Author's Note

I know I sort of rushed through some parts but it was because I figured it would be too long if I drew out the scenes too much and the rest of the story wouldn't really be affected if I took out a few paragraphs.
Also, if anything seems strange and there's a huge hole in the plot, don't be afraid to say it in the comments so I can fix it or explain it.

Two Flightless Fillies

Scootaloo had recently heard of what had happened to Applebloom and that colt named... Wait, what was his name? She asked herself. All she knew was that he had crimson-colored eyes, but that was about it. She strolled past the train station, where many thin, almost starving, ponies stood. She looked at one filly who stood all alone on the edge of the platform, then, when the filly looked back at her, they made eye contact.

The filly had a tangled golden mane with a cream-colored coat, accompanied by wings as tiny as a newborn foal's. She had nothing for a cutiemark.

Scootaloo stared as Fluttershy, one of the Guides, checked all of their cards, allowing everypony to pass except for the filly. "Card, please." Fluttershy said.

The filly turned her gaze to her hooves.

"Card." Fluttershy repeated, a little louder, thinking the filly couldn't hear very well.

The filly tried her best to look Fluttershy in the eyes. "I... I don't have it..."

Before Fluttershy could respond, Amber Song, another one of the Guides, interrupted. She was looking much less skinny and healthier than before when she had entered the school's shelter and had become a Guide, a very dedicated one, so she could assist refugees still coming to Ponyville. The old scarf she had worn a few weeks when Scootaloo had seen her was replaced by a much newer, scarlet one. Her card was pinned onto it, showing her name in big, bold letters. "No card? Did nopony tell you to keep it with you at all times? For security reasons, we'll have to detain you."

"B-But I swear I'm not a changeling!" The filly blurted out. "I'm a normal-"

Amber Song's piercing gaze cut her off. "We can't prove it for sure, so we'll have to make sure you can't hurt anypony. We won't kill you," her voice dropped to a whisper, "but we will if our tests prove you are one."

The filly froze, then began to sob. "I'm not a changeling, I promise!"

A sympathetic look was on Fluttershy's face before Amber Song immediately turned to glare at her, then it was gone.

Without thinking, Scootaloo jumped onto the platform and stood in front of Amber Song and Fluttershy. "Wait," she ordered, then turned back to the filly. She studied her eyes. "She's not a changeling. Princess Twilight Sparkle said changelings have an unnatural green gleam in their eyes no matter what. Her eyes look normal."

Amber Song didn't seem to hear her, because she simply stared at Scootaloo. "Before you say things like that and expect us to believe you, we'll need to see your card."

Scootaloo then realized: She left her card in her saddlebag in a random alley when she was looking for shelter from the rain and had taken a short nap. Now that she had stepped in, she would be detained as well.

Fluttershy tilted her head to the side. "Do you... have it?"

Scootaloo slowly shook her head. "I... don't."

Not waiting to hear any more, Amber Song nodded to the pair of guards waiting by the platform: Big Mac and Cloudy Sky, a Manehattan refugee. "They need to be detained and tested on for changeling DNA in the Testing Center," Amber Song said, pointing at the two fillies frozen in shock. "Take them away."

Big Mac and Cloudy Sky didn't waste a second. They grabbed the two fillies and restrained their wings, walking alongside them and making sure they couldn't get away. They went to Town Hall, opening a door and descending the dimly lit staircase. Guards were at every single corner. Big Mac and Cloudy Sky went through a scanning machine, then took the two into a white room with walls that lit up, two big white pillows and a thick glass wall blocking them off from the rest of the world. There were plenty of other detained ponies in there, with signs above their cell doors with things like Ready for Testing, Undergoing Testing and Requires Second Test along with the occasional Testing Finished.

The almost-invisible glass door was locked, trapping Scootaloo and the filly inside.

"T-Thank you for trying to help me," the filly said.

Scootaloo forced a smile, even though that wasn't really the thing any pony would do when they were detained. "No problem-"

There was a loud scream of agony. Scootaloo pressed herself against the glass to see it was from a mare in the cell across from them crying out as many needles jabbed at her and electricity zapped her. The sign above her cell was Undergoing Testing. Many drops of blood fell onto a small metal disk which was taken by the machine. When the sign changed to Requires Second Test, the mare looked up at Scootaloo with dull eyes.

