rainbow Dash!” She couldn’t wait to stand by and watch her leave, she needed answers.
She pushed the door opened. When the door opened for them, Scootaloo shuddered as she felt the breeze hit her face. She looked around, but saw no signs of her sister. “Rainbow Dash!” When she looked up to see she was in the sky, the sun’s light pierced her eyes, causing them to burn. Her hooves quickly found themselves on her eyes. She saw only darkness and heard nothing but Applejack’s voice.
“Scootaloo, what were you thinking!”
“My eyes burn!” Scootaloo shouted.
“Oh gosh, just keep your eyes closed!” Twilight warned. Scootaloo kept her eyes closed and waited. She wanted to open her eyes when she had heard Twilight mumbling something as she paced.
The pacing stopped. Scootaloo felt Twilight’s magic again. Scootaloo opened her eyes and found herself standing in the middle of the library. However, nopony was anywhere to be found, much to Scootaloo’s relief. She closed her eyes as the pain stung the longer she kept them opened. Scootaloo followed Twilight’s hoofsteps until it stopped and the sound of water coming on filled her ears.
“Lean your face over!” Applejack shouted.
Scootaloo leaned forward. The pain vanished when Twilight ran cool water over her eyes.
“Twilight, she didn't even stand out there for long, how can one look at the sun do that to her?”
“I told her to stay indoors while we're in the lobby!” Twilight shouted. “A bat pony’s eyes are sensitive to sunlight. It depends on the age in Scootaloo’s case, her sight might be comparable to a foal’s!”
“Yer sure?”
“I have no idea! Being isolated in the dark for a couple weeks must have added to the sensitivity!” Twilight said. “I’ll have to do more research on the subject later!”
When Scootaloo opened her eyes again, the pain came back with force. “It hurts!” Scootaloo dried off her face with a towel and opened her eyes again, only to close them once more when the pain still was there. “It still hurts, it hurts!”
“Okay, aah, Twilight what I do?”
“Let’s just get her to the couch where she can rest,” Twilight said.
Scootaloo breathed heavily. “Applejack? Applejack, where are you?” She felt sticky as her sweat trailed down to her face, her hooves shook each step she took. She wobbled around, circling her hooves in the air as she searched for something to grab. “Applejack!”
“I’m here, hon,” Applejack said as Scootaloo felt something grasp her foreleg. “Just hold onto me,” she heard Applejack say.
She grasped something to hold onto and prayed to Celestia it was Applejack’s hoof. Her body jerked forward when she felt Applejack starting to move. The sound of her hooves clacking against the floor echoing in her ears. It sounded slow and forced, like they were in the middle of a stand off.
She heard heavy breathing as she walked. She couldn’t tell if it was Applejack’s or hers. She inhaled and exhaled to calm herself down.
“You okay?”
“Y-y-yeah.” Scootaloo said.
“Alright, we’re almost close to the couch.”
Scootaloo felt Applejack stop as her hind leg hit against something soft. Their walking came to an end when her back pressed against the soft fabric as Applejack gently laid her down.
“Thanks.”
“Don’t go getting up now. Wouldn’t want you to fall.” Applejack sighed. Scootaloo tensed up when something hard landed on her hoof. "Don’t worry, I’m here."
Scootaloo smiled. “Thanks, Applejack.” Her head whipped around when she heard the door slam. She winched as the impact screamed in her ears, hooves clicking on the wood followed after. It stopped when she heard the fabric squeak as weight was pressed against it.
“You okay?” Twilight asked.
Scootaloo shook her head. “I can’t see anything. I can’t go outside during the day anymore?” Scootaloo asked as she turned to right side where she assumed Twilight was at.
“All I can say is whenever you want to go outside during the day, wear some sunglasses or else you might do some serious damage to your eyes,” Twilight said.
“How do you know so much about them? Thestrals, I mean.”
“Plenty of studying!” Twilight beamed happily.
Scootaloo groaned. “Ugh, this stinks! How much longer?”
