Scootalisk

>You begin to wander out of the Everfree Forest.
>You had lasted so long without being caught by the others, guess it sort of came naturally to you after going it alone for so long. You tend to pick up a few skills when you have to fend for yourself.
>It was pretty easy to just not be noticed, which came in handy when you needed to steal some food, but most of the time it was just depressing.
>You never really thought you would have had to use it for a situation like this though.
>Then again, you had never expected a giant alien spore to fall from the sky either. In fact, that was pretty much the last thing you expected to happen.
>It got Twilight first. Her and her whole 'investigating' thing, just couldn't leave it alone. The rest of the town fell pretty soon after.
>Heck, even Zecora got caught before you. That was pretty depressing. You had been staying with her once the whole town got infected.
>For the past few weeks though, it has just been you. The only one left. You and this stupid forest.
>It was really scary here at night. You wanted to leave, but the ponies in town were far scarier.
>Getting food was hard.
>It was hard before too, but at least before the whole town didn't go nuts trying to catch you the moment they saw you before.
>Even your friends tried that. You were kind of hoping they wouldn't, but that was wishful thinking.
>The sounds they made haunted your dreams for the first week.
>It was a good thing you were faster than them.
>All that training wasn't for nothing.
>You never tried to approach them again after that, preferring instead to just watch them from the trees.
>It was kind of surprising at first, but as far as you could tell, they were still the same as they always were.
>They certainly didn't look the same, but they acted the same, sounded the same, still crusaded for their cutie marks, with or without you.
>They even looked like they were having fun.
>It was pretty hard to not call out after them sometimes, but all you had to do was remember the first time you tried that. Squashed that desire pretty quick. Ugh.
>But yeah, they seemed the same. Everp0ny did. The town was even starting to get back to a regular routine again.
>Same as it ever was.
>Aside from one really big difference.
>They would all go into a massive frenzy anytime they spotted somep0ny who wasn't infected.
>Somep0ny like you, for example.
>It was really, really scary.
>They would start to froth and their eyes would change and..
>It was scary enough that you would do almost anything to not get caught, and you lasted nearly a month.
>But eventually you did, trying to steal some apples.
>Bic Mac spotted you.
>He actually seemed surprised to see you, and managed to hold himself back for a few seconds. Didn't really matter though.
>He was just so much bigger and faster than you.
>It hurt.
>It hurt about as much as you expected it would.
>He even screamed how sorry he was when you ran off crying after it was over.
>All the same, you don't think you'll be able to look at him the same way ever again.
>The next few days were horrible. The denial, the terror, and the crippling physical changes as the parasite took root and grew.
>You'll probably be lucky if you don't have nightmares about it for the rest of your life.
>At least it's over now. At least this nightmare is over, and you can leave this awful, terrifying forest behind you.
>At least you can see your friends again.
>You hope they recognize you.
>Walking is kinda hard now, and you keep getting thrown off balance as your body's new editions wobble around.
>Your hooves can feel vibrations in the ground too, which certainly took some getting used to.
>Also, being able to taste smells is really strange, and kinda gross.
>You have no idea how you managed to avoid getting caught so long.
>Your wings don't work anymore.
>Not a huge deal, they didn't really do much before, but still. It's sad.
>You hope Rainbow Dash is okay.
>Eventually you trundle out of the Forest and begin heading towards town.
>The tendrils protruding from your mouth begin quivering at an oddly familiar scent, and you slowly raise your head, blinking your two foggy green eyes.
>The three tentacles sprouting on your back swivel instinctively towards the two approaching figures, their spines dripping in anticipation of possible new prey.
>"Heya Scoots! You look different!" Applebloom says, trying to keep a straight face.
>Sweetie Belle giggles wetly, her tendrils squirming.
>"Yeah, did you cut your hair?"
"I hate you guys.."