Integration

by CoAlFire

Life in the Fast Lane

Sweet mother of Chrysalis, my everything hurts. Echo literally rolled out of bed onto the floor and clasped her hooves over her ears, igniting her horn in an effort to will her alarm clock to be silent. She couldn't concentrate well enough though, and instead opted to pick it up and smash it into the ground until it yielded to her will. Eventually, violence solved her problem, and she gently released her ears. She kept her eyes half-closed, and stumbled down the stairs to the kitchen. Coffee. I need coffee. She eventually found the bag of beans, and slowly came to a horrifying realization. She stared at the coffee grinder a meter or so away. My only love sprung from my only hate! She searched for something with which to deafen the sound of the grinder, but could find nothing. Coffee is the salve I need... if it means I must endure thirty seconds of hellish pain, so be it... She poured a measure of coffee into the grinder, closed it, and winced as she pressed the button.

The grinder made a sound that felt like someone was drilling into opposite sides of her head, and the bits were meeting in the middle. It was a prodigious pain, and for just the few seconds that it lasted, it made her yearn for death.

Soon though, the grind was done, and a heavenly aroma filled Echo's nose. Relief was now not more than a few minutes away. She deposited the ground coffee, flipped the switch, and smiled as the nectar of the Gods began to fill the pot.

She rummaged through the pantry, preparing to make a meal for Scootaloo. Eventually, she settled on a blueberry muffin and a banana. Cooking was too much trouble this morning.

She stumbled back up the stairs and opened Scootaloo's door. "Scoot..." She kept her eyes closed, as the filly's window faced the East. The light was blinding and painful, not at all unlike like a knife to the eye. "Wake up."

"Mmmfm. Don't wanna."

"Not in the mood. Up. Now. Eat food. Go to school. Come home. Up now."

"All right, Cave Mom, sheesh."

The covers flew off the bed onto the ground, but Echo didn't care enough to chastise the filly. She just turned around and stumbled back downstairs. The pot of coffee was now full. "Merciful coffee, how I love you." It poured into her cup, black as coal. She smiled and sipped when she sat down at the dining room table and almost swore she could feel the beverage working its magic before it had even hit her stomach.

Scootaloo slid down the railing and did a flip before landing square on all four hooves. She took a seat, pulled out a hair brush she'd tucked under one of her wings, and began to brush the tangles out of her mane. "How'd you sleep, Mom?"

Echo winced. "A bit quieter, please, honey." She sighed. "I slept like the dead... and feel like the living-dead."

"Party too hard?" She laughed.

Echo growled over her coffee and glared at the filly. "Eat your muffin."

Scootaloo shrugged and took a bite of the pastry. With a full mouth, she leaned back in her seat. "So," she mumbled through the muffin, "What happened with you and the idiot?"

"Scootaloo, be nice." She sat her forehead down on the table and closed her eyes. "We were just playing monopoly waiting for Rarity and the other Elements to show up. Turns out Pinkie and Surprise had different plans. Turned into a huge party. AJ brought hard cider. I had too much."

"Okay, but that doesn't answer my question."

"You asked what happened between us? We danced. I think. That's it."

"You didn't... you know... bow-chicka-wow-wow?"

Echo's head shot up and she glared at Scootaloo. "Okay, where have you been hearing about all this?"

Scootaloo shrugged. "I have my sources. You didn't though, right?"

"No." Echo stated emphatically. "All I remember is a quick dance, I gave him a friendly hug, and then we came home."

"You hugged him, really?"

"Scootaloo, he's not as bad as you think. He's a good friend."

"You don't feel anything else for him?"

"No."

Scootaloo laughed. "You sure? He's the first changeling colt you've been around in like two years, right?"

"Three. Yes, I'm sure. We're just friends."

"The girls in the 9th grade say there's no such thing as 'just friends' between colts and fillies. They say there's always one of the two of them who wants more."

"Well, everyone knows that 9th graders are the epitome of romantic wisdom, right?" Echo deadpanned. "Just eat your breakfast, feather-duster." The coffee was starting to kick in. "I'm gonna take Ricochet a cup. I'm sure he could use it."

