Rainbow Savior

Chapters

Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 6/Epilogue
Chapter 5

Chapter 1

Rainbow Savior Chapter 1
By: Juria
Author Notes: I own nothing except this story, and a few OCs! MLP: FiM is owned by Hasbro/Lauren Faust. This story is a tad dark, but not too bad. Also, takes place kind of after the first season but before the second season. Enjoy!

Rainbow Dash flew high above the town of Ponyville, enjoying the bright sunlight. She flew fast enough to her liking, but not so fast that she couldn’t look down every so often and observe the rest of the town. It was one of those rare, odd days, no clouds in the sky, no incoming storms, just peace, comfort, and the wind in her mane. However, as she’d grown accustomed to in her life, a peaceful day never lasted. As she flew further and faster, Rainbow Dash caught a very familiar sight set of colors out of the corner of her eye, the unmistakable orange fur and purple mane and tail of her number 1 fan. Rainbow Dash went in for low dive, planning on suddenly flying back up at the last second to give the young filly a surprise, but as she got closer to the ground, a nagging feeling in her gut told her something was wrong. Rainbow Dash slowly inched closer to the still form of Scootaloo, a lump in her throat as she called out to her. “Hey, hey kid, wake up.” She said. Slowly, Scootaloo opened an eye, and as she tried to lift her head, Rainbow Dash saw the worst sight she had ever witnessed in her life. Scootaloo’s other eye was bruised, a deep mixture of black and purple, and almost swollen completely shut. Her front hooves were covered in blood, which Dash had found the source of as Scootaloo tried to stand, several deep gashes on her flank and side, as well as a broken back leg. Rainbow Dash did the best she could to maintain her composure as she gently tried to lift Scootaloo off of the ground, holding her close to her body with her front legs. “Just hang on Scoots, I’ve got you.” She whispered softly as Rainbow Dash took off as fast as her wings would carry them to Ponyville hospital.

10 hours later…………..

Scootaloo slowly opened her eye, everything appearing as a blur to her, the sound of Nurse Redheart’s voice sounding slightly muffled. “Oh, you’re awake, poor dear.” she said, giving a soft smile. Scootaloo could barely give out a mumbled reply before coughing and throwing up in the trashcan next to her bed. Nurse Redheart gently stroked her back as Scootaloo regained her composure. “Wha..where am I?” she asked, breathing deeply as she slowly titled her head back on the white cotton pillow. Nurse Redheart gave her another smile, trying to cheer her up. “You were brought here by Rainbow Dash almost ten hours ago. It took myself and three other medical ponies four hours to stop the bleeding.” she said with an almost saddened expression on her face. Scootaloo gave a groan as Nurse Redheart covered her up with a blanket. “Where’s Rainbow Dash now?” Scootaloo asked. “Out in the waiting room. Are you sure you want visitors?” Scootaloo gently nodded, then watched with a weakened eye as Nurse Redheart walked out of the room.

Rainbow Dash slept quietly out in the Ponyville Hospital’s waiting room, her loyalty element, as well as her conscience, nagging her like a bad itch. Nurse Redheart gently nudged her awake, then took a couple of steps back when Dash flew up with her hooves swinging. Rainbow Dash breathed fast and heavy for a few seconds before calming down and gently landing on the floor, Redheart giving the two security stallions that had started to walked towards them a reassuring nod. “So, how is she?” she asked. Nurse Redheart gave her a soft smile. “She’s been asking for you, but she can’t get out of bed yet due to some internal injuries. Her spirits seem to be up though.” Redheart explained with a sigh.

Dash stared at the floor, letting Redheart’s words sink in. “This is all my fault. That little filly did nothing more than admire me, but I was too busy stroking my own ego. If I hadn’t been so wrapped up in myself, if I had just listened to her or even talked to her, if I hadn’t….” Dash went to put herself down even further, but Redheart placed a hoof on her shoulder. “That’s enough Ms. Dash; I won’t have anypony put themselves down while they’re in my hospital. Yes, what has happened to Scootaloo is terrible, but right now you’re the only pony that filly has, and she needs you.” she stated firmly. Dash gave a deep sigh, and then calmly walked into Scootaloo’s room.

“Hey there squirt, how’s the, well, everything.” Dash said with a soft smile, nervously scratching the back of her head. “Rainbow Dash!” Scootaloo smiled, her eyes getting as big as saucers. She almost reached forward to hug her, until the intense pain torn throughout her body, causing her to give out a cry of pain. Rainbow Dash quickly rushed over to her side, then gently hugged her, the return hug from the young orange filly almost crushing her neck. “Ok kiddo, can’t breathe.” Dash replied, her face going from cyan to a darker shade of blue. Scootaloo instantly let go, then stared at the blanket covering her, trying to ignore the bandages and bruises.

“So, want to tell me what happened?” Dash asked in as best a motherly tone as she could muster. Unfortunately, judging by how quickly Scootaloo’s expression changed, this was going to be harder than Dash thought. “I, um, crashed my scooter, into a bunch of trees and thorn bushes, then I stumbled out into that patch of plains, and passed out.” she said with a nervous grin. Dash, on the other hoof, wasn’t buying it. “Come on Scoots, this is me you’re talking to, Rainbow Dash, the fastest flyer in all of Equestria. I didn’t get that way by falling for every story I heard. Besides, even if I did believe that part, how do you explain the gashes and bruises, the internal injuries, not to mention how many possible broken ribs. And trust me; you don’t get those types of injuries from a scooter crash. Now tell me the truth, what happened to you?” Dash stated her voice a mixture of a motherly tone and a stern demand. Scootaloo winced in pain as she rolled on her side, facing away from Dash. “If I told you, they’d kill me.” the filly stated, remaining silent as Dash tried again to reason with her, then after almost 20 minutes of pure silence, left the room.

Days turned into weeks and then months as Dash and Scootaloo kept playing the same head games, each time Dash would bring up the source of her injuries, Scootaloo would shut down completely. Eventually, Dash stopped bringing up the subject all together, and instead began to try to understand Scootaloo as one filly to another. Thankfully, this day was not one of those days as Applebloom and Sweetie Belle had practically busted into the hospital waiting room, Applejack and Rarity close behind them. “Where…the hay…is Scootaloo?” Applebloom asked the clerk at the front desk, panting and huffing.

“Consarn it Applebloom, I told ya’ll to wait on us and not to go bargin’ in here like a dang chicken with its head cut off.” Applejack said, a stern glare on her face. Applebloom turned to her sister, a pouting look on her face. “I’m sorry sis, but ya’ll gotta understand, we ain’t seen Scoots in almost a month, what with school an all. And the last time we done seen her, she looked half-dead. I mean, what if she’s gotten worse, what if she’s got infections, what if she…”
“Applebloom!”

Applebloom stopped dead in her tracks, and then stared at the floor, tears rolling down her cheeks. Applejack’s expression went from frustration to a look of understanding as she placed a leg around Applebloom, while Rarity wrapped Sweetie Belle in a hug, tears silently falling from her sister’s eyes as well. Once the two fillies had calmed down, a familiar voice spoke up, causing all four of them to practically jump out of their hooves. “Hey guys.” Rainbow Dash said casually. “Why all the down faces?”

