The Flight of Scootaloo

by birdyluv0

Hallucinations

Scootaloo wakes up from her nap, her headache long gone. She yawns and does a big stretch. Something grabs her attention out of the corner of her eye. She turns around to see a dog in the room, happily wagging its little tail. Aww... It's so cute! She climbs out of bed, ignoring the slight pain in her hooves. The dog barks at her. Suddenly, it starts to change. Scootaloo gasps as she watches the cool, brown eyes change to a bright red. The dog grows bigger, and blood leaks from its mouth. Fangs protrude from its mouth, and it's claws grow wickedly sharp. Scootaloo gasps as it starts advancing on her. It gives a sharp bark before lunging at Scootaloo. Scootaloo screams, the sound echoing throughout the house.

Rainbow Dash, who is sitting downstairs reading the latest Daring Do book, jumps when she hears the scream. She rushes upstairs and throws open the door. What she sees frightens her.

Scootaloo is sitting on the ground, screeching as she shields her eyes. She backs up against the wall and screams, "GET AWAY!"

Rainbow Dash runs over to her, but is met with a sharp kick in the stomach, knocking the air out of her. She gasps, pulling in air.

"Scootaloo! What is wrong? And what did you do that for?" yells Rainbow Dash.

Scootaloo watches as the dog bears down on her. I don't want to die now... I just wanted to live at least a few more days... Suddenly, the sound of Rainbow Dash's voice reaches her ears, and the dog disappears. Scootaloo looks around the room, but sees no dog. Her eyes rest on Rainbow Dash, who is laying on the ground.

"Rainbow Dash! Did the dog hurt you?" she asks, worried.

Rainbow Dash sits up and stares at her, confused.

"What dog? What are you talking about, Scoots?" she asks.

Scootaloo stares at her. But that dog was so big! How could Rainbow Dash not have noticed it?

"The dog that was attacking me!" yells Scootaloo. Rainbow Dash stares at her, a blank look on her face. "You know! The huge dog with the red eyes and the fangs and the blood dripping from its mouth..."

Rainbow Dash shakes her head and says, "Scootaloo, there was no dog. You were imagining it."

"B-but that's impossible! It was right here! I could feel its breath on me!" cries Scootaloo.

Rainbow Dash thinks back to earlier. Side effects: Extreme Pain, hallucinations... Hallucinations!

"Uh, stay right here Scootaloo. I need to go, uh, talk to uh, somepony," says Rainbow Dash, flying out of the room. Scootaloo sits on the floor, staring at where Rainbow Dash was moments ago.

Rainbow Dash races to Friendship Castle, where she promptly knocks on the door and yells, "TWILIGHT, LET ME IN!" Twilight Sparkle opens the door.

"I was right there, there was no need to yell. Wait... what's wrong? And where's Scootaloo?" asks Twilight Sparkle.

"Well, uh.. Scoots was hallucinating. She claimed that a 'dog' was attacking her. And when I went in there, she, uh.. she kicked me," replies Rainbow Dash.

"And where is Scootaloo now? Shouldn't she be with you?" asks Twilight Sparkle.

"I, uh, I kind of, uh.. I kind of, y'know, left her in her room-" Rainbow Dash is cut off as Twilight Sparkle yells, "YOU WHAT!?!?!?!?!" She takes off, flying out the open door, leaving Rainbow Dash in the castle.

"Hey! Wait up!" calls Rainbow Dash as she closes the door and flies, catching up with Twilight Sparkle.

"You agreed to take care of her! And one of those things is NOT LETTING HER OUT OF YOUR SIGHT! Who knows what is happening to her right now!" continues Twilight Sparkle, her anger at Rainbow Dash fueling her flight. She reaches the house before Rainbow Dash and bursts in, running up to Scootaloo's room.

She walks over to Scootaloo, concern showing in her expression.

"Scootaloo, what's wrong? What did you see?" asks Twilight Sparkle, gently caressing Scootaloo's mane with her hoof.

"Well, there was this dog. It was there when I woke up, and it was just sitting there. It was so cute too! But when I approached it, it started changing. It's eyes turned red and it grew larger. And then - And then it lunged at me! It started attacking me! I was so scared, Twlight!" explains Scootaloo, bursting into tears.

"Scootaloo, that 'dog' was a figment of your imagination. There was no dog. You were doing something that is known as 'hallucinating'. It's where you see things that aren't really there. And one side effect of Small Wing Disease is hallucinations," explains Twilight Sparkle matter-of-factly. Scootaloo stares off into space, trying to process everything.

"Twilight... what is happening to me..." whispers Scootaloo, tears streaming down her cheeks. Twilight Sparkle holds her close, attempting to calm down the little filly.

"I'll be right back. I just need to have a little talk with Rainbow Dash, okay?" says Twilight Sparkle. Scootaloo nods her head, and Twilight stands up and pulls Rainbow Dash out into the hallway, closing the door behind her.

"Rainbow Dash. Are you sure you are up for this? She's not exactly 'mentally stable', and it's only going to get worse. This is just the first day. I... I just want to make sure that Scootaloo is in good hooves," says Twilight Sparkle.

"It's fine. I just... wasn't expecting her to, y'know, halluci-whatever. But I'll be prepared for it next time, I promise," replies Rainbow Dash. When she is met with a look of doubt, she says, "I will!"

"O-kay then. If you need anything, or if you think it is too much to handle, just let me know. And don't leave her alone again," says Twilight Sparkle. She re-opens the door and walks back into the room.

"I have to go now, Scootaloo. You stay with Rainbow Dash, and everything shou - will be just fine," says Twilight Sparkle, hugging Scootaloo again.

"Bye, Twilight," says Scootaloo as Twilight Sparkle exits the room. Rainbow Dash walks in and sits next to Scootaloo.

"Is there anything else bothering you, Scoots?" she asks. Scootaloo nods.

"I just... I want to fly. I don't want to be grounded for the rest of my life," replies Scootaloo. Rainbow Dash thinks for a moment before replying, "Well, how about I take you for a flight later? How does that sound?"

"I - I guess," says Scootaloo.

"I'll take you out later when I finish this Daring Do book. It is So. Awesome! In this one, Daring Do-" Rainbow Dash goes into a detailed explanation of everything that she has read so far. Scootaloo rolls her eyes. Finally, Rainbow Dash stops.

"But first, you need some rest," she finishes, picking Scootaloo up and putting her in the bed. She turns off the light and leaves the room. Scootaloo stares at the ceiling for a few moments. I don't want Rainbow Dash to carry me when she flies. I just want to fly on my own.

Author's Note:

I find that this was another rough chapter for me to write.

Comments

[mfkdso]

Good chapter!

[birdyluv0]

6163142
Thank you!

[i_am_the_jam]

Yes, a "pigment" of her imagination, because her imagination goes out of control when it comes up with the colors of the images she sees.

Figment, deary, figment

[birdyluv0]

6163231
oops

[OtakuPony]

Fnish it plz It is actually really good.

[Shady Mist]

When is the next chapter?

[Fluttershyisacutegal]

I'd like to see more of this story, but its no rush, take you're time with it

[Fluttershyisacutegal]

I mean I hallucinated once, when I had my depression and wanting to kill myself, I saw a demon when I was dating it looked like my girlfriend, but with wings and claws *shudders*