Finding Scootaloo

Rarity bucked down the door of her bedroom in her frantic haste to get out and charged out, eyes wide with panic as she heard her beloved little sister continue to shriek. Her horn ignited and the door to the fillies' room slammed open as the frantic Unicorn practically flew in and hurried over to her little sister. "Sweetie Belle! Whatever is the matter? Did you have a nightmare?" She asked, wrapping the screaming filly in her forelegs and hugging her close.

Sweetie Belle's screams melted into harsh sobs as she buried her face in Rarity's chest, her entire body shaking as her shoulders and chest heaved as she cried.

Rarity gave the filly a worried a look, even as Applejack and Rainbow Dash burst into the room. Applejack was looking around wildly, while Rainbow Dash's wings were flared and she had her teeth bared in an aggressive snarl, as if challenging whatever had scared Sweetie Belle so much to come out.

Applejack hurried over to a thoroughly shaken Apple Bloom, holding her close. This seemed to activate something in the farm filly's mind, for she too started sobbing and clinging desperately to her older sister. The mare ran a soothing hoof through her little sister's cherry red mane, whispering soothingly in her ears as she used her other roof to rub circles on her back.

Rainbow hurried over to the other side of the bed, pulling the sheets away as she prepared herself to see her distraught little sister. She ripped the blanket away from the bed, then fell back on her haunches as her eyes widened and filled with blank terror.

The blankets were empty.

Scootaloo was gone.

That's when Sweetie Belle spoke;

"T-There was a P-Pegasus a-a-and she t-took S-S-S-Scootaloo! S-She's gone!"

All three mares in the room froze.

Applejack and Rarity turned to look at Rainbow Dash, who was shaking as tears started forming in her eyes. She stared directly at Sweetie, eyes filled with terror and panic as the words hit her hears. She... She can't be gone! She can't! "No... No, no, no, no! Scoots can't be gone! She can't be!" She cried, her voice rising as she fought to control her fear.

Sweetie Belle stared at Rainbow with watery eyes, hiccuping as the tears continued to flow down her cheeks. "T-T-The Pegasus was a m-m-mare a-and she had... S-She had..." Her voice was failing and she started sobbing heavily once more, burying her face in her forehooves as wail after wail burst from her mouth.

Applejack looked down at Apple Bloom. "Apple Bloom, is this true? This isn't a joke?" She asked quietly, feeling her eyes starting to well up a bit. The prospect of somepony taking a defenceless filly made her feel sick to her stomach, and the fear that came with it was shown clearly in her wide, terrified green orbs.

Apple Bloom pulled away and glared at Applejack, tears spilling down her cheeks as well. "WHY WOULD WE JOKE ABOUT THAT? SCOOTALOO IS REALLY GONE!" She shrieked, surprising everypony in the room. Her anger seemed to fold it on itself, however, and she collapsed against Applejack as she began to wail once more.

Rainbow stomped down on the ground hard, eyes starting to blaze with righteous wrath. She snorted like a bull as she reared up, bringing her forehooves down with a primal roar of rage.

To Applejack, it was just like the night they'd found Scootaloo.

Rainbow spun around and glared at Sweetie Belle. "WHAT'D SHE LOOK LIKE!? WHAT'D THE MOTHERBUCKER LOOK LIKE!? I'LL FIND HER! I'LL KILL HER!" She roared, losing herself to her anger. A haze of red covered her vision as she jumped into the air, wings beating as she growled deep in her throat.

Sweetie Belle let out a whimper and hid herself in Rarity's mane, her large pale green eyes peaking out as she trembled with fright.

Rarity turned to glare at Rainbow Dash. "I understand that this is a truly horrible situation, but there is no need to shout at a-"

"SHUT THE BUCK UP RARITY! WHAT DID THE MARE LOOK LIKE!?" Rainbow interrupted, baring her teeth as the supressed growl turned into a feral snarl, making the four other ponies in the room shrink away.

Sweetie Belle stared at Rainbow with huge, watery eyes. "She... She had a... A r-rainbow mane..." She whimpered softly.

The three mares froze once more.

Rainbow dropped from the air and seemed to deflate, letting the tears she'd been holding back spill out. "N-No... T-That's not p-p-possible... I-I-I-I'm the only P-Pegasus with a r-rainbow m-mane..." She breathed, her voice shaking as she started to shiver.

Rarity gently placed Sweetie on the ground. "Sweetie, please go wait in my room. Take Apple Bloom with you." She ordered calmly. When Apple Bloom hopped down and followed Sweetie, she turned to Applejack. "Applejack, go fetch Twilight, Pinkie and Fluttershy." She told her.

