//------------------------------// // Chapter five: A Twist To The Gut // Story: Higher Senses // by Manes //------------------------------// The orange bat pony groaned at the top of her voice as she woke up to an intense throbbing in her head. She blinked a couple times, her eyes adjusting to the room’s brightness. In a futile effort to shield her eyes from the offending brightness, she lifted a foreleg toward the light. She felt safe after seeing the Wonderbolts posters on the walls and her Spitfire action figure sitting on the desk beside her. Those two items had helped her through some tough times.   Her attention shifted to the right side of the bed and her heart jumped as she saw Apple Bloom asleep in a chair next to her. Scootaloo sat motionless, staring at the pony she feared would reject the new her.  The pony she would not blame for fearing her. Even she was unsure of who she was now. The things that happened, the things she saw, these past few days changed her—and not just physically. She thought she was through with the past, finally moving onto something new, better, but her past decided to turn her into something ugly. Her mind wandered elsewhere. The absence of a certain mare that invaded her dreams was really taking an effect on her. She missed Luna, for only she knew the struggle of having two identities. Waking up to find oneself a whole different pony. Princess Luna was supposed to be keeping her from falling into a situation like this. She wished Luna would come back, give her some advice or at least reassure her. However, every time Scootaloo closed her eyes and dreamed, Luna would not appear. Apple Bloom yawned and fluttered her eyes open. Just like before, their eyes locked onto each other's, like before, they were too afraid to make a move.  Scootaloo wanted to break the silence with a warm embrace, but all her muscles froze. Scootaloo groaned. “You okay?” Apple Bloom asked as she rushed to Scootaloo’s side, holding an icepack to the filly’s head. “I feel sucky,” Scootaloo said, moaning in pain. “Yeah, you took a nasty spill there.” Apple Bloom lifted to check how Scootaloo’s forehead looked before putting the ice pack back. “I’m glad you’re okay.” Scootaloo groaned. “I don’t think ‘okay’ is the word I’m feeling right now. More like horrible and painful. Ugh, what the heck happened?” Scootaloo attempted to recall the whole thing, but it was broken into bits and pieces. She remembered how shocked Apple Bloom’s face looked as she stared at her and the silence that came with it. Then the stinging pain came. Then nothing. Did she fall? Her paranoia meter skyrocketed. Many things could have happened yet she was robbed of truth and left with a stinging pain. Scootaloo felt trapped. Was her anxiety making her paranoid? Scootaloo closed her eyes and released all the stress through a sigh and opened her eyes, looking up to see Apple Bloom’s hoof on hers. Apple Bloom flung herself into Scootaloo’s open forelegs and buried her face into an aura of apples. Scootaloo attempted to shut her eyes to stop the tears from flowing, but it was too late as the floodgates had opened. Scootaloo tried to stop it, but a sob escaped her mouth. She found herself hugging Apple Bloom back, crying into her shoulder.  It felt good to to cry in the arms of somepony Scootaloo cared about, as if all the strange tension that had been weighing on her since she had woken up flew out of her. All the tension and worries vanished, as if nothing mattered but them. Eventually her tears died down, she wiped her wet cheeks and smiled. Sadly, the hug ended. Both shared a chuckle, then things became quiet. Apple Bloom smiled. “Your wings look really different. What happened with your feathers?” She moved a hoof towards Scootaloo, but stopped. “Can I?” Scootaloo nodded. She shivered at Apple Bloom’s touch as she ran a hoof through her skinned wings. Apple Bloom pulled back and stared at it breathlessly. “Wow.” “They…” Scootaloo sighed. “They fell off I don’t know when. I just woke up to them like this.” “I’m sorry, Scootaloo,” Apple Bloom said, patting Scootaloo on the shoulder. Scootaloo shook her head and smiled, but deep down she knew she was just forcing it. “It’s just feathers. I’ll get over it.” She was lying to herself. She wanted to feel like she had no attachment to her feathers, but they were part of her. “Are they permanent? Like, they won’t change back?” Scootaloo paused for a second.