After the scream, the ponies in town quickly grabbed their children and made their way to the square like the Princess ordered while the mayor grabbed a census of all the foals in ponyville. Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom were quickly escorted, or more accurately, grabbed and carried back to the square, forcing them to abandon their search. They glanced at each other in worry before they were set beside Diamond Tiara and some more foals, worry on their faces. They were all in the square facing the stage where the princess would be seated and a performance would be held.

"What do you think that was?" Diamond whispered to them.

"I don't know...but I have a really bad feelin' about this," Apple Bloom whispered back worriedly. Princess Twilight quickly trotted into the square and up to the mayor who was standing on the stage. They said something to each other before Twilight took the census in her magic and started checking off the foals that were in attendance by face and image. After five more minutes of just quiet and checking, Twilight looked at her work. The Elements were right behind her when she gasped in realization.

"SPIIIKKE!" The baby dragon quickly trotted up to her and saluted. "Send a yellow scroll to Princess Celestia! We need a search team in Ponyville right now! Scootaloo is missing, and I think she was the one that screamed." Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle gasped before everyone else started muttering. Spike quickly wrote down the message and sent it on its way before she turned to the rest of the Elements. "Rainbow Dash, you take to the sky and try to spot her by the air! Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie, you check the outskirts of town! Rarity, and Applejack? You're with me! Everypony else, take the foals inside now! Let's move!" The parents grabbed their children and quickly trotted back home while the Elements went out and did their duties.

"Twilight! What in Equestria caused a scream like that?!" Rarity asked her after they left.

"I'm not sure, Rarity. But either way, it was obviously something bad and we have to find her. She could be in danger." Twilight quickly used her magic and scanned the area around her for any sign of the pegasus filly. Unaware that she wasn't even on, or near, the land.

In the pipe that began in the Everfree Forest, and ended in Manehattan, you could see small orange fur and feathers flowing with the water, causing a pony who would see it to think that a bird might've got caught in it. Until you saw the blood coming through with it. As well as a small pegasus filly with blood seeping out of two slits in her back, sides, legs, head, and hooves. She was face up, eyes closed, floating in the water with a bland look on her face. She was breathing, but she wasn't awake. Nor did she care even if she was.

She had survived those blades, but she was in so much pain. Mentally, physically, and of course emotionally. All within the span of an hour. She's been floating for two hours now and the rapids had stopped, thankfully. But that didn't stop the fact that she had absolutely no idea where she was. It was completely dark in there. No light anywhere. But soon, her eyes opened. And with it, the pain. She yelled at the large gashes and cuts all over body. Not to mention the holes. It was painful. Extremely painful. So painful in fact that Scootaloo just thrashed around on the water, causing the bleeding to become even worse. She tried moving her wings before that hurt even more. Something sprayed out of her back once her back was out of the water and hit the wall. She yelled even louder before she stopped trying to clench her muscles back there. Something was wrong. Extremely wrong. She could feel it. Or rather...she couldn't.

She didn't even bother to check. She was awake when it happened. That was where that scream that she didn't even know she had came from. The pain of her....her wings being ripped out of her back. It was horrible. She wouldn't wish it on anypony anywhere. This...that...all of it was torture. But...why? Why did she have to go through all of that? Why did she have to be humiliated and embarrassed to shedding tears in the Everfree Forest, nearly drowning in rapids, then being cut up and floating through a dark tunnel? Why?

She didn't have an answer. And she never would.

Scootaloo stopped moving and just let whatever happens next happen. The floating, the pain, and the blood coming out of her wounds took over her, plunging her back into a sleep while she washed down the current. Destination wherever the heck it was taking her. She was in a tunnel. She had no idea where it was leading her. Nor did it even matter. She lost her wings, she lost her friends...actually...they lost her. They lost her the moment she was launched into the sky. If she survives this, she will not be coming back to Ponyville. They could count on it.

Twilight and the others made their way back to the center of town, waiting for Celestia and Luna to touch down with fifty guards behind them that they spotted in the air. When they did, they briskly trotted over to Twilight, worry written all over their faces. "What has happened?" Celestia asked.

"We're not sure," she responded quickly. "I was working on my paperwork when I heard a scream filled with agony, horror, and pain."

"The whole town heard it!" Rainbow added. "I stopped my flying and looked around, but I couldn't see where it came from. But I knew it was a filly's."

"So I gathered everypony's foal to the center of the square and checked the census for the children. After doing the attendance, I noticed Scootaloo was nowhere in the group. And I believe she was the one who screamed."

"Where was the last time you saw her?" Luna asked.

