Popped

Chapters

Part II - A Kick in the Teeth
Part III - An Eye For An Eye
Part IV - Testing the Water
Part V - Coming to a Head
Part VI - A Pain in the Back
Part VII - Burying the Hatchet
Part VIII - Recovery
Part IX - Sleeping Beauty
Part X - From Bad to Worse
Part XI - Epilogue
Part I - Out of the Frying Pan

Part II - A Kick in the Teeth

The sun rose above Equestria to signal the beginning of another beautiful day, its bright glow reflecting off the morning dew. As its radiance filtered through the window to the Cakes’ bedroom, its soft, yet invasive light removed the two spouses from their dreams, tired eyes slowly opening to return them to consciousness.

Like every other morning, the Cakes groggily dragged themselves out of bed in order to begin their early morning preparations for the day. Running a family-owned business, especially in the food industry, required such adamant dedication. Carrot Cake got to work gathering the ingredients needed to create the various baked goods offered on the bakery’s menu, while Cupcake prepared the kitchen’s machinery for another long day of baking.

After setting a few metal bowls on top of the counter, Carrot turned to look at his wife. However, as he gazed into her eyes, He couldn’t help but notice something unusual about them. His normally cheerful spouse carried with her a worried expression as she stared, almost as if in a trance, out the kitchen’s window, its glass panes stuck with frost after a cold winter night.

Carrot Cake put down the measuring cup he was holding in his mouth. “What’s wrong, sugarplum? Is everything okay?” he said, turning towards her.

“Oh, it’s nothing, honey.” She said, turning a knob to preheat one of the kitchen’s many ovens. “I’m just a bit worried about Pinkie Pie. She's been gone for two days now. It’s not like her to leave without notice like this.”

Carrot carefully measured three cups of flour before turning back to Cupcake. “I know, muffin, but I wouldn’t worry about it. I’m sure she’s perfectly safe with her family. She probably just forgot to leave a note behind. You know how that mare is sometimes.”

“Oh, I hope you’re right, marshmallow.” She said, in between placing a tray on the counter and closing the oven door. “I know she’s a full-grown mare, but I still worry about her sometimes.”

“Why don’t we write to her? Just to check up? I’m pretty sure we have the farm’s address somewhere around here.”

“Oh no, we couldn’t do that. She’s not a foal, honey.” Cupcake said. With a grin, she greased the tray laid in front of her. “Although sometimes it’s hard to tell.”

The couple shared a laugh together, happy to be able to put away their worries and face the long day of business ahead.

A few hours later, Carrot Cake trotted over to the bakery’s front door to flip over the sign that read “Sorry, we’re closed!” so that the words “Come in! We’re open!” were visible to ponies passing by in the streets. And like magic, moments after the bakery opened its doors for the day, customers began flowing into the store, eager to satisfy their morning hunger.

* * *

Pinkie Pie was usually an early riser. Of course, she was required to get up early for her job, but even on her off days she made an effort to wake up before anypony else.

There was just something so relaxing about it all. Although those who knew the mare might think it unlike her, the morning was Pinkie Pie’s special little moment where she could just sit on her balcony with a mug of hot cocoa, feeling the warm ceramic between her hooves. She could relax as she watched the sunrise, basking in its warm glow without a worry in the world. After all, Pinkie Pie loved living her life, so why would she ever want to sleep through any of it?

This morning, however, was different for Pinkie. The sun’s light didn't touch her face, teasing her awake with its meddlesome glow. Instead of her brightly-painted room, filled with the sugary smells of the kitchen below, Pinkie Pie awoke to darkness, accompanied by the sharp, rather unpleasant smell of her own sweat that lined the interior of the bucket on top of her head.

When Pinkie Pie awoke, she was greeted by the stabbing pain of the burns that littered her body.

She was anything but eager to face the day.

Pinkie's eyes would open, only for her to shut them tight soon after, drifting in and out of consciousness. The peaceful morning hours that Pinkie usually spent warm and cozy with a content little grin on her face were now spent trying her best to forget where she was; hanging by her forehooves in a hot, humid basement. As long as she kept her eyes closed, she wouldn’t have to face it. As long as she dreamed, she could at least pretend she was home.

And so she did. Pinkie Pie closed her eyes, and once again drifted off to sleep.

* * *

The cabin door gave the slightest click as it shut behind Pokey Pierce, creating a much-needed barrier between him and the harsh winter air. It was quiet, save for the crackle of the fireplace, a stark contrast to the loud whistling wind outside. Before moving about the dwelling, he stood in the doorway for a moment, sighing contently as his body was enveloped by the warmth of the fireplace.

Finally, without further ado, Pokey took off his winter gear, hanging his cloak next to the long, blue and yellow scarf already on the coat rack. “Well then,” he said to himself, clicking his forehooves together. “Let’s get started.”

Pokey made his way down a set of wooden stairs. He winced ever so slightly upon reaching the bottom, the cold concrete floor of the unfinished basement shocking his hoof, which had grown used to the warmth of the floor above. He made a mental note to remember to install a carpet one of these days.

He continued across the dimly-lit basement until he came to a locked door. He levitated the key out of its hiding spot under a loose floorboard and inserted it into the keyhole. Or, at least he tried to. Like it had nearly every time that month, the key stopped going into the keyhole halfway through. For the past few weeks, the lock had been particularly finicky, sometimes even refusing to lock. Ugh, this door is such a pain to deal with! he thought as a scowl adorned his face. He tried another time, only for the key get stuck again. Rage flashed in his yellow eyes.

He aggressively stomped his back hooves into the floor, his violent temper getting the best of him. “Why can't you just work for once?” he yelled, picking up a book from an adjacent shelf and throwing it at the wall. It hit the wall with a hard thump before landing on the floor.

Following the outburst, Pokey closed his eyes and took a deep breath. “Okay.” he said to himself, and very carefully inserted the key. The third time, the door finally accepted the key, and the door creaked open. Beyond it was a decently-sized wooden platform followed by a long, steep staircase.

The door clicked shut as Pokey locked the door behind him. He put down the key and made his way once again down the steep flight of stairs, paying careful attention to where his hooves fell. Once he made his way to the bottom, Pokey marched down the hall and into the basement’s storage room.

Once there, he looked around the large alcove quizzically, searching for a specific type of object. Squinting his eyes, Pokey’s head moved from left to right as he carefully scanned the shelves. A mixture of various objects, all covered in a thin layer of brown dust, adorned the shelves, ranging from instruments of torture to a few dozen souvenirs he’d kept from past victims.

Pokey stopped his search for a moment to take it all in. His mind was flooding with a torrent of memories and there was nothing he could do about it.

He looked at a small teddy bear on the floor and remembered his youngest victim, a small school age filly. He recalled the day at the Ponyville market when she told him she had been separated from her mother.

He recalled leading the little filly away from the crowd, and the look on her face when she finally realized something was wrong.

Next to the teddy bear was a beautiful silver dress. Pokey remembered its former owner, a young mare with a beautiful brown mane and pale white coat. He remembered his excitement as he watched her storm off in a huff after a lengthy argument with her coltfriend. She had decided to blow off some steam with a walk around the lake next to the dance hall. Pokey remembered the rush he felt as he followed closely behind her, waiting for the perfect moment to strike.

Pokey’s ears perked up when looked on the floor next to the dress. Laying there was a dusty lead pipe. Just what I came here for he thought. Pokey’s dark blue aura surrounded the object as he lifted it up to his face. He took a deep breath and exhaled. The minuscule dust particles danced freely in the air as they were blown off the pipe.

Once the dust was off, Pokey grasped the pipe with his teeth in order to use his magic to carry the camera equipment into Pinkie’s cell. He exited the storage room and took a few steps down the hall. Pokey peeked in through the window to find Pinkie Pie hanging from the ceiling, presumably asleep. It was impossible to tell with the bucket on her head.

He unlocked the door and opened it slowly, taking extra care not to wake up Pinkie. As he made his way into the room, he employed the same care in setting up the camera. Once everything was set up to his liking, Pokey pressed the “record” button and whispered into the microphone. “Pinkie Pie, session two."

He tiptoed over to Pinkie Pie and readied the pipe.

Pokey inhaled sharply and screamed as loud as he could. “WAKE UP!” he yelled, repeatedly hitting the bucket with the lead pipe as he did so.

“Gah!” Pinkie Pie yelped, her dream coming to an abrupt end as her eyes shot open.

Pinkie’s world was suddenly a confusing pandemonium of sound coming from each and every direction. Her legs moved back and forth instinctively, trying to distance themselves from whatever had startled her. They returned to their stationary state once Pinkie made sense of it all, her heart plummeting into her stomach as she remembered where she was.

Even though only a few strikes were necessary to wake up Pinkie, Pokey didn’t stop, taking pleasure in abusing his prisoner. After each strike, a few sweat droplets which had been hanging off the bottom edge of the bucket were disturbed, losing their grip as they fell to join the puddle of caked blood on the ground below.

The bucket in question was made of cheap, somewhat flimsy metal, which was very easily bent when struck with a blunt object. As a result, each of Pokey’s subsequent strikes warped the metal closer and closer towards Pinkie’s face until it gave way. The pipe easily ripped through the metal and whacked Pinkie on the nose, eliciting a yelp of pain.

Pokey bludgeoned the bucket again and again with the same results. More often than not, when Pokey hit the bucket, the pipe tore straight through the metal and ended its movement on Pinkie Pie’s face.

“Ngh! Ow! I’m... OW! Awake! Stop! OWW!”

As the pipe effortlessly tore through the metal, razor-sharp edges were left behind. If one of Pokey’s strikes didn’t tear through, it at least bended the sharp edges and drove them into Pinkie’s flesh after each blow, leaving many painful, albeit minor, cuts. This, along with beating she was receiving was soon too much for Pinkie to handle, and she began to cry like a filly.

A smiled adorned Pokey’s lips as he listened.

“And I bet you used to complain about your alarm clock!” Pokey said, laughing at his own joke. Pinkie ignored him and continued crying as the throbbing pain persisted.

Thoroughly pleased, Pokey put down the pipe and levitated the bucket off of Pinkie’s head, but soon found it a difficult task due to the parts of it that had been embedded into her skin. Pokey tried a second time. As the bucket was forced off Pinkie’s head, the aforementioned embedded parts scraped at the rest of her flesh as they were removed, tearing through skin as the metal was dislodged. Pinkie cringed and gritted her teeth, tears running down her cheeks as she tried anything she could to get through the pain.

Pokey focused his magic and gave one final jerk upwards, and the bucket was finally detached to reveal Pinkie’s freshly-lacerated, disfigured face.

Pokey winced at the unpleasant sight. “Wow.”

Many strands of her curly pink hair, drenched in sweat, were stuck to her forehead. Her hair also gave off a greasy, unwashed smell that polluted the air around it. In addition to a few scabbed-over burns, Numerous yellowish-black bruises littered the lower half of her face, left behind where the pipe had struck her. Blood stained some parts of her face where her new cuts bled, save for two narrow paths below each eye where the blood was washed away by a still-flowing stream of tears.

Pinkie looked down to see Pokey standing in front of her, smiling smugly. “Good morning, Pinkie Pie! Did you at least sleep well? Y’know, ‘cause I bet you probably could have woken up in a more pleasant manner.”

Pinkie looked away and continued sobbing, every so often wincing in pain as she felt the salinity of her tears reacting with sensitive, exposed flesh. Pokey rolled his eyes. “Oh, quit crying already. You’re such a foal, Pinkie. It’s pathetic.”

“I’m sorry!” she blubbered, taking deep breaths to calm herself down. She closed her eyes and breathed in through her snout and out from her mouth, a strategy she’d always used while consoling herself. Pokey wanted her to stop crying, and it only took one of his angry outbursts to teach her to obey. Unfortunately, despite her best efforts, each breath only exacerbated her tears, her body trembling in pain with each shaky exhalation.

“Are you going to stop or do I have to make you?” He threatened, levitating the lead pipe over her head.

“N-no! I can stop!” she said at the edge of hysteria. Pinkie closed her eyes and filled her head with comforting thoughts. It’s gonna be okay, It’s gonna be okay, It’s gonna be okay, she assured herself. The more she repeated the sentence in her head, however, the less she believed it. Her face contorted in grief, and Pinkie soon began hyperventilating as a new burst of tears flowed from her bloodshot eyes.

“Looks like you could use a little help.” Pokey scoffed.

Before Pinkie could react, Pokey cued up a levitation spell, and with one final, forceful swing, the lead pipe hit Pinkie Pie directly in the abdomen. Her pupils dilated, and she violently exhaled in shock as the air was forced out of her lungs, the hard blow to her midsection having temporarily paralyzed her diaphragm.

Pokey clapped his front hooves together and smiled genuinely as he watched Pinkie struggle to breathe, her expression growing more and more panicked after each failed attempt. Her head bobbed slightly back and forth as she struggled, the coloration of her face shifting from its usual bright pink to a sickly blue. Her face contorted as if to scream, yet no noise came out. Pokey was no good at lip-reading, but he could have sworn he saw her lips forming the words “I can’t breathe” and “help”.

Pokey shrugged. She’ll be fine. he thought, Probably.

He paused the camera’s recording and exited the cell to give Pinkie some time to catch her breath while he disposed of the dented bucket, now rendered useless from his abuse moments earlier. Before throwing the ruined container aside, Pokey caught a whiff of the smell that had developed inside. Having been on top of Pinkie’s head for the two entire days he was gone, and in a rather humid basement, the interior was caked with sweat and greasy, pink stray hairs. His curiosity getting the best of him, Pokey dipped his head into the bucket and inhaled. He immediately gagged from the atrocious smell and quickly threw it aside.

Making another mental note never to do that again, Pokey once again made his way across the hall to the storage room. Once inside, he grabbed a small brown bag with his teeth before turning around to make the brief trip back to Pinkie’s cell.

Pokey entered the cell a few moments later to find Pinkie Pie still in the process of catching her breath. She had just barely regained the ability to breathe, and Pokey's presence certainly didn’t help calm her down. Eyes nervously darting around the room, her gaze flew past Pokey as he approached and focused on the right wall of the cell. She did a double-take as her eyes quickly darted back to Pokey. Pinkie squinted, attempting to make out the object levitating next to him.

Her efforts, unfortunately, were in vain. The impregnable darkness of the cell made it impossible to see anything that wasn't close to her. Pinkie bit down on her lower lip as her mind flooded with all the grim possibilities. What does he have? she asked herself, What's he gonna do to me?

Panic in her eyes, Pinkie threw another crying tantrum, thrashing about like foal who didn’t get her way. “No! Please let me go! I just wanna go home!” She cried, fresh tears flowing down her bruised, battered cheeks. “Please! Just take me home! I swear I'll do anything you want!”

Pokey chuckled. “I don’t doubt that. Do you miss your family, Pinkie Pie?”

Pinkie looked down towards the ground, letting a few tears fall to the floor. “Y-yeah...”

Pokey opened the bag he had carried into the room. “Good. Then you’ll appreciate this. I went through your mail while I was away. You have a couple packages. There’s even a letter here from your folks!”

Pinkie Pie felt her fears melt away. For now, she was safe. Despite her situation, Pinkie couldn’t help but feel happiness in her heart when she saw all the mail she had received from her friends and family. The smallest glint of hope could be seen in her eyes, and for the first time in days, Pinkie Pie smiled. “R-really?”

Pokey nodded. “Really. But...”

Pinkie’s smile faded just a little bit.

“I’m gonna give you a choice. You can have all of these,” Pokey said, levitating a few packages and letters in front of her face. “Or...you can eat.”

Pinkie Pie looked down towards her stomach. She hadn’t eaten in days, and it was starting to show. Her belly, which was usually slightly disteneded due to her voracious appetite, was now flat, and hunger pangs only added to her discomfort. “I...” She began, uncertainty in her voice. “I...I don’t...please don’t make me choose!”

“Fine, I’ll throw these in the furnace while I set u-”

“No!” Pinkie cut off. “I want...I want the mail...” she said, her voice heavy with uncertainty.

Pokey raised an eyebrow. “You sure? I’m going to go back to Ponyville again at the end of the day and probably won’t return for a few days. I don’t know if you’ll be able to hold out without food for that long."

Pinkie looked down at her snout as Pokey enveloped it in his magic and jiggled it back and forth for a second. "Especially not a chubby little pig like you.” he teased.

Pinkie Pie scowled at the insult, but didn’t dare talk back. She looked at the mail, then back at Pokey, who grew more impatient with every passing second.

“I wanna hear from my family.”

Pokey rolled his eyes. “Fine.”

He opened a plain white envelope, removed the letter inside, and held it close enough to Pinkie's face so that she could read it.

Dear Pinkamena,

I hope you are having a wonderful Hearth’s Warming in Ponyville with your friends and the Cakes. Life at the farm is okay, but it has never really been the same since you left a few years ago. We know that the cab service does not come out this far, but Father finally saved up enough bits to afford a new carriage, so me, Limestone, Mother and Father are all coming to see you next week! I cannot wait to see you again!

Sincerely,

Marble Pie

"Are you finished?" Pokey said.

Pinkie hesitated at first, but eventually responded. "Y-yeah."

"Good." Pokey said. He repeated the process with another envelope.

Pinkie Pie! What’s up, girl?! Sorry I can’t hang out with you and the rest of the gang this Hearth’s Warming! It sucks but they’re making me stay here at the academy. I got the present you sent me though! I especially liked the drawing of you and me that came with it. I put it up on the wall, but apparently my roommate is allergic to crayon wax and glitter (totally weird, right?) so I have to keep it under my bed. But anyway, happy Hearth’s Warming! The first thing I’m gonna do when I get back is swing by Sugarcube Corner!

See you soon!

Rainbow Dash

Pinkie smiled. She remembered to write!

Meanwhile, Pokey tapped his hoof impatiently on the floor. "Alright, I'm sick of this. Let's get back to business, shall we?"

Pinkie’s ears drooped. “What? You said you would read all of them! You made me choose! That’s not fair!” she pouted.

Pokey turned around and got up in Pinkie’s face. He stared directly into her eyes, their faces only a few inches apart. “Do you think I care?” he laughed. Pinkie gagged at his foul breath. “Do you honestly think I care?” Pokey held up the two opened letters in front of Pinkie’s face and ripped them in half.

Pinkie squirmed around. “No! Stop!”

Pokey threw the unopened package on the floor, a cloud of dirt appearing on impact. He brought his hoof down again and again, crushing the box and its contents while Pinkie Pie watched in despair. “Did your simple little brain think that I would care one bit about your feelings?” he said, picking up the package with his magic and throwing it into the hallway.

Pokey levitated an unopened letter in front of Pinkie’s face.

“No! Please please don’t! You promised! Don’t!” Pinkie begged. Her head suddenly jolted forward, trying to grab the envelope with her teeth.

Pokey was able to move it out of her reach just in time. “Look around you, Pinkie Pie. You’re never ever going to see anyone you love ever again.” He said, ripping the envelope in two. “That’s a promise. And however long you last, you’re gonna die here.”

Pinkie Pie hanged there, staring at Pokey in disbelief. As she scanned the floor, looking at the destroyed messages from her loved ones, a feeling of rage unlike anything she had ever felt before boiled inside of her.

She snapped. “Why do you have to be such a big, dumb, stupid meanie? You lied to me! I HATE YOU!” She screamed, kicking her legs back and forth. Due to the lack of food, her energy didn’t last long. After her short outburst, Pinkie hanged there, sniveling weakly. “I hate you...”

Pokey didn’t respond. Instead, he simply walked over the the camera. Looking through the eyepiece, he stuck his tongue out as he adjusted the angle. Once satisfied, Pokey backed away from the device and unpaused the recording.

“Pinkie Pie, session two, part two.”

Pinkie cringed with fear. “What? No! Please don’t hurt me again!” She pleaded, rocking back and forth, despite the sharp, rusted edges of the tight cuffs digging into her flesh as she did so.

Pokey said nothing.

She took a deep breath. “CAN ANYPONY HEAR ME? HELP ME, PLEASE!”

Pinkie kept her eyes shut tight, trying her best to resist the immense urge to look at whatever Pokey was doing, recalling the strategy she’d always used when getting a vaccine. As long as she didn’t look at the needle, it wouldn’t hurt as much.

Right?

Pinkie managed to keep her eyelids shut for a few minutes while Pokey retrieved whatever he needed. However, the longer Pinkie Pie kept her eyes closed, the more vulnerable she felt, and the resulting unpleasant combination of curiosity and fear made Pinkie Pie unable to resist looking. After a few long minutes, she opened her eyes, but instantly regretted doing so.

Pinkie had opened her eyes just in time to see Pokey approaching, carrying in his mouth a small rock hammer. At one end of the tool was a rounded, blunt surface, the other a long spike, meant for breaking up various minerals. However, unlike the rock hammers she was familiar with from the farm, Pinkie noticed the pointed end was specially made to have small metal spikes sticking out from all sides.

Pinkie’s face turned visibly paler. “Oh no. No! No no no no please! Don’t!” she pleaded, squirming about all the way. “PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE DON’T!”

This time around, her squirming was enough for the cuffs to actually break the skin, causing Pinkie to wince slightly at the unexpected injury.

“No! Get away! Don’t touch me!” She demanded, frantically kicking her legs back and forth once again, this time in an attempt to repel Pokey.

Annoyed, Pokey stood in place and watched Pinkie flail her legs around. “Do you want me to break your kneecaps? If so, please continue.” He said, looking Pinkie coldly in the eyes as he delivered the threat. Like magic, Pinkie wore a frightened look as she stopped moving completely, shuddering at the thought of her bones being broken. She didn’t want to suffer any more than she had to. Pinkie swore she could see a glimmer of hope in his eyes, almost as if he’d wanted her to give him the opportunity.

Pokey nodded in approval. “Good.”

Pokey walked behind Pinkie to a large crank sticking out of the wall. Since Pinkie was unable to stretch her neck far enough behind her to see it, she hadn't noticed it when she had examined her surroundings before. Whimpering, she cringed and prepared for a painful blow to her back from the spiked hammer.

Her eyes once again closed, she listened to the sound of Pokey grunting behind her, then the sound of a crank turning shortly afterward. Slowly, she came to the realization that Pokey was working with some short of machinery rather than preparing to harm her from behind, which let her relax a small bit. Nevertheless, she was still made uneasy by the prospect of Pokey lurking where she couldn't see him.

Then, suddenly, she heard the crank squeak loudly as it was moved, immediately followed by the rattling of the chains above her. She opened her eyes to find herself slowly descending into the pit below her.

"Wh-what's happening? Pokey, stop!" She said, making obvious the unquestionable panic in her voice. She looked down, and felt adrenaline once again rushing through her veins as her legs disappeared into the hole.

Pokey ignored her, remaining silent as he struggled to operate the old, rusted mechanism. He watched Pinkie struggle as her midsection entered the hole. He then slowed down, finally stopping when only the upper half of her body was visible. Finished with the laborious task, Pokey made his way over to the other side of the room.

Pinkie had little time to ask questions before Pokey appeared before her, wielding the rock hammer. Now that Pinkie's head was at a proper height, Pokey readied it Pinkie's skull, and Pinkie’s voice trembled as she pleaded for her safety. “Please, stop! I’ll do anything you want! Pinkie promise! PLEASE, POKEY!”

He stopped. “Is that a fact?”

A glint of hope flashed in Pinkie’s big, blue eyes as she nodded weakly.

“Alright then.” Said Pokey, putting down the hammer. “Give me a big smile.”

Although the request was rather peculiar, Pinkie complied, putting on her widest, toothiest grin for Pokey.

“You really are stupid, Pinkie Pie.”

With all the force he could muster, Pokey smashed the blunt end of the hammer directly against Pinkie’s grinning teeth. A stomach-turning crack could be heard as the hammer slammed hard into her clenched jaw.

“YEEEEEEAAAAAAGH!” she screamed. Her head flew back as far as it could go, a sharp, agonizing pain overcoming her entire body. She tasted her own blood’s metallic taste as it trickled out from between her teeth. Pinkie naturally tried to cup her hooves over her mouth, but the short, rusted chains from which she hanged only allowed her to shift them a few inches forward. Without some kind a barrier to put in between her mouth and Pokey, Pinkie Pie felt helpless, vulnerable to more abuse.

Pinkie opened her mouth to scream again, allowing small chips of her teeth to fall onto her tongue, which she promptly swallowed. The tiny chips hurt a little bit going down, but Pinkie barely noticed. She was too busy screaming from the overwhelming pain from her damaged teeth.

Pokey pulled the hammer back to prepare for another blow, and the hammer smashed into Pinkie’s teeth a second time. Another crack echoed off the walls as a second wave of unimaginable pain erupted throughout her body, which uncontrollably convulsed in response.

Pinkie’s coat was dyed red. Blood steadily flowed out of her mouth, staining her pink fur as it dripped down her body. As she screamed, more shattered tooth shards to broke off onto her tongue, this time much larger than before. She instinctively swallowed them, an action she would immediately regret.

The sharp remnants of Pinkie’s teeth traveled down her throat, pressing against the tissue of her esophagus as they descended. Pinkie let out a long, low-pitched moan as they slowly made their way down to her stomach, slicing open the sensitive lining of her throat. It felt as if a swarm of flesh-eating insects were eating her from the inside out, mercilessly tearing apart her innards.

As the tooth fragments continued their journey down to Pinkie’s stomach, Pokey was absolutely giddy to see her writing back and forth erratically, new expressions of agony adorning her face every passing second. Sensing the opportunity for a close-up, he grasped the hammer in his teeth in order to levitate the camera off of the tripod and in front of his victim’s face.

“Smile for the camera, Pinkie!” He said, making sure to capture every last bit of anguish the little mare could express. “Show me those pearly whites of yours.” Pinkie looked towards the lens of the camera and whimpered pathetically before coughing up a sizable amount of blood, some of which stuck to the camera’s lens.

“Come on, Pinkie! You can do it! Give me a big grin!”

Pinkie shook her head, trying her best to keep her lips closed as more blood quickly filled her mouth. Her cheeks swelled and blood seeped out from between her lips, unable to be contained.

“What? No Smile? I thought this was Pinkie Pie I had with me.” Pokey teased. “Oh well, I guess I’ll just have to convince you otherwise.” He said, setting the camera back on top of the tripod. He flipped the hammer around so the pointed side was facing her.

Pinkie gave another muffled scream as Pokey stabbed her right cheek with the pointed end of the rock hammer. The force of the swing was enough to easily puncture the thin cheek flesh, but not enough to do any serious damage to her teeth. “MMMMMMPPH!” Pinkie screamed, using all of her willpower to keep her lips closed.

As soon as Pokey removed the pointed end from her cheek, a stream of blood shot out of the hole it made, her face resembling a leaky pipe.

Pokey stabbed the same spot a second time. Unlike before, this time he moved the pointed end of the hammer around in a circle, and the purpose of the small spikes became clear as they ripped her flesh apart to enlarge the hole. The pain was soon too much for Pinkie to handle. She opened her mouth to scream, and a cascade of blood spilled out of her mouth.

“That’s better!” Pokey said, flipping the hammer around again. “I mean, it’s not exactly a smile, but it’ll do.”

“NO NO NO!” Was the only thing Pinkie could think of saying before the hammer descended a third time. Another disgusting crack sounded as the teeth on the left side Pinkie’s mouth shattered to pieces. Pinkie let out a bloodcurdling scream, which transitioned smoothly into a gurgle as blood filled the back of her throat.

Pokey didn't relent. Instead, he continued swinging the hammer into her jaw even faster, watching Pinkie's head wiggle around in agony as her teeth on the right side of her mouth were reduced to jagged stumps of bone.

Or, at least, that's what Pokey has assumed. Due to the thick blood that filled Pinkie's mouth, he couldn't actually see any of the damage he had done.

On the other hand, In an attempt to survey the damage herself, Pinkie ran her tongue across the jagged tops and bottoms of her teeth. She sobbed, both in pain and in disbelief as her mind constructed a disturbing visual image of her mutilated jaw, her tongue’s sense of touch describing to her a useless set of craggy, shattered teeth. Before long, Her tongue made contact with an exposed root, causing her to jolt forward from the sudden, abhorrent pain. “NGHH! GAHHHHHH!”

The sudden shift in her posture forced her to swallow most of the blood in her mouth, as well as the tooth shards that had been floating in it. Pinkie once again let out a series of screams as the shards sliced open her throat,though they were much weaker this time due to her vocal cords being worn out.

Pokey stepped out of the cell to allow the camera a good shot of Pinkie Pie in her pitiful state. Pinkie heard him saying something about going upstairs for a bit, but his words were drowned out by the crippling pain. After a few minutes, most of the bleeding stopped, leaving Pinkie Pie to hang there, moaning pathetically in pain.

***

About thirty minutes passed before Pokey returned, carrying a large ceramic bowl and a glass jug with his magic. “I heard crying from upstairs! Did I miss anything?” he said, fully expecting the cold, hateful look he received in return. “I know I said I wouldn’t, but I brought you some dinner.” Pinkie weakly furrowed her brow in surprise. “I need to keep you healthy after all.”

He levitated the edge of the bowl in between her lips. Pinkie looked down to examine the contents, expecting some kind of cold, molding gruel. Instead, to Pinkie’s surprise, It was filled with what looked like warm oatmeal. Steam rose off of the surface, the water particles sticking to her snout. She inhaled, and the smell of brown sugar filled her nostrils.

It was delicious.

Pinkie enthusiastically opened her mouth wide. Pokey tilted the bowl towards her face, and the warm mixture of oats, sugar, and water slid into her mouth. She did her best to redirect the oatmeal to the relatively-intact right side of her mouth, preventing the hot solution from touching exposed roots. She executed this rather successfully, although she did wince slightly a few times.

The entire bowl was soon emptied into Pinkie’s mouth, and she used her tongue to lap up the remainder before Pokey pulled it away.

Pokey did the same with a large jug of cold water. He held it up to her lips for her to drink, and Pinkie’s eyes lit up as she eagerly awaited the cold, pristine water. As soon as the ice-cold water touched her sensitive teeth, however, Pinkie screamed. She jolted forward again, causing her to ram what remained of her front teeth into the side of the glass pitcher. She hanged for a few seconds without moving, paralyzed by the pain before letting out a frustrated groan.

“Can you please heat it up a little?”

“No.” Pokey said sternly. “This water is all you get. Take it or leave it.”

Despite the fact that her teeth were throbbing in pain, this was the first water she had drank in days. Her mouth was encrusted with dried blood and dry from screaming. She had no choice but to drink it.

Pinkie hesitantly opened her mouth again, and Pokey poured the water in. She cringed as the cold water once again touched her damaged teeth. The relief Pinkie felt from satisfying her thirst, as well as getting the taste of her own blood out of her mouth, was enough motivation for her to keep on drinking despite the terrible pain.

However, Pinkie could only drink for a few seconds at once before she jolted backwards to stop the pain.

“I...I can’t...” she moaned.

Pokey ignored her, holding the water jug in the same position. In doing so, he allowed the water to flow out of the jug and onto the floor.

“No, wait!” Pinkie said, watching in horror as the precious water was wasted. She quickly moved her head back into its original position and continued drinking. Tears began streaming down her face as the pain returned.

Her eyes were shut tight, wincing as the water filled her mouth with unbelievable pain. Air bubbles diffused into the water as she screamed with her mouth submerged. Pinkie didn’t dare move to relieve the pain or even breathe, for fear of wasting more water. For her own sake, she forced herself to endure what felt like hundreds of knives stabbing her mouth all at once.

After what seemed to Pinkie like hours, she finally swallowed the final mouthful of water, and Pokey lowered the now empty glass away from Pinkie’s face. As soon as he did, Pinkie let out a terrible scream which eventually devolved into a long, painful moan.

Without words, Pokey went behind the camera and pressed a button to end the recording. Pinkie watched as he packed up the camera and left the cell, slamming the door shut behind him. While the two ponies looked at each other through the door’s small window, not a word was uttered by either of them. Pinkie continued watching in silence as Pokey turned out the lights, locked the door, and made his way upstairs.

It wasn't until Pokey was out of earshot that Pinkie Pie began crying to herself once again. She was in pain, alone in a dark, scary basement. She missed her friends. She missed her family. She missed Ponyville.

She just wanted to go home.

Author's Note

Hey! I hope you're enjoying this story! Before you continue reading, however, it's worth noting that this story was written before Marble and Limestone Pie were given "personalities" on the actual show, so please excuse the fact that their characters in this story do not reflect their canon counterparts in the upcoming chapters.

Part III - An Eye For An Eye

“Look! I can see it!” Marble Pie skipped along. “Look, look! We’re here!”

Limestone Pie trudged along next to her sister, every so often stopping to rub the crusts out of the corners of her amber eyes. She yawned before turning her head to look at Marble. “I get it, Sis.” She said with a groan. “You’ve already pointed out every possible landmark on this trip.”

“I know, but everything here is just so pretty! I mean, you saw that big windmill, right? And the little stone bridge? I wish Maud were here to see this!”

Limestone did her best to tune out her sister as she continued following her mother and father through the gravel streets of Ponyville. She loved Marble as much as a sister could, but she absolutely couldn’t stand her once she got excited. While one half of the Pie sisters, Pinkamena and Marble, were full-on extroverts, Limestone and Maud much preferred to keep to themselves. She always thought it was interesting how they all complimented each other.

Before long, the four ponies stood in front of Sugarcube Corner. Before approaching the bakery, Cloudy Quartz turned around to face her daughters. “Now girls, I want you to be on your best behavior while we’re visiting Pinkamena.” She glanced briefly at Marble, and her eyes widened immediately as soon as she noticed her unkempt mane.

“Marble Pie!” she cried, her tone stern and unyielding. “You’re about to visit your older sister and you look like you just crawled out of bed!” Without hesitating for an instant, she retrieved an old, worn-out hairbrush from her saddlebag.

Marble yelped as Cloudy Quartz combed her tangled hair. “Ugh, I’m not a foal, mother!” she protested, puffing her cheeks out. “You don’t have to- Ow!" She winced in pain as the brush got stuck on a particularly tangled bunch of hair. “It’s not like Pinkamena will care, anyway! Have you seen her mane in the last ten years? It’s at least three times as worse!”

Cloudy Quartz simply ignored her daughter's protests, humming to herself as she ran the bristles through her daughter’s long, dark grey mane. “Oh, hush, Marble. I’m nearly finished.” She gave one final stroke of the brush and stepped away, leaving Marble's hair straight, tidy, and presentable. Limestone, who had been watching the whole ordeal, couldn't help but giggle when she saw Marble’s face flushing red.

“Oh, shut up.” Marble growled under her breath, but not before checking to see if her mother was still within earshot. She stuck her tongue out at her sister and turned away to join her parents as they approached the front door of Sugarcube Corner.

A small silver bell above the door jingled when the Pie family entered the bakery. Cupcake, busy with a customer, looked up and flashed a welcoming smile from behind the counter, but quickly turned her attention back to the customer she was helping. “Your total is five bits, dear.” she said in her usual maternal tone after placing a large box on the counter. The customer happily laid the specified amount of bits on the counter and picked up the box between his teeth. Cupcake waved as he turned to leave. “Have wonderful day!”

The customer looked over his shoulder and returned the favor. "To you as well!" He said as the door closed behind him.

With the customer out the door, Cupcake turned back to the four ponies waiting on the other side of the room. "Sorry about the wait! Welcome to Sugarcube Corner! What can I get for you all today?”

Marble Pie, who had moments earlier been busy admiring the various fresh pastries that lined the walls, excitedly trotted up to the counter with a look of awe in her violet eyes. “Wow! I’ve never seen so many sweets in one place before!”

Cupcake returned Marble's enthusiasm with a hearty laugh. “Well aren't you just the cutest young mare!” She said.

Marble’s face flushed a deep red. She looked behind herself at Limestone, who was holding in yet another fit of laughter.

“Would you like a free sample, dearie?”

Marble’s face lit up as she instantly turned her head back towards the counter. “You bet!”

Cupcake smiled as she placed a small chocolate-chip muffin on the counter, which Marble snatched up without hesitation.

Not long after, Igneous Rock joined his daughter at the front of the shop. “Hello, ma'am” he began, removing the black stetson from his head and pressing it against his chest. “Would you happen to know where Pinkamena Pie might be found?” He spoke slowly and politely, his voice worn and rugged like an old scratched-up record.

As soon as Igneous had uttered Pinkie’s name, Carrot Cake curiously poked his head out from the kitchen. He stared awkwardly at the family for a few seconds before making the decision to pass through the saloon-style doors and make his way into the room proper. “Pinkie Pie? he stuttered, standing beside his wife behind the counter. “Sorry, she’s not here right now.”

“Mmm." Igneous replied. He closed his eyes and looked down for a moment before looking back up again. "Terribly sorry for the trouble, but would any of you know where she might have gotten off to, then?"

“Oh, she’s been gone for a little over a week now. We believe she's visiting her family, but we're not certain.” Cupcake clarified.

“I beg your pardon?” Igneous said, one eyebrow raised. The other three ponies beside him exchanged confused looks. Igneous brought his hat to his face and coughed loudly into it. “Ma’am," he said, pausing to clear his throat. "We are her family.”

Cupcake’s ears perked up at the statement. “Oh? It’s so nice to finally meet you all!” she leaned over the counter to shake his hoof. “You must be Pinkie's father, Igneous Rock.”

Igneous nodded. “That’s correct.” He motioned to the rest of the Pie family. “This here's my wife, Cloudy Quartz, and two of my three other daughters, Marble Pie...”

Marble smiled and waved at the Cakes, crumbs tumbling out of her muffin-filled mouth. "Hi!" She said, crumbs spraying out of her mouth. Cloudy Quartz shot her a disapproving glance.

“...and Limestone Pie.”

Limestone looked up sheepishly with a small smile. "It's nice to meet you."

“Now, about Pinkamena...” Igneous said, turning back to face Cupcake and Carrot Cake.

Carrot looked nervously at his wife before speaking. “Wait, you mean Pinkie hasn’t been staying with you?”

Cloudy Quartz re-adjusted her glasses. “Of course not, we’ve come here to visit her.”

Carrot and Cupcake looked at each other, their mouths hanging open in realization.

“Is something the matter?” Igneous said.

Cupcake was the first to speak after a long period of silence. “Oh, it’s just that...ah...” She began.

Carrot picked up. “Well, Pinkie sort of disappeared about a week ago.” He nervously jogged in place as he spoke. “We just assumed she was with you all."

Igneous Rock stood frozen in place. He stared at the floor, irises trembling as thousands of thoughts entered his head at once. One, in particular, stood out from the rest. He cleared his throat and slowly looked up. “So you’re telling me that my daughter has gone missing.”

* * *

Twilight Sparkle sat at her desk in the library, deep in concentration. Her eyes shot rapidly from left to right as she studied the lengthy scroll sprawled across her desk, occasionally pausing for a moment to scribble a few words down on a separate piece of parchment before returning to the text.

While Twilight was thankful to not have been forced to relocate to Canterlot after her coronation, her new life as a princess was far from the status quo. She no longer was required to study obscure spells and bottomless tomes written hundrededs of years ago, but Twilight now had an entirely new list of responsibilities to fulfill.

One of those responsibilities, it turned out, was leading the country in the absence of the Regal Sisters.

Tomorrow, Both Celestia and Luna would be traveling to the Griffon Kingdom on an extended diplomatic mission, leaving Twilight alone as the sole sovereign of Equestria. Twilight, of course, had come close to a nervous breakdown upon receiving the news. She had been put under pressure by Celestia plenty of times before, but running a country in her absence? That was a new one.

Thankfully, Celestia had assured her that she was more than capable of handling the task. She would only be gone for a week or two at most, and would still be fully capable of raising the sun from across the ocean.

The scroll in question was a handwritten guide on the responsibilities of being a princess. Celestia had written it specifically for Twilight at her request. It was written on a particularly long piece of parchment, one that extended from Twilight’s desk all the way across the floor to the opposite wall. Her light purple aura enveloped the scroll as she pulled it upwards to continue reading.

Section VI: Delegation

As Princess Regent of Equestria, you will hold the sole executive power in the country until Luna and I are able to return. It is vitally important, Twilight, that you understand how to delegate your powers.

Diplomacy and legislation are the responsibility of the Chancellor, while judicial matters are too important in my experience to delegate to a member of the Royal Cabinet. Other areas, such as military-

“Twilight!”

For the third time today, Twilight groaned and rolled her eyes. “What is it now, Spike?” she said, showing lot more aggression in her tone than she had intended. Spike shrank back in response.

Seeing this, Twilight felt a pang of guilt in her stomach. “Ugh. Sorry, Spike.” she said, using a much friendlier tone. “It’s just that you know I need to concentrate on this!”

“It’s alright, I shouldn't have disturbed you,” Spike looked down towards the floor. “But Rarity, Fluttershy and Applejack are all waiting downstairs. They said they really need to talk to you.”

Twilight let out another frustrated grumble as she put down the tome. It landed on the desk with a loud thump as she stomped her way down the stairs. This had better be important, she thought. Before descending the second set of stairs that lead to the Library’s ground floor, she stopped, breathed in, and put on a fake smile for her guests.

With an artificial spring in her step, Twilight made her way down the staircase to find her three friends, Rarity, Fluttershy, and Applejack waiting for her. Their expressions grew increasingly uncomfortable as she approached. “What’s the matter, girls?”

Applejack turned to look at Fluttershy and Rarity, who both nodded in response. “Hey,Twi’. Sorry for interruptin’ you like this, but we’ve all been gettin’ real worried about Pinkie.”

Twilight’s fake smile was replaced with an expression of legitimate concern. “Pinkie Pie? What do you mean?” She said, putting on a frown and tilting her head slightly. Only now did she realize that she had been cooped up in her library for almost the entire week.

“The girl’s gone missin’, Twilight.”

“I thought she went to visit her family. Isn’t that where she’s been for the past week?”

Rarity shook her head. “That’s what we all thought, dear. But her family just arrived in Ponyville to visit her. They don’t have any idea where she is.”

“Then where could she be?” Twilight said. She tapped her chin.

“We don’t know,” Applejack chimed. “She didn’t leave a note or nothin’. We’ve already asked around town, and nopony knows a thing.”

“What? Really?” Twilight said. She scanned her eyes across her three guests. Each of them gave her a silent nod.

“It’s just not like her to just disappear like this!” Twilight said. The three other ponies nodded again, this time to show their agreement. “Don’t you girls remember when she left for two days to go to that baking convention in Manehattan? She almost missed the train because she tried to give a goodbye hug to everypony in Ponyville.”

Fluttershy looked down towards the floor. “You girls don’t think she’s, um, hurt, do you?” She said, scratching at the floor with her hoof.

Twilight looked down as well. “I don’t know, Fluttershy. But I’ll tell you what we’re not going to do, and that’s panic.” She began a trot towards the Library's front door. “C’mon, girls, we have some research to do.”

Her eyes scanned the hundreds of books that lined the shelves of the reference area. “Come on, Ponyville...Ponyv- ah ha!”

She levitated the book off the shelf. It just barely fit within the definition of a ‘book’, bearing more resemblance to a crudely-bound bundle of old, yellowed paper. Applejack, Fluttershy, and Rarity crowded around Twilight as she flipped through the pages.

The three exchanged skeptical looks. “Twilight, If you don’t mind me asking, how exactly is this supposed to help us find Pinkie Pie?” Rarity asked.

“I was hoping you’d say that.” Twilight said. “Before we panic about this, we need to-.” Twilight was interrupted by the sound of wood cracking as her door slammed hard against the wall. She looked towards the doorway in surprise, only to find Rainbow Dash standing there, clearly distressed.

“I’m...here...” she said, taking a breath between each word. Her face was flushed red and her mane was hopelessly disheveled, a fact that caused Rarity to cringe slightly.

“Rainbow Dash? What are you doing here?” Twilight said as she and the others trotted towards her.