Scootaloo had heard that if you zapped a changeling with electricity, it would change back to its default form, and that was exactly what was going on. There was another ear-piercing shriek. Again, it was because of testing. She turned away, not wanting to see anymore. It looked like it hurt.

There was a ding as Scootaloo and the filly's sign changed. Undergoing Testing. The white room turned gray as what seemed to be huge metal needles came out of the walls. One had two metal disks. It placed them in front of Scootaloo and the filly.

The filly stood up and tried to fly away, but she couldn't lift off the floor.

Scootaloo screamed as the first zap of electricity came, hitting her in the chest. Needles jabbed at her sides. There were many, but not enough to to make her bleed to death. The drops of blood landed on the metal disk. Her wings instinctively unfurled and began to flap vigorously, but they were quickly restrained. She turned to look at the filly, but she was shrouded with smoke. Did part of the machine break down? No, it was obviously working since Scootaloo could still hear her screaming in pain. What if the machine was just malfunctioning, but still able to continue? Maybe that was it.

After many long minutes of testing, the metal disks were removed and the machine folded itself at the joints and went back to the hollowed out parts of the walls. They turned back to white.

The filly flopped down onto her side, exhausted. "Can't they find a less painful way to test us?"

Scootaloo gasped for air. "No," she forced out, then looked at the filly. "You didn't tell me who you were."

"You didn't ask."

Scootaloo narrowed her eyes. "You don't know who you are? That sounds a little shifty..."

The filly faked a laugh. "I'm..." she looked around, Scootaloo staring at her suspiciously. Did she just attempt to save a changeling earlier? But both of them had passed the first test, so she couldn't be part of the Triple S Army. "Bright... Light... I'm Bright Light!"

Scootaloo slowly nodded, trying to pretend she didn't suspect anything. "Okay, well I'm Scootaloo."

"No!" Somepony yelled as a loud siren sounded.

Bright Light raced to the glass to see a changeling pulled out of his cell and dragged away by many guards. Her eyes widened.

Scootaloo stayed back, glaring at Bright Light. Was she afraid of something? Maybe she was afraid of being killed if she was discovered. Was Scootaloo sharing a cell with a changeling? That smoke was probably a hint: There were smoke soldiers, maybe even smoke and changeling soldiers, and maybe Bright Light had created that cloud to cover it up when she was transformed back into her original form. But why didn't the siren sound? From what Scootaloo had gathered, it sounded when it detected a changeling, and nothing happen when Bright Light was tested.

Simultaneously, all of the cells' walls went dark. Twilight's voice came through a speaker: "It is now time to sleep. It is mandatory and sleeping throughout your tests is not tolerated."

Many ponies lay down on the pillows to rest while the other more rebellious ones would make obnoxious noises, refusing to go to sleep. The unicorn guards, who were the only ones walking around, would zap them using their horns and drain their energy, forcing them to doze off.

Scootaloo, the obedient filly she was, lay on her pillow and watched as Bright Light sat in front of the glass wall. "Bright Light," she hissed. "Didn't you hear the announcement? You have to sleep."

Bright Light turned to Scootaloo. "No I don't. What can they do to me? If I'm proved to not be a changeling, they have no right to do anything to me." She replied, speaking as if she didn't care if there was a guard there or not. She received an energy-draining spell from the guard and let herself fall to the cold floor.

When the guard wasn't near their cell, Scootaloo went to roll Bright Light to a pillow so she could relax comfortably. Bright Light wasn't fully asleep. She was actually wide awake. "It'll take a lot more than that to make me sleepy," she whispered, trying not to get Scootaloo in trouble.

Scootaloo rolled her eyes and gave Bright Light a weak punch to the shoulder. "I'm going to sleep. Maybe you should do the same." She sat on her pillow and rest her head on her front hooves. She hadn't eaten all day, but at least the pillows were soft.

