Resident Crusader

“Is there a problem, officer?”

“There most certainly is, Miss Dash. That filly there needs to come down to the station.”

“You can’t seriously believe that she would do something like this! She is a child!”

“She was found drenched in blood!”

“Fuck that! She had no weapon. I read enough books to know that some of the ponies being accused usually have a weapon when found!”

“It is enough that we found her nearby and covered in blood. She had it all over her hooves.”

“Are you listening to yourself? There is no fucking way that Scootaloo would do this to her own parent!. Blood is everywhere, and their Celestia-damned heads are on spikes. How the hell would she manage to do all this?”

Sounds of crying and sniffling filled the room.

“Even somepony such as you can understand that we need to have her side of things. Then we can find somepony to take her in, possibly watch her.”

“Scootaloo, honey, it will be okay. Please get away from them. You will get even bloodier.”

“I can’t leave them. They need me.”

“Did you happen to see anything?”

“You have some nerve questioning her like that.”

“Will you please let me do my job? You aren’t helping...”

“Dash, I did see something odd, but I don’t think it was that important.” She sniffed. “Just before leaving to the train with you, I saw a bright light hovering around my parents.”

“How does that help?”

“Shut the fuck up! She saw something important.”

“You have some nerve using that kind of language to me! She is upset and hallucinated some bright light. You are my closest friend, Dash, but you can’t keep yelling at me. It would look suspicious.”

“All you care about is your reputation, Warrant! Not everything is set by evidence. She just saw her parents massacred! You don’t expect a child to try to wake her parents. She saw something worthwhile in that light over her parents.”

“I always see bright flashes of light over ponies. Just yesterday...” She sobbed, “I saw Fluttershy in line for some food near the grocery stand.”

“I remember Fluttershy during that time as well, she came home really happy, saying she ran into a friend from back at Flight Camp. Said she lost contact with her. That was a really happy occurrence.”

“This is a waste of time. She doesn’t know anything, Dash. I need her to come down to the station. Seeing a bright light over ponies doesn’t mean anything. You know the protocol, judging by how many times I had to bail your ass out of trouble.

“I won’t let you put her in an uncaring orphanage! The closest one is out of Ponyville, and she has her friends here. She didn’t do this to her parents. I have absolutely no reason to believe she is capable of inflicting this kind of brutality on another pony. The message is really out of character as well. Why would she write, ‘They all deserve to die!’ on the wall in their blood?”

“Killers sometimes start young. Was she alone at all before you found her?”

“She had something to do at home. She had to tell her parents that she was spending the night in my cloud home. I decided to head over to her parents and talk to them myself. I thought it would be better if I was with her, rather than some ghost that wanted things.”

“I was able to fly very fast, and she would have had a two-second time frame to even remotely kill her parents, write the message on the wall, and ritualistically butcher the bodies. Even the worst killers in the world can’t kill someone in two seconds and set them up like that. Even unicorns take some time.”

“I see. What was she doing when you found her?”

“How would you react if you found your parents like this? Why do you have to ask stupid, pointless questions? Can’t you use common sense and remember that I already answered that question?!”

“It is called ‘interrogation,’ Miss Dash. I have to get the whole side of things.”

“What is going to happen to me? I don’t want to leave Ponyville, or my friends.”

“You can stay with me and alternate with Flutters and me. She can watch you while I am training.”

“Fluttershy, is it? Didn’t her mother marry your father?”

“Not at first. Both of our parents were married before the divorce happened. Dad was always shy and his first wife didn’t like that too much. Fluttershy's mother was always outgoing and friendly. Eventually, they married. Fluttershy is the greatest step-sister ever. What does this have to do with murder?”

“Are you qualified to raise a daughter?”

“How hard can it be? I always liked the squirt.”

“An attitude like that isn’t really responsible for raising a daughter.”

“I don’t care! I am not having somepony else raise her. They won’t know how to reach out to her like I can. Her parents loved me. I spent more time at their house then my own. I was practically a member of the family. Shame this had to happen.”

“Just come down to the station. She will make a statement, and we will investigate the scene. Unless we find anything, she can stay with you.”

“Thanks, Warrant! I really appreciate this. Sorry I blew up at you.”

“It wouldn’t be the same if I didn’t have to argue with you. Just look after the kid.”

“I will. I hate it when you call me Miss Dash, though.”

