Scootaloo waited nervously in the small room for Rainbow Dash to return. The mess of paperwork and maps seemed to make little in the way of sense. It was mostly field reports that didn’t seem to have any common thread to the cursory glance she had given them. The clutter didn’t stop at the table. Scores of overlapping maps and reports had been attached all over two of the walls. There was a thematic circling of different passages and areas on the maps, but it was a complete jumble.
The door opened with a low squeak. The prince was flanked by two of his personal guards with Rainbow Dash in tow. The guards positioned themselves near the door with their backs against the wall. The other two approached the end of the table nearest the door, opposite Scootaloo.
"I remember you," Prince Shining Armor said dryly as he entered. His pale blue eyes looked nearly gray. "You were a flower filly at my wedding."
Scootaloo was a little surprised that he had recognized her. That had been many years before. While not always the most adept at reading emotion in others, Scootaloo could see a deep sadness in Shining Armor. She quickly surmised that this was, no doubt, due to the disappearance of Princess Cadence and the other alicorns. The doors having been shut behind them, the five were now alone.
"I've come as you requested," Shining Armor said flatly. "What did you need to tell me?"
Scootaloo took a breath and tried to swallow a lump that was forming in her throat.
"Your majesty," she began, "I have heard the most distressing news. I have reason to believe that you are going to be betrayed. Members of the EUP are going to attempt a coup."
He stared at her blankly: either in disbelief or shock.
“Present your proof,” he finally spoke in the same dry tone.
“I have no solid evidence," she replied cautiously. "The suspicion began with Captain Swiftlight of General Mane Crusher's corps. He was the general's aide. He'd been observing things that seemed strange, and he started his own investigation. He is missing as of three days ago."
"I suggest you get to something relevant," Prince Shining Armor warned.
The lump grew heavier in Scootaloo’s throat as she continued, ”He left a letter that described his concerns, and added that if he went missing without telling anypony that he was probably dead, murdered by the conspirators. The letter, we felt compelled to destroy for fear the conspirators would catch us with it."
"Who are, 'we'?"
"Myself, Lieutenant Sparklefly, and a civilian by the name of Java Chip. She was the one that brought us the letter."
After another eternal moment of silent thought, the prince suggested, ”Don't you think it more likely that this captain was angry with the general and has gone AWOL?"
Scootaloo hadn't considered this, but she didn't think it possible.
"I knew Captain Swiftlight," she defended, "He never spoke ill of the general. In fact, Swiftlight had told me on more than one occasion where he and the general agreed that our overall war effort was not being handled as effectively as it should be." As those final words escaped Scootaloo's mouth, she realized that any other way to phrase that would have been preferable, but it was too late.
“He said this to you?”
“Yes.”
The prince sighed, “This is hear-say.”
Scootaloo became alarmed, just as she had when Rainbow Dash had dismissed her claims. Her mentor had a look of caution on her face.
“You have to act!” Scootaloo blurted out.
“If we start fighting amongst ourselves, then the changelings have already won.
“If you don’t prepare, Mane Crusher has already won!”
It suddenly felt as if the air had been sucked from the room.
"You have an incredible amount of gall, young mare," the prince said with a coldness in his voice that Scootaloo had never heard from him before. He began walking around the table toward the young mare, "You come in here, with absolutely no proof, and accuse one of my most trusted generals?"
Once again, it did sound silly when it was said so concisely. He was now in front of her, nose to nose. Scootaloo opened her mouth to speak, but was cut off.
"Silence!" Prince Shining Armor’s voice boomed, his eyes magically flashing red for a moment. "You will return to your unit, and you will not speak of this matter ever again to anypony; do you understand me? You do not accuse any pony on whom I depend without evidence."
"Your majesty," Rainbow Dash stepped forward.
"Not one word, Colonel," the prince said hotly without even looking at the Wonderbolt colonel. She stopped dead in her tracks.
To Scootaloo, he continued, "I have heard of you and the hero of Canterlot. It is only because of your reputation that I'm not having you locked up for making false charges and spreading dissent. Don't make the mistake of thinking I'll be that lenient again."
Scootaloo stood there silently at attention. She wanted to cry, but was far too afraid to do so.
"Get out," Shining Armor said with finality.
Without a word, she and Rainbow Dash turned and walked quickly out, through the War Room and finally outside. Scootaloo's eyes were fogging, but she swallowed the tears and sadness. There would be time to mend her bruised ego later. Scootaloo had to figure out what to do next to prevent a catastrophe. She was convinced of two things: that there was a coup being planned, and nopony was doing anything to stop it. Presently, she was unable to assess her emotional state, but she was quivering as she walked out into the day. It wasn't panic, but she was having a heightened state of thought shooting rapidly through her brain. Unfortunately, it was fueled by adrenaline, and none of it was useful. Scootaloo turned to Rainbow Dash, who looked mortified.
"Rainbow Dash, I'm..." Scootaloo trailed off, wanting to apologize, but not sure she actually had anything about which to be sorry.
