Chapters A red pony with a bright pink mane paced across the floor nervously. She walked up to the body mirror in the office and stared at herself for a few moments and what she saw was a half-dragon, half-Pegasus mare with spikes running up her back, each the same color as her mane, a dragon tail, horns, dragon wings, fangs, and bright red eyes.
She looked over at her husband, who had a short black mane and tail and wore a yellow coat and said, "Do you think it'll come back positive?"
The stallion flew over to his wife and stood beside her and said, "Of course it will, Fyhera... Or at least I hope it does,” he said with a distant look in his bright blue eyes. “I for one hope that it will be a colt."
Fyhera stared into her husband’s eyes and said, "I hope not. I'm not cut out to be a mother yet." She held back a tear as she stared at her husband and continued to say, "Ying, I don't know, maybe we shouldn’t be parents," she began to sob softly.
Ying placed his hoof on her cheek and raising her head back up, said, “We should do this, Fyhera. Definitely."
She smiled and looked at him as he gave her a gentle peck on the lips
Smiling now, Fyhera said, "You’re right. I'm sure this will work out fine."
Just then the doctor walked in and said, "Ma'am, I am happy to say that your pregnancy test has just come back positive," he smiled and continued, "We can't know yet if it's a boy or a girl, but my personal opinion is that I think it’ll be a filly."
Fyhera and Ying smiled and ying said, "That's wonderful! Can we tell when she's due yet?"
The doctor nodded and replied, "Absolutely. I'm quite sure that your foal will be born somewhere around October or November."
Fyhera smiled and said, “That would be the best time to have this baby!"
She scratched the back of her neck and her husband picked her up and said, "Come on, let's go home and get you some food and rest." He flew out of the office and checked out at the counter with his wife laying across his back, and flew home.
~~~
OCTOBER, 1999, the 7th
Fyhera sang to her newborn filly, "Hush, little baby, don't say a word, mama’s gonna buy you a mocking bird, and if that mocking bird don't sing, mama’s gonna buy you a diamond ring, and if that diamond ring don't shine, mama’s gonna buy you a gold mine, but if that mine don't mine no gold, mama’s gonna buy you a rocking horse, but if that rocking horse don't rock, mama’s gonna give you lots of love.” Her husband stood at the side of the hospital bed, watching his newborn fall asleep in her mother’s hooves.
Then Fyhera said, "I want to keep my baby, but we both know she can't grow up in a dangerous environment like the one we live in." her eyes teared up as she said, "I can't raise this child, Ying, and neither can you. We have to give her away." She sobbed openly.
Ying slightly teared up and sobbed with her, saying, "We need to go to Celestia and get her turned into a normal pegasus. Nopony is going to want a dragon-pony baby."
Fyhera agreed with him and gave the filly to Ying, saying, "Take her to Celestia, then. She’ll know best what to do."
Ying held his baby girl and simply responded, "Alright."
He started to fly away when she spoke again, "Wait! Tell celestia that her name is... Scootaloo."
Ying turned around, looked at Fyhera and he said, "I will," before flying away.
~~~
CELESTIA’S THRONE ROOM
Ying and Scootaloo entered the room, the filly having started sobbing as she saw her parents doing so, and he quickly gave Scootaloo to the Princess, saying, "Please, take her. Change her into a normal pony and then put her in an adoption center, please," he said to celestia, all the time still crying.
Slightly surprised at how the stallion so briefly gave away his own filly, she held Scootaloo and said, "What's her name?"
“Her name is Scootaloo, and please, take good care of her. Make sure she goes to a good home."
Celestia smiled warmly and said, "I will."
Scootaloo stood in the bathroom, shocked at what she saw in the mirror three days before her birthday. "I can't believe it, I can't believe I have fangs, a forked tongue and horns..." She muttered to herself. Getting up after a while, she flew silently to her bedroom, closing the door and then searching through her dresser drawer for that set of false teeth Pinkie gave her a few years ago as a party favor. "Here they are!" Scootaloo popped them in. They were a little bit too large for her mouth, but anything to hide her new teeth, she supposed. She then picked up a fake tongue - also given by Pinkie, after Scootaloo was pranked by it a few months ago - and popped the tongue into her mouth. It tasted awful, as rubber tends to. She then walked over to her hat rack and put on a feathered hat Rarity made for her as an early birthday present yesterday.
Scootaloo galloped down the steps and said "Rainbow Dash? Where are you?"
