She hadn't even said goodbye.
Scootaloo stared blankly up at the ceiling of her room, wishing that it had been different. Rainbow Dash had been her idol, her mentor, somepony that she could look up to when things got bad but it seems that Rainbow Dash didn't care in the end. Why else had she gone off to join the Wonderbolts without even saying goodbye to anypony at all? Some Element of Loyalty she was.
Of course, her parents and Rainbow Dash's friends had just assured her that Rainbow Dash would be back and that she had to leave quickly as the Wonderbolts only had so much time to perform tryouts as they had an incredibly busy schedule and they needed to find their newest members as soon as possible.
They were all empty words in the end. Scootaloo knew that Rainbow Dash's friends were all as hurt that she had left so abruptly as she was.
Scootaloo sighed and sat up in her bed. She had spent most of the past week in her bed, when she wasn't at school that is, staring at a signed picture of Rainbow Dash and thinking back on all of the good times that the two had together. Her parents had told her to stop moping, that Rainbow Dash would be back in Ponyville as soon and often as she could. Still, Scootaloo couldn't help but feel slightly abandoned by her idol.
After a few minutes, her mother knocked on her door.
"Yeah?" said Scootaloo.
"Scoots, baby, it's time for school," her mother said gently. Scootaloo merely nodded and got off her bed. "How are you doing today, honey?"
"Fine," lied Scootaloo. If her mother picked up on the lie, and Scootaloo was sure that she had, she didn't say anything. She knew that her daughter needed the space right now. Having said that, Scootaloo expected them to insist that she get over Rainbow Dash leaving very soon. 'Friends come and go' her father would say. 'You can't dwell on it forever, she wasn't bound to you. She has her own life and you know how badly she wanted to join the Wonderbolts'.
Scootaloo slung her saddlebag over her shoulder and took her scooter and helmet off of their perches on a shelf near the front door of their home.
"Aren't you going to have some breakfast first?" asked her mother. Scootaloo shook her head. She strapped her helmet on and took off down the road.
The road to school was not a long one from where Scootaloo lived. She only had to pass through a small section of town to get to the school. With her scooter she usually made the journey in a few minutes with more than enough time to spare before class started. She often used that time to get in a few crusading ideas with Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle.
However, her mother's question about breakfast had awoken a slight feeling of hunger inside of her. She hadn't eaten since last night and the first pangs of hunger were beginning to creep up inside of her. She was going to be miserable all day if she didn't get something to eat now. Plus, wasn't Ms. Cheerilee always saying something about breakfast being the most important meal of the day?
With a sigh, Scootaloo turned left at the next corner towards the town confectionery, Sugarcube Corner. She had a few bits in her saddlebag, hopefully enough to get a small muffin which she could use to tide herself over until lunch where she could get a proper meal.
As she buzzed along on her scooter, she noticed something rather odd: a crowd of ponies was headed in the direction of the bakery themselves. Scootaloo frowned to herself. Normally this wouldn't be an odd occurrence, as the bakery was the most popular restaurant in town in no small part due to the baking of Ponyville's resident party pony Pinkie Pie, but Scootaloo sensed that something was off. The ponies weren't chatting happily amongst themselves like they normally did. No, this time they were speaking in hushed whispers, as if a nameless fear had gripped them and the source was Sugarcube Corner. Scootaloo's unease grew as the distance to the bakery decreased and the number of ponies headed there increased.
After a minute or so, the gingerbread house confectionery came into view. What Scootaloo saw chilled her to the bone.
Normally Ponyville was a very peaceful and quiet town. Violence was not common in the slightest and if a pair of ponies did get into a fight, only one member of the Ponyville Police Department would be called into action to combat the disturbance. This though, this was different. Scootaloo stared on in shock and awe as what appeared to be every single member of the Ponyville Police Department was swarming Sugarcube Corner with a singleness of purpose that only made Scootaloo more nervous. Something was wrong here, something was very wrong.