“Nah, I don’t think it is.” “Do they hurt?” "No." “Are ya sure?” “Apple Bloom, I don’t wanna talk about my wings anymore. Can we talk about something else?” “Oh… well alright then…”Apple Bloom tapped her chin as she hummed. “Oh! So how was it? Waking up to this.” Scootaloo tapped her chin as she remembered the day her whole life changed. “Like waking up to a nightmare. It totally sucked waking up alone.” she stopped and winced. Apple Bloom’s ears flattened to her head and she looked away. “I didn’t mean it like that, Bloom.” “It’s fine.” Apple Bloom offered a smile. “So what happened?” “Well....” Apple Bloom leaned forward. Scootaloo told Apple Bloom everything from waking up in the hospital to leaving the library. She made sure to not leave out any details and Apple Bloom hung onto every word. By the time Scootaloo was finished, Apple Bloom’s mouth was agape. “Wait, you were blind!” Apple Bloom shouted, shock rendering her eyes. “I know right!” Scootaloo chuckled. “Man, I was scared off my flank, but thank Celestia, my vision came back.” She stopped smiling as she noticed Apple Bloom looking rather sad. “You okay?” Apple Bloom shook her head. “I still should have been there when you needed a friend the most.” Her head drooped low. “I should have been there when you were in the hospital.” Scootaloo rubbed her neck. “Don’t sweat it, Apple Bloom. It was nothing.” “Nothing?” Apple Bloom asked as if she didn’t hear it correctly. “You were blind and told you were a bat pony! I’m pretty sure that’s not nothing!” Scootaloo leaned more into her pillow and sighed. When Apple Bloom looked up and their eyes met, she offered a smile. Apple Bloom seemed lost as she stared into Scootaloo’s eyes. There was silence. Only the sound of the birds chirping and the wind rattling the trees was heard. Apple Bloom swallowed the lump in her throat. “Scootaloo?” “Y-yeah?” Apple Bloom smiled and tapped Scootaloo on the shoulder as she shouted, “You’re it, Scootaloo!” Scootaloo didn’t have time to react and respond as Apple Bloom already zoomed out the room, her laughter echoing in the halls. “Really?” With the roll of her eyes,  Scootaloo hopped off the bed. Her legs wobbled when her hooves landed on the floor. She must’ve still been woozy after that knockout. After a few steps, her balance returned, and she found herself walking toward the desk. There, she grabbed her black shades, sliding them on. When she kept walking, the sound kept increasing. She reached the breaking point at a brown door where the sounds could be compared to somepony banging on drums. At first, it started out slowt, but then it became like blowing wind, picking up its pace.  As a result, concern grew into Scootaloo’s face. She followed the heartbeats to a brown door and opened it to reveal a bed. The room seemed old-fashioned. The floor looked like it hadn’t been cleaned for days and ready to give out, and the wallpaper looked like it had the same green color scheme for decades. A smirk spread across her face as she noticed a figure covered in blankets. The heartbeat confirmed it was Apple Bloom hiding in the blankets. She walked to the bed and grabbed the blankets before yanking it off. “Oh, haha!” She stopped dead on her trace as it wasn’t Apple Bloom in the bed, but a sleeping Granny Smith. She had one of those sleeping things she saw Rarity use when she sleeps. Granny Smith stirred awake, coughing and looking around. “Who’s there? Is that you Apple Bloom?” Scootaloo walked back slowly out the room and closed the door quietly. She sighed in relief and returned to her hunt. She hated to admit it, but she always hated being the hunter, but now it felt great. Exciting, pumping her heart up with adrenaline and determination. Hehehehe. Scootaloo’s ears perked up at the sound of a filly’s giggle. As if her ears were her eyes, the sound of the giggles bounced back to her. Arching an eyebrow, Scootaloo waited for the sound. She was surrounded by darkness that gloomed down halls.  The wind wailed between the window, creating a strange sound. Hehehe. There it was again. Scootaloo followed the giggles and found herself inside Applejack’s room. Scootaloo’s ear flicked, and she turned toward a door. Scootaloo grabbed on the knob and pulled the door open to see Apple Bloom. “Found you!” Apple Bloom groaned and walked out the closet. “Darn it!” Scootaloo threw her head back and performed a evil mock laugh. “You should have never underestimated my powers!” Apple Bloom rolled her eyes. “I should have known you were going to use your ears, ya cheater.” Scootaloo arched an eyebrow. “Uh, hello, that’s how the games played.” “Yeah, but it’s easier when you have super hearing!” Both bumped noses and growled at each other before they burst out laughing and clung onto each other using their forelegs. Scootaloo’s stomach grumbled ruining the tender moment the two had built. Scootaloo blushed. “I kinda missed breakfast with, uh, well all this.” Apple Bloom smirked.  “Let’s get something to eat?” “You know it!” Apple Bloom noticed Scootaloo’s glasses and started snickering. “What on earth are you wearing sunglasses for?” Scootaloo rolled her eyes. “It’s for my eyes. I know it sucks, but Twilight said I’m sensitive to sunlight.”  “Guess the term blind as a bat really sticks to you, Scootaloo!” Apple Bloom exclaimed. “Oh, ha ha, very funny.” Scootaloo nudged Apple Bloom. “Apple Brain.” Apple Bloom pushed back . “I try my best.” A smirk spread across her face. “Chicken head.” Scootaloo walked into the hallway where a faint heartbeat pumped in her ear. When she kept walking, the heartbeat sound came back soud. “Hey when I was looking for you, I heard Granny Smith’s heartbeat and it was—” “You can hear somepony’s heartbeat that far away!” Apple Bloom shouted. Scootaloo face hoofed. “I told you this when I was telling about what happened while I was away, remember?” “Oh.”Apple Bloom giggled. “It’s just awesome having a friend that can do stuff like you do.” "Pff, the things I do?"Scootaloo asked with a chuckle. “Trust me, it’s not all that it’s cracked up to be.” “Really? Scootaloo, you got a gift!” Apple Bloom said, smiling. “You can help find lost puppies, maybe even ponies with your hearing and you can find treasures with your eyesight…” She giggled. “Well if it’s in the dark.” “Apple Bloom, it’s nothing. In fact, it’s a pain in my flank,” Scootaloo said. “Sometimes it wakes me up, I butt into conversations, weird conversations I don’t want to hear and it’s just gives me a headache!” She scoffed. “Not a gift, more like a curse if you ask me.” “Jeez Scoots, when did you become such a bummer?” Apple Bloom nudged Scootaloo with a smirk. “Stop thinking of the negative!” Scootaloo opened her mouth to protest, but decided against it and kept on walking to the stairs. Playing a hero? Putting her new found abilities to use to do good? She had enough to deal with right now. Such as the floating fragments of what happened flitting around her brain, just begging to be solved. However, like a half-finished puzzle piece, she was left with a partial picture of what had happened. If she wanted to move her attention away from that, she had to occupy her mind. She looked around, but found nothing noteworthy. Only pictures and reminders of what had happened before she joined the Apple family. Oh and apple wallpapers, go figure. “So what’s on the breakfast menu?” she smirked. “Apples? Apple pie? Apple juice? Something with apples?” “Oh, I was thinking we just buck some apples from the tree, ya know? Get it when it’s fresh.” Scootaloo licked her fangs at the sound of that. Suddenly, she craved for an apple fresh of the tree. “Sounds like a plan.” “Great!” Apple Bloom said, walking towards the door. Scootaloo laughed at Apple Bloom’s lusting for hard labor just for a piece of fruit. She was not the working type of pony, more of a laidback and chill kind of pony. Well, these past few days she’d been anything but.  She had turned into a paranoid, skittish filly who always feared the worst. It wasn't her fault for being this way; it was the orphanage. That place taught her to always expect the worst out of situations, which made it easier when they didn’t choose to adopt her. As she passed the pictures in the hallway, she stopped and turned around. Not because of the pictures, but because of the a certain spot on the floor. She kept staring at it as if it were a brand new scooter. Was she admiring how polished the wood looked? It was as if somepony cleaned it up. “You comin, Scootaloo?” Scootaloo turned Apple Bloom, concern was written all over the Earth Pony’s face, but that wasn’t the real shocker. No, the real shocker was what she saw in Apple Bloom’s eyes that left her mouth agape. Staring into Apple Bloom’s yellow eyes sent her down another memory trip and as a result, Apple Bloom stood in a different spot, but this time she had a shock look as if she saw a ghost. Or somepony she cared about looking like a bat. After that, there was the stinging pain in the back of her head. Scootaloo looked at Apple Bloom then the spot she was standing on. However her mind still was floating with pieces of the memory, but she was close to finishing it. She just needed something, a push.  