Change is Never Easy

Present Day

“You two ready to get your flanks beat?” Scootaloo yelled as she ran ahead of her two friends. Both of them shook their heads as they trotted further down Ponyville’s dirt road.

“Now, if ya can recall, you should remember that I wasn’t half bad at roller skatin’ last time we went,” announced Apple Bloom. “I even remember beatin’ your flank in a race or two.”

“That was two years ago Bloom,” Scootaloo scoffed. “You’re looking at a pony capable of a fifty-two-second lap now! I’m gonna race circles around you.”

“Whatever you say airhead.”

“Oh Apple Bloom, where’s your pink bow?” Sweetie Belle exclaimed, suddenly noticing the pink fabric missing from the top of her friend’s head. Instead, two small green bows were placed near the end of her mane and tail. Bloom shrugged.

“Wanted to try somthin’ different. Plus it’s not easy to skate with that big thing gettin’ tangled up in everything,” she explained. “Granny suggested these. Apparently Ma used to wear her mane like this all the time.”

“It looks cute!” Scootaloo stated matter of factly.

“Wow Scootaloo, I didn’t even know that word was in your dictionary!” Sweetie Belle teased.

“Wait-no, it’s not! I just-” she tried to defend herself. Why did she even say that? “Oh forget it. Look, we’re here.”

The Zippity Rink had seen better days. The roller skating hang-out had opened up around the time the threes’ older sisters had been just fillies. It remained a very popular spot before its ownership got handed down the family line just a few years back. Since then, it hasn’t been kept in prime condition. The green and black sign at its entrance was faded, the paint chipping away. A few bird nests even populated the corners of the building. But this didn’t keep many little ponies from visiting one of their favorite childhood locations, despite their parents’ protests.

The three walked inside, paid four bits each to the bored-looking stallion behind the beat-up counter, and grabbed their skates. From what Scootaloo could see, there were about ten other ponies around the rink. There was one family of three, and the rest were other teens from town whom she recognized by name. As she pushed herself out into the crowd, the railing she was leaning on gave an ominous creak before a giant crack appeared along its middle. She shrugged. Not abnormal for the Zippity.

“Alrighty then, time to show ya how it’s done!” Apple Bloom called out before zooming by Scoots. The orange filly responded with an arrogant smirk.

“Oh, you’re on!”

Sweetie Belle, not much of a racer herself, struggled behind the two for a moment. Her hooves went in every direction as she tried to pick up just a little speed. This maneuver proved unsuccessful, however, as she soon tumbled hard onto the floor, doing a full spin nearly five times over across the wood. The other two crusaders quickly stopped to check on their friend, but after she gave an all-clear, they burst out laughing.

“Oh whatever, you two,” Sweetie remarked, brushing a concerning amount of dust off of her white coat as she stood on unsteady hooves. “You know I’ve never been good at this!”

“Yeah, but that’s what makes it fun!” Scoots replied, continuing her burst of laughter.

“Alright, before we watch Sweetie wipe out again-” Apple Bloom began as she reached into her green saddlebag.

“Hey!”

“-let’s get a photo for the book!” She pulled out a camera and held it in front of the three. Sweetie refused to smile. Bloom took the shot anyway. “Perfect!”

“Sometimes I don’t know why I’m friends with you two,” the unicorn mumbled, but a small smile crept unwillingly onto her face.

“Hey Sweetie Belle!” a voice called out. Scootaloo realized that it sounded both familiar and new at the same time. When she looked up she saw Button Mash making his way towards them.

“Button! How are you?” Sweetie responded, moving cautiously up to the young colt. It had been a couple of years since Scootaloo had seen the gamer pony. He was one grade above her, and since they were never close by any means, they hadn’t stayed in touch. She was shocked at how different his voice sounded. Most of the squeakiness was gone, replaced by a deeper tone. He even looked different! He was now taller than Sweetie, by quite a bit, and his face was no longer soft and pudgy, but lean and sharp. A thought rained down from the cloud.

When will that happen to me?

Scoots shook her head. No, that doesn’t happen to mares. And that’s what she was. A young mare. She cringed at the thought but pushed it away. She didn’t want to think about that now.

Caught up in her own thoughts, the pegasus didn’t even realize that Button and Sweetie had started to delve into their own conversation. From what she could pick up, it seemed like they were discussing a newly released two-player game. She would never have considered Sweetie Belle to be somepony who was into video games, but that perception didn’t stop her from meeting Button Mash’s skill level in nearly every game they played together.

“Hey, while those two catch up, you wanna try an actual race?”Apple Bloom interrupted. “Or are ya too chicken?” Scootaloo’s ears perked and burned at the childhood nickname. Without a warning, she smirked, fluttered her wings, and zipped past the taken aback farm pony. “Hey! Wait up! That’s cheatin’!”

Scootaloo sighed as she stepped into her room. After a fun day with friends, coming home was always extremely underwhelming. Snores continued emanating from the living room as she closed her door. Her dad was, once again, asleep on the couch surrounded by four empty bottles. Her mom was currently on a business trip to Appleloosa, meaning she was under his care for a whole week and a half. This usually entails making her own dinners every night, but today she was able to eat out with her friends before arriving home. She was unable to express her gratefulness for the free food to them.

She plopped onto her bed. Today was great. She trained with Rainbow Dash, went skating with her friends, ate a good meal, and even got some scootering in before dusk. Groaning from frustration, she shoved her head into her pillow. So why wasn’t she happy? It had been a day just like any other when she was younger. What was different?

She got back up and trotted slowly towards her mirror. She looked herself over. Deep down, she knew what was wrong. She knew what these thoughts were, but she didn’t want to admit it. So, she simply repeated the weekly routine she had been doing for nearly two years.

She checked her height. Any taller? Nope. She examined her face. Any less round? Nope. She felt across her hooves. Any tougher? Not even in the slightest. She knew mares didn’t usually get these things, but some do. Maybe she would get lucky. After a few more tests, she fell down to her haunches in defeat.

This is how it always went, always leaving her more disappointed than the last time. And the feelings kept getting worse. They made her want to escape herself so much that she could barely handle it. She just wanted to feel normal again. But she knows that if she doesn't face herself soon, she won’t last much longer.

Then suddenly, it came to her. She knew there was only one thing that would make her feel okay again, although it certainly wasn’t normal. She couldn’t keep running from it.

I need to fix this. But how?

Her parents were an automatic no-go. The idea of telling Rainbow terrified her. What would her sister think? Her friends?

Her heart sank. What if they didn’t accept her? She can’t risk losing them!

She took a deep breath.

I just need to be honest with myself first. I’ll figure out the rest later.

So Scootaloo moved back towards the bed, climbed under the covers, and laid his head onto the pillow. And finally, the cloud began to thin.