“Well, I would say somewhere around a couple of hours. It’s hard to be sure,” Twilight said.
“What can I do until then?”
“I don’t know,” Twilight hummed. “Ooh, you can explore using your hearing without sight!” She heard Twilight giggles echoing in her ears. “Just a minute, I need to record this!”
The sounds of hooves thundering on the floor screamed in her ears. “Twilight, wait!” It was too late as she heard the door slam. “She’s gone, isn’t she?”
Applejack sighed. “Yep.”
Scootaloo sighed and leaned her back into the soft fabric. The fabric had lost its comfort under her rump and made it hard to sit still without shifting to find that comfortable spot. Every time she moved, an ear-piercing squeal would scream in her ears, making her still.
The clock's slow, endless ticking didn't help either. The hand sent a loud thud into her ears every time it moved down. Scootaloo wished she could block out the noise, but she could only rely on sound to make out her surroundings
It was funny: before, she was afraid of what problems her enhanced hearing would heed. Now she was relying on it more than ever.
Applejack thumping her hooves against the wooden floor, the slow breaths she took. Scootaloo couldn’t shake the feeling Applejack wanted to talk about what had happened, but she wasn’t going to have her apologize for a mistake over and over again.
It stopped when a sigh came in. “Scootaloo, can we talk?”
“Uh, what do you—” Her ear twitched when a new noise came. “Hold on.”
“What?”
“Sssh!”
“But—”
Scootaloo placed her hoof on her lips. “Sssh!” She knew Applejack gave up after she heard some grumbling.
A fly buzzing in the distance stole her attention. Scootaloo looked around the room in search of it. She heard its wings flapping. She could see the waves it sent as it flew around as if her ears were a radar. Unable to explain it, she was left confused and even scared of what this meant. Should this be considered a power, curse, infection?
Her thoughts were broken as she saw the fly moving along the wall, its buzzing echoing in her ears. She slowly raised her hoof in the air, and swat. She heard the sound of her hoof slamming down on the small body, its exoskeleton squishing under the weight of her hoof. The sound bounced throughout the library.
The buzzing had stopped, the flapping went deaf to her ears, and her radar shut down. For a brief moment, she felt like everything went silent.
She jumped when she heard, “interesting” coming from her right side. She exhaled and placed a hoof on her beating heart. “Dear Celestia, are you trying to give me a heart attack!”
Twilight giggled. “Sorry. It’s just you killed a fly without the use of sight!”
Scootaloo recoiled in disgust. “Eww, I killed a fly!”
“No don’t—” She heard Twilight shout, but it was too late as her hoof rubbed against the soft fabric "—rub it on the couch." Twilight groaned while Applejack chuckled.
“Can I open my eyes now?”
She heard no response, only the sound of the clock ticking. “I think so.”
Scootaloo slowly opened her eyes. Everything looked a little blurry, but she could make out the red splotches were the couches. She squinted harder as the purple blur hovering above the red patches was Twilight. She rubbed her eyes and opened her eyes even wider than before. She saw Twilight looking at her with a notebook hovering in her magic.
Twilight blushed as she held a guilty look on her face.
“I can see!” Scootaloo shouted and jumped off the couch. She swooped in and pulled Twilight into a hug, squeezing her tightly. “I can see!” She snuggled her face into Twilight’s coat and laughed. Her smile vanished when she realized what she had hugged – Twilight – which was an uncool thing to do, and broke the embrace. She rubbed her neck and cleared her throat. “Sorry.”
Twilight smiled. “It’s okay. How was the experience?”
“I now know what it feels like to be blind.” Scootaloo rubbed her eyes. “It’s tough!”
“But you used your instincts and relied on your hearing to help you.” Twilight smiled. “See what I told you? It can help you too.”
Scootaloo shrugged. “I guess.”
“Hey Scoot—” was all Scootaloo heard from Applejack before she jumped at the sound of her voice.
