Chapters The Heartbreak of Hiccups
“It’s not a bad idea, Apple Bloom, but where are we going to find a trapeze?”
“It’s not a good idea either… I don’t think I want to jump through flaming hoops.”
“Awwwww, c’mon girls! It’ll be fun! Cutie Mark Crusaders Three-Ring Circus!” Apple Bloom raised her foreleg for a high-hoof… and pouted when the other two left her hanging. She grumped and sat heavily on the floor of their clubhouse. “Well, we have to think of something , you know.”
“Flaming. Hoops.” Scootaloo flatly stated, her eyes narrow. “You want me to jump through flaming hoops.” She crossed her forelimbs over her chest, looking petulant.
“Well… You would land in that tub of cold peach jelly, so that would help if you get singed…” Sweetie Belle offered with a helpful smile. “It might be fun!”
“Did she tell you you’ll be trapezing without a net? Or a trapeze?” Scootaloo retorted, squinting at Sweetie Belle.
“Sounds like you’re chicken to me,” Sweetie Belle shot back, sticking her tongue out. “Chicken, chick-chick-chickeeeen!”
Before Scootaloo could say what she thought of that, there was a loud knock at the door. Apple Bloom waved to hush the other two as she dashed to the door, peering between a crack in the planks to see who it was. The other two crowded in behind her, peering as well. “Halt! Who goes there!” Apple Bloom demanded of the visitor.
“You know darn well who it is, Apple Bloom!” said the pony outside the door. Apple Bloom could see orange fur, a blonde mane, a battered hat…
“That’s Applejack,” Sweetie Belle whispered, her eye pressed close to a knothole.
“It could be an imposter!” Scootaloo hissed. “Better safe than sorry!”
Apple Bloom nodded in agreement with the pegasus. “Alright. If you’re really Applejack… What’s the secret password?” she asked in a suspicious tone.
“I’ve got fresh apple fritters!” came the reply.
“That’s not the password!” Sweetie Belle cried in alarm.
“Eh, close enough for me,” replied Scootaloo, her wings buzzing. “Might as well let her in. If she’s a spy, we’ll just take her prisoner!”
Applejack trotted in through the opened door, a wicker basket clasped between her teeth. From within came the scent of fresh-fried apple fritters, making the mouths of all three fillies water. “Thought you girls might want a snack, so I fixed these up for y’all,” she said, setting the basket down on the crate they used as a planning table. “Oh, what’s this? Peach Jelly? Heh…” she turned to Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle. “You know when Apple Bloom was real little, we couldn’t keep her out of our apple jelly…”
“Applejack…” interrupted Apple Bloom.
“No sir! “ continued Applejack, oblivious to her sister’s glare. “She’d crawl in the pantry and crack all them jars open and-“
“Applejack!” cried Apple Bloom looking between her sister and her two friends. Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo were busy listening to Applejack.
“- Smear herself in the stuff. And she’d go, ‘look appajack, I’mma appa pie!’” By now Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle were quietly giggling, as much from the story as Applejack’s baby-voice. “Course, she stopped doing that after the ants came and got in-“
“OKAY! Thanks fer comin’ over Applejack, but I’m sure yer busy, so we won’t keep you, bye-bye!” Apple Bloom growled, butting her sister’s rump and slowly pushing her out the door as her two friends collapsed in laughter behind her.
“Oh, well, alright,” replied Applejack as she was urged out the door, acting as though she had no idea about Apple Bloom’s embarrassment. “Y’all feel free to stay fer dinner, kay?” Applejack winced when her sister slammed the door shut, then laughed to herself as she trotted down the ramp to get back to work.
“I can’t believe her,” Apple Bloom panted. “You two have NO idea what it’s like!”
“Muh fifter make me wear giant hatf, Appabwoom,” Sweetie Belle mumbled around a mouthful of apple fritter, before gulping it down. “And if I don’t scrub under my hooves, she complains so loud thar I think the neighbors hear about it.” She sighed dramatically, as her sister might. “Darling, just look at these hooves ! They’re so grungy and dirty! You go wash them right now, do you hear me? Right-this-very-instant!”
Scootaloo looked at Apple Bloom and shrugged. “Hey, I’m an only foal. I have no idea what it’s like to have my sister tell my friends my most embarrassing secrets,” she grinned teasingly at Apple Bloom, who only pouted in return. “Hey, Sweetie Belle, save some for us!”
“What? They’re good!” Sweetie Belle took another bite from a second fritter, chewing happily
“Your butt’s going to get big,” warned Scootaloo, reaching for one of the treats herself.
“Maybe I’d rather have a big butt, than a skinny little butt like yours!” snapped Sweetie Belle playfully, sticking out her crumb-covered tongue.
“What?!” yelped Scootaloo, dropping her fritter.
“Chicken-butt,” Sweetie Belle replied with a smug little smile.
Scootaloo had to admit she walked into that one. She scowled and grumbled, “I’ll show you chicken butt! Give me some of those!” She reached to snatch a few more fritters.
“She just doesn’t get it,” complained Apple Bloom. “One time, she showed up at school on my birthday and showed everypony my baby pictures so they could see how big I’ve gotten!” She paced back and forth near the window, heaving a heavy sigh. “An’ I ain’t even gotten that big, so that made it even worse!”
“Oof, ow! Hey, that one’s mine!”