“I came...as soon as I heard...about Pinkie...”

“What about the Wonderbolt Academy?” Rarity asked, all the while making sure to keep her distance from Rainbow Dash, who was covered in sweat.

Rainbow Dash shot daggers at Rarity, who took a step back in surprise. “Are you kidding? Being a Wonderbolt means nothing to me stacked up against my friends.” she said, sounding almost offended by Rarity’s inquiry.

Twilight nodded. “Well, it’s good that you’re here. We were just about to begin discussing our plan of action.” She motioned to the chalkboard across the room. “Come on, we’ll clue you in.”

The four ponies followed Twilight to the other side of the room, stopping in front of a large chalkboard covered in mathematical formulas, ingredient lists, and scientific theories. Twilight quickly erased them without a thought. Rainbow Dash groaned, having missed the opportunity to make fun of the inspirational quote she had caught a short glimpse of before it was erased.

Twilight cleared her throat before she began. “I think we should begin by assessing the possible reasons for Pinkie Pie’s disappearance.” She levitated the book she had taken off the shelf earlier so that everypony could see it. “I have here a record of every missing pony in the Central Province of Equestria from the year 970 to the present day. With this, we can use the process of elimination to determine the most likely cause of her disappearance, and then take appropriate action.”

Rainbow Dash and Applejack looked at each other with equally confused expressions. “Um...what?” Rainbow Dash asked, turning back to look at Twilight.

“Just bear with me for a moment, Rainbow.”

“I thought we were planning out search routes or writing a letter to the princess or something. Isn’t that what we should be doing?”

Twilight chuckled. “No, Rainbow. We can’t just make gut decisions before we have a proper plan.” She began flipping through the pages of the book. “Plus, Celestia and Luna are too busy preparing for an extremely important diplomatic mission. They’re not going to have time to respond to one of my letters.”

“Not have time?” Applejack interjected. “Twilight, you’re not just Celestia’s student now, you’re a princess! There ain’t no way they’re not gonna have time for you!”

“I doesn’t work that way, Applejack. Can we please get back on track now?” Twilight flipped to the page she needed. “Over the past thirty years, there have been about twenty-one disappearances in and around Ponyville.”

She began drawing a chart on the board. “Six of those disappearances occurred between the years 970 and 974. Those six ponies left Ponyville to join the infamous Cult of the Stars, which has since been disbandedt.” She crossed off “cult” from the chart.

Applejack rolled her eyes.

“Between 975 and 998, there were only eight reported disappearances. Three were ponies who had run away from home, and the remaining five were ponies who had been injured while hiking alone. As far as we know, Pinkie has no good reason to run away, so we can cross that off the list.”

Rainbow Dash had fight to prevent herself from falling asleep.

“Now, what concerns me are the remaining seven cases, which remain unresolved. All of these ponies have gone missing within a five year timespan, in the same immediate area, and are all young mares.” Twilight took a deep breath before delivering her next statement. “I’m not certain, but this appears to be the work of...” She hesitated for a moment “...a serial killer.”

“WHAT?” Rainbow Dash exclaimed, propelling herself into the air. Rarity put a hoof over her mouth, while Applejack and Fluttershy exchanged worried glances.

“Calm down, everypony!” Twilight said. “As I said before, if there’s one thing we’re not going to do, it’s panicking.”

“Well, what do you suppose we do, Twilight? Rarity asked.

“At the moment,” Twilight began, “I think the best course of action would be to do a bit more research, and then inform the mayor once we come up with a reasonable hypothesis."

Rainbow Dash groaned obnoxiously loud as she returned to the ground, earning her the attention of everypony else in the room. “Seriously, Twilight? What’s that gonna do?”

“I’ll tell you as soon as you stop interrupting me.” Twilight said. Rainbow Dash puffed her cheeks and sat down. “Thank you.” She flipped to a particular page of the book. “Now, statistics show that the first step towards finding a missing pony is raising awareness. I cite the famous case of Violet Ribbon, a foal who went missing in Canterlot in the year 995...”

The more Rainbow Dash listened to Twilight ramble on about statistics and averages and a bunch of egghead words she didn’t even know, the harder it was to keep herself from rolling her eyes. This is so stupid, she thought, tapping a hoof on the floor impatiently. She could barely stand to look at Twilight’s elaborate chalkboard drawings while she thought about the possibility of Pinkie being kidnapped by...

She shuddered.

A serial killer.

“...therefore, if we compare the crime rate of Equestria’s Central Province with the most common reasons for missing ponies, we can conclude that-”

‘’Oh come on, Twilight!” Rainbow interrupted again. “Pinkie could be seriously hurt or something! We can’t just stand around doing nothing!”

“We are doing something, Rainbow Dash! Don't lose your head!”

Applejack pushed Twilight aside as she moved to join Rainbow Dash on the other side of the room. “Sorry, Twi’, but I’m with Dash on this one. If you’re right about this killer business, we need to do somethin’ about this, and we need to do it now.”

“Would you both just stop it already?” Twilight said, raising her voice in frustration. “It’s just a hypothesis! If we just assume that there’s a serial killer on the loose, we’ll end up creating mass panic across the entire country! And that's the last thing I need right now. What if she was just injured on the way to her family’s farm?”

“That’s just as serious, ‘Twi!” Applejack retorted. “We need to start lookin’ for her!”

Rarity stepped between the two arguing parties. “If I may interject,” She began, raising one of her forelegs in a ladylike manner. “I do agree, Twilight, that you’re not taking this seriously enough. The least we could do would be to contact one of the Princesses.”

“Ugh!” Twilight grunted, hitting her hoof against her forehead. “Did you not hear what I said before? She doesn’t have time right now! We’ve saved Equestria plenty of times before, so I’m fairly certain we can handle something as simple as find a missing pony by ourselves. If you two would just cooperate, we might have already figured out a plan by now!”

“Who even cares? Your ideas won’t even do anything!” Rainbow Dash’s voice cracked, raising in response to Twilight’s.

Fluttershy stood awkwardly next to Rarity as the three other ponies argued. “Um, please stop yelling, everypony.” she squeaked. Her polite request was barely audible, drowned out among the bedlam of shouting that filled the room.

"Excuse me?!” Twilight took a single step towards Rainbow. “Would you care to explain exactly how doing research and coming to a reasonable conclusion wouldn’t help find her?”

“Because everypony in town already knows she's in trouble!” Applejack cut in. “We were all workin’ our flanks off askin’ around while you sat in your little ivory tower doin’ nothin’!”

“Girls, we shouldn’t argue, please stop yelling at each other.” Fluttershy mumbled in another attempt to mediate the issue.

“Well excuse me if I have important royal duties to fulfill!” Twilight sneered. “Maybe if you’d had the common sense to tell me I would have-”

“Don’t you try and make this about common sense!” Applejack interrupted.

“Please stop shouting!” Fluttershy begged. She herself was becoming increasingly frustrated. If there was one thing she hated, it was being ignored. Fluttershy dug her hooves into the floor and inhaled sharply.

“STOP IT! STOP YELLING AT EACH OTHER, PLEASE!” she exclaimed, using all the volume her delicate lungs could handle. Twilight, Applejack, and Rainbow Dash all turned to look at Fluttershy, who stood in place with an assertive expression. Thoroughly embarrassed, the three ponies looked to the floor in shame.

An awkward silence hung over the room for what seemed like an eternity, the only audible noise being the clearing of throats as the five ponies stood together.

Applejack was the first to speak up. “Y’all can do whatever the hay you want,” she said, her tone assertive. “Dash and I are gonna be busy actually doin’ something, and that’s lookin’ for the poor girl.” She started toward the exit, and Rainbow Dash didn’t hesitate as she turned around to follow her.

“Fine then! Go! We don’t need your help anyway!” Twilight said, her voice hoarse from shouting.

Rainbow Dash turned around to face Twilight as she passed through the doorway. “FINE!” she screamed, her voice cracking once again. A loud crash echoed throughout the library as she slammed the door behind her with all of her strength.

* * *

Pinkie Pie cowered to the best of her ability as she watched Pokey walk into her cell for the first time in days. He levitated next to him a long cylindrical object. Pinkie, squinting her eyes to get a better look, soon recognized it as the lead pipe from before. “No, wait! I’m awake, see?” she said as loudly as possible without revealing the panic that gripped her. “You don’t have to beat me again! I-I’m not sleeping!”

Pokey chuckled at her display. “That’s just the problem.”

“W-what?”

Pokey stepped closer. “Don’t worry, this will only hurt for a second.”

Pinkie let out a small whine, but said nothing and shut her eyes tight. Her face scrunched up as she cringed hard, preparing herself for the blow.

Without hesitation, Pokey hit Pinkie as hard as he could directly on the forehead, eliciting a slight crack as the lead pipe crashed into her skull. Shocked from the sudden trauma, Pinkie gave the slightest yelp before she lost consciousness.

* * *

Hours later, Pinkie Pie awoke to an unpleasant high-pitched ringing sound coming from her ears. Stirring slightly in a half-asleep stupor, she shifted her head backwards, only to wince in pain as it collided with the large wooden panel behind her. “Nngh...” She groaned, wincing from the slowly-fading pain. This latest injury only contributed to her blaring headache.

Once the pain subsided, she was now fully awake. She examined her surroundings, immediately noticing the fact that she was in a different cell. This room, unlike where she was previously held, was furnished with various items, such as a small fold-up table and a tripod. There was also a long metal pipe that ran across the wall and through the ceiling. It led to an unlit furnace on the left wall that Pinkie could just barely see out of her peripheral vision.

The way Pinkie was restrained was different as well. She was locked into a large wooden panel that stuck vertically out of the ground. There were three holes, One large and two small, where her neck and front hooves stuck out through to the other side. The lower half of her body was unrestrained and could move freely. However, with the wooden panel being bolted to the ground, her newfound freedom didn’t do her any good. Compared to hanging off of the ceiling by her forehooves, though, it was a much more comfortable position to be in.

Acting on impulse, Pinkie Pie attempted to squeeze herself backwards through the holes in order to free herself. As soon as she did so, she yelped, feeling a sudden, stinging pain around her neck and two front hooves. Out of the corner of her eye, she looked at the hole which her left forehoof ran through. Pinkie felt herself go light headed as she watched tiny trickles of her own blood pool around each spike. Each of the holes was lined with a ring of small metal spikes which dug into her skin. The slightest movement, as Pinkie had learned, caused them to dig further into her soft flesh.

Lightheadedness quickly turned into trepidation when Pinkie decided to examine the wooden panel more closely. Due to the sharp spikes around her neck, It was difficult to look in any direction but straight ahead, but the areas of the panel that she did manage to see were covered in flaking, dried blood.

A mouse squeaked in the distance. The sudden, high-pitched noise startled Pinkie, who was already on edge. It made her realize just how little ambiance there was around her. Save for the sound of Pinkie’s own hushed breathing, the entire basement was eerily quiet.

Minutes passed before the silence was broken yet again by another noise in the distance. It sounded like...

Oh, no. Pinkie thought.

A door opening.

She felt a block of ice drop into her stomach.

The staircase groaned under Pokey’s weight. Pinkie Pie closed her eyes and remained deathly quiet, her heart racing as she listened to each hoofstep grow louder as Pokey approached. Using sheer willpower, she managed to keep a straight face despite the throbbing pain in her head that would normally dictate otherwise.

Pinkie struggled to keep her breathing steady as she listened to Pokey unlock the cell door. It’s gonna be fine, she thought to herself. It'll all be okay.

As long as she could convince Pokey that she was still sleeping, she could at least delay the suffering to come. Perhaps if she stalled long enough, her friends would come and rescue her before Pokey could hurt her again.

Because they’ll all be here soon.

Right?

Pinkie heard the door groan under it’s own weight as it stubbornly creaked open. Her sense of hearing had become hyper-sensitive from adrenaline alone, allowing her to hear every little terrifying intonation around her. In an amazing display of self-control, she kept a perfectly straight face as she listened to the ominous sound of Pokey drawing near.

She resisted the immense urge to scream or at least cower in fear as she listened, knowing full well that another session of torture would soon follow.

Abruptly, the sounds stopped, replaced by the feeling of his warmth close to her body.

She could feel it. He was standing right next to her.

Right. There.

Pinkie Pie wanted so badly to open her eyes, but she knew that the instant she made the slightest movement, she would enter a world of pain.

The feeling of his hot breath enveloped her ear.

A single bead of sweat trickled down Pinkie’s face, gently tickling her as it made its way down to the tip of her snout.

“Pinkie Pie,” he whispered softly.

Her lips trembled as a wave of terror ran through her body.

“I know you’re awake.” He teased, backing away as he did so.

In one, sudden burst of emotion, Pinkie burst into a violent fit of tears, releasing all of the built-up tension inside her. “WHY?” She yelled, her voice full of despair. “Why are you doing this to me?” Clear, watery snot flowed out of her nostrils and down her chin.

Pokey turned around and pressed his snout against Pinkie’s. She grimaced as their faces met, and probably would have spit in Pokey’s face if she had any body hydration to spare. “Oh, hello there, Pinkie! Did you enjoy your little nap?” The ironic smile which donned his face contrasted sharply with Pinkie’s somber look of desperation and pain.

“Why are you doing this to me?” She said again, her voice soft and trembling as she gazed deep into Pokey’s yellow eyes.

“Didn’t I already tell you this?” Pokey said. He removed his snout from hers. “I don’t pick any particular mare to take. I wait for opportunities, Pinkie. You gave me one. Does that answer your question?”

Pinkie sucked a large amount of snot into her throat. She opened her mouth to speak, but decided against it.

Pokey shrugged. “Now, if you’ll excuse me...”

He set a plastic shopping bag on a fold-up table just outside of Pinkie’s visual range. “I hope you’ll forgive my unprofessionalism, but I’ll be using some rather, ah, makeshift tools today. It’s a funny story, really. You see, I was planning on using the whip, but I had the best idea while I was shopping for some last minute supplies back in Ponyville.”

Pokey moved the table in front of the panel so that it was within Pinkie’s field of vision. He grasped the bottom of the bag with his teeth and lifted it up, letting its contents spill out. On the table sat a wide array of household objects, including a fish hook, a staple remover, two needles, and a razor blade.

Pokey watched Pinkie’s face as she investigated the selection of household objects laid before her. Her eyes grew wide in worry as she examined each, just as he had expected. “Oh! I see you’ve noticed a pattern.” Pokey said, levitating one of the needles off the table. “They’re all...SHARP!” Pokey jabbed the needle into Pinkie’s right hoof as he finished the sentence.

“Ow!” Pinkie whined.

Pokey ignored her and continued with his presentation. “But wait, I’m not done yet! You’ll love this!” He levitated the two needles in front of her face. “Guess where I got these?” he snickered, the look on his face resembling that of a filly about to deliver a hilarious punchline. “Go on, guess!”

Pinkie squinted her eyes as she examined the two objects floating in front of her. “No!” she gasped. “No! You didn’t!”

“I did!” Pokey exclaimed, bursting into laughter. He jumped in place with sadistic glee. “That’s right! Your suffering, brought to you by your good friend Rarity!”

“Shut up!” Pinkie screamed, her voice trembling in anger. “She didn’t know! My friends would never want to hurt me! And they’re gonna kick your butt when they come to save me!”

Pokey simply laughed harder. “That is, of course, implying that they still care about you.”

“Of course they care about me!” Pinkie retorted. There was a long silence before she spoke again. “T-they’re looking for me right?”

Pokey shook his head. “I don’t think they’ve even noticed that you’re gone. And even if they did, they’re probably too busy taking advantage of the opportunity to relax.”

Pinkie didn’t respond.

“No rebuttal? Alright then.” Pokey said. He turned the camera on. “Pinkie Pie, session three.”

Instead of trying to convince Pokey to stop, Pinkie simply let out a loud, drawn out whine that quickly devolved into sobbing. She knew by now that after he said those words, pain was coming, and no amount of begging would help her. Despite this realization, however, Pinkie still let out a few half-hearted ‘no’s in between sobs while she watched him prepare his tools.

Pokey grabbed the staple remover with his teeth and lifted it off the table. Pinkie watched in horror, a million different possibilities running through her head. A shiver ran down her spine once she noticed that the tool was headed towards her eye.

“Pinkie, has anypony ever told you how pretty your eyes are?”

“No!” she begged. “I don’t wanna be blind!” Pinkie shut her eyes tight to shield them from harm.

Pokey was unfazed by her defenses, fully expecting such a reaction. He brought the tool closer to Pinkie’s face, and, after some careful positioning, Pokey slowly inserted the bottom teeth of the staple remover under Pinkie’s left eyelid. The cold, metal teeth made contact with the sensitive tissue, causing Pinkie to flinch slightly.

“Plea-nngh!”

Pinkie’s objections were interrupted by a grunt of pain as Pokey suddenly bit down hard on the staple remover. The tool mimicked his actions and clamped down on Pinkie’s eyelid in response. It held the thin flap of skin in its tight grip, but its dull teeth failed to puncture through. Pokey pulled up, and Pinkie wailed loudly as she felt her eyelid being stretched to its maximum extent, forcing her eye open.

“Ow tot wasin tow haad, wassit?” Pokey mumbled from around the tool. He levitated the razor blade off the table.

“No! What are you doing?” Pinkie panicked, her voice filled with terror as she watched the razor blade levitate towards her. Without hesitation, the blade made contact with the side of her eyelid, and Pokey began cutting across.

Pinkie didn’t scream. She didn’t want to. She moaned, whined, cried, and grunted, but she didn’t scream. She didn’t want to give Pokey the satisfaction. Pinkie sucked her lips into her mouth, desperately trying to keep herself quiet as she felt the razor blade tear through her skin.

Pokey moved the sharp blade up and down in a steady rhythm, and Pinkie’s eyelid slowly separated from her body as the blade slid across. It twitched erratically as it was detached, desperately trying to somehow swat away the foreign object. As a result, instead of a clear, straight cut, the blade was forced to make its way across in an erratic zig-zag line, leaving behind a jagged stump of skin in its wake.

He continued cutting until Pinkie’s eyelid was attached to the rest of her face by only a thin strip of flesh. He bit down on the staple remover, and abruptly jerked his head backwards in an attempt to tear off the loose eyelid. Pinkie groaned loudly, still trying to keep herself from screaming. As her eyelid was ripped off, it took with it a lengthy strip of skin that stretched down to her cheekbone. The strip happened to be attached to a scabbed-over burn, causing Pinkie to dry-heave from the pain as the scab was violently torn off.

Pokey turned around and spat out the staple remover, detached eyelid and all, back onto the table. He also returned the razor-blade, exchanging it for the fish hook and two needles. He turned back around to find Pinkie Pie, whose exposed eye was twitching like mad.

Pinkie now realized how much she’d taken her eyelids for granted. Unable to blink, her left eye felt as if it was on fire, and it only burned more with each passing second. Pinkie jolted her head around in an attempt to relieve the burning sensation, only to gasp sharply upon puncturing her neck on the spikes around the hole in the panel.

“Ow ow ow ow ow!” Pinkie whined, cringing as she carefully tilted her head in the other direction. Blood seeped out of her neck as the spikes slid out. They left behind a straight line of five holes, each about a half inch deep.

While she was occupied with the spikes, Pinkie hadn’t noticed Pokey, who was standing in right front of her with the fish hook in his mouth. He leaned forward and held the hook near her eye. “Ready for part two?”

“No! Get away from me!”

“Aww, why not?” Pokey said, tilting his head. He spoke in a tone that resembled actual concern. Pinkie’s face was scrunched up on the left side as she attempted to relieve the intense burning sensation that plagued her exposed eye. “Oh, is it because your eye is bothering you? Here, let me get that for you.”

Using his magic to levitate the two needles for quick access, Pokey used his mouth to very carefully press the sharp tip of the fish hook lightly against Pinkie’s defenseless left eye. He didn’t apply any pressure to the hook, choosing instead to watch Pinkie’s face contort in horrified anticipation as the pointed tip rested against her exposed eye. His eyes lit up, watching with fascination as the soft tissue yielded to his touch.

The faint whistling of Pinkie Pie’s breathing was audible as she rapidly breathed in and out through her broken teeth. The muscles directly below her eyes, as well as what remained of her eyelid twitched erratically in a vain attempt at protection. Pinkie couldn’t help but stare at the razor-sharp hook as it filled her field of vision.

“Please, Pokey...” she pleaded softly. “Please don't hurt me...”

Pokey continued teasing Pinkie as he began to delicately drag the point across her eyeball. He moved it slowly back and forth, taking extra care not to pierce through. Pinkie was unable to scream due to the fact that the tiniest movement could cause Pokey to accidentally drive the hook through her eye. Instead, as the hook traced its way from side to side, she released a low-pitched moan from the back of her throat.

The anticipation alone was almost more distressing than the impending mutilation. Pinkie’s heart thumped erratically and her breathing quickened as she waited for Pokey to act. “J-Just do it already!” She cried, immediately feeling a pang of regret in her stomach. Oh, no. She thought. No, no no no no! Why did I say that?

Pokey looked at Pinkie with a sadistic grin. “As you wish.”

As soon as Pokey drew the hook away, Pinkie shook her head as well as she could without the spikes puncturing her neck a second time. “No, w-wait! Don’t! Wait!” she begged as Pokey lightly pressed the tip of the hook against her eye once again.

“NO! STOP, STOP, STOP! DON'T DO IT, PLEASE!”

Pokey applied pressure to the fish hook, and the pointed end sank into Pinkie’s eyeball.

“EEEEEAAAAGHHH!” Pinkie shrieked. Her head thrashed around erratically from the sensation of a foreign object piercing her eye alone, let alone the actual explosive pain.

Pokey’s grin faded just a little bit. Despite the beautiful sound of Pinkie’s screams that at last graced his ears, he was disappointed from the lack of the satisfying “pop” he had expected. This was the first time he’d done this to anypony, after all. He shrugged, and applied even more pressure. A mixture of blood and vitreous fluid began bubbling out from around the fish hook as it sunk deeper into Pinkie’s eye.

Once the hook was deep enough, Pokey rotated his head. The hook mimicked his actions, turning so that the pointed end was facing up. Pinkie shrieked even louder, her body convulsing as she felt the hook move around in her eye, tearing it apart from the inside like a carnivorous worm.

Finally, with one quick movement, Pokey jerked his head upwards, and the pointed end of the hook pierced through the surface of her eye once again as it made its exit. The tip of the hook glistened in the dim light of the cell, its surface covered in a glossy layer of vitreous fluid. With both the entry and exit holes still blocked by the hook, the flow of blood out of Pinkie’s eye was limited. A large portion of the white area around her iris had turned a deep crimson due to the buildup of blood from the hundreds of tiny capillaries severed. The cloud of blood slowly expanded around the hook, the red liquid filling up her eye faster than it could leave.

While it was certainly a fascinating spectacle to behold, Pokey was not a patient pony. Growing anxious, he readied the two needles for the next part of his procedure. Pokey pressed the two needles lightly against her eye, just like he had with the fish hook seconds prior.

Pinkie stared with dread at the two sharp points, mumbling incoherently as she waited for the pain. They shook around slightly as they pressed against her eye, Pokey’s magical hold unable to keep them steady due to the adrenaline that coursed through his body.

Pokey looked into her one good eye. “Hey, Pinkie.” he began, his voice shaky with anticipation. “Wanna know why they call me ‘Pokey Pierce’?”

Pinkie produced a tiny wail of fear. He took that as a ‘yes’.

Pokey suddenly lifted the two needles in the air and shoved them both into Pinkie’s eyeball at once. Unlike the curved fish hook, the two needles were long and straight, allowing them to pierce all the way through Pinkie’s eye. Pinkie howled in agony, a small amount of vitreous fluid squirting out of her eye and landing on Pokey’s face. He didn’t seem to mind, though. In fact, it was a welcome sensation in the basement’s hot, humid air.

As abruptly as they entered, the two needles were quickly pulled out of Pinkie’s eye, dribbling vitreous fluid onto its surface as they hovered above. Pokey wasted no time. He stabbed Pinkie again in two different spots, thrusting even harder this time. Thanks to the extra power, Pinkie’s wailing sharply increased in volume as the needles went far enough through to poke the back of her eye socket. Pokey continued stabbing Pinkie again and again at an ever quickening pace.

Pinkie’s distressed wails of agony were like music to Pokey’s ears. In fact, Pokey pretended as if the two needles were batons, conducting a symphony of screams as they entered her eye again and again. Her screams followed a steady beat, dictated by Pokey.

“Does that answer your question?” Pokey said, stabbing Pinkie one final time before taking a step back to admire his work.

Her entire left eye crudely resembled a wasp’s nest, dotted with countless holes. Blood slowly seeped out from each hole, forming small red droplets. Every few seconds, the surface tension of one of the droplets would be broken, and the blood would flow steadily down her eye, taking along with it any droplets in its path. Blood would at last mix with her tears as both liquids steadily flowed down her cheeks.

“Please...no more...please...” Pinkie begged. Her entire body was shaking. She could still see, but the entire left side of her field of vision was nothing but the red color of her own blood. Each breath she took was deep and shaky.

“No more?” Pokey said, as if her request was a ridiculous one. He turned around, carrying the blood- splattered razor blade in his magical aura. “But we’re not even at the best part yet!”

Pinkie weakly shook her head as Pokey approached with the razor blade. “No...don’t! No!”

Pokey hovered the blade in front of Pinkie’s perforated eye, prompting from her a powerful, absolutely pathetic sob. Pokey almost felt bad.

“NO! PLEASE, NO! NO NO NO NO!”

Almost.

Making sure he didn’t obstruct the camera’s view, Pokey dug the razor blade into Pinkie’s eye, ruthlessly cutting downwards until he made a hole deep enough to insert the blade into. Pinkie Pie howled in absolute agony as Pokey mercilessly bored into her eyeball.

It was surprisingly easy. The thick, gelatin-like substance that made up the white of Pinkie’s eye put up no resistance, allowing Pokey to cut through it like butter. Within seconds, Pokey had created an opening that would adequately fit his needs. To Pinkie, however, the few seconds it took for Pokey to bore the hole felt like an eternity.

Pokey inserted the blade sideways so that that the sharp end was facing down. Then, with a single, swift slice, Pokey shifted the the blade sharply downwards. Pinkie squealed like a pig as her eye was mercilessly sliced open, leaving a long, deep gash that stretched from the top to the very bottom of her eye.

Pokey gave Pinkie a break for a few minutes while the fluids drained out of her eye. A sickly mixture of blood and eye fluid flowed freely from the new opening, staining the wooden panel as it dripped from Pinkie’s face. Pinkie felt herself go lightheaded from the massive fluid loss. She prayed that she would faint.

Once her eye socket was mostly drained, the interior of Pinkie’s eye was visible, optic nerve and all. Eager to continue, Pokey stepped forward and pressed the sharp end of the razor blade against Pinkie’s optic nerve. As soon as she did so, she jolted forward from the sudden explosion of pain.

“AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGH!” She screamed, slicing her neck open on the spikes as she jerked forward..

Pokey moved the blade across the thick nerve stem, and Pinkie Pie’s entire body convulsed uncontrollably. The pain was unlike anything she had ever experienced in her entire life.

Pokey moved the blade across a second time, prompting more screaming and uncontrollable spasms. The spikes punctured her neck and forehooves as Pinkie thrashed back and forth, but she took absolutely no notice. The feeling of the spikes tearing through her flesh felt like a tickle compared to the feeling of a nerve being sawed through with a razor blade.

Pinkie would have begged him to stop, but she could literally not form words. The only thing her brain was capable of processing was screaming. Pokey moved the blade across a third time.

The combination of extreme fatigue, stress, starvation, and pain overloaded Pinkie’s brain, and she lost consciousness.

Part IV - Testing the Water

Applejack cantered through the dense woods, skipping over the rocks and fallen trees that littered her path. Tiny pieces of dead leaves clung to her damp hooves as she made her way across the forest floor. "You see anything yet, R.D?" She said, glancing upwards for a moment to make sure her partner was still hovering above her.

Rainbow Dash grunted in frustration. "Ugh, nothing but trees!". She flapped her wings at a slower pace, letting herself descend to the ground below. The sea of dead leaves crunched under her weight as soon as she touched the ground. "Hold up, A.J." she said, galloping for a brief moment to catch up.

Applejack turned around and redirected her trot towards Rainbow Dash. The two met in the middle. "What's the map say?" Rainbow Dash said.

Applejack opened her saddlebag and stuck her head in. It was absolutely filled with supplies, so much so that Applejack had a difficult time keeping it closed. Dash, on the other hoof, carried with her a bag that contained only a few essentials. She had made the argument that, since she would need to fly, Applejack would have to bear the majority of the burden. Applejack didn't mind that much, though. Earth ponies were naturally strong, after all.

Finally, after rummaging around for a while, Applejack managed to pull out the map from her overstuffed saddlebag. She laid the paper flat on a large tree stump and ran her hooves over it to flatten out the creases.

The map itself was incredibly detailed, depicting every single road, village, and city in Equestria’s central province. They both stared at the the map’s complexity for a while before either of them spoke up. "To be honest with you, I don't rightly know the first thing 'bout readin' these things." Applejack said, scratching her chin.

"Okay, well..." Rainbow began, tracing her hoof across the paper. "Uh, here's Ponyville...right?"

"Looks like it." Applejack replied, looking at the small shape on the map that defined the borders of her home town. She smiled at first when she saw her family's farm, but furrowed her brow upon further examination. "Rainbow, how old is this thing?" She asked, pointing to the location of Sweet Apple Acres. "This must've been drawn before Granny Smith purchased the west fields."

Rainbow scratched the top of her head with a wing. "Oh...how long ago was that?" she asked sheepishly.

"I reckon it wasn't fifteen years ago!" Applejack groaned, putting a hoof to her forehead.

"Oh. Is that bad?"

"'Course it's bad, Rainbow! This map's outdated! Where'd you get this thing anyway?"

"Look, I'm sorry, okay?" Dash said defensively. "It was half-off."

"You can't be serious." Applejack scolded, staring daggers at her partner.

Rainbow rolled her eyes. "Oh, whatever. I doubt that this stupid forest has changed much."

"You'd better hope so." Applejack said with a huff. "Hoof over the compass, will you?" She held out her hoof without looking away from the map.

"One sec." Rainbow Dash replied, opening her lightweight saddlebag. Inspecting its contents, she couldn't help but notice how it seemed to have a lot less inside of it than when they had departed earlier that day. Did I really eat that many granola bars? she thought.

Investigating the issue further, she stuck her head in and looked around, only to gasp sharply upon the discovery of a giant, gaping hole in the bottom of the bag. The compass was nowhere to be found. Holding her breath, she checked the other bag, only to find it equally lacking in a certain navigational instrument.

Applejack looked at Rainbow. "What's the holdup, R.D.?"

"Um..." Rainbow Dash slowly turned to return the gaze. "Um...I might have...uh..." She hesitated.

"You might'a what?" Applejack said, her eyes wandering towards the huge hole at the bottom of Rainbow's tattered saddlebag.

"Dang it, Rainbow Dash!"

* * *

Pinkie Pie groggily opened her right eye mere seconds before a quiet gasp escaped her blood-encrusted lips. She instinctively moved a hoof up to the left side of her face, resulting in a second, sharper gasp upon receiving the painful reminder that both of her hooves were still restrained by rings of spikes. Blood playfully tickled her left hoof as it seeped out of the newly-born puncture wounds.

"No, no, no..."

She wanted the ordeal to be a dream, a fabrication of her own mind. But with the entire left side of her vision gone, the damage was hard to ignore. Her left eye had been completely destroyed, optic nerve and all. As a result, Pinkie had lost both her depth perception and the ability to see anything to the left of her snout.

Her newfound half-blindness was particularly problematic once Pinkie noticed something sticking out of her face just below her eye. Careful around the spikes, Pinkie bobbed her head up and down, feeling the object’s weight shifting along with it. The more she moved her head, it seemed, the longer the object became, and she could begin to see it as it extended past her nose. It looked like...

Pinkie pouted slightly and raised an eyebrow. A syringe?

She continued bobbing her head up and down, now faster and with more force, until the object finally lost its grip on her face and fell to the floor. It rolled in a wide arc across the floor towards Pinkie before finally coming to a stop as it collided against a small rock sticking out of the dirt floor.

Pinkie looked down at the object, which, upon further inspection, was indeed a small, plastic syringe.

It wasn’t until Pinkie saw the medical tool that she noticed the odd lack of pain in her left eye. In fact, the entire left side of her face felt tingly, bloated, and numb; a very severe contrast to the horrible, scathing pain that had knocked her unconscious. Each attempt to move any muscle in the area was met with failure.

She cringed. Her imagination ran wild, coming up with hundreds of theories as to what Pokey had injected into her face. One particular thought had prominence over the others.

What if it was poison? she thought. Am I gonna die? Pinkie could feel her heart pounding in her chest as she contemplated the grim possibility. The more she thought about it, however, the less threatening the idea became.

Maybe that wouldn't be so bad... she thought, her heart rate returning to its normal rhythm.

But less than a second after the thought flashed through her mind, Pinkie gasped, the sound of her tired, raspy voice echoing off the bricks that made up the cell walls.

No! Bad thoughts! she scolded herself. She would have kicked herself if she wasn’t restrained by the wooden panel.

The fact that such an idea even dared to run through her head appalled her. Pinkie Pie was supposed to be the happiest, cheeriest, most joyful pony in Ponyville. No. All of Equestria. Maybe even the whole world. She wasn’t supposed to think about stuff like that.

She closed her eyes and thought of happy things. She tried the hardest she could to make herself smile, but her body refused. Pinkie hadn’t seen the sun for a very, very, long time. She was being held captive in a dirty, disgusting basement. All she had to look forward to was pain, which made it quite difficult to be happy about anything at the moment.

The worst part of it all? She was alone. Utterly alone. Sure, when Pokey wasn’t around she could at least relax a tiny bit, but the crushing loneliness of isolation was starting to get to her. While Pokey was away in Ponyville, she would be left alone for days at a time without food, water, or any form of socialization.

Maybe Pokey was right... she thought, releasing a long, disheartening sigh that would have dampened the mood of even the silliest of parties.

Why aren’t my friends here yet? Don't they care about me? Why haven't they come to save me?

Pinkie felt a lump form in her throat as her imagination ran wild.

Did they forget about me?

Her lips trembled as tears began welling up in her eyes.

What’s the point of living if I’m all by myself?

An eerie silence hung over the basement for a few seconds before it was filled with a cacophony of sobs.

* * *

Rainbow Dash hovered in the air, squinting her eyes as she scanned the horizon. “Maybe we should call it a day.” She said, pointing to the orange sky. “I saw a clearing about a quarter-mile east where we could set up camp.”

Applejack let out a tired sigh. “Yeah, I reckon you’re right.” she said, nodding her head in agreement. As it turned out, it was quite difficult to nod one’s head and look straight up at the same time without looking odd, but she assumed Rainbow got the gist of the gesture. “Lead the way then, I s’pose.”

Rainbow Dash nodded back, the same thought going through her head as she looked straight down, flying slowly towards the clearing. Applejack’s head shot up and down as she simultaneously watched the pegasus above her and avoided the thick tree trunks that dotted the path in front of her. As they approached the clearing, not a word was said between the two ponies, both preferring to preserve their energy after a long, grueling, not to mention fruitless, day of searching.

Within a few minutes, the pair finally made it to the small clearing moments before the sun disappeared behind the horizon. Applejack let out a sigh of relief as her worn hooves touched the lush grass, a well-appreciated break from the blanket of tiny rocks and sticks that covered the rest of the forest floor.

Her overly-stuffed saddlebags landed with a light thump as they hit the ground. “I'm a might hungry” she said, feeling her stomach rumble. “Can you gather up some firewood while I pitch the tent?.”

She waited a few seconds for a response, glanced behind herself, and immediately rolled her eyes. “Oh, gimme a break.” Applejack mumbled to herself as she trotted towards her partner, who was already laid on her back with her eyes closed. “Come on, Dash. Get up.” She said, giving her side a few light kicks.

Rainbow's face scrunched up as she groaned. “Alright, I heard you! I’ll get to it in a second.” she said, a hint of agitation in her voice. She turned to a more comfortable position on her side. “Can’t we just chill out for a bit? I’ve been on my wings all day.”

Applejack sighed, recalling this exact situation with Applebloom a few months ago. “And I’ve been luggin’ around twenty pounds a' supplies all day, but you don’t see me complainin’. Come on, we can rest later.”

“Ugh...fine.” Rainbow Dash said, putting all of her effort into getting up on her hooves. It was a surprisingly difficult task at the moment. She stuffed her face with the last of the trail mix before grabbing her ripped saddlebag and sluggishly walking towards the surrounding trees.

“Now don’t take too long, 'ya hear?” Applejack said, waving a hoof at her disgruntled companion.

Rainbow Dash didn’t care to look back. “Yeah, whatever.” she mumbled, taking a step into the wall of trees that surrounded the clearing.

The sound of Applejack’s whistling grew fainter as Rainbow Dash advanced into the dense forest growth, tiny twigs snapping under her hooves with every step. Her head moved slowly from side to side, scanning the ground for fallen branches of just the right thickness. Not too puny, but not so heavy that Dash would only be able to carry a few.

Instead of walking in a straight line, however, Rainbow Dash moved every which way, turning every time she saw a piece of wood that fit her criteria. This wasn't an issue, of course, as unlike the other pony races, a pegasus like Rainbow Dash didn’t have to worry about getting lost. After all, as long as she stayed in the general vicinity of the campsite, she could just fly over the canopy to figure out which direction she needed to go.

She trotted towards a promising looking branch. “A-ha!” she said to herself, picking up the dead piece of wood between her teeth. Craning her neck to the side, she deposited the wood in her empty saddlebag and promptly spit on the ground.

As the minutes passed, Rainbow Dash’s burden gradually increased as she placed one branch after another into her saddlebag. Once it was filled to the brim, she turned around and began trotting toward the campsite.

Alright, I just gotta look for that mossy rock and go...east. she thought, recalling the landmark she’d taken note of before collecting the last piece of firewood. She glanced around, twice in all directions, but the dark shadows cast by the forest’s thick canopy blocked out any light the moon would have provided. In the impenetrable darkness, she couldn’t even see her hoof in front of her face, let alone a small rock on the ground.

“Ugh...figures.”

Setting the saddlebags on the forest floor, Rainbow Dash crouched to build up energy before ascending into the sky. She made sure to do a few flips, just in case anypony happened to be watching in the distance. She had a reputation to keep up, after all.

She hovered in one spot, flapping her wings at a steady pace as she slowly turned three-hundred and sixty degrees. She scanned the vast land below her for any sign of civilization, only to come up with nothing. Miles and miles of trees and nothing.

“Darn it...” she muttered under her breath, feeling a small tinge of dread sink into her.

As she began descending, however, she caught a glimpse of a large silhouette out of the corner of her eye. turning back around, she did a double-take and squinted her eyes.

She slowly glided towards the distant structure. “Is that...?” she whispered. She closed her eyes and shook her head, just to make sure her eyes weren’t playing tricks on her.

What are the chances I’d find a cabin out here in the middle of nowhere? she thought to herself, eagerly approaching the building.

* * *

After what seemed like days of waiting in silence, the familiar sound of Pokey descending the staircase finally reached Pinkie’s ears. However, unlike the last three times she’d heard the sound, Pinkie Pie didn’t panic. She didn’t feel the horrible sensation of dread she had grown accustomed to whenever she heard the wooden stairs groaning under his weight. Instead of cowering in fear, Pinkie simply stood there, expressionless, waiting for Pokey to open the door. In fact, she was almost relieved.

Pinkie shook her head in disbelief, trying desperately to get the strange feeling out of her head. But no matter how hard she tried, it just wouldn’t go away. She was happy to have company. Even if that company was only there to hurt her.

The cell door swung open, groaning under its own weight as Pokey stepped into the cell. He looked at Pinkie for a moment, instantly taking note of the fact the the syringe was on the floor rather than sticking out of her face. “I bet you’re wondering what I injected you with.” he said as he picked it up with his magic.

Pinkie was relieved to not see the sharp medical tool heading in her direction. “Y-Yeah...”

Pokey set it down on the fold-up table, making sure to prop it against the other objects so it wouldn't roll off. “Guess.” He said, casually opening his saddlebag.

“P-poison?” Pinkie stuttered.

Pokey stuck his head into his saddlebag and pulled out two sets of hoofcuffs in his teeth. He set one of them on the table while he slipped the other pair onto Pinkie’s forehooves.

“Why would I want to poison you, Pinkie?”

Pinkie cringed slightly as the metal rings closed around her forehooves at the tightest possible setting. “I don’t know,” she started. “I guess I...”

Pokey laughed, interrupting Pinkie as he locked the hoofcuffs with a small metal key. “I don’t know what it's actually called, but it’s numbing stuff. I decided to give you a break for once. Aren’t I the best?”

Pinkie nodded weakly as Pokey went behind her with the other pair. “Thank you so much...” she said. The cuffs were tightened around her back hooves.

Pinkie coughed due to her empty stomach, the sudden internal movement sending an uncomfortable sensation through her frail, fatigued body. “May I...um...please have some water? P-please?” She begged, doing her best to present her request in the nicest way possible.

Pokey said nothing in reply as he made his way back in front of Pinkie. He opened his saddlebag again and pulled out a long, albeit quite thin, rope. While its pure, pale yellow color indicated that it was woven quite recently, the hundreds of tiny hairs that stuck out from the main shaft revealed its cheapness. Nevertheless, it looked strong enough to serve its purpose. Pinkie would have a difficult time trying to break it, especially in her weakened state.

Rather than do anything with the rope, Pokey produced a large, bronze key and unlocked the wooden panel. Using his magic, he lifted off the top half and propped it against the wall.

As soon as the upper section of the panel was removed, Pinkie immediately lifted her head up and slid her front hooves out of the holes. In her excitement, she had completely forgotten about the hoofcuffs that bound her legs together, causing her to tip over sideways.

“Oof!” A brown cloud of dust appeared around her as her body hit the dirt floor.

"Heh. Stupid mule." Pokey mocked. “You’re thirsty?” He stepped towards her and kicked her hard in the gut. Pinkie was already out of breath from the hard landing, and Pokey's contribution only worsened her condition.

Pinkie moaned in pain as he kicked her again, harder this time, just for good measure.

While Pinkie writhed on the floor, Pokey tied the rope around the chains that linked the two cuffs on her hooves. After tugging it a few times to make sure the knot was secure, he levitated the camera, grabbed the rope between his teeth, and began walking backwards, dragging Pinkie across the ground with him as he exited the cell.

Under normal circumstances, Pinkie Pie's above-average weight would have proved difficult for a pony of Pokey Pierce's thin, weak stature to freely drag around. Luckily for him, however, Pinkie had lost a considerable amount of weight in the time she had been imprisoned.

The severe lack of nutrition affected more than just her weight, however. With barely any energy left in her body, Pinkie could barely moan in pain, let alone put up a fight as she was dragged across the floor of the basement's main corridor.

Pinkie stared down the basement's dark hallway as she was dragged across the floor , wincing as as the tiny rocks embedded in the floor scratched at her side. She could barely make out the dim outline of a steep staircase on the opposite end.

She felt her heart sink as she watched it move farther and farther away as she was dragged across the floor. She didn't want to believe it, but she knew in the back of her mind that she wouldn't be leaving anytime soon, if ever.

Pokey turned the corner, entering a small area adjacent to a row of cell doors. In the far corner of this area, below a long pipe sticking out of the wall, was a small, dug-out hole. It would be a tight fit, but the hole in question looked just large enough for a pony to fit inside.

Pokey continued around the corner and approached the small hole with Pinkie in tow. He dragged her motionless body next to the hole and spit out the rope.

He turned the camera on. “Pinkie Pie, session four.” He whispered, making sure Pinkie Pie couldn’t hear.

