WARNING: The following story has been rated Mature by the author, due to disturbing themes such as murder and insanity, and contains detailed descriptions of strong violence and gore. This story may also affect your appreciation of certain My Little Pony characters, including but not limited to, members of the Mane 6. Reader discretion strongly advised.
***
Applejack could only stare, paralyzed in fear, as Rainbow Dash, laughing crazily, prepared to bury the hatchet in her head. Rainbow laughed harder, raised the hatchet higher, and brought it down...
"HI AGAIN, DASHIE!" A voice shouted.
Startled, Rainbow turned, distracted from killing Applejack, and saw Pinkie running down the dark hallway towards them. Applejack took advantage of the situation, kicking the pegasus in the side. Rainbow Dash went sprawling into the wall, and she dropped the hatchet and the blood-covered shard of glass. For some reason, getting kicked into the wall made Rainbow laugh even harder. "YOU'LL NEVER KILL ME OH NO YOU WON'T I'LL KILL YOU FIRST I SWEAR I WILL KILL YOUR FLANK!"
Rainbow Dash screamed and laughed, and began to stand up again as Pinkie Pie reached Applejack. Rainbow Dash picked up the hatchet and grinned at the two ponies, the grin of a demon.
"C'mon, Pinkie!" Applejack yelled. "We gotta get out of here! She's gonna kill us, too!"
Applejack turned and took off down the hallway, past the mutilated corpses of Fluttershy and Rarity.
"Applejack, wait!" Pinkie screamed as she ran after Applejack with Rainbow chasing both of them. "This hallway's full of traps-"
Pinkie's tail twitched, and with a desperate leap, she tackled Applejack and knocked her out of the way as Applejack stepped on a rope on the floor which caused two knives to fall from the ceiling and impale in the floor where Applejack had been a second before.
Applejack got back up. "C'mon, Pinkie, we gotta go!" Applejack shouted, looking behind her. Rainbow Dash, with a demonic glint in her eyes, had almost caught up to them.
Applejack and Pinkie raced down the hallway as fast as they could, and made a random turn at a doorway. To their surprise, they found themselves in the kitchen of the house, and the back door was right there. They made a mad dash for the door, knocking it open, and they found themselves in the back yard of the house. They kept running in case Rainbow was behind them, and they hardly even noticed the dead royal guard, lying in the yard, guts spilling everywhere, nearly black with crawling insects now.
***
It took awhile to get back to Ponyville, and by the time Applejack and Pinkie did, it was late in the afternoon. They were both sweating and exhausted, and they had both cried so much walking back (when they realized Rainbow was no longer chasing them, they had begun to walk) that they could simply cry no more. Neither pony could believe that three of their friends had been murdered and one had gone totally insane in a single day. They couldn't believe that they were the only two left.
"We have to find Spike," Applejack said as they entered Ponyville. "We have to get a letter to the Princess."
"Maybe he's at Twilight's house!" Pinkie said.
"If he is, ah hope he didn't go inside," Applejack muttered. "Ah don't know if he would have been able to take that."
***
Sure enough, they found Spike outside of Twilight's library, looking down.
"Spike! We need yer help," Applejack said. "We need ya to send a letter to the Princess."
"Is this about who killed Twilight?" Spike asked.
"It sure is, Sugarcube."
"I'm in," Spike said. "Do you know who it was?"
Applejack looked at Pinkie. "Uh... we think it was somepony."
"But what's their name?" Spike asked.
"We, uh don't know for sure," Applejack said. "This letter is just... stuff."
"Oh. Ok." Spike pulled a sheet of paper and a quill. Applejack still didn't know where he kept those. "I'm ready."
"Uh... If it's all the same to you, Sugarcube, I'd like to write this one myself."
"Um... Ok," Spike said, handing the paper and quill to Applejack.
"Keep Spike here entertained," Applejack whispered to Pinkie. "Ah gotta go write this."
"Okie Dokie Loki!"