She walked back into the kitchen, poured a second cup of coffee, and took it carefully upstairs. She knocked on his door. "Ricochet, wake up."

"Owwwwwww..."

"Yeah, I know. Open up, I've got something that'll help." Echo waited for a few seconds more than she thought should have been necessary, but eventually Ricochet managed to open the door.

"What is it?"

"Coffee."

He blinked at it a few times. "Never had it. What's it do?"

"It'll make you feel better. Trust me. If you've never had it though it's probably going to taste awful, like jealousy."

He stuck out his tongue at that. "As long as it makes this unholy headache go away."

She nodded. "Enjoy. I'll be downstairs, okay?"

"Yep..." He nodded back. "Thanks, Echo."

Once Echo returned downstairs, she saw that Scootaloo had poured herself a bowl of cereal, and was reading the comics from the paper. Echo was actually fairly pleased that Scootaloo had decided to go out and get the paper this morning, both because it was a good habit and because she herself was really not looking forward to going out into that bright, sunny mess.

"Mom?" Scootaloo looked up. "Do you still love me?"

"Wh..." Echo nearly dropped her mug. Instead, she set it down gently, and blinked a few times. "What did you just ask?"

"Do you still love me?"

"Why would you ask something like that, Scoot?"

"It's just... since we got back here, you've spent all this time with Twilight and with your friends and even with ... him ... but barely any with me." She set down the comics and obviously fought a few tears. "Did ... did having another changeling in your life make you forget about me? Is there something he can do that I can't?"

"Scootaloo, honey, I don't --"

"I just want to make you proud, Mom." Scootaloo looked down, her mane hiding her eyes. The quiver in her voice, however, betrayed the depth of her hurt.

Echo turned and walked into the living room, opening a nearby cabinet and fumbling through its contents. Eventually she found the photo album, and brought it back into the dining room. She set it down gently and opened it to a bookmarked page. On that page was a crowded image of the square outside town hall. There were tents and ponies everywhere. One banner at the top of the photo read "Congratulations Candie" and another below it read "and Scootaloo". At the center of the image, Echo was bowing low in her old disguise as Candlelight, hugging Scootaloo close to herself. There was a judge behind them, smiling brightly. The afterimage of pegasi flying overhead could be seen in the sky, and confetti fell from the freshly busted clouds. It was also obvious that everyone in the crowd was applauding vigorously.

"Do you see this photo, Scootaloo?" Echo pointed. "Do you remember this day?"

"Y... yeah. That was the day you officially adopted me."

"Exactly. Do you remember what I said to you after this picture was taken?"

"You... you said, 'Scootaloo, I'll never let you go. Do you understand that?'"

"Never." Echo said firmly, finishing the quote at the same time as Scootaloo. "I'm sorry the past few days have been so hard, but I promise you, Scoot... I'm proud of you. I'm so proud. You're growing into a beautiful young mare, and... I'm sorry I don't know how to help you very well... but nopony is ever going to get between me and my little filly. Got me?"

Scootaloo looked into Echo's eyes and tried her best to stay strong. Her bottom lip trembled though and eventually gave way. She hung her head and sobbed. Echo put a hoof on Scootaloo's shoulder and pulled her into a hug. "Never." Echo held her like that for a few minutes until she calmed down. Eventually, though, she did. Echo pulled back and smiled, wiping a tear off of Scootaloo's cheek. "All right, now. Go on, get cleaned up and off to school."

"Okay, Mom..." She sniffled and started up the stairs.

* * *

Ricochet had started down the stairs, but had quickly decided to retreat until the moment was over. That was why Scootaloo hated him? She thought he was getting between her and her mom? He sat on his haunches, nursing his coffee and trying to wrap his head around it. He wasn't getting between them, was he? No. Echo would have told him if he were. He was sure of it.

Still, what if she asked him to leave? He winced. Just that idea felt painful. He didn't want to leave. He liked being around Echo, she was fun... even if her mother wanted to murder him and her daughter hated his guts.

