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# Scootaloo Grows Up

By: Saatchi on Mar 6th, 2013 | syntax: None | size: 147.27 KB | hits: 260 | expires: Never
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1. Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo lay in the glorious mid-morning sun, basking in the warmth of yet another beautiful day on Sweet Apple Acres. A gentle breeze blew from the north, rustling the grass beneath them, tickling them somewhat. Sweetie Belle giggled and squirmed a little, but the other two fillies remained still, eyes transfixed on the sky.
3. “Uh, this is so boring. Can’t we go and do something? Anything at all?” whined Scootaloo.
5. “Ah told ya Scoot, we’ve done everythin’ we can think of, an’ we ain’t got our Cutie Marks. Until we think o’ somethin’ else t’ do fer our Cutie Marks, we’re just gonna have t’ sit here…” replied Apple Bloom.
7. “Ugh!” groaned the orange filly, rolling over onto her stomach. Her diminutive wings fluttered and twitched as each slow second passed and her boredom grew. “There must be something we could do!”
9. Suddenly Sweetie Belle sat bolt upright, her mouth hanging open and her eyes twinkled with an inspired brightness. “I got an idea!”
11. Scootaloo sprung to her hooves, she stood in front of Sweetie Belle, her face pressed unnaturally close to her. Hey eyes widened and glimmered with a hint of desperation. “What is it?”
13. “Easy there, Scootaloo” muttered Apple Bloom as she pulled her excited friend back a few paces, giving Sweetie Belle some space. “What’s yer idea, Sweetie Belle?”
15. “Why don’t we have a tea party?!” she squeaked.
17. “A tea party, are you serious? I don’t want a Cutie Mark in that! I want it to be something cool, like racing!” exclaimed Scootaloo, thrusting her forehooves towards the sky, exaggerating her disappointment.
19. “Whoa there, Scootaloo. She don’ mean it like that. She means hostin’ a tea party, an’ seein’ if we can get our Cutie Marks in that. Right Sweetie Belle?”
21. “Uh, y-yeah” replied the white filly, caught completely off guard by Scootaloo’s angry outburst. “I should’ve been clearer…”
23. The three fillies stood there in silence, Apple Bloom stood between Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle. Scootaloo had her back to the group, deep in thought, whilst Sweetie Belle had taken a few steps further back, just in case Scootaloo let loose another outburst. They three of them remained there in hushed silence, before Scootaloo piped up.
25. “I suppose it’s a good idea, we haven’t tried hosting anything yet…” She turned to look at her friends, or rather looked at Apple Bloom and hoped that Sweetie Belle was listening.
27. “Fine…let’s host a tea party.” Replied the orange filly with a tone that reflected her lack of enthusiasm, but her friends didn’t care. “So where will we host it?”
29. Everyone’s attention now fell upon Sweetie Belle, hoping that she had a few more ideas to go along with thinking up the idea. Sweetie Belle tapped a hoof against her chin, obviously not prepared for being put on the spot like this. She stared at her friends, still deep in thought, and her friends stared back, their looks somewhat impatient.
31. “Well, why don’ we host it in th’ barn?” chipped in Apple Bloom, hoping to alleviate some of the pressure from Sweetie Belle. “Ah’m sure Applejack wouldn’t mind if we use it fer a bit.”
33. “Oh and I can ask Rarity for some decorations, to make things look a little more authentic!” chirped Sweetie Belle, revealing the fruits of her excessive thinking.
35. Scootaloo stuck out her tongue in disgust at the thought of the decorations that Sweetie Belle would get. So many bright and gaudy colours it would be sickening to lay your eyes upon. She sighed heavily, the sooner this whole tea party was over with, the sooner they could get to doing more awesome things. “So, Apple Bloom’s going to ask Applejack to use the barn, Sweetie Belle’s going to get decorations, so what am I going to do?” questioned Scootaloo.
37. “Well if this is gonna be a tea party, we’re gonna need some tea. Maybe ya could come with me t’ see Zecora, see if she can mix us up somethin’” replied Apple Bloom.
39. “I’ll go see Rarity right now, whilst you two go and see Applejack and Zecora. Then Apple Bloom and I will meet at the barn in a few hours?” inquired Sweetie Belle.
41. Apple Bloom and Scootaloo nodded, and the white filly gave a squeak of approval and then bounded off back to Ponyville. Apple Bloom watched her go, before she turned tail and made for the Apple family home. Scootaloo begrudgingly followed, still faking all the enthusiasm she had for this activity. As luck would have it, the two fillies happened upon Applejack as she was setting off to check on the apple stock held in the barn.
43. “Applejack!” shouted Apple Bloom chasing her sister, Scootaloo hot on her trail.
45. “What in tarnation…?” asked Applejack, “Where are ya goin’ in such a hurry, sis?”
47. “We were hopin’ t’ catch ya, sis. We need t’ ask if we could use th’ barn fer our tea party” responded Apple Bloom promptly.
49. “A tea party? That’s awfully unlike you, what made ya want t’ have a tea party?”
51. “We’re trying to get our Cutie Marks for hosting a party and a tea party is apparently the best we can manage” Scootaloo added, dryly.
53. Applejack tapped a hoof against her chin. The barn was no place for a small filly tea party; there were dangerous tools within reach, bales of hay stacked loosely atop one another. Plus that was where she held all the apple orders until their buyers came to collect them. Then again the counterpoint to this would be that they held Pinkie’s birthday party in there, and the barn had proved to be a surprisingly safe place. She looked at the two fillies in front of her, two fillies out of a trio that have an affinity for getting into dangerous or complicated situations.
55. Apple Bloom could see the doubt in her sister’s eyes, she was assuming they were going to get into some sort of trouble. “Ya know it’s just a tea party right? Just the three of us sittin’ at a table talkin’ and drinkin’ tea.”
57. Applejack stopped for a moment, her little sister was right; it was just a little tea party. They wouldn’t be near any of the tools, or playing on the hay bales. The only thing they might mess with was the apples, but they could be moved into the house for the time being.
59. “Alright Apple Bloom, ya can have th’ barn, but not today, ah gotta move some things outta there first” smiled Applejack.
61. “S’alright sis, we weren’t ready t’ use it yet. Is tomorrow ok?”
63. Applejack nodded and turned around to head back to the house, to rouse Big McIntosh from his midmorning nap. Scootaloo watched her leave, part of her wishing that Applejack had refused to let them use the barn. She sighed heavily and looked back to find Apple Bloom already racing down towards Ponyville.
65. “Hey Apple Bloom, wait for me!”
67. The orange filly chased after her friend, calling out her name and orders to slow down and wait. A cloud of dust and dirt swirled around her hooves as she kicked up profound quantities of the particles. Apple Bloom didn’t seem to listening, and Scootaloo was having a hard time deciding if it was from ignorance or the distance between them. Oh if only she had her scooter, she’d be down to her friend in seconds. She pushed herself a little harder and started to make up the sizeable gap between the two fillies. This was more like it, the wind rushing through her mane, the scenery passing by in a blur. This was what she was accustomed too, it all felt so much more natural to her. Her eyes no longer focused on Apple Bloom, they focused instead on the ground in front of her, pole position in this little race. She didn’t even take notice of Apple Bloom’s sudden stop; she was firmly stuck in race mode.
69. “Heh, ah beat cha’ slowpoke!”
71. That rustic southern accent was lost on the racing filly, her thoughts and vision was nothing more than a blur. She charged along, he tiny wings fluttering frantically, simulating a race on a scooter. She imagined herself like her idol, Rainbow Dash, charging along breaking through all kinds of speed records. She was lost in a haze of adrenaline and rapid energy transfers, which unfortunately meant she didn’t notice that Apple Bloom had ceased moving.
73. “Hey Scoots, ya can stop now, we’re done racin’!”
75. The words zipped past Scootaloo’s ears, her brain only registering a few of the words. Stop? She didn’t want to stop, she wanted to go, she had to go so fast and come out as the winner. Apple Bloom realised that Scootaloo wasn’t going to slow down in time to avoid a collision, so she did the only thing she could think of, she started running away. Though try as she might, the little farm filly couldn’t match the pace and stamina of her friend. Her legs soon tired and she began to stumble, huffing and panting as she struggled onwards. Scootaloo saw her chance to pull ahead, and she wasn’t going to avoid it, she charged full pelt into Apple Bloom, sending the two of them tumbling to the floor. Dust and dirt clouded around the two ponies as they spiralled across the floor, skittering to a halt a few feet away from the crash site.
77. “What’d ya do that for?! Ah told ya we’d stopped racin’!” yelled Apple Bloom, struggling to her hooves.
79. Scootaloo remained silent, now that she had a clear head, she distinctly recalled Apple Bloom mentioning that. She helped Apple Bloom to her hooves, noticing the deep grazes she had sustained on her forelegs. She held her tongue, just in case it was nothing serious, but the moment Apple Bloom put her hoof to the ground, she knew it was serious. The yellow filly yelped and contracted the most afflicted leg, standing with her face contorted to show an expression of pain and anger.
81. Apple Bloom’s features smoothed a little, she couldn’t stay mad at Scootaloo, and she knew how engrossed in racing Scootaloo was.
83. “Come on, ah think ah can make it t’ Zecora’s.” Apple Bloom hobbled slowly ahead of Scootaloo, making for the Everfree Forest. “Jus’ remember t’ be a bit more careful next time. Ah mean what if ya had been a bigger pony? Ya coulda crushed me.”
85. Scootaloo walked beside her friend with the intention to catch her should she fall down. She forced a smile, but behind that smile she was mentally beating herself up. Apple Bloom’s words swam through her head, conflicting with the thoughts they found there. Scootaloo had always secretly enjoyed the feelings of being the dominant individual, the alpha as it were. It’s why she was always quick of the mark to defend her friends or a topic. If she was successful she would bring her opponents down to size, though many of them held one thing over her. They were the bigger ponies, whether it was an inch or a few feet, they were taller. Scootaloo longed to equal that height or maybe even beat it, and then she would be able to be the alpha all the time. However Apple Bloom’s comments about her being the bigger pony were starting to break that perfect logic. What if she ended up bigger than her friends? Would they still play with a freakishly tall mare? Could they? She hadn’t really thought about it, but now, the thought of losing her friends was lingering in her mind.
87. “Hey Scoots? Ya listenin’?” Apple Bloom waved a hoof in front of her friends’ face, repeating her question.
89. Scootaloo shook her head, dismissing her deep thoughts for now. “Huh, what?”
91. “Ah knew ya weren’t listenin’, ya had th’ same look when Miss Cheerilee was talkin’ t’ ya. An’ ya were walkin’ kinda like a zombie, real slow an’ awkward.”
93. “Hey I always pay attention to Miss Cheerilee, except maybe that time, and that time before that. As for the way I was walking, well I was trying to stay close to you!” retorted Scootaloo, defensively.
95. “Suuuure ya were. Anyway, ah was tryin’ ta tell ya what ta be careful on the way t’ Zecora’s. Do ah have ta repeat mahself?
97. Scootaloo nodded sheepishly, prompting a tired sigh from Apple Bloom.
99. “Ya have t’ be careful of a light blue flower that’s called Poison Joke. Now it won’t do ya any harm, but it’ll do some right funny things ta ya. Why ah remember when it shrunk mah own sister! An’ seein’ as how there’s a lotta blue flowers in th’ Everfree, ah’ll point it out if we see any. Second, ah’m sure ya remember th’ cockamathingy that Fluttershy took care of right? Well ah’ve heard much worse walkin’ to and from Zecora’s. So ah suggest ya follow the path ah’ve made, if ya want t’ make it back in one piece. An’ lastly it can get pretty dark in there, so ah need ya t’ stay close t’ me at all times, ya got it this time?”
101. Scootaloo nodded, and the two of them ventured forward into the foreboding darkness of the forest. Their bodies cut through long grass with quick ‘swish’, and their hooves thumping softly against the forest floor. Scootaloo was surprised at how quickly Apple Bloom navigated the route; it was like she’d done this a thousand times before. Her limping seemed almost non-existent, and Scootaloo would happily believe that if she hadn’t already seen it first-hand. They began to delve deeper into the forest, gaps in the overhead canopy becoming less and less frequent. Scootaloo was sure she could feel something following them, watching them from the darkness, it was quite frankly unnerving. Though she still kept her eyes on Apple Bloom’s swaying tail, it was just about the only thing Scootaloo could make out in the darkness. Vines occasionally swung low from the branches brushing against the petrified filly’s rump, causing her to get a fright. She held her tongue, lest she show any signs of weakness in the presence of her friend.
103. Eventually after what seemed like an eternity of walking, the two fillies emerged into a clearing, at the centre of which, stood a small wooden shack. Two small circular windows bled light onto the dreary darkness, inviting the two fillies to rest in its sanctuary. Apple Bloom was first to the door, whilst Scootaloo peeked through the windows. Inside the shack was certainly much less inviting than the outside. Various masks and trinkets adorned the walls; the faces carved into masks seemed emotionless, despite each of them showing a smile or a grimace. At the centre of the shack stood a set iron cauldron, frothing and bubbling with eerie aura. Behind the cauldron stood the one they call Zecora. She appeared to be rummaging through a collection of bottles, possibly looking for the latest ingredient to add to the strange brew.
105. Apple Bloom rapped a hoof against the door, and Zecora lifted her head up, her ears pricked to attention. Scootaloo watched as she crossed to the door, opening it a crack and peering outside. Realising that she should now be stood with Apple Bloom, the Pegasus filly left the window, and took up her place at Apple Bloom’s side.
107. “Heya Zecora!” chirped Apple Bloom.
109. “Apple Bloom, what a nice surprise,” her attention turned to Scootaloo. “But who is this before my eyes?”
111. Scootaloo looked up at the Zebra mare, taking in her mysterious figure. “My name’s Scootaloo…”
113. “Why Scootaloo, it is a pleasure to meet you,” came the soft, rhyming reply of the Zebra. “Apple Bloom is that a graze I see? Do you seek a remedy?”
115. “Actually Zecora, we were wonderin’ if ya could mix us up some tea?”
117. “You seek not a remedy, but instead simple tea?”
119. “Yup! We’re hostin’ a tea party, an’ fer that we need tea! Ain’t that right Scootaloo?”
121. Scootaloo smiled back, whilst Apple Bloom took over conversation. Scootaloo continued to look over the unique figure of the Zebra. She marvelled at the intricate pattern of white and black stripes, it seemed so bizarre to her, probably because she was so used to seeing pastel coloured ponies. The mark on Zecora’s flank caught the filly’s eye, was that the Zebra version of a Cutie Mark? She felt like she should ask but at the same time, if it were just a Cutie Mark, she knew enough of those already.
123. “Did ya hear that Scootaloo?” Apple Bloom’s voice faded into earshot, interrupting Scootaloo’s thought processes for the second time that day.
125. “Uh no, I was looking at things…”
127. “Zecora said she’s a bit busy right now, but she could whip us up somethin’ fer tomorrow, one of us will just have t’ collect it an’ bring it back t’ th’ barn.” Apple Bloom paused for a moment before continuing. “Ya think you’ll be up t’ it?”
129. “Me? Why do I have to come back?” Scootaloo pointed a hoof at herself, reaffirming the already obvious point that she was talking about herself.
131. “Well ah’m gonna be helpin’ Sweetie Belle with the decoration, t’ make sure everythin’ is ready so we can do this as soon as possible. Isn’t that what ya wanted?”
133. Truth be told, Scootaloo did want this over with, and the sooner it was over with the sooner they could get to the cool stuff. She sighed, and reluctantly shook her head up and down.
135. “Great! Ya can come an’ pick it up straight after class tomorrow! Ah’m sure Zecora will be here then.”
137. Apple Bloom took a few steps away from the shack, twisting on her hooves to face Scootaloo. The two stared at one another, one trying to gage what the other wanted. “Well don’ just stand there Scoot, ah need t’ get back t’ the farm an’ wait fer Sweetie Belle”
139. Scootaloo nodded and crossed over to her friend, turning back to give a farewell smile to Zecora. She would have been quite happy to stay and learn more about Zecora, but despite that curiosity, she wasn’t going to stick around if Apple Bloom wasn’t present.
141. “I’ll be seeing you Apple Bloom, and until tomorrow, Scootaloo,” chimed Zecora, once again in rhyme. The Zebra watched the fillies as they trotted off into the overgrown vegetation, before heading back into her shack.
143. The pair of fillies made it back through the dense growth of the forest, emerging just a little to the right of where they had entered. It hadn’t been long since they had left the farm, but they knew it wouldn’t have taken long Rarity to had Sweetie Belle some designs and send her back to Sweet Apple Acres. The two casually made their way back into town, Apple Bloom’s limp starting to worsen a little, though she vehemently denied any hindrance it produced. They stopped and stood at the road leading out of town and back to Sweet Apple Acres.
145. “Well ah guess ah’ll see ya tomorrow, Scoot. Jus’ don’ forget t’ go an’ see Zecora fer that tea, or else we’ll have t’ wait until Applejack lets us use th’ barn again.”
147. “Don’t sweat it Apple Bloom, I’ll be sure to pick it up after class, then I’ll meet you and Sweetie Belle at the barn. Then we can finally get this tea party out of the way, and move onto something cooler.”
149. Apple Bloom gave a final nod of her head, her final response on the matter, and made haste on her course for Sweet Apple Acres. Scootaloo took a much more leisurely course as she made her way home; after all she had plenty of time to spare. She contemplated studying for Miss Cheerilee’s class in the morning, but frankly scooter racing was much more appealing. Her wings fluttered a little in anticipation of getting the workout they deserved.
151. Meanwhile, Apple Bloom found herself just passing through into Sweet Apple Acres territory, on a direct course for the barn. She slowed her pace to one where her limp was less noticeable, but was relatively painless. The barn drew closer, and with it came coloured blobs that filled out and stiffened into the shapes of her family. Though there was one anomaly, a small, white blob, with daubs on pink and purple on its tip. Of course once Apple Bloom drew level with the blob, it too stiffened into a more solid frame, one that resembled her good friend, Sweetie Belle.
153. “Apple Bloom? Back already? I thought we agreed that you’d be back in a few hours, you’ve been gone just under an hour,” squeaked a somewhat surprised Sweetie Belle.
155. “Well would ya like me t’ run a few laps around town t’ spend that last hour?” replied a sarcastic Apple Bloom. “Or would ya rather ah stayed an’ we got started?”
157. There was a hushed silence, as Sweetie Belle held her tongue, instead gesturing into the barn. Apple Bloom took point, leading the way into the barn, where hundreds upon thousands of decorations, were piled at the back of the barn.
159. “Uh Sweetie Belle, ain’t this a bit much?”
161. “You’re telling me! Rarity had me rope Applejack and Big Macintosh in to help make three round trips! Three!” exclaimed Sweetie Belle, as she gestured to Apple Bloom’s family members.
163. Apple Bloom peered past her friend to see Big Macintosh stretching his limbs, whilst Applejack stretched both her limbs and back. AJ looked the worse of the two, though it was to be expected, Big Macintosh was the stronger member of the Ponyville Apple family. Though Apple Bloom was certain that they would be grumbling about what Rarity put them through for a long time after this day.
165. “Would Rarity be disappointed if ya brought some o’ this stuff back?” queried Apple Bloom.
167. “Probably.” Sweetie Belle held her hoof out, flicking it back and forth in a way that mimicked her sister’s own motions. “Why Sweetie Belle, of course this is necessary! All of this is required to spruce up that…less than fashionable barn!” continued Sweetie Belle, making a mockery of her sister’s classy tone and attitude.
169. “Ah see,” replied Apple Bloom as she kicked an escaped lacy ribbon back into the pile.
171. The pair looked at the pile of assorted decorations, and then back at each other, and then back at the mountain of fabric. The pair of them hoped that Scootaloo was going to miraculously turn up and help them sift through this enormous task. Alas that was unlikely as Scootaloo was no mind reader and they had already mentioned that it would Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle on their own.
173. “Ah guess we should git started then, huh?” sighed Apple Bloom, leaning in to inspect the pile, picking up a few lightly coloured ribbons to start with.
175. “I guess so, hopefully there won’t be much to take back. I don’t want to have to do three trips again,” replied Sweetie Belle.
177. The two fillies started sorting through the decorations, tossing aside lace, ribbons, doilies, and other fabrics that were likely to use. The pile slowly diminished as time progressed and two separate piles sprung up, each one piled high with a bright coloured assortment of fabrics. The two fillies sat next to their own piles of decorations, each wondering if they had actually sorted anything or just managed to split the original into two.
179. “This is gonna be a long day…” mumbled a reluctant Apple Bloom as she gazed around the barn, visualising just how long it was going to take to spruce up the place.
181. ****
183. The next day was a school day and as such, Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo found themselves enjoying a playtime break. As they merrily pranced around with the other ponies, and engaged in activities befitting such a beautiful day, one would struggle to believe that they were actually in school. That was until the school bell rang out across the playground, signalling an end to their joyous times of the youth. As Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo left the lush greenery of the playing field, they discussed the plan once more.
185. “So after class, Scootaloo will be headin’ t’ th’ Everfree Forest t’ go an’ see Zecora. Then Sw-“
187. “Ugh, come on Apple Bloom, this is like the fourth time you’ve went through this thing. I think we’re clear on what to do by now” interjected Scootaloo.
189. The trio pushed pashed the schoolhouse double doors and entered the hallways, which acted as a sort of conduit, delivering the students to their lessons. Strewn along the walls were doors, each leading into a separate classroom which often dealt with specialist subjects or on occasion a whole host of different subjects and topics.
191. “Ah just wanna be certain that we all know what we’re doin’. We don’ want anythin’ t’ go wrong” retorted Apple Bloom.
193. The three fillies passed the corridors, ignoring the postered educational tips that littered the walls, or pinned to noticeboards, their bright colours and large lettering failing to attract the attention of the youngsters. Soon the three friends arrived at a crossroads in the hallway, and would have to part ways, and each had a class down the separate hallways. They bid farewell to one another, and just as they were about to leave, Miss Cheerilee poked her head out of her door and called out to them.
195. “This way girls, all fillies are getting a special lecture, whilst the colts will get there’s tomorrow.” She explained, whilst beckoning them into her classroom.
197. Puzzled, the three fillies proceeded into Cheerilee’s classroom. Scattered around the room were the fillies from all the other classes, all sharing the same puzzled expressions. Apple Bloom took up her usual seat in-between Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon, whilst Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo took seats at the back of the class. Cheerilee shut the door gently and made her way to her desk. Behind her on the blackboard was a couple of crude drawings of what appeared to a filly at various stages of her life, with the final drawing representing a fully grown mare. She lifted a pointer stick from her desk and rapped it against the blackboard, drawing the curious fillies’ attention to the board.
199. “Now,” began Cheerilee, “today is a special day, because you’ve all reached the point in your lives where you’ll start to experience changes to your bodies.”
201. The class uttered an enthusiastic ‘oooh’ apart from Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon, who looked like they had already had this talk before. They instead chose to groan, audibly showing their joint displeasure.
203. “As part of an educational requirement, you have to be taught about each and every one of these changes. However, before we start, I imagine a lot of you are confused about the splitting up of the classes.”
205. Cheerilee paused, and a few of the students bobbed their heads in answer to her question. Cheerilee even overheard them chatting amongst themselves as they realised the lack of colts present in the room.
207. “The answer is simple, whilst a lot of these changes are shared between colts and fillies, there are some that are unique. So to avoid embarrassing each other we’ve split you up and assigned a separate day for your special talks.”
209. A loud ringing swept through the air and the heavy, thunderous roar of tiny hooves added to the cacophony of noise. Everyone in Cheerilee’s classroom turned their gaze towards the windows, watching as the colts swarmed onto the playground.
211. “As you can see, their lessons have been rescheduled for this talk to take place, but don’t fret you’ll get the same treatment when their talk begins, tomorrow. Now if you’ll pay attention to the board, we can begin.”
213. The class of fillies regrettably craned their heads back towards the board, trying not to focus on the playtime happening outside.
215. “Now can anyone tell me the main difference between these two images?” asked Cheerilee as she tapped a hoof against the image of the filly and the image of the adult mare.
217. “Oh! Oh! Oh! Mith Cheerilee!” came a voice from the class.
219. “Yes, Twist? What is it?”
221. “They’re taller!” replied the crème pony.
223. “That’s right, Twist. Typically a fully grown adult mare will be bigger than a filly, except in semi-rare cases, where the filly is found to grow very little, or sometimes not at all. We refer to this act of size change, simply as growth, and it happens to be the most noticeable change that you will experience during this time. As I previously mentioned, some of you will grow a little bit, and some of you may grow to be as big as Celestia herself!”
225. Suddenly the faces of the little fillies lit up, everybody smiling gleefully as they imagined such a possibility. Though none looked as happy as Scootaloo, for the orange filly, being as tall as Celestia would be a dream come true, nobody would dare question or talk back to a mare that was taller than most stallions. Even Rainbow Dash, her idol, would step back in awe of that taller Scootaloo.
227. “However, it’s unlikely that many of you will reach such a towering height, as the average mare stands around a few inches shorter than the average stallion.”
229. “Miss Cheerilee, mah brother is a pretty big stallion, bigger than most ah reckon’. Is it normal fer him t’ be so big? I mean he’s more than a few inches taller than mah sister, an’ ah think she’s pretty average,” queried Apple Bloom.
231. As Cheerilee set about asking answering Apple Bloom’s question, Scootaloo felt her heart sink. Maybe being as tall as Celestia was just going to have to stay as a mere fantasy. She probably wouldn’t even make it taller than Rainbow Dash. She was doomed to live her life suffering through names like ‘squirt’. She sighed as she began to tune back into Cheerilee’s lesson.
233. “I hope that answered your question Apple Bloom. Now moving on, apart just getting taller, you’ll find that you will start to develop strange feelings and emotions. Whilst most are the regular emotions such as happiness, sadness and such, there are a few new ones. One of these tells you that your body is, what is commonly referred to as, ‘being in season’.
235. The expression of the class changed to one of puzzlement at the term ‘in season’. OF course Cheerilee was expecting their response; after all she’d be concerned if some of them had already heard about the term and what it encompasses. She’d probably have to have a small talk with some of the parents in question, but for now she explained further.
237. “Now I imagine that you’re wondering how that feels. Well it starts of almost like a feeling of love, but it’s a lot faster. You feel like you need to find a stallion, quickly. And in order to find a stallion in such a short time, a mare uses a specific scent to alert the stallion to the needs of the mare, which the stallion quickly fixes.”
239. “But Miss Cheerilee, where does this scent come from? Is it like perfume? Because my sister has a lot of perfume, is she in season too?” asked a confused Sweetie Belle.
241. “The scent is produced because of the mare’s increased drive for love and actually works like a perfume, but it actually comes from…”
243. The class recoiled in horror, echoing a loud ‘ewww’ for extra effect, some even going so far as to feign gagging noises, if only for comedic effect.
245. “…though I wouldn’t worry about that yet, my little ponies. It’ll be a couple of years before you’ll get your first season. However whilst we’re on the subject, you’ll find that as your body changes and grows, you’ll find yourself able to carry foals…”
247. The class once again showed their distaste as Cheerilee guided them, through the ‘How Babies are made’ routine. Eventually the class came to an end and some were grateful to see the back of it.
249. “Can you believe that colts put that in there? I mean did you see how big it was? And Miss Cheerilee said that was below average!” exclaimed one of the students.
251. “Well haven’t you heard the rumours? They say that Snails’ has already started gowing! It’s apparently way above the average for his age!” replied what was most likely her friend.
253. “Really? Well he’s not going to be trying anything with me; I don’t want to be split in two.”
255. The two fillies shared a giggle and walked off, just as the CMC entered into the hallway.
257. “Ah can’t believe that’s where foals come from, an’ t’ think we came from there an’ all! AJ always told me that foals were created from th’ love of a mare an’ a stallion, an’ then brought from th’ sky by a Pegasus,” muttered Apple Bloom, looking somewhat traumatised.
259. “I-it all makes s-sense, Rarity…all those s-stallions…so many ni-nights…” mumbled Sweetie Belle, looking probably the worst out of the three fillies.
261. “I think I’m going to go and get that tea, just in case Cheerilee calls us back to talk about something else,” mumbled Scootaloo as she made for the schoolhouse exit, leaving Apple Bloom to console Sweetie Belle.
263. That afternoon in Equestria, the sun beat down on Scootaloo’s orange furred back. The distinct scent of fresh grass wafted into her nostrils, and she casually sniffed the air, drinking in more of natures’ natural aromas. Around her, tiny creatures scurried about, weaving in and out of her legs as they frolicked together. As Scootaloo approached the edge of the Everfree Forest, everything seemed to draw to a standstill. The creatures playing at her hooves scurried away as though trying to hide from the omnipotent presence of the forest. An unidentifiable chill hung in the air, washing over Scootaloo as it crept forth seemingly from the depths of the forest itself. Scootaloo inhaled, the fur on her back and neck starting to stand on end as she took a care, yet shaky step forward.
265. Her coat brushed up against the dry, crackling weeds that adorned the foreground of the Everfree. She shuddered at the thought of how alone she was, how Apple Bloom wouldn’t be there to help her if she got lost. Her friends would be the only ones who would know of her location, but would they think to look for her? She sighed and looked at the floor; there she saw tiny hoofprints, worming their way into the forest. She held out her hoof and placed it into the print. A perfect match. Though she couldn’t discern between them being Apple Bloom’s or her own, she felt a hint of courage return to her. She didn’t need to remember the route, she could just follow the prints and they’d lead her straight to Zecora’s hut.
267. Sure it wasn’t a perfect plan, but it eased her nerves, hoping that this could get her to where she needed to be and with minimal fuss too. She kept her gaze on the prints and took a few more steps into the forest, each time making sure her hoof fit in to the print. She took a few more steps, until she worked out the pattern of the hoof prints, and felt herself starting up a stride. The further into the forest she went, the darker it got, and the darker it got, the harder it became to see those prints. Scootaloo began to squint, just missing the next print in the trail by a few millimetres, starting to veer off the track, little by little. Her head bumped into something soft and smooth, and she stopped dead, her head still gazing at the floor as she daren’t look up.
269. She remained stood there for what seemed like an eternity, but once she noticed that she wasn’t being mauled or growled at, she begun to lift her head. A brown hooded cloak covered the body of the creature that she had rear ended. She lift her head higher still, now coming to rest on the hood that hid the face of the creature. A black and white striped snout poked out from the shadows that the hood created, causing Scootaloo to breathe a sigh of relief, chalking this one encounter up to luck.
