The cottage stood apart from the rest of Ponyville, on a high, grassy hillside near the Everfree Forest.
When Scootaloo asked Rainbow Dash if the rumors about that cottage were true, Rainbow Dash had only sent Scootaloo to Fluttershy. Fluttershy had referred the pegasus filly to Starlight Glimmer, who'd given Scootaloo a package, instructing her to strap it to her scooter and deliver it. "Make sure not to forget it," Starlight had warned. "Don't drop it or damage it or lose it. It's important."
Scootaloo had nodded. She'd wondered why the package was so important, and what might be inside. But the way Starlight had said those words made her feel she shouldn't ask or question.
So Scootaloo carefully wing-buzzed her scooter along an old cart track, between farm fields and orchards, across a weather-worn old wooden bridge, and finally up the grassy hill.
That last part of the ride was so bumpy, Scootaloo had stopped several times to check the straps holding the box in place, and finally dismounted to walk her scooter up the last stretch.
As Scootaloo neared the cottage, she stopped to look back the way she'd come. The hillside had an excellent view, of trees and fields and most of Ponyville.
Living up on this hill and looking down at the world, Scootaloo thought, might be a little bit like being able to fly. Like being a pegasus with proper wings, who lives in a cloud house and sees everything spread out beneath her.
Scootaloo shook her head. She shouldn't say anything like that until she got to know the pony she was visiting.
When Scootaloo reached the front door, she took a deep breath. Just as the pegasus filly raised her forehoof to knock, she heard somepony clearing her throat behind her.
Scootaloo leaped into the air, turning partway around before she landed. She saw a scarred unicorn mare who was colored a deep, dark crimson, her mane and tail only slightly lighter in shade.
Scootaloo had to make an effort not to stare at the unicorn's forehead. The horn was mostly missing, the edges jagged as if an irreparable act of violence had ripped it away.
The unicorn's gaze seemed to pin the pegasus filly in place with narrowed, suspicion-filled green eyes. "You aren't the usual one."
Scootaloo gulped. "I'm--Starlight sent me. Starlight Glimmer. I'm Scootaloo. I'm a filly who lives in Ponyville."
The unicorn slowly looked the pegasus filly up and down, and nodded. "You can leave the package here," the unicorn said. "Thank you for bringing it."
Scootaloo unstrapped the package from her scooter and laid it on the ground. After a moment, she worked up the nerve to say, "Starlight told me...I'm here to see an amber colored unicorn, with red and yellow stripes in her mane. Her name is Sunset Shimmer, and she's from another world."
The unicorn examined Scootaloo again. "Wait here," she said. "Don't leave. She may be a while, before she can see you."
The unicorn lifted the package with her teeth, and carried it behind the cottage. Scootaloo heard a door open and shut, and low murmurs of conversation.
Time passed, as Scootaloo wondered what was happening indoors. Were they just going to leave her waiting outside all day? Should Scootaloo give up and leave, or even run away?
About half an hour later, the cottage's front door opened. "Sorry," the scarlet mare said. "Sunset was...in the middle of something."
Scootaloo peeped inside. All the curtains on the sunward side were fully opened, flooding the front room with light.
Behind the scarlet mare, a second voice spoke. "You must be Scootaloo." Sunset Shimmer herself appeared in the doorway, a tall unicorn mare wearing a long white dress which reached the floor, and covered all four of her limbs. She moved with an unusual, smoothly gliding gait. "Come on in."
The scarlet unicorn glanced back and forth between the other two ponies. She snorted disdainfully.
"Fizzlepop," Sunset asked, "Could you...go make some tea or something?"
'Fizzlepop' snorted again, but walked out of the room. Sunset smiled. "Sorry. Fizzy gets kind of protective. She's had a rough life, seen a lot of bad things, including some time as a soldier. And living next to the Everfree, where we KNOW dangerous creatures and monsters live, just makes her think about what might come out of there next, puts her even more on guard."
Scootaloo said, "But I'm just a filly!"
Sunset sighed. "I suppose a changeling COULD look a lot like you. But, yes, I think you're safe to talk to." Sunset said more loudly, "If she tries to eat me, Fizzy, I'll call for help, I promise!"
In the kitchen, Fizzlepop laughed.
"So," Scootaloo said. "I heard you're from another world. Is that true?"
Sunset's head nodded towards a chair. "I think this will take a while. Why don't you sit down?"
Scootaloo sat, wriggling a bit as she tried to get comfortable.
Sunset herself moved to a sort of chaise lounge or daybed, where she settled herself upon her stomach facing her visitor.
Sunset's head tilted slightly. "So, Scootaloo...why do you want to know?"