“Nuh uh! I was eating it first!”
“Gimme! You’ve had enough”
“No! They’re too delicious!”
“I mean, I know she means well, but it’s like every day she has some sort of new way to embarrass me,” continued Apple Bloom, utterly oblivious to the chaos mounting behind her. “I’ve tried talking to her, and she just tells me how proud she is about how much I’ve grown!” A crust of fritter sailed behind her head and thunked against the wall as she paced.
“I do not have a skinny butt!”
“You do too! Just look at it!”
“Why are you even looking?!”
“Mah fritter, noff yursh! Yom nom nom! ”
“Hey! Give that… ewww, nevermind, you can keep it.”
“I dunno, girls... What do you think I should do to get Applejack to understand?” Apple Bloom sighed heavily and turned towards her friends, blinking in confusion. “Uh… Scootaloo, Sweetie Belle… what in tarnation’re you two doin’?”
The basket of fritters was empty, and nearly crushed. Crumbs littered the two fillies, who were glaring daggers at each other even as they tried to cram the final bits of the treats into their mouths.
“Duh. Winning!” mumbled Scootaloo around her overstuffed mouth.
“Nuh uh!” Sweetie Belle tried to say more, but couldn’t.
Apple Bloom just looked at the ruins of their snack with a mounting horror. “You… didn’t save any for me!” she pointed an accusing hoof at her friends.
Somehow, Sweetie Belle managed to gulp down what she had. “Of course we did, Apple Bloom, we’re not mean !” So saying, she unveiled two fritters still wrapped in the cloth that had covered the basket. And then… “BRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAACK! ” Sweetie Belle’s eyes went huge and her face flushed scarlet as her burp shook the clubhouse and scattered birds for miles around.
“Way to go, Sweetie Belch !” Scootaloo laughed, clopping her hooves together.
“Shuddup Scootaloo,” mumbled a mortified Sweetie Belle, hiding her mouth behind a hoof.
“What, that was awesome! I’ll bet they heard that one all the way to FIllyde-HELF-ia,” Scootaloo suddenly looked startled, hooves going to her own mouth. “What just HAP-happened?! HUCK! HUCK!”
Apple Bloom, who had so recently been pouting about her own embarrassment, fell down to the floor in a gale of laughter. “Serves both of y’all right! Eating all those fritters!” She lifted one of the two remaining treats, and nibbled with exaggerated daintiness.
“Ooooh… I think I’ll pass on dinner,” Sweetie Belle moaned uncomfortably, smacking her lips.
“Not me! I’m st-HILL a little HUNK-hungry,” Scootaloo winced with each hiccup, rubbing her hooves over her belly. “Ugh. Maybe on s-HECK-ond tho-HOT…”
Apple bloom continued her ladylike nibbling. “You keep on hiccupping like that and you’d just choke on something anyway, Scootaloo. “ Her eyes widened. “Hold on… I’ve got it!” She swallowed, setting the treat down. “Scootaloo, you want to get rid of those hiccups, right?
“Wha-HUT gave you that idea-HAH? “ Scootaloo replied sarcastically, followed with a groan.
“Right! So here’s our new plan… Cutie Mark Crusaders Hiccup Curifiers!” Apple Bloom exclaimed with a big grin.
“Uh, Apple Bloom, I don’t think ‘curifiers’ is a word…” Sweetie Belle added uncertainly. After a moment she and Apple Bloom looked at Scootaloo expectantly.
“Hic-KUPS first, catchphrases La-HAY-ter, kay?” Scootaloo lifted her foreleg to join the other two in their high hoof. “HURKT!”
“Are you sure that drin-HINK-ing water like this will cure my HICK-cups, Sweetie Belle?” asked Scootaloo uncertainly. Apple Bloom was holding her hind hooves as she did a handstand, causing her unruly magenta mane brushing the clubhouse floor.
“It couldn’t hurt!” the other filly said cheerfully, before offering the glass of water to Scootaloo. The pegasus took a swallow, just in time for an awkward “HNURK!” noise. Scootaloo’s eyes bugged out just a second before she started coughing and sputtering, the water coming from her noise.
“EWWWWWWWWW!” shrieked Sweetie Belle, galloping away. Scootaloo’s head thumped the boards of the clubhouse floor as Apple Bloom let go, laughing.
“Not-HOT funny, guys.” Scootaloo grumbled sourly, coughing and rubbing her head.
“Yeah it was!” giggled Apple Bloom.
“Eating su-HUG-ar?” Scootaloo looked at Pinkie Pie uncertainly. “How is that sup-HOH-sed to help?” She groaned again, rubbing her stomach.
“I dunno, but it always works for me!” Pinkie replied cheerfully, setting a small bowl of sugar and a spoon in front of the pegasus.
“Go on Scootaloo, give it a try,” encouraged Apple Bloom.
“Yeah, it couldn’t hurt!” added Sweetie Belle.
“Well, HUCKT, all right…” Scootaloo lifted a spoon of sugar to her mouth and popped it in. She swished a bit to dissolve the grains, and then swallowed.
“Did it work?” Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, and Pinkie all leaned forward expectantly, waiting to see if the cure passed muster.
“Hey… you know what, I think it did! I don’t need to HURKT! HURKT! HURP!” Scootaloo’s hooves flew to her mouth as a sudden wave of hiccups shook her little body.