Dash had to take a couple of steps back as she was suddenly swarmed with questions and faces. “Ok, ok, one at a time, jeeze.” She said in an unusually low whisper, holding up her hooves defensively. “How’s Scootaloo?, Can we see her?” Sweetie Belle and Applebloom asked in unison.

“Is she ah zombie?”

“She can’t be a zombie you do-do.”

“Hey, don’t go callin’ me ah do-do ya jerk.”

“Who are you calling a jerk um, jerk?”

“Enough!” Dash said firmly, snapping the two fillies out of their fight. “Scootaloo is doing better, she isn’t a zombie, and I’ve been with her for the past five hours trying to get her relaxed enough so she can sleep peacefully. So if the two of you wake her up, I guarantee that you’ll regret it.” Dash stated, whispering the last few lines enough to where only the two fillies could hear it, sending them both hiding behind their sisters. With a huff, Dash looked up at Applejack and Rarity, giving a meek smile. “So, who wants lunch? I’ll buy.” She stated before slumping on to one of the waiting room couches, almost instantly fading off to sleep.

4 hours later………….

Dash awoke with a start, falling off the couch and finding herself staring up at the ceiling in a daze, with a familiar voice calling her name. “Huh, wha?” she mumbled, shaking her head to clear the cobwebs, only to be staring face to face with a yellow muzzle, a flaming orange and yellow mane, and a pair of bright amber eyes. “Hello again, Rainbow Dash.”

Dash yawned, groggily righted herself, and plopped herself back on the couch. “Hello again Spitfire.” she said with an underlying tone of annoyance. Ever since the incident at the Grand Galloping Gala, her hero worship of the Wonderbolts had dropped just enough that she didn’t go all gaga and girly over them, well, not as much. Spitfire put her saddlebags on the floor, then flopped herself on the couch next to Dash. “Your friends are out making a coffee run. We need to talk.” she stated. Dash sighed. “If this is about the Gala, I really don’t want to hear it.”

Spitfire’s head titled down as she gave a deep sigh. “This isn’t about the Gala, if anything that’s the furthest thing on my mind right now.” The tone of her voice snapped Dash out of her half-asleep state. “So, what is this about?” she asked, giving Spitfire a quizzical glance. Spitfire reached into her left saddlebag and dropped a small pile of pictures in front of Dash. Dash said nothing, picked up the photos, and began to go through them, each one more disgusting and brutal than the last. They were all images of foals, pegasi to be exact, each one with a different colored fur, and all basically in the same position, similar to how Dash had found Scootaloo, except all four of their legs had been twisted into awkward and sickening positions. They all had their wings ripped off, their eyes gouged out, and most importantly, the same gashes that Scootaloo had had, several on the flanks, and then several more huge ones on the side, the only difference being that these were so deep that Dash could see past the ribs, to the organs, which in a few of the images were actually falling out of the body.

When Dash finally got through the small stack of images, which felt like it went on for forever, she slammed the images down on the table in front of them and raced into the bathroom to throw up. Five minutes later, Dash emerged from the bathroom, trying to keep her composure. She sat back down on the couch and shot Spitfire a glare. “Just what the buck does this have to do with me?” she snapped. Spitfire shook her head. “It has nothing to do with you, well, not yet anyways. Right now, our number 1 priority “she titled her head in the direction of Scootaloo’s room “is that young filly in there. She’s the only survivor we’ve found.” Spitfire stated grimly, watching Soarin talk to the little orange filly. By this time, Applejack and Rarity had returned, and just stood silently listening to the conversation, the thought of their own sisters in their heads. Rarity gently placed the coffees she had bought on the table, and then laid in one of the two chairs next to the couch, her eyes drifting towards her sister as Sweetie Belle and Applebloom walked towards them.

Applebloom, while not knowing what exactly was going on, knew something shook her sister up when Applejack didn’t respond to her at first. “Hey, Sis, snap out of it.” she said, shaking her with two hooves. Applejack looked down at her little sister, then quickly turned away, feeling tears in her eyes. Applebloom gave her a confused look, cocking her head to one side. “What dah hay is wrong with ya?” she asked. Applejack gulped and gave her sister an unusually serious stare. “We’ll talk about it later.” she stated in a voice that Applebloom had never heard her use, but somehow, she knew not to go asking any further. She quickly walked back to Scootaloo’s room, hugged her goodbye, gave the same hug to Sweetie Belle, and then the two sisters left, AJ and Dash a last-minute nod of understanding.

Sweetie Belle briefly glanced at the images on the table, before Rarity levitated them out of her sight. “Hey Rarity, I was looking at those.” she complained, before she noticed Rarity’s face, not an aggressive look like when she’d gotten into something she shouldn’t have, but one similar to Applejack’s, stern enough for her to not ask any more questions, a look that could have given Fluttershy’s “stare” a run for its bits. As Sweetie Belle went to say goodbye to Scootaloo, Rarity placed Spitfire’s images in front of her. “You shouldn’t keep something that vile out in the open.” she said in her typical posh, yet blunt, fashion. Spitfire put the images back in her saddlebag. “And if I were you, I’d tell that little filly the truth tonight, because by tomorrow morning, this place is going to be packed with royal guards.” she said in an understanding tone. Rarity gave her a courteous nod, and then firmly hugged Rainbow Dash. “We’ll be by tomorrow.” she whispered to her. Dash chuckled softly. “Yeah, and I’ll still be here.” she said with a grin, watching and waving as the two Belle sisters walked out.

The two sisters had barely gotten more than a block or two from the hospital before Rarity stopped walking. “Sweetie Belle?” she asked calmly. Sweetie nervously looked up at her sister, not sure what she would say or do next. “Y..yes Rarity?” she asked. Rarity sighed. “How much did you see or hear?” she asked.
“I didn’t really hear anything, but something didn’t feel right.”
“You were smart to trust your feelings Sweetie Belle. Something is wrong, very wrong. Somepony, no, some monster, did terrible things to a number of fillies, and they also hurt your friend Scootaloo, and I…

Rarity’s lip quivered as she looked down at her little sister. “I’m afraid, afraid of what could happen to you.” she said, trying to focus on the sky, the ground, the trees, anything to maintain her composure, until she felt Sweetie Belle’s front legs wrap around her leg. “Rarity.” Sweetie Belle said with an understanding in her voice that sounded older, yet somehow, natural. Rarity looked down, into her sister’s eyes, and gently nuzzled her, letting a few soft tears fall. “I love you Sweetie Belle.” she said softly. “I know, I’m so loveable.” Sweetie Belle said with a small smile, getting a giggle from Rarity. “Ah, and so modest too.” she replied, rolling her eyes. The two sisters continued to throw jabs at each other all the way home.

Later that night………….