Applejack tilted her head. "But-"

"RIGHT NOW!"

The scream made Applejack nod and she swiftly left the room, eyes wide with fright.

Rarity closed the door behind her with her blue aura before turning to Rainbow, venom in her eyes. "Is this some sort of cruel joke?" She demanded coldly, her voice like pure ice itself.

Rainbow stopped and stared at her, back moving up and down as she breathed heavily. "W-Why would I... Why would I..." She breathed, unable to comprehend what was going on. Sweetie Belle's revelation had shaken her to the core, and now words and everything around her was just a whirl.

Can't move. Nothing's working.

Scootaloo.

White Unicorn's yelling. In my face. Can't hear. Ears ringing.

Thump thump, thump thump

Thumping. Heart.

Can't move. Stuck.

Scootaloo.

More ponies. Don't recognize them.

Scootaloo.

Can't breathe. Can't breathe.

Ches heaving. Hurts to breathe.

Gonna be sick.

So scared.

Thump-thump, thump-thump

Roaring noise. Blood in ears.

Heart's beating faster.

Can't breathe. Need air.

Help me. Help me.

Scootaloo.

Can't see. Not clear.

Help me.

Can't move. Can't breathe. Can't see.

Ponies yelling. Yelling at me.

Purple one in my face.

It hurts.

Scootaloo.

Thump-thump, thump-thump, thump-thump

Heart's going so fast. It hurts so bad. It's gonna come out of my chest.

Help me. Oh please help me.

Everything spinning.

Legs not working. Falling.

On my back. Five faces.

Faint screaming.

Can't feel. Everything's numb.

Help me.

Scootaloo.

Scootaloo.

Gotta find Scootaloo.

Gotta get Scootaloo.

Scootaloo.

Can't breathe. Lungs hurt. Trying so hard. Harder.

Breathing so hard. No air.

Purple one screaming.

Others panicking.

Everything hurts.

Dying. I'm dying.

Scootaloo.

Need Scootaloo.

"SCOOTALOO!"

Darkness. Can't see. Can't feel. Can't hear. Can't breathe.

Help me.

I'm sinking.

Scootaloo.

Everything's black.

"It's been seven hours..."

"She'll wake soon, now if you'll excuse me..."

"Oh Rainbow Dash..."

Rainbow shot up in bed with a huge gasp, chest heaving as she looked around wildly. "SCOOTALOO!" She shouted, shoulders quaking as she began to sob.

Twilight Sparkle, the only other pony in the room, wrapped her forelegs around Rainbow Dash and hugged her, letting her cry into her shoulder. Ignoring the tears soaking her fur and trailing down her back, she ran her hoof up and down Rainbow's back and held her close, feeling the tension in her muscles as she cried and cried and cried.

Rainbow pulled away after a few minutes, hiccuping softly as she wiped her eyes. "T-Thanks Twi..." She stammered softly, looking up at her Alicorn friend with slightly red eyes.

Twilight placed a hoof on her shoulder. "It's no problem Rainbow Dash... We've got the Royal Guard searching everywhere and gathering clues, we even got those detective ponies Sherlock Hooves and John W. Pony on the scene. They'll find her, I promise." She vowed, wiping a tear away from Rainbow's cheek.

Rainbow shook her head. "No. I need to find her. I'm her big sister, and I've failed her." She said bitterly, abruptly standing up. She hopped off the bed, wincing as her legs wobbled and she nearly toppled onto her face. But before Twilight could offer her help, she trotted out of the room and taking all of her self-loathing with her.

Twilight trotted outside of Carousel Boutique, nodding to the Royal Guards as she passed them. She went over to the two detectives, noticing the the tall pale grey Unicorn with the curly black mane was... Licking the glass shards around the broken window, and the shorter sandy-coated Pegasus with the blonde mane was lamenting about how that wasn't a very good idea.

"Princess!"

Twilight stopped and turned to see a black Earth Pony stallion with a short grey mane hurrying over to her. "Hello Officer... Um..." She tried greeting him, but that was when she realized that she didn't know his name.

The stallion bowed a bit before straightening himself up. "Officer Lestride. A pleasure to meet you. Now, we managed to bring Sherlock here but... He might be difficult. Try your very hardest not to punch him in the face, he's not the most... Pleasant character." He warned her, smiling sheepishly.

Twilight smiled at him. "Me and my friends are very grateful that you could bring him Officer, thank you very much. And he can't be that bad, can he?" She replied, waving off his warning.

Lestride was about to reply, but was cut off by a very angry sounding shout. The Princess and the Officer turned to look and saw that the Unicorn had stuck his head into the broken window and that the Pegasus was angrily yelling at him to get out of it before he hurt himself.