Applejack hooded at her, and went back around to the back of Twilight's library to write the letter. Setting the piece of paper on the ground, she wrote:
Dear Princess Celestia,
This is an urgent matter that I insist you take action on immediately. Four of the Elements have fallen, three dead, one totally insane. It is with greatest sorrow that I inform you that one of the dead is Princess Twilight Sparkle. The other two dead are Rarity and Fluttershy, and the one who killed all three of them was the Element of Loyalty, Rainbow Dash. She's gone insane, Princess. We need your help.
Your honest student,
Applejack
Applejack rolled up the letter and took it around front, where Pinkie Pie was unsuccessfully trying to cheer up Spike. Spike saw Applejack holding out the letter, and he took it and breathed green flames on it, sending the letter.
"Well- what now?" Spike asked.
"Ah think we better wait for a reply from the Princess," Applejack said.
***
Ten minutes later, they actually did get a reply from Celestia, but it was not what they were expecting. Three carriages flew by overhead, pulled by pegasus ponies, and they landed in front of the library. The side doors opened on the first two, and five royal guards got out of each. They were all unicorns, who didn't need weapons because they had magic.
Four of the royal guards went past Applejack, Pinkie, and Spike into the library and the rest stayed outside, looking around to make sure the area was secure.
The door of the third carriage opened and Princess Celestia herself stepped out.
"Princess!" Applejack said, bowing. Pinkie and Spike followed her lead.
"Hello, girls," Celestia said grimly. "I came as soon as I heard."
"Oh Princess, what should we do?" Applejack said. "We have to find Rainbow Dash before it's too late!"
"The first thing I need you to do," Celestia said, "is to not tell ANYpony else about this. If word gets out that a princess has been murdered, there will be panic."
"Hang on a second!" Spike said. "Did Applejack say Rainbow Dash?"
Oh, no, Applejack thought. She had completely forgotten that Spike had been right behind her.
"What do you mean when you say Rainbow Dash?" Spike asked, starting to sound panicked. "You're not saying-"
"Ah AM sayin'!" Applejack said, more sharply then intended. "It- it was Rainbow that killed Twilight, Spike."
Spike simply stared in disbelief at Applejack for a few moments, then simply walked away from the library, heading for town.
"Princess, what can we do?" Applejack asked again, turning back to Celestia.
"Oh! Oh! When we find Dashie and make her better, can we throw her a party?" Pinkie asked excitedly.
Celestia smiled weakly at the pink pony. "I guess you could if you want, Pinkamena."
Celestia turned back to Applejack. "About finding Rainbow Dash? I believe you and Pinkie are the ones to do it."
"Oh," Applejack said. She realized that Celestia had no idea that they had already tried to do that, and two of their friends had been killed because of it.
"Well..." Applejack tried to think of something to say.
"I know you two can do it," Celestia said grimly. "You MUST find her."
"But Princess, where are we supposed to start looking?" Applejack said desperately.
Princess Celestia looked at her. "You all know each other so well. Use your feelings, and you'll find her."
"Princess, she's dangerous!" Applejack said. "She'll kill us!"
"Which is why I'm sending six of my best royal guards to accompany you," Celestia said. With a motion of her hoof, six royal guards stepped out of her carriage. Three of them were unicorns, the other three were pegasus ponies who carried spears.
"But Princess- they could kill her!" Applejack said.
Celestia lowered her head sadly and closed her eyes. "I'm sorry. But this has gone too far. If you can't find a way to capture her... You'll have to kill her."
Applejack stared at Celestia in horror but she knew what Celestia said was true. Finally, she lowered her head. "C'mon, Pinkie," Applejack said quietly. "We best go get our things packed up. We got a long journey ahead of us."
***
Later that afternoon, near evening, three young fillies sat in their clubhouse at Sweet Apple Acres.
"-and that's why dancing ain't our special talent," Apple Bloom finished saying to Sweetie Bell and Scootaloo.
"Oh, we could try spying!" Sweetie Bell said. "Maybe spying on other ponies is our special talent!"
Scootaloo rolled her eyes. "We tried that last week, remember, Sweetie Bell? And we all remember how that turned out."
"Oh, yeah," Sweetie Bell said, remembering.
"Besides," Scootaloo continued, "I bet our talents are something cool, like Rainbow Dash's!"