Applejack couldn’t sleep, pacing the kitchen back and forth, the conversation between Spitfire and Rainbow Dash echoing in her head. She had already told Big Macintosh and Granny Smith, and they had both taken it fairly well, or at least Granny Smith had, as Big Macintosh had thrown on his stone face, where the only one who could tell what he was thinking was him. Applejack sighed as she flopped on her rump, staring out the window. “How the hay am ah gonna explain this to her?” she asked herself. “Explain what?” Applebloom asked, not more than a few inches from her, causing Applejack to jump several hooves in the air. “How the hay long have you been standing there?” AJ asked. Applebloom shrugged, and then sat on her rump next to Applejack. “Ah ain’t got a clue. AJ, what’s got ya all spooked?” she asked. Applejack stared at the ceiling. “Termites, and roaches.” she said, her eyes shifting back and forth and she bit her lip. Unfortunately, Applebloom wasn’t buying it. “Come on AJ, ah ain’t stupid. Somethin’s got ya spooked, and it’s gotta do with me. Now, what’d ah do wrong?” she asked with a frown. Applejack looked down at her little sister and shook her head, chuckling. “Ya’ll ain’t done nothin’ wrong Applebloom. None of ya’ll have. It’s just, there’s somethin’ bad in town, and ah’m afraid, afraid somethin’ bad might happen to ya’ll, or to somepony else. Ah’m afraid ah won’t be able ta protect ya if the time comes.” She stated. Applebloom stood up on her back legs and wrapped her front legs around her big sister’s neck. “Ah know it ain’t just you, there’s Big Mac, Granny Smith, and hay, ah even think Zecora would be willin’ ta lead ah hoof ta help. Ya’ll ain’t alone sis, even without ma and pa, we’re still a family.” she said. Applejack returned her little sister’s hug. “Thanks AB, ah needed ta hear that.” She said with a small smile on her face. However, she had to stop once she felt Applebloom’s grip go a little limp, and heard the soft snoring coming from the little filly. AJ slowly rose up, gently lifting Applebloom on her back. “Some days, ah reckon ah don’t know what I’d do without ya little sis.” She whispered softly, carting to sleeping filly off to bed.

The Next Day……………………

Rainbow Dash awoke to a semi-shocking development, and it wasn’t the fact that Spitfire was helping Scootaloo back into bed, as she was still fanfillying out and they hadn’t gotten down to actually telling her the real reason why they were here, nor was it the headphone with mic set Spitfire and Soarin had on their heads, as she had been told by them earlier last night that they were going to be communicating with their peers this way and basically had an ear, eye, and hoof either at the hospital or the library and that Twilight was going to be working with them as well, but the fact that when she looked outside of Scootaloo’s room, and all she saw was a mixture of white, gold, black, and dark blue from the royal guards, yeah, that might have been just the tiniest bit out of place.

“Holy horseapples, how many guards are there?” Dash asked to nopony in particular. “There’s about ten covering this entire hallway, forty guarding the outside of the building, and two guards on each floor at each entry point and exit point. Looks like Princess Celestia went all-out.” Soarin stated with a smile. “Yeah, and the ones that I could get to talk were really cool. I can’t believe the Princess is doing this for me.” Scootaloo said excitedly, almost falling if Dash hadn’t caught her. “Um, I guess my leg isn’t completely healed.” Scoots stated with a sheepish smile. “Yeah, you sure are the guest of honor.” Dash said, hoping Scootaloo wouldn’t catch the unnerved look on her face.

Dash waited until Scootaloo was safe in bed and no longer needed her before walking out of the room. However, almost instantly she was confronted by three guards. The oldest looking of the three, a white pegasus who seemed to be about the size of Big Macintosh, and almost twice as wide, spoke first with a stern, commanding voice. “Ma’am, we need your name, age, date of birth, and official registration.” he stated firmly. Dash gave the guard a confused look. “What? Why do you need all of that?” she asked. “That’s confidential miss, now either turn over the information or we will remove you from the building.” he stated once again, a stoic expression on his face.

Rainbow Dash was almost ready to tell this guard where he could stick his information gathering witch hunt, until another voice, this one female and belonging to a dark blue alicorn, whose shimmering mane seemed to look like the stars themselves were at her command, rang out behind them. “Private Sunbolt, just what in Equestria are you doing?!” she shouted. The larger male’s face suddenly lost all expression except fear and Dash could have sworn that he had even lost some color in his fur. “B.bu.bu.but I, I mean, we, I, um…” Sunbolt stuttered, practically tripping over his words as the alicorn got right in his face. “You three think this is some kind of joke?” she asked sternly. “N,n,no your highness.” He said with a gulp, the other two, smaller guards hiding behind him. “Let me make one thing perfectly clear to all three of you, this is no joke, and you playing foalish pranks and jokes on anypony, especially on one of the element bearers, is unforgivable.” The alicorn stated, turning her back to the three, who started to breathe a sigh of relief, until she turned back to them, her eyes glowing. “The three of you are off this assignment as of this moment, suspended for the next nine months with no pay, period.” she stated with a chilling air in her voice. The three guards looked like frightened little foals. “But, Princess Luna, please, it was just a joke, you know, to boost morale.” Sunbolt stammered.

“Um, excuse me, can I say something here?” Dash piped up, causing the guards to let her through so she had Princess Luna’s full attention. Dash got almost eye-level with Princess Luna, the two whispering back and forth with one or the other occasionally looking back at the three guards. Finally, after what felt like forever, Dash stood next to Luna as she walked up to them. “Ms. Rainbow Dash has come up with an even better idea, and I agree with her completely. The three of you will no longer have to worry about being suspended.” she stated, with a small smile. Sunbolt and the other two rookies broke into a quick series of high-hoof bumps, while Luna just observed them with a small smirk on her face. “Because you’re all terminated.” she said with a smile, all three guard’s jaws not only hitting the floor, but dropping through it all the way to the hospital basement. Luna and Dash looked at each other, and then placed a hoof over their mouths while bursting into a fit of laughter. “Gotcha.” Luna stated with a grin. Sunbolt nervously grinned. “He, he, good one princess.”. Suddenly, Princess Luna’s face became stone cold serious. “However, if this happens again, next time I will not be so light-hearted, do I make myself clear?” she stated, her horn aimed right at their throats. The three guards nodded in unison before heading back to their posts, while Luna, Spitfire, and Dash headed out into the waiting room.

Chapter 2

Rainbow Savior Chapter 2

By: Juria

Rainbow Dash sat on the dark-green hospital waitng room couch, her mind trying to process what the past few hours of talking with Luna and Spitfire had yielded as far as understanding just how deep this investigation really was. “Wow.” was the only word she could muster.

In the span of an hour Dash had learned practically everything that Luna and Spitfire had to offer, and while some of it was just a simple re-hash of previous encounters, such as the fact that they had very little evidence and no witnesses aside from Scootaloo, other bits of information left her bewildered, such as the patterns that Spitfire and Luna both saw beginning to take shape, how the coat of every foal that had been murdered differed, with no one foal’s coat being the same color twice.