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

She was floating in darkness. The fading touch of the memory left her. That was the worst moment in her life, but it had ended with Dash as a mother of sorts. A friend of Dash’s had interrogated her, but Dash kept arguing with him. It was incredibly lucky she wasn’t charged with arguing and using harsh language. It also must have helped that this was routine between the two, as she later discovered.

As the blackness continued to swirl around her, a warmth settled around her, but she couldn’t pinpoint the origin.

“Scootaloo, please wake up.”

She knew that voice, but couldn’t pinpoint the source. Maybe if she tried to float toward it, something would happen.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Sweetie Belle rubbed her aching eyes. The fight between Scootaloo and that big monster concluded with one dead and the other passed out due to severe blood loss. Leon told the two worried Crusaders about the weapon called a chainsaw, and how she was insanely lucky to have survived. She recalled the moment leading up to her watching faithfully over her friend for a few hours now.

Throughout the battle, there were tears in the unicorn’s eyes and she refused to look away, afraid, that her friend would die. A shotgun was found on the second floor, and ammo in various barrels were added to the collection. While Leon  was searching, the two traumatized fillies kept watch at the window, refusing any distractions.

Upon victory, Leon and Apple Bloom ran outside, while Sweetie held the fort. She couldn’t bring herself to move. There were a few Crazies outside and they attempted to swarm the two defenders.

A short but intense battle commenced, as Leon shot anyone who dared approach. Apple Bloom  chose  to defend her friend. The farm filly winced as she noticed Scootaloo’s hoof was almost shredded from the blade’s deadly kiss. Blood was pumping out at an alarming rate, worrying her.

A thick group of villagers surrounded the two at that moment. They seemed to sense the helpless situation and doubled their efforts.

“Get back from her, ya mangy varmints! Ah won’t let y’all touch her!” Apple Bloom’s words rang out in defiance as the villagers surrounded the two heroes.

Many of the snarling faces carried with them a perverse pleasure in the immense victory. Leon finally backed up against the unconscious Scootaloo. Her hoof was bleeding badly and she seemed to groan in pain, but still remained blissfully unaware of her immediate doom.

“I hate to say it, but we are pretty sandwiched right now! I won’t give up though,” he exclaimed. Before the villagers could really harass them any further, a loud ringing echoed throughout the area. Leon and Apple Bloom didn’t expect something simple like a bell ringing to stop anyone, but soon various implements dropped to their feet.

They stared off into space before walking past Leon and Apple Bloom, brushing past them and seemingly ignoring all traces of them.

Leon attempted to run after them, but realized that he was out of their mind.

“Where is everypony goin’, Bingo?” Apple Bloom asked. He shrugged, before realizing that Scootaloo was out cold. He ran back to her, noticing Apple Bloom huddled near her bleeding friend. She had a few tears in her eyes as she regarded Leon with wide eyes.

“She’s gonna be okay, right? We aren’t gonna lose anypony an’ everypony is gonna make it back ta Equestria.” To see a normally happy and somewhat tough filly break down was an odd sight..

“I have a few First Aid Sprays that should clean the wound and ensure her recovery. She just fought a chainsaw-wielding maniac and lived. Not a lot of people, or ponies, can say that. They don’t heal injuries this deep, but it should prevent her from blood loss. All she needs is proper care and she will be up and killing things in no time.”

Sweetie Belle remembered gasping when she saw the injuries up close and refused to leave her side. Even when Leon had to clean and spray the wound, she refused to look away.

“I am going to call Hunnigan and tell her about these crazy people. Will you be alright on your own for a little while?” Leon gave her a small grin as she nodded, stepping outside the cabin to make the call.

Apple Bloom paced nervously upstairs, eyeing a shotgun on the wall. Sweetie Belle huddled nearby her now-sleeping friend. Soon, she decided to place Scootaloo in her lap, leaning against a wall for support.

Sweetie’s next few hours were spent caressing Scootaloo’s body and humming a mindless tune. After the fourth hour, she lost herself in the task, enjoying being close to her daredevil friend.

“Scootaloo, please wake up. We need you. It just won’t be the same without you.” She sniffled a few times and continued in her mindless caressing. She always had a special place in her heart for the friend who saved her from Diamond’s bullying. That day didn’t improve her first day jitters in the best possible way.

