Higher Senses

The safe haven stood tall, bearing a red cross for all to see. The sun’s light created a beautiful wave of colors as it shined on the windows. From outside, the building looked peaceful. Inside, every nurse and doctor ran from door to door. They pushed a stretcher with a patient on it or nurses dropped papers from their hooves onto the floor. A heavy silence carried in Room 124, punctuated by the heart monitor beeping each second. Scootaloo clutched her ears tightly when the noise became too loud. Her scream pierced the doctors and nurses’ ears.

“What’s happening to her!” “I don’t know! This hasn’t happened before!”Something pulled her into a hug and buried her face in a warm place. The noises all faded as she sat in place. The scent of apples filled her nose. Her eyes traveled up until she was staring face-to-face with a teary-eyed Earth Pony, her forelegs wrapped around her. “It’s okay, Scootaloo, I’m here.” Applejack’s sweet southern voice boomed in her ears as she held Scootaloo tight.She tensed up as something went through her back. Shivering as a cold feeling shot into her blood.Applejack gently laid her down and brushed her mane with a hoof. “Ssssh, everything is going to be okay.”Her body was frozen as her muscles started to stiffen. She wanted to reach out to Applejack, but failed as her eyes began to droop down. “Apple… jack.”“Ssssh, it's okay.”Next thing Scootaloo knew, she had fallen asleep.

Trees surrounded the area, silvered and transformed by the light of the full moon which hung low in the sky like a great luminous pearl that cast long, deep shadows far down a trail before her. The moon looked pale, as if it shouldn't have been up on a night like this. A cold sensation tingled down her spine, making her shiver.Where am I? She looked around the odd and dark woods. Am I dead?  Scootaloo heard a sound from behind her. She spun around to see a shadowy figure only a few feet away from her. “Princess Luna? Is that… is that you?”Scootaloo stopped as she saw a record sitting on a nearby rock.“Happy Birthday to you.“Happy Birthday to you.”That part kept playing as the words echoed in her ears. She started hyperventilating and her heart pumped faster. She turned around as something caught her attention. Instead of Luna approaching, a bat darted by and nearly took off her head. She managed to duck down before it could and looked up to see it land on a tree branch.Something made her feel connected to it; Was it the purple hairs on its head, or its orange body instead of black? Its eyes were slitted like a cat’s and glowed with a creepy purple light. Its body flicked off the tree limb and launched towards her for a second time.“Ah!” Scootaloo jumped into a nearby bush. She raised her head to see the light fading away, creating new shadows and dark patches around her. Eyes glimmered from within the darkness, and tree hollows. They followed her movements, always watching, never blinking. The wind wailed between distorted trunks, carrying the sickly stench of wood rot.The hairs on her back bristled as she heard the bat screech from the shadows. Scootaloo bolted in fear, running as fast as her legs could move. As she ran, she tried to ignore the glowing eyes within the shadows. They were creatures most likely woken by her thundering hooves. Scootaloo looked behind her and saw that nothing was chasing her. She took a few minutes to scan the area carefully as she trotted, nerves on end.Trees and dirt were all she saw, no bat flying overhead. She fell to the ground exhausted. Her wheezing caused the animals in the treeline to growl. Scootaloo shrieked upon spotting the bat.  Its sharp teeth filled her vision as it made for her exposed face.Thoughts ran through her mind. The most prominent being, “Where the heck was Luna when she needed her?” As she heard the bat deadly screech, she shouted out on the top of her lungs.“Nooo!”Scootaloo covered her foreleg and closed her eyes. Expecting two sharp fangs piercing her flesh, she never felt them. Instead, she opened her eyes and noticed Luna standing in front of her. “Luna?”Luna stood her ground even as the bat charged at her. Her eyes were focused. At the last minute, Luna’s horn fired a bright light at the bat. The bat let out a screech as the light hit its chest and fell on the ground.Luna  turned around and grabbed Scootaloo as she pulled her from the ground. “Are you alright?”Scootaloo gulped and nodded. “I’m still in once piece.”Scootaloo was about to speak until Luna pointed somewhere up ahead. Walking up, Scootaloo gasped as she saw the bat laying down. A flash of light revealed that it was actually a batpony. Scootaloo was in shock as she stared at her unconscious self.““Amazing what one’s subconscious could create.” Luna said with a sigh. “You still do not accept your nature."“Y-y-you mind explaining why there’s an knocked version of me on the ground!” Scootaloo shouted as she glared at Luna.“You are afraid of what you’re capable of,” Luna said. “You feared one day you might hunt day somepony like the bat had done to you.”"What do you expect me to do? Just go ‘Okay, so I'm not a pegasus. I'm a batpony! Thanks for telling me!’" Scootaloo rolled her eyes. She stared off in space before a sigh escaped her mouth. “Luna, what if…..never mind.” She shook her head.“You wish to tell me something?”Scootaloo nodded, but realised what she did then shook her head. Luna frowned. “Scootaloo, I cannot help you if you are distant. In fact, you are like this, nopony want help you.”Scootaloo looked up and saw the pain in Luna’s eyes. “I….I can’t.”"It's not easy you know. I still.....I still can't get over the fact this is happening to me."Luna draped a wing over her. Scootaloo’s eyes drooped down as the silence grew. Luna looked down at Scootaloo with a smile. “Seems like you have a visitor.”Scootaloo’s ears perked up. Before she could ask who, a bright light blinded her.

