“I don’t believe in fate or destiny. I believe in various degrees of hatred, paranoia, and abandonment. However much of that gets heaped upon you doesn’t matter—it’s only a matter of how much you can take and what it does to you..” ― Henry Rollins
* * * * *
Scootaloo started to head towards her house after Apple Bloom and Sweetie had left. She didn’t get far before Babs trotted up behind her. “Hey Scootaloo.”
“Oh, hey…” She looked around for anypony else she could make an excuse to go talk to. “Uh, I thought you were headed to the farm.”
“Oh I am, I just wanted to walk you home, figured we could have a little talk.” Babs walked alongside her as they headed into town. “You know, about you getting sick. I don’t want my best friend feeling sick now do I?”
Scootaloo relaxed a little bit. At times, Babs seemed a little off, but Scootaloo had learned long ago to be more trusting. Her therapist had told her to try not to focus on the worst case scenarios. A part of Scootaloo felt like Babs was playing her, that Babs and everypony else was just tolerating her until they got a chance to abandon her. Scootaloo pushed such thoughts to the back of her mind, like the therapist had trained her.
“Thanks Babs, it means a lot you consider me your friend!” Scootaloo smiled.
Babs nodded, giving a large but fake smile. “You want to tell me why you were throwing up?” The two turned at a fork in the road and began to head towards the shortcut through the forest.
“Oh, it’s nothing I swear! I was just eating dinner and we had celery and it was crunchy… and I couldn’t get the sound of that crunch as you hit Silver out of my head… and next thing I know I was throwing up,” Scootaloo explained. ‘I… I’m horrified at what happened but I don’t know what to do.”
“Oh, so you think we should come clean?” Babs taunted.
“Yes… I mean, no… we can’t… nopony will ever accept us if we do and I’m afraid…” Scootaloo sighed as she began to feel queasy again. “I always ask myself, what would Dash do, and… and Dash would tell somepony, she’d never have let you do that.”
Biting her lip she resisted the urge to smack some sense into Scootaloo, literally. She knew from the moment things had gone south Scootaloo was the weak link, but her plan was in motion. “Hey, Dash would be loyal to her friends before anything else, right?”
“I guess so…” Scootaloo hurried up her pace a little, eager to reach home that much faster.
“You’re petsitting Dash’s turtle right?” Babs asked.
“It’s a tortoise,” Scootaloo corrected. “And yeah, I am.”
Babs rolled her eyes, already exhausted by the pegasus. “Yeah whatever, look I need you to do something for me—wait, isn’t that one of the kids from school?”
Scootaloo looked up and saw Featherweight walking into the shortcut that lead from town to the Apple farm. “Yeah, that’s Featherweight.”
“Let’s postpone visiting your home and make sure he makes it through the shortcut safely.”
She gasped, eyes wide. “You’re gonna kill him!”
Babs snarled and smacked Scootaloo in the head with her hoof, below an ear. “No you idiot!” She looked around afterwards, hoping nopony was around to notice. “I’m…” She bit her lip as she lied. “Sorry. Look, if he accidentally finds your riding helmet and two dead bodies, you’re fucked. I’m just looking out for you Scootaloo.”
“Oh Celestia!” Scootaloo rubbed the sore imprint on the side of her head and look at the forest path. “We need to go stop him!”
“You know what, Scootaloo, from now on I do the decision making okay? If we stop him it’d look suspicious. We just need to follow him and make sure he doesn’t see anything. Got it?”
Scootaloo nodded, “Yeah… I guess…”
Babs nudged her and pointed forward. “Come on then, get going.”
* * * * *
Sometimes just being around somepony was enough to make you hate them. Maybe it was the way they talk, their attitude, or just something about their look. The more time Babs spent walking through the forest shortcut listening to Scootaloo go on about Dash, the more she hated her.
“—will let me go visit her apartment in Cloudsdale on spring break, I hope she says yes!” Scootaloo ended.
“Keep it down.” Babs looked ahead, Featherweight was still far enough ahead not to hear them, and every so often a bush or tree would obstruct their view. Babs noticed him stop ahead and immediately knew where they were.
Scootaloo screeched to a halt when Babs grabbed her saddlebag. “Listen, featherbrain, you go on ahead and check on Featherweight. I’m going to go around, off the trail, and cut him off ahead if he saw anything.”
“What? I’m sure he doesn’t know anything,” Scootaloo replied.