Both of which presented a problem. He was just going to make her life harder if he stayed around. It would be selfish of him.

He knew it would be selfish, and he didn't want to be selfish, but at the same time, just the idea of not being around Echo seemed to cause him physical distress. It hurt, like a muscle cramping inside his chest. He couldn't leave her... but at the same time, he couldn't force himself into her life, especially not if it was going to make things harder for her. That wasn't what a friend would do, after all. Maybe he should ask Echo what to do. She would know, right?

He heard Echo tell Scootaloo to get ready for school, but when he heard Scootaloo start up the stairs, his eyes widened and he moved for his door. Unfortunately, he was a bit too slow. When Scootaloo rounded the corner at the top of the stairs and let out a frustrated sigh, he smiled politely. "Morning."

"Yeah..." She pushed her way past him to the bathroom.

Truthfully he was okay with her not wanting to talk to him right then. He wouldn't have had any idea what to say. He picked up his coffee again and started down the stairs.

"Good morning, Echo."

Echo looked up from the cabinet where she was putting away the photo album. "Oh. Morning Ricochet. How'd you sleep?"

"Okay... but I don't know why I feel so awful."

"It's called a hangover. It means we had too much cider last night." Echo groaned and sat back down at the table, motioning for him to sit across from her. "Did you have fun at the party, though?"

"I..." He swallowed nervously. He couldn't just tell her that he'd started to have feelings for her, that would not go over well. Besides, she was almost twice his age. That was weird, right? "I did. I had a lot of fun."

"Good." Echo smiled and sipped at her mug. "That's the kind of thing you can look forward to with my friends. I used to really hate parties, and I'm still not a huge fan of the surprise variety like we got last night... but I'm tolerant of them, and even like them once they've started."

"The dance was fun. Some of those ponies in there had a lot of love."

"I know, right?!" She beamed. "Let me tell you, Chrysalis had one thing right: love is everywhere in Equestria. We don't need to steal it though, that's for sure."

"Can ... can I ask you something, Echo?"

"Huh? Sure. Go for it." She leaned back in her chair a bit and tilted her head curiously.

"How do you sort it all out?"

The question would have been confusing to a pony, most likely, but Echo knew exactly what he meant. Among changelings, there were almost never emotions shared. Energy was precious, and it wasn't just freely given. Changelings kept their feelings to themselves when in the company of other changelings, by and large. The biggest challenge for her in learning how to deal with living in pony society had been not being overwhelmed by the constant barrage of emotions. Some ponies were scared, some were curious, some were happy, others were sad, and the list went on and on. For a creature like a changeling that was an emotional lightning rod, it could be severely overwhelming. She imagined it was likely harder for Ricochet than it had been for her, too, since he had spent twenty of his twenty-two years in the hive, never even seeing a pony.

"Well..." She started, tapping her chin. "I think the most important thing is practice, but basically, you need to learn to just focus on as few ponies at a time as you can. If you're in a one-on-one conversation with one of them, you focus on them and only them. Like I said, though, it's going to take practice. It can get especially distracting if you're in public talking to somepony and then a loving couple walks beside you."

"I... I don't know if I can do that."

"You'll have trouble at first, but a little practice will go a long way." She smiled.

As nervous as he was, he couldn't help but smile back when he saw her face. She made him feel like he could do anything. "All right... I'll try my best!" He nodded confidently.

"That's the spirit." Echo smiled and yawned. "Now... I'm going to make us some miso egg-drop soup."

"W... why? We don't eat food like ponies."

"Nope, but miso soup helps rehydrate us and refill our sodium reserves, and eggs have taurine and cysteine, which boost liver function and break down the chemical that's giving you that headache, respectively."

"Oh. So medicinal food."

"Yep." Echo began to prepare the Miso broth. "Now, on to business. Today, we're going to need to start teaching you all about how to live with ponies. I guess there are a couple things I should go over first. For one, like I said yesterday, don't ask any mares how old they are... under any circumstances. It's considered very rude. Second, the next time you want to dance with a mare, headbutting her in the ribs probably isn't the best way to go about it."

