The Broken Crusader

Chapters

Cutie Crash
The Journal
Not Sorry
Make Your Mark
Black Lie
The Interrogation
Release
Caught?
Save a Life
Courtesy
Busted
Disowned
Logically Illogical
Is It Tuesday Yet?
Freedom
You Again
A Death
Juvie Sweet Juvie

Cutie Crash

The cold air gripped the small town of Ponyville and the chill of winter filled the air. Snow blanketed the town and ice sealed away lakes. Ponies dressed warm and used extra thick blankets. This was especially true for a certain pegasus filly that hated being cold.

A lump underneath the rainbow-colored covers wiggled slightly and let out a small sigh. The sun peeked into the window and laid its faint rays on the pillow and then traveled down the bed. The light landed right on the lump. It shined straight through the colorful blankets and irritated the eyes of the pony beneath the covers.

A small, orange head appeared from under the blankets. Bright purple eyes fluttered open and glanced at the window. The pony gave an annoyed look before throwing the covers back over their head and curling up. The pony squirmed uncomfortably before, once again, pulling down the blankets.

"Fine, have it your way!" Scootaloo muttered.

Scootaloo rolled out of her bed, managing to get tangled in the blankets. The three blankets wrapped her up like a burrito as she now laid on the floor. She wriggled and writhed her legs in a pathetic attempt to free herself.

Well, she thought bitterly, at least I'm not cold...

By the time the orange and purple pegasus managed to untangle herself, she had no time to go back to sleep. She stumbled to her closet and searched through the various hoodies, mittens, capes, and hats to find something warm. Finally, her purple eyes landed on a scarf and sweater. The wool scarf was red with purple dots, and the sweater was a dull blue with yellow stars.

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She trotted off to school with her scooter. The trees were no longer an explosion of crispy cool colors but were now dull, brown, and dead. The dead grass was hidden by a thick blanket of powdery snow. The snow made Scootaloo's hooves so cold they were numb and the only way she knew she was even walking was the very slight pressure on her legs and the tracks left in the snow.

The foals in the playground were bundled up in warm sweaters, mittens, and scarfs as they played. Snips and Snails huddled by the swing-set as Ruby Pinch and Zipporwhill sat on the swings. Pipsqueak and Featherweight, whose coats were so thick they looked at least 20 pounds fatter, were batting at the tetherball unenthusiastically as they had given up on stopping the wind from controlling the ball.

Scootaloo got on her scooter and searched for her filly friends, Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle. She furrowed her brow; they were nowhere to be seen. She pushed off with her back leg and shot forward toward Twist, who was halfway buried in her backpack. Scootaloo skidded to a halt, narrowly avoiding smacking Twist in the face.

"Oh, h-hey, Scoots!" Twist said as she briefly removed herself from the backpack. She went back to digging through the bag after about two seconds.

"Do you have any idea where the other Cutie Mark Crusaders are?" Scootaloo inquired. She kicked out her scooter's stand before sitting next to Twist.

"Well, um, uh no," Twist stammered, "but, um, I heard that there's this weird 'mystery fever' going around."

"'Mystery fever'? Twist, how much candy have you had this morning?" Scootaloo joked.

"I'm serious, Scoots," Twist's face appeared with a candy cane inside her mouth and serious look in her eyes. "It's just a fever, but still they aren't allowed to come to school."

"It's a bit hard to take somepony serious when they have a candy cane in their mou-"

Twist shoved a deliciously chewy, creamy, lemony sweet into Scootaloo's mouth to silence her. Twist then went back to searching through her bag for something. Scootaloo enjoyed finishing the confection before standing up and walking to her scooter.

She boarded the scooter and kicked off. She picked up so much speed she felt as if she could break the sound barrier. The cold air stung her eyes and caused them to tear up. She did not anticipate her vision being blurred and swerved out of control. Scootaloo released the handlebars in an attempt to bail. The scooter continued until colliding with a tree after about 3 seconds, nothing seemed too damaged.

Now Scootaloo almost wished she hadn't bailed. She hit the ground and heard a squeal, like that of terrified baby monkey or dog that just got its tail stepped on. Or even... Like the squeal of a pampered pooch that just got jumped on! Scootaloo scrambled to her hooves and clambered off of Diamond Tiara before removing her helmet.

"Sorry, Diamo-"

"Good! Because you should be!" Diamond Tiara snapped, turning up her nose at Scootaloo.

Scootaloo looked up and down at Diamond Tiara, possibly to make sure she wasn't hurt. The spoiled pony was wearing an expensive-looking, light blue fur coat and designer mittens. Scootaloo rolled her eyes. Why can't that filly just dress and act like a NORMAL pony for once?

She trotted to her crashed scooter and looked it over. It looked completely rideable, which was surprising considering the speed at which the scooter had crashed. Scootaloo picked up the scooter and put her front hooves on the handle. She put her helmet back on and put a back hoof on the scooter.

"Scoots, are you okay?" Twist seemed to magically appear next to Scootaloo.

"Why wouldn't I be?" The pegasus laughed slightly.

"I saw that epic crash," Twist looked back at Diamond Tiara, "how mad did she get?"

"Actually, surprisingly, not very mad."

"Okay, well, I'm going to let you ride your scooter." Twist smiled.

Scootaloo shot off in her scooter, more carefully this time. She weaved a figure-eight around the swing-set, being sure not to hit anypony. Snips and Snails cheered her on, but she found this less motivating and more irritating. The wheels of the scooter wore a slight groove in the snow, this encouraged her to break the figure-eight and go around the rest of the playground.

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Diamond Tiara looked at the filly as she zoomed about with spiteful eyes. She growled and began to dig at the snow. Suddenly, she stopped and turned to her best friend, Silver Spoon.

"That stupid little blank flank probably thinks she can get a cutie mark from that meaningless scooter!" She fumed.

"Pfft, she'll be proven wrong soon enough," Silver Spoon replied.

"Maybe we should help her get a cutie mark," Diamond Tiara said, sickeningly, "a cutie mark from CRASHING."

Silver Spoon joined in with Diamond Tiara in a malicious laugh. Diamond strutted across the playground toward the swing set. She masked her malevolent grin with an innocent look as she approached Snips and Snails.

"Oh, would you two boys be kind enough to do little ol' me a favor?" Diamond Tiara shot the colts a pair of puppy eyes.

"Sure!" Snips and Snails agreed in unison as they hopped to their hooves.

"What is it?" Snips Inquired.

"Scootaloo wants to try anything and everything to get her cutie mark, right?" Diamond Tiara said.

"I-I think so," Snails replied.

"Well, I need you to help me get her her cutie mark," she paused for the colts nod, "from crashing."

"Crashing? I don't think she would-" Snips began, but was interrupted by Diamond Tiara.

"You mean... you won't do this favor for me?" She gave them a look of shock and hurt. "Th-That's fine, I guess..." she looked down sadly and faked a sniffle.

"Actually, no! We will! Don't be sad!" Snips nodded his head like he was a bobble head. "What do ya need us to do to help her?"

"You're unicorns."

"But our magic isn't that strong," Snails reminded, looking for any way he could get out of this.

"It doesn't have to be strong, just has to work for a few moments," Diamond Tiara assured. "You just need to make the scooter stop moving in an instant, not for very long at all."

The two colts exchanged looks. Snips gave Snails a begging look, but Snails stood strong in his opinion of this being wrong. Snips frowned and grunted. He agreed with Diamond and said Snails would also help. Before Snails could object, Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon strutted away from the swing-set, making sure they were out of earshot before snickering.

"Those gullible, little babies," Diamond teased, "so easy!"

"Yeah, I bet they won't do any better than an earth-pony with their magic." Silver Spoon added.

Back at the swing-set, Snips and Snails were arguing.

"Snips, this is bad! Do you wanna be a bad pony?" Snails asserted.

"Cool it, Snails," Snips replied in a calm tone, "it won't be 'bad' per se-"

"Oh, yeah? What is your excuse!?" The yellow colt interrupted.

"It'll just be a prank! That isn't wrong, it's funny!" Snips defended.

Snails let out a defeated sigh, "Fiiine..."

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Snips and Snails spotted Scootaloo twisting and turning at high speeds on the snow. Snips nodded slightly at Snails, this was the signal. Snails knew this wasn't good, that was was wrong. He felt terrible guilt for something he hadn't even done yet! Snips noticed the concern in his best friend's eyes and the blue colt's eyes darted nervously about. He nudged Snails softly, seemingly bringing him back to reality.

Snails caved in and got into a running stance next to Snips. Once again, the stout blue unicorn nodded. The two shot off, running side by side. They pretended as though they were racing each other across the playground, shouting things like "I'm gonna win" or "I'm faster than you" as they trotted along.

Scootaloo observed the two and altered her path in a way that avoided where she thought they were running to. She assumed they would continue going straight, as for the first few meters they went straight, so she went left. When she swerved left, Snips and Snails darted forward and jumped ahead of Scootaloo.

She attempted to skid to a halt, but the scooter stopped in an instant. It was enveloped by a green and orange magical aura for a moment. This moment was just long enough for the momentum to launch Scootaloo in the air. She waved her legs desperately and attempted to flap her wings. Her wings were small and weak, the force of the air snapped them back in an unnatural position with a loud crack.

The crack was followed by Scootaloo's scream of agony. She was at the climax of the arc at about 14 feet high. She curled into a ball and awaited her inevitable crash. The wind, once again her enemy, forced her out of the fetal position, sprawling her legs out. She attempted to fight the wind and pull her legs forward, but it only made the situation worse. Her back legs were clipped by an especially strong gust, which was again followed by a crack. Scootaloo's continuous wailing turned into another high-pitched shriek of anguish. The movement of her legs caused her to begin rolling in the air like a cannonball.

She hit the ground with a loud thud. Her body now filled with an ache as she opened her eyes. Her body was covered with bruises and small cuts. Her wings felt broken and hung lifelessly from her back and her back legs felt like they had been torn off. She moaned quietly in pain and closed her eyes.

All those awful, painful things took place in just under 9 seconds. The flailing. The wings. The curl. The legs. The rolling.

Author's Note

Edited!! :D

The Journal

Scootaloo's eyes slid open. Where ever she was, it was very bright, almost as if she was staring at the white light of the sun. She looked around, eyes still half closed. On either side of her were a blue and orange blotch. She closed her purple eyes and attempted to rub them. She suddenly became aware of something wrapping her left back leg, right front leg, and head tightly.

"Wh-What?" She spoke in an extremely raspy voice. It felt as if she hadn't used her voice in years.

Then the memories flooded back to her: the crash. The flailing. The wings. The curl. The legs. The rolling. Those 9 seconds, and then black. It felt as if she had just blinked and now she was in this bright room. She growled as she recalled how Snips and Snails were responsible for this.

As if cued by this thought, Snips's voice spoke up. "Are you awake, Scoots?"

So that must have been what the blue blotch was on her right, this meant that the orange blotch must've been Snails.

"What...?" Her eyes suddenly came into focus and she looked at the two colts. "You two... Why?" She tried to sit up, but when she did a shot of pain rushed down her spine, making her growl in agony. She turned her head to scan the room: she was in a hospital room.

"We're sorry!" The two colts cried in unison. She saw them put their heads on her stomach and felt their tears wet her belly.

"We didn't mean to hurt you!" Snails wailed, guilt in his voice. "It-It was supposed to be a prank!"

The depression in his tone made Scootaloo's heart break. "It-It's fine, g-guys," she attempted a light chuckle, but it fell flat. "Just... Just tell me what happened."

"Somepony told us," Snips sniffled, "to run in front of you," he gulped back another sob, "and stop your scooter with our magic."

"They said it would just be for fun!" Snails put his head back down, tears still rolling down his face. "They said it would be to help get you a cutie mark in crashing..." his voice now mellowed into quiet shame.

"Who? Who told you to do this?" Scootaloo asked, the sound of scraping in her voice.

"DIAMOND TIARAAAA!" They wailed, tears flowing freely down their cheeks.

Diamond Tiara did this to her? And the spoiled little brat didn't bother to see if she was okay?! Scootaloo began to tremble with fury, but she suddenly chuckled. Then again. And again. Until she was bellowing with hearty laughter.

"Ooooh," she wiped tears of laughter from her eyes. Her face turn serious and almost scary, "Where is she?"

"We... Don't kno-"

"BRING ME RAINBOW DASH!" Scootaloo screamed. This hurt her dry throat like a razor blade, making her start sobbing.

Snips and Snails were so terrified of the new Scootaloo, they bolted out of the room to get Rainbow Dash. She began to chortle, the world was now going to twist and bend in her favor. She would get Rainbow Dash to speak to Spoiled Rich, Diamond Tiara's mother, and get Scootaloo some money.

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"Scoots!" Rainbow Dash nearly busted the door off its hinges when she flew inside. "What happened?!"

Rainbow attempted to cradle Scootaloo, but this ignited a burning flame on Scootaloo's coat. "SNIPS AND SNAILS! DIAMOND TIARA!" Scootaloo wailed. She panted heavily before explaining in intense detail what agony she had endured and why.

In the middle of her and Rainbow Dash's conversation, a doctor walked in. He had a light brown coat and a jade mane and tail. His cutie mark was a bandage.

"I'm Doctor Willow. Are you feeling okay," he paused to look at his clipboard, "Scootaloo?"

It offended her slightly that the doctor forgot her name, but she assumed he had a lot of patients, she dropped it. "Yes."

"Hey, doc, can you call Spoiled Rich and her foal, Diamond Tiara, over? Diamond Tiara is responsible for Scootaloo getting hurt." Rainbow Dash's mouth sounded dry when she talked.

"Yes, I'll make a call to Spoiled Rich as soon as possible," the doctor turned back to Scootaloo, "but first I need to make sure this filly is okay."

"I already told you I'm fine," Scootaloo pointed out in a sassy tone.

"I know, but I need to check your body. Rainbow Dash, please go into the waiting room," he pointed to the door.

Doctor Willow checked over Scootaloo and made sure everything was wrapped appropriately. Then he turned his attention toward her mental health.

"I'm just... angry," she paused, "really angry."

"Bottling up anger isn't healthy, I suggest you write in a journal. That should give you something to do before Diamond Tiara and Filthy Rich are called over."

"What about Rainbow Dash?" Scootaloo asked.

"Visiting hours are over, she'll have to come back tomorrow."

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Doctor Willow said I should write in this journal. The only pen I could find was pink so that'll just have to do. I'm kinda EXTREMELY peeved at Diamond Tiara.

She was the one that told Snips 'n Snails to make me fall off my scooter! And she didn't even have the decency to come visit me iat the hosp hawsp haspit doctor! I swear, I would do ANYTHING to get back at her.

Maybe I can get a cutie mark in revenge! Wait no... That's stupid. What would a revenge cutie mark even look like? Haha, I guess that idea is a bust.

Also, nothing is broken. Thank Celestia! But everything reeeeeally hurts and my friends can't even visit me until tomorrow! I feel like someone should do something just as bad and THIS to Diamond Tiara!

Maybe I should be that someone. But what would I do? Maybe just push her out of a tree or something. I could ask for help from the other crusaders.

Scootaloo closed the journal awkwardly because of the casts. She set it on the table by her bed and looked out the small window. It looked like it was night outside, so she assumed it was time to go to bed. Still uncomfortable, she closed her eyes and tried to drift off to sleep.

She couldn't think of anything other than what to do to get back at Diamond Tiara. She was disgusted by herself and how spiteful she had become. She shut her eyes tight and tried to think of her happy place. Slowly her body relaxed and she dozed off.

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Scootaloo had a wonderful dream about riding on a brand new scooter that Rainbow Dash got her and getting her cutie mark. She awoke just as she looked at her flank and saw the beautiful image plastered on her flank: it was a scooter that had a path of fire behind it. She recalled how, in cartoons, fast things would leave a trail of fire behind as they zoomed off screen.

"Hiya, Scoots," Apple Bloom shook her filly friend awake. Her tone was depressed and concerned as she stared at her once tough friend. "Didja get some sleep?" She giggled softly.

"Mmm? Y-Yeah," Scootaloo rasped as she attempted to stretch her arms and legs. She screeched when she stretched her wings, quickly remembering they were almost broken. "Heh heh, sorry."

"Anythin' you wanna talk about in particular?" Apple Bloom asked.

"Where's Sweetie Belle?" Scootaloo inquired.

"Well, um..."

Apple Bloom side-stepped to show that Sweetie Belle was on a chair behind her. Tears were rolling down her cheeks when she saw Scootaloo in such a weak and frail situation. The white unicorn trudged up to the side of Scootaloo's hospital bed and looked over her friend.

In a hushed voice, Sweetie Belle said "You never even had a chance to fly. I asked a few doctors, they said you'd be able to ride your scooter and fly like that, but no real flying."

"Heh heh," Scootaloo laughed weakly, "don't be so dramatic, it's just a sprain."

"No, Doctor Willow never said that, you just assumed it. The bones are bruised."

Scootaloo's hopeful purple eyes turned dark with doubt. Sweetie Belle was right. Scootaloo would never be a Wonder Bolt. She would never be as good as Rainbow Dash. And who caused it all?

Bucking Diamond Tiara! She growled at the thought and shook with rage. She looked away from her friends, Don't worry, Diamond Tiara, you won't have such a BUCKING perfect life for long.

"S-Scootaloo?" Apple Bloom nudged her friend's shoulder with her hoof. "Equestria to Scootaloo?"