271. “Zecora!” exclaimed Scootaloo ecstatically.
273. “Scootaloo I do believe, is it herbal tea you’ve come to retrieve?”
275. “Yeah, the sooner I get this tea, the sooner I can get out of here,” replied Scootaloo, as she casually checked over her surroundings.
277. Zecora put up her hood and gestured towards a path leading off from the clearing. “Through here is the way, but are you sure you will not stay?”
279. “I promised the others I’d be back as quickly as I can, so I can’t hang around. Though, where did you leave the tea? Or for that matter, what am I looking for?”
281. “Next to my cauldron are some bottles of blue…hm, maybe I should come with you?”
283. Scootaloo ignored that particularly broken rhyme and shook her head. “No, it’s fine, so it’s just a blue bottle next to your cauldron? Easy!”
285. Before Zecora could speak another word, Scootaloo raced off into the distance, her little filly form, disappearing into the darkness.
287. As she approached the hut, the darkness around her began to fade, bathed in an ominous mix of yellows and greens. Scootaloo was pleased to see the back of the darkness, for the time being at least. Scootaloo drew closer to Zecora’s hut, catching glimpses of the familiar interior through the windows. She took one last look at the surrounding area before reaching out a hoof to the door; she tapped against the wood, expecting to hear Zecora’s reply from the other side. Instead she was greeted with silence, given that she had just met the zebra in the forest. The door let out a loud, dry creak as it swung open on its makeshift hinges. An empty cauldron sat at the centre of the room, and on a stool next to it, sat two blue potion bottles.
289. Scootaloo approached the stool, eyeing up the two bottles, he eyes flitting from one to the other. “Hm, I guess this is why Zecora wanted to come back too…”
291. The two bottles were exactly the same, square based, about five inches tall and corked with a glass stopper that matched the blue exterior of the bottle. They stood there, one of them containing the tea that Scootaloo came to collect, the other containing some completely unknown substance. Scootaloo approached the bottles, eyeing them up, almost as if she expected them to spring to life and reveal which one was the one she needed. Alas, no such event came to pass; instead they stood defiant, leaving Scootaloo to work out a more reasonable solution. It occurred to her that she could just take the bottle back to Zecora, but she’d be damned if she was going back out into that forest without the intentions of leaving it straight away.
293. She pondered a little longer, still engaged in a staring contest with the inanimate bottles. She was looking for some way to tell them apart without tasting them. Looks weren’t going to help, she was unlikely to be able to hear a difference, nor could she feel a difference. That just left her sense of smell, and it showed promise. She took the first bottle in her hooves, and gripped the stopper between her teeth. She eased out the stopper and a bitter scent poured out from the neck of the bottle. She inhaled it deeply, and recoiled in disgust, there was no way this was the tea, she just couldn’t drink something as bitter as this. She quickly slipped the stopper back in and held her hooves against her snout, waiting for the scent to dissipate. She placed the bottle on the stool and picked up the other bottle. She repeated the previous process and sniffed the contents of the bottle. A luscious, gentle scent poured into her nostrils, smothering the insides like a blanket of smooth velvet. She sighed as she inhaled more, becoming intoxicated just from this delectable aroma.
295. She regrettably placed the stopper back into the bottle and sighed once more. She had the tea, now all she needed to do was bring it to her friends, and they could get this party over with. She headed back to the door, and slipped outside. The door eerily shut itself, groaning with a familiar creak, as Scootaloo began to walk back to where she had found Zecora. She felt oddly confident on the walk back, maybe it was the fact that she never had to come here again, or maybe she was just feeling smug for solving such a complex situation by herself. She didn’t care, she just trotted along, ignoring all the sounds that came from deeper into the forest, and before she knew it, she was basking in the afternoon sun. With the bottle still clamped tightly between her teeth, she continued her easy pace, taking care to be wary of any sort of pratfall that might cause her to spill the liquid.
297. Ponies that passed her gave her strange glances, some even pondering whether or not to seize the bottle from her, just in case it was a dangerous substance. Thankfully she didn’t happen upon any ponies that would have acted out this moral obligation, and her journey back to Sweet Apple Acres was largely uninterrupted. She did occasionally stop to remove the bottle from her mouth, allowing her jaw some time to rest and readjust before she popped the bottle back into her maw and set off, once more.
299. Upon returning to Sweet Apple Acres, she found her friends already there, eagerly anticipating her arrival. She was guided back to the barn, where upon seeing the decorations Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle had put up, her jaw would have dropped, was it not currently being stretched by the bottle. She was led over to a small, makeshift, table, where she popped the bottle from her maw, and placed it onto the table. Her friends then gathered around the table, eyeing up the bottle with the same suspicious stare that Scootaloo had given it, minutes earlier.
301. “Would you be so kind as to pour the tea, Apple Bloom?” requested Sweetie Belle, putting on her best class act.
303. “Why certainly, mah dear Sweetie Belle, Ah’d be delighted!” replied Apple Bloom, her thick southern accent bleeding into her classy tone.
305. She proceeded to remove the stopper from the bottles, discarding it to one side, before picking up the bottle. She tipped the bottle towards Scootaloo’s cup, serving to her left, as was a dinner, and by association tea, party custom. What flowed from the bottle was a grey, gloopy, liquid; it flowed sluggishly from the bottle, roiling in the cup as the flow prevented it from settling. That familiar, warm, velvety scent assaulted Scootaloo’s senses once more; she felt a soft smile worm its way across her lips.
307. As Apple Bloom continued to pour the ‘tea’ for her friends, and then finally herself, the pungency of that intoxicating aroma had increased tenfold. Though it appeared that only Scootaloo was basking in it, Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle both shared a look of pure distaste. The two fillies pushed their cups away, looking at Scootaloo, expecting her to do the same.
309. “Are you sure you got the right bottle?” asked Sweetie Belle.
311. “Of course I’m sure! Can you not smell that? Doesn’t it smell good?” replied Scootaloo.
313. Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle shook their heads, vigorously. They had no idea what she was talking about, this stuff didn’t have a scent, it was completely odourless, and it looked quite disgusting frankly. They couldn’t understand what it was that Scootaloo smelt or how in Equestria she wasn’t repulsed by the sight of the gelatinous goop.
315. “So I guess you won’t be drinking yours then?” asked Scootaloo, her eyes staring hungrily at the discarded cups.
317. “No,” they replied in unison.
319. That was all Scootaloo needed to hear, she downed the contents of her cup in seconds, putting it aside and desperately grabbing for the others. Her friends just watched on in amazement at what her friend was ingesting.
321. Meanwhile, on the other side of the farmyard, Applejack was chatting with a wealthy stallion, closing in on a very sweet business deal. Filthy Rich, as he was known, had brought his daughter, Diamond Tiara, who in turn had brought her closest associate, Silver Spoon. The economics of apples and businesses associated with apples, failed to impress Diamond Tiara, and she took every possible opportunity to voice her displeasure.
323. “Can we go yet? I didn’t ask to be brought out here, especially to this place. It’s dirty, and boring, why couldn’t you have made a business deal at the spa?”
325. Applejack felt her ear twitch, her brow furrowed a little with rage, as she led the party to the orchard. She just had to keep calm for a few moments longer, she was mere seconds away from securing a wealth of money from one industrial batch of apples, and this brat was not going to ruin it. She forced a smile as she ignored the impudence that spouted from the pink demon in disguise. She passed by the barn, and thankfully, by some divine intervention, Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon stopped to peek inside.
327. “Well, well, well, look what we have here…” uttered Diamond Tiara, in a chilling, yet menacing tone of voice.
329. “Is this supposed to be a tea party?” scoffed Silver Spoon.
331. Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo made eye contact with the two new arrivals, and froze in place, their expressions one of complete confusion. Apple Bloom was last to make eye contact with the two fillies, she turned herself around so very slowly, wishing that with every second she took, the more she hoped it was a dream. Unfortunately for her, once she turned herself around fully, she realised it was no dream.
333. “Well look who it is! If it isn't Apple Bumpkin herself, what business do you have ruining such a fancy pastime?” snapped Diamond Tiara.
335. “Aww what's the matter? Don't you get tea parties?” sneered Silver Spoon, in response to Sweetie Belle’s look of confusion.
337. Scootaloo wasn’t going to sit back and let them hurl insults at the trio; she was going to do something about it. Her tiny wings fluttered and she leapt up from her standing position, her teeth bared. She rushed forward, but in her haste, caught herself on the table, knocking it over, sending the cups, and the contents of the bottle, hurtling towards the floor. Scootaloo herself landed face first in the dirt floor of the barn, a few straws of hay becoming entwined in her mane. Of course Silver Spoon burst into a laughing fit, stopping shortly after, as she saw Diamond Tiara kept her cold, stony faced disposition.
339. “Look what you’ve done, Klutzaloo! You've managed to make this sorry attempt at class even worse thanks to your clumsiness!” jeered Silver Spoon.
341. It was at this moment, Filthy Rich popped his head around the door, along with AJ’s, a concerned look upon her face. Upon seeing Rich’s child and her plus one she breathed a sigh of relief, calming ever so slightly before realising how much of a prat Diamond Tiara actually was. She had almost cost her that deal, wandering off like that, and if something had happened to her, well she could be certain that the Apple family weren’t going to be living at Sweet Apple Acres anymore.
343. “Oh there you are, come on I’ve just finished here. If you’re quick I might see about getting you a session at the spa, seeing as how you wanted it so much,” insisted Filthy Rich, bringing his head back outside.
345. Diamond Tiara gave Apple Bloom a look that told her she wasn’t going to live this down anytime soon, and then trotted off to join her father, with Silver Spoon in hot pursuit. The trio of fillies sat in stunned silence, their worst fears had become reality, and for them, life was pretty much over. Scootaloo groaned on the floor, her face still planted upon the ground, her body squeezed together, like an accordion. Apple Bloom blinked, her jaw slack and wide open, and surprisingly it was Sweetie Belle that broke the silence.
347. “That could have gone better…”
349. Scootaloo groaned again, whether it was a response or just discomfort, that was yet to be known. She pulled her head from the floor and sat back on her haunches, clutching her stomach, in what would appear to be, agony.
351. “Oooh, my stomach hurts…” moaned Scootaloo.
353. “Ah knew somethin’ was wrong with that tea, ya shouldn’t have drunk it. Ah reckon ya best head home, git some rest, see if ya feel good tomorrow.”
355. Without another word, Scootaloo got to her hooves and left the barn, groaning one final time before she left. Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle stared at one another, trying to decide if they should continue to discuss the bullies, or if they should follow after Scootaloo. The answer was kind of a no-brainer really, Scootaloo wasn’t herself, and walking home alone was probably the worst thing she could do right now. The two of them rushed off to aid Scootaloo, whilst in the back of their minds; they hoped that she was going to be alright.
357. ****
359. The next day eventually rolled around and Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle found themselves in the school playground. The sky had darkened since yesterday and looked greyer and more miserable than the day before. For the two fillies, the weather seemed like more of a pathetic fallacy, one that hinted at the most awful things.
361. “D’ya think Scootaloo is ok? Ah haven’t seen her all mornin’,” voiced a concerned Apple Bloom.
363. Given the events that had occurred yesterday, all three of the CMC would be forgiven for not showing up. After all the moment that Diamond Tiara chose to spill their little secret, was the moment their childhoods were collectively destroyed. Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle nervously cast their gaze over the playground, the moment they spotted a hint of pink and purple, there were getting out of there. A soft breeze began to blow in from the east, distracting the children as they searched they playground. The wind blew in the direction of a small gathering, and as the two fillies turned away to avoid the wind, they noticed the crowd.
365. From their distanced perspective, they couldn’t see anything behind the mass of ponies. Naturally a childlike curiosity took over them, and they approached the crowd, expecting to find Diamond Tiara and possibly Silver Spoon at its centre. Due to the thick mass off the crowd, they earned a few negative comments from the others, as they forced their way towards the centre of the crowd. As they fought against the bodies of young fillies, they couldn’t hear any cacophonous bragging, or boasting, so there was no way Diamond Tiara was it its centre, which was some relief, though their curiosity still burned. If the crowd wasn’t for Diamond Tiara, then who was it for?
367. “That’s right, crowd around the most awesome pony on the playground!” exclaimed the high pitched, raspy tone of a certain orange filly.
369. Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle pierced their way into the centre, eager to reunite with their friend. They broke into the centre, coming into contact with a smiling Scootaloo. Upon a hasty first glance, their friend seemed perfectly fine, she was happy, cheerful and still her cocky self. Upon a second, more in depth glance, one would notice that Scootaloo had outgrown her peers by about an inch, which was nothing drastic. However for Scootaloo she felt like the alpha, someone who could dominate the playground with her size. Certainly a superior way of thinking, if a little exaggerated.
370. "Scootaloo! Ah'm glad t' see yer doin' better than yesterday!"
371. Scootaloo paused and looked down her snout at her friends, increasing that feeling of power that she felt she held over them. She opened up her mouth to reply, but instead hiccupped three times in quick succession. Her stomach grumbled and gurgled in response to her outburst. The crowd fell silent and just stared at her, as though she'd just done something illegal.
372. "Yeah, I've been doing that all morning, but I still feel really good," explained Scootaloo, "I think it was just what's left of that tea."
373. The faces of the crowd twisted and contorted, some of them showing disgust, others showing confusion, and the rest trying to stifle a giggle. On the other side of the playground sat a disgruntled Diamond Tiara and a perturbed Silver Spoon. They watched Scootaloo's purple mane bob up and down as she spoke, each passing second enraging Diamond Tiara a little more.
374. “That should be me they’re crowding around; I was supposed to be the biggest, most adored pony on the playground, not someone like her! Daddy promised me that!” shouted Diamond Tiara, stomping her hooves in a prissy fashion.
376. “Uh, DT? I don’t think he could promise something li-“
378. “Quiet! I always get what I want, and daddy never promises me things that he can’t make happen…”
380. Diamond Tiara ground her teeth together as she seethed with envy. Then, as though everything had suddenly changed, her jealous rage vanished. Her expression was cold and stony, and yet utterly terrifying. She smirked and walked off in the direction of the schoolhouse, Silver Spoon following behind.
382. The bell atop the school rung once, then twice, and finally a third time, instructing the children to return to their classes, as it signalled the end of their playtime. Begrudgingly, the children obeyed their golden master and left Scootaloo’s side, encroaching on the schoolhouse instead. As the attention around her began to fade, Scootaloo began to feel increasingly smug with herself. This was how it felt to be the best, to be the alpha, the top dog, and it felt amazing. She could make them do anything she wanted, they were smaller than her, and that made them almost insignificant. Her stomach gurgled again, and then bizarre warmth crept through her body. Not that Scootaloo paid much attention to it. She was too busy thinking about the benefits she was going to receive. In fact she was so lost in her thoughts that she failed to notice that she grew at least another inch. Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle also remained oblivious to this new development as the three of them ventured towards the schoolhouse. Cheerilee stood at the entrance, ushering the pupils inside, a pleasant smile fixed firmly upon her face. As the CMC approached Cheerilee, her smile faltered a little, replaced by a more surprised look.
384. “My Scootaloo, you’re certainly grown quickly…”
386. “Yep, I reckon I’ll end up bigger than you, Miss Cheerilee,” joked Scootaloo.
388. “Hm, anyway, in you go, you’ve got lessons to attend!” replied the teacher, her cheery demeanour returning.
390. The CMC entered into the establishment, splitting off from one another, as they disappeared into their classes. Scootaloo sauntered into her classroom, taking up a seat at the back of the class. The desk and chair both creaked a little, straining under the weight of the slightly bigger filly. As the teacher had yet to show up to the lesson, Scootaloo found that all eyes were on her. Some whispered amongst themselves about how big she was, others whispered about how strange it seemed, but at the same time, how awesome she looked. Scootaloo smiled and pretended not to be interested in their curious stares.
392. Eventually the teacher arrived and everyone knuckled down and began to work. Everyone that is, except for Scootaloo, she was busy slacking off, but even then, her body was fast at work. As she lazed about, the insides of her body harboured something that just needed a trigger, a trigger that would allow Scootaloo’s wildest fantasies to become reality. A simple knock would suffice, even something as simple as a bodily function, like a hiccup or a burp. Of course, Scootaloo wasn’t aware of this increasingly obvious fact, she was just happy to reap the spoils. Her stomach grumbled loudly, but surprisingly nobody turned around or looked up from their work. Her stomach grumbled again, and Scootaloo moaned as she felt her stomach expand. Her hooves wrapped themselves around her belly as she felt a surge of pain, travelling up through her neck, piling up just before her mouth. Her airways began to constrict, forcing this blockage upwards, and towards freedom.
394. Scootaloo recoiled her head back, before letting out a tremendous belch. Everyone in the class just sat there, visibly stunned, their eyes remained focused on their work, but their minds and ears remained focused on the repulsive sounds. Even the teacher was noticeably shocked at the outburst, it was either because of the awful act before her, or a secondary effect that it seemed to be having on the little filly. As Scootaloo continued to expel what seemed like an impossible amount of gas, her body resumed growing. At first it was just a centimetre, them another, followed by inch after inch. The desk and chair began to creak under her increasing weight. These chairs were designed to seat little fillies and colts, not fillies that seemed to be rapidly growing to new heights. The furniture groaned some more as Scootaloo's rump began to expand past the limits of the chair.
396. With a loud crack, the frail furniture split, sending Scootaloo lurching forward onto the splintered desk. Thousands of tiny splinters pierced her skin, causing her to yelp loudly. The teacher rushed to the side of the injured filly, her hooves and eyes scanning over her body for any signs of serious damage.
398. "Are you alright?" she asked.
400. Scootaloo rubbed her temple as she got up from the floor, shaking off a few splinters as she went. A quick scrape of both her forelegs removed a few more, still leaving a great amount stuck in her. She winced as she removed more of the splinters, some appearing to be stuck in deeper than she first thought.
402. "Yeah, I'm alright, can't say the same for the desk though."
404. "Speaking of that..." Scootaloo's teacher fell silent as Scootaloo stood up. The once tiny filly now stood taller than all the ponies her age, even the other early starters. She stood over them by at least four, maybe five inches.
406. "Huh?" asked Scootaloo, still brushing splinters from her coat.
408. "Timeout for breaking class furniture," replied the teacher, holding up a shaking hoof to point to the door.
410. Scootaloo grumbled and strode to the door, opening it and disappearing into the hallway. She stood outside and waited for the call that would allow her to return to the class, and continue her learning. As she waited, she smirked and ran a hoof along her recently expanded body. She felt warm to the touch; her body appeared to be buzzing with a newfound energy. It brought her a great deal of pleasure and excitement to know that her growth spurts were so intense, and so close together. Just wait until Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle got a look at her now, they'd always have to do what she wanted. That meant there would be no more lame ideas for Cutie Marks, just cool ones. In fact, thinking about it, if her growth spurts kept this pace, there would be no pony in Equestria that would be as tall as her, not even Celestia.
412. Scootaloo inhaled deeply as she savoured that thought. The most powerful pony in Equestria, everyone else would have no other option but to bow down to the superior height and might of Scootaloo. She reflected on the way her teacher had started to shake in her presence. Even though the filly didn't quite match up to her teacher's height, she had still managed to instill that air of fear. Suddenly a bright idea pinged into Scootaloo's head. She didn't need to wait here for her timeout to end, she could leave and nobody would be able to stop her from doing so. As she took a few steps away from the class, another thought surfaced. Why should she be the only one to get something out of this? She deviated her course, setting off for Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle's class first.
414. The corridors were pretty empty, aside from a few rebellious colts who had also been given a timeout. As Scootaloo passed them, they shrunk back, pressing themselves against the wall as she passed by. Of course this just inflated Scootaloo’s ego even further. She eventually arrived at Cheerilee’s class and rapped her hoof against the door.
416. “One moment class,” came Cheerilee’s voice from the other side of the door.
418. As the door swung open, Scootaloo attempted to create her most distressed look. She widened her eyes, to make her look a little shocked, she ran a hoof through her mane to make her look a little more distressed, and finally, to complete the look, she nervously rubbed her hoof against her neck to complete the look of uncertainty and confusion.
420. “Err, Scootaloo? Shouldn’t you be in class?” asked the teaching mare.
422. “Miss Cheerilee! You have to let Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle out of class this instant!”
424. At first Cheerilee remained stony faced, not believing Scootaloo’s story for one second. But then something changed, she noticed something about the filly, something that hadn’t been there earlier. She thought back to when Scootaloo had shown up to school that morning, she remembered how she almost lost sight of her in the crowds that amassed around the Pegasus. But no, that wasn’t it; it was something that Scootaloo had said to Cheerilee. It was at that moment that Cheerilee realised what had been said, and boy had Scootaloo been right. Here she was, just a young filly, and miraculously she stood just a little bit taller than the purple mare. The fact that Scootaloo had gone through such an incredible change in such a small amount of time was astounding, and also a little scary.
426. “Sc-Scootaloo? H-how? Wha-?” mumbled Cheerilee, trying to wrap her brain around the incredible feat that Scootaloo had performed.
428. “I knew you’d understand!” exclaimed Scootaloo, taking Cheerilee’s garbled response as affirmation for her request.
430. She rushed over to her friends, both of which looked slightly bemused at the sudden appearance of their friend. Scootaloo dragged them out of their chairs and out into the corridor, bidding Cheerilee a quick goodbye on the way out. She pulled her friends away from the door and closed it behind them, setting off at length, down the corridor. Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle stood still for a few moments, gazing at each other as though they expected that one of them would miraculously have the answers that they needed.
432. “What are you waiting for?!” yelled Scootaloo, from down the corridor, ignorant to the others that were still trying to learn.
434. The remaining two CMC spurred into action, and belted down the corridor after their friend. Despite their apparent eagerness, their minds were racing as to why they had been dragged from their lessons, or better yet, why Scootaloo seemed to be growing faster than any of the information they had learned from Cheerilee would suggest. As they passed through the double doors of the schoolhouse entrance, they found Scootaloo leaning lazily against a fencepost.
436. “I was thinking that we could head on over to Sweet Apple Acres for a bit of extended playtime, what do you think?”
438. “Uhm…” muttered Apple Bloom.
440. “Uhh…” droned Sweetie Belle.
442. “Eh, come on girls, it’ll be real fun. I promise!”
444. With that, Scootaloo was off. She started off on the quickest route out to Sweet Apple Acres, leaving Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom in her dust. The two fillies shared another lingering glance at each other, looking for answers in the eyes of the other, but it looked like neither of them thought it a good idea to leave Scootaloo on her own. So off they went, chasing after their friend, leaving the schoolhouse in their wake.
446. Meanwhile, inside the schoolhouse, Cheerilee watched the CMC race off towards Sweet Apple Acres. She didn’t think about going after them, she was too busy trying to decide if she should alert the royal guard to detain Scootaloo, or better yet, summon the Princesses and have them take care of it. She couldn’t decide on an answer to her dilemma, and because of that, her class started to get restless. Though out of all the fillies and colts that were present in that class, there was one little filly who was positively seething with rage.
448. Diamond Tiara sat and seethed in her chair, Scootaloo taking more and more attention away from her. The teachers should be reduced to gibbering wrecks at her presence, not some common as dirt character like Scootaloo. Diamond Tiara had the money, she had the acclaim, she had the lifestyle, but all of that was worthless if she didn’t have a group of naïve followers, chasing at her heels like sheep. She had to retain her popularity, and if she was going to do that, she was going to have to get rid of Scootaloo.
450. Whilst Cheerilee was distracted, she slid out of her seat and made for the door. She didn’t bother to open it slowly, or stealthily, as Cheerilee was too deep in thought to even begin to care about more escaping fillies. As she disappeared into the halls, leaving her accomplice, Silver Spoon, inside the classroom she vowed to intimidate Scootaloo and drive her out of town. She hastily made her way outside, trying to align herself with the classroom window, so that she could make an educated guess as to which way her enemies had went. It didn’t take her long to set herself on the right path; all it took was a little alignment and the discovery of three sets of hoofprints, leading up the path to Sweet Apple Acres. Diamond Tiara raced after them, chasing down the fillies, the only thoughts on her mind were ones of pure malice and vengeance.
452. Meanwhile, Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle were having trouble keeping up with their considerably larger friend.
454. “Slow down, Scootaloo! My legs are starting to hurt!” squeaked Sweetie Belle.
456. “An’ tell us what’s goin’ on, why’d ya drag us outta class?” asked Apple Bloom, rather aggressively.
458. “Fine,” replied Scootalo. “There’s no reason why I dragged you out of class, other than me thinking you would enjoy some extra playtime, with your matured friend.”
460. “Uh Scoot? Ah don’t know what’s gotten into you, but ah was enjoyin’ class, an’ so was Sweetie Belle.”
462. “Well excuse me for thinking you’d enjoy not being cooped up in that boring old place,” replied Scootaloo as she walked backwards to close the distance between the trio. “I just thought you might enjoy some more crusading time, or even just taking a break, it’s not like you’re missing anything important…”
464. “Hey! exclaimed a voice from behind them, a voice that was familiar to all three of them.
466. Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle whirled around, but only Scootaloo remained facing towards Sweet Apple Acres. There standing behind them, was the enraged form of Diamond Tiara, breathing heavily and snorting air through her nasal passage, the same way a bull would before a charge. Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle felt their stomachs sink, Diamond Tiara was the last pony they wanted to see right now, especially with the track record between her and the CMC.
468. “How did you do it?!” screamed Diamond Tiara, “I know you’re messing with something!”
470. “Uh, are you ok?” asked Sweetie Belle, meekly.
472. “Quiet! I don’t want to speak with you, I want to speak with this…monstrosity,” snarled Diamond Tiara.
474. “She only asked if y’ were ok, no need t’ bite her head off,” sighed Apple Bloom.
476. “What part of ‘quiet’ did your tiny, apple farming, brain fail to understand?” replied Diamond Tiara, snidely.
478. Sweetie Belle slipped closer to Apple Bloom, where she proceeded to place a hoof over her mouth to stop any further replies. Not that it discouraged Apple Bloom from trying, she launched into an angry counterattack, consisting mainly of ‘mmphs’ and grunts.
480. “Don’t you think we should head to Sweet Apple Acres and get Applejack? She’d see off Diamond Tiara in no time,” whispered Sweetie Belle.
482. Apple Bloom nodded and nudged Scootaloo in the flank to get her moving. Scootaloo however, didn’t budge in the slightest. Her head glanced to the side, and then swung back to facing forwards once more. Apple Bloom paused momentarily, hesitating for a moment as she prepared to nudge her again. Now that she looked closely at Scootaloo, she could see her sides rapidly expanding and contracting. She appeared to be experiencing some sort of delayed shock reaction. She pulled the hoof down from her mouth and spoke out to Sweetie Belle.
484. “Ah think that might be a good idea, let’s go…”
486. Apple Bloom reached for Sweetie Belle and began to slowly pull her in the direction of Sweet Apple Acres, Diamond Tiara following after them, but quickly stopping once she stood in front of Scootaloo. As Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle slipped away, Sweetie Belle turned back and mouthed ‘we’ll be back for you’ to Scootaloo. Scootaloo’s response to this was to begin hiccupping many times in succession. Diamond Tiara smirked, hiccupping was either a sign of nerves or shock, and she obviously held the upper hand here.
488. “You have been using something haven’t you? You just wanted to take the attention off me! Well, let me tell you, once I-“
490. Diamond Tiara’s jaw dropped wide open as she witnessed the result of Scootaloo’s hiccups. The orange filly’s body began to resume growing, increasing in size and closing the gap between adult mare and overgrown stallion. Diamond Tiara could only watch in awe as this spectacular event unfolded before her very eyes. With each hiccup, half an inch was added to her height, and Diamond Tiara found herself taking a few steps back in order for her to maintain eye contact. Her confidence waned dramatically, and for once in her life, she found herself completely at a loss for words.
492. Scootaloo on the other hand was experiencing a thrill quite unlike any she had experienced before. Her body had become alive, with the receptors on her skin, pinging back pleasurable tingles. Her brain had become awash with feelings of power and copious amounts of adrenaline. She had but one single desire; she had to grow more, as much as this effect would allow for. She glanced down and flashed her teeth at Diamond Tiara, whilst she smirked, unnerving her enemy even further.
494. “Not so confident now, are you?” chided Scootaloo.
496. Scootaloo stretched, bringing her rump into the air, and flaring her wings, as her bones began to knit themselves into her expanding sockets and joints. She let out a soft groan as her hiccupping subsided, and her growth along with it. She now stood a couple of inches over the height of a fully grown stallion, somewhere between six foot and six and a half foot. She grinned down at Diamond Tiara, talking immense pleasure from the sight of the trembling filly.
498. “Th-that’s not natural…” mumbled Diamond Tiara, starting to back away.
500. “What’s the matter, Diamond Tiara? Have you run out of klutz jokes? Haven’t you got anything to say? Or are you just trembling at the awesome power that I possess? “
502. Diamond Tiara backed away, cowardly retreating from the far superior pony. “Just wait until I tell everyone…”
504. “What’re you going to tell them? That Scootaloo just got even more awesome and grown up?
506. Diamond Tiara grunted her disapproval and turned tail and fled. “Just you wait, I’ll run you out of town yet!”
508. Scootaloo just rolled onto her back and burst into a fit of laughter. Run her out of town? That was unlikely to happen, sure DT had a rich father, but what was money when put up against this giant of a filly? Worthless, that’s what it was.
510. “Scootaloo!” yelled a familiar yellow filly.
512. Scootaloo rolled onto her stomach and stood up, gazing down the path. Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, Applejack and Big Macintosh, were racing towards her. As they neared Scootaloo’s position, and saw that she was alone, their pace decreased dramatically.
514. “Ah see what ya mean Apple Bloom, that is a mighty big mess Scootaloo has gotten herself into, noted Applejack, “Though ah think ya might’ve been better askin’ Twilight fer help.”
516. “Wha-? Where’d she go, Scootaloo?” asked Sweetie Belle.
518. “Oh don’t worry about her, I saw to it,” explained a proud Scootaloo.
520. Applejack leant in to Sweetie Belle and whispered in her ear. “Ya mean t’ say that Scootaloo bein’ nearly three times bigger than she was yesterday, ain’t the problem?”
522. “Nah, she’s just growing up. Miss Cheerilee says it will happen to us all one day, Scootaloo just got started earlier than everyone else,” replied Sweetie Belle.