Her friend had come to the rescue then. She remembered the pegasus arriving seemingly out of nowhere, and telling Diamond harshly where she could shove her attitude. The prissy pony didn’t like that too much and stomped off, mumbling vague threats.

This was a few weeks before they met Apple Bloom at that faithful cute-ceañera party. As would befit a heroic rescue from evil bullies, they became fast friends. In public, they were always together, whether it was sitting together, eating together, or having sleepovers at each other’s houses.

Sweetie smiled in nostalgic bliss as she remembered one night spent at Scootaloo’s house. Her mom and dad were so nice, asking if they needed anything and being really accommodating. When they were alone, the brash, no-nonsense filly was a completely different individual.

It was several hours before midnight, and Luna’s moon was high up in the sky, shining it’s golden beam into the room. Both fillies were in the same bed. Just before the lights went out, Sweetie was on a separate mattress, where she would keep up an appearance of being separated from her friend. Both Rarity and Scootaloo’s parents were very insistent on separate beds.

Because Scootaloo’s parents were mixed with a pegasus father, and Earth pony mother, they weren’t in Cloudsdale. Cloud Shine was very accommodating when he met Silver Breeze and decided to live on the ground. The reasons were vague, but one could assume that love made him change for her.

Once the lights were off and stories swapped, a ritual of unicorn and pegasus sharing the same bed started. Ever since that first slumber party, Sweetie revealed a fear of the dark. Normally Rarity would comfort the shaking filly, but Rarity wasn’t around and being in a new area at the time was very frightening.

It turns out that Scootaloo was kept awake due to Sweetie’s small whimpers of fear, at what appeared to be sinister shapes in the dark.

“Are you still awake, S.B.?”

The nickname was an endearing one that she would only use when separated from the prying eyes of the general public.

“I-I-I am perfectly f-f-f-f-f-f-fine. I don’t have a d-d d-d-dumb fear of the dark,” Sweetie replied, not sounding like it at all. If anypony could potentially witness this event, Scootaloo would have told Sweetie to stop being a foal and resume sleep. This, however, wasn’t a normal situation, and nopony but Luna’s moon knew what happened.

“Come on, S.B. I won’t let the nasty darkness get you. Why don’t you hop up here and we can shelter ourselves together?”

“But Scootaloo, it’s weird to sleep in the same bed. Your parents might catch us together.”

“It will be fine, S.B! My parents wake up early to go to work, and they won’t wake us up. I can see you are afraid, and it is my job to make sure nothing bad will ever happen to you.”

“The darkness is all around me, Scoots. What if it gets me? I don’t know if I can handle it.”

“S.B, why don’t you come to bed? I promise you, I won’t let anything bad happen to you. I will even Pinkie Promise.”

“What’s that?”

“Pinkie is that crazy baker who lives close to the Boutique. She mentions all those weird things that make no sense. She comes up with this promise. A special kind of promise that is very sacred to those around her. You can never break a Pinkie Promise.”

“What happens if you do?”

“I actually don’t know. But when I asked her about it, she seemed to stare off into space. She mentioned something about how things can foreshadow disaster. She said that if I ever break a Pinkie Promise, something bad would happen to me.”

“That sounds horrible, Scoots!”

She had already curled up in the bed while Scootaloo was explaining the mysterious phenomenon that was Pinkie Pie. She settled her head against her friend’s chest. She was careful not to stab her best and only friend with her horn as she did so.

“Not many ponies break a Pinkie Promise. Those who do mention seeing pink everywhere and looking over their shoulder constantly. Pinkie is very crazy and freaks out some ponies.”

“So how does this thing work?”

“Well, she taught me the words.”

“Go on.”

“Cross my heart, hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye, I promise I won’t let the darkness or anything bad happen to you.” Scootaloo made the motions with her hooves, causing her friend to giggle at the absurdity.

She cuddled up to her friend. Her best friend and hero who saved her from the evil clutches of Diamond Tiara.

“Thanks, Scoots!”

That was a happy moment in Sweetie’s life. Everything improved when they met Apple Bloom at the party and learned that they were not the only blank flanks in existence. Sweetie was always around her friends and they helped each other overcome life’s problems. Even when the crusades ended in failure, she always loved her friends.

Scootaloo’s twitched and groaned, jarring the unicorn out of her memories. The Pegasus groaned again when she realized the remaining ache in her shredded hoof.

“What happened? S.B, is that you?”