"Huh?"
"Why do you want to know if I'm from another world? Why does that interest you?"
Scootaloo leaned forward, making space between her back and the chair. Her stunted wings unfolded as far as they could. "Because...somepony at school told me, in that other world things are different. You see my wings, right?"
Sunset nodded. "I can see the tips."
"I'm a pegasus, but my wings are small and weak. My instincts yearn to fly, to soar...but..." Scootaloo hopped down out of the chair, and buzzed her wings. Sunset saw Scootaloo's face sweating and reddening with exertion, as wings barely lifted Scootaloo a hoofwidth off the floor, then two...but no farther.
After less than a minute, Scootaloo gave up, collapsing to the ground. "You see? My wings are no good. I exercise every day, I've tried so hard for so long to get stronger...but I can't fly."
Sunset took a deep breath. "You know, a lot of ponies can't fly."
"But I can't fly, I can't do magic, I can't do ANYTHING. I'm just defective."
Sunset frowned. "Has anypony been calling you defective?"
"No! I mean, they're too nice to say that. I mean, most of them are too nice to say it. But I know it's true."
"If anypony DARES call you defective, just because you can't fly..." Sunset's voice trailed off. "Forget I said that. I'm sure there are ponies in Ponyville who can give you good advice about that, better than I probably could."
"I can't fly."
Sunset sighed. "I'm sorry, Scootaloo. But you're still a filly. Maybe someday your wings--"
"My parents took me to the doctor, to a LOT of doctors. My wings aren't ever going to get better, not ever. I'm groundbound. I'm groundbound forever."
Sunset rose from her chaise lounge and moved smoothly towards Scootaloo, gently touching one side of her neck to the pegasus filly's own, in a sort of hug. "I'm sorry, Scootaloo. I really am. I just don't know what you want me to do about it."
"I heard, in that other world anypony can fly! The ponies there build flying machines and they don't even need to grow wings! They can just take piloting classes, study and practice, and they can learn to fly faster than any pegasus! Is that true? Tell me it's true! Tell me if I go to that other world, I can fly too!"
Sunset was silent.
Scootaloo lifted one foreleg, and pushed at Sunset. "Tell me! Tell me if it's true, that I can fly! Or even tell me I'm stuck in the dirt forever, but tell me SOMETHING!"
Sunset drew back. "Scootaloo...that world is so different. It isn't just about being able to fly."
"So tell me! Tell me all about that place! Tell me how it's different! Tell me everything!"
Sunset glided backwards, towards her chaise lounge, and smoothly surmounted it to lie down again.
Sunset snorted. "I can't tell you everything, not if I had a year to talk, or ten years or a hundred. But I can try to tell you some things."
Scootaloo looked up at her, her eyes pleading. "Please."
"Like you said, the humans are able to build flying machines. They aren't cheap, though. Not much is cheap in that world."
"I'll work as long and as hard as it takes!" Scootaloo blinked. "But what's a human?"
"They're...the ponies of that world. Like ponies but different. If a pony visits that world, the pony turns into a different shape, like a monkey, like the creatures who live in that world, and that's a human. But don't worry, if the pony comes back here, she turns back into a pony again. So the transformation isn't really that big a deal."
"Wow. Weird."
"But the flying machines aren't that world's only difference. The humans have more advanced technology than our world in a lot of ways. If a world's creatures learn to build jet airplanes, probably creatures in that world are also learning how to invent automobiles and motorbikes and flying hoverdrones and TV dinners and...a lot of other things."
"TV dinners?"
"They're...well, you don't even know what a microwave oven is. Let's just leave it for now. It isn't the most important thing."
"If you say so, I guess."
"So far as I know, I was born in Canterlot, or someplace close by. I was a foundling, so nopony knows for sure. But I grew up in Canterlot, as a unicorn. I studied at Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns, on a full scholarship. Really, I was a very lucky pony. I had no idea how lucky I was."
"Um...ok?"
"But I wanted more than I had. I wanted as much knowledge and power as I could possibly get. So when I found out about another world where creatures can do some things ponies in this world can't do, I sneaked into that world. I was stranded there for years."
"Oh. Was it bad, being stranded?"
"Yes. Sometimes. A lot of the time. Sometimes, I missed this world so much." Sunset shook her head. "But I kept busy, because with so many differences in that world, there were so many new things to learn about. I learned so much. You might say, I learned TOO much."
"Too much?"