He hovered the camera in front of himself and looked through the eyepiece. “Get in the hole.” he deadpanned. His voice was apathetic, lacking even the tiniest sliver of empathy for his victim.

Pinkie laid motionless on the ground. “Uggghh...” she moaned, still out of breath from the two blows to her stomach. A good part of her side, which had been dragged across the basement floor, had been scraped by its rough, earthy surface. There was no noticeable bleeding, but to Pinkie, the small, shallow cuts felt like tiny knives continually stabbing her.

“Did you not hear me?” Pokey said, raising his voice. He put the camera up to Pinkie’s face. “Get in the hole. Now.”

“O-okay...” Pinkie said weakly, looking with dread into the camera’s mechanical eye. She did her best to follow Pokey’s instructions, putting up an earnest, yet pathetic attempt to scoot into the hole. She shifted her weight to the side and slowly made her way towards it, struggling to do so with all four of her limbs restrained by cuffs. “Ow...ow...” she quietly mumbled, scooting across the floor as its rough surface scraped at her back.

“Hurry up!” Pokey screamed, bits of his saliva landing on Pinkie’s face.

“I’m sorry! I’m sorry!” She whimpered, frantically shifting her weight to the left. “I-I’m trying!”. She put all of her strength into her last few movements, and before long, she finally made it to the edge of the hole. She landed on her back after a brief fall, giving the camera a good view of her emaciated figure.

The hole was small and cramped, and Pinkie was just barely able to fit inside. From this position, Pinkie could see directly up the faucet that hung over the hole. She noticed that the black mold that lined the rim also climbed up the inside of the pipe, which would no doubt contaminate any water that flowed out of it.

“Ugh, I can’t even look at you. You’re so disgusting.” Pokey sneered. He took four worn, ragged washcloths that had been hanging over a copper pipe in the basement’s unfinished wall and dropped them all on top of Pinkie’s face. “There." he smiled. "That’s much better.”

Pinkie said nothing in reply, but Pokey's words still hit her hard. She knew for a fact that he was telling the truth. She looked like a monster. An ugly, revolting monster.

“So. You said you were thirsty?”

“Yes! Please!” Pinkie exclaimed, desperation evident in her voice.

Pressing the four rags down with his magic, Pokey placed a hoof on one of the faucet’s handles and turned it thirty degrees to the right. The handle, which had obviously been neglected for quite some time, produced a tiny squeak as it was moved. This prompted a gentle stream of cold water to trickle out of the pipe.

A small, slowly-expanding damp spot appeared on the topmost cloth where it was touched by the stream of water. Its permeable surface allowed the majority of the water to pass through to the next layer of cloth below it. This process continued with the next two layers before the stream finally reached Pinkie Pie, whose mouth was already wide open, eager to feel the moisture on her dry, cracked lips.

At last, a thin stream of water dribbled into her waiting mouth. She moaned in relief as each drop rolled down her dry, arid tongue. The water had a strange taste, probably thanks to the faucet’s interior lining of mold, but Pinkie didn’t care in the least. As long as it didn’t kill her, she was willing to drink just about anything at this point. What she didn’t understand, however, was why Pokey had to administer the water to her in such a strange fashion.

What was wrong with the jug of water he used before? Pinkie thought.

Pokey levitated the camera above the hole Pinkie was wedged in. “Do you like that?”

Pinkie nodded her head weakly. “Mmhmm...” she confirmed, her words muffled by the rags.

“Do you want more?”

She nodded her head again, this time with more energy. “Mmm!”

The handle squeaked again as Pokey turned it another thirty degrees, allowing twice the amount of water to flow out from the faucet. As the stream of water became thicker and fatter, so too did the wet spot on the cloth.

“Mmm. Now the real show begins.” Pokey muttered into the microphone.

As soon as the thicker stream of water made contact with the cloth, the saturation quickly expanded to cover most of the surface, and Pinkie felt the ever-increasing weight of the rags press down onto her face as they absorbed the excess water.

The refreshing, though strange-tasting water now flowed much more quickly through the thick layers of cloth and into Pinkie’s mouth. She moaned in pleasure after each hearty gulp, a euphoric feeling of satisfaction stimulating Pinkie’s brain as her thirst quickly washed away.

One...two...three... Pokey thought to himself, counting in his head the number of seconds Pinkie spent under the stream of water. He’d read in a book that only about thirty seconds was necessary to break a pony's mind, and that it was internationally agreed upon that anything more was cruel and unusual torture.

Just his style.

While Pinkie was happy to be able to get more than a few drops of water per second, she was beginning to wonder if her decision to have Pokey increase the speed was a mistake. Since he’d done so, the constant flow of water through the now completely-saturated rags made it quite difficult to breathe. The feeling of the water flowing into her arid mouth was intensely satisfying at first, but now, Pinkie felt increasingly uncomfortable with each passing moment. She barely had enough time to take a breath in between swallowing the mouthfuls of water that now flowed steadily into her open mouth.

As the seconds passed by, Pinkie felt a growing pressure in her chest as the amount of air in her lungs slowly diminished. She attempted to lift her head up to take a breath, but the surprisingly heavy weight of the fully-soaked rags greatly overpowered any energy she had left to do so. After resting her head for a few seconds, she tried again, but to no avail.

Twenty. Twenty-one...twenty-two...

“Mmmph mmm!” Pinkie mumbled in between swallowing more and more mouthfuls of water. The rag’s muffling effect, however, rendered Pinkie’s words unintelligible.

“What was that? You said you want more?” Pokey teased. He pointed the camera’s microphone toward Pinkie’s head to capture the subtle sounds of her panic.

She shook her head to the best of her ability while she was crammed in the tiny, restrictive space. “Nnph!”

"Alright, if you say so!"

“Nnph!” Nm Mrrph!”

Pinkie listened with dread to the squeak of the rusted handle as Pokey turned it another thirty degrees to its maximum setting. Now, instead of a relatively calm, clear flow, the faucet now expelled a chaotic torrent of water.

Pinkie thought it was difficult to breathe before, but now, as the water flowed constantly with even more pressure and volume into her throat, the task was completely impossible. Unable to swallow the massive amounts of water flowing through the rags without suffocating, she closed her mouth in an attempt to divert the water and give herself time to breathe through her nose. Unfortunately, this plan backfired completely, cascades of water now rushing up her nostrils instead.

Pinkie Pie squirmed around helplessly in the tight space, doing everything she could to try to get away from the never-ending torrent of water coming from above. “MMMMPH! MRRRPH!” She screamed, unwisely using the little oxygen she had left in her lungs to do so. As the water filled her throat, it distorted her screams, transforming them into a grotesque, panicked gargling sound. "MMMPH! MMRPH MMMPH!"

Fifty-eight...fifty-nine...sixty. Pokey set the camera on the floor for a moment and approached the faucet. Quickly, he turned the handle back to the off position and lifted the soaking rags off of Pinkie’s pale, terrified face.

As soon as the rags were off, Pinkie gasped for air, taking several massive breaths before even opening her good eye to look at Pokey. Conversely, the empty eye socket on the other side of her face was partially filled with water. “I...I’m..not...” she began, pausing after each word to take in air. “I’m...not...thirsty...anymore...”

“Too bad.” Pokey said, levitating the dripping pile of rags back towards her.

“N-no! NO!” Pinkie pleaded, already feeling a shortness of breath as droplets of water dripped onto her face from above. “Stop, Please! I'm not thirsty anymore! Ple-mmmph! MMMPPH! ” Her pleas were muffled as she felt the cold touch of the cloth on her face.

In any other situation, Pinkie would have kept frantically begging for Pokey to stop. However, as she waited in dread for him to turn on the faucet, she saved every bit of air she could.

She took a deep breath and closed her mouth in preparation, determined to endure. It’s just water, Pinkie. You can-

Her thought was interrupted by the the long, drawn-out creak of the handle as Pokey turned it a full ninety degrees.

"NO! PLEASE!" Her screams echoed throughout the entire building.

Pokey reset his count. One...two...three...

It took only a few seconds for the water to soak its way through the four layers of cloth. Pinkie Pie squirmed around, whimpering in panic as the liquid, unable to enter her closed mouth, rushed up into her nose.

Pinkie held her breath for as long as she could. However, as her lungs burned, desperate for air, she was only able to restrain herself for a few seconds without passing out. Pinkie exhaled and then inhaled in turn. The sudden inhalation sucked the damp rags tightly against her nostrils, effectively plugging them shut. Pinkie instinctively tried to exhale again to break the suction, but there was no air left in her lungs to do so. Though air was unable to pass through, water still flowed freely through the permeable cloth covering her nostrils.

Pinkie felt like she was drowning under a massive pool of water, slowly sinking every second, but never reaching the bottom. Her head violently thrashed left and right as she tried anything she could to escape the constant onslaught of freezing cold water.

In her panicked state, Pinkie made a sound that Pokey had never heard before from any of his victims. Instead of a pain-filled shriek or a moan of despair, Pinkie produced a heartbreaking whimper that seemed to say: “Why is this happening to me? What did I do?”

Meanwhile, while Pinkie struggled to breathe under the torrent of water, Pokey was busy with the camera. Unlike the previous sessions, Pokey didn’t need to use his hooves or magic at all. The faucet did all of the work for him. He took full advantage of it, taking the opportunity to capture his victim’s misery from multiple angles.

Forty-five...forty-six...

The water tickled her tiny nasal hairs as it ran through the inside of her nose, traveling through her nasal passages and ultimately down her throat. Tiny droplets of water separated themselves from the main stream, freely bouncing around and teasing her sensitive nasal hairs as they finally came to a rest against them. Functioning as they should, the thin hairs sent a signal to Pinkie’s brain to indicate the presence of a foreign object. In an unmeasurably brief amount of time, her brain sent another signal to her respiratory system.

She had to sneeze.

To her horror, Pinkie Pie felt pressure building up in her head as the water continued flowing through her nose. Her mouth, which she had been determined to keep closed, was forced open as her diaphragm contracted to suck in air. Just like it had with her nostrils, the inhalation sucked the rag into her mouth, forming an air-tight seal over the opening.

With water once again flowing directly through her mouth, Pinkie fought against her own body as she desperately tried to close her jaw. Her body, however, didn’t give up so easily. Even with the tight seal around her mouth and nostrils, her lungs continued trying to suck in air, determined to inhale enough of it to expel the unwanted droplets of water from her nose. It felt as if Pinkie’s own body was trying to smother her. She tried to exhale, but her body had already made up its mind. It was going to sneeze, and there was nothing Pinkie could do about it.

Sixty-two...sixty-three...

Finally, with her diaphragm fully contacted, it abruptly released to expel what air it had out of her nose. With her larynx wide open, the water flowing down her throat now had two passages to choose from, and a large volume of water soon found its way flowing down Pinkie’s trachea and into her lungs.

Pinkie struggled more than ever before as the water entered her lungs. As they slowly filled with water, her childish mind likened it to filling up a water balloon, something she would never be able to do again without having a nervous breakdown. She felt the fluid sloshing around inside of her chest as she struggled, each time less noticeable as her movements gradually slowed down.

Eighty-nine...ninety.

Suddenly, Pinkie’s vision returned as the heavy cloth was pulled off of her face and the water turned off. As soon as she was able to breath again, her body expelled the water inside her lungs with a loud coughing fit.

Surrounding her bloated body with his magical aura, Pokey attempted to lift Pinkie upright. Earlier, dragging her across the floor had been a breeze, but now, with her stomach and lungs filled with water, the task of moving her was exceptionally difficult.

Blood vessels were visible on Pokey’s face as he focused his magic, and after a considerable effort, he finally managed to lean her body against the wall. As soon as Pinkie was sitting vertically, she leaned over and vomited out the gallons of water that had been forced down her throat.

Pokey stepped back, avoiding the cloudy mixture of stomach acid and water that spread across the dirt floor. Within seconds, the liquid was absorbed into the dirt floor, leaving only a large wet spot where it once stood.

“So, Pinkie" He grinned. "Do you-”

Pokey’s remark was interrupted by a faint, repetitive noise.

What the... he thought, looking up quizzically toward the ceiling. He tried to listen for the noise again, but even if it did repeat, Pinkie’s loud crying and coughing fits drowned out the noise.

“Shut up!” He said, placing a hoof on the faucet’s handle.

That was all Pinkie needed to see to set her off. Even though she wasn't even under the faucet, the concept of running water terrified her. “NO!” she screamed, bringing her two restrained forehooves up to her face. “NO! Please, not again!” She paused for a moment to cough up another round of water. "Please!”

Pokey took his hoof off of the handle. “Then be quiet!” He said, looking her coldly in the eye. Pinkie complied, doing the best she could to suppress both her coughing and crying. Even after he left, her gaze didn't leave Pokey’s hoof until it was well away from the faucet.

Pokey ended the recording and slowly made his way down the basement’s main corridor, looking left and right for the source of the noise. After peeking his head into every room in the basement, he turned around. “Hm. Must have been-”

Another series of knocks ensued, this time louder and longer. Pokey stopped dead in his tracks. Once he realized that the sound wasn't coming from anything in the basement, he simply stood there, dumbfounded.

Somepony was at the door.

* * *

Pokey tugged the handle one final time just to be sure. The door moved a minuscule distance before it was stopped by the old, rusted locking mechanism.

Locked. Good.

Finally satisfied, Pokey turned away from the basement door and toward the small flight of stairs that led to the cabin's main area. Alright, Pokey. Play it cool, he thought, They can’t search the cabin without a warrant.. Though, despite himself, every step towards the cabin's front door was more difficult than the last. Hesitantly, Pokey opened the door slightly and peered through the small crack.

On the other side of the door was a familiar-looking rainbow-maned pegasus. Pokey recognized her from Ponyville, though her name escaped him at the moment. In any case, Pokey breathed a sigh of relief. Okay, he thought. Good. Not the Royal Guard.

Stepping back, Pokey closed the door, unhinged the lock, then opened it completely. "Hey there..." he greeted, his nervously hesitant diction returning to his speech. "What uh...what brings you around these parts?"

Rainbow Dash took a single step back. “Wait, Pokey?” she said, raising an eyebrow. “What are you doing in a cabin in the middle of nowhere?”

“I think the better question is why you’re walking around in the middle of nowhere.” Pokey replied, rapidly tapping his hoof on the wooden floor.

“Oh. Well, ah...” Rainbow began, scratching the concrete slate in front of the door with a hoof. “Me and Applejack are out looking for Pinkie Pie.”

Pokey felt his entire body go weak. Without thinking, he stuck his head out and scanned the area around Rainbow Dash. For all he knew, there could be an entire regiment of royal guards hiding in the brush, waiting for her signal.

They know. She’s onto me. he thought, fighting the sudden urge to tackle her to the ground right then and there. He knew that he needed to do this calmly. Besides, a pony like Rainbow Dash would fight back, and probably be able to win.

Okay, calm down, Pokey. She’s terrible at acting, he thought to himself, thinking back to last year’s Hearth’s Warming Pageant in Canterlot. Take it easy...

“You okay, Pokey?” Rainbow asked, tilting her head in confusion.

“I- ah..yes, um...” Pokey stuttered, scrambling to regain control of the situation. “Yeah, I’m fine. A-allergies. You must be cold. Why don’t you come inside?”

Despite Pokey's odd behavior, Rainbow’s face lit up in excitement. “Sure!” she exclaimed, trotting into the cabin’s inviting warmth as soon as Pokey stepped aside. She didn't know Pokey all that well, but the choice between the cold winter night and the warm cabin was a no-brainer.

As soon as Rainbow passed through the threshold, Pokey shut the door behind her, taking care not to slam it. He quickly locked it while Rainbow's back was still turned, checking it three times just to be sure it wouldn't easily open. After the fact, his head whipped to the side, and he calmly exhaled, relieved that she hadn't noticed.

“So, why are you looking for Pinkie Pie?” Pokey said as he made his way over to the kitchen area.

Rainbow Dash plopped down on the sofa and made herself at home. “You haven’t heard? Pinkie went...” she said, pausing for a moment. She wasn't sure, but she could have sworn that she could hear the faint sound of crying coming from downstairs. “Uh, she went missing about a week and a half ago. We think she may have been kidnapped or something. There’s been a lot of unsolved cases of missing ponies lately, and we think they might be connected.”

“Oh, wow. That’s some good detective work.” Pokey said, using a sarcastic tone that barely made an attempt to sound serious. It resembled the tone of voice one would use while humoring an overly-enthusiastic foal. “So you think she may be out here somewhere?” He continued, placing a pot of water over the stove's burner.

Rainbow watched the black stove top turn orange as it slowly heated up. “Yeah, that’s what we think. Have you noticed anything suspicious out here?”

“Not really.” Pokey said, opening a packet of cocoa powder and mixing it into the pot with a wooden spoon. “Nothing too interesting ever goes on out this far. That’s the reason why I have a cabin out here, to get away from it all.” Pokey looked over his shoulder before slipping a few white tablets into the mixture.

“Exactly! That’s why we think she’s out here! It’s like, the perfect serial-killer hideout!”

Pokey would have done a spit-take had he been drinking someting. Instead, he simply didn’t respond, opting instead to focus on stirring the pot. After that, not a word was said between the two ponies. Pokey kept stirring, and Rainbow sat quietly on the couch while she looked around the cabin.

The interior of the cabin wasn’t very large, but at the same time not small enough to be considered cozy. This was perhaps due to the fact that the one room of the cabin’s ground floor was quite sparsely decorated. Not including the fireplace, the only furniture was the couch she was sitting on, a coffee table in front of it, a small rug in the middle of the room, and a tall coat rack by the door which held a gray cloak and a long, blue and yellow scarf.

She couldn't exactly put her hoof on it, but for some reason, being inside the cabin made Rainbow Dash feel a little uncomfortable. It could have been the fact that the dwelling lacked any windows, or maybe it was the thick, awkward silence that filled the room. Perhaps it was the weird feeling of déjà-vu she got whenever she glanced at the scarf on the coat rack, or maybe it was the fact that she was by herself, in the middle of nowhere, with a pony she barely knew.

Pokey finally broke the silence. “By the way, how difficult was it for you to find me way out here?”

Rainbow Dash looked up at Pokey. “Umm...pretty hard. I only found it because I was flying over the trees. Why?”

“Oh, no reason.” Pokey said, hitting the shaft of the spoon twice against side of the pot. He poured its contents into a ceramic mug on the counter. “I just like my privacy.”

Rainbow nodded her head in understanding as Pokey walked towards her, levitating the mug next to him. “Yeah, I can understand that.”

The ceramic mug clinked as it was placed on the stone coffee table. Then, as quickly as it was set down, it was grabbed by a pair of enthusiastic cyan hooves. Rainbow Dash took a sip from the mug. She savored the warm chocolate drink as it flowed into her mouth, closing her eyes and inhaling its sweet, intoxicating scent. Then, placing the empty mug back onto the table, she exhaled with a look of satisfaction.

She brought a hoof up to her face to wipe the excess hot chocolate from her lips. As she did so, her ears perked up at the faint sound a high-pitched scream from downstairs.

Rainbow felt her stomach twist into a knot. What the hay... she thought, suddenly feeling a strong urge to bolt out the door. Such a gesture would be rude, however. Rarity had taught her at least that much about manners.

"So, are you...um...watching a horror movie down there or something?" She asked, rubbing her front hooves together uneasily.

“Yeah. I must have forgotten to pause it when you knocked on the door.” Pokey said, relieved to have been provided with a believable excuse for the noise.

"Oh, nice!” Dash said, her discomfort melting away slightly. “Which one?"

A cold sweat ran down Pokey's temple. "It's uh...I..." He stuttered. "I-It's an indie film. I don't think...I don't think you would have heard of it before. Pretty obscure."

"Yeah, right! Try me! I'm a freak for scary stuff!"

“Are you now?” Pokey said, prompting a proud nod from his guest. “I forget the title, but I think it has something to do with a mare who wanders into a serial killer’s house.” Pokey fought hard to keep the corners of his mouth from moving. “Spooky, huh?”

“Wow, that does sound pre...”

Before she could finish her statement, Rainbow Dash’s vision suddenly went blurry. Woah, she thought. She’d experienced the same sensation many times, especially when standing up after a few hours of laying down.

This time, though, the dizziness didn’t go away after a few seconds like she had expected. Instead, the sensation persisted. The inside of her head was filled with a tight, dull pain, as if her brain had suddenly grown too large to fit inside of her skull. It tingled as tiny black dots danced carelessly across her vision.

An overwhelming sense of fatigue overcame her. “Wha daaa heck isss...” Rainbow Dash mumbled, slurring her speech as she slowly bobbed around. Her voice grew quieter with every word, turning the other half of her question into an unintelligible murmur. Her own words sounded to her like a distant echo in her head.

With her eyelids half open, she groggily looked toward Pokey, who was staring at her with an wide, unsettling grin. Just looking at it made Rainbow extremely uncomfortable. For some reason, though, she couldn’t look away. Something was wrong. He knew something that she didn’t.

Then it all clicked. Pokey’s absence from Ponyville, his cabin in the middle of nowhere, the familiar scarf, the screaming and crying from downstairs...

“You...” she breathed, sluggishly bringing a hoof up to point at her host.

Pokey nodded his head.

Rainbow Dash let out weak groan, all the while fighting a losing battle to keep her eyelids open. Unfortunately, the battle was short lived, as a moment later she slumped onto her side across the length of the couch. At the moment, it was the most comfortable thing Rainbow had ever experienced in her life.

She tried her hardest to stay awake. She knew that Pokey had drugged her, and that falling asleep would be a very, very bad idea. Unfortunately, the overpowering drowsiness made it quite difficult to put closing her eyes anywhere else but the number one spot on her priority list.

Maybe for...just...a second...

Rainbow Dash shut her eyelids, resting her head on the sofa’s soft cushion. Within seconds, she was fast asleep.

Pokey smiled. “Perfect.”

Part V - Coming to a Head

The entire basement was eerily quiet, save for the sound of Pokey ascending the staircase. The weak wooden boards groaned under his weight, creating an unsettling noise that seemed to linger in Pinkie’s ears long after it had faded away. The sound was soon followed by another; that of a door clicking shut.

Then, only silence.

Pinkie Pie sat alone, shivering on the ground as warm tears rolled down her cheeks. Two thick trails of clear snot seeped out of her nostrils, briefly clinging to her face before finally falling to the ground.

She released a miserable moan and let her frail body go limp. Her body hit the floor hard, but her senses barely even registered the pain. Covered in cuts, bruises, and wounds, Pinkie’s entire body was already in constant pain. Whatever additional trauma she received was simply mixed into the melting pot.

Half-lidded, she stared blankly at the floor below her as if in a trance. "Nopony's coming for me..." she whispered to herself. Her quiet, shaky enunciation of the words rendered them almost too quiet to hear. "I'm gonna die here..."

Pinkie Pie couldn’t remember the last time she smiled, and she didn’t care. The brutal honesty of her own words, admitting to herself that her death was quickly approaching, was enough to break her completely.

She had put her faith into her friends. She thought that they would come and save her. Pinkie had feared death all her life. But now, in her current pathetic state, she had to admit to herself that a little part of her wanted it.

Then, suddenly, Pinkie's ears perked up at the sound of a quiet murmur coming from the floor above her. She laid motionless in place, scrunching up her nose and squinting as she listened intently. The voices were too muffled to make out any words, but Pinkie could still hear the various inflections clearly. Pokey’s voice was easily recognizable, but there seemed to be another voice present as well. It was a female voice. One that she recognized.

Her jaw hung open in disbelief. Somepony else is here!

"HEY! HELP ME!" Pinkie screamed. Using all the energy she had, she took a deep breath and shrieked as loud as she could. "HELP! IT'S PINKIE PIE! HELP ME, PLEASE!" She jolted around as she screamed, trying to make as much noise as possible. "HELP MEEEE!" she yelled, frantically banging her hoofcuffs together.

Eventually, Pinkie gave up trying to form words and began simply shrieking as loud as she could. Her shrill voice bounced off the basement walls, creating a chaotic din of sound that was impossible not to hear from upstairs.

Pinkie Pie's tantrum lasted only a few seconds before she was out of breath and out of energy. She huffed and puffed as she laid her head back on the floor, completely exhausted from her outburst. "Please..." she began, gasping for air between words. "Help...me...please..."

* * *

The back of Rainbow Dash's skull slammed hard against the stairs as her limp, unconscious body was pulled into the depths of the cabin.

Grasping her tail between his teeth, Pokey carefully stepped backwards down the staircase, constantly turning his head to make sure his hooves would safely reach the next step. He had considered just throwing Rainbow Dash down the stairs to make the job easier, but ultimately decided against it. After all, doing so could swiftly end her life before he would have the opportunity to properly deal with her.

Rainbow Dash’s wings and limbs were bound together by a series of ropes; the same thin, cheaply-made kind that Pokey had used only thirty minutes earlier to drag Pinkie Pie across the floor.

The first length of rope was tied around her waist, tightly pinning her wings to the rest of her body. Since Pokey could only afford two pairs of old, rusted hoofcuffs, a second and third length of rope was used to tie both her front and back legs together. This way, Rainbow Dash would be completely immobilized upon regaining consciousness.

When he finally reached the bottom, Pokey spit Rainbow Dash’s tail out of his mouth, scowling in disgust from the taste of her filthy, dirt-filled hair. He rested for a few moments to catch his breath before reluctantly grasping her tail once again and continuing down the corridor.

Rainbow Dash was dragged a short distance down the unlit hallway until Pokey reached the first of the basement’s three cells. After opening the heavy wooden door with his magic, Rainbow Dash was dragged through the doorway and into the center of the cell. The cell in question contained nothing but two shackles that hung from the ceiling and a dried puddle of blood that stained the floor around a shallow hole in the middle of the room.

Pokey peered through the window of the cell door as he locked it shut. Beyond its vertical metal bars laid the limp, unconscious body of Rainbow Dash, face-down in a puddle of dried blood. Even while squinting his eyes, Pokey could barely see her bright cyan coat through the cell’s pregnant darkness.

Wonderful, he thought, backing away from the door and towards a long white string that hung from the ceiling. He gave it a quick tug, and like magic, the immediate area was illuminated with the light bulb's artificial light.

Pokey started down the corridor with a content trot. It seemed, for once, that everything was going right.

Before long, he reached the end of the corridor and made a left turn into the alcove. Like he had expected, Pinkie Pie hadn't moved an inch away from the hole.

Pokey brought his face down to Pinkie Pie's eye level. "Guess what, Pinkie? I have a surprise for you." He said, glaring into Pinkie's tired eyes.

Feeling the heavy weight of fear pressing down on her, Pinkie avoided eye contact with Pokey, opting instead to stare at the wall behind him. She looked down, hesitating before she spoke. Her innocent naïveté had been utterly obliterated by Pokey's cruel treatment, and she knew that any sort of so-called 'surprise' from Pokey would just end up tormenting her. “No...I don't want it..." she muttered weakly.

Pokey playfully cocked his head. "What? That doesn't sound like the Pinkie Pie I know! Are you sure you don't wanna see it?"

Pinkie, lacking the energy and motivation to keep her head up, placed the side of her head on the ground and closed her good eye. “No...” She sniveled, “I just wanna go home..."

Using his magic, Pokey gripped the end of the rope that was tied to Pinkie’s handcuffs. “Aw, don’t be that way, Pinkie!” He said. With his magical grip on the rope, Pokey turned around and began walking towards the third cell, dragging Pinkie along behind him and pulling her out of the hole. “You’re gonna love it!”

“No...” Pinkie mumbled, not even attempting to resist as she was pulled along. “Pokey...” she said again. Her voice was barely audible. “Please don’t drag me...I don’t like it. I can just walk.” She let out another weak cough. “Please...I won’t run away. I promise...”

Pokey stopped. In any other circumstance, he would have been afraid of Pinkie attempting to escape, but he knew for a fact that she barely even had the stamina to speak, let alone run away. This, among other things, was the main reason Pokey had denied her food for days.

After a moment of contemplation, Pokey shrugged. “Fine.”

Pokey bent over, removed the hoofcuffs that bound Pinkie's legs together, and helped her up off the floor. As she rose, her emaciated, bony legs wobbled back and forth like a newborn deer’s, forced to bear the burden of lifting the rest of her body.

She tried again and again to lift her body up, but her legs wouldn't allow it. It was mostly due to her small, shriveled muscles, but the knowledge that only more pain awaited her didn't help either.

Before Pinkie could fall to the floor, Pokey put a forehoof around Pinkie’s shoulder to help her stay up. "Easy there." he said. Pinkie grunted at first to show her disapproval, but she eventually gave in and leaned against him. She figured snuggling up next to Pokey was better than falling down again.

Using one forehoof to hold Pinkie against himself, Pokey used the other to point towards the basement's third and final cell. It was larger than the other two, being rectangular in shape rather than square. Even so, the spacious area was sparsely furnished, containing only Pokey’s tripod and camera, a small wooden table with various tools, and an even smaller steel cage. "You see the little cage in that room over there?"

Pinkie lifted her head up from leaning against Pokey’s neck to nod in response.

"Get in." Pokey ordered.

“W-what’s in there?” Pinkie said.

"Food."

Pinkie gasped audibly. That one word was enough to motivate her. Using Pokey for support, she began hobbling her way into the third cell with purpose. Pokey helped her along the way, making sure to not let her fall over again.

After the two passed through the door frame, they were soon standing in front of the cage.

Pokey used his magic to open the door and let go of Pinkie. She wobbled back and for a bit before finding her balance.

Pinkie bent over and peered inside of the cage. It was quite small, with barely enough room for even a single pony. "I...um..." Pinkie said, hesitant to enter. "It's awfully small." She caught a whiff of the mold's fragrance; a heavy, rather unpleasant odor.

Pokey didn't even bother to threaten her. Instead, he simply kicked Pinkie hard in the joint of one of her back legs. With a pathetic whine, Pinkie collapsed to the floor. After another series of overly-aggressive kicks, she was forced into to the cage.

Pinkie barely had enough time to turn back around before the door was slammed shut. "There's a good girl." Pokey said patronizingly. He stuck his head into his saddlebag and removed a plastic tupperware container filled with the same over-sweetened oatmeal he had fed her previously.

Though the pain from Pokey's kicks still lingered, Pinkie's face lit up with glee. "I-I-Is that for me?". She said. Her mouth was already watering at the mere sight of something edible.

Pokey removed the lid and slipped the container through a small slit on the ceiling of the cage. "It's all yours."

The cold oatmeal slipped out of its container and through the slit, still retaining the shape it had been in while inside of the plastic container. It landed with a splat on the bottom of the cage. As soon as she could, she began gobbling it up without hesitation.

"That's the spirit." Pokey said, watching Pinkie greedily attack her food. "Eat up while I get your surprise ready."

The only thing Pinkie was concerned with was the brick of food in front of her. Its sweet flavor stimulated her taste buds, sending an intense feeling of euphoria throughout her aching body.

In fact, she was so focused on eating that she hadn't even noticed Pokey leave the cell. Once the bulk was gone, Pinkie looked around in confusion. "Pokey?"

She shrugged it off and continued eating what was left of the oatmeal, which was a thin layer spread across the bottom of the cage. Once Pinkie had finished her meal, she laid down, closed her eyes, and let her body digest.

* * *

Thump...thump...thump...thump...

"Ugghhh..." Rainbow Dash moaned, slowly opening her eyes. She was forced to shut them again immediately after the fact, however, as the internal vibrations of her own voice served only to exacerbate the throbbing pain in her head.

Ow, ow, ow... She thought to herself as blood rushed to her brain, every miserable pulse akin to her head being crushed between two heavy stones. In an attempt to dull the pain, she instinctively tried moving both of her forehooves up to cradle her head. Unfortunately, she found herself unable to do so.

"Hey, what gives?" She said, stuggling against whatever was resticting her movement. "What's going on? Where am I?"

Startled by the sudden sound, Pinkie Pie opened her good eye and turned around. "Huh?" She squeaked. "P-Pokey? Who's there?"

Rainbow’s right ear twitched at the noise. Equally surprised, she turned her head to look in the same direction, but the pitch black darkness around her prevented her from seeing anything more than a few inches away from her face. This was barely a hindrance, however. The voice she had heard, though weak and tired, was unmistakable.

Rainbow hesitated for the slightest moment. "...Pinkie Pie?"

“D-Dashie?” the voice whispered back.

A wave of relief washed over Rainbow. "Oh, thank-"

"Dashie!" Pinkie squealed in delight. Though it was rough, raspy, and worn, Rainbow could still detect the unbridled joy in Pinkie's voice. “You came for me! You’re here to save me!”

Pinkie’s loud, high-pitched voice was like a dagger in Rainbow’s still-ringing ears. “Pinkie, not so loud!” She groaned, cringing from the pain.

Pinkie pouted. “Oh, sorry...”

"It’s okay, Pinkie.” Rainbow assured. For a moment, she took her eyes off her friend and looked around the dark cell. “What's going on? Why am I tied up?" She asked, keeping her voice low for her own sake.

"Huh?” Pinkie said, her ears drooping. “You're...you're tied up?" she began, leaning forward to try and make out at least a vague silhouette of her friend. "I thought you came to save me! What happened?"

"I am here to save you. Me and AJ. We kind of got separated, though. I don't know what happened, or where she is, and I-"

Before Rainbow Dash could finish, the short-lived conversation came to a sudden halt at the sudden sound of the cell door unlocking. Both ponies instantly turned their heads toward the heavy door as it slowly creaked open, revealing the silhouette of a unicorn with light, messy hair and an unusually pointy horn .

He took his time entering the small, cramped space. "And here I was hoping I would get to see your reaction to the surprise." he remarked, leaving the door wide open behind him. "You just had to go and fall asleep, didn't you?"

"I-I-I-I'm sorry, Pokey, I didn't-"

"Shut your mouth, you stupid little mule." Pokey said bluntly, using his magic to knock the cage onto its side. Pinkie fell over with it, hitting her face against the bars which now touched the ground.

"Hey!" Rainbow exclaimed. Though she could only see the dark outline of his body, Rainbow instantly recognized Pokey's distinct way of speaking. Despite the uneasy feeling returning tenfold, Rainbow stood her ground. "What the heck was that for?"

Pokey said nothing in reply and simply pulled at a long string hanging from the ceiling. After a short delay, the lights flickered on.

The dramatic change in lighting stung Rainbow’s eyes, forcing her to shut them tight almost as soon as they were turned on. Before she did, however, she caught a short glimpse of Pinkie Pie in the full light. And she didn’t look good.

Rainbow Dash’s curiosity overwhelmed her, and she opened both of her eyes again as soon as she could. She felt the stinging sensation return, but managed to power through it by keeping only one eye open at a time. Eventually, her eyes adjusted to the light, and she was able to clearly see every shocking detail of Pinkie Pie’s miserable state.

Covered in dried blood, black bruises, oozing burns, infected wounds, and swollen bumps, her face was almost unrecognizable. The most horrific thing by far was the gaping hole where her left eye used to be. A few flies buzzed around the empty socket. Pinkie, too weak to swat them away, simply ignored them, allowing them to feast on the gratuitous amount of dead tissue.

The state rest of her body was equally as shocking. Denied food for weeks, Pinkie’s fat and muscle tissue had slowly whittled away to nothing in order to keep herself alive. To put it simply, she looked like a walking skeleton.

It was too much for Rainbow Dash to handle. She felt tears forming in the corners of her eyes as a mix of emotions brewed inside of her. Grief, Pity, Horror, Disbelief, Fear. The most prominent, however, was unbridled rage.

“You stupid bucking piece of crap!” she screamed, violently struggling against the ropes binding her. “I’ll kill you! I swear to Celestia I’ll bucking kill you!” The veins on her forehead were clearly visible as she gritted her teeth.

Pokey calmly walked toward Rainbow Dash as she thrashed about on the floor. “Mmm, you’re a feisty one, aren’t you?" he chuckled, using a hoof to lift up her chin. "I can already tell you’re going to put on a good show for me.”

Rainbow flared her nostrils. “Untie me and say that to my face!” she growled, her rage providing more than enough motivation to keep up the struggle.

Pokey bent over and pressed his snout against Rainbow’s. “Sure thing, but why in the world would I want to untie you? Seems rather counter-productive to me.” he mocked, jolting his face away from Rainbow’s just before she lifted her head up to bite him. Then, still looking down, he teased her one final time with a smug grin before turning in the opposite direction to set up his camera.

Rainbow Dash violently thrashed around on the floor. She growled, gnashed her teeth, and even though all four of her limbs were restrained, did her best to kick and punch at the air. For a while, her efforts seemed pointless. The ropes around her wouldn’t budge, and Rainbow appeared to be wasting her energy.

After a few minutes, however, Rainbow noticed that she had far more leg room to kick and punch at the air than she had a few minutes prior. To her surprise, Rainbow could feel the knots that held together the thin ropes around her limbs starting to give way as she continued to move around. The length of rope that restrained her wings, unfortunately, showed no signs of coming loose, but it was a start.

Taking extra care to make sure Pokey couldn’t see her, she twisted her left foreleg a few degrees to the right and moved it upward. Thankfully, Pokey was too preoccupied with setting up the camera to notice anything out of the ordinary.

She did the same with the other hoof, and once the rope’s grip was loose enough, Rainbow slipped both of her forehooves out of the bonds. She heard Pinkie gasp as she did so. In response, Rainbow turned her head, shot Pinkie a cold glance, and held one of her forehooves up to her mouth to shush her.

Pokey’s head shot backwards in the direction of the noise. With one eyebrow raised, he made his way over to Rainbow Dash, looking back and forth between her and Pinkie Pie.

No no no no! Darn it, Pinkie! She thought. Putting her forehooves behind her back, she instantly began rocking back and forth on the floor to feign struggling. Across the room, beads of sweat rolled down Pinkie’s forehead as she watched the situation unfold before her.

Pokey stopped in front of Rainbow Dash. “Was that just my imagination, or was there something you didn’t want me to hear?” He said, staring down at her with intense eyes.

“It was probably all in your head, seeing as you’re already a bucking maniac.”

Pokey narrowed his eyes, staring at Rainbow Dash for a few seconds before turning around and trotting towards the small table on the opposite wall. “Hm.” he scoffed, "You're going to regret that.".

Rainbow Dash fought hard to hold in a sigh of relief as she watched Pokey move back towards the table. After checking again to make sure Pokey wasn't looking, Rainbow carefully repeated the same movements with her back legs. After some gratuitous squirming, she finally managed to get the cheap, loose rope around her back legs to slip off. Even though she was relieved to not have the ropes tightly squeezing her anymore, she held in a yet another sigh and quickly scrambled to her hooves.

Once she managed to stand upright, Rainbow glanced towards the door behind her. It was wide open. She could have escaped right then if she wanted to. She could have left to find Applejack.

Rainbow considered the idea for a short moment, but quickly snapped out of it. No, she thought, turning her head towards Pinkie. I have to save her now.

She took a deep breath.

Let's roll.

Her heart thumping loudly in her chest, Rainbow Dash raced across the room and pounced on top of Pokey's back, driving him to the ground.

“Wha-!” Pokey exclaimed. His head slammed hard against both the edge of the table and the floor on his way down, earning him both a large lump on his forehead and nasty gash on his cheek. He barely even had enough time to process what was happening before a fast-approaching blue hoof filled his field of view. This was soon followed by her other hoof, and then the other, over and over again. “I'll teach you to mess with my friends!” She screamed, slamming her hooves into his vulnerable face.

Pokey opened his mouth to speak, but was quickly silenced by a swift punch to the jaw. He grunted in pain instead as one of his teeth fell out of his bleeding mouth and onto the floor below him.

“Shut up!” Rainbow growled, delivering blow after blow to Pokey's head and neck. Her buff, athletic build gave her an impressive amount of stamina. One punch quickly led to another, with no breaks in between. Her rough, never-hooficured hooves brushed hard against his skin like sandpaper, the tiny chips and cracks on the surface cutting into his soft flesh.

Pokey brought his forehooves up in an attempt to shield his face from the barrage of punches. “Stop! Get off me!” he begged, his light, lanky frame easily overpowered by Rainbow's muscular body.

Rainbow uttered nothing but an angry grunt in response. Still seeing red, she bit down on Pokey's hair, lifting his head off the ground and slamming it onto the floor.

Pokey tried ignoring the pain to focus his energy on levitating one of the daggers that was still on the table above him, but his mind couldn’t stop panicking. It was so easy for him to perform simple magic spells like levitation when his victim was restrained, but when somepony was actively attacking him, it was a far different story.

He closed his eyes, both to increase his focus and to protect the sensitive organ from Rainbow's hooves. Come on…come on! He thought, grunting in pain as he surrounded one of the daggers with his aura. He felt himself slowly slipping, his battered body barely hanging on the edge of consciousness. His horn flickered on and off as he attempted the spell, just barely hanging onto the knife as it floated lazily through the air.

Then using all of his willpower, Pokey wasted no time in slashing the dagger across his assailant's back, quickly dropping it immediately afterward.

"AAAGH!" Rainbow Dash screamed, arching her spine backwards. With her weight finally off his back legs, Pokey took the opportunity to slide them under Rainbow’s stomach and buck her off of him. Rainbow Dash, being a pegasus, was rather light, and flew backwards into the opposite wall a few feet away.

While Rainbow squirmed in pain, Pokey rested his head back on the ground, breathing heavily as he slowly regained his composure. Battered and beaten, his head, neck, and upper back were covered in swollen red bumps and black bruises. While not nearly as severe as Pinkie Pie, his face had been considerably disfigured from the attack.

“Nnnngh...gah!” Rainbow grunted. It felt as if her back was on fire. The dagger had left a long, muscle deep gash all the way across her backside, making the inside of both of her trapezius muscles clearly visible for a short while before the area was filled up with bright red blood.

“No! Dashie!” Pinkie cried, shielding her eyes from the gruesome sight. "Get up, please!"

"Ugh...nnnghh..." Hearing Pinkie's pleas, Rainbow Dash quickly got back up on her hooves, grunting moaning all the way through. Her back flared up in pain, but the adrenaline coursing through her veins allowed her to focus on survival.

With new found strength, Rainbow galloped across the cell, preparing to finish what she started. She locked eyes with Pokey, who just then was beginning to pick himself up.

“Oh, no you don’t!” Pokey seethed. With just as much adrenaline coursing through his veins, he lifted himself up off the floor and rammed his side hard against the pouncing pegasus. Caught completely off guard, the lightweight once again flew across the room and into the wall.

Rainbow screamed in pain as the rough brick surface scraped against the deep wound on her back. Her warm blood, already flowing like red rivers down her sides, smeared across the wall as she sank down onto the floor.

Still too shaken up to reliably use his magic, Pokey picked up the single dagger that remained on the table behind him with his mouth. Without a second thought, he galloped across the room and drove the metal through Rainbow’s right shoulder.

Rainbow Dash let out another bloodcurdling scream as the knife penetrated deep into her flesh. The impact had severely damaged several tendons and ligaments, rendering her right foreleg practically useless.

Pokey pressed his hoof into Rainbow's chest, applying pressure in order to rip the knife back out of her body. Rainbow grunted in anguish as the dagger left the wound, the sharp metal scraping against the freshly-cut flesh. Then, with the knife withdrawn, Pokey took a step back.

"So, you thought you could get away from me, hmm?" He yelled, looking down at Rainbow with a crazed grin plastered onto his face. "You thought you could save your little friend?"

Rainbow Dash attempted to get up, but quickly discovered that putting any pressure on her right foreleg caused her shoulder to flare up in mind-numbing pain. Quick to adapt, she shifted her weight to the other hoof and slowly lifted herself up off the floor. She wobbled back and forth on the way, finding it difficult to keep her balance on a single hoof.

Before she could reestablish her stance again, however, Pokey shoved her back down towards the ground. "Looks like you're just as stupid as she is." he mocked, pulling his head back to stab her two consecutive times in the other shoulder, making sure to target the same area as before.