She turned around to see Applejack. “Why is everypony jumping on me like that!”
Twilight shifted in her chair. “Scootaloo, I hope you don’t mind, but I would like to run some tests on you.”
Scootaloo sighed. “I guess.”
“You’re doing the right thing.” Twilight smiled and lifted herself from the couch. “I’ll go start the machine,” she said, as she walked off into the kitchen. There was a moment of silence, Scootaloo and Applejack stared off at the kitchen in hopes the alicorn would quickly return, but that hope dwindled as time passed by.
When Applejack took her first step after the long pause they suffered through, Twilight’s voice rung in Scootaloo’s ears as she shouted, “It’s ready!”
Applejack sighed. “Finally.” She turned to Scootaloo and patted her on the shoulder. “Better get going,” she said with a smile before walking off into the kitchen. She saw Applejack open a brown door. As she walked in, the sound of her walking down the stairs could be heard.
“Scootaloo, don’t be scared. I promise everything will be okay!”
Scootaloo gulped and got off the couch, walking into the kitchen. The door approached her, Scootaloo almost felt her heart stop. She stood at the top of the basement stairs as she watched Twilight walk farther into the darkness. She turned around to face the doorway where the kitchen light lingered. She inhaled, then walked down the steps until her hoof touched the cold floor. She never thought a basement could be filled with so many machines and lab equipment. It left her mouth hanging and her eyes wandering. All these bizarre machines were hidden away underneath the library as if Twilight didn’t want anypony seeing or touching them.
Twilight levitated thick black wires and strapped them onto Scootaloo’s chest. “Don’t worry, it won’t hurt.”
Scootaloo winced as she heard Twilight flip the switch on and the machine’s gears whirred. She stood still as Twilight sat down and stared at her. Before long, a loud beeping screamed in Scootaloo’s ears. She winched at the sound and grabbed the wires on her head, preparing to rip them off until Twilight shouted for her to stop.
“It’s okay, Scootaloo, it’s meant to do that.” Just like Twilight predicted, a long white sheet of paper came from the machine and rolled onto the floor. “Alright, it’s going to happen again.”
The machine spat out a tongue of papers, rolling onto the floor. She picked it up and scanned the red lines. Twilight trotted to Scootaloo and examined her ear. Twilight left her side and paced around, eyes glue to the paper. The sound of her constant clopping gave Scootaloo a headache.
The basement looked like everypony’s would. It had a grayish cement tone to it like the color of a sidewalk. Light shined through only two windows, hitting spots on the floor, which was a dark brown color. Scootaloo broke out of her observing as Twilight stopped pacing.
“Well Thestrals have very sensitive hearing. They can localize even minute sounds in three-dimensional space.”
Twilight looked outside and noticed the sun setting above the town. She turned to Scootaloo, and used her magic to take off the wires. “Sorry. I guess I got too carried away with my studies,” she said and giggled.
Scootaloo’s hooves rose to her ears. “So we’re done?”
“I just have to place the spell on you again to ease your hearing down.” Twilight closed her eyes as her horn sparked a purple radiance. Scootaloo felt fuzzy as the purple area swallowed her whole head in its mist before it died down. Her eyes became glassy for a moment as the magic took effect. Scootaloo shook her head to ease the dizziness. “You okay?”
“Never better!” Scootaloo smiled before her face hit the ground.
The first thing Scootaloo woke up to was Twilight’s face staring above at her; her mouth was moving. The more she became aware of her surroundings, the more Twilight’s words became clearer. “Scootaloo!”
Scootaloo gasped as she bolted up from the cold ground. She looked around to find the same machines still in the same spot and the same dim light brightening the room. She grasped her head as a throbbing pain coursed through her brains. “Ugh, what happened?”
Twilight frowned. “I think I overdid the spell. Are you okay?” she asked as she placed a hoof on top of Scootaloo’s forehead. “You feeling a fever? Headache?”