Scootaloo’s eyes cracked open, but all she could see were blobs of color. She couldn’t move her head, so her eyes searched the room. Her worries eased as she recognized the familiar heart monitor beeping next to her bedside.Scootaloo’s ears perked up as a clatter of hooves came closer to the door. Two voices resonated in the corridor, but from where she lay, she could hear them clearly as if she were out there conversing with them. One was Twilight Sparkle’s, and the other was a rougher tone belonging to a stallion she didn't recognize.“I had no choice,” said the masculine voice. “I gave her something to calm her.”“What happened?” Twilight asked.He groaned. “She woke up screaming.”“Why?”“I’m afraid I don't know. She woke up, clutched her ears, and started screaming.  She was clearly in pain, so I had the nurses sedate her. It’s all I could think of at the moment.”“You tried your best, Doctor,” Twilight said. “How long was she out?”“Hmm, I’d say seven to eight hours,” he replied, unsure.“Can I see her?”“Certainly, Princess.”Scootaloo heard the clacking of their hooves approaching the door. The knob began to twitch back and forth. She heard the door creak open and heard them whispering. Twilight was thanking him and he said he'd be back to check in, closing the door.“Scootaloo, are you awake?”  she heard the young princess’ whispering.Twilight walked to her bed. When she sat down, Scootaloo could see that Twilight had a notebook levitating in her magic. Maybe Twilight didn’t notice Scootaloo's eyes were halfway open as she continued to scribble down her notes. Mumbling in short sentences such as,“Fangs… leathered wings… what is this?” She felt pain in her hoof as something gripped on it. A sigh echoed within the room as the heart monitor beeped. She wanted to let Twilight know she was awake, but her lips refused even the slightest motion.“Hang in there, Scootaloo. I will fix this.”She had a ghostly smile on her face. However, it fell as Twilight rose up from the chair. She wanted to reach out to her, call her, whatever to get her stay as she walked out the door. Scootaloo screamed, but nopony heard her as it was inside her head.She heard hooves as they clinked on the floor, coming closer to her. Her hope rose up only for it to be crushed when the pony she thought was back was actually a nurse. A nurse with a blue mane and brown coat. “Just gotta put a little more into a system so you can rest.”Scootaloo felt her heart beat as the mare stuck the needle into her foreleg. She felt dizzy as the liquid seeped into her system.“There,” she said, taking it out. She smiled and walked out the room. Her vision became blurry as the medicine reached its full impact. The last thing she saw, outside was the sun began to settle down.

Scootaloo covered her ears as she woke up. She heard a clicking sound followed by a clopping noise sounding like claps from an angry thunderstorm.  It grew closer each passing second, growing louder in Scootaloo’s ears. A strange substance passed over her eyes, clouding her vision with a purple aura.  Soon, the noises faded to a normal volume. The light blinded her as the door opened. She covered her eyes with a hoof and tried to identify the shadow standing before her. “W-who’s there?”The shadowed pony stepped forward and into focus, revealing itself to be Twilight, standing with a smile on her face. “Oh thank goodness, you're awake.”Scootaloo lowered her forelegs and felt her head. “What did you just do to me?”“A quick spell I read about. It should reduce the noises you hear for a while.” She sat down and smiled. “How are you feeling?”Scootaloo smiled at Twilight. For some reason, her worries vanished. “Better than before.” Raising a hoof, she blocked the incoming sunlight.  “It’s kind of bright.”After drawing the blinds, Twilight took a seat and tried her best to smile. “Better?”Everypony turned towards the door as a knock caught their attention. Applejack came in, carrying a apple within her hoof. “Twilight, I got something to eat if that’s…” She stopped at the sight of Scootaloo sitting up. “Scootaloo!”Applejack dove in and pulled Scootaloo into a bone-crushing hug. “Oooh, I missed you!”“Yeah… that's nice, but…” she whimpered, “...you’re breaking my bones.”“Ooops.” Applejack released Scootaloo from the hug and chuckled nervously. “Sorry about that.”The door burst open again as two nurses and a doctor came inside. The nurses checked Scootaloo’s IV bag, one gripping on her foreleg and the other feeling her head. Scootaloo groaned as she felt crowded. The doctor trotted up to her, levitating a clipboard. “How are we doing today?”“A little drowsy,” Scootaloo muttered."Hmmm, can you follow my hoof?” Doctor Stables asked as he waved it around. He smiled when he had noticed that Scootaloo’s eyes followed his movement. “Well it seems the morphine is wearing off.”“Is that a good thing, Doc?”He nodded, smiling. “Sorry about that mess earlier. Do please understand that we didn't intend for that to happen.”“It’s okay.”The doctor smiled. “Nurse, can you check Scootaloo’s temperature?”Scootaloo raised an eyebrow at the odd request, but opened her mouth anyway.The nurse walked closer and looked in Scootaloo’s mouth. She recoiled. “Oh my.” Leaning forward, she continued examining inside Scootaloo’s mouth before she told her it was okay to close her mouth. “You, uh, seem pretty healthy,” she said. As she walked away, she turned towards the doctor. “Can I see you for a moment, Doctor?”He raised an eyebrow, but nodded. “Sure. We’ll be back soon to make sure everything is going well,” he said to Applejack and Twilight before leaving the room with the nurse.Scootaloo waited until the mare was gone. She turned to Twilight and asked, “What’s her deal?” Twilight levitated a mirror in front of her and Scootaloo saw what had spooked the mare. Two sharp fangs protruded from where her normal front teeth used to be. She had seen that face plenty of times in her dreams, yet the shock of being robbed of her Pegasus traits still stung.“You okay, Scootaloo?” Twilight asked.“Yeah I—” Scootaloo looked over her shoulder. Although she couldn’t see what was wrong, she sensed something wrong with her wings. She extended one of her wings, and she squinted her eyes. Her heart skipped a beat and she gasped. Her wings looked leathery, but still were the same color as before. It was something out of a horror story. It was like her wings had been coated in some sort of rubbery plastic.Scootaloo’s scream pierced the heavens.Twilight held her hooves against her ears. “Scootaloo, calm down!”Scootaloo ignored Twilight’s plead and kept screaming as she looked at her featherless wings.“Scootaloo, please stop—” Twilight was interrupted when the doctor came bursting in.“Is everything alright?” he asked as he looked around.Twilight grunted.“Everything is fine. Thank you, Doctor!”He looked at Twilight, hooves clung to her ear, then at Scootaloo who was the source of the noise. “Doesn’t look like it to me!”Twilight groaned. “Scootaloo can you please--” she stopped when Scootaloo tensed up, her mouth hanging opened. She raised an eyebrow, but looked to see one of the nurses had stuck a needle into her back. Scootaloo fell back like a ton of bricks, snoring like a baby.“Was that really nesscary?” Twilight asked, glaring at the nurse.“I’m sorry!”Applejack tilted her hoof inside her sore ear. “I don’t understand how she ended up like this.”“In the last two days during her sleep, the readings have shown that her genes have changed into that of a Thestral’s.” Twilight turned to them with a smile. Her smile fell when they simply stared at her with tilted heads and confused expressions. “Scootaloo’s blood has converted into that of a bat’s.”“Ooooh.” Applejack and the nurse said in usion.“Is she going to stay like this forever?” Applejack asked. “She’s not gonna go all wild like a certain pony we know?” she whispered in Twilight’s ear.“Don’t worry, I’ll go to the library and get everything ready for when you bring her over.” Twilight walked over to the door. “In the meantime, all we could do is wait.”Applejack looked at the asleep filly, sleeping in the bed. She grasped her hoof and sighed. “Hang in there, Scootaloo, we’ll fix this.”