"Oh, uh, about that... Pinkie and Surprise kind of made me do that."

Echo snickered. "What, you mean you didn't want to dance with me? I'm not good enough for you?"

"Ah! That's not really what I meant!" He stammered.

"Relax, it's a joke." She laughed. "Yeah, that sounds like them, I'm not really surprised by that. Still, in the future, try to avoid the ribs, okay?"

"Oh... kay." He bit his lip a little and looked down at his placemat.

"Okay, Mom, I'm ready to go to school!" Scootaloo shouted as she walked down the stairs.

"Good, Scoot. Just take a seat and wait, all right? We'll head out in a few minutes."

"Okay, Mom, that sounds --" She stopped and glared at Ricochet. "... fine." She took a seat as far as possible from him. He continued to avert his gaze.

Eventually, Echo returned with two bowls of soup, and began to enjoy hers at a measured pace. Ricochet, however, consumed his with a frightening speed once he realized that it was, indeed, beginning to work as a remedy for his discomfort. After ten minutes, Echo finished hers and took the bowls to the sink. "All right," she said, "Let's go." When Scootaloo bolted for the door, Echo followed, stopping as she passed the dining room table. She looked at Ricochet, who was remaining seated. "Well, are you ready?"

"Uh... for what?"

"We're going to take Scoot to school."

"Echo, I don't think she wants me there."

"Of course she doesn't, but she's going to have to get used to it, isn't she? After all..." She leaned in close to his ear. "You're going to be her escort to school in the morning from now on."

He sputtered, looking at her incredulously. "Echo, that's a horrible idea."

"No it isn't." She said with a shrug. "It'll give you an opportunity to speak with some of the other kids' parents, which means an opportunity to learn how to interact with ponies, which means you'll be getting one step closer to functioning around them. Now, don't give me two kids to usher out the door; stop giving me trouble and let's go."

He swallowed hard again as he stood. "All... right."

* * *

The walk to School was tense. Scootaloo was livid about having Ricochet around, but Echo would have none of her resistance. The elder mare did her best to keep a lively conversation going with Ricochet, in the hopes that being left out of the conversation would inspire Scootaloo to join in, but her plan was thwarted by Ricochet's own unwillingness to speak.

Maybe this wasn't such a good idea after all. She shrugged.

After a few minutes, the trio arrived at the schoolhouse, and Scootaloo departed after giving Echo a quick hug.

"So, what now?" Ricochet asked.

Echo motioned to all the other parents around them. "Now, we find someone to talk to. Over there are Sweetie Belle's parents, Hondo Flanks and Cookie Crumbles." Echo smiled. "They're friendly, I think they're a good place to start." She turned and waved, walking over to the pair. "Good morning!"

Hondo looked over and smiled back, the sides of his mustache turning up. "Good morning! Look, honey, it's Scootaloo's mom."

Cookie turned away from waving goodbye to Sweetie and beamed brightly. "Oh, it's great to see you again, Echo!" She looked at Ricochet. "Who is your new friend?"

"This is Ricochet, he's new in town." She neglected to mention that he had actually been impersonating her for the past two years. "I'm meant to be showing him around and teaching him all about how to be friends with ponies."

"Oh, well, any friend of Scootaloo's mom is a friend of ours." Hondo grinned. "Tell me, son, do you like hoofball?"

"Wh... what's hoofball?"

"What's hoofball, he asks?! Oh, son, I've got a lot to teach you. Echo, if you don't mind, I'm going to take your coltfriend out for a day to a game."

"Oh, he's not my c--"

"Come on then!" Hondo wrapped a foreleg around Ricochet's neck. "Let's go teach you a thing or two." The bulky stallion began to drag Ricochet away, and was met with no resistance. Ricochet actually found this stallion somewhat endearing... if a bit pushy.

"Colts will be colts." Cookie chuckled. "I'm sure Hondo is just overjoyed to have another stallion to be friends with. Our house has been full of estrogen for quite some time, with Rarity first and now Sweetie Belle."

"Oh, you're telling me. I'm still trying to wrap my head around the way Scootaloo's been acting."