"What cool things could we try then?" Sweetie Bell asked.
"Hey, mah big sis is home!" Apple Bloom said in surprise.
Scootaloo and Sweetie Bell turned and saw Apple Bloom staring out the window of the clubhouse.
"Ah thought she said she wouldn't be back til later this evenin'!"
An idea suddenly popped into Scootaloo's mind. "That's IT!" she shouted.
"Whut's it?" Apple Bloom said in confusion, turning away from the window.
"Yeah, what's it?" Sweetie Bell asked.
"Well, you know how your sis always goes on adventures with her friends, right?" Scootaloo asked Apple Bloom. "Well, maybe our special talents are going on adventures like them!"
"That's a great idea!" Sweetie Bell said.
"How come ah never thought of that?!" Apple Bloom said.
"So, the next time they go on adventure, we'll follow them!" Scootaloo said. "Then we'll have an adventure, too!"
The three friends sat in silence for awhile. Apple Bloom looked out the window again and gasped. "Hey, sis is leavin'! An' she's got a pack of stuff with her!"
"Let's go follow her now," Scootaloo urged. "She's probably not going to be back for awhile if she's packing."
"That's a great idea!" Apple Bloom said. "I'll go get our Emergency Camping Supply Packs."
Apple Bloom reached under the desk they had in their clubhouse and got out three small backpacks, one for each of them.
Scootaloo and Sweetie Bell stared.
"Um... When did you make these?" Sweetie Bell asked.
"Just earlier today!" Apple Bloom said. "Ya know, in case we had to go emergency camping."
"O-kay then," Scootaloo said.
"Well, y'all ready to go?" Apple Bloom said, tossing each of them a backpack.
"Yep!" Scootaloo and Sweetie Bell said.
"Great, let's head out then! Cutie Mark Crusaders GO!"
The three fillies didn't realize it yet, but they had just made the biggest mistake of their lives.
***
Three minutes later, Granny Smith walked up to the Cutie Mark Crusader's clubhouse. Applejack hadn't told her much, only to ask that she keep Apple Bloom and her friends safe while Applejack went away for a few days. Granny Smith was now at the clubhouse to tell Apple Bloom to come inside and to tell her friends to go home for the evening.
Granny Smith went up to the door of the clubhouse and she looked inside and gasped. The three fillies weren't there. They had already left.
***
Applejack met up back with Pinkie Pie near Sugarcube Corner with the six royal guards.
"Pinkie, what exactly did ya pack up?" Applejack asked, motioning at the backpack on Pinkie's back.
"Oh, not much, just some cupcakes, my party cannon, some balloons, a few-"
"Ya fit ALL of that stuff in your pack?" Applejack asked doubtfully. "It looks kinda small."
"Yep!"
"Well... Ok. As long as yer ready."
Applejack turned and spoke to the royal guards. "The last we saw Rainbow, she was in this one abandoned house, near the Everfree Forest. We can take y'all there, if ya want."
"Please do," the lead guard said.
Applejack led the way to the old house. By the time they got there, it was evening and the sky was dark blue. It was almost nighttime.
The eight ponies stood in front of the dark house and the three unicorns lit up the tips of their horns with blue light so everyone could see.
The lead pony, one of the unicorns, spoke. "You two," he said, motioning at two of the pegasus guards, "and you," he said, motioning at one of the other unicorn guards, "will go inside the house. Look for clues. If you find the enemy, aim to subdue, but you are authorized to use lethal force if absolutely necessary.
"You others," the leader said, motioning at the guards that had not been picked to go into the house, "will stay out here with me while we wait for the others to come back out. If the enemy is still nearby, we need to protect these two."
Applejack was about to say she could protect herself just fine, but then she remembered how Rainbow Dash had nearly killed her earlier that day, and didn't say anything. But there was one thing she didn't like- how the royal guards kept referring to Rainbow Dash as "the enemy". Apparently, Pinkie Pie felt the same way.
"Rainbow Dash is NOT our enemy, silly!" Pinkie said to the lead guard. "She's our friend!"