It was the next morning. Scootaloo couldn't know that as she was inside the dark room, but she could tell as she heard the rooster did its usual morning call. Scootaloo rose up from the couch and stretched her stiff joints.Scootaloo rubbed her hooves down her face and grunted as she sat upright. Her mane was messy and bags hung under her eyes. But that was the least of her problems.Scootaloo shook her head, yawned a bit, and rose up from her back.  “Ugh, what happened?” She looked behind her and saw her wings. “Oh, right.” She looked around to find the room was empty except for her and Applejack, her eyes closed and her head hanging on the chair. “Applejack?”Applejack stirred out of her sleep and looked at Scootaloo. “You’re awake.” She rubbed her eyes and yawned. “How you feel?”“I think if they gave me one more, I am going to die,” Scootaloo said, earning a chuckle from the mare.An uncomfortable silence reigned over them. They would occasionally cast glances at each other, and the other would try to speak, but always wind up interrupting the other.Scootaloo groaned and waved a hoof. “Go ahead.”Applejack  shifted in her spot and sighed as she looked at Scootaloo. “Are they permanent? They won’t change back?”Scootaloo paused for a second.“I dunno.”“Do they hurt?”“No.”“Are ya sure?”“Would I ever lie to the Element of Honesty?” Scootaloo mockingly said with a smirk, but it faded as Applejack cast an angry glare. “No, it’s not hurting. Honest.”“Oh thank goodness,” Applejack muttered, sighing in relief. “Do...do you miss your feathers?”“Yeah.” Scootaloo looked for a moment before she looked back up with a smile. “Least I don’t have to worry about preening anymore.”Applejack chuckled. “Yeah.”She leaned over to Scootaloo and hugged her. "We all missed ya.”Scootaloo blushed as Applejack’s hooves squeezed her as they were wrapped around her wrist. She looked around the room before turning her attention back to Applejack. When Applejack broke the embrace, she tried to hide the blush as she cleared her throat. “S-so uh w-wh.” She stopped herself for a breather before continuing. “Where’re the others? I imagined waking up to a welcome party.”“The others are back at the farm. Can't maintain itself, ya know?”Scootaloo wanted to protest, but she decided against it. “Yeah, I guess.”Both sighed and the silence settled in.“Look at you,” Applejack sighed and chuckled.She didn’t like the way Applejack laughed. It sounded forced. “What? Is there something on my face?”Applejack smiled and shook her head. “I just never pictured you--”“With fangs?” Scootaloo asked, a frown forming on her face.Applejack shook her head. “No, talking with me now. Everytime when Apple Bloom brought you over, you was over so distant.”Scootaloo ears drooped to her head and looked away.She tensed up and turned around when Applejack’s hoof landed on her shoulder.“I’m here if you need anything.”Scootaloo smiled, even though she knew it was forced. “T-t-thanks.” She waited for Applejack to offer to leave, but the look she was giving her told her differently. She forced a yawn and stretched her hooves out in the air, smacking her lips. “Boy am I tired!!”Applejack eyes widened. “Oh I didn’t mean to keep you up.”“It’s fine.”“No you need all the rest you can get.” Applejack smiled and rose from the chair she sat on. “Get rest some rest for me okay?” Scootaloo gave her a nod, she walked off.Scootaloo settled in her blankets and laid her head back on the soft, fluffy pillow, looking up at the turning blades of the ceiling fan and hearing the wheels of a wheel chair squeaking in her ears. Scootaloo looked outside to see it was now nighttime. She didn't how much time had passed, thanks to the medicine they gave her. Scootaloo sighed and continued to watch the ceiling fan as it rotated.