“Awwww….” The other three moaned in unison, disappointed.
“Wait… May-HAY-be, I need to give it another try…” Scootaloo grinned, and took another spoonful of sugar… then another… and another…
“HUCK-how the HECK is scaring me going to HICK-help me out? I don’t think-HNK you two can scare me- HEEK. I don’t scare easily, you HUCK know! Besides, I’ll know-HUCK that it’s you two HOOK, and you aren’t scary HUCK at all!” Scootaloo blathered and hiccupped as she trotted in figures-eight around her two friends, wings buzzing. “So what are you going to do, dress up as gho-HO-sts? Jump out of HUCK a bush at me? Tell me Pinkie Pie is the new HUPP princess? C’mon guys, what’s-“ She was silenced by Apple Bloom’s hoof. Well, except for the hiccups that came unbidden.
“I’m not sure the sugar was a good idea,” Sweetie Belle noted, even as Scootaloo started to try to jabber around Apple Bloom’s hoof.
“Ya got a point there, Sweetie Belle. I guess we can’t leave her in the woods for the weasels like we were gonna do. She might wander off or somethin’."
“Weevils?” Scootaloo blinked, her voice muffled by the hoof, before she pushed Apple Bloom’s limb away. “You guys weren’t seriously going to leave me for weasels! HahahahaHUCKhahaha, you’re both funny. Weasels, that’s great, BLARGH, fear HUCK me, I’m a WEASEL!” She rose up on her hind hooves and staggered towards Apple Bloom, making snarly noises.
“I think she needs professional help,” sighed Sweetie Belle.
“You just now thought of that?!” remarked Apple Bloom dryly, just before being attacked by ‘Scootaweasel.’ "WAUGH! Get offa me!"
Back at the clubhouse, the three fillies sat in quiet dejection. Well, quiet except for the constant hiccupping. “Who’da thought Twilight’s magic would backfire like that?” sighed Apple Bloom.
“Spike’s really cute when he hiccups, though,” giggled Sweetie Belle.
“I suggested he try HUCK some sugar. I’m HURK sure it’ll work, even-HENT-ually.” Scootaloo smacked her lips, then sighed. “The-HEEZ hiccups are lasting HURKT forever! “
“We tried everything , and you’re still hiccing and hupping all over the place. No cutie marks, either,” Apple Bloom pouted, turning to look at her own flank. “Oh well, what would a hiccup curifier cutie mark even look like ?”
“Well,” began Sweetie Belle. “Maybe we didn’t try everything .…” she rubbed her chin, peering up to the ceiling thoughtfully.
“What-HUT do you mean, Sweetie B-HELK?”
“What about Zecora?” the unicorn filly asked Apple Bloom, a big smile forming on her face.
Apple Bloom’s jaw dropped, and he planted her face against a hoof. “UGH! Of course! How could I have forgotten? Zecora showed me a potion to cure hiccups a few months ago!” She beamed, but her face fell when she saw the looks her friends were giving her. “Uh… what’s the matter, girls?”
“Weasels?” asked Scootaloo flatly. “Huckt!” she added for emphasis.
“Scoota-goo?” Sweetie Belle muttered with a disgusted tone.
“Heh… well… Okay, so they weren’t the best ideas. I just forgot. But this time, I’ve got it fer-sure-and-for-true! Scootaloo, prepare to say goodbye to yer hiccups! I just gotta get some things.” With that, Apple Bloom dashed out the door, leaving the other two to give each other puzzled looks.
A little while later, Apple Bloom had set up her workplace in the clubhouse, an assortment of ingredients around her. “Hmmm, let me see…” she mumbled, tapping a hoof to her chin. “I may have to improvise a li’l bit. One part season’s first snow…” she sifted some powdered sugar into the pitcher. “Two parts sunlight’s kiss… I guess this’ll do,” she poured in two cups of orange juice. “Add a dash of hyssop, burdock, and buttercup petals…” a hefty clump of assorted weeds was tossed into the mix. “Then stir with a unicorn’s magic. Hrm…” She looked at Sweetie Belle.
“I can’t do magic yet!” the filly protested with a squeak.
“Aww man, are you sure-HURK about this HICK, Apple Bloom?” Scootaloo eyed the sugary weed-and-orange concoction warily. “You know what happened last time you made a potion.”
“Yeah, but that was a magic potion! This is just, yanno, herbs and stuff! And don’ call me a hick, ain’t nice.” She turned to her other friend, amber eyes gleaming with inspiration. “Sweetie Belle, I have an idea!”
Scant moments later, the unicorn filly was dressed in a black cape and top hat, leftovers from one of their many attempts to gain their cutie marks. “Uh, I’m not sure this is right…” she waggled a white-tipped wand in the air. “Abracadabra, hocus pocus, uh, locomotion, let’s make this potion!” She tapped the wand on the rim of the pitcher, causing a dusting of glitter to fall from it into the mix. Then she stuck the wand into the mixture and stirred with vigor. Before their eyes, the mess went from a murky orange… to a clear, vibrant blue.
“Woah. I can’t believe that actually worked,” Apple Bloom quipped. “Uh, I mean, look! I told you it would work!” She waved her hooves towards the mix, seeing Scootaloo’s worried glower.
