The Bank, in the Vault

Scootaloo only landed when she was at the door to the bank. Then, after pushing the door open with her head, she galloped to the vault, at the same time hoping for and dreading finding the pink party pony's body there. After all, how was she going to carry that big, heavy thing all the way back to the balloon? But, to her surprise, the pink earth pony's body was missing.

The orange pegasetta looked around, confused. What had happened to the pink earth mare's body? The crusader knew she'd been there before. Had she already carried the body to the balloon? That seemed highly unlikely. Had her body gotten up and walked off? Equally unlikely. Then again, this was Pinkie Pie. Maybe she'd come back and hauled or walked her own body back to the balloon? Or, had she taken it back to Ponyville?

Scootaloo thought about searching the empty cloud city for the wandering body of the representative of laughter. On the one hoof, save for having to keep out of sight of Commander Spitfire, who was likely still there with an army of those strange ponies, Scootaloo likely had plenty of time to go searching through the city, looking for a wandering earth pony corpse. On the other hoof, what if the body was in the balloon's basket with the bodies of Fluttershy and Mayor Mare?

Considering she really had nothing to lose at that point, Scootaloo made her decision and left the bank, heading for the balloon to be sure before her companion's dead body was in the balloon's basket she'd go searching through the city.

On the Outskirts of Cloudsdale

Having flown from the bank to the balloon, Scootaloo stopped in midair to look into the basket. And, again to her surprise, she saw the body of the pink earth mare, on top of the bodies of Mayor Mare and Fluttershy.

Gruesome as the sight was for the little filly, still she wondered to herself, did Pinkie Pie possess her own body just long enough to trot it to the basket and dump it in there? Maybe the pink earth mare could do that, maybe she couldn't; there was really so little the orange crusader knew about the pink earth pony. But, was her Pinkie sense capable of that?

One thing Scootaloo knew was that she didn't have to carry the pink party pony's body back to the balloon. But, what about Rainbow Dash?

In order to fly, pegasi were light-boned. And, their strength was in their wing muscles. Their wings had developed so that they were like a third set of forelimbs. They'd developed feather-shaped digits at the end of each wing which they could use the way a raccoon, for instance, could use its front paws. And, because those digits were shaped like feathers, they could be used for flight. But, that didn't necessarily mean they could carry bodies, live or dead, for long distances. Scootaloo knew of one pegasus that could carry such lifeless bodies easily; but he wasn't here right now, not that she knew of anyway.

So, she wondered, how was she going to carry Rainbow Dash's body back to the balloon? And, even if she did, how was she going to get it into the basket?

Flying back toward the weather factory, Scootaloo decided she'd figure that out when she got to that point.

In the Streets of Cloudsdale

As the little filly drifted over the street, between the bank and the grocery store, she saw what looked like a two-headed pony. But, when she got a closer look at the odd creature, she recognized the mane of one of the heads, which just hung there, as having the six colors of the rainbow. Yet, there was something familiar about the other head, the one that was clearly still alive. Wanting to get a still closer look at the odd pony, Scootaloo circled around, then came in for a landing next to the pony. Looking up at the face that was suddenly familiar to her, she asked, “Commander Spitfire?”

The fiery-colored pegasa turned to her and said, “Yes, ma'am.”

The crusader took a moment, trotting to keep pace with the Wonderbolt, to look at the body she was carrying. Recognizing the color of the fur, she turned back to the pegasa and asked, “What are you doing with Rainbow Dash's body?”

Commander Spitfire answered, “I'm carrying it back to your balloon, ma'am. I assume you'll want to take it back to Ponyville for a proper burial.”

Scootaloo slowly nodded and answered, “That's right,” before tilting her head and asking, “Are you the one that set that display up in the weather factory hallway?”

The Wonderbolt simply answered, “Yes, ma'am.”

The pegasetta then asked, “Why?”

Not stopping, Commander Spitfire answered, “I thought you deserved to know what Rainbow Dash had been doing to you. And, I didn't want you to be her slave anymore.”

Something about that word, “slave,” really stung. But, it wasn't that much of a surprise to the crusader. After all, without knowing it, that's exactly what she'd been to the azure pegasa. After taking a moment to shake herself free of the feelings of shame and guilt, she asked, “You were the one that carried Pinkie Pie's body back to the balloon, right?”

The fiery-colored pegasa answered, “Yes, ma'am.”

The crusader asked, “Why? And, why carry Rainbow Dash's body back to the balloon?”

At this point, Commander Spitfire stopped. After taking a moment to sigh, she focused on the pegasetta and answered, “Those friends of yours, Fluttershy, Mayor Mare, Pinkie Pie? You weren't responsible for their deaths. You weren't even responsible for Rainbow Dash's death. Rainbow Dash was.”

Scootaloo took a moment to swallow, noisily, the lump that had formed in her throat. When she spoke, she found herself stammering, “B-but, I … w-was … r-responsible f-for th-them, especially R-r-rainbow D-d-dash.”

