>>4550
Quote: "Same as before, really-really good for a first draft, hoping that you expand on/flesh out the dissection scene for the final version, eager to see what Twilight is doing with all those bones/eyes/ovaries."

The thing is, I'm not sure quite sure how to expand the dissection part. Scootaloo's entirely willing, and she isn't afraid of what's happening to her (especially since she knows she'll survive the process). Other than detailing how she's cut up (which I've already done once with Starlight and don't want to overdo), I can't think of what else to expand it with.

And now, the big reveal... or at least, part of it:

***
A week later, five girls and three jars were waiting in the parlor.

"Ah'm kind of surprised Twilight invited all of us here for this," Applejack remarked. "Did she tell you why?"

Had she been looking at a whole person, they would have shook their head. "She's kept this one quiet," Scootaloo's voice game from her jar's speaker. "Hasn't told me a thing, which is kind of surprising since it's my old body she's been working with. I know a little bit that was my idea, but that's all."

"She hasn't told any of us brains what it is," Apple Bloom's voice piped up. "She must really want to keep this a surprise."

Applejack patted the jar with a smile. "Guess we'll jest have to wait and see."

"Not for much longer," Twilight said as she entered the room, Liza right behind her. "Sorry to keep you waiting, girls. But the big surprise is here." She glanced into the hall. "Okay, Starlight, you can bring her in."

"Starlight?!" everypony chorused.

Twilight nodded. "Starlight."

Just then, the sound of rhythmic squeaks filled the air. Moments later, Starlight Glimmer walked in, pushing a trolley with a tall, sheet-covered object on it.

Immediately, five girls jumped to their feet, one diving behind the couch. "She... she..." Rarity stammered.

Rainbow Dash whirled around to look at Twilight. "You told us you harvested her! We saw the skin in Rarity's shop! How is she still up and walking around?"

Twilight grinned. "That's part of my surprise. I found a spell that lets you create, and I quote, a statue that may work for you. I used Starlight's bones to create the frame, attached a layer of synthetic flesh, layered in some extra spells, and then added the final ingredient to activate it." She gestured to the woman with the trolley. "That's not really Starlight, it just looks like her."

The room grew quiet as they processed this.

"Whoo-ee," Applejack whistled. "That's... that's really something, Twilight."

"Indeed," Rarity commented as she approached the walking statue and began looking up and down its body. "If I hadn't been working with her skin myself, I'd swear this was the real thing. How did you make her so... life-like?"

Twilight grinned. "It's all in the eyes. Literally."

"The eyes?" Pinkie Pie looked at them. "They don't look too life-like. They look kind of glassy to me."

Twilight nodded. "Somehow, I'm not surprised you could see that, Pinkie. Behind the illusion, they are glassy. You all know that when I harvested Starlight, I took out her eyes. Just like I do with everypony else I harvest."

"Indeed," Rarity commented. "But I must admit, I found it a little... odd that they weren't among the parts you gave me."

"Especially since she could have used them," Sweetie Belle added from her jar. "She used my eyes to decorate her jewelry case, after all."

Twilight chuckled. "Sorry, Rarity. But I already had plans to use them for this." She looked at the group. "That special spell I found? The instructions said that if you take the eyes from a living being, pack them in certain herbs and cast the appropriate spell on them, they'll eventually become glassy. Then, you can put them in a statue and bring it to life."

"You mean... those really are Starlight's eyes in her head?" a soft voice whimpered from behind the couch. "That's... creepy."

"Weird too," Rainbow Dash added, glancing at her friend. "Then again, we are talking about using pieces of a formerly living pony for something, so... I guess we passed weird a while back anyway."

Twilight shrugged. "I thought it was kind of creepy too at first. But... you know me and experimenting with magic. Besides, it's perfectly safe. One of the spells I embedded into the frame means my statue literally can't do anything unless I specifically tell it. It's a precaution so it doesn't go out of control. So you can come out from behind there, Fluttershy."