The next morning was time for her to be released, and Scootaloo wasted no time in leaving the hospital. Twilight and Applejack walked past the front desk with her. Twilight had made sure to cast the spell once again before Scootaloo could even think of leaving the hospital.Scootaloo smiled as she passed a squeaky cart, not feeling affected by its noise. “You’re just going to do some tests right?” Scootaloo asked as Twilight walked up.“Yep, and we’ll be done.”Applejack chuckled. “I could hold your hoof if you’re scared.”“I am not scared!” Scootaloo shouted as her muzzle scrunched up."Alright I'll meet you two right here I just have to sign you out." Twilight waved them goodbye and walked up to the counter where a mare in glasses stood behind. Scootaloo saw that Twilight was going to be a while as she scanning the clipboard like a eagle. Scootaloo groaned. "I'm so bored!"Applejack chuckled. "How about we step outside for a moment. I'm sure Twi won't mind." She turned behind her as she faced Twilight. "Hey Twilight!""Hmm?""I'm going to take Scoots out for a quick breather. That's okay with you?""Yeah sure," Twilight replied, her eyes still on the clipboard. Scootaloo smiled and followed Applejack to the front doors. When the door opened for them, Scootaloo closed her eyes as she felt the breeze hit her face. She sucked in the fresh air and exhaled. "I needed that."When she opened her eyes, the sun’s light pierced her eyes, causing them to burn. Her hooves quickly found themselves on her eyes. She saw only darkness and heard nothing but Applejack’s voice.“Scootaloo, what’s wrong?”“My eyes burn!” Scootaloo shouted.“Oh gosh, just keep your eyes closed!” Twilight warned. Scootaloo kept her eyes closed and waited. She wanted to open her eyes when she had heard Twilight mumbling something as she paced.The pacing stopped. Scootaloo felt Twilight’s magic again. Scootaloo opened her eyes and found herself standing in the middle of the library. However, nopony was anywhere to be found. The library was always vacant on Sunday mornings because ponies felt like that was the day to finish their books before the dreadful monday, much to Scootaloo’s relief. She closed her eyes as the pain stung the longer she kept them opened. Scootaloo followed Twilight’s hooves steps until it stopped and the sound of water coming on filled her ears.“Lean your face over.” Applejack said.Scootaloo leaned forward. The pain vanished when Twilight ran cool water over her eyes. That is until she opened her eyes again the pain came back with force. “It hurts!”Scootaloo dried off her face with a towel and opened her eyes again, only to close it back when the pain still was there. “Twilight, what the heck? Why can’t I open my eyes without it feeling like it’s on fire!”“Thestrals’ sight are very sensitive to bright light." Twilight said.Applejack sighed. "Sorry, Scootaloo.”“Let’s just get you to the couch where you can rest,” Twilight said. “We’ll do the other stuff tomorrow.”Scootaloo nodded. “So how do I walk when I can’t see?”“Just hold onto me,” she heard Applejack said.Scootaloo waved her hoof in the air as she tried to grab Applejack’s hoof. She grasped something hold and prayed to Celestia it was Applejack’s hoof. Her body jerked forward when she felt Applejack started to move. The sound of her hooves clanking against the floor echoing in her ears.“You okay?”“Y-y-yeah.” Scootaloo said.“Alright we’re almost close to the couch.”Scootaloo felt Applejack stopped as her hind leg hit against something soft. Her back pressed against the soft fabric as Applejack gently laid her down. “Thanks.”“Least I could do for screwing up.” Applejack sighed. “I’m sorry.”“It’s okay, Applejack. Even adult ponies can mess up.”Scootaloo tensed up when something hard landed on her hoof. "I promise I'll try to learn about how your new body works."Scootaloo and Applejack stared at each other before breaking out in a fit of chuckles. It died down as time passed and Applejack spoke. “That sounded wrong.”Scootaloo laughed. “Yeah.” Her head whipped around when she heard the door slammed. She winched as the impact screamed in her ears, hooves clicking on the wood followed after. It stopped when she heard the fabric squeak as weight was pressed against it.“You okay?” Twilight asked.Scootaloo shook her head. “I can’t say crap.  I can’t go outside during the day anymore?” Scootaloo asked as she turned to right side where she assumed Twilight was at. “All I can say is whenever you want to go outside during the day, wear some sunglasses or else you might do some serious damage to your eyes,” Twilight said.“How do you know so much about them? Thestrals, I mean.”“Plenty of studying!” Twilight beamed happily.Scootaloo groaned. “Ugh this sucks! How much longer?”“Well it takes a couple of hours before their eyes can recover from exposre.” Twilight said.“What can I do until then?”“I don’t know.” Twilight hummed. “Ooh, you can explore using your hearing without sight!” She heard Twilight giggles echoing in her ears. “Oh I so record this!”The sounds of hooves thundering on the floor screamed in her ears. “Twilight, wait!” It was too late as she heard the door slam. “She’s gone isn’t she?”Applejack sighed. “Yep.”

A fly buzzing in the distance stole her attention. Scootaloo looked around the room in search of it. Somehow, she heard its wings flapping. How much power it used to buzz around. She could see the waves it sent as it flew around as if her ears were a radar. She couldn’t explain it, she was left confused and even scared of what this meant. Was this a power, curse, infection, or a family heritage?Her thoughts were broken as she saw the fly moving along the wall, its buzzing echoing in her ears. Her eyes stalked the tiny intruder and widened as it landed in front of her, resting somehwere. She slowly raised her hoof in the air, and swat. The buzzing had stopped, the flapping went deaf to her ears, her radar shut down. For a brief moment, she felt like everything was back to the normal as she closed her eyes.She jumped when she heard, “interesting.” coming from right side. She exhaled and placed a hoof on her beating heart. “Celestia, are you trying to give me a heart attack!”Twilight giggled. “Sorry. It’s just you killed a fly without the use of sight.”Scootaloo recoiled in disgust. “Eww, I killed a fly!”“No don’t--” She heard Twilight shout, but it was too late as her hoof rubbed agianst the soft fabric. “rub it on the couch.”Scootaloo groaned. “Can I open my eyes now?”She heard no response, but only the sound of the clock ticking. “I think so.”Scootaloo slowly opened her eyes. Everything looked a little blurry, but she could make out the red blurs were the couches and the purple blur one of the red blurs was Twilight. She rubbed her eyes and opened ehr eyes even wider than before. She saw Twilight looking at her with a notebook hovering in her magic.She also was blushing.“I can see!” Scootaloo shouted and jumped off the couch. She swooped in and pulled Twilight into a hug, squeezing her tightly. “I can see!” She snuggled her face into Twilight’s coat and laughed. Her smile vanished when she realized what she had done and broke the embrace. She rubbed her neck and cleared her throat. “Sorry.”Twilight smiled. “It’s okay. How was the experience?”“I now know what it feels like to be blind.” Scootaloo rubbed her eyes. “It sucked!”“But you used your instincts and relied on your hearing to help you.”Scootaloo shrugged. “I guess.”She jumped when she felt something gripping her shoulder. She turned around to see Applejack. “Why is everypony jumping on me like that!”Applejack chuckled. “Sorry, I was just wondering if you would like to go to Sugarcube Corner so I could make up for almost blinding you there.”“Then let’s go!” Scootaloo shouted as she bolted for the door, but was stopped when Twilight grabbed her with her magic. “Not uh. Not with some shades.”Scootaloo squirmed in Twilight’s grasp, but hung her head as she exhausted herself. “Okay.”

