"Scootaloo's Sacrifice" (#4 chronologically, but #6 posted); first draft.
- A few weeks after Starlight's harvesting, Scootaloo asks to be harvested as well, gifting her parts to Rainbow Dash.
- Tags: Vivisection, cannibalism, cooking.

***
Ding-dong!

Twilight, in her study, looked up from her book. Now, who could that be? she wondered. She certainly wasn't expecting any deliveries, and her apprentice Liza Doolots wouldn't be back for hours - after the last couple of weeks, Twilight had felt she deserved a day off to spend with her friends, and had told her to go have fun. And her own friends, she knew, were busy with their usual work today. Rarity had let them know of her plans to spend the day creating with some of the newest material she'd gotten. Pinkie was busy at Sugarcube Corner, Applejack had orchards to harvest, and Fluttershy was watching over the animals at her cottage. Rainbow Dash wasn't even in town: she had practice with her fellow Wonderbolts Reserves that day, though she'd be back the next morning.

Sighing, she rose to her feet and headed for the door. If this is some salespony, I'll harvest him!, she silently muttered to herself, and instantly felt guilty. No. Bad Twilight. No harvesting those who haven't volunteered, or committed heinous crimes. And interrupting your reading is not a heinous crime. Taking somepony's brain for something that minor makes you no better than the ones you have harvested. Like those child-stealers from Manehatten. She sighed as she reached the door and opened it. Then, she smiled as she recognized the girl waiting for her.

"Scootaloo! Nice to see you. What's up?"

The orange pegasus girl smiled back. "Hey, Twilight. Can... can I come in?"

"Of course! Right this way." Leading Scootaloo to the parlor off the main hall, she found a seat. "Now, what can I do for you?"

"It's... complicated." Scootaloo fidgeted. "You know how Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle got harvested a while back."

"Of course I know. I have their brains here, alive and well, if you want to talk to them."

"Maybe in a little while. But the thing is..." Scootaloo sighed. "I want to join them, Twilight. I want you to take my brain and put it in with theirs. And I want Rainbow Dash to have my parts."

Twilight looked at the younger girl. "That's a big decision, Scootaloo. Are you sure?"

"Absolutely." Scootaloo's hands clenched. "Sweetie Belle gave up her body so her sister could have a pretty handbag. Apple Bloom let her family turn her into things they needed for their farm. Rainbow Dash means the world to me. The least I can do is let her use me for whatever she wants." She looked up and smiled. "Besides, it's not like I'll be gone forever - I know you can keep me alive, even if I'm just a brain in a jar. And I know you've already got one reserved for me. It's time to put it to use."

Twilight smiled. "I understand. I'll talk to Rainbow Dash. But... you should probably talk to your parents too. You're underage, so you need their permission for this."

Scootaloo grimaced. "I don't have parents, Twilight. I have a parent. And he barely knows I exist half the time, let alone what I do. I gave him the papers to sign about a week ago, and he just glanced at them, signed them and told me to have fun. So legally, you can harvest me anytime you want." She pulled an envelope out of her pocket. "Here."

"Oh." Twilight took the papers, and studied them. "Well, it's legit. I'll... I'll let Rainbow Dash know, so we can decide what to do with you."

"Thank you." Scootaloo looked at her. "This means a lot to me, you know."

"I know." Twilight read over the papers again, then rose. "Come on. You want to see Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle now?"

"Sure!"

"Come on then. I'll take you to the Brain Room." Taking Scootaloo to the hand, she led her down the hall, and took two jars from the shelves. Setting them on the table in the middle of the room, she pressed a button on each jar. "Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle? You there?"

"Twilight!" two voices exclaimed. Then, Apple Bloom continued. "How're you doing?"

Twilight smiled. "I'm doing fine. And I brought you a visitor." She turned to Scootaloo. "I'll be in my study when you're done, okay?"

"Okay." Scootaloo looked at the jars. "Hey, girls."

Twilight smiled as the two brains squealed in joy, and slipped out. Heading for her study, her face turned pensive as she began wondering how Rainbow Dash would react to this.

~*~

Two days later, everything was all set, as Scootaloo lay face down and completely naked on the metal table in the middle of Twilight's lab, while Twilight was checking her tools. "Now, you're absolutely sure you're ready," she told the younger girl.

"Of course I'm sure," Scootaloo growled. "Come on, Twilight. Let's do this!"

"Right." Twilight selected a scalpel, then concentrated as she cast the paralysis spell on Scootaloo. "Liza, I need you now."

"Right here, Miss Twilight," Liza piped up as she dashed into the room. "What do we do first?"

"Well, you remember how we took Lightning Dust's wings a few weeks ago," Twilight told her apprentice. "We're going to do the same thing here. The only difference is, they're a lot smaller than Lightning Dust's were. They never fully developed, you know. That's why she couldn't fly like other pegasi her age." Her own wings shifted as she handed Liza the scalpel.

"Okay." Liza looked at Scootaloo, studying the other girl's back. Carefully, she pressed the scalpel against the skin, right at the edge of the joint, and began slicing into the bare flesh. Twilight watched with pride as Liza cast the sealing spell on the wound almost immediately, and then began cutting deeper until she'd reached the joint where the wing bone attached to the shoulder blade, and then selected a different scalpel to pry it loose. Once she'd gotten the wing out, she turned to the other one, and repeated the process. After both wings were out, she set them aside, and turned to Twilight. "Now what?"