"Wh-What? Heh heh, sorry!" Her face lit up with a bright smile. "Anyways, I have an idea!"

Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle exchanged glances, "What is it?"

"We should return the favor to Diamond Tiara as soon as I'm allowed to leave this darn bed," Scootaloo's tone was almost malicious, but Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle tried to ignore it.

"How do you suppose we do that?" Sweetie Belle asked.

"We could..."

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I tricked the other crusaders. I feel bad, but at the same time happy EXCITED!!!!

So the plan is to take Diamond Tiara's STUPID tiara and run up a tree. Then throw the tiara to the ground once she's up in the tree with us. Then we push her off of the tree.

I'm going to set up some kind of trap for Diamond Tiara to fall onto. Juuuust to make SURE she goes to the hosp haspet howspit doctor.

Author's Note

tl;dr

Not Sorry

The next day, a pink nurse with a cyan mane and a heart with wings as her cutie mark quietly walked into Scootaloo's hospital room. She gently nudged the young pegasus. The orange filly groaned softly and opened her eyes slowly. She looked at the nurse and then at the room around her, unsure of why she was here. Once again, the memories came back to her. At least she had remembered before attempting to stretch her wings.

"Good mornin', Nurse Upbeat," Scootaloo yawned.

"More like 'good afternoon'," the mare gestured to a clock, "it's 2. Doctor Willow said that you should probably get some rest, but sleeping through the whole day wouldn't be healthy."

Scootaloo tried to stretch her legs but was restricted by the casts. It was annoying not being able to fully stretch, but she just had to live with it. Her mind had traveled right back to her loathing of Diamond Tiara.

She suddenly became painfully aware of how dry her mouth was. Nurse Upbeat was quick in getting her a glass of orange juice. Scootaloo sipped her drink and waited for something to happen. Visiting hours were at 4, in two whole hours.

"Ugh!" Scootaloo laid back down and gave the ceiling an irritated stare. "What am I supposed to do for two hours?!" She growled at herself.

She abruptly remembered the journal that she had put underneath her bed. She now regretted her choice of placing it under something. She mentally had group huddle and discussed the plan of action with herself. She scooted to the edge of her bed on the side closest to the journal. Then she flipped onto her stomach, which hurt slightly, but she ignored it. Then she strategically let the front leg and part of her chest that was closest to the notebook hang off the bed. She curved her leg and felt the book. She used the tip of her hoof to slide the notebook out from under her bed. Then she grabbed it and got back into her regular position.

The movement hurt her spine greatly, but she once again ignored the pain. It wasn't the same as the jolt of pain that she felt go down her back or up her wings every once in a while, this was just a dull ache.

Scootaloo looked at the clock. It had only been 30 minutes! She felt boredom pecking at her soul as she turned to the wall. The slight throb returned, this time in her neck. She thought of asking Nurse Upbeat for a painkiller, but she assumed they didn't make painkillers that wouldn't make her tired.

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"Hello, I have places I need to be, so make this quick," Spoiled Rich groaned at Rainbow Dash.

"This poor, innocent filly is in the hospital because your filly tricked a couple of colts into tripping her!" Rainbow Dash defended.

"So are you her mother?" The snobby, pink mare asked, avoiding the accusation entirely.

"No, but I'm like her mom," the cyan pegasus caressed Scootaloo's head softly. "I demand compensation!" Dash found it difficult to take on such a serious tone.

Spoiled Rich pulled out her sparkling wallet and shifted her hoof through the bits, making a quiet rattling sound. "How much will it be?" She sounded almost emotionless.

Rainbow Dash and Scootaloo shared an unsure glance. "All of the expensive medical procedure things that need to be done on her."

"You want me to pay for them?" She smirked slightly.

"Y-Yes! You nearly broke every bone in her little body!" Rainbow Dash seemed caught off guard by how much Spoiled Rich didn't care.

"Call me when the money is due," Spoiled Rich said as she sassily spun toward the door.

"HEY! Before you leave," the pegasus stopped the wealthy ponies in their tracks, "Diamond Tiara has to say she's sorry to Scootaloo!" The pegasus filly turned her neck toward Diamond Tiara, once again causing her neck to ache.

"Okay," Diamond Tiara sounded just as perky as ever, but Scootaloo saw through her facade. She bounced to the side of the bed and put her front hooves on the railing so she could see over Scootaloo. "I'm really sorry, Scoots," the pegasus filly was sickened by her worst enemy's use of her nickname. That nickname was only for ponies she liked, not for a pony that relentlessly bullied her! Diamond Tiara craned her neck so that her muzzle was directly next to Scootaloo's ear and whispered, "Not."

And with that, the two pampered ponies exited the hospital room. Diamond Tiara winked at Scootaloo before closing the door.

Scootaloo wanted to scream and holler every single curse word she knew at the spoiled filly, but she knew this would only amuse her. Instead, she mentally changed her plan of a small trap of bugs underneath the tree to rocks underneath the tree. Sharp rocks, to be exact. She wouldn't warn her friends about it, though, as she knew they would be completely against hurting anypony.

"Scoots," Rainbow Dash cradled Scootaloo partly, making sure not to hurt her, "I'm sorry that you can't heal any faster. It might even be an entire week until you can walk by yourself."

"It'll be fine," Scootaloo smiled, it was faint yet still warm. Her hopeful smile made Dash grin softly. "At least you'll be able to see me every day until then, right?" Dash's weak smile turned into a pronounced frown of regret. "R-Right?"

"Sorry, Squirt, but the clouds are piling up as we speak," Rainbow Dash turned away slightly. "We have a stormy season ahead of us, all the pegasi have to help."

"JUST ONE PEGASUS NOT HELPING WON'T MATTER!" Scootaloo whined. Raising her voice made her throat seem scratched up. This, along with the ache in her neck and pain that she wouldn't see Dash for a long time, made her eyes tear up.

"Remember the tornado the pegasi needed to create to funnel all the water up to Cloudsdale? Just with one pegasus, Fluttershy, not working, the entire thing wouldn't work!" Dash reminded.

"Okay..." Scootaloo didn't want to be away from her idol for more than a day. This wasn't fair, nothing was anymore.

VERY sharp rocks, the filly clarified with herself.

"I'm sorry, Rainbow Dash, but visiting hours are over," Nurse Upbeat suddenly walked into the room. She sounded legitimately apologetic, like she had overheard the conversation.

"See ya later, squirt." Dash kissed Scootaloo's forehead and hung her head as she left.

Nurse Upbeat was at least slightly comforting to the filly as her personality was, well, upbeat.

The filly spent the rest of the day writing in her notebook. She kept thinking about all the things she was missing out on, how far behind she was going to be in school, and then her mind would jump back to the seething hatred for Diamond Tiara.

"I'm really sorry, Scoots," Diamond Tiara's voice whispered in Scootaloo's ear, "Not."

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The next day at 4, Scootaloo stared intently at the door. After 15 minutes, she laid back down and sighed with disappointment. Her ears suddenly perked up when she heard the door open.

"Apple Bloo-" she paused and saw that the other Cutie Mark Crusaders were not there. "Twist?"

"Hey," the pale filly greeted in a depressed tone. She put her front hooves on the railing that protected the side of the bed and looked down at Scootaloo. "You're probably disappointed I'm here and not Apple Bloom or Sweetie Belle."

"Yeah, I mean, no. I-I mean, I'm happy at least you showed up, but-but-"

Twist interrupted Scootaloo's babbling and sputtering, "I know what you're trying to say, but you're also probably wondering where your other friends are." The pegasus nodded. "They couldn't be here, they had to stay after school because they acted out during class."

That seemed very uncharacteristic of them, but Twist was no liar. Scootaloo smiled slightly in an attempt to show that she appreciated Twist coming. An abrupt question turned her smile into a look of confusion."Wait... How'd you know I was even here?"

"I saw the crash and I ran over to see if you were okay. When I got to you, you had blacked out. Snips and Snails told Ms. Cheerilee and she had you rushed to the hospital." Twist explained. "Also, Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle told me."

"Thanks for, um, I dunno... seeing if I was okay," Scootaloo chuckled quietly at how dumb she must have seemed. She couldn't even find the right words to thank her friend.

"They also told me that Diamond Tiara was the cause of all this," Twist had an edge to her voice that assured Scootaloo she hated Diamond too. "Are you going to do anything to get back at her?" She asked quietly.

"Can you keep a secret?"

"Of course," Twist grinned warmly, "I can do anything for a friend."

"Good." Scootaloo took in a deep breath and gulped. "The other Cutie Mark Crusaders agreed to a plan to take Diamond's tiara, run up a tree, and then drop the tiara. Then we push her off the tree." She explained softly.

"They said to make sure she wouldn't get hurt right?"

"Well, of course. But that's not my plan. I'm going to put sharp rocks below the tree and make sure she gets hurt," Scootaloo smirked slightly.

"R-Really?" Scootaloo expected Twist to be horrified, but Twist sounded impressed and excited. "I'd like to see that little snot see what it's like to actually get hurt!"

"Me too!" A twisted grin suddenly spread across Scootaloo's face. "I know how to get even better revenge."

"Better than pushing her onto a bunch of sharp rocks?"

"She nearly killed me!" Scootaloo's eyes widened at the word 'killed'. "We should just... return the favor."

Author's Note

Sorry if this chapter is short or weird. If it is, just pretend I made it like to just be fitting to me personality... I'm not funny.

Question: Should I add the occasional picture or not? I don't want to add pictures and then people saying "Holy crap, why the pictures?! Only babies put pictures in their writing!"

Make Your Mark

"I can't wait to get out of this stupid hospital bed!" Scootaloo pouted.

It was two days after Scootaloo first discussed the new revenge plan with Twist. Now she only had to wait about four or five more days until she could leave. She had all of her plans thoroughly detailed: she imagined every detail, every possibility, all variables were considered, and everything would work out perfectly. The only thing that was stopping her sweet revenge was time. She needed to wait to get out of the hospital.

Scootaloo still had not seen Rainbow Dash since the day that Spoiled Rich and Diamond Tiara 'visited' her. She missed seeing Dash, she missed her confident spirit and determined nature. The only support Scootaloo was getting from the other Crusaders was joking around and playing card games. They didn't think like her, they wanted to become friends with Diamond Tiara.

The only pony that she knew thought like her was Twist. She agreed to the grand scheme. She was Scootaloo's true friend. Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle were lame compared to Twist, and everypony considered Twist a nerd! Scootaloo knew what she had to do: she had to tell the crusaders she didn't want to be their friend. The only friends she needed were friends that understood her, friends like Twist.

I'm sorry, Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle, but you guys are too lame for me.

You guys are too sweet for me.

You guys aren't cool enough.

You guys aren't my type.

"Ugh! How can I say this without sounding like a complete jerk?!" Scootaloo growled at herself. "Maybe just..." her eyes lit up, "If I get my cutie mark I won't be part of the cutie mark crusaders! Wait... How can I get a cutie mark if I'm not able to leave?"

Her mind once again flipped back to Diamond Tiara. Diamond Tiara was preventing her from getting her cutie mark! She knew that just writing in a notebook wouldn't get rid of the anger and frustration. Writing a little diary entry wouldn't satisfy the burning hatred she had for that little brat. And after all the terrible things Diamond has done to her, could anyone blame her? She needed closure before she went insane! Although, some might say she was already there.

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Diamond Tiara was taking a leisure walk in the park, enjoying the silence. She sniffed a violet and smiled briefly, it smelled very good. She suddenly saw Twist out of the corner of her eye. She turned toward the pale pony and changed her posture to look more proud and upper-class.

"Oh, hey, Twist," Diamond said in a supercilious tone as she rolled her eyes at the filly.

"I have this brand new candy and-"

"I'm too mature for your baby candy!" The pampered pony snapped.

"Actually, that's why I need you to test it! You're the only pony I know that is mature and elegant enough to see if my candy is," she paused to think of more enticing words, "well, mature and elegant enough." Twist regretted her praise, even if it was fake.

Diamond Tiara smirked at the compliment. "Wow, you're, like, so lucky to have such a sophisticated friend like me," she flipped her mane. "I'll taste it for you."

Twist's legs and jaw tensed up with anger at how condescending Diamond was. She plastered a smile on her face and said through gritted teeth "Come with me!"

Diamond strutted along with Twist. They traveled across Ponyville into a poor side of town. Diamond Tiara was put off by the odd place Twist lead her to. The buildings looked old and grimy, so disgusting she didn't want to take a step closer. Half the windows were broken and the wood building most of the houses looked rotted and moldy. She turned to Twist with a livid expression.

"What's with the-" WAM!

Twist reared up and kicked Diamond Tiara in the side of the head. She immediately blacked out and fell limp on the street. Twist bit Diamond's neck to pick her up and swing her onto her back. Her legs wobbled slightly, but she trudged down the empty, grimy street.

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Diamond opened her eyes only to see the most horrible thing ever. She was inside one of the filthy buildings, her front hooves were tied behind her back, her back hooves were tied in a sitting position, and there was a ball gag in her mouth. She looked around the room and saw Scootaloo standing a small way in front of her. She looked the same as she had in the hospital with casts and bruises, but now there was a horrible grin on her face.

"You bullied me for too long, Diamond!" Scootaloo growled. She dragged herself toward Diamond Tiara slightly.

Diamond wanted to scream, she wanted to apologize, she wanted to say something. Anything. But all that could be heard was moaning and grunting. The pitiful look scrawled across the filly's face made Scootaloo grin wider as she slowly scooted toward Diamond Tiara.

"Did you just assume you could do all those terrible things to me and my friends without there being consequences?" Scootaloo cooed, her tone as sweet as candy yet sickening. "If ya did, you're a stupid, ignorant BABY!"

Diamond Tiara writhed hopelessly and tried to scoot away from the disturbing filly. Scootaloo crept toward Diamond, striking fear through every part of the petrified pony's soul. Diamond was sobbing in forced silence as Scootaloo neared the horrified filly. Scootaloo was now close enough for Diamond to feel her warm breath.

"Wanna be a blank flank?" Scootaloo tilted her head and gave Diamond a look of innocent curiosity. The bound and gagged filly shook her head fiercely and whimpered. "Did you say... 'Yes'? Well, okay."

Scootaloo reached behind Diamond with her good hoof and showed her what she was reaching for. It was a knife that was probably used for carving wood. Diamond began to break down into a fit of hysteria, she writhed and wailed through the gag. She was sorry, she was so sorry. She was suddenly held still by Twist and was forced to endure whatever Scootaloo was going to do.

She placed the knife on Diamond's rump, a few inches above her cutie mark. "How did you get your cutie mark, anyways?" Scootaloo asked nonchalantly. Diamond exploded into muffled screams as the edge of the blade sliced underneath her pelt, blood started to seep out. "Did ya just one day realize," she slowly cut a sloppy outline around Diamond's entire thigh, "'Oh, my parents didn't care about me enough to give me an actual name'," she carved off the pelt and skin along with the cutie mark, "'Maybe this stupid tiara is my talent.'

"You probably think I'm the monster for doing this to you," Scootaloo held the knife firmly at Diamond's belly. "I'm not, though. After doing this to you, you're still the monster." She made sure Diamond could feel the sharp point of the knife on her stomach. "You bullied foals for something they couldn't control!" She plunged the knife into Diamond's belly. "And ya bucked up my life because you're just that spiteful."

Tears flooded Diamond Tiara's eyes and flowed down her cheeks. They pooled on the disgusting wooden floor as she laid helplessly on a dirty, grimy ground. The pain from her profusely bleeding flank and the emotional pain from Scootaloo's comment made her wish she hadn't been so mean. Now she was going to die, she was going to die in such a foul environment.

"Now for the other one," Scootaloo began to repeat the process on her other flank. "Don't worry, I won't kill you." Diamond could barely hear her over the sound of her heaving breaths and sobs. "Good filly. Now I need to make sure you won't tell on me..." Scootaloo traveled up to Diamond's head.

"Don't," Twist objected, making Scootaloo halt, "just threaten her."

"Fiiiiine," she sighed defeatedly, "Don't make me cut out your tongue." Diamond Tiara nodded. Scootaloo smirked.

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"H-Honey!" Spoiled Rich exclaimed as she ran up to her filly. Diamond's pink and purple coat and mane were matted with dirt and other revolting substances, the side of her head was bruised and bleeding, and her thighs had been skinned. "W-What happened to you?!"

"I... I got attacked in an alley..." she choked out between loud sobs. Diamond Tiara wanted to tell her mother what happened, she wanted to call the police, but she was too terrified of Scootaloo's threat.

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Scootaloo was torn between emotions. She was excited and satisfied from her lovely meeting with Diamond Tiara. She was in intense pain from walking and being so active with casts, bruised bones, and wings that felt broken. But the most prominent emotion was joy from her new cutie mark.

The cutie mark was a black heart with a pin pricking it. Though everyone would be horrified by the obscure image, she could not be more proud. She could hardly tear her purple eyes away from the beauty that plastered itself on her flanks. While she stared at the new cutie mark with infatuation, she mentally thought of what she would say she got it from.

"I got my cutie mark from when a nurse taught me how to draw blood."

Author's Note

Sorry if the writing is kinda bad, I edited it a LOT, but it still seems crappy.

Also, if it has a few typos or mistakes, I'm sorry. I'm only one person and I like to indulge in hobbies other than proof-reading. I know that's a stupid excuse, but I'm a lazy person.

