And With The Dawn Of True Peace

Three days later, Scootaloo walks back to the Palace from a lunch with Rainbow Dash but hears quiet sobbing in a nearby alley. When she investigates, she finds a terrified colt hiding behind a bin and trying to make himself as small as possible. "Hey, is something wrong?"

He jumps two feet into the air and looks around to flee only to stop when he spies her horn. "Y-you're that Alicorn I've heard about, aren't you? The one who shows up and things get better?"

Scootaloo smiles. "Sure am. Now, please tell me what's wrong."

"That's ENOUGH! You can't keep doing this!" Foggy Day finally confronts her boss as he releases a filly who had been locked in a shed all afternoon for talking back.

Signed Papers only leers at his employee and flashes an arrogant grin."And here we go again with your empty threats. What are you going to do about it? Complain about me to FPS? Call the Royal Guard? One word from me and you'll never work another job ever again. What will your precious orphans do without you to protect them?"

Foggy can only bristle as she knows he is right. I can't risk being kicked from my job and leave my charges completely alone against an absolute monster. As vile as he is, he's careful never to lay a hoof on the orphans so it's my word against his. Besides, who on Equus would listen to the low-paid carer who never handles the orphanage's paperwork aside from adding her signature? Best to listen to the crooked psychopath with incredibly powerful friends. She has heard the new Queen Void has liberated many orphanages from tyrants but can't risk sending a message or going to visit the Castle in case Signed discovers her and turns his anger on the foals.

Signed laughs at her misery before turning to go only for another filly to run up. "M-master." Foggy cringes at the term that her boss forces them to call him when out of the public eye. These poor fillies are little more than his personal army of slaves.

"WHAT?!"

The filly cowers. "W-w-we have a new addition being brought in by Miss Rarity."

After a moment of silent surprise, Signed Papers adopts a genuinely happy smile at the thought of being visited by an old friend. "Excellent, tell her to meet me in my office." The filly nods nervously before bolting away as if her life depends on it.

Scootaloo shifts nervously in her seat next to Rarity as she waits for Signed Papers to enter. Ever since her ascension to Queen, Canterlot has grown used to the Dreadified heroines after seeing that they haven't changed much besides the physical. Whereas Void typically sends a fake shadow filly instead of going personally, Signed Papers is the most disgusting since Bad Winnie and just as unnecessarily cruel so Scootaloo decides to go herself after concealing her horn with magic.

As she considers this, the door opens and an absolutely beaming Signed Papers prances in with a spring in his step. "Good evening, Rarity! It's so great to see you."

Rarity laughs a wonderful but fake laugh; she has absolutely no patience for cruel abusers. "Good evening, Signed Papers. I wish I didn't have to visit under such terrible circumstances but I unfortunately have another orphan."

Signed Papers' face lights up in a horrible grin though it would appear warm and welcoming to anyone unaware of his secret. "The poor thing. What happened?"

Rarity sighs. "She lost her family in Tirek's attack last year and has been bouncing from orphanage to foster home. I brought her here in the hopes that you could find her a wonderful loving family to care for her how she deserves."

Signed's eyes light up with evil delight though he hides it with a consoling look to Scootaloo whose fur stands up on end. "Don't worry, Rarity. Me and Foggy Day will make sure that she finds the perfect family. Please sign here and here."

Once Rarity leaves, Signed maintains his happy persona as he leads Scootaloo to the staff-room where she meets a light green Unicorn with a grey mane. "Ah, Foggy. This is our newest friend Scootaloo who lost her parents to Tirek last year."

"It's a pleasure to meet you." Even though Foggy puts on a smile, Scootaloo can both see and sense her inner misery at seeing another poor innocent foal enter this hay-hole. It looks like Money Banks was right after all, Foggy Day truly is a kind soul forced to serve a cruel boss.

"Please show Scootaloo to her room. I unfortunately have some leftover paperwork to complete about her adoption." Nodding, Foggy leads Scootaloo away but stops at the kitchen where she shuts and secures the door before muting it with a sound-proofing spell.

"I'm sorry for you being dragged into this, Scootaloo. Signed Papers is truly awful but I can't risk telling anypony or he will fire me and your orphans will be left completely defenceless against his cruelty. Please, for your own sake, don't do anything to make him angry."

To her surprise, Scootaloo fixes her with a comforting smile. "Please don't worry, Foggy. I promise that things will suddenly get dramatically better very soon and Signed Papers will pay for everything he has done."

Foggy looks at her bewildered. "How?"

"I'm sure that Queen Void will be very interested to hear about everything."

The pure look of absolute horror on Foggy Day's face only serves to fuel her anger. "No, please! You can't! If he finds out that anypony told her what happens here, I'm terrified of what he will do. He has a horrible temper."

The look on Scootaloo's face after she says that though makes her wonder who she should really be afraid of. When she speaks, the smile on the filly's face makes her shiver. "Don't worry, he won't know until it's much too late."