Suddenly and rather rudely, Dash’s train of thought came to a crashing halt with the arrival of somepony she had hoped would stay out of this, but Dash knew that she and her organization just had to stick their muzzles in. “Buck.” Dash muttered, sighing with a snort as she stood up to face the middle-aged mare. “It’s been a long time, Ms. Blossom.” Dash said, trying to keep up her polite demeanor.

Cherry Blossom gently brushed her black and silver mane out of her face, revealing a pair of small framed glasses and what almost appeared to be a set of even smaller eyes. Even as a young filly, Dash always thought that if Cherry Blossom took her glasses off her eyes would disappear. The lime-green earth pony with the gold bit for a cutie mark scoffed at her former charge, shifting her saddle bag slightly. “Rainbow Dash, how nice to see you after all this time.” She stated with a hint of disgust in her voice.

Dash rolled her eyes. “Look, I don’t know why you’re here, but unless you’ve got some sort of information that we don’t know about…” Cherry Blossom stopped her by putting her hoof in her face. “Actually, Ms. Rainbow Dash, you’re just the young filly I wanted to speak to” her gaze skimmed briefly over Luna and Spitfire “in private, of course.”

Princess Luna stood stoically beside Rainbow Dash, as did Spitfire. “If you have any information, I would suggest you give it to all three of us, otherwise you can just, what is the phrase?” Luna paused for only a couple of second, theatrically tapping her chin, before a smirk crossed her face. “Ah yes, buck off.” She stated bluntly.

Cherry Blossom stood before the princess with a befuddled look on her face, before recovering her bearings. “Very well then. My reason for visiting concerns a certain young filly, a Ms. Scoot-a-loo, which was brought in here almost two months ago. No report has been made to me about her status, and I came in to check on her. Also, without any “guardian” to speak of, she is to be turned over to Foal Services as soon as she is well enough to move on her own.”

Rainbow Dash glared at Ms. Blossom. “And what does this have to do with me?” she asked sternly. A smug grin spread on Cherry Blossom’s face like a weed. “Seeing as how this filly is technically homeless, and you have yet to fill out any kind of paperwork and may very well have made any and all medical decisions for her without the consent of her legal guardian, I have no choice but to fine you the sum of fifteen thousand bits minimum and to issue you a court ordered restraining order. You are not to come within one mile of said filly, and if you do so, you’ll be arrested immediately.” Cherry Blossom stated, the smug grin still plastered on her face as she reached into her saddle bag and hoofed over the court papers.

Dash’s heart sank like a rock as she read each line. Spitfire could see Dash getting more and more frustrated as she shook with rage, so she took this opportunity to pull Dash away from Cherry Blossom before Dash did something she knew she would regret. This act also served a second purpose, as it now left Cherry Blossom all alone against Princess Luna, the only being in Equestria at the present time that could do anything about this situation.

Luna’s eyes stared down Cherry Blossom in such a dark and chilling way that it rivaled Fluttershy’s infamous “stare”, if not surpassed it. Where Fluttershy’s stare was just a mixture of confidence and the young pegasi’s hidden aggression, Luna’s carried the extra advantage of being literally magically charged, which Ms. Blossom quickly felt as the area around her felt colder and darker, forcing her to cower on the inside before Luna even spoke. “How dare you, thou simple-minded peasant!” Luna’s voice boomed, practically rattling the walls. Cherry Blossom gulped as she attempted to hold her ground. “N..now your highness.” She stammered. “I am just a simple messenger for the government. I am just following orders.” Cherry Blossom managed to spit out, shaking on the inside.

Princess Luna strode over to Cherry Blossom, tilting her head down slightly so the two were eye level. “And we, as your princess, are reversing those orders.” Luna stated bluntly and coldly. Ms. Blossom stood dumbfounded. “B..but, yo..you can’t. The law clearly states that…” she was suddenly cut off by Luna’s once again booming voice. “AND WE ARE REVERSING THIS DECREE, OR HAVE YOU FORGOTTEN THAT THE RULER’S WORD IS FINAL?!” she bellowed.

By this time, Cherry Blossom had dropped her usual calm demeanor and had taken to hiding behind the waiting room couch. “B..but..” Ms. Blossom tried to stammer out yet another protest, only to be met this time with her own court order paper shoved right in her face before it suddenly and without warning burned up in a flash flame. Luna scowled at Cherry Blossom. “We, as your princess, do hereby decree Ms. Rainbow Dash to be temporary guardian of one filly, Ms. Scootaloo, until a more permanent solution can be found.” Luna stated.

Both Spitfire and Rainbow Dash turned to Luna with looks of total confusion while Cherry Blossom simply snorted, glared at the three mares, and stomped off out the door. Several guards clapped their hooves in appreciation before quickly returning to their posts. Rainbow Dash nervously looked up at Princess Luna. “Um, princess, not that I’m not grateful, but you did say that Scootaloo is pretty much my legal foal, right?” Luna smiled happily. “Of course, unless, do you object to such a task?” she asked with a somewhat befuddled look.

Rainbow sat on her rump on the hospital floor, thinking for several minutes, which for her was fairly long. After the minutes had passed, Rainbow stood up and simply shrugged her shoulders. “Nah.” As the princess and Spitfire shared a chuckle, Dash’s gaze turned to the still sleeping Scootaloo in the glass-walled sound-proof hospital room. “Don’t worry Scoots, I promise I’ll protect you.” she whispered softly.

Meanwhile, Cherry Blossom gave the glass doors of the hospital one last glance, a tiny glimmer of malice in her eyes, "Trust me Scootaloo, we will see eachother again very soon." she muttered before two large solar guards stood between her and the entrance.

Chapter 3

Rainbow Savior Chapter 3

By: Juria

It was known to everypony that visited that the Ponyville General Hospital had a quiet room, a small 15ft. x 20ft. plain white room with sound-proof enchanted walls and sound proof glass and blinds. However, this particular room was designed to allow doctors, nurses, and families of patients to discuss various conditions, to vent stress, or, at times, to comfort families in their time of need. It was not meant to contain the rage and frustration of a screaming Spitfire arguing with her sibling/fellow officer on a headset, and judging by the rattling of the windows and the shaking of the walls, they were straining to perform their given duty.

“Rapidfire, are you listening to me?! I don’t care if she just asked you help re-organize the entire library! Right now, Twilight Sparkle is fulfilling the role of head researcher, and you and Fleetfoot are there to support her and keep her happy, so that means doing whatever she asks!”

Spitfire groaned as she listened to her younger brother complain about how many books there were and about how Twilight’s attention to detail was driving him nuts after almost two months of constant searching, but all of the excuses in the world didn’t matter at this moment.

“You listen to me very carefully little brother, it’s Wednesday, it’s almost 10:30 at night, and at this very moment our only witness is refusing to talk because she’s scared to death. Now, if Twilight can find anything to help us, then I don’t give a flying feather what minor task she’s asking you to do, even if it means you have to scrub her bucking toilet with your eyelids! You will continue to cooperate with her no matter what, is that understood?!”