Scootaloo groaned as she lifted herself from the ground, with Twilight pulling her up. “I’m fine.”
“Are you sure?”
Scootaloo fought the aching pain in the back of her neck and managed to smile. “Never better.”
Twilight sighed. “There has to be a better and safer solution to this.”
“Don’t worry, Twilight, I can handle the spell!”
Twilight shook her head, much to Scootaloo’s displeasure. “This spell might scramble your senses, or worse, your brain cells, and I’m not taking that chance.”
“So what, then?”
Twilight rubbed her head. She rubbed a hoof over her face and shrugged. “I don’t know.”
“So you’re saying there’s no way out of this?” Scootaloo asked, her ears retreating to her head.
“I—” Twilight paused as she heard the stairs creaking.
This made Scootaloo turn around and see somepony walking the down the steps. A orange leg, then a whole body until, finally, Applejack’s face appeared as he reached the bottom of the stairs. “Applejack?”
“Howdy, Scootaloo!” Applejack turned to Twilight. “Howdy, Twilight!”
Twilight smiled. “Hey, Applejack.”
“What were you all talking about? Something about a different solution?”
“The spell—”
“A different solution to my mane style!” Scootaloo said, earning a glance look from Twilight. Twilight sighed and nodded.
Applejack’s eyes widened. “Oh! I almost forgot to tell ya. While you two were doing science things, I would treat y’all to an Apple family dinner!”
Scootaloo frowned at her stomach as it growled. “I am hungry. What did you make?”
Applejack chuckled and winked at Scootaloo. “You’ll have to come up for that,” Applejack said, before running up the stairs. Scootaloo stared at Twilight with a confused look. Both shrugged and Scootaloo walked up the stairs, but stopped halfway when she noticed Twilight wasn’t behind her. “You coming?”
“I’ll join you two soon,” Twilight said, eyes still on the paper.
Scootaloo walked up the stairs and opened the basement door. She walked in on Applejack holding a platter in her mouth as she carried a freshly baked apple fritter. She gently lowered her head as she placed it on a plate. Scootaloo saw two plates with apple fritters on them. Scootaloo grumbled, “Who woulda guessed” while walking over to the table and taking a seat where a plate was already prepared for her.
Her fork stabbed into an apple pastry and stuffed it into her mouth. She chewed with delight. She stopped, wondering if she was the one making wet squishy noises with her teeth. Then, she got her answer when she spotted Applejack also eating a slice with her mouth wide open. The apple parts crushed under the might of her teeth, creating a quashing sound again and again.
Applejack stopped when she noticed Scootaloo staring at her. “What?” she said with a mouthful of pie.
Scootaloo chuckled at Applejack's puffy cheeks. “It's nothing.” She shook her head and continued eating.
They licked their plates cleaned before looking up and smiling at each other as they saw the crumbs still on their face. Finishing the food on the plate and placing the dirty dishes in the sink, Scootaloo trotted out of the kitchen. She stopped in the living room as a picture hanging on the wall caught her attention. Twilight and the other Elements huddled up in the picture, all smiling.
Scootaloo’s ears perked up when the door knocked.
“Can you get the door, Applejack!” Twilight called from the basement.
She turned around to see Applejack already approaching the door. “Let me get it, Applejack!”
Applejack stopped. “Yer sure?”
Scootaloo nodded. “Yep!” She ran to the door and grabbed the knob. She twitched it and almost creaked open a space…
“I hope Twilight had some stuff on arts and crafts!”
“Of course she will. This is a library!”
She was greeted with two voices she recognized. Scootaloo’s heart skipped a beat for two different reasons: fear and happiness at hearing her friends’ voices again. She stood still with her face inches away from the door; her hooves shook violently as they knocked again.
“Do you think anypony’s home?”
“I don’t know, let me try one more time,” Apple Bloom said. Scootaloo’s eyes widened when her hoof knocked against the wood, sending out a sound throughout the almost vacant place.
Things couldn’t get any worse.