524. “Well she’s sure doin’ a lotta growin’, that’s fer sure! Why ah reckon she’s taller than Big Mac!”
526. Big Macintosh remained silent, his eyes scanning over Scootaloo, trying to work out if in fact Scootaloo was taller than him. He sure hoped not, he’d feel ashamed if a mare outgrew him, Celestia only knows how he would feel if a filly outgrew him. Scootaloo caught sight of his busy eyes, and took a few steps closer, making it pretty evident for all ponies around her, that she was in fact, taller than Big Macintosh.
528. “Well would ya look at that! She is taller than Big Mac!”
530. Big Macintosh bowed his head and blushed, though thankfully the blush blended with his already red coat. Oh the shame he felt right now, he could feel his title slipping away from him. Soon he would just be known as ‘Mac’ or ‘Macintosh’. He shuddered as he tried to dismiss those thoughts; these were definitely dark times for him.
532. “What’re y’all doin’ all the way out here anyway? Shouldn’t ya be in school?” queried Applejack.
534. “Oh, we got let out, some of the teachers suffered nervous breakdowns,” explained Scootaloo.
536. “Oh my Celestia, are they ok?” asked Applejack.
538. “Why don’t you go and find out? We’ll go to Sweet Apple Acres and wait for you,” replied Scootaloo.
540. Then, once again, without waiting for another reply, Scootaloo took off for Sweet Apple Acres. The remaining two CMC chased after her, leaving Applejack and Big Macintosh to stare blankly at one another, before they decided to head into school, just to see how much truth there was in their story. As the CMC made their way in the opposite direction, a little bit of tension had surfaced within the group. Apple Bloom was starting to notice the distinct personality changes that Scootaloo had adopted, the most prominent was this lie she had just told. Sure Cheerilee had become distracted since Scootaloo barged into the class, but no-one had cancelled the class, and once Applejack found that out, she was going to be in big trouble.
542. “So, what do you want to do first?” asked Scootaloo.
544. “Ah guess we could play in th’ orchard, away from everypony…” muttered Apple Bloom.
546. “Great! Come on; let’s make it a race there. Ready?”
548. Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle stood either side of their friend, withholding their enthusiasm because they already knew who would be the winner. Lazily they prepped themselves for the race, lowering their bodies into a racing position. Scootaloo was the only one that seemed to have any enthusiasm at all. Her wings fluttered wildly, and she eagerly moistened her lips with anticipation. She glanced at her friends, and then turned her gaze forward, eyes set firmly on the distance and the orchard that it concealed. She furrowed her brow to aid with the concentrating, and stuck out the tip of her tongue. She was all prepared to win, now she just had to make it become a reality.
550. “3, 2, 1, go!”
552. Off they went, Scootaloo charged ahead thanks to her stamina and increased size. Apple Bloom fell into second place, whilst Sweetie Belle took up the rear. Regardless of whether or not they actually wanted Scootaloo to win, they had to at least make it look like they were trying. Apple Bloom tried to keep the pace with Scootaloo, just enough to tell her which part of the orchard they were actually racing to, before she fell behind again, even dropping back to Sweetie Belle’s position. Scootaloo took off further into the distance, as there was no real need to keep the pace with the others, now that she knew their destination. She’d wait for them at the finish, pretending that she had been there for hours, as was sometimes customary in friendly races.
554. Meanwhile, Diamond Tiara hurried away from Sweet Apple Acres, her emotions running high. She had known that Scootaloo's growth hadn't been natural; she knew that she had taken something. Yet, even though she knew all this, after witnessing it first-hand it still shocked her. This had gone beyond outdoing Diamond Tiara; Scootaloo was on course to outdo the entire nation of Equestria. Naturally, Diamond Tiara had a plan, but in order to act it out, she needed the help of her father. She smirked to herself as she envisioned her plan, acting it out in her mind. Scootaloo wouldn't see it coming, and once Diamond Tiara had ousted her from the picture; all the ponies would worship the pink filly instead.
556. She took a sharp right turn and sprinted up a separate path, towards a building quite unlike the others. The buildings in Ponyville all followed a similar design, straw roofs, and basic wooden frames and so on. However the house that Diamond Tiara approached, a building that appeared to resemble something from Canterlot. The walls were of the finest crafted stone, stretching high into the sky. The windows looked like they had been taken from Canterlot Castle, they were huge observation windows, minus the stained glass designs that the castle had. Peeking through those windows would reveal the lavish interiors, typical of such a wealthy family. Of course for Diamond Tiara, such an elegant house and its interiors were something she had experienced from birth, so it had become commonplace for her. Any other pony would be picking their jaw up from the floor at the sight of the house alone, never mind the expensive swing set, or the personal drinking well that adorned the front lawn, there was even what one could call a small forest nearer the top of the garden.
558. Diamond Tiara hurried towards the front door, there wasn't a moment to spare. Her father would be home soon, and once he was, it would be impossible to act out her plan until the next day. That couldn't be allowed to happen; she needed to complete it today, as soon as was possible. She pushed a hoof against the front door and slid open, revealing a semi-lit hallway. Excellent, her father had left the door unlocked, like he did most days. It was surprising that they weren't burgled on a regular basis, considering the amount of times the door was left in this state. She slipped inside and closed the door behind her, leaving it so that that the lock wasn't fully in place. She crossed to the stairs, situated to the left of the hallway, and quickly left the ground floor. She passed onto the first floor, and from there, she shot up to the second floor.
560. She was making excellent time, but that wasn't too hard to do, seeing as though she had only just begun. Her tiny little hooves made for her father's room, wherein she would find exactly what she was looking for. Her father's room wasn't like most bedrooms; it felt more like a study than anything else. He had a lectern against the back wall of the room, in front of a window. His bed was positioned against the left wall, the back of the headboard pointing towards the door. Above the headboard hung a picture of Filthy Rich and his daughter, being showered with bits from the sky. On the floor was a plush emerald coloured carpet, whilst on the areas of the wall that weren't covered by bookcases, there were patches of a slightly browner emerald colour. Somewhere inside this room, lay the solution to her problems, and knowing her father's line of work, they would most likely be hidden.
562. You see, Filthy Rich was a businessman, and businessmen make their money from various deals and the pay-outs and losses that come with these deals. Rich had made most of his money through ownership of businesses in Canterlot, Fillydephia, and Las Pegasus. He'd endured roaring success, and as such began to expand his business empire. It was at this point that he started taking on more risky investments, and most of these often fell below board. It was these illegitimate investments that Diamond Tiara was interested in. Recently her father had been delving into business deals in the name of science. Namely the ability to get more for your bits. He'd started out making small investments into the R&D sector, with little to no results, until a couple of weeks ago.
564. A small business had come up with a solution; use a variety of chemicals to create a new compound. Add this compound to any plant based food, and you would encounter a bumper harvest of a different kind. The food would grow beyond its normal capabilities; you could end up with a tomato as big as a watermelon, or an apple the size of a stallions head. It was revolutionary, something that nobody else would have accomplished. So naturally Rich had bought a case of the samples, hoping to release them into circulation as soon as possible. It was only after he had bought the samples that they decided to tell him that they hadn't been put through all the clinical trials yet, the only remaining tests were the ones related to the actual effect of the compound on the ponies that would ingest it. Rich accepted that the trials were important and took the samples back to his home, where they would be kept until they were declared safe.
566. Diamond Tiara scanned the immediate area, looking for anything that stood out to her. The bookcases were the first port of call, it wouldn't be unlike her father to hide them in a hollowed out book. So off she went, tearing down book after book, skimming through it and tossing it aside once she discovered that it contained no secrets. Given her small stature, the main problem she faced was trying to reach the upper most shelves of the bookcases. Naturally she had the genius, yet dangerous, idea of slamming herself against the bookcase, in the hopes that there was a decent sized gap between the bookcase and the wall, so that it would teeter back and forth and eventually fall over. Diamond Tiara took a few small steps back and then jumped towards the bookcase, swinging her rear around so that it connected with the bookcase. The target did in fact teeter, as she had predicted, but it came to a rest shortly after.
568. As she was not satisfied that her plan was to blame, she twisted it a little. Instead of just hitting it once, she would hit it repeatedly, and hopefully that would bring the bookcase down to its metaphorical knees. So she began again, working herself into a rhythm or jumping, hitting the bookcase, checking if it looked likely to fall, and it didn't she would repeat. After a while of slamming the bookcase with her bottom, it had become understandably sore, so she abandoned the idea for now. Instead she turned her attention to the rest of the room, namely the bed. It was a well-known fact that one of the most commonly referred to places when it came to hiding things, was underneath one's bed.
570. Leaving the disappointing bookcases behind her, Diamond Tiara made for her father's bed. She crouched down as low she could get herself and pulled the trailing bedcover over her head, pouring over the secrets that it held. Or rather that's what she would have done of the underneath of her father's bed hadn't been completely bare. There was nothing under there, except a whole lot of dust. Disappointed, she slid herself out from under the bed, opting to climb atop it instead. Once on top she lay herself flat, lying face down into the quilted surface. So far it was proving to be an uneventful search, two misses so far, and she was sure there were more to come. Though she wasn't about to let that suspicion come true, all she needed to do was think things through a bit better. She needed to be in the mind-set of her father, think as he would have and the answer was bound to show up sooner or later.
572. She rolled over and stared at the ceiling, trying to think of any clues that could lead her to success. Her father didn't really do much outside of meeting her every demand and working so that he could fulfil her every demand. There was nothing he loved more than money and his daughter, though Diamond Tiara liked to think that she was his number one. Her eyes darted to the picture that hung above his bed, the one that showcased his two loves of this world. At first she dismissed the thought that the picture was the answer she was looking for, it was far too cliché. But as she glanced around the rest of the room, looking for anything that might prove her wrong, the picture started to look more and more reasonable. Deciding to indulge her burning curiosity she got to her hooves and made her way to the picture. She stared into the eyes of her painted self, her eyes glancing from that to the image of her father.
574. "Just what secrets do you hold...?"
576. Her hooves reached out, trembling in anticipation as they touched the gilded frame. She slowly eased the picture away from the wall, lifting the thread at the back up and over the hooks. She was excited now, the painting dropping further and further towards the bed. She could almost taste her, such a sweet flavour. A black line appeared above the top of the frame, getting thicker and thicker with each passing inch. Her eyes widened in surprise, the painting dropping faster now, her curiosity now replaced by a burning lust for revenge. She fully slid the painting away, casting it aside and just staring at the wonder before her. The black surface of the safe stared back, unmoving and unemotional. Its silver handle gleamed with an air or temptation, almost beckoning for it to be used and Diamond Tiara was only too happy to oblige. Her hoof greedily slammed down the handle, yanking it towards her to coax the door open. The weight of the door held it steady as it opened, not swinging open with the urgency that she had wanted. Once it was open enough, Diamond Tiara cast her gaze inside of it. Papers, small parcels and most importantly several glass vials filled with a clear liquid, adorned the inside. Diamond Tiara took the papers and the vials, laying them out on the bed.
578. She sifted through the documents, looking for any indication that these were the concoctions that she was after. Her eyes skimmed over every word, checking every little detail for the few words that would seal the deal. As she approached the final few sheets, she found the words that she was looking for. Printed there in black and white, were the details for an experimental substance, contained within several vials. Diamond Tiara’s eyes lit up as she read it, drinking in her success. If this had been any other time, she might have found some of her friends to lord it over with for a while longer. She envisioned herself, savouring the fact that a little filly had managed to outsmart her father with such simple wit. A sudden knocking at the front door of the house soon put a stop to those thoughts. Assuming it was her father at the door; the successful filly jumped into action and began to clean the place up. She crammed the documents back into the safe, leaving the vials on the bed for now. She closed the door to the safe and reset the lock, putting the painting back up afterwards.
580. She scrambled down from the bed, clutching some of the vials in her teeth, whilst the others were held in her mane, or in her hooves. She retreated to her bedroom and stashed the chemicals under her bed, which didn’t exactly scream that it was the best hiding place ever, but she was under incredible pressure. Afterwards, she galloped downstairs, regaining a little of her composure with each step, her smooth, calm demeanour returning soon after. She paused for a final moment, just before she opened the door, now fully composed.
582. “Good afternoon, Fa-” she began.
584. “Uhm, hey, DT, are you ok?” came a noticeably younger, more feminine voice.
586. “What are you doing here, Silver Spoon?” asked Diamond Tiara.
588. “Well, class finished and I thought I would come see how you are, seeing how you left the class early.”
590. Diamond Tiara couldn’t afford to explain her reasons for leaving, nor could she explain what she had found, or at least she couldn’t explain it here. She didn’t want to share her proposal with anyone but herself, but she couldn’t afford the risk of Silver Spoon drawing more attention to her plans. She grabbed the grey filly and pulled her inside the house, closing the door behind her. Without saying a word, she led Silver Spoon upstairs, this time ignoring her father’s room, and heading straight for her own. Once inside she closed the door, and slid herself under the bed, though not before she gestured for Silver Spoon to take a seat on it. It wasn’t long before Diamond Tiara joined her on the bed, clutching several vials close to her chest.
592. “You can’t breathe a word of this to anyone, understand?” questioned Diamond Tiara.
594. Silver Spoon simply nodded.
596. “Did you happen to notice something different about Scootaloo, when she burst into the classroom?” continued Diamond Tiara.
598. “Yeah she was…”
600. “Bigger?”
602. “Yeah, I take it that wasn’t my imagination then?”
604. Diamond Tiara shook her head. “She’s been messing with something, I don’t know what, but it’s causing her to grow.”
606. “How can you be sure? How do you know she isn’t just growing up really fast?”
608. “Oh don’t give me that. You sound like those teachers, always dancing around the issues and making it simple so that everyone can understand. You and I both know that it is physically impossible for any pony to grow that much in such a short time. I even saw her growing with my own eyes, and there was something about it, something that felt unnatural…”
610. “But what does this have to do with anything? What are these vials for? Where did you get them?” asked Silver Spoon, concerned.
612. “Where I got them isn’t important. What is important is what I want to use them for.”
614. “What’s that?”
616. “I want to use them to level the playing field. I don’t know when Scootaloo will stop growing, but what I do know, is that it’ll take attention away from us. So I propose that we both take this experimental growth formula and get on her level. How does that sound?” explained Diamond Tiara.
618. “Experimental growth formula, are you insane? Listen to yourself! You’re proposing that we swallow this stuff and then outgrow some filly? So what if she takes attention off us? She’ll only have crowds around her because she’s a freak. If we outgrow her, what does that make us? That makes us freaks too, and whilst we’ll still have attention, it’ll be nothing like it is now.”
620. Diamond Tiara smiled, staring into the vials before her. “I can see where you’re coming from; you never did have quite the same popularity as I did. But even if you’re opposed to the idea, I can’t let you leave, at least not until I’ve experienced the effects of these solutions. You’re going to sit and watch me drink all seven, and then we’ll see just how wrong you are.”
622. With that said Diamond Tiara popped the stopper off the first vial and poured it into her waiting maw. The second followed soon after, her hooves already grasping for the third. She tossed the vials aside as she finished with them, a small pile building up in front of Silver Spoon. Soon the pile consisted of five vials, with the sixth just about to join. Diamond Tiara had spared no speed when it came to downing the contents of these vials. The seventh eventually joined the pile, and Diamond Tiara signalled the conclusion by letting free a tremendous and uncivilised belch. Contented, she sat back, resting against the pillows at the head of her bed. She placed a hoof on her slightly bloated stomach, to which it gurgled in protest. She felt something building in her gut, the chemicals all mixing together in her stomach spreading throughout her body. A strange sense of empowerment spread through her every limb, causing them to tingle, before it faded to nothing. She placed her other hoof on her stomach and watched Silver Spoon.
624. “And now, we wait and see…”
626. Back at the orchard, Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo were sprawled out on the grassland of Sweet Apple Acres. They had spent their time playing in the fields, coming up with any game that their minds could offer. But playtime can only last so long, and it hadn’t been long before the trio had decided to take a rest. As they lay on their backs in the grass, an eerie silence drifted over them. The only sounds to break this silence were their heavy panting, and the low growl of Scootaloo’s stomach. Scootaloo rolled over onto her front, her stomach growling once more as she went. The other two CMC remained on their backs, obviously not feeling the same as Scootaloo.
628. “Girls, I’m hungry, can we go get something to eat?” moaned Scootaloo.
630. “Well ah wus gonna wait until we were all hungry, an’ then go git some o’ Granny’s Apple Pie…” replied Apple Bloom.
632. “Well, why don’t we go get it and bring it back here? Who knows, maybe you’ll both be hungry by them”
634. “Can we get a mat too? Then we can have a picnic!” exclaimed Sweetie Belle.
636. “That’s a good idea, it would be a shame to waste this beautiful weather by sitting inside to eat,” began Scootaloo. “Why don’t you girls go get it, and I’ll wait here and savour the weather a little more.”
638. “C’mon Scootaloo, if ya don’ come, ya won’t git any pie!”
640. “But I’m too hungry, I don’t even have the energy to stand up!” groaned Scootaloo.
642. Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle scoffed as they stood up. This was so unlike her, sure she often tried to avoid work, but when the three of them had something to do together; she was usually so willing to help. Apple Bloom wondered if this was just a part of growing up, or at least she hoped that her friend was just going through a natural phase of some sort. Sweetie Belle on the other hand wasn’t sure what to make of anything. She recalled the time that Spike had grown up at a rapid pace and had experienced a selfish phase like no other. She’d been told that this sort of thing only happened to dragons as they came of age, but was there a chance that it could happen to ponies as well? The two stared on, each deep in thought as to whether or not their friend was going to be ok. More importantly they wondered if it would happen to them, both of them hoped that it wasn’t going to, but their thoughts were clouded with insecurity.
644. “Well? Are you going or not?” asked an impatient Scootaloo.
646. Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom both shook their heads, dragging themselves from their thoughts. They had gotten so caught up on the future and the theoretical effects of growing up on their friend, that the thought of apple pie seemed so far away. The two fillies set off at a sprint, leaving their friend alone in the shade of the orchard apple trees. Scootaloo watched them go, her mouth already watering at the delicious thought of that delectable apple pie. Her stomach growled angrily in response, causing Scootaloo to shudder and clutch her stomach in pain. She tried to suppress thoughts of food, but each time she tried her stomach growled impatiently, reminding her that she needed food and she needed it now. Scootaloo reluctantly agreed with her stomach, she did indeed need food now, but where was she going to get it? She couldn’t walk very far, there was no way that was going to work. She could feel her legs already threatening to give way, and she hadn’t even stood up yet. It took her a moment to realise that she didn’t actually need to go far, she was in an orchard after all. She pushed her weight down on her hooves, using the sturdy ground beneath them to stand up. Her legs wobbled a little underneath her, but she managed to take a few shaky steps towards the nearest apple tree. Her stomach growled almost constantly with every step she took, but to Scootaloo it seemed more like a form of motivation, like her stomach was now cheering for her.
648. She pressed on, taking careful step after careful step, until she finally reached the tree she had been aiming for. She glanced up at it, admiring the succulent fruit that hung there, its waxy, red, skin shimmering in the light, as though a thin layer of moisture covered its entire being. Scootaloo felt her mouth begin to salivate, even going so far as to allow for a low, guttural moan. An apple had never looked so good to the starving pony, and soon she would be biting into its flesh, digging through to its very core. All she had to do, was buck the tree hard enough for the apple to fall, and with her new size that seemed like the easiest thing in the world right now. She turned herself around, sighing as she lost eye contact with the apple just for a few moments, and prepped her legs for bucking. She would only have one shot at this, so it had to count. She pulled her legs back as tight as her joints would allow and straightened them back out again, slamming her hooves into the tree. She wasn’t sure if it was the tree vibrating under her hooves, or if her hooves were shaking from the force she had used to hit it with. She slumped to the floor, propping herself up against the tree, awaiting the fall of that delectable apple. Seconds ticked by and still there was no apple for her to chow down on. In fact, all she had received in that time was an increase in stomach pains, and those just seemed to help make her hungrier. She glanced upwards and sure enough the apple was there, still hanging from the tree, taunting her efforts. She stood up once more, hiccupping a couple of times, forcing her head back and nearly sending her off balance.
650. “Do you want to be fed or not?” she asked her body, not even caring about how bizarre a thing that was to do.
652. She leant forward pressing her forehooves against the tree for support, then gradually she inched them further up the tree trunk. She was going to get this apple, and there was nothing that would stop her. Sure Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle would arrive with the pie soon enough, but soon didn’t cut it. She was living in the present and as such, she wanted the apple this very instant. Her hooves inched up the trunk of the tree and she soon felt her body being stretched. She was bigger than Big Macintosh, and yet not even that quality provided enough height for her to reach. She thumped a hoof against the tree trunk, before sliding down to ground, admitting defeat. She lay there, trying to focus on the fact that Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom were only a short distance away. Unbeknownst to the small filly, her body experienced a very small growth spurt. Her body expanded outwards, growing a couple of inches in height as well as width. All sensations that the growth caused were masked by the intense hunger pangs she was experiencing. She did however feel an unusual determination spread through her body. She felt slightly refreshed, as though she had just enough energy to make for another attempt.
654. She gradually took up her original position, she grimaced as her stomach roared at her, reminding her of just how hungry she was. She took the same method as before, each hoof pounding against the tree as she worked up it. Surprisingly she passed her original record, and her hooves kept on climbing. Up and up, until finally the apple was in her grasp, with a quick tug she pulled the apple free of the tree’s grip. Without hesitation she bit into the apple, barely savouring the first bite before diving in for some more. She revelled in the succulent, juicy bites of apple, each one seeming more delicious than the last. Her frantic bites soon demolished the apple, leaving nothing but a thin core and a few seeds left. She tossed that away and turned her attention back to the tree. There were more apples on there, and most were within her grasp.
656. Scootaloo plucked more apples, piling a group of them by the trunk of the tree. She passed to another tree, repeating the same process, placing them in the same place. She continued until she had at least five separate piles, spread around her. She could make a few apple pies with this many apples, not that she had the resources at hoof to make one. She sat down in front of her prizes, her stomach once again growling fiercely. She picked up an apple and bit into its sweetened skin, tearing out a chunk of the fruit. Her tongue lashed out against the piece, thrashing it back against her teeth. She groaned as the moist flavours danced across her taste buds. She felt them slide down her throat and into her stomach, yet still she was not satisfied. She ravenously devoured the rest of the apple, grappling for two more; no sooner had she finished the first. Her mind buzzed, yelling at her limbs and jaw to move and chew faster. She didn’t ache at all, whether that was just the adrenaline pumping through her body, or a matter of circumstance, she couldn’t be sure.
658. As each apple was slowly digested by her stomach, her body was rewarded with a growth spurt. Her body expanded almost continuously thanks to the sheer volume of food that she was eating. Her head rose higher and higher, expanding past the trunk of the tree, pushing past the leafy canopy. Her hooves pushed outwards into the pile of apples, knocking a few of them loose, though she quickly regrouped them. The pile was soon brought to halfway and Scoots had grown enough to allow her to simply swallow multiple apples at once. Her body lengthened and her hooves grew outwards, whilst her senses seemed to heighten. Scootaloo groaned as each apple she ate tasted better than the last. Some tasted like extremely sweet apple, whilst others seemed to give off a flavour completely outside that of the standard for apples. As she popped the last of the apples into her maw, crunching them to mush within a single bite, she burped loudly and patted her stomach. She sat up straight, her body now bigger than an apple tree, her head standing well above that height. Her flank was stuck between two trees, but she didn't care. She'd just wait for her friends to get back, and for that delightful apple pie they'd be bringing her.
660. The friends in question were on their return approach, apple pie balanced firmly on Apple Bloom’s head, just in front of her bow. Sweetie Belle travelled alongside her, the soft scent of the fresh pie tickling at her nostrils. She gazed longingly at it, causing her to flashback to the last time she had this particular type of apple pie. She remembered how lovely it had tasted, how it had warmed her all over with each mouthful. Alas, she had to wait, the three of them were going to enjoy this pie together, no matter how much anyone in particular wanted it to themselves.
662. “Hey, Sweetie Belle, d’ya reckon that we’ll do th same as Scoots, when we grow up? Ah’d love t’ see Applejack’s face if ah ended up bein’ bigger than her.”
664. “I’m not sure. I guess Rarity would be pleased if I did, that way she wouldn’t need to keep hiring stallion models to show off her new range of stallion clothes. But outside of that, I don’t really think I would want to end up like that. I mean can you imagine how awkward things would be?” replied Sweetie Belle.
666. “Whut d’ya mean by that?”
668. “Well what if we grew more than her? We could end up twice as tall as the average stallion, and that wouldn’t be good at all. I mean look at everything around us, it’s all built for the average mare or stallion, so if we were bigger than average, we couldn’t use all of that stuff.”
670. “Naw, yer jus’ bein’ silly. If we did git t’ that height, they’d make new things, jus fer us.”
672. The two fillies continued their back and forth as they returned to spot where they had left Scootaloo. Strangely enough, this one particular part of the orchard seemed a lot darker in comparison to the rest of it. It was almost as though the trees had suddenly grown exponentially, and their leaves now blocked out the sun. But to both Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle’s surprise, it wasn’t the trees at all; it turned out to be something much bigger than that. Somehow, Scootaloo had grown to a tremendous height, standing just over the height of three of the orchard’s apple trees. She stood there, grinning down at her friends, as they glanced back with surprise etched into their faces.
674. “You took your time, I had to take matters into my own hooves while you were gone,” explained Scootaloo.
676. As Apple Bloom raised her head to look up at the titanic form of Scootaloo, the pie slipped from her head and landed with a splat against the floor. Sweetie Belle focused on the bare trees that surrounded them, mouth agape as she came to the realisation that Scootaloo had probably eaten all the fruit from these trees.
678. “Oh, was that the pie? Probably wasn’t going to be big enough for me anyway.”
680. “An’ what would be big enough fer ya?” asked Apple Bloom foolishly.
682. Scootaloo reached to her left and uprooted one of the few trees that she hadn’t plucked clean yet. She held it in front of her friends, just letting them take in the fact that she had actually just pulled a tree clean from the ground. Then she held it in front of her maw, slowly rotating it as she plucked the apples from the tree with her teeth. One by one they disappeared into her maw, leaving only the greenery on the tree. After it had served its purpose it was cast aside, taking out a few more trees as it smashed into the ground.
684. Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle were shaken off their hooves as the tree made contact with the floor. They quickly righted themselves and started to back away. This was all too much for them to process, Scootaloo wouldn’t be so careless, nor would she seem so content at such a height. Something was wrong here, and they weren’t going to find a solution just hanging around in the orchard. Apple Bloom was first to break out into a run, whilst Sweetie Belle followed hot on her heels. The pair weaved in and out of the trees, hoping that if Scootaloo did decide to give chase, their actions would at least give them a fighting chance.
686. Scootaloo however, didn’t plan on giving chase she would much rather flaunt her new size to the rest of the town. After all, why should Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle be the only two ponies to benefit from an audience with their new ruler? She giggled at that, this day had certainly been full of surprises. Uprooting several trees as she made her way out of the orchard, she began to snack upon them, having one last delightful feast of apples before she left for Ponyville. Scootaloo couldn’t decide on where to visit first, maybe she’d swing by the school and show Miss Cheerilee that it was pretty easy for a filly to outgrow Celestia. Or maybe she’d just head to town hall and show off to everyone all at once. There was so much choice, and yet it seemed like she had so little time.
688. Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle hurried back to the farmhouse, hoping that Applejack and Big Macintosh had returned from their trip to the schoolhouse. They charged through the front door and into the kitchen, babbling incomprehensible nonsense about what they had just seen. Unfortunately nobody was around to hear it, well Granny Smith had fallen asleep at the table, but she probably couldn’t hear them, nor could she help. Apple Bloom tried to rouse her sleeping elder, but when Granny falls asleep, she’s out for the count. The two fillies started to panic, they needed someone to help them, or at least tell them that they were dreaming. They needed someone with authority, someone smart, who would know of a solution. Then, as though by divine intervention they both happened across the same idea, they could go find Cheerilee. She was both a figure of authority to the children, and rational enough to think of a reasonable solution.
690. “We should go see Cheerilee!” they both chorused.
692. The pair stared at each other, surprised to find that they had both spoke the exact same phrase each other, at the exact same time. Apple Bloom scrunched her face up, whilst Sweetie Belle widened her eyes. Naturally, their childlike imaginations began to consider the possibility that they had a psychic connection, or at least some sort of telepathic link. Then the rational parts of their minds kicked in and it was reduced to a mere coincidence.
694. “That was weird…” they both said in unison once more.
696. This time they didn’t delay, they just bolted for the door, having wasted enough time coming up with the idea in the first place. They both squeezed through the door within seconds of each other, narrowly avoiding getting stuck. Keeping level with one another they pelted down the dirt path, kicking up a storm of dust and dirt in their wake. They glanced through the trees of the orchard as they passed; catching sight of the destructive trail that Scootaloo had left in her wake. If this was the kind of damage that Scootaloo could do to an apple orchard, they didn’t want to think of what she could do to an entire town. The state of the orchard was too distracting to the fillies, and as a result, they crashed straight into two approaching ponies.
698. Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle were bowled over backwards, and the two ponies they crashed into just managed to remain standing. Apple Bloom nursed her head, urging it to stop pounding so she could get back to thinking of how she was going to explain the state of the orchard and Scootaloo to Cheerilee and her brother and sister. She flailed a little as she tried to get back up to her hooves, eventually rolling onto her side to make the task easier. Her yellow coat was darkened a little, now standing a little brown from the dirt she had just rolled about in. She half-heartedly brushed a hoof against her legs and front, sprucing those up just a little, but leaving the rest of her dirty.
700. “Apple Bloom! Jus’ where d’ya think yer goin’? We’ve jus’ been t’ see yer teacher, an’ guess what? Yer class weren’t let out early, y’all lied to me ‘n Mac!” exclaimed one of the ponies.
702. “Applejack! Big Mac! No time t’ explain, but ya have t’ come with us right now!”
704. “An’ jus’ where is that?”
706. They didn’t get the response they needed; Apple Bloom was already dragging Sweetie Belle along with her. Applejack and Big Macintosh had no choice but to follow after the fillies and bombard them with questions until one of them slipped up. Apple Bloom was just glad that they hadn’t seemed to notice Scootaloo was missing from the group, or that she had probably started tearing up the town, shortly after they had departed. Both of the fillies made sure to keep one step ahead of the adults, weaving around each other so as to avoid their clutches.