A line of yellow police tape blocked off the perimeter of Sugarcube Corner, doing its best to hold the throng of curious ponies at bay while the police did their job, whatever that was. Scootaloo looked up at one of the ponies, Lyra Heartstrings, standing next to her.
"Do you know what's going on?" she asked. Lyra looked down at her with a look of sheer horror on her face.
"She killed them," Lyra whispered. "She killed them all and fed them to us."
"Huh? What are you talking about?" asked Scootaloo. "Who killed who again?"
Lyra didn't answer. She merely turned her gaze back to Sugarcube Corner and pointed. Scootaloo followed her gaze and her mouth dropped open when she saw a pony with a coroner's jacket wheel a gurney out of the bakery. On the gurney was a large black bag that could only have housed one object: a body.
"I...I don't..."
Her shock was multiplied when another body was wheeled out of the bakery and put into a nearby coroner's wagon. Then another, then another, then another, and yet another. All told, Scootaloo counted twenty-six body bags that were wheeled out of the bakery. However, what disturbed Scootaloo the most was the fact that the bags didn't seem to be completely full, as if the police had only found bits and pieces of the ponies.
"What happened?" asked Scootaloo in a horrified whisper.
Before Lyra could answer, the horrified silence of the townsfolk was cut short by a familiar noise: sproing.
Sproing.
Sproing.
Anypony in town would recognize that noise. It was the noise that Pinkie Pie made whenever she bounced around. Hearing it meant that the happy-go-lucky mare was bouncing around, making ponies smile wherever she went.
Scootaloo kept her gaze focused on the entrance of the confectionery and was rewarded with the sight of the pink mare bouncing out the front door. A gasp rang through the crowd when Pinkie exited the building. She was being flanked by four police officers and she was wearing hoofcuffs.
When Pinkie Pie saw the crowd, she burst out into her gigantic trademark smile.
"Hi everypony!" said Pinkie Pie. "It's so nice to see all of my bestest friends here!"
"Move it, you!" growled one of the police officers escorting Pinkie Pie.
"Ookie dokie lokie!" responded the party mare. Pinkie Pie resumed her happy bouncing and she was escorted into the back of a nearby police wagon.
As the doors of the wagon slammed shut, the crowd began to murmur amongst themselves; each trying to register what it was that they had just seen. Scootaloo looked back up at Lyra.
"Excuse me Ms. Heartstrings, what's going on?" questioned the orange filly. "Why did the police just arrest Pinkie Pie?"
"Because she killed them!" said Lyra. "She kidnapped ponies and killed them in the basement of Sugarcube Corner!"
"What!? N...no, Pinkie Pie wouldn't do stuff like that." Lyra didn't respond. She merely turned around and walked away. Scootaloo looked back at Sugarcube Corner as the police continued to file out of the confectionery. Scootaloo noticed something odd that one of them was carrying. It looked like a dress of some sort but she couldn't quite put her hoof on what exactly it was made out of. It looked like...
At that moment she spotted something horrifyingly familiar on the dress: a pair of intersecting peppermint sticks on one of the patches on the dress. Scootaloo's eyes widened in horror when she realized what it was: Twist's cutie mark. Her mind flashed back to when she had first found out that Twist had disappeared a few weeks back. The police had surmised that she had gotten lost in the Everfree Forest somehow but they were confident that they would find her in no time. It seems that they just had.
"No," whispered Scootaloo. "Twist, no."
An icy feeling crept up in her stomach when she put two and two together. Twist disappearing, her cutie mark appearing on the dress, the body bags...
Scootaloo had to hold back a sob when she realized what had happened. Pinkie Pie had kidnapped and murdered Twist. Scootaloo jumped back on her scooter and zoomed away from the scene of the awful crime. She couldn't be here, not now. Home, she had to go home.
As she zoomed back towards the safe confined of her house, tears began streaming down her face. How could Pinkie Pie do something like that!? Twist, Twist had always been so happy, so trusting and Pinkie Pie had murdered her!
In a few short moments she burst through the door of her house.
"Mommy," she called out pathetically. Instantly the mare in question walked out of the kitchen.