“What-HUTT-ever. Just give me some-HUMM.” The Pegasus sighed, rubbing her sore tummy and sitting at the crate they used as a table. Sweetie Belle tipped the pitcher, pouring the sparkling blue concoction into a punch glass.
“Now, remember, Scootaloo, the trick is to sip… it…” Apple Bloom trailed off when her friend slammed the whole glass down in a single gulp. “Or I guess you could do it like that, sure.”
Scootaloo cringed. The taste was somewhere between lawn clippings, grandma’s bourbon sour candies, and the holes of a bowling ball. And then she felt the potion take effect, a warm weight settling in her belly. Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle leaned in expectantly, watching their blank-faced friend. Scootaloo’s lips parted… and a single pink bubble floated out, making a quiet ‘hic!’ noise when it popped.
“Yes!” Apple Bloom hoof-pumped. “It worked! I told you it would work! How do you feel, Scootaloo? Uh… Scootaloo?” She blinked at her friend, who simply sat silent with wide eyes and a surprised look on her face. Sweetie Belle chewed her lip and leaned over, waving a hoof in front of Scootaloo’s eyes.
“I’ve… gotta go.” Scootaloo finally said, after a long (and mercifully hiccup-free) pause.
“It’s out back, you know,” replied Sweetie Belle, always ready to be helpful.
“No, I mean, I’ll see you guys later. Thanks for helping me out, I owe you guys one!” Scootaloo responded, heading for the door.
“But I thought you said you were gonna stay fer din… ner… Oh,” Apple Bloom started, but Scootaloo had already slipped out. She looked at Sweetie Belle. “Well, what do you think got into her?”
“When you’ve got to go, you’ve got to go!” chirped the unicorn, with an oblivious shrug
In the woods outside the Cutie Mark Crusader clubhouse, Scootaloo leaned back against a tree and panted. Part of it was that she was sore from hiccupping all day. The other part was fear and confusion. “Oh man… This can’t be right. No way…” She caught her breath and shook her head. Scootaloo knew she shouldn’t have trusted Apple Bloom’s potion! But these side effects were so totally unexpected, and so unsettling…
“Well, only one way to be sure, Scootaloo,” she encouraged herself. Taking a deep breath, she reached down with her forehooves, and gasped at what she found.
“I’m a boy?!”
The sky above the Cutie Mark Crusaders clubhouse was turning a warm gold color, and the sound of cicadas in the orchard was joined by the rhythmic tap-tap-tapping of hooves from within. Inside, two painfully bored ponies waited, and waited. Apple Bloom was trotting back and forth, while her friend Sweetie Belle drew a nonsense squiggle on a sheet of construction paper, staring at it with half-lidded eyes.
“Oooooh, where th’ hay d’you suppose she got off to?” Apple Bloom finally spoke, whining softly . “We had so much crusadin’ planned to do today, and Scootaloo just runs off without a fare-thee-well!”
“Well, we DID make her drink an awful lot of water,” the unicorn noted, shrugging
Apple Bloom rolled her eyes “Really, Sweetie Belle? She ain’t been back for at least an hour. I don’t think that’s it at all.”
“She wouldn’t just abandon us!” Sweetie Belle protested, dropping her crayon. “Whatever it was must have been really important!”
“So important she couldn’t say nothin’ about it? All of a sudden?” Apple bloom frowned.
“Scootaloo wouldn’t go off like that unless she really had to. Or… Oh no,” Sweetie Belle whimpered “What if something happened? What if that potion made her sick? I’ll bet if we hurried, we could catch up to her and find-“
“Apple Bloom! Dinnertime!” came a not-too-distant call, and a tinny ringing noise.
The earth pony chewed her lip “Maybe you’re right, we ought to catch her and check up on her. I’mma go tell my sister, and…”
“Apple Bloom, you missed dinner two nights in a row already!” Sweetie Belle reminded her. “I don’t think your sister’s going to want to give you cold leftovers again.” She pursed her lips “I’ll go looking for Scootaloo, and we’ll come back after dinner, okay?”
Apple Bloom let out a sigh, “All right. All right. I’ll see y’all in a little bit!” Together, the two fillies trotted out of the clubhouse, and headed in opposite directions.
Not too very far away, the song of summertime insects was being accompanied by a much softer chorus, as Fluttershy’s lilting voice sang a soft verse while watering the vegetable patch she kept beside her cottage. All in all, it had been a great day; the tomatoes were looking ripe, Angel was well-fluffed, and best of all, no terrible crises had forced one of her friends to drag her twitching and whimpering into Ponyville to save the day. That was the best part, really. And it was turning into a lovely sunset.
Her sigh of contentment was interrupted as, from the other side of her cottage, came a loud WHAM WHAM WHAM! And a familiar voice calling “Fluttershy? Fluttershy?!” The yellow Pegasus took a deep breath, letting it out slowly, before slipping through the cottage to the front door. Opening it, she was confronted by a bedraggled-looking, sweaty, panting orange filly who, without invitation, rushed inside and knocked the door shut
“Sc-scootaloo?” Fluttershy’s eyes were wide with surprise “What’s the matter? Are you alright?” Confronted with the frantic-seeming filly, worry overtook the mild annoyance of just a moment before.
“Oh-thank-good-ness-you’re-home,” came the panting reply. “I-need-GULP -your-help.” Scootaloo pressed her rump back against the door, taking a few more deep breaths.