Spitfire heard the sound of scuffling and muffled words, and then the overly chipper voice of Ponyville’s librarian.

“Hello? Can you hear me?”

“Um, yes Ms. Sparkle, I can hear you.”

“That’s great. I may have to see about getting a pair of these for myself and Spike once this investigation is over.”

Spitfire sighed deeply. “Ms. Sparkle, I take it the reason you’re using our headset is because Rapidfire put you on here to avoid our argument. Please, put him back on.” She stated, a tad more sternly than she meant to.

“Oh, no, I actually took them from him to put myself on. I just found a break in our case.”

A glimmer of hope shone in Spitfire’s eyes. “Tell me everything you’ve found.”

Spitfire raced out of the quiet room like Nightmare Moon herself was on her tail, coming to a screeching halt in front of Soarin, who stood just a few feet from the entrance to Scootaloo’s room, watching Dash tell Scootaloo a bedtime story. “What’s got you in such a rush?” he asked. Spitfire was practically grinning like a school filly. “Twilight found a break in the case.” She stated happily, before her expression soured as she watched Dash and Scootaloo interact. “We need to talk to her before it’s too late.”

Author's Note

Well, hey, at least it's something, right everypony? Right? right? right? Um, right? Please put down the rotten fruit and sharp objects. *hides behind Princess Luna* Save me!

Ok, in all honesty, I wish I could have posted more than this, but I also realize that I had to seperate this story into about 4 or 5 chapters. Don't worry, I pinkie promise that I will finish this fanfic!

Chapter 4

Rainbow Savior Chapter 4
By: Juria

Dash sighed as she watched Scootaloo sleeping peacefully, gently running a hoof over her mane. Suddenly, the overhead florescent lights flickered on as Spitfire and Soarin entered the room, causing Scootaloo to groan and Dash to rise to her hooves. “You two had better have a good reason for doing this.” she stated. Spitfire sighed deeply. “We need to talk to Scootaloo.” Spitfire began to take a step in Scootaloo’s direction, as the pegasus filly groggily opened her eyes, however Dash quickly positioned herself between both Spitfire and Soarin and Scootaloo, a determined look in her eyes. “No way. She’s been through enough as it is and the last thing she needs is you two…”

“Rainbow Dash!” Spitfire shouted, her voice carrying the tone she usually reserved for Wonderbolts recruits. Spitfire huffed as she regained her composure. “You have my word that no harm will come to Scootaloo and we will do everything in our power to bring the one responsible for this to justice, but right now, we need her to talk in order to get to the bottom of this.”

Dash returned the same frustrated huff to Spitfire. “Fine.” She stated, standing stoically next to Scootaloo for support. Spitfire took another deep breath before focusing her attention on Scootaloo. “So, what can you tell us about griffins?”

Scootaloo gave her a confused glance before cautiously speaking while twiddling her hooves. “W..well I know that they’re from the Griffin Empire, and I know that some of them eat meat, and I know that…”

Spitfire held up one front hoof towards Scootaloo while face-hoofing with the other one. “No, Scootaloo, what we mean is, what do you remember about the griffin who attacked you?”

Scootaloo’s face froze in terror. “I..I can’t!” she shouted, sobbing into her hooves. Rainbow Dash faced Spitfire. “You two. Get out of here.” she stated. Spitfire started to glare at her, until the realization of Dash’s plan popped in her head. “Come on Soarin, let’s go wait outside.” She said calmly, Soarin giving her a befuddled look before following.

Once Spitfire and Soarin had left the room, Dash walked over to Scootaloo and gently wrapped a wing and hoof around her. Not a word was said as Scootaloo nuzzled and sobbed into Rainbow Dash’s chest. Dash looked down at her with a look of concern. “Listen Scootaloo, I don’t know why you’re so afraid to tell us what you saw and who did this to you, but I promise you, whoever it is will never harm you ever again.”

Scootaloo wiped her eyes and looked up at Dash. “Really?” she asked with a sniffle. Dash’s magenta eyes narrowed not
in anger, but in determination. “Really.”

Scootaloo cautiously motioned for Dash to lean down so she could whisper in her ear, then slowly gave her all of the information she could remember, what the attacker looked like, how they were living in a small abandoned cottage just outside of Ponyville that was primarily used during Nightmare Night as a haunted house, even their name. Once Dash had all of the information, she broke away from Scootaloo’s embrace and started to leave, but the next words from Scootaloo stopped her.

“Mom, I mean Dash?”

Dash froze in place, before taking a deep breath and turning around. “Yeah?”

Scootaloo tilted her head down, nervously blushing. “Will you come back to me?”

Rainbow Dash nodded. “Always. I pinkie promise.”

“Cross your heart and hope to fly?” Scootaloo asked.

“Stick a cupcake in my eye.” Rainbow responded, even performing the motions.

A small smile lit up on Scootaloo’s face as she watched Rainbow Dash leave her room.

Once Dash exited the room, she quickly rushed past Spitfire and Soarin heading for the hospital front doors. “Hey, what did she tell you?!” Spitfire called out to her. “Just meet me about a mile west outside of Ponyville in about 20 minutes. Look for an old rickety house. And bring back up!” Dash replied, rushing out the doors and flying as fast as she could without destroying any property. “I should have known.”

Meanwhile, in the library…

Twilight continued to stare at all the evidence strewn about her living room table. She’d positively identified the killer and had turned over all of her findings to Fleetfoot and Rapidfire, who in turn had turned them over to Spitfire and Soarin, so why did she feel like something was missing or something had been overlooked? Twilight twisted her head this way and that, trying to figure out what she was missing. Suddenly, her thoughts were interrupted by a jolt from a certain pink pony.
“Hey Twilight!” Pinkie shouted, sticking her head out from the ceiling lamp, causing the purple unicorn to practically jump out of her skin. “Sweet Celestia Pinkie!” Twilight shouted back in a mixture of shock and frustration. Pinkie jumped down to the floor, a small frown on her face. ”Sorry Twilight, I was just wondering if you had seen Rainbow Dash.”

Twilight’s eyes began darting over the pictures of the slain fillies as the name echoed in her ears. “Ooh, how could I have been so stupid?!” She grabbed Pinkie by the shoulders. “I can’t believe I missed this. All of the victims share one common trait aside from their age, and do you know what that is?!”

Pinkie shrugged her shoulders in confusion, giving her best Big Macintosh impression. “Eenope.”

Twilight began shaking Pinkie as she spoke. “They all have a different colored coat. Not a single one of them is the same. Combined, they all share the same color scheme as…” Twilight stopped shaking Pinkie, ignoring the dizzied pink pony as she fell to the floor, grabbing the headset off of Rapidfire. “Rainbow Dash!”

Spitfire wrenched the headset off, trying to regain her hearing. “Ms. Sparkle, please, speak with a little less volume.” she grumbled.

“It’s not Scootaloo. The killer isn’t after Scootaloo, she was just a decoy. Where’s Rainbow Dash?”