Sweetie giggled a bit at the use of the old nickname. The fact she was using it at all was testament to her grogginess. “Nice to see you in the land of the living, Scoots!” Her expression turned serious. “Don’t you dare scare me like that again! If you ever take on a freak with a chainsaw again, there will be severe consequences!”

This faux anger lasted five seconds at the most, instantly turning into a hug. “I was so worried about you.”

“So that’s what that thing was called. I will make a note of it.” Scootaloo giggled sleepily as Sweetie huffed in minor annoyance.

“SCOOTALOO! Yer awake! Don’t ya ever put yerself in danger again!” Apple Bloom’s anxiety-driven words came complete with a hug.

“I already gave her the talking down about putting herself in danger. She doesn’t need the  two of us yelling at her.” Sweetie smirked at Scootaloo, who rolled her eyes good-naturedly.

It was at this point that Leon decided to re-enter the house. He smiled a little when he noticed Scootaloo was awake and not unconscious.  “It’s wonderful to see you up and about, Scootaloo. How is your hoof doing?”

Detaching herself from Sweetie’s lap, (much to the disappointment of said unicorn) Scootaloo tested her injured hoof, making sure it could still support her weight. She winced a little as pain flared up.

“It hurts a little. I used to get painful injuries like this when I was training. That chainsaw thing really takes it out of you, apparently. I should be fine within a few hours though. Nothing can keep me down for long.” Her mouth twisted into a familiar grin, and Sweetie sighed upon seeing it. Some things never changed.

“Hunnigan, told us to look for an exit near a tower. I actually ended the call a few minutes ago, but I spent the last few minutes searching this village. I found 3,000 PTAS,  two lottery tickets, 500 bullets for my handgun, 50 shells for a shotgun, a few herbs, and what seem to be several valuable gems. We hit the payload in this village.”

“I saw a shotgun on the second floor, and will add that to the collection. Maybe we can find additional weapons down the road. The shotgun is an added treat from the mundane usage of my handgun. We should leave soon. This place gives me the willies.”

Once Leon retrieved said shotgun, the adventurers left their shelter. Sweetie and Apple Bloom made sure to help Scootaloo regain her balance, as her injury caused a noticeable limp. They came to said tower and turn left, down a small path, eventually arriving at another imposing door.

“We will be fine, y’all. All we have ta do is stick together an’ nothin’ can go wrong.” Apple Bloom’s words were met with a glare from Sweetie.

“Don’t you know that saying those words are a very bad idea? You should know from Twilight that saying those words cause bad things to happen!”

This escalated into a minor argument. Leon shoved open the doors and grimaced a little. What appeared to be a small farm greeted the four and Apple Bloom found herself cheered up slightly.

“This reminds me o’ home! Sure, it isn’t the happiest sight Ah’ve seen, but Ah feel a sense o’ rightness in the air upon seein’ it.” She readjusted the bow on her head, shivering a little as she stared at the run-down farm.

Nobody was in sight, which they found just a bit odd. The last several times, there were villagers going about their business. Here, there was not a single soul. Normally a happy occurrence, they instead found themselves wondering if they were heading into a trap.

A flash of something caught Leon’s attention, and he turned to stare at a tree. He realized a note was flapping in the wind, nailed down into the tree’s trunk.

Welcome all guests to the Merchant's Super Happy Fun Sale!

We have a plethora of wonderful things on sale for you, Stranger!

I am even selling a VERY useful item that will help all travelers in this nasty region!

All you have to do is bring me five lottery tickets and 200 PTAS and it will be yours.

For a bonus, bring me 15 medallions and an even bigger prize awaits you. Eight can be found in the Farm area, and seven in the Graveyard area.

This note will self-destruct upon anybody reading this.

“That’s a really odd note!” Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle both rolled their eyes at Leon’s stating of the obvious.

“It didn’t self-destruct though,” Scootaloo remarked cleverly.

Five seconds later, the entire tree burst into flames, shocking everypony nearby. When the flames settled down, the sad husk of the tree remained. Everypony (and Leon) glared at Scootaloo, who grinned nervously.

“Lets just continue on our way and not worry about spontaneously combusting trees anymore,”

Leon said, trying to follow his own advice.

Over the next few minutes, Leon and his party looted the farm. Sure enough, they found various blue medallions hanging all over the place. Liking the idea of a bonus, he used his gun and aimed at the medallions, making sure to strike them down from the trees so he could pocket them.