708. By now, Scootaloo had indeed entered the town, and the stir she had caused was exponential. Citizens fled her massive hoof-steps, abandoning their homes as they realised just how futile it was for them to hide in there. Scootaloo playfully knocked the fleeing ponies over, like they were nothing more than cheap toys from a toyshop. Her hooves stomped in front of them, forcing them to quickly swerve around them, or for those that were less reactive, cause them to slam straight into her limb. She chuckled to herself; it was kind of cute in a way, watching them all try to flee to safety. Some would probably head straight to Canterlot and inform the Princesses, but what could they do? Except for tremble and accept Scootaloo as the new ruler of the land.
710. Alas, that would have to wait, her quarrel didn’t lie with the townsponies of Ponyville, and instead she felt that Diamond Tiara should get a more personal introduction to the new Scootaloo. She strolled through the streets, crushing apple carts, carriages, and even some ornate furniture as she went. Once outside of Ponyville, the road quietened down, the most damage that she could do was destroy the countryside, or wash her hoof in the lake and contaminate it. Diamond Tiara’s house lay just beyond the outskirts of Ponyville, most likely because they didn’t want to associate with the less wealthy people of Ponyville. Scootaloo could spot the shape of the house drawing closer from the distance, and with the massive legs that she possessed; she was there in no time at all.
712. Scootaloo stood at the bottom of Diamond Tiara’s garden, staring up the expansive area until her eyes came to rest on the house. Diamond Tiara lived in what essentially looked like an out of place mansion. It was like some mischievous unicorn had cast a spell on a section of Canterlot and teleported it right to this very spot. There was certainly no reason to have such a house this close to Ponyville, especially when it contrasted with the buildings of the town. It should have been dismantled long ago, but there were rules in place to stop that sort of thing happening, rules that unfortunately, favoured the rich. Scootaloo held onto that thought for a moment, she could easily tear it down, rules didn’t apply to her anymore, and her size would provide the relevant strength for the task. She stepped forward into the garden, squinting as she tried to peer through the windows. She sighed as she walked; it was blissful being in this position, and the power you felt was infinite. Everyone fled from you and those that remained would do anything to stay alive. Of course she wouldn’t be so cruel as to kill anyone; she needed to earn their trust, not rule by fear. Adult life was going to so much different that her childhood, that much was certain. She now stood tall and proud in front of the house, and finally her plan could be enacted.
714. She planted a hoof on either side of the roof, moving both of them around it in a clockwise motion. With each movement she gently pressed them into the building, crushing the wall inwards a little, separating it from the roof. As she was keeping hold of the roof, the structure was allowed to bend inwards, without collapsing in on itself. Once she’d pressed the circumference inwards, she lifted the roof up and cast it aside. The roof crumbled behind her, a cloud of dust billowing up from the impact zone. Scootaloo focused her attention of the inside of the house, where her eyes had just happened upon her prize. Sat in one of the upper bedrooms, sat Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon, the former relaxing against her headboard, the latter looking upwards, a terrified look on her face. It was just as well that Scootaloo had decided on the slow approach to destroying the house, or else she might have missed this opportunity to flaunt her authority.
716. “Well well, look who we have here, if it isn’t Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon, two of my favourite ponies…”
718. “Scootaloo? What in Celestia’s name happened to you/?” asked Silver Spoon.
720. “I grew up, but that isn’t important. How are you, Diamond Tiara? Still scared?” Scootaloo chuckled at her own comment.
722. “Just you wait, Scootaloo! In a few minutes you won’t be so cocky!” exploded Diamond Tiara, releasing all the pent up rage from their confrontation earlier.
724. “Oh pipe down; you don’t have the authority to talk to me like that with me anymore. I make the rules around here now, and you’re going to deal with it.”
726. Scootaloo reached into the now structurally unsafe building and plucked out the two, holding them up to her face. Silver Spoon held herself steady, whilst Diamond Tiara writhed and squirmed to be let free. It was a futile endeavour, but her loathing and jealousy towards Scootaloo kept her fighting on. Scootaloo held them away from the building, hoping that the lack of a softer landing zone would prompt her to cease and desist. Besides her preoccupation with getting Diamond Tiara to calm down a little, her thoughts also turned to what she could do with the fillies. Injuring them was already out of the question, but she couldn’t see a reason why she couldn’t make Silver Spoon and Diamond Tiara her first worshippers. She’d get to find out what it was like to receive such attention. Day in and day out, Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon received boundless adoration and affection, as if they were some sort of child superstar. Well now they were going to give some of the attention back, and it was going to be directed at Scootaloo. She reached down and placed them at her hooves, quickly shielding off any escape routes.
728. “Now, I want you to show me how honoured you are to be in my presence. Worship at my hooves and I’ll see about letting you go.”
730. Surprisingly, Silver Spoon didn’t object. Instead she bowed her head and stretched out her forelegs, raising them and lowering them periodically. Diamond Tiara however wasn’t going to be swayed so easily. She sat defiantly, grinding her teeth together, craning her neck so that she got a better view of Scootaloo’s face.
732. “You expect me to worship at your hooves? Hah! You should be worshipping at mine!”
734. “Fine, why don’t you make me?” replied Scootaloo, smugly.
736. “I told you, just wait and see you’ll get what’s coming to you!”
738. “Still sticking to by the whole ‘wait and see’ thing? Well I’d love to sit about and wait, but I have other ponies to visit, and I can’t trust you to stay here, can I?”
740. Scootaloo raised a hoof to her chin and scoured the rest of Diamond Tiara’s estate. She took particular interest in a couple of trees that she had felled on her entrance. Even Diamond Tiara’s swing set and drinking well were looking particularly useful. She reached forward and plucked the various items from the floor, laying them out in front of her. Within seconds she had begun to dismantle the swing set, laying out two long lines of rope next to the wreck. Balancing the tree onto her hoof, she took the rope and loosely wrapped it around the tree. Next she put the tree back down and made sure that the rope was securely fastened to the tree, leaving the other end hanging free. She grabbed Diamond Tiara first by one of her back legs, and with some difficulty wrapped her leg in the other end of the rope. Silver Spoon was next to get tied up, but Scootaloo rewarded her for complying with her orders by being a little less rough when tying her leg up.
742. Scootaloo then raised the rope above her muzzle, balancing it on the tip of her snout. She then crossed to the drinking well and peered down it. She couldn’t see the bottom, but she was certain that there was some water down there. They never fully drained these for the coming winter months, there was always some at the bottom that got frozen and would take a long time to thaw in the summer. She picked the tree up and hovered it over the well, waiting until Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon both swung over the hole, before she placed the tree down. Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon were now trapped within the well, or at least until Scootaloo came back and continued with them.
744. “I’ll see you later, maybe then you’ll have come to your senses and accepted your place by then.”
746. And with that she was off, trotting happily back to town, where she could continue with getting to know her subjects better. She made a mental note to herself to go and get Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon out of the well, or at least tell someone where they were. It felt amazing to finally get revenge on the bullies; it was like a great weight had been taken from her shoulders. She hoped that upon her return Diamond Tiara would be much more susceptible to her commands, it was no fun trying to work with someone as defiant as her.
748. Back in town, Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, Applejack, raced over to Cheerilee’s home and rapped their hooves off the door. Unexpectedly, the door swung open off its own accord, revealing a frantic Cheerilee packing as much stuff as she could into a suitcase. She barely noticed the intrusion until she turned around to find the group standing there, gawking at her.
750. “What are you looking at? Haven’t you seen the mess outside?” she breathed.
752. “We know about that, Miss Cheerilee, an’ we need ya t’ come an’ help us fix it,” explained Apple Bloom. “But what are ya doin’ packin’ all ya stuff away?”
754. “Well I was uhm…never you mind about that, you were saying I could help?” she inquired.
756. “Well ah have a plan, but we need t’ see Twilight, an’ fast, before anythin’ else happens…” continued the filly.
758. “I still don’t see what I’m needed for…” replied a hesitant Cheerilee.
760. “Look, yer’ll jus’ have t’ trust me on this one, ah really don’ think ah have time t’ explain.”
762. “Fine, fine! Let’s just go, and hope that whatever solution you have will work,” replied Cheerilee as she brushed past the group, leaving her front door wide open as the group followed suit
764. Back at the well, things were starting to boil over in the form of tantrums. Diamond Tiara was annoyed that her master plan had flopped superbly, whilst also being subsequently angry at the fact that nobody had come to rescue her. A perfectly reasonable thing to be angry about but at the same time, it didn’t really venture far enough out of the realm of selfishness to seem valid. Silver Spoon on the other hoof had grown tired of listening to Diamond Tiara whine about how unfair things had been to her.
766. "It's not fair! Why didn't they work?!" bawled a little pink filly, as she hung like a bat, inside her drinking well.
768. "Maybe it just wasn't meant to be, DT," sighed the grey coated filly that hung next to her.
770. "No! I always get what I want! Always!" replied the pink filly.
772. "And I suppose you wanted to be hanging here, inside a drained well?"
774. "Will you just be quiet, Silver Spoon! I didn't see you coming up with any good ideas; you even chickened out when I offered you a chance to join in on my crowning achievement. What sort of a friend doesn't want to share the glory of their friends’ achievements?" shouted an infuriated Diamond Tiara.
776. Silver Spoon wasn't going to take that lightly, that was one of the most selfish things that Diamond Tiara had ever said, and she'd said some pretty cruel things. Silver Spoon couldn't be sure if it was the influx of blood that was rushing into her head, clouding her judgement, but she knew she meant every ounce of her next move. She swung one of her forehooves towards Diamond Tiara, striking her across the cheek. The force of the hit sent Diamond Tiara swinging backwards, bumping against the wall of the well.
778. "Share the glory? What glory? When have we ever gained any glory? Every time you make fun of another foal, or try to gain the upper hoof, you always come crashing down, bringing me along with you!"
780. Diamond Tiara fell silent, her body just swinging there, back and forth like a pendulum. The quiet creaking of the rope as it ground against the metal beam that hung there. Silver Spoon huffed loudly as she vented a little more quietly. The silence that hung in the air was punctuated every so often by a gentle dripping of water from within the bowels of the well. Every time a drip was heard it bounced around the confines of the stony prison, ringing in the ears of the fillies.
782. "Silver Spoon...." began Diamond Tiara.
784. "What?"
786. "I..."
788. Diamond Tiara paused for a second, still swinging back and forth albeit a lot less now. She took a deep breath and prepared to continue with her speech. But before she could even utter a single syllable, her hoof slipped a little, as the rope around her ankle loosened due to the constant swinging. She screamed as she dropped a little lower, the rope holding onto her for just a little while longer. Acting on a reflex, Diamond Tiara clung to Silver Spoon, holding on for her life.
790. The sudden act of grabbing hold of Silver Spoon relaxed Diamond Tiara, calming her just a bit. It was unfortunate however, that this level of calm could not be held as she slipped completely free from the rope. The increased downward pull that Diamond Tiara experienced as her lower body swung down beneath her upper body, dragged her down further. Unable to get a grip, Diamond Tiara thought she was done for, after all the only thing that could save her now, would be if by some miracle the floor of the well was a giant throw pillow. She closed her eyes, not wanting to see the floor once it rose to meet her.
792. Alas, finding out what the floor of the well was like, would have to wait. A pair of grey hooves clasped around one of Diamond Tiara's flailing limbs. Diamond Tiara timidly opened her eyes, everything was still dark, she wasn't floating in some heavenly white space. No, she was definitely still here, definitely stuck in the well. But how? What had saved her? The answer revealed itself in a dry, bored tone.
794. "I've got you..." muttered a somewhat unemotional Silver Spoon.
796. "Thanks..." replied Diamond Tiara.
798. "I didn't do it for you, I did it so I could hear what you had to say, now continue."
800. "What? You mean you value what I have to say, over my life?" spluttered Diamond Tiara.
802. "I think you're forgetting who has the upper hoof here, for once it's me, and I want you to continue with what you had to say, so continue."
804. Silver Spoon could feel the extra weight of Diamond Tiara starting to pull her free from the rope, yet she kept her harsh visage up. She was determined to get this answer from Diamond Tiara, she'd never seen her so worried, so frightened at what could happen. As Silver Spoon gazed into her friend's eyes she saw a reflection of herself. That spoiled brat that always got her own way, that made a living out of the misery of others. She saw that, and she realised how cruel she had been, how much of a bad influence Diamond Tiara had been.
806. As she slipped a little further, she began to understand that Diamond Tiara was experiencing something similar. That's what she wanted to hear from her, she wanted to hear her apologise. She couldn't even begin to think of letting go of Diamond Tiara, at least not until she heard that apology. All she was getting so far was silence, complete and utter silence. She loosened her grip a little, feeling the twitching sensation as Diamond Tiara tensed up from fear.
808. "Alright, alright, I'll tell you, just...just hold me a little tighter," began Diamond Tiara, hoarsely.
810. "Once you've finished explaining what you were going to say."
812. Silver Spoon's hoof suddenly slid to a point where it was being held in place only by the widest part of her hoof. The sudden jolt of movement as she dropped down didn't affect her that much, baring the fact that she was no hanging by the skin of her teeth. Diamond Tiara on the other hand, felt the full brunt of the drop. Gravity tugged at her tiny body, and with Silver Spoon holding onto her so lightly, she slipped free from her friend's grasp.
814. Silver Spoon flailed her forehooves to try and recapture Diamond Tiara, but it was no use, she had been hanging at the end of her hooves, and she couldn't reach any further than that. She watched on in horror, that previous expression of cruelty vanishing, as Diamond Tiara tumbled down into the darkness. As the last traces of her pink, tiny, filly body succumbed to the waiting shadows, Silver Spoon felt like she had lost one of the biggest parts of herself. It was true in a way, despite the bad influence that she realised Diamond Tiara had been, they were still the best of friends. Sure friends don't decide to act so cruel in life or death situations, but Silver Spoon was angry, surely Diamond Tiara understood that?
816. Diamond Tiara scrunched her eyes up tightly as she fell, partially to prevent them drying out as the air rushed past her, but also because falling in complete darkness messed with her vision a little. It was hard to tell if you were still falling in any direction, when all you have for reference are the darkened walls around you. She briefly pondered on the outcome of this fall, but after working out several grisly scenarios she thought it best to forget about it. She'd find out soon enough anyway, no point playing such a morbid guessing game.
818. Seconds ticked by, and Diamond Tiara had still not met her end. The well appeared bottomless, and she had been falling for what seemed like an eternity. Through her closed eyes she began to notice thin streams of light snaking their way across her eyelids. It was a strange occurrence, especially this far down, and she couldn't fathom where they were coming from. That was until she splashed down in some water, which was odd because she was sure the well had been drained.
820. She flailed around in the water, the sudden cool of the water providing a shock to her system. Her head slipped under the water, she unwillingly inhaled pints of water. Her flailing served up waves around her; they crashed overhead, submerging her once again. Her brain was forcing her to make some sense of the situation, trying to come to any rational reason so that she could slow down and focus. Soon her body fell into a sort of rhythm, she flailed a little less and a little more strategically. Her head rose above the water level, coughing and spluttering as she tried to clear her airways.
822. The first breath of fresh air to pass into her lungs felt like a godsend, it lingered in her lungs, soothing the burning sensations that had surfaced during her time underwater. She began to take in more and more mouthfuls of air; she found each new breath was more soothing and calming than the last. Her mind stopped racing, her limbs slowed to a perfectly natural swimming crawl and she made her way to the shallows around the edges. Her hooves scraped against the craggy surface concealed beneath the surface of the water. She hauled herself onto a rock shelf, lifting everything but her legs out of the water.
824. Well that was that, she had survived the fall, and now here she was, all alone in an underground water reservoir. Her forehooves came to rest on her slightly bloated stomach, all the liquids she had consumed sloshing together inside her belly. She burped loudly, the sudden expulsion of gas echoing around the cavern. Diamond Tiara sighed, she was just going to have to wait it out, either Silver Spoon would join her, or she'd be saved and hopefully tell the others where she was. That was what she hoped for, however given the way Silver Spoon had acted previously, it was unlikely that she wanted to save Diamond Tiara.
825. Diamond Tiara glanced around the abstract darkness that surrounded her, the more she thought about what lay in the darkness, the more she understood just how much she valued her peerage. She winced a little as she felt her back scraping up against the wall, the pointed rocks digging into her spine. Her hooves also started to slide down the sloped floor, so much so that she could feel water nipping at their undersides. Panicking, Diamond Tiara pushed herself backwards, but was stunned to find that she was already pressed as far back as she could possibly be, as she had been since she climbed out of the water. The water crept closer and closer to her, lapping at her rump, sloshing over her rear legs.
827. She couldn't comprehend what was happening, the water was climbing over her, but she couldn't hear any sources of external water. She scrabbled and scraped against the rocks, appearing to attempt to beat back the water. She felt a strange tightness surround her flanks, as though the rocks were squeezing her between them. She attempted to wriggle free, but the rocks held her in tight. She groaned as she experienced an odd pressure building up in her flanks, like a spring pushing down and down.
829. There was an audible rumble, followed by a dull cracking as the rocks that held her flanks in place split apart and tumbled into the water. Diamond Tiara couldn't believe it; her flanks had literally just split two rocks from the ground on which they resided. That begged the question, what was happening to her? The vials had proven to be useless and she hadn't taken anything else. She cast her mind back, back to when she had consumed her father's secret concoctions. There had to be some clue, a tiny hint that would help her understand. Then it clicked, she finally understood how this was possible. The chemicals she had ingested were meant for use with plants, and one of the fundamental things that plants need is water. It was no wonder the chemicals hadn't affected her straight away, they needed to be exposed to water for them to begin reacting.
831. Her neck already pressed onto the curves of the cavern, whilst her legs advanced further into the pool of water, the rest of her overflowing past the rocks. She leant forward, relieving some of the pressure on her back, though she continued to expand to fill the gaps. She carefully slid her rump up against the wall, extending her rear legs to support herself. She took a few steps forwards to allow herself more space, whilst simultaneously bringing herself towards the light that shone down the well. Already her thoughts had turned to revenge, mostly of returning to the surface so that she could get rid of that pathetic Scootaloo. But that wasn't the only thing on her mind, she needed to remind Silver Spoon of her place. Once she made it back to the surface she would make her pay for laying a hoof on her, and she'd make it a most degrading display. Her growth paused momentarily as her head bumped against the ceiling.
833. "What? Is this it?" roared Diamond Tiara. "This can't be it, I need to be bigger!"
835. As though by command, her stomach grumbled and growled and she exploded in height. Her head bashed against the ceiling, followed by rump, the ground beneath her rumbled, as though every time Diamond Tiara grew, it shook the world to its core. She could feel the ceiling pressing against her, trying in vain to hold back the titanic filly. She lusted for the moment that she burst through the floor, to see the looks of fear and surprise as she continued to grow beyond their comprehension.
837. "Come on, come on, bigger!" she screamed.
839. Several feet above the power mad Diamond Tiara, hung Silver Spoon, still debating over the conditions of her friend's unfortunate termination. It was during these thoughts that she heard a sound, a sound unlike most others. It was a roar, not the kind of roar that comes from a manticore or another dangerous creature. No, this one was more of pure bloodlust, like a battle cry of years gone by. She could hear audible words hidden amongst the fury that encased the sentence. It seemed like a fairly odd sentence, but once she heard the word 'bigger' she started to worry.
841. The walls around her began to shake, the vibrations travelled along to the rope holding her in place. Her hoof was tickled by the vibrations as they reverberated up and down the rope. But the happiness she received from the tickling was short lived, as the mortar between the bricks began to crumble, and the bricks themselves started to split. The well was starting to collapse; something down below was forcing its way out, it was definitely something big. Enough bricks and mortar on the left hand side of the well had now given way, and as a result Silver Spoon lurched to the left. She swung against the wall, slamming into it with great force. A part of the right hand side collapsed, chunks of stone splitting off and tumbling down into the darkness below. Silver Spoon swung back towards the right, her hoof slipping free of the rope, in exactly the same fashion as Diamond Tiara. Her body swung upwards, working off its final bit of momentum, before she too was swallowed up by the shadows.
843. The well continued to collapse around her, stone dust pinged from the walls, showering her in a hail of tiny projectiles. She brought her forehooves to her face, protecting it from any of the larger missiles that the well chose to throw at her. At this point she was welcoming a break from these attacks, and fortunately for her, the bottom of the well would provide that. Unfortunately however, she was never destined to reach the bottom of the well; even Silver Spoon herself had guessed that. If anything she was likely the end up inside the belly of the beast that was making its way up through the well.
844. She barely had time to dwell on that thought before she slammed right onto a soft, furred surface. Despite the softness of the surface, it still managed to knock the air straight from her lungs. She lay flat, her hooves wrapped around the fur that surrounded her. She in took whatever breath she could, her lungs burning with each pained breath. She tried to stand up, but the rate at which this thing was climbing was seriously impacting the intensity of the pressure bearing down on her. Silver Spoon just clung to the creature for dear life, occasionally craning her neck upwards to see how close to freedom she was.
846. Aboveground, Ponyville was experiencing its most powerful tremor of the day. Whilst they had experienced shockwave after shockwave from each step that Scootaloo had taken, this new tremor seemed to actually be coming from underground. Everyone could feel it, even Scootaloo paused her antics as she felt the ground rumble beneath her hooves. Most of the residents retreated inside, hoping that whatever it was that was on its way up, wouldn't take note of a seemingly deserted town. Scootaloo was too busy trying to pinpoint the noise to notice that her playthings were getting away. There was a cacophonous racket relaying the sounds of the ground beneath their hooves being torn asunder and uprooted. Scootaloo's ears pricked and twitched as she heard the noise, coming from the direction of Diamond Tiara's mansion home. If that turned out to be correct, the Scootaloo decided that it was probably just her latest way to try and run Scootaloo out of town, probably a giant pit or something. She'd go over and put an end to it soon enough, but for now she'd continue playing.
848. Diamond Tiara strained as she pushed her way through the ground layer of dirt. Growing her way through all the rock that had preceded it had proved to be quite demanding. The level of pressure she had felt build up on her had made her feel like she was going to be snapped in half. Of course her thoughts hadn't dwelled on this for long as the feelings of growth and power associated with it soon took her mind off it. The sound of thousands of blades of grass being sliced apart brought great pleasure to the filly, as did the dull thudding of the clumps of dirt as they smashed against the floor. Once her head had cleared the floor she inhaled heavily, fresh air rushed into her lungs, invigorating her. She raised her forehooves and placed them on the ridge of the hole. Pushing down on the stable surface, she pushed herself up, allowing her to climb out of the hole.
850. Her front garden was ruined, the sprawling grassland that it had once been; now an enormous gaping hole had tarnished its appearance. Not that Diamond Tiara cared; she had no use for these meagre possessions anymore, not even the mansion itself. If her father had problems with the state of the property, she would remind him that with a daughter this big, he could live anywhere he wanted. She stretched her various extremities, lowering her back so that her rump was closer to the floor. Silver Spoon rolled down her friend’s back, landing against thankfully solid ground. She backed away as Diamond Tiara got up to her hooves once more, looking out towards the landscape before her. Silver Spoon was grateful that she had refused to partake in Diamond Tiara’s scheme. She had known that there were risks associated with taking such chemicals; they’d been warned about enough through school. She should have tried to stop Diamond Tiara when she had the chance, now it was too late. This monster had been unleashed on the town, its only objective was revenge against some filly that wasn’t really worth her time.
852. Diamond Tiara took her first steps out of her garden, her hooves creating enormous craters in the floor. Each step caused a tremor to shake the ground below her, and while it didn’t seem to do much damage in the secluded area that she was in, once she got to town the results would be much worse. She smirked as she regained a little of her sense, soon Scootaloo and this town would learn who their real ruler was, and they would not soon forget it. Her pace quickened and the ground shook harder as her steps fell heavier with each passing second. From her elevated vantage point, she could see the town in the distance, and a distinctly large shape at its centre.
854. “Scootaloo…” she muttered under her breath.
856. The name of her foe was seared with a bitter taste in her mouth, but after this day was through, that would no longer be a problem. She bounded down towards the town, arriving on its outskirts, towering over the ponies, their homes, and even Scootaloo. She stomped a hoof into the grass, kicking up dirt and other kinds of filth. The buildings closest to her split apart and crumbled into the ground, causing the terrified citizens to become even more on edge. Scootaloo had been playing with them as though they were toys, but she hadn’t destroyed any of their homes, at least not on purpose. Yet here was this new challenger, already showcasing the type of giantess that she was going to be. She lumbered forward, delighting as her every step sent ponies flying in every direction, or just made them tremble and flee from her might.
858. Scootaloo was too busy playing with the townsfolk to notice anything out of the ordinary. After all, there was already one giant in town, so it wasn’t exactly easy to pick out another. She continued to play with her toys, blissfully unaware of what was awaiting her. She giggled like a child and trapped some of the fleeing citizens, blocking their escapes with her limbs. She lowered her head down to look at them, cocking it to the side as she saw the genuine fear that adorned their faces. They hadn’t been like this a few moments ago, come to think of it, they had been much more passive before. They had let her get on with what she wanted, use whoever she wanted as long as they were left unharmed at the end.
860. “What are you all so afraid of? Am I not a gentle ruler?” she asked.
862. Collectively, her captives raised a hoof forward, pointing at the filly that stood behind her, highlighting the source of their immediate distress. Scootaloo cocked her head sideways, turning it so that she could see behind her. What she saw made her stomach sink to the lowest possible depths. Diamond Tiara was approaching her, snorting heavily, like a bull as it prepared to charge its victim. Scootaloo got up, and turned to face her enemy, which was when she made yet another discovery. Diamond Tiara was about a proportional head bigger than her. The pink filly’s maw could be placed just above Scootaloo’s purple mane, making for a considerable size difference.
864. “What happened to you, Diamond Tiara?” asked Scootaloo, showing shock for the first time today.
866. “Oh I grew up. Wasn’t that the excuse that you gave? How does it feel to be the smaller pony again?” replied Diamond Tiara.
868. “Why are you here?” continued Scootaloo, ignoring all of Diamond Tiara’s questions.
870. “Revenge. See, now that I’m the bigger pony, I think it’s time you got down and started to bow and worship me. After all it would seem fair to degrade you in the same way that you degraded me.”
872. “I’d never worship you; you don’t deserve that kind of treatment. You don’t even deserve to be a god like me.”
874. “Such a shame, but if you won’t bow down and worship me, then there’s only one thing left to do.”
876. Without so much as a pause for breath, Diamond Tiara struck Scootaloo across the face with her hoof. The sheer power from the strike sent Scootaloo crashing down onto the floor, smashing into a few, thankfully empty, houses. Wooden beams and splinters pinned themselves to Scootaloo’s coat, mane and tail, as she lay there. She brushed her cheek and felt the heat radiate from the spot where Diamond Tiara’s hoof had struck. She got up and turned to face her attacker, eyes narrowed and her nostrils flared as she prepared to charge her assailant. She pelted forward, smacking Diamond Tiara squarely on the front, wiping that grin from her face as the two of them tumbled backwards.
878. Cheerilee pounded her hoof against the library door, just as the fighting broke out. The sounds of crushing wood filled the air, followed by screams from the ponies that were lost or confused. The whole town had descended into chaos; some ponies had fled the town during Scootaloo’s brief departure, whilst some hadn’t. The result had been that hundreds of ponies suddenly flooded onto the streets of Ponyville for Scootaloo’s return, and once she had them in her sights, they wouldn’t be able to get free.
880. “Twilight, open the door, it’s Cheerilee, we have an emergency on out hooves!”
882. The door of the library swung open to reveal a very panicked Spike. He had his claw in his mouth, biting away at his nails, nervously chewing them to oblivion. He ushered the ponies inside without so much as a word, mostly because all that could be said, could be seen in the area around them. The group huddled around the horsehead statue at the centre of Twilight’s library, their eyes fixated upon the purple unicorn as she skimmed through book after book, casting them aside once she was through with them.
884. “She’s been like that for a while now, trying to solve this problem,” piped up Spike.
886. “Has she found anythin’?” asked Applejack.
888. “Do you think she’d still be looking if she had?” replied Spike, sarcastically.
890. “Oh, it’s useless Spike, all I found was this one shrink spell, but it’s too complicated, I can’t pull it off if they’re going to keep fighting like this…”
892. “Twilight? Did ya happen t’ fin’ any growth spells in any o’ them books?” asked Apple Bloom.
894. “I found a few complex spells of that description, yes. But what would I need them for? Aren’t they what started this mess?” retorted Twilight.
896. “Ah’m not sure, but ah was thinkin’ that if we grew someone else, someone with authority over Scoots an’ Diamond Tiara, then maybe they could make ‘em calm down…”
898. “Grow someone with authority over children? Who in this town has that kind of authority, besides their parents?”
900. Everyone’s eyes shifted onto Cheerilee.
902. “Cheerilee, as a school teacher, you have authority over these children, would you care to volunteer yourself for Apple Bloom’s idea?” questioned Twilight.
904. “Can you promise me that no harm will come to townsponies from me being that size?” asked Cheerilee, cautiously.
906. “I could probably cast some sort of shielding spell, to stop you causing any immediate harm, if that answers your question.
908. “That’ll have to do, ok Twilight, cast the spell,” commanded Cheerilee.
910. “Ok, everypony be quiet, I need the utmost concentration for this.”
912. Everyone did as they were asked; Applejack took her hat off and held it over her mouth. Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle held onto each other, whilst Big Mac just did what he did best, said nothing and minded his own business. Twilight summoned her magic, and her horn began to glow with magic. Errant sparks shot from the end of her horn, a ball of light forming at the tip of the purple horn. Twilight was just about to cast the spell, when Scootaloo’s head crashed straight through the wall of the library. Startled, Twilight released the spell early, and in its weakened state it struck Scootaloo, causing her to grow. Everyone in the library made a dash for the exit, Apple Bloom and Scootaloo made it out first, with Twilight and Applejack second, and finally Cheerilee and Spike picking up the rear. The group watched in horror as the library was decimated under Scootaloo’s expanding form, and they found themselves having to step back to avoid meeting the same fate.
914. “My books!” yelled Twilight.
916. “My bed!” exclaimed Spike.
918. My goodness!” shouted Sweetie Belle.
920. “Twilight, do the spell, now!” barked Twilight.