"Just don't," Rainbow Dash replied. "I knew I was putting my neck on the line for you today. That's what friends do."
Without another word, Rainbow Dash turned and walked away. Scootaloo could tell that she was deeply troubled by the events that had unfolded. The multitude of emotions that Scootaloo herself was feeling began to take shape as she watched her friend, her mentor walk away. Anger was the lone surviving feeling that emerged. She had patterned her life after the things that Rainbow Dash had taught her, and to have her own integrity questioned so blatantly was infuriating.
Turning and walking quickly, the soft cloudy ground made stomping pointless. She was trying to save Prince Shining Armor; she was trying to save everypony, if only they would listen. Blinded by hot feelings, Scootaloo cantered along briskly through Cloudsdale, becoming oblivious to almost everything around her. The next thing she knew, she had found Sweetie Belle in a park near the mall.
"Hey, Scootaloo! I'm over here," Sweetie Belle called out cheerfully.
Somehow, the happiness of the greeting combined with the bright sunlight only served to frustrate Scootaloo even more as she walked over to her friend.
“Look at this fabric I found.”
“Let’s go,” she spoke directly.
"Are you alright?" Sweetie Belle replied, concern written on her face.
Shaking her head, Scootaloo said, "I'll be fine, but we need to get going.”
They walked together in silence to one of the exits in the city. With the shield up, there were only a few places to get out. It was different than how it had been before; the city was so open that one could fly in or out at any point back then: another casualty of the war. After getting past the guards, they worked quickly hooking Sweetie Belle back into Scootaloo's harness. Skipping the double-check of everything, Scootaloo took to the air. They gained altitude, and the city shrank in the distance as they flew east north east toward Manehattan. Rage was boiling inside, which was making cohesive thought difficult.
Sweetie Belle broke the silence, "Are you sure you're okay?"
"Yes!" Scootaloo practically shouted back.
"You don't have to bite my head off."
"Well, stop pestering me, then!"
“Scootaloo, I'm not trying to be a bother; I'm just concerned."
“Well quit it!”
“If that’s how you’re going to be, then fine! Celestia forbid that I’m worried for my friend!”
"Just shut up!" Scootaloo yelled, hitting against Sweetie Belle’s back with her hooves.
There was a metallic snapping sound, and suddenly Scootaloo felt much lighter. It only took only a second to realize what had happened, and then Sweetie Belle let out a bloodcurdling scream confirming the fear. The harness clasp had come loose, and Sweetie Belle was in free-fall, horror filling her green eyes as she tumbled.
Scootaloo went immediately into a dive and closed the distance between them. Sweetie Belle was flailing about in a panic as she screamed. This caused two problems: she was falling faster because of it, and it would be dangerous for Scootaloo to get close. The pegasus quickly checked the distance to the ground. They had plenty of space to arrest the fall, she just had to calm her friend first.
Scootaloo yelled to her, "Stop kicking and lay out flat like I showed you!"
Sweetie Belle screamed, "Help me!" as she continued to fall.
"You're going to be okay!" Scootaloo yelled back. "Just stop kicking and I'll grab you!"
Sweetie Belle did as Scootaloo had instructed, and in a moment the pegasus closed the gap, grabbing her friend and extending her wings. She then oriented herself facing down at first, and then tilted up, using her momentum to climb out of the dive. All in all, they only used up about half of their altitude in the excitement. Scootaloo held Sweetie Belle firmly in her grasp as they glided down to the ground. When they touched down, Scootaloo was ready connect the harness and get into the air again. They had landed in an area that was not controlled by EUP patrols, making it extremely unsafe. Sweetie Belle was crying, and pushed Scootaloo away, hard.
Sweetie Belle screamed, “What is the matter with you?”
“What?”
“Don't you ever scare me like that again!"
The anger gone for the moment, Scootaloo replied, "I'm sorry; the harness came apart. I didn't do it on purpose."
Sweetie Belle, on shaky legs, sank to the ground, still crying and trying to catch her breath. Scootaloo scanned about, but didn't see anything threatening, timberwolves or otherwise.
Scootaloo spoke softly, “Hey, I would never drop you on purpose. Are you okay?”
Between sobs, Sweetie Belle nodded. The pegasus approached and hooked the harnesses together again. This time, she double-checked the connection to make certain it was correct. If the latch wasn’t secured properly, it could cause a false catch. She’d been warned about it when she was a cadet, but this was the first time she had actually experienced the phenomenon. Flapping her wings, she lifted off, bringing them just above the ground. Scootaloo pushed against Sweetie Belle, but this time the harness held like it was supposed to.
“Everything’s okay now," Scootaloo said.
Sweetie Belle didn't reply as they climbed back up into the sky, again heading toward Manehattan. The pegasus was glad that they hadn't come down on top of a pack of timberwolves; now she just hoped that the rest of this trip would be without incident. Her mind continued turning over the coming crisis.