Scootaloo swerved her scooter around the corner, the wind blowing through her purple mane as she gained speed, swerving between the other ponies trotting around Ponyville, dodging, kicking the pavement with her hoof to accelerate, before slowing to a stop just under Cloudsdale. She looked up to the skies, hoping to see her cyan idol swooping across the sky, clearing the clouds. A glimpse of a rainbow mane alerted Scootaloo that Rainbow Dash was on weather duty and not to be disturbed, so she turned to her scooter and dusted it off. Her beloved scooter, which had served her her whole life. Her mind drifted to a story, unknowingly just like Apple Bloom before her.

Scootaloo got straight to business, preferring to keep her head down and get on with the job rather than beat around the bush, but she still wanted some enjoyment – and what better way than to employ the help of her favourite possession, her trusty scooter? Scootaloo knelt by the quivering Twist, all compassion gone from her eyes. She was here to do what she had to do, no more, no less. Twist was a faceless filly, simply there for business purposes. Never was she a friend, or even just a classmate. Before the feeling could overcome her completely, Scootaloo fumbled for a nearby saw and began slicing away at the skin and flesh, blood seeping like a hot snake down Twist’s fur, not stopping until she had reached the pale ivory bone. Her hooves shaking, she took up a screwdriver and dismantled her scooter, spreading out the parts. She took a hammer and a few sturdy nails, and crept over to Twist, who was wailing in anguished pain. Holding the wheel of her scooter down to the bone with a nail hanging loosely in the center, Scootaloo drew back a shaking arm and hit the nail down with the hammer, hearing the bone splinter as the metal pierced into it. She swallowed and began cutting away at several other areas, until Twist’s body became covered in sick, wound polka-dots. Scootaloo dragged all her scooter parts over and hammered them all in, becoming more and more relaxed with each dull thump of the hammer, beginning to like the feeling. Soon, Scootaloo had no more room on Twist’s body, yet her two handlebars left. Twist looked at the handlebars and stared directly at Scootaloo, silently begging her to leave them out, her eyes pouring with tears. Scootaloo saw the tears flowing over her cheeks and bit her lip, scolding herself and finally realising what she had done.

“Twist, I’m… I’m so sorry… At least let me stop you crying…” Scootaloo whispered, convinced that stopping Twist’s tears would make everything okay. She took the saw that had been discarded beside her in her hooves again, and began sawing out Twist’s eyes. Blood squirted from her left socket, where Scootaloo was desperately trying to flick out the eyeball, the gritty saw grinding across Twist’s eye, scratching the protective film around it. Scootaloo managed to finally cut it out, and quickly executed the next eye. Twist’s screaming was pulsing through her head by now, and Scootaloo’s heart was ramming itself at the side of her ribcage. The copper filly struck her hammer again, binding first one handlebar into the empty socket, then another. She released the hammer and grabbed a scalpel, just wanting it to finish. She wondered how Apple Bloom could possibly have found this whole idea enjoyable as she reaped the bounty from her efforts, half-heartedly cutting a circle around the cutie mark and letting it fall to the floor, along with her scalpel. Her once-proud face crumpled, and a lone tear snaked out, for the integrity was too much to bear on even an adult pony, let alone a young, innocent filly.

The minute Scootaloo broke from her daydream, she instantly regretted agreeing with Apple Bloom. Sure, she would get a cutie mark from the ordeal, but the psychological aftermath was simply too much to bear. Yet she had seen the glint in Apple Bloom’s eye. She knew there was no way she could safely back out, so she decided to go along with the sickening plan, for her safety.

Rainbow Dash spotted the little Pegasus filly and swooped down to see her number one fan, who was looking rather dejected and distant.

“Hey, Scoots! What’s the matter?” the cyan Pegasus questioned, frowning. Scootaloo merely shook her head in reply, looking up at the rose coloured eyes of her idol and smiling sadly. She stepped away from her and walked slowly in the opposite direction, already a burden lying on her shoulders before the harvest had even begun.

Next Chapter: Chapter Four - Sweetie Belle's Fantasy Estimated time remaining: 50 Minutes