Rainbow held in a scream, falling back down onto the floor. With adrenaline in her bloodstream, however she quickly recovered and attempted once again to regain her footing.

Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie looked into each other's frightened eyes as Rainbow tried for a third time to stand up. I have to win this, she thought, moaning in pain as she raised her backside and shifted her weight onto her forehooves again. I have to- She gasped, feeling one of the tendons in her right shoulder being torn apart by the pressure she was applying to it. I have to...save her!

“By Celestia, don’t you ever give up?” Pokey said, looming above Rainbow with the knife ready to strike.

Rainbow Dash turned her head towards the ground. “No...I’ll...never…give...” Her forelegs shook uncontrollably and tears rolled down her cheeks as she put everything she had into saving both herself and Pinkie. “I’ll never...GAAAAAGHHHH!” Her legs finally gave out, and she collapsed in a bloody heap onto the floor. “I...Pinkie…” she paused to gasp for air. “I can’t do it! Help me, please!” she begged, swallowing her pride.

“I’m trying, Dashie!” Pinkie assured. She produced a series of high-pitched grunts as she tried whatever she could to get out of the cage. But despite her best efforts, the cage did not yield at all to her struggling. Frustrated, Pinkie slammed her hooves a few times on the steel bars before whimpering in defeat.

“Looks like this is the end of the line for you, Dash.” Pokey said with an air of victory. He reared backward and slammed both his forehooves on Rainbow’s shoulders. The scream that followed was shaky as Rainbow began to cry.

Pokey put down the knife and levitated towards him the rope that Rainbow had escaped from before. “I would tie the ropes tighter this time, but I have a feeling you’ll have a harder time escaping either way.”

“No, please!” Rainbow begged. She tried to crawl away as Pokey weaved the rope around her body, but the gripping pain of her severed muscles prevented her from moving an inch. “I’m sorry!”

Pokey smiled as he tied the first knot, pinning Rainbow’s wings to her torso. The second and third soon followed, Binding her two back hooves together and her forehooves to her sides.

Rainbow Dash turned her head and looked at Pinkie, who was now curled up in a ball and shivering on the floor of the cage. A cold shiver shot down her spine and her entire body trembled. She knew full well that whatever Pinkie has been through was waiting for her as well. “D-d-don’t torture me, p-please!” Fully restrained again and unable to move, Rainbow Dash was reduced to tears as pure fear invaded every nook and cranny of her mind.

Pokey grimaced and spit out one of the teeth that Rainbow Dash had knocked loose. It landed on the floor next to Pinkie’s cage with a barely audible tink. "Torture? No, no. I don't have the time for that.” He turned around for a moment and levitated a bloodied bread knife off the table. “You’re going to die."

Pokey’s words his Rainbow Dash like a brick wall. “What? No!” Her voiced cracked. Pure fear could be seen in her eyes as she gazed at the knife’s long, serrated blade. “No, you don’t have to do this! Please!”

Pokey walked behind the camera and pressed the record button. "Rainbow Dash: Session One."

Rainbow frantically tried every possible method of moving her body without using the muscles Pokey had damaged, but every time she gasped in overwhelming pain. She moaned in terror as the image of Pokey’s shadow in front of her grew longer as he approached. “No!” She screamed. It was as if the steady, rhythmic sound of his steps were the hands of a clock, ticking down to her demise. “No! Please! I'm sorry!”

Meanwhile, Pinkie cowered in her cage, sobbing loudly and covering her ears with her hooves. PLESEDON’THURTDASHIEPLEASEPLEASEPLEASE!” She shrieked, speaking so quickly that her words meshed together into what sounded like one long, incomprehensible sound.

Pokey used his magic to tighten the rope’s knots just in case. “Hey! wanna know something cool?” he said nonchalantly, holding the bread knife in a position where both Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie could see it clearly. However, they both instantly closed their eyes, neither of them wanting to look. “I found this in an antique shop in Trottingham. Apparently it's over one-hundred and fifty years old! Cool, huh?”

While Dash’s eyes were still closed, Pokey pressed a forehoof against her forehead, pinning her head to the floor. Then, grinning, he leaned forward and pressed the dull end of the blade against Dash’s neck. He felt her body trembling under his hoof. He leaned forward even further so that his mouth was situated next to Rainbow’s ear. “I’m ready when you are.”

“No, don’t do it, please!” Rainbow pleaded, still keeping her eyes shut as warm tears streamed down her cheeks. “Don’t kill me!”

“Three...”

“No! I don’t wanna die! I’LL DO ANYTHING YOU SAY! PLEASE!”

Pokey pressed the dull end harder against Rainbow’s neck. He could feel the vibrations of her ever-quickening pulse.

“Two...” he teased, enjoying every second of his victim’s misery.

“NO NO NO NO! POKEY, STOP! I DON’T WANT TO DIE!”

Pokey hesitated for a moment before delivering the final number in the countdown, watching with sadistic pleasure as his victim’s face contorted in grief-stricken anticipation. “...One.”

Rainbow Dash sucked in air through her teeth, bracing herself for what was to come. Then, like she had expected, she felt the horrifying sensation of the blade furiously moving back and forth across her neck, prompting her to let out an uncharacteristically high-pitched, bloodcurdling scream.

She struggled relentlessly for a few seconds, her head squirming around like mad as Pokey teased her, until she eventually figured out that something was wrong. There was no pain. No blood.

Rainbow Dash slowly opened her eyes, only to be greeted by Pokey, who was just barely holding in a fit of laughter. As soon as he noticed that Rainbow Dash could see him, however, he decided that it would be an appropriate time to further mock her.

“Ha!” He scoffed, motioning his unusually pointy horn towards the upside-down sawblade. “That was great! You really thought you were about to die!”

Rainbow Dash simply stared blankly at Pokey, unsure of how to react. “W-”

Pokey cut her off before she could form a single syllable. “How did it feel?” He said, taking a step towards her before elaborating. “How did it feel, knowing you were going to die?”

“I...what...what’s going on here?”

"No answer? Fine. Let's try this again, shall we?" Pokey said, looking directly into Dash's bloodshot eyes. He flipped around the saw so that the sharp edge was facing toward Rainbow Dash. "Let me put that in the correct tense: how does it feel?"

“No! Please, Pokey! Don’t! I’m begging yo-”

Pokey cut her off again by abruptly slashing the bread knife across her neck.

Rainbow opened her mouth to scream, but no sound came out. All that escaped was a long, drawn-out exhalation that persisted until she had emptied her lungs. She simply laid there with her jaw hanging open, eyes wide, unable to fully grasp what had just happened.

Thanks to the awkward angle, she couldn't see it for herself, but the feeling of blood trickling down the sides of her neck was enough for her to put the pieces together.

After only a single stroke, the sharp teeth of the blade had slashed through Rainbow Dash's soft skin and made a deep laceration that stretched across the entire length of her neck. Her face was drained of color as a cascade of blood spilled forth from the wound, covering her upper chest like a crimson red bib.

Horrified, she looked down.

It was everywhere.

Blood. Her blood.

"NO! NO!" She screamed, her voice cracking. "HELP MEEEEE!"

Pokey leaned forward and placed the blade into the freshly-cut laceration, causing Rainbow to flinch. The blade blocked most of the blood from exiting the wound, causing it to bubble out from either side.

Before he proceeded, Pokey leered coldly into Rainbow’s bloodshot, weeping eyes. He could see the terror contained within them. Never before had Rainbow Dash thought seriously about death, and now that it was, in a sense, literally staring her right in the face, she had no idea what to do. She was lost, scared, and alone.

Pokey absolutely loved it.

He pressed down on the blade, letting the sharp points of the blade’s serration dig into her tender flesh. Even more blood bubbled out. The downward pressure warped her windpipe, causing her paniked grunts to become quieter and more labored the harder Pokey pressed down.

Then, at last, not wanting to waste any more valuable tape, Pokey began moving the knife back and forth across Rainbow’s neck. The blade dug further into her throat with every stroke, slicing open a number of major blood vessels and spraying unbelievable amounts of blood all over Pokey’s blue coat.

"Nnnnnaagghh!" Rainbow opened her mouth to scream again, and this time managed to grunt in pain as the cold metal dug through her neck. Blood steadily gushed out of her severed blood vessels and pooled around her. She tried looking away from the disturbing sight of another pony's coat soaked with her own blood, but Pokey's hoof pressed down on her forehead, locking her head firmly in place.

Back and forth went the knife across the meat of her neck, its steady rhythm accompanied by Rainbow's constant shrieks. Instead of long, unpredictable bursts of screaming, however, Rainbow Dash simply screamed constantly with each breath she took, her brain unable to process any other vocalizations.

Inhale, scream.

Inhale, louder scream.

Inhale, short scream.

Inhale, long scream.

Even to Pokey, the sound of it was haunting. He felt the slowly-fading warmth of Rainbow Dash's blood below his hooves as the red liquid steadily pooled around her twitching body. Thick red trails flowed across the floor in every direction, and one in particular flowed towards Pinkie. As Rainbow's blood collected around the base of the cage, Pinkie caught a whiff of the its heavy, metallic scent.

"A-ha! Here we are!" Pokey said, having cut through enough muscle to be able to see the larynx. He tapped the organ's tough cartilage surface a few times with the unsharpened end of the knife. Rainbow Dash reacted accordingly with a weak whimper in between her screams.

Not wanting to waste anymore time, Pokey got to work on the larynx. A sound not unlike that of teeth being scraped across pavement reached the ears of everypony in the dimly lit cell as Pokey attempted to cut through the organ.

Although the bread knife had been useful for cutting through muscle, Rainbow Dash’s larynx was a different story. In an attempt to remedy this, Pokey shifted the remainder of his weight forward and applied much more pressure than before in order to cut through. He increased the rate of sawing as well, now favoring quick and short movements rather than the long strokes he had used initially. However, even with the increased effort, the knife proved ineffective. All that Pokey had been able to do was create a small slit in Dash’s windpipe, as well as get a few more shrieks out of Rainbow. They were weaker than before, though Pokey still loved the sound just the same.

Interestingly however, due to this, the air passing through Dash’s larynx every time she exhaled escaped through the slit, creating a high-pitched, wet whistling sound that replaced her screams.

Meanwhile, Pinkie was preoccupied with closing her eyes and plugging her ears, but these measures only served to muffle the horrifying sounds around her. She could still hear the sickening sound of the saw cutting through Rainbow Dash's moist flesh, rhythmic screams of terror, and now, a strange whistling sound.

Having never decapitated somepony before, Pinkie Pie was quite confused as to what the sound was and where it was coming from. The closest thing she could think of was a party whistle.

Hesitantly, Pinkie opened her right eye.

She wished she hadn't.

A shriek of pure terror bounced off the walls of the cell as Pinkie Pie caught a glimpse of the gruesome scene before her. On the ground was her best friend, still alive, squirming around weakly in a massive pool of blood as Pokey Pierce sawed straight through her neck.

"NO!" she screamed, breathing rapidly as she aggressively hit the cage's thick iron bars to get Pokey’s attention. "STOP STOP STOP PLEASE! PLEASE, POKEY! STOP HURTING HER! PLEASE!"

Pokey turned to Pinkie and briefly shot her a smug smirk. "It's a little too late for that, don't you think?"

“NO! DASHIE!” Pinkie drew out the final syllable of the nickname with a long, agonizing moan of grief as she collapsed in tears to the floor of the cage.

“Yup, that sure is her name.” Pokey quipped. He stopped for a moment to consider his options. “Hmm.” he said, looking back and forth between Rainbow Dash and the wooden table across the room. At this rate, Dash would die of blood loss sooner than he would be able to fully decapitate her. He nodded to himself and let the knife fall to the floor.

Pokey encompassed the small table in his magical aura in favor of the bloodied bread knife, which now laid next to Rainbow Dash in a pool of blood. The various metal tools on the table rattled and clanged together as the table was dragged towards the center of the room, a few even managing to fall off.

Pokey levitated a large machete off the table. “Ah, here we go. Just what I needed.”

Pokey watched the muscles of Rainbow Dash's throat with fascination as they jittered around, almost as if they were shaking in fear, unable to comprehend the horror that befell them. As for the rest of her body, Rainbow Dash herself, having lost a massive amount of blood, had almost completely stopped struggling. The only movements she made were short, sudden twitches, but Pokey figured these could probably be attributed to random muscle spasms. Her eyes, however, still moved around, staring up at Pokey with an intense look of terror.

"Uugghnghhh..." She sputtered out weakly, a mixture of blood and saliva bubbling out of her mouth as the incomprehensible noise escaped her lips.

Pokey hovered the machete high above its target. Even though she was barely alive, Pokey still made sure Rainbow Dash caught a glimpse of the weapon. “What was that? You want to tell me something?" he said, staring into his victims's eyes.

All he received in response was a series of rapid, short breaths whistling out of the slit in her windpipe.

"You know, Dash I'm not sure why I didn't just use this in the first place." Pokey commented. Then, using all of his strength, he slammed the machete directly into the Dash's windpipe. A short scream preceded the impact, the sharp knife effectively crushing the organ. Large shards of the hard cartilage it was composed of flew in every direction.

Pokey was bewildered. “Wow, now that’s what I call efficiency!”

After a second blow, the machete cut Rainbow’s windpipe completely in half. Her repetitive screaming having stopped abruptly, her blood-soaked chest slowly deflated. Her lungs had taken their final breath.

Pokey didn’t relent afterward. He continued with the machete, bringing it high above Rainbow’s neck and letting it crash down with great force, cutting even deeper through Rainbow’s neck and into her spine.

Pokey was surprised by how brittle pegasus bone was. It made sense, of course, that pegasus bones would be less dense so they would be light enough to fly, but Pokey hadn't actually made the connection until now.

No wonder pegasi break their bones all the time, Pokey thought as he continued slamming the machete down on Rainbow’s spine, shattering a considerably large section and sending bone shards everywhere.

While Pokey chopped away at the spinal column, Pinkie slowly picked herself up off the floor of the cage. With her eyes closed, she began mumbling. Due to the fact that she was completely distressed, perhaps more distressed than she had ever been in her entire life, her words were entirely unintelligible. Pokey was able to recognize a few words and phrases, however, such as “in heaven”, “best friend”, “Dashie” and “goodbye”. After she was finished, she collapsed once again to the floor.

Rainbow Dash would have lifted up a leg to wave goodbye, but she had slipped away just moments beforehand.

* * *

Pokey positioned the machete above the final bit of skin that connected Rainbow Dash’s head to the rest of her body. Without hesitation, he let the blade fall, and just like it had before, the blade tore through without any problems.

The machete, having gained far too much momentum to stop after cutting through, continued its journey downward until it hit the floor.

The deed was done. Pokey exhaled loudly with satisfaction and took a step back to admire his work.

On the floor lied the lifeless body of Rainbow Dash, soaking in a lukewarm pool of her own blood.

Next to her body was her severed head. It rolled a short distance across the blood-soaked dirt before the protruding muzzle forced it to a halt. Fresh blood still seeped out of her neck in great quantities. Along with the white stump of her crudely severed spinal column, which jutted out from the middle, visible on the bottom were two holes where both her esophagus and trachea had been sliced in two.

Pokey picked up the head with his magic and held it in front of his face. “Hmm.” He hummed as he inspected it, unable to mask his tone of disappointment. Rainbow Dash’s face was frozen forever with her final expression. Pokey had hoped that the expression would be more dramatic, but what he saw instead was simply a face of discomfort, due to the fact that Rainbow had probably died from blood loss or suffocation before her brain had been separated from the rest of her body. Still good, he thought, but not ideal. Maybe if I had done if faster...

“Oh well.” Pokey said to himself. “I suppose a severed head is disturbing enough by itself.”

Pokey maintained the levitation spell as he made his way over to Pinkie’s cage. Grasping the door handle between his teeth, Pokey opened the door of Pinkie’s cage and tossed inside Rainbow Dash’s severed head. It barely missed Pinkie on its way in, and landed with a heavy thud as it hit the base. Pinkie was still sobbing on the floor of the cage just like she had been for the entire duration of Rainbow Dash’s execution.

Having done what he needed, Pokey once again closed the door. After checking twice that it was locked, he ran towards the camera and turned it around so that Pinkie’s cage was in the frame.

“Hey, Pinkie! I left you a little something. Why don’t you look behind you?” Pokey said.

Instead of doing what he’d asked, Pinkie put her head down in the corner of the cage and mumbled yet another unrecognizable sound that Pokey assumed was supposed to be speech.

“Pinkie, I don’t like being ignored. He threatened from behind the camera. “You know what will happen if you don’t do what I say.”

Reluctantly, Pinkie picked her head up, locking eyes with Pokey for a moment before turning her head to look behind her. Then, in an instant, a wretched, blood curdling scream echoed off the walls of the basement.

“NO!” Pinkie screamed, frantically slamming her hooves against the metal bars. "NO! LET ME OUTTA HERE!”

Pinkie stared in horror at the severed head sitting next to her in the small, confined space, slowly filling with blood as it seeped out from Rainbow's neck. “NO! NO! LET ME OUT, PLEASE!” Pinkie shrieked, fruitlessly slamming herself against the door of the cage. "LET ME OUT, LET ME OUT!"

“Good night, Pinkie Pie.” Pokey sang. Without another word, he switched off the camera, turned out the lights, and headed upstairs, the sound of Pinkie's screams becoming quieter with every step.

Part VI - A Pain in the Back

Twilight Sparkle sat wide awake, tucked snugly under the covers of her bed. As the candle on her nightstand slowly burned down, she turned the page of the book in her lap. Her horn, as well as the page lit up, creating a brief burst of light that illuminated the walls around her.

A few feet away, Spike groaned and slowly opened his eyes, his dream having been cut short for the third time tonight. With one eye closed and the other halfway open, he glanced at the clock on the wall. Five in the morning.

He sat up groggily and placed his hands on his growling stomach. After debating with himself over whether or not another midnight snack was in order, Spike lifted himself out of his basket by Twilight’s bedside and began the trek down the multiple sets of stairs that led to the library’s kitchen.

Taking extra care not to let the wooden steps creak loudly underneath him, Spike tiptoed down the first set of stairs which led from Twilight’s sleeping area to the small space underneath that was usually used for research purposes. The space was filled with various scientific tools and instruments, ranging from the large, ornate telescope mounted by the window to the set of compasses ordered by size in ascending order that lay on the desk below it.

Spike placed his foot on the final step, and the wooden board produced a loud creak as it yielded to his weight. All of the other sets stairs in the library were carved out of the tree. He silently cursed the closet underneath the staircase that caused the reaction. “Just my luck.”

“Spike? Is that you?” He heard a familiar voice call from above.

Slightly surprised, Spike turned around to face the voice’s owner. Most ponies, she included, usually were still fast asleep at this hour.

Spike put his arms to his sides and looked down towards his feet. “Oops. Sorry, Twilight.” Spike said. “You’re up awfully…” he paused mid-sentence to yawn. “...awfully early.”

“That’s because I haven’t slept.” Twilight replied.

“What? Why? Are you nervous about going to Canterlot?”

“No, Spike.” Twilight said, closing the book with a huff and tossing it into an ever-growing stack by her bedside. With the addition of yet another tome, the tower wobbled from side to side before finding its balance once again. “It’s Pinkie Pie. I’m worried about her. I’m starting to think that maybe Rainbow and Applejack were right earlier today.”

“You mean yesterday?” Spike corrected, pointing at the astronomy-themed calendar on the wall.

“Whatever.” Twilight waved her hoof dismissively as she effortlessly levitated another book off the shelf. “I thought some reading would help me fall asleep, but nothing’s been able to get my mind off this! "

Spike frowned and walked over next to Twilight. “Trust me, Twi. I’m just as worried as you are, but you need to sleep! It’s five in the morning, and you need to be on the train platform in three hours! You can’t possibly lead a country while sleep-deprived.”

Twilight felt her stomach tense up at those words. Lead a country. The words ran through her mind over and over. If Pinkie Pie’s disappearance wasn’t nerve wracking enough, that sure did the trick.

“Ugh!” Twilight groaned, throwing her face into the pages of the open book in her lap. “Ay aan’t oo dis!” She said, her voice muffled by the thick pages.

Spike grabbed the heavy tome and pulled it away from Twilight’s face. “What?”

Twilight closed her eyes and slid under the covers. “I can’t do this, Spike! This is just too much! All of Ponyville is going to be depending on me to find Pinkie, and the rest of the country’s going to be depending on me to do everything else!” She turned around to face the opposite end of the bed. “I can’t handle this! I’m just not ready for this kind of responsibility!”

She sighed. “Maybe I’m not cut out to be a princess after all…”

Not hesitating for a moment, Spike climbed on top of the bed and place a hand on Twilight’s side. “Twilight, look at me.” He said, shifting his weight around to get comfortable on Twilight’s moon-and-stars patterned sheets.

Twilight complied, and turned around to face her assistant.

“You’ll be fine.” He said, smiling. “ I know you can do it.”

Twilight smiled back. “Thanks.” She looked down towards the ground as a million thoughts raced through her head at once.

“Now try to get some sleep, Twilight.” Spike said, climbing off the bed and back onto the floor.

“I’ll be fine, Spike. I’ve pulled my share of all-nighters.” Twilight said. She gently placed the book on the floor, blew out the candle by her bedside, and let her body fall backwards, confident in the fact that she would be caught by the soft mattress below her.

She closed her eyes, and…

“Gah!” Twilight yelped. Even after all these years, she still managed to be surprised by the alarm clock next to her bed. Not a day had passed where she had slept through it. Like any good alarm, it was plenty loud and obnoxious.

Twilight blinked slowly as she rose up from her bed, trying to get a few more precious seconds of sleep during the brief amount of time her eyes were closed.

Reluctantly, she climbed out of bed. She levitated a hair brush off the table and ran it through her tangled mane as she made her way down the library’s many sets of stairs, nearly tripping multiple times in her half-awake stupor.

Spike was in the kitchen waiting for her with a bowl of cereal. “Morning Twilight! Did you manage to get some sleep?” He said before stuffing another spoonful of Hay Flakes into his mouth.

“Ugh...two or three few hours, yes.” Twilight considered for a moment grabbing a quick bite to eat on her way out. She scanned her eyes across the many items that filled the open pantry. Her eyes found themselves drifting towards a clock on their way, however, and the idea was quickly discarded.

“Come on, Spike, we should leave.”

“Already? We have thirty minutes, and it takes only five to get to the train platform!” Spike protested, pointing at the clock.

“I’m not going to have this discussion with you again, Spike!” Twilight called out, already heading towards the door.

Spike crossed his arms and huffed, setting the half-full bowl of cereal down on the counter and following Twilight out the door. “I still don’t see the point of leaving this early.” Spike said, power-walking to catch up to Twilight as she strolled onto a gravel path.

Twilight looked to her side and smiled at Spike. “You never know what could happen. It’s important to be punctual.”

“There’s such thing as being too punctual…”

As soon as Twilight could see the train platform rising up from the horizon, she took notice to the decently-sized crowd of ponies that swarmed around it. They were just milling around, as if waiting for something to happen.

The murmur of the many concurrent conversations that took place within the crowd became louder and louder as Twilight approached from afar. But after a certain point, the closer she got to the crowd, the quieter it became. Twilight almost paused mid-trot to check her ears.

The crowd dispersed into two sides once Twilight came close enough, forming a clear path that lead to the train platform. They each bowed down in respect as Twilight trotted past them. These were her peers, the ponies she’d been living with for almost four years. Now that they were bowing down to her, Twilight couldn’t help but feel slightly uncomfortable.

Behind the crowd was a large, ornate chariot pulled by two members of the Royal Guard, the same one Princess Celestia used for her trips to the many Cities and towns of Equestria. One of the two guards, a lanky, light beige pegasus, unhinged himself from the chariot’s reins and approached Twilight. “Your chariot is ready, Princess.”

“Yes, um, thank you, Commander Valor.” Twilight said with a sheepish smile. “I’ll just be a minute.”

Twilight heard two familiar voice approaching her from behind. She turned around, and saw exactly what she had expected. “Hello there, darling!” Rarity said, followed by a polite “Hello, Twilight.” from Fluttershy.

“What is all this?” Twilight said. “Did you organize this?”

Rarity laughed. “Oh, no! Of course not.” She said, waving her hoof in the air dismissively. “But the presence of a royal chariot does seem to draw out quite the crowd. We’re just here to see you off, dear!”

Twilight blushed. “I appreciate it, but-”

“Oh!” Rarity interjected, cupping a forehoof over her mouth. “You forgot your crown again!”

Twilight’s pupils dilated. “Darn it! I knew I forgot something! Tell the guards I’ll be right back!”

“Nonsense!” Rarity said, stepping in front of Twilight to stop her. “I’d be glad to run this little errand for you. Wait right here.”

“No, that’s okay, I-”

Before she could finish her sentence, Rarity had already begun trotting towards the library. “Well, I guess that’s that.” Twilight deadpanned.

Fluttershy giggled. “Even if you’re a princess, there’s no arguing with her.” Behind her, small line of Ponies had formed. Fluttershy looked behind herself, apologized, and slinked away.

“Good luck, Princess!” Said a beige mare with a curly blue and magenta mane.

She was followed by a black-coated pegasus with a minty-green mowhawk. “Good luck!” he repeated.

Twilight sighed and rolled her eyes internally. This was not a part of the schedule.

A dull orange stallion with a black stetson approached next, followed by three other mares. “Princess Twilight.” He said, his voice tired and trembling, like he was on the verge of tears. “I know you’re very busy, but,” He paused in the middle of his sentence to take a deep breath. “I would be eternally grateful to you if you could help find my daughter, Pinkamena.”

“Oh, you’re Pinkie’s family?” Twilight said nonchalantly, cringing with embarrassment immediately after the words left her mouth. Her tone seemed slightly inappropriate given the situtation.

“Yes Ma'a- er, your highness. We are.” The stallion said, bowing respectfully. “I’m her father, Igneous Rock. This here is my wife, Cloudy Quartz, and two of my daughters...” He paused a second time, closing his eyes for a moment. “-two of my, my daughters, Marble and Limestone Pie.”

Twilight felt tears of her own forming as she stared into Igneous’ tired eyes. She stepped closer to him and placed a hoof on his withers.

“Igneous, trust me when I say that I’m going to do everything within my power to find her. Pinkie is one of my closest friends. I won’t rest for an instant until I know she’s safe.”

Igneous felt a smile tugging at the corners of his lips. He didn’t smile much. He was usually content, yes, but he rarely showed it. “Thank you so much, Princess Twilight.” He said, turning back to the rest of his family before Twilight could utter another word.

Before they were gone, Marble Pie ran up to Twilight and wrapped her hooves around her. “Thank you…” She said quietly, pressing herself tightly around Twilight’s chest. She looked into Twilight’s eyes and smiled before quickly running back to the rest of her family.

Twilight watched the Pie family walk away with tears in her eyes. The sight of them broke her heart.

Then, seemingly out of nowhere, Rarity trotted up to Twilight and placed the crown on her head. “There you are dear! Now you’re looking regal!” She said with a grin.

Still emotionally shaken, Twilight quickly wiped a foreleg across her eyes turned around with a plastic smile. “Oh, um, thank you, Rarity.”

Rarity frowned in response. ‘Is something wrong?”

“No, um…uh, I should really get going. I’ll see you two soon!” she said, quickly dismissing them as she stepped into the chariot. “Goodbye, everypony!” The two pegasi guards began running forward and flapping their wings, eventually creating enough momentum to lift the chariot off the ground and into the sky.

As the ponies below her became smaller and smaller, Twilight’s fake smile collapsed back into a apprehensive frown. She sank down to the floor of the chariot with a groan.

“Spike,” she moaned, covering up her face with her forehooves. “What am I gonna do?”

* * *

A thick cloud of steam appeared over the hissing charcoal. What used to be a brilliant campfire, alive and bright, was now reduced to a simple pile of soggy, scarred logs. Applejack stuck her head inside the warm mist, letting the water vapor soak into her fur and wash away the dirt and grime that had no doubt built up overnight.

She breathed in as she took a step back. The crisp early-morning winter air filled her lungs, brimming with the scent of the former campfire. In any other situation, Applejack would have sighed contently at the sensation. Today, however, she couldn’t find in herself to relax. The last few days had turned her life upside-down. Not only was Pinkie Pie missing, but her partner, the pony that had accompanied her on this search mission, had gone missing as well the night before.

"Where is that girl?" Applejack huffed. She puffed out her cheeks and slowly exhaled as she contemplated her situation. She had stayed up for hours the night before, fighting fatigue and waiting for Rainbow to return.

At first, Applejack had thought the stunt to be a prank. It had to be. As the Element of Loyalty, it was very unlikely for Rainbow to abandon one of her friends. She was quite the prankster, yes, but Applejack knew that Rainbow knew when to be serious. And this was definitely one of those times.

“Somethin’ ain’t right about this.” She said out loud to herself. She stared at the clump of trees where she had last seen her partner and felt a knot in her stomach. Something strange was definitely going on, but she had no idea what. Nevertheless, she put one hoof in front if the other and began a brisk trot towards the trees.

This would be so much easier if there was any snow this year for her to leave tracks in, Applejack thought in passing. Due to a shortage of the raw materials required to create snowflakes, Cloudsdale, the area’s weather controller, had been unable to manufacture any.

The morning sun filtered through the many holes that littered the forest’s canopy, covering the floor in tiny dots of orange light. If not for the situation, Applejack would have stopped to appreciate the sight. Unfortunately, there were more pressing matters on her mind at the moment, and the forest’s natural beauty went largely unnoticed.

Applejack took a step forward, but she instantly regretted it. A loud snap followed her movement, causing her to yelp and take a defensive stance. With nothing to accompany her but the sound of the wind blowing through the leaves above her, a few tranquil seconds passed, and she slowly returned to her normal posture.

Applejack was surprised at how jumpy she was. Something a simple as a loose branch snapping under her weight was enough to get her heart racing. She didn’t like to consider herself a pony with a lot of fears. She’d outgrown them throughout her life. She could remember being afraid of many things when she was a filly. Spiders, darkness, heights, the list goes on. But now, in her adulthood, there was only one thing that made Applejack uneasy.

The unknown.

“Rainbow Dash, if this is a joke, it ain’t funny!” She called out, a strange, sinking feeling in the back of her mind telling her it would reach nopony’s ears but her own.

* * *

Pinkie Pie was tucked into her bed, surrounded by the warmth of a heavy blanket and countless soft, brightly-colored pillows of various shapes and sizes. By her side was her pet alligator, Gummy. He snuggled up against her, mindlessly chewing on a lock of Pinkie’s curly, unkempt mane that was sprawled across the bed.

The fireplace cast a dim, yet warm glow upon her.

With her stomach filled to the brim with cookies, cakes, and other treats, she closed her eyes as she felt the blood rushing towards it, eager to digest the meal. She could still taste the sweet sugar on her tongue, and the smell of even more in the making wafted up to her from the busy bakery below her. A yawn soon followed, and before she knew, she was once again fast asleep.

She was safe. She was home. Everything was fine.

* * *

Hours later, Pinkie stirred from her slumber. She opened her eyes once again, but to her surprise, she was now in a drastically different setting.

The first thing that Pinkie saw after waking up was Rainbow Dash’s severed head, which still shared with her the small, confined space of the cage. Overnight, the blood that still remained inside of Rainbow’s head had bled out completely, creating a cold pool of blood that spilled out from the base of the cage and around its perimeter. Pinkie’s entire lower half was soaked with it, leaving her coat matted and teeming with disease-ridden bacteria.

It wasn’t an easy thing to wake up to. Only a few hours after her death, Rainbow’s face had already been severely distorted. Pinkie almost didn’t recognize her at first. While her fur and mane retained their bright colors, the skin under it had faded to a pale white as soon as blood flow had ceased. Her eyes, bloated to almost twice their normal size, bulged out of their sockets like over-inflated balloons. Her tongue shared the same fate, having swollen up so much that it protruded out from between her lips.

Then, it hit her. The smell.

It was unlike any odor she had ever experienced in her entire life. The stench of Rainbow’s decomposing flesh assaulted her nostrils and burned all the way down. Pinkie cupped her forehooves around her snout and held her breath, but it was already too late.

Pinkie’s hushed breathing was interrupted by the opening of her throat. “Urrggh…” She moaned, a small amount of the contents of her stomach dribbling out from between her lips.

Her head then lurched forward, and she emptied from her stomach the meal she had been fed the previous night.

Her stomach acid had burned her sensitive throat lining when it traveled up her throat. It had already been severely damaged by the shards of her own teeth that she had been forced to swallow, and the combination of the two created a painful sensation not unlike having one’s throat set on fire.

“Aaaaaghhh!” She screamed, hitting one of her forehooves repeatedly on the floor of the cage in an attempt to make the pain subside. One final round of vomit shot out of her mouth before her stomach was satisfied.

“Well, I see somepony’s awake.” Pokey said from across the room. He had been so quiet the entire time that Pinkie hadn’t even noticed him.

She would have responded to Pokey’s greeting, but she was too busy trying to deal with the pain she was in. After a minute of two, it finally died down, and she turned her head in Pokey’s direction to give him a weak glance.

“Oh, Don’t mind me, I’m just cleaning up from yesterday.” He said. “Can’t have her stinking up the whole cabin, now can we?”

When she looked at the sight before her, a sense of dread gripped Pinkie Pie as she lurched forward once again as if to vomit. Thankfully, the entire contents of her stomach had already been emptied, and she ended up simply dry-heaving instead. This was both a result of the persistent, heavy smell of decomposing flesh, as well as from watching in disgust as Pokey went about his business cutting up Rainbow’s body into smaller sections.

While Pinkie had been asleep, Pokey had already completed part of the task, having successfully removed, Rainbow’s wings, both of her back legs, and one of her forelegs. The appendages now rested in a large sack propped up against the wall behind him, leaving behind nothing but a torso with a single appendage attached.

Pokey hummed a tune as he moved the saw back and forth across the abdomen, gradually separating it into three equally-sized sections. As a result, Rainbow’s rotting entrails had spilled out of the open bottom of her torso, covering the floor in an disgustingly obscene amount of gore.

Pinkie wanted to look away. She wanted so badly to close her eyes and just wait for it to be over, just like she had when Rainbow was still fighting for her life. But strangely, she was unable. She knew that this would be the last time she would ever see her best friend, Rainbow Dash, alive or dead.

It sickened her to think of it. Pinkie Pie had never in her life attended a funeral. She had never before seen a dead body. It chilled her to the bone to see a pony just lying lifeless on the floor.

“Wh-what are you gonna do with her?” Pinkie asked. She spoke softly, trying her best to hold back tears as she listened to the sound of Pokey’s saw grinding against Rainbow’s spine.

Pokey didn’t care to look up from his work. “I’ll probably just bury her with the others.” He said, his voice muffled slightly by the surgical mask he wore over his snout. “But I don't know, it is getting a bit crowded over there. Do you have any ideas?"

“N-no…” Pinkie sniffled. “I don’t want her to go…”

Pokey laughed. “What do you mean?”

Pinkie’s throat swelled up, and her voice cracked as tears flowed from her eyes. “I don’t want her to go!”

Having completely sliced through Rainbow’s body, Pokey levitated the thick slice and levitated into to the sack. It landed inside with a sickening squish, joining the chunks of Rainbow’s back legs that Pokey had already cut apart. “I’m pretty sure she’s already gone.” he laughed coldly.

To that, Pinkie choked up again and put her head down between her haunches, allowing her tears to create a pitter-patter sound as they hit the cage’s cold metal base. “This is all my fault!” she wailed. “It should have been me!”

“What’s that now?”

“Why did she have to die instead of me?” Pinkie wailed loudly, hitting her forehead against the metal bars. “Why, why, why why, why?”

Pokey sat down and wiped the sweat off his brow. His legs ached from the pressure he had been putting on them.“Whew.” He said, setting the bloodied saw next to himself on the floor. He watched Pinkie as she loudly cried. She was completely broken.

Before him was a mare who used to bring smiles to the faces of everypony she met. The air around her used to be filled with laughter and mirth. But now, as she sat crying to herself in a small cage, disfigured and covered in wounds, Pokey wouldn’t be surprised if she never smiled again. Pokey had put her through so much abuse, both physical and psychological.

Pokey didn’t usually kill any of his victims, at least not directly. Instead, he simply waited for them to succumb to starvation, blood loss, or even disease in some cases. One of these days, Pokey would enter the basement to find only a corpse.

But Pokey wasn’t finished yet. Pinkie was still alive.

Pokey walked over to Pinkie’s cage and opened the door. “Get out.” He said sternly.

“O-Okay…” Pinkie said, her voice trembling with fear.

Pokey waited patiently as Pinkie found the physical strength to lift herself up of the ground. It was obvious that she had been in the same position for far too long. Her joints had locked up, and Pinkie had to take her time so she could stretch them and stand up.

Once she finally managed to stand up, she ducked her head down and shrank back a few inches. Pokey instinctively backed up as well, not from intimidation, but from disgust. Pinkie’s nose was dripping with snot from her crying.

“Do you want to go home, Pinkie?”

Pinkie’s eyes widened. She looked up at Pokey. “Yes! Please!” she begged. Her eyes glistened with hope.

“Good.” Pokey nodded. “I just need you to do me a quick favor. Then I’ll let you go. I promise.”

“Yes! Anything, please!”

Pokey lifted the saw off the ground and shoved the handle into Pinkie’s mouth, the force of his push almost sending her tumbling to the ground.“Finish this up for me, won’t you?” He said, gesturing toward Rainbow’s corpse. “You have one hour.”

“W-what?” Pinkie said. “You w-want me to-”

“You heard me.” Pokey said, turning to leave the cell. "I'll be back to check on you."

As Pokey walked away, Pinkie stood there, shivering in front of Rainbow’s body. Tears diluted the blood soaked into her deceased’s friend’s coat.

She was paralyzed with grief. She stared at Rainbow’s body, not wanting to believe what she was looking at. She wanted this all to big one big, scary nightmare. She wanted to wake up in her own bed, surrounded by her friends and family. The ponies that loved her.

Pokey soon returned, whip in hand. He looked at Pinkie for a second, taking note of the fact that she had done nothing but stand there and stare at Rainbow’s body for minutes on end. “What’s wrong? You want to leave, don’t you?” He said, advancing toward her. He lifted her chin up with a forehoof so that her mangled eyes met his. “Hmm?”

Pinkie’s face, tinted a rosier shade of pink than her usual color, scrunched up as she continued her uncontrollable bawling. The only sounds that came out of her were sniffles and whines. “Y-yes but, I-” she began, trying to win back her composure. “I c-can’t…”

“Don’t worry, Pinkie. Take your time. Let it all out.” Pokey said soothingly, sounding more like a therapist than a serial killer. He ran his hoof up and down Pinkie’s bony backside, causing Pinkie to shiver with disgust. Pinkie darted away from Pokey, being very clear about the fact that she did not want to be touched.

She took a deep breath, trying to console herself. “I-I don’t wanna do it!” Pinkie finally exclaimed. Her statement was followed by another violent fit of tears. “Don’t m-make me do this, p-p-please!”

“Don’t worry, I anticipated that.” Pokey said. “And I’d be glad to provide you with some motivation.” He levitated the whip in front of himself so that Pinkie could see it clearly. “Pick up the saw, Pinkie.”. With a steady magical grip, he lifted the whip up into the air, letting the long length of braided grass dangle down to the floor.

Pinkie, frail legs quivering in fear, backed up from Pokey whilst shaking her head in defiance. “No!” She screamed. “I won’t do it! I don’t want to!” She wanted to believe that Pokey couldn’t make her. She wanted to believe that she could power through whatever pain he would inflict upon her. Deep down, however, she knew that it was just a matter of time before she would be begging for mercy.

Pokey advanced toward Pinkie at the same rate that she backed away, maintaining the same distance between themselves. He felt a smile tug the corners of his lips as he watched her move closer and closer to the wall. This was a battle he would surely win. He had the power. He was in control.

He felt good.

Then, just like Pokey had predicted, Pinkie’s backside collided with the wall, causing her to let out a tiny “oof!” and collapse in a weak, quivering heap on the ground.

Pinkie looked up to see Pokey standing over her with the whip posed to strike. “No! I’m sorry!” She screamed, holding up her forehooves in front of her face in an attempt to shield herself from harm. Her voice was filled with apprehension and regret. “I’ll do it! Please don’t hurt me!”

Pokey said nothing as he threw the whip’s handle backwards and above his head. The long tail whistled a morbid tune as it soared through the air towards the tiny pink mare before it.

“No! No! I’ll- AAAAAAAAAAAOOOOOOWWWW!”

Moving at an immense speed, the whip cracked loudly as it collided first with Pinkie’s face, then traveled all the way down to her abdomen, leaving a long, deep gash in its wake. The shape of the tail and the speed at which it moved allowed it to easily slice through Pinkie’s fragile skin as soon as it touched, exposing a red layer of muscle underneath.

“AAAOOOWWW!” Pinkie screamed again. She curled up into a ball and laid on her side, letting her warm blood tickle her as it dripped sideways down her side. “OW OW OW OW OW OW OW OW OW!”

“Get up!” Pokey screamed, lifting up the whip again.

Despite the paralyzing pain, Pinkie scrambled to her hooves as fast as she could. She could barely stand as she was, and the massive gash on her face and chest did nothing to help. She made a beeline towards the saw, limping as fast as her starved and weakened legs would allow. When she finally reached it, she grabbed it with her mouth and quickly stood up above the rotting corpse.

She looked down. It was a disgusting sight to see. A small swarm of flies buzzed around the idle, bloated corpse, feasting upon the decomposing flesh. Pinkie was frozen in place, unable to accept what her single remaining eye was telling her. She couldn’t believe how quickly her life had turned into a macabre showcase of horrors.

“What are you waiting for?” she heard Pokey say from behind. His words were followed by the cracking of the whip. Pinkie closed her eyes and produced a high-pitched whine, preparing herself for the blow. Just like she had expected, the tail of the whip hit hard against her backside, and she cried loudly as it tore through her skin and muscle.

As her tears and blood alike rained down on Rainbow’s corpse, she slowly leaned her head forward and placed the edge of the saw a few inches away from where Rainbow’s forelegs began. She caught another horrific whiff of the smell, and stopped to dry heave yet again. Then, moaning with grief, she pressed her head forward still, letting the many serrated tips of the blade sink into the decomposing flesh.

She began moving her head back and forth, watching the saw move downwards at her command. The blood that had poured out of Rainbow neck as she begged for her life still stained the entire front side of her coat.

“Atta girl!” Pokey said with an ironic air of positive encouragement. “Keep it up!”

Pinkie soon began sawing through the sternum. She made various erratic breathing sounds as she simultaneously shed tears and held her breath, trying not to dry heave again from the revolting smell. As soon as she had cut open the skin, the various gases still trapped inside Rainbow’s innards escaped, rising quickly into the air and straight into Pinkie’s face. She would have asked Pokey for a surgical mask or nose plugs if not for her crippling fear of stopping for even a second, lest she be whipped a third time.

With a little bit of effort and a lot of bawling, the sternum gave way, and Pinkie was now faced with cutting through the heart. It was still and pale, having beat for the final time a long time ago. “I’m sorry, Dashie…” she whispered. She took a deep breath, cringed, and drove the saw directly into the organ.

As soon as the outer skin was severed, and jet of blood squirted out, splashing against Pinkie’s face. “Aah!” She yelled, turning to the side to spit out the amount that had found its way into her mouth.

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry…” she mumbled softly, cutting through the rest of Rainbow’s heart. Blood gushed out as it was displaced by the saw, and Pinkie watched with revulsion as the newly-freed blood painted a new coat of red over the small portion of Rainbow’s chest that remained attached.