Black Lie

Scootaloo woke up. She wasn't in confusion this time, as she had now been inside the hospital long enough to expect waking up there. The one thing she did momentarily forget was her brand new cutie mark. It was such a wonderful memory of how she brought justice upon her bully. Maybe justice was the real meaning behind the mark? Heart, the symbol of love and trust, turned black and being pricked? A black heart, one of a sinner. Those that sin so terribly should be punished. They should bleed.

She rubbed her flank and smirked. Scootaloo turned to the clock and groaned with boredom. It would be three more hours until her 'friends' would visit her! What was she supposed to do for three hours? Watch paint dry? Watching paint dry seemed to be the most interesting thing she could do here.

What did Rainbow Dash do to entertain herself in the hospital? Scootaloo struggled to remember. Oh, yeah! She read a book. She automatically denied the idea of reading. It wasn't the same as Rainbow Dash, who avoided reading. Scootaloo had to read random books, both fiction and nonfiction, she just didn't like it. She had trouble picturing what the words were describing in her mind.

There was also an option of writing or drawing in her notebook. Scootaloo scratched that idea as well, she was suffering from boredom and creative block. Creative block was the 6th item on Scootaloo's list of things that frustrated her. If it's this boring in the hospital, she thought, it must make prison, like, a million times worse for an artist with creative block.

After going through various ideas, Scootaloo settled on just thinking. Thinking seemed to be the only thing she could do. Her thoughts were random, but random was good, random was entertaining. What kind of cupcakes did Pinkie probably have to bake the most? How many ponies did Scootaloo know who wore glasses? Which cutie mark, out of everypony that she knew, did she like the most?

There were other things that were much more important to think about. Would Diamond Tiara expose her? Would anypony else force her to kill? Scootaloo almost wished they would.

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Rainbow Dash paused mid-flight; she was a good distance above the hospital. She pondered if she had enough time to visit Scootaloo. It would only take a few minutes: she would just walk in and see if Scootaloo was okay. That wouldn't be enough time for anything tragic to happen in the sky, surely.

The inky black storm clouds would turn gray for a split second as a bolt of lightning would launch from its core. All of the pegasi that were healthy and old enough to help were kicking and blasting the dark clouds away. After only minutes, more clouds would appear and attempt to spread enough cold rain to flood Ponyville.

Ditzy Doo catapulted herself at a blackened cloud. The gray pegasus missed her target and, after bursting through several other white clouds, slammed into Dash. Both of the pegasi began to hopelessly tumble to the earth below.

Dash's wits returned to her and she realized she was falling. Instinctively, her wings opened and she hovered. Her eyes landed on the figure of Ditzy, spread-eagle falling. Rainbow Dash suddenly plunged at full speed to catch up with Ditzy. Once she was close enough, she bit Ditzy's wing to stop her descent.

"W-Woah... Thank you." Ditzy managed to squeak between gasps for air.

"No problem, Ditzy," Rainbow Dash said through her clenched teeth.

The two pegasi returned to the dark clouds and joined in trying to fend off the storm. Rainbow Dash was slower than usual and her wings drooped slightly as she blasted the clouds to oblivion.

Her mind was on Scootaloo, the poor orange filly that sat alone in a hospital room. The poor orange filly that looked up to her with the highest of respect. The poor orange filly that would be happy with nothing more than a short visit from her idol once a day. The poor orange filly that wouldn't get one simple thing from someone she did so much for.

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"What... What is that?" Apple Bloom's voice was melting into concern and horror.

"It-It's a lot less disturbing than it seems," Scootaloo assured. "It's just that... my special talent is drawing blood and testing it, stuff like that."

"H-How did you find out about it, exactly?" Sweetie Belle asked, her tone mirroring Apple Bloom's terror.

"I got bored and I asked the nurse if I could follow her around for the day. She allowed me to come along. When she had to take a patient's blood, I was interested." Scootaloo explained matter-of-factly.

"You can walk...?" Sweetie Belle sounded unsure. Was Scootaloo lying to her? Her own best friend?

"We-Well..." Scootaloo paused to think of an excuse. "I was in a wheelchair."

"What really got 'chu that there cutie mark?" Apple Bloom inquired, a frustrated edge to her voice. She stepped toward Scootaloo.

"Are you sure you'll still be friends with me?" The pegasus filly's tone lowered.

"Of course, just tell us the truth," Sweetie Belle guaranteed.

"I kidnapped Diamond Tiara and cut off her cutie marks," Scootaloo said proudly.

"Y-You're jokin', right?" Apple Bloom's eyes widened and she stepped back from Scootaloo. She already knew the answer and glanced at the door nervously.

"No, but she deserved it."

"You- You're a monster!" Apple Bloom jolted toward the door, leaving Sweetie Belle behind. It wouldn't matter, she would get the police and rescue Sweetie Belle.

This was a mistake... Scootaloo sighed. Without any further thought, her wings opened out and she leaped as fast as lightning in front of Apple Bloom, blocking the exit. The two fillies begged and pleaded, but Scootaloo knew what she needed to do:

They broke her heart and her trust, so she would break their bones. She would make them bleed.

Her room was on the third floor, a dangerous fall. Scootaloo jumped on top of Apple Bloom and pinned the yellow filly down. She used both of her front hooves to bash Apple Bloom in the skull until she blacked out. Blood dripped out of the farm pony's mouth and out of a gash on the side of her head.

Sweetie Belle stood, trembling in the corner, staring at Scootaloo with big, round eyes. The white unicorn pressed herself further against the wall, as if hoping to phase through it. She was so appalled to see her once close friend become a monster that she couldn't move.

Scootaloo approached Sweetie Belle at a casual pace. She seized the white filly by her shoulders and forced her to the ground. She dragged her friend by the horn to the window as the unicorn whimpered and whined. Scootaloo slid the window open and set her best friend on the sill.

"I'll see you in heaven, Sweetie," Scootaloo slammed the filly out of the window and watched with a grin as she tumbled to the ground. Her small body made a satisfying crack and splat as it exploded into a mess of viscera and blood.

Scootaloo saw that Apple Bloom was beginning to stir. Apple Bloom had a splitting headache, her vision was swimming, and she was extremely nauseous, but she still attempted to escape. Scootaloo was amused by how pitiful her friends were and walked leisurely toward her next victim.

Apple Bloom wasn't sure if her vision was blurry or if her mind was just unable to register the information that her eyes provided and just passed it off as unclear. What Apple Bloom was aware of was something, probably Scootaloo, dragging her by her back leg away from the door. Then, Scootaloo grabbed her shoulders and sat her up on a something too thin for her entire butt fit on. Next, she felt being pushed backward off of the thin platform and her organs sloshing toward her feet as she fell upside-down.

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Scootaloo flew shakily up to the cameras around the room and smashed them up. Then she flew back to the floor and laid down. She positioned herself in such a way that it would seem like she was an attack victim.

As she laid there, the adrenaline wore off and she became fully aware of pain. With every beat of her heart, her body pulsed with a burning ache that felt like knives slashing her open. Ripples of pain that originated from her legs and wings spread across her tiny body. The only spot on her body that didn't stab her with that same fiery agony was her flanks. The fact that her cutie marks felt no pain filled her with a certain satisfaction that allowed her to fall asleep on the cold, hard ground.

Author's Note

Holy jebus, these chapters are slowly but surely getting shorter! :pinkiegasp: I swear it's not intentional.
But anyways, this one was short because it was all that the chapter needed, it had the action and the detail. Well... as much detail as I'm willing to spend my time on.

Uuuugh, it's taking me so long to write the next chapter :flutterrage:

The Interrogation

Scootaloo was well aware that she would have to be questioned by police. The cameras had been smashed and she was the only survivor. The police pony seemed neither skeptical nor completely trusting, at least that was what Scootaloo assumed.

"Wh-What?" The orange filly sat up in her new hospital bed. She had been moved to the first floor. Scootaloo became aware of new casts on her legs and tighter wraps on her head and wings.

"Are you ready to be questioned?" There was a unicorn sitting next to the bed wearing a cop uniform and sunglasses that hid his emotions. He had a light blue coat, a dark brown mane and tail, and his cutie mark was an old balance-weight.

"Questioned? W-Why?" Scootaloo asked in an attempt to sound innocent and confused.

"Your friends are dead, my dear." The police officer's voice remained monotone. "Witnesses say that first Sweetie Belle fell out of the window and then Apple Bloom."

"A-Apple... Apple Bloom?" Scootaloo hunched over and stared down at her back legs.

"Did she do something?" The officer levitated a pen and a notebook. "Anything significant?"

Scootaloo's eyes widened in forced fear and she allowed a few tears to roll down her cheeks. She held her head in her hooves and sobbed. "Yes."

"What did she do, honey?" Scootaloo could tell the cop had to force a comforting tone to his voice. After she had been silent for a few minutes, he asked again, "What did she do?"

"I was so happy to see my friends visit me, but Apple Bloom wasn't happy about it. She jumped on me and started hurting me," Scootaloo began in a low, quiet voice, making sure to sound like she was on the brink of crying like a small foal. "Sweetie Belle tried to use her magic to get Apple Bloom away from me, but she just started hurting her instead."

As Scootaloo spoke, the blue officer wrote down notes on what she said. He seemed to not be surprised in the least about a filly lashing out at a filly. This was very strange to Scootaloo, she wanted more attention from him. He should be more thoughtful about this. What if this really had happened to her? He would be the least comforting thing in Equestria.

"Apple Bloom pushed Sweetie Belle out of the window and she started attacking me again. I pretended to be dead and she walked over to the window and killed herself," Scootaloo began sobbing silently.

The door was abruptly slammed open and a rainbow blur flashed next to Scootaloo. It was Rainbow Dash, a look of concern on her face. She cradled Scootaloo slightly and looked at the officer.

"What happened to her?! What happened to my lil' filly?!"

"Apple Bloom attacked and murdered Sweetie Belle," he said, "almost killing Scootaloo as well."

"W-Why?" Rainbow Dash inquired hesitantly.

"I know Apple Bloom and her family. You see, foals that experience traumatizing events early on in their lives develop certain mental disorders. While some don't bother to hide their insanity, others choose to act like a regular foal while they die on the inside. Some act friendly, funny, and even have lots of friends," he explained.

"Traumatizing events?" Scootaloo turned to the officer.

"Her parents died when she was young. They were smashed beneath an apple tree," the officer's emotionless voice let on a tad of sympathy.

Scootaloo felt an extreme wave of empathy wash over her. She and Apple Bloom weren't so different, but now one of them was dead. Scootaloo barely remembered when her parents died, she was too young. She quickly tried to distract her mind from that subject and turned her attention to the officer.

"That's so awful," Rainbow Dash said weakly as she hugged Scootaloo closer to her warm chest.

"Indeed," he turned back to his notes, "it's a shame she didn't get the appropriate mental help before this could happen."

Scootaloo began to ponder if she replaced Apple Bloom's name with her own name, would what the officer has been saying would still apply? Did she need mental help? Was she traumatized? No, she concluded, I am the only one sane enough to PUNISH those who deserve it.

"I'm so sorry, Scoots," Dash held Scootaloo even closer. This did hurt her, but Scootaloo ignored the pain. She felt Rainbow Dash's tears dampen her mane. "I wish the world didn't have to be so dark, but it is."

"It's fine, Dash," Scootaloo smiled frailly. "I'm fine."

"No, you aren't." Rainbow Dash's soft, concerned voice was now firm. "You need support right now, whether you like it or not."

"It really isn't up to you to decide what she needs and what she doesn't need, Miss Dash." The officer stood up, he was probably the height of Big Mac. "You are not her guardian nor are you even related."

This officer had the nerve to tell Scootaloo who she was and was not family with. She didn't need to be related to Rainbow Dash to be her little sister! Scootaloo knew what needed to be done: he needed to be punished.

"R-Right, officer." Rainbow Dash sounded defeated as she laid Scootaloo back down. "See ya later, squirt," she ruffled Scootaloo's purple mane and trudged out of the room.

"Who even are you?" Scootaloo demanded rudely.

"Officer Asher."

Asher? Was that his first or last name? This was important information for what Scootaloo planned on doing. She needed to know who this stallion was and where he lived. He was law and justice, but he barely seemed to respect it.

"Okay, Officer Asher," Scootaloo rolled her eyes, "what else do you need to do?"

"Nothing for right now, but I'll be back in a few days. I'll have to talk with the Apples and Rarity." He walked slowly toward the door, but as he left he shot Scootaloo a sideways glance. It was a glare that told her that he knew she was hiding something. Then the door closed and she was left alone.

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"Mah lil' sis killed somepony?!" Apple Jack's green eyes were wide with fear and shock and they glistened with tears. "Sh-She was... so kind..." The orange mare could barely speak now as a wave of depression washed over her.

Big Mac put his foreleg around his sister and held her close. He wasn't sure what to say to try and stop his sister from crying. Though he was the strongest stallion in Ponyville, he too felt his eyes begin to water.

"I'm so sorry," Officer Asher's monotone voice was now very sympathetic. "This is such a terrible tragedy."

"I'm guessin' you need to question us 'bout lil Apple Bloom?" Big Mac stood up and walked up to the officer.

"I'm afraid so," he looked at Apple Jack crying uncontrollably, "but if you're too pained to talk about it, I can come back some other day."

"I-I think I can manage talkin' 'bout it." Big Mac replied.

"Just tell me what she did before she left to go see Scootaloo," the unicorn suspended a notebook and pencil in front of himself.

"She was actin' normally and she was pretty happy to go see 'er friend." Big Mac's deep, normally placid tone was unsure and confused.

"What was she saying?" Officer Asher inquired softly, jotting down a note.

"She was goin' on 'bout how Scootaloo had gotten 'er cutie mark and how she was dyin' to see it." Big Mac avoided looking at Apple Jack, even though he wanted desperately to comfort her.

"Anything else?"

"Sweetie Belle also came over just 'fore Apple Bloom left," he paused, "they both had a normal conversation on what they thought their cutie marks would be."

Apple Jack walked up behind her brother and wiped away her tears. "Apple Bloom thought she would get a cutie mark from collectin' apples and Sweetie Belle really wanted a cutie mark from makin' sparkly, glittery things." She looked down at her hooves. "I guess they'll never get a cutie mark now."

"I'm so sorry for your loss." Officer Asher closed the notebook. "I'll leave you alone now."

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Scootaloo wondered if the officer would continue using the same emotionless, monotone voice even when speaking with the Apples. They were kindhearted and emotional ponies that probably would demand at least some sympathy.

Speaking of sympathy, Scootaloo had received a lot of it in just a few hours. All of the Mane 6 and other ponies that knew Scootaloo had joined in on sending her gifts, letters, and other forms of condolences. This only furthered her idea of this "execution" being a good thing.

Twist would visit tomorrow, but Scootaloo could not tell her what really happened. The hospital stepped up its security and now there were spikes around the cameras to prevent anypony from breaking them. The staff were also more diligent and checked on the patients much more frequently. This still wouldn't stop Scootaloo from bringing justice to those who deserved it.

Author's Note

Why did this chapter take so long?
Because my math teacher is a bitch who thinks I don't get enough work from my other five classes! :twilightangry2:

Release

The sun peeked inside the window of a hospital room. It glinted in the patient's eyes, making them grunt and roll over.

The orange filly was having a dream about flying around Equestria with Rainbow Dash by her side. Rainbow Dash's signature rainbow streaked behind her, lighting up the blue sky with jubilant color. Scootaloo looked behind herself at the ever-expanding river of different shades of purple that originated from herself. Joy and pride coursed through her veins stronger than ever before.

The dream turned sour, however, as her mind recognized the day it was. She would be freed from the prison that was her hospital room. She remembered the day, only a few weeks ago, that she was just a joyful little filly. She just wanted to have fun and play foals' games with her friends, but that mistake would not be made again.

"Wakie wakie!" Pinkie Pie's cheerful face was just inches from Scootaloo's. She beamed joyously at the filly, who had a rather apathetic expression. "Time to go hoooome!"

"Hey, Pinkie, why are you here and not... well..." Scootaloo's voice trailed off. She did not want to say anything rude.

"Anypony else?" The party pony suggested. "Because I'm perfect for waking you up and putting you in a HAPPY, CAN-DO attitude!" She punctuated this statement with a giggle.

"Makes sense..." Scootaloo looked at herself. She still had casts on, but it would not hurt to move. There was no longer a need for a wrap on her head and her wings only needed a sling. This brought up a question inside of her that she feared the answer of. Would she be able to fly again?

With Pinkie Pie's help, Scootaloo got ready to go to her house. Twist should have been there to help her. Been there to greet her. There was not even any school that day, so she could not use that as an excuse. Did Twist simply not want to see her best friend?

That bitch.

"Are ya doin' okiedokie?" Pinkie Pie asked as she skipped merrily down the road with Scootaloo by her side. She had noticed the scowl that had been occupying Scootaloo's face. "Scootaloo? Are you being a pouty-wouty-grumpy-pants?" She asked childishly after a minute of silence.

"Would you like to come over for some candy that Twist made me?" Scootaloo rasped abruptly. Her tone had a dangerous edge that would have tipped off any intelligent pony that she was not planning to play around with Pinkie Pie.

Pinkie was too innocent to understand that Scootaloo had something sinister planned out in her mind just for her. "Candy? I LOVE CANDY!" She leaped with joy into the air and clapped her hooves. "Let's-go-let's-go, LET'S GOO!" Pinkie seemed to disappear as she charged full-speed ahead.