The guard looked at Pinkie somberly. "Rainbow Dash was your friend," the guard corrected. "I'm sorry, kid, but whatever killed Princess Twilight and your other two friends you told us about was not Rainbow Dash. At least, not anymore."
***
Rainbow Dash hid in the bushes at the side of the house and watched the six royal guards talk to her "friends".
"Can't kill them yet oh no not right now too many of them they'll kill me," Rainbow Dash muttered to herself.
She continued to spy on the eight ponies. After a minute, three of the royal guards broke away from the group and headed up towards the house while the other three stayed with Rainbow's "friends".
Suddenly, on the other side of the yard, Rainbow Dash saw three ponies sneaking through the shadows, not wanting to be seen by the royal guards or Applejack and Pinkie Pie. They were good, hardly anypony would notice them lurking, but Rainbow Dash noticed. And in her broken mind, a plan was already forming.
A couple of tiny fillies out to get me too haha looks like everypony is after me but I'll kill them all KILL them all KILL THEM ALL KILL THEM ALL!
***
Applejack, Pinkie, and the three royal guards waiting with them waited outside nervously for over an hour for the other three to come back out of the house. By now, it was full-on nighttime, the only light provided by the two unicorn guards and the stars in the sky.
"Do ya think somethin' bad happened to em?" Applejack whispered worriedly. "They've been gone an awful long time."
"I don't know," the leader guard said. Applejack thought she detected a hint of fear in his voice, and it scared her because the royal guards usually showed no emotion to anything. "I really don't-"
The front door of the house opened and all of the three guards came out. Applejack, Pinkie, and even the other guards sighed in relief.
The three guards that had come out of the house were looking grim. They walked across the yard to where the other three guards stood with Applejack and Pinkie.
"We found three bodies," one of the pegasus guards said. We identified them as a pegasus named Fluttershy, a unicorn named Rarity, and... another royal guard in the back yard. All three bodies were... terribly mutilated."
Applejack remembered seeing the body of Fluttershy, then seeing Rarity killed, and she managed to not throw up with some difficulty.
"And the enemy?" the leader guard asked.
"No sign of her in the house. We searched the whole place."
"Well, no point in searching anywhere else tonight. It's too dark out," the leader said. "I say we camp here, in front of this house- we can take turns keeping guard- and we can figure out to do in the morning."
"Oh! I love camping!" Pinkie Pie exclaimed. "We can have a campfire, and tell ghost stories-"
"NO ghost stories!" Applejack said sharply. "We're scared enough as it is."
"Oh, ok. But I can at least eat these cupcakes, right?"
***
A little while later that night, three tents were set up, one for the royal guards, one for Applejack, and one for Pinkie Pie, in the yard of the house. There was a campfire going. Too scared to go to bed, Applejack and Pinkie sat around the campfire while two of the pegasus guards kept watch. Nopony talked much, but Applejack watched with mild interest as Pinkie ate about twenty cupcakes in less than five minutes. Applejack still couldn't figure out how that pony had fit so much stuff in her pack, or her stomach for that matter, but then again, she reminded herself, there was a lot of things about Pinkie she couldn't figure out.
***
The Cutie Mark Crusaders were camping in the trees about fifty yards away from where Applejack, Pinkie, and the roal guards had set up their camp. The three young fillies could not start a campfire, or use any kind of light for that matter, because then Applejack, Pinkie, or the guards would discover them. They just sat on their sleeping mats outside and talked in whispers, mostly about why there was royal guards with Applejack and Pinkie and if they were on some kind of mission for Princess Celestia. Scootaloo grew bored after awhile, and she was the first to fall asleep.
Even later that night, Scootaloo awoke with a gasp. She'd just had a nightmare. She looked around, and in the darkness, saw that Sweetie Bell and Apple Bloom were already asleep.
Scootaloo needed a walk, but she had to do it in in the woods or else she might be discovered by Applejack, Pinkie, or the guards.
Scootaloo began to walk into the woods in a straight line so she could easily find her way back. Still, she was scared and she jumped at small noises. After five minutes of walking, she realized how deep in the woods she was, and turned around to go back.
Crack.
Scootaloo froze. That was the sound of a hoof breaking a dry twig. And it wasn't her.