The lights were turned on. Most ponies woke up, but for the heavy sleepers, there was a very loud announcement from Twilight. "It's time to wake up. Sleeping during tests will not be tolerated. It's time to wake up. Sleep during tests will not be tolerated." She repeated.

Scootaloo stood up and stretched, yawning. Bright Light was already sitting by the glass wall, glaring at passing guards. They glared back.

There was another ding. Scootaloo shut her eyes, bracing herself for another test. The long metal needles came back along with the disks. It held her in place as it seemed to find a place to poke which wouldn't harm her much. The test was shorter than before, probably since they took as much blood as possible from each jab and zapped with only a few jolts of electricity. Again, there was a cloud of smoke covering Bright Light. Guards stopped to stare at her, then said something about the machine malfunctioning.

Scootaloo was surprised training hadn't killed her. With having blood taken out of her to being electrocuted, it was a miracle she had survived. Maybe it was because Twilight had created the tests not to kill. But still, the changelings would be killed to keep Ponyville safe. She lay on her pillow, resting but making sure to not fall asleep. It wasn't allowed. There was another ding from the sign.

Bright Light ran to the glass door and strained to look at their own sign. "Extensive testing!?" She exclaimed.

"What?" Scootaloo stood up to stare up, slightly tilting her head upwards. "Why?"

A guard stopped upon seeing their sign. He opened their cell door, a mare coming to stand beside him. They took Scootaloo and Bright Light down the hall.

"Where are you taking us?" Bright Light asked.

The stallion didn't bother to look at her. "Extensive testing."

"We don't need extensive testing!" Bright Light said.

The mare replied this time. "We've found something strange in somepony's blood. We're not sure exactly who it is, but we know it's one of you. Scientists were baffled by this and even had to call in Princess Twilight Sparkle."

"Who's that?"

The stallion stared at her, turning his head quickly. "One of Princess Celestia's students, Princess of Friendship, and one of the most intelligent ponies in Equestria."

"Oh." Bright Light thought of what to say next. "So, what did she do to become princess?"

"Everything." The mare said, turning a corner and briefly looking down at Bright Light. "She saved Equestria multiple times and I'm shocked you haven't heard of her."

Bright Light remained silent.

Scootaloo stared ahead, watching the guards walking around and occasionally staring at them before going around a corner. She tilted her head upwards as they stopped in front of a door. Doctor's Office. At first, she was confused, then, when one of the guards knocked on the door, she knew what was going on.

Derpy, Doctor Hooves' assistant, opened the door. She stepped aside to allow them in.

Scootaloo had heard of the inventions Doctor Hooves had created with the help of his assistant, and the Testing Center was probably one of them. He was currently sitting at his desk, staring at papers, frowning.

"Something strange is going on, Derpy," he scribbled something on. "You see, I received a report telling me a machine is malfunctioning when its blueprints are exactly like the others, which are working just fine!"

Derpy cleared her throat.

Doctor Hooves looked up to see the guards standing there with the two fillies. "Oh, my apologies, I didn't know you were here." He stood up. "Oh, these two from cell 2A. The one where the machine is releasing smoke and where we've found something strange in the blood." He stared at them. "Which is why you require extensive testing..."

"We don't need extensive testing," Bright Light protested.

Doctor Hooves ignored her. "As we reuse the metal disks, I cannot make sure some blood from past ponies isn't still on there, after all, our cleanings are quite brief," he made a motion with his hoof, then, simultaneously, the guards moved to the door, Derpy carried both fillies to two stools, and Doctor Hooves put on gloves and picked up a syringe. "So that's why we just need to make sure."

Scootaloo flinched as the syringe was pushed into her shoulder. She felt the faintest pressure as blood was taken out of her. When it was pulled out, Doctor Hooves put the syringe on the metal tray Derpy was holding and took the empty one. He repeated the same process with Bright Light, but she was squirming so much, one of the guards had to hold her still.

Derpy had put a piece of tape on Scootaloo's syringe so she knew which was which, then she put the blood onto a microscope. She had trouble looking at it properly, so she put on the specially-crafted glasses she was given when she and Doctor Hooves began work on the Testing Center. "Nothing strange here," she used a cloth and a spray to wipe the blood off, then put Bright Light's on. She gasped. "What... is this?"