“Scootaloo, ya going to get the door or what?” Applejack called out from the kitchen.
Scootaloo closed her eyes. She prayed for Apple Bloom to stop knocking on the door or Applejack could hear her from the other side. Her heart pounded against her chest as she heard Apple Bloom suggesting to look through the windows or yell out their name, but luckily Sweetie Belle stopped her with the fear of looking crazy.
Scootaloo opened her eyes when everything went silent. No more knocking, no more Applejack asking if she answered the door or who was it, nothing. She let out a sigh of relief and pushed her face away from the door. “Guess there was nopony at the door,” she said as she approached Applejack, who was cleaning the dishes.
She gave Scootaloo a small smile and looked up at the clock. “Alright, I’mma go finish with the dishes, how about you go read a book or something?”
Scootaloo stuck her tongue out. “Ew, no thanks!”
Applejack shrugged. “Suit yourself.” She walked off into the kitchen where the sound of the sink coming on could be heard.
Scootaloo sighed and looked at the tower of books before her. “I hope she has some comic books for me to read.” Scootaloo grabbed a book from the shelf and lay on the couch. The book rested in her hooves as she quickly flipped through the pages.
Scootaloo tossed the book aside. “Ugh!” She flopped down her head on the pillow and closed her eyes. Her eyes shot opened when a familiar sound returned. “Oh, Celestia no.”
This time Applejack didn’t wait for Scootaloo as she stopped scrubbing the dishes and walked towards the door. Her hooves sounding like thunder as she walked, her eyes focused on the door as if it were a prize. Scootaloo jumped and ran in front of the moving mare. “Uh, Applejack I don’t think there’s anypony there!”
“What’yer talking about? I hear somepony knocking clear as day.” Applejack raised an eyebrow. “Can’t your super-hearing pick it up?”
She clutched her head as the noise assaulted her ears. She gritted her teeth, grinding them so hard she created a scraping sound from them. Just a couple more hours of suffering. “Yeah, but I guess it’s acting up.” She forced a smile.
Applejack saw the forced smile and kept on walking. “Acting up?”
“Yep, going haywire!”
Scootaloo eyes widened as Applejack grabbed the knob of the door, the gears clicking as it unlocked. She swung the door opened and a bright light blinded her, making her recoil. She held her hoof up at her eyes and tried to make out who stood at the door, but she could see was a shadow figure.
“Oh, howdy Derpy, here for another mail delivery?”
Scootaloo breathed in relief and flopped to the floor. Her friends had left, but for some reason that made her heart hurt. She frowned, but tried to block it away as she grabbed the comic book and flopped back down on the couch, flipping a page.
Scootaloo laid her head back on the soft and fluffy pillow, looking up at the turning blades of the ceiling fan. Reclining on Twilight’s couch felt weird. Twilight decided to fall asleep downstairs in her basement, with her head laid out on the control panels, drooling on the keyboard. Scootaloo threw herself left and right, but she couldn’t seem to fall asleep. She groaned as she spun her head towards the window to her right and saw the cause of the racket: a branch from the oak tree swayed near the window, tapping against it.
Scootaloo leaned towards the couch’s table and grabbed the comic book she had before. She opened and saw the page, pausing at when the hero was about to defeat the villain. “Pass,” she said, throwing the comic book aside. Scootaloo slightly tilted her head to a more comfortable position.
However, she did not fall asleep. She tried every sleeping position for comfort, but all of them ended up with her groaning in frustration.
Since sleep was off of her to-do list, she groaned and threw the blankets aside the bed. She jumped off the couch and landed on the floor. Scootaloo managed to walk out the door without being detected and sat down under the moon’s light. Looking around, she saw nopony in sight. Aside from the chirping of a nearby cricket, Scootaloo was alone.
She buried her face in her forelegs and waited for the soothing that the night provided to put her to sleep. Her eyes shot open when a sound popped into her ears. She looked around, but nopony was there. “Whoever’s out there, I ain’t afraid!” Her heart skipped a beat after the bushes rattled, and a black cat jumped out. It climbed up the steps Scootaloo sat on and meowed again. “Wow, nice getting the drop on me.”