Crunch crunch.
The sound of footsteps nearby, walking over fallen leaves. Badly scared now, Scootaloo began to trot quickly back in the direction she had came from, but the footsteps followed, out of sight.
"Somepony, help me!" Scootaloo tried to yell, but her voice came out as a weak whisper.
Terrified, Scootaloo sped up until she was running, but the footsteps sped up, too. And then, a dark figure leapt out of the bushes ten feet in front of her. Scootaloo began to back away, too terrified to scream. Then, the figure stepped into a patch of moonlight...
"Rainbow Dash!" Scootaloo gasped loudly in relief and happiness. "What are you doing here? I'm sorry I was off wandering in the woods again, it's a long story, and I had a nightmare-"
Scootaloo expected Rainbow Dash to go comfort her like she did the last time Scootaloo had done something like this (except that time, she had fallen into a river). Rainbow Dash did not try to comfort her. She didn't even move.
"R- Rainbow?" Scootaloo asked again, sounding unsure this time.
This time, Rainbow Dash did move, slowly walking towards Scootaloo in a menacing manner. Suddenly, as Rainbow stepped into another patch of moonlight, Scootaloo noticed two things that horrified her. The first she noticed was the crazy maniac grin on Rainbow's face, her eyes bloodshot and glinting an evil shade of red in the moonlight. The second thing Scootaloo noticed was the moonlight glinting off something metal in Rainbow's hoof- a blood covered knife.
"Kill you," Rainbow Dash said in a chillingly normal voice, then charged at Scootaloo with the knife, making a soft sound that sounded in between laughing and choking.
Scootaloo squeaked in terror and she tripped and fell backwards on her side, and Rainbow missed her.
"Help!" Scootaloo tried to scream, but her voice came out once again as a weak whisper.
Rainbow snarled, actually snarled, and turned around once again to charge at Scootaloo. The crazy pegasus held the knife in front of her and galloped at Scootaloo, full speed.
Scootaloo finally found her voice. "Rainbow Dash, stop, please stop, you're like my sister, remember? You're a sister to me, please!"
Rainbow Dash suddenly stopped, the knife about two feet from Scootaloo's face. Her expression softened, the demonic glint left her eyes, and she slowly lowered the knife. In that moment, she looked normal- normal but scared.
"S- s- sisters," Rainbow said. "I remember... Scootaloo... like my sister... the sister I never had..."
Scootaloo felt hope rise in her. She didn't know what had happened to Rainbow Dash, but whatever it was, she had stopped it! Scootaloo smiled, happy.
"Sisters..." Rainbow said again to herself. Suddenly, the blue pegasus began to shiver violently, and she closed her eyes. When she opened them, Scootaloo gasped in horror. Rainbow's eyes were again bloodshot and blank looking, except for the evil glint which was back in them. Her expression changed and she began to laugh-choke again.
"Sisters haha good try!" Rainbow growled. "You're just like them you're here to kill me but I will not take anymore oh no I won't because I'LL KILL YOU FIRST!"
Rainbow Dash raised the knife, and Scootaloo finally was able to scream. But the scream didn't last very long.
***
Sweetie Bell awoke early the next morning before Apple Bloom. The sun was just beginning to rise, and the sky was turning light blue. She stole a quick glance over at the other camp, where Applejack and the others were staying, but there was no movement there- they must have all been sleeping, except for the royal guard standing outside, keeping watch.
Sweetie Bell looked around, keeping low so the royal guard wouldn't see her through the trees. She frowned. Apple Bloom was still on her mat, sleeping peacefully, but Scootaloo was gone. Where could she have gone?
Sweetie Bell spotted a trail through the bushes, where somepony must of had recently walked through. That was where Scootaloo was, probably eating breakfast out of sight where the other ponies at the other camp couldn't see her. Sweetie Bell thought about waking Apple Bloom, but decided against it- she would only be gone a minute to talk to Scoots. She headed down the trail.