"Scootaloo? What are you doing home? Shouldn't--" Scootaloo jumped off of her scooter and wrapped her forelegs around her mother's left foreleg and began sobbing. "Scootaloo, what's the matter?"
"S-S-She k-k-killed Twist!" said Scootaloo.
"What!? Who? Who killed Twist, honey?" Scootaloo didn't have the strength to respond. She could only continue sobbing into her mother's foreleg. Her mother sat down and wrapped her forelegs around her daughter, pulling her into a tight hug.
"What's going on?" asked the voice of Scootaloo's father. "What's wrong with Scootaloo?"
"I don't know," responded her mother. "She just said something about how somepony murdered Twist."
"Twist? Isn't that the filly that went missing a few weeks ago?"
"She killed her," repeated Scootaloo through her sobs. "She killed her."
"Who killed her?" asked Scootaloo's mother. "Honey, tell Mommy who killed Twist."
Before Scootaloo could answer, the three ponies heard a series of loud knocks on their door.
"I'll get that," said Scootaloo's father. Scootaloo continued crying into her mother's forelegs as Scootaloo's father opened the front door. "Uh, good morning officers, what can I do for you?" she heard her father say nervously.
"Good morning sir. We have been instructed to inform you that we have arrested one 'Pinkie Pie' after a pony escaped her basement where Pinkie Pie was holding her with the intent to torture and murder her before harvesting her to make into cupcakes. A list of the victims will be released shortly but for now we only ask that you give us your full cooperation in this case if we need it. Good day to you, sir."
Scootaloo only sobbed harder at the official report of what happened.
"Oh my Celestia," whispered her mother.
"Honey, please take Scootaloo up to her room. We have a lot to talk about," said her father.
"Yes of course."
Scootaloo's mother places her sobbing daughter on her back and lovingly carried her up to her room. She then placed the orange filly in her bed and tucked her in. Thankfully, Scootaloo seemed to calm down in the safe confines of her bed and she stopped sobbing. Her mother kissed her on the forehead and slowly stroked her mane.
"Shh, it's okay," said her mother soothingly. "Just try to get some sleep and your father and I will do our best to figure out what's going on. I'm sure your friend Twist is just fine."
"No mommy," whispered Scootaloo. "I saw it. I saw one of the police officers carrying out a dress made of cutie marks. Twist's cutie mark was one of them. She killed her mom, Pinkie Pie killed Twist!"
Scootaloo's mother didn't respond. She merely sat at the foot of Scootaloo's bed for a brief moment before she gave a heavy sigh and stood up.
"T...Try to get some rest baby. Your father and I will...uh..." And with that her mother walked out of the room leaving Scootaloo all alone.
Scootaloo rolled over on her side causing the tears she was shedding to drip onto her pillow. She tightened the blanket around her, hoping that the warm embrace of the blanket could mimic the warm embrace of her mother. She wanted to be told that Twist wasn't dead, that she had just been found in the Everfree Forest scared but alive and well. But she knew that those were foolish thoughts. Twist was dead and Pinkie Pie had killed her. She had tortured her and put her cutie mark on that sick dress of hers.
Yes...that dress. Scootaloo tried to push the thought of the dress out of her mind but the knowledge of its materials kept forcing itself back into her mind. Cutie marks, it had been made of cutie marks. Scootaloo remembered her own blank flank and how she was looking forward for that special moment when her cutie mark appeared and she knew what she was supposed to be. Each of the ponies on her dress had felt that excitement as they discovered who they truly were and Pinkie Pie had ensured that they spent their last moments in agonizing fear and pain as she cut off their marks, tore their very identities away from them before she killed them. She kept the marks on her dress as sick trophies of her twisted accomplishments.
Twist. Pinkie Pie had killed Twist.
* * * *
Scootaloo's eyes slowly fluttered open.
She glanced at the clock on her wall which read 1:34. She had been asleep for about five hours now and she felt more rested than she had before. However, the memories of the morning rushed back towards her and she felt her eyes fill with tears once more. Even the sweet embrace of sleep had not erased the fact that Pinkie Pie had murdered one of her classmate along with dozens of other ponies.
