Chapter Twenty Seven: The Mirror, Twisted.

***

Wonderbolts' Academy, December 20th, 2029.

Scootaloo stood at attention, eyes fixed dead ahead, along with over a hundred new Wonderbolt graduates, the best of the best, those who had come through the rigorous training and the difficult selection process and come out the other side not only as the best flyers of their generation, but also as Wonderbolts, the most elite fighting unit the Solaminan Empire's aerial forces had. It had taken a long time for Scootaloo out reach this level of proficiency. She had trained hard, going in the nine years since the time of the cutie-mark crusaders from a flightless filly to an adaptable aerial ace.

She risked the briefest of smiles as she thought of the pony who had led her this far, the pony who was going up to address the new Wonderbolts personally: a pony who was practically her sister.

"Wonderbolt graduates," Rainbow Dash said, addressing them all with her trademark slightly cocky grin on her face. "You've all just completed your training, and proven that you're some of the best darn flyers we've got. Though not nearly as awesome as me, of course."

There was a scattering of laughter.

"But seriously," Dash continued, becoming more serious - some might say even uncharacteristically so. "You've all chosen to join the Wonderbolts in a time when nopony is safe from the threats our great Empire faces. In many ways, you're braver than I am. When I first applied for the Wonderbolts, they weren't expected to do more than look awesome. Now, the fate of all Equestria might one day rest in your hooves."

Scootaloo swelled with pride. The idea that one day, she might have a hoof in saving Equestria had been one of two reasons she had joined the Wonderbolts. The other, of course, had been the fact that Rainbow Dash, her idol, had chosen to do the same.

"I expect each and every one of you to acquit yourselves with valour on the field," Rainbow finished. "Not just for your Empress, but for yourselves. Because you've already proved you're the best, but you need to prove that you deserve to be. In Solamina's name!"

"In Solamina's name!" everypony repeated automatically. Rainbow stepped off of the podium, and with that, the ceremony was concluded.

***

A few moments later, Scootaloo was standing in front of Rainbow Dash alone. For a moment, she stood at rigid attention in front of her superior officer.

"At ease, Scoots," Rainbow said, and the she grinned. "Gimme a hug."

Scootaloo smiled warmly, and the two embraced. Rainbow had taken a keen interest in Scootaloo's career as a Wonderbolt, and without her help, sometimes Scootaloo wondered if she would have ever gotten this far.

"You looked good out there, today," Rainbow said.

"Thanks, Dash," Scootaloo replied, smiling widely.

"You've done really well for yourself," Rainbow continued. She walked around Scootaloo, before staring off at a small group of ponies in Wonderbolts colours who were having a quiet conversation. One of them looked over at Dash and Scootaloo, before motioning to his compatriots to move on. "And you've proven, over and over, that your loyalty is to the Empress."

"Why wouldn't it be?" Scootaloo asked, frowning slightly. Surely everypony's loyalty was to the Empress? Well, apart from the traitors of the so-called Equestrian Resistance, but nopony counted them as ponies much anymore.

"Not everypony's is," Rainbow replied darkly, turning away from the retreating group of ponies who had been conversing not two minutes ago. "You know why Cloudsdale was sanctioned, right?"

"Yeah," Scootaloo said, "because Solamina doesn't trust Pegasi."

"And do you know why?" Rainbow Dash asked, turning to look back at Scootaloo now.

"Because Pegasi have always been free spirited," Scootaloo said at once. "We don't like authority much, even if the authority's good for us."

"Darn straight," Rainbow said. "Doesn't stop most of us from being loyal to the Empress, but..." She trailed off, and turned her gaze back to the retreating little group. "There's always a risk of... traitors."

"Among the Wonderbolts?" Scootaloo asked, eyes wide. "There's no way!"

"There is," Rainbow Dash replied. She turned back to Scootaloo. "I had a conversation with the Empress not three days ago. The Wonderbolts are going to be permanently retained as home guard."

"No!" Scootaloo said at once. "Why?!"

"Simply put, she can no longer risk trusting the loyalty of soldiers who refuse to follow the Oath," Rainbow said. "I understand why Spitfire wanted to do that, but..."

She trailed off, looking pensive.

"But?" Scootaloo asked, sensing there was a but.

"The Empress has allowed me to put together a cadre of ponies I consider loyal," Rainbow explained. "Ponies I trust to stand by the Empress in times of dire need." She paused. "I know I can count on you to be one of those ponies, Scoots."