Again the fiery-colored pegasa sighed before saying, “Rainbow Dash stopped being the pony you knew when she took over governing Cloudsdale. I don't know what happened to her, but she started acting, I don't know, different. She stopped being loyal to her friends in Ponyville. She stopped being loyal to her heritage here in Cloudsdale. She stopped being loyal to Princesses Celestia and Luna. I'm not altogether sure she was even loyal to herself after she became governor here. What I do know is, whatever she made you do, you're not responsible for her death, nor for the deaths of your friends. She is.” And, with that, she resumed her trot.

More than anything, what the fiery-colored pegasa said confused the little filly. But, she found herself with no further questions to ask. So, she simply trotted along side the Wonderbolt, back to the balloon. And there, Commander Spitfire set the body of the azure pegasa on top of the body of Pinkie Pie. She then offered to put Scootaloo into the basket.

But Scootaloo refused, opting instead to guide the balloon by one rope back to Ponyville.

The two said their farewells, after which Scootaloo, following her plan, guided the balloon from its position near Cloudsdale back to Ponyville.

Ponyville, at the Castle

On arrival, Scootaloo was surprised to be greeted by a group of six creatures: the three remaining element bearers, one draconequus, and her two fellow crusaders.

As the pegasetta landed next to the balloon, Twilight approached her and asked, “So, what happened up there?”

The crusader shook her head as she answered, “I don't wanna talk about it.”

The purple alicorn looked into the basket, and saw the four bodies. After taking a moment to cringe, she turned to the filly and said, “I … understand. But, there's going to have to be an investigation. Ponies died during this mission, and we're going to need to know how and why.” After watching the filly amble away, she added, “But, that can wait. When you're ready, please feel free to—”

Suddenly, Scootaloo glared back at Twilight as she growled out, “I said, I don't want to talk about it!” Turning ahead of her again, she added, “I just want to be alone right now,” and proceeded to amble off of the platform.

Stunned at the orange pegasetta's response, the representative of magic watched the orange crusader amble away. After sighing, she turned to the other two crusaders and said, “Applebloom, Sweetie Belle, you're dismissed. Please keep an eye on Scootaloo.” She then turned to her fellow element bearers and said, “Let's get these bodies out of this balloon, then see about getting burial arrangements made for them.”

Discord glided forward toward the balloon and said, “I wish to take care of Fluttershy.” Then, not waiting for a response, he snapped his fingers.

Presently, the yellow pegasa's body appeared in front of him in a wheezing pop.

The draconequus once again snapped his fingers and disappeared in another wheezing pop.

As the princess of friendship opened the door to the basket, revealing the remaining bodies, Applejack made her way onto the platform and said, “Ah'll take care o' Pinkie's body.” She then turned so that she was facing away from the basket and waited while Twilight levitated Rainbow Dash's body first, then the pink earth mare's body out and onto the orange earth mare's back. After that, the farmer pony ambled off toward Sweet Apple Acres.

Next was Rarity, who volunteered, “I shall take care of Mayor Mare's body.” And, like Applejack, she turned and waited, this time while Twilight levitated the body of Ponyville's mayor onto her back. After that, she ambled off toward Carousel Boutique.

Watching the white unicorn amble toward her home, Twilight sighed before saying, “I guess that leaves me with Rainbow Dash's body.” And, she levitated the body of the rainbow-haired pegasa onto her own back. After that, she used her magic to close the balloon, after which she ambled to the castle to make arrangements for a mass funeral for the four ponies.

On the Train from Ponyville to Canterlot

It'd been a day or two since the close of the mission to Cloudsdale. As Twilight had warned, an investigation had been started concerning the deaths of the three ponies. There had also been appointments made for an interrogation for the only known survivor of the mission, Scootaloo, to be conducted by the princesses in Canterlot.

None of this was a surprise to the orange filly.

Sitting there in that car, though, looking out the window and trying to ignore her fellow crusaders pestering her, Scootaloo began to remember that time when she still had that blade in Rainbow Dash, up until Commander Spitfire had entered that room. When she finally withdrew that blade from the body of her heroine, she remembered feeling … something. She couldn't say for sure exactly what it was, but she knew she felt something enter her through that blade she was removing from Rainbow Dash's body. And, not knowing what it was, she was worried about it. Was it the same thing that had caused Rainbow Dash to become a traitor to Ponyville, to Cloudsdale, to the princesses, to herself? Was it the same entity that had caused Rainbow Dash to kill those three stallions, then use her to kill Fluttershy, Mayor Mare, and Pinkie Pie? She didn't know; and that, more than anything else, bothered her. What if that thing was going to try to control her?

Should she tell somepony about it, maybe Twilight? Would her friends understand what had happened, what was going to happen, to her?