Scootaloo sighed dejectedly and got out of bed. She couldn't stay in bed all morning and besides, she wasn't tired anymore. She had to get up and do something or else she would go insane just thinking about Pinkie Pie and what she had done.
Scootaloo walked slowly into the main room of her house, expecting to find her parents there talking in hushed whispers about what had happened that morning but to her surprise, nopony was there.
"Mom?" Scootaloo called out. "Dad? Are you guys home?"
No response.
Scootaloo walked into the kitchen and hopped up on a nearby stool. Normally when both of her parents were gone they left a note for her telling her where they had gone and when they would be back. Sure enough, a note was taped to the kitchen counter.
Scootaloo,
Ideally we should be back before you wake up but in the instance that we don't we left you this. A town meeting was called today to discuss the events of this morning. We should be back by three at the very latest. we left you a sandwich in the fridge for when you get hungry. Don't go to Town Hall. We don't want you hearing about all of this just yet. We would like to talk to you about it ourselves when we know exactly what is going on.
Love,
Mom and Dad.
Scootaloo sighed and hopped off of the stool. Her parents would doubtlessly give her some watered down version of what happened and she would hear the real version from the schoolyard somewhere amongst all of the rumors. She wished that her parents would treat her like a grown mare and just tell her all of the gritty details. She would find out soon enough anyways.
Scootaloo slowly trekked over to her scooter and put her helmet on. She needed to get out of the house for a little bit. She would go insane if she just sat there for an hour and a half, waiting for her parents to arrive. She always felt more relaxed and level-headed on her scooter anyway.
She pushed open the front door and was off.
The streets of Ponyville were empty as she zoomed by the familiar buildings. No doubt the entirety of the town was at the meeting to discuss Pinkie's murders. she wondered if the other two Crusaders were at the meeting too of if they had been told by their sisters to stay away and keep out of it until they could talk to them about it in a safe place. She hated being a filly at times like this. Nopony thought she was emotionally mature enough to handle tough topics.
Scootaloo sighed as she zoomed past town hall. If only Rainbow Dash was here. she would tell Scootaloo all about this, she would treat her like a grown mare in and tell her what was going on without being condescending about it. She had a way with...
Rainbow Dash.
Rainbow Dash.
Rainbow Dash had disappeared a week ago and now...no, no that couldn't be it. She was touring with the Wonderbolts right now! She wasn't dead, Pinkie Pie hadn't killed her!
Scootaloo ground to a halt and began hyperventilating. Rainbow Dash was fine. No, Rainbow Dash was dead. No, she wasn't, she was touring with the...with the...no.
A small whimper escaped Scootaloo's throat as the very real possibility hit her. Rainbow Dash might have been tortured and murdered by one of her best friends in the whole world. The Element of Loyalty endured the ultimate betrayal.
Scootaloo jumped back on her scooter and zoomed towards the library. it was the closest and maybe Twilight would be there. She was in direct contact with the princess and thus would know all about what was going on. She had to find Twilight. Twilight would tell her that everything was okay, that Rainbow Dash was alive and well. She wasn't dead. She couldn't be dead.
As the gigantic tree library came into view, Scootaloo saw one of the most disheartening sights that anypony could see at a time like this: Twilight Sparkle sat, unmoving, in front of the door of the library with her head held low. It looked as if she carried the weight of the whole world on her shoulders.
Scootaloo screeched to a halt right next to the purple unicorn. Twilight was merely staring at the ground, not even crying. However, the look of utter helplessness on her face scared Scootaloo even more.
"Twilight," said Scootaloo. The unicorn jumped when her name was called and she turned to the source of the voice.
"Oh, Scootaloo," she said quietly.
"Twilight...I saw what happened. I saw her dress of cutie marks. She killed them all."
"Scootaloo--"
"Twilight, please, please tell me that she didn't kill Rainbow Dash. She went off to join the Wonderbolts, right? She's fine, she didn't die. Pinkie Pie didn't kill her, right?"