No words were spoken. It continued staring at her with its wide eyes. Its two, black slit pupils sat under the yellow radiance its eyes provided in the night. It reminded Scootaloo of how her eyes now were. “Hey, we got the same eyes—I think.”
Without warning, the black cat pounced onto Scootaloo’s lap. It walked in circles before nesting on her.
Scootaloo’s hooves became tired as she held them in the air. She wanted to make sure she didn’t harm or anger the cat by patting its back. However, her worries vanished as the cat purred, Scootaloo chuckling as it tickled her hind legs. She ran a hoof through the smooth and thick black hairs on the cat’s back. “All your friends are asleep, too, huh?” she asked with a chuckle.
The cat looked at Scootaloo for a moment before it turned away.
Scootaloo’s eyes gazed up at the moon. “You feel kinda funny sitting on my lap.” She smiled at the thought. “How's your life going?” The cat kept silent. "Mine stinks." Scootaloo frowned. "No, it doesn't suck. It's just… weird. I don't know." She shrugged. "I mean, how would you feel if you found out you’re really a dog or your parents were?"
The cat looked up and blinked.
"Scared, right?" Scootaloo chuckled nervously. "I mean I'm not scared! Just confused!" She nodded. "Yeah I'm kinda confused—okay more than confused." She paused for a second and sighed. "Just sometimes I—feel like my lack of determination to research my body makes me feel like a dummy." She looked down to find the cat had looked away when she was talking. She sigh and ran a hoof through the cat's fur. “I’m talking to a cat. I need to sleep.” It snuggled more into her forelegs as it continued to purr. She smiled. “I’m glad somepony is enjoying themselves.”
She regretted not bringing something warm to wear as a cool breeze brushed past her.
Scootaloo froze when she felt the cat shudder from the cold. She looked in time to see the cat running from between her forelegs. “Wait!” she shouted as she ran after the fleeing cat. It was fast, so of course Scootaloo was no way near catching it. Her ears twitched when she heard another meow followed by a couple more, pushing her to a stop.
However, that was the least of her problems as she stood before the cat, snuggling up to its kittens. The little ones did their best to huddle up to their mother, some falling on their stomachs and some clutching for their life to be with their mother while the black cat just laid there.
Scootaloo smiled at the sight. “Looks like you’re busy, so I’ll get going.” As she turned around, her smile fell from her face. She hung her head low and walked until she saw the library once again.
She pushed the door open and walked inside the dark library, shutting the only source of light as the door closed. She closed her eyes and slid down to the floor. She stared at the wall of books before her, standing tall. The books became blurry as tears welled up in her eyes.
“S-Scootaloo?” Applejack stuttered as she woke up from her slumber, rubbing her eyes.
Scootaloo rubbed her eyes, tears brushing against her hoof. “Yeah, it’s me.” Applejack made it all way down the stairs as she sat down near Scootaloo. She shuddered when she felt Applejack's foreleg drape over her shoulder. "What’s got you up?"
She brought Scootaloo closer to her and looked up through the window, watching the moon up in the sky. “Feeling a little homesick.”
Scootaloo nodded. “Yeah.” She turned towards her, a smile tugging at her skin. “Me too."
Applejack smiled back. Sighing, she returned her attention back to the moon up in the skies. "Mind explaining to me what you were doing outside?"
Scootaloo body tensed up. Crap. Applejack greeted her with a glare when Scootaloo turned around. Scootaloo feigned a smile. “Fresh air?” Applejack saw through her lie, which made her only frown harder.
“Scootaloo, why do you keep pushing yourself away from your family?”
“I’m not!” Scootaloo chuckled nervously. “What gave you the idea I was pushing you away?”
Applejack frowned. “Well for one thing, you won’t share your feelings with me.”