922. Understand the urgency of the situation, Twilight readied herself and set about achieving the same state of mind as before. The ball of light once again blossomed at the tip of her horn, blooming bigger than before. Twilight lowered her teeth and pressed her teeth together as she fired it off, straight at Cheerilee. The bolt of light hit her square in the chest, and the effect was practically instantaneous. Right away she began to grow, first growing by a few inches, and then within seconds she was doubling and tripling in height. She quickly met the height of the fillies and soon surpassed it, she towered over them her shadow casting them both into darkness. The fighting momentarily stopped as then they tried to work out where exactly the sun appeared to have gone. Once they caught side of their gargantuan teacher, they both froze up. It had been perfectly fine when it was just the two of them being giants, but when their teacher got involved, well it might as well be game over. Cheerilee took both of the oversized fillies into her hooves and held them steady, lifting them just a little off the ground to ensure they didn’t move.
924. “Ready, Twilight?” boomed Cheerilee.
926. “Hold them steady and we’ll get this finished quickly,” replied Twilight, magically increasing the volume of her voice to one that Cheerilee could hear.
928. Cheerilee placed the two fillies down on the ground as Twilight cast the spell to revert them back to normal. Diamond Tiara shrunk first, looking upset and annoyed, until the realisation that her father was going to be furious with her set in, and then it just became sadness. Scootaloo on the other hand seemed to have regained her sense, and actually looked rather relieved that her rampage across the city had come to an end. Though the stern faces that surrounded her told her otherwise, she was probably in for a ton of lectures, not to mention the detentions she would be getting for tricking Cheerilee. Yet despite all that, it still seemed like it had all been worth it, and on the plus, she couldn’t see Silver Spoon and Diamond Tiara messing with her any time soon.
930. “Alright Cheerilee, you’re the last one, ready?” asked Twilight, eager to put this event behind them.
932. “Actually Twilight, if it’s alright with you, I might just stay this way a little longer, I’m starting to like it…”

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Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo lay in the glorious mid-morning sun, basking in the warmth of yet another beautiful day on Sweet Apple Acres. A gentle breeze blew from the north, rustling the grass beneath them, tickling them somewhat. Sweetie Belle giggled and squirmed a little, but the other two fillies remained still, eyes transfixed on the sky. “Uh, this is so boring. Can’t we go and do something? Anything at all?” whined Scootaloo. “Ah told ya Scoot, we’ve done everythin’ we can think of, an’ we ain’t got our Cutie Marks. Until we think o’ somethin’ else t’ do fer our Cutie Marks, we’re just gonna have t’ sit here…” replied Apple Bloom. “Ugh!” groaned the orange filly, rolling over onto her stomach. Her diminutive wings fluttered and twitched as each slow second passed and her boredom grew. “There must be something we could do!” Suddenly Sweetie Belle sat bolt upright, her mouth hanging open and her eyes twinkled with an inspired brightness. “I got an idea!” Scootaloo sprung to her hooves, she stood in front of Sweetie Belle, her face pressed unnaturally close to her. Hey eyes widened and glimmered with a hint of desperation. “What is it?” “Easy there, Scootaloo” muttered Apple Bloom as she pulled her excited friend back a few paces, giving Sweetie Belle some space. “What’s yer idea, Sweetie Belle?” “Why don’t we have a tea party?!” she squeaked. “A tea party, are you serious? I don’t want a Cutie Mark in that! I want it to be something cool, like racing!” exclaimed Scootaloo, thrusting her forehooves towards the sky, exaggerating her disappointment. “Whoa there, Scootaloo. She don’ mean it like that. She means hostin’ a tea party, an’ seein’ if we can get our Cutie Marks in that. Right Sweetie Belle?” “Uh, y-yeah” replied the white filly, caught completely off guard by Scootaloo’s angry outburst. “I should’ve been clearer…” The three fillies stood there in silence, Apple Bloom stood between Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle. Scootaloo had her back to the group, deep in thought, whilst Sweetie Belle had taken a few steps further back, just in case Scootaloo let loose another outburst. They three of them remained there in hushed silence, before Scootaloo piped up. “I suppose it’s a good idea, we haven’t tried hosting anything yet…” She turned to look at her friends, or rather looked at Apple Bloom and hoped that Sweetie Belle was listening. “Fine…let’s host a tea party.” Replied the orange filly with a tone that reflected her lack of enthusiasm, but her friends didn’t care. “So where will we host it?” Everyone’s attention now fell upon Sweetie Belle, hoping that she had a few more ideas to go along with thinking up the idea. Sweetie Belle tapped a hoof against her chin, obviously not prepared for being put on the spot like this. She stared at her friends, still deep in thought, and her friends stared back, their looks somewhat impatient. “Well, why don’ we host it in th’ barn?” chipped in Apple Bloom, hoping to alleviate some of the pressure from Sweetie Belle. “Ah’m sure Applejack wouldn’t mind if we use it fer a bit.” “Oh and I can ask Rarity for some decorations, to make things look a little more authentic!” chirped Sweetie Belle, revealing the fruits of her excessive thinking. Scootaloo stuck out her tongue in disgust at the thought of the decorations that Sweetie Belle would get. So many bright and gaudy colours it would be sickening to lay your eyes upon. She sighed heavily, the sooner this whole tea party was over with, the sooner they could get to doing more awesome things. “So, Apple Bloom’s going to ask Applejack to use the barn, Sweetie Belle’s going to get decorations, so what am I going to do?” questioned Scootaloo. “Well if this is gonna be a tea party, we’re gonna need some tea. Maybe ya could come with me t’ see Zecora, see if she can mix us up somethin’” replied Apple Bloom. “I’ll go see Rarity right now, whilst you two go and see Applejack and Zecora. Then Apple Bloom and I will meet at the barn in a few hours?” inquired Sweetie Belle. Apple Bloom and Scootaloo nodded, and the white filly gave a squeak of approval and then bounded off back to Ponyville. Apple Bloom watched her go, before she turned tail and made for the Apple family home. Scootaloo begrudgingly followed, still faking all the enthusiasm she had for this activity. As luck would have it, the two fillies happened upon Applejack as she was setting off to check on the apple stock held in the barn. “Applejack!” shouted Apple Bloom chasing her sister, Scootaloo hot on her trail. “What in tarnation…?” asked Applejack, “Where are ya goin’ in such a hurry, sis?” “We were hopin’ t’ catch ya, sis. We need t’ ask if we could use th’ barn fer our tea party” responded Apple Bloom promptly. “A tea party? That’s awfully unlike you, what made ya want t’ have a tea party?” “We’re trying to get our Cutie Marks for hosting a party and a tea party is apparently the best we can manage” Scootaloo added, dryly. Applejack tapped a hoof against her chin. The barn was no place for a small filly tea party; there were dangerous tools within reach, bales of hay stacked loosely atop one another. Plus that was where she held all the apple orders until their buyers came to collect them. Then again the counterpoint to this would be that they held Pinkie’s birthday party in there, and the barn had proved to be a surprisingly safe place. She looked at the two fillies in front of her, two fillies out of a trio that have an affinity for getting into dangerous or complicated situations. Apple Bloom could see the doubt in her sister’s eyes, she was assuming they were going to get into some sort of trouble. “Ya know it’s just a tea party right? Just the three of us sittin’ at a table talkin’ and drinkin’ tea.” Applejack stopped for a moment, her little sister was right; it was just a little tea party. They wouldn’t be near any of the tools, or playing on the hay bales. The only thing they might mess with was the apples, but they could be moved into the house for the time being. “Alright Apple Bloom, ya can have th’ barn, but not today, ah gotta move some things outta there first” smiled Applejack. “S’alright sis, we weren’t ready t’ use it yet. Is tomorrow ok?” Applejack nodded and turned around to head back to the house, to rouse Big McIntosh from his midmorning nap. Scootaloo watched her leave, part of her wishing that Applejack had refused to let them use the barn. She sighed heavily and looked back to find Apple Bloom already racing down towards Ponyville. “Hey Apple Bloom, wait for me!” The orange filly chased after her friend, calling out her name and orders to slow down and wait. A cloud of dust and dirt swirled around her hooves as she kicked up profound quantities of the particles. Apple Bloom didn’t seem to listening, and Scootaloo was having a hard time deciding if it was from ignorance or the distance between them. Oh if only she had her scooter, she’d be down to her friend in seconds. She pushed herself a little harder and started to make up the sizeable gap between the two fillies. This was more like it, the wind rushing through her mane, the scenery passing by in a blur. This was what she was accustomed too, it all felt so much more natural to her. Her eyes no longer focused on Apple Bloom, they focused instead on the ground in front of her, pole position in this little race. She didn’t even take notice of Apple Bloom’s sudden stop; she was firmly stuck in race mode. “Heh, ah beat cha’ slowpoke!” That rustic southern accent was lost on the racing filly, her thoughts and vision was nothing more than a blur. She charged along, he tiny wings fluttering frantically, simulating a race on a scooter. She imagined herself like her idol, Rainbow Dash, charging along breaking through all kinds of speed records. She was lost in a haze of adrenaline and rapid energy transfers, which unfortunately meant she didn’t notice that Apple Bloom had ceased moving. “Hey Scoots, ya can stop now, we’re done racin’!” The words zipped past Scootaloo’s ears, her brain only registering a few of the words. Stop? She didn’t want to stop, she wanted to go, she had to go so fast and come out as the winner. Apple Bloom realised that Scootaloo wasn’t going to slow down in time to avoid a collision, so she did the only thing she could think of, she started running away. Though try as she might, the little farm filly couldn’t match the pace and stamina of her friend. Her legs soon tired and she began to stumble, huffing and panting as she struggled onwards. Scootaloo saw her chance to pull ahead, and she wasn’t going to avoid it, she charged full pelt into Apple Bloom, sending the two of them tumbling to the floor. Dust and dirt clouded around the two ponies as they spiralled across the floor, skittering to a halt a few feet away from the crash site. “What’d ya do that for?! Ah told ya we’d stopped racin’!” yelled Apple Bloom, struggling to her hooves. Scootaloo remained silent, now that she had a clear head, she distinctly recalled Apple Bloom mentioning that. She helped Apple Bloom to her hooves, noticing the deep grazes she had sustained on her forelegs. She held her tongue, just in case it was nothing serious, but the moment Apple Bloom put her hoof to the ground, she knew it was serious. The yellow filly yelped and contracted the most afflicted leg, standing with her face contorted to show an expression of pain and anger. Apple Bloom’s features smoothed a little, she couldn’t stay mad at Scootaloo, and she knew how engrossed in racing Scootaloo was. “Come on, ah think ah can make it t’ Zecora’s.” Apple Bloom hobbled slowly ahead of Scootaloo, making for the Everfree Forest. “Jus’ remember t’ be a bit more careful next time. Ah mean what if ya had been a bigger pony? Ya coulda crushed me.” Scootaloo walked beside her friend with the intention to catch her should she fall down. She forced a smile, but behind that smile she was mentally beating herself up. Apple Bloom’s words swam through her head, conflicting with the thoughts they found there. Scootaloo had always secretly enjoyed the feelings of being the dominant individual, the alpha as it were. It’s why she was always quick of the mark to defend her friends or a topic. If she was successful she would bring her opponents down to size, though many of them held one thing over her. They were the bigger ponies, whether it was an inch or a few feet, they were taller. Scootaloo longed to equal that height or maybe even beat it, and then she would be able to be the alpha all the time. However Apple Bloom’s comments about her being the bigger pony were starting to break that perfect logic. What if she ended up bigger than her friends? Would they still play with a freakishly tall mare? Could they? She hadn’t really thought about it, but now, the thought of losing her friends was lingering in her mind. “Hey Scoots? Ya listenin’?” Apple Bloom waved a hoof in front of her friends’ face, repeating her question. Scootaloo shook her head, dismissing her deep thoughts for now. “Huh, what?” “Ah knew ya weren’t listenin’, ya had th’ same look when Miss Cheerilee was talkin’ t’ ya. An’ ya were walkin’ kinda like a zombie, real slow an’ awkward.” “Hey I always pay attention to Miss Cheerilee, except maybe that time, and that time before that. As for the way I was walking, well I was trying to stay close to you!” retorted Scootaloo, defensively. “Suuuure ya were. Anyway, ah was tryin’ ta tell ya what ta be careful on the way t’ Zecora’s. Do ah have ta repeat mahself? Scootaloo nodded sheepishly, prompting a tired sigh from Apple Bloom. “Ya have t’ be careful of a light blue flower that’s called Poison Joke. Now it won’t do ya any harm, but it’ll do some right funny things ta ya. Why ah remember when it shrunk mah own sister! An’ seein’ as how there’s a lotta blue flowers in th’ Everfree, ah’ll point it out if we see any. Second, ah’m sure ya remember th’ cockamathingy that Fluttershy took care of right? Well ah’ve heard much worse walkin’ to and from Zecora’s. So ah suggest ya follow the path ah’ve made, if ya want t’ make it back in one piece. An’ lastly it can get pretty dark in there, so ah need ya t’ stay close t’ me at all times, ya got it this time?” Scootaloo nodded, and the two of them ventured forward into the foreboding darkness of the forest. Their bodies cut through long grass with quick ‘swish’, and their hooves thumping softly against the forest floor. Scootaloo was surprised at how quickly Apple Bloom navigated the route; it was like she’d done this a thousand times before. Her limping seemed almost non-existent, and Scootaloo would happily believe that if she hadn’t already seen it first-hand. They began to delve deeper into the forest, gaps in the overhead canopy becoming less and less frequent. Scootaloo was sure she could feel something following them, watching them from the darkness, it was quite frankly unnerving. Though she still kept her eyes on Apple Bloom’s swaying tail, it was just about the only thing Scootaloo could make out in the darkness. Vines occasionally swung low from the branches brushing against the petrified filly’s rump, causing her to get a fright. She held her tongue, lest she show any signs of weakness in the presence of her friend. Eventually after what seemed like an eternity of walking, the two fillies emerged into a clearing, at the centre of which, stood a small wooden shack. Two small circular windows bled light onto the dreary darkness, inviting the two fillies to rest in its sanctuary. Apple Bloom was first to the door, whilst Scootaloo peeked through the windows. Inside the shack was certainly much less inviting than the outside. Various masks and trinkets adorned the walls; the faces carved into masks seemed emotionless, despite each of them showing a smile or a grimace. At the centre of the shack stood a set iron cauldron, frothing and bubbling with eerie aura. Behind the cauldron stood the one they call Zecora. She appeared to be rummaging through a collection of bottles, possibly looking for the latest ingredient to add to the strange brew. Apple Bloom rapped a hoof against the door, and Zecora lifted her head up, her ears pricked to attention. Scootaloo watched as she crossed to the door, opening it a crack and peering outside. Realising that she should now be stood with Apple Bloom, the Pegasus filly left the window, and took up her place at Apple Bloom’s side. “Heya Zecora!” chirped Apple Bloom. “Apple Bloom, what a nice surprise,” her attention turned to Scootaloo. “But who is this before my eyes?” Scootaloo looked up at the Zebra mare, taking in her mysterious figure. “My name’s Scootaloo…” “Why Scootaloo, it is a pleasure to meet you,” came the soft, rhyming reply of the Zebra. “Apple Bloom is that a graze I see? Do you seek a remedy?” “Actually Zecora, we were wonderin’ if ya could mix us up some tea?” “You seek not a remedy, but instead simple tea?” “Yup! We’re hostin’ a tea party, an’ fer that we need tea! Ain’t that right Scootaloo?” Scootaloo smiled back, whilst Apple Bloom took over conversation. Scootaloo continued to look over the unique figure of the Zebra. She marvelled at the intricate pattern of white and black stripes, it seemed so bizarre to her, probably because she was so used to seeing pastel coloured ponies. The mark on Zecora’s flank caught the filly’s eye, was that the Zebra version of a Cutie Mark? She felt like she should ask but at the same time, if it were just a Cutie Mark, she knew enough of those already. “Did ya hear that Scootaloo?” Apple Bloom’s voice faded into earshot, interrupting Scootaloo’s thought processes for the second time that day. “Uh no, I was looking at things…” “Zecora said she’s a bit busy right now, but she could whip us up somethin’ fer tomorrow, one of us will just have t’ collect it an’ bring it back t’ th’ barn.” Apple Bloom paused for a moment before continuing. “Ya think you’ll be up t’ it?” “Me? Why do I have to come back?” Scootaloo pointed a hoof at herself, reaffirming the already obvious point that she was talking about herself. “Well ah’m gonna be helpin’ Sweetie Belle with the decoration, t’ make sure everythin’ is ready so we can do this as soon as possible. Isn’t that what ya wanted?” Truth be told, Scootaloo did want this over with, and the sooner it was over with the sooner they could get to the cool stuff. She sighed, and reluctantly shook her head up and down. “Great! Ya can come an’ pick it up straight after class tomorrow! Ah’m sure Zecora will be here then.” Apple Bloom took a few steps away from the shack, twisting on her hooves to face Scootaloo. The two stared at one another, one trying to gage what the other wanted. “Well don’ just stand there Scoot, ah need t’ get back t’ the farm an’ wait fer Sweetie Belle” Scootaloo nodded and crossed over to her friend, turning back to give a farewell smile to Zecora. She would have been quite happy to stay and learn more about Zecora, but despite that curiosity, she wasn’t going to stick around if Apple Bloom wasn’t present. “I’ll be seeing you Apple Bloom, and until tomorrow, Scootaloo,” chimed Zecora, once again in rhyme. The Zebra watched the fillies as they trotted off into the overgrown vegetation, before heading back into her shack. The pair of fillies made it back through the dense growth of the forest, emerging just a little to the right of where they had entered. It hadn’t been long since they had left the farm, but they knew it wouldn’t have taken long Rarity to had Sweetie Belle some designs and send her back to Sweet Apple Acres. The two casually made their way back into town, Apple Bloom’s limp starting to worsen a little, though she vehemently denied any hindrance it produced. They stopped and stood at the road leading out of town and back to Sweet Apple Acres. “Well ah guess ah’ll see ya tomorrow, Scoot. Jus’ don’ forget t’ go an’ see Zecora fer that tea, or else we’ll have t’ wait until Applejack lets us use th’ barn again.” “Don’t sweat it Apple Bloom, I’ll be sure to pick it up after class, then I’ll meet you and Sweetie Belle at the barn. Then we can finally get this tea party out of the way, and move onto something cooler.” Apple Bloom gave a final nod of her head, her final response on the matter, and made haste on her course for Sweet Apple Acres. Scootaloo took a much more leisurely course as she made her way home; after all she had plenty of time to spare. She contemplated studying for Miss Cheerilee’s class in the morning, but frankly scooter racing was much more appealing. Her wings fluttered a little in anticipation of getting the workout they deserved. Meanwhile, Apple Bloom found herself just passing through into Sweet Apple Acres territory, on a direct course for the barn. She slowed her pace to one where her limp was less noticeable, but was relatively painless. The barn drew closer, and with it came coloured blobs that filled out and stiffened into the shapes of her family. Though there was one anomaly, a small, white blob, with daubs on pink and purple on its tip. Of course once Apple Bloom drew level with the blob, it too stiffened into a more solid frame, one that resembled her good friend, Sweetie Belle. “Apple Bloom? Back already? I thought we agreed that you’d be back in a few hours, you’ve been gone just under an hour,” squeaked a somewhat surprised Sweetie Belle. “Well would ya like me t’ run a few laps around town t’ spend that last hour?” replied a sarcastic Apple Bloom. “Or would ya rather ah stayed an’ we got started?” There was a hushed silence, as Sweetie Belle held her tongue, instead gesturing into the barn. Apple Bloom took point, leading the way into the barn, where hundreds upon thousands of decorations, were piled at the back of the barn. “Uh Sweetie Belle, ain’t this a bit much?” “You’re telling me! Rarity had me rope Applejack and Big Macintosh in to help make three round trips! Three!” exclaimed Sweetie Belle, as she gestured to Apple Bloom’s family members. Apple Bloom peered past her friend to see Big Macintosh stretching his limbs, whilst Applejack stretched both her limbs and back. AJ looked the worse of the two, though it was to be expected, Big Macintosh was the stronger member of the Ponyville Apple family. Though Apple Bloom was certain that they would be grumbling about what Rarity put them through for a long time after this day. “Would Rarity be disappointed if ya brought some o’ this stuff back?” queried Apple Bloom. “Probably.” Sweetie Belle held her hoof out, flicking it back and forth in a way that mimicked her sister’s own motions. “Why Sweetie Belle, of course this is necessary! All of this is required to spruce up that…less than fashionable barn!” continued Sweetie Belle, making a mockery of her sister’s classy tone and attitude. “Ah see,” replied Apple Bloom as she kicked an escaped lacy ribbon back into the pile. The pair looked at the pile of assorted decorations, and then back at each other, and then back at the mountain of fabric. The pair of them hoped that Scootaloo was going to miraculously turn up and help them sift through this enormous task. Alas that was unlikely as Scootaloo was no mind reader and they had already mentioned that it would Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle on their own. “Ah guess we should git started then, huh?” sighed Apple Bloom, leaning in to inspect the pile, picking up a few lightly coloured ribbons to start with. “I guess so, hopefully there won’t be much to take back. I don’t want to have to do three trips again,” replied Sweetie Belle. The two fillies started sorting through the decorations, tossing aside lace, ribbons, doilies, and other fabrics that were likely to use. The pile slowly diminished as time progressed and two separate piles sprung up, each one piled high with a bright coloured assortment of fabrics. The two fillies sat next to their own piles of decorations, each wondering if they had actually sorted anything or just managed to split the original into two. “This is gonna be a long day…” mumbled a reluctant Apple Bloom as she gazed around the barn, visualising just how long it was going to take to spruce up the place. **** The next day was a school day and as such, Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo found themselves enjoying a playtime break. As they merrily pranced around with the other ponies, and engaged in activities befitting such a beautiful day, one would struggle to believe that they were actually in school. That was until the school bell rang out across the playground, signalling an end to their joyous times of the youth. As Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo left the lush greenery of the playing field, they discussed the plan once more. “So after class, Scootaloo will be headin’ t’ th’ Everfree Forest t’ go an’ see Zecora. Then Sw-“ “Ugh, come on Apple Bloom, this is like the fourth time you’ve went through this thing. I think we’re clear on what to do by now” interjected Scootaloo. The trio pushed pashed the schoolhouse double doors and entered the hallways, which acted as a sort of conduit, delivering the students to their lessons. Strewn along the walls were doors, each leading into a separate classroom which often dealt with specialist subjects or on occasion a whole host of different subjects and topics. “Ah just wanna be certain that we all know what we’re doin’. We don’ want anythin’ t’ go wrong” retorted Apple Bloom. The three fillies passed the corridors, ignoring the postered educational tips that littered the walls, or pinned to noticeboards, their bright colours and large lettering failing to attract the attention of the youngsters. Soon the three friends arrived at a crossroads in the hallway, and would have to part ways, and each had a class down the separate hallways. They bid farewell to one another, and just as they were about to leave, Miss Cheerilee poked her head out of her door and called out to them. “This way girls, all fillies are getting a special lecture, whilst the colts will get there’s tomorrow.” She explained, whilst beckoning them into her classroom. Puzzled, the three fillies proceeded into Cheerilee’s classroom. Scattered around the room were the fillies from all the other classes, all sharing the same puzzled expressions. Apple Bloom took up her usual seat in-between Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon, whilst Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo took seats at the back of the class. Cheerilee shut the door gently and made her way to her desk. Behind her on the blackboard was a couple of crude drawings of what appeared to a filly at various stages of her life, with the final drawing representing a fully grown mare. She lifted a pointer stick from her desk and rapped it against the blackboard, drawing the curious fillies’ attention to the board. “Now,” began Cheerilee, “today is a special day, because you’ve all reached the point in your lives where you’ll start to experience changes to your bodies.” The class uttered an enthusiastic ‘oooh’ apart from Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon, who looked like they had already had this talk before. They instead chose to groan, audibly showing their joint displeasure. “As part of an educational requirement, you have to be taught about each and every one of these changes. However, before we start, I imagine a lot of you are confused about the splitting up of the classes.” Cheerilee paused, and a few of the students bobbed their heads in answer to her question. Cheerilee even overheard them chatting amongst themselves as they realised the lack of colts present in the room. “The answer is simple, whilst a lot of these changes are shared between colts and fillies, there are some that are unique. So to avoid embarrassing each other we’ve split you up and assigned a separate day for your special talks.” A loud ringing swept through the air and the heavy, thunderous roar of tiny hooves added to the cacophony of noise. Everyone in Cheerilee’s classroom turned their gaze towards the windows, watching as the colts swarmed onto the playground. “As you can see, their lessons have been rescheduled for this talk to take place, but don’t fret you’ll get the same treatment when their talk begins, tomorrow. Now if you’ll pay attention to the board, we can begin.” The class of fillies regrettably craned their heads back towards the board, trying not to focus on the playtime happening outside. “Now can anyone tell me the main difference between these two images?” asked Cheerilee as she tapped a hoof against the image of the filly and the image of the adult mare. “Oh! Oh! Oh! Mith Cheerilee!” came a voice from the class. “Yes, Twist? What is it?” “They’re taller!” replied the crème pony. “That’s right, Twist. Typically a fully grown adult mare will be bigger than a filly, except in semi-rare cases, where the filly is found to grow very little, or sometimes not at all. We refer to this act of size change, simply as growth, and it happens to be the most noticeable change that you will experience during this time. As I previously mentioned, some of you will grow a little bit, and some of you may grow to be as big as Celestia herself!” Suddenly the faces of the little fillies lit up, everybody smiling gleefully as they imagined such a possibility. Though none looked as happy as Scootaloo, for the orange filly, being as tall as Celestia would be a dream come true, nobody would dare question or talk back to a mare that was taller than most stallions. Even Rainbow Dash, her idol, would step back in awe of that taller Scootaloo. “However, it’s unlikely that many of you will reach such a towering height, as the average mare stands around a few inches shorter than the average stallion.” “Miss Cheerilee, mah brother is a pretty big stallion, bigger than most ah reckon’. Is it normal fer him t’ be so big? I mean he’s more than a few inches taller than mah sister, an’ ah think she’s pretty average,” queried Apple Bloom. As Cheerilee set about asking answering Apple Bloom’s question, Scootaloo felt her heart sink. Maybe being as tall as Celestia was just going to have to stay as a mere fantasy. She probably wouldn’t even make it taller than Rainbow Dash. She was doomed to live her life suffering through names like ‘squirt’. She sighed as she began to tune back into Cheerilee’s lesson. “I hope that answered your question Apple Bloom. Now moving on, apart just getting taller, you’ll find that you will start to develop strange feelings and emotions. Whilst most are the regular emotions such as happiness, sadness and such, there are a few new ones. One of these tells you that your body is, what is commonly referred to as, ‘being in season’. The expression of the class changed to one of puzzlement at the term ‘in season’. OF course Cheerilee was expecting their response; after all she’d be concerned if some of them had already heard about the term and what it encompasses. She’d probably have to have a small talk with some of the parents in question, but for now she explained further. “Now I imagine that you’re wondering how that feels. Well it starts of almost like a feeling of love, but it’s a lot faster. You feel like you need to find a stallion, quickly. And in order to find a stallion in such a short time, a mare uses a specific scent to alert the stallion to the needs of the mare, which the stallion quickly fixes.” “But Miss Cheerilee, where does this scent come from? Is it like perfume? Because my sister has a lot of perfume, is she in season too?” asked a confused Sweetie Belle. “The scent is produced because of the mare’s increased drive for love and actually works like a perfume, but it actually comes from…” The class recoiled in horror, echoing a loud ‘ewww’ for extra effect, some even going so far as to feign gagging noises, if only for comedic effect. “…though I wouldn’t worry about that yet, my little ponies. It’ll be a couple of years before you’ll get your first season. However whilst we’re on the subject, you’ll find that as your body changes and grows, you’ll find yourself able to carry foals…” The class once again showed their distaste as Cheerilee guided them, through the ‘How Babies are made’ routine. Eventually the class came to an end and some were grateful to see the back of it. “Can you believe that colts put that in there? I mean did you see how big it was? And Miss Cheerilee said that was below average!” exclaimed one of the students. “Well haven’t you heard the rumours? They say that Snails’ has already started gowing! It’s apparently way above the average for his age!” replied what was most likely her friend. “Really? Well he’s not going to be trying anything with me; I don’t want to be split in two.” The two fillies shared a giggle and walked off, just as the CMC entered into the hallway. “Ah can’t believe that’s where foals come from, an’ t’ think we came from there an’ all! AJ always told me that foals were created from th’ love of a mare an’ a stallion, an’ then brought from th’ sky by a Pegasus,” muttered Apple Bloom, looking somewhat traumatised. “I-it all makes s-sense, Rarity…all those s-stallions…so many ni-nights…” mumbled Sweetie Belle, looking probably the worst out of the three fillies. “I think I’m going to go and get that tea, just in case Cheerilee calls us back to talk about something else,” mumbled Scootaloo as she made for the schoolhouse exit, leaving Apple Bloom to console Sweetie Belle. That afternoon in Equestria, the sun beat down on Scootaloo’s orange furred back. The distinct scent of fresh grass wafted into her nostrils, and she casually sniffed the air, drinking in more of natures’ natural aromas. Around her, tiny creatures scurried about, weaving in and out of her legs as they frolicked together. As Scootaloo approached the edge of the Everfree Forest, everything seemed to draw to a standstill. The creatures playing at her hooves scurried away as though trying to hide from the omnipotent presence of the forest. An unidentifiable chill hung in the air, washing over Scootaloo as it crept forth seemingly from the depths of the forest itself. Scootaloo inhaled, the fur on her back and neck starting to stand on end as she took a care, yet shaky step forward. Her coat brushed up against the dry, crackling weeds that adorned the foreground of the Everfree. She shuddered at the thought of how alone she was, how Apple Bloom wouldn’t be there to help her if she got lost. Her friends would be the only ones who would know of her location, but would they think to look for her? She sighed and looked at the floor; there she saw tiny hoofprints, worming their way into the forest. She held out her hoof and placed it into the print. A perfect match. Though she couldn’t discern between them being Apple Bloom’s or her own, she felt a hint of courage return to her. She didn’t need to remember the route, she could just follow the prints and they’d lead her straight to Zecora’s hut. Sure it wasn’t a perfect plan, but it eased her nerves, hoping that this could get her to where she needed to be and with minimal fuss too. She kept her gaze on the prints and took a few more steps into the forest, each time making sure her hoof fit in to the print. She took a few more steps, until she worked out the pattern of the hoof prints, and felt herself starting up a stride. The further into the forest she went, the darker it got, and the darker it got, the harder it became to see those prints. Scootaloo began to squint, just missing the next print in the trail by a few millimetres, starting to veer off the track, little by little. Her head bumped into something soft and smooth, and she stopped dead, her head still gazing at the floor as she daren’t look up. She remained stood there for what seemed like an eternity, but once she noticed that she wasn’t being mauled or growled at, she begun to lift her head. A brown hooded cloak covered the body of the creature that she had rear ended. She lift her head higher still, now coming to rest on the hood that hid the face of the creature. A black and white striped snout poked out from the shadows that the hood created, causing Scootaloo to breathe a sigh of relief, chalking this one encounter up to luck. “Zecora!” exclaimed Scootaloo ecstatically. “Scootaloo I do believe, is it herbal tea you’ve come to retrieve?” “Yeah, the sooner I get this tea, the sooner I can get out of here,” replied Scootaloo, as she casually checked over her surroundings. Zecora put up her hood and gestured towards a path leading off from the clearing. “Through here is the way, but are you sure you will not stay?” “I promised the others I’d be back as quickly as I can, so I can’t hang around. Though, where did you leave the tea? Or for that matter, what am I looking for?” “Next to my cauldron are some bottles of blue…hm, maybe I should come with you?” Scootaloo ignored that particularly broken rhyme and shook her head. “No, it’s fine, so it’s just a blue bottle next to your cauldron? Easy!” Before Zecora could speak another word, Scootaloo