“Oh, of course! Do you want some water?” Fluttershy chewed her lip as she watched the filly shake her head .
“No, no, uh, no thanks, I’ve had plenty. “ deep breath “I’ve got a big problem and you’re the only person I can think of who can help help.”
Fluttershy tilted her head, a strand of pink mane falling across her face “Really? Well, if I can help, you know I’d be happy to. It’s just… well... you haven’t said what the problem is…”
Scootaloo sucked in a breath, giving a squinting look away from the older mare, rubbing one foreleg. “It’s, uh, kind of embarrassing, actually… Maybe I shouldn’t…”
“Oh, Scootaloo. You know I’d never tell anyone. I promise. How can I help?” She peered at the other Pegasus, concern in her soft blue eyes.
Scootaloo took a deep breath. “Okay, I got the hiccups really bad because Sweetie Belle wouldn’t stop eating all my apple fritters. So we went to Sugar Cube Corner and Pinkie Pie gave me lots of sugar and then Spike got the hiccups too, and water shot out my nose, but Apple Bloom gave me some yucky orange juice and now I don’t have the hiccups anymore. It’s so embarrassing!”
Fluttershy blinked in confusion, trying to untangle what she had just heard. “Oh… okay. Uhm. If you don’t mind me asking, why is it so embarrassing not to have the hiccups?”
Scootaloo opened her mouth, then shut it with a soft click. “Well, that’s the embarrassing part.”
“You don’t say?” Fluttershy’s tone was soft, encouraging.
“I sort of… Uhm. That is, I have… “ Scootaloo mumbled, scuffing at the entryway rug with her hoof, face reddening.
“Didn’t quite hear that,” Fluttershy spoke, leaning close and cocking an ear.
“I said, the potion turned me into a boy.” Scootaloo said, just a little louder. Fluttershy pulled back with a look of shock. “I should’ve never let Apple Bloom give me that potion!”
“Oh, dear… Are you sure?” Fluttershy was taken aback by the notion, glancing around, then back to Scootaloo.
The orange filly rolled her eyes and made a soft noise of frustration. “Doesn’t it look like I’m sure?” Turning around, she lifted her pink tail. There, below the tight folds of her marehood, were a pair of smooth taut-skinned balls.
Fluttershy’s eyes went huge, and a flush warmed her face at the brazen display. Raising a hoof to her mouth in shock, she murmured. “Oh my . Would you look at that?”
“Yeah, see? I’m pretty sure. I’ve even got, uh, the rest, you know.“ Scootaloo scuffed on hoof against the floor with a pout.
Fluttershy was at a loss. “Well… What do you want me to do about it?” She blinked at the filly, ducking her head and peering briefly under the other pegasus’ belly.
Scootaloo sighed. “I heard you’ve had experience in handling this sort of thing. I was hoping you could, y’know, help me out.”
"E-Experience?” Fluttershy ducked down with a squeak of embarrassment. “Well, I… that is, I haven’t had any complaints….” She trailed off.
“Awesome!” Scootaloo bounced in place, her little wings buzzing. “It can’t be that different from poison joke, right?”
“Poison… oh, oh! Yes. Poison joke, of course that’s what you meant.” Fluttershy allowed herself a nervous giggle, and then gave the filly a concerned look, clearing her throat. “That just changed my voice, Scootaloo, not my, my, uhm, my… it didn't...”
“It didn’t give you balls?”
Fluttershy blinked at the filly’s forwardness. “Well, no, it didn’t…”
“Or a talliwhacker?”
“I’m not sure I know what… oh. That. No, it just made me sing bass. It was dreadful . But, you know what, maybe the remedy will help you, Scootaloo. It just so happens that Zecora shared the recipe with me, just in case any of my little friends got into some poison joke.”
“Another potion?” Scootaloo bonked the back of her head against the front door tree in frustration. “I don’t want to drink more groady orange juice, Fluttershy.”
“Oh, it’s not a potion. It’s a bubble bath, actually. And it feels wonderful , very relaxing. Are you sure you don’t want to give it a try?” Fluttershy chewed her lip.
Scootaloo pursed her lips, considering, then sighed. “Well, I do want to get rid of these… they feel awfully weird, bouncing around back there,” she waggled her hips, making a face, which made Fluttershy giggle. “And… well, I guess I could use a bath anyway. Alright Fluttershy, let’s give it a shot.”
Author's Note
Fic is not dead! I've just been busy with work (filling holiday orders!) and have been trying to clean up the next chapter a bit more. It's fully written, just... chunkier than I like. So have some interlude!
The inside of Fluttershy’s cottage was nice and neat as always, though with a homey, lived-in touch. Vases of flowers and pots of plants were scattered seemingly randomly around the living room, and in the center was a basin of steaming water topped with a mountain of vaguely pink bubbles. The steaming whistle of a kettle further into the house brought a voice from within the mound of soapy froth.
“Do you really think this will help? I’m pretty sure Apple Bloom would have known if she grabbed a mouthful of Poison Joke. BFFFT!” A double-handful of bubbles blasted into the air, revealing the steam-matted orange fur of Scootaloo’s face, her head topped with yet more bubbles.
Fluttershy carried the kettle from the kitchen to the basin, pouring a stream of heated water into the bath. “Well, if nothing else, it couldn’t hurt. Oh, do tell me if this is too hot, okay?” Steam rose, and with it even more bubbles, nearly obscuring Scootaloo’s face again. She huffed and blew them away a second time.