"These wings need to be treated," Twilight told her. Glancing at Scootaloo, she ruffled the naked girl's hair. "While I'm doing that, you can skin Scootaloo. Keep the skin intact, just like we've been doing, okay?"

"Okay." Liza examined Scootaloo's back, and began slicing her open along the spine. Twilight watched for a minute, then carried the wings to another part of the room. Setting them on a layer of bandages set with herbs, she carefully wrapped them up, then muttered a spell. This was a variation on the spell she'd been using on the eyes she'd taken, but it took much less time to convert the flesh into its new form: a mere three days, rather than forty. Also, the altered wings would only be suitable for use as decorations now, not for the... other things Twilight had in mind for the converted eyes.

That reminds me, she thought to herself. Starlight's eyes should be ready in just a few days. She smiled. I can't wait to see how they work.

Turning back to Liza and Scootaloo, her smile grew. Her apprentice had been working much faster than she'd expected, and Scootaloo's skin (including from her head) was nearly off. In another minute, it was done, and Liza had it stretched out on its rack, just like she'd been taught.

Crossing the room, Twilight rejoined her apprentice. "Eyes next," she told Liza. "I'll hold the mirror."

Liza nodded, and set to work. Very shortly, she had the eyes out and in their jar. Another few minutes of work, and the brain was out and in its own jar, the lights blinking in green and blue. Twilight pressed a button on the jar. "You doing okay in there, Scootaloo?"

"I'm good," Scootaloo's voice replied. "It's... different, but not so bad. Stinks that I can't move, but I'll manage."

"That's good. I'm going to take you in with the others now, okay?" She glanced at Liza. "You can start harvesting her other organs now. Save the ovaries for me."

Liza nodded, then began cutting again, while Twilight carried her jar into the hall.

Out there, she found a worried and pacing Rainbow Dash, who stopped as she saw Twilight. "Is she okay?"

Twilight chuckled. "She was a real little trooper. Handled it even better than Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle did."

"Rainbow Dash!" Scootaloo's excited voice cried from the jar.

Rainbow Dash's eyes dropped to the jar. "Hey, squirt. How you doing in there?"

"I'm good." There was a sigh. "Thank you, Rainbow Dash. For supporting me. If you'd said no..."

"Ah..." Rainbow Dash blushed. "You're my number one fan, and the closest I have to a little sister. What kind of big sister would I be if I didn't support you?"

While Scootaloo no longer had a face, Twilight and Rainbow Dash could almost hear her smiling in response. Then, Twilight handed Rainbow Dash the jar. "Here. You can take her to the Brain Room, okay? I'll let you two have some time alone together."

"Right. Thanks, Twilight." Accepting the jar, Rainbow Dash headed down the hall, leaving Twilight to re-enter her lab.

About an hour later, the work was done. Scootaloo's organs were in their separate jars, her skin was being treated per Rarity's instructions, her meat had mostly been wrapped up and stored in the freezer, the appropriate DNA samples were in their own chambers, her bones had been wiped clean and were laid out on another table in the lab, and Twilight was in the kitchen. Having saved some of Scootaloo's meat for this, she'd wrapped the strips of muscle around a mixture of cheese and spices, then dredged the pieces and was currently pan-frying them.

"Hey, Twilight?"

Twilight looked up to see a familiar rainbow mane at the door. "Hey, Rainbow Dash. Dinner's just about ready."

"Smells good." Rainbow Dash looked at her. "Can I ask you something?"

"Sure. What's up?"

"Well... what do you use those eyes and ovaries for, anyway? Liza told me you were saving them from everypony you'd harvested."

Twilight smiled. "In a few days, I can show you what I'm doing with the eyes. The ovaries... well, I'm still keeping that one close to my vest right now."

"You store them in your bra?"

Twilight chuckled. "Very funny, Rainbow Dash. But seriously, I have plans for all that DNA." She turned to the pan. "We're almost done here. Hand me those plates, so I can take this up."

~*~

A short while later, the two women and Liza were sitting in the dining room, contentedly munching on their dinner.

"Mmm," Rainbow Dash moaned as she swallowed a bite. "This is really good. What'd you say it was called again?"

"Scootaloo cordon bleu," Twilight replied as she sliced a bite off her own serving. "Based on chicken cordon bleu. The Prench words mean "blue ribbon", because it's considered a prize-winning dish."

"Cool." Rainbow Dash looked at her serving, then shrugged and took another bite. "Seriously, Scootaloo is delicious. Kind of a shame we can't have her more often."

"Yes... a shame." Twilight's eyes gleamed.

Rainbow Dash looked at her oddly. "I know that look. You're planning something big, aren't you?"

"I am, but it'll be a while before Liza and I can get that part of the operation up and running." Twilight smiled mysteriously, before changing the subject. "So. We have everything set. Tomorrow, Liza and I will start converting Scootaloo's parts, and if all goes well, we should be done with everything by the end of the week. You can pick up your order then."

"Will do." Rainbow Dash finished the last of her dinner, then looked at Twilight. "Thanks again, Twilight. You made Scootaloo really happy when you agreed to harvest her."

"You're welcome, Rainbow Dash."

***
First draft done... any suggestions for improvements on it before I get into the next part? (That will be the big reveal for just what Twilight's making out of Scootaloo, plus one of her secret projects - specifically, the one for Starlight's eyes and bones.)