Some handgun ammo, shotgun shells, and 600 PTAS were found around the area as well. Scootaloo noticed a shelf blocking the path inside one of the barns, and squeezed herself through it, finding a beer stein inside a crate.

Finally, they were ready to move on. A doorway near where Scootaloo found the beer stein marked the path to the next area. A sign near the doorway announced that they were leaving Pueblo Village. He finally learned what the village was called!

Once through the door, another sign made its home to the left of a hill leading downwards.

Heads up!

Nothing of any significance greeted them, but the sign gave a sense of foreboding to the three travelers.

“We should probably just ignore it. Maybe it’s a joke of some kind.” Sweetie shivered a little, underlying the point she was trying to make. No denials greeted these words and, thus, they started down the path.

It wasn’t long down the path that Scootaloo’s ears perked up on a noise. It sounded like gravel falling. A loud creaking noise soon greeted their ears and all four of them turned around with dread in their hearts.

They had five seconds of relative peace before a gigantic boulder fell down the path in front of them.

“Oh shit!” Scootaloo and Leon said at the exact same time. She attempted to run, but pain told her it was a bad idea.

It wasn’t long before Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle started to run, with Leon picking up the lead. He grabbed Scootaloo on the way down, who had made an attempt at hobbling down the hill. While the fillies and human were fast, the boulder was steadily gaining on them.

Leon  realized that if he didn’t do anything soon, his charges as well as himself would be crushed under that boulder. “Guys, we can’t outrun it. I can dodge it, but you will have to be with me!”

Instantly, the farm pony and the unicorn jumped into Leon’s arms, causing him to stumble a little. He recovered and waited a few moments for the boulder to catch up. Then, without warning, he dived quickly out of the way, jarring his passengers a little. He watched as the boulder rolled a little ways down the path before breaking apart into a wall.

As soon as the coast was clear, Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo dropped to the ground. In Scootaloo’s case, she had to be careful to not upset her wound any further.

“That was really close. I really didn’t want to be crushed by that boulder! Thanks, Leon.” Sweetie curtsied a little, which Leon found a little humorous.

After everypony (and human) recovered from the shock of nearly being crushed, they quickly set off on the rest of their quest. Leon really didn’t like the amount of traps around the village and hoped that was the last of them.

A passage through a tunnel of sorts led them to an area filled with small buildings. Again, no villagers were found in this area, causing Leon to panic a little once more. One building had another tripwire, something he didn’t want to set off like the first time.

“We have to be really careful around here. There could be more bear traps around and they are really painful to get caught in. The dog from earlier can testify to that.” He chuckled a little at his bad joke. It was ignored. No weapons or goodies were found in this area, so they headed down a small hill, making sure to avoid anything nasty.

“I have a feeling we will find something neat inside that house,” Leon observed, staring at the house in front of him.

As Scootaloo followed behind Sweetie Belle, she looked around at the surroundings. They, despite being run down and rotten in some places, had an eerie sort of beauty.

SNAP

An exploding sense of agony shattered through Scootaloo’s hind hoof, ripping into the flesh. She screamed in pain, tears dripping down her face. Leon and the others kept right on going, seeming to ignore her.

What the hell was going on? How could they just walk off and not hear her screams? Once more, she attempted to escape from the bear trap that she stepped in. More pain rewarded her for her efforts. She looked down, seeing if she could inch her way out of this, and wished she hadn’t.

The teeth of the bear trap bit snugly into her flesh, greeting her in a perverse hug. Blood dripped down her hoof. She could see that it was fairly deep. She didn’t know how that dog was relatively calm about something of this magnitude. The pain was intense to say the least.

++++++++++++++++++++++

As soon as they entered the house, a banging racket could be heard. It sounded loud in the enclosed space.

“What on earth is that racket?” Apple Bloom asked.

After collecting some handgun ammo from a drawer, they walked down the hall. Spotting another tripwire, he immediately grabbed his charges and prevented them from walking any further.

“Why did ya...” Apple Bloom’s question was answered when Leon pointed further down the hall. She spotted yet another of those blasted wires and silenced her question.

Taking aim with his handgun, he shot at the wire, making it explode harmlessly away from them. Once the smoke cleared, they were able to move on. They were able to hear the noise a lot louder in this room, but they couldn’t see where it was coming from. Eventually, they arrived at what seemed to be a cabinet and after pressing their ears against it, realized that the noise appeared to get louder from beyond.

