Scootaloo: A Short Story

d waved a hoof in the air. “There I was. Exploring the unknown, when suddenly I tripped on a rock. I don’t know what happened after that, but when I woke up, I was in this ditch, covered with snails.”

“Ick!” Scootaloo’s hair stood up.

“No!” Snails shook his head in Scootaloo’s direction. “It wasn’t bad.”

“You had snails on you! How was that not bad.”

“Sure, being covered with snails might not sound like much.”

“It sounds horrible!” Scootaloo almost yelled before her voice broke.

“There was something more than just being covered with them; as a bond of sorts. It wasn’t just their ooze seeping its way through my coat to my skin. I sensed something beyond the slime. I felt their very presence. And they also felt mine.”

Scootaloo burped.

“Watch this, fillies!”

He jumped in the gutter and put both forelegs in the middle of it. I stepped closer to see what he was doing. It wasn’t him doing anything, he was just standing still, but the snails around his legs twitched. The closest ones to him turned hyperactive.

What I witnessed was unbelievable. They slid toward his hoof faster than I had ever seen any snail move. The snail taming effect wasn’t showing just on the closest ones, it was far-reaching. Even the snails that were out of the ditch started to turn back to it. Yet, they were reacting slower than the ones that were close to Snails. They only slightly diverged from their paths, while the ones that were in the center of already climbed on both brown forehooves. The sight of that sent chills down my spine. All the while, Snails just smiled at them.

“I don’t think snails are the only ones feeling the connection,” I whispered to Apple Bloom then walked along the edge of the trench. “How is that even useful?”

He put down the hoof with which he was caressing a snail on his leg and looked to me.

“And then Arimaspi was like—Oh, you do Arimaspi, Twi!”

“No, I’m good…”

“You have to do it! Your evil voice fits perfectly.”

Twilight sighed and telekinetically slipped another book from the pile to a shelf, while speaking monotonically, “Who in Equestria are you?”

“I am—Daring Doo!” Rainbow Dash spoke dramatically, flapped her wings and floated up with her forelegs crossed on the chest. After holding that position for a while, she put both forehooves on her cheeks and squeaked, “She was so awesome!”

“I know, I’ve read it. And I do not have an evil voice.”

“I’ve read it twice!” Rainbow grinned while pointing a hoof at her.

“So did I.” She sighed, stashing another book on a shelf. “You have your book, Rainbow Dash, is there anything else I can do for you? If not, I need to—”

“Ahem!” I cleared my throat. The stuff they had going on was so very interesting—not, but I was the one deserving of attention!

“Oh, hi there, Sweetie Belle. How’s your gem hunting going along?”

I sat on my flank “Not there yet.” My eyes half-closed as I rubbed my hooves together. “But