Twilight's grin faltered slightly, but nonetheless she trotted over to them. "Hello! I'm Twilight Sparkle, you must be Sherlock and John?" She greeted, her smile brightening slightly.

The Unicorn didn't look at her. "Yes, we know who you are. Now if you could kindly be quiet, I'm busy." He waved her off, gesturing with a foreleg for her to leave.

The Pegasus turned and glared at him. "Sherlock! She's a bloody Princess!" He shouted, before grabbing the taller stallion's tail in his mouth and pulling him out of the window.

Sherlock glared at John before looking at Twilight. "Well I was busy... Now according to the foal-"

"Sweetie Belle. Can't you even learn their names?" John grumbled moodily.

Sherlock sighed. "According to Sweetie Belle, the kidnapper was a Pegasus with a rainbow mane and the obvious suspect is that Rainbow Dash mare. Too obvious." He explained.

Twilight nodded. "Rainbow Dash adopted Scootaloo a few months ago as her little sister, so there's no way she can be involved with this. Why would she kidnap her own sister?" She asked.

Sherlock's lip twitched as he cracked a half smile. "Ah, she's a clever one." He observed.

John's pale gold hoof slammed into his face. "Sherlock just get on with the case." He told him.

The pale stallion sighed. "Well alright. The question everypony is asking is; why would Rainbow Dash kidnap Scootaloo? But I believe the real question is; who kidnapped Scootaloo? It is highly unlikely that Rainbow Dash, given her history as the Element of Loyalty and general heroic acts, would kidnap a filly, much less her own little sister. But she should still be on the suspect less, likeliness or not. I'll need to think about it." He told her.

Twilight raised an eyebrow. "How would you be able to tell if she's guilty or not just by thinking?" She asked.

John groaned. "You shouldn't have asked that..." He told her warningly.

Sherlock's eyes suddenly seemed to sharpen as he took her in. "You're Princess Twilight Sparkle of Equestria, otherwise know as the Princess of Magic. I'm detecting magical residue off your wings, meaning that they were given to you and you weren't born with them, and judging by the strength of the residue it has merely been around six months since you got your wings. You haven't been a Princess long, and judging by the dark circles under your eyes and your always erect posture you aren't comfortable with the job yet. Your guards didn't bow to you, meaning you told them not to, meaning you dislike having authority. A Princess disliking authority? That's something you don't see every day, Faust knows that Celestia absolutely adores her power.

You choose to stay in Ponyville rather than move to Canterlot, meaning that you don't have any friends there and that your friends are here. You clearly don't have many friends, no offence, and you aren't exactly a social butterfly judging by the way you're blushing right now. You grew up in Canterlot, which means that you lead an antisocial life back home but when you came here, you made friends. If you ask me, a change like that is very sudden, and if you were truly antisocial you wouldn't leave of your own will, so you were probably forced. You look surprised, so I'll take it that you were, indeed, forced to leave home and move to Ponyville. You don't seem to sad about it, meaning it wasn't family problems or anything, just a task. With your past as Celestia's student, I'd say she sent you here to learn about friendship and that is how all the friendships came to be.

Then there's the way some of your fur is slightly darker than the rest, barely noticeable to the common eye, but then again I'm not exactly common. That means you've encountered fire before, but fire would normally leave more permanent scars, meaning that the fire was controlled. You live in a library in a tree, and there are no records of a fire there while you've lived there meaning you have something at your house that can control fire, maybe a pet? A Phoenix can't control it's fire, but a Dragon can. You've got a pet Dragon at home, but by the way you're glaring at me now means it's not a pet, it's more. Judging by the intensity of your glare I'd say a surrogate little brother or sister, and female Dragons are incredibly rare which means it is most likely a male Dragon.

Am I right?" He said it quickly, but Twilight heard every word.

John gaped at him, not quite believing that he'd just done that. "Enjoy being banished from Equestria." He sighed, shaking his head and looking at the ground.

Twilight stared at him with very wide, very surprised eyes. "How... How did you know all that?" She asked quietly, feeling completely awed. When he'd been recommended to her by Lestride, he'd told her about his amazing skills but she hadn't quite expected, well, that.

Sherlock smirked a bit. "I merely observed your highness. Now, going back to your missing filly, this could be of some help." He stuck his head back in the window, much to John's dislike.

The blonde Pegasus groaned loudly and grabbed Sherlock's curly tail again, pulling him out of the window. "You are going to really hurt yourself if you keep doing that! You're a bloody Unicorn, use magic!" He exclaimed.

