Finding Scootaloo

Twilight moaned as she came to, her head aching. She opened her eyes slowly, very glad to see that her vision was clear. She had a headache, but it was nowhere as bad as a concussion headache. She shook her head a bit to clear her groggy senses, before realizing where she was.

She was in Carousel Boutique.

"Oh, you've woken up!"

The cheerful voice was followed by Rarity as she trotted in, smiling cheerfully. But despite the seemingly warm smile, there was a maniacal glint in her eyes. "I don't suppose you'll take up my offer on tea?" She asked mockingly, a cruel bite to her voice.

Twilight jumped towards her, wings flared and teeth bared, but something pulled sharply on her right hindleg and she slammed into the floor. She got to her hooves and looked back to see that there was rope tied around her ankle, and that the end of it was wrapped in a blue aura. She looked back to Rarity and saw that the Unicorn was giving her a wicked grin.

Rarity strode forwards, before yanking sharply on the rope and bringing it to her. She giggled cruelly as Twilight was knocked over with a yelp of pain. "It's quite rude to fall asleep when you're at somepony's house!" She snapped.

Twilight glared up at her. "Let me go." She growled.

"And then you have the nerve to try and escape!"

"LET ME GO RARITY!"

Twilight's horn flared up, but Rarity pulled on the rope again, the force nearly pulling Twilight's hip out of place. She cried out in pain and her magic faded away, leaving her to glare up at her former friend gasping and holding back tears.

Rarity stomped her hoof. "GET UP!" She barked roughly.

Twilight slowly got to her hooves, still giving Rarity a suspicious look. "Somepony'll find out. You couldn't fool Sherlock if he came here." She spat.

Rarity shook her head. "You act like I'll kill you. No darling, I merely need to keep you here until the job is done. Forgive me." She told her, sounding anything but sincere.

Twilight surged forwards and her hoof came down across Rarity's face. "BURN IN TARTARUS!" She shrieked.

"SILENCE YOU DAMN MULE!" Rarity moved her head as she pulled the rope to the side, causing Twilight's leg to bend beneath her. The Alicorn let out a sharp yelp as her leg went out from underneath her and she hit the ground on her side. The Unicorn went up to her and smirked as her former friend gripped her leg and writhed in pain.

Twilight looked up at Rarity with slightly watery eyes. "I hate you." She hissed through grit teeth, rolling onto her back.

Rarity leaned down and lightly stroked Twilight's cheek. "Oh I know. But after today, after the job is done, Rainbow Dash will no longer be an issue. We'll be friends again soon darling, just you see. For now... Let's have a little fun, shall we?" Without warning the mare leaned down and plugged her lips firmly onto Twilight's.

Twilight's eyes flew wide with shock and she instantly started struggling, opening her mouth to scream against the kiss but instead finding that Rarity's tongue had forced its way into her mouth and was running along the inside of her cheek. Tears started flowing down her cheeks as panic struck her and she screamed against the forced kiss, trying to throw Rarity off.

Rarity pulled away and grinned seductively at Twilight, licking her lips. "Oh, somepony's a screamer... But that was only the beginning dear, Mama's going to have so much fun with you..." She purred. Her magic pulled the rope, bringing the sobbing Princess Closer as she got in her face, hot breath spilling against her nose. Her hoof lightly touched Twilight's chest, then slowly started tracing downwards. Down her chest, down her belly and towards-

"NO!"

Twilight wound up and bucked Rarity as hard as she could, her hooves striking hard against her chest. She heard a loud crack as Rarity's ribs cracked and the Unicorn toppled with a shriek of agony. She quickly got to her hooves and ran as fast as she could, trying to escaped. She was tripped up again and looked to see that Rarity had gripped the end of the rope once more, holding her in place.

Rarity grinned wickedly as the Alicorn got to her hooves and struggled to free herself, screaming and crying. "IT'S NO USE TWILIGHT SPARKLE! I WILL HAVE YOU WHETHER YOU WANT IT OR NOT!" She screeched. She watched as Twilight's own magic undid the rope, but anticipating this, she quickly gripped her leg with her magic, still holding her in place.

Twilight screamed as Rarity grabbed her. "LET ME GO! PLEASE!" She begged shrilly.

Rarity slowly got to her hooves, a bit of blood dripping from her mouth. Her frazzled mane fell across one eye and the other eye had a maniacal look as she looked at Twilight with an insane look. "You're mine..." She hissed, stalking forwards on uneven legs. She felt the Alicorn start to try and free herself with magic, and in response the insane mare used her own magic to painfully twist the ankle.

Twilight cried out in pain as her ankle twisted, before turning and firing a beam of magic straight at Rarity. It connected and sent the Unicorn flying back into the wall, and she ran the minute she saw that her former friend was unconscious.

Twilight broke the door to Carousel Boutique down in her haste to get away. She had to keep her bad leg held above the ground as she ran unevenly towards the library, eyes wide with terror. It was dark out, the streets were deserted. Nopony around.