raced off into the distance, her little filly form, disappearing into the darkness. As she approached the hut, the darkness around her began to fade, bathed in an ominous mix of yellows and greens. Scootaloo was pleased to see the back of the darkness, for the time being at least. Scootaloo drew closer to Zecora’s hut, catching glimpses of the familiar interior through the windows. She took one last look at the surrounding area before reaching out a hoof to the door; she tapped against the wood, expecting to hear Zecora’s reply from the other side. Instead she was greeted with silence, given that she had just met the zebra in the forest. The door let out a loud, dry creak as it swung open on its makeshift hinges. An empty cauldron sat at the centre of the room, and on a stool next to it, sat two blue potion bottles. Scootaloo approached the stool, eyeing up the two bottles, he eyes flitting from one to the other. “Hm, I guess this is why Zecora wanted to come back too…” The two bottles were exactly the same, square based, about five inches tall and corked with a glass stopper that matched the blue exterior of the bottle. They stood there, one of them containing the tea that Scootaloo came to collect, the other containing some completely unknown substance. Scootaloo approached the bottles, eyeing them up, almost as if she expected them to spring to life and reveal which one was the one she needed. Alas, no such event came to pass; instead they stood defiant, leaving Scootaloo to work out a more reasonable solution. It occurred to her that she could just take the bottle back to Zecora, but she’d be damned if she was going back out into that forest without the intentions of leaving it straight away. She pondered a little longer, still engaged in a staring contest with the inanimate bottles. She was looking for some way to tell them apart without tasting them. Looks weren’t going to help, she was unlikely to be able to hear a difference, nor could she feel a difference. That just left her sense of smell, and it showed promise. She took the first bottle in her hooves, and gripped the stopper between her teeth. She eased out the stopper and a bitter scent poured out from the neck of the bottle. She inhaled it deeply, and recoiled in disgust, there was no way this was the tea, she just couldn’t drink something as bitter as this. She quickly slipped the stopper back in and held her hooves against her snout, waiting for the scent to dissipate. She placed the bottle on the stool and picked up the other bottle. She repeated the previous process and sniffed the contents of the bottle. A luscious, gentle scent poured into her nostrils, smothering the insides like a blanket of smooth velvet. She sighed as she inhaled more, becoming intoxicated just from this delectable aroma. She regrettably placed the stopper back into the bottle and sighed once more. She had the tea, now all she needed to do was bring it to her friends, and they could get this party over with. She headed back to the door, and slipped outside. The door eerily shut itself, groaning with a familiar creak, as Scootaloo began to walk back to where she had found Zecora. She felt oddly confident on the walk back, maybe it was the fact that she never had to come here again, or maybe she was just feeling smug for solving such a complex situation by herself. She didn’t care, she just trotted along, ignoring all the sounds that came from deeper into the forest, and before she knew it, she was basking in the afternoon sun. With the bottle still clamped tightly between her teeth, she continued her easy pace, taking care to be wary of any sort of pratfall that might cause her to spill the liquid. Ponies that passed her gave her strange glances, some even pondering whether or not to seize the bottle from her, just in case it was a dangerous substance. Thankfully she didn’t happen upon any ponies that would have acted out this moral obligation, and her journey back to Sweet Apple Acres was largely uninterrupted. She did occasionally stop to remove the bottle from her mouth, allowing her jaw some time to rest and readjust before she popped the bottle back into her maw and set off, once more. Upon returning to Sweet Apple Acres, she found her friends already there, eagerly anticipating her arrival. She was guided back to the barn, where upon seeing the decorations Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle had put up, her jaw would have dropped, was it not currently being stretched by the bottle. She was led over to a small, makeshift, table, where she popped the bottle from her maw, and placed it onto the table. Her friends then gathered around the table, eyeing up the bottle with the same suspicious stare that Scootaloo had given it, minutes earlier. “Would you be so kind as to pour the tea, Apple Bloom?” requested Sweetie Belle, putting on her best class act. “Why certainly, mah dear Sweetie Belle, Ah’d be delighted!” replied Apple Bloom, her thick southern accent bleeding into her classy tone. She proceeded to remove the stopper from the bottles, discarding it to one side, before picking up the bottle. She tipped the bottle towards Scootaloo’s cup, serving to her left, as was a dinner, and by association tea, party custom. What flowed from the bottle was a grey, gloopy, liquid; it flowed sluggishly from the bottle, roiling in the cup as the flow prevented it from settling. That familiar, warm, velvety scent assaulted Scootaloo’s senses once more; she felt a soft smile worm its way across her lips. As Apple Bloom continued to pour the ‘tea’ for her friends, and then finally herself, the pungency of that intoxicating aroma had increased tenfold. Though it appeared that only Scootaloo was basking in it, Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle both shared a look of pure distaste. The two fillies pushed their cups away, looking at Scootaloo, expecting her to do the same. “Are you sure you got the right bottle?” asked Sweetie Belle. “Of course I’m sure! Can you not smell that? Doesn’t it smell good?” replied Scootaloo. Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle shook their heads, vigorously. They had no idea what she was talking about, this stuff didn’t have a scent, it was completely odourless, and it looked quite disgusting frankly. They couldn’t understand what it was that Scootaloo smelt or how in Equestria she wasn’t repulsed by the sight of the gelatinous goop. “So I guess you won’t be drinking yours then?” asked Scootaloo, her eyes staring hungrily at the discarded cups. “No,” they replied in unison. That was all Scootaloo needed to hear, she downed the contents of her cup in seconds, putting it aside and desperately grabbing for the others. Her friends just watched on in amazement at what her friend was ingesting. Meanwhile, on the other side of the farmyard, Applejack was chatting with a wealthy stallion, closing in on a very sweet business deal. Filthy Rich, as he was known, had brought his daughter, Diamond Tiara, who in turn had brought her closest associate, Silver Spoon. The economics of apples and businesses associated with apples, failed to impress Diamond Tiara, and she took every possible opportunity to voice her displeasure. “Can we go yet? I didn’t ask to be brought out here, especially to this place. It’s dirty, and boring, why couldn’t you have made a business deal at the spa?” Applejack felt her ear twitch, her brow furrowed a little with rage, as she led the party to the orchard. She just had to keep calm for a few moments longer, she was mere seconds away from securing a wealth of money from one industrial batch of apples, and this brat was not going to ruin it. She forced a smile as she ignored the impudence that spouted from the pink demon in disguise. She passed by the barn, and thankfully, by some divine intervention, Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon stopped to peek inside. “Well, well, well, look what we have here…” uttered Diamond Tiara, in a chilling, yet menacing tone of voice. “Is this supposed to be a tea party?” scoffed Silver Spoon. Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo made eye contact with the two new arrivals, and froze in place, their expressions one of complete confusion. Apple Bloom was last to make eye contact with the two fillies, she turned herself around so very slowly, wishing that with every second she took, the more she hoped it was a dream. Unfortunately for her, once she turned herself around fully, she realised it was no dream. “Well look who it is! If it isn't Apple Bumpkin herself, what business do you have ruining such a fancy pastime?” snapped Diamond Tiara. “Aww what's the matter? Don't you get tea parties?” sneered Silver Spoon, in response to Sweetie Belle’s look of confusion. Scootaloo wasn’t going to sit back and let them hurl insults at the trio; she was going to do something about it. Her tiny wings fluttered and she leapt up from her standing position, her teeth bared. She rushed forward, but in her haste, caught herself on the table, knocking it over, sending the cups, and the contents of the bottle, hurtling towards the floor. Scootaloo herself landed face first in the dirt floor of the barn, a few straws of hay becoming entwined in her mane. Of course Silver Spoon burst into a laughing fit, stopping shortly after, as she saw Diamond Tiara kept her cold, stony faced disposition. “Look what you’ve done, Klutzaloo! You've managed to make this sorry attempt at class even worse thanks to your clumsiness!” jeered Silver Spoon. It was at this moment, Filthy Rich popped his head around the door, along with AJ’s, a concerned look upon her face. Upon seeing Rich’s child and her plus one she breathed a sigh of relief, calming ever so slightly before realising how much of a prat Diamond Tiara actually was. She had almost cost her that deal, wandering off like that, and if something had happened to her, well she could be certain that the Apple family weren’t going to be living at Sweet Apple Acres anymore. “Oh there you are, come on I’ve just finished here. If you’re quick I might see about getting you a session at the spa, seeing as how you wanted it so much,” insisted Filthy Rich, bringing his head back outside. Diamond Tiara gave Apple Bloom a look that told her she wasn’t going to live this down anytime soon, and then trotted off to join her father, with Silver Spoon in hot pursuit. The trio of fillies sat in stunned silence, their worst fears had become reality, and for them, life was pretty much over. Scootaloo groaned on the floor, her face still planted upon the ground, her body squeezed together, like an accordion. Apple Bloom blinked, her jaw slack and wide open, and surprisingly it was Sweetie Belle that broke the silence. “That could have gone better…” Scootaloo groaned again, whether it was a response or just discomfort, that was yet to be known. She pulled her head from the floor and sat back on her haunches, clutching her stomach, in what would appear to be, agony. “Oooh, my stomach hurts…” moaned Scootaloo. “Ah knew somethin’ was wrong with that tea, ya shouldn’t have drunk it. Ah reckon ya best head home, git some rest, see if ya feel good tomorrow.” Without another word, Scootaloo got to her hooves and left the barn, groaning one final time before she left. Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle stared at one another, trying to decide if they should continue to discuss the bullies, or if they should follow after Scootaloo. The answer was kind of a no-brainer really, Scootaloo wasn’t herself, and walking home alone was probably the worst thing she could do right now. The two of them rushed off to aid Scootaloo, whilst in the back of their minds; they hoped that she was going to be alright. **** The next day eventually rolled around and Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle found themselves in the school playground. The sky had darkened since yesterday and looked greyer and more miserable than the day before. For the two fillies, the weather seemed like more of a pathetic fallacy, one that hinted at the most awful things. “D’ya think Scootaloo is ok? Ah haven’t seen her all mornin’,” voiced a concerned Apple Bloom. Given the events that had occurred yesterday, all three of the CMC would be forgiven for not showing up. After all the moment that Diamond Tiara chose to spill their little secret, was the moment their childhoods were collectively destroyed. Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle nervously cast their gaze over the playground, the moment they spotted a hint of pink and purple, there were getting out of there. A soft breeze began to blow in from the east, distracting the children as they searched they playground. The wind blew in the direction of a small gathering, and as the two fillies turned away to avoid the wind, they noticed the crowd. From their distanced perspective, they couldn’t see anything behind the mass of ponies. Naturally a childlike curiosity took over them, and they approached the crowd, expecting to find Diamond Tiara and possibly Silver Spoon at its centre. Due to the thick mass off the crowd, they earned a few negative comments from the others, as they forced their way towards the centre of the crowd. As they fought against the bodies of young fillies, they couldn’t hear any cacophonous bragging, or boasting, so there was no way Diamond Tiara was it its centre, which was some relief, though their curiosity still burned. If the crowd wasn’t for Diamond Tiara, then who was it for? “That’s right, crowd around the most awesome pony on the playground!” exclaimed the high pitched, raspy tone of a certain orange filly. Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle pierced their way into the centre, eager to reunite with their friend. They broke into the centre, coming into contact with a smiling Scootaloo. Upon a hasty first glance, their friend seemed perfectly fine, she was happy, cheerful and still her cocky self. Upon a second, more in depth glance, one would notice that Scootaloo had outgrown her peers by about an inch, which was nothing drastic. However for Scootaloo she felt like the alpha, someone who could dominate the playground with her size. Certainly a superior way of thinking, if a little exaggerated. "Scootaloo! Ah'm glad t' see yer doin' better than yesterday!" Scootaloo paused and looked down her snout at her friends, increasing that feeling of power that she felt she held over them. She opened up her mouth to reply, but instead hiccupped three times in quick succession. Her stomach grumbled and gurgled in response to her outburst. The crowd fell silent and just stared at her, as though she'd just done something illegal. "Yeah, I've been doing that all morning, but I still feel really good," explained Scootaloo, "I think it was just what's left of that tea." The faces of the crowd twisted and contorted, some of them showing disgust, others showing confusion, and the rest trying to stifle a giggle. On the other side of the playground sat a disgruntled Diamond Tiara and a perturbed Silver Spoon. They watched Scootaloo's purple mane bob up and down as she spoke, each passing second enraging Diamond Tiara a little more. “That should be me they’re crowding around; I was supposed to be the biggest, most adored pony on the playground, not someone like her! Daddy promised me that!” shouted Diamond Tiara, stomping her hooves in a prissy fashion. “Uh, DT? I don’t think he could promise something li-“ “Quiet! I always get what I want, and daddy never promises me things that he can’t make happen…” Diamond Tiara ground her teeth together as she seethed with envy. Then, as though everything had suddenly changed, her jealous rage vanished. Her expression was cold and stony, and yet utterly terrifying. She smirked and walked off in the direction of the schoolhouse, Silver Spoon following behind. The bell atop the school rung once, then twice, and finally a third time, instructing the children to return to their classes, as it signalled the end of their playtime. Begrudgingly, the children obeyed their golden master and left Scootaloo’s side, encroaching on the schoolhouse instead. As the attention around her began to fade, Scootaloo began to feel increasingly smug with herself. This was how it felt to be the best, to be the alpha, the top dog, and it felt amazing. She could make them do anything she wanted, they were smaller than her, and that made them almost insignificant. Her stomach gurgled again, and then bizarre warmth crept through her body. Not that Scootaloo paid much attention to it. She was too busy thinking about the benefits she was going to receive. In fact she was so lost in her thoughts that she failed to notice that she grew at least another inch. Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle also remained oblivious to this new development as the three of them ventured towards the schoolhouse. Cheerilee stood at the entrance, ushering the pupils inside, a pleasant smile fixed firmly upon her face. As the CMC approached Cheerilee, her smile faltered a little, replaced by a more surprised look. “My Scootaloo, you’re certainly grown quickly…” “Yep, I reckon I’ll end up bigger than you, Miss Cheerilee,” joked Scootaloo. “Hm, anyway, in you go, you’ve got lessons to attend!” replied the teacher, her cheery demeanour returning. The CMC entered into the establishment, splitting off from one another, as they disappeared into their classes. Scootaloo sauntered into her classroom, taking up a seat at the back of the class. The desk and chair both creaked a little, straining under the weight of the slightly bigger filly. As the teacher had yet to show up to the lesson, Scootaloo found that all eyes were on her. Some whispered amongst themselves about how big she was, others whispered about how strange it seemed, but at the same time, how awesome she looked. Scootaloo smiled and pretended not to be interested in their curious stares. Eventually the teacher arrived and everyone knuckled down and began to work. Everyone that is, except for Scootaloo, she was busy slacking off, but even then, her body was fast at work. As she lazed about, the insides of her body harboured something that just needed a trigger, a trigger that would allow Scootaloo’s wildest fantasies to become reality. A simple knock would suffice, even something as simple as a bodily function, like a hiccup or a burp. Of course, Scootaloo wasn’t aware of this increasingly obvious fact, she was just happy to reap the spoils. Her stomach grumbled loudly, but surprisingly nobody turned around or looked up from their work. Her stomach grumbled again, and Scootaloo moaned as she felt her stomach expand. Her hooves wrapped themselves around her belly as she felt a surge of pain, travelling up through her neck, piling up just before her mouth. Her airways began to constrict, forcing this blockage upwards, and towards freedom. Scootaloo recoiled her head back, before letting out a tremendous belch. Everyone in the class just sat there, visibly stunned, their eyes remained focused on their work, but their minds and ears remained focused on the repulsive sounds. Even the teacher was noticeably shocked at the outburst, it was either because of the awful act before her, or a secondary effect that it seemed to be having on the little filly. As Scootaloo continued to expel what seemed like an impossible amount of gas, her body resumed growing. At first it was just a centimetre, them another, followed by inch after inch. The desk and chair began to creak under her increasing weight. These chairs were designed to seat little fillies and colts, not fillies that seemed to be rapidly growing to new heights. The furniture groaned some more as Scootaloo's rump began to expand past the limits of the chair. With a loud crack, the frail furniture split, sending Scootaloo lurching forward onto the splintered desk. Thousands of tiny splinters pierced her skin, causing her to yelp loudly. The teacher rushed to the side of the injured filly, her hooves and eyes scanning over her body for any signs of serious damage. "Are you alright?" she asked. Scootaloo rubbed her temple as she got up from the floor, shaking off a few splinters as she went. A quick scrape of both her forelegs removed a few more, still leaving a great amount stuck in her. She winced as she removed more of the splinters, some appearing to be stuck in deeper than she first thought. "Yeah, I'm alright, can't say the same for the desk though." "Speaking of that..." Scootaloo's teacher fell silent as Scootaloo stood up. The once tiny filly now stood taller than all the ponies her age, even the other early starters. She stood over them by at least four, maybe five inches. "Huh?" asked Scootaloo, still brushing splinters from her coat. "Timeout for breaking class furniture," replied the teacher, holding up a shaking hoof to point to the door. Scootaloo grumbled and strode to the door, opening it and disappearing into the hallway. She stood outside and waited for the call that would allow her to return to the class, and continue her learning. As she waited, she smirked and ran a hoof along her recently expanded body. She felt warm to the touch; her body appeared to be buzzing with a newfound energy. It brought her a great deal of pleasure and excitement to know that her growth spurts were so intense, and so close together. Just wait until Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle got a look at her now, they'd always have to do what she wanted. That meant there would be no more lame ideas for Cutie Marks, just cool ones. In fact, thinking about it, if her growth spurts kept this pace, there would be no pony in Equestria that would be as tall as her, not even Celestia. Scootaloo inhaled deeply as she savoured that thought. The most powerful pony in Equestria, everyone else would have no other option but to bow down to the superior height and might of Scootaloo. She reflected on the way her teacher had started to shake in her presence. Even though the filly didn't quite match up to her teacher's height, she had still managed to instill that air of fear. Suddenly a bright idea pinged into Scootaloo's head. She didn't need to wait here for her timeout to end, she could leave and nobody would be able to stop her from doing so. As she took a few steps away from the class, another thought surfaced. Why should she be the only one to get something out of this? She deviated her course, setting off for Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle's class first. The corridors were pretty empty, aside from a few rebellious colts who had also been given a timeout. As Scootaloo passed them, they shrunk back, pressing themselves against the wall as she passed by. Of course this just inflated Scootaloo’s ego even further. She eventually arrived at Cheerilee’s class and rapped her hoof against the door. “One moment class,” came Cheerilee’s voice from the other side of the door. As the door swung open, Scootaloo attempted to create her most distressed look. She widened her eyes, to make her look a little shocked, she ran a hoof through her mane to make her look a little more distressed, and finally, to complete the look, she nervously rubbed her hoof against her neck to complete the look of uncertainty and confusion. “Err, Scootaloo? Shouldn’t you be in class?” asked the teaching mare. “Miss Cheerilee! You have to let Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle out of class this instant!” At first Cheerilee remained stony faced, not believing Scootaloo’s story for one second. But then something changed, she noticed something about the filly, something that hadn’t been there earlier. She thought back to when Scootaloo had shown up to school that morning, she remembered how she almost lost sight of her in the crowds that amassed around the Pegasus. But no, that wasn’t it; it was something that Scootaloo had said to Cheerilee. It was at that moment that Cheerilee realised what had been said, and boy had Scootaloo been right. Here she was, just a young filly, and miraculously she stood just a little bit taller than the purple mare. The fact that Scootaloo had gone through such an incredible change in such a small amount of time was astounding, and also a little scary. “Sc-Scootaloo? H-how? Wha-?” mumbled Cheerilee, trying to wrap her brain around the incredible feat that Scootaloo had performed. “I knew you’d understand!” exclaimed Scootaloo, taking Cheerilee’s garbled response as affirmation for her request. She rushed over to her friends, both of which looked slightly bemused at the sudden appearance of their friend. Scootaloo dragged them out of their chairs and out into the corridor, bidding Cheerilee a quick goodbye on the way out. She pulled her friends away from the door and closed it behind them, setting off at length, down the corridor. Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle stood still for a few moments, gazing at each other as though they expected that one of them would miraculously have the answers that they needed. “What are you waiting for?!” yelled Scootaloo, from down the corridor, ignorant to the others that were still trying to learn. The remaining two CMC spurred into action, and belted down the corridor after their friend. Despite their apparent eagerness, their minds were racing as to why they had been dragged from their lessons, or better yet, why Scootaloo seemed to be growing faster than any of the information they had learned from Cheerilee would suggest. As they passed through the double doors of the schoolhouse entrance, they found Scootaloo leaning lazily against a fencepost. “I was thinking that we could head on over to Sweet Apple Acres for a bit of extended playtime, what do you think?” “Uhm…” muttered Apple Bloom. “Uhh…” droned Sweetie Belle. “Eh, come on girls, it’ll be real fun. I promise!” With that, Scootaloo was off. She started off on the quickest route out to Sweet Apple Acres, leaving Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom in her dust. The two fillies shared another lingering glance at each other, looking for answers in the eyes of the other, but it looked like neither of them thought it a good idea to leave Scootaloo on her own. So off they went, chasing after their friend, leaving the schoolhouse in their wake. Meanwhile, inside the schoolhouse, Cheerilee watched the CMC race off towards Sweet Apple Acres. She didn’t think about going after them, she was too busy trying to decide if she should alert the royal guard to detain Scootaloo, or better yet, summon the Princesses and have them take care of it. She couldn’t decide on an answer to her dilemma, and because of that, her class started to get restless. Though out of all the fillies and colts that were present in that class, there was one little filly who was positively seething with rage. Diamond Tiara sat and seethed in her chair, Scootaloo taking more and more attention away from her. The teachers should be reduced to gibbering wrecks at her presence, not some common as dirt character like Scootaloo. Diamond Tiara had the money, she had the acclaim, she had the lifestyle, but all of that was worthless if she didn’t have a group of naïve followers, chasing at her heels like sheep. She had to retain her popularity, and if she was going to do that, she was going to have to get rid of Scootaloo. Whilst Cheerilee was distracted, she slid out of her seat and made for the door. She didn’t bother to open it slowly, or stealthily, as Cheerilee was too deep in thought to even begin to care about more escaping fillies. As she disappeared into the halls, leaving her accomplice, Silver Spoon, inside the classroom she vowed to intimidate Scootaloo and drive her out of town. She hastily made her way outside, trying to align herself with the classroom window, so that she could make an educated guess as to which way her enemies had went. It didn’t take her long to set herself on the right path; all it took was a little alignment and the discovery of three sets of hoofprints, leading up the path to Sweet Apple Acres. Diamond Tiara raced after them, chasing down the fillies, the only thoughts on her mind were ones of pure malice and vengeance. Meanwhile, Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle were having trouble keeping up with their considerably larger friend. “Slow down, Scootaloo! My legs are starting to hurt!” squeaked Sweetie Belle. “An’ tell us what’s goin’ on, why’d ya drag us outta class?” asked Apple Bloom, rather aggressively. “Fine,” replied Scootalo. “There’s no reason why I dragged you out of class, other than me thinking you would enjoy some extra playtime, with your matured friend.” “Uh Scoot? Ah don’t know what’s gotten into you, but ah was enjoyin’ class, an’ so was Sweetie Belle.” “Well excuse me for thinking you’d enjoy not being cooped up in that boring old place,” replied Scootaloo as she walked backwards to close the distance between the trio. “I just thought you might enjoy some more crusading time, or even just taking a break, it’s not like you’re missing anything important…” “Hey! exclaimed a voice from behind them, a voice that was familiar to all three of them. Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle whirled around, but only Scootaloo remained facing towards Sweet Apple Acres. There standing behind them, was the enraged form of Diamond Tiara, breathing heavily and snorting air through her nasal passage, the same way a bull would before a charge. Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle felt their stomachs sink, Diamond Tiara was the last pony they wanted to see right now, especially with the track record between her and the CMC. “How did you do it?!” screamed Diamond Tiara, “I know you’re messing with something!” “Uh, are you ok?” asked Sweetie Belle, meekly. “Quiet! I don’t want to speak with you, I want to speak with this…monstrosity,” snarled Diamond Tiara. “She only asked if y’ were ok, no need t’ bite her head off,” sighed Apple Bloom. “What part of ‘quiet’ did your tiny, apple farming, brain fail to understand?” replied Diamond Tiara, snidely. Sweetie Belle slipped closer to Apple Bloom, where she proceeded to place a hoof over her mouth to stop any further replies. Not that it discouraged Apple Bloom from trying, she launched into an angry counterattack, consisting mainly of ‘mmphs’ and grunts. “Don’t you think we should head to Sweet Apple Acres and get Applejack? She’d see off Diamond Tiara in no time,” whispered Sweetie Belle. Apple Bloom nodded and nudged Scootaloo in the flank to get her moving. Scootaloo however, didn’t budge in the slightest. Her head glanced to the side, and then swung back to facing forwards once more. Apple Bloom paused momentarily, hesitating for a moment as she prepared to nudge her again. Now that she looked closely at Scootaloo, she could see her sides rapidly expanding and contracting. She appeared to be experiencing some sort of delayed shock reaction. She pulled the hoof down from her mouth and spoke out to Sweetie Belle. “Ah think that might be a good idea, let’s go…” Apple Bloom reached for Sweetie Belle and began to slowly pull her in the direction of Sweet Apple Acres, Diamond Tiara following after them, but quickly stopping once she stood in front of Scootaloo. As Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle slipped away, Sweetie Belle turned back and mouthed ‘we’ll be back for you’ to Scootaloo. Scootaloo’s response to this was to begin hiccupping many times in succession. Diamond Tiara smirked, hiccupping was either a sign of nerves or shock, and she obviously held the upper hand here. “You have been using something haven’t you? You just wanted to take the attention off me! Well, let me tell you, once I-“ Diamond Tiara’s jaw dropped wide open as she witnessed the result of Scootaloo’s hiccups. The orange filly’s body began to resume growing, increasing in size and closing the gap between adult mare and overgrown stallion. Diamond Tiara could only watch in awe as this spectacular event unfolded before her very eyes. With each hiccup, half an inch was added to her height, and Diamond Tiara found herself taking a few steps back in order for her to maintain eye contact. Her confidence waned dramatically, and for once in her life, she found herself completely at a loss for words. Scootaloo on the other hand was experiencing a thrill quite unlike any she had experienced before. Her body had become alive, with the receptors on her skin, pinging back pleasurable tingles. Her brain had become awash with feelings of power and copious amounts of adrenaline. She had but one single desire; she had to grow more, as much as this effect would allow for. She glanced down and flashed her teeth at Diamond Tiara, whilst she smirked, unnerving her enemy even further. “Not so confident now, are you?” chided Scootaloo. Scootaloo stretched, bringing her rump into the air, and flaring her wings, as her bones began to knit themselves into her expanding sockets and joints. She let out a soft groan as her hiccupping subsided, and her growth along with it. She now stood a couple of inches over the height of a fully grown stallion, somewhere between six foot and six and a half foot. She grinned down at Diamond Tiara, talking immense pleasure from the sight of the trembling filly. “Th-that’s not natural…” mumbled Diamond Tiara, starting to back away. “What’s the matter, Diamond Tiara? Have you run out of klutz jokes? Haven’t you got anything to say? Or are you just trembling at the awesome power that I possess? “ Diamond Tiara backed away, cowardly retreating from the far superior pony. “Just wait until I tell everyone…” “What’re you going to tell them? That Scootaloo just got even more awesome and grown up? Diamond Tiara grunted her disapproval and turned tail and fled. “Just you wait, I’ll run you out of town yet!” Scootaloo just rolled onto her back and burst into a fit of laughter. Run her out of town? That was unlikely to happen, sure DT had a rich father, but what was money when put up against this giant of a filly? Worthless, that’s what it was. “Scootaloo!” yelled a familiar yellow filly. Scootaloo rolled onto her stomach and stood up, gazing down the path. Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, Applejack and Big Macintosh, were racing towards her. As they neared Scootaloo’s position, and saw that she was alone, their pace decreased dramatically. “Ah see what ya mean Apple Bloom, that is a mighty big mess Scootaloo has gotten herself into, noted Applejack, “Though ah think ya might’ve been better askin’ Twilight fer help.” “Wha-? Where’d she go, Scootaloo?” asked Sweetie Belle. “Oh don’t worry about her, I saw to it,” explained a proud Scootaloo. Applejack leant in to Sweetie Belle and whispered in her ear. “Ya mean t’ say that Scootaloo bein’ nearly three times bigger than she was yesterday, ain’t the problem?” “Nah, she’s just growing up. Miss Cheerilee says it will happen to us all one day, Scootaloo just got started earlier than everyone else,” replied Sweetie Belle. “Well she’s sure doin’ a lotta growin’, that’s fer sure! Why ah reckon she’s taller than Big Mac!” Big Macintosh remained silent, his eyes scanning over Scootaloo, trying to work out if in fact Scootaloo was taller than him. He sure hoped not, he’d feel ashamed if a mare outgrew him, Celestia only knows how he would feel if a filly outgrew him. Scootaloo caught sight of his busy eyes, and took a few steps closer, making it pretty evident for all ponies around her, that she was in fact, taller than Big Macintosh. “Well would ya look at that! She is taller than Big Mac!” Big Macintosh bowed his head and blushed, though thankfully the blush blended with his already red coat. Oh the shame he felt right now, he could feel his title slipping away from him. Soon he would just be known as ‘Mac’ or ‘Macintosh’. He shuddered as he tried to dismiss those thoughts; these were definitely dark times for him. “What’re y’all doin’ all the way out here anyway? Shouldn’t ya be in school?” queried Applejack. “Oh, we got let out, some of the teachers suffered nervous breakdowns,” explained Scootaloo. “Oh my Celestia, are they ok?” asked Applejack. “Why don’t you go and find out? We’ll go to Sweet Apple Acres and wait for you,” replied Scootaloo. Then, once again, without waiting for another reply, Scootaloo took off for Sweet Apple Acres. The remaining two CMC chased after her, leaving Applejack and Big Macintosh to stare blankly at one another, before they decided to head into school, just to see how much truth there was in their story. As the CMC made their way in the opposite direction, a little bit of tension had surfaced within the group. Apple Bloom was starting to notice the distinct personality changes that Scootaloo had adopted, the most prominent was this lie she had just told. Sure Cheerilee had become distracted since Scootaloo barged into the class, but no-one had cancelled the class, and once Applejack found that out, she was going to be in big trouble. “So, what do you want to do first?” asked Scootaloo. “Ah guess we could play in th’ orchard, away from everypony…” muttered Apple Bloom. “Great! Come on; let’s make it a race there. Ready?” Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle stood either side of their friend, withholding their enthusiasm because they already knew who would be the winner. Lazily they prepped themselves for the race, lowering their bodies into a racing position. Scootaloo was the only one that seemed to have any enthusiasm at all. Her wings fluttered wildly, and she eagerly moistened her lips with anticipation. She glanced at her friends, and then turned her gaze forward, eyes set firmly on the distance and the orchard that it concealed. She furrowed her brow to aid with the concentrating, and stuck out the tip of her tongue. She was all prepared to win, now she just had to make it become a reality. “3, 2, 1, go!” Off they went, Scootaloo charged ahead thanks to her stamina and increased size. Apple Bloom fell into second place, whilst Sweetie Belle took up the rear. Regardless of whether or not they actually wanted Scootaloo to win, they had to at least make it look like they were trying. Apple Bloom tried to keep the pace with Scootaloo, just enough to tell her which part of the orchard they were actually racing to, before she fell behind again, even dropping back to Sweetie Belle’s position. Scootaloo took off further into the distance, as there was no real need to keep the pace with the others, now that she knew their destination. She’d wait for them at the finish, pretending that she had been there for hours, as was sometimes customary in friendly races. Meanwhile, Diamond Tiara hurried away from Sweet Apple Acres, her emotions running high. She had known that Scootaloo's growth hadn't been natural; she knew that she had taken something. Yet, even though she knew all this, after witnessing it first-hand it still shocked her. This had gone beyond outdoing Diamond Tiara; Scootaloo was on course to outdo the entire nation of Equestria. Naturally, Diamond Tiara had a plan, but in order to act it out, she needed the help of her father. She smirked to herself as she envisioned her plan, acting it out in her mind. Scootaloo wouldn't see it coming, and once Diamond Tiara had ousted her from the picture; all the ponies would worship the pink filly instead. She took a sharp right turn and sprinted up a separate path, towards a building quite unlike the others. The buildings in Ponyville all followed a similar design, straw roofs, and basic wooden frames and so on. However the house that Diamond Tiara approached, a building that appeared to resemble something from Canterlot. The walls were of the finest crafted stone, stretching high into the sky. The windows looked like they had been taken from Canterlot Castle, they were huge observation windows, minus the stained glass designs that the castle had. Peeking through those windows would reveal the lavish interiors, typical of such a wealthy family. Of course for Diamond Tiara, such an elegant house and its interiors were something she had experienced from birth, so it had become commonplace for her. Any other pony would be picking their jaw up from the floor at the sight of the house alone, never mind the expensive swing set, or the personal drinking well that adorned the front lawn, there was even what one could call a small forest nearer the top of the garden. Diamond Tiara hurried towards the front door, there wasn't a moment to spare. Her father would be home soon, and once he was, it would be impossible to act out her plan until the next day. That couldn't be allowed to happen; she needed to complete it today, as soon as was possible. She pushed a hoof against the front door and slid open, revealing a semi-lit hallway. Excellent, her father had left the door unlocked, like he did most days. It was surprising that they weren't burgled on a regular basis, considering the amount of times the door was left in this state. She slipped inside and closed the door behind her, leaving it so that that the lock wasn't fully in place. She crossed to the stairs, situated to the left of the hallway, and quickly left the ground floor. She passed onto the first floor, and from there, she shot up to the second floor. She was making excellent time, but that wasn't too hard to do, seeing as though she had only just begun. Her tiny little hooves made for her father's room, wherein she would find exactly what she was looking for. Her father's room wasn't like most bedrooms; it felt more like a study than anything else. He had a lectern against the back wall of the room, in front of a window. His bed was positioned against the left wall, the back of the headboard pointing towards the door. Above the headboard hung a picture of Filthy Rich and his daughter, being showered with bits from the sky. On the floor was a plush emerald coloured carpet, whilst on the areas of the wall that weren't covered by bookcases, there were patches of a slightly browner emerald colour. Somewhere inside this room, lay the solution to her problems, and knowing her father's line of work, they would most likely be hidden. You see, Filthy Rich was a businessman, and businessmen make their money from various deals and the pay-outs and losses that come with these deals. Rich had made most of his money through ownership of businesses in Canterlot, Fillydephia, and Las Pegasus. He'd endured roaring success, and as such began to expand his business empire. It was at this point that he started taking on more risky investments, and most of these often fell below board. It was these illegitimate investments that Diamond Tiara was interested in. Recently her father had been delving into business deals in the name of science. Namely the ability to get more for your bits. He'd started out making small investments into the R&D sector, with little to no results, until a couple of weeks ago. A small business had come up with a solution; use a variety of chemicals to create a new compound. Add this compound to any plant based food, and you would encounter a bumper harvest of a different kind. The food would grow beyond its normal capabilities; you could end up with a tomato as big as a watermelon, or an apple the size of a stallions head. It was revolutionary, something that nobody else would have accomplished. So naturally Rich had bought a case of the samples, hoping to release them into circulation as soon as possible. It was only after he had bought the samples that they decided to tell him that they hadn't been put through all the clinical trials yet, the only remaining tests were the ones related to the actual effect of the compound on the ponies that would ingest it. Rich accepted that the trials were important and took the samples back to his home, where they would be kept until they were declared safe. Diamond Tiara scanned the immediate area, looking for anything that stood out to her. The bookcases were the first port of call, it wouldn't be unlike her father to hide them in a hollowed out book. So off she went, tearing down book after book, skimming through it and tossing it aside once she discovered that it contained no secrets. Given her small stature, the main problem she faced was trying to reach the upper most shelves of the bookcases. Naturally she had the genius, yet dangerous, idea of slamming herself against the bookcase, in the hopes that there was a decent sized gap between the bookcase and the wall, so that it would teeter back and forth and eventually fall over. Diamond Tiara took a few small steps back and then jumped towards the bookcase, swinging her rear around so that it connected with the bookcase. The target did in fact teeter, as she had predicted, but it came to a rest shortly after. As she was not satisfied that her plan was to blame, she twisted it a little. Instead of just hitting it once, she would hit it repeatedly, and hopefully that would bring the bookcase down to its metaphorical knees. So she began again, working herself into a rhythm or jumping, hitting the bookcase, checking if it looked likely to fall, and it didn't she would repeat. After a while of slamming the bookcase with her bottom, it had become understandably sore, so she abandoned the idea for now. Instead she turned her attention to the rest of the room, namely the bed. It was a well-known fact that one of the most commonly referred to places when it came to hiding things, was underneath one's bed. Leaving the disappointing bookcases behind her, Diamond Tiara made for her father's bed. She crouched down as low she could get herself and pulled the trailing bedcover over her head, pouring over the secrets that it held. Or rather that's what she would have done of the underneath of her father's bed hadn't been completely bare. There was nothing under there, except a whole lot of dust. Disappointed, she slid herself out from under the bed, opting to climb atop it instead. Once on top she lay herself flat, lying face down into the quilted surface. So far it was proving to be an uneventful search, two misses so far, and she was sure there were more to come. Though she wasn't about to let that suspicion come true, all she needed to do was think things through a bit better. She needed to be in the mind-set of her father, think as he would have and the answer was bound to show up sooner or later. She rolled over and stared at the ceiling, trying to think of any clues that could lead her to success. Her father didn't really do much outside of meeting her every demand and working so that he could fulfil her every demand. There was nothing he loved more than money and his daughter, though Diamond Tiara liked to think that she was his number one. Her eyes darted to the picture that hung above his bed, the one that showcased his two loves of this world. At first she dismissed the thought that the picture was the answer she was looking for, it was far too cliché. But as she glanced around the rest of the room, looking for anything that might prove her wrong, the picture started to look more and more reasonable. Deciding to indulge her burning curiosity she got to her hooves and made her way to the picture. She stared into the eyes of her painted self, her eyes glancing from that to the image of her father. "Just what secrets do you hold...?" Her hooves reached out, trembling in anticipation as they touched the gilded frame. She slowly eased the picture away from the wall, lifting the thread at the back up and over the hooks. She was excited now, the painting dropping further and further towards the bed. She could almost taste her, such a sweet flavour. A black line appeared above the top of the frame, getting thicker and thicker with each passing inch. Her eyes widened in surprise, the painting dropping faster now, her curiosity now replaced by a burning lust for revenge. She fully slid the painting away, casting it aside and just staring at the wonder before her. The black surface of the safe stared back, unmoving and unemotional. Its silver handle gleamed with an air or temptation, almost beckoning for it to be used and Diamond Tiara was only too happy to oblige. Her hoof greedily slammed down the handle, yanking it towards her to coax the door open. The weight of the door held it steady as it opened, not swinging open with the urgency that she had wanted. Once it was open enough, Diamond Tiara cast her gaze inside of it. Papers, small parcels and most importantly several glass vials filled with a clear liquid, adorned the inside. Diamond Tiara took the papers and the vials, laying them out on the bed. She sifted through the documents, looking for any indication that these were the concoctions that she was after. Her eyes skimmed over every word, checking every little detail for the few words that would seal the deal. As she approached the final few sheets, she found the words that she was looking for. Printed there in black and white, were the details for an experimental substance, contained within several vials. Diamond Tiara’s eyes lit up as she read it, drinking in her success. If this had been any other time, she might have found some of her friends to lord it over with for a while longer. She envisioned herself, savouring the fact that a little filly had managed to outsmart her father with such simple wit. A sudden knocking at the front door of the house soon put a stop to those thoughts. Assuming it was her father at the door; the successful filly jumped into action and began to clean the place up. She crammed the documents back into the safe, leaving the vials on the bed for now. She closed the door to the safe and reset the lock, putting the painting back up afterwards. She scrambled down from the bed, clutching some of the vials in her teeth, whilst the others were held in her mane, or in her hooves. She retreated to her bedroom and stashed the chemicals under her bed, which didn’t exactly scream that it was the best hiding place ever, but she was under incredible pressure. Afterwards, she galloped downstairs, regaining a little of her composure with each step, her smooth, calm demeanour returning soon after. She paused for a final moment, just before she opened the door, now fully composed. “Good afternoon, Fa-” she began. “Uhm, hey, DT, are you ok?” came a noticeably younger, more feminine voice. “What are you doing here, Silver Spoon?” asked Diamond Tiara. “Well, class finished and I thought I would come see how you are, seeing how you left the class early.” Diamond Tiara couldn’t afford to explain her reasons for leaving, nor could she explain what she had found, or at least she couldn’t explain it here. She didn’t want to share her proposal with anyone but herself, but she couldn’t afford the risk of Silver Spoon drawing more attention to her plans. She grabbed the grey filly and pulled her inside the house, closing the door behind her. Without saying a word, she led Silver Spoon upstairs, this time ignoring her father’s room, and heading straight for her own. Once inside she closed the door, and slid herself under the bed, though not before she gestured for Silver Spoon to take a seat on it. It wasn’t long before Diamond Tiara joined her on the bed, clutching several vials close to her chest. “You can’t breathe a word of this to anyone, understand?” questioned Diamond Tiara. Silver Spoon simply nodded. “Did you happen to notice something different about Scootaloo, when she burst into the classroom?” continued Diamond Tiara. “Yeah she was…” “Bigger?” “Yeah, I take it that wasn’t my imagination then?” Diamond Tiara shook her head. “She’s been messing with something, I don’t know what, but it’s causing her to grow.” “How can you be sure? How do you know she isn’t just growing up really fast?” “Oh don’t give me that. You sound like those teachers, always dancing around the issues and making it simple so that everyone can understand. You and I both know that it is physically impossible for any pony to grow that much in such a short time. I even saw her growing with my own eyes, and there was something about it, something that felt unnatural…” “But what does this have to do with anything? What are these vials for? Where did you get them?” asked Silver Spoon, concerned. “Where I got them isn’t important. What is important is what I want to use them for.” “What’s that?” “I want to use them to level the playing field. I don’t know when Scootaloo will stop growing, but what I do know, is that it’ll take attention away from us. So I propose that we both take this experimental growth formula and get on her level. How does that sound?” explained Diamond Tiara. “Experimental growth formula, are you insane? Listen to yourself! You’re proposing that we swallow this stuff and then outgrow some filly? So what if she takes attention off us? She’ll only have crowds around her because she’s a freak. If we outgrow her, what does that make us? That makes us freaks too, and whilst we’ll still have attention, it’ll be nothing like it is now.” Diamond Tiara smiled, staring into the vials before her. “I can see where you’re coming from; you never did have quite the same popularity as I did. But even if you’re opposed to the idea, I can’t let you leave, at least not until I’ve experienced the effects of these solutions. You’re going to sit and watch me drink all seven, and then we’ll see just how wrong you are.” With that said Diamond Tiara popped the stopper off the first vial and poured it into her waiting maw. The second followed soon after, her hooves already grasping for the third. She tossed the vials aside as she finished with them, a small pile building up in front of Silver Spoon. Soon the pile consisted of five vials, with the sixth just about to join. Diamond Tiara had spared no speed when it came to downing the contents of these vials. The seventh eventually joined the pile, and Diamond Tiara signalled the conclusion by letting free a tremendous and uncivilised belch. Contented, she sat back, resting against the pillows at the head of her bed. She placed a hoof on her slightly bloated stomach, to which it gurgled in protest. She felt something building in her gut, the chemicals all mixing together in her stomach spreading throughout her body. A strange sense of empowerment spread through her every limb, causing them to tingle, before it faded to nothing. She placed her other hoof on her stomach and watched Silver Spoon. “And now, we wait and see…” Back at the orchard, Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo were sprawled out on the grassland of Sweet Apple Acres. They had spent their time playing in the fields, coming up with any game that their minds could offer. But playtime can only last so long, and it hadn’t been long before the trio had decided to take a rest. As they lay on their backs in the grass, an eerie silence drifted over them. The only sounds to break this silence were their heavy panting, and the low growl of Scootaloo’s stomach. Scootaloo rolled over onto her front, her stomach growling once more as she went. The other two CMC remained on their backs, obviously not feeling the same as Scootaloo. “Girls, I’m hungry, can we go get something to eat?” moaned Scootaloo. “Well ah wus gonna wait until we were all hungry, an’ then go git some o’ Granny’s Apple Pie…” replied Apple Bloom. “Well, why don’t we go get it and bring it back here? Who knows, maybe you’ll both be hungry by them” “Can we get a mat too? Then we can have a picnic!” exclaimed Sweetie Belle. “That’s a good idea, it would be a shame to waste this beautiful weather by sitting inside to eat,” began Scootaloo. “Why don’t you girls go get it, and I’ll wait here and savour the weather a little more.” “C’mon Scootaloo, if ya don’ come, ya won’t git any pie!” “But I’m too hungry, I don’t even have the energy to stand up!” groaned Scootaloo. Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle scoffed as they stood up. This was so unlike her, sure she often tried to avoid work, but when the three of them had something to do together; she was usually so willing to help. Apple Bloom wondered if this was just a part of growing up, or at least she hoped that her friend was just going through a natural phase of some sort. Sweetie Belle on the other hand wasn’t sure what to make of anything. She recalled the time that Spike had grown up at a rapid pace and had experienced a selfish phase like no other. She’d been told that this sort of thing only happened to dragons as they came of age, but was there a chance that it could happen to ponies as well? The two stared on, each deep in thought as to whether or not their friend was going to be ok. More importantly they wondered if it would happen to them, both of them hoped that it wasn’t going to, but their thoughts were clouded with insecurity. “Well? Are you going or not?” asked an impatient Scootaloo. Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom both shook their heads, dragging themselves from their thoughts. They had gotten so caught up on the future and the theoretical effects of growing up on their friend, that the thought of apple pie seemed so far away. The two fillies set off at a sprint, leaving their friend alone in the shade of the orchard apple trees. Scootaloo watched them go, her mouth already watering at the delicious thought of that delectable apple pie. Her stomach growled angrily in response, causing Scootaloo to shudder and clutch her stomach in pain. She tried to suppress thoughts of food, but each time she tried her stomach growled impatiently, reminding her that she needed food and she needed it now. Scootaloo reluctantly agreed with her stomach, she did indeed need food now, but where was she going to get it? She couldn’t walk very far, there was no way that was going to work. She could feel her legs already threatening to give way, and she hadn’t even stood up yet. It took her a moment to realise that she didn’t actually need to go far, she was in an orchard after all. She pushed her weight down on her hooves, using the sturdy ground beneath them to stand up. Her legs wobbled a little underneath her, but she managed to take a few shaky steps towards the nearest apple tree. Her stomach growled almost constantly with every step she took, but to Scootaloo it seemed more like a form of motivation, like her stomach was now cheering for her. She pressed on, taking careful step after careful step, until she finally reached the tree she had been aiming for. She glanced up at it, admiring the succulent fruit that hung there, its waxy, red, skin shimmering in the light, as though a thin layer of moisture covered its entire being. Scootaloo felt her mouth begin to salivate, even going so far as to allow for a low, guttural moan. An apple had never looked so good to the starving pony, and soon she would be biting into its flesh, digging through to its very core. All she had to do, was buck the tree hard enough for the apple to fall, and with her new size that seemed like the easiest thing in the world right now. She turned herself around, sighing as she lost eye contact with the apple just for a few moments, and prepped her legs for bucking. She would only have one shot at this, so it had to count. She pulled her legs back as tight as her joints would allow and straightened them back out again, slamming her hooves into the tree. She wasn’t sure if it was the tree vibrating under her hooves, or if her hooves were shaking from the force she had used to hit it with. She slumped to the floor, propping herself up against the tree, awaiting the fall of that delectable apple. Seconds ticked by and still there was no apple for her to chow down on. In fact, all she had received in that time was an increase in stomach pains, and those just seemed to help make her hungrier. She glanced upwards and sure enough the apple was there, still hanging from the tree, taunting her efforts. She stood up once more, hiccupping a couple of times, forcing her head back and nearly sending her off balance. “Do you want to be fed or not?” she asked her body, not even caring about how bizarre a thing that was to do. She leant forward pressing her forehooves against the tree for support, then gradually she inched them further up the tree trunk. She was going to get this apple, and there was nothing that would stop her. Sure Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle would arrive with the pie soon enough, but soon didn’t cut it. She was living in the present and as such, she wanted the apple this very instant. Her hooves inched up the trunk of the tree and she soon felt her body being stretched. She was bigger than Big Macintosh, and yet not even that quality provided enough height for her to reach. She thumped a hoof against the tree trunk, before sliding down to ground, admitting defeat. She lay there, trying to focus on the fact that Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom were only a short distance away. Unbeknownst to the small filly, her body experienced a very small growth spurt. Her body expanded outwards, growing a couple of inches in height as well as width. All sensations that the growth caused were masked by the intense hunger pangs she was experiencing. She did however feel an unusual determination spread through her body. She felt slightly refreshed, as though she had just enough energy to make for another attempt. She gradually took up her original position, she grimaced as her stomach roared at her, reminding her of just how hungry she was. She took the same method as before, each hoof pounding against the tree as she worked up it. Surprisingly she passed her original record, and her hooves kept on climbing. Up and up, until finally the apple was in her grasp, with a quick tug she pulled the apple free of the tree’s grip. Without hesitation she bit into the apple, barely savouring the first bite before diving in for some more. She revelled in the succulent, juicy bites of apple, each one seeming more delicious than the last. Her frantic bites soon demolished the apple, leaving nothing but a thin core and a few seeds left. She tossed that away and turned her attention back to the tree. There were more apples on there, and most were within her grasp. Scootaloo plucked more apples, piling a group of them by the trunk of the tree. She passed to another tree, repeating the same process, placing them in the same place. She continued until she had at least five separate piles, spread around her. She could make a few apple pies with this many apples, not that she had the resources at hoof to make one. She sat down in front of her prizes, her stomach once again growling fiercely. She picked up an apple and bit into its sweetened skin, tearing out a chunk of the fruit. Her tongue lashed out against the piece, thrashing it back against her teeth. She groaned as the moist flavours danced across her taste buds. She felt them slide down her throat and into her stomach, yet still she was not satisfied. She ravenously devoured the rest of the apple, grappling for two more; no sooner had she finished the first. Her mind buzzed, yelling at her limbs and jaw to move and chew faster. She didn’t ache at all, whether that was just the adrenaline pumping through her body, or a matter of circumstance, she couldn’t be sure. As each apple was slowly digested by her stomach, her body was rewarded with a growth spurt. Her body expanded almost continuously thanks to the sheer volume of food that she was eating. Her head rose higher and higher, expanding past the trunk of the tree, pushing past the leafy canopy. Her hooves pushed outwards into the pile of apples, knocking a few of them loose, though she quickly regrouped them. The pile was soon brought to halfway and Scoots had grown enough to allow her to simply swallow multiple apples at once. Her body lengthened and her hooves grew outwards, whilst her senses seemed to heighten. Scootaloo groaned as each apple she ate tasted better than the last. Some tasted like extremely sweet apple, whilst others seemed to give off a flavour completely outside that of the standard for apples. As she popped the last of the apples into her maw, crunching them to mush within a single bite, she burped loudly and patted her stomach. She sat up straight, her body now bigger than an apple tree, her head standing well above that height. Her flank was stuck between two trees, but she didn't care. She'd just wait for her friends to get back, and for that delightful apple pie they'd be bringing her. The friends in question were on their return approach, apple pie balanced firmly on Apple Bloom’s head, just in front of her bow. Sweetie Belle travelled alongside her, the soft scent of the fresh pie tickling at her nostrils. She gazed longingly at it, causing her to flashback to the last time she had this particular type of apple pie. She remembered how lovely it had tasted, how it had warmed her all over with each mouthful. Alas, she had to wait, the three of them were going to enjoy this pie together, no matter how much anyone in particular wanted it to themselves. “Hey, Sweetie Belle, d’ya reckon that we’ll do th same as Scoots, when we grow up? Ah’d love t’ see Applejack’s face if ah ended up bein’ bigger than her.” “I’m not sure. I guess Rarity would be pleased if I did, that way she wouldn’t need to keep hiring stallion models to show off her new range of stallion clothes. But outside of that, I don’t really think I would want to end up like that. I mean can you imagine how awkward things would be?” replied Sweetie Belle. “Whut d’ya mean by that?” “Well what if we grew more than her? We could end up twice as tall as the average stallion, and that wouldn’t be good at all. I mean look at everything around us, it’s all built for the average mare or stallion, so if we were bigger than average, we couldn’t use all of that stuff.” “Naw, yer jus’ bein’ silly. If we did git t’ that height, they’d make new things, jus fer us.” The two fillies continued their back and forth as they returned to spot where they had left Scootaloo. Strangely enough, this one particular part of the orchard seemed a lot darker in comparison to the rest of it. It was almost as though the trees had suddenly grown exponentially, and their leaves now blocked out the sun. But to both Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle’s surprise, it wasn’t the trees at all; it turned out to be something much bigger than that. Somehow, Scootaloo had grown to a tremendous height, standing just over the height of three of the orchard’s apple trees. She stood there, grinning down at her friends, as they glanced back with surprise etched into their faces. “You took your time, I had to take matters into my own hooves while you were gone,” explained Scootaloo. As Apple Bloom raised her head to look up at the titanic form of Scootaloo, the pie slipped from her head and landed with a splat against the floor. Sweetie Belle focused on the bare trees that surrounded them, mouth agape as she came to the realisation that Scootaloo had probably eaten all the fruit from these trees. “Oh, was that the pie? Probably wasn’t going to be big enough for me anyway.” “An’ what would be big enough fer ya?” asked Apple Bloom foolishly. Scootaloo reached to her left and uprooted one of the few trees that she hadn’t plucked clean yet. She held it in front of her friends, just letting them take in the fact that she had actually just pulled a tree clean from the ground. Then she held it in front of her maw, slowly rotating it as she plucked the apples from the tree with her teeth. One by one they disappeared into her maw, leaving only the greenery on the tree. After it had served its purpose it was cast aside, taking out a few more trees as it smashed into the ground. Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle were shaken off their hooves as the tree made contact with the floor. They quickly righted themselves and started to back away. This was all too much for them to process, Scootaloo wouldn’t be so careless, nor would she seem so content at such a height. Something was wrong here, and they weren’t going to find a solution just hanging around in the orchard. Apple Bloom was first to break out into a run, whilst Sweetie Belle followed hot on her heels. The pair weaved in and out of the trees, hoping that if Scootaloo did decide to give chase, their actions would at least give them a fighting chance. Scootaloo however, didn’t plan on giving chase she would much rather flaunt her new size to the rest of the town. After all, why should Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle be the only two ponies to benefit from an audience with their new ruler? She giggled at that, this day had certainly been full of surprises. Uprooting several trees as she made her way out of the orchard, she began to snack upon them, having one last delightful feast of apples before she left for Ponyville. Scootaloo couldn’t decide on where to visit first, maybe she’d swing by the school and show Miss Cheerilee that it was pretty easy for a filly to outgrow Celestia. Or maybe she’d just head to town hall and show off to everyone all at once. There was so much choice, and yet it seemed like she had so little time. Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle hurried back to the farmhouse, hoping that Applejack and Big Macintosh had returned from their trip to the schoolhouse. They charged through the front door and into the kitchen, babbling incomprehensible nonsense about what they had just seen. Unfortunately nobody was around to hear it, well Granny Smith had fallen asleep at the table, but she probably couldn’t hear them, nor could she help. Apple Bloom tried to rouse her sleeping elder, but when Granny falls asleep, she’s out for the count. The two fillies started to panic, they needed someone to help them, or at least tell them that they were dreaming. They needed someone with authority, someone smart, who would know of a solution. Then, as though by divine intervention they both happened across the same idea, they could go find Cheerilee. She was both a figure of authority to the children, and rational enough to think of a reasonable solution. “We should go see Cheerilee!” they both chorused. The pair stared at each other, surprised to find that they had both spoke the exact same phrase each other, at the exact same time. Apple Bloom scrunched her face up, whilst Sweetie Belle widened her eyes. Naturally, their childlike imaginations began to consider the possibility that they had a psychic connection, or at least some sort of telepathic link. Then the rational parts of their minds kicked in and it was reduced to a mere coincidence. “That was weird…” they both said in unison once more. This time they didn’t delay, they just bolted for the door, having wasted enough time coming up with the idea in the first place. They both squeezed through the door within seconds of each other, narrowly avoiding getting stuck. Keeping level with one another they pelted down the dirt path, kicking up a storm of dust and dirt in their wake. They glanced through the trees of the orchard as they passed; catching sight of the destructive trail that Scootaloo had left in her wake. If this was the kind of damage that Scootaloo could do to an apple orchard, they didn’t want to think of what she could do to an entire town. The state of the orchard was too distracting to the fillies, and as a result, they crashed straight into two approaching ponies. Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle were bowled over backwards, and the two ponies they crashed into just managed to remain standing. Apple Bloom nursed her head, urging it to stop pounding so she could get back to thinking of how she was going to explain the state of the orchard and Scootaloo to Cheerilee and her brother and sister. She flailed a little as she tried to get back up to her hooves, eventually rolling onto her side to make the task easier. Her yellow coat was darkened a little, now standing a little brown from the dirt she had just rolled about in. She half-heartedly brushed a hoof against her legs and front, sprucing those up just a little, but leaving the rest of her dirty. “Apple Bloom! Jus’ where d’ya think yer goin’? We’ve jus’ been t’ see yer teacher, an’ guess what? Yer class weren’t let out early, y’all lied to me ‘n Mac!” exclaimed one of the ponies. “Applejack! Big Mac! No time t’ explain, but ya have t’ come with us right now!” “An’ jus’ where is that?” They didn’t get the response they needed; Apple Bloom was already dragging Sweetie Belle along with her. Applejack and Big Macintosh had no choice but to follow after the fillies and bombard them with questions until one of them slipped up. Apple Bloom was just glad that they hadn’t seemed to notice Scootaloo was missing from the group, or that she had probably started tearing up the town, shortly after they had departed. Both of the fillies made sure to keep one step ahead of the adults, weaving around each other so as to avoid their clutches. By now, Scootaloo had indeed entered the town, and the stir she had caused was exponential. Citizens fled her massive hoof-steps, abandoning their homes as they realised just how futile it was for them to hide in there. Scootaloo playfully knocked the fleeing ponies over, like they were nothing more than cheap toys from a toyshop. Her hooves stomped in front of them, forcing them to quickly swerve around them, or for those that were less reactive, cause them to slam straight into her limb. She chuckled to herself; it was kind of cute in a way, watching them all try to flee to safety. Some would probably head straight to Canterlot and inform the Princesses, but what could they do? Except for tremble and accept Scootaloo as the new ruler of the land. Alas, that would have to wait, her quarrel didn’t lie with the townsponies of Ponyville, and instead she felt that Diamond Tiara should get a more personal introduction to the new Scootaloo. She strolled through the streets, crushing apple carts, carriages, and even some ornate furniture as she went. Once outside of Ponyville, the road quietened down, the most damage that she could do was destroy the countryside, or wash her hoof in the lake and contaminate it. Diamond Tiara’s house lay just beyond the outskirts of Ponyville, most likely because they didn’t want to associate with the less wealthy people of Ponyville. Scootaloo could spot the shape of the house drawing closer from the distance, and with the massive legs that she possessed; she was there in no time at all. Scootaloo stood at the bottom of Diamond Tiara’s garden, staring up the expansive area until her eyes came to rest on the house. Diamond Tiara lived in what essentially looked like an out of place mansion. It was like some mischievous unicorn had cast a spell on a section of Canterlot and teleported it right to this very spot. There was certainly no reason to have such a house this close to Ponyville, especially when it contrasted with the buildings of the town. It should have been dismantled long ago, but there were rules in place to stop that sort of thing happening, rules that unfortunately, favoured the rich. Scootaloo held onto that thought for a moment, she could easily tear it down, rules didn’t apply to her anymore, and her size would provide the relevant strength for the task. She stepped forward into the garden, squinting as she tried to peer through the windows. She sighed as she walked; it was blissful being in this position, and the power you felt was infinite. Everyone fled from you and those that remained would do anything to stay alive. Of course she wouldn’t be so cruel as to kill anyone; she needed to earn their trust, not rule by fear. Adult life was going to so much different that her childhood, that much was certain. She now stood tall and proud in front of the house, and finally her plan could be enacted. She planted a hoof on either side of the roof, moving both of them around it in a clockwise motion. With each movement she gently pressed them into the building, crushing the wall inwards a little, separating it from the roof. As she was keeping hold of the roof, the structure was allowed to bend inwards, without collapsing in on itself. Once she’d pressed the circumference inwards, she lifted the roof up and cast it aside. The roof crumbled behind her, a cloud of dust billowing up from the impact zone. Scootaloo focused her attention of the inside of the house, where her eyes had just happened upon her prize. Sat in one of the upper bedrooms, sat Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon, the former relaxing against her headboard, the latter looking upwards, a terrified look on her face. It was just as well that Scootaloo had decided on the slow approach to destroying the house, or else she might have missed this opportunity to flaunt her authority. “Well well, look who we have here, if it isn’t Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon, two of my favourite ponies…” “Scootaloo? What in Celestia’s name happened to you/?” asked Silver Spoon. “I grew up, but that isn’t important. How are you, Diamond Tiara? Still scared?” Scootaloo chuckled at her own comment. “Just you wait, Scootaloo! In a few minutes you won’t be so cocky!” exploded Diamond Tiara, releasing all the pent up rage from their confrontation earlier. “Oh pipe down; you don’t have the authority to talk to me like that with me anymore. I make the rules around here now, and you’re going to deal with it.” Scootaloo reached into the now structurally unsafe building and plucked out the two, holding them up to her face. Silver Spoon held herself steady, whilst Diamond Tiara writhed and squirmed to be let free. It was a futile endeavour, but her loathing and jealousy towards Scootaloo kept her fighting on. Scootaloo held them away from the building, hoping that the lack of a softer landing zone would prompt her to cease and desist. Besides her preoccupation with getting Diamond Tiara to calm down a little, her thoughts also turned to what she could do with the fillies. Injuring them was already out of the question, but she couldn’t see a reason why she couldn’t make Silver Spoon and Diamond Tiara her first worshippers. She’d get to find out what it was like to receive such attention. Day in and day out, Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon received boundless adoration and affection, as if they were some sort of child superstar. Well now they were going to give some of the attention back, and it was going to be directed at Scootaloo. She reached down and placed them at her hooves, quickly shielding off any escape routes. “Now, I want you to show me how honoured you are to be in my presence. Worship at my hooves and I’ll see about letting you go.” Surprisingly, Silver Spoon didn’t object. Instead she bowed her head and stretched out her forelegs, raising them and lowering them periodically. Diamond Tiara however wasn’t going to be swayed so easily. She sat defiantly, grinding her teeth together, craning her neck so that she got a better view of Scootaloo’s face. “You expect me to worship at your hooves? Hah! You should be worshipping at mine!” “Fine, why don’t you make me?” replied Scootaloo, smugly. “I told you, just wait and see you’ll get what’s coming to you!” “Still sticking to by the whole ‘wait and see’ thing? Well I’d love to sit about and wait, but I have other ponies to visit, and I can’t trust you to stay here, can I?” Scootaloo raised a hoof to her chin and scoured the rest of Diamond Tiara’s estate. She took particular interest in a couple of trees that she had felled on her entrance. Even Diamond Tiara’s swing set and drinking well were looking particularly useful. She reached forward and plucked the various items from the floor, laying them out in front of her. Within seconds she had begun to dismantle the swing set, laying out two long lines of rope next to the wreck. Balancing the tree onto her hoof, she took the rope and loosely wrapped it around the tree. Next she put the tree back down and made sure that the rope was securely fastened to the tree, leaving the other end hanging free. She grabbed Diamond Tiara first by one of her back legs, and with some difficulty wrapped her leg in the other end of the rope. Silver Spoon was next to get tied up, but Scootaloo rewarded her for complying with her orders by being a little less rough when tying her leg up. Scootaloo then raised the rope above her muzzle, balancing it on the tip of her snout. She then crossed to the drinking well and peered down it. She couldn’t see the bottom, but she was certain that there was some water down there. They never fully drained these for the coming winter months, there was always some at the bottom that got frozen and would take a long time to thaw in the summer. She picked the tree up and hovered it over the well, waiting until Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon both swung over the hole, before she placed the tree down. Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon were now trapped within the well, or at least until Scootaloo came back and continued with them. “I’ll see you later, maybe then you’ll have come to your senses and accepted your place by then.” And with that she was off, trotting happily back to town, where she could continue with getting to know her subjects better. She made a mental note to herself to go and get Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon out of the well, or at least tell someone where they were. It felt amazing to finally get revenge on the bullies; it was like a great weight had been taken from her shoulders. She hoped that upon her return Diamond Tiara would be much more susceptible to her commands, it was no fun trying to work with someone as defiant as her. Back in town, Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, Applejack, raced over to Cheerilee’s home and rapped their hooves off the door. Unexpectedly, the door swung open off its own accord, revealing a frantic Cheerilee packing as much stuff as she could into a suitcase. She barely noticed the intrusion until she turned around to find the group standing there, gawking at her. “What are you looking at? Haven’t you seen the mess outside?” she breathed. “We know about that, Miss Cheerilee, an’ we need ya t’ come an’ help us fix it,” explained Apple Bloom. “But what are ya doin’ packin’ all ya stuff away?” “Well I was uhm…never you mind about that, you were saying I could help?” she inquired. “Well ah have a plan, but we need t’ see Twilight, an’ fast, before anythin’ else happens…” continued the filly. “I still don’t see what I’m needed for…” replied a hesitant Cheerilee. “Look, yer’ll jus’ have t’ trust me on this one, ah really don’ think ah have time t’ explain.” “Fine, fine! Let’s just go, and hope that whatever solution you have will work,” replied Cheerilee as she brushed past the group, leaving her front door wide open as the group followed suit Back at the well, things were starting to boil over in the form of tantrums. Diamond Tiara was annoyed that her master plan had flopped superbly, whilst also being subsequently angry at the fact that nobody had come to rescue her. A perfectly reasonable thing to be angry about but at the same time, it didn’t really venture far enough out of the realm of selfishness to seem valid. Silver Spoon on the other hoof had grown tired of listening to Diamond Tiara whine about how unfair things had been to her. "It's not fair! Why didn't they work?!" bawled a little pink filly, as she hung like a bat, inside her drinking well. "Maybe it just wasn't meant to be, DT," sighed the grey coated filly that hung next to her. "No! I always get what I want! Always!" replied the pink filly. "And I suppose you wanted to be hanging here, inside a drained well?" "Will you just be quiet, Silver Spoon! I didn't see you coming up with any good ideas; you even chickened out when I offered you a chance to join in on my crowning achievement. What sort of a friend doesn't want to share the glory of their friends’ achievements?" shouted an infuriated Diamond Tiara. Silver Spoon wasn't going to take that lightly, that was one of the most selfish things that Diamond Tiara had ever said, and she'd said some pretty cruel things. Silver Spoon couldn't be sure if it was the influx of blood that was rushing into her head, clouding her judgement, but she knew she meant every ounce of her next move. She swung one of her forehooves towards Diamond Tiara, striking her across the cheek. The force of the hit sent Diamond Tiara swinging backwards, bumping against the wall of the well. "Share the glory? What glory? When have we ever gained any glory? Every time you make fun of another foal, or try to gain the upper hoof, you always come crashing down, bringing me along with you!" Diamond Tiara fell silent, her body just swinging there, back and forth like a pendulum. The quiet creaking of the rope as it ground against the metal beam that hung there. Silver Spoon huffed loudly as she vented a little more quietly. The silence that hung in the air was punctuated every so often by a gentle dripping of water from within the bowels of the well. Every time a drip was heard it bounced around the confines of the stony prison, ringing in the ears of the fillies. "Silver Spoon...." began Diamond Tiara. "What?" "I..." Diamond Tiara paused for a second, still swinging back and forth albeit a lot less now. She took a deep breath and prepared to continue with her speech. But before she could even utter a single syllable, her hoof slipped a little, as the rope around her ankle loosened due to the constant swinging. She screamed as she dropped a little lower, the rope holding onto her for just a little while longer. Acting on a reflex, Diamond Tiara clung to Silver Spoon, holding on for her life. The sudden act of grabbing hold of Silver Spoon relaxed Diamond Tiara, calming her just a bit. It was unfortunate however, that this level of calm could not be held as she slipped completely free from the rope. The increased downward pull that Diamond Tiara experienced as her lower body swung down beneath her upper body, dragged her down further. Unable to get a grip, Diamond Tiara thought she was done for, after all the only thing that could save her now, would be if by some miracle the floor of the well was a giant throw pillow. She closed her eyes, not wanting to see the floor once it rose to meet her. Alas, finding out what the floor of the well was like, would have to wait. A pair of grey hooves clasped around one of Diamond Tiara's flailing limbs. Diamond Tiara timidly opened her eyes, everything was still dark, she wasn't floating in some heavenly white space. No, she was definitely still here, definitely stuck in the well. But how? What had saved her? The answer revealed itself in a dry, bored tone. "I've got you..." muttered a somewhat unemotional Silver Spoon. "Thanks..." replied Diamond Tiara. "I didn't do it for you, I did it so I could hear what you had to say, now continue." "What? You mean you value what I have to say, over my life?" spluttered Diamond Tiara. "I think you're forgetting who has the upper hoof here, for once it's me, and I want you to continue with what you had to say, so continue." Silver Spoon could feel the extra weight of Diamond Tiara starting to pull her free from the rope, yet she kept her harsh visage up. She was determined to get this answer from Diamond Tiara, she'd never seen her so worried, so frightened at what could happen. As Silver Spoon gazed into her friend's eyes she saw a reflection of herself. That spoiled brat that always got her own way, that made a living out of the misery of others. She saw that, and she realised how cruel she had been, how much of a bad influence Diamond Tiara had been. As she slipped a little further, she began to understand that Diamond Tiara was experiencing something similar. That's what she wanted to hear from her, she wanted to hear her apologise. She couldn't even begin to think of letting go of Diamond Tiara, at least not until she heard that apology. All she was getting so far was silence, complete and utter silence. She loosened her grip a little, feeling the twitching sensation as Diamond Tiara tensed up from fear. "Alright, alright, I'll tell you, just...just hold me a little tighter," began Diamond Tiara, hoarsely. "Once you've finished explaining what you were going to say." Silver Spoon's hoof suddenly slid to a point where it was being held in place only by the widest part of her hoof. The sudden jolt of movement as she dropped down didn't affect her that much, baring the fact that she was no hanging by the skin of her teeth. Diamond Tiara on the other hand, felt the full brunt of the drop. Gravity tugged at her tiny body, and with Silver Spoon holding onto her so lightly, she slipped free from her friend's grasp. Silver Spoon flailed her forehooves to try and recapture Diamond Tiara, but it was no use, she had been hanging at the end of her hooves, and she couldn't reach any further than that. She watched on in horror, that previous expression of cruelty vanishing, as Diamond Tiara tumbled down into the darkness. As the last traces of her pink, tiny, filly body succumbed to the waiting shadows, Silver Spoon felt like she had lost one of the biggest parts of herself. It was true in a way, despite the bad influence that she realised Diamond Tiara had been, they were still the best of friends. Sure friends don't decide to act so cruel in life or death situations, but Silver Spoon was angry, surely Diamond Tiara understood that? Diamond Tiara scrunched her eyes up tightly as she fell, partially to prevent them drying out as the air rushed past her, but also because falling in complete darkness messed with her vision a little. It was hard to tell if you were still falling in any direction, when all you have for reference are the darkened walls around you. She briefly pondered on the outcome of this fall, but after working out several grisly scenarios she thought it best to forget about it. She'd find out soon enough anyway, no point playing such a morbid guessing game. Seconds ticked by, and Diamond Tiara had still not met her end. The well appeared bottomless, and she had been falling for what seemed like an eternity. Through her closed eyes she began to notice thin streams of light snaking their way across her eyelids. It was a strange occurrence, especially this far down, and she couldn't fathom where they were coming from. That was until she splashed down in some water, which was odd because she was sure the well had been drained. She flailed around in the water, the sudden cool of the water providing a shock to her system. Her head slipped under the water, she unwillingly inhaled pints of water. Her flailing served up waves around her; they crashed overhead, submerging her once again. Her brain was forcing her to make some sense of the situation, trying to come to any rational reason so that she could slow down and focus. Soon her body fell into a sort of rhythm, she flailed a little less and a little more strategically. Her head rose above the water level, coughing and spluttering as she tried to clear her airways. The first breath of fresh air to pass into her lungs felt like a godsend, it lingered in her lungs, soothing the burning sensations that had surfaced during her time underwater. She began to take in more and more mouthfuls of air; she found each new breath was more soothing and calming than the last. Her mind stopped racing, her limbs slowed to a perfectly natural swimming crawl and she made her way to the shallows around the edges. Her hooves scraped against the craggy surface concealed beneath the surface of the water. She hauled herself onto a rock shelf, lifting everything but her legs out of the water. Well that was that, she had survived the fall, and now here she was, all alone in an underground water reservoir. Her forehooves came to rest on her slightly bloated stomach, all the liquids she had consumed sloshing together inside her belly. She burped loudly, the sudden expulsion of gas echoing around the cavern. Diamond Tiara sighed, she was just going to have to wait it out, either Silver Spoon would join her, or she'd be saved and hopefully tell the others where she was. That was what she hoped for, however given the way Silver Spoon had acted previously, it was unlikely that she wanted to save Diamond Tiara. Diamond Tiara glanced around the abstract darkness that surrounded her, the more she thought about what lay in the darkness, the more she understood just how much she valued her peerage. She winced a little as she felt her back scraping up against the wall, the pointed rocks digging into her spine. Her hooves also started to slide down the sloped floor, so much so that she could feel water nipping at their undersides. Panicking, Diamond Tiara pushed herself backwards, but was stunned to find that she was already pressed as far back as she could possibly be, as she had been since she climbed out of the water. The water crept closer and closer to her, lapping at her rump, sloshing over her rear legs. She couldn't comprehend what was happening, the water was climbing over her, but she couldn't hear any sources of external water. She scrabbled and scraped against the rocks, appearing to attempt to beat back the water. She felt a strange tightness surround her flanks, as though the rocks were squeezing her between them. She attempted to wriggle free, but the rocks held her in tight. She groaned as she experienced an odd pressure building up in her flanks, like a spring pushing down and down. There was an audible rumble, followed by a dull cracking as the rocks that held her flanks in place split apart and tumbled into the water. Diamond Tiara couldn't believe it; her flanks had literally just split two rocks from the ground on which they resided. That begged the question, what was happening to her? The vials had proven to be useless and she hadn't taken anything else. She cast her mind back, back to when she had consumed her father's secret concoctions. There had to be some clue, a tiny hint that would help her understand. Then it clicked, she finally understood how this was possible. The chemicals she had ingested were meant for use with plants, and one of the fundamental things that plants need is water. It was no wonder the chemicals hadn't affected her straight away, they needed to be exposed to water for them to begin reacting. Her neck already pressed onto the curves of the cavern, whilst her legs advanced further into the pool of water, the rest of her overflowing past the rocks. She leant forward, relieving some of the pressure on her back, though she continued to expand to fill the gaps. She carefully slid her rump up against the wall, extending her rear legs to support herself. She took a few steps forwards to allow herself more space, whilst simultaneously bringing herself towards the light that shone down the well. Already her thoughts had turned to revenge, mostly of returning to the surface so that she could get rid of that pathetic Scootaloo. But that wasn't the only thing on her mind, she needed to remind Silver Spoon of her place. Once she made it back to the surface she would make her pay for laying a hoof on her, and she'd make it a most degrading display. Her growth paused momentarily as her head bumped against the ceiling. "What? Is this it?" roared Diamond Tiara. "This can't be it, I need to be bigger!" As though by command, her stomach grumbled and growled and she exploded in height. Her head bashed against the ceiling, followed by rump, the ground beneath her rumbled, as though every time Diamond Tiara grew, it shook the world to its core. She could feel the ceiling pressing against her, trying in vain to hold back the titanic filly. She lusted for the moment that she burst through the floor, to see the looks of fear and surprise as she continued to grow beyond their comprehension. "Come on, come on, bigger!" she screamed. Several feet above the power mad Diamond Tiara, hung Silver Spoon, still debating over the conditions of her friend's unfortunate termination. It was during these thoughts that she heard a sound, a sound unlike most others. It was a roar, not the kind of roar that comes from a manticore or another dangerous creature. No, this one was more of pure bloodlust, like a battle cry of years gone by. She could hear audible words hidden amongst the fury that encased the sentence. It seemed like a fairly odd sentence, but once she heard the word 'bigger' she started to worry. The walls around her began to shake, the vibrations travelled along to the rope holding her in place. Her hoof was tickled by the vibrations as they reverberated up and down the rope. But the happiness she received from the tickling was short lived, as the mortar between the bricks began to crumble, and the bricks themselves started to split. The well was starting to collapse; something down below was forcing its way out, it was definitely something big. Enough bricks and mortar on the left hand side of the well had now given way, and as a result Silver Spoon lurched to the left. She swung against the wall, slamming into it with great force. A part of the right hand side collapsed, chunks of stone splitting off and tumbling down into the darkness below. Silver Spoon swung back towards the right, her hoof slipping free of the rope, in exactly the same fashion as Diamond Tiara. Her body swung upwards, working off its final bit of momentum, before she too was swallowed up by the shadows. The well continued to collapse around her, stone dust pinged from the walls, showering her in a hail of tiny projectiles. She brought her forehooves to her face, protecting it from any of the larger missiles that the well chose to throw at her. At this point she was welcoming a break from these attacks, and fortunately for her, the bottom of the well would provide that. Unfortunately however, she was never destined to reach the bottom of the well; even Silver Spoon herself had guessed that. If anything she was likely the end up inside the belly of the beast that was making its way up through the well. She barely had time to dwell on that thought before she slammed right onto a soft, furred surface. Despite the softness of the surface, it still managed to knock the air straight from her lungs. She lay flat, her hooves wrapped around the fur that surrounded her. She in took whatever breath she could, her lungs burning with each pained breath. She tried to stand up, but the rate at which this thing was climbing was seriously impacting the intensity of the pressure bearing down on her. Silver Spoon just clung to the creature for dear life, occasionally craning her neck upwards to see how close to freedom she was. Aboveground, Ponyville was experiencing its most powerful tremor of the day. Whilst they had experienced shockwave after shockwave from each step that Scootaloo had taken, this new tremor seemed to actually be coming from underground. Everyone could feel it, even Scootaloo paused her antics as she felt the ground rumble beneath her hooves. Most of the residents retreated inside, hoping that whatever it was that was on its way up, wouldn't take note of a seemingly deserted town. Scootaloo was too busy trying to pinpoint the noise to notice that her playthings were getting away. There was a cacophonous racket relaying the sounds of the ground beneath their hooves being torn asunder and uprooted. Scootaloo's ears pricked and twitched as she heard the noise, coming from the direction of Diamond Tiara's mansion home. If that turned out to be correct, the Scootaloo decided that it was probably just her latest way to try and run Scootaloo out of town, probably a giant pit or something. She'd go over and put an end to it soon enough, but for now she'd continue playing. Diamond Tiara strained as she pushed her way through the ground layer of dirt. Growing her way through all the rock that had preceded it had proved to be quite demanding. The level of pressure she had felt build up on her had made her feel like she was going to be snapped in half. Of course her thoughts hadn't dwelled on this for long as the feelings of growth and power associated with it soon took her mind off it. The sound of thousands of blades of grass being sliced apart brought great pleasure to the filly, as did the dull thudding of the clumps of dirt as they smashed against the floor. Once her head had cleared the floor she inhaled heavily, fresh air rushed into her lungs, invigorating her. She raised her forehooves and placed them on the ridge of the hole. Pushing down on the stable surface, she pushed herself up, allowing her to climb out of the hole. Her front garden was ruined, the sprawling grassland that it had once been; now an enormous gaping hole had tarnished its appearance. Not that Diamond Tiara cared; she had no use for these meagre possessions anymore, not even the mansion itself. If her father had problems with the state of the property, she would remind him that with a daughter this big, he could live anywhere he wanted. She stretched her various extremities, lowering her back so that her rump was closer to the floor. Silver Spoon rolled down her friend’s back, landing against thankfully solid ground. She backed away as Diamond Tiara got up to her hooves once more, looking out towards the landscape before her. Silver Spoon was grateful that she had refused to partake in Diamond Tiara’s scheme. She had known that there were risks associated with taking such chemicals; they’d been warned about enough through school. She should have tried to stop Diamond Tiara when she had the chance, now it was too late. This monster had been unleashed on the town, its only objective was revenge against some filly that wasn’t really worth her time. Diamond Tiara took her first steps out of her garden, her hooves creating enormous craters in the floor. Each step caused a tremor to shake the ground below her, and while it didn’t seem to do much damage in the secluded area that she was in, once she got to town the results would be much worse. She smirked as she regained a little of her sense, soon Scootaloo and this town would learn who their real ruler was, and they would not soon forget it. Her pace quickened and the ground shook harder as her steps fell heavier with each passing second. From her elevated vantage point, she could see the town in the distance, and a distinctly large shape at its centre. “Scootaloo…” she muttered under her breath. The name of her foe was seared with a bitter taste in her mouth, but after this day was through, that would no longer be a problem. She bounded down towards the town, arriving on its outskirts, towering over the ponies, their homes, and even Scootaloo. She stomped a hoof into the grass, kicking up dirt and other kinds of filth. The buildings closest to her split apart and crumbled into the ground, causing the terrified citizens to become even more on edge. Scootaloo had been playing with them as though they were toys, but she hadn’t destroyed any of their homes, at least not on purpose. Yet here was this new challenger, already showcasing the type of giantess that she was going to be. She lumbered forward, delighting as her every step sent ponies flying in every direction, or just made them tremble and flee from her might. Scootaloo was too busy playing with the townsfolk to notice anything out of the ordinary. After all, there was already one giant in town, so it wasn’t exactly easy to pick out another. She continued to play with her toys, blissfully unaware of what was awaiting her. She giggled like a child and trapped some of the fleeing citizens, blocking their escapes with her limbs. She lowered her head down to look at them, cocking it to the side as she saw the genuine fear that adorned their faces. They hadn’t been like this a few moments ago, come to think of it, they had been much more passive before. They had let her get on with what she wanted, use whoever she wanted as long as they were left unharmed at the end. “What are you all so afraid of? Am I not a gentle ruler?” she asked. Collectively, her captives raised a hoof forward, pointing at the filly that stood behind her, highlighting the source of their immediate distress. Scootaloo cocked her head sideways, turning it so that she could see behind her. What she saw made her stomach sink to the lowest possible depths. Diamond Tiara was approaching her, snorting heavily, like a bull as it prepared to charge its victim. Scootaloo got up, and turned to face her enemy, which was when she made yet another discovery. Diamond Tiara was about a proportional head bigger than her. The pink filly’s maw could be placed just above Scootaloo’s purple mane, making for a considerable size difference. “What happened to you, Diamond Tiara?” asked Scootaloo, showing shock for the first time today. “Oh I grew up. Wasn’t that the excuse that you gave? How does it feel to be the smaller pony again?” replied Diamond Tiara. “Why are you here?” continued Scootaloo, ignoring all of Diamond Tiara’s questions. “Revenge. See, now that I’m the bigger pony, I think it’s time you got down and started to bow and worship me. After all it would seem fair to degrade you in the same way that you degraded me.” “I’d never worship you; you don’t deserve that kind of treatment. You don’t even deserve to be a god like me.” “Such a shame, but if you won’t bow down and worship me, then there’s only one thing left to do.” Without so much as a pause for breath, Diamond Tiara struck Scootaloo across the face with her hoof. The sheer power from the strike sent Scootaloo crashing down onto the floor, smashing into a few, thankfully empty, houses. Wooden beams and splinters pinned themselves to Scootaloo’s coat, mane and tail, as she lay there. She brushed her cheek and felt the heat radiate from the spot where Diamond Tiara’s hoof had struck. She got up and turned to face her attacker, eyes narrowed and her nostrils flared as she prepared to charge her assailant. She pelted forward, smacking Diamond Tiara squarely on the front, wiping that grin from her face as the two of them tumbled backwards. Cheerilee pounded her hoof against the library door, just as the fighting broke out. The sounds of crushing wood filled the air, followed by screams from the ponies that were lost or confused. The whole town had descended into chaos; some ponies had fled the town during Scootaloo’s brief departure, whilst some hadn’t. The result had been that hundreds of ponies suddenly flooded onto the streets of Ponyville for Scootaloo’s return, and once she had them in her sights, they wouldn’t be able to get free. “Twilight, open the door, it’s Cheerilee, we have an emergency on out hooves!” The door of the library swung open to reveal a very panicked Spike. He had his claw in his mouth, biting away at his nails, nervously chewing them to oblivion. He ushered the ponies inside without so much as a word, mostly because all that could be said, could be seen in the area around them. The group huddled around the horsehead statue at the centre of Twilight’s library, their eyes fixated upon the purple unicorn as she skimmed through book after book, casting them aside once she was through with them. “She’s been like that for a while now, trying to solve this problem,” piped up Spike. “Has she found anythin’?” asked Applejack. “Do you think she’d still be looking if she had?” replied Spike, sarcastically. “Oh, it’s useless Spike, all I found was this one shrink spell, but it’s too complicated, I can’t pull it off if they’re going to keep fighting like this…” “Twilight? Did ya happen t’ fin’ any growth spells in any o’ them books?” asked Apple Bloom. “I found a few complex spells of that description, yes. But what would I need them for? Aren’t they what started this mess?” retorted Twilight. “Ah’m not sure, but ah was thinkin’ that if we grew someone else, someone with authority over Scoots an’ Diamond Tiara, then maybe they could make ‘em calm down…” “Grow someone with authority over children? Who in this town has that kind of authority, besides their parents?” Everyone’s eyes shifted onto Cheerilee. “Cheerilee, as a school teacher, you have authority over these children, would you care to volunteer yourself for Apple Bloom’s idea?” questioned Twilight. “Can you promise me that no harm will come to townsponies from me being that size?” asked Cheerilee, cautiously. “I could probably cast some sort of shielding spell, to stop you causing any immediate harm, if that answers your question. “That’ll have to do, ok Twilight, cast the spell,” commanded Cheerilee. “Ok, everypony be quiet, I need the utmost concentration for this.” Everyone did as they were asked; Applejack took her hat off and held it over her mouth. Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle held onto each other, whilst Big Mac just did what he did best, said nothing and minded his own business. Twilight summoned her magic, and her horn began to glow with magic. Errant sparks shot from the end of her horn, a ball of light forming at the tip of the purple horn. Twilight was just about to cast the spell, when Scootaloo’s head crashed straight through the wall of the library. Startled, Twilight released the spell early, and in its weakened state it struck Scootaloo, causing her to grow. Everyone in the library made a dash for the exit, Apple Bloom and Scootaloo made it out first, with Twilight and Applejack second, and finally Cheerilee and Spike picking up the rear. The group watched in horror as the library was decimated under Scootaloo’s expanding form, and they found themselves having to step back to avoid meeting the same fate. “My books!” yelled Twilight. “My bed!” exclaimed Spike. My goodness!” shouted Sweetie Belle. “Twilight, do the spell, now!” barked Twilight. Understand the urgency of the situation, Twilight readied herself and set about achieving the same state of mind as before. The ball of light once again blossomed at the tip of her horn, blooming bigger than before. Twilight lowered her teeth and pressed her teeth together as she fired it off, straight at Cheerilee. The bolt of light hit her square in the chest, and the effect was practically instantaneous. Right away she began to grow, first growing by a few inches, and then within seconds she was doubling and tripling in height. She quickly met the height of the fillies and soon surpassed it, she towered over them her shadow casting them both into darkness. The fighting momentarily stopped as then they tried to work out where exactly the sun appeared to have gone. Once they caught side of their gargantuan teacher, they both froze up. It had been perfectly fine when it was just the two of them being giants, but when their teacher got involved, well it might as well be game over. Cheerilee took both of the oversized fillies into her hooves and held them steady, lifting them just a little off the ground to ensure they didn’t move. “Ready, Twilight?” boomed Cheerilee. “Hold them steady and we’ll get this finished quickly,” replied Twilight, magically increasing the volume of her voice to one that Cheerilee could hear. Cheerilee placed the two fillies down on the ground as Twilight cast the spell to revert them back to normal. Diamond Tiara shrunk first, looking upset and annoyed, until the realisation that her father was going to be furious with her set in, and then it just became sadness. Scootaloo on the other hand seemed to have regained her sense, and actually looked rather relieved that her rampage across the city had come to an end. Though the stern faces that surrounded her told her otherwise, she was probably in for a ton of lectures, not to mention the detentions she would be getting for tricking Cheerilee. Yet despite all that, it still seemed like it had all been worth it, and on the plus, she couldn’t see Silver Spoon and Diamond Tiara messing with her any time soon. “Alright Cheerilee, you’re the last one, ready?” asked Twilight, eager to put this event behind them. “Actually Twilight, if it’s alright with you, I might just stay this way a little longer, I’m starting to like it…”