Sherlock turned to Twilight, most likely ignoring John. In his mouth he held a single blue, slightly torn feather. He flared his horn, a blue aura surrounding the feather and he held it in front of him. "I found this. Blue feather, and it look strikingly similar to one that would come from your friend Rainbow Dash. Would you call her over here?" He asked, still staring at the feather in his magic's grip.

Twilight nodded. She looked around and saw that Lestride was talking with Rainbow, an orange blanket draped over her shoulders. "Rainbow!" She called, gesturing to her with a hoof to come over. The columbia blue Pegasus trotted over to her, uncertainty in her eyes as she came up to the Princess's side.

Rainbow gave Twilight a confused and slightly nervous look. "Yeah Twi?" She asked. Her legs were shaking slightly, and she didn't like the look that the tall Unicorn was giving her. It was like he was judging her or something, which he probably was.

Twilight smiled reassuringly and gestured for her to sit down. When she complied, she turned to the detectives. "Rainbow, this is Sherlock Hooves and John W. Pony," She told her, gesturing at them, "I think Sherlock needs you for something." She explained.

Rainbow's eyes narrowed and she glared heatedly at Sherlock. "If you're gonna accuse me of kidnapping Scootaloo I will break your horn off." She warned viciously, wings snapping out as she stood up again, the blanket falling off of her.

Sherlock raised a hoof. "Please Rainbow Dash, relax. I'm not accusing you of anything. I merely need to check some things, is that alright?" He asked.

Rainbow nodded, relaxing and sitting back down. "Ok, just don't be... Weird." She told him, folding her wings and giving him a cautious look.

Sherlock looked to John. "I assume you'd like to examine her first?" He offered. He cracked a bit of a smile at the dreamy look John was giving Rainbow.

John snapped out of his trance, nodded and stood up, noticing ruefully that Rainbow was a few inches taller than he was. "I'd just like to make sure you're well enough for his questions and whatnot, is that alright ma'am?" He asked.

Rainbow gave him a serious look. "If it means I'm getting my little sister back, I'll go along with anything. And no 'ma'am' stuff, just call me Rainbow." She told him.

John nodded. "Ok, I need you to lean down a bit." He told her. She complied and he leaned in, lightly touching their noses together as he looked into her eyes, brown meeting magenta. They looked normal, no signs of a concussion. He crouched down a bit and pressed his ear against her chest, listening for her heartbeat. Rapid. That was sign of Hypovolemic shock. He straightened himself and placed his hoof on her chest. Her breathing was slightly shallower than regular breathing. She was recuperating from the shock, the danger had passed. "Tell me Princess, what was she like before she fainted?" He asked.

Rainbow felt a bit uncomfortable with him touching her chest, but made no move to stop him. She was blushing slightly, an unsure look on her face.

Twilight looked at John, only now noticing his Cutie Mark. It was just a plain stethoscope. "She just... Stopped moving. She was staring at nothing, her chest was heaving and she wasn't responding to anything we did. Then she fell backwards and just stared at the ceiling until she fell unconscious." She explained.

John sat back and looked at Rainbow's face once more. "Could you please describe to me what you felt?" He asked, narrowing his brown eyes slightly.

Rainbow tilted her head downwards ever so slightly and closed her eyes. "I couldn't breathe. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn't get enough air. My ears were ringing and roaring, like when the blood roars in your ears, and my heart was beating really fast. Scoots's name kept flashing through my mind, I was screaming for help but I couldn't, like, talk. My legs gave out and I fell over, and I couldn't hear anything besides these faint screams and the roaring in my ears. I thought I was dying, nothing was working and I could only stare at the ceiling." She told the doctor, feeling herself start to shudder again at the sheer terror she'd felt in that moment.

Twilight looked at John. "She also screamed Scootaloo's name at one point, right before she passed out." She added.

John nodded in understanding. "You went into shock, and you're very fortunate that you got medical help as soon as you did. If you had stayed in that state for too long, your heart would've failed from improper oxygen and consumption and an insufficient amount of blood going to it. Rainbow, could you please turn around and spread your wings for me?" He asked.

Rainbow complied and turned around, spreading her wings like she was instructed. She felt his nimble hooves on them as he examined them, blushing a bit at the contact. It wasn't the most comfortable thing, having a strange stallion touch her wings. She looked over at Twilight, noticing how her Alicorn friend was giving John a curious look.

"She's already been cleared by Nurse Redheart, I don't understand why she needs somepony to examine her. No offence."