A concerned look crossed Spitfire’s face. “She just left a few minutes ago, told us to meet her about a mile west of Ponyville and to bring back up, something about an old house used on Nightmare Night, why?”

Twilight gasped. “She’s the killer’s real target.”

Rainbow Dash gave a quick glance to the sky before she landed backwards, smashing the front door of the dank, musty old house in. Dash did a quick spin as she stopped, facing the barely-lit living room. “Alright, where are you?!” she shouted in a demanding tone.

“Right here.” came the soft raspy voice from behind her. Dash turned to face the voice’s owner, only to be met with a flash of yellow to the jaw, knocking her to the floor. Dash looked up through bleary vision as she caught the yellow eyes and beak of her attacker. She didn’t even have time to speak as a second yellow fist struck her again, sending her into total darkness. “Welcome home, Rainbow Dash.”

Author's Note

Here's hoping this makes up for the fairly lack-luster previous chapter. I'm doing the best I can to finish this story. In fact, for anypony that is still sticking through this story after that last, terrible chapter, thank you. I pinkie promise it will end, soon.

Chapter 6/Epilogue

Rainbow Savior Chapter 6

Scootaloo felt the tip of the needle scratch the skin under her fur, before she felt the weight of Cherry Blossom go flying off of her. Cautiously she opened one eye, then the other, to find a small scratch on her chest, but more importantly, to find Cherry Blossom’s body had been flung over the bed, her head smacking into the wall with enough force to knock her out. She also noticed a big black burn mark on her back. Scootaloo turned to the seemingly empty hallway, spotting only the faintest hint of an alicorn body leaving.

“Hey, wait!” she shouted.

The faceless silhouette stopped, turning to Scootaloo. “Sleep.” It whispered, in an almost ethereal voice.

“Thank you.” Were the only words Scootaloo got out before drifting back into darkness.

Scootaloo awoke to find Applebloom, Sweetie Belle, and even Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon by her side. “Oh great, I’m dead.” she groaned sarcastically.

Almost instantly, she was practically hugged to death by her fellow Crusaders. “Ow, ow, it’s good to see you guys too. Ouch, ribs, not completely healed!” she shouted.

“Come on you two. Unless you want her to stay in the hospital longer.” Diamond Tiara stated, rolling her eyes as Applebloom and Sweetie Belle released Scootaloo from the hug of doom.

Scootaloo glanced over at Diamond Tiara. “So, why’d you two show up?”

Diamond Tiara scratched the back of her head with her hoof. “Well, we just thought we’d come and visit you.” she began. “Yeah, but when we saw the mess that you were in, we hired some professionals to clean the place up.” Silver Spoon finished, tapping on the restored room door proudly.

Scootaloo’s ears perked up. “So, I take it you two hired the alicorn that rescued me, right?”

Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon exchanged confused looks. “Ok, now I know you’re not completely healed.” Diamond Tiara stated with a genuine giggle, walking out of the room with Silver following close behind. “I’m rich, not a miracle worker."

Applebloom and Sweetie Belle were about to practically drown Scootaloo in a flood of questions, until they heard the sound of their respective sisters clearing their throats. The three filly’s eyes turned towards the door, to see Rainbow Dash followed by Princess Luna and Princess Celestia. Taking the hint rather quickly, Applebloom and Sweetie Belle gave their friend a quick hoof-bump before leaving.

Now, Rainbow Dash looked around her, making sure that only Luna and Celestia were present, before practically tackling Scootaloo in the tightest embrace she could without injuring her, letting the tears trickle down her cheeks. “I am so sorry Scootaloo.” she whispered, gently stroking the filly’s mane.

“Um..mom..can’t..breath.” she said, tapping on Dashing’s foreleg.

Rainbow Dash let her go, standing next to her with her head down. “How can you even call me that? I promised to protect you and I didn’t make it in time.” she stated with a sigh.

“Rainbow Dash?” Luna asked in a commanding tone.

Dash lifted her head to meet the princess. “How dare you speak in such a manner. Just because you didn’t physically disable Cherry Blossom with your own two hooves does not mean that thou are not capable of being the guardian of Scootaloo. If anything, you have proven to be not only worthy of the element you wield and embody, but thou hast also proven thyself to be more than capable of taking Scootaloo under your wing, both literally and metaphorically.” The night princess stated sternly.

Rainbow Dash gave Scootaloo a small smile. “Well, I don’t know if she really wants me to be…”

Dash didn’t even have time to finish her statement as a small orange and purple streak pinned her to the floor with a loving embrace. “More than anything in the world!” Scootaloo shouted happily.

Celestia and Luna shared a chuckle as Scootaloo pried herself off of Rainbow Dash and stood next to her, Dash playfully ruffling her mane. “Well, I guess that answers my question.” Dash said with a grin.

Slowly, a questioning look appeared on Scootaloo’s face. “Um, your highnesses, what happened to Cherry Blossom?”
Princess Luna smirked unnervingly. “Let us just say that the olden laws came back into play as far as she is concerned, at least for the first 20 years of her sentence. After which, if she survives, she is to be transported to a more modern facility, sadly, and there she will stay for the rest of her days. Her main reason for working with Gilda in the first place seemed to be nothing more than greed. Gilda was paying her hundreds of bits to bring those foals to her. The bits, which by now must be somewhere in the hundreds of thousands, is to be returned to the orphanages from whence the foals came, except in your case, Scootaloo.”

Both Dash and Scootaloo’s ears perked up at this revelation. “What?” both ponies said in unison.

Celestia smiled gently. “The portion Cherry Blossom received from Gilda to trick you, Scootaloo, will be going into a savings account that you will be unable to touch until you reach adulthood unless your permanent guardian says otherwise.” The princess of the sun stated.

“Oh come on!, wait, what?” Scootaloo shouted, going from ticked to shocked all in a matter of seconds.

Rainbow Dash, on the other hoof, was in total shock. “I..I’m her guardian?” she asked with a stunned look on her face.

Both princesses nodded in unison, Celestia being the first to speak. “If that is what you wish, then we will write up the contract and make it official.

Rainbow Dash looked down at Scootaloo, took a deep breath, and gave the little filly the biggest smile she could muster. “I’m ready.”

Scootaloo giggled softly, before snuggling into Rainbow Dash’s chest once more, crying tears of joy. For the first time in what felt like forever, Scootaloo didn’t feel pain, or fear, or dread, but only peace.

Celestia and Luna walked out of the room to leave the new-found mother and daughter to celebrate with friends and family. “Good job my sister. If you hadn’t arrived when you did, that young filly’s life might have ended.” Celestia said with a smile.

The night princess gave her a quizzical stare. “But, sister, Rainbow Dash was the first pony to arrive, not us. We were behind the Wonderbolts.”

Celestia put a hoof to her jaw as she stared into the bright blue sky, watching her sun shine for all of Equestria. “If not you, nor I, than who?”

Epilogue
A pink alicorn flew high above the trees and far beyond Equestria’s borders, coming to a landing in front of a large cave. Suddenly, several black, insect-like creatures surrounded her, the largest of them confronting her.