Scootaloo pushed the door open , making her way inside the colorful bakery known as Sugarcube Corner. Her mouth watered in anticipation as the aroma of strawberries and chocolate baked sweets wafted through the air. Scootaloo kept a straight face, acting as if nothing had happened in her life that she couldn’t explain. That’s what kids do, right? Pretend their life is full of sunshine and rainbows, and that nothing could hurt them?She couldn’t forget those nights. Scootaloo screwed her eyes shut and grimaced. This headache really was wearing her down—she felt like a thousand drums were pounding in her skull. She groaned and gritted her teeth. It hadn’t stopped since this morning. Nothing she tried seemed to make it go away. Things only seemed to make it worse.A family gathered nearby, sitting at the table with smiles on their faces, real smiles. “Let's sit here,” Applejack said, pointing to an empty booth behind the family.Scootaloo hated the idea of sitting near them, but said nothing and sat down. Her mind thought of many bad outcomes from sitting near the family. The famous acting as though they couldn't see her. The candlelight danced over the cake, the glow dimly lighting the room and casting reflections on the window frames. The look on the birthday filly’s face when Mr and Mrs. Cake had came over to sing her a song. The same song that screamed in her ears when the Apple family sung it. Everypony cheerfully stomped their hooves as the song ended, their applause and laughter filled the place.Scootaloo just watched the scene unfold. The more she watched, the more she could hear her heart beating. For a moment there was silence, but the whispers came again, this time in swarms. Different conversations, different topics, all tossed into her ears. Her hooves clutched to her head at the time she the effects of the senses began to dig inside her brain."Daddy," she heard a feminine voice say. "Can we go see the Princess one day?"She heard the father chuckle at the filly’s excitement.Scootaloo exhaled, trying to calm her beating heart.“Maybe one day!”Her joyful laughter mocked Scootaloo as it echoed in her ears. The moment she never got to experience what was happening to the filly behind her. She closed her eyes and tried to block out the filly and her father’s laughter.Her eyes shot open when the filly said, "I love you, daddy.""I love you too, honey."Scootaloo could feel a tear escaping her eyes as it trailed down to her cheeks. Everything around her became quiet as she stared at the booth before her, mentally replacing the filly with herself. She broke out of her trance as the tear reached her muzzle. Wiping it off before Applejack could spot it, Scootaloo rose up from the chair and cleared her throat to gain Applejack’s attention. “I think I’m not feeling well, Applejack."Applejack turned to Scootaloo. “You ain’t?"“Can we go?”“But we just got here.” Applejack arched an eyebrow. As she studied Scootaloo's uneasy demeanor, she turned to look behind her when she heard the family laughing. She put two and two together and rose up from the booth. “Well, alright then.” Applejack felt her heart shatter when she saw Scootaloo’s eyes started to tear up. It looked as if Scootaloo were having trouble breathing.As they got out of their booths and turned towards a door, a voice shouted out Scootaloo’s name. Scootaloo froze, not wanting to turn around. She stood still as she faced the door. The sound of hooves getting louder as they grew near. Scootaloo almost bolted then until she felt the presence.“You didn’t order anything.”Scootaloo recognized the voice. If she turned around, then Mrs.Cake would see her fangs, the purple radiance glowing from within the dark shades. Instead, she kept her eyes on the door, hoping nopony else she knew would walk through. “Uuuuuh,” was all she could say.Luckily, Applejack thought of a solution and spoke up. “We decided we’ll like to place an order for later.”“Oh?” she heard Mrs.Cake replied. “Oh what will you be having then?”She could feel Applejack struggling to come out with an answer. “Vanilla ice cream with sprinkles.”“Well if you want that you could just wait here.”Scootaloo wanted to roll her eyes. Mrs.Cake wasn’t giving up without a fight. “Well, uh, I want a big cake too!”“What kin—”“Any kind!” Scootaloo shouted and and rushed out the door. She spent a couple minutes staring at the ground as she exhaled. She already pictured the confused look on Mrs.Cake’s face after her outburst. With a deep breath, Scootaloo resumed walking as she heard the door opened.“Well that was something,” Applejack said as she caught up.“Can we not just talk about it?”Scootaloo gazed at the ground the entire time she walked home. She could feel their eyes staring down on her as she walked. She could hear their lips yapping on about their day, the whispered questions of how or why she was looking like that. She winced as she heard a squeaky noise from a mother pushing a baby stroller around. She grit her teeth as all the sounds of the bustling town attacked her at once.The noises faded away after Applejack opened the door to the library. “You okay?”Scootaloo rubbed her head. The pain felt like something clawing at her brain, “Yeah.” She flopped on the couch and closed her eyes.“I’m here if you want to talk.” She heard Applejack say. She didn’t respond and kept her face buried in the couch until she heard Applejack walking off probability into the kitchen. She lifted her face up and saw Applejack  was indeed, in the kitchen.Sitting on a chair with her hooves buried in her face.Scootaloo frowned as she couldn’t shake off the guilty feeling that swallowed her. She lifted herself from the couch and walked into the kitchen, making Applejack lift her head. “I’m….I’m sorry.”Applejack stared at Scootaloo for a while before breaking out a smile.