"Teenagers. It never gets any easier."

"It doesn't?" Echo's eyes widened and filled with fear.

"Well, not until they're out on their own, at least. What, do changelings not have teenagers?"

"We do, but... it's not that special, it's just an awkward phase between pupa and terminal molt, where we're not quite fully grown and a little unfamiliar with our own bodies."

"Ah. Well, with ponies, we get that same unfamiliarity, but also a big old mixing pot full of confusing hormones!" Cookie smiled brightly. "It's even worse for young mares, for some reason."

"H... how do you deal with it? The constant mood swings, the acting out... all of it?"

"For the most part? You just let it go. Let them do what they're going to do. Now, when they do something really unacceptable, you'll have to put a hoof down, but when they're just telling you how much they love you one second and then screaming that you ruined their life the next... well, you just grin and bear it. She'll come around eventually, Echo."

"Oh, Chrysalis, I hope so. Thanks for the advice."

"I know so, and you're quite welcome. Now... what would you say if we went and had a mare's day out while the colts are off watching or playing hoofball?" Cookie seemed to buzz with excitement.

"That actually sounds great, thank you! Where should we go?"

"Shopping."

"Sounds great!" Echo smiled. Oh, my poor checkbook...

Author's Note:

A new chapter for today, you guys.

As always, hope you enjoy.

I'd love to hear your theories about where you think this is going, or your opinions about where you'd like to see it go. I can't promise it would change anything, but I'd still love to hear it.

Have a great day, everyone.

CoAlFire

Comments

[DominiusTWD]

hmmm she didnt correct him....

[CoAlFire]

7992089 Who did she not correct, and when?

[DominiusTWD]

7992149

*gasp* i cant, spoilers!

[CoAlFire]

7992174

I read through again and I didn't see what you're talking about...

... and I wrote the thing.

[DominiusTWD]

7992220

ill try to be vague, it was when they were talking to a certain marshmallos parents

[CoAlFire]

7992227

Ah. That part. Right.

Well, take it however you like!

[Veyron]

I'm sorry the title I had to.
I am happy to see this story is back.

[CoAlFire]

7992246 Exactly the song I was thinking when I made that title.

[Razzy]

I half expected Echo to throw the alarm clock out the window.

Why do I feel like Ricochet is young to get trampled?

Shopping spree~

[Veyron]

7992406 Yaaaay

[CoAlFire]

7992621 RIP Glenn

[Veyron]

7992644 I know

[KMCA]

You know, I really prefer their canon names. Magnum and... Pearl(?)

[Emperor]

I'm beginning to wonder just how dense Ponyville is that they never realised their resident changeling was off. Pretty dense probably . I think Echo is pushing Ricochet a little too hard and a little too fast. I'm still somewhat surprised by his refusal to reveal where his hive was located, considering he basically admitted that it was destroyed earlier too.

[tsaukpaetra]

8014351 yeah, this is Ponyville we're talking about. They probably just chalked it up to "changeling weirdness"

[Texus]

Scootaloo laughed. "You sure? He's the first changeling colt you've been around in like two years, right?"

It is strange since I like the character, but a shipping doesn't feels right to me.
I thought about the moment with Pinkie again, you know when a character or a person thinks she knows that two are made for each other or in love, when they actually are just assuming it is like that.
I admit that is something that I often disliked because it came in such a manipulating way in several stories.

"The girls in the 9th grade say there's no such thing as 'just friends' between colts and fillies. They say there's always one of the two of them who wants more."

I don't believe that either.

"Did ... did having another changeling in your life make you forget about me? Is there something he can do that I can't?"

That somehow looks so random.

8014351
Everything feels a little bit to fast.

7992089
I think she tried to do that but couldn't finish because of Cookie.

-----------------------------
I would prefer a rewrite, mostly to change the way Ricochee is introduced and to make the romance appear less forced, I mean less as if the others tried to push them together and everything.
I think I would have liked it already more if they didn't lived together but had some sort of privat lession classes for him at her home.

[Atom Smash]

Well, this chapter started out hilarious and continued with a dose of feels. Nice.