Rainbow dash appeared from beside the staircase and said, "Hey Scoot, you excited about your birthday bash?" Rainbow flew up onto the steps in front of Scootaloo, wearing a long-sleeve turtle neck shirt with a long grey skirt, square black glasses, and a pink and white striped scarf, and her tail French braided.
Scootaloo took no regard for this new nerd look rainbow dash had going on, instead just replying, “You bet! Super excited to have some jewel cake.." Scootaloo stared off into space, drooling a little bit as she thought of the delicacy to come.
"Umm, Scootaloo, ponies can't eat jewels. Only dragons can. And you’re not a dragon." Rainbow gave a confused and concerned look.
"...Oh, umm, yeah. I knew that, I meant to say chocolate cake." Scootaloo smiled and shrugged.
"Alright, but are you sure you're okay Scoots?"
"Yeah, I'm fine Dash, thanks." Scootaloo walked out of the room towards the door and looked around. "I'm goin’ out to the clubhouse, Dash! See ya later!"
Rainbow dash said, "Alright, be back tonight!" and resumed reading Daring Do's latest novel.
Scootaloo flew off the porch and towards the clubhouse, already excited. She landed on the deck of the club house and knocked on the door, "Sweetie Belle, I know you’re in there!"
Sweetie belle opened the door and said, "Shhh! Be quiet!"
Scootaloo scratched the back of her neck and walked in the door. There, sleeping In front of her was a baby phoenix. "OH MY GOSH!" Scootaloo screamed in excitement, due to the fact that she was looking at a baby phoenix.
Apple bloom was passed out on the floor and Babs was there as well, staring intently at the young bird sleeping on a pillow. Scootaloo did the same as Babs and stared intently, giving the bird’s belly a tickle with her hoof and whispering, "Maybe we can get our cutie marks in Phoenix raising."
Sweetie Belle giggled and said, "I wonder what it would look like to have a bird on your flank."
Babs picked up the phoenix and said, "I think it would be awesome. Hey Scootaloo, wanna hold her?"
Scootaloo winced at the thought and said, "Ew, no way am I holding that disgusting bird brain!"
Both Sweetie Belle and Babs Seeds’ mouths dropped in awe at what Scootaloo had said, the former opting to say, "What’s gotten into you, Scootaloo?! You love awesome things like Phoenixes!"
Scootaloo shook her head violently and said, "I'm sorry, girls, I just don't know what’s wrong with me today. I just... I gotta go," she turned around towards the door and as if her secret was meant to be exposed, her hat fell right off.
Babs and Sweetie gaped loudly at what they saw atop Scootaloo’s head.
Scootaloo turn around and said, "What now?!" She looked down and saw her hat laying on the ground. "Aww, man," Scootaloo plopped onto the ground and facehoofed with both hooves, trying to cover her horns.
"Scootaloo, I think it looks pretty cool." Babs Seed said, trying to cheer up the embarrassed young Pegasus.
Scootaloo said, "Well, I guess you should see the rest now that you've seen the worst," she yanked out the fake tongue and spit out the oversized false teeth. She opened her mouth and stuck out her tongue for her friends to see.
Sweetie Belle fainted in shock.
Babs smiled and said, "We're here for ya, Scoot. Whatever it is you’re goin’ through, we’ll always be here."
Chapter 3: day2: the transformation
After a day of explaining to her friends her new condition, Scootaloo went home to Rainbow Dash. Scootaloo once again woke up in the morning, hoping to Celestia that what she had just experienced was only a dream.
She got out of bed and walked over to her dresser. Nope, it wasn't a dream. Scootaloo facehoofed and said, "Aww man, they're still there." Running her tongue over her teeth, she then picked up her brush to brush her tail. "Oh no," Scootaloo said to herself, panicking. What she saw behind her was no longer a normal pony tail, but a long dragon tail with pink fuzz at the end. Then she noticed her wings, which also seemed to be transformed, this time into dragon wings.
Scootaloo grunted in frustration and anger as she trotted towards her closet. The first outfit she went for was the one she used to express being a total fan of Rainbow Dash.
She put on the now tight fake rainbow tail over her dragon tail, the Rainbow Dash wig and false wings, and the t-shirt with her idol’s face on it to complete the look. She then popped in the false teeth and tongue and ran down the steps to find absolutely no rainbow-colored pegasus there to greet her at the bottom of the steps. "Oh well, she's probably napping on a cloud again," she said quietly to herself.