Scootaloo blew a raspberry as she waved a hoof. “Because I’m not for the mushy stuff remember? Plus it’s weird,” she said, shuddering.
“It’s not.” Applejack placed a hoof on her shoulder. “You’re part of this family. You don’t have to act tough anymore.”
Scootaloo’s smile wiped off her face. “I’m not acting tough,” she said, shrugging Applejack's hoof off her shoulder. “I’m fine, okay?”
“Scootaloo, I can tell when you’re lying. Element of Honesty, remember?” Applejack said.
“You say it like you really can tell when somepony’s lying!” Scootaloo scoffed. “When sometimes you’re lying yourself!”
“I never lie, Scootaloo!” Applejack shouted. “Lying gets you nowhere and—”
“And what? Telling the truth is better?”
Applejack felt her heart racing against her chest as she faced the filly before her. When she got a better look at the filly, she saw the hurt in her eyes she tried to hide. “You don’t have to lie anymore, Scootaloo. It won’t hurt you.”
“Alright, I’m not okay!” Tears welled up in her eyes. “You happy now? I do it because I don’t want to be a bigger burden than I already am with this stupid transformation!” Scootaloo shouted, then flopped on the floor as she sniffled into her hooves.
Applejack frowned at the sight of the crying filly and pulled her in close. Scootaloo seemed to calm down as she didn’t fight anymore, she just sniffled into her coat. When it died down, Applejack pulled away and looked at Scootaloo, tears trailing down her face. “You’re not a burden to me or this family.”
Scootaloo sniffled and wiped her tears away. “Yeah right.”
“No, I mean it. Scootaloo, you’re still that happy and loyal friend you were back then. And hey, don’t worry about this whole transformation thing.” Applejack pulled away and smiled. “What matters, is that you’re still you.”
Scootaloo sniffed again and looked up.“You think so?”
“I know so.”
Scootaloo smiled. “Thanks, Applejack.”
“No problem, hon.” Applejack yawned and stood up as she stretched her muscles. She tensed up when she heard a bone crack. “Should probably get some rest, big day tomorrow.”
Scootaloo rose up from the floor and stretched as her bones felt sore. “Yeah, I think all that running got me tired.”
“Midnight run, huh?” Applejack asked with a smirk, earning a blush from Scootaloo.
“Sort of.”
They both walked walked to the couch and sat down on it. Applejack grabbed some of the blankets and placed some on her, covering half her body. She gave most of the blankets to Scootaloo, whose face and body were covered by the soft blue fabric.
“Scootaloo, you okay on sleeping over that side of the couch, or do you want me to move closer?” Applejack asked with a chuckle.
Scootaloo blushed. “I-I’m not f-f-five, Applejack!”
Applejack chuckled. “Just teasing you.” She shifted farther into the blankets and exhaled as she closed her eyes. “You excited about tomorrow?”
Scootaloo arched an eyebrow. “Why should I be excited?”
Applejack yawned. “‘Cause we're going home tomorrow!” Scootaloo's pupils shrunk to tiny plates as the words echoed in her head. Her worries resurfaced as she thought of millions of ways of how they would react to seeing her.
Scootaloo snapped out of her trance when Applejack said, “Good night.”
Scootaloo yawned and shifted farther into the blankets. She exhaled to calm herself down and closed her eyes. “Good night.” Scootaloo rolled over in the blankets and and shifted into the couch for a comfort. She shut her eyes tight and awaited her dreams.
However, the pain in her eyelids made her open her eyes. Scootaloo groaned and flopped to the other side, where she was facing the window. She stared at the floor where the moon’s light reflected on it. Her heart jumped around in her chest as something clapped loudly in her ears.
She looked back up at the window, pouring with rain. She watched as the tiny drops of water plummeted onto the ground, moistening the dirt until it turned to mud. As the room brightened up with flashes of light, Scootaloo caught her reflection--dark purple eyes shining within the darkness before it faded away as the light vanished.