Scootaloo stood at the top of the basement stairs as she watched Twilight walk farther into the darkness. She turned around to face Applejack who stood outside the doorway where the kitchen light could be seen.“I’m kinda feeling a little nervous about Twilight doing her science thing.”Applejack chuckled. “She won’t hurt ya Scootaloo, I’ll make sure of that. And besides she’s the best darn pony I know when it comes to this certain kind of thing.”Scootaloo walked down the steps until her hoof touched the cold floor. She never thought a basement could be filled with some many machines and lab equipment. It left her in awe. All these bizarre machines were hidden away underneath the library as if Twilight didn’t want anypony seeing or touching them.Twilight levitated thick black wires and strapped them onto Scootaloo’s chest. “Don’t worry, it won’t hurt.”Scootaloo winced as she heard Twilight flip the switch on and the machine’s gears whirred.  She stood still as Twilight sat down and stared at her. Before long, a loud beeping screamed in Scootaloo’s ears. She winched at the sound and grabbed the wires on her head, preparing to rip them off until Twilight shouted stop.“It’s okay, Scootaloo it’s meant to do that.” Just like Twilight predicted, a long white sheet of paper came from the machine and rolled onto the floor. “Alright, it’s going to happen again. Applejack, can you turn down the volume down a bit?"Applejack stared blankly at Twilight. "Huh what?" She looked between the two. Her eyes widened when Twilight was staring at her, clearly waiting on her. "Yeah, turn up the volume got it." She walked over behind the machine and saw tons of flashing buttons. "So uh what button to do I press?""It's a small black knob.""Got it." Applejack said as she twisted a small black knob towards the left. "Done."Scootaloo frozen. “So what the machine was suppose to--” Her sentence was cut short as another loud beep echoed within her ears. She screamed, grabbing on the wires.“Scootaloo, no don’t—”She ignored Twilight and ripped the wires off her head. Throwing them onto the floor, she exhaled as the beep faded. “What the heck was that!”“I'm sorry. I don't know what happened,” Twilight said. “Are you okay?”“Yeah, can we not do that again?” Twilight said nothing, but stared with a guilty look. “Oh, come on!”“Sorry, Scootaloo, but I have to make sure.”"Sorry that was my bad, I must have turned the volume up there." Applejack rubbed her neck and chuckled nervously. "Sorry."Twilight sighed and went behind the machine to adjust the volume herself.  She came back and huffed. "There.""You think it's safe this time, Twilight?" Scootaloo asked.“Of course I promise it won’t hurt.” Twilight cleared  her throat. “As much.”Scootaloo let her hooves fall down as she groaned. “Can we please be done for today?”Twilight looked outside the only window built into the basement, noticing the sun setting above the town. She turned to Scootaloo, and used her magic to take off the wires. “Sorry. I guess I got too carried away with my studies, ” she said and giggled. She picked it up and scanned the red lines. Twilight trotted to Scootaloo and examined her ear. Twilight rubbed her chin. “Well Thestrals have a very sensitive hearing. They can localize even minute sounds in three-dimensional space.”“Will the spell wear off?”“Yes.” Twilight nodded.  “It’s only temporary.”Scootaloo’s hooves rose to her ears.  “How can I tell if it’s about to stop working?”“When the sounds become louder and louder. Sometimes you might just hear things more sensitively, that means your higher senses are kicking in without the spell wearing off. And that’s when you come see me, okay?” Twilight asked.Scootaloo nodded. “Come to think about when I was at Sugarcube Corner, the noises started to get loud.”“Well I guess time to place another spell to calm it down.” Twilight closed her eyes as her horn sparked a purple radiance. Scootaloo felt fuzzy as the purple area swallowed her whole head in its mist before it died down. Scootaloo eyes went glassy for a moment before she shook her head to ease the dizziness. “You okay?”“Yeah, let’s not do this again?”Twilight sighed. “Sorry Scootaloo, but it will have to happen so we can find a more permanent solution.”Scootaloo grumbled. “Oh man, how many times a day I have to do this!”Twilight looked at the clock. She started mumbling math problems of what time they had left and what time it is now. She stopped mumbling as she said, “Every seven hours. The spell will slowly wear off during the sixth hour and that’s when you need to see me.”Scootaloo nodded. “I thought it was one day.”Twilight shook her head. “Maybe it seemed that way, but it was really seven hours. Perhaps some cross reaction with the medicine infused the spell with a longer duration.  Or maybe a more potent effect.”Scootaloo’s mind began to process. Thinking… failed to understand smart words. “What?”Twilight rolled her eyes. “It means the medicine may have helped the spell last longer.”“So why not mix the spell and medicine again to give me more time?”Twilight shook her head. “I have to see the effects first before deciding to do that.”Both turned around when a growl caught their attention. Applejack looked between the two and chuckled.“I don’t know about you two, but I am mighty hungry!”Scootaloo frowned at her stomach as it growled. “Yeah me too.”“Well I got something in the oven. Since Spike isn’t here, I thought it would be safe to leave one of his meals in the oven in case I get hugret.”“Alright then it’s settled,” Applejack said heading for the stairs.Scootaloo walked up the stairs, but stopped halfway when she noticed Twilight wasn’t behind her. “You coming?”“I’ll join with you two soon,” Twilight said, eyes still on the paper. Scootaloo walked up the stairs and opened the basement door to find Applejack placing a salad on a plate near a empty chair she presumed Twilight would be sitting at. Scootaloo grumbled, walking over to the table and taking a seat where a plate was already prepared for her.Her fork stabbed  into some salad and stuffed it into her mouth. She chewed with delight. A chomping sound echoed in her ears. She stopped, wondering if she was the one making such a noise. Then, she got her answer when she spotted Applejack also eating salad with her mouth wide open. The salad crushed under the might of her teeth, creating a crunchy sound again and again.Applejack stopped when he noticed Scootaloo staring at him. “What?” she said with a mouthful of salad.Scootaloo chuckled at Applejack's puffy cheeks. “It's nothing.” She shook her head. Scootaloo stopped eating. They enjoyed the treat, leaving the plates licked clean. Finishing the food on the plate and placing the dirty dishes in the sink, Scootaloo trotted out of the kitchen. She stopped in the living room as a picture hanging on the wall caught her attention. Applejack, Apple Bloom, she and Big mac with Granny Smith were huddled up in the picture.Scootaloo’s ears perked up when the door knocked.