“Well… I guess not.” Her uncertain tone drew a concerned look from Fluttershy, so she was quick to amend, “But so far, so good. The water feels great, it’s just these… bubbles!” She fluttered her wings, sending more sudsy clumps floating around the living room. She winced slightly, seeing Fluttershy’s look of dismay, and offered a smile. “What I mean is, thanks for this. Really, I’m glad you’re helping”
“Oh! It’s no problem at all! My pleasure, really,” she gushed, trotting to the rosewood cabinet. Fluttershy poked her head in, rummaging around through the many jars and sachets she kept in there. “I’m just sorry I can’t give you the full spa treatment, it’s just wonderful ."
Scootaloo watched curiously while the other mare poured an assortment of seeds and flower buds into the bath. Almost immediately, a fragrance somewhere between fresh-mown hay and lavender rose. “Awww, that’s okay, Fluttershy. A hooficure would just look silly on me, anyway.” She paused, sniffing. “That does smell nice, though. What all goes in it?”
“Oh, I wish she would tell me. Every time I ask, though, Zecora says something about ‘proprietary secrets,’ or something like that.” Fluttershy tugged a strap with her teeth, securing the scrub brush to her hoof, before dipping it into the water, swirling around. “If you sit, at first, it might, uhm… help, I think.”
There was a yelp when Scootaloo did just that, the water quite a bit warmer on her new parts than she anticipated. “Oh! Wow! That’s toasty,” she panted. However it wasn’t too hot, and she soon found herself acclimating, letting out a sigh as the warmth of the fragrant water seeped into her bones. With a splash, Fluttershy lifted her brush from the water, and started to scrub the filly down. Normally, Scootaloo didn’t care for baths. But this time around, she felt sweaty and itchy and grimy, so the water soaking into her coat was refreshing and welcome. And the feel of the soft-bristled brush working against her skin was simply wonderful . She let her eyes close as she fell into a content, relaxed state.
Fluttershy carefully washed the smaller mare, paying special attention behind her ears and between her wings. She took the filly’s sighs and shivers as a good sign, and paused only enough to re-dip her brush. “Is it working?” she asked in a soft voice, almost afraid to break the others’ reverie.
“Uh, huh? Is what… Oh…” Scootaloo came back to reality and gulped. “Uhm… No. In fact, I… I think there’s even more of it now, Fluttershy!” Her voice had a little tremor to it, and she stood in the bath, turning a circle, unable to see anything due to the soap bubbles.
“Calm down, Scootaloo, calm… down…” Fluttershy gestured ‘down’ with her hooves, large blue eyes earnest. “It’s okay. Maybe we, uhm, just need to… that is…” she waggled the brush-bearing hoof “with your… on the…”
Scootaloo cut her off. “Okay, yeah, good idea. Just… Hurry, okay? “ She turned her rump towards Fluttershy and presented, lifting her sodden, soapy tail aside.
The other Pegasus’ eyes widened. Before her was the lean, warmth-flushed rump of a young filly, the sleek coat flecked with soap, and at the apex of her thighs, a loose, smooth sack holding to heavy, dangling orbs, above them the soft crease of a mare’s sex. Fluttershy gulped and spoke with a nervous voice. “O-okay, this might feel a, uhm, a little funny, Scootaloo…”
Scootaloo braced herself against whatever weird sensation was coming up next. Her teeth gritted together, her ears flattened back… and then the delightful sensation of the soft, warm brush very lightly petting her nethers reached her brain. If the feeling of it scrubbing her coat had been delightful, this was exquisite. The delicate bristles scratched tiny itches she hadn’t noticed before, and tickled everywhere else, leaving a pleasant tingle in its wake.
More than that though, the gentle jostling of her new balls made her feel… warm . Like something was starting to happen. She was about to ask, when Fluttershy shifted the brush up, swirling against her mound and the pucker above it. Without thinking, Scootaloo leaned back with a quiet moan, feeling that heat spread and grow.
“Oh! I didn’t hurt you, did I?” Fluttershy’s voice came from behind, laced with concern. “It can be a pretty, oh, uh, tender area…” Fluttershy smiled to herself, admiring the sight before her, from the taut, rounded balls, to the fresh pink pucker beneath the filly’s tail and the soft mound with its inviting slit between. She squirmed, taking a steadying breath as she felt the moisture against her own inner thigh
“N-no, Fluttershy.” Scootaloo gulped as she returned to the bath from wherever her mind had been floating. “It feels nice, actually, and I think something might be huh, hah-happening…” She stuttered as the light scrubbing continued
For just the moment, Fluttershy paused her bathing, carefully cupping the twinned organs “Oh… Do you think so?”nonono ! It’s not working at all!”
“They do seem to be staying put, don’t they?” Reluctantly Fluttershy released the now-trembling filly. “…Scootaloo?”
“Not just that; it’s getting bigger! Oh man, oh no, what if I end up stuck like this? What if I have to hang out and chew alfalfa like Big Mac and his buddies?
“Calm down, calm down…” Fluttershy’s soothing voice didn’t seem to be having any real effect on the flustered pegasus, but she persisted anyway
“What if I step on it?! ” Scootaloo’s voice steadily rose in pitch as crazy scenarios started to fill her head.