“Let’s go see where that noise is coming from,” Leon announced, and led the way down another hallway.

The source of the noise turned out to be a closet. It was rocking violently side-to-side, as if something was stuck inside. As if looking for help on what to do, he turned to look at his charges.

“Sounds ta me as if somethin’ o’ somepony is stuck in that thing. Why don’t ya open it an’ we can help the poor thing?” Apple Bloom’s words were very wise.

Standing to the side of the closet, Leon flipped the latch. Something did pop out, but it wasn’t a hostile. A man fell to the ground, struggling. His wrists were bound and he had duct tape over his mouth. At the sight of Leon’s gun, his eyes widened a bit, and he struggled to move away from him.

Deciding to take mercy on the poor soul, Leon removed the tape from his mouth, causing the man to scream in pain. “Little rough, don’t you think?!” he shrieked.

Leon flipped him over and untied the knot, finding it rather loose.

“You aren’t like them?”

He must mean those horrible villagers.

“No, how about yourself?”

The man managed to work himself free of the rope and shook imaginary dust off himself.

“I have one, very important question. You....” He broke off, getting a look at his surroundings for the first time. “Ponies? What are ponies doing out in the middle of nowhere?”

“We got names, ya know, mister!” Apple Bloom glared slightly at this man. Why were these humans always touchy about their appearances?

“Oh my god, they can talk!”

Leon shrugged, staring wistfully at the man who seemed to freak at the site of talking colorful ponies. “You get used to it. Honestly, the things that one of them is capable of would make your head spin. Their names are Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, and...”

Upon attempting to name the third member of their party, Leon finally realized what was wrong. Apparently, Sweetie Belle noticed this at the exact same point. “Where is Scootaloo? She was right next to me!” She turned and looked everywhere for her orange companion, but no matter where she looked, their friend was gone.

“Those names sound very familiar to me! Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo are characters....” Before their companion could finish his thought, footsteps echoed just from the entrance they took to rescue this mysterious stranger.

Two villagers stood side-by-side next to a giant of a man. His footsteps thundered mightily on the floor. He oozed menace throughout every pore of his body.

“Perfect, the big cheese. That’s all we need.” The man Leon had just saved uttered this, and sounded defeated.

“He doesn’t look like cheese. We should probably just go.” Sweetie Belle huddled close to Apple Bloom, wishing Scootaloo was with her.

Leon ran forward and roundhouse kicked the big dude. Unfortunately, his attack was caught by one hand from the enemy, surprising everyone in the room. Grinning slightly, the big man threw Leon into the air, causing him to flip wildly. Sweetie screamed in horror as she was kicked harshly in the face, sending her tumbling hard into Apple Bloom, knocking both fillies out cold.

+++++++++++++++++++++++

This was truly the worst pain she had experienced in her life. No matter how hard she struggled to grip the trap, she couldn’t manage anything, other than additional spasms of agony. Luckily, she wasn’t gripped by an already damaged hoof, or she would have been doomed. The ground nearby was splattered with her blood, and every time she struggled, more would gush out.

Footsteps cut through her agony. They weren’t anyone she knew, and something told her that it wasn’t anything good. Sure enough, two villagers flanked by the biggest man she had ever seen in her life passed her.

She threw a hoof into her mouth, desperately trying to keep quiet. Another spasm of pain shot through her as she struggled. She whimpered a little as they passed seemingly right in front of her, not aware of her at all. She had to fight another spasm of pain so they wouldn’t hear her.

Silent, they stepped into the home her friends just entered. Sweetie was in there! Oh Celestia, how was she just supposed to sit there and watch her friends get hurt?! She yelled out the injustice of everything into her hoof. She couldn’t get caught! No matter how unfair it was. But she couldn’t just leave her friends....

A scream pierced the air, causing to Scootaloo’s eyes to widen in horror. Not long after that, the new arrivals walked back outside. All of them carrying somepony she knew. The big guy had a man Scootaloo didn’t recognize thrown carelessly over his shoulder.

As the three men carried her friends away, Scootaloo realized that she was trapped in one place, with absolutely no hope to chase after her friends. Something snapped in her mind, and she sobbed freely, watching as they carried her friends out of sight.

End of Chapter

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