"She and the Crusaders were hangin' up banners all over the city for Twilight's party tomorrow," Applejack informed them.

"Then they should know what happened. Grab them, please." Rarity nodded and quickly made her way towards town hall where they were being held while Celestia and Luna shared a nervous glance. A filly's scream that could cover the entire town of Ponyville was already unnerving. But for it to be filled with agony and pain was a whole 'nother matter. After a few more minutes of waiting, Rarity had the two on her back and set them down in front of the princesses with her magic.

"Hello, girls," Celestia greeted, offering a small smile. The two were trying to avoid her eyes. "Do you remember the last time you saw Scootaloo?"

"Everypony here does!" Apple Bloom responded. "She was the one flying through the air and landed in mud that everypony was laughing at."

"THAT WAS SCOOTALOO?!!" The Elements, except Twilight, yelled.

"Yeah! You mean you didn't know?" Sweetie Belle asked.

"We didn't even know if it was a pony!" Rainbow Dash responded. "What happened?!"

"We....uhh..." Apple Bloom stammered. Twilight raised an eyebrow before she glared at the fillies.

"Girls? What happened?" She asked. Applebloom sighed and closed her eyes. She might as well tell the truth.

"We launched Scootaloo into the air with the banner!" She yelled quickly. "Because she made us look dumb by usin' her hooves to open up the banner while we were usin' our teeth for two hours! Our mouths were hurtin' and she didn't even say anything!"

"So me and Apple Bloom just launched her into the air for payback!" Sweetie Belle added.

"How in Equestria did you....that is not important right now," Luna said. "Have you seen her since?"

"No! She took off after everypony laughed at her in the square over there!" Sweetie Belle pointed towards the vegetable stand that had muddy footprints and a puddle in front of it. "We haven't seen her since we all stopped." Celestia groaned and looked at the scene.

"She was probably sad and ran somewhere. Guard? Spread out over the town and search everywhere! Leave no rock unturned!" The fifty saluted before they spread out and began digging. This could take a while.

"Now. Would somepony please explain why everypony was laughing at a filly?" Luna demanded.

After a few more hours of searching and scolding, the guard spread out to the outside of town and looked around. So far, nothing was promising. Not many clues for a filly who ran away to follow. The princesses and Elements were helping as well. But they still couldn't find a single clue. Until now.

"Over here!" A guard yelled, attracting everyone's attention. They all ran over briskly to the outside of town by the forest to see what he was staring at.

"What have you found?" Twilight asked him. He pointed to the grass in front of him.

"This grass. It's been flattened." The princesses shared a confused glance before he continued. "But that's not what makes it stand out. It's what's ON it. Dried dirt. Or mud to be exact. And there's a trail." He slowly lifted his hoof, following the hoofprints that lead into....the Everfree Forest.

"You are definitely getting a raise, Sergeant," Luna muttered, giving him a pat on the back. "Guards we are going into the Everfree Forest. She went in there and could possibly still be inside hurt."

The guards nodded before they carefully made their way into the woods, following the path of the tiny footprints, which were much more visible in the forest because of the soft, moist dirt. Rainbow Dash and some more pegasi took to the air, hoping to spot her little buddy that she would teach how to flap her wings hard enough to make her fly. Of course, it was a futile effort. They were too small and would have to grow first. But Rainbow loved teaching her. It was part of the reasons why she would get up every morning. Her motivation to push on through the day. Just to see her smile. That hopeful smile.

They continued searching the forest, looking here and there, in caves, burrows, abandoned buildings and huts, and eventually coming to a river. Rainbow landed back down beside the elements, who were staring at it along with everypony else that was searching. Luckily, no Timberwolves were out. But this was where the trail ended. The water was flowing slowly, sending drops and waves onto the shore, which sent a bad feeling down Rainbow's spine. She shivered before focusing back on the ground around her and looked around, hoping to find another clue before she found something that made her heart stop. And hopes dashed.

"Guys...guys, over here," she muttered, catching Applejack's attention. She nudged Twilight and motioned towards Rainbow before making her way over to the frozen Pegasus.

"What is it, Rainbow?" Rarity asked. Rainbow didn't respond. Instead she pointed towards the distance. They looked out, but they didn't see much.

"What are you motioning to?" Celestia asked.

"The filters."

They all glanced at her before they looked closer. Twilight gasped first before she flew over. "Rainbow, come on!" Rainbow reluctantly followed her command, flying off the land and heading towards the clogged up tunnel. The water was still going through, but there was a lot of wood blocking the entrance, and stopping the blades from turning. But the most noticeable bit was the orange things in it. Twilight arrived first and took a closer look by standing on the wood. The fan creaked and lurched, making her step back for safety.