"What is it?" Doctor Hooves used the microscope to stare at it. "It seems to be a mix of many different things..." he looked up at Bright Light, who was frozen in shock. "You'll have to stay. Your friend can go."

Scootaloo turned to see Bright Light's desperate expression as she was dragged out by the guards and led through the many halls, which was more like a labyrinth than a well-organized Testing Center. Despite her suspicions about Bright Light, Scootaloo vowed she'd go back for her. It felt like they had a connection, even though they barely knew each other.

"Do you live in a camp?"

"Huh?" Scootaloo blinked a few times.

There was only one guard leading her out, the mare. "I said, do you live in a camp?"

Scootaloo slowly nodded.

"With your parents?"

Silence.

"Do you live in a camp with your parents?" The mare paused after each word, thinking Scootaloo was too retarded to understand her otherwise.

"They've passed on."

"Oh. I'm... sorry for your loss." The mare was speaking normally now.

Scootaloo shrugged. "It's okay, I barely knew them."

They stopped in front of a desk near the exit. The stallion looked over to see Scootaloo. "Where are you from?" He asked.

"Ponyville."

He took a purple card from a drawer. "Name and age, please."

"Scootaloo, and I'm eleven."

He wrote it on the card. "Where have you lived and where are you currently staying?"

"Ponyville Orphanage and now the Camp for Ponyville Residents."

He nodded. "Alright, then." He slid the finished card across to Scootaloo. "Don't lose it."

"I won't." Scootaloo took it and climbed up the stairs back into Town Hall. She walked back to the camp, which would have taken less time if she still had her treasured scooter. Sadly, she couldn't take it into the school's shelter and had found it, broken and unusable, in an alley. It was the last thing she had to remind her of her parents. She stared up at the sky, which was a dull gray because of the smoke. Celestia's sun refused to shine through.

Near the entrance, there was a pair of soldiers. Scootaloo showed her new card and went through the gate. The camp wasn't a building because there wasn't enough time to make one, but many tents. There was a much bigger tent in the center where they had their meals and the entrance to the underground bunker.

She trotted to the smaller tent beside it, which was for supplies given to the ponies for free. "Saddlebag, please." She told Berry Punch.

"I thought you already had one, Scoots," she said, finding a small one in the back of the tent. Everypony knew each other, as they had lived together before the Triple S Army made their first move.

"Lost it,"

Berry Punch gave the saddlebag to Scootaloo, and she put her card in it. "Where were you these past few days? You didn't stop by to say hello."

Scootaloo would usually walk around camp with Sweetie Belle and would stop to talk to Berry Punch. "I lost my card and my old saddlebag, so I had to go to the Testing Center. I was trying to help this other filly, and we ended up sharing a cell."

"Is it true what they do there? Do they electrocute you until you're halfway dead and then draw blood so you pass out?" Berry Punch asked.

Scootaloo thought for a moment. "They just zap you a few times and poke you. It hurts, but it won't kill you."

"Good to know," Berry Punch released a relieved sigh. "My sister was sent there and I've been worried she'd come back with one hoof in the grave."

Scootaloo looked around. A few ponies moping around their tents and Sweetie Belle waiting outside a dull green one. It was the tent for young fillies. When they made eye contact, Sweetie Belle motioned for her to come over.

"Looks like you should get going." Berry Punch said. "See you, Scoots, and don't get into any trouble."

Scootaloo turned back to her. "I won't. Bye." She trotted to Sweetie Belle, who rushed to hug her.

"Where were you?" She asked. "Everypony was worried when you didn't come home, especially Rainbow Dash when she came to check up on us. I told you not to go out-"

"Wait, Rainbow Dash visited?" Scootaloo made a point of being in the camp whenever Rainbow Dash said she'd be around. She came to see how things were going on behalf of Twilight every week on Saturday, but it was a Thursday.

Sweetie Belle nodded. "She said she was too busy training recruits this Saturday, but she wanted to see us and Wednesday was the one day she was free to come by."

"Was she worried about me?"

"She was, and then when I told her you were out in Ponyville, she left. She came back and told me somepony said you were okay. When I asked where you were, she didn't say. Where were you?" Sweetie Belle repeated.