Scootaloo shook her head and tried to think of only happy thoughts. Scootaloo listened as a thumping noise pulled her attention. She looked everywhere from top to bottom, but the sound would fade away. However, when her eyes turned to Apple Bloom, the thump increased. Apple Bloom’s heartbeat was rapid, filling Scootaloo’s ears with a turbid rhythm. “Woah, your heart is beating really fast!” Scootaloo said, her eyes widening. “You okay?” “Yeah I just probably need some fresh air.” Apple Bloom smiled and grabbed Scootaloo. “Let’s go!” She said, running towards the door, but was pulled back as Scootaloo stood in place. “You need to sit down or something?” Scootaloo asked with concern written over her face. “Geez, I said I was alright!” shouted Apple Bloom. She clamped her hooves against her mouth. Scootaloo took a step back and looked at her friend with an arched eyebrow. “Oookay?” Apple Bloom nodded her head. Scootaloo winced at the smile plastered on Apple Bloom’s face. “You know what? I’m in the mood for something in the fridge!” “But…” Scootaloo stopped once she realized Apple Bloom was out of earshot. She heard a lot of movement such as metal clattering everywhere and Apple Bloom mumbling something. Worrying about her friend’s health, Scootaloo wandered into the kitchen where she found Apple Bloom searching for something. “Apple Bloom.” Apple Bloom spun around and froze with a pan held in her hoof. Seeing Apple Bloom with the pan, sent Scootaloo into another trip of memory lane. As she was losing consciousness, a the sound of metal hitting the floor was the last thing she heard. And a pan dropping next to her was the last thing she saw. Scootaloo groaned and held her head. “Ugh, my head.” “You okay?” Scootaloo shook her head. “No, I keep seeing things. getting stupid these reminders. Like a pan dropping, your shocked face, then nothing.” She shook her head. “What the heck is going on?” “You slipped and banged your head on a pan!” Apple Bloom blurted out. Scootaloo stood and arched an eyebrow, urging Apple Bloom to continue on. “Weren’t looking where you were going.” Scootaloo frowned. She listened again to Apple Bloom’s heart beat pumping faster than before. As if her hearing cleared her vision, she saw little drops of sweat trickle down Apple Bloom’s forehead. How she took short breaths to calm herself down. She was hiding something. “Apple Bloom, you’ve been acting weird ever since we got to the door. Then again when I brought up the things I saw.” Scootaloo stepped closer, making Apple Bloom back up to the wall. She stopped when she noticed this. “Come on, Apple Bloom. You know I won’t hurt you. Plus even if I wanted to, I couldn’t because you were always stronger than me.” Apple Bloom chuckled. “Yeah a lot of hoof wrestles prove that.” She stopped chuckling as she saw the glare Scootaloo was giving her. Apple Bloom sucked in her breath and sighed. “There’s no point in lying to ya anymore.” She looked up at Scootaloo. “You didn’t hit your head….I lied.” “Yeah I figured that didn’t happen.” Apple Bloom sighed. “When you came inside….” she looked down and muttered, but Scootaloo heard it as if she said it out loud. “You were hit upside the head by somepony holding a pan.” No. No, Apple Bloom didn’t just say that. That would mean….her doubts were true. She wasn’t imagining all this.  Scootaloo’s heart started pumping with rage laced with fear, fear of not knowing what was going to happen next. Neither one of them could stop staring at each as the silence mocked them. Scootaloo was fighting hard not to show her pain, her heart hurt from Apple Bloom’s betrayal. Never before she thought she and Apple Bloom would fall apart. The walls were closing in. The pressuring building. Her heart was pounding. And then a ringing sound erupted in her ear. Her muzzle trembled as she said with a shaky voice, “Was it you?” Apple Bloom face quickly averted pure confusion, then anger after the full realization hit her. “No, I would never do that! Just, please let me explain! She didn’t mean to do it!” “She? You gotta be kidding me!” Scootaloo shouted, her eyes flaring. “Just… just calm down and let’s talk,” Apple Bloom said, slowly walking towards the filly. “Calm