After recovering, Foggy leads Scootaloo to a room with only one other occupant. "Good night." She turns and walks away although Scootaloo catches her looking forlornly at her before she turns the corner.

Upon entering the room, the same filly that earlier told Signed Papers about Rarity's visit looks up in terror but breathes a sigh of relief as she sees Scootaloo. "Thank heavens. I was so worried it was-I mean, welcome to Canterlot Orphanage. I'm Sugar Spice."

She extends a hoof which Scootaloo shakes as she tries to ignore the wide, extremely fake smile on her new friend's face. Right after, the filly scurries into bed with incredible speed. "Uh, what're you doing? It's only six o'clock."

Sugar shivers. "Mast-I mean Signing Papers makes us go to bed this early. P-please listen to him." Scootaloo sighs and lies down in bed and waits for Sugar Spice to go to sleep.

When she does, Scootaloo allows her mind to move back into Void as she finishes her tea. "Good evening, Scootaloo. Find anything?" Money Banks was right, Signed Papers is definitely the kind of pony that needs to be dealt with. Nightmare nods. "What should we do?"

Scootaloo scowls. I'll see just how awful he is and report back to you tomorrow night. He has a genuinely kind co-worker though called Foggy Day. She deserves a reward for everything she has done. Nightmare nods as they make plans.

The first extremely blatant signs of mistreatment first appear even before breakfast the next morning when Signed Papers forces his orphans to cook breakfast. When Money Banks attempts to protest, he is yelled at and threatened with "the shed" which quickly forces him to fall back in line. Although she says nothing to object, knowing it would only make things worse for the both of them, Scootaloo begins making plans. Though they would eventually get breakfast, it is close enough to lunch that Signed decides to give them one meal instead of two.

After breakfast, Money Banks gets an earful which leaves him quivering as Scootaloo offers comfort. "Don't worry, this won't continue for much longer. Signed Papers will soon pay for everything that he has done. Please hold on and don't try to anger him until then." Money Banks nods before they are set to work painting the main entrance as Foggy Day watches on sadly.

By the time that the painting is completed, tea-time has arrived but Signed Paper marches before his charges like a drill sergeant. "You may have completed what I told you to do today. However, you were over two hours late so no tea for any of you. Now get to work. I need to eat!" Although the orphans get to work, Scootaloo sits there with a defiant look on her face so Signed Papers gets closer. "Are you deaf? I said get to work!"

Behind him, Foggy gives her a pleading look to tell her to stop and obey but Scootaloo sits there with a mocking smile. "Am I supposed to be scared?"

Signed gets muzzle to muzzle with her. "Are you just plain stupid?! You're new here so I'll give you one last chance. When I say get to work, YOU GET TO WORK!!! GOT IT?!"

Scootaloo's grin only widens to be completely psychotic. "Or what you overstuffed, arrogant, abusive turkey?"

For a moment, Signed Papers looks like he is about to slap her until he picks her up in his magic instead. "Fine, if that's how you want to act, you get to spend the night in the shed. That will teach you to listen to me." As they leave through the front door, Scootaloo's heart breaks as she sees the absolutely soul-crushed look on Foggy Day's face.

Signed Papers throws Scootaloo into the shed, slams the door shut, and bolts it before storming back inside. Now alone until morning, Scootaloo allows her mind to reattach to Void's as she stretches ready to sleep. Nightmare expects frustration but is taken aback by Scootaloo's seething anger. "Find anything?"

Scootaloo snarls which surprises Nightmare. Signed Papers is almost as bad as Bad Winnie. He forces the orphans into slave labour, shouts at them when they disobey, refuses to feed them for reasons he decides at random and locks them in a shed if they complain about it or refuse to obey him. He even abuses Foggy Day whenever she tries to stand-up to him and gaslights her into staying quiet.

Void's face turns dark and absolute hatred burns in her eyes. "I'll personally pay them a visit in the morning. Make sure that they are ready." Scootaloo "nods" before they settle down to sleep.

The next morning, Scootaloo returns to her clone body just as Signed Papers unlocks the door with a completely confident smile. "Have you learnt your lesson? Or do you need to spend another night out here?" Scootaloo nods timidly as Signed Papers chuckles. "I thought so. All of my charges learn whose boss after a night in here."

Scootaloo re-enters the orphanage with her head down just as the other foals finish washing thier dishes. When she sees Scootaloo, Foggy Day looks on the brink of tears when Signed Papers stamps his hoof. "Breakfast's done. Now get to cleaning."

As he though, he finds himself knocked to the ground by a slap and looks up with fury to find Foggy shaking in anger. "ENOUGH! THIS HAS GONE ON LONG ENOUGH!!!"

Signed Papers recovers and forces her back by walking her into a wall. "And what the buck are you going to do?! I'm the boss and you're the lowly, weak employee with no backbone. Now get your things and GET OUT!"

"Is that how you run your orphanage, Signed Papers? With foal abuse, slave labour and threatening your employees?"