“Ah, another pony I see. Welcome to the changeling empire. You will make a fine energy source for the rest of the hive.” he said with a smirk, grabbing her front hoof.

The pink alicorn calmly picked the black creature up and threw him into his companions. “Well, it appears my disguise works better than I expected. And here I thought that I would just be fortunate enough to have my magic work in this form.” The alicorn stated in a seductive, otherworldly tone.

In a flash of green flames, the alicorn’s pink fur disappeared, revealing a glimmering black exoskeleton, turquoise mane, and insect-like transparent wings.

The group instantly dropped to the ground in terror. “Queen Chrysalis, we had no idea it was you.” the larger solider said, whimpering.

Chrysalis scoffed at them. “Get up you foals, you have nothing to fear.” she stated, rolling her eyes.

As the group walked in the cave behind Chrysalis, they all began to walk further downwards until the cave seemed to open up to reveal a massive hive, almost akin to the inside of a beehive, only with black and green tones instead of black and yellow. Even what light shone through the hive’s roof seemed to glow green.

Once they had reached a smaller chamber within the hive, Chrysalis turned to the group that had been following her. “Return to your posts my subjects. I must gather my thoughts and meet with the generals.” she ordered.

Every changeling, save for the large one, left. “Um, my queen, if you don’t mind me asking, what are your plans?” he asked, visibly sweating little green drops of liquid from his forehead.

Chrysalis looked down at the changeling, smiled and patted his head. “We must prepare for a wedding.” she stated, cackling menacingly.

The End.

Author's Note

Well, finally, after all this time, it's done! Yayz! To those of your who have put up with me throughout this, thank you so much. Please feel free to comment, as feedback helps me grow! :D
Also, if you're wondering what music I thought worked well with this story, well, I don't exactly have every chapter having a musical score, so if you guys can think of some, I'll listen, but as far as the final chapter, minus the epilogue, is concerned, I thought this worked well:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6wqrA9IMnUM

Again, thank you everypony!

Chapter 5

Rainbow Savior Chapter 5

Rainbow Dash slowly opened her eyes, her head pounding like she’d challenged Applejack to a drinking contest, minus the taste of blood in her mouth. As she regained her eyesight, her other senses came flooding back to her and she came to two very definitive conclusions, the first being the pungent smell of rotten flesh, and the second being that fact that she was strapped down to a bucking table! As she struggled to pry her legs free, Dash heard a familiar chuckle in the darkness. “Look at you; writhing like a worm in the air, it’s actually kind of cute.”

“Why not come out and face me Gilda?!” Dash bellowed back, partly hoping her shouting would be loud enough to draw attention from anypony outside, but aside from a few dim light bulbs, she couldn’t see a single window.

However, she was promptly met muzzle-to-beak with her former flight academy friend. “Oh Dash, it’s been so long.” Gilda said in mock happiness, hugging Dash. “Oh, I guess I should show you what I made for you while I waited.” she chirped, wheeling Dash, table and all around until she found herself staring at a dusty old tarp.

“I was going to wait until Scootaloo got here, so she could see that her little contribution to my little project hadn’t gone to waste, just like the contributions of the other foals, but I figure I can show her later.” Gilda said with a casual shrug, throwing the tarp to the floor.

At that moment, Dash almost immediately began vomiting as the smell alone was enough to almost knock her out. Before her eyes was a grisly tapestry of rotted flesh and maggots in the shape of a pony, eerily similar to the dummies Rarity used in her shop, only this one was made of decaying flesh of multiple colors, had empty eye sockets with multi-colored hair stapled on to the flank and head, and seemed to be overrun with maggots, which squirmed some much that the lifeless creation almost appeared to move, occasionally having several maggots fall out of the mouth or eyes. Gilda smiled at her creation, then gave Rainbow Dash a concerned look, lifting her vomit-covered muzzle up to face it. “What’s wrong, don’t you like my little homage to my best friend?” Gilda asked nonchalantly.

Dash steeled her nerves, and her stomach. “You mean, you murdered all of those foals just to create some sick statue of me?” Dash groaned as Gilda grabbed her jaw. “Hey, it’s not sick. Granted, it’s not an exact replica, but overall I think I did my best.” Gilda let go of Dash’s jaw, letting the pony gasp for air. “But now that the real thing is here, I guess we can move on to the final act of this story.” Gilda stated with a sad sigh.

As she started to walk towards Dash, Dash suddenly stopped her with one question. “Why?

Gilda playfully scratched her feathers, than sat down next to Rainbow Dash, laying her head on her stomach, staring her in the eyes. “Well, I guess I can tell you, you know, if you’ve got the time.” She said. Dash subtly rolled her eyes. “I have oodles.” Gilda’s eyes perked up. “Ok then.” She stated with a disturbing amount of glee before beginning.

“Well, after that whole fiasco with Pinkie Pie, I was devastated and depressed. I took a long flight back to the griffin empire, hooked up with an old griff-friend, and about 5 months later, became a momma. Now, you might think that would make me happy, but really, I just felt empty. So, one night, as the egg-donor slept, I bashed his brains in with a rock, just smashed them right the buck in and threw body and all into our big ice chest. Now, obviously, I couldn’t just leave our little chicks without their parents, so before I decided to come back to find you, I took care of those little brats too. You have no idea how easy it is to kill a baby griffin, let alone two. I mean, their bones are like crispy hay fries. They even make the same crunching sound too.” Gilda stated with an overly pleasant smile on her face. “I hope I’m not going too fast for you.”

Dash looked down at Gilda through clenched teeth. “Nope, I’m good.”

Gilda grinned. “Goodie. Now, like I said, once I was far beyond the borders of the Griffin Empire, I stopped off in Manehatten, but not the nice, ritzy area, but rather the dark, shady part of town where a griffin like me could open up a flight school almost overnight and nopony would be the wiser. One by one, town after town, I managed to seduce the little foals with promises of making their dreams of flight come true, and while I didn’t kill every foal I taught, once I found the one I wanted, you guessed it, they became my parts store. Of course, it also helped that they were all orphans, so if I went a little overboard or needed a light snack, none of them would be missed. Eventually, I came here and found your little runt. She was so gullible.”

Gilda chuckled, before doing her best Scootaloo impression. “Wow, you mean you can teach me to be just like Rainbow Dash?, Rainbow Dash is my hero., No, stop, why are you hurting me?, Somepony, help me!” she shouted, even holding her neck and sticking out her tongue in mock fear. “She was completely pathetic.” Gilda scoffed. “Ah, but now, we’ve had our fun, and it’s time for us to be together Dash.” Gilda stated in a sinister, soothing tone.

“Oh yeah, well before you do that, there’s something I’ve got to tell you.” She said, tilting her head so Gilda could get close to her. “Those straps are really weak.”