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Rainbow Dash and Ditzy Doo were side-by-side in the sky, kicking and swiping at the strange, dark clouds. Dash's rosy eyes were caught by the sight of the orange and purple filly and the pink mare trotting below. She wanted to join them to see what they were doing. She imagined how quick it would be, she was the fastest pegasus in Ponyville, after all.

"Rainbow Dash! You gotta stay focused!" Ditzy reminded, noticing the far-away look in her friend's eyes. "Remember: Just one pony not helping brings down the entire group."

"R-Right, heh." Dash shot forward abruptly, breaking through multiple clouds.

Not even Twilight Sparkle could explain the odd occurrence of these clouds, even after relentless research. The earth-ponies and unicorns that watched from Ponyville could only shout their words of encouragement and hope the pegasi could hear. Even with so much support and well-planned shifts and breaks, the pegasi were getting fatigued and nearly collapsing out of the sky.

As Rainbow Dash worked with complex maneuvers and swift turns, she found herself trying to figure out what could be causing the clouds. She knew this was stupid of herself, as she was no egg-head and was possibly the least qualified pony, but she could not stop herself.

The Everfree Forest has weather that moves by itself, she thought, maybe its dangerous weather is coming into Ponyville. Dash shook her head as if to dismiss the idea. If that were the case, it would be the first time in the history of Ponyville.

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Pinkie Pie and Scootaloo were seated at Scootaloo's kitchen table as they ate some of the confections Twist supplied her. The hard, wood planks of the table were scratched and in need of repair. Two, long benches were placed on either side of the table with haphazardly placed pegs holding up the benches.

The pink pony sat parallel across the table from the filly and had a small hill of candy piled in front of herself. Scootaloo only had a few sweets and had not taken a single bite. The taste would only remind her that Twist was a flake and did not really like her.

"Twist is really good at making candy! I should get her to help out around Sugar Cube Corner!" Pinkie Pie's constantly excited voice squeaked as she shoved a hoof-full of the candy into her mouth.

"Yeah, maybe..." Scootaloo sounded deflated and hazy. She poked at one of the candies, making it roll slightly.

She could not kill the Element of Laughter for practically no reason, that would make her the bad pony. If Pinkie was so good at making others laugh and smile, she was definitely holding back on Scootaloo, but that was not a good enough reason. She would just have to put a pin in this particular idea and hope that the chance surfaces again.

"Are you okay?" Pinkie asked, tilting her head to the side cutely. "Wanna hear a joke?"

"Sure," Scootaloo forced her tone to be enthusiastic.

"So once there was this golf ball that had more dimples than the other golf balls, so he got bullied. Then one day, an elephant made friends with the golf ball. After that, nopony ever talked to a fish again!" Pinkie burst into almost hysterical laughter like this was the funniest joke ever told.

Scootaloo could not help but grin at the random nature of Pinkie Pie's jokes. The way that they never made sense made them seem like comedy gold, nopony could deny that. "Is that a new joke?"

"Yepperoo!" Pinkie finished off her candy in record time. "Will you be okay by yourself?"

"Oh- um..." Scootaloo reconsidered punishing Pinkie Pie in some way but decided against it. "Yeah, I'll be fine. Thanks for... um... cheering me up."

"See ya, Scoots!" The pink pony hopped to her hooves and skipped out of the house.

Where was Rainbow Dash? Still working on those stupid clouds? It had been so long, how could the clouds still be a problem? Maybe the clouds were not the problem. Maybe Scootaloo was the problem. Maybe Rainbow Dash did not want to see Scootaloo.

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"I'm telling you, Jay, this filly is hiding something from us!" Officer Asher tried to explain, a frantic tone to his voice. "That look in her e-"

"Maybe you just can't handle this case!" A pure white pegasus stallion with a short, navy blue mane and tail said sternly. "You are supposed to do your job as an officer and not pretend to be a detective! Do you want to be fired for this, Asher?!"

"You aren't a superior, you have no room to tell me-"

"You're being a fool, Asher." Jay's tone mellowed as he glared with disgust at Asher. "You did your part and now the actual detectives can do the rest."

"But this filly is doing something sinister, I swear!" Asher's horn lit up and a file floated in front of the pegasus. "One of her classmates, the one that was responsible for her 'crash', was supposedly attacked in an alley. Her cutie marks were skinned off."

"Ho-How did you find out about this? This is not your case!" Jay opened the file and his eyes widened as he read through it. It was tragic and heartbreaking to hear of a foal being a victim. "She said it herself that she was attacked in an alley, not by another filly."

"What if she's been threatened?! We'll never arrest the crimina-"

"Asher, you need to take some time off. Obviously, the pressure of these crimes involving foals is too much for you to handle. Go spend some time with your family, you need it," he gently set the file down on a desk and gave a concerned look to Asher.

"Please." Asher's tone was desperate and nearly choked. "Let me do this, I have a lead."

"Tell it to the ponies that are in charge of following leads, you are not qualified for this."

"You aren't qualified to give me orders! You are not my boss and you are not my mother!" Asher shoved past Jay and exited the office. He would find out what this little filly was hiding if it was the last thing he did.

Caught?

Scootaloo locked eyes with herself in the mirror. She looked like a filly she had never met before. Her once glistening, purple eyes seemed dead and cold as stone with circular blackholes that sucked the breath out of her lungs; her coat, that was once vibrant orange, was faded and thin. She groaned with distaste and disgust at the drastic change in appearance.

Scootaloo bent over the sink and turned it on. She looked back up at the mirror, back at the stranger she had become. She splashed the cold water on her face and watched the water make her fur turn darker. She had almost hoped the new look would wash away like makeup, but of course, it wouldn't.

Was Scootaloo guilty? No. She was scared of where this path would lead. She knew this was the righteous way to go about the world, but nopony around her could understand it. They were weak. She was the only pony that could see that the sin of the world needed to be found and destroyed. They would try to stop her, try to tell her how just being "kind" and "friendly" can solve her problems. She knew better, though.

These thoughts of how great, smart, and virtuous she was brought a smirk to her face. Scootaloo could show everyone how amazing she was. She could teach them the way to cleanse Equestria of crime. Ponies would look up to her and think of how she had turned the world from sin to purity.

Scootaloo's train of thought was derailed by a loud knock at her door. Who the buck would be here at 8 in the morning?! She thought angerly. She jumped away from the sink and walked out of the bathroom. She waltzed through her house at a meandering speed before coming to the door. She unlocked it cautiously, unsure of what kind of horrible foe or cheerful friend lay behind the thick wood.

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"Please, Spitfire!" Rainbow Dash pleaded, her voice was whiney and her eyes were watery. "I need to see her! I'm all she has left..."

"I understand that, Crash, but we can't afford you leaving."

They were standing on a small, puffy, white cloud overlooking the horror scene of pegasi scrambling to destroy the black clouds. The pegasi lacked any enthusiasm or energy as they struggled to raise a hoof. At this point, many had given up on the idea that they could win against the endless supply of smoke-like clouds and just rushed around to act like they had a chance.

"Pleeeease..." Rainbow Dash looked down at her hooves, a single tear escaping from her eye and dropping onto her front leg. "I need to see her..."

"I thought you were tough!" Spitfire punched Rainbow Dash in the shoulder softly. "If she's half as tough as you, she can make it for another week."

"It's been nearly two!" Rainbow Dash spat, looking at Spitfire tearfully. "Let me do this, please!" She flapped her wings so that she was high enough to look down at Spitfire.

"If you leave or don't participate in this bucking charity of a group effort, I'll kick you out of Cloudsdale and destroy your reputation and career as a WonderBolt!" Spitfire hissed.

Foul-mouthed, hot-headed little- Rainbow Dash cut off her own thoughts and nodded. "Fine... I'll..." She couldn't find the words in her throat, so she turned toward the disaster taking place.

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Twist's mother was an old shrew of a mare and had locked her in her room with nothing but her mini fridge full of confections. After a less-than-pleasant argument Twist was grounded until next month, even after explaining the situation her friend was in. Even sweet candy couldn't wash the bitter taste of guilt away. What kind of awful friend doesn't even see their own friend on they day they are released from the hospital.

Twist curled up on her bed with a candy cane in her mouth and sobbed silently. Tears pooled under her head as she shook uncontrollably. She suddenly realized how pathetic she must've looked. Oh, how her mother must have been laughing to see her filly be such a pitiful waste of space.

Twist sat up and wiped away her tears before standing up. She turned to the window, which had been nailed closed from when she tried to escape when she was 7. She was struck with a marvelous idea and wheeled around toward her bed.

She clambered underneath her bed and felt the bottom of the frame. It was like a ladder of wooden planks. She reached her two front legs between a plank and the mattress. She heaved and pulled the piece of wood toward her chest. Tears welled in her eyes from the intense pain of the heavy mattress crushing her forelegs into the hard plank. The extremely strong glue that kept the wood in place abruptly gave way and the plank was freed.

Twist ignored the burning pain in her upper-body and grabbed the plank in her jaws. She backed out from under the bed and stood up. The agony threatened to make her legs give up, but she fought the temptation to lay down. She took her first step toward the window, sending a shock of pain up her leg and through her body. She cringed and bit down hard enough to shatter her teeth.

After many minutes of agony-filled walking, she had made it over to the window. Twist lined the plank up with the window and braced herself for the anguish that would come with her next movement. With the last of the energy in her body, she trotted at the window and impaled it with the piece of wood, shattering it to bits with the loudest crack she had ever heard.

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING!" Twist's mother's voice hollered. It was followed by the sound of her hoofsteps running toward Twist's room.

Twist shot out of the window with all the speed and energy she could have mustered. It burnt and it ached to run, but she couldn't be caught so far into her plan. All that she could do was run as fast and as far as her legs would allow. She dared not look back, for she did not want the image of her furious mother chasing her to throw off her concentration.

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Officer Asher's teeth were bared like a wolf threatening its prey as he circled the one he knew was behind so much needless death and pain. His horn was fired up and his chest heaved as he struggled to funnel copious amounts of energy into his magic. Each step sent more rage into his and his opponent's blood as they glared at each other.

"You little shit..." He grinned triumphantly. "I gotcha in the middle of a lil' planning session, didn't I?"

"So what? You're just one cop. You don't have any video evidence of my crimes or my plans." His enemy stated matter-of-factly.

Asher burst into laughter and stopped circling the foe. He walked up to the pony and stared them in the eye. "I've got evidence," he cackled.

"Y-Yeah, well..." The pony stopped to consider. They were in a position that didn't cater toward them being the victim or the criminal as it depended on how somepony were to look at the situation. Asher's light blue magic had essentially hog-tied them and placed them in the middle of the room. "Who's to say that you didn't just fake the evidence?"

"Oh, honey, haven't you been to a court case before? There's always a possibility evidence was faked, but it usually isn't!" They grinned up at him and he shot the adversary a scowl. "You're going to Hell with the rest of the murderers, ya little shit." He stood over the smug pony before continuing walking in circles around them.

"I'm the righteous one here!" They shot back. "I'm too moral to go to Hell!"

"You're a murderer and a liar and you're gonna see the consequences." Asher's tone was harsh and uncaring.

"What kind of qualifications do you even have to be coming into my home and attacking me?" This statement made Asher pause mid-step and grit his teeth. They continued after they noticed how much this irked him, "Who solved this case? I know for a fact that you don't have the bucking rank to solve a crime. You only arrest people, isn't that right?"

Asher searched for the words needed to tell off the pony but found nothing intelligent. Instead, he trotted up to the pony and put his hoof in their mouth to silence them. He growled at them and sat down. The backup he called for was taking an awfully long time to get here.

The pony saw his alert expression and his eyes darting from window to window. "Perhaps that storm is holding up your boyfriends."

Asher snarled and punched the pony across their face. He kicked them hard enough for them to roll to the other side of the room. He walked up to the window and peered outside before stumbling back and falling to the floor. There was a scrawny, peach filly with a curly, orange mane and tail bolting down the street with Jay flying after her.

Asher's magic gave out and his opponent wasted no time in running at him and attacking him.

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"Stop! Stop, please!" Jay shouted at the top of his lungs. "Stop! I want to help you!"

Twist looked over her shoulder at the white stallion that pursued her. Her eyes were wild with pain and fear and she felt like she was on the verge of passing out. The pegasus looked so angelic as he flew after her. She turned her head to look forward and pushed herself to go faster.

Jay's mind was being overpowered with two decisions as he chased the filly past Scootaloo's home: Check in on Asher to see if he really had caught a murderer or continue pursuing the filly that had escaped a presumably abusive home. He knew about Asher's obsessive idea that Scootaloo was a killer and maybe he had found her doing something and overreacted. But there was always the idea that the murderer had broken into Scootaloo's home. If he didn't continue following the pale filly, though, they might get lost.

Jay no longer needed to decide as Twist abruptly collapsed onto the grass and passed out. Her body twitched erratically as Jay approached her. He breathed heavily and put the filly on his back before beginning to fly back to the station.

The original group of 10 officers was split when they saw Twist running from her mother. 4 went after Twist and the other 6 stopped the mother. Then the 4 that were chasing Twist was split further as she went into a rocky part of Ponyville that no fully-grown earth-pony or unicorn could go through. It was left to just Jay.

He flew over toward the police station, but he passed over Scootaloo's home. He didn't want to leave Asher alone with a murderer, even if it were more likely he was overreacting. Jay swooped down in front of the house and laid Twist gently on the grass. He walked up to the door and, when he tried to knock on it, it swung open. He was met by a sight that he struggled to comprehend.

Asher was curled up in a pool of his own blood with pieces of wood jutting out of his flesh. His horn was broken in half and the other half had impaled his eye. He was tied up with curtains and had a pencil going up through the bottom of his muzzle and propping his mouth open.

Then there was Scootaloo. She was sitting at a table in the living room part of the front room. She was dyed crimson with Asher's blood and grinning wildly. She stood up and started walking toward Jay.

"W-What..." He was at a loss for words. Out of all of his years as a cop, never had he seen something as disturbing as this. He had dismissed Asher's claims about the filly as paranoia or lack of sleep, but he was right. He had been partners with Asher for at least three years and knew him to be intelligent enough to be a detective, but he didn't trust in his abilities.

"Shouldn't've taken so long to get here," Scootaloo sang as she approached Jay.

Jay was torn between choices once again. If he stayed still Scootaloo would surely kill him and then he would die knowing he did nothing to stop a murderer. If he rescued Twist and took her to the police station, Scootaloo would kill Asher. If he rescued Asher, he would have to leave behind Twist and Scootaloo would kill her.

Jay suddenly recalled hearing about Rainbow Dash and Scoolaloo being connected. He remembered the case file for Scootaloo: She looked up to Rainbow Dash... Dash was her idol. Scootaloo wants to be a... He could possibly "talk her down".

"Is this what Rainbow Dash would want you to do?" Jay took a cautious step back.

"You shut the buck up about Rainbow Dash!" Scootaloo ran toward Jay and jumped onto him.

Jay's wings opened and he hovered in the air as soon as she hit him. To his surprise, she held on with her forelegs and clambered onto his back. He shook and spiraled at top speed, realizing the lucky circumstances. He made sure that she would not try to jump off and bolted out of the door.

"S-Stop!" Scootaloo cried as she held on for her life.

Jay shot into the air and hovered far above the ground. He reared up and bounced rapidly in the air and tried to knock Scootaloo off of his back to her demise. She dug her teeth and hooves into his pearly white back. She was frantic and almost sure that she was going to die, but she didn't want to die in vein. She saw his rapidly beating wings and wrapped her foreleg around one, making Jay go lopsided before plummeting toward the ground.

Before he and Scootaloo could hit the ground, they were caught by something and flown back upwards toward Cloudsdale.

Author's Note

Holy Jesus, I'm making an interesting cliffhanger for the first time in my life.

Save a Life

What had rescued them? Scootaloo draped herself over Jay, much to his dismay. She was surprised by how soft his coat was and found herself extremely comfortable. They couldn't see who was underneath them or why they were in a purple aura, but they somehow knew that they were in good hooves. Even after the pony that had rescued them used a spell to knock them out, they still knew they were safe.

When Scootaloo opened her eyes again, she was inside a cloud house, most likely in Cloudsdale. Jay was propped up against the wall fast asleep. His white coat shimmered with what she assumed was sweat and a bead of drool dripped unattractively from his mouth. Scootaloo sat up and looked around the room only to spot the pony that had saved them: Twilight Sparkle.

"Scootaloo, what happened?" Twilight lifted Scootaloo up with her magic and sat her in front of herself. "After I brought you two here, I went back to see what happened at your house. What happened to Twist and that officer?" Her tone was concerned and sympathetic.

Scootaloo's eyes darted between Twilight and Jay. She had to think of an excuse that would trap Jay into agreeing. "Asher, the officer who was all hurt and stuff, was trying to kill me. Then Twist and I tried to fight back and we did all those things to him because..." she paused. What was the worst thing to do to a foal that would be a good enough cause to mutilate him in such a manner? She could barely contain a grin and keep her voice depressed, "He touched us." She looked up at Twilight with big, round eyes.

"T-That's so awful!" Twilight wrapped her forelegs around Scootaloo and hugged her tightly. She would have said something more intelligent, but she was too shocked. "But... what about the pegasus officer?" Twilight let go of Scootaloo and pointed toward the passed out cop.