"Always!" Scootaloo said at once. "I'm always gonna be loyal Rainbow Dash, I promise!"

Truth was, Scootaloo was less loyal to the abstract concept of the Empress - who she had barely even seen - and more loyal to Rainbow Dash herself. But the distinction was hardly relevant.

"I knew I could trust you, squirt," Rainbow said, smiling. "That's why I have a special mission for you."

"I'm ready," Scootaloo said at once.

"That's what I like to hear," Rainbow said with a smile. "You ever heard of a place called Buckingham Palace...?"

***

Buckingham Palace, December 25th, 2029.

Move, you useless lump of horseapples.

Scootaloo couldn't force her limbs to obey her as she lay flat on the roof of a nearby building. Her eyes focused on the small, tattered cyan figure lying in a crater, but she couldn't force herself to move as the tall human figure walked towards her. She couldn't make herself move as the figure knelt by her, and she couldn't move as he stabbed a dagger through her throat. She couldn't move as he took the knife and cut part of her mane off, and she couldn't move as he walked off, sauntering as though for all the world he was just casually walking down the street.

She covered her eyes with her hooves, trying to unsee what she had seen, but it didn't work. The image of her mentor, a dagger stabbing through her throat, stayed with her, burning into her brain.

On her own, the last survivor of her unit, Scootaloo wept.

***

Outskirts of London, December 30th, 2029.

Scootaloo skirted the edge of huge wall, watching as two human troopers dumped a small cyan body onto a pile. Their labour done, the two of them walked off, talking in their strange, muffled voices.

Checking to make sure no one could see her, Scootaloo ran at the body, before grabbing it, ignoring the slight smell and the flies, and taking off, pushing her wings to the limit.

Only when she was far away enough that she was certain nothing would find her did she stop and land, finding herself on a grassy field. She gently laid the body of Rainbow Dash out.

In death, her beloved mentor looked so... small. Her powerful personality was no longer filling out the small Pegasus body. Her wings, the things that had made her Equestria's best, were tattered and broken. The wound that had ended her life was a gaping hold in her throat marring the dirty cyan fur. Scootaloo blinked back tears as she stared at the body. The gaping eyes were the worst thing; they were staring out at Scootaloo, filled with empty accusation.

Why didn't you save me, squirt?

"I'm sorry," Scootaloo said, though she knew Rainbow Dash couldn't hear her. "I'm sorry." She broke down and wept, falling to the ground next to the unmoving body. "I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm sorry!"

***

Ponyville, January 3rd, 2029.

As the body of Rainbow Dash was lowered into the ground, Scootaloo did her best to remain stoic. She had done her weeping before - Rainbow would have wanted her to be an example for the other ponies here, would have wanted her to remain strong, remain cool, and so, despite the fact that her insides felt like they were on fire, she would do so.

Near her, Twilight Sparkle and Pinkie Pie, the last two bearers of Elements of Order, watched the descent of the coffin with Rainbow Dash's remains into the dirt. Normally, Pegasi bodies were cremated to allow their physical forms to be free in the air in death as they had been in life, but Scootaloo couldn't bear the thought of burning Rainbow Dash, and since she had risked so much to bring the body home for a safe burial - something that had never happened for the other three - Twilight and Pinkie, Rainbow's only remaining next of kin, had agreed with her wishes.

As the coffin settled into place, Scootaloo closed her eyes.

I couldn't save you, Rainbow Dash, she thought to herself, but I swear to Astra Solamina herself, I will avenge you.

***

After the funeral, Scootaloo found Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom waiting for her.

"Scoots," Apple Bloom said softly, her own eyes red. She had been crying, though whether she had truly been weeping for Rainbow Dash or in the memory of her own lost sister, Scootaloo didn't know. Truth be told, she couldn't blame her - the Cutie Mark Crusaders were now bonded, not by a mutual search for who they were, but by the mutual pain they all suffered: the loss of their beloved sisters. Scootaloo might not have been Rainbow Dash's blood relative, but she still thought of the older mare as her sister.

"Hey Apple Bloom," Scootaloo said softly.

"Are you ok?" Sweetie Belle asked quietly. "I know it's hard, but..."

"I'm fine," Scootaloo said at once, and the others shared a glance. "Apple Bloom, I thought you were busy building stuff in New Prance?"

"The infrastructure can survive without me supervisin' everythin' for a day or two," Apple Bloom replied with a shrug. "You needed me more."

Scootaloo couldn't help but smile.