She floated gently to the ground after having walked out the door and jumped off the balcony as usual, heading towards the clubhouse ready and prepared to talk to her friends some more. As usual, she landed on the balcony of the clubhouse and practically kicked down the door. Not quite as usual, Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon were inside. Scootaloo gasped at the sight of Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon. Diamond Tiara gave Scootaloo an evil grin and said, "Oh, look who showed up for the party, Spoons."
Silver Spoon gave the same unnerving grin as Diamond Tiara and said, "Oh, beautiful." She walked up beside Diamond Tiara, both still giving that same devilish smile.
Apple Bloom attempted to say something, but had her mouth blocked by a gag that had been shoved in her mouth, along with Babs Seed and Sweetie Belle. All of them had been tied to an iron rod that Silver Spoon and Diamond Tiara had installed in the back left corner.
Scootaloo almost instantly was furious. Her entire face grew a crimson red and her false teeth dropped out of her mouth. Scootaloo decided it would be best if she had no outfit for what she was going to do. She whipped her tail to the side to get the fake one off, not taking for a second taking her eyes off of Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon. She shook her head. knockin the wig to the ground and she flapped her wings violently to shake off the false ones. The shirt would have taken too much time and didn't really matter.
The entire process took about three seconds, and once she was done she gritted her teeth and said, "You…” inching towards the two bullies. “You. Don't. Hurt. My. Friends."
Scootaloo’s body started to vibrate as she growled loudly and black smoke started to blow out of her nose with every exhale. She suddenly roared very loudly and the her back hooves left the ground as she kept her forehooves on the ground and her head close to the ground. She tilted her head forward, and before the bullies could get a single word out of their mouth, Scootaloo had them thrown onto the ground, having rammed into them faster than they could see it coming. Then Scootaloo used her sharp fangs to pick the two up by their necks as if they were cats and threw them off the balcony. She then quickly flew back inside to release her friends from the rope and remove their gags.
"Wow!" The three fillies screamed and cheered, "Thanks, Scootaloo!"
"Aw, it was no biggie." Scootaloo smiled proudly as she talked.
"Scootaloo! We have to tell somepony about your new abilities!" Sweetie belle jumped in front of Scootaloo, smiling wider than ever.
"What?! No! Nopony can find out about this, girls!" Scootaloo used her wings to turn around and sit. Crossing her hooves and closing her eyes, her facial expression died down to slight sadness.
Scootaloo heard a gasp come from behind her. It was apple bloom. "Uh, Scoot, your coat..." said Babs Seed, gesturing to Scootaloo with her right forehoof. Scootaloo turned her head to look at Babs and then noticed that instead of a furry coat covering her body, she now had scales.
Scootaloo gasped and almost started crying right then and there, but instead of tears, she let out a loud roar of frustration before almost yelling, "You know what?! I'm outta here! I'm going home and I'm not coming out until my birthday bash!" Before any of her friends could say anything, Scootaloo was outside of the clubhouse and on her way back home faster than ever.
Scootaloo flew into a dark rain cloud and clamped down on it, shaking her head rapidly like a dog ripping up a chew toy. The cloud immediately vanished, and just on the other side of where it used to be, was Cloudchaser.
Cloudchaser gasped at the sight before her and Scootaloo was gone in seconds, this time aiming for the Everfree forest. Hoping to see Zecora somewhere, she dove down into the trees. She knew she could trust Zecora to keep her secret and answer her questions. Why not? Apple Bloom seems to be okay around her.
Scootaloo landed on the ground not to far from Zecora’s place and looked around before stepping forward. Once she takes her first step towards the home in front of her, she is sprayed in her face by a plant not unlike the one that attacked the princess the day she saved the Tree of Harmony.
Chapter 4: The Transformation Part Two
Scootaloo struggled to breathe as she was now getting sprayed in the face by giant gas-spewing plants. She coughed and waved her forehoof in the air in an attempt to blow away the mist that was choking her. All of a sudden-
"Halt! Who goes there?" Zecora said in a surprisingly masculine voice as she walked towards the struggling Scootaloo.
"It's me, Zecora!" said the suffering filly as she waved her hoof in the air to swipe away the mist, while sputtering and gasping for air.
"Young Scootaloo, why are you here? In these parts of the forest, there is much to fear." Zecora said excitedly as she pushed away her plants. "Remember the time the forest ran wild as a boar, when your friends went to stop it right at the core?
"I think so, yeah," Replied Scootaloo forgetting about her condition for a moment.
"Once it returned to its usual state, I kept a few seeds, they make a great gate.”
Scootaloo was confused. “But why would you need these to protect your home? By now the creatures here should be used to you, right?”