"Asher called for backup because me and Twist were stronger than he anticipated. Then he's the one that came and he took Twist outside so I followed and jumped on his back to stop him and then he flew in the air and then-"

"I saw the part where he was trying to get you to fall and then you grabbed his wing to make him fall." Twilight interrupted. She could see the inconsistencies of Scootaloo's story clear as day, but she had just gone through something very traumatic and didn't need ponies questioning her.

"Can I go back home now?" Scootaloo asked. She huddled against Twilight's stomach and looked up at her with puppy-dog-eyes.

"No, I'm sorry." Twilight gently pet Scootaloo's head and held her close. "Lately the peace in Equestria has been disrupted in disturbing ways. Your crash, Diamond Tiara, your friends, and now this. Not to mention the unexplainable dark clouds..."

"Hey wait... if all the pegasi in Cloudsdale and Ponyville are supposed to be helping hold back the clouds," Scootaloo pushed away from Twilight and looked at Jay. "Why isn't he helping?" She turned back to Twilight again, "Why aren't the alicorns helping?"

"The princesses are needed to keep the rest of Ponyville under control." Twilight turned to look at Jay, "And I don't know about him."

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Asher was now in a hospital bed, almost unconscious from the near overuse of morphine. Though he was in a daze, he could just make out what the doctor and nurses were saying. He knew they were planning a surgery to attempt to reattach his horn. He wasn't as worried about his horn as he was about his eye, which was a lost cause. Losing half of his sight would be a handicap, wouldn't it?

Asher at least knew that Scootaloo was out of the picture. Jay would have been fully capable of killing her and there did not seem to be anything stopping him. Maybe Asher would even get a promotion or a pay raise for solving this case. Jay would too, of course.

"Asher, Asher, can you hear me?" The doctor asked suddenly. Asher nodded. "Can you speak?" Asher shook his head.

That pencil had done impressive damage. His tongue couldn't move in the correct way to speak and even if it could, it would have hurt too much. There was now a circular hole on the roof of his mouth, his tongue, and going out of the bottom of his muzzle.

"We..." the doctor paused. "We're gonna have to rush you into surgery... but... well..." He stopped and looked down at a clipboard. "Nothing... nevermind..."

What was the problem? Were they missing any information? Money? Whatever it was, Asher wouldn't know for a while. The light brown doctor started pumping sleeping gas into the plastic mask and Asher was out like a light.

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Featherweight's father was bouncing from smokey cloud to smokey cloud, each time he landed they would pop. His build was so unlike his colt's it was almost comical. He had broad shoulders and his legs were muscular, he almost seemed like Big Macintosh's pegasus form.

Rainbow Dash rushed past him, leaving a rainbow trail that threw off his aim. When he landed on a white cloud to get his balance, he noticed his scrawny son struggling to fly up to him. The bulky pegasus glided down to Featherweight and noticed he was carrying a piece of paper.

"What's this?" His father asked, grabbing the paper out of Featherweight's teeth. "A news update?"

"Y-Yeah..." The tan colt breathed. "It's... for... Rainbow... Dash..."

"Okay, I'll take it to her," his father turned back toward the dark clouds.

Featherweight returned to the empty house in Ponyville while his father flew up to Rainbow Dash. She was bolting in a zig-zag pattern between the dark clouds, landing sideways on them briefly before kicking off to the next black cloud. He launched in front of Rainbow Dash to stop her and showed her the paper.

"This is for you," he explained, "It's a news update thingy."

"Thanks..." Dash said distantly. She glided down to the nearest white cloud and sat down. She read the paper with wide eyes.

Inside of Scootaloo's home both a mutilated officer and a passed-out filly were found. The filly has been identified as Twist and the officer as Asher. Twist gave the description of another officer that, after seeing her being chased by her abusive mother, pursued her until she passed out. Asher is currently unable to communicate. Dash's chest began to ache when she read the final sentence: Scootaloo and the other officer (described by Twist) are nowhere to be found.

As Rainbow Dash gaped at the article, Spitfire saw her and assumed she was slacking. She swooped down next to the blue mare and lowered the paper.

"Crash, it doesn't look like you're working."

"Read this!" Rainbow Dash handed the paper to Spitfire and watched the orange pegasus read it. "Please let me-"

"Okay, this is serious enough to let you leave." Spitfire interrupted, sounded legitimately concerned. "Be back as soon as you can, though."

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Jay's eyes opened slowly and he looked around. He was in a room made of clouds and most likely in Cloudsdale. He noticed the other pony that had been saved: Scootaloo. She was sitting in a corner staring smugly at him. Her purple eyes were dead as usual and her coat looked tattered.

"How did we get here?" He asked rubbing his head. Though he wished to avoid speaking with Scootaloo any way possible, he needed to probe.

"Twilight Sparkle saved us," Scootaloo said with a smirk. "I told her a sob story that made Asher out to be a child molester."

"W-What!?" Jay hopped to his hooves and launched at Scootaloo fully intending to kill her.

Before he could come near her, Scootaloo jumped out of the way and turned back toward Jay. He growled at her and lined himself up for another lunge. Scootaloo motioned for him to wait and she sat down.

"If Twilight comes back here to see that you killed me, you'd never see the light of day." Scootaloo cackled.

Jay stopped to consider and realized she was right. He looked down and back up against the wall. He sat down and leaned against the cloud, staring blankly at his hooves. Out of all of his years a cop, he was able to overpower adults, but this foal was outsmarting everypony. It seemed so impossible that it scared him. What if she just decided to kill him right there and then? Nopony would know that she was the criminal. Though he seemed calm on the outside, Jay was having a silent, still panic attack.

Scootaloo scanned Jay for anything significant other than his quick, shallow breaths and slight trembling. Her eye was drawn to his flank where a dove with an olive branch posed as his cutie mark. It was just as white and pristine as the rest of his coat and seemed to shine. After a few years in the CMC, Scootaloo had developed a fascination with cutie marks and everything that they meant or how they came to be.

She walked cautiously over to Jay and sat down within hoofs'-reach. She expected him to growl at her or walk away or at least turn to look at her, but he kept looking at his hooves. She glanced at his face briefly before looking back at his flank. He was shaking and breathing in a way that showed he was trying extremely hard to control it.

"What's your cutie mark for?" She asked, abruptly breaking the crushing silence.

Jay was tossed out of his thoughts and looked down at Scootaloo. She was too close for him to be comfortable, so he shifted and kicked her away with his back legs. She launched a few feet away and stumbled to her hooves. He was relieved that he had control over his body now.

"What's it for? Your cutie mark?" Scootaloo repeated shakily. She couldn't reveal that the kick was intensely painful.

Jay stayed quiet for a moment and tried to make sure his voice would be strong. "Symbolism for things like peace, devotion, purity..." He replied before he situated himself comfortably against the cloud wall. "The kind of things that ponies like you avoid."

Purity? Scootaloo's eyes widened as she noticed a correlation. Maybe that's why he looks so... weirdly angelic. I want to be pure and I am, but my cutie mark couldn't get farther from 'purity'!

"Do you want to go to jail or do you want to do what I say?" Scootaloo inquired darkly. She had a plan too delicious to ignore.

"Depends on what you want me to do." Jay sat up straight and looked at Scootaloo. His voice had a hint of hesitation and what almost sounded like fear.

"Meet me in Asher's hospital room, we'll discuss it further there," she stated. It was difficult to keep a smirk off of her face, but she managed to control herself.

Jay knew it was most likely a trap, but he would catch her if it was. He would tell the nurse to check in on them every 20 minutes. "Okay..."

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"Twist, I need you to point to the picture that looks like the officer that chased you," the kind investigator said. She was a light purple unicorn with a yellow mane and tail. She held up a notebook and pencil with a purple aura and looked at Twist lovingly.

"Okay..." Twist squeaked. She stared down at the table that had 9 pictures of different mares and stallions. She scanned them and didn't see a single one that looked like the pegasus she had seen. "The one I saw was a pegasus, all these are unicorns or earth-ponies."

"A pegasus...? All of the pegasi are fighting the storm." The unicorn explained. "Are you sure he was a pegasus?"

"Yes!" Twist assured.

"Well... from your description it looks like the pegasus you encountered was an officer named Jay. He wasn't released in that area, though." She flipped through the notebook. "He was sick and sent home a week ago."

"But I saw him!" Twist put her front hooves on the table to accentuate how serious she was. "Are you absolutely sure he wasn't released?"

The investigator noted the tense behavior of Twist and decided it would not be healthy for her to continue to be questioned. She closed the notebook and put it in her saddle bag along with her pencil. "You should get some rest, anyways. Watch some TV or something, sweetie."

The investigator led Twist into a cozy room with a bed, TV, and a writing desk. She sat down on the bed and the mare left her alone. Twist was left with several unanswered questions that she assumed would continue to be a mystery. She rolled herself up in the warm blankets and closed her eyes.

Courtesy

Jay's crystal blue eyes were wide open and staring at the ceiling. It was nearly midnight and he hadn't gotten a single moment of sleep. The pressure from what he would be faced with tomorrow eagerly pecked at his mind, making his reason melt into panic. He desperately tried to stay still and quiet for the sake of the blue mare beside him. The only reason he found himself drift into sleep was the knowledge that if he did not sleep he would not have any energy.

The next morning, the alarm beside the bed rang a familiar tune that woke him up slightly. Jay kept his eyes closed as he reached his hoof behind himself, feeling around the table. He finally felt the hard plastic of the alarm and smacked the snooze button.

Cotton, his wife, also began to stir. She was a sky blue pegasus with an extremely long, extremely curly pink mane and tail. She put her hoof on his shoulder and gently shook him into complete attention. He blinked the sleep out of his eyes and stared back at her.

"You're going to work early today," she pointed out sweetly. Her soft, pink eyes blinked innocently as she awaited a response.

"Yeah..." Jay rolled onto his back, staring up at the ceiling. He was unsure whether he should tell her that he really wasn't just 'needed at the station', but he decided it wasn't really important. He needed to look presentable and be ready for anything if he was going anywhere today. "I should get ready..."

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Twist was woken up by a kind 'nurse' who told her she would be going to school. It seemed normal enough, but as she thought about it, it began to feel weird. It had just been found out that her mother was "abusive" and they didn't consider letting her take some time off of school? Not that she didn't like school, but she was just wondering why.

Twist was quick in getting ready for school. She slung the saddle bag over her back and approached the door. She was confronted with the realization that she didn't know what she should do. Did she stay in the room and wait or leave and tell the 'nurse'? She inhaled deeply and decided to go through the door.

Twist was pleased to see that she had chosen correctly. The 'nurse' was sitting a few feet away from the door, waiting patiently for her. He stood up and walked over to her with a warm smile.

"Are you ready to go?" He asked.

"Yep!" Twist beamed brightly.

The 'nurse' walked Twist to school for safety purposes. He was grayish blue with a dark gray mane and tail that looked elegant and fancy. To further add to his lavish appearance, he also had a bowtie and golden bands on his legs. He was on the verge of soft-spoken and just modest and had a hint of Canterlot in his accent.

They approached the school with foals playing and talking in the schoolyard. The 'nurse' bid her farewell (even though she didn't really know what that meant) and returned to the 'hospital'. Twist walked into the schoolyard and saw Button Mash, Rumble, Snips, and Snails talking to each other.

Twist was sure she could see a bit of orange and purple behind Rumble. She approached the group of colts and greeted them. She was caught off guard by the orange and purple behind Rumble turning into Scootaloo.

"Scoots!" Twist cried as she leaped up to hug the filly. "It's been so long-- kinda!"

Scootaloo shoved Twist away, knocking her to the ground. "Why didn't you come see me when I got released from the hospital!? I was expecting you to be there!" As she yelled at the pale filly, Twist could swear she saw tears welling in her eyes.

"I've been through an ordeal of my own..." Twist replied meekly.

"What is it then?!" Scootaloo growled, implying she doubted her friend.

"It's... hard to explain." She got to her hooves and brushed herself off. "What's happened since I've last seen you?" Twist desperately tried to change the subject.

Scootaloo realized that this filly standing before her had aided her in getting revenge on Diamond Tiara. She was her true friend. She wasn't like the CMC, they were babies. Twist was Scootaloo's only friend and partner. With this sudden realization of how much of a jerk she was being, Scootaloo went along with the subject change. "Well... I'll have to tell you somewhere else." She nodded toward the colts.

Snips and Snails, who had been introduced to the true Scootaloo only a week or two ago, still had the idea of Scootaloo's rage fresh in their young minds. They shared a glance that showed their equal fear and they bolted. Rumble and Button Mash were confused at first, but then they saw the look in Scootaloo's eyes. It was the look of a murderer with no empathy. This momentary stare was enough to get them to rush away as well.

"Now that they are out of the way..." Scootaloo proceeded to explain every detail to Twist. She included the plan of why she wanted to meet Jay in the hospital with Asher and why she wanted Twist to come along.

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Diamond Tiara was in the opposite corner of the schoolyard. Once she saw Scootaloo arrive, her mind was overrun with anguish and panic. Silver Spoon had followed along nervously as Diamond backed into the corner.

"What's wrong, Diamond Tia-"

"DON'T call me that anymore." The pink filly interrupted. "And what's wrong is that- that freak!" Diamond pointed a hoof at Scootaloo.

The orange filly noticed Diamond, though, and shot her a malicious grin. The grin was like medusa's stare and Diamond's foreleg dropped and her neck craned to look away.

In a whisper almost inaudible, Silver Spoon replied: "Scootaloo? Did she...?"

The very subtle nod of Diamond's head notified Silver Spoon of all she needed to know. She wanted to scream and call the police, but Diamond had already told her the threat. It was frustrating to see such a terrible crime go unpunished. It was disgusting.

"Hiya, Diamond Tiara!" Twist abruptly appeared in front of the two rich foals. She put extra emphasis on "Tiara" to make sure she rubbed salt in that wound. "How's it hangin'?"

"What's up with you?" Silver Spoon's tone went from concerned and horrified to snobby in an instant. "Go away!"

"I'm just being courteous!" Twist replied in a whiny voice. She threw her nerdy, self-conscious demeanor out the window and was now trying her hardest to be annoying. "I thought we were friends!"

Diamond was too alert around the color orange to not notice Scootaloo behind Twist. They were friends. This meant Diamond couldn't trust Twist either.

"Please, leave me alone!" Diamond whimpered as she curled up in a ball. "I'm sorry!"

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Asher wasn't completely able to talk, but he could at least communicate. He had been filled in over the phone by Jay what horrible crime he had been accused of. Though he was disturbed beyond belief and angry that Scootaloo was not dead, he refused to blame Jay. Still, frustration prickled under his blue coat.

Asher was in a secured hospital for inmates and when he was recovered he would be put in jail. The only problem with that-- other than the obvious point of being in jail at all-- was that cops were not treated too nice in jail. He was not ready to spend a minimum of 5 years in a jail cell with Bubba because of a deranged foal. He could count on the court case, but there wasn't good enough evidence. Nopony would believe him if he said Scootaloo was a murderer!

Asher was also informed by Jay that he would be getting a very late visit. When he asked about who would be coming on the visit, Jay said it would be him and Scootaloo and... Then he hung up. He was used to Jay doing that, though.

At the other hospital, Asher had met a nurse who was named Upbeat. She was very beautiful and when he tried to explain that he was being framed she said she believed him. It was a nice feeling to see at least one pony in Equestria believed him. He was pleasantly surprised to see that she volunteered at the secured prison.

Asher was mentally preparing himself for the "visit" and it proved to be hard. Telling himself over and over You can do this, Asher! You're way stronger and smarter than a stupid filly! didn't properly make him confident.

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Jay brushed out his already soft fur for the fifth time this afternoon. He didn't think it needed to be brushed, but he needed something to keep himself busy. He was lost in thought about the previous events with that foal.

Jay wondered if she had noticed his brief freak-out or just dismissed it as "whatever". He would have to keep his emotions to a minimum if he was going to stop Scootaloo. Still, the way she acted was like a demon in a foal's body. This was disgusting but true. Every time she stepped in his general direct made him want to take three steps back.

Jay recalled how she had asked about his cutie mark before asking him to "visit". Then he was shot with a memory of the case file Asher had shown him when explaining the crimes Scootaloo had committed. The filly that had her cutie marks cut off. This thought sent a surge of fear down his spine.

Cotton walked past the bathroom and caught a glimpse of Jay rubbing his cutie mark. She backed up and sat next to Jay with a loving smile. He sat up straight and smiled slightly embarrassed. Her pink eyes were innocent, but he knew she was silently screaming "WHAT THE HELL?!" She often made that same face when he did something paranoid or insane.

"If you see me on the ne-"

Jay was caught off guard by Cotton putting her hoof to his mouth. "Since you've told me this speech a million times, how about I tell it to you?" Her voice was sweet but blatantly sarcastic.

Jay forced a weak chuckle and rubbed the back of his neck. "I guess I do say it a lot." He stood up. "Anyways, you know the drill. See ya later."

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"Mind your manners, Twist." Scootaloo reminded as she walked down the street with Twist by her side. "We have to be innocent little fillies until the very moment we get what I need."

"Not that I need anything to be happy to help, but is there anything I could get out of this?" Twist inquired.

"You can have a pure white feather that you can say came from an angel," Scootaloo shrugged.

"Wouldn't it be stained red?" Twist pointed out.