“Scootaloo!” Flutterhy’s surprisingly sharp tone caught the filly mid-ramble, and she turned to regard the other pegasus. “It’s okay. It’s perfectly normal, when your… Oh, well, I guess it’s not normal for you, but that Is, I mean, when you’re… it gets… uhm…” Fluttershy’s cheeks felt like they were on fire with the blush that was coming over her as she descended into mumbling.
Scootaloo gulped, waiting expectantly, but Fluttershy didn’t seem to be snapping out of it anytime soon. Exasperated, the filly hopped out of the bath, still covered in suds and dripping fragrant water all over Fluttershy’s hardwood floor. “Well, I don’t care if it’s normal or not, just… How do I make it stop Fluttershy?”
Fluttershy chewed her lip, uncertain of how to answer. She never had a chance when suddenly Scootaloo shook, sending a spray of water and soapsuds everywhere. When she recovered from her sudden drenching, she found herself captivated; the sleek young pegasus was panting softly, wisps of steam floating from her skin.
But more than that, jutting stiffly from underneath the filly was a shaft of rigid shaft, the soft, most skin of it a flushed pink near the slightly flared knob, grading to the darker off-orange of Scootaloo’s coat where the organ emerged from its sheath. Fluttershy’s breath caught when the organ gave a throb, a dribble of clear fluid dropping from the tip; suddenly her mouth felt very dry. “Well. Uh, Scootaloo, there’s… there’s a really easy way to… to…” gulp. “To calm things down.” She trotted over to the low sofa and thumped the cushions with a hoof. “Come over here and lay down, and I’ll do what I can.”
Scootaloo started to trot over, odd expressions crossing her face as her new bit bounced around like a counterweight. “I hope it works better than the bubblebath.” A quick glance at Fluttershy showed the yellow pegasus giving her an odd look, so Scootaloo offered an apologetic smile. “But I appreciate it anyway!” From some strange impulse, she kissed Fluttershy’s cheek, making the older mare squeak. With a hop and a wing-flutter, Scootaloo was settling on the sofa
After a bit of a jostle however, it was plain that lying on her belly just wouldn’t do the trick. Scootaloo shifted around to lean on her side, hips cocked. For the first time, she saw what she was packing. Her eyes went wide. “Oh… wow…”
“Wow,” affirmed Fluttershy quietly.
“Would you look at that?” Scootaloo’s tone had a note of curiosity to it as she studied herself.
“I’m looking…” came Fluttershy’s breathy response.
“It’s actually… kinda neat,” the filly mumbled, giving the swollen organ a light poke with her hoof, sucking in a soft breath and giggling at the bounce that caused. She cleared her throat, looking back to Fluttershy “I mean… I still want to get rid of it, but… Do they all look like this?”
Fluttershy gulped, lifting her eyes from Scootaloo’s protuberance, and offered a bashful smile “Oh! Uhm, some look nicer than others. I guess, that is, I mean…” she trailed off into an embarrassed mumble.
“So… How are you going to get it to go back to… normal?” Scootaloo squinted one eye, realizing that maybe ‘normal’ wasn’t the right word. She looked from her swollen length to Fluttershy. Something in the way the other pegasus was looking at her caused Scootaloo’s heart to flutter, and that heated shaft gave another throb. “Uh, Fluttershy?”
Fluttershy had leaned in closer, breathing in the pleasant herbal scent of the damp filly, and under that, the clean, warm scent of her bare skin. Her blue eyes darted up to look Scootaloo in the face, before she planted a delicate kiss to the tender skin below the shaft’s head. The foal’s wide-eyed gasp made her grin. “See? It’s just like kissing a hurt.”
Scootaloo’s breath was coming a little faster as she gazed down at the pegasus. “Well, except for the hurt part. That… That was kind of neat, too.” She nervously chewed the back of her lip, shifting around on the sofa. A low groan escaped her as Fluttershy took this as encouragement and began peppering tiny kisses all along the sensitive cock.
For her part, Fluttershy was in heaven. The little squeaks and gasps the filly was making delighted her senses, and the feel of the soft, hot skin against her lips was like nothing else. She needed more, though. Never looking away from Scootaloo and her look of surprise and pleasure, Fluttershy pressed her tongue to the base of the cock, and took a long taste, licking all the way up to the flared head, lifting away a clear drop of salty fluid.
“Oh wow, oh wow,” Scootaloo panted, staring at the pleased-looking pegasus. Her erection hadn’t even come close to going away, but suddenly that hardly seemed important. Suddenly her whole body was very warm, even the dampened skin of her cock. Instead of the shy and sort-of goofy pegasus who raised toucans, Scootaloo was seeing a soft-eyed and beautiful mare who wanted to … to what? Scootaloo gulped, feeling her heart bounce around behind her ribs.
“There, doesn’t that feel nice?” asked the yellow mare, brushing her lips back down to the small fold of skin Scootaloo’s shaft emerged from. “Just relax, and let Fluttershy help…” Her lips went lower, kissing and nuzzling the smooth skin around the filly’s small balls, before nestling beneath them. Fluttershy moaned at the tantalizing aroma of the warm filly, the bath’s scents, and the fresh, spicy scent of her arousal.