It was too much. Pinkie began dry heaving once again. She stood in place, bobbing her head back and forth while her body attempted to expel whatever was making her sick.

“Keep going!” Pokey screamed.

Pinkie tried to turn around and give an excuse. She barely able to open her mouth before the whip rained down upon her backside, cutting open her skin and paralyzing her with pain. Pokey whipped her without mercy and without relent, striking her not once, but four consecutive times.

With every lash, Pinkie’s back became more red and inflamed, having been transformed from a flat field of pink fur to a grotesque showcase of deep, long wounds and welts that would soon become permanent scars. Blood soaked her fur and dripped down her sides, forming small puddles on either side of her.

Pinkie tried her hardest to continue with her task, but the excruciating pain had completely stunned her. Every strike rendered her completely unable to move for a few seconds, save for her lips, which continuously released screams of pain and pleas for mercy.

The whip struck her backside one final time before Pokey stopped.

After the initial pain had subsided, Pinkie continued sawing, now having reached the spine. Every moment was filled with great physical and emotional pain.

Pinkie couldn’t believe how miserable she was. She had heard of ponies committing suicide before, and could never understand it. She could never grasp the concept of being so sad that one would want to die. But now she understood the feeling. She wanted to die.

As she cut through the hard bone of the spine, Pinkie could feel the saw’s blade coming loose. It was just a matter of time before it would fall out of the metal handle. Too terrified to say anything, however, Pinkie continued without a word, carefully positioning the saw so that the blade would stay put.

After a few minutes, Pinkie had cut all the way through Rainbow’s body. The saw fell out of her mouth and landed on the floor with a light clang.

Pokey put down the whip for a moment to levitate the slice into the sack, which was by now soaked a dull red. Afterward, he picked the whip back up with his magic and looked at Pinkie, who was moaning in misery and staring at the blood-soaked floor.

“What are you waiting for? You still need to take care of the forelegs.”

“W-what?”

“You’re only halfway there!” Pokey said, levitating the saw back into Pinkie’s mouth.

“Please, no!” Pinkie cried, shaking her head in disbelief. “Please don’t make me do this again!”

Pokey threw the whip behind him, letting it create a loud crack that sent Pinkie into a panic.

Quickly, Pinkie positioned the saw over the joint connecting Rainbow’s left foreleg to the rest of her body. She closed her intact eye. After just a few drags across the joint, the blade finally lost its grip on the handle and fell out. Pinkie quickly dodged the falling piece of metal as it made its descent.

“Um...P-Pokey, I-”

“What? What is it?”

Pinkie quickly put her head down. “The saw...it broke...” she stammered out.

Pokey stepped over and looked at the broken saw. “Hm.” He said, stepping back behind Pinkie. “Look like you’ll just have to improvise, then.”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean get back to work, or I’ll add to your collection of scars.”

“Yes, Okay! I’m sorry!” Pinkie quickly replied. Thinking quickly on pure adrenaline, she picked up the wooden handle and positioned it over the exposed joint. She rammed it hard into the joint, screaming as the force of the impact also rammed the wood into her mutilated teeth. They flared up with unfathomable pain.

Pinkie arched her back backwards as she screamed in pain. “MHHMM! MHHHM!” She cursed. Her vision darted around the room, searching in desperation for a better way to go about separating the dangling limb. The task was nearly impossible, however, thanks to her single eye’s inability to perceive depth. She wobbled back and forth as her head did the same.

This didn’t last very long, however. A hard lash with the whip abruptly ended her futile search. “mmmmMMHHAAAAOOW!” She hollered, the bloodcurdling scream beginning muffled and transitioning suddenly into an all-out roar when the handle fell out of her open mouth.Pinkie quickly bent over to pick it up again, and another lash with the whip followed.

The pain all around her body was unbearable. She collapsed onto the floor, hitting her bottom jaw and forcing her mouth closed. Her sharp, jagged teeth were driven directly through her tongue, prompting yet another chilling scream.

Pokey frowned. Why didn’t I think to record this? He thought, silently cursing to himself. It was already too late. If he left now, he would miss the good parts.

“I’thm thowie! Thop! I’thm thowie!” Pinkie begged. Fresh blood dribbled out of her open mouth as she simultaneously bawled and attempted to lift herself up again.

Pokey laughed and clapped his hooves together with glee. “Aww, what’s wrong? Did you bite your tongue?” He made no effort to hide the excitement in his voice.

Pinkie looked down as she nodded. “Pleath help me…” She moaned.

“Ha! Oh, that lisp of yours is just adorable!” Pokey laughed. “Say it again!”

“P-pleath...help me…” Pinkie repeated, noticeably weaker. She felt herself go light-headed. The whole room spun around her, and she felt even more weakness in her muscles than starvation had already caused. Pinkie Pie, exhausted, fell forward onto the bloody pile of gore formerly known as Rainbow Dash. In an instant, she was unconscious.

Pokey shrugged. “Whoops”. He bent over and placed one of his forehooves on the soft sole of Pinkie’s. Feeling a dull pulse, he removed his hoof and stood up again. “Hm. Still alive.” He said to himself, Pushing Pinkie’s limp, unconscious body to the side. Her light frame rolled a short distance before it finally came to a rest against the cold stone wall.

Rainbow’s left foreleg, which dangled grotesquely off the upper section of her torso, was surrounded with Pokey’s magical aura. The sound of Rainbow’s skin tearing was accompanied by the cracking of bone. It took a bit of work, but Pokey eventually managed to sloppily tear the appendage off of the joint, leaving behind a crude stump not unlike the one he had created with her spinal column.

Once everything, including the head, was inside the sack, Pokey locked the cell door on his way out, knowing full well that Pinkie wouldn’t move an inch while he was gone. After all, judging by her weak pulse and the amount of blood she was losing, she’d be dead by the time he returned.

Part VII - Burying the Hatchet

“This is ridiculous!”

“Absolutely ludicrous!”

The hall was abuzz with the agitated voices of the crowd, their words creating a chaotic din as they echoed off the walls. The collective volume of their complaints, when combined with the poor acoustics of the hall, made for a very displeasing experience.

“This is an outright violation of our rights! Literally the day you become Princess Regent, we get droves of royal guards searching every nook and cranny of our private homes!”

Twilight winced, trying to resist putting her hooves over her ears. “Please, everypony calm down!” she yelled, struggling to be heard over the crowd. “I understand your grievances, but I’m afraid the current situation calls for drastic and immediate action. With the unanimous approval of the Royal Council, I have temporarily suspended the constitution to aid in the search effort-”

“You’re corrupt!” A stallion near the back called out.

“We have to do everything within our power to find Pinkie Pie.” Twilight called, raising her voice to dominate the crowd.

The crowd, however, did not concede. Rather, they grew even louder than before. Twilight would have tried again to reason with them, but at this point, she couldn’t even hear the sound of her own voice.

One of the two guards standing at each side of Twilight’s throne looked up, bowing respectfully before speaking. “Princess, I believe it would be for the best if you were to leave the premises until this situation is under control. You've more important things to attend to, after all.”

Twilight looked once towards the crowd, then back at the guard before nodding in agreement. “Thank you, um…” Twilight looked quizzically at the guard, tapping her hooves together as she tried to remember his name. Judging from his decorations, he wasn’t as high ranking as a commander, but he wasn’t a regular grunt either. “...sir.” she finally said, blushing slightly. She made a mental note to work on her nametag idea.

If the guard was offended by Twilight’s lapse in memory, he didn’t show it. He nodded once, and motioned to two lower-ranking guards before moving back to his spot.

Twilight actively avoided eye contact with the crowd as she got up from her seat and walked between the two guards. They led her a short distance across the floor to a set of golden double doors, which were opened by yet another pair of guards.

After passing through the threshold, the grandiose doors closed, shutting out the sounds of the crowd's unrest. The sudden change in volume was almost startling.

“Tough crowd, huh, Twily?” A familiar voice greeted.

Twilight cast her tired gaze toward her brother for a short moment before looking down again. "Ugh," she moaned. "This is a nightmare."

Shining Armor’s mouth hung open as he tried to think of a reply. He wanted to tell Twilight not to worry, that she was just overthinking things again. On the other hand, he wasn’t the type to lie easily. “...Yeah.” was all he managed to say.

Like two foals on an awkward first date, the two siblings walked together in silence as if they barely knew each other. The only sounds to be heard were the resonant echoes of their hooves as they made their way across the marble floor.

"So, uh..." Twilight began, finally daring to break the silence. “Any news yet? About Pinkie, I mean.” Her face was flushed with worry.

Shining Armor looked down and sighed. “Not yet, but If your tracking spell was correct, then she's at the most fifty miles from Canterlot. We've at least narrowed it down to that. With 60% of the Royal guard mobilized, I’m sure we’ll find her in a matter of hours.”

“I hope so.” Twilight replied, tears beginning to well up in the corners of her eyes. "I just hope I wasn't too late. I feel so...stupid.”

Shining frowned and put a foreleg around Twilight’s shoulders. “Hey. Don’t you dare think for a second that-

“Forget I said anything.” Twilight said, rejecting the gesture. “It’s not important. I just…” she paused for a second, looking angrily towards the floor. “I just...I can’t...ugh!” Twilight stamped her hooves on the floor and began trotting in the direction of the palace library. “I just have a lot to deal with right now.”

* * *

The warm tones of the dried leaves that littered the forest floor contrasted greatly with the cold, bitter air that nipped at Applejack’s skin as she made her way through the thick, unsettled woods. Even at high noon, the sun’s warmth couldn’t break through the sky’s thick barrier of clouds. Not a single creature stirred in the dead of winter, leaving the forest unsettlingly quiet.

Applejack hung her head and sighed. Many long, grueling hours had passed since she’d first left the campsite, and she had so far failed to find even a single trace of either of the ponies she was searching for. Not a single feather, dropped item, or hoofprint to assist her with her task.

Her hooves ached, her eyes were weary, and her mind was numb. Cold, confused and exhausted, Applejack stopped in her tracks, unable to convince herself to take another accursed step.

Wearily, she bent over, leaning gently against a moss-covered tree. Its soft, spongy surface reminded her of her bed back on the farm. She closed her eyes for a moment and took a slow, hearty breath to calm her nerves. Maybe this was a bad idea, she thought, staring blankly at the cloudy sky above her. She’s probably back at the campsite right now, wonderin' same thing I am.

Though she had only meant to close her eyes for a moment, Applejack kept them shut. Suddenly, the world was her own. She saw only what she wanted to see. No barren trees, no rotting logs, no nothing. No matter what was going on around her, she was able to simply substitute her own reality.

Being a farmer, Applejack had grown accustomed to daydreaming. While she loved working on the farm more than anything in the world, she had to admit that it wasn't exactly the most mentally engaging activity. The countless hours she spent bucking apples gave her mind plenty of time to wander.

Under normal circumstances, Applejack’s nerves would have be calmed by her free-flowing thoughts. In this instance, however, Applejack found no comfort in blocking herself off from reality, no matter how stressful it may have been. Unable to see the world around her, Applejack’s stomach tightened, her heart pounded, and her eyes shot open again after only a few seconds.

Sitting up almost involuntarily, Applejack quickly scanned the area around her. Finding nothing but barren trees, she was able to calm herself down, but not before recognizing the familiar feeling of adrenaline coursing through her veins.

She placed a hoof on her chest, feeling her heart pump rapidly and irregularly. What the hay is wrong with me? She thought, scanning the area around her a second time. A mountain of evidence told her that she was alone, that she was in no danger. Still, she found herself having to convince herself of that fact.

Suddenly very uncomfortable, Applejack rose back onto her hooves. I need to get outta this place, she thought, pacing rapidly back and forth. A moment later, she shook her head, attempting to snap herself out of whatever had overcome her. No. I can do this. I need to do this for Pinkie. I-

“Huh?” Applejack interjected, her train of thought having been interrupted by a sudden sound in the distance. The sound was so soft, so slight that it would have been undetectable had the forest not been deathly quiet.

Applejack squinted her eyes and scanned the horizon. She stepped forward, her head moving erratically from right to left as she attempted to track down the source of the noise. “Rainbow?” she whispered quietly, “‘That you?”

She treaded carefully across the frozen ground, making as little noise as possible. Don't be foolish. It's probably nothing, she kept telling herself, it's all in your head. She wanted to believe she had just been startled, yet her shaking, jittering hooves told far different tale.

Before long, Applejack found herself face-to-face with the source of the noise. Though mostly obscured by a large tree, Applejack could see the lower half of another pony who appeared to be digging a large hole. The fact that he wasn’t Rainbow Dash didn’t matter much to Applejack. She was just glad to no longer be alone.

Applejack would have removed her hat out of courtesy, yet the precious warmth it provided was far too valuable. "Uh, beg your pardon." she stuttered. Only now did she feel her teeth chattering against each other.

"Gah!" Pokey yelped. He turned to face Applejack with a look of horror plastered on his face.

Their eyes met, and time stood still.

“W-what in the world…” Applejack thought out loud, her hooves glued to the ground despite herself. In that moment, she wanted nothing else but to be home again, yet all she could do was stare like a deer in headlights at the gruesome sight. She wanted to be wrong. She wanted so badly for the pony in front of her to be covered in something that only looked like blood, to be burying something that only happened to smell like a rotting corpse.

"I-I don't want no trouble..." she said, finally managing to take a step back as Pokey moved forward. "Wait, I-"

Applejack cut herself short to yelp as Pokey swung the shovel sideways, Applejack's head at the center of the arc. She quickly ducked her head down, avoiding the spade and sending Pokey stumbling off to the side from the shovel's uninterrupted momentum. He dropped the shovel on the ground as he fell over, coming dangerously close to falling into the deep pit he had made.

A patch of bare, frosty soil crunched under Applejack's hooves as she backed up, her mind just beginning to process what had just occurred. If there was one thing Applejack knew for sure, it was to trust her instincts. She wasn't stupid, nor a coward. It would be foolish to engage another pony who clearly had no moral qualms about killing.

"No! No, no, no, no!" Pokey panicked, the rate at which his heart pounded synchronizing with the rapid sound of Applejack's hooves as she galloped away. Leaving the shovel behind, Pokey broke into a gallop, following the path of displaced leaves left by Applejack's thundering hooves.

Both Pokey and Applejack pushed their physical limits as they weaved through the densely-packed trees, sprinting as fast as their legs could take them. It was a fight of endurance to the death, both of them knowing that the other’s success would mean certain doom, literally or figuratively.

“Hey! Y-you get away from me!” Applejack called out, the exhaustion and fear in her voice extremely evident. Despite her panic, Applejack was still able to maintain enough focus to dodge the many obstacles that littered her serpentine path. Giant boulders, fallen trees, and deep puddles of mud were no different than hurdles to her well-honed abilities.

Applejack did everything within her power to remain calm, but the sound of another pair of hooves clopping against the frozen ground behind her was absolutely nerve wracking. Resisting the urge to check behind herself was almost painful.

Painful, yes, but not enough to stop her. After clearing a particularly large boulder, Applejack, unable to resist for the sake of her own sanity, snapped her head backwards to glance at the scene behind her. Pokey, though quite visibly exhausted, was only a few feet behind her, galloping at the same pace as she did. The look on his face told her that he wasn’t about to give in. In fact, he almost seemed to be enjoying the chase.

Fueled by fear alone, Applejack picked up her speed, watching in relief as the distance between she and Pokey quickly increased. Oh, thank Celestia, she thought, turning her head back towards the direction she traveled.

As soon as she did so, however, she gasped loudly, her relief having been short-lived. A massive boulder sat directly in her path only a few feet away.

Without a second thought, Applejack bent her knees and jumped high into the air. She flew an impressively far distance, yet the small window of time she was given to make the decision, combined with the meager amount of energy she had available made for a less-than-ideal parabola.

Applejack winced as she felt the shin of her left back leg slam hard against the boulder, sending shockwaves of pain throughout the bone underneath. “D-Gggaaahhh!” she cried out, the rest of her body thrown forward by the sheer force of the blow.

Meanwhile, Pokey relaxed his stance, raising his head up slightly as he continued the gallop toward his target. He wasn’t too sure what was going on in front of him, but he did hear screams. Screams are always good, he thought. Had he not been out of breath, he would have chuckled in amusement.

Applejack closed her eyes, bracing for impact against the rock’s rough, unforgiving surface. As her body was sent forth over the rock, the weight of entire body was placed on her already damaged left tibia, bending it forward. Here, the pain plateaued, the sensory overload making the feeling of each nerve being severed indistinguishable from those which had already been destroyed.

After a few agonizingly slow seconds, the force had warped her bone so severely that it finally gave in, snapping it completely in half. The noise was not unlike that of a stick of celery being broken in two. Applejack screamed like she never had before, her voice cracking into an uncharacteristically high-pitch.

Paralyzed by pain alone, Applejack’s limp body slid down the other side of the boulder, leaving a crimson red trail where her leg had touched the frozen stone.

Having learned from Applejack’s grave mistake, Pokey’s gallop slowed down to a brisk trot as he approached the blood-streaked boulder. He tip-toed anxiously around the rock, eager to see what kind of injury Applejack had inflicted upon herself.

As soon as he did, however, he wished he hadn’t satisfied the urge. “Dear Celestia!” Pokey exclaimed, turning his head to look away. Given his hobbies, he had already laid his eyes upon his fair share of blood and gore. But for whatever reason, in this instance, he didn't feel the same sense of gratification that he usually did. Perhaps it had something to do with the fact that it wasn't directly inflicted by him, he thought. What had happened to Applejack was completely out of his control.

Applejack kept her face toward the ground, holding in tears as she tried with all of her willpower not to look. She would have been surprised if her leg wasn’t on fire. “W-w-what h-happend?” Applejack stammered. Still in shock, her words slurred together into a barely-recognizable phrase. “I-isssitb-bad?

Still facing the opposite directions, Pokey replied, apparently not disgusted enough to resist teasing his victim. “Is what bad?”

Applejack responded by simply groaning from the immense pain gripping her body. When she at last built up the courage to open her eyes, she immediately felt her stomach twist into a knot.

It was much, much worse than she thought.

The lower end of her tibia, broken completely in two, had been put under so much pressure during her fall that it had torn right through the skin and muscle of her left back leg. The bone jutted out grotesquely, leaving the soft marrow inside clearly visible.

It was then that the real pain set in. Applejack had already been suffering, but it wasn’t until she saw the actual damage that her brain began to panic. Applejack let out a horrible shriek, the pain doubling in severity as her mind filled in the gaps.

Pokey laughed smugly at the maimed pony below him as she writhed around in misery. “Looks like I’m calling the shots now, my brave little heroine.”

“NO!” Applejack snapped, her mouth foaming with rage. “Don’t you...don’t you d-dare touch me! Get away! Somepony help me!”

Pokey scowled. “That’s no way to talk to a pony in my position. Looks like you need to learn your place.” His eyes were fixed in excitement on the sight he had only a few moments earlier found to be revolting. Rearing backward, Pokey slammed his forehooves down onto the exposed bone.

Applejack’s screams accompanied the sound of cracking bone as the lower portion of her tibia was bent downwards, sending a unfathomable rush of pain up Applejack’s spine. Her suffering was reflected by the dramatic crescendo in her screams, going so high that they eventually cut out completely, her vocal chords unable to vocalize the intense vibrations.

Ahh...there it is, Pokey thought, a calming euphoria easing his nerves. He let up after a few seconds, not wanting Applejack to pass out like Pinkie had multiple times. After all, that would have ruined the fun. While Applejack writhed in misery, Pokey used his magic to unharness Applejack’s saddlebags and dump the contents onto the ground.

Unable to hold any longer, warm tears finally streamed down Applejack’s cheeks. “SOMEPONY HELP ME!” Applejack pleaded, taking a series of short, quick breaths to help ease the crippling pain. “PLEASE, PLEASE!”

Pokey picked up a plain red neckerchief that had fallen out the bag. “Oh, be quiet already!” he barked, balling up the neckerchief and forcing it into Applejack’s open mouth.

“Spit it out, and I’ll step on your leg again.” He threatened. Applejack signaled her reluctant compliance with a series of moans and over-exaggerated nods.

Trusting Applejack’s fear enough to divert his attention, Pokey proceeded to tear the bags apart, tearing off the elastic harness that linked the two bags together. He then tied it tightly around Applejack’s head, sealing the cloth inside her mouth and muffling her screams. “That’s a good girl.” Pokey said smugly.

With his victim silenced, Pokey closely examined the remaining items looted from Applejack’s bag. He needed a way to get rid of Applejack quickly and, more importantly, quietly. His hooves were already shaking from pure adrenaline, terrified from the possibility that somepony had heard the commotion.

Among the various tools and survival supplies that had been in Applejack’s saddlebag was a long, thick lasso. Picking it it, Pokey approached Applejack, who was still screaming and writhing helplessly on the ground. He placed the loosened lasso around her neck and quickly tightened the knot. The rope pressed tightly against her neck, exerting almost enough pressure on her windpipe to crush it.

“Plemmf mmnt mm mmis!” Applejack begged, her voice raspy and strained. In addition to the neckerchief sealed inside her mouth, the pressure of the rope against her throat made it exceptionally difficult to speak, cry, or scream; three abilities that Applejack realized she had taken for granted.

“Hang on, this might be a bumpy ride.” Pokey said. Just like he had done with Pinkie Pie, he grabbed the end of the lasso with his teeth and walked to his destination, dragging Applejack along with him.

“Plemmf, plemmf mmn-MMMMNNNNFF!” Applejack’s quiet, muffled screams accompanied the sound her her body being dragged through the frostbitten leaves that covered the forest floor. She squirmed around erratically, both from her attempts to remove the lasso around her neck and her natural response to the unbearable pain coming from her broken leg.

As the rope pressed tightly against her throat, her movements created a large friction burn around her neck that grew increasingly severe with each passing moment. Within a few minutes of relentless struggling, the irritated area had begun to bleed. The burn only added to Applejack’s world of pain, but it was a welcome distraction from other, more severe source of pain.

Eventually, Pokey stopped next to the deep pit where the chase had started.

Applejack’s breathing was cut off completely as Pokey lifted the opposite end of the rope, suspending Applejack in the air for a moment. Anypony watching the spectacle would have checked their ears. It was apparent that Applejack’s mouth was moving as if she were begging, yet she was totally silent.

The sound of Applejack’s muffled screams returned when Pokey put her down again, propping her up against a large tree.

Applejack watched in horror as Pokey approached her, shovel hovering near. She shut her eyes tight, but it didn’t help the horrific pain she felt when Pokey swung the hammer directly into her other knee cap. The dull blade forced its way into the space between the femur and the patella, destroying the sensitive tendons that connected the two bones.

“MMMHHHMMMPH! MMPPH! MMM!” Applejack bit down hard on the neckerchief, sinking her teeth into the wet cotton as she howled in agony. Never before had she felt pain like this. Even in the rare instance of a farm-related injury, Applejack would be surrounded by friends and family to make her feel safe. Here, however, her suffering was only worsened by the unavoidable, overwhelming realization that the end was in sight.

Pokey slammed the blade into Applejack’s kneecap a second time, focusing his magic hard in order to get the job done as quickly as possible. After all, he wasn’t in the secluded basement of his cabin. He was out in the open, in broad daylight. Gagging his victim only silenced her so much.

The shovel that Pokey used was not meant for cutting of any kind, so, appropriately, the sides of the blade were incredibly dull. This fact forced Pokey to repeatedly hammer the tool into Applejack’s back knee cap until it was sufficiently disabled. It wasn’t the edge of the blade that did the job, but rather the sheer force behind each successive blow.

Pokey rammed the shovel under Applejack’s kneecap one final time, but instead of withdrawing the bloodied blade, Pokey instead shoved the handle doward. An audible pop could be heard as Applejack’s kneecap popped out of its socket, the remainder of her leg connected to the rest of her body only by a few intact tendons.

Applejack released a bone-chilling shriek, and for the first time in many years, fresh tears rolled down her cheeks. At this, she felt a terrible wave of shame overcome her. She was the backbone of Sweet Apple Acres. Applebloom’s role model. She wasn’t supposed to cry.

But cry she did. Applejack looked up toward the cloudy sky, whimpering. You’re pathetic, she told herself. A disgrace. She put everything she had into stopping, but the stream of tears only became stronger.

It was too much to handle. Applejack’s mind was overwhelmed with a dreadful combination of emotion and pain. For a few long, agonizing seconds, it was as if her mind tapped out of reality, unable to process any sensory inputs. She simply sat there, drooling, staring with wide eyes up at the sky.

By the time Applejack’s mind had cleared, Pokey was approaching her with a large sack. The top was wide open, allowing Applejack to see the full extent of the horrors inside. The smell alone made her gag immediately, enough to silence her grunts of misery for a short moment. Flies buzzed in and out, feasting on the vile mixture of rotting flesh once known as Rainbow Dash.

As Pokey drew ever closer, Applejack, laying down on her back, instinctively shifted her weight to one side in order to get back on her hooves. The moment she did so, unsurprisingly, was marked by a bloodcurdling shriek, her body going limp as it was overcome by mind-numbing pain. The only thing she was able to do was lay in place, paralyzed from the pain alone, all the while mumbling the same phrase: “Please don’t kill me”, over and over again. Though muffled by the neckerchief in her mouth, Pokey could still make out the changing tone of her pleas, now having escalated from a low moan to something resembling a childish whine.

Rendered almost totally immobile by her physical trauma, Applejack was completely helpless, unable to fight back as Pokey surrounded her lower half in his dark-blue aura and pulled her into the bag. “NNNHHMM!” NNHM, PLEMMNF!” she wailed, feeling her back hooves sink into the foul stew of blood and entrails.

“Relax! This is what you wanted, right?” Pokey chortled, watching Applejack struggle in vain against his magical aura as it slid up her body. “To be reunited with Rainbow Dash? I’m guessing she was with you.”

After enough struggling, Applejack was finally able to wrestle the strap off of her face. She spit out the balled up neckerchief, letting it fall to the ground. “No! D-don’t do this to me, please!” Applejack cried out, getting in one final word before she was fully inserted into the bag. Using Applejack’s lasso to tie the bag closed, Pokey threw it carelessly onto the ground.

“I’m sorry! P-please, I’m beggin’ you, I-” Applejack paused mid-sentence to howl in agony, the bag having been dropped to the ground. Paralyzing shock waves of pain shot through every one of her nerves. When she finally resumed her statement, her voice was shaky and dire. “Please! I don’t w-wanna...I don’t wanna die like this!”

“Then maybe you should have minded your own business.” Pokey replied matter-of-factly. Needing to rest his magic, Pokey ducked his head and pressed it against the side of the bag, rolling Applejack towards the hole. He paid extra attention to the position of his head, making sure to not pierce the bag open with his exceptionally sharp horn.

“No...no! NO!” Applejack bawled, feeling herself roll across the ground. “Please! I’ll do anythin’! anythin’, please!”. She did everything she could to fight back as her mind began to enter a full state of panic.

Between her pleas for mercy, Applejack grunted in disgust as the various pieces of Rainbow’s body sloshed around with her.

Pokey gave one final push forward, sending the bag and its one living denizen teetering over the edge.

“NO! I’LL DO ANYTHIN’! PLEEEASE!” she shrieked, feeling the ground under her back abruptly end.

Within a few moments, Applejack had completed the four-foot drop into the bottom of the pit, landing hard on her back. Though the impact spared her broken legs, the air was forced out of her lungs, rendering her unable to speak, scream or cry for a few moments, three abilities Applejack realized she had taken for granted.

With Applejack unable to make any noise, the first few moments after she had landed were punctuated by an eerie silence. Pokey knew she was still living, due to the fact that he could clearly see her front hooves punching the top of the bag, but she made not a single sound.

“See, I could just finish you off right now,” Pokey said, focusing his magic to levitate the shovel off the ground. He shoved the spade into a large pile of loose dirt and dumped some into the hole. “But I figured this would be more exciting for the both of us.”

It wasn’t long before the dirt had returned to its former home, sliding off the bag and settling neatly next to Applejack. “I’M SORRY! PLEASE, LEMME OUT A’ HERE! DON’T DO THIS!” Applejack begged, the final word of her plea transitioning into loud sobbing. She frantically clawed at the woven walls around her, in hopes that she would find a way to rip it apart.

The harder she tried, however, the further Applejack’s heart sunk. Whatever material the sack was made of was exceptionally strong. No matter how hard she punched or bit the lining, it resisted her efforts. All she could do was scream from the crippling pain in her leg, watching through the woven threads as Pokey began the process of burying her alive.

Applejack could smell the dirt’s earthy aroma as it piled up around her, though it was easily overpowered by the vile smell of the decomposing flesh that shared the bag with her. Fortunately, or perhaps unfortunately, Applejack’s panicked mind was far too preoccupied to take notice.

While she wanted terribly not to believe it, Applejack knew in the back of her mind that Pokey had pushed her to the point of no return. Even if she were to somehow survive this encounter, she would never be able to return to her normal life.

The three apples on her flank represented more than just her special talent, it was her destiny. It was an integral part of who she was. Now, none of that mattered. Pokey had mercilessly maimed her to the point where she would never again be able to work on the farm.

Even so, she still resisted, fighting tooth and nail to escape as the soil quickly piled up around her. She didn’t care if she was left alone to starve to death; any such fate would be better than this.

After a few minutes, Pokey had made significant progress. The grave was filled with about one foot of dirt, enough to completely surround the bag. The top of the bag was still partly exposed, however, allowing Applejack to move around freely.

“You’re a persistent one, aren’t you?” Pokey said, wiping a few drops of sweat off his brow. “I really don’t know whether I should admire your tenacity or just take pity on you.” He scooped up another chunk of dirt with the spade, grunting from its weight as he tossed it into the hole.

Landing right on its target, the dirt settled on top of the bag.“NO!” Applejack shrieked, watching the ceiling of her prison dip down from the weight of the dirt.. “NO, NO NO NO! PLEASE, POKEY! LEMME OUTTA HERE!”

Pokey pursed his lips to whistle a light tune as he dumped yet another pile of dirt on top of Applejack.

“NO! PLEASE DON’T DO THIS!” Applejack sobbed, watching through tear-filled eyes as the precious little sunlight that filtered into the bag was blotted out little by little. Every few seconds, Applejack’s world became a little darker, the weight above her a bit heavier. Then, with one last shovelful of dirt, her world went dark.

“I KNOW YOU CAN HEAR ME! PLEEEAAAASE!” Applejack screamed, trying to claw away the growing layer of dirt above her with her forehooves. Being inside of the bag, however, she only managed to slightly displace the dirt.

At the moment, there was only a sparse amount of dirt above Applejack, allowing her to move around considerably. Applejack took advantage of this fact, Pressing her backside against the wall of dirt behind her and twisting her shoulders back and forth to slowly wiggle upward.

Before long, she broke the surface, and sunlight once again touched her skin. Applejack took a deep breath of fresh air, regardless of whether or not it smelled of her friend’s rotting flesh. She was alive, and that was all that mattered at the moment.

“Well, isn’t that something?” Pokey said, genuinely impressed. “I’m afraid you’ll have to try a bit harder to keep up, though.” He turned the shovel sideways and positioned it behind the pile. “I have places to be, so let’s just wrap this up.” Instead of tossing the dirt in little by little, Pokey opted instead to push it in. Suddenly, large quantities of dirt began flooding into the hole, filling it at a rapid pace.

The dirt quickly piled up along the side of the hole, forming a ramp that slowly moved towards the center. Pokey looked down into the hole, watching Applejack desperately struggle to keep her head above ground. She squirmed wildly in every direction, yet her efforts were simply unable to keep up with the rate at which dirt entered the hole.

Before long, Applejack was once again completely buried under the dirt. She resumed her struggling, using the same method she had used a few moments earlier, but this time around, the dirt entered the grave at a much quicker pace. By the time Applejack was able to move up an inch, two inches of dirt would be piled above her.

“N-no!” Applejack gritted her teeth, trying to wiggle her way up to the surface like she had before, but the weight above her had grown far too heavy. She was rendered immobile, completely paralyzed by the weight of the earth. She was surrounded by nothing but darkness. The only sound to be heard was the slowly-fading sound of Pokey’s whistling, a noise that grew quieter with each passing second.

“CAN ANYPONY HEAR ME? PLEEEASE!” Applejack sobbed in desperation, clutching stubbornly to the delusion that there was even a slight chance of somepony passing by. “PLEASE, SOMEPONY HELP ME!” she cried, her terrified vocalizations the only way to hang on to any sliver of sanity she still possessed. Admitting to herself that she was to die, that there was no way out, would surely destroy it.

From Pokey’s perspective, Applejack’s cries had grown significantly more quiet and incomprehensible as more dirt filled in the hole. “Plea...omepony...elp m...! I...on’t wan...die...thi...ay!” she shrieked, yet Pokey heard only muffled, incomprehensible gibberish.

“What was that?” Pokey teased between exhausted gasps. “You’ll have speak up a bit!” He paused for a moment to listen, pointing an ear towards the ground. If Applejack ever responded, Pokey didn’t get to hear her response. “Hm. I guess she’s a bit shy.” Pokey said to himself, levitating the shovel off the ground to resume his work.

Minutes passed, and as more and more dirt filled the hole, the already muffled sound of Applejack's hysteric crying began to fade into nothingness. After all, the three feet of dirt between she and Pokey made it quite difficult to communicate.

“No..NO! NO, NO, NO, NO!” Applejack whimpered, struggling to breathe as the earth slowly closed in around her, compressing her lungs. Due to the bag’s flimsy nature, it offered no support against the oppressive weight of the earth, forcing it to conform to the shape of the dirt encompassing it. Had Applejack been inside of a more structurally sound object, such as a barrel or an actual coffin, this wouldn’t have been an issue. Unfortunately for her, however, she was powerless against the earth as it hugged her, slowly crushing her to death.

"No..." Applejack gasped weakly, draining her lungs of precious air. She could no longer see the world above her, hear its sounds, or feel its cold breeze on her back. She was all alone, and not a single soul could hear her scream. Applejack's spirit shattered then and there as she realized what she should have long ago.

"I'm...gonna die..."

Pokey’s heart rate gradually returned to its normal tempo as his body cooled down. He scraped the final few mounds of dirt over the hole, which was now completely filled in. Like a foal would do while building a sand sculpture, he patted down the dirt, packing it down and making sure it blended in with the ground around it.

“Wow, I feel fantastic!” Pokey said with a satisfied smile, smelling the cold winter air. The combination of post-exercise euphoria, relief, and the thrill of killing made him feel as light as a feather.

Tossing the shovel aside, Pokey levitated into the air a number of loose branches, rocks, and leaves. He threw them carelessly onto the bare patch of dirt before him, making it indistinguishable from the rest of the forest floor.

“Well, that’s that.” Pokey said, turning around to begin the walk back home. He stopped to look back at the burial site a few times before it was out of sight, marveling at his skills.

Like he always did, Pokey entertained himself with his thoughts as he trotted back to his cabin. Two kills in a row, wow… he thought, mentally patting himself on the back as he ducked under a low-hanging branch. Soon to be three.

Before he lifted his head back up, Pokey huffed and scowled slightly, having reminded himself that he would soon have to dispose of yet another body. That was in the future, Pokey assured himself as he hopped over a small stream. He would cross that bridge when he came to it.

* * *

The cabin door clicked shut behind Pokey. Propping the shovel up against the wall, he turned on the lights and made his way towards the first set of stairs that led to the basement door.

He sighed contently as he walked, glad to finally be back in the warmth of his home. After all this was over, he thought, he would have to lay low for a while. He’d only expected to kill one pony, not three.

One he reached the bottom of the short set of stairs, Pokey went about his usual routine. Before he could bend over to retrieve the key under the loose floorboard, however, Pokey looked up quizzically. The door to the basement was slightly ajar, though the key was nowhere in sight. No sign of forced entry could be seen anywhere.

He never left that door unlocked. Ever.

Pokey did a double take, refusing to believe what he was seeing. There’s no way anypony would ever come here, he assured himself. Absolutely no way. Pokey’s face was stricken with worry. The more he assured himself that nothing was amiss, the less he believed it.

Then, it struck him.

The broken lock.

No, no, no no! Pokey screamed in his head, feeling a rush of adrenaline fill every nook and cranny of his body.

He leaned in to listen closer, struggling to hear over the sound of his own heart pounding away in his chest. The murmur he heard in the other room was so slight that he couldn’t tell whether or not it was his imagination.

Pokey’s ears perked up to a familiar sound. He froze, listening in horror to the creaking of wooden stairs. The weak, flimsy planks created a loud din that lasted for what seemed to be eons.

Pokey put a hoof over his mouth to keep himself from screaming. No. This can’t be happening! Not now! He thought, backing away quickly from the door. His retreat began as a slow march and ended as a panicked dash toward the front door.

"Stupid! I'm so stupid!" he muttered, eyes scanning the room for anything of value. With a quick burst of energy, he levitated a bag of bits, a dulled knife, a scarf, and a thick coat over to himself. Then, a mere moment later, he disappeared out the door.

* * *

“Hey, did you hear that?” said Iron Pike, stopping behind his superior before he reached the bottom of the narrow staircase.

“Hear what?” Commander Valor replied, refusing to divert his attention from the task at hand for even a second. His loose-fitting armor jingled slightly against his lanky frame.

Iron Pike motioned towards the door at the top of the staircase. “I could have sworn I heard somepony up on the ground floor just now.”

“Ignore it. It’s probably this ridiculous wind again.” Valor said, mindlessly straightening a few out-of place feathers in his beige-colored wings .

Pike tightened his scarf, but just as quickly loosened it upon feeling the intense humidity cabin’s basement. “Ah...I don’t know Commander. With all due respect, this place gives me the creeps.”

“Which is obviously why we should search it. Don’t question your superiors.”

Pike instantly straightened up, the wooden step he stood on groaning under his weight. “O-oh no sir, I meant no disre-”

“Regent Twilight said to thoroughly search every house, so that’s what we’re going to do.” Valor interrupted. He took a few steps forward into the main hallway. “Besides,this will only take a few minutes. We might as well get this over with so we can regroup with Captain Shining as quickly as possible. Go check out what’s inside those three rooms over there.”

Iron Pike nodded and stepped into the basement proper. “Yes, sir. Consider it done.” He turned away from Valor and peeked through the bars of the closest cell door.

Using a light spell to navigate through the dark basement, Valor returned the nod and trotted towards a small, cramped closet next to the staircase. Immediately after he ducked through the door, the first thing to draw his attention was a shelf filled with nothing but what appeared to be a large collection of home-made video tapes.

Normally, this would be nothing to gawk at. Lots of ponies made have movies, but what piqued Valor’s interest was the sheer quantity, as well as the method through which they were indexed. Instead of normal descriptions of the tapes’ contents, each was labeled with a set of two initials and a number. “What in the world?” he remarked softly, removing one at random.

“H...HH...” he mumbled, squinting his eyes to read the sloppy handwriting on the label. “HH - Three?”. He stared at the writing for a few seconds as if it were written in a foreign language.

Placing the tape back in its original spot, Valor picked out another, newer-looking tape from the shelf below it. “PP - 4.” He said out loud, feeling an uncomfortable sensation arise in his stomach. Why does this seem so odd?

Before he could pick out another tape, a voice echoed from across the basement. “Um, Commander,” Iron shouted from down the hallway. His voice was trembling and anxious. “I-I think I…”

Valor put down the tape and trotted over to Iron Pike, almost hitting his head on his way out of the closet. “What is it?” He interrupted. “Did you find anything suspicious?” On his way over, he cringed slightly, noting the disgusting smell that grew stronger with every step he took towards the far side of the hallway.

Iron nodded furiously as Valor approached. “Y-yes, Um, I think-”

Before he could finish, Valor pushed his way past Iron Pike, stepping into the open cell he had been standing by. Valor, however, confident as he may have been, stopped dead in his tracks once he laid his eyes on the sight before him.

Pike slowly made his way into the cell next to Valor. “...I think I found her.”

Part VIII - Recovery

Nurse Redheart sighed. With her patient’s vitals finally stabilized, she could finally step away from the bed that she and many others had been slaving over for hours on end. Too exhausted to speak another word, she walked through the door and towards the hospital cafeteria, wanting nothing more than to sit down. She would have walked faster, but her aching hooves forced her to take a more relaxed pace.

She’d never seen a case a severe as this. In fact, the last 24 hours had been absolutely chaotic for most of the staff of the Royal Canterlot Hospital. Surgeons and nurses alike constantly filtered in and out of the emergency ward, working tirelessly to save a mare who had arrived in critical condition.

But between that, and, of course, the time-and-a-half pay, it was all worth it. Now that the patient’s vitals had finally stabilized, she could finally use the last hour of her double-shift to sit down and eat a proper meal. At 11 PM. She did so with no hesitation, plopping herself down at an empty table and opening the paper bag that contained today’s dinner.

Opening her novel at the marked page, Redheart resumed where she had left off the day before.

“It’s not me, it’s you.” She said, voice trembling. She put a hoof up to her face to wipe away the tears that trickled down her cheeks. “You’ve changed, Blanco. You’re not who you used to be. You’re not the stallion I fell in love with!”

Blanco tenderly placed a hoof on her withers, pulling her closer. “Please, I need you.” He said, feeling her warmth as their bodies met for the first time in years. “You’re the first mare I’ve ever loved. Nopony else has ever made me feel this way.”

“Oh, Blanco…” She said, quickly shuffling herself out of the embrace. In that moment, they could only listen to the rapid beating of their hearts, neither of them sure of what to say. “...I wish you hadn’t said that.” She finally said, putting her head down. “I-I can’t… I can’t do this!’

Blanco felt his heart stop as he watched her gallop away. “No!” he screamed, nearly falling over as he stumbled to run after her. “Please, I love-

“So, do they know what happened to her yet?” Healing Touch said, taking a seat across from Redheart with his tray of food from the cafeteria.

Redheart resisted the urge to groan and roll her eyes as she put her book down. She liked her co-workers, but in all honesty, she just wanted some time to herself. “You could say that. I was present during the operation.” she replied, despite herself.

“Oh, right.” Healing Touch said, adjusting his glasses. “So? What’s wrong with her? I haven’t heard any details yet.”

“Heck if I know.” Redheart replied, taking a bite of her sandwich. “The investigation is still ongoing, and the Royal Guard hasn’t released any information about where she was found. That being said, it’s pretty obvious that she wasn’t attacked by an animal in the woods or something. A pony did this to her.”

“Woah, what?” Healing touch said, leaning closer. “Seriously? How can you tell?”

“Well, for starters, the main problem with that theory is the fact that she’s covered in third-degree burns. Plus, there were no bite marks anywhere, just gashes. It’s pretty obvious she was, well, tortured.”

“Oh my goodness. That poor girl! Is she at least recovering?”

“Don’t worry, we managed to save her. She should actually be waking up any-”

“Nurses Redheart, Caduceus, and Tendercare to the Emergency Ward immediately.”

Healing Touch stifled a laugh. “Uh oh. You just can’t get a break, can you?”

“Ugh.” Redheart groaned, putting down her half-eaten meal. Sometimes she wished she had never moved to Canterlot from Ponyville. “Save my seat.”

“Will do!” Healing Touch shouted, waving as he watched Redheart gallop out of the hospital’s dining area.

* * *

The double doors slammed loudly behind Redheart as she made her way into the room. "What's wrong?" she said, though the question was more of a formality than a genuine inquiry. It was very apparent why she, along with two other nurses, had been called into the emergency ward. She winced and put her head down as she approached the bed, trying to spare herself from the blood curdling shrieks that echoed off the walls.

"I-It's okay Miss Pie, we won't hurt you. You're safe now." One of the nurses said, smiling awkwardly as she hid a large syringe that sported an even larger needle behind her back.

"NO! GET AWAY FROM ME!" Pinkie screamed, holding her forehooves in front of her good eye. A long, shaky moan escaped her lips as she broke down into tears. “PLEASE!"