"I supposed it would." They turned a corner and could see the secured hospital in the distance. "We're almost there!" Scootaloo sang.

Once inside the secured hospital, the fillies saw Jay seated in the waiting area. Twist couldn't help was stare at how he seemed to glow. Shining Armor was white, but he wasn't radiant. Scootaloo nudged Twist to attention and they approached Jay.

"You're here. I expected you to pussy out." Scootaloo smirked.

"Let's just get this over with," he stood up and walked up to the desk. He signed them in and they began walking down a hallway. "So that filly I saved is your plus one?" Jay didn't bother to look back at the fillies as he walked ahead of them.

"Yeah, we're actually very close friends." Twist shared a brief malicious grin with Scootaloo. "Oh, and thanks for 'saving' me."

Jay rolled his eyes and opened a door. He made extra sure that he was at least three or four feet away from Scootaloo at all times. He wasn't even doing it purposely, it was an unconscious movement. The three ponies gathered into the room, Twist and Scootaloo on one side and Jay on the other.

Jay's eyes never left Scootaloo, monitoring every movement she made. He was going to prevent whatever attack she planned on doing. Asher sat up in the extremely comfortable hospital bed and gave Scootaloo a smug look. She abruptly stood up and walked over to the open door and closed it.

"What do you think you're doing?" Jay fluttered to his hooves and stepped toward Scootaloo.

"Being courteous." Scootaloo locked the door and grinned.

Author's Note

Don't worry, this won't be some 46 chapter long story that takes a year to finish. Even though it seems like it's that way already...

Busted

Rainbow Dash bowed her head as she addressed the monotone pony. She wasn't sure how to refer to the pony, they were just a part of the station that had dispatched officers to Scootaloo's home. The mare was dark gray with a dark brown mane and tail and she looked at Dash with distant, purple eyes.

"If you want more information on Scootaloo, you have to sign some legal documents, Miss." The mare was completely monotone and emotionless. "If you would like to have a more convenient form, please visit our website at double-U, double-U, double-U, dot-"

"No, no, no! I need to know where she is right now!" Rainbow Dash slammed her hooves on the desk. She rolled her eyes and accepted that if she wanted to find Scootaloo, she would have to do it herself. "Ugh!"

Rainbow turned around and began walking toward the door. "Have a nice day," the dull voice said as she exited.

Rainbow Dash groaned and fluttered her wings into the air. She rose above the small village of Ponyville and launched in the direction of Scootaloo's home. She descended onto the road in front of the small house and waited on the lawn stoically.

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Scootaloo's eyes landed on Asher. She was still standing by the door planning her next move. It depended on whether Asher's magic still worked and if he could fight. She was determined not to take any risks if possible, but then she glanced back at Jay. He was still staring at her with those perfect, blue eyes, unsure if he should attack or not. His wings and cutie mark were so wonderfully radiant and his coat was so soft and perfect. She was willing to take a risk.

Scootaloo bolted at Jay, pulling a knife seemingly out of nowhere. Asher seemed unsurprised and jumped out of the bed. He pinned Scootaloo against the wall, reminding her that he didn't need magic to be strong. Twist was already behind the blue stallion, dodging Jay who was trying to restrain her.

Scootaloo's knife was now on the ground beside her as Asher pinned her front hooves to the wall. She channeled all of her energy into kicking Asher in the stomach with her back legs. Instead of stumbling back, he weakened the pressure he was putting on her forelegs. As he recoiled, Scootaloo took another opportunity to kick him.

Twist managed to avoid Jay's punches and kicks and was now starting to show off. She foolishly bolted around him in an attempt to get to Scootaloo, but he caught her and pinned her to the floor. He heard the sound of Scootaloo kicking Asher and before he could react, he heard a blade being plunged into flesh. He craned his neck just in time to see Asher being pushed to the floor with a ribbon of scarlet blood trailing from his chest.

Scootaloo had taken the chance and stabbed the unicorn in the chest, making sure to avoid his heart. She pulled the knife from his flesh with a sickening ripping noise before turning toward Jay, who had flown away from Twist. He hovered in the air as high and far away in the room as he could get. He had a horrifying view of Asher, curled up once again with his own blood staining his dark blue fur.

Scootaloo's wings weren't ready to be used, but she needed to. She bit down on the bandage wrapping her wings and ripped it away. She ignored the pain as she launched into the air and knocked into Jay. Just as she had done two days ago, she reached her foreleg around one of Jay's wings and watched him turn lopsided and plummet a few feet to the ground. She swooped down next to him.

Twist trotted over to them and stood next to Scootaloo, looking over the white pegasus. Jay stood up and backed away from Twist and Scootaloo. His crystal blue eyes switched rapidly between them and he felt his breathing quicken. He backed into the cold wall and growled. His breaths were quick and shallow, his heart was pounding in his chest, and he couldn't move. He shook his head, Not now, not now! He took in a deep breath and took a step forward, toward the armed foals. He paused and took a step back. He tried to force himself to step forward, but nothing happened.

"I don't think you even have to use any restraints," Twist giggled devilishly, "he's scared of a couple of fillies!"

Jay growled. He opened his wings and was about to fly into the air again, but something hit his wing. Scootaloo had thrown the knife and ran up to retrieve it. He tried to sidestep but was knocked down by Scootaloo. He was frustrated by how he was failing to do anything.

"That may be true, but just in case..." Scootaloo gestured to the hospital bed. Twist ran over to it and took the blanket. Scootaloo was straining every muscle to restrain Jay. "Thanks," Scootaloo quickly hogtied Jay.

She used the bandage from her wing to gag the pegasus. Then she placed the point of the blade above where his wing connected to his back. His wing fluttered reflexively and Scootaloo was forced to sit on it. She traced a circle around the wing, sending a shock of agony through Jay's body. She grinned widely and wiggled the knife underneath the path of skin and fur. She skinned it off until she came to the connection between tendons and bone. She took great joy in staring into Jay's eyes as she hacked the wing off and he whimpered.

He heaved in deep breaths and was surprised he hadn't fainted. He wanted to faint. Scootaloo placed the wing gently beside her and started tracing another patch from the bleeding hole that was once a wing down to his cutie mark. Once again, she skinned within the tracing. Jay wasn't even struggling he just stared back at Scootaloo with complete and utter hatred.

Suddenly, Scootaloo froze. The door behind her had opened and now Nurse Upbeat was staring wide-eyed at the scene. She was frozen with fear and quickly her horn lit up pink and restrained Scootaloo and Twist. They struggled as she called down the hall for somepony- anypony- to help her.

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Rainbow stood up and groaned. She had been waiting for hours! Where could Scootaloo be? She stretched her blue wings and darted into the air and toward Cloudsdale. She glided upward to her home but paused. Below her, there was the hospital for inmates and there was a frenzy around it. There were police carriages with wailing sirens that alerted her that something important had happened. She decided to check out what was happening.

As Rainbow Dash landed, she spotted the criminal: Scootaloo. She gasped and bolted toward the filly. An officer's magic aura was restraining the orange pegasus and there were several red splotches on her coat.

"What's going on?!" Rainbow screamed. The officers around her seemed surprised that Rainbow Dash had gotten near them. "Why is Scootaloo being-"

"I dunno if ya could tell, but she's kinda covered in other ponies' blood. She's a murderer!" The unicorn that was holding Scootaloo back explained. He had an extremely heavy Manehattan accent that was almost impossible to understand. "Step back!"

Rainbow Dash's magenta eyes widened in shock and she stumbled back. Scootaloo wasn't capable of murder! She also saw Twist being shoved into the backseat of a cop carriage. The sweet, kind, nerdy Twist! It was impossible for this to be true.

Dash suddenly made a small connection in her mind. Diamond Tiara had her cutie marks skinned off after talking to Scootaloo. The other CMC were killed when they visited Scootaloo, but she was left alive. Rainbow Dash refused to think that these pointed to Scootaloo being a bloodthirsty killer, even though they did seem to connect.

Scootaloo was shoved into the back of the police carriage with a muzzle around her face, cuffs around her legs, and straps making her wings useless. Her purple eyes showed no emotion as she stared at the seat in front of her. She didn't even care that she would be put in a juvenile prison. She knew that no prison could keep her away from the wings, coat, and cutie mark she so desperately desired.

In the other carriage, Twist was crying and pleading. She did not explicitly say that Scootaloo had tricked her, but she was implying it. The officers weren't believing a single word she said, though. She continued wailing the entire way to her holding cell.

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Apple Jack turned the dial on her old-fashioned radio. It screeched and switched through several distorted channels before settling on a clear one. It was a news report from a deep-voiced stallion.

"There has been two fillies arrested at the Ponyville Adult Correctional Facility Hospital." He paused, seemingly scanning the script again. "They were found in a room with two stallions that they overpowered. One was reportedly stabbed in the chest while one of the fillies was skinning the other's cutie mark off!" Even the monotone voice of the speaker was surprised. "She had already chopped off one of the stallion's wings."

Apple Jack gaped at the information presented to her. Who knew there was a filly capa-, she cut herself off. She had just recently learned that her own sister had murdered her friend!

"The foals have been identified as 12-year-old Scootaloo and 11-year-old Twist."

T-Twist and Scootaloo... T-They couldn- they wouldn- Apple Jack paused. The happiness of Ponyville was dissolving in front of her like a sugar cube in coffee. Her green eyes shimmered with tears and her legs trembled.

Big Macintosh strolled past her in the kitchen before stopping by her. "What happened?"

Author's Note

This is super short because after that point it would be Scootaloo in prison and I want that to be its own series of chapters.

Disowned

Rainbow Dash and Apple Jack were at Sweet Apple Acres. Spring had already set in and blossoms were beginning to pop up on the new green leaves. They were sitting under a tree as they had a less-than-pleasant conversation.

"Are ya goin' to..." Apple Jack paused thoughtfully, "visit her?"

Rainbow Dash looked into Apple Jack's green eyes with an offended expression. "Why would I? She's a murderer and liar." Her voice cracked slightly.

"Ya miss her," Apple Jack insisted softly. "She was like the sister ya never had."

Rainbow Dash looked pained to even be on the subject of sisters and her pink eyes glistened slightly with tears. "I just... wanna pretend she never existed."

Apple Jack took off her hat and pressed it against her chest. She bowed her head and sighed deeply. "Pretendin' somethin' didn't happen is the coward's way out." She turned back to Dash with a serious look in her eyes. "I know you and you ain't no coward!"

Rainbow Dash was flattered by Apple Jack's compliment, but she tore away from her gaze. Dash's magenta eyes were more depressed than Apple Jack had ever seen. During all the terrible things that have threatened Equestria, Rainbow had remained loyal and confident, but this was all it would take to break her?

"I'm sorry, sugar cube..."

"N-No," Rainbow Dash sat up straighter. "You're right. I should... confront her."

"Right." Apple Jack turned to look back at the hundreds of apple trees. Her green eyes were distant as she frowned deeply. "Tell me... Tell me why she did it- once ya find out, of course."

"You mean Appl-"

"Yes," Apple Jack interrupted. "Please make sure to find out." Her voice cracked softly.

Rainbow Dash nodded. She turned away from Apple Jack and stared out at the field. They remained silent for a while as they tried to think.

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"So this is free time?" Scootaloo walked into the room. It was large enough to hold about 10 foals with tables and chairs. On one side of the room was a large, white screen that was presumably for movies and seating areas continued to the other wall. There were armed supervisors standing around watching the foals.

"Yep." The twins lead Scootaloo to a table and sat down.

"I suppose we should tell you our names."

"Before you do, is there a difference?" Scootaloo interrupted sharply.

She immediately regretted asking as the twins gave her a miffed stare. "Yes!" They shouted in unison.

"I'm Blaire and that's Bailey." She saw that Scootaloo didn't see the difference. "I have greener eyes and she has bluer eyes," she said bluntly.

"Oooooh!" Scootaloo noticed Blaire did have slightly green eyes. "Good to know. Now when I get stabbed by one of you I can tell which one did it!" She grinned.

The twins looked at each other with a bewildered expression before turning back to Scootaloo. "Pardon?"

"It was a joke..." Scootaloo bowed her head slightly.

"What's your last name?" Blaire abruptly asked.

"Why?" Scootaloo asked. "Tryin' to hunt me down?"

"No, visiting hours depend on your last name," Bailey explained. "Does your last name start with an 'S'?"

"Yeah, so what are my visiting hours?" Scootaloo asked.

"Same as ours."

"7:30 pm to 8:30 pm on Tuesdays."

"10:30 am to 11:30 am on Saturday," Blaire explained.

"Wait... could my sister visit me?" Scootaloo inquired. She didn't want to keep probing them, but she needed to know.

They shook their heads in unison. "Should'a had her commit the crimes with you," Bailey smirked.

"Like we did."

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Jay was laying down in his hospital bed, staring up at the ceiling. He had a wrap around his wings- or wing- that went down to his flanks. His ears perked up when he heard the door open.

Cotton walked into the room and to the side of the bed gracefully. "So... You got yourself in some serious crap this time."

Jay remembered that he still hadn't told her about Scootaloo. "Um, about that..." he paused to ask himself if he should keep it a secret for just a bit longer. With a sigh, he decided he couldn't keep lying. "Well, there was this filly and she was killing other foals. Asher was the first to catch on, but I didn't believe him. Long story short, I got overpowered by a foal..."

Cotton rubbed her face with her hoof and let out a disappointed sigh. "Jaaay! How?"

"Hey, in my defense she also had a friend with her. Also, they both had knives! And Asher also got overpowered. In other words, not my fault," Jay explained, slightly desperate.

"How long ago did you first realize this filly was a 'murderer'?" Cotton asked, still upset.

"Oh, not thaaat long ago..." Jay paused to count. "A little over 5 days."

"5 DAYS!?" Cotton shouted. "You've been hiding this from me for 5 days?!"

"Yep," he shrugged and smiled nervously. "What can I say? I'm in the wrong. I suuuck."

Cotton growled. "You've been lying to me!"

"For your own good, though!"

"Not really!"

"Did you hire a babysitter?" Jay inquired abruptly. Cotton wasn't buying the subject change and gave him an angry glare. "Jeez, just asking," he muttered.

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The next day, Saturday, Scootaloo was pulled out of her classroom. She was unsure why at first, but then she caught sight of a clock. It was 10:35! She was unsure who could be visiting her, though. She didn't have a real parent or guardian, so nopony could be allowed to visit her.

Scootaloo was taken into a room that was blocked off into eighths. Bulletproof glass cut it in half the long way while small walls cut each half into four sections. She was put in one section and on the other side of the glass was Rainbow Dash. She looked at Scootaloo like she was a disgusting bum on the side of the street.

"Rainbow Dash! I'm so glad you could see me!" Scootaloo cried. She pressed her face against the glass and beamed.

"I thought you were just a cute, little foal that couldn't do anything to make me stop loving you," Rainbow Dash said darkly. "But I never knew you were such a- a monster!" She snapped.

Scootaloo was caught off guard. Dash hadn't said "Hello" or anything like that. She just got straight to the point. "I have good reasons, though!" She whimpered, bowing her head.

"Why'd you kill the other crusaders, then?" Rainbow Dash asked. She really didn't want to know, but Apple Jack and Rarity deserved a reason.

"They were gonna tell the police about how I got my cutie mark. They weren't real friends if they couldn't accept my talent!" Scootaloo explained matter-of-factly.

Rainbow Dash recalled seeing the cutie mark. She never commented on it because she didn't want to be rude, but it didn't seem natural. "How, exactly, did you get that cutie mark?"

"Sliced off Diamond Tiara's cutie marks," she said proudly.

Rainbow Dash looked down and tried not to cry. "You... You've changed. We aren't sisters- we aren't even friends anymore! I hope you rot alone in there!" Before Scootaloo could notice the tears that were rolling down Dash's cheeks, she trotted out of the room.

Author's Note

I tried my hardest to see what actually happens/ what the schedule is at local juvies, but I had to make up some of the stuff. I couldn't find out anything about the visitation other than the schedule and rules. If you do know anything else, don't tell me. Ignorance is bliss and besides, it's my own universe that I can do whatever I want with.

Logically Illogical

Scootaloo was lead back into the gymnasium area where other foals from her pod were. She was followed by the twins as she plopped herself down in a corner. She curled up on the cold, hard ground and put her head on her forelegs. Bailey and Blaire glanced at one another before looking back at Scootaloo questioningly.

"What's wrong with you, newbie?" Blaire asked after a moment.

Scootaloo lifted her head off of her hooves. "My sister-"

"She was allowed to visit you?!" Bailey interrupted abruptly.

"Yes!" Scootaloo hissed. "Anyways, she isn't really my sister. Her name is Rainbow Dash and she was like my idol. She kinda accepted me as the little sister she never got. She alw-"

"Get to the point," Blaire commanded as she gestured for Scootaloo to continue.

"Right, well, she basically disowned me..." she put her head back down sadly.

"So what?" The twins asked in unison.

"So what?!" Scootaloo hopped to her hooves. "She was the only family I had! She was my idol! She was everything to me!" Her face was burning with anger.

Scootaloo was snapped out of her rage by the twins bursting into laughter. At first, she didn't understand why, but then she realized how stupid she looked. She was half their size and looked like an 8-year-old having a tantrum.

"Cool it, newbie," Blaire managed to say as she wiped her watery eyes. "Half of our family disowned us a while ago."