Signed's head snaps around so fast that there is a very loud crack. "Who the hay said that?! Show yourself!"

"Is that any way to speak to your Queen?" Scootaloo smirks as the entrance slams open Queen Void steps in flanked by twenty Royal Guards much to Signed Paper's horror.

"Wh-what is this?! I don't know who spoke such slander against me but I am no abuser!"

Signed Paper's already white fur somehow becomes even paler as Void throws back her head with a cruel cackle. "My dear pony, how stupid do you think I am? I have it on very good authority that you are guilty. I'd ordinarily find a very creative and painful punishment for you but you're the worst I've encountered in a long time. You deserve nothing better than to rot away in a dark cell for the rest of your miserable life."

As the armed Royal Guards advance to arrest the orphanage owner, his eyes dart around desperately until they fixate on Foggy Day and become pinpricks. "YOU! YOU RUINED EVERYTHING!" Before anypony can react, he summons a large butchers knife from a knife block and throws it into her quicker than her magic can catch it even as he is pile-driven by six Guards.

As Foggy collapses with a knife through the heart, Scootaloo watches sadly as she quickly fades. "We can't let her die."

Nightmare flashes her a concerned look as the solution comes to them and they grimace at the realisation. Even as they try to keep pressure on Foggy's wound, the orphans' eyes go wide with terror as they see Scootaloo disintegrate and back away. "Take him to the dungeons. I'll deal with him later." The Royal Guards nod and teleport Signed Papers away.

Queen Void slowly walks towards Sugar Spice and Money Banks who remain due to trying to stem the blood-flow. "P-p-please do something, your highness. Foggy's our friend and she doesn't deserve this."

Void offers the sobbing filly a reassuring smile even as Sugar Spice swallows with fear. "There is a way to save Miss Foggy Day but I'm afraid that it is quite horrific."

The orphans shake thier heads regardless. "Anything has to be better than this. Please, do it."

Void offers them a disarming smile"Please step back then." When they do, she fires a concentrated shadow laser directly into Foggy Day's exposed heart . Due to being so close to death, little more than a pained grunt comes from the fading Unicorn before she goes completely still and the orphans gulp. "She's...she's... You..."

Void only watches passively. "Watch." As she speaks, tendrils of black ooze emerge from Foggy Day's mouth and heart before quickly covering over her body.

As she approaches the fillies, they shy back in fear as they watch the hoof where the blade came from with fear. "Don't worry about Foggy, she'll be better than ever after her Dreadification."

"Dreadifi-what?"

Void smiles. "It's a process that replaces the light in a pony's heart with darkness but they retain thier original personality and memories. Foggy Day will still be the same pony that you've all grown to love but just look a little different. It also extends the pony's lifespan to make them completely immune to ageing."

Scootaloo visibly watches all fifteen orphans visually relax as a five year old foal steps forward nervously. "W-where's Scootaloo? Is she..."

Void chuckles. "Me and Scootaloo are one and the same. She came here after learning from Money Banks what it was like here." Before more can be asked, the tendrils completely vanish to reveal Foggy Day.

She shakily stands and examines herself slowly, Like all other Dreads, she now has a completely black coat but retains her grey mane and blue eyes though the latter are now serpentine. "Wh-whoa. What happened?" The orphans rush over and give her a strong hug which she returns before looking over herself in shock. "What happened to me?"

"You are now a Dread, Foggy Day." The mare stands bolt upright and bows to Queen Void who sighs.

"It's okay, Foggy. You have no reason to fear me unlike that monster you worked for. I saved your life and now it will effectively never end."

Foggy smiles before her eyes go wide looking around in terror. "Wait, where's Scootaloo?! Please don't tell me that monster-"

Void cuts her off by lifting the mare's head and making her eyes flash as the mare gasps. "Me and Scootaloo are the same pony, Foggy Day, but we can enter different bodies if we wish. After she heard what was happening from Money Banks, she came personally to investigate and thank heavens she did."

Foggy Day nods reassured before turning to her charges. "So...what now?"

Void laughs pleasantly. "If you are willing, you may become the head of the orphanage and I can promise you extra funding and support. If you prefer your current job more, I can assign one of my fully certified and checked caretakers to take the place of Signed Papers."

Foggy shakes her head. "No, I think I'd like to become head. It's time I finally made things right." Void nods before turning to go. "Your highness?"

The Queen turns with a gentle smile. "Yes?"

"What happened to Signed Papers?"

Void smiles as she stands in the doorway. "Let's just say that he'll regret everything he ever did by the time that I'm done with him."

Three Days Later

Queen Void cackles joyously as she watches Signed Papers being tortured by... himself. After much consideration, she decided to seal him within the dream-world forever and trap him in a never-ending loop of his victims' memories; reliving his cruel punishments from his own point of view.

Unlike Rainbow Dash though, he will have no protection from the memories and will likely lose himself in them until he believes that he really is his own victims. And when he does, the torture will only become more personal and hurtful. How fitting for a complete monster.