"I was in the Testing Center. It's where they zap you and poke you with needles so they can see if you're a changeling or not,"

Sweetie Belle looked at the ground. "Applebloom would've hated that. She's scared of being near Rarity's work station because the needles are everywhere."

"I miss her,"

Sweetie Belle stared into Scootaloo's eyes. "Do you... do you think she's... still alive?"

Scootaloo didn't answer for a while. "I... maybe she is. We wouldn't know."

"I wish we stopped her from signing up. Maybe if we were with her, we could have told her it was too dangerous."

"We weren't allowed to sign up anyway. I went to Rainbow Dash but she said I wasn't allowed because I was too young. I couldn't even go to Fluttershy, even though Applebloom is only a few months older than us."

"I sometimes help deliver fabrics from the trains to Rarity, but that's it."

Scootaloo tried to change the subject. "Isn't it weird how trains are still bringing in refugees when their attacks happened months ago?"

Sweetie Belle thought for a moment. "Rarity told me it was because some ponies are still hiding there and are sneaking around town to get to their train stations, but it's really hard because their towns are much bigger than Ponyville and there are still some Triple S Army soldiers there." She opened the flap to the tent. "It looks like it's going to rain, so we should get inside."

"It always looks like it's going to rain and it always rains. Every single day." Scootaloo went inside.

"So today isn't an exception." Sweetie Belle followed.

Inside the tent, there were two other fillies: Dinky Doo and Silver Spoon. They were both sitting on two of the mattresses they were provided with, leaving the other two empty. Scootaloo's was the way she had left it, with the blanket crudely folded on top of it. Dinky Doo was sitting on hers, practicing her magic by levitating her folded blanket in the air. It hovered above ground before she attempted to make it go higher, then her horn fizzed and it was released from her magical aura.

Silver Spoon rolled her eyes and opened her mouth, about to say something, but stopped. She always did things like that, preparing to deliver a rude insult, but saying nothing. It was because Diamond Tiara had gone to Manehattan for a week, but didn't come back, even though it had been two weeks.

The rain against the tent's roof made for some type of soothing music as Scootaloo rested on her mattress.

"Where were you?" Dinky Doo asked when she noticed her.

"Testing Center," Scootaloo replied.

Silver Spoon glanced in her direction, then looked away.

Scootaloo closed her eyes as Sweetie Belle explained everything to them.

"Wait, why did you go?" Dinky Doo inquired, turning her attention to Scootaloo.

"Tried to help this filly. Her name's Bright Light and she was at the train station. She was pegasus, with wings too tiny for her body. I guess I wanted to help because she was like me in a sense. I shared a cell with her, but she had to stay because she had something weird in her blood."

Silver Spoon stared at her, obviously interested, but said nothing.

"So you two were friends?" Sweetie Belle wrapped herself in her own blanket.

Scootaloo nodded. "I was suspicious of her before, but it felt like we had a connection. I... I want to go find her and bring her back."

"You want to sneak into a heavily-guarded facility?" Silver Spoon blurted out. "Are you insane? Is she even that important?"

"I'm happy you care," Scootaloo was silent for a bit. "But I just feel guilty leaving her behind. Being trapped with her in that room, for even a day, I felt responsible for her. Rainbow Dash taught me that even when you barely know a pony and feel a special connection, you should stick by them and be loyal. After Applebloom, I don't want to leave anypony alone. I just want everypony to be safe, no matter who they are."

Sweetie Belle gave her a sympathetic look. "I understand," she whispered. "But how will you get in?"

"Simple. I lose my card again and get caught by somepony, then I find Bright Light and get her out."

Sweetie Belle hesitated. "But what if something happens?"

"They can't harm innocent citizens," said Scootaloo, "especially a filly. I promise I'll be back soon."

Dinky Doo stared into Scootaloo's eyes. "Have you ever thought that Bright Light may actually have something wrong with her? You said she had something weird in her blood. Maybe she's a crystal soldier and might hurt or... kill you if you set her free."