Scootaloo might not be responsible, at least not directly, for the deaths of the four ponies; but she felt responsible. She didn't feel as though not being in control would be an adequate excuse for what she'd done. And, looking at the draconequus, the look he was giving her was just validating her feelings on the matter. She didn't know what was going to happen to her. Likely she was going to be punished. And, whatever she was going to get, she felt she deserved it, if not worse.

Canterlot Castle, in the Judicial Chamber

In the closed-off room, which functioned as a courtroom, were Princesses Celestia, Luna and Twilight, along with Discord, Applejack, Rarity, and Scootaloo.

While Scootaloo got the feeling that every other pony was just trying to look like they weren't judging her, Discord made his feelings quite obvious.

Princess Celestia, taking the position of judge, asked questions, while trying to be as kind and gentle about it as possible.

Discord, Applejack, Rarity, and Princess Twilight served as witnesses to the trial, while Princess Luna served as lawyer and guide for Scootaloo.

The little filly, as much as she could, tried to answer Princess Celestia's questions, although frequently the crusader struggled with her emotions.

As she told, from her perspective, about what happened, Discord became the greatest hindrance when it came to the subject of what had happened to Fluttershy. Indeed, as soon as the yellow pegasa's name was mentioned, the draconequus disappeared from his position among the witnesses, appearing in a wheezing pop in a suit and tie, nose-to-nose with the crusader, demanding to know why Scootaloo would murder his friend. He effectively silenced the pegasetta before he was banished from Canterlot for the rest of the trial, which had to be postponed until the next day when Scootaloo would hopefully be willing to try to talk again about the events.

While indeed she was willing to talk about her experiences that next day, Scootaloo's greatest struggles were talking about what happened to Pinkie Pie, and what she'd been forced to do to Rainbow Dash. Talking about how what the azure pegasa had forced her to do to Fluttershy, Mayor Mare, and Pinkie Pie had been revealed to her, it helped that she hadn't eaten anything, hadn't even felt like eating anything, up to that time. While she gagged on that part of the story, it seemed like a mercy to her that all that came out of her was saliva. With the help of Princesses Celestia and Luna, she was able to give the details of what she saw on that board, the images of Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, Mayor Mare, and Pinkie Pie; and that message Rainbow Dash had used to control her, “Will You Kindly.” She even talked about Commander Spitfire, how she'd said she'd been the one to put up that display to help the crusader remember what she'd done under Rainbow Dash's control.

Details of the other crimes of the representative of loyalty were another struggle for the orange filly. Perhaps not as much so as having to kill her heroine, but still a side of the azure pegasa Scootaloo wished she'd never had to know about, and wanted desperately to forget.

In her final statement, Scootaloo testified that, had it been her choice, she'd never have killed the four ponies she'd been forced to kill. She wished she'd never been called by the map to go to Cloudsdale, or that she'd refused the mission. She was offered to take over the right to hold the element of loyalty; but she refused, considering herself unworthy to bear an element of harmony after having been the cause of the death of three of the bearers. Indeed, while she didn't say so in the courtroom, she began to feel as though she had no place in pony society.

After the trial, the orange filly was given a room in the castle; and Princess Luna was put in charge of her care for the rest of that day and night.

The Following Days

That next day, Scootaloo had mysteriously disappeared; and searches for her had turned up nothing.

A mass funeral was held the following day for the three element bearers and Ponyville's mayor.

In the week following, three ponies were chosen to replace those that had been lost: Pinkie's sister Marble took over the element of kindness, Cheese Sandwich took over the element of laughter, and Applejack's brother, Big MacIntosh, took over the element of loyalty.

In order to best represent the ponies they were replacing, Marble and Big MacIntosh even did training in flight and pegasus magic so they could earn their wings. But, it was only after they earned their wings that they learned that they were to represent the elements they'd been given rights to, not the ponies that had previously held those rights.

Not long after the new element bearers had been found and given their elements, Twilight received a letter from Cloudsdale. The letter read:

“To Princess Twilight:

“We hope you haven't forgotten about us here in Cloudsdale. We have certainly not forgotten about you. The following is a list of demands.

“First, you will hand over the body of Rainbow Dash so that she may be properly buried here in her home.

“Second, you and your map will send no more ponies here.

“Third, your earth ponies will give us half of what they harvest.

“Fourth, Discord will never come here again.

“If you refuse our demands, we, the pegasi of Cloudsdale, will attack your town and destroy it.

“Signed, Scootaloo, leader of Scootaloo's Gang of Pegasi.”

Not long after reading the letter, the Princess of Magic heard screaming from outside. All she needed was to look out of a window, and she saw spear-helmeted pegasi dive-bombing ponies and buildings all over Ponyville. Whether this was just a demonstration of the capabilities of the pegasi, or perhaps a demonstration of impatience on their part, she didn't know. All she knew was that the village that had been her home for a few years now was under attack. And, the leader of the attacking force, now nose-to-nose with her, was a former crusader, the last survivor of the mission of friendship to Cloudsdale.