Rainbow Dash was in danger.

Creeeeeak

Rainbow Dash shot up right in time to see the door to her room close and a shadowy figure slip into the darkness. It was night, she'd been asleep for a few hours at least. She watched as the pony slipped into the shadows and continued to move, but because of the darkness she couldn't see the coat color/ "H-Hello? Who's there? Come on out or I'll buck your flank into next week!" She threatened nervously.

"Cross your heart..."

Rainbow swore her heart skipped a beat."W-Wha?" She stammered as the creepy, bone-chilling song echoed eerily around her room.

"Hope to fly..."

Rainbow jumped to her hooves. "Stop it and fight me already!" She exclaimed, eyes narrowing as she tried to find the mysterious pony. If this was a prank, it was not funny. Her legs shook as she looked around wildly, catching the occasional glimpse of a flat tail whipping out of sight.

"Stick a cupcake in your eye..."

Cold blue eyes glinted in the slim crack of moonlight from a small hole in the tree trunk.

Rainbow stopped dead and stared. "W-Wait... Pinkie Pie!?" She demanded, feeling her heart sink.

"Cause if you lie to Pinkie Pie..." Pinkie came out of the shadows, her mane a flat waterfall of dark pink hair. She was holding a knife in one hoof, a knife that glimmered dangerously in that same crack of moonlight.

Rainbow backed away, her good wing beating desperately as her heart started racing. "Pinkie stop, you're seriously freaking me out... Put the knife down! PINKIE!" Rainbow screamed as the Earth Pony continued to advance on her.

Pinkie stopped for a moment. "You better kiss your ass goodbye." She finished. She flicked the knife up, bit down on the handle and then jumped towards her prey, eyes gleaming with a dangerous insanity.

Rainbow let out a screech of terror and dodged out of the way, hearing Pinkie crash against the wall. "PINKIE! NO, STOP! PLEASE!" She begged, backing away as Pinkie slowly got back to her hooves. The pink face turned its deadly glare to her, blood dripping from a cut on her forehead and she screamed again, scrambling to her hooves and backing away.

Pinkie let out a feral roar and charged after, ramming into the Pegasus and knocking her over, She grabbed the knife in her hoof and pressed it against Rainbow's throat, ignoring the terrified sobs as as she bared her teeth in a snarl. "WHERE'S SCOOTALOO!?" She demanded shrilly.

"I-I DON'T KNOW! PLEASE STOP!"

The knife pressed down harder. "TELL ME WHERE SHE IS YOU MOTHERBUCKER AND I MIGHT LET YOU GO!" She screeched.

Rainbow continued to sob as blood started leaking down. "I DIDN'T TAKE HER! WE WERE FRIENDS PINKIE, STOP IT PLEASE! I DIDN'T KIDNAP HER!" She wailed, struggling feebly.

"I DON'T BELIEVE YOU!"

"PINKIE PLEASE!"

"TELL ME WHERE SHE IS!"

"I DON'T KNOW!"

"STOP LYING TO ME!"

"I'M NOT LYING I SWEAR!"

"GIVE ME SCOOTALOO OR I'LL KILL YOU!"

"I DON'T HAVE HER! STOP, YOU'RE HURTING ME!"

"WHERE IS SCOOTALOO!?"

"I DON'T WANT TO DIE!"

As Rainbow struggled and screamed at the top of her lungs, a face suddenly appeared behind Pinkie. John leapt at the crazed Earth Pony and knocked her clear off of Rainbow Dash, making the knife carve a small track across her chin and cheek. He slammed her hard against the floor and cried out when her knife jabbed his foreleg. He used the other hoof to punch her across the jaw and then her ripped the knife from her grasp, brandishing it between his teeth and facing her. "TELL ME WHY I SHOULDN'T KILL YOU RIGHT NOW!" He shouted.

Pinkie laughed maniacally, her voice shrieking and grating against the ears of Rainbow and John. "BECAUSE THEN EQUESTRIA WILL BE DOWN ON ITS GREATEST DEFENSE. HAHAHAHAHAHA! WITHOUT THE ELEMENTS OF HARMONY, THERE'S NO TELLING WHAT WILL HAPPEN!" She screeched wildly, tears of mirth spilling down her cheeks.

John punched her once more, this time putting more force behind the blow. Her head snapped back, and she fell limp with unconsciousness. He got off the mare and gasped for breath, barely noticing the stab wound on his leg.

Slam!

"JOHN!? RAINBOW DASH!?"

The stallion's ears flicked up and he turned to Rainbow Dash. "Come on." He told her, offering her his hoof. She took it and he pulled her over, wincing at the long cut going from her chin and close to her left eye. He trotted ahead of her, knife still in his teeth, and he went out onto the balcony.

Twilight looked up and gasped at the sight of the two Pegasi. "Oh my gosh! Are you two ok!?" She demanded.

John nodded. "We're fine, you should see the other pony." He replied.