After about five minutes, Sweetie Bell stepped in a puddle of something wet. She looked down at her front hoof and noticed it was bright red. She had stepped in a puddle of crimson liquid. Nervous now, Sweetie Bell looked around and saw that the puddles formed a path into some bushes. Sweetie Bell followed the path and looked in the bushes, then she gasped in disgust and horror. Scootaloo was lying in the bushes, dead. She had been stabbed in the head, neck, and side. Her whole body was covered in blood and her eyes were open and blank, staring at nothing. Sweetie Bell realized that Scootaloo had been stabbed farther back, but she had stumbled around alive for a bit, before veering off into the bush and dying there, and that was why there was a trail of blood.
Sweetie Bell walked backwards from Scootaloo's body, trying not to throw up. She was so grossed out by what she had seen, she didn't even notice Rainbow Dash hiding on a branch in the tree above her. She never even knew what hit her when Rainbow Dash dropped from the tree, landed on top of her, and wrenched her head to one side with a sickening CRACK.
***
Apple Bloom ran back through the trail back to where her, Scoots, and Sweetie Bell had camped. She was sobbing and crying. She had woken up and had followed the same trail that Sweetie Bell and Scootaloo had taken, and had just seen Sweetie Bell get murdered by Rainbow Dash. Apple Bloom had not been seen, and she now ran back as fast as she could. She ran because she knew that if she turned back, Rainbow Dash would be right there, ready to snap her neck-
Apple Bloom tripped on a tree root and fell with a cry. She turned around, one hundred percent sure she would see Rainbow Dash right behind her, but there was nopony there. Sobbing in relief, she scrambled up and continued running.
***
Applejack, Pinkie, and the six royal guards sat outside their tents, eating breakfast. Nopony talked much, they knew the grim task ahead of them, searching for Rainbow Dash and finding her, even if it meant looking all over Equestria.
Applejack heard something. "Y'all hear that rustlin' sound? It's comin' from over there," she said, motioning to the edge of the Everfree Forest on the far side of the yard.
The six royal guards jumped up. The pegasus guards lowered their spears, and the unicorn's horns crackled with deadly energy, ready to be released on something in necessary.
The trees rustled... And Apple Bloom came running out of the forest, crying. The royal guards looked surprised, but they lowered their weapons.
"Apple Bloom!" Applejack said in surprise, running over to her. "What in tarnation happened to ya? And why the hay are ya out here? You're supposed to be at home!"
"R- R- R- Rainbow D- Dash," Apple Bloom sobbed, ignoring Applejack's questions. "Sh- she's gone c- c- c- crazy! Sweetie Bell is dead an' I think Scoots is, too!"
"Oh, no," Applejack breathed, realizing what her sister had just said.
"Wait, you found Rainbow Dash?" Pinkie said. "That's GREAT news! This calls for a-"
"Don't ya DARE say it, Pinkie," Applejack said.
"Sorry," Pinkie Pie said meekly.
"Show me where, sis," Applejack said.
Sobbing some more, Apple Bloom motioned for them to follow her, then she started walking. Applejack and Pinkie Pie followed, followed closely by the royal guards.
***
"Th- this is the place, y'all," Apple Bloom said. She closed her eyes so she wouldn't have to see the bodies of her friends.
"Mother of Celestia," Applejack said in horror, looking up at a tree. "Is- is that Sweetie Bell up there?!"
Sweetie Bell's neck was broken, but Rainbow Dash hadn't been done. Sweetie Bell had been nailed high up in the tree by a long knife driven through her neck. Blood still poured down her body, dripping off her hooves and landing on the forest floor with a soft pattering noise. If that wasn't enough, a long sharp twig had been shoved through her ear, all the way through her head, and out the other side.
"We found the body of Scootaloo," one of the guards said grimly, looking in one of the bushes. "Stabbed to death."
Suddenly, Pinkie Pie screamed, horrified.
"What is it, Pinkie?" Applejack said, hurrying over to her. Pinkie only pointed to a tree, where a blanket or something had been nailed to it with several knives. Written on the blanket, no doubt in Sweetie Bell's or Scootaloo's blood, was a message, written in scrawled messy letters:
YOUR NEXT, APPLE AND PINKIE, AND I'LL KILL YOU FIRST! SINED RAIN BOW DA SHIE