"Thanks guys," she said. The three of them shared a hug. It comforted Scootaloo, in a strange way, that even in their shared pain, she could always rely on her two friends to be by her side.

***

Supreme Commander Twilight Sparkle's desk, Canterlot. February 7th, 2030.

"You want to what?" Twilight Sparkle asked, her eyes wide.

"You heard me," Scootaloo said. "I want to take the bulk of our most recent Wonderbolt graduates and start raiding enemy facilities. We've not been harsh enough, we've not hit them hard enough. That has to change."

Sparkle sighed. "Scootaloo, we've been sending raiders whenever we can, but the recent policy is on large scale attacks, attrition warfare."

"We can't afford that," Scootaloo replied hotly. "Look at London! Three commanders dead, one reassigned to the Wall! We can't keep launching massive attacks and getting beaten."

There was a pause. Twilight's eyes had narrowed - she didn't like being reminded about London. Both her brother and her last close friend had died there: it was like a gaping wound for her in a way.

"Look," Scootaloo said, "I don't know if you've been listening to Sol Invictus..."

"Oh, him," Twilight said, waving a hoof dismissively. "I don't have time for that lunatic.

"He's not just a Lunatic," Scootaloo replied. "He's suggested a new idea. Death by a thousand cuts."

"I've heard that theory before," Twilight said, "and it would take too long. The Empress wants the British isles crushed quickly: death by a thousand cuts just isn't practical to that goal."

"And wasting nearly a million converted militia on massive attacks that fail miserably is?" Scootaloo asked, raising an eyebrow.

Twilight sighed. Finally, she grabbed a piece of paper from her desk and stamped it.

"This is an authorisation to take whatever forces you want and attack whatever you want," Twilight said shortly. "If you fail, it's on your head. You and the rest of the Wonderbolts will be reassigned to garrison duty."

"You were going to do that anyway," Scootaloo said in return! smiling as she took the paper. "And if I fail, I don't intend on returning."

***

Leeds Royal Armouries, 09:34 hours, March 12th, 2030.

Rainbow Dash couldn't believe what she was seeing: to her, Scootaloo was a little filly who hero-worshipped her. Seeing her here - seeing her full grown, and seeing her having somehow become a hardened killer... it was almost too much to comprehend.

"Scootaloo..." she said softly, shocked beyond measure, "I... what are you...?"

"Don't talk to me!" Scootaloo said angrily. "I don't want to hear any words come out of your lying mouth!"

And with that, she charged at Rainbow Dash again, swinging her hooves in wide arc, undisciplined and furious. Rainbow dodged the blows, first one, then another, before catching Scootaloo's hoof in hers and looking her in the eyes. In Scootaloo's purple eyes, filled with so much rage and pain, she could see her own expression, a mask of shock and horror.

"Scootaloo," she said softly, "what are you doing?"

Scootaloo screamed and threw her off, before charging at her again. Rainbow kept dodging and blocking, but she realised she had to end this quickly or Scootaloo would just keep coming and Rainbow would be forced to stop her - or worse, somepony or somebody else would come upon them and shoot her.

She blocked another blow and grabbed Scootaloo, before throwing her to the ground. Before Scootaloo could move, she pinned her to the ground with her forehooves.

"Scootaloo, stop!" she yelled. Scootaloo didn't listen, instead struggling, and so Rainbow smacked her across the face. Her lip bleeding, Scootaloo glared daggers up at Rainbow Dash, her face filled with righteous anger.

"Kill me then," the former Cutie-Mark-Crusader said, her voice a hiss. "Go on, do it."

"I'm not going to kill you, Scoots," Rainbow Dash said.

"Don't call me that!" the orange Pegasus yelled, struggling again. "Only she called me that!"

"I am Rainbow Dash, Scoots," Rainbow said, her voice tinged with sadness. "I'm not the Rainbow Dash you knew, but I'm still her."

Scootaloo struggled for a moment, then fell limp. She looked up at Rainbow Dash, her eyes narrowed in contempt, and then slowly they softened.

"By Solamina's grace," she said, almost automatically, making Rainbow cringe slightly. "How... how can you be alive? I buried you!"

"It's a long story, Scootaloo," Rainbow said. She paused. "If I let you up, will you promise not to attack me."

"I..." Scootaloo said, pausing for a moment. She sighed heavily. "I promise."

"Pinkie Promise," Rainbow said, not trusting this Scootaloo.

"Cross my heart, hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye," Scootaloo said, looking vaguely exasperated.