"I'm cutting this off," she announced. Then shot a bit of magic at it. The motors that were humming loudly stopped suddenly, allowing her to fly closer. Rainbow was right next to her, trying to get a much closer look. But she sobbed when she realized what it was. From far away, it just looked like an orange spot. but up close, it was plainly obvious.

A wing. A small pegasus wing.

"Oh my—CELESTIA!" Rainbow yelled desperately. "Help!" The princesses quickly made their way over to see what the problem was. If Rainbow yells like that, it means there was a huge issue.

"What is it, what is wrong?" Luna asked. Rainbow pulled in her lips and pointed to the orange wing stuck at the top of the fan. "Oh no." Luna and Celestia quickly pulled it apart, taking note of the blood on the fans.

"No...no no no..." Rainbow threw the last one off the blades aside and looked inside, crying at what she found. The water was still, but it was unmistakable. There was blood. And a lot of it. As well as orange feathers and fur. The blades had orange covering them as well.

"She was..... She was sucked in," Twilight whimpered before she flew into the dark tunnel, she lit her horn and instantly turned it off at what she found. There was even more blood back there. The water was still at the moment because the machine was cut off. The blood was just sitting there. "There's....no way she could've survived that. That....that was the cause of that scream." Rainbow didn't respond, which caused Twilight to look at her in worry. Her face was expressionless.

"Scootaloo?......Scootaloo, come out," Rainbow said hopefully and motherly. She slowly flew inside and looked around the dark, hoping to see something in there that could give her hope. "Scootaloo......quit playing around, this....th-this isn't f-funny......Scoots..."

"Rainbow," Twilight whispered sadly, watching her go farther in. "I don't think—"

"She has to be in here Twilight," Rainbow interrupted. She turned around and looked at them with red eyes filled with tears pouring down her face. "She..." She turned back around, looking into the dark tunnel. "She—She has to be in here somewhere. She just has to. There is no way she...." She looked down and spotted something that made her gasp. She slowly bent down and picked it up, not even caring that blood was getting all over her hooves.

Another wing. Another orange wing. It was definitely Scootaloo's. There was no other pony near Ponyville that has orange premature wings. She sobbed before she held it close to her, letting out tears of pain. Twilight went into the tunnel and lightly pulled her out.

"She's gone," She muttered through her own tears. "Rainbow....She's—"

"DON'T...say it," she yelled before quieting down. She was holding the wing tightly to her chest, not even caring that the blood was getting all over her front. Once she was out, she went into the water below and grabbed the other one while Princess Celestia and Luna rebuilt the filter. After that, Twilight guided her back to the shore where everyone else was waiting. Applejack had a hopeful look on her face, like Rarity, Fluttershy, and Pinkie Pie. The guards were just stoic. Twilight landed with Rainbow in her hooves before the pegasus just burst out in tears, scaring most of them.

"She c-can't be...sh-she just c-can't be...." She sobbed some more, worrying Applejack before she opened her hooves, showing them what they found. Applejack gasped and stood there in shock just like everyone else before she took off her hat in respect.

"Oh no," Rarity cried, tears coming down her face and ruining her mascara. "Not...not Scootaloo....we just saw her this morning."

"Rainbow..." Twilight cooed. She walked over to her slowly. The cyan pegasus sniffled and looked down at the remnants.

"You know.....sh-she used to tell me she was going to be flying...soaring," Rainbow chuckled sadly, holding the wings back up to her chest. "'I'm gonna fly as fast as you, Rainbow Dash'......She would always say that to me....and now.....I'll never be able to see her smile ever again. Never be able to hear her cheers, her shouts....her playfulness.....I'll never be able to see her take her first true flight......she's gone."

After two more hours of just floating, Scootaloo woke up again in miserable and copious amounts of pain, and looked around moaning. She was still in the tunnel and it was still very dark, very weak and could barely feel her body. And she was becoming cold. Was...was this the end? How was she still alive? Maybe the water? Or her muscles?

Before she could question it, a bit of light passing over her from above caught her attention. "Light?" She muttered weakly. "Is that...." She lifted a cut up and shaky hoof towards the ceiling as it passed. Then another. Then another. She couldn't see anything behind her, so she had no idea what was going on. Before a bright light hit and blinded her for a second. She squinted her eyes and held a hoof in front of her face before sunlight hit her once again. As well as a cool breeze and air. Blue skies and clouds.