Twilight hurried up the stairs as fast as she could with her injured ankle. "You two go downstairs and get yourselves fixed up, I'll be there in a moment." She ordered, before whisking past them and into Rainbow's room. She looked around, noticing that several things were toppled over and that there was somepony lying on the ground. She limped over and rolled the body over, gasping at the sight of Pinkie's still face and the large bruise on her head.

Then she remembered the knife John had been holding. A bloodstained cake knife.

Twilight lifted the body with her magic and walked back outside, taking Pinkie with her. She levitated the pink mare over the balcony and down to the floor below, moving some stuff off of a table and dropping her on it. She leapt over the balcony and gently fluttered down, deciding that going back down the stairs would be too much for her ankle to handle.

John was examining the wound on Rainbow's face with a careful eye. He noticed, thankfully, that it wasn't too deep. He reached into his first aid kit and pulled out the roll of gauze, using some to cover in the injury. "It should be fine in a few days." He told her softly. She didn't seem to be injured anywhere else, and by some miracle she'd kept her broken wing out of harm's way.

Twilight used her magic to light some candles before she staggered over and looked at Rainbow. "Is she going to be ok?" She asked nervously, looking at her friend with wide, sympathetic eyes.

John nodded. "Yes, she somehow managed to avoid further injury to wing and the cut isn't very deep. I'll make sure she's guarded when you're not here from now on." He replied. He looked over at her, and noticed that she wasn't putting any weight on her right hindleg. "Are you injured?" He asked.

Twilight shook her head. "Nothing I can't handle, I'll be fine." She reassured him.

John narrowed his eyes. "That," He gestured at her leg, "Certainly doesn't look like nothing. Sit." He ordered, hopping off the couch.

Rainbow scooted over as Twilight climbed on, leaving room for the doctor to get back on as well. Twilight had turned to face her, and she noticed some red smeared on Twilight's lips. "What's that?" She asked, pointing at her lips.

Twilight put a hoof to her mouth and pulled away, looking at some lipstick. "Rarity's lipstick. I went to her house to confront her about coming here, and she knocked me out and trapped me there. She started kissing me, and she tried to... Tried to touch me." She replied, her voice starting to shake as she recalled the feeling of violation as one of her former friends had tried to force her to be intimate.

John looked at her with slightly wide eyes. "Did she... You know... Succeed?" He asked.

Twilight shook her head. "No, I managed to get her off before she touched me... There." She replied shakily.

Rainbow wrapped Twilight in a reassuring hug and felt two forelegs grip below her wings tightly. She ran a hoof soothingly down her back as Twilight's chest heaved with shaky breaths, as if her lungs themselves were trembling with fright. She herself felt like her heart would burst from her chest, one of her former best friends had just tried to kill her after all. But she needed to be strong, for Twilight's sake at least.

John waited until Twilight composed herself before speaking, "Twilight, could I ask you to lie down on your back?" He asked. She nodded in response and rolled over, and the doctor winced inwardly at the way her tail covered her private areas protectively. Poor mare, going through something like that... He thought. He kept a steeled expression on his face, locking his emotions away. He gently took her hoof in his forehooves, feeling her flinch at his touch. Another inward wince.

Rainbow draped her forelegs over Twilight's shoulders and allowed the Alicorn to rest her head in her lap. She looked into the big, frightened deep purple eyes and smiled reassuringly, petting Twilight's mane with a hoof.

John grabbed his roll of gauze and wrapped some around her swollen ankle and hoof, tearing tearing it from the roll when he was done. He put the roll way and looked back up at Twilight. "Only a minor sprain, but you should keep off of it for a few days. Sherlock will have to handle the case till then." He instructed.

Twilight shot up almost instantly. "But-"

"No buts Twilight. There's a dangerous kidnapper and quite a few ponies want to kill Rainbow, so unless you want to be overpowered by possibly armed ponies, you'll stay off that ankle until I tell you otherwise." John cut her off firmly, giving her a look that showed he wasn't going to budge.

Twilight slumped back. "Fine." She grumbled moodily.

Rainbow giggled a bit and pet Twilight's mane again. "Cheer up Twi, I bet Sherlock'll be able to find out just what's going on no problem!" She reassured her.

John took a close look at Rainbow, and he could easily tell that her smile was fake. Behind her eyes, there was a horrible anger and lust for blood that demanded to be met, matched only by crushing defeat, hopelessness and sorrow. And behind it all, a trace of fear. He frowned slightly, but didn't say anything.

Twilight sighed and put her head back down. She smiled up at Rainbow, but just like her friend hers was like a mask. Inside her head she felt indescribable terror from what Rarity had tried to do to her, Pinkie trying to murder Rainbow and the danger looming on the horizon. Defeat weighed down on her heart like a boulder, a sense of sorrow and anger that made her want to cry.

But just like Rainbow Dash, she knew she had to be strong. Even if it meant lying to everypony's faces that she was alright. Even if it meant hurting those close to her.

Even if it killed her.