Nurse Redheart approached the bed slowly, wearing what she hoped was a comforting face. Though, even if it had been, it probably wouldn’t have helped anyway. After a few moments, She stopped at the side of the bed opposite from the nurse who held the syringe.

"This will make you better, I promise." She said, linking her hoof with Pinkie's. The intimate connection didn't last long, however. Almost immediately, Pinkie ripped her hoof away, nearly causing Nurse Redheart to topple over backwards in surprise.

"DON'T TOUCH ME!" Pinkie screamed, thrashing around as much as the various tubes and cables that were connected to her would allow.

Redheart groaned. "Caduceus, bring over some of the toys from the pediatric ward, would you?" She whispered, leaning over the bed to speak with the third nurse. "This is time-sensitive, and I really don't want to have to put her under again."

"Y-yes, ma'am." Caduces replied, not hesitating a moment before she galloped into the hallway.

Caduceus swerved left and right, avoiding the wheelchairs, doctors, and stretchers that populated the narrow hallway. Despite the volume of the area, it was only when she was several feet away did the sound of Pinkie's cries fade into the murmur around her.

Poking her head into the pediatric ward, Caduceus looked around frantically for what she needed.

"Caduceus?" Said one of the nurses. "What are you-"

"Um, I need this" she said quickly, running across the room and plucking one of the teddy bears off the shelf. "Sorry!" She mumbled with the stuffed animal still in her mouth, running back into the hall just as quickly as she entered.

She soon returned to the Emergency Ward, carrying with her the large teddy bear. She barely managed to make it through the door before Redheart surrounded it with a levitation spell and set in in Pinkie's lap.

Instantly, Pinkie hugged the bear tightly, pressing the back against her face and muffling her own whines. She seemed to have calmed down a bit in the short time Caduceus had been gone. Though she had stopped screaming, she was still visibly distraught and crying profusely.

"You ready?" Redheart said. “Try your best not to look.”

Pinkie gave a tiny, muffled squeak in response.

With that, Redheart held out Pinkie’s foreleg while Tendercare produced a large syringe from behind her back. She could feel the bruised, burned limb shaking intensely in anticipation, and couldn’t help but release a small, empathetic whine of her own while she watched.

The sharp point of the needle hovered over the targeted vein, moving slowly toward its destination. Tendercare was right to be hesitant. Any sudden movement from Pinkie could end with her accidentally stabbing herself. They would never hear the end of that.

The needle punctured Pinkie’s skin, an occurrence punctuated by a sharp, yet soft gasp from the receiver. “Nnnngh…” Pinkie grimaced as the metal sank into her flesh, trying her hardest not to retaliate. She was no stranger to getting blood drawn, and she knew she wasn’t in any danger. For some reason, however, as the nurse slowly and carefully steered the needle toward the vein, she couldn’t help but feel a sense of panic setting in. One that she had never before felt in this kind of situation.

“It’s okay, dear…” Redheart reassured, stroking Pinkie’s foreleg up and down. The nurse could feel her own skin crawl in response to Pinkie’s doing the same.

Once the needle had successfully entered the bloodstream, the pain faded, and Pinkie was able to calm herself down just as quickly. Instead a small, barely noticeable pulling sensation replaced the pain as the nurse began pulling out the syringe’s handle.

Pinkie waited a few seconds, still hiding behind her teddy bear, before her curiosity got the best of her. “Is it over?” she asked, lifting her head up just enough to catch a glimpse of the syringe as it slowly filled up with a thick, red liquid.

In an instant, Pinkie’s single functioning iris grew wide as she sucked in air through her newly-installed dentures. Her entire body went weak, and she felt her head spinning. “No, ugh, oh gosh, oh my goodness…” she mumbled, having quickly retreated back behind the teddy bear’s overly-large head. Now that she knew exactly what has happening, not looking was almost as bad as watching her blood slowly fill up the vial.

But fortunately, as quickly as the procedure had begun, it was over. The nurse removed the needle with ease, placing the filled syringe into a small bag while Redheart taped a cotton pad over the small red dot on Pinkie’s foreleg. Then, with the bandage in place, Redheart stepped away and motioned for the other nurse to leave the room with the vial of blood. “See? That wasn’t so bad, was it?” She said in a soft, caring tone.

Pinkie simply looked away, quickly wrapping herself under the covers as soon as she could.

Seeing this, Redheart frowned a bit, but quickly caught herself. "I'll be back to check on you tomorrow morning. Try to get some rest, okay, hun?" She assured, barely managing to fake a smile while she did so. Never before had she seen a patient in such a poor condition. It broke her heart just to look.

Without lifting her head up from the pillow, Pinkie Pie made a slight movement that barely passed for a nod and closed her single eye.

The double-doors closed behind Nurse Redheart, and Pinkie was once again alone. She held her teddy bear close against her chest, hugging it with both forelegs. By now, its fur had become stiff and matted where her tears had dried. Pinkie didn’t care, though.

She still wasn’t sure whether or not this was all just another dream. Whether or not she would soon wake up to find herself on the filthy floor of a dark, humid cell. Though she was wrapped under the warmth of multiple wool blankets, Pinkie still felt a cold shiver run down her spine when she entertained the thought.

The last thing Pinkie remembered was just that: laying alone on the floor of Pokey’s basement, paralyzed in pain as blood quickly flowed out of the fresh gashes on her back. She couldn’t speak, move, or even cry. Her face rested solemnly on the dirt, colored dots dancing across her vision as she felt herself slipping into death’s cold embrace.

She didn’t remember being afraid, though. In fact, she welcomed the feeling. It’s finally over, she recalled herself thinking as her blood soaked into the dirt below her. She felt happier than she had in ages, knowing that soon she would be free.

But then, suddenly, a blinding light shone down upon her as a circle of ponies in white clothing looked down at her, murmuring a flurry of big, confusing words. She wore a plastic face mask around her muzzle with a long, stretchy tube attached. It in turn was connected to some kind of machine. At least, that’s what it looked like. She was only able to catch a brief glimpse before she quickly fell back asleep.

Now she was here, wrapped in bandages and plugged into some other noisy machines. If this wasn’t all a dream, she thought, how did I get here? What happened to me?

All of the doctors had told her that it was over. That she would be okay from now on. That she didn’t have to be afraid anymore.

What did they know?

Pinkie looked down at her body, covered in bandages, most of which were hidden under and a light green hospital gown. Sure, Pinkie was all better on the outside. Her wounds had been sown up, her burns treated. But the doctors had only fixed her up halfway. For the first time in weeks, her belly was full, but she still felt empty inside.

She laid there in the same position for minutes on end, staring intently at the blank, white ceiling above her. Memories of the past few weeks played back in her head constantly, with no end in sight. Even when she shut her eye, she could still see his face. Hear his laugh. Her screams. Feel the unending misery.

“It’s…I...” she muttered, quickly trailing off into silence. It didn’t matter what she said. Nopony was there to listen. The tears on her face had grown cold in the near-empty room. She brought her teddy bear up to her face to wipe them off. “It’s all my fault...”

She scrunched up her muzzle as the horrifying thoughts continued running rampant through her head. She focused hard, visualizing all the things that made her happy. Though try as she might have, the only thing she was able to see was Rainbow Dash. The smell of her blood. The sound of the saw grinding against her spine. The look of hopeless despair in her eyes as they met her's for the last time.

“I-If it wasn’t for me…” She mumbled, shivering despite the blanket’s warm embrace. “I should have...I didn’t...”

It was all still so fresh in her mind. “Dashie, I’m sorry!” She cried, turning around to sobbing into the wall of pillows behind her so nopony would have to hear. “It should have been me! I don’t deserve this!”

“I don’t...deserve to live…” Pinkie whispered, a river of tears running down her face. She wavered for a brief moment before pressing her head hard into the tear-soaked pillows below her. She shoved her face deep into the pile, the embrace of the large cushions cutting off her ability to breathe.

Her chest heaved up and down and her pink cheeks turned blue as she smothered herself. Pinkie could feel her tears tickle her face as they ran down her cheeks for a short while until her entire face went numb. Though her lungs left as if they were on fire, her head felt light as a feather.

And like she had seen before, colorful dots began to dance across her vision. A bright light shown, inviting her to step across to the other side. To get what she deserved for her disgusting crimes.

But Just as the light began to come closer, Pinkie quickly pulled herself away, taking a massive breath as soon as she was able to. As blood began rushing back to her head, she unceremoniously collapsed back onto the mattress, gasping for air as she laid on her side.

"No!” she heaved, cringing as each pulse of blood hit her like a hammer to the back of her skull. “No...It's over. It’s over, it's over, it's over..." She whispered weakly to herself, curling snugly around her teddy bear. "It's over, I'm safe, it's fine..."

* * *

“It’s okay...It’s all fine…” Pinkie mumbled as she tossed and turned through the night. Though safely tucked under the blanket’s warm embrace, she still felt vulnerable. No matter what she tried, no matter how much she wanted it to end, she couldn’t bring herself to stop thinking about him.

His voice echoed in her head on an endless loop, never ceasing for even a moment. Every time she turned her back towards the door, she could sense him approaching from behind. Feel his hot breath on her shoulder.

It was like he was still there, endlessly torturing her without even a shred of remorse. All Pinkie wanted was a bit of shut-eye. She only wished to lay back, relax, and escape from this world, if only for a few hours. It was such a simple thing to ask for, yet it was still out of her reach.

She growled softly, re-adjusting her posture yet again. Briefly, she opened her eye to glance at the red glow of the digital alarm clock on the nightstand.

Three-thirty-seven in the morning.

“Ugh!” She screamed, slamming her head back down onto her pillow. She scowled at the tiled ceiling, silently cursing whatever outside force was depriving her of her much-needed rest. She already couldn’t relax enough to get to sleep, and it didn’t help that some stupid little column of light was now shining squarely on her.

“Wait...huh?”

Pinkie sat up, shielding her eye from the intrusive beam of light. She squinted towards the source of the light, a slightly opened door that led to one of the hospital’s many hallways.

It was weird, though. Pinkie remembered distinctly hearing the door click shut when Redheart left the room all those hours ago. To her dismay, she’d been awake the entire time, and she hadn’t heard the door open at any point.

“Hmm.’ Pinkie hummed to herself, slowly making her way out of the bed with the blanket still wrapped around her. Her legs, still relatively weak and emaciated, shook as they approached the cold tile floor. According to one of the nurses, she was fed via feeding tube while she was still unconscious, so she had enough energy to at least walk a few feet. Or, at least she hoped so.

Pinkie felt herself go lightheaded for a moment as she stood up, having not done so in quite some time. In fact, she almost had to remind herself how to properly walk, as if she had lost the muscle memory. Once she regained control, however, she gradually made her way over to the other side of the room.

“Ow...nngh...ow…” she cringed, her brand-new stitches radiating pain as she moved. Every little step pulled at the fragile strings, creating a brief, yet very uncomfortable flash of pain.

This wouldn’t be a huge problem if Pinkie only had a few stitches, but they covered her entire body. Her backside, legs, and even her face had suffered deep wounds from the whipping she had received. As a result, Pinkie was forced to move quite slowly, both from the fear of unweaving her stitches and the pain that gripped her with every slight movement.

Pinkie looked back towards her bed, her regret clear in her face. At this point, she was still closer to the bed than she was to the door, so she might as well just-

“Huh?” Pinkie gasped, whipping her head back towards the door. In the few seconds that her head had been facing the other way, Pinkie heard the sound of the door in question very loudly creaking open.

Pinkie stared in awe at the figure standing in the doorframe between the light of the hallway and the darkness of the room. She didn’t even have to look at his thin build, his dark blue coat, or his yellow eyes to know who stood there. All she needed was the horn. His razor-sharp horn.

“Did you miss me?” Pokey said, taking a few strides into the room.

“N-no! No, please…” Pinkie stuttered, taking just as many steps back. She cringed hard as she did so, her movements pulling as the stitches on her backside.

Pokey picked up the pace, approaching Pinkie as she did what she could to back away. “No? Well, that’s a shame, wouldn’t you say?”

“No! Get away! Somepony help me!”

“Aw, don’t be scared, Pinkie Pie!” Pokey said, continuing to move closer, but in seemingly random directions. This erratic pattern forced Pinkie to move similarly in the opposite direction, like a wolf herding a flock of sheep. “I just want to say a proper goodbye!” Once she was close enough to where he wanted her, Pokey jumped at her, sending Pinkie reeling in the opposite direction.

Just like Pokey had hoped, Pinkie immediately collided with the wall and collapsed to the floor few feet away from the night stand. On the way down, Pinkie’s face hit the corner of the table, slicing her lower lip cleanly open.

“Ow, ow, ow…” Pinkie whined, sensing the metallic taste of her own blood as it dribbled into her mouth. But before she could even think to spit it out, Pokey pounced on top of her.

He pressed a single foreleg on top of Pinkie’s stomach, pressing down hard to ensure the still-frail mare would be unable to fight back. Her distended stomach, filled by a feeding tube, was soft and pliable, jiggling around ever so slightly as Pinkie squirmed violently under it.

“No! NO! STOP!” Pinkie screamed, turning her face towards the wall. “I’m sorry! Please don’t hurt me! Please, please please!”

Pokey laughed ominously. “Oh... I’m gonna hurt you.”

“No, I didn’t do anything! I-I’m begging y-you, please!”

Pinkie pressed her face into the wall, wailing loudly as she waited for somepony to come save her. She cried and screamed as loud as she could, but nopony ever came to her aid. No matter how much she suffered, nopony seemed to care.

Over the past few weeks, Pinkie had learned that hope was useless. It didn’t matter how much she wanted to not believe it, ponies only cared about themselves. The only thing she had to look forward to was more suffering.

And she didn’t have to wait long. Before Pinkie could even process the fading sound of her nightstand rolling away, it came back. The rickety sound of the plastic wheels sailing across the tile floor grew ever louder until Pinkie’s head was suddenly forced into the wall.

The nightstand in question was a hefty structure, made of dense, heavy wood. Its four legs featured lockable wheels on the bottom, allowing the table to both remain stationary and be moved around freely without having to be picked up. For an object of its weight and girth, this feature was a necessity.

Pinkie’s head was crushed between the heavy table and the wall, the impact of her skull leaving a large dent in the soft drywall. With no shortage of screaming, Pinkie Pie fell backwards, holding her pulsating head between her hooves. Both the back of her head and her forehead now featured large, red bumps.

With the side of Pinkie’s head now exposed, Pokey again slammed the nightstand as hard as he could into it, reveling in the sound of her horrified shrieks as he carried out the attack. Then, like he had done mere seconds beforehand, he once again pulled it away, letting a small trickle of blood seep out of Pinkie’s ear before driving the wooden table into the same spot.

“HELP ME! HELP MEEEE!” Pinkie screamed in agony. Or at least, she thought she did. The searing pain gripping every inch of her head was so great that she could barely even hear herself as she cried for anypony who could make her suffering stop. That and, of course, the fact that the fragile internal structures of her ears were crushed to pieces with every successive blow. The one thing she was sure of, however, was the unending, high-pitched ringing in her ears.

“You thought you could get away from me that easily?” Pokey hissed, pulling the nightstand back even farther than before. “Do you even know who I am?” He closed his eyes for a brief moment, focusing his magical energy. Then, in a surge of rage, he slung the table forward, sending it reeling towards Pinkie. The the wheel-bound piece of furniture slid across the smooth floor in a flash, its sharp corner impacting Pinkie’s temple in less than a second.

The sharp wooden corner dug into the sensitive cavity, dyeing the side of her head red as a river of blood flowed across it. Droplets of blood flung across the room in every direction as Pokey crushed Pinkie’s skull with the blunt, heavy object.

Again and again, Pokey hit her, cracking Pinkie’s skull a little bit more each time. She could feel the blood sloshing around her brain cavity even as her movements slowed down, the central organ being slowly crushed between the table and the wall.

She could feel herself slipping. Any moment now, she would walk into the light, and pass into the next life...

* * *

But then, In an instant, Pinkie stood up in her bed, gasping for breath.

“NO! HELP ME! HELP!” She shrieked, instinctively placing her hooves on her head. “HEEEELP! PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE!” She screamed relentlessly at the top of her lungs. Unable to control herself, she shrieked mindlessly until she ran out of breath, falling backwards into the soft pillows behind her.

It wasn’t long before Nurse Caduceus, the night shift nurse, came rushing into the room. "Pinkie Pie! Are you okay? What happened?"

Pinkie shook her head vigorously, her face contorted into a horrified grimace. "He's in here! Get him away from me!" She sobbed, hiding her face behind her forehooves. "I don't wanna go back! Please!"

At that, Caduceus turned on the lights as quickly as she could. She scanned the room, checking every nook and cranny, but her search came up dry. "Who? Who's in here?" She asked, ducking under a bed across the room. The only response she received, however, came in the form of a panicked, muffled whimper from under the covers.

Caduceus sighed. "Nopony's here, Pinkie. You just had a bad dream." She said, walking up to the side of the bed.

"N-no, I know I saw him!" Pinkie replied, poking half of her head above the blanket. "He tried to kill me! I know he's here, I-I-"

"You're just seeing things, Pinkie. You're safe here. "

“B-but...I saw him...it was so real…”

“Everything’s going to be okay.”

Pinkie panted and shifted up a bit, still holding her blanket close to her chest. No words were spoken by either party for a few seconds, the space filled instead with sniffling and the occasional quiet moan. "Promise?" Pinkie finally squeaked, staring at the point in the room most opposite to where the nurse stood.

Caduceus surrounded the blanket with her aura and tucked Pinkie under the covers. “Yes, Pinkie Pie. I promise.”

* * *

Waking up grumpy ponies was nothing new to Nurse Redheart, or anypony in her profession, really. Over many years in her career, she had had her fair share of obscenities screamed at her by angry patients. It all came with the territory.

This morning, however, Redheart hadn’t needed to worry about such problems. Pinkie Pie, her trauma patient, was already awake when she entered the room. The first thing she saw upon opening the door was Pinkie hunched over her bed, staring at the bottom of her hooves.

“Miss Pie?” Redheart said, wheeling in a cart stocked with various medical supplies, as well as a hot meal. “You’re up already?”

Pinkie’s head shot up at the sound of her name. She said nothing, simply staring nervously at Redheart until she spoke again.

Redheart politely waited a few seconds for a response before eventually realizing that she wasn’t going to get one. “Well, um...I hope you managed to get some rest! I brought a nice warm breakfast for you, but-”

“I didn’t”. Pinkie said flatly, never taking her eyes off her hooves.

“Y-you mean you didn’t get any sleep last night?”

“Maybe. I don’t know.”

“Oh, well…” Redheart said, making an worried face while she unpacked the cart next to her patient. “You’ll have plenty of time for naps today. Like I was saying, I brought you breakfast, but you have to promise to be good while I change some of your bandages, okay?” She said, parking her supply cart next to the bed.

Pinkie made a short, monotone noise to convey her understanding.

Redheart surrounded Pinkie’s left hoof in her light-pink magical aura and pulled it towards her so she could begin. She didn’t get very far, however, before Pinkie began to squirm around in protest.

“NO, STOP!” She yelped, shaking her hoof around to try to extinguish Redheart’s aura.

Not wanting to upset her patient, Redheart complied and cut off the spell. “What’s wrong, Miss Pie?” She said, raising an eyebrow.

“N-not like that!” Pinkie pleaded, sounding as if she had just narrowly escaped some horrible fate. “Just use your mouth, okay?”

"Oh, um..." Redheart replied, scrunching up her muzzle at the odd request. "Of course, dear."

Complying with Pinkie’s request, Redheart began unfurling the day-old gauze on Pinkie’s left hoof, where there was a ring of several deep puncture wounds. After throwing the old bandage in the trash, she wiped down the affected area, applied some gel to a new bandage, and wrapped it tightly around Pinkie’s wrist.

Poor girl… Redheart thought, looking up at Pinkie with pity in her eyes as she began to repeat the process on the opposite hoof, though Pinkie did not return her gaze. She continued to simply stare off into space, as if she was deep in thought.

She looked awful. Dark bags had formed under her bloodshot eyes overnight. All over her frail body, what was left of her malnourished muscles trembled uncontrollably. Whether or not she ever got to sleep was a mystery, as every time Redheart asked, she was met with a quiet, disconnected mumble. Even with Pinkie’s vague answers, however, it didn’t take a world-class detective to figure out that she had probably been up all night.

The cotton pad peeled backwards off of Pinkie's left eye, along with a thick layer of goo that now coated the underside. Redheart kept a professional demeanor about her, as she was trained to do, but didn't mean she couldn't grimace in disgust on the inside. And she most definitely did so.

Quickly throwing the dirty pad in a biohazard bin, Redheart levitated into the air a sanitary wipe from the table next to her. "Now, this may hurt a bit, Pinkie. Are you ready?" She said, awkwardly holding the sanitary wipe in her mouth above Pinkie's empty eye socket. She was poised to strike when she got the OK. Politely looking at the wall behind Pinkie, She waited for a few seconds before looking back.

"Pinkie?" Redheart asked, looking down at her patient's heavily disfigured face.

Pinkie simply laid motionless in her bed, staring up at the ceiling. She breathed in and out slowly.

"Pinkie Pie?" Redheart asked again, clicking her hooves together in front of Pinkie's face.

"Huh?" Pinkie finally responded, breaking her gaze to look at Nurse Redheart for a moment. "What?"

Redheart raised an eyebrow. "Are you ready?" She inquired, shaking the sanitary wipe around in front of her patient for emphasis.

Pinkie started hesitantly at the slick, fibrous rag for a few seconds before speaking up. "Um...yeah." She finally said, turning away mid-sentence.

“Okay, hold still.” Redheart pressed the wipe into the eye socket, wiping up the excess goo that had built up under the sterilized cotton pad. Or, at least, she tried to. As soon the alcohol-soaked rag touched the sensitive lining of her empty eye socket, Pinkie yelped and jolted away.

"Ow!" Pinkie barked, scowling at Redheart. "Watch what you're doing with that!"

"O-oh, I-" Redheart stuttered, taking a step back. "I'm sorry, I-"

"You know what? Just go away! Leave me alone!" Pinkie sneered, raising her voice to a level she'd never reached before.

Redheart looked around awkwardly. Unfortunately for her, she was the only nurse currently in the room.

She cast her gaze towards Pinkie's teddy bear, currently squished between the side of the bed and Pinkie's hindquarters. She levitated it into the air and set in Pinkie's lap. "Pinkie, dear, I know it hurts, but I have to-"

“NO!” Pinkie screamed. She batted the stuffed animal away, sending it flying across the room. It landed with a crash as it hit a pile of medicine bottles a few feet away.

Redheart rolled her eyes. Ugh...

* * *

Fluttershy politely placed a hoof over her mouth and yawned. Only the constant ticking of the clock reminded her that time was, in fact, still moving forward in the hospital waiting room.

She was seated next to Rarity, who had, much to her dismay, taken the last available magazine. It wasn’t as if her mind was unoccupied without it, however. Both she and Rarity had been waiting for at least an hour, and in that time, neither of them had moved an inch away from the edge of their seats. Fluttershy only wished for a distraction from the constant worry. Not to mention that the magazine in question featured an article on pet accessories for the winter season.

“What do you think is taking so long?” Fluttershy whispered, turning to face the pony beside her. She spoke as softly as possible, though she still looked around the room sheepishly in case anypony had thought otherwise.

“I haven’t the slightest clue.” Rarity said, setting the January issue of Canterlot Fashion Monthly down on the seat next to her. She lightly bit her lip while she mindlessly tapped her hooves together. “But I know I’m not moving an inch until I see Pinkie.”

Fluttershy nodded sweetly in agreement. “I can’t help but worry about Rainbow and Applejack, too. I mean, if they didn’t find her, who did? And where are they? It’s been almost a week since they left to look for Pinkie Pie.”

“Oh, dear, I hadn’t even thought about that...” Rarity replied. “Though I’m sure they’re all right. I bet they’re on their way back as we speak. Those two know what they’re doing as long as they stay together.”

Fluttershy looked at the worn-down carpet below her. “I sure hope so.”

Without anything else to say, Rarity shuffled a bit in her seat and looked up at the clock. Fluttershy did the same, prompting both of them to sit in silence for a few moments before realizing that the conversation ended there.

Leaning back again, Fluttershy closed her eyes and took a long, deep breath that ultimately ended up as a yawn.

"...but they were able to find her within a few hours and save her life, don't you think that's worth it?"

Fluttershy's ears perked up at the sound of a hushed female voice from across the room. Curious, and with nothing better to do, she looked up to find the voice’s owner to be one of the receptionists behind the counter. Hoping her friend would also take notice, Fluttershy glanced briefly at Rarity, though she was apparently too engrossed in whatever article she was reading to notice.

"I don't care! Those Royal Guard brutes broke a precious vase that's been in my family for generations!" The other receptionist, a dark blue stallion, retaliated, raising his voice in the process. "I don't care how much the Princess likes her, she can't just disregard the Constitution like that! She needs to be put away!"

The other receptionist, a petite, light brown mare, rolled her eyes in response. "Did you not pay any attention in school? The Princess is allowed to do that in the case of a national emergency, according to your precious Constitution. Plus, it's not like she can just decide to do it out if the blue, she had to have the unanimous approval of the Royal Council!"

"Pssh. Yeah. The Royal Council. Who do you think appoints them?" The stallion retaliated, now having raised his voice to the point where everypony in the waiting room, including Rarity, was staring at him.

The female receptionist rolled her eyes. "Sheesh, would you keep it down? And don't turn this into one of your crazy conspiracy theo-"

"Excuse me?" A familiar voice greeted, sending the argument to a screeching halt. The two receptionists looked up in unison, but neither of them spoke a word.

"I-I'd like to schedule a visit to room 233, please." The voice continued. She was quiet and reserved with her speech, stumbling over her words as if embarrassed by the fact that the room’s attention was now cast solely onto her.

"P-Princess Twilight." The female receptionist greeted nervously, bowing forward in respect to the best of her ability with the counter in the way.

The stallion behind the counter remained still. "Oh, look who it is, Despot Twilight. Oh wait, am I allowed to say that, or are you going to take away my right to free speech, too?"

Twilight frowned and looked down, blushing hard. "What? I-"

"D-Don't mind him, your majesty." The mare stuttered, blushing just as much, if not more than the princess before her. She rubbed her quivering hooves together, staring down at the counter below her. "We'll p-put you in the queue. Take a, u-um, please, um… take a seat over there, please. Your- your highness."

"Thanks..." Twilight muttered sheepishly, still staring intently at the carpet. Her face was flushed a deep red as she stumbled away from the most awkward exchange she had ever experienced in her life.

She soon looked up, however, at the sound of her own name being called from the other end of the waiting room.

"Oh! Hi, Twilight." Fluttershy said, waving at her friend.

The greeting was immediately followed by Rarity. “Twilight! So good to see you again, darling.”

Fluttershy smiled sweetly at Twilight as she took a seat next to her. “Rarity and I were wondering if you would show up today.”

“Mmm.” Twilight nodded back, leaning forward as discreetly as possible to see what Fluttershy did with her wings. She mimicked the position, though her recent alicorn growth spurt made the task quite difficult. Her hips had grown wider and her shoulders taller, making for a less-than-comfortable seating arrangement.

"Is everything alright?" Fluttershy said, watching Twilight squirm about in the chair.

"Yup!" Twilight quickly replied, squeezing her wings between the sides of the chair. "Yup, it's all good. Yup." She said, faking a smile. "How long have you two been here?"

Rarity stifled a giggle while she carefully examined her hooficure. "Mmmh, about an hour, I'd say."

“Oh, heh. Sorry for the late arrival. I’ve just been really busy trying to run the country while Celestia and Luna are sorting things out in the Griffon Kingdom. I can’t believe it’s taking this long to solve a simple trade dispute.”

“Oh, don’t worry about it.” Rarity said, levitating a brush to comb her mane. “We came a bit late ourselves. Pinkie’s family actually came to visit her earlier. You just missed them.”

“Oh!” Twilight exclaimed, though she was honestly more put off by the statement than she was excited. The mere mention of Pinkie Pie or her family was enough to send adrenaline into every nook and cranny of her body. ”Um, how...how were they?”

“Well…” Rarity began, pressing a forehoof to her lips while she thought of a proper response. “They seemed a bit, um, how to put this...they seemed...off.”

Twilight tilted her head to the side. “Off?”

“Well, I don’t really know how to explain it.” Rarity said, raising an eyebrow. “They weren’t exactly what I would describe as ‘relieved’.”

“Oh.” Twilight said, teeth chattering. She could feel her heart racing as a sharp feeling of dread sank into her stomach.

Her interaction with Pinkie’s family was still fresh in her mind. The look on their faces as they pleaded for her rescue. The sound of their tired, mournful voices. It was all she could think about for hours after the fact, and now, it all came rushing back.

It was Pinkie’s father, however, who was most ingrained in her memory. As he spoke to her, somewhere in his red, bloodshot eyes, behind all the sadness and despair, there was hope. Trust. The look he gave her as he begged for his daughter’s safety was one Twilight wouldn’t soon forget. For Twilight, the simple thought of failing him was the stuff of nightmares.

That’s what frightened her the most. If Pinkie is okay, why wouldn’t they be happy? Did I act too late? Did I let them down?

Fluttershy leaned forward in her chair to meet Twilight’s gaze. “Twilight? Is everything okay?”

“Um, yeah, it’s n-nothing.” Twilight said, shaking her head to break her trance-like train of thought. Her eyes moved about the room as she tried to come up with something to change the subject. “What about Applejack and Rainbow Dash? Are they on their way?”

Rarity turned her head to the side. “Whatever do you mean?”

“Applejack and Rainbow Dash. They came back to Ponyville after Pinkie was found, right?” Twilight said, her voice faltering slightly.

“No, darling, we haven’t heard from them in days.” Rarity said. She turned to Fluttershy, who nodded in agreement. “I wouldn’t worry too much about them though. As I was telling Fluttershy, the situation with Pinkie is national news, so I’m sure they’ve heard and are on their way back as we speak.

“I really hope so...” Twilight said, her gaze trailing off yet again.

Before Twilight had time to get caught in another anxious trance, the female receptionist piped up from across the room. "Rarity and Fluttershy?" she said, prompting the aforementioned ponies to stand up and make their way towards the front desk.

Rarity leaned forward on the counter. "The maximum party size for non-family members is three, correct?” she said, gesturing towards Twilight. “In that case, she’s with us.”

The stallion behind the counter rolled his eyes. "Fine. You have forty-five minutes."

* * *

The female receptionist knocked on the door and cracked it open enough to fit her head through. "Pinkie Pie?" She began,"You have visitors."

Pinkie whined a bit as she stirred from her nap. Rubbing her eyes, she sat up slightly and fixed her gaze across the room. "More visitors?." She deadpanned, looking at the soft-spoken receptionist for only a brief moment before redirecting her gaze elsewhere.

"Well, u-um, Princess Twilight is here, as well as two of your friends, Rarity and, um-” Not wanting to have to ask, she thought hard for a moment, her head still poking into the other room. “Uh, Rarity and-”

“Fluttershy?” Pinkie asked, sounding a lot more angry than was probably warranted.

“Y-yes, her.” She finally spat out. “Um, they'll be here in a moment." the receptionist said, closing the door. Hesitantly, she turned to face the three ponies behind her, her cheeks fully flushed. “Oh my goodness, I’m so, so sorry about that!" she pleaded, opting to look at Fluttershy’s fine, pedicured hooves rather than her face.

Fluttershy blushed just as much, if not more than the receptionist. “It’s okay, really. It happens a lot more often than you would think.” she reassured.

“Well, um, I suppose you three can go in now.” The receptionist continued, still thoroughly embarrassed with herself. “Um, please try to not stare. Your friend has been through a lot, and she's pretty, um..." She paused for a moment to find the right word. "...disfigured." She concluded bluntly.

"Thank you, miss." Twilight said, faking a grin. She moved a few steps towards the door until she was face-to-face with the five-by-two foot slab of wood. All she had to do was open the door and walk into the room. That was it. But in that moment, Twilight felt so small, so helpless, so afraid of what she would find behind that door. She froze up, unable to move a single muscle out of pure dread.

“Twilight?” Fluttershy peeped behind her. “She said you can go in now.”

Twilight nodded. “Oh, uh, yes. Of course.”

The simple act of opening a door towered over her like a massive colossus. She had fought off a vengeful sibling, a crazed demigod, a deceptive half-pony, and slave-driving shadow-stallion, but in that moment, Twilight fought the hardest battle she’d ever had to face thus far. She was now living in the moment she had been dreading ever since she had learned that perhaps she had made a mistake. That perhaps this could have been prevented.

That perhaps this was all her fault.

Taking a deep breath, Twilight leaned forward, transferring a portion of her weight into the door. Like magic, it yielded to her actions, swinging backwards until there was an adequate amount of room for her to pass through. The whole process took place in ultra slow-motion, as if Twilight’s brain was desperately trying everything it could to delay what was about to happen.

Then, it was done.

With the door wide open, Twilight closed her eyes, taking slow strides into the spacious area. She was followed by Rarity and Fluttershy, who both stopped in their tracks as soon as they found the courage to look up.

Nothing they could have imagined could have prepared them for this.

Before them was their friend, Pinkie Pie, covered from head to hoof in bandages. Gauze, stitches, and cotton pads were strewn about her body in seemingly random places, covering up an almost endless amount of wounds.

Her legs, face, and presumably, her body, was totally devoid of fat and muscle tissue, leaving her bones clearly visible. Large, black and yellow bruises covered large swaths of her skin.

What disturbed them the most, however, was her heavily disfigured face. Though nopony would admit it to themselves, Pinkie now resembled some kind of abomination. The two halves of her face, split in half by a deep wound, were held together by a series of stitches that ran diagonally down her face. Though not visible under the large cotton pad, her left eye had been replaced by an empty socket.

Twilight felt her knees turn to jelly. Her entire body shook as regret gripped her heart. “Pinkie Pie?” She choked out.

“Hey girls.” Pinkie mumbled, glancing at them for only a moment before returning her gaze to the hospital’s white tile floor. Her face remained totally still, without so much as a twitch on either side of her mouth.

Tears formed in the corners of Twilight’s eyes as she stood there, speechless.

This is your fault. You could have stopped this.

“No…” She begged, doing everything in her power to deny the grim reality before her. “Please, no…”

"We're so glad to see you again, Pinkie! We were all so worried!" Rarity spoke up, smiling sweetly and trotting ahead of Twilight.

Pinkie, on the other hand, crossed her forelegs and scowled in response. A single, flat, “Okay.” was all Rarity received in return.

Rarity and Fluttershy exchanged worried looks before turning their attention back to Pinkie. “Pinkie, dear?” Rarity asked, a small bit of apprehension present in her voice.

Pinkie made an audible exhalation to signify her frustration.“What? I said okay.”

“I-I, um, I don’t, ah…” Rarity stumbled. Even her conversational expertise wasn’t fine-tuned enough to handle the situation. “I just wanted to say that, ah, we’re all here because we love you, a-and, we want to help you get through this.” She said, ending her statement with a smile as awkward as the delivery of what preceded it.

Pinkie did not concede or show any kind of emotion. “Okay. Fine.” She said bluntly, not even putting in enough effort to make eye contact with her message’s recipient.

It was like trying to converse with a brick wall. Only their own thoughts could punctuate their severely limited dialogue as the three tried to get their mouths to keep up with what their senses told them. This isn’t Pinkie Pie, They thought to themselves in unison. What happened to her?

“Pinkie?” Fluttershy finally said, breaking the uncomfortable silence. She trotted over to the bed and placed a forehoof on Pinkie’s freshly bandaged shoulder in an attempt to console her. “Is everything okay? We’re here for you, Pinkie.” she said with a slight, yet loving smile.

“Ow!” Pinkie grunted loudly, frantically wiggling away from the unwanted physical contact.

Fluttershy quickly withdrew her hoof. “O-oh, I’m sorry, I should ha-”

“Don’t touch me there, stupid!” Pinkie interrupted, smacking Fluttershy hard on the wrist. “Don’t touch me at all! Just step away!”

Fluttershy complied, not hesitating to immediately take a few strides away from Pinkie. “I-I’m sorry, really! I didn’t know!” She said, her voice quivering.

It was like she was talking to an entirely different pony. Gone was the happy, cheerful, friendly Pinkie Pie who loved nothing but to smile and eat candy. What she saw instead was the sad, angry, disfigured shell of that pony.

As both Fluttershy and Rarity stood there, speechless, they were eventually joined by Twilight.. She, like the other two ponies, kept her distance, not wanting to distress Pinkie any further.

Once again, the conversation, if one could call it that, came to a screeching halt. The constant humming of the various medical equipment strewn about the room was all there was to listen to as the three ponies fathered their thoughts.

Each second of silence was excruciating. Nopony knew quite what to say, or, to be more precise, if they should bother to speak at all.

But eventually, a weak, yet angry voice broke the silence. “Why didn’t you come for me?” Pinkie said, finally lifting her head up. For the first time since the conversation had begun, Pinkie stared directly into Twilight’s eyes.

Twilight returned the gaze, her pupils trembling as she stared at Pinkie’s mangled visage. “What?” was all she managed to say.

“Am I just not important enough?” Pinkie continued, her voice becoming more strained as tears began to well. “Did you just not care?” Her hurt, angry stare was like a dagger through Twilight’s heart.

Twilight only stood there, mouth hanging agape. She was speechless, unable to move or think as her mind scrambled to process what she was hearing. As the moment she had been dreading came to life before her eyes, Twilight wanted nothing more than to run and hide, shutting herself away from the rest of the world.

But, of course, she couldn’t. She wanted to scream, but she couldn’t. She wanted to collapse to the floor and beg for forgiveness, but she couldn’t. She was trapped, with no choice but to watch in horror as her world came crashing down around her.

“You were never really my friends, were you?” Pinkie went on with her rant, her face glistening with tears. Her chest heaved in and out, making her words almost unintelligible as she began to hyperventilate. “You n-never cared about me! T-the only one w-who really c-c-cared was-”

Pinkie hesitated for a brief moment, looking up at the ceiling. “R-Rai-” she tried to say, stuttering as her lips trembled. “She...she-”

Pinkie collapsed forward, crying uncontrollably into her sheets.

“Rainbow?” Fluttershy whispered, watching the scene unfold before her. Before she could say another word, however, she was interrupted.

“What’s going on in here?” Called a female voice, accompanied by the sound of a door slamming open.

Startled, Twilight quickly turned around to see a older nurse hurrying into the room. “I, um…” she mumbled, looking back at Pinkie, then back again at the nurse, trying to come up with some kind of worthy explanation. Unfortunately, she didn’t even understand what was going on herself. “I-I don’t know, I just-”

“Maybe you should leave.” The nurse interrupted, gesturing towards the door.

“But-”

“Please. Go.” The nurse interrupted, putting no effort into hiding her scowl.

“Yes, Ma’am.” Twilight muttered, hanging her head as she led her two friends toward the exit, They all took one final glance at Pinkie Pie before complying with the nurse’s request.

* * *

In one quick burst of magical energy, the door, as well as the blinds that lined the windows of Twilight’s private quarters, were slammed shut.

“UUUGGHH! I HATE THIS!” Twilight shrieked, using the same magic to push a collection of books off the shelf above her desk. Each of the thick tomes crashed to the floor, destroying the fragile binding of some and sending pieces of paper flying across the room. “IT’S NOT FAIR!” She went on, tearing open a pillow and letting its soft, cotton guts spill out over the floor.

Twilight continued her rant in the minutes that followed, listening to her own, anger-filled voice as it echoed off the thick marble walls of the Canterlot Royal Palace. She screamed and shouted, steadily racking up furniture-casualties as she massacred her belongings in a blind rage.

When her fit was finally over, she collapsed at the foot of her bed, resting her aching head on the now-barren mattress. “Unngghh…” She moaned as the dust settled around her, her mind on the edge of collapsing under the myriad of emotions that stirred inside her.

Just a few minutes ago, Twilight had been looking down, hiding her face as she walked through Canterlot’s pristine streets. Though the Castle and the Royal Hospital were only five minutes apart on hoof, that distance seemed ten times longer.

If she had dared to raise her head, she would have no doubt met the countless pairs of eyes stabbing into her side from every street, sidewalk, and storefront of Equestria’s capital city. As the ambient noises of the city flew in and out of her ears, she could hear her name combined with words she didn’t care to repeat.

It made her sick to her stomach.

She wasn’t cut out for this, and she knew it. All she wanted was stay in her room forever, hiding under what remained of her covers, never to be seen again.

What was I supposed to do? Let her die? She thought, her steadily-flowing tears soaking into the mattress. She thought she was doing the right thing, but all she ended up doing was make one of her best friends, in addition to everypony across Equestria, detest her.

She missed the simple days, when all she had to worry about was writing silly little reports to the Princess. All the little adventures she used to have with her friends now seemed so far away.

She missed Applejack and Rainbow Dash. She cringed as she thought of the last time she saw them, the last thing she said to them before they stormed out of the library. She wished she could take it all back and tell them how much she loved them, how sorry she was for ever doubting them.

What if something happened to them, too? What if…

Twilight moaned as if she were being burned alive. This is all my fault, she repeated over and over in her head like a broken record. I could have stopped this.

Part IX - Sleeping Beauty

The familiar smell of Cloudy Quartz’s cooking drifted into the air from the center of the table, giving a warm greeting to everypony present. A single, white candle slowly burned nearby, drops of molten wax racing towards the base before they were stopped in their tracks by the cool air around it.

The six members of the Pie Family, Cloudy Quartz, Igneous Rock, Limestone, Marble, Pinkie, and Maud sat around the dinner table, hooves linked together in preparation for their pre-dining ritual.

“Limestone, would you like to say thanks?” Cloudy said, gesturing as well as she was able to with her occupied hooves.

Limestone nodded. She closed her eyes and looked down, and the rest of the family followed suit. “Thank you, Celestia and Luna, for these gifts which we are about to receive from your day and night.” Opening her eyes, she looked across the table to Pinkie. “Thank you for granting our beloved sister, Pinkamena, with good health and a speedy recovery during these hard times.”

The rest of the family nodded, save Pinkie, who remained still.

Next, Limestone looked to her left. “We humbly ask you to bless our eldest sister, Maud, with good fortune as she prepares to leave for her final year of school tomorrow. Long live Celestia, and long live Luna. Amen.”

“Amen.” The five other ponies repeated in unison, putting their hooves back at their sides and opening their eyes.

Pinkie Pie looked down at her plate. Rice, mashed potatoes, and green beans. It was a simple dish, but then again, she was from a simple family. Skewering a few of the beans with a fork, Pinkie brought them up to her lips.

She slowly chewed the mouthful of green beans, crushing them to pieces with her new false teeth. They had been a little difficult to get accustomed to, but now that she’d been using them for a while, she was beginning to feel a little more comfortable with them. At least it was better than the feeding tube.

Ugh… Pinkie gagged, remembering the feeling of having the thin, plastic tube jammed down her throat. Luckily, she was able to stop herself from making a scene, though the intrusive thought ushered in a flurry of similar memories of her three-week stay at the hospital.

Most of these memories were a total blur. Not because she didn’t remember anything. Rather, she recalled far too much of the mind-numbing ordeal. It seemed like every single day was exactly the same. Wake up too late, skip breakfast, get bugged by a nurse, barely touch lunch, get bugged by a nurse, scarf down dinner, get bugged by a nurse, go to bed too late.

With barely anything to do, Pinkie Pie was confined to the same bed for weeks with nothing but her thoughts. This, however, was a problem, as Pinkie’s thoughts weren’t what they used to be. While her mind used to be filled with jokes, pranks, recipes and party plans, it now seemed to be occupied only by fear, sadness, and horrific memories of pain and suffering.