A look of shock crossed Gilda’s face, right before Rainbow Dash’s right hoof did, followed by her left hoof burying itself into Gilda’s chest, knocking the wind out of her and sending her stumbling backwards. Dash kicked her back legs off the table and stood up, charging right at Gilda who was now charging at her. When the two collided, Rainbow Dash took the opportunity to wrap her front legs around Gilda’s body and fly as fast as she could, smashing Gilda and Dash both through the basement roof, then again through the actual house roof, both pony and griffin slamming into the ground outside.
Gilda sprung to her feet and lunged at Dash, barely missing her throat, instead being met with a back hoof to her face, causing her to clutch her beak in pain. “Dammit Dash, why can’t you just die?!” Gilda snarled. “You know me, just too stubborn.” Dash replied, panting for air. Gilda gave Dash a pleading stare. “Please Dash, don’t make this any harder on yourself. You know, death is so much easier when you just accept it.”

Rainbow scoffed at Gilda. “Maybe, but kicking your flank into next week is so much more fun!” she shouted, lunging at Gilda with all the speed she could muster, pummeling her in the face and chest.

Slowly, the two fighters began to wear eachother down, Gilda clawing and biting at every spot she could find on Rainbow, and Rainbow trying her best to turn Gilda’s face into ground meat. With a final burst of speed, Gilda forced her talons around Dash’s throat, squeezing as hard as she could even with Dash kicking at her. “Now, we can be together.” Gilda declared, before a pair of hooves knocked her a good 20 feet back, smashing her through a stone well and knocking her for a loop.

Dash wheezed as she tried to stand up. Suddenly, she felt a familiar hoof lift her up off the ground and back on her hooves. Applejack gave Dash a small smile, and then glared at the still-woozy Gilda. “That’s for scarin’ ma little sister, ya damned buzzard!”: she shouted. Gilda slowly rose to her feet, snarled, and then dropped right back down to the ground.

When Gilda regained consciousness, she was deadlocked with the worst combination possible; Fluttershy’s infamous “stare”, Twilight and Rarities’ horns practically bursting with magical energy, a glaring Applejack, a growling Pinkie Pie, and all four Wonderbolts backed by a small squad of six royal guards, three night guards, and Princess Luna with her older sister descending from the sky. At this point, Gilda did the only thing she could do, curled into a fetal position and simply waited for death.

However, death never came; but rather, Gilda had opened her eyes to something much worse. “Gilda of the griffin empire!” the bellowing voice of Princess Luna erupted from her lips with a hurricane. “If it were our decision alone, then you would be locked away in the dungeons to suffer acts of depravity so unspeakable that they would make Tartarus itself seem like a place of heavenly bliss!”

Celestia cleared her throat, as Luna took a couple of steps back to compose herself before continuing.

“However, seeing as the times have changed, we are forced to restrain ourselves, but do not think you shall get off so easily.” If Gilda didn’t know any better, she would have sworn that Luna’s face had an almost demonic look to it. As the night princess stepped back, it was now Celestia’s turn to step forward. Gilda tried to crawl away, but quickly found herself wrenched from the ground into the air against her own will.

Celestia locked her eyes with Gilda, the souls of those Gilda had harmed in her psychotic obsession seeming to cry out to her. Without a word, Celestia blotted out the screams she knew were to come as she focused a small portion of her magic on the one thing Gilda prided herself on the most, the one thing she had used to manipulate those foal’s hopes and dreams with. “For the unspeakable acts you have committed, Gilda, we are left with no choice but to remove that which you hold most dear.”

At the sudden tugging of her wings, Gilda’s eyes instantly shot open in terror. “No, wait, I’ll tell you everything I know!” she pleaded.

Luna scoffed. “That will not be necessary, as Rainbow Dash has told us everything that you have told her.” A glimmer of darkness flickered in Luna’s eyes. “Now cease your stalling!”

“Wait, please, I’ll tell you the name of my contact. She was the reason I was able to get so close to those orphan foals in the first place!” Gilda shouted between sobs.

Celestia slowly brought Gilda’s face to her own, her magic seeming to seep into Gilda’s mind. “Cherry Blossom.” she stated bluntly, tilting her head slightly to Rainbow Dash and the Wonderbolts. “Get to the hospital, now!” she ordered, all five pegasi going as fast as their wings would take them.

Celestia’s eyes shifted slightly to Twilight. “If you and your friends are going to stay, then cover your eyes and plug your ears.” she said in a disturbingly cold manner, before she used her magic to hold Gilda’s wings out once again.

Gilda began panicking and screaming. “No, please, sweet Faust, no!” Gilda could feel the heat of invisible blades inches away from her wing joints. “You can’t do this you sadistic bitch!” Gilda looked into Celestia’s eyes, looking for a sign of mercy, and found only rage and pain. While the process was quick, to Gilda, the magical buzz saws simultaneously cutting off her wings and cauterizing the wounds shut felt like several minutes of slow, painful agony.

Once the wings were severed, Gilda was unapologetically dropped to the ground, which now felt so cold and alien to her. She tried to walk towards Celestia, but she was quick met with Luna’s gaze, before being overwhelmed with the sounds of the screams of her past victims, along with all of the pain she had caused them. Their suffering was now her suffering, their pain now her pain or at least that was all she could feel.

Twilight, Rarity, and Fluttershy stared in confusion at Gilda, who had been reduced to a sniveling, whimpering mess, clutching her sides and muttering about her wings being removed, though nopony could see the stubs she kept saying were there.

Finally, Twilight’s curiosity got the better of her. “Princess, what exactly happened to her?”

Celestia sighed. “Physically? Nothing harmed her. Mentally, however, she has been cursed to feel the loss of the one thing she used to manipulate those which she killed. Luna just threw in the added torment of her feeling the same pain she had caused others. As a result, she’ll be taken to a mental hospital until she can fight her way out of it and truly repent for the crimes she has committed.”

Twilight gasped in shock. “But, what if she never recovers?”

Celestia smiled warmly at her student. “Don’t worry, she will, in time. Others who have done far worse than her have come out of this a better individual. Right now, we should get to the hospital. I saw what they had planned.”

At the hospital, Scootaloo slept peacefully, mumbling softly to herself as she snuggled into her pillow. Suddenly, the sound of hooves on the tile floor woke her up rather abruptly. “Huh, what? Who’s there?”

Cherry Blossom stood at the foot of her bed, an empty syringe in her hoof. Scootaloo instantly panicked, hitting the nearest alarm as hard as she could, while Cherry Blossom just laughed.

“They’re not coming.” she stated.

Scootaloo looked behind Cherry Blossom and saw two dead guards outside of her room. Scootaloo backed herself into a corner, trying to kick at Cherry Blossom, who simply grabbed her leg and threw her to the ground, pinning her to the floor with her legs, the air-filled syringe held above her head. “You see, if Rainbow Dash had just died, then this wouldn’t have had to happen. But I guess that’s just the way the cookie crumbles, isn’t it?” Cherry Blossom stated with a smirk. “Now, die you little brat!”

Scootaloo stopped struggling, closed her eyes, and waited for death to embrace her.

Author's Note

Just hang in there everypony, we're almost to the end!