down? Calm down!” Scootaloo stomped her hoof down and growled. “This is me acting calm!” “I lied because I was afraid of what you might do!” Apple Bloom shouted, silencing Scootaloo. All the muscles in Scootaloo's body froze. All the anger had become cold and left her breathless. Her face lost all its color and her eyes widened to the size of dinner plates. She wanted to puke as the words tasted vile. She looked down, unable to stare into Apple Bloom’s eyes. How could she after the things she said? Her hooves began to shake. Apple Bloom tried to walk closer, but Scootaloo heard the floor creak under her weight and looked up to see her step back when Scootaloo showed her fangs through a growl. “S-Scootaloo, I’m sorry.”  Tears began to built in her eyes, but she blinked them away before Apple Bloom could notice as she didn’t want Apple Bloom to see weakness. “Back off!"  Without hesitation, Scootaloo sprinted out the door. She heard the door slam shut behind her and the sound of hooves hitting the dirt. She tried to ignore the sound, but it was too loud and too personal to push away. She could picture Apple Bloom chasing after her, trying so desperately to stop her from the truth. Or maybe she was trying to stop her from doing something dumb, something she feared would happen if threatened. This burning rage kept her heart and hooves racing, pushing those thoughts away. “Scootaloo, stop!” Scootaloo shook her head and kept her eyes focused on ahead. Her head was thrown back as Apple Bloom tackled her into the ground. It felt like her head was about to crack as the pain was increasing. Her thoughts scrambled and clouded with only pain. Apple Bloom flipped her on her back and pinned her down with her hooves. Scootaloo groaned as she wiggled around, struggling to break free of Apple Bloom’s hold. This wasn’t much of a surprise, Apple Bloom always was stronger than her. “Get off me!” Apple Bloom grunted as Scootaloo kicked and thrashed. “Listen. To. Me!” No matter how much Scootaloo thrashed back and forth, Apple Bloom always bested her when it came to strength. She didn’t want to kick Apple Bloom, because that meant she would hurt her. So she kept trying to worm her way out in hopes Apple Bloom would tire before her. Scootaloo grunted. “Why should I listen to you! Why should I believe you a word you say! You lied to me about me slipping and hitting my head!” “I did it to protect you!” “Argh, shut up!” “Stop!” said a strange voice. When Apple Bloom turned around to look, Scootaloo used the distraction and pushed Apple Bloom. Apple Bloom landed on the ground on her head and groaned in pain. Scootaloo picked herself up and looked over where Apple Bloom who was rubbing her head as she got up. Scootaloo flipped over to see an Earth Pony standing in between them. Scootaloo noticed her legs tremble as she stood, how her eyes switched from Apple Bloom to her. “Please stop fighting.” Scootaloo watched as Apple Bloom walked toward the filly, but she stopped when the Earth Pony held her hoof. Apple Bloom opened her mouth to protest, but she cut her off as she walked off and met Scootaloo where she stood. Scootaloo looked at the Apple Bloom then back at the filly, putting the obvious piece together.  An unknown friend of Apple Bloom’s; it made sense! Her friend would see Scootaloo as a threat because of her predatory nature and would protect Apple Bloom at any cost! Even if it meant, hurting somepony Apple Bloom cared about. Funny what friendship could make ponies do. Such as Apple Bloom, taking the fall for her. Where was she when Scootaloo needed comfort, for somepony to take the fall for her when she was in trouble? Apple Bloom planned to take the blame for her. This selfish, hating filly who probably did it out of hatred. The fact that the filly probably was using Apple Bloom made Scootaloo pumped with anger. The filly walked up to the Scootaloo, slowly approaching her as her shaking legs slowed her down.  She stopped when she was close enough to look her right in the eye. The pony had an odd look with red glasses taking up most of her face, but her nose struck out the most. Scootaloo wondered if the filly saw her nostrils flaring. “Scootaloo, list—” Scootaloo interrupted her with a punch right in the nose. Apple Bloom witnessed her friend fall to the ground, her glasses flying off her face. It left her gasping for air before she ran towards her friend as she fell to the ground, clutching her nose. “Twist!”