Thankfully, her stay was frequently punctuated by visits from her family, who brought her all sorts of stuff. Balloons, cards, stuffed animals, and of course, plenty of rocks from the farm. A few other ponies came to visit her as well, but Pinkie’s family were the only ones who made her feel the slightest bit better.

Not very much, though.

Over that month, Pinkie’s body slowly repaired itself. Though she ate very little, it was better than nothing at all, and her muscles soon grew back to full strength. Her left eye had been replaced with a false one, which, despite not helping her see any better, made her prettier to look at. The burns she had received were healed by skin grafts, and all her minor wounds healed up nicely.

As much as she had been rehabilitated, however, scars were left over, both inside and out. Deep, painful scars that not even the most powerful of healing magic could even begin to repair. Though Pinkie had tried time and again to feel happy again, to make the horrible pain go away, it only seemed to get worse as each day passed.

The doctors had done their job, however, and before she knew it, it was time for Pinkie Pie to return home.

Instead of returning to her home in Ponyville, though, she had decided that it was best if she lived with her parents for a while before getting back up on her hooves. After all, that’s what she had set out to do in the first place all those weeks ago.

Closing her eyes for a moment, Pinkie swallowed, sending the chewed-up wad of food into her eagerly waiting tummy.

“...Yes. This was the first out of three research trips I will get to do this semester. I am looking forward to the next two, because the first was very enjoyable.”

Cloudy Quartz smiled. “That’s wonderful! We’re all so proud of you, Maud. To think, you’ll have your rocktorate soon!”

“Yes, I know. I can’t wait.” Maud said, surrendering a tiny grin. “And the next trip is going be in the Griffon Kingdom. We’re studying the effects of the last ice age on the mountain formations there, specifically on Mount Silver Tail.”

“Oh, how interesting! You hear, that, Pinkamena?” Cloudy Quartz said, turning to face her most brightly-colored daughter. Rather than respond, though, Pinkie stared at her plate with half-lidded eyes, twisting her green beans around with her fork.

Cloudy Quartz frowned. "Pinkamena, are you even listening? And don’t play with your food.” she scolded, shaking her head.

“Huh? Oh.” Pinkie looked up from her plate, her expression even more neutral than Maud’s. “Sorry, Mom.” She apologized, feeding herself with another forkful of green beans.

The rest of the Pie family shared a few looks between themselves, their expressions ranging from worry to confusion. Pinkie, on the other hand, was too lost in her thoughts to even notice the movement around her. Or, perhaps she did, and she just didn’t care. She had been doing a lot of that lately.

“Umm, Pinkie, do you wanna maybe help me with dessert?” Marble said, breaking the silence with both her shrill voice and the sound of the table creaking under her weight as she leaned over it. “Limey and I are making rock candy cookies!”

Pinkie glared across the table at her younger sister for a few uncomfortable seconds before returning her gaze to her still-full plate. “No thanks.” She said, pushing her plate away from herself. “May I be excused, Mom?”

“Now Pinkamena, you’ve barely even touched your food.” Igneous interjected before his wife could answer the question. “Why don’t you spend some time with your sisters? You’ve barely even come out of your room for weeks!”

Pinkie shut her eyes and groaned. “Because I don’t want to.”

“But you love baking, Pinkie!” Limestone interjected. “You’re the one who taught me-”

Pinkie slammed her hoof on the table, sending her plate and cutlery a few centimeters into the air. Glasses toppled over, and a few loose petals fell off the bouquet in the center of the table. “Are you hard of hearing, Limestone? Huh? Do you speak Equestrian? I said no!” She yelled, getting up from her chair. “How many times do I have to tell you?”

“S-sorry.” Limestone looked down, hiding her hurt expression beneath her straight, light grey bangs. “I didn’t mean to make you mad, I just wanted to-.”

Pinkie scowled and rolled her eyes at the gesture. “Just leave me alone!” she grumbled as she began toward the stairs.

The rest of the Pie family sat quietly, listening to a symphony of stomping as Pinkie Pie made her way up the staircase. They winced in unison when the piece abruptly ended with the sound of Pinkie’s door slamming shut.

Cloudy Quartz gave a hefty sigh as the sound echoed through the house.“What’s gotten into her?” She said, soon after lifting her head to look at her family. “It’s been over a month now, and she’s still acting like this.”

Maud cleared her throat. “She’s been through a lot.” she answered, taking her pet rock out of her pocket to absentmindedly roll it around on her hoof. “I think she just needs some time to readapt.”

“Oh, I know that, but I don’t understand why she’s treating us all like this.” Cloudy Quartz replied as her voice began to tremble. “She barely ever comes out of her room, and everytime I try to talk to her, she just brushes me off. It’s like she’s a totally different pony.”

The rest of the family nodded in agreement. “I’m worried about her too, mom.” Marble said. “We all are.”

* * *

A chilly breeze swept through a town somewhere in Equestria, sending a cloud of loose, newfallen snow into the air as it passed through its barren trees. The white dust flew every which way as millions of tiny crystals flew freely through the air. Each was unique in its own way, though they all were destined to eventually settle down onto the ground below, as least until the next gust of wind.

Today marked the two-week anniversary of the day Rainbow Dash, Applejack, and fourteen other mares from the small village of Ponyville were officially pronounced dead, killed over a decade by a malicious serial killer identified as Pokey Pierce. The news of the killings had turned not only Ponyville, but the entire country upside-down, its shocked citizens struggling to comprehend such a horrific crime occurring within its borders.

Sixteen days of mourning had been announced by Celestia and Luna to commemorate the victims. National funeral services for the family and friends of the deceased were held each day, in the order of the victim’s disappearances. For the past two weeks, flags had been flown at half-mast, and sixteen seconds of silence had been observed before every major sporting event.

Instead of mourning, however, most ponies had been swept up in panic for the past fourteen days. This was not only because of the appalling nature of what had happened, but rather due to the fact that the killer, though easily identified by a generous amount of video evidence, had not yet been apprehended by authorities. A serial killer was loose on the streets of Equestria.

Out of all the areas affected by the news, however, no community had been hit quite as hard as Ponyville, a small village quite literally in the shadow of Equestria’s capital city of Canterlot.

Today, the sun shone brightly in the cloudless sky, making for what most ponies would call a pleasant mid-winter afternoon. Normally, on a day such as this, the small Equestrian town would be abuzz with ponies of every shape and size, enjoying the weather with friends and family alike. Today, however, one could count on their fingers the number of ponies who roamed the streets at any given time. In fact, it wouldn’t be too far-fetched for a wandering traveler to assume he had reached a ghost town.

The sound of opening doors had become a rarity in recent days. Most ponies were too afraid to even take a step outside, lest they be snatched up by the stallion now known as the “Blue Butcher of Ponyville”.

Tomorrow, however, the fifteenth and final funeral would be held for both Rainbow Dash and Applejack, the final two victims. Though the preceding fourteen funerals had been relatively small, private affairs reserved to the friends and family of the deceased, Celestia had made arrangements for the two mares to be commemorated as if they were royalty. The event was open to the public, and would be the first time many of the citizens of Ponyville would leave their homes in days.

* * *

The constant, incessant buzzing of the stitching machine abruptly stopped, cloaking the already somber atmosphere in a new blanket of silence.

That's the last of them, Rarity thought to herself, removing the plain black dress from its place underneath the needle. Then, levitating the garment in the air with a spell, she slipped it onto a coat hanger and hung it on one of the many nearby clothes racks.

The newly-stitched dress was now one of three that hung on the rack, waiting to be picked up by their respective recipients. They hung alone, their simple, monochrome designs in stark contrast to the unicorn's usual creations. In fact, they were the only dresses to be placed on the rack in weeks, and even then, Rarity barely found the mental strength to put the effort into sewing them.

With a ladylike, quiet sigh, she placed her bright red work glasses on her desk. She got up out of her chair, levitating a book off a small shelf across the room as she dragged herself over to her bed.

The foam matress was silent as Rarity placed her full weight on it, yet the heavy whine she emitted made up for the lack of noise. Planting her head down on one of the many pillows that lined the backboard, she flipped half-heartedly through her sketchbook.

Dresses, gowns, and countless other ensembles of her creation flashed before her eyes, all products of a far less stressful time. “I just need a little inspiration…” she announced to herself as she looked over her past works.

She felt a slight breeze on her face as the pages turned, though this ended as soon as two pages in particular flashed by her eyes. In an instant, she flipped back to the two drawings, the once black ink now faded to a dark blue.

Two sketches sat side by side. Her two friends, Applejack and Rainbow Dash, drawn wearing elaborate ensembles. She had drawn them years ago, in preparation for the Grand Galloping Gala.

Rarity felt a lump begin to grow in her throat as she gazed upon the drawing. What beautiful mares they were, she thought, taking a deep breath to calm herself down. Her efforts proved fruitless, however, and the unicorn soon found light streaks of black flowing down her cheeks.

It all seemed too horrible to have actually happened. Two of her friends, ponies she had adored more than anything else in the world, were now dead. Gone. Forever. It was such a simple concept to grasp, but Rarity just couldn’t seem to manage. Things like this simply didn’t happen in Equestria. She, along with the rest of the country, had been taken completely by surprise.

Above all else, she just wished she’d had the chance to say a proper goodbye.

Rarity wiped a fat tear off of her face, immediately noting the thick, black line of wet mascara that had rubbed off onto it. “Oh, what am I doing? Twilight will be here any minute!” She thought out loud, lifting herself out of bed with newfound purpose. She rushed to one of the many mirrors that populated her residence, wiping the black lines off of her cheeks before they had the chance to stain her pristine, white coat.

* * *

“And...done!” Spike declared, setting the broom back in its proper place beside the refrigerator. Without a moment’s hesitation, he looked up to check the clock.

Seven O’ Clock.

“Finally!” he said to himself, pumping his fist in the air as he bounded towards the stairs with a spring in his step. “Twilight, it’s time!” he called, racing up the steps to the second floor.

Twilight sat quietly by her bedside window, gazing through her telescope at the orange evening sky. Soon, Princess Luna would raise the moon, revealing to the world a stunning array of twinkling stars. “Mmm?” she hummed, keeping her attention fixed on the sunset.

Smiling, Spike rocked back and forth on his heels. “It’s seven!”

“Mmm.” Twilight hummed, ignored her assistant for a few moments. She adjusted a few knobs on the side of the telescope before finally turning away from the instrument. “And?” She groaned, eyes half-lidded.

“We’re supposed to go to Rarity’s to pick up our clothes, remember?” Spike huffed, crossing his arms. “You know how she is about punctuality. She’ll be mad if we’re not on time!”

Twilight visibly deflated. “Oh, right.” She mumbled, flipping through an old-looking tome before turning her attention back towards the telescope. “You know how to get there by yourself, don’t you? I’m kinda busy.”

“Ugh, that’s not the point!” Spike groaned. He made his way up the curved staircase leading up to where Twilight sat. “You’ve barely even come out of the library ever since you came back from Canterlot.”

Twilight tilted the telescope upwards. “...And?”

“Come on, Twilight!” Spike yelled, stomping his feet on the floor. “It’s been like a month since you did anything fun! You're acting like the way you did before we moved to Ponyville, like you're afraid to go outside or so-”

Twilight abruptly outstretched her wings, pushing Spike away from her. “I don’t want to hear it, Spike! I’m! busy!” she yelled, placing emphasis on each word. “I have a lot of stuff to do to get ready for tomorrow. You’re old enough to go on your own!”

Spike was silent for a moment. “How does looking through a telescope help you rehearse your eulogy?”

Twilight felt her entire body shiver. “Ugh!” She groaned, turning herself away from Spike. “Just, just leave me be, okay? I don’t need this right now.”

“Fine. I’ll go.” Spike grumbled, turning away. “By myself.” Soon enough, he was gone, having stormed his way down the stairs and out of the room.

***

The sound of the doorbell summoned Rarity away from the mirror. "One moment!" Rarity called, fluffing her mane a few more times for good measure.

Spike waited patiently on the other side of the door, mindlessly tapping his foot on the ground. Rarity’s voice was barely audible thanks to both the barrier between them and the distance, leaving Spike to wonder whether or not she was even home. Thankfully, however, his question was soon answered.

“Woah!” Spike yelled, jumping backwards and narrowly avoiding the door as it abruptly swung open.

"So good to finally see you, Twi-" Rarity's head swung left and right in before finally looking down. “Oh, ah, hello there, Spike!” She greeted, quickly realizing her mistake. She reached out to give the young dragon a pat on the head. “What brings you here? Did Twilight not come with you?” She said, pouting a little.

Spike crossed his arms and huffed. “Yeah"

"Is something wrong, dear?"

Spike hesitated for a second, looking down at the doormat below his feet. "Nah. Don't worry about it. It's nothing."

“If you say so.” Rarity said, not wanting to pry. She took a step back and began to close the boutique’s ornate front door. “Wait here while I get her dress, won’t you?”

“Wait!” Spike called, blocking the door with his foot. “Can’t I just come- OW!”

Rarity cupped her hooves over her mouth. “Oh my goodness, I’m so sorry!” She yelled, quickly pulling the door away from Spike’s crushed foot. “Are you alright?”

Spike cringed for a moment, but quickly regained his composure. “Y-yeah, I’m okay. Thick scales. Can I please just come in?”

“Uhh, I, ah…” Rarity sputtered, looking behind herself at the chaotic mess that was her work space. Strewn about the floor were unspooled rolls of various fabrics of every shape and size, dirtying the pallette of the otherwise pure white carpet. Scissors, sequins, and various other objects joined the fabric on the floor, adding to the chaos. “Um, I...Oh, whatever. Sure. Come in.” She finally relented, hanging her head in defeat as she stepped aside, holding the front door open for her guest.

Rarity tried to hide her slight blush as Spike made his way in without skipping a beat. The feeling was beyond her own comprehension. Spike had seen the boutique in far worse states than this, yet she still felt a tinge of shame overcome her.

"Hmm...I hope you haven't grown much since the gala." She said, regaining her regal composure as she trotted her way back to the other side of the boutique. "Otherwise I'll be up all night fixing your outfit."

“Nah.” Spike dismissed her with a wave of his hand. "Don't worry, dragons age slowly".

"Oh, thank goodness. I'm sorry I never measured you, I've just been so scatterbrained lately." Rarity said, her voice fading with every step she took towards the back room. “I’ve been experiencing something of a creative block ever since I heard the news about Applejack and Rainbow.”

"Yeah. I know what you mean." Spike said, but his words were met with no reply, Rarity having already made her way into the other room.

“Here we are.” Rarity mumbled to herself, using her magic to levitate the two garments, a simple, black dress and a similarly colored tuxedo, off the clothes rack and into the air. Before she turned around, however, the open book on her bed caught her eye. The page was still turned to her original design sketch for Applejack’s gala dress.

“Hmm.” She whined, draping the clothes on her back in favor of using her magic to levitate the book on top of her wardrobe. With a little mental push, she sent the sketchbook reeling toward the back, against the wall and out of sight. I suppose I should pick up a fresh sketchbook after the ceremony tomorrow.

“Now, where was I?”

Upon her return to the boutique’s main room, Rarity found her guest laying down on one of her large, ornate couches. “Spikey?” She asked, resisting the urge to request that he remove his filthy feet from the expensive silk cushions. “Is everything alright, darling?”

Spike took his time giving a response, sighing slowly into the cushion before flipping himself over to face his host, who had by then taken a seat next to him. “I don’t know.” he said, looking down. “Twilight’s just been really distant lately. Like she doesn’t even care about me, or anything else, really.”

Rarity scooted closer. “Oh, I’m sorry, Spike. Twilight’s just…” she paused for a moment to think. “She just has a lot to deal with right now. But I know her, and I know she loves you."

Spike crossed his arms and turned away. “That’s the thing! It’s like she’s a totally different pony now! All she does is mope around all day. No matter how many times I try to tell her, she still thinks this whole thing was somehow her fault! And it’s been like this for weeks, ever since Celestia got back from her trip!"

"Now Spike, it's not very fair to judge the way somepony chooses to deal with a loss like this." Rarity said, running a hoof up and down the dragon's back. "We all mourn differently."

Spike relaxed at Rarity's touch, letting him deflate a little and sink back into the soft cushion behind him. "Yeah, I know. It's just, this whole thing has done nothing but tear our group apart. I really miss those three, and what happened to them was horrible, but..." Spike stopped to clear his throat, but he could do nothing to stop the coming storm. " I just...I…you guys are my best friends. I don't want to lose what we have left!"

Rarity watched in surprise as the young dragon swiftly turned away from her, hiding his tear-soaked eyes under his hands. His wails, however, as much as he tried to suppress them, could not be hidden.

“Oh, Spike…” Rarity began, pulling him into a tight hug. She placed a soft kiss on Spike's cheek, silencing him instantly. "We won't. I promise." She said, putting on a smile. "We're all just a little shaken up by the news, is all. Give it a few more weeks, and I'm sure we'll all feel better."

“O-okay…” Spike lips quivered in shame, his eyes fixed away from Rarity's face. “Oh, gosh. S-sorry for crying.” He said, wiping his forearm across his eyes. “I didn’t want to make this weird.”

“It’s okay, Spike.” She said again, suppressing a ladylike giggle at his comment. “It’s all going to be okay.”

Spike’s cheeks flushed brightly as he finally looked up to meet Rarity’s eyes. “Okay.” he said, returning her smile. “If you say so.”

Rarity smiled even harder, holding her hoof out for Spike to grab. “Come on, let’s get you home. I’ll carry the dress.”

* * *

With her pencil at the ready, Pinkie turned to a fresh page in her journal. It was a gaudy, torn old book, crudely held together by a few strings of bright pink yarn. She had made it herself as a filly, and today would be the first day she would be writing a journal entry in over a decade.

pinkie d. pie feb. 2, 1005

another bad day. that makes forty-nine in a row since i got out of the hospital. when am i gonna start feeling happy again, journal???

i didn't make anypony smile today. but thats OK, because i didn't smile either. i haven't really felt like smiling a whole lot lately. on the bright side, i stopped having nightmares so often. well, maybe i have, but i don't remember them, that still counts, right? that must be because of the sleeping pills i've been taking to help me fall asleep.

i really like those pills because they help me fall asleep sooner, which is good because i don’t really like real world anymore. but mom tells me I shouldn't take too many. she told me about somepony she knew from grade school that died from taking too many at once, and that if i died in a silly way like that, she would scold me big time in heaven.

Pinkie looked up for a moment, still holding the pencil between her false teeth. She gazed for a few moments at the bottle of pills that sat on her nightstand, but soon broke out of the trance to continue writing.

but i don't know of i believe that or not. my mommy has lied to me before, like a few days ago when she told me that she loved me, and that things would get better soon. but they’re not!

i used to feel sad all the time, but now i feel REALLY sad all the time. why? i remember that dashie said that she was with applejack when she came to save me. well guess what, journal? i read in the newspaper last week that she died too. i guess that explains why she wasn't there with twilight and everypony else when they visited me in the hospital. i guess i forgot about her until i read that she was dead. i didn't cry, but it still made me really sad. does that make me a bad friend?

i cant stop thinking about dashie and applejack and how they're dead because of me. when i close my eyes i can still see dashies head in my lap, and i get really scared and sometimes i start crying.

Pinkie’s tangent was interrupted by three knocks outside the door. “Pinkie Pie?” A familiar voice called to accompany them.

With the slightest of gasps, Pinkie quickly closed her journal and laid on top of it. “Um, It’s unlocked.” She hastily declared, wrapping herself up in a blanket for added security.

She listened through her covers as the door creaked open. “Pinkie Pie?” The voice said again as its owner entered the room. “I am very worried about you. I want to talk to you before I leave on my research trip.”

Pinkie felt the spring mattress shift below her as the visitor sat down. Reluctantly, she poked her head out from under the blanket to see her older sister, Maud, staring down at her. “What are you worried about, Maud?” she said dismissively. “I told you, I’m fine.”

Maud scowled slightly. “No, you are not.” She said with a tinge of assertiveness. “I know you, Pinkie. I can tell when you’re not well.”

“Well, looks like you were wrong this time.” Pinkie replied, ducking her head back under the covers. She shifted uncomfortably to accommodate the book poking at her belly. “I don’t know why you guys keep trying to get me to talk to you.”

Without skipping a beat, Maud leaned forward and lifted the blanket off Pinkie’s head. “Please.” she said, staring into Pinkie’s eyes as she attempted to look away. “I want my little sister to be happy. I do not like seeing you this way.”

Too tired to try and hide under the blanket again, Pinkie simply laid there with her mouth tucked behind her forehooves, refusing to give more than an irritated groan in response. She put her head down, waiting for Maud to continue with her speech, but she remained just as quiet.

For what seemed like eons, the two sisters sat together in silence like two equally-matched armies meeting on the battlefield, both parties itching for the other to make the next move. Pinkie closed her eyes, sighing angrily to herself. Maud coughed lightly into her sleeve, looking at the rock fields through the window. The ticking of the clock was the only indication that time was indeed moving forward as the war of attrition dragged on.

Then, finally, Pinkie sat up, wiping a forehoof across her nose as she did so. “I wanna be happy, too, Maud.” she began, at last looking into her sister’s light turquoise eyes. “I do. But it’s...it’s really hard.”

Maud frowned, scooting closer to her sister.

“Life just isn’t fun now. Every day, I wake up, and I feel sad, and scared, and lonely. All the things that used to make me happy don’t work anymore.” she continued as her voice began to waver. She brought up a forehoof to wipe the tears welling up in her eyes. “It hurts, Maud. No matter what I do, I can’t stop thinking about it!”

Maud wrapped her forehooves around Pinkie, who in turn returned the embrace as she began to weep. She let it all out at once, digging her tear-soaked face into her sister’s chest. “I can’t stop thinking about them, Maud!” Pinkie said, squeezing her hard. “It should have been me instead of them! It’s my fault they’re dead!”

“No.” Maud squeezed back, leaning her head against Pinkie’s. “Do not think like that. It was not your fault.” she said, gently stroking Pinkie’s scarred backside.

Pinkie loosened her grip a little. “No, you weren’t there...you don’t know what happened!” she moaned, shaking her head over and over. “I watched Dashie die, because I c-couldn’t save her before he cut off her head...a-and then, he m-made me cut her up, and, a-and…”

“What?” Maud’s eyes widened as she hesitated for a moment. She looked down at her sister, her pupils dilated for just a moment. “I...I would never lie to you, Pinkie. Whatever happened was…it was not your fault.” she reassured nevertheless, quickly regaining her composure.

“No, you’re wrong!” Pinkie snapped, abruptly breaking away from the embrace. “Just be quiet! You weren’t there!” she yelled, her face flushed a deep red. “You don’t know anything!”

“Pinkie, I-”

“Shut up! Just shut up, Maud!”

Maud leaned away slightly, saying nothing.

“Everypony tries to cheer me up like they know what happened! Like they’ve been through what I’ve been through! They don’t know anything! Not you, not my stupid friends, not anypony! Just go away!”

The mattress moved up as Maud got up off the bed. “I’m sorry, Pinkie. I just want to help you. I love you. We all do.”

Pinkie scowled. “Whatever.” she spat, blowing a loose strand of hair out of her eyes. “I knew it was a mistake trying to talk to you. Like you’d understand any better.”

Maud looked down, watching her hooves as they shook on the hardwood floor. “Goodbye, Pinkie.” She said softly, turning to leave. Without another word, she stepped out of the room, closing the door behind her.

Pinkie grumbled to herself, sitting up to remove the book from its place under her belly. Glancing at the door briefly, she picked up her pencil and continued writing.

nopony understands me. they don’t know what its like to be me, to see the things i’ve seen. isn’t it funny how you can be surrounded by lots of ponies and still feel alone?

She was just so sick of it all. The nightmares, the panic attacks, the flashbacks. All she ever seemed to do was yell at other ponies. And she hated that more than anything. But inside of her brewed a fuming, seething angst that begged to be released.

I just want the pain to stop. I can’t take this anymore. I just want it all to be over, she thought, looking out her window at the east field. The very same field that she had once worked and played in as a child, where she had seen her first rainbow, and smiled for the first time. Now, it only served as a reminder of days past. When she used to be happy.

She thought coming back to her old childhood home would make her feel good again. She thought that all she needed was some time alone with her kin, away from the hustle and bustle of Ponyville. That it would make the constant pain fade away into nothingness.

Looking back, she admitted to herself, it was a pretty silly thing to think.

She turned her attention back to her journal and resumed her journal entry.

i can’t take this anymore. i’m so sorry, journal. tomorrow’s the day i’m finally gonna feel happy again. i don’t care what anypony else thinks. i’m gonna do it.

Letting the pencil drop from her mouth to the floor, Pinkie got up and walked over to the desk that housed her medication. Without a second thought, she placed one of the pills on her tongue, washing it down with a glass of water before hopping back into bed.

* * *

Pinkie’s eyes darted open. Immediately, she looked to the side at the clock on her wall.

“Oh my gosh!” She gasped, throwing herself out of bed with a burst of energy she hadn’t felt in weeks. Today was Maud’s final day with the family before she would leave for her final year of school, as well as the day of Rainbow Dash and Applejack’s joint funeral. Though Pinkie and her family were invited, Pinkie had elected not to attend.

Her star-struck parents couldn’t pass up such an invitation to see the Princesses, however. Unfortunately, Maud’s travel schedule didn’t sync up, so while Maud was leaving with them, she was to be dropped off at the train station on their way to Canterlot.

If Pinkie’s plans worked out, this would be the last chance she would have to see any of them for a very long time. It was almost a strange feeling, she thought, suddenly caring so much about something.

Pinkie darted out of her room and down the hallway “Hello?” Pinkie called from the top of the stairwell. She quickly trotted down the set of stairs, relieved to see her older sister at the bottom. “Wait a second!”

“Pinkie Pie?” Maud said, a hint of joy in her monotone as she watched her descend the stairs.

“I just, um…” Pinkie began, teetering back and forth in place. “Before you all go...I, um, I’m sorry I yelled at you. I can be really stupid sometimes.”

Maud nuzzled Pinkie. “Do not worry about it. It was wrong of me to have argued with you.” she said, turning the small display of affection into a full-blown hug.

“Nngh…” Pinkie grunted, tensing up in her sister’s embrace. She failed to return the hug, opting instead to simply stand as still as a statue while Maud wrapped her forelegs around her neck. It wasn’t that she didn’t love her sister just as much, but the plans stirring in the back of her mind made it difficult to decide whether or not she should bother humoring her family.

Would it be better to act like nothing would happen, or say goodbye one last time?

But just as Maud was beginning to pull away, Pinkie extended her forelegs outwards, wrapping them around her older sister and pressing her own chest to hers. When Maud once again did the same, Pinkie couldn’t help but feel her body trembling.

In her arms was her idol, the pony she had looked up to all throughout her childhood. Whenever she felt down, got hurt, or fell ill, her big sister Maud was always there to kiss her wounds and help her get better. Whenever her mother couldn’t be there, Maud would always be at her side, tucking her in and reading her bedtime stories.

Such was the case even today. It was Maud who had helped her through countless hardships, and Pinkie had hoped that Maud and the rest of her family would be able to help her through the coming months as well. As it turned out, however, nopony, not even Maud, could help her get her smile back.

It was almost like Pinkie was a big pink balloon, just like the ones on her flank. Sometimes, something would happen to make a bit of helium leak out of her, but somepony would always make sure she got back to being fully inflated. A smile here, a passing compliment there, and before long Pinkie was back at one-hundred percent.

But this was different. Pinkie was fully deflated, and no matter how much helium she got, she didn’t get any better. Every bit would go right through one end and out the other, like trying to inflate a broken balloon.

That’s the simplest way she could explain it to herself. She had been popped.

Pinkie held Maud for a few more moments before finally releasing her. Quickly, she wiped a hoof across her face, wiping the tear-soaked appendage on her belly. “I forgive you.”

Pinkie was barely able to finish her sentence before Igneous Rock trotted into the room, the rest of the Pie family in tow. “Pinkamena! I wasn’t expecting you to be up so early. Have you changed your mind about coming with us?” he said, grabbing his stetson off the coat rack.

“Um, no. I, um...have a tummy ache.” Pinkie replied, rubbing her stomach to emphasize her point. “I wouldn’t want to slow you guys down.”

Cloudy Quartz pouted. “Oh, you poor thing!” She said, starting toward the kitchen. “Do you need some stomach tablets?”

“No, that- that’s’ okay, mom.” Pinkie said, trying her best to hide her trembling hooves. “I just need to lay down.”

Cloudy Quartz pouted. “Well, alright, dear.”

“‘Shame you can’t come along.” Igneous said, shaking his head as he turning to Pinkie. “But if you an’ Maud’ve already said your goodbyes, I guess that’s alright.”

“Yeah, we just did.” Pinkie said, suppressing the anxious lump developing in her throat. Walking over to where they were standing, Pinkie nuzzled her mother and kissed her father on the cheek. “Bye, Mom. Bye, Dad.”

“Goodbye, dear.” Cloudy Quartz replied. It was possible, however, that this response had fallen on deaf ears. By the time it was spoken, its recipient had already turned her attention elsewhere.

“I’ll miss you guys so much.” Pinkie said, pulling her two younger sisters into a hug. She squeezed hard, nearly lifting them up off the ground. “I’m really sorry about how mean I’ve been.”

Marble, while short of breath, did her best to return the gesture. Limestone, however, scoffed at the show of affection. “Geez, Pinkie.” she said, wiggling away from Pinkie’s tight grip. “Thanks, but you’re acting like you’re never going to see us again. We’re just leaving for the afternoon.”

At that, Pinkie released her sisters and stepped away. “Oh yeah, sorry.” she said, forcing out a laugh.

“You’re so weird sometimes, Pinkie.” Marble grinned. “Love you, though.”

Igneous straightened his stetson. “We’ll be home by seven.” he reassured, “And if Maud’s going to catch her train, we’d best leave as soon as we can.”

Cloudy Quartz nodded in agreement. “Your father is right. Let’s get going, girls.”

“Oh.” Pinkie said, watching as the rest of her family began shuffling out the door behind Igneous. She put her head down. “O-Okay then. Bye, everypony.”

One by one, the five Pies stepped outside, leaving Pinkie alone in the foyer. Maud followed at the very end of the line. Before stepping out the door, she turned to look back at her sister. “Do not get into too much trouble, okay?” She said with a grin. “I love you more than you can ever imagine, Pinkie.”

Pinkie looked up, but by the time she did, Maud had already disappeared from view. Pinkie stared at the thin ray of light cast through the door frame by the morning light, watching with a heavy heart as it slowly shrunk. Then, as the door clicked shut, it disappeared, having at last been snuffed out completely.

Pinkie looked down, feeling her heart beating out of her chest. “I love you too.”

Part X - From Bad to Worse

”We’ve arrived at our destination.” A bored-sounding voice announced over the intercom. “Please mind the gap as you exit the train, and thank you for riding with us today.”

As soon as the car doors slid open, Spike stepped off the train. “Is everypony ready?” he said, basking in the shadow of the massive marble towers that overlooked Equestria’s capital city of Canterlot. He gazed up at the bustling architectural wonder before him, taking a deep, yet bittersweet breath of the city air. He was glad to be back home, sure, but the day trip probably would have been more satisfying had it been under any other circumstances.

He squinted, feeling a sense of déja-vu wash over him. The Canterlot train station bore a striking resemblance to the way it had appeared on the eve of the Royal Wedding, sans the massive magical barrier surrounding the city. Droves of armor-clad royal guards lined the perimeter of the city, making sure no riff-raff was to breach it.

“Spike!” Rarity called from behind, surrounding the dragon’s crooked bow tie with her magical aura as she met him on the platform. With the slightest of magical expenditure, she tilted the accessory a few degrees to the right, setting it straight. “You simply must make sure that you’re looking your best today."

“Oh. Whoops.” Spike laughed, glancing down at the bow-tie on his neck. "Sorry 'bout that."

“We aren't late, are we?” Fluttershy said, looking every which way for some sort of time-telling device as she walked over to join Spike and Rarity. “I would hate to miss this.”

“Don’t worry, dear, our seats are reserved.” Rarity assured, waving a hoof at the pegasus. She scrunched up her face a bit before continuing. “Well, we’re seated in the fourth row from the front, but they’re still reserved.”

Twilight Sparkle was the last to join up with the group on the platform. She said nothing as she walked over to meet them, her downward gaze intense and hyper-focused. Her long, lavender wings, which poked out from two well-hidden slits in her dress, trembled slightly.

Pony and dragon alike looked over at her with concern. "Is everything alright, Twili-"

“Let’s just go.” Twilight grunted, looking up at Rarity with intensity in her weary eyes.

Rarity shrunk back. “Err, alright then...’ she surrendered, not wanting to cause a scene. “Um, is everypony ready?” she continued, leading the others as she began towards the palace entrance. She was soon followed by Spike, Fluttershy, and finally Twilight.

The crowd around them was dense, requiring them to weave their way through the hundreds of ponies who had shown up for the event. The majority of the streets in Canterlot, built long before modern city planning, were erratic and narrow. They were already crowded on a regular basis, and the new, temporary population didn't help much to alleviate the issue.

As the group wove through the crowded streets, Twilight winced, putting her head down to hide her face as she followed along. There was that feeling again. That hot wash of shame that went hand-in-hand with the feeling of a thousand eyes staring at her, judging her without mercy.

The weight of the world seemed to rest upon her shoulders, cursed with endless obligations and responsibilities that she had never asked for. It was a strange combination, the feeling of being so important, yet so useless and hated at the same time. Twilight could only pray that it would all be over soon as the palace doors opened.

After a good amount of walking, the group eventually found themselves in the main event hall of the Canterlot Royal Palace. It was a grandiose place, having been host to many an auspicious occasion in its long lifetime. From holiday plays to high-class galas, it was the place to be on any important holiday, and today was no exception. Decorated with colorful flowers as far as the eye could see, the spacious room was filled to the brim with ponies of every color and creed.

“Wow…” Rarity cooed, gazing up at the intricate tapestries that lined the walls of the palace. “This place never ceases to amaze me.”

As beautiful and bustling as it was, however, a dark cloud seemed to hang over the room on this particular day. The familiar buzz and chatter of the Grand Galloping Gala was replaced by somber whispers as the attendees kept themselves entertained before the ceremony began. Instead of warm, fuzzy winter coats, the room’s population was instead donned in what seemed to be a never-ending sea of black suits and gowns.

The stage at the far end of the room was similarly somber. Black banners lined the rim of the raised platform. Uncountable numbers of bouquets lined the floor around it, giving the room an ironically pleasant aroma. In the center of the stage were two large, elaborate wreaths, each featuring a picture of one of the deceased in the middle. These stood next to two large, black coffins.

The sight was, in a word, unnerving.

Twilight froze in her tracks the instant she laid eyes on the twin coffins, feeling the same unbearable wave of guilt and anxiety she had felt during her brief reign as regent. Even after a month of total seclusion, her nerves had found their way back to her, and now they were stronger than ever.

You did this.

This is all your fault.

You failed.

“N-n-no…” Twilight sputtered out, her jittering hooves backing away from the hall’s entrance.

“Twilight?” a soft voice said from nearby.

Twilight quickly looked up to see Fluttershy staring back at her with a look of concern.

“Are you okay, Twilight?”

You killed them.

You’re a killer, and everypony knows it.

Soon, Spike and Rarity had turned around as well, tilting their heads at the erratic alicorn before them. “Twilight? Are you coming?” Spike asked, his impatient tone making it evident that he had seen this behavior plenty of times before.

“Um, y-yeah. I just, um, I-”

No, I can’t go in there, Twilight thought to herself, eyes darting back and forth to make sure nopony else had noticed her. “U-um…” She stuttered, looking back to her friends. “You all go on ahead, there’s, u-um, there’s s-something I have to take care of first.”

Spike and Rarity shared a knowing glance, but both knew better than to question Twilight when she got like this. “Sure, Twi. We’ll save a seat for you.” Spike said.

“Actually, our seats are reserved, Spike.” Fluttershy corrected.

Spike grimaced and crossed his arms. “Whatever.”

Fluttershy, on the other hand, did her best to hide her brightly blushing cheeks as she loudly giggled.

* * *

Princess Celestia shook her head, grimacing as she scanned through the transcript. “These transgressions cannot be taken lightly. I’m afraid that if the Griffons do not step down soon, we will have no choice but to force them to do so.”

“But Princess,” replied the tall, lanky guard, “don’t you think that’s a little drastic? Surely there has to be a more civilized way to resolve this issue.”

“I wish there was, Commander Valor. We attempted to settle things with our recent mission, but the Griffons are not known for their love of peace.”

Twilight stood at the threshold of the room, her careful, delicate movements just moments before leaving her undetected. The pupils of her purple eyes, surrounded by a sea of red, bulging capillaries, expanded quickly as she glared into the small space. The feeling of her heart beating wildly in her chest went hand-in-hand with her short, laboured breaths.

Go. Just go, she thought to herself, still as a statue in the doorway. No, it would be rude to interrupt, I should just wait. But what if there’s not enough time to-

Celestia turned to face the door with an elegancy only attainable with hundreds of years of practice. “Ah, Princess Twilight.” She said, a smile blooming on her face. She turned to the lanky stallion next to her. With a whisper, he was off. “To what do I owe the pleasure?”

Maybe I should just leave. I still have time. Twilight thought to herself, stepping aside to allow the highly-decorated officer to leave the small planning room. Unfortunately, she could do nothing but watch as Celestia marched towards her, her breath escaping through chattering teeth. “I-I-I-” She stuttered, “Um, um, I-”

Celestia stopped a few feet in front of her, flexing one of her wings to gesture her into the room. “Is something the matter, Twilight?” she said with a caring, maternal tone. “ You look pale.”

Keep it together, Twilight! “Um, I, uh, wanted to…” she attempted again, her coat becoming damp with sweat.

Celestia leaned in closer, an eyebrow raised in curiosity.

“I-I just need to talk to you.” She finally spat out, her eyes having never removed their gaze from the palace’s white, marble floor as she walked across it.

Celestia draped a wing over Twilight’s back, earning a small yelp from the shaking alicorn as she drew her in closer. “Of course, Twilight.” She said, the elegance of her voice creating a stark contrast between the two as she used her magic to close the door. “Tell me what it is that’s bothering you.”

“Um...it’s...I just....” Twilight said, her legs shaking as adrenaline pumped through her veins. This was the moment she had been anticipating for weeks. She had rehearsed every movement and word in her head, determined to put her fears to rest in one fell swoop. But now that she was face-to-face with the monsters in her heart, all of that careful planning instantly vanished into thin air, and she was left completely defenseless.

With her head fixed toward the floor, she closed her eyes and slowly inhaled. “Princess, I don’t think...I don’t think I can do this.”

A tiny breeze drifted through the open window, and Celestia’s expression remaining unchanged. “You’re nervous about giving your eulogy?” She said, her multiple millennia of social experience still leaving her unsure of whether or not grinning would be an appropriate response.

“N-no, it’s not that.” Twilight replied, shaking her head. “I d-don’t think I can handle this kind of responsibility anymore.” she said, in spite of the heavy guilt that came with disappointing her mentor that gripped every fiber of her existence. “The last few weeks have been absolutely miserable for me. I just feel so guilty about all of this. I just...I’m sorry, I really am, but I just want to go back to the way things used to be.”

Celestia blinked, still at a loss for words. “I’m afraid you’re still being quite vague, Twilight.” she said, “Is this about your friends?”

Twilight let out an almost painful sigh. Please, don’t make me say it, she thought to herself as she paced in place. “N-no, well, kind of, but not really, I just-”

“You just what, Twilight?”

“I, I…”

Twilight let out a hard sigh. “I don’t want to be a princess anymore! I hate it!” She finally said, following the admission with a small, yet heavy breath of exasperation.

A few seconds of silence punctuated Celestia’s reply. “You what?”

“I know how it sounds, Princess, but I just want you to change me back into a regular unicorn. I just want to be a normal pony again. I can’t take this pressure anymore!”

Celestia looked down, a look of shame on her face. “I’m sorry Twilight, but I’m afraid that what you’re asking of me is impossible.”

Twilight looked up to meet the gaze of her fellow princess. Though the room was once again deathly quiet, her fiery eyes spoke more than enough words to make up for it. “You...you what?” she spoke, her face twisted in despair.

“There’s no going back, Twilight. There exists no magic in the universe that can reverse a transformation like this.”

In an instant, Twilight snapped, stamping the floor hard. “Why not?” she screamed, turning away from Celestia. “I never asked for this! I just wanted to be your student! I only wanted to learn!” She shouted, tears welling in her eyes. “I never wanted this kind of responsibility!”

“T-Twilight, I…” Celestia spat out, taken aback by Twilight’s sudden outburst. “I don’t know what to else tell you. I understand that these new responsibilities may be difficult to handle at first, but rest assured that this is the destiny you were born to fulfill.”

“No, I don’t think you understand!” Twilight seethed. “Do you know what it’s like to know that your friends were tortured and killed because of your negligence? To have everypony in the realm hate you when you try to do something about it? What else was I supposed to do? Stand by and do nothing? It’s not fair!”

“Listen to me, Twilight-”

“You ruined my life!” Twilight screamed, weeks of bottled up emotions spilling out all at once. “Every day, all I can think about is how much of a failure I turned out to be! Do you know how that feels? To be praised all your life, only to fail spectacularly in front of everypony? To be nothing but a laughing stock?”

Celestia raised her voice. “Listen to me, Twilight! I apologize if you-”

“No, you listen to me! I can’t take this anymore! I just want to go back!” Twilight bawled, her tears dripping off of her chin and onto the floor. “I just want another chance! I want to fix this! Please, Princess, I’m begging you-”

“Listen to me, Twilight Sparkle!” Celestia commanded, a rare tinge of anger evident in her voice. “It’s clear that neither of us are in any state of mind to discuss this issue at the moment. The ceremony is in fifteen minutes, and we both have to speak. Get yourself together, clear your head, and we will discuss this later. Am I understood?”

Twilight looked down, the weight of her shame too great to keep her head held up. “Understood.” Twilight said, wiping her eyes as she looked up at her former mentor.

Celestia said nothing, simply turning around and making her way out of the room. It was perhaps only the thousands of years of experience with anger management that prevented her from slamming the door off its hinges.

“I’m so sorry…” Twilight sobbed, but her words fell on deaf ears. The apology’s recipient was already long gone. Twilight was left to simply stand there, fighting a losing battle against the tears flowing down her cheeks.

She slammed her hoof on the large table behind her, causing a slew of various documents to fly into the air. Maps, treaties, and all other kinds of documents scattered every which way, blanketing the floor in parchment.

When she finally opened her eyes, she saw a large, yellowed map of Equestria and a few surrounding lands. The edges of the map were lined with intricate designs, made to distinguish the known world from the vast terra incognita.

Her heavy breath slowed down as her eyes danced around the map, memories of her previous studies playing one after the next in her head. She recalled one of her final areas of study before her coronation, reading about Starswirl the Bearded’s journeys in the vast forests of Cervidaevia, home of the Deer. She relived memories of listening to Zecora’s many tales of Zebrica, her native land. Sparks flew in her head as she looked at the vast continent to the east of the Equestrian mainland, home to the Griffon Kingdom.

Suddenly, the world was silent. Twilight’s gazed fixed itself on the map as she stared at the vast sheet of parchment, the gears in her head threatening to burst into flames given how quickly they whirred around.

“I have to fix this.”

***

To say the least, the current situation in the palace’s ballroom was a stark change of pace from its usual state of affairs. Famous for hosting high-class events exclusive to only the most elite of Canterlot’s residents, the hall was now filled to the brim with ponies from a much different environment: Ponyville. Farmers, artisans, and clerks alike populated the halls, coming together to prove the age-old stereotype that earth ponies were, in fact, a very loud bunch.