“Used to me, yes, they just may be. But there is more here than even my eyes can see. My home is still prone to attacks from beasts most foul, so these plants help keep out the dangers that prowl." Zecora kept talking, not yet noticing Scootaloo's transformation.
"Oh, well you should probably have more consideration of other ponies that might wanna come visit you, Zecora."
"Although as nice it is to see you here, I have many brews I must finish without you near." Zecora went through many different ideas in her mind to make Scootaloo leave, because she started to notice that Scootaloo was undergoing some sort of transformation.
"Fine..." Scootaloo replied with a tone of sadness, sitting down and hanging her head.
"You best be on your way Scootaloo, for there are many monsters you could bump into. I suggest you seek help from one of your friends. Quickly now, this place is not friendly once the day ends.” Zecora continued, biting her bottom lip and pushing Scootaloo away from her house.
Scootaloo walked out of the Everfree forest, no longer caring whether anypony saw her or not. She sulked along, not knowing what to do when she saw a small hole in the ground next to a fountain statue. She stared at the statue for a moment before flying up to the hole and peeking inside. There was mostly nothing but darkness and a gemstone or two, as well as a few bits.
Scootaloo usually wouldn't be very interested in this, but she decided to crawl into the hole to sulk alone. She curled up into a ball, very much like a cat would, and then nodded off into a deep sleep.
A few hours later, in the middle of the night, Scootaloo awoke. She was still in the hole. Letting out a long yawn, she muttered to herself, "Wow, I must have slept all day." She used her new claws to help herself out of the hole and looked around.
She saw nopony. Only Spike a few feet away, sitting on a bench not too far from the fountain itself. He appeared to be crying. She flew quietly next to him and sat down, not caring whether he saw her or not since he was a good secret keeper and also a dragon.
"Spike," Scootaloo said, worried. She saw that he was staring at a black piece of onyx. Spike’s eyes swirled green and red. He saw terrible things when he looked into this piece of onyx. His friends were all changing in very bad ways and screaming at Pinkie Pie. Rainbow Dash was mutilating herself, Rarity was shredding her designs, Applejack was crushing her best apples into bits, Twilight burned her books, Fluttershy was harming the animals she was supposed to be taking care of, Twilight kicked Spike out, and in the midst of all this, Pinkie was sitting and crying, watching her friends do all of those terrible things.
Scootaloo looked at the gem, confused. All she saw when she looked at it was a tasty snack. She shook Spike’s shoulder and he snapped out of his trance. "Oh, hi Scootaloo,” he said, “I saw this laying in my room and I wondered what it was. It looks like a piece of the black crystal that grew when King Sombra came back to take over the Crystal Empire. I came here to look it over. I just looked at it and I was all of a sudden standing around with my friends and Twilight. Pinkie Pie was just walking up to us, and the things my friends were doing to themselves and the things they cared about was awful. There was blood all over the place, and Twilight... She didn't want me anymore. So I came over here and sat down and started crying." Spike’s tears dried up as he realized that his vision reminded him of that door in the bottom of the Crystal Palace, the one that made Twilight see her worst fears.
"Ouch man, that sounds scary. Wanna hear my story?" Scootaloo asked, eagerly wanting to change the subject and let somepony know what’s been bothering her.
"Sure" Spike shrugged, not thinking anything could be worse than what he had seen.
"Well, yesterday I woke up and I looked like a demon, with the horns, fangs, and even a snake tongue. I had to put on all of this fake stuff so that nopony would notice. Then today I woke up and I had a dragon tail, dragon wings, and now scales. I had to throw bullies out of the clubhouse with my new fangs, too. I tried visiting Zecora to see what she could do or tell me about what’s happening, but she had stuff to do and told me to go away. Tomorrow is my birthday and all I’ve done since then was sleep in a hole in the ground." Scootaloo said. She felt as it a weight had been lifted from her chest.
"Wow. That sounds intense," Spike said, giving a half smile, "I'm sure you'll make an awesome dragon." He wasn’t fazed at all by the fact that Scootaloo was changing into a dragon.
Scootaloo stared at Spike for a moment, wondering how he could take this so lightly, but then shrugged it off because he obviously had his own bad experience to deal with. She just said, "Well, I'm going to crawl back up into my hole now. See ya." She trotted back to her hole leading underneath the fountain statue and crawled back in, this time eating a ruby. It tasted like a cherry, but sweeter. After savoring every bite of the tasty gemstone, she slowly drifted off to sleep.