***

Somewhere a few dozen metres away, Pinkie Pie twitched slightly, sensing a Pinkie Promise being made. She made a note to make certain that said promise was kept.

***

Rainbow stepped back, taking her hooves off of Scootaloo. The younger pony slowly stood up, her eyes scrutinising Rainbow the entire time. Rainbow watched her warily, knowing that she could - and probably would - attack her any moment, Pinkie Promise or no.

"It really is you," Scootaloo said after a moment, her voice filled with cautious wonder. "How is that possible?"

"Long story," Rainbow said, "and I don't understand half of it." She didn't mean to sound quite so... mysterious, but she didn't know if it was a good idea telling Scootaloo that she was from another universe. "More to the point, why are you helping Solamina?!"

"You're the one who encouraged me to join the Wonderbolts in the first place!" Scootaloo said, her voice tinged with an accusatory tone. "You told me it was my duty!"

"Yeah, well clearly I wasn't in my right mind," Rainbow said bitterly - this was probably true, since most ponies ran under the assumption that something had been done to the Element bearers. "Anyway, just because I tell you to do a thing doesn't mean it's right."

"What else was I supposed to do?" Scootaloo asked, raising her voice slightly as she got angrier. "Join these traitors you've hooked up with?! You were loyal. I looked up to you!"

"You were looking the wrong way!" Rainbow yelled. She caught herself, steadied her breathing, and forced herself to calm down. "You've got a mind, Scoots. Look at what Solamina's done. She's murdered millions, turned millions more into ponies against their will. She's conquered a whole world, for who knows what reason! You can't tell me that's just ok to you!"

"It was ok to you," Scootaloo said, her vice tinged with anger.

"Yeah, well look where that got me," Rainbow said sadly, thinking of her alternate self. "Killed. Killed for the worst darn cause ever."

"I don't understand this!" Scootaloo said. "You... you can't be Rainbow Dash - she'd remember! She'd remember everything! Why don't you?!"

Rainbow sighed. Good idea or not, she had to do this. "Because I'm not your Rainbow Dash," she said softly. "I'm from another Equestria. One where Solamina never existed, where none of this ever happened. I came here to help these him and defeat the Empire - defeat Solamina - once and for all."

Scootaloo narrowed her eyes. "I don't believe you."

"Believe the evidence of your own eyes, Scoots!" Rainbow said angrily. "I'm Rainbow Dash. You said it yourself, you buried yours!"

"You could be a changeling," Scootaloo said softly.

"Do you know any changelings who'd make up such a crazy story?" Rainbow asked, raising an eyebrow.

Scootaloo glared at her, but the glare softened as she realised the truth of Rainbow's words. "But..."

"Scootaloo," Rainbow said softly, "being part of Solamina's army is wrong, you know it. Deep down, I know you know it. You were a good filly when I knew you." She paused. "I know you can be a good pony again."

Scootaloo snarled, turning away from her, and for a moment Rainbow was worried she was going to take off, but she merely stayed put on the ground. For a long moment, there was nothing but silence as the younger mare wrestled with what a Rainbow Dash had been telling her.

"I..." Scootaloo said after a moment. "This is... it's a lot to take in."

"I know," Rainbow Dash replied softly. "But... maybe try to think about it?"

Scootaloo said nothing, instead merely sighing. After a moment, she took off into the air, and Rainbow Dash didn't follow her. Scootaloo would either listen or she wouldn't. Once she was in the air, Scootaloo started signalling to any Wonderbolts she passed, and soon enough the entire surviving complement of Wonderbolts - less than half the number who had come here - were flying away.

The raid was over.

***

Three minutes earlier...

Twilight Sparkle fired another spell off at an approaching Pegasus: this spell was, unfortunately, a killing spell, but she had no other choice. The Pegasi were so numerous by this point that even Pinkie's impressive rate of fire from her party cannon wasn't quite enough to keep the Pegasi from getting to their position.

Applejack kicked another Pegasus in the head, the mare' head cracking loudly and her neck bending at an awkward angle. The wide eyed corpse fell to the ground, and Applejack didn't even blink, instead charging another Pegasus and ramming into him, bowling him over. Before she could do anything else, a bullet smacked into his head, and she turned and nodded at Jennings, who reloaded.

"Last mag!" he yelled, before shooting another Pegasus in the head.

"This is crazy!" Twilight yelled. "How many Wonderbolts are there?!"