Twilight merely stared at the filly with a look of horror on her face.
"T...Twilight, p-p-please tell me she--"
"She did," said Twilight blankly.
Scootaloo's eyes widened and she took a step back from the unicorn.
"N-N-No! S-S-She d-d-d-d-didn't! Rainbow Dash is...is...is..." Twilight merely continued her horrified gaze, a gaze that refused to deny the truth.
Scootaloo whimpered once more and jumped on her scooter.
"Scootaloo!" she heard Twilight call but she ignored her. No, no, she had to get away; she had to go somewhere where this wasn't happening. She couldn't be dead. Rainbow Dash couldn't be dead! She was fine! She would come back from the Wonderbolts and while she would be just as horrified as the rest of them at what Pinkie Pie had done, she would be the same old Rainbow Dash. Nothing bothered Rainbow Dash. Rainbow Dash wasn't scared of anything. Rainbow Dash was...was...
Rainbow Dash was dead.
After a few moments, Scootaloo found herself in a small clearing in the outskirts of the Everfree forest. The tall trees towered over her as if to protect her. They would be her silent guardians, protecting her from the horrors of the world.
No, nopony could protect her from what Pinkie Pie had done. She had killed Rainbow Dash. Rainbow Dash was dead.
Scootaloo slowly stepped off of her scooter and began walking. She didn't know where she was going, but she felt that her scooter could take her no farther.
However, she only made it a few steps before her legs betrayed her and the weight of what she had just discovered took her strength away. She collapsed on the ground and curled up into a ball. She was in too much shock to even cry but the time for that would come very soon. She felt like a great pair of hooves was wrapped around her chest, slowly crushing the life out of her. No matter how she moved she still felt like the hooves were crushing her tighter. She couldn't breathe. The knowledge of what had happened was crushing her. She couldn't even cry. She wanted to cry, she wanted the tears to flow.
Instead she could only begin screaming.
* * * *
Scootaloo walked silently next to a member of the Ponyville Police Department towards a small cell at the end of the hallway.
It had been three days since the arrest of Pinkie Pie and a dark gloom hung over the town. Nopony smiled anymore. Nopony had a reason to smile. Everypony had lost friends during Pinkie Pie's rampage. Some had lost parents, brothers, sisters, children...some parents had lost their children.
The police officer pointed towards the cell at the end of the hall, a cell that contained The Cupcake Killer herself: Pinkie Pie.
"You have five minutes," said the cop. Scootaloo nodded and slowly continued walking towards the cell. Truth be told, she was rather afraid of what she would find in there. She didn't know what to expect, nopony knew what to expect from Pinkie Pie at the best of times, but now...
Scootaloo finally reached the end of the hallway and looked inside the cell. She was immediately greeted with the sight of a dark, drab, and unforgiving cell with one exception: the pink pony it contained. Pinkie Pie was sitting on the bed in the cell with her back to the bars. She was humming happily to herself like she often did. Scootaloo found no happiness from this behavior anymore. Nopony would ever again.
Suddenly, Pinkie Pie's ears perked up slightly and she turned around. When she saw who was behind her, she gave her usual grin.
"Heya Scootaloo, how are you today?" she asked.
Scootaloo's resolve faltered slightly at the sight of the happy mare. Her grin wasn't warm and friendly, it was dark and threatening. And yet, it had not changed.
"You killed her," whispered Scootaloo. "You killed Rainbow Dash." Pinkie Pie giggled at the accusation which caused Scootaloo to flinch back slightly.
"Of course I did, silly," said Pinkie Pie. "Her number came up and, well, I don't make the rules. I ran out of the special ingredient!"
"How could you do that to her? How could you just kill her like that in cold blood! She was your friend, Pinkie Pie, she was your best friend!"
"I know!" said Pinkie Pie happily. "And that's why I was so excited that her number came up! We got to spend her last moments together, just the two of us like I always imagined!" Pinkie Pie's face darkened ever so slightly. "But she didn't stand up as well as I thought she would. She was also very rude to fall asleep on me!"