Fluttershy's head peered out over the back of the couch. "Are you sure?"

"Positive." Twilight grinned. "Come on." She helped the other girl to her feet and into a chair, then glanced at the others. "And that wasn't the only change I made to the original plans. We found a note in with the rest of the spell, and it suggested an extra step for preparing the eyes that would improve the whole effect."

Rarity quirked her head. "Oh?"

Twilight nodded. "The writer hadn't confirmed it would work when they wrote the instructions down, but Liza and I tried it anyway, and it worked out perfectly. Liza, you want to tell them?"

The small unicorn girl nodded. "There's an old legend that when someone dies, their eyes reflect the last thing they ever saw. Miss Twilight held up a mirror to Starlight's face while I took her eyes, and when we put them in the statue, they turned it into a copy of her."

Rarity's own eyes widened. "Oh my."

Twilight nodded. "I wasn't entirely sure it would work like I wanted, since we'd taken her skin off first, but as you can see, that didn't have any effect on the illusion. And best of all, we can make her look like anypony we've harvested like this. All we have to do is swap out the eyes, once they're ready. I have several more sets that aren't done yet, but once they're ready..."

Rarity looked thoughtful. "That is something. Er... did you treat Suri's eyes like this?"

"I did. They won't be ready until next week though."

"Well, once they're ready... could you create another of these statues for me, and let me have Suri's eyes for it? She'd make such a wonderful model."

Twilight laughed. "I'll get right on it. But for now, I want to show you one of my other projects. Starlight, please remove the cover cloth from the items you brought in."

The ambulatory statue nodded. "As you wish." With a flourish, it did as commanded, revealing... a glittering skeleton.

Kneeling on a circular disc, Scootaloo's bones had been coated in a thin layer of orange-tinted coloring, exactly matching her skin's original shade. Her face looked upward, her mouth open in a happy smile, her arms spread wide in joy. Twilight had replicated the girl's hair atop the skull, and a pair of glass eyes sat in place of the originals. The whole form had been topped by a hawk-billed cap, which had Scootaloo's wings mounted on the sides.

Rainbow Dash's own mouth was wide with surprise as she studied the skeleton. "Twilight... this is..."

Twilight smiled. "There's a piping system that still needs to be installed, but once it's in and we put her on the base, your new rainbow fountain is all ready." She walked over and gently removed the hat, handing it to her friend. "And this is for you too. It was actually Scootaloo's idea, so you can thank her for it."

Taking the hat, Rainbow Dash put it on and smiled. "It's perfect. All of it." She patted the jar. "Thanks, little buddy."

"You're welcome," Scootaloo told her.

Watching them, Twilight smiled. "I have one more surprise for you, Rainbow Dash. Liza? Do you want to get this one?"

Liza nodded, then ran out the door. Moments later, she was back with another trolley.
***

And now you know why I had Twilight save all those eyes. (Insert evil grin here.) Can you guess what book inspired me? (Though unlike that book, this living statue won't go out of control and try to kill people. Twilight made sure of that.)

Still not positive on what to with Scootaloo's skin (which is what Liza just brought in), but the rest was ready, so... hope you all like it.

Oh, and one other thing - an idea for another story in this series came to mind the other night. Not sure where it'll go in the timeline yet, but here's the title and description:

"Meating Out Justice" (the spelling is intentional)
- Trixie Lulamoon returns to Ponyville, pursued by a corrupt sheriff from a town full of Earth Pony supremacists. Intent on bringing her in (for the "crime" of being a unicorn), he soon winds up arrested himself on various charges (including making false accusations and other, more serious crimes), and Twilight invites Trixie to join her in the lab as an observer while she harvests his organs and roasts the rest of him alive for their dinner.

AKA "The first one where we see a male being harvested". Directly inspired by some of the other cannibal art I've seen in the past, and by a certain non-guro MLP fanfic I happen to like. (Though I doubt I'll use the character's original name.)