“Look, he stopped at the clearing is all, if he did see something one of us needs to stop him from turning you in, or are you chicken?”
She paused for a moment with conflicting emotions. Babs’ attitude had changed, taking on a tinge of the bullying that Scootaloo was used to getting from Diamond Tiara. After a moment she shook it from her head, “What? Yeah I’ll go see what he’s up to!”
Scootaloo continued forward alone, lost in thought about Babs. She’d only known Babs for a week or two combined, while she’d known the other Crusaders for years. Babs definitely had a bit of a scary edge to her, and had bullied her in the past, but Scootaloo knew Babs wouldn’t do anything that would get them caught. So she decided for now to ignore the harsh remarks.
When she got to the clearing, Featherweight’s hooves were covered in dirt. He was pawing at a helmet that had stuck out of the dirt enough to be seen. It was bright orange, and when he pulled the helmet out of the dirt, Featherweight froze in horror.
Beneath his hooves was Silver Spoon’s head, the helmet had wound up being just enough to give away her tomb’s location. With the solid orange color and purple racing stripe, Featherweight knew immediately whose it was.
Scootaloo came into the clearing, stepping on a branch and causing it to snap. She saw the helmet and part of Silver’s mane in the hole in the ground. “Oh my gosh! I can explain!” Scootaloo shouted.
Featherweight screamed like a school filly as he leapt in the air, turning to see the murderer whose helmet he held in his hooves. “S-Scootaloo... “ He started backing up.
She trotted forward, “Look you can’t tell anypony, but I swear I didn’t do it! It was Babs and Apple Bloom!”
He continued backward, dropping the helmet and spreading his wings out. “S-stay back m-monster!”
“No, you’re not letting me explain, it was self-defense—”
Featherweight turned and flew down the path towards the Apple farm, the opposite direction of Scootaloo. This left the filly no choice but to take off after him, trying to stop him so she could explain before he blew everything.
Scootaloo wasn’t a great flier, but luckily Featherweight had a growth spurt and his long skinny legs weren’t helping him stay aerodynamic. It took a lot of effort, but Scootaloo finally caught up to him and did something she’d only heard about once. She bit down on one of his wings as she tried to wrap her forearms around him.
The two went tumbling into the dirt and rolling before skidding to a stop. There had been another snapping sound and Scootaloo felt a wave of nausea. As she stood up and checked her wings she was relieved to find that it at least hadn’t been her wing that broke.
Featherweight, given his lanky frame and thinner bones, had broken the primary bone in his left wing and wouldn’t be going anywhere face.
“Featherweight, please let me explain!” Scootaloo ran over to him and stood over him.
“No! Stay back murderer! Help!” Featherweight screamed, and looked towards the farm. He had just barely made it out of the forest.
“Stop! It’s not what you think, I swear it was Babs!” Scootaloo sighed and looked at his wing, “I should make a splint or something you’re hurt.”
“Help!” He looked around again, and rolled over to get to his hooves. If he couldn’t fly, he would at least make a run for it.
“I said—”
A loud crunch interrupted Scootaloo as a filly ran in, pivoted, and bucked him in the side. Babs glared at Scootaloo, murder in her eyes, as Featherweight hit a nearby tree and fell down wheezing.
“I fucking knew it!” Babs yelled, advancing towards Scootaloo.
She was frozen in horror for a moment, before her wings began to buzz nervously. Scootaloo turned to make a run for it, when the filly leapt forward and pounced on her. “Gah!”
Babs knocked Scootaloo over and stood on top of her, using her hooves to pin and damage Scootaloo’s feathers. “Pathetic, worthless, backstabbing cu—what am I going to do with you?” She took a moment to slow down her breathing as her mind raced to piece together a new plan. Babs was cold, calculating, and logical. Even this catastrophe had to have a solution that would prevent her and Apple Bloom from being caught.
“I-I’m… I’m sorry! He thought I killed them, I just wanted to explain!” Scootaloo said as she squirmed. “Please, I didn’t know what to do!”
“Oh you knew exactly what you wanted to do this whole time, run to Dash and turn us in huh?” Babs barked. “I thought having you kill Tank to prove your loyalty would be enough… but no, you’re going to rat us out the second out back is turned. You want to be the hero don’t you?”
Scootaloo gulped and began to cry and felt the urge to urinate. “P-please don’t h-hurt me…”
“You’re pathetic and worthless and if it were up to me I’d snap your neck right now, and stop pretending you’re my friend. Apple Bloom is my friend. You and Sweetie are… part of a package deal I didn’t sign up for.”