"SHUT UP!" screeched Scootaloo She rushed up to the bars and glared at the murderous pony. "YOU KILLED HER YOU EVIL MONSTER! I HATE YOU, I BUCKING HATE YOU!"
Scootaloo's words were cut short when a pink foreleg was extended through the bars and wrapped around her neck. Scootaloo didn't even have time to scream before she was face-to-face with the pink butcher. Pinkie Pie's face was no longer the happy, carefree one of a few minutes ago. This Pinkie Pie gave Scootaloo a glare that immediately sucked all of the rage out of her and replaced it with unadulterated fear.
"You shouldn't say words like that, Scootaloo," growled Pinkie Pie. Scootaloo was too scared to cry out for help. She wanted to cry but somehow the mare's piercing glare suppressed that too. "Bad language makes for bad feelings, don't you agree Scootaloo?" Scootaloo could only whimper in fear. This was the end, she knew it. Pinkie Pie was going to snap her neck like a toothpick right here and now. "I SAID, 'DON'T YOU AGREE?'"
"Yes," whimpered Scootaloo. Immediately Pinkie Pie put down the terrified filly and her goofy grin returned.
"That's better," said Pinkie Pie. "I know that you aren't a bad filly, you just lost your temper that's all."
"You killed Rainbow Dash!"
"Of course I did," said Pinkie Pie. "I told you, her number came up. If Twilight's number had come up I would have made cupcakes with her. If Rarity's number had come up I would have made cupcakes with her. Same with Fluttershy, Applejack, or even you."
Scootaloo's eyes widened in horror and she backed away from the cell. if Pinkie Pie hadn't been caught, she would have killed her!
"I...I had a number?" whispered Scootaloo. Pinkie Pie giggled once more.
"Of course you did, silly. Everypony in Ponyville had a number! Now that I think about it, it's too bad I never drew yours; I think we would have had a lot of fun together."
Scootaloo whimpered again and backed away from the cell and the horrors it contained.
"Hey, where are you going?" asked Pinkie Pie confusedly. "You still have two more minutes to visit me! You didn't come here just to say that you hated me, did you?" Scootaloo continued backing away, her eyes locked with Pinkie Pie's. "I mean, how can you hate me for what I did when you got such wonderful cupcakes out of it? I seem to recall that you really liked my Rainbow Delights."
Scootaloo stopped dead in her tracks. Rainbow Delights. She had eaten Rainbow Dash! Instantly Scootaloo collapsed on the ground once more. She couldn't have. Not even Pinkie Pie would be cruel enough to feed her Rainbow Dash.
"What's the matter?" asked Pinkie Pie. "I thought you always wanted to be like Rainbow Dash. Well, now she's a part of you forever!"
Scootaloo opened her mouth and let out an ear-piercing shriek.
* * * *
The rain came down with the force unlike any could have imagined. With the events of the past few weeks, the Ponyville Pegasi had missed three separate storms and now they needed another doozy of a downpour to make up for it.
However, for five ponies, the rain was not their concern.
Scootaloo, Applejack, Twilight, Rarity, and Fluttershy all sat on hard metal chairs in a simple white room, looking through a glass wall at an equally sparsely furnished room. All it had was a tray with a solitary syringe on it and a table with restraints on it.
Today was the day of the execution of Pinkie Pie.
Despite herself, Scootaloo had been looking forward to this day ever since her meeting with Pinkie Pie. To see that evil smile fade away as the fatal liquid flowed through Pinkie Pie's veins would surely bring her satisfaction. Pinkie Pie would now get what she deserved. Justice would be brought upon her for the terrible crimes she had committed. After today she could begin to heal.
The other four ponies sat silently beside her, unmoving and unblinking. Scootaloo could only imagine what they were going through. As the Elements of Harmony, they had a bond far stronger than that of most ponies. Now the Elements would lose yet another member. Would they even still work after this?