“Well. This is...different.” Rarity gaped, watching in awe at the chaos as it unfolded around her. Despite its relatively close proximity, this was the first time many of Ponyville’s citizens had even stepped foot in their country’s capital city. Being so used to their home’s modest architecture, many found themselves frozen in disbelief at the massive stone columns and intricately crafted stained glass windows that lined the hall. Others were busy enjoying the bowls of complimentary mints scattered throughout the room.

Some ponies, however, seemed to be indifferent towards the glitz and glamour of the palace. They stood together in small groups, making small talk with each other while they waited for the ceremony to begin. Most of them carried with them bundles of colourful flowers which were to join the others at the base of the stage.

Spike, Fluttershy, and Rarity took their seats in the fourth row, the first three rows being strictly reserved for the close family of the deceased. While this was normally only the case for the first row, this rule had to be extended three fold. While the allotted amount of space was quite large, the Apple family was larger. Droves of earth ponies filled the space, with only two lone pegasi among them.

Even still, their seats were specifically reserved. Fluttershy was the farthest in, followed by Twilight, Spike, and finally Rarity.

Rarity sighed, filing into the row after Spike. It was a tough sight to see. With only four seats reserved, it only served as another reminder that two of their close friends were no longer with them, with one barely making it through. The thought of it has stirred in the back of their their minds for weeks, but each of them had found some way to suppress the fact. Fluttershy had her animals, Rarity had her career, and Spike had his busywork. As each of them took their seats, however, they found themselves suddenly overwhelmed with the grim realization, surprisingly more so than seeing the two coffins laying on the stage.

As her friends sat beside her, Fluttershy waited patiently in her seat, surveying the room for the pony she had been thinking about non-stop for the past few weeks. Pinkie Pie. The instant she looked to her left, however, she found a small pack of bewildered-looking earth ponies walking toward the seats to her left.

“Wow…” One of them gasped, eyes fixed on the intricate fresco painted on the rounded ceiling above them. “This place is...it’s just so…”

“Amazin’ is what it is.” The stallion finished, turning his head away from the art only to enter the row of seats. “I’ve never seen anythin’ like this in all my years. Why in the world has Pinkamena never told us about this before?”

Fluttershy’s ears perked up at the familiar name. She leaned forward as her heart jumped around in her chest, attempting to look past the muted colors of the ponies next to her for any sign of her more brightly-colored friend.

She soon found herself sinking back into her chair, however, her search yielding no results.

“What I wouldn’t give to set up shop in a place like this.” The stallion’s wife remarked, her eyes still fixed on the beautiful stonework that lined every nook and cranny of the hall. “These ponies sure do seem to like marble. We’ve got plenty, but it ain’t worth the effort to farm it seen’ as Rockville ain’t exactly a wealthy area.”

The stallion and his wife finally sat down, placing the “RESERVED: PIE FAMILY” signs under their seats. “You might be on to somethin’, Cloudy.” The stallion said, scratching his chin. “But I don’t really see any rich-lookin’ folk in here right now. Seems like it’s mostly country ponies.”

Fluttershy awkwardly leaned to the side, attempting to listen in to the conversation taking place next to her. It was a simple enough task in theory, though it turned out to be easier said than done. If the loud murmur around her wasn’t enough to block out the sound, that fact that her mind was occupied trying out various ways to initiate a conversation certainly didn’t help either.

“I wouldn’t worry about that now, Iggy.” the mare said, shaking her head. She stuck her face into a small bag beside her, pulling out a small white box wrapped with a thin, red ribbon. “Right now I’m focused on giving our thanks to the Princess.”

“I ‘spose you’re correct.” The stallion, peering to the right. “Ah don’t see her, though.”

She bit her bottom lip, her nerves beginning to get the better of her. Maybe I should just leave them alone, she thought, absentmindedly tapping her front hooves together. I mean, they’ve probably been through a lot to get here and I don’t even know if they’re talking about the same Pinkamena and-

“-Scuse me, Ma’am.”

Fluttershy jumped in her seat, a tiny yelp escaping her lips. “U-um, yes?” She muttered, her cheeks darkening to match the pink color of her mane.

“Sorry to bother you, but you wouldn’t happen to be Butterfly, would you?”

“U-um,” Fluttershy stammered, mulling over whether or not she should bother correcting him or not. “Yes. That’s me.”

“Ah, I thought I recognized 'ya!” He said, offering a hoof. “The name’s Igneous Rock. This here’s my wife, Cloudy Quartz, and these are two of my daughters, Marble and Limestone Pie. You’re friends with my Pinkamena, ain’t 'ya?”

Fluttershy felt her nerves melt away, her face soon finding itself stretched into a full-on smile. “I am! Is she here?” She asked excitedly, eyes already scanning the room to find the answer. Despite her efforts, however, she found no sign of the pink pony.

Igneous’s face fell. “‘Fraid not.” he replied, shaking his head. “She was feelin’ a bit ill this morning and couldn’t make the trip. Darn shame if you ask me.”

Fluttershy’s grin instantly disappeared. “Oh…” she sighed, looking down. “Well then, um...” she continued, unsure of whether or not she was prying. “How is she doing? We haven’t seen her for about two months now.”

Igneous’s eyes again casted themselves down for a moment before re-establishing proper eye contact. “She’s…” he began, hesitating for a moment while he searched his brain for the right word. “...better. Still a bit shaken up, but this morning she-”

A sudden fanfare of horns brought the conversation to a halt. In an instant, the hundreds of attendees diverted their attention to the front of the hall. There, clad in simple, muted outfits, stood the Royal Sisters: Princesses Celestia and Luna.

In an instant, the once noisy, bustling crowd fell completely silent. Only the slight sound of metallic horseshoes clinking against marble could be heard as the sisters approached the two podiums near the edge of the stage.

Celestia’s eyes drifted across the crowd, scanning the rows upon rows of seats filled to the brim with her subjects. They all sat forward, staring up at her in anticipation. She recognized most of them from her excursions to Ponyville.

She straightened her posture and cleared her throat. “My noble subjects,” she began, quickly scanning the front row once again. “We have gathered here today to mourn the loss of two of our country’s greatest heroes, to show our sympathy and give comfort to those who have lost the most, and for ourselves to mediate the brevity and fragility of life.”

Her face was calm and rigid, showing no emotion whatsoever as she delivered the opening statements. Her pale magenta pupils, however, bounced back and forth across the whites of her eyes as she scanned the fourth row again and again. Where is she? she asked herself, growing increasingly concerned with every passing moment.

“Rainbow Dash, bearer of the element of loyalty, and Applejack, bearer of the element of honesty, were truly two of the most courageous and virtuous ponies this land has ever seen. These two heroes have helped to protect Equestria from countless threats, and we all owe our lives to their countless sacrifices.”

Celestia felt a nervous rush jolt up her spine. No matter how many times she scanned the crowd, Twilight Sparkle was nowhere to be seen. She turned to her younger sister, Luna, prompting her to continue with the speech.

Luna took a deep breath. “We now ask you to observe a moment of silence in remembrance of the lives of these two ponies.”

Both she and Celestia looked down, prompting the rest of the room’s population to do the same. Though she had deemed it a moment of silence, a few sniffles could be heard from the audience, particularly the front row, where those closest to the departed were seated.

“Thank you” Luna proclaimed, speaking up after two long minutes of silence. “We would now like to welcome a personal friend of the deceased, Princess Twilight Sparkle, to say a few words in remembrance.”

A familiar silence gripped the room as the ponies waited for the Princess’s arrival. The seconds felt like minutes, and then hours, dragging on slower the longer they waited. A quiet murmur soon developed as the audience began to worry.

A bead of sweat rolled down Celestia’s brow as she cleared her throat. “We apologize, but Princess Twilight will be making her appearance later than we anticipated.” she said, the gritted teeth behind her lips the only evidence of her quickly shortening fuse. “We will instead move on to our next speaker, Captain Spitfire of the Wonderbolts.”

A few quiet stomps could be heard in the audience, many ponies unsure of whether or not it was in good taste to stomp their hooves at a funeral. It appeared as though the general consensus steered toward the latter.

Spike leaned on Rarity's side. “Where the heck is she?” he whispered.

Rarity returned an quick, yet equally concerned look before diverting her attention back to the stage. “I haven’t the slightest clue.” she whispered back.

Spike fidgeted in his seat, scanning the room for any sign of Twilight. Where did she go? he thought, paying no attention to what was happening onstage. A million horrible scenarios ran through his mind. She said she would be here. Why did she not show up? Is she okay?

“Spike!” Rarity scolded, placing a hoof on his wildly shaking leg. “I’m sure Twilight is fine. But please stop squirming around, you’re making a scene.”

"S-Sorry..." Spike apologized, taking a deep breath and shifting his focus back onto the ceremony.

Spitfire stepped up to the podium and cleared her throat. “I first met Rainbow Dash a few years ago at the Cloudsdale Young Flyers competition...”

***

The next pony in what appeared to be an never-ending series of speakers stepped up to the podium. Looking down for a moment to shuffle through a few sheets of paper, he once again looked up and leaned towards the microphone. “I’ll never forget the day I met Applejack. It was a blazing hot summer in the San Palomino Desert…”

Spike slouched down in his chair. The ceremony seemed to go on forever. Time seemed to slow down to a complete halt, every speech dragging on for tens of minutes on end. Not that he was too focused on them, though. He couldn’t focus if he tried. Every second he spent not knowing what happened to Twilight felt like an eternity.

Just focus on the present, he scolded himself, shaking his head in an attempt to clear his mind. This is Twilight, for pony’s sake. I’m sure she’s fine.

Focusing back on the ceremony, he glanced at the ponies around him. To his right sat Rarity. Or, at least, that was the pony who had been sitting there the last time he checked. Had he not been such an admirer of the mare, he would have forgotten her face, seeing as it was hidden behind a large handkerchief for the better part of the ceremony.

Looking further right, he could tell another pony was sitting beside Rarity, but who she was specifically was beyond him. She must have been close to Applejack or Rainbow, seeing as she as well was busy wiping up her tears.

In fact, it seemed as though he was the only creature with dry tear ducts in a sea of sniffles. Spike frowned as he felt a sudden pang of guilt in his chest, realizing that he was probably the only one in the audience who wasn’t tearing up.

He couldn’t help it. His world seemed to be crashing down around him. First Pinkie Pie, then Rainbow Dash and Applejack. If he were to shed any tears that day, it would be at the thought of losing Twilight as well.

There we go, he thought to himself, feeling a building pressure in his chest. His breaths became short and laboured, and his lips began to tremble. That seemed to do the trick.

Spike slumped forward, resting his head in his hands in an attempt to hide his red, glassy eyes.

It wouldn’t have bothered him if she was there to reassure him, to tell him that she loved him and everything would be fine. But no matter what he did, the seat beside him remained empty, serving as a constant reminder of her absence.

The thought weighed down hard on his shoulders, and there was nothing he could do to stop it from crushing him. Something was up with Twilight. Something has happened. Something bad.

***

"Princess Celestia!" An armor-clad pony called, trotting over to meet the monarch as she moved down the wide hallway. "Where are you going? You're expected in five minutes at the recept-"

Celestia didn't even go so far as to acknowledge the pony with a glance. "Not now." She deadpanned, never once slowing her stride.

Everypony else present in the hallway stopped to look at the princess as she stomped her way down the corridor, leaving a disappointed-looking officer in her wake. They didn't dare speak a word, lest they further exacerbate the rare show of frustration.

Celestia's face bended itself into a scowl as she turned the corner into the palace living quarters. How dare she… the nerve! The princess thought to herself, the sound of her steps growing harsher with every passing moment.

Her breath grew heavy as she steadily advanced toward her destination, due both to the long distance and the bottled-up rage building up inside her. She barely even attempted at this point to keep a lid on it, allowing her emotions to boil over as soon as she was out of the public eye.

To a regular citizen of Equestria, Celestia was by all means not an overly-emotional mare. Over her thousand-year reign, the monarch had mastered the art of public relations, creating an image for herself that painted her as a calm, professional leader. After all, this reign of over a thousand years had provided her with plenty of experience with stressful circumstances. She knew how to manage herself.

This was not one of those times.

“You have a lot of explaining to do, Twilight Sparkle!” She seethed, forcing open the door to Twilight’s private quarters with a simple spell. Her golden horseshoes clanged hard against the floor as she stomped her way into the room. "How dare you embarrass me like that? The whole ceremony was built around you, and you decide to just blow it off and sulk in your quarters?"

She soon discovered, however, that her words had reached nopony's ears but her own.

She quickly turned back around, determined to find Twilight and give her a piece of her mind. Her attention soon found itself drawn back into the suite, however, her eyes having caught a tiny, magenta shimmer of light.

No, she grimaced. Don't tell me...

She turned around slowly, moving as if her body was attempting to stop her in an attempt to leave her fears unconfirmed. The truth refused to hide itself, however, and the princess's eyes locked onto an object on the far side of the room. On top of a nightstand sat a small scroll, weighed down by a golden tiara.

Dear Princess Celestia,

I would like to begin by apologizing for my actions earlier today. I have the utmost respect for you, and it was not at all my intention to lash out. Over the past few weeks I had been bottling up my feelings, and once I finally let them out, I got carried away.

I am afraid that, knowing the mistakes I have made, I can no longer live with myself. Because of this fact, I have decided that it would be best if I spent some time away from society to clear my head and figure out a way to fix all of this. I understand that this is unexpected, but this is what is best for me.

As the Element of Magic, I understand that I play a vital role in maintaining harmony in Equestria. This is a role that I will not neglect.

However, I am afraid that the decision I have made is final. I no longer wish to be involved in royal affairs. I am returning my crown, and with it, my title.

Rest assured I will return within a few weeks. Until then, goodbye.

Please do not look for me.

-Twilight Sparkle

Celestia stared at the letter, eyes darting from left to right as she read over the words again and again. No matter how many times she read them, they stayed the same.

She closed her eyes and grit her teeth, dropping the letter and letting it float down onto the floor.

She looked at the crown on the table, seeing her own warped reflection in the finely-cut gemstone.

For over a thousand years, Princess Celestia had ruled this land called Equestria. She had defended the country from countless threats, lead it valiantly through harsh famines and destructive wars. Her subjects looked to her for guidance.

Some might say Princess Celestia was one of the greatest leaders in history, and she knew it. She knew she was strong. She knew she was charismatic. She knew that no matter what, she would always find a way to help Equestria prosper in even the hardest of times, as she had done countless times before.

It was at this point she would usually come up with a way to make things right. Thus was her duty. I’m a leader, a sovereign, she thought, staring through the window at the vast breadth of her realm. My subjects are counting on me.

She had always been praised by her subjects for her ability to think quickly under pressure, but despite this reputation, her mind was blank. Despite all of this, unfortunately, Celestia had never been in a situation like this. Her mind was blank.

Just keep it simple, she told herself, it’s only been a few hours. She can’t have traveled far. I just need to go to her and apologize.

Celestia closed her eyes, focusing the powerful energy contained within herself. A bright flash preceded a storm of red sparks that erupted like fireworks from her horn. Each individual spark flew downward with great speed, joining a quickly growing, hurricane-like spiral that hovered a few inches from the floor. Within a few seconds, the eruption ceased, and the sparks congealed to form a large, spherical map of the entire world.

Three blinding white sparks shone on different sections of the map. One up north in the Crystal empire, and two in the heart of Equestria: Canterlot.

Celestia narrowed her eyes. Wait...three?

It was a simple spell, though forbidden to all but the highest ranking members of Equestrian society. Invented by Starswirl the Bearded himself, the spell took advantage of the strong magical energy given off by alicorns to show their approximate locations on a map of the world.

But something was off. Celestia paced around the crimson globe, her eyes scanning every nook and cranny for a fourth spot. “What did she do?” she mumbled to herself, determined to locate the seemingly absent mark.

She circled it again and again, but found no sign of a fourth spot on the map. Hanging her head in defeat, Celestia cut off the spell, the red sphere instantly disappearing in a puff of glittery, dark pink smoke.

I’ve taught her well, she thought, almost smiling at the cleverness of her former student. The direness of the current situation, however, prevented her lips from even so much as twitching. Of course she would use an energy dampening spell to hide herself.

Every instinct told her to pursue her. She had an army at her disposal. If she really wanted to, she could have Twilight standing before her in a matter of hours. Despite this, however, she did nothing, knowing that doing so would destroy what little respect the young alicorn still had for her.

Celestia gazed once again through the large, ornate window that occupied most of the room’s eastern wall. “So be it.” She said with a sigh.

She turned to exit the room, leaving Twilight’s letter and crown resting where she found them. “I shouldn’t worry.”, she mumbled, “I’m strong. I can handle this on my own.”

Despite her words, however, the anger that coursed through her veins when she entered the room was replaced with a sinking feeling of uncertainty as she left. Please be safe, she prayed, feeling a maternal sense of worry in her heart. For my sake, for Equestria’s sake, please, please be safe.

* * *

Limestone Pie looked around the room, one of her eyebrows seemingly being permanently affixed a few centimeters higher than the other. City funerals are weird.

A mere ten minutes ago, she had been in a room filled with sniffles, sobs, and every other possible noise produced by grieving ponies. Then, as soon as the ceremony had finished, she and the rest of her family had followed the crowd into a similar room, avoiding snot-covered handkerchiefs and unsupervised fillies playing next to lit candles.

“Where are we going?” she recalled asking her father. She wasn’t sure why she thought the question would yield any information, as he had looked just as, if not more confused, than she had been. They simply followed the flow of the crowd, hoping that wherever it would lead them would be where they were supposed to go.

And they had been right, in a way. Limestone now found herself seated in what seemed to be a restaurant, but all the food was free. Before she and the rest of her family could comprehend what was happening, Pinkie’s friends and a sad-looking talking dragon called them over to another table.

Now here she was, surrounded by the chaotic sound of hundreds of separate conversations. Caterers dressed in elaborate, formal uniforms raced between the tables, serving small platters filled with various small morsels for the guests.

One of these waiters soon brought over another round of mini-hayburgers, setting the plate down in the middle of the table.

“Mmm, thank you!” Marble said, swiping a few off of the platter. She quickly stuffed them in her face, having barely just finished the last round of food.

“Jeez, Marble.” Limestone said, joining the others in taking a sandwich of their own before the waiter was on his way. “Slow down, will you? You don’t have to make a pig of yourself.”

“Sorry!” Marble replied, spraying bits of half-chewed foodstuff onto her sister’s coat. She closed her eyes for a moment, moaning as she savoured the rich taste of the flaky, fried hay. “This city food is just so tasty!”

Rarity smiled as she listened from across the table, taking another sip of wine before speaking. “I do have to agree.” she said, the wine glass soon finding its way to her lips yet again. “I hate to indulge myself like this, but this food is simply wonderful...and, of course, free.”

“See?” Marble nodded, grinning with pride as she stuffed another sandwich into her face.

Meanwhile, Igneous, having consumed his fair share of hard cider, was uncharacteristically jolly. “That’s my girl!” he said, laughing loudly as he put down another mug. “You and Pinkamena. Just like your mother when she was your age!”

Cloudy Quartz said nothing, opting instead to glare at her drunken spouse.

“Oh, that reminds me!” Fluttershy spoke much louder than usual, the abundant social lubricant sparing not a single soul at the table. “We never got to finish our conversation about Pinkie.”

Rarity and Spike, who had previously been occupied with the newest platter of deviled eggs, instantly looked to Fluttershy at the mention of Pinkie’s name.

“Oh, she’s doin’ better.” Igneous said, uncertain of whether or not he wanted to try one of those weird half-eggs on the platter. “Still a little shaken up, but she’s gettin’ well.”

“Yeah, she’s been kinda mopey lately.” Marble cut in, stopping for a second to swallow a mouthful of food. “But this morning she seemed really happy! Not gonna lie, it was kinda weird to be surprised by her smiling, but I’m just glad to finally see her not bein’ all grumpy and-”

Marble cut herself off. It was usually at this point that Limestone would give her a mean look, but she wasn’t even paying attention to anything she was saying. In fact, her sister wasn’t even looking at her.

She turned around to her parents, whose attention was similarly absent.

“Hello?” she sneered, looking back and forth between her family and Pinkie’s friends. “Is anypony even listening to me?”

“P-P-Princess...Celestia…” Igneous sputtered, barely finding within himself the ability to speak. In an instant, he was fumbling around, trying to figure out the best way to bow while seated at a booth. The rest of the party soon followed suit, though they all ran into the same problem as far as bowing went.

“Oh.” Marble said, gawking at the tall alicorn standing before her.

“Greetings, my little ponies.” Celestia greeted, her ethereal mane drifting curiously in the wind-lacking ballroom.

“Oh, gosh! I-It’s such an honor to finally meet you in person, Princess!” Cloudy Quartz sputtered, her words falling clumsily out of her mouth.

Celestia cracked a slight smile. “I could say the same for you, Miss Quartz. The mother of one of the Elements of Harmony is truly a pony worth meeting.”

Cloudy’s face flushed red. “Why th-thank you, your highness.” She continued, finally ending her bow and standing back upright.

“Princess?” A younger male voice interrupted. “Where’s Twilight?”

Celestia looked over to see Spike staring at her from across the table. He brushed up against Rarity, mindlessly playing with his fingers and biting his bottom lip. It was a funny thing to see, really. Celestia had known the little dragon since the day he had hatched, but until today had never seen him so uneasy. Perhaps she just needed to spend more time with him.

She closed her eyes for a quick moment, the same heavy feeling of worry rushing back into her head. “I am afraid Twilight won’t be able to join us tonight.”

As soon as the words had passed through her lips, many looks of confusion and concern were exchanged at the table. The table’s single draconic denizen, however, kept his eyes locked onto Celestia, his growing frown the only indication that he had indeed heard the unfortunate announcement.

“What?” He shouted, earning the attention of a few other ponies in the room. “Why not? Did something happen? Is she okay?”

Celestia closed her eyes again, replaying the memories in her head. They hadn’t decayed in the slightest. All the vivid details were present, the minutes-old images still fresh in her mind. The look in her former student’s tired eyes, the tears streaming down her flushed cheeks.

She visibly cringed. I’m sorry, Twilight.

Quickly regaining her composure, she opened her eyes again to see the same set of green, serpentine pupils staring back at her. “Twilight has decided to take some time off.” She expertly dictated, making sure to make her words as light as possible. “You will see her again soon. She simply needs to clear her mind after this little ordeal. I’m sure you would understand this best, Spike.”

“So she just...left? Without telling anypony? Without saying goodbye?” Spike said, his voice becoming more strained with every word.

Celestia blinked. Her careful choice of words appeared to have had little effect. “That appears to be the case, yes.”

Spike finally broke eyes contact with the alicorn. Saying nothing, he sunk back into his chair. He was quickly swept into a tight hug by Rarity.

“Do not worry, my little ponies.” Celestia continued, her eyes sweeping across the table. “I understand that this is sudden. Believe me, I am just as confused as you are. But Twilight is a very capable pony. I am certain she will be able to handle herself.”

“I’m sorry she’s feeling down.” Cloudy Quartz chimed in. Her head ducked under that table briefly as she pulled a small, wrapped box out of her saddlebags. “When she returns, would you mind giving this to her? We just wanted to thank her for everything she’s done for our family.”

Celestia smiled. “Of course, Mrs.Quartz. I would be happy to.” she said, levitating the gift into her grasp. “I’m sure this will lift her spirits.”

“Thank you so much, your highness!” Cloudy replied, returning an even bigger grin.

“Unfortunately, I have to be going now. As you’re probably aware, I’m already late for the speech I’m supposed to be giving. It was nice to meet you all.”

“And you as well, princess!” Igneous said, waving to her one final time before she turned to leave.

* * *

Cloudy Quartz looked around the reception hall. The once chaotic din of hundreds of simultaneous conversations had now been reduced to a quiet murmurs as the attendees slowly but surely filtered out of the palace. The room had been fairly crowded just thirty minute before, but once Celestia had finished her speech, its population steadily began to decrease.

Her gray hair bun bobbed slightly as she lifted a hoof up to her face to cover her open, yawning mouth. “Everypony seems to be leaving. We should probably get going as well.” She turned to the rest of the group. “It was nice to finally get to know you all.”

“You too, Miss Quartz."’ Fluttershy smiled, digging into her saddlebag. She pulled out a small, wrapped-up basket filled with various homemade cookies, candies, streamers, and balloons. A small envelope rested in the center of it all. “Oh, and, um, if you don’t mind, Rarity and I made this for Pinkie Pie. We would love if you could give it to her.”

“Aww!” Marble gushed. Limestone smiled.

“Oh, that’s so sweet of you two!” Cloudy said, clapping her hooves together.

Igneous nodded. “It’s wonderful. Why don’t you come with us and deliver it in person?”

Fluttershy jumped in her seat. “Really?” she said, unable to fight the big, goofy grin forming between her cheeks.

“That would be delightful!” Rarity exclaimed, speaking quietly so to not wake the sleeping dragon in her lap. “We haven’t seen her in months!”

“Well then,” Igneous said with an air of finality. “We’d better get a move on. The sun won’t stay up forever.”

***

It was a quaint little cottage that the Pie family called home. Built using the traditional post-and-beam style, heavy pieces of uncut lumber laid vertically, sideways, and diagonally to make up the skeleton of the structure, held together by old, chipping plaster. A tall, stone chimney stuck out from the roof, which itself was made of multiple piled-on layers of hay.

Compared to a place like Sweet Apple Acres, the Pie family rock farm was a relatively small operation. While the aforementioned apple orchard was the size of a small country, stretching for miles and miles across the outskirts of Ponyville, this small farm was at most two or three acres of land. Only a small cottage, an old windmill, and a large metal silo decorated the small clearing, covered by sickly, grayish-yellow grass.

Rarity couldn’t help but crack a smile as she, Spike, and Fluttershy were led across the field. The bare-bones simplicity was sort of charming, in a odd way.

Disregarding the architecture, however, the farm itself wasn’t exactly what one would refer to as “scenic”. Beyond the aging, splintered wooden fence that surrounded the buildings was a barren field of dirt populated by various types of rocks. They varied wildly in size, some areas sporting massive boulders that stuck up out of the ground, while other places were peppered with smaller stones and pebbles.

“Sorry about the mess,” Cloudy Quartz said, blushing as she looked at the various pieces of rock farming equipment strewn about the field. “We weren’t really anticipating you three to visit.”

“Don’t worry about it, Miss Quartz.” Fluttershy reassured. “We’re just grateful for your hospitality.”

With a small squeak, the cottage’s front door swung open, held in place by Limestone. “Um, watch your head. The doorframe is a bit low.” she warned, watching the parade of ponies ducking their heads.

Considering the exterior, the decor inside the house wasn’t a particularly big surprise. Old, sepia-tone pictures lined the walls along with a few newer-looking photographs. The house, being so small, contained only the bare essentials: A dining room, kitchen, and a small living area. To the immediate right of the entryway was a steep staircase which most likely led to a second floor containing the house’s bedrooms.

Igneous turned to face his guests as they filtered through the doorway. “Now I know it’s nothin’ like what y’all are used to seein’ in those big cities of yours, but here’s where we call home.”

“Oh, don’t be so modest, Mr. Pie. It's lovely.” Rarity assured.

Once everypony had made it inside, Igneous closed the door and lead his guests over to the living room, which consisted of a large couch and a small, hoof-made table. He looked toward his wife, who nodded knowingly.

“Would anypony like some tea?” Cloudy asked, already making her way into the kitchen.

Fluttershy politely nodded. “Yes, please.”

“That would be lovely, thank you.” Rarity said.

Cloudy gave a sweet smile in return. “It’ll be just a few minutes. Feel free to make yourselves at home in the meantime.”

Once she had made herself comfortable, Fluttershy carefully placed her basket on the coffee table, making sure to not damage any of its more fragile contents. When she looked up again, she found the rest of the group, sans Spike and Rarity, starting directly at her.

Oh, gosh! She thought to herself, shrinking back. Her eyes frantically scanned the room around her. Everypony’s looking at me, I need to say something...uh...umm…

“So, where’s Pinkie?” Fluttershy asked, blurting out the first thing that came to her mind. Immediately after the fact, her face changed its hue from a buttery yellow to a light vermillion. Oh...was that too forward? She asked herself, only causing herself to blush even harder.

Thankfully, Limestone nodded, putting her fears to rest. “Yeah, she should be upstairs.” she answered, briefly glancing at the staircase. “Should I ask her if she wants to come down, Dad?”

Igneous shrugged. “I don’t see why not.”

***

“Pinkie?” Limestone called, knocking on the bedroom door. “I know this is short notice, but some of your friends came to visit. They’re downstairs if you feel like coming down.”

She stood silently for a few moments, waiting patiently for an answer, but no such thing came.

“Pinkie?” She repeated, knocking with a bit more force. “Did you hear me? We have guests.” Again, she waited for a few seconds, with the same results as before.

Limestone forced out a sigh, making sure it was loud enough to be heard through the closed door. “You could at least answer me, you know. It’s kinda rude to just ignore ponies like that.”

She tapped her hooves on the wooden floor below her as she waited once again for a response. Just like before, there wasn’t so much as a single sound from behind the door. Not that she had expected there to be, anyway.

“Ugh.” Limestone groaned, rolling her eyes. “You know what? Forget it.” She huffed, though still making sure to keep her voice low so as to not make a scene in front of company. Her faith in manners all but lost, she wasted no time in opening the door and stepping inside. “Hello? Equestria to Pinkie.” she said flatly, sticking her head through the door frame. “I know you’re in here. Are you ignoring me or something?”

The light was off, but it was still early enough in the evening for the room to be dimly lit by what remained of the sun’s light. Limestone squinted, doing the best she could to see before her eyes adjusted to the semi-darkness. “Pinkie? Are you asleep?” she said, just barely able to make out the shape of a pony laying face-down on the bed.

That’s strange, Limestone thought, taking a few strides to enter the bedroom proper. Judging by the orientation of the blanket, it looked as if Pinkie had somehow fallen forward and passed out. While her eyes were closed, her mouth was wide open, serving as the source of a thick river of drool that dribbled off the side of the mattress.

Limestone took another few steps forward, but stopped abruptly, having felt a crunch under her hoof. She immediately brought the appendage up to her face. Her eyes having adjusted well enough, she was able to make out the chalky remains of one of her sister’s sleeping pills on the underside of her hoof. “Ugh.” she groaned, scraping her hoof against the floor to wipe off the dust.

She didn’t get too far before stepping on a second tablet. Seriously? she thought, rolling her eyes as she scraped off another crushed pill. Upon further inspection, however, the floor appeared to be littered with the large yellow tablets.

“Wait…” Limestone muttered, looking back up at her sister on the bed. She had assumed that Pinkie had just been sleeping, but that theory was thrown out the window once she noticed the fact that she wasn’t breathing.

Limestone gasped sharply, putting a hoof up to her mouth. She could have stood there for ten seconds, ten minutes, or ten hours. It was impossible to tell. Her instincts told her to do something, anything. But she could only stand there, staring, unable to move a single muscle in her body.

“Pinkie? Hello?” She said, not wanting to believe her eyes. It was a windy day that day, yet as Limestone stood there, she could hear nothing but the sound of her own heartbeat.

“P-Pinkie Pie?” She repeated, raising her voice. She took a few more steps toward the bed. “Pinkie? Hello? What...what are you doing?”

Limestone’s heart nearly beat out of her chest as she took one final step forward, having now obtained a full view of the sight before her. “Come on, s-stop it!” She stuttered, her hoof shaking as she slowly reached for her sister. The closer she got, though, the slower her hoof advanced, until only a few centimeters stood between them.

“Oh my gosh...please, please…” She muttered under her breath. Her hoof jittered wildly in every direction as it hovered above Pinkie. Then, at last, having hesitated long enough, Limestone closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and pressed her hoof into Pinkie’s flesh.

Ice cold.

“Gah!” Limestone gasped, falling onto her back from the speed at which she ripped her hoof away from her sister. Stumbling to stand back up, she frantically scraped the appendage against the carpet before bolting towards the door.

The door, she thought, listening to the sound of her own panicked cries. The door. I need to get out of here. I need to get out.

Limestone chomped down on the doorknob, but with her jaw shaking wildly, she could barely grasp it long enough to get a firm grip. “Nonononono! Let me out, let me out! Oh please let me out of here!” She yelled, rearing her head back in a desperate attempt to force the door open. Fortunately, luck was in her favor, and the door gave way. In an instant, she ran out of the room as quickly as possible, slamming the door shut behind her.

“Mom! Dad! M-Marble!” She yelled, though her own voice was muffled by the ringing in her ears. Her entire body shook uncontrollably as her mind scrambled to keep up with what was going on around her. “M-Mom! Dad!” She yelled again, screaming at the top of her lungs. “Come up here! Please!”

“Limestone?” the voice of her mother called from the kitchen, “What’s wrong?”.

“P-P-Pinkie…” she gasped, stuttering like a broken record. She feet her knees lock up below her as she attempted to gallop down the stairs.

By the time she took another breath, the room was spinning wildly around her. “P-Pinkie’s de-” A loud thump finished her sentence as the young mare fainted, collapsing in the middle of the second-floor hallway.

“What?” Igneous called, hopping off the couch to follow his wife up the stairs. “Limestone? What’s going on up there?”

“Oh dear...” Fluttershy said, watching both of Pinkie’s parents rushing out of the room. She looked at Rarity, and then Spike, who were wearing similar expressions of surprise. “I hope nothing’s happe-”

Before she could finish her thought, a terrible, bloodcurdling shriek, the likes of which nopony present had ever had the displeasure of hearing before, shook the walls of the farmhouse. It wasn’t a common thing to hear, like the kind of scream one would hear at a scary movie or a haunted house. Nor was it the kind of scream produced by any conceivable level of physical pain. No, this was the kind of scream one would only hear once in lifetime, one that was so mortified, so filled with shock and grief that it kept you up at night for days after the fact.

In the blink of an eye, unicorn, pegasus, and dragon alike found themselves rushing up the stairs.

As they raced one-by-one up the steep, aging staircase, they each experienced what could only be described as a terrifying feeling of emptiness and dread. A deep, dark pit at the bottom of their souls, waiting to be filled with whatever horrifying thing awaited them at the top.

The thing about it was that they each knew exactly what they would find. It was perhaps only their stubborn denial that kept their curiosity alive.

"Oh my gosh!" Fluttershy exclaimed, seeing the scene unfolding on the second floor. A panicked-looking Marble Pie held her unconscious sister in her forehooves. Her hair swung back and forth with her head as it darted from Limestone to the door to Pinkie's bedroom, which laid ajar.

"What's going on?" Fluttershy gasped.

"I-I don't know!" Marble replied, her voice cracking as she spoke. "Mom and Dad told me to help Limey a-and they went into Pinkie's room and then they started screaming a-and-"

"Spike, stay here with Marble." Rarity commanded.

The dragon hesitated for a moment, but nevertheless obeyed the unicorn's orders. “Uh, sure.” he replied sheepishly, walking over to Marble to allow Fluttershy and Rarity to enter Pinkie’s room.

Despite the ever-growing cloud of dread hanging above them, Rarity and Fluttershy didn’t so much as hesitate to open the door. Perhaps it was the air of urgency around them, commanding them to take action as soon as possible. Or perhaps it was only a case of morbid curiosity.

Whatever it was that caused the pair to enter the room, as soon as they did, they both wished they had never satisfied the urge.

“N-no!” Rarity muttered under her breath, slowly walking toward Cloudy and Igneous, who were standing before what appeared to be Pinkie Pie. Or, to be more specific, her still, unmoving body.

“No, please…please, please, please…” She repeated, every step she took toward the far end of the room ten times more difficult than the last. She kept wanting to turn away, to shield her eyes from the horrendous sight. But, for some reason, that same feeling that drove her to enter the room in the first place forced her to see the spectacle up close.

Then, at last, she came close enough to get an adequate view. It didn’t last long though, due to the fact that her body, full of adrenaline, had forced her to turn away as soon as she caught a glimpse of Pinkie’s lifeless gaze.

Rarity stumbled in the opposite direction towards Fluttershy, who she found staring at Pinkie Pie like a deer in headlights.

“F-Fluttershy!” Rarity screamed, gesturing frantically at Pinkie’s unmoving body. Her voice was shaky and weak. “You’re trained for this, aren’t you!? Do something!”

Fluttershy instantly snapped out of her trance, but just as quickly shrunk away at the sound of her name. “I-I…” she spat, all eyes in the room suddenly locked onto her once again. “Oh my goodness...I’ve never done this for a pony before, I-I don’t know if I can-”

Rarity rammed the panicked pegasus from behind, pushing her toward Pinkie Pie. “You have to try! Please!” She begged, her voice fading as she turned to gallop over to the opposite end of the room to watch from afar.

“Oh my goodness, oh my goodness…” Fluttershy cried, only able to get a word in between her own panicked breaths.

She slowly slinked across the floor, approaching Pinkie. With all eyes locked squarely on her, it was difficult to even walk, let alone attempt to resuscitate somepony.

But she knew she couldn't quit. She knew she couldn't run away from this. Even though the sight revolted her to her core, she knew deep down that she had to do something.

After a few agonizingly slow seconds of walking, Fluttershy was finally face-to-face with Pinkie's body. It was even more horrifying up close.

The most jarring factor by far was her eyes. While her artificial eyeball remained in its normal position, her authentic eye appeared to have sunken backwards into her skull, giving her an eerie half-dead stare.

The rest of her face fared no better. Her mouth laid wide open, permanently frozen in what appeared to be a weak, yet terrified scream. Her formerly bright pink coat was now a much paler hue thanks to the skin underneath being denied proper circulation. The exception to this was the lower half of her body that laid on the ground, which had turned a deep reddish-purple. Since the heart could no longer circulate her blood throughout her body, gravity had allowed it to settle.

With her heart beating faster and harder than it ever had before, Fluttershy gave a small whine as she looked down at her friend’s body. Her legs were shaking, tears rolled down her cheeks, and her heart felt as if it was going to explode.

"What are you waiting for?" She heard a voice yell from behind her. Under normal circumstances, she probably would have been able to recognize the voice, but she was far too preoccupied with the current situation to delegate her brainpower to anything else but trying to remain calm.

"O-Okay..." She mumbled pathetically, bending over to place her trembling hooves on top of Pinkie's chest.

With her hooves properly aligned, Fluttershy wasted no time in pressing her hooves down onto the area directly above Pinkie's heart. The moment she began pumping, the room fell silent, the panicked chatter that once filled it now reduced to a chorus of rapid, shaky breaths. The tension in the room was thick and palpable.

"Please come back, oh, please come back..." Fluttershy quietly begged. However, as she looked at Pinkie's face, an expression of agony frozen in time, she knew that her efforts were in vain.

But she had to at least try. The small glint of hope in Cloudy’s eyes made it impossible to deny her of that small sliver of hope, if only for a few short moments. If there was anything Fluttershy was good at, it was empathy. She could only imagine the pain that Pinkie’s parents must have be going though.

In a sense, Fluttershy was a mother too. She lived for her animal friends, looking after them day after day. She fed them, cared for them when they fell ill, and, of course, worried about them when they were out.

Death wasn't anything new for Fluttershy. She had seen it happen hundreds of times before. She understood the natural cycle of life and death more than anypony she knew, having experienced it time and time again. And though she accepted death as an inevitable part of life, that didn’t cause any shortage of tears when it was finally time to say goodbye.

Perhaps that was the reason why Fluttershy couldn’t bring herself to look into Cloudy Quartz’s red, glossy eyes as they stared desperately at her fruitless attempts to revive her daughter. She didn’t need to. Fluttershy could already sense the panic growing in Cloudy’s old heart after every pump that didn’t bring her daughter back to life. That every time her efforts yielded no results, Cloudy Quartz realized little by little the harsh reality of what was happening.

Again and again, Fluttershy pressed down on Pinkie's heart, but no matter how hard she tried, no matter how much she wanted to save her, it seemed that with each passing second, Pinkie only drifted further away from the realm of the living. After every pump of her heart, no matter how strong, she remained cold and motionless.

This fact was most apparent with the speed at which Fluttershy moved. Every failed attempt only served to further erode her morale. Every passing second slowly chipped away at their stubborn denial, until, at last, the cold, hard truth was exposed in all its horrifying glory.

“I-I can’t do this anymore, Miss Quartz!” Fluttershy sobbed. “It’s n-n-not working!”

“No, please!” Cloudy screamed, watching through an ocean of tears. “Please, just...you have to try harder!”

“I, b-but, I...okay…” Fluttershy conceded, too panicked to even try to turn down the request.

With a deep breath, she pressed down again, a surge of adrenaline making her movements stronger than ever before. This newfound strength would have been beneficial if Fluttershy knew how to manage it properly. Unfortunately, as she summoned all of her strength into her hooves, she overdid it slightly, causing a large amount of brownish-red blood to seep out of Pinkie’s nostrils and mouth.

“Oh my goodness, I-I, Oh my goodness!” She shrieked, leaping backwards in a movement the would have made the late Rainbow Dash red with jealousy.

"No, I-I can't do this anymore!" She sobbed, cowering on the floor under the safety of her wings. She clenched her eyes tightly, though it did nothing to stop the tears staining her cheeks. "Please, I c-cant! I don't want to do this anymore!"

She tensed up, expecting to hear another demand for her to keep going. However, with the following seconds filled only with silence, Fluttershy felt her muscles relax, if only slightly. Slowly, she opened her eyes to see Cloudy and Igneous staring down their child, frozen in horror and disbelief.

Pinkie Pie’s parents stood together in silence, staring down as the blood that seeped out of her muzzle and mouth slowly came to a halt.

“She’s...” Igneous mumbled, his voice cracking as the old stallion began to weep. “She’s gone…”. He kept his mouth open as if he had planned on saying something else, but the words never passed his lips. Instead, he simply sobbed as he stared down at his daughter as she lay dead on the floor.

Fluttershy slowly backed away. “I...I should go…” She mumbled, through her words were lost in the thick silence. Both she and Rarity he clumsily stumbled out of the room as quickly as her trembling legs could carry them, leaving the two older ponies by themselves in the bedroom.

The door clumsily clicked shut, blotting out the only source of light in the room besides the dark orange of the setting sun.

"Pinkamena..." Cloudy mumbled, reaching out to touch the blood-splattered face of her daughter. Her hoof made contact with her pale pink cheek, and she almost jumped when she at last felt how cold she truly was.

Despite this, Pinkie's cold touch didn't stop Cloudy from wrapping her forehooves around her daughter's stiff waist. “Please, don’t leave me…” Cloudy sobbed, hugging her tightly. She pressed her cheek, wet with tears, against Pinkie's chest. “Please...I love you so much, Pinkamena…”

Her lips trembled as she listened closely for any sign of life, any indication that this was all just a terrible nightmare. Any moment now, she told herself, she would wake up to a blurry smudge of pink standing in front of her, greeting her with a bubbly "Good morning, Mom!"

Her glasses would remain in their place on the nightstand next to her. Her face would light up with the biggest, proudest, happiest grin ever seen.

Then, of course, not to be outdone, Pinkie would counter with an even bigger smile, and maybe even a giggle.

Cloudy would sneak her forelegs out from under the covers and pull Pinkie into a big hug, and say something along the lines of “Good morning, dear.” Maybe she would even let her know how much she loved her. How proud she was of her. How much she cared.

Instead, all she could do was grit her teeth in a vain attempt to hold in her hysteric sobs. She didn’t want to believe it, but no matter how much she wanted it, she would never again hear something so simple as Pinkie Pie’s heartbeat.

Igneous stepped closer to his wife and wrapped a foreleg around her haunches. It wasn't so much for comforting her as it was to prevent himself from collapsing onto the floor. He squeezed her hard, pressing his muzzle into her soft fur in a feeble attempt to hide his flushed, wet face.

Cloudy picked herself up and rested her head on his chest, hearing his heart beating even faster than her own.

“Why did this