"I'm outside?" She whispered weakly. How she wished she could turn around and look at her location. But by what sounded like boats and ships nearby, she had a pretty good idea where she was. She had enough time to figure it out. She was sent through a water channel that was connected to two cities. She remembered hearing about that in school when she was in Ponyville. But this wasn't Ponyville anymore, that much she could tell just by the sounds. After a few more minutes of floating, her body hit something soft and cool, making her groan in irritation and moan loudly in pain. Her cuts were still bleeding. She should've been gone by now. But the water around her probably saved her. But Scootaloo could still barely move.

A pony nearby looked up and cocked their head to the side at the orange object in the water. It was making noises and looked strange. Did it just float out of that pipe? He walked closer and gasped once he saw all the red, speeding up his trots.

"Is this how I'm going to die?" She whispered. "In...Manehattan?" Her vision was beginning to get blurry before somepony yelled.

"Oh my Celestia!! Somepony! Anypony!! Get an ambulance, this kid needs an ambulance now!" Before she blacked out she saw a light blue face looking down at her. "Oh my stars, kid, what happened to you?" They grabbed her hooves and dragged her onto the shore before she blacked out.

"Holy—what happened to her?!" A mare asked. There was a lot of ponies nearby that trotted over, trying to see what happened. There was an orange filly with magenta hair lying on the ground in Manehattan Park that had cuts and gashes all over her body except parts of her face. And she was bleeding heavily, becoming pale.

"I'm not sure, I just saw her come out of that channel!" He pointed to the dark blue channel on the side that would flow under a road. "Then she beached right here, so I come over and there's...this! We have to get her to a hospital! Right now! Can anypony fly around here?! We can't wait for an ambulance, she needs help NOW!"

"Everypony, please step aside! Move! Move!" They all moved over when a team of medical ponies trotted through to see what's going on. They were all wearing white clothing with saddlebags that had a red cross symbol on them. Once they spotted the pony, they quickly got to work.

"We need to get her to a hospital right now!" One of them said, quickly pulling out a can of mobile oxygen with a mask attached. "She's got large lacerations all over her body and is bleeding heavily! Gravely critical! Get her in the vehicle!" Two ponies quickly grabbed her by the ankles and hooves, taking note of her pale coat, and placed her softly on a stretcher. Once secured, they grabbed the stretcher and began running her towards a chariot specially designed for health. At this rate, she was running out of so much blood that it was dripping on the stretcher.

Once inside, they attached her to a packet of blood and poured it into her veins, as a well as a heart monitor, while another nurse grabbed a pair of defibrillators. Once she had them prepared, she placed them on her scarred chest and shouted, "Clear!" Scootaloo's body lurched before she fell back down on the stretcher, still flatlined. The chariot was moving by now and heading towards the hospital quickly.

The nurse prepared the defibrillators once more before she shouted, "Clear!" Scootaloo's body lurched again before she took in a lungful of air and cried out in pain.

"Alright, she's conscious!" One of the nurses said. They grabbed a bunch of pads in the vehicle and placed it on the wounds and gashes that were sure enough going to be scars in the future. One of them inserted some anesthesia into her blood flow so she could be asleep and not endure that pain Scootaloo was crying from. It was hurting them just looking at it, but to endure it? She did not have to go through that. One of the nurses wiped her brow and placed a pad by her bleeding head, trying to figure out how in Equestria her body got this bad. Her body was practically riddled with gashes. All except her neck and much of her head. There was a gash under her mane that they had to tend to when they got back to the hospital though.

"She's a pegasus!" One of the nurses announced, catching their attention. "WAS a pegasus." Scootaloo had been put under so this could be painless. The nurse tilted her body a little bit to display the giant slits in her back that held her wings before. Now they were only pink flesh and visible joints.

"Buck," one of the nurses muttered. "Alright, she's on the edge of stable and critical at this point. The hospital has more medical supplies for her. Hold on, kid." Scootaloo didn't respond, too busy sleeping. And dreaming.

In her dream, she was in a first person point of view of something...very confusing. She was walking down a red carpet with ponies, and other creatures, holding out pens and pads, screaming "Magenta Streak" over and over. There were also a bunch of cameras, microphones, and other devices held out to her. Two burly ponies dressed in black suits were in front of her. She saw, what she guessed was, her hoof grab one of the pens and pads to apparently sign her name. An autograph. It read....."Magenta Streak". She had no idea who Magenta Streak was. But she felt like this should be an important thing to hold onto. So she grabbed that name and held it in her mind. Right before the world around her flickered. Then was thrusted back into darkness. A blank slate. Then it turned white in a snap. And she remembered nothing. Except the name. Magenta Streak.

Whoo, okay! Thankfully, we got past the gory stuff now I hope! I really hope so! Can you guess what happens next? Let me know in the comments!