She was sobbing now as Babs loomed over her. “I w-won’t do it a-again!”
“I’ve got it.” Babs relaxed and took a step back, offering a friendly smile as if nothing had happened whatsoever. “You’ll kill Featherweight, or I’ll kill you.”
Scootaloo was relieved Babs had gotten off of her until she heard the ultimatum. The urge to vomit was back and her heart was racing. “What?! I can’t… Dash… Dash will save me…” She looked around for her idol.
“Don’t be naive, Luna-damn it you’re lucky I like my sister.” She gestured over to Featherweight. “Look, I knocked the wind out of him. He didn’t get a look at me. If you do nothing, he’ll wake up and all he’ll know is that he found where you murdered Silver. He’ll know that you had a helper, and that you were going to kill him next.”
Babs began to circle around Scootaloo. “I was worried you’d take us all down… but now, the only pony going to get in trouble is you. Dash will leave you, Roseluck will leave you, Apple Bloom and Sweetie will leave you… and me?”
She circled in closer to Scootaloo, brushing against her side as the trembling filly stood up. “Oh I won’t leave you, Scootaloo. I’ll wait for you, until the day they let you out of whatever jail they throw you in. And do you know what I’ll do when you get out as punishment for causing me this hassle?”
Scootaloo shook her head and offered a weak “no.”
“I’ll strangle you to death with my own two hooves, maybe I’ll even pin it on Sweetie for fun… but one thing is damn certain, if you don’t kill Featherweight right fucking now your life is over.”
The trickle of tears going down Scootaloo’s face became a torrent as she walked over to Featherweight, who was struggling and failing to stand up. He’d taken a strong enough blow to the ribs that several were probably broken. She was able to easily roll him from his side to his back and stand over him.
Featherweight looked up at the filly he assumed murdered twice already, and began bawling and sobbing uncontrollably.
Scootaloo felt snot running down her nose as she cried, putting a hoof on his throat. She knew this was wrong, it violated everything she believed in, but she knew she didn’t have a choice. She thought that maybe, since Babs was threatening her, it’d be easier. However, as Scootaloo looked down into Featherweight’s eyes she couldn’t bring herself to put any weight on his throat.
The two stood there staring at each other while Babs quietly fumed, upset at how pathetic the pegasus was. She had planned things out so perfectly but now she’d have to go back to the drawing board, and figure out how to do damage control on the whole mess for months.
Unaware of her audience, Scootaloo continued to stand over the colt, her tears landing on his dirty fur. She told herself that Featherweight was already as good as dead with Babs here. She told herself that everypony would abandon her if she didn’t kill him and they found out. Scootaloo even lied to herself and tried to convince herself Dash would do the same thing if they traded places.
Featherweight began to say something, and Scootaloo eased her hoof off of him. “You d-don’t have to…”
“I… I do have to…” Scootaloo stuttered. “Sorry, I’m so sorry! Sorry! Sorry!” She slowly pushed down with both hooves on his throat. Scootaloo could feel his pulse as she slowly closed off the arteries with her body weight. She broke eye contact with Featherweight, she couldn’t bear to watch, and looked over at Babs who was standing nearby with a rock in her hoof.
Babs had a wide grin on her face as she watched Scootaloo drain the life out of him.
Scootaloo continued to apologize the entire time, until Featherweight passed out and stopped struggling. She instantly leapt into the nearby bushes and vomited.
Babs came over to check on Featherweight, noticing the vein on his neck still pulsing softly. She recognized that Scootaloo had basically choked him out and rendered him unconscious, but not killed him. Featherweight began to stir, managing to focus enough to open his eyes momentarily and speak to nopony in particular. “I-I… won’t tell… anypony.”
A loud cracking sound like a wet branch being snapped interrupted the vomiting as Babs made sure Featherweight was dead using the rock in her hooves.
“Luna, I hate when they say that. I should start a list or something,” Babs said to herself as she stood beside him. She turned to Scootaloo, “Just making sure you had killed him since you’re a fuck up, now we don’t have all day to clean this up.”
“I… I…” Scootaloo alternated between looking at her vomit and the pool of blood next to Featherweight.
“Yeah I’m gonna have to clean that up to.” She said pointing to the vomit, then she walked over and grabbed Scootaloo by the neck and pulled her face within an inch of hers. “And if I even think you’re getting soft again, I’m killing that damn turtle of Dash’s. You’re not screwing this up for me!”