“Can you get the door, Applejack!” Twilight called from the basement.She turned around to see Applejack already approaching the door. She hid hiding the couch when the door opened it. She was greeted with two voices she recognized.“Applejack!” Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle shouted in unison.Scootaloo’s heart skipped beat for two different reasons: fear and happiness at hearing her friends’ voices again.“Howdy y’all. How ya doing?”“Nothing much,” Apple Bloom said. “Applejack, is Scootaloo here! Can we see her?”She looked up from the couch when she heard the door creak a little opened. Applejack looked at her for an answer, but Scootaloo bit her lip and shook her head. Applejack had a hurt look, but nodded and turned back to the two fillies.“Sorry, Scootaloo’s still not feeling too good. Maybe tomorrow?” Applejack told the two fillies.“Awww!”“Sorry sugarcube. I’ll tell her you said ‘Hi.’”“B-b-but we waited for so long for her to wake up!” She heard Sweetie Belle’s squeaky voice.“Yeah and we really, really miss hanging out and we can’t crusade without our third member!”Applejack sighed. “I promise tomorrow she’ll be up and ready to go crusading with you two.”“Okay….”“Hey chin up there, I bet she can’t wait to see y’all too.”“Just….” they paused. “Make sure she’s okay?”“I promise.”Scootaloo rose up from the spot behind the couch once the door had closed. “Are they gone?”“Yes, Scootaloo. But you shouldn’t be hiding from your friends like that especially Apple Bloom.” Applejack frowned. “They’re worried about you.”Scootaloo bit her lip. “I know, I know.”Applejack sighed and walked over to the filly. “It’s a terrible thing to do. Pushing your friends like that, the worst thing you could do to a friend.” She placed a hoof over Scootaloo. “You have to remember they your friends and will always stick by your side no matter what.”Scootaloo looked down. “Now I feel like a crappy friend.”Applejack lifted her chin up and smiled at her. “Trust me hon, you’re far from it.”“But they really were worried about me!”“I know and I’m sure they knew you were worried about them.” She gave Scootaloo a small hug and looked up at the clock. “Alright bed time for you, little filly!”Scootaloo crossed her forelegs and huffed. “But I’m not tired!”“Well I’m going to let you stay up a little while longer. Just get some rest okay?”Scootaloo nodded. “Will do.”“Well, goodnight,” Applejack said before she walked up the stairs.Scootaloo sighed and looked at the tower of books before her. “I hope she has some comic books for me to read.” Scootaloo grabbed a book from the shelf and lay on the couch. The book rested in her hooves as she quickly flipped through the pages. She tossed the book aside.

Scootaloo laid her head back on the soft and fluffy pillow, looking up at the turning blades of the ceiling fan. Reclining on Twilight’s couch felt weird.  Twilight decided to fall asleep downstairs in her basement, with her head laid out on the control panels, drooling on the keyboard.  Scootaloo threw herself left and right, but she couldn’t seem to fall asleep. She groaned and threw the blankets aside the bed.The sound of the fan’s blades wasn’t painful.The white noise was actually sort of relaxing to her ears, unlike the awful din outside. She groaned as she spun her head towards the window to her right and saw the cause of the racket: a branch from the oaks tree stood near the window, tapping against it.Scootaloo leaned towards the bedside table and grabbed the picture taken of her and others with Twilight. Bringing them up to eye level, she rubbed the glass with her other hoof. The cool, metallic sensation made her shiver a bit. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, a tear trailing from her eye.She wiped the tear from her cheek and closed her eyes. Scootaloo slightly tilted her head to a more comfortable position.However, she did not fall asleep. She tried every sleeping position for comfort, but all of them ended up with her groaning in frustration.Since sleep was out of her to-do list, she jumped off the couch and landed on the floor.  Scootaloo managed to walk out the door without being detected and sat down under the moon’s light. Looking around the town, she saw nopony in sight. Scootaloo was alone, aside from the chirping of a nearby cricket.She buried her face in her forelegs and waited for the soothing that the night provided to put her to sleep. Her eyes shot open when a sound popped into her ears. She looked around, but nopony was there. “H-hello?” she whispered. Her heart skipped a beat after the bushes rattled, and a black cat jumped out. It climbed up the steps Scootaloo sat on and meowed again. “Um, you lost?”No words were spoken. It continued staring at her with its wide eyes. Its two, black slit pupils sat under the yellow radiance its eyes provided in the night. It reminded Scootaloo of how her eyes now were. “Hey, we got the same eyes… I think.”Without warning, the black cat pounced onto Scootaloo’s lap. It walked in circles before nesting on her.Scootaloo’s hooves became tired as she held them in the air. She wanted to make sure she didn’t harm or anger the cat by patting its back. However, her worries vanished as the cat purred,  Scootaloo chuckling as it tickled her hind legs. She ran a hoof through the smooth and thick black hairs on the cat’s back. “All your friends are asleep, too, huh?” she asked with a chuckle. “Yeah, mine too.”The cat looked at Scootaloo for a moment before it turned away.Scootaloo’s eyes gazed up at the moon. “Guess we’re friends now.” She smiled at the thought. “How's your life going?” The cat kept silent. "Mine sucks." Scootaloo frowned. "No, it doesn't suck. It's just....complicated. I don't know." She shrugged. "I mean, how would you feel if you found out you’re really a dog or your parents were?"The cat looked up and blinked."Scared, right?" Scootaloo chuckled nervously. "I mean I'm not scared! Just confused!" She nodded. "Yeah I'm kinda confused—okay more confused." She paused for a second and sigh. "Just sometimes I—feel alone." She looked down to find the cat had looked away when she was talking. She sigh and ran a hoof through the cat's fur.  “I’m talking to a cat. I need to sleep.” It snuggled more into her forelegs as it continued to pur. “You're a good listener. Don't tell nopony I just spilled my heart out to you.” She shot the cat a glare. "Got it?"The cat stood on Scootaloo’s foreleg before it arched its back and leaped down on the steps. It gazed at Scootaloo for a moment then continued to walk away.Feeling alone again, Scootaloo decided to follow the cat to wherever it was going.  She regretted not bringing something warm to wear as a cool breeze brushed past her.Crunch!Scootaloo froze. She looked down to see her hoof had crushed an empty can. She looked up to see the cat running away, probably scared by the sudden noise.“Wait, I didn’t mean it. I was kidding!” she shouted as she ran after the fleeing cat. It was fast, so of course Scootaloo was no way near catching it. Her ears twitched when she heard a voice, pushing her to a stop.“Mister cat, what are you running from?”Well now she knew the cat was a male. However, that was the least of her problems as she stood between the cat and its owner. A young filly, smaller than her, sat down with the cat in her forelegs and brushed its back. Scootaloo wanted to bolt right then, but the sudden fear of being caught paralyzed her.Scootaloo’s eyes widened when the petting stopped.The filly’s eyes were on her.Scootaloo’s heart pounded against her chest as the filly stared at her. Scootaloo could see in her eyes the filly was afraid to move or scream for help. She turned around and kept running until she saw the library once again.She burst through the door and slammed it, sliding her back down to the floor. Her panting and the sound of head banging on the door seemed to still not awaken Twilight or Spike. She placed a hoof on her beating heart and took deep breaths.Scootaloo closed her eyes, her heartbeats breaking the silence in the library. She stared at the wall of books before her, standing tall. The books became blurry as tears welled up in her eyes. Scootaloo’s back fell on the door behind her as she slid on the floor. She pushed her hind legs close to her chest as she buried her face. When she heard something move, she opened her eyes and noticed Applejack walking down the stairs.“S-Scootaloo?” Applejack stuttered as she woke up from her slumber, rubbing her eyes. “What’s wrong?”Scootaloo rubbed her eyes, tears brushing against her hoof. “Nothing. It’s nothing, I’m fine.” Applejack made it all way down the stairs as she sat down near Scootaloo. She shuddered when she felt Applejack's foreleg drape over her shoulder. "What got you up?"She brought Scootaloo closer to her and looked up as she watched the moon up in the sky. “Feeling a little homesick.”Scootaloo nodded. “Yeah.” She turned towards her, a smile tugging at her skin. “Me too."Applejack smiled back. Sighing, she returned her attention back to the moon up in the skies. "Mind explaining to me what you were doing outside?"Scootaloo body tensed up. Crap. Applejack greeted her with a glare when Scootaloo turned around. Scootaloo feigned a smile. “Fresh air?” Applejack saw through her lie which made her only frown harder.“Scootaloo, why do you push yourself away from your family?”“Because I’m afraid of getting rejected okay!?” Scootaloo shouted then flopped on the floor as she sniffled into her hooves.Applejack frowned at teh sight of the crying filly and pulled her in close. Scootaloo seemed to calm down as she didn’t fight anymore, she just sniffle into her coat. When it died down, Applejack pulled away and looked at Scootaloo, tears trailing down her face. “You won’t ever do that to you.”Scootaloo sniffled and wiped her tears away. “I hope so.” “Scootaloo, ever since you transformed, you’ve been very worried about what ponies might think of you.” Applejack pulled away and smiled. “What matters, that you’re still you.”Scootaloo smiled, her fangs showing.Applejack winced, shocked by the sight. “Question is: are you okay with this?”Scootaloo had to think for a moment, but Applejack answered for her. “If you don’t know, doesn’t that make this more interesting to see how it ends?”Scootaloo paused. “Yeah.” A smile spread across her face. “I guess it does.”“And don’t forget your friends will always be there for you,”  Applejack said with a wink.Scootaloo chuckled. “With the kind of friends I have I should be okay.” She yawned.“Good.” Applejack yawned and stood up as she stretched her muscles. She tensed up when she heard a bone crack. “Alright now, stop ya worrying and get some sleep.”Scootaloo yawned and chuckled. “Yeah.”They both walked up the stairs and passed the hall to a colossal brown door. Scootaloo pushed the door open and spotted two beds in the room, one of the blankets on the floor. Scootaloo blushed as she forgot to put the blanket away before she went downstairs.“Scootaloo, you okay on sleeping on your own bed?” Applejack asked as she lifted the covers on her bed.Scootaloo blushed. “I-I’m not f-f-five, Applejack!”Applejack chuckled. “Just teasing you.” She shifted farther into the blankets and exhaled as she closed her eyes. “You excited about tomorrow?”Scootaloo arched an eyebrow. “Why should I be excited?”Applejack yawned. “Cause now you get to see Apple Bloom and the others.”Scootaloo's eyes shrank to tiny plate as the words echoed in her head. Her worries resurfaced as she thought of millions of ways of why they would react to seeing she.Scootaloo snapped out of her trance when Applejack said,“Good night.”Scootaloo yawned and got on top of her bed, shifting farther into the blankets. She exhaled to calm herself down and closed her eyes as she drifted off to sleep. “Good night.”Applejack woke up later that night as Scootaloo snore echoed in her ears. She groaned and lifted her head from the pillow. “Scootaloo, can you--” She stopped when she saw Scootaloo smiling, head snuggled up in the pillow like her body was with the blankets. She actually looked relaxed unlike when she slept in the hospital.Scootaloo rolled over in her sleep and mumbled, “I’m an adapter.”Applejack smiled, picturing Scootaloo saying those words to Luna which she probably was right now. She closed her eyes and let out a exhale.She sure was.Just like Gurren Lagann. :pI like this scene. It made me chuckle. :)Perhaps you could throw a reason in as to why it's always vacant that day. Just a thought. :)_Marked as resolved__Re-opened_Actually, I don't know what else would fit here.?Don't know what you mean here.Din. It's a kind of ruckus