Scootaloo didn't have long to wait before she saw the door on the other end open. The open door revealed Pinkie Pie, with the same trademark grin that she always had plastered on her face. She turned and saw her friends and Scootaloo sitting behind the glass. She widened her grin and waved at them.
"Hiya!" she said happily. "I'm so glad that you could all come out here to see me today! I always love seeing my bestest friends in the whole world!"
Scootaloo heard Fluttershy burst into tears behind her. Rarity wrapped her forelegs around her and began stroking her mane, whispering in her ear that everything would be okay. Scootaloo knew that Rarity didn't believe her own words.
Pinkie Pie frowned at the sight of a weeping Fluttershy but she shrugged and turned around to face the execution table. A pair of guards were advancing towards her to get her on the table.
In that moment, the reality of her situation seemed to click for Pinkie Pie and Scootaloo heard her let out a small whimper.
"No," she whispered. "No I don't want this. Please leave me alone, please don't do this to me!" the guards paid her no heed and continued to advance. Pinkie Pie panicked and bolted towards the open door. She didn't make it more than a few feet before both of the guards fired up their horns and encased her in a magical glow, trapping her. "NO! Please don't do this to me! I'll do anything, please don't give me that! PLEASE!" The guards moved the struggling pink pony towards the table and began strapping her in. Pinkie Pie struggled every second they were strapping her in.
"PLEASE DON'T DO THIS! I'M SORRY! I'LL BRING THEM BACK IF YOU WANT ME TO! PLEASE DON'T DO THIS!"
Scootaloo heard Fluttershy wail in sorrow and she bolted out of the room, followed closely by Rarity. Pinkie Pie turned her head just in time to see them go.
"NO! Fluttershy, Rarity, please don't let them do this to me! I'll throw you a big party if you get them to let me go! I...I...I..." At this, Applejack burst into tears and ran out of the room as well.
"AJ, please stop them! Don't leave me here alone! Don't leave me alone with them!"
One of the guards fired up his horn and the syringe was encased in a pale blue glow. Seeing this was the final straw for Twilight who ran out of the room as well. Pinkie Pie began wailing in sorrow and fear as the last of her friends left her to face her death alone.
"NO! Please don't give me that! I'll do anything!" Pinkie Pie pleaded. "I'll never bake another cupcake as long as I live, I'll be good, I promise!"
Scootaloo stared blankly at the struggling form of the pink pony. She was crying like a little foal, just like some of the foals that she butchered in cold blood.
Pinkie Pie continued to thrash about violently as the needle came closer to Pinkie Pie's left foreleg.
"NO! NO! NO! I DON'T WANT THIS! PLEASE DON'T KILL ME!" she wailed. Pinkie Pie then turned back to the nearly empty room across from her and locked eyes with a blank Scootaloo. At that moment, Pinkie Pie actually managed to break the restraints holding her right foreleg down and she reached out to Scootaloo with pain and fear filling her eyes.
"DASHIE!"
The guard stuck the needle into Pinkie's left foreleg and pushed the plunger down, forcing the liquid into Pinkie Pie's veins. Feeling the liquid go in, Pinkie Pie let out a gasp and arched her back up before she seemed to deflate.
"I'm sorry Dashie," she mumbled pitifully. "I'm sorry. I didn't want to make you sad. I didn't want to..."
And with that, she was still.
* * * *
Scootaloo slowly walked out of the Ponyville Police Station. She put her helmet on and hopped on her scooter. Home, she had to go home. Her parents hadn't gone to her with the execution. In fact, she doubted that they knew she had gone. She was only let in because of how much she had loved Rainbow Dash.
As she scootered home, she recalled the execution. Pinkie Pie had thrashed about like a foal getting a shot. She had kicked and screamed and cried all the way through it but in the end she was still. The Cupcake Killer had been reduced to a mere foal at the reality of her own demise.
Scootaloo had expected to feel gratification from seeing that justice was served. She had expected some of the wounds from Rainbow Dash's death to heal when her killer was put down like an animal. She had expected to feel better.
Instead she felt...
Empty.