"They got militarised," Desert Wind grunted, as he knocked another Pegasus to the ground and stamped on the poor stallion's neck, breaking it in two. "They're one of Solamina's best!"

Twilight cursed as she threw more spells. If they didn't manage to do something about this tide of Pegasi, they'd have no choice but to fall back to inside the complex, and that was not an option.

Suddenly, she heard Jennings cry out. The human was being swarmed, kicked and sliced by blades by four or five Pegasi whipping round him. Twilight fired off spell after spell, as did Rarity and True Grit, but then one of the Pegasi threw a small purple vial over the man, the contents splashing over exposed skin.

"No!" Jennings yelled, before screaming in agony. He pulled off his mask, screaming as bones started cracking and his flesh started sloughing off, dark brown fur pushing through. His eyes - which were already starting to expand - met Twilight's.

"Kill me!" he yelled between gasps of pain. "Please!"

But Twilight, though she knew such a thing existed, had never seem ponification in process. She could only watch in horror as the man's flesh continued sloughing off and his bones cracked. He screamed in agony once again...

And then like a flash, a bolt of green magic struck him in the forehead. His eyes widened in shock, his screams stopped, and he gazed off into nothing for a moment, before letting out a soft "oh" and collapsing.

Twilight turned to face True Grit, who was staring at the body, before he quickly started firing again. She turned back to face the body - even in death, Jennings' form was still transforming, completing the sick process towards turning into a pony in comparative silence, save for the cracking of reshaping bones.

Sickened, Twilight turned and fired off spell after spell at any Pegasus she could see, all the while blindly asking questions, her rage mounting. How could ponies have created such a potion?! Why would they?! What for?! How could they justify this abomination?! How could CELESTIA of all ponies have fallen so far?!?!

She was so angry that she failed to notice that the Pegasi weren't coming at their position as strongly as they had been, or in as many numbers.

In fact, they weren't coming at all.

"Retreat!" one Pegasus was calling out. "Wonderbolts, we are leaving!"

"Let's get the heck out of here!" another yelled, flying as fast as she could into the air.

Twilight watched in shock and - almost - disappointment as the Wonderbolts begins retreating, before her rage subsided and she realised just what she had done. She counted at least eight Pegasi who had been killed by her in her rage, and five more she had been forced to kill during the stand.

"Oh sweet Celestia," she said softly, too quiet for anypony to hear. What had she done?

"Hey, Twilight," she heard a voice say. She turned and found herself facing Applejack, who was smiling, though Twilight could tell it was a forced thing. "We did it. We're alive. It's over."

Over. That was a word. Twilight turned and looked at the peaceful looking body of Jennings, now a small brown Earth Pony, and she realised with a sickening feeling in her stomach - and that unfamiliar, yet all too familiar rage - that it had only just begun...

***

With Scootaloo gone, Rainbow quickly flew back towards the prone form of True Blue, hoping to check in on him and make sure he was still alive. By now, Fluttershy was with him, trying her best to tend to his injuries. She turned to look at Rainbow, relief etched into her features.

"Oh thank goodness you're ok," she said softly. "We couldn't get in contact." Before Rainbow could say anything, Fluttershy was on her comms. "Grey Twelve to Grey Leader, I have her, she's ok."

"Roger that," the tinny voice of a Errant Flight said, almost too quiet for Rainbow to make out. "They're retreating for now. We'll link up at main base and debrief."

"Roger," Fluttershy said softly. She turned to Rainbow and smiled again, clearly just happy to see her friend in one piece. "We didn't lose anypony else after you left, just so you know."

"Silver Spire?" Rainbow asked. Fluttershy shook her head and Rainbow cursed softly. The pompous Pegasus had occasionally been a plot-hole, but he hadn't deserved to die like that.

Shaking her head, she walked over to True Blue, who was unconscious from his injuries.

"He'll be ok," Fluttershy said softly, in answer to Rainbow's unspoken question. "But his wings might not properly heal. They've been really badly damaged."

"Great," Rainbow muttered, looking away. "I guess I've failed yet another pony who relied on me, looked up to me."

"What do you mean?" Fluttershy asked.

Rainbow, sighing with exhaustion - both emotional and physical - explained to her about Scootaloo - this world's bitter, twisted, murderous Scootaloo. When she was finished, the yellow pony was quiet.

"I'm sorry, Dash," she said softly after a moment. "I'm... I'm sorry."

"Yeah," the cyan pony replied bitterly, as she looked at the prone form of True Blue. "So am I."