"Oh, yes. I started out with nopony and nothing, but I learned how to make do. I learned how to shoplift, how to steal a car and do other crimes. When I wanted to play it safe, I learned how to be a bully and steal my classmates' lunch money. I did all those things, until I finally went too far by trying to steal magic from Equestria. At that point, Princess Twilight visited the human world and...helped me learn how to be a better creature."
"Wow."
"But in the human world, especially before Twilight helped me reform, I learned about a lot of strange, alien things. I learned about different kinds of crime, about computers, about large scale social media. About ways of tormenting and even killing other creatures that this world has never even thought about. You know Pinkie Pie, right?"
"Who in Ponyville doesn't?"
"You've probably seen her use a party cannon."
"Sure. Everypony has, other creatures have too."
"In the human world...party cannons aren't for parties. They make them all different sizes, big as a house, small as your hoof."
"If they aren't for parties, why do they make them?"
"Instead of shooting confetti, they shoot pieces of metal that can stab right through your body. They go faster than Rainbow Dash, so fast they make a shock wave like the Sonic Rainboom. Human party cannons can kill you. That's what they make all their different party cannons for."
"That's terrible. Why would creatures do that?"
Sunset sighed. "Everything in that world is so very complicated. There isn't any one reason things like that happen."
"So...do the creatures there kill each other a lot?"
"I guess it depends. Mostly not so often. But it only has to happen to you once."
"So...it doesn't really happen very much? I could go there and learn to fly and I'd probably be fine?" Scootaloo tentatively smiled. "Even YOU could learn to fly. I can't figure out why you would ever leave such a wonderful place!"
Sunset grimaced. "I had my reasons."
"But...you could go back there, right? You could show me how to get there, show me around, teach me how to live there? I mean, I would do ANYTHING if you'd help me."
"Anything?"
"Anything at all!"
"Sorry, I'm not going back."
"Why?"
Sunset took a breath. "Fizzy! Get in here! I don't know how she's going to react."
Fizzypop Berrytwist walked into the room, looking...not stern exactly, but serious. "Hello, little filly."
"How I'm going to react to what?"
Sunset sighed. Her torso rose off the chaise lounge. "Scootaloo...I don't even want to talk about social media and interneight hate sites and how corporations try to maximize profits through audience engagement algorithms that promote insane ideas as a side effect, and how a culture of hate and fear helps businesses sell more of products like guns and bulletproof vests, but..."
"But what? What are those weird words you're saying?"
"When I was a student in a human high school, we went to Crystal Prep for a citywide spelling bee. When we were there...one of those humans who went crazy from too much interneight hate content walked in carrying hoof size party cannons, and shot up the place. He put three bullets, little pieces of metal, right through me."
Scootaloo stared at Sunset. Sunset rose higher, until her dress hung freely in the air, no longer touching even the chaise lounge.
Scootaloo screamed. "That's why you keep...gliding around like that, why you don't WALK the same as most ponies! You're a ghost! Please don't kill me please don't kill me I didn't mean any harm I wanted to fly but not DEAD GHOST FLYING oh Celestia help me oh please don't kill me oh--" Scootaloo backed away from Sunset, until her rump was wedged in a corner of the room.
Sunset said calmly, "I'm not a ghost. I'm not dead. I just thought...I wanted you to make an informed decision. I thought you needed to see what's under this dress." The dress's hem flicked upwards.
Scootaloo flinched, afraid to look.
The hem rose higher, until the dress came off over Sunset's head, and seemed to fold itself over the chaise lounge's backrest.
The little pegasus stared at Sunset's body, the dangling, limp legs, and...at something else, a garment she'd only seen on foals. "What's that wrapped around your backside, Sunset?"
"Scootaloo, the bullets damaged my spinal cord. I can't control most of my body the way other ponies use their bodies. The nerves are severed." Sunset added, "Look at my horn, Scootaloo. Pay close attention. No...walk around the other way, so the sun isn't shining in your eyes anymore."
"Your horn is glowing. You're using your magic."
"Whenever it looks like I'm walking, really I'm using my magic to levitate myself. The dress makes it less obvious."
Scootaloo frowned, now carefully NOT looking at Sunset's fabric-swaddled hindquarters.
"This is what happened to me in the human world, Scootaloo."
"I'm so sorry, Sunset." Trembling, Scootaloo walked forward slowly, step by step, and rose onto her hind legs to reach out with her forelegs.
Sunset sank towards the floor, near enough that Scootaloo could hug her front. "Thank you, Scootaloo. Thank you for understanding. Thank you for not laughing at me for...having to wear this, to live like this."
"I would NEVER laugh at you. Who would ever...?"
Sunset nuzzled the pegasus filly's mane. "Nocreature worth speaking of."
Author's Note
Dedicated to an old friend.