"Crystal soldiers' coats are shiny, but hers isn't. Also, she was on a train from Fillydelphia." Scootaloo thought for a moment. "You know, I heard in Fillydelphia, they have new cures for diseases and that's why there's something in her blood. It could just be a vaccine or something."

Everypony was silent.

"I think she'll be fine without you, Scoots. If it is a vaccine, they'll find out and let her go. You don't have to go."

"What if they don't know?" Scootaloo protested. "What if something happens to her and they kill her. If I don't at least try to help, an innocent filly could be killed."

Scootaloo woke up early the next morning. She had convinced them she should go and see if something was wrong there. She took her saddlebag and went to the entrance. A different pair of guards were standing there. They stared at her.

"Sorry, you can't go out." One of them said.

Scootaloo frowned. "Why not?"

"There is a security check scheduled soon and everypony must be in their residence." The other responded.

Scootaloo looked around and saw a small hole near the chain-link fence. "Oh, alright." She trotted back towards her tent, then ducked behind it. She slowly made her way to the gap, making sure the guards weren't looking. The chain-link fence was reinforced with magic, but the ground beneath it wasn't. The hole was quite tiny, but Scootaloo was able to squeeze through. It was like a little tunnel leading to the other side. Scootaloo knew the guards would realize she was missing soon, especially after they had just seen her, so she had to act fast. She took shriveled flowers and put them in her saddlebag. If there was something strange in Bright Light's blood, if she put something in her own, she'd be taken to her.

The streets were empty. Dropping her ID card, she rushed to Town Hall, where there were guards everywhere. They looked at her. "I lost my card!" She yelled.

One of the guards, Cloudy Sky, took Scootaloo into the Testing Center underneath Town Hall. She sighed. "Again?"

Scootaloo nodded. "Wait, can I go straight to Doctor Hooves? I think there's something going on and I'll have to be back at camp soon, right? I think they're worried."

Cloudy Sky looked at her, curious, but said nothing. "Yeah, your parents are probably worried about you."

Scootaloo didn't bother to correct her. "They probably are."

Soon they were back at the Doctor Hooves' office. As Cloudy Sky explained to Derpy, Scootaloo looked around for any trace of Bright Light. She saw that behind the Doctor's desk was a door with a small glass window. Scootaloo could see Bright Light's silhouette through the window. She just had to ask about her and then they'd be done with it.

Cloudy Sky went outside as Doctor Hooves directed his attention to Scootaloo. "You again? That's very suspicious. You couldn't lose your card that quick."

"Oh, by the way, is something wrong with my friend Bright Light? I'm sure she's normal. After all, Fillydelphia is trying out some new vaccines." Scootaloo said quickly.

Derpy prepared the testing materials.

"I know they are and they've been kind enough to send us some samples so we can make sure. None of those samples are in your friend over there. Now, no more questions." Doctor Hooves picked up the syringe.

"Wait!" Scootaloo ran to the other side of the room. She leaped onto the desk, pretending it was her ineffective wings, and broke the small window. Derpy rushed to stop her, but wasn't wearing her glasses and crashed into a wall.

Scootaloo jumped off and hid underneath the desk with a shard of glass in her mouth. She located where her blood was drawn the previous time and cut herself. She took the many shriveled flowers and rubbed it on. The few times she had visited Zecora, she had been told that if she mixed many flowers together, they'd be almost unrecognizable and would become a foreign batch of molecules, even to the most high-tech microscope.

She put the flowers back into her saddlebag and crawled out from under the desk. "S-Sorry. I was trying to get onto a stool, but I lost control of my wings."

Doctor Hooves sighed. "Derpy, help her get on. We'll fix the window later."

Derpy put her on the stool. "Alright."

As planned, Doctor Hooves put the syringe in the same place as the previous time. When it was put under the microscope, Derpy gasped.

Doctor Hooves stared at it. "It's a mixture of too many things to determine what exactly it is." He glanced up at Scootaloo. "Put her in the room with the other filly."

Derpy nodded, taking Scootaloo and putting her into the room with Bright Light. She shut the door and locked it. "I'll go get another pane of glass."

Doctor Hooves nodded, still staring at the microscope.