John sat back and gave the Princess a serious look, a frown on his face. "With all respect Princess, I've been in the detective business for quite a while now. And from this, I've learned that you can't trust everypony. While Sherlock here has had his head in a broken window," His pale partner scowled at him and snorted indignantly, "I've been listening to what the Royal Guards are saying. And most of them are convinced that Rainbow is the kidnapper. And if they believe it, what would stop Redheart from believing it?" He asked. Before Twilight or Rainbow could reply, he continued, "She could've drugged Rainbow for all we know. And she did. Nothing deadly, nothing serious, but she did. I recognize it because I've been drugged with it before. Rainbow, try to close your wings." He ordered, still looking at Twilight.

Rainbow looked over her shoulder and gave him an odd look, but complied. She tried to close her wings, only to discover that she couldn't. Her eyes widened and she tried to fold them once more, but they wouldn't comply. "I-I can't close my wings!" She exclaimed in a panicky voice.

John nodded. "Because she drugged you. It's a drug that was designed specifically for Pegasi, it temporarily disables the wings and renders them frozen and unable to move. You'll be fine in about six hours. Other than that, I'd say you've passed with flying colors. Sherlock," He stepped back and gestured for the taller Unicorn to take his place.

Sherlock stood up from his sitting position, and to the two Elements of Harmony's surprise, he towered over the both of them. He came over to Rainbow, then sat down again, still taller than her. He adjusted his purple scarf so that it went back into his black coat and frowned as she continued to try and close her wings. "Now, now, don't do that. You'll only injure them." He told her.

John walked over to Twilight. "You should go and arrest Nurse Redheart while you have the chance." He whispered.

Twilight nodded. "Thank you for your assistance John. I'll see to Nurse Redheart immediately." She replied, standing before trotting away. She saw Nurse Redheart walking out of Carousel Boutique and she quickened her pace. The white Earth Pony seemed to see her and broke into a gallop.

The Alicorn sped up as well charging after the nurse with her horn ignited. "GUARDS! SEIZE HER!" She shouted, firing off a beam of expertly aimed magic. It exploded on the ground in front of the fleeing Nurse Redheart, making her skid to a halt. She was instantly tackled by two Pegasi as Twilight came up, glaring down at the Earth Pony.

Nurse Redheart glared up at her with venom in her eyes. "How could you befriend such a monster?" She demanded in a low voice, baring her teeth in a threatening snarl.

Twilight drew herself up, towering over the nurse. "Nurse Redheart, I hereby place you under arrest for the deliberate drugging of Rainbow Dash. Guards, take her to Officer Lestride." She ordered, turning and snapping her tail like a whip as she did. She heard the click of hoofcuffs as she walked away.

"YOU'LL SEE PRINCESS! LOYALTY IS A LIE!"

A sudden sleep spell shot from an very angry Alicorn struck her, and she slipped wordlessly into a deep sleep. Twilight turned away again and ceased the magical flow, storming away from the Guards as they dragged her away.

"SHERLOCK!"

"WHAT THE BUCK ARE YOU DOING!?"

Twilight was just in time to see Rainbow Dash suddenly whip around and buck Sherlock's forelegs out from under him, knocking him over. She sped over as the Unicorn got back up, blood dripping from his muzzle and a scowl on his face. "Rainbow! What's going on?" She demanded as she came up to her.

Rainbow whipped around and gave Twilight a very angry look. "He bit my wing!" She squealed, pointing accusingly at Sherlock.

John was inspecting Sherlock's bleeding nose. "Sherlock, for Celestia's sake, you can't just BITE ponies! They'll get mad or scared and attack! You should know this by now, honestly you're a genius but sometimes you act like such a bloody idiot..." He grumbled, sitting back down when he decided that Sherlock's muzzle was not broken and that it would be fine in a few minutes.

Sherlock pressed his hoof against his aching muzzle and glared at Rainbow. "Well she didn't have to kick me..." He grumbled.

Rainbow glared right back. "You could've at least warned me!" She retorted hotly.

Twilight sighed and her face planted into her hoof as she shook her head. "I have a lot of stuff to deal with with my friends right now, and I need Rainbow for this. Are you done with her?" She asked, looking up at Sherlock.

Sherlock nodded. "Yes. I'll have John come to get you when I've come to a conclusion as to who the kidnapper is. Now if you'll excuse us..." He stood up, turned tail and walked in another direction, John following soon after after mumbling a quick apology and farewell to the princess.

John looked up at him. "Did you have to honestly bite her wing?" He demanded.

Sherlock smirked a bit. "Perhaps not, but it was rather amusing. And if I'm right about this, then that was completely necessary." He replied in a way that meant he would reveal no further details as to what he was thinking.

"The game, John, is on!"