She nodded in a panic, and Scootaloo quickly made a few feeble attempts to pick up the rock without getting the pink brain matter on her hooves. Finally she lifted it and struggled to fly it deeper into the forest.
* * * * *
Scootaloo was a mess, even after Babs had found her a small stream in the forest to wash up. The sun was about to set too, somepony would surely realize her and Babs were missing if they weren’t back soon.
Babs just watched impatiently, having done most of the work herself. All the evidence of Featherweight was hidden, but she still had to double back for Silver Spoon. Many scenarios were playing through in her head, most of which were about the most practical and foolproof solution of killing Scootaloo off. Still, a part of her didn’t want to do that to Apple Bloom, and another part rationalized the fewer murders the better.
Scootaloo had gotten out of the river and done her best to wring water out of her fur and hair when she heard a familiar voice, the last one she wanted to hear right now.
“Scootaloo?! What the hay are you doing out here?” Dash landed next to her, already taking a deep breath to continue chewing her out when she saw the state of the filly. “What in the name of Celestia happened to you?”
“I…” Scootaloo began to cry, glancing over to Babs for some sort of help. Unfortunately, Babs had already slipped into the bushes to hide and watch from a safe distance.
Dash followed her gaze and saw nothing but some hoofprints in the dirt. “Did you come out here alone?”
She couldn’t do much more than nod. The hit she’d taken in the head from Babs earlier had developed into a bruise. There were some scratches on her forelegs, and even after rinsing in the river her mane and tail were a matted mess.
“What were you thinking? Did somepony hurt you?”
Scootaloo opened and closed her mouth a few times before just jumping against Dash and hugging her tight, crying into her fur.
“Shh, it’s okay squirt, you’re safe now.” Dash scooped her up and flew off towards town.
Babs stepped out from the bushes and sighed, standing on the fresh grave. “This just isn’t my day.” She sighed and walked back onto the trail and back to where Silver had been buried, continuing to talk to herself. “I’m lucky Dash didn’t see this mess.”
When she got to the hole she kicked the helmet over next to it and looked down inside, seeing two eyes staring back at her. “Oh you’re fucking kidding me!”
Babs put the helmet over Silver’s face, trying to remember how she’d set it the first time. Somehow, the pathetic gray filly in the hole was still alive. Babs pulled the helmet out of the hole. “One of the holes in the helmet must have landed just right to let the dirt fall through and let you breathe, huh?’
Silver managed a feeble nod as her paralyzed body lay buried in the dirt. The only thing she could move was her head and aside from the crippling fear, she had spent most of her time trying to nudge the helmet out far enough for somepony to see and rescue her.
“Well, your little plan almost worked, but I killed Featherweight and this time I’ll make sure to kill you too.” She smiled and stood over Silver. “I’m quite frankly amazed you survived at all… you would not believe the mess your deaths have caused.”
She whispered something, her voice hoarse and her body on the verge of failure.
“What was that?” Babs leaned over until her ear was next to Silver’s mouth.
“I forgive you,” she said, barely audible.
“Huh, that’s odd.” Babs stood back up. “I can’t say I relate… to the fear, or wanting to forgive me. Sometimes I wonder what it’d be like to be afraid for the first time in my life…” Babs looked down with disdain. “But ponies like you remind me that to be afraid is to be weak, and easy to manipulate. Emotion is a weakness, you needed to bully to feel good about yourself and look where it got you? Dead in a pit and trying to forgive your murderer? Pathetic.”
Silver croaked out one word, “water.”
Babs nodded, “Hmm, an interesting last request but I suppose there’s one last lesson I can teach you before I kill you. I told Apple Bloom this one, there are two kinds of ponies in Equestria. There are those that take what they want, and those that have what they want taken from them, more or less.”
She turned around so her ass was above the hole in the ground, and looked back at Silver. “Now, I’m a pony who takes what I want and what I want right now is to take a piss, so by all means, have a drink.”
Silver stared up in horror as Babs began to urinate on her face, unable to move or scream as the small hole began to fill up.
Babs paid little attention as she finished urinating on Silver, and filled the hole with dirt as if she were just relieving herself behind a random bush in the forest. Once she was finished and patted the dirt down, there was no doubt Silver was dead this time.
With the orange helmet in her hooves and no place left to bury it, she shrugged and chucked it deeper into the forest.