"Because we killed the other half."

"Over-statement, honey. Don't tell lies." Blaire teased as she poked Bailey's nose.

"Unlike you guys, I still have emotions!" Scootaloo growled, ignoring the last part.

"Do you now? What about that whole speech you told us about all the terrible things you did? I mean, pushing your friends out a window!" Bailey said in a patronizing voice.

"And attacking those poor officers like that!" Blaire continued, sounding as if it was an outrage to her.

"For shame!"

Scootaloo rolled her eyes. "I get it. I did all that for a reason, though! I'm the only moral one in Ponyville! You can't make somepony be nice just by asking them nicely or letting them off with a warning. They need punishment!" She sounded fired up.

The twins turned back to each other and exchanged puzzled looks. "Moral?" They questioned.

"Ugh! Nopony gets it!" Scootaloo groaned as she sat down and crossed her arms. "I just need to bring justice! I need to get out of here!" She was now whisper-shouting, avoiding alerting any of the armed stallions patrolling the gym.

"We could help you get out," Blaire said softly.

"R-Really? For... justice?" Scootaloo sputtered.

"Well, we need a more in-depth explanation of 'justice' and what you're planning on doing once you get out," Bailey stated.

"Remember when I told you about all the things I did to get in- well, of course you do. You just talked about it a minute ago." Scootaloo muttered. "Anyways, the officer I cut the wing and cutie mark off of is named Jay. He's so bucking perfect and I want his wings and cutie marks. I need to get them and have my stupid wings and cutie marks 'replaced'." She explained in a hushed voice.

"How is he perfect, exactly?" Blaire asked.

"He's pure white and his eyes are like crystals!" Scootaloo said.

"We've seen tons of white stallions before," Bailey rolled her eyes.

"And crystal-blue eyes are no rarity," Blaire added.

"No, no! It's like... he glows or something! And sure ponies can have crystal blue eyes, but they aren't as... perfect!" Scootaloo tried to explain.

"What's so special about his cutie mark, then?" Bailey inquired. She sounded skeptical but went along.

"It's this pure-white dove with an olive branch in its beak," Scootaloo described. Bailey gave her a confused look. "He said it symbolizes purity and peace."

"What if he's full of shit?" Bailey pointed out.

"Actually, I do recall hearing about dove and olive branch symbolism. I believe it was during the week you had the flu, Bai," Blaire explained. "They both do, indeed, represent things such as purity, peace, and devotion."

"Man, this stallion is pretty much a perfect angel, eh?" Bailey rolled her eyes.

"Not really... I think he's scared of me," Scootaloo replied proudly. "I digress, I need to get out. Pleeease help me!"

Blaire was about to say something when Bailey put a hoof to her mouth. "Wait, wait, wait... scared?! Of you?!"

"I think, at least. When I told him about how I had his life in a choke-hold and that if he didn't play along I would ruin his existence, I'm pretty sure he had a panic attack." Scootaloo smirked. Once again, the twins looked astonished.

"You made a grown, fully developed stallion..."

"Have a panic attack..."

"YOU'RE AMAZING!" They cried in unison.

One of the supervisors heard them and walked over to the trio. He studied the twins, then Scootaloo. "Ya'll keep it down now," he said to nopony in particular. Then he turned toward the twins again and snorted, "I got my eye on you."

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Rainbow Dash raced from inky-black cloud to inky-black cloud. A rainbow traced behind her as she hollowly kicked the clouds to oblivion. She channeled her anger for Spitfire, Scootaloo, and the divine being that allowed such savage creature to live in Equestria into each kick.

Spitfire watched over the pegasi that had no hope as they rushed from cloud to cloud. Her orange eyes were distant as she pondered what the pegasi should do. Maybe we should just evacuate Ponyville and Cloudsdale. Leave it to the wrath of nature. But where would everypony go? Sure, there is plenty of room for them, but what about the young pegasi? How will they learn to fly if they weren't in the sky? What about Sweet Apple Acres? They would lose so much money!

"Spitfire," Twilight said, snapping Spitfire back to reality. "What is your next move?"

"I... I don't know," she furrowed her brow, "I just don't know..."

"I should come up with a plan, I guess."

"Yeah, I'm just not cut out for things like that." Spitfire looked back out at the dark clouds.

"It's a... real mess out there, huh?" Twilight asked distantly. The scene was as bleak and depressing as all the wars and strifes were in her books. The difference was that now this wasn't just some past event she had no connection to, this was a very real, very present situation that was threatening her friends and subjects.

"Yeah..."

Twilight gasped. "DASH, OVER HERE!" She waved her hoof.

Rainbow Dash bolted to the cloud Twilight and Spitfire were standing on. "TWI!" She hugged the purple alicorn.

"Dash, I have some serious questions for you," Twilight gently pushed Rainbow Dash away. "It's about Scootaloo..."

"Wait, why do you want to know about her?!" Rainbow Dash growled. If there was one way Twilight could ruin a mood, it was her constant craving for knowledge.

"Well, she has affected three of the Elements of Harmony and I need to find out some things about-"

"Twilight, do you even care about how Rarity, Apple Jack, or I feel or do you only care about seeing the results about it?!" Rainbow Dash hissed.

"I supposed this must be anger. Just calm down, Dash. I'm not the bad pony here, I just need you to work with me for a minute." Twilight's tone was sympathetic, but Rainbow Dash assumed she was being condescending or patronizing.

"What do you mean 'this must be anger'?!"

"I've been reading up on the 5 stages of grief and-"

Rainbow Dash snorted and turned away. "How about, instead of reading up on some stupid stages of whatever, you start figuring out why these clouds are here!" She darted into the air and joined the other pegasi.

"She has a point, Princess," Spitfire added.

Twilight sighed and looked down at her hooves. "I've already tried! I've searched through every library in Ponyville and Canterlot! There has never been a record of storms of this nature."

"Maybe it isn't just science," Spitfire continued in a quieter tone, "have you noticed all the terrible things that have been happening? What if it's Discord or something?"

Discord... Twilight paused to think about it. Discord has changed. What if some other terrible being is attacking the peace in Equestria? Without any other words, she jumped off the cloud and began flying toward her home.

Author's Note

Twilight's boring to write lines for. Personality: Books... Spaz... NOTHING ELSE!

Is It Tuesday Yet?

Twist was far from comfortable sleeping in her cell, Dolly being the main reason. She pretended to be nice before becoming randomly violent. It was like she was playing mind games with Twist.

Twist was curled up on the uncomfortable top bunk as she pressed herself against the wall. She was trying to take up as little space as possible. Even though she was a small filly, she felt like she every movement she made was extremely noticeable. Even her breathing and heartbeat seemed loud enough to echo.

Twist listened closely for any noises from below her. If my obnoxious lungs weren't so loud! She growled internally as she stifled her breathing. She heard slow, deep breaths coming from Dolly. This meant she was either asleep or really good at faking being asleep. She decided to take a chance and closed her eyes. Even though she thought she was too scared to fall asleep, she passed out.

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Asher's eyes slid open. He inhaled sharply in surprise, causing a slight sting to pulse from his chest. For a brief moment, he was unsure of where he was. His memories flooded back when he realized he was in a hospital room. He was wearing a breathing mask and there were tubes connecting him to machines.

Asher heard a feminine gasp as hoof-steps ran up to his side. He was relieved to see his wife had shown up. Faith's blonde mane was messy and several strands hung in her face. Her purple eyes were concerned as she stared at him.

"You got stabbed, dear..." she tilted her head thoughtfully.

"I- I am aware of that," Asher was surprised by how different his voice was. It was gravelly and, instead of portraying the sarcasm he intended, it made it seem like he was in pain. Obviously, he wasn't, seeing as the doctors at this hospital don't know how to properly use morphine.

"I wasn't pointing it out for you," Faith smirked kindly, "I was asking you why."

"Oh, why. Jay didn't listen to me until it was too late- or um. Yeah. Dangerous criminal..." He coughed slightly.

"I heard about Jay already. Cotton told me, actually. The twins are babysitting their foals for now."

Asher tried not to roll his eyes- eye- and gave a polite nod. He really didn't care what the twins were doing right now. He wasn't unloving, he was just... stoic. They'd understand his method sooner or later.

"Well, this is why I signed those legal documents when I got this job, I guess." Asher forced himself to smile.

"Next time could you try not to get stabbed in the lung?" Faith gave him a short glare before stepping back. "You and Jay have been getting a lot of injuries lately. Along with those claims made by that filly... What do you guys do in your spare time?" Her tone was half playful and half disappointed.

"Wait around until we get told somepony is in danger. Mostly we just straighten out our useless desks because we're always the last to be dispatched," he explained sarcastically.

"I hope you know how much this costs, Ash." Faith's voice became more stern.

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Twilight was at her desk with a notebook and pencil. There were books upon books stacked up on either side of the desk. The topics included phycology, weather science, weather records, weather related beasts, phycology related beasts, and pretty much everything else that had to do with her situation. Her purple eyes were focusing hard as she skimmed through each book, wrote a small note or two, and continued to the next.

King Sombra... Discord... Freak Tornadoes... Everfree Forest Logic... Weather for Dummies... 5 Stages of Grief In the Beyond... Anatomy of Murder... Demons... Foal Possession... Weat- Twilight paused. Foal Possession... She skimmed through the book once more but found no new information.

Spike watched her with worry. She was absolute frantic about this and hadn't stopped to eat or talk or anything. It wasn't uncommon for her to go on a study-binge, but this was ridiculous. His legs twitched slightly as he thought about confronting her, but he decided against it.

"Nothing... Nothing... Nothing..." Twilight muttered softly as she concentrated.

Spike sighed quietly and left the princess alone in her study.

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Apple Jack snuggled into her bed and stared at the wall. She wanted her little sister back to play with. She knew that she couldn't mope around for long, but she savored the moment. Wallowing in her misery was very satisfactory in a small, strange way.

Apple Jack heard strong, heavy hoof-steps at her bedroom door. "That you, Big Mac?" She called softly.

"Eeyup..." Big Mac's stoic tone gave off a hint of depression.

"I'll be out in a jiffy," she said and she sat up.

Twilight was probably trying to find a way to make Apple Jack, Rarity, and Rainbow Dash get over their losses. That pony could never just leave something alone; she always had to research and experiment with it. It look all the emotion out of everything she touched.

Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle aren't test subjects. Neither are AJ, Rarity, and Rainbow Dash. Did Twilight have the right to be "testing" on them?

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"What's your plan, anyways?" Scootaloo asked. They were in the free time room with a movie playing. Blaire and Bailey were sitting so that they were facing the wall with Scootaloo to their left. No supervisors would be able to tell what they were saying this way.

"Use your call to contact that princess that saved you," Blaire began.

"Tell her that something immoral is happening here and that the only way to stop it is that she has to break you out."

"Tell her to teleport into your cell in the dead of night-"

"What about my friend? She's in another pod, I think," Scootaloo interrupted.

"That's your problem, newbie." Bailey turned to Blaire and gave her a brief glare.

"When she gets in there, have her get us out too," Blaire continued.

"Okay, but what if she doesn't believe me?" Scootaloo purposed.

"At least you tried, I guess..."

"When is this all going to happen?" Scootaloo asked.

"Next Tuesday you call her."

"The rest is up to the princess," Bailey concluded.

"I can't believe you guys trust me like this!" Scootaloo said giddily.

"If you decide to rat on us..."

"We'll be forced to bash your skull in and crush your spine," Bailey explained placidly.

Scootaloo had defeated two officers... TWICE. As if these twins stood a chance against her. Even though she was more than certain their 'threat' meant nothing, she still nodded politely.

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Cotton was sitting at the foot of the hospital bed as she talked. Her long, curly mane was going over her shoulder, down to her stomach while she gently stroked it.

"Do I need to be more blunt about this?" She asked in a frustrated tone.

"Maybe... I mean... I get it, but..." Jay bowed his head slightly.

"Do you really?" Cotton insisted. Her pink eyes flicked tensely between Jay and her mane.

"Of course I do! I'm not in the wrong here, though. I'm perfectly able to perform my duties even if I'm a little rough around the edges." Jay looked out the window to avoid Cotton's gaze.

"I know that, but you need to be a little less... 'rough around the edges'. Nothing wrong with you as a person, but..." she sighed and tried to think of the proper way to explain without saying anything unsavory.

"I know what you're trying not to say," Jay muttered bitterly.

"I'm not going to say it, but you get the idea. Just... we still have the ther-"

"I don't need that! I'm perfectly fine on my own, Cotton!" He snapped.

"If you didn't need it you wouldn't be in this hospital room because of-"

"Ask Asher about it! Oh wait, you can't! Know why? Cuz' he has a punctured lung!" Jay's voice was just below shouting and above pouting.

Cotton let out a depressed sigh. "I get it. If anything like this happens again, though, you won't have a choice." Cotton concluded sternly. Her tone told Jay that it was the end of the discussion.

Author's Note

If you got all the references when Twilight was going through the books...
Good Job, You Are Now My Favorite Person Ever

Freedom

It was Tuesday and after school, Scootaloo was lead back into her Pod's free time room. Blaire and Bailey were already there, sitting comfortably, proping their back legs up on the table.

Scootaloo joined them at the table. "Hey, I'm ready for this, aren't you guys?"

"Of course, but we have our own way of being excited," Blaire said.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Scootaloo tilted her head.

"Nothing that concerns you, squirt." Bailey waved a hoof at Scootaloo for her to quiet down. "We're trying to watch this movie anyways."

Scootaloo turned around to see the screen. "What movie is it?"

"Where The Red Hay Grows," Blaire replied.

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Nurse Upbeat opened the door and walked into Jay's hospital room. He was fast asleep. The only movement in the room was the slight rise and fall of Jay's breathing.

"Jay, wake up," the unicorn shook him gently awake.

Jay rolled onto his back, even though that hurt intensely. "Hey, what do you need?"

"For right now, I need you sit down facing away from me, please." While Jay positioned himself, Upbeat checked a clipboard briefly. "I just need to change the bandages for sanitary reasons."

Upbeat suspended some scissors and aligned them with the bandages. She snipped off the wraps and tossed them in the trash. One wing had a noticeable stab wound with missing feathers and skin. The other was cut off with a painful nub in its place. She could see the skin and fur that had been delicately sliced off, leaving his muscle almost entirely exposed.

Upbeat took a moment for her mind to register what lay beneath Jay's bandages. As she took clean bandages and began wrapping them around him, she decided to start some small talk.

"Are they going to reattach the other wing?"

"I think they're going to give me a prosthetic one, actually," he replied.

Both were silent for a moment. "I was Scootaloo's nurse before-" she paused when she saw Jay flinch. "Do you know anything about psychology?"

"Yeah... why?"

"Scootaloo got in a crash with her scooter because of her bully. She was hurt pretty bad and probably won't be able to fly like a regular pegasus," Upbeat explained sympathetically.

"I know that already. It was in her case file. Obviously, something in her mind snapped, but not like that's anything new." Jay went from casual mode to "I've-seen-some-shit" mode. "It's actually pretty common for criminals to have tragic pasts- including being orphans..."

Upbeat finished wrapping Jay up and stepped back. "You can lay down again, Jay."

Jay laid down on his back as Upbeat left the room. He stared up the ceiling distantly as he thought about his "talk" with Cotton. Not my fault I'm not perfect at everything, he huffed. I'm still strong and smart- most of the time.

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"Twilight, Twilight, I need your help," Scootaloo whispered into the phone.

"What do you mean?" Twilight asked, unsure about many things. For one, how was Scootaloo able to contact her? Why was Scootaloo contacting her?

"They're doing... immoral things, Twilight," Scootaloo whimpered.

"What kind of things, honey?" The questioning in her voice melted into sympathy.

"Like... hitting us and being inappropriate..." Scootaloo mumbled.

Twilight gasped with wide eyes. She abandoned her reason and logic at this moment and asked, "How can I help?"

"I need you to teleport into my cell in the middle of the night, Twilight. We can deal with this after I'm out. I'm counting on you..."

"Okay, sweetie, I'll see you later tonight." They hung up.

Twilight held her head in her hooves and stared down at her research. What kind of 'inappropriate'- Twilight cut herself off. She sharply remembered the claims Scootaloo made against that officer.

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Scootaloo laid down on her bed. Even though it was far from comfortable, she still felt peaceful. She stayed completely silent, waiting for the supervisors to finish turning off the lights before turning over to face the twins. Blaire and Bailey were staring at her intently.

Twilight appeared with a small pop and a flash of purple light. She had to change her spell to be less noticeable. The purple alicorn walked over to Scootaloo and whispered, "Come on, Scoots."

"Wait, rescue my friends too," Scootaloo pointed at twins in the other cell. "Please..."

In a series of flashes, Twilight teleported Scootaloo into the twins' cell, then teleported herself and the three fillies into her castle.

"Woah, you really are a princess!" Blaire marveled.

"ECHO!" Bailey screamed, it obviously echoed.

"Come with me into the dining room, I already prepared some nice food for Scootaloo. You have to share it, though." Twilight lead them down the long hallway into the large dining room.

There was a pitcher of hot chocolate and a few platters of breaded vegetables and hay fries. The trio sat at the table and divided the meal among themselves.

"Why are you two in juvie?" Twilight asked the twins.

"We ki-" before Bailey could finish, Blaire shoved a breaded apple into her mouth.