“Flutt- ooooh, wow, Fluttershy, it’s not… going… uhhhhm…” Scootaloo’s train of thought stopped abruptly as she felt a soft and warm probing at her female parts, her eyes drifting closed with a soft moan when the other pegasus’s tongue nestled between her folds with soft licks. If the attention to her new organ had been wonderful, this was fabulous . She raised her forehooves, pressing against the sofa’s armrest, and widened her legs, her body instinctively offering her heated, wet sex to that eagerly-exploring tongue.
“Mmmmmfle, mm…” was Fluttershy’s response to the feel of Scootaloo pressing to her mouth. The taste and sounds of the young filly filled her senses, overwhelming her. Bringing her hooves up, she held the filly’s thighs, nuzzling at the soft mound before probing deeper, seeking the rich sweetness of the other Pegasus’ depths.
“F-f-fluttershyyyy,” Scootaloo whipered, pushing her hips forward. She could feel her own muscles squeezing, trying to capture Fluttershy’s tongue as the mare slipped it into the tight passage, swirling and tasting. She bit her lip, opening her legs wider, her hips rocking as she almost instinctively tried to feel more inside.
Instead, Fluttershy pulled away, letting out a soft groan of her own. Scootaloo whined, opening her eyes and giving the older pegasus a petulant pout “Wha-, why… why’d you stop?” She knew she was whining, but the occasion called for it; she could feel her insides fluttering, aching for more of that attention, and there was Fluttershy, just looking so smug.
“Oh, I’m sorry!” Fluttershy murmured, “I must have gotten distracted.” She gave a teasing smile to the orange filly, giggling at her pout. “I was supposed to be working on this, wasn’t I?” She brought her hooves up, cupping them around the base of the shaft. Holding Scootaloo’s eyes with her own, Fluttershy lowered her head, planting a kiss to the plump head, then another, before licking away a clear string of silky fluid from her lips, parting them to slip around the knob.
Scootaloo’s breath caught in her throat at the sensation. The warm moistness of Fluttershy’s mouth was exquisite, but it was the feel of her velvety tongue, swirling and flicking that sent shivers and trembles through the filly’s body. The annoying protuberance felt even more rigid now, and somehow, not nearly so bothersome. Scootaloo’s breath came in quick pants as she felt something begin to tighten and squeeze. “Fluh, fluhmmmm… Fluttershy, something, hum, happen… Ooooh…”
Fluttershy giggled around the mouthful of hard, warm flesh in her mouth, massaging the base with her hooves. She was lost in the moment, suckling and tugging on the sweet-scented organ, reveling in the heat of it, the salty-slick taste of the filly’s precum, the throbs and twitches and groans. Looking up again, she saw Scootaloo’s dazed and unfocused expression, the rapid rise and fall of her chest. Giving a swirl of her tongue around that tender knob, she sank down again, taking the shaft as deeply as she could.
That was it for Scootaloo. The feel of Fluttershy’s lips squeezing around the very base, her tongue rubbing against the medial ring, and best of all, the tight, squeezing feel as the mare gulped at the head and just beyond, all combined to form an explosion in Scootaloo’s head. Her body went stiff and for a moment her breathing stopped, before she cried out, head throwing back against the arm of the sofa. She felt different muscles clench and pull and finally send hard, jerking pulses up through that shaft, each throb bringing a new wave of bliss and relief.
Fluttershy kept her lips in place, her face reddening as she watched the filly spasm and pant. The feel of the lovely organ throbbing in her mouth, sending its warm splashes into her throat to be gulped down brought a shiver to the mare’s spine.
It took a moment for Scootaloo to realize she was being spoken to. She turned her head, nuzzling against the other pegasus, having a sudden desire to cuddle “Oh Fluttershy, that was the best thing ever,” came the breathless response. “How’d you learn to do that?”
Fluttershy squirmed at the feel of the warm little body cuddling into her, breathing against her neck. “Oh, it’s just something I picked up…” She gave a nervous little laugh, her hoof stroking Scootaloo’s belly, before stopping. “Oh my…”
“Hmm? What is…?” Scootaloo pulled her face away from Fluttershy’s neck, following her gaze, to the length of flesh. For just a moment it had relaxed, falling against Scootaloo’s thigh, but now it was climbing back up, the aching hardness returning as once again it swelled to its full girth. “Oh, come on! ” Scootaloo complained, before looking to Fluttershy.
“Don’t worry, “ came the soft-voiced reply. “I have another idea…”
Sweetie Belle’s green eyes were wide as she peered through the window of the cottage. Scootaloo hadn’t been hard to follow, and Sweetie Belle had planned on asking the older pegasus for help anyway. But this was… a surprise. She couldn’t pull her eyes away from the show she was unintentionally getting, her own breath coming in soft pants as she watched her friend squirm, heard her groans and pleased cries.
When Fluttershy climbed onto the sofa with Scootaloo, the unicorn finally ducked away from the window, panting for breath and feeling extremely warm, a curious dampness and pleasant throb in her nethers. She squeezed her eyes shut, trying to make sense of it all; was Scootaloo a boy? Were she – er, he? – and fluttershy special someponies? Why couldn’t she get the image of her friend’s saliva-wet, flushed-pink boy-part out of her head?
She took a few more steadying breaths, and was just about to sneak away, when some new noises from within the cottage caught her attention. Glancing back to the window, she gulped and whispered to herself.
“Well, since I’m already here…”