"Scootaloo?" Bright Light whispered. Her mane was shorter and her coat was significantly duller. Scootaloo didn't even want to know why.

Scootaloo turned to Bright Light. "I'm here to rescue you. I don't think there's anything wrong with you, okay? I'm going to get you out of here."

"How? You're trapped in here with me." Bright Light said.

Scootaloo froze. She hadn't thought that far. "I don't know how..."

Bright Light stared at the window. Doctor Hooves was too focused on the microscope and Derpy was out of the room. "I need you to fly out and get the key. If the doctor attacks you, hit him with something. Then we'll escape."

"W-Wait, I came here to get you out by explaining that you aren't a changeling, not by hurting ponies. Harming innocent ponies isn't right."

"Scootaloo, please. If you don't I could be killed. We could both be killed."

"Why do you want me to hurt somepony? Is it because you're really a changeling and came here to spy on us? You're just here to kill us all! Did I come to save you for no reason? Should I have left you here to die?" Scootaloo's thoughts were scattered.

Everything was slightly darker. Doctor Hooves disappeared and Bright Light laughed. "Oh you poor little filly. Your brain is consumed by chaos. You can't even think straight can you?" Her voice changed as she stood on her hind legs.

Scootaloo couldn't find any words. "That voice..."

In front of her stood a draconequus. Her hooves were tied together and Discord loomed over her.

"Why, hello, little filly." He cackled.

Scootaloo's eyes widened in shock. "I thought you..."

"Well, since you won't be able to tell, I think I'll explain it all to you. I've been aching to boast about it to someone for the longest time." Discord formed a knife out of thin air. "You see, I was offered something more than friendship. I was given the ability to help lead an army and be granted shape-shifting powers from Lord Sombra and Queen Chrysallis. I'd hate to betray Fluttershy like this, but I couldn't simply pass up this opportunity! You know, I was about to spare you and imprison you in our base, but we already have bait for one of the Elements and I'd like to get Rainbow Dash using a different technique."

Scootaloo knew she had no use for this information, but if she did survive, she'd want to know everything. "Bait?"

Discord sat her upright and moved behind her. "I think you know her. It's that little filly named Applebloom. We're going to use her to bring Applejack to us, then we kill her."

Scootaloo gasped at the slightest pressure on her right wing. "W-What are you doing?"

"For every question you ask, I'm going to cut off one body part. You asked two questions so far, so say goodbye to your wings, my dear."

"No! Please don't. I'm begging you!"

Discord laughed again. "You don't even need these. They're too small for you to use. All your life you've been as useful as an Earth pony and now you're going to be an actual Earth pony."

Before Scootaloo could say anything more, Discord sliced off her right wing. She cried out in pain. Discord repeated the process with the other wing.

"Why?" Scootaloo wailed.

Discord, still holding the bloody knife, stood in front of her. "That was another question. But before I finish this off, I think I'll explain our plans since there's been nobody else to tell and I simply cannot keep it to myself. We'll get all the Elements, and imprison them. The reason we won't kill them is because Lord Sombra would like to have his fun with them first. I don't think our plan consists of killing all ponies in Equestria. If we would, who would we rule over? Sadly, you're one of the unfortunate little ponies who has to die for my amusement." He traced a line across her neck. "Oh, it's so satisfying to finally tell someone."

Scootaloo already knew she wouldn't survive. "A-Are you going to stab me?"

Discord laughed once more. "No, little filly. I'm going to leave you to bleed until you die. Rainbow Dash will catch wind of this and the silly pony will lead her army into battle with us. Your little army will be vastly outnumbered and we'll catch her, maybe even Twilight if she's one of the generals."

Scootaloo could already feel the life draining out of her. "You... won't get Rainbow Dash. She's too strong to be imprisoned by some changelings and a few crystal guards. You kill a defenseless filly instead of a trained guard because you're too weak to win against them, chaos powers or not." She envisioned how Rainbow Dash would talk in her situation.

Discord looked offended, but didn't lash out. "You know what, I think I want you to die a little bit quicker."

Scootaloo gasped right before she was stabbed in the neck. The last thing she saw was Discord staring down at her almost-lifeless body.