Innocence

"Rainbow Dash, let me go!"

Scootaloo's voice was hoarse, and despite knowing that Rainbow Dash couldn't hear her over the roar of the wind, she still screamed at the cyan Pegasus.

"Rainbow Dash!!!"

Finally, the Pegasus started to slow, and landed in the courtyard of her mansion in the clouds.

"You should be safe here," Rainbow Dash panted, her wings still aching from the break-neck pace at which she had flown. "But don't leave until Nightmare Night is over."

Flapping her wings a few times, the cyan Pegasus gazed across the entirety of the Everfree Forest. Relief spread through her body like a cool wave as she saw two ponies run out of the Everfree Forest.

"Scootaloo...Did you see anything?" Rainbow Dash asked as she landed. "Did you see what it did?"

Scootaloo gulped, backing away from the obviously angry Rainbow Dash. "N...No, I didn't."

Rainbow Dash sighed in relief. "Good..." She walked over to a cloud-tree and sat on its roots, staring at the ground in thought. "Never go back into the Everfree again, Scootaloo."

Scootaloo frowned at the idea. "But what if-"

"Never again, Scootaloo!"

Scootaloo drew back, hurt by how intense and harsh Rainbow Dash's glare was. "I...I'm sorry, Rainbow..."

Rainbow Dash sighed, and cricked her neck. "No; I'm sorry...I should've made you run, it's all my fault..."

Scootaloo raised her eyebrows in concern, and sat next to her friend on the tree root. "Rainbow Dash, you didn't do nothing wrong..."

Rainbow Dash sighed. "I should've told you to run the second I saw you...I shouldn't have let you get that close..."

Scootaloo placed a hoof on her idol's foreleg. "Rainbow, all that happened was that something roared, right?"

"No, Scootaloo!" Rainbow Dash shouted in frustration. She jumped off the branch, and began to fly in a slow circle; basically pacing in the air. "It took Diamond Tiara!"

Scootaloo started to laugh, and the cyan Pegasus looked at her in disbelief. "What in the hay are you laughing at?"

"She had it comin'!" The orange Pegasus exclaimed. "She was a total bully!"

Rainbow Dash came within inches of the foals' face, rooting her to the spot with eyes full of ire. "Don't you ever say that again, Scootaloo! Don't you ever dare say that again!"

Scootaloo felt tears creep into her eyes. "B-But why? All it does is scare her, r-right? It's all j-just a prank, right?"

Rainbow Dash sighed, and rested a hoof on the filly's shoulder. "You're so innocent, Scootaloo," she said with a hint of sadness in her eyes. "Scootaloo...Diamond Tiara is dead," she said softly. "The thing in that cave just killed her."

Scootaloo laughed nervously. "Th-This is a joke, right? It's a joke? It's not actually happening?" Rainbow Dash didn't answer. Rather, she took off the black mask to let the filly see just how serious she was. The sadness in the daredevil's eyes was one that Scootaloo had never seen before in anypony's eyes, let alone Rainbow Dash's.

Scootaloo began to cry, and suddenly felt very scared. "But...She's not actually dead, right?" She stammered, hoping; neigh, praying, that it wasn't true.

Rainbow Dash closed her eyes, and hugged the crying filly close to her heart. "I'm sorry Scootaloo...But at least you didn't have to see. At least you get to keep some innocence..."

"No," Scootaloo whimpered. "I don't believe you. She's not dead; she can't be. I mean...We weren't friends, but I didn't want her dead!"

Rainbow Dash sighed. "And I didn't want her dead. But, all the same, I had to watch as it cut off her head, and used it as a new set of eyes..."

Scootaloo frowned. "W...Who?"

Rainbow Dash closed her eyes. "Me."

Scootaloo took a step back in confusion. "What? But...You're right in front of me...You're not dead...It didn't cut your head off..."

Rainbow Dash kept her head angled towards the ground, and Scootaloo couldn't see the changes occurring on the cyan Pegasus' face. "It put it back."

Scootaloo took a few more steps back. She was about to run, when Rainbow Dash's head turned at an impossible angle. The cyan Pegasus' neck snapped, and a twisted smile, full of teeth that dripped blood, replaced the usual, cocky smirk. And her eyes were full of nothing but pure death; large, pulsating, yellow orbs of death.

"It feeds on innocence."