"HEH HEH, did you try these apples, Bai?" Blaire growled nervously through clenched teeth. "We beat up this kid pretty badly out of self-defense. He had been coming onto us for a while, but he got kinda physical."

"Yeah, we needed to put a stop to it ourselves because teachers wouldn't help us," Bailey added.

"I see... times have changed since I was a filly..."

Scootaloo shared a glance with the twins. She put on a face that said: What now?

Bailey and Blaire turned to each other and began whispering to each other. At first Scootaloo thought they were just talking fast, but they weren't. They were talking in a made up language. After a moment, Blaire stood up.

"I'm going to go get something from the kitchen, where is it?" Blaire asked.

"The room to the right of here."

"Thanks." Blaire disappeared into the hallway.

While Blaire was gone, the other three had a short chat. Silent as a mouse, Blaire crept into the dining room with a kitchen knife in her teeth. Scootaloo acted as if she didn't even see Blaire as she stepped closer to Twilight. Once she was within lunging distance, Scootaloo leaped over the table onto Twilight. Bailey joined Scootaloo in holding down the purple alicorn.

Twilight wriggled and writhed and screamed, but was silenced by Blaire plunging the knife into her mouth. Spike and Starlight Glimmer rushed into the room together but were caught off guard.

Bailey and Scootaloo launched at Starlight, knocking her head into the wall. Bailey smashed her hoof into Starlight's horn until it cracked off with a spurt of blood. Spike was shaking all over as he backed away. He was quickly stopped by a hard kick into the wall.

The two fillies rushed back over to Twilight. Blaire took the knife out and got ready to kill her, but was stopped by Scootaloo. "Have a ritual that I think you'll like a lot," Scootaloo winked and took the knife from Blair.

Scootaloo chopped off Twilight's horn with another spurt of blood. "You're lucky I won't do my worst to you," she said while she cut it off, "like those officers." Scootaloo began cutting off Twilight's wings. "Asher said Rainbow Dash wasn't my sister," she cut off one wing, "so I cut off his horn, cut out his eye, and stabbed him in the lung." She finished with the wings and began on the cutie marks. "And Jay tried to stop me and put me in Juvie," she got one mark off, "so I was going to cut off his cutie marks and wings to wear them as my own, but I was rudely interrupted." Twilight's cutie marks were now fully cut off. "I'm going to finish what I started with him, though." She plunged the knife into Twilight's heart.

Author's Note

If you're wondering why Starlight and Twilight didn't teleport away, it was because they were too shocked.
(also... am I the only one who indents?)

You Again

Blaire and Bailey stared down at Twilight's dead body. The purple alicorn was stained red with her own blood. The twins would be more surprised, but they did hear about Scootaloo's other crimes.

"Where are we going to hide out?" Blaire asked.

"I know a place..." Scootaloo smirked.

The trio made their way into the forest of apple trees in Sweet Apple Acres. They found the unused CMC clubhouse that overlooked the schoolhouse. They climbed the ladder and entered the small, wooden treehouse.

"What is this?" Bailey inquired as she examined a paper with possible cutie marks on it.

"Nothing very important," Scootaloo shrugged. "We need to change our appearance right now."

"How do we do that?" Blaire asked.

Scootaloo went over to a wooden chest and opened it. She dug through it for a moment before pulling out brushes, dyes, and makeup. "Can you guys do me first?"

"Sure," Blaire grabbed a black dye. "Wait, we need water, don't we?"

"No, that's temporary dye. Just put it in and it dyes my hair." Scootaloo motioned for them to begin.

Blaire squirted some dye into Scootaloo's mane and began rubbing it in. The wet dye made the hair more moldable, so Blaire began shaping her mane. She curled the hair in several places and flattened it more. Her bangs were now curling and spiking randomly while the mane on her neck was flat like Twilight's. Bailey dyed Scootaloo's tail black. She molded it into a spiral shape.

The two fillies dyed Scootaloo's pelt. They rubbed in bright pink dye and scruffed it up. Then Bailey and Scootaloo dyed Blaire. They made her mane and tail lime green with elegant curls and her main fur was dyed lavender. Blaire and Scootaloo dyed Bailey next. Bailey's mane and tail were dyed lavender with spikes while her main fur was dyed lime green.

Once they were finished, the sun was rising on the horizon. Scootaloo explained the visiting schedule at the hospital and they decided to wait a few hours in the CMC clubhouse.

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Cotton sat beside Jay's hospital bed. She smiled warmly, having completely "forgiven" him. She gently stroked his navy blue mane as they talked.

"As soon as I get that prosthetic I can leave," Jay said sarcastically, "woohoo."'

"Do you like sitting around doing nothing for society?" Cotton was half joking.

"Well, kinda..." Jay muttered. "But I still need the bits and-"

"Jay, I need you to be careful right now," Upbeat suddenly appeared in the doorway. "We just got informed that three fillies just escaped from juvie. One of them was Scootaloo. Not careful but... alert..."

Jay's heart skipped a beat when he heard that name. His heartbeat raced and his breaths shortened even though he tried to control it. He wanted to puke at the moment but controlled the urge.

"Upbeat... I don't think I should be on the second floor right now..." he said slowly.

"Oh, th-that whole deal with he-her friends. Don't worry, she won't be able to get inside." Upbeat disappeared into the hallway.

I'm not very good at not WORRYING! Jay tried to take control of his breathing, but it was harder than it looked. When he tried to prolong each breath, it shook like an earthquake and made him sound more unstable.

"Jay-"

"I'm completely, utterly fine, Cotton," Jay sat up straighter and grinned nervously. "Don't worry about me!"

"Are you sure, babe?" Cotton tilted her head thoughtfully as her pink eyes stared at him inquisitively.

"Of course, I am!" Jay paused. "You could go home now... make sure the twins didn't get hungry and eat the colts... I don't think Asher's a very good parent..."

"He isn't," Cotton assured. "See ya."

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As Scootaloo hid in the bushes she saw a stunning pegasus walk out of the hospital. She was sky blue with a long, curly, pink mane and tail. Her cutie mark was a snowman with a pink bow. She is, Scootaloo decided, my next victim. After Jay, that is.

"What are you thinking, Scootaloo?" Blaire asked.

"Go inside, now." Scootaloo motioned for them to walk inside.

They trotted into the hospital and confronted the mare at the desk. "Only one pony can visit at a time. Sorry, but there were some incidents."

"Okay, I'd like to visit Jay... some name... I don't know his last name, but-"

"Second floor, third door to the left of the stairs."

Scootaloo followed the directions and came to Jay's room. She opened the door slowly and walked inside.

"Who are-" he noticed the dead, purple eyes. "Scootaloo... no amount of dye could trick me."

Scootaloo grinned and pulled out a butcher knife. Jay had already calmed himself down, but now he had to try again. At the sight of the shining blade, his eyes widened and his heart skipped a beat, again.

"Yeah, just give me a bucking heart attack, that's fine." He rolled his eyes, trying to act like he wasn't terrified.

"What color is your wife?" Scootaloo asked nonchalantly.

"B-Blue..."

"Was she just in here?" Scootaloo fiddled with the blade in her hooves.

"Y-Yes..."

"If you tell on me," she made frightening eye contact, "I'll cut her into pieces in front of your foals. Then I'll feed her to them."

"How would you be able to do that?" Jay tried to act tougher. "How did you even escape?"

"I tricked an alicorn!" She sang as she skipped over to Jay.

Jay leaped out of the bed, nearly landing face first. He bolted toward the door but paused. Scootaloo had thrown the knife and hit him in the back of the neck. In the moment he had hesitated, Scootaloo jumped onto his back and wrestled him to the ground. She punched and kicked him mercilessly, bruising his already beaten skin.

"STOP! S-STOP!" Jay pleaded. Scootaloo went to stab him in the mouth, but she missed. "SCOOTALOO! I... CAN... HELP... YOU!"

Scootaloo came to a complete halt. "What?"

Author's Note

I was sick today so I had time to work on another chapter. Have fun interpreting this one for a while. Next chapter should take me 2 days.

A Death

"What do you mean by that?" Scootaloo stared down at Jay unsurely.

"There is a better way to teach ponies a lesson," he said through deep breaths. Once he had fully recovered and was sure he could speak strongly, he continued. "Sure, torturing them and then killing them seems great, but there's a much more legal way."

"What is that way?" Scootaloo didn't let go of the knife but kept it under a hoof while she stood over Jay.

"Let them go to prison," Jay paused when he saw Scootaloo become frustrated and press down on the knife, "hear me out, hear me out!"

"How would prison be worse?" Scootaloo contemplated the knife.

"Let them live... let them be guilty and miserable... nothing could be worse than rotting in a prison cell." Jay explained, trying to make sure his tone wasn't fearful. It was hard to try and agree with somepony who was inches away from killing him.

"So... you would help me?" Scootaloo tilted her head. "With- With... You actually want to work with me?" She sounded doubtful but content.

"Yes- completely. You have potential..." Jay forced a sympathetic smile. "Just give me the knife and I can make sure you don't have to go to juvie. Then you could work with me and get your justice."

"You aren't mad about me... ya know... doing all this, right?" Scootaloo's eyes were between trusting and unsure. She wanted so desperately to trust him.

"I don't hold grudges," Jay nodded. "Please give me the knife and let me sit up."

"Okay..."

Scootaloo stepped away from Jay and allowed him to sit up. Once he was sitting, she handed him the knife. He was looking at the knife in his hooves when something he found extremely disturbing and extremely heartbreaking happened. Scootaloo hugged him. Hesitantly, he wrapped his free foreleg around her back, still looking at the knife.

Scootaloo thought she could trust him. She thought there was somepony that thought like her and would help her. Maybe- just maybe- she could be like his daughter.

Jay knew what he had to do, but his body wouldn't do it. He gritted his teeth and tensed up. He kept looking at the knife and thinking I need to do this, but then he would look back at Scootaloo and think I can't do this. Finally, he closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

"I'm sorry, kid," he muttered shakily.

"Wha-" Before Scootaloo could respond, Jay plunged the knife into her back as hard as he could, twisted it, and pulled it out. I guess I won't get Twist out of juvie... Then, like when she had crashed, everything went black. The difference in this situation was, she would never wake up.

Scootaloo fell limp and Jay allowed her to fall to the floor. He stood up and looked at the knife again. The blade was covered in blood that was dripping onto his hoof. He growled and threw the knife at the window before sitting down in a corner.

Jay thought that, in his many years as a cop, he had become tougher. He thought he had seen enough blood and guts to become used to it, but never before had he killed somepony. He had just done something worse than just killing somepony, he had just killed a foal. Even if this foal was a murderer that had no mercy, he was still guilty.

Jay sat, shaking in a corner while he thought over what he had just done until Upbeat walked in and, once again, called for help.

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Blaire and Bailey heard Upbeat yelling and looked at each other in confusion. Not long after, they heard police alarms outside and decided to get away from the police. They ran outside and started in the direction of the treehouse Scootaloo took them to.

"Blaire, we just left Scootaloo behind!" Bailey called to her sister.

"She can take care of herself, Bai!" Blaire replied.

They rushed toward the treehouse and clambered up the ladder. Once inside, they began to wonder what was happening at the hospital.

"Maybe Scootaloo got caught again," Blaire suggested.

"Maybe... what if they interrogate her and she rats us out?" Bailey pointed out.

"Only time will tell, dear sister," Blaire patted Bailey's mane.

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After Starlight and Spike had been taken away in ambulances, Twilight was pronounced dead. Starlight knew several resurrection spells, but her horn was broken. Starlight had only just gotten the friendship she desired from Twilight, she was even her apprentice! Want kind of an apprentice lets their mentor die? She was now determined to bring back her mentor. Not just for herself, but also because she was the Element of Magic.

Author's Note

SEQUAAAAAAAL
The sequel is literally already made- the title, summary (long and short), characters are planned, but this time I'm gonna take ideas instead of just going off of what I have planned.

Juvie Sweet Juvie

Scootaloo had been lead into her cell in Pod C, one of the pods with four cells. The cell parallel to her had two beds and was occupied by two dangerous-looking fillies. They looked to be twins and shared the same colorless eyes, brown coats, and messy blonde manes.

The bed Scootaloo was sitting on was rather stiff with thin blankets. In one corner there was a desk and chair, (bolted to the wall to prevent possible 'incidents') and in the other was a gross-looking sink and toilet. There was a small, square barred window with bullet-proof glass that gave a brief look into the outside world.

Scootaloo had arrived at the perfect time- free time. She would not be allowed free time until tomorrow, though. Since she had nothing better to do, she stared at the dull, gray wall and allowed herself to zone out.

"Psssst, newbie!" A voice whisper-shouted, pulling Scootaloo back into reality. "Over here!"

"Wha...?" The voice was coming from one of the twins. They both stared at her intently. "What?" She continued with a hushed voice.

"What are you in here for?" The one on the right asked.

"We killed our family," the one on the left added in a placid tone.

"Well... a lot of reasons... I skinned my bully's cutie marks off, pushed my friends out a hospital window, tortured and nearly killed the two cops that were after me," she paused to grin at the marveling faces of the twins. "And then 'visited' the two cops in the hospital, stabbed one in the chest, and was half way through skinning the other's cutie marks and cutting off his wings when the nurse walked in."

"You did..."

"All that..."

"Yep," Scootaloo beamed proudly. These two fillies who looked to be at least four years older than her were acting like she was Celestia. Soon she would be Celestia's equivalent. Could alicorns be murdered? She would have to find out... Twilight was an alicorn. "How long have you guys been here?"

"Four months."

"And six days."

It seemed weird how the twins talked like they were passing the metaphorical talking stick. Once one ended their thought, the other would continue on their own. They never disrupted each other and always stayed practically symmetrical. "Wait, why aren't you allowed to have free time?" Scootaloo inquired.

The two looked at one another with malicious grins and cackled devilishly before turning back to Scootaloo. "If you have violent behavior you get to visit the 'Segregation Rooms'."

"It's a cell where you can't hurt yourself or others."

"You stay there for 24 hours while some creepy dude supervises you."

"Ah, so no dice of escaping in the... Segregation Room?" Scootaloo asked.

"If there was, we wouldn't be here." The right one clarified.

"We've been there enough times to have it memorized."

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Twist was in Pod B, one with five cells. She was in the cell made for two foals. She curled up on the top bunk as she tried to stifle her deep, shaky breaths. She tried in through the nose and out through the mouth but her body still acted like she was panicking.

Twist had already gotten a glimpse of her cellmate and was not pleased. They were a tall, orange filly with a red mane and tail. The problem with them was that she had given Twist a sideways glance that looked like a murderer.

Twist suddenly heard the familiar sound of hooves clacking on cement inside the cell. She hesitantly sat up and looked down at the open, barred door. Her cellmate, along with two other fillies, was standing and talking in the entrance. Twist wasn't a professional on the rules, but she was sure they weren't allowed to do that.

"Hey there, newbie." The tall filly greeted. "Since we are going to be sharing a room for a minimum of 5 years, I suppose we should get chummy."

"B... Na... I- I..." Twist sputtered as she scooted backward.

"I'm Dolly," they bowed politely, never breaking eye contact with Twist. "What's your name?"

"I- I... I'm..." Twist could hardly speak, but she still tried her hardest to hide how nervous she was. "I'm... Twist."

"Twist? What a lovely name." Dolly turned and looked down at the two other fillies. "Puppy Dog, Tails," she snapped quietly, "shoo!"

Once the two other fillies exited the cell, Twist was extremely uneasy. She took a deep breath and finally got herself to say something. "You aren't supposed to be around the cells!" She shouted louder than she expected or wanted to.

"Shshshshhhh!" Dolly's wings spread and she leaped onto the top bunk to cover Twist's mouth. "You're gonna get me on thin ice!" She whisper-shouted.

Twist screamed as loud as she could with somepony covering her mouth. A guard heard and 'removed' Dolly from the cell.

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Rainbow Dash was sitting at a small wooden table inside a compact room as she waited to be interviewed. Even though the lighting was perfect, she still felt like it was too bright. She tapped her hoof anxiously on the table and stared at the door.

After about five minutes, or what seemed like hours, an officer entered. She was a sky blue unicorn with a lime green mane and tail. She sauntered to the table and sat down before suspending a pencil and notebook in front of herself.

"Let's just get right into this," she began apathetically. "I'm Officer June and I already know you're Rainbow Dash."

"Yea-"

"How has Scootaloo's behavior been lately?" The unicorn interrupted.

"I haven't seen her in a while because of the storm clou-"

"Last time you saw her. How'd she act?" June insisted.

"Well..." Wasn't the last time she saw her when she was being questioned? Scootaloo had acted normally. "She didn't do or say anything out of the norm."

"Before that? Anything that happened within the past month."

Dash paused. The death of the other crusaders... She gulped. "Her... friends died after visiting her- while visiting her. Pushed out a window."

"We already have that incident recorded. First, she was labeled a victim of attempted first-degree murder, but was changed into the murderer." June explained this like it was common knowledge.

"B-But what if she didn't do it? What if she's wrongly-"

"She admitted to it! She explained how and why she killed her best friends! She also has told us a disturbing description of how she skinned her bully's cutie marks off."

Rainbow Dash stared wide-eyed and her mouth gaping. Scootaloo was a murderer. She was a cold-blooded monster. She wasn't her sister, she was an imposter. Rainbow wasn't sure how to feel about the information and sat in silent horror.

Author's Note

Shooort chapter