Yawn…
Sweetie Belle rolled around in the bed sheets. In mid-consciousness, she could feel that her hooves felt strange this morning. She shifted around some more. Her head swung to meet the warm breath of the crusader stirring next to her and she creaked her left eye open to look. It took a moment for her mind to adjust to her best friend’s new appearance.
Well…it could have been a dream…
Clear as day, Scootaloo’s humanised face sat upon the pillow; dozing away. She was somewhat glad she could still recognize her after their human transformation. After all, a human’s face wasn’t that dissimilar of a pony’s. They possessed two ears – much more rounded than pointy – two eyes, a mouth and a smaller version of a pony’s muzzle which she remembered was called a “nose”.
Opening her other eye, she yawned loudly and stretched her lengthened body out. It was still a strange feeling having all this extra height. Standing up, she would be taller than Rarity and perhaps even be eye level with Princess Twilight. The idea delighted her but she knew full well that this world’s Rarity was bound to be around equal in height to Applejack and Sunset.
She sat up and rested her back against the headboard. The bed creaked as she leant her weight against it and a few sleepy grunts made their way out of Scootaloo.
She yawned loudly before taking her hands to her eyes and rubbing them as she would if she still had hooves.
“Yawn…Wow! What a dream I had…”
“What dream was that?”
Scootaloo slid her eyes open at the unexpected response. Staring at her hands and then at Sweetie Belle, she blinked for a moment and then sighed.
“Nevermind.”
Though she lacked certainty, Sweetie Belle thought it was obvious what Scootaloo’s dream had been about. She giggled. And then noticed that Apple Bloom was nowhere around.
“Huh, where’d Apple Bloom go?”
Scootaloo craned her head around at her friend’s inquiry. Having been initially foggy, the events of the last night came flooding back to her. After enthusing and playing with the magic brick, they continued to practice with their human bodies before they all collapsed onto the bed from exhaustion.
“I have no idea,” was Scootaloo’s reply.
“You don’t think anything happened to her, do you?”
“In her own home? You gotta be kidding!”
Scootaloo knew Sweetie was one to jump to conclusions, especially when she was scared. Though it hadn’t crossed her mind what Sweetie Belle’s first impression might’ve been when she found that one of her best friends had disappeared in a strange new world.
“Shall we go downstairs and see if everything’s alright?” she asked, a touch of concern in her voice.
“Yeah, l-let’s go.”
Scootaloo took her legs out from underneath the duvet and hopped off the bed. She was joined by Sweetie Belle and together they went out into the corridor. Something about the wooden floor felt different.
“Does the floor seem weird to you today?”
“Yeah it does!”
“Let’s keep going…”
The two of them came to the stairs. An uneasy grunt came from Sweetie Belle; Scootaloo knew the reason. Neither of them had tried walking down stairs before.
“Well, here goes…”
Scootaloo took the lead, using the bannister as a ballast like they did on the way up yesterday. She lowered her right foot onto the next step and put all her weight on it. The steps felt weird like the floor. She proceeded to lift her left foot but instead of putting it on the same step as she did previously, she laid it on the next step; distributing the weight like with the right. She continued on like this until she reached the bottom.
She turned back to Sweetie Belle. “Wow, Sweets! If ya do it like that, it’s much quicker. Uh….Sweets?”
“U-up h-here.”
Scootaloo looked up the stairs and saw her friend was still stuck on the first step; shaking like jelly.
“Uh…could you help me, please?”
Scootaloo sighed. “Sure…,” her expression creating a knowing smile.
The two crusaders walked into the kitchen and saw Applejack was fixing breakfast.
“Good mornin’, ya two sleepyheads! Y’all aren’t exactly early birds are ya?”
“You say that like it’s a surprise!” Sunset Shimmer came into the room from behind the two of them; chuckling all the while. Applejack joined in as Sunset walked over to her and placed an arm over her shoulder.
“Eeyup!” said an all too familiar voice. Big Macintosh was seated at the table in the middle of the room reading a newspaper as he chomped away on an apple.
Scootaloo looked around. “Where’s Apple Bloom?”
“Outside. She was helpin’ me with the mornin’ chores, said she’d be happy ta finish ‘em while ah make breakfast.”
An aroma wafted its way from the hob and hit Sweetie Belle’s palate; she didn’t recognise it but thought she’d find out soon.
“Speaking o’ which, it’s almost ready. Breakfast!”
“Nice! Looks yummy as usual, AJ. And it’s not the only thing….”
“Ahem!” Big Mac cleared his throat awful loudly. “Ah’ll go tell AB then.”
“Hehe…yeah ya go do that, big brother…”
Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle exchanged a look. It felt like they were missing something. Eventually, they shrugged it off; knowing they would likely find out sooner or later.
“Why don’ ya two git yourself sat down?”
The two obeyed and walked towards the kitchen table. They sat down on two adjacent unoccupied chairs facing the hob which Applejack was using.
Sweetie Belle observed that this kitchen was quite like the one Rarity used. There was an oven, a sink, a fridge, numerous mahogany counters and cupboards and that window which, quoting her sister, “sheds a bit of light to allow your creativity to shine when preparing meals.” However, she had expected some differences and got just that with the unknown silver box on the counter next to the fridge. The oven was different too; it didn’t have the typical look most ovens had in Equestria.
“Oh there you are, Apple Bloom!”
Sweetie Belle looked round at Scootaloo’s outburst. Apple Bloom had just come in from the hall with a vivid smile on her face.
“Hey girls! Good morning, Sunset!”
“Good morning, Apple Bloom. You seem quite happy today.”
Apple Bloom blushed and sat down next to her fellow crusaders.
“Where did you go, Apple Bloom?”
“Huh?”
“When we woke up this morning, you weren’t there with us,” added Sweetie Belle.
“Oh! Ah got up early ta help Applejack with cleaning out the barn.” Apple Bloom switched to a hushed tone. “Ah figured that since we do it every Sunday morning in Equestria, they’d do it here too.”
Scootaloo nodded in understanding but something about Apple Bloom still yanked on her curiosity.
“But what’s got ya all excited? Getting up early isn’t exciting at all!”
Apple Bloom rolled her eyes. No wonder she and Rainbow Dash get on so well.
“Ya have no idea how easy everything is now that ah got these!” She flexed her fingers and thumbs on each hand. “It usually takes-
Apple Bloom quietened her voice again. “It normally takes an hour ta clean the barn out from top ta bottom with ma hooves but these hands more than halved that time! They’re so useful for grabbing things and ah feel much stronger with them too!”
A thought suddenly came to Scootaloo. “Hey Apple Bloom, you have any idea why the floor feels different today?”
Apple Bloom took a glance at the floor under the table. She surveyed the entire area including the bits surrounding Sweetie Belle’s and Scootaloo’s “feet” and back to her own. She grunted in amusement.
“Y’all didn’t put yar shoes on did ya?”
Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo both looked down at their feet. They were bare and unclothed.
“Oh yeah…hard to remember when we’re so used to using bare hooves all the time.”
“But ya know summin’, ah could get used to living like this!”
“Living like what?” asked Sweetie Belle.
“Ya know, as a human.”
The statement came as bit of a shock to both Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo but their attention was soon diverted by the plate of food which landed in front of them.
“Dig in, everybody.”
While everyone else obliged Applejack’s suggestion, the three crusaders simply stared at the unknown food in front of them.
“What is it?” Scootaloo whispered to the other two.
“Ah’ve no idea…”
Apple Bloom did however recognise the fried egg next to the strange tube-like food. She started to poke it with her finger; it felt warm and squidgy.
“APPLE BLOOM! How many times do ah have ta tell ya not ta pick at yar food! Use yar fork an’ knife.”
The scolding came as a bit of a shock to Apple Bloom. What’s a fork an’ knife?
Sweetie Belle cleared her throat discreetly as to get her friends to look at her. Apple Bloom noticed she was holding up two silver sticks in each hand – one very sharp and the other jagged. She saw Sweetie Belle gesture her eyes towards the same two objects on either side of Apple Bloom’s own plate.
“What are we supposed to do with-
Apple Bloom caught sight of Applejack’s cutting motions using the very sharp stick with the egg to cut a piece off. She then used the jagged stick to pierce it and bring it up to her mouth.
Hmm….
Apple Bloom observed her own metal sticks. But which one’s the knife an’ which one’s the fork? She shrugged and slowly began to grind the sharp stick against the egg as Applejack had done. She found it hard to cut.
“Umm, Apple Bloom, you having trouble cutting your egg?” joked Sunset. “You might want to try holding the knife the other way.”
“Oh…”
Apple Bloom flipped the knife over so that the rounded edge was now grinding through the egg. It was much easier now – she felt like such an idiot. After cutting a piece, she used the…fork to bring it up to her mouth. It tasted great.
She looked to Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo who seemed to have grasped the knack of it too.
Scootaloo poked the tube-like food with her fork; it was tough to pierce through. After cutting a bit like with the egg, she closed her mouth around the bit on her fork. She hummed at the sensational taste.
“Wow! That tastes amazing! What is that?!”
Applejack looked astonished. “Uhh…a sausage?”
Scootaloo didn’t expect a response; wolfing down another bit in no time at all. She beamed at the other two as to indicate that they try it too. Too curious, both Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle took a bit to their mouth. They uttered similar moans of pleasure. Hardly any time passed before all their plates were stark bare.
“What was in that?” asked Sweetie Belle.
“Uhhh…what’s normally in sausages. Pork. Ya know, from a pig?”
Sweetie Belle’s eyes shot back to the plate and dropping her fork, she gasped in horror.
“I just ate a pig! What the hay?!” cried Scootaloo.
The entire table was taken aback by Scootaloo’s yelling; Applejack’s expression was a mix of shock and confusion.
“Ah’m sorry Scootaloo…ah…ah didn’t realise ya were a vegetarian. Ah’ll… ah’ll promise ta do better next time.”
Apple Bloom could scarcely believe it.
Humans eat animals? They don’t eat…no…no they couldn’t. Could they?
She toyed with her thoughts. Regardless of whether it seemed wrong to her, it’s what humans did and she had to keep pretending. She beckoned her fellow crusaders to do the same.
The three of them continued to sit quietly, unbeknownst that Sunset Shimmer was eyeing them ponderously all the while.
Sweetie Belle followed behind her sister Rarity, a unicorn. She had been in Equestria for a day now and she still couldn’t get used to seeing everyone she knew and loved transformed into ponies. Not that she was complaining. She liked seeing the world from a new perspective – even if it wasn’t exactly her world. Or perhaps not the world she knew anyway.
She certainly knew it felt weird to be stark nude almost all the time. Sweetie Belle did in fact know that at times ponies would wear some garments should the need arise, having observed different ponies at work in careers quite similar to that of the human world. There were pony barbers, pony chefs and pony doctors. Though if her equine sister was a fashion designer just like her human counterpart then it could be safe to say that most types of work were replicated in this world.
“Oh Sweetie Belle, could you please keep up?” said Rarity, a little frustrated. “It’s bad enough I have to remind you where your clubhouse is when I have a lot of orders that need filling. Honestly, how could you even forget where it is? You go there almost every day, after all.”
“Hehe…I guess I’m a little forgetful today.”
This caused Rarity to stop and face Sweetie Belle. “You have been acting strange lately, dear sister.”
Her expression became anxious. “In fact, I’m a little worried about you. Are you sure that you’re ok?”
Honestly…no, but Sweetie Belle wasn’t about to let Rarity become suspicious of her. Well, at least more suspicious of her. “I’m fine, Rarity. Don’t worry.”
Rarity appeared unconvinced. “First, you have trouble walking around the house and then at dinner you asked for…what were those things again?”
“Fork, knife and spoon?”
“Yes, exactly. I’m not quite sure I can simply dismiss these things lightly, Sweetie Belle. Whether you say you’re fine or not.”
Sweetie Belle had learned that biting her tongue about human technology was the only way to avoid drawing suspicion. Though it seemed that their worlds were very alike, there would still be a lot of things either species couldn’t do that which the other can. The former problem however was somewhat untrue.
She was getting used to walking around; her hooves didn’t trip her up as much as they did initially and she started to be more aware of the horn protruding from her head. The book which the filly had been given by Twilight – or Princess Twilight for that matter – had helped immensely in understanding the way things worked in Equestria.
It detailed the different types of ponies, the way in which magic worked in this world, and there was some mention of other creatures that inhabited this land – Timberwolves, Gryphons and Zebras were just a few of them. Well, Sweetie Belle could recollect seeing the black and white striped horses at the zoo and in various children’s books she read when she was little. As for the other two, she was clueless. Of all of the creatures detailed though, one remained exceedingly hard to pronounce. It was called a dracone-
“HELLO SWEETIE BELLE AND RARITY!”
A puff of smoke appeared out of the air behind Rarity and the two of them jumped in surprise at the bellowed greeting. As it cleared, Sweetie Belle began to make out a snake-like creature whose face seemed to resemble a horse’s face while the rest of his body was unlike anything the human had ever seen, with parts of different animals making up his other bodily functions.
“Oh! It’s you, Discord. My, you’re awful for coming out of the blue like that,” said Rarity warmly.
“Oh I know, it’s just too fun surprising you,” chuckled the snake-like creature.
Sweetie Belle was a little shocked. She clearly didn’t know who this was as it didn’t sound like anyone she knew at CHS but whoever he (at least she thought it was a he) was he would have to know Rarity pretty well to not get a berating from her. She never liked being jumped like that; a few fights had even erupted between Pinkie Pie and her sister on occasions.
“Soooooooo, what are you two doing today?”
“Well, Discord, we’re on our way to Sweet Apple Acres since somepony can’t seem to remember where her clubhouse is.”
Sweetie Belle grinned sheepishly.
“Really? Oh how could that have happened?” The creature didn’t sound as concerned as the words he used made out.
“You know, I’m not quite sure. But it doesn’t matter. We need to hurry if I am to get back to complete my orders in time.”
“Oh! Well I can certainly assist with that!”
Sweetie Belle saw the beast snap his fingers and with one blink she found herself in an open field within a deeply forested area. Looking around, she discovered Rarity was no longer beside her but instead the rather welcome sight of the CMC treehouse was waiting for her across the field. It was quite amazing how recognizable it was.
She began to trot excitedly towards it but was halted by a voice pouring in and out of her head.
“Don’t worry, I won’t tell Rarity about you not being from this world…”
It sounded like the snake-like creature’s voice. Sweetie Belle’s face took a slide of panic.
How did it realise I was a human? Well, he didn’t actually say that but it was close enough!
“Hey, Sweetie Belle!”
Sweetie Belle focused herself at the sound of her friend’s voice. Apple Bloom had appeared on the platform at the treehouse and seemed to be beckoning her over. Sweetie Belle let out a sigh and smiled; happy that she could let down her façade a little. She continued her trot to the base of the treehouse and was met with a surprise.
Naturally, she had expected a ladder as their way of climbing up but she was met with a ramp. Figures. Just how could ponies climb ladders if they can’t grab things easily? She had read in the book that different species of ponies have varying levels of strength. Unicorns are generally the weakest but rely more on their magic than physical ability. And it was proving hard for the human turned pony to adjust to using her horn in place of her han…hooves.
Sweetie Belle trekked up the ramp with ease and stopped in front of Apple Bloom. She stretched her hooves awkwardly as if to give her friend a hug. Apple Bloom giggled.
“Yeah, ah haven’t got the hang of it neither…”
“Where’s Scootaloo?”
“Dunno. Ah was kinda surprised you showed up, seein’ as we don’ exactly know what to do here.”
“Well normally if we are unsure of what to do, we just meet here anyway. I thought it was best to come here and I’m guessing so did you.” Apple Bloom nodded. “So I think Scootaloo should be on her way too.”
“Yeah, yar probably right.”
As sound as her logic was, Sweetie Belle was still unsure. Like Apple Bloom, she had found the prospect of meeting her friends at the clubhouse a little farfetched. It wasn’t long though before the cream coloured unicorn was vindicated by the faint noise of panting approaching the clubhouse.
“Wow. I was right…”
Sweat ran down Scootaloo when she reached the summit of the ramp on her scooter; her exhausted expression prompting concern from both of her friends.
“Everything ok, Scoots?” asked Apple Bloom.
“Yeah…gasp…I’m just trying to get used to my new size. I can’t quite get the same power out of these hooves that I can out of my legs.” Scootaloo let out a deep sigh before continuing. “How is everyon…everypony anyway?”
“We’re fine. We can talk inside though.” Sweetie Belle gestured her friends to enter the clubhouse.
They filed in with Scootaloo propping her scooter just outside the door before entering. Apple Bloom took her regular position at the oratory stand while waiting for her friends to become seated.
“I hereby declare this the first PONY cutie mark crusader meeting!” Apple Bloom announced with obvious enthusiasm.
Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo cheered in unison before all three of them collapsed onto their backs in laughter. After about a full minute of amusement, the three crusaders recovered to a normal sitting position with Apple Bloom having sat back beside her friends.
“So how’d the farm chores go?” Scootaloo directed at Apple Bloom.
“They were alright; they were just like what we do on the farm back home unsurprisingly. Later we had “hayburgers” fer dinner. Ah asked Applejack bout’ hamburgers but she just gave me some funny looks. Guess they don’ have those here. This mornin’ though we had pancakes! Mhmm…just how Granny makes ‘em…”
“An’ what bout’ you two? What did y’all end up doing?”
“I went cruising around the town on my scooter,” began Scootaloo. “Got the hang of steering and braking easily…after stumbling into a few older ponies. Problem is I get tired very easily when I’m pushing with my hooves all the time. If only there was an easier way.”
“Well you’ve got wings now, have you tried using them?” added Sweetie Belle.
Scootaloo flexed her wings. “Yeah I have, can’t seem to fly for long though. I don’t think they’re big enough yet.”
“I meant have you tried using them when on your scooter?”
Scootaloo looked back towards Sweetie Belle. “Sorry?”
“Well instead of using your hooves all the time, why not try using the wind power from your wings? Like an aeroplane but just on the ground?”
Scootaloo considered her wings once more. “I suppose I could give it a shot.”
“By the way, Scootaloo,” added Apple Bloom. “How’d ya know where ta come?”
“Pfft, that’s easy, AB. My house is very close to your farm isn’t it?” Apple Bloom pondered on that and nodded. “Well I could make out that same barn right from my doorstep so I just followed the road to the farm and then came here!”
“An’ what bout’ yar parents? Were they just the same?”
“Yeah, they were exactly the same!” Scootaloo beamed. “It was a little weird though. It’s like I’m their daughter but they’re not really my real parents even though they are and…it’s…it’s a strange feeling. But it doesn’t seem like they suspect anything…yet.”
“Lucky for you. My sister is already on my case.”
Both crusaders turned to Sweetie Belle and stood up.
“Ya mean she’s already found out?”
“No, not like that. She just thinks there’s something wrong with me because I’ve been falling all over the place…which I am getting better at! She questioned me when I asked her about having a fork or knife when we ate dinner last night.”
“Oh come on, Sweetie Belle! AJ’s always yellin’ at me ta use my fork an’ knife but now that ah’m a pony, ah can use ma hands all ah want!”
“Hooves, I think you mean, AB.”
“Oh yeah right.”
Sweetie Belle’s memory then drifted to the creature she had been faced with earlier today. “Then just this morning! Some weird thing encountered me and Rarity as she was taking me here and said to me that he knew what I was!”
“What weird thing?”
“It was a…” As if by some magic, Sweetie Belle’s mind clicked into the passages she had been reading this morning.
“A dracon…dracone…” Sweetie Belle took a deep breath. “A DRACONEQUUS!”
Sunset Shimmer gazed through the window overlooking the kitchen sink and into the bright day that lay outside. Like the sun that was beating down, Sunset’s mind was ablaze with bickering thoughts about what had just taken place at breakfast. Taking after her overloaded brain, her hands began to scrub the plates more vigorously with the hot water soaked sponge. She plunged them into the basin for a rinse and placed them on the plate rack – only for them to be taken by her washing buddy.
“Well that was certainly somethin’,” admitted the farm girl as she worked the tea towel over the current plate. “Who knew Scootaloo was a vegetarian? Apple Bloom never mentioned it to me.”
“Because she isn’t,” replied Sunset. “Just last week when we visited the mall, she ate an entire XXL bacon double cheeseburger at Burger King and still had room left over for the fries and ice cream.”
Sunset continued to scrub the last few of the plates left in the soapy water. She smirked suddenly.
“And then later that night she gorged down on a steak; half of which had dropped onto the floor but she still ate the entire thing!”
Applejack chuckled. “Hoowhee! Scootaloo sure has some guts.”
After putting the last of the dishes on the rack, Sunset turned round and leaned on the sink. “Yeah, she’s certainly a carnivore and no mistake.”
“So why was she freakin’ out bout’ the bacon then?”
“Well, I doubt Scootaloo would have changed to vegetarianism in just a week. Then again, it shocked me for the first time when I-”
Sunset paused mid-sentence. The gears in her brain creaked as the arguing sides in her mind began to agree on one detail. She had reacted to the bacon in a similar fashion to Scootaloo before. But it couldn’t be what she thought it was. That was impossible!
Applejack moved closer to Sunset upon notice of her new stunned expression. “What is it?”
Sunset rolled her head towards Applejack. She looked deep into the eyes of her crush and thought to herself.
Do you think she can handle it? What might she think? And what if I’m wrong? Is there really any point in making her worry if it turns out it’s over nothing?
Sunset sighed deeply. She put her arms around Applejack’s shoulders. “I’m not sure. Something is definitely going on with those girls but I can’t say for sure. I need to look into it.”
Applejack pulled Sunset into an embrace. “Well ya know ah’m here ta help if ya need it, hun. Ah mean that’s what friends are for right?”
Sunset retreated her head back to rest it upon Applejack’s. She smiled coyly. “Just friends?”
Applejack blushed. “Well, umm…ah ya know what ah mean.”
Sunset hummed amusedly. She broke off from Applejack and thought for a moment. “Actually, AJ. Could you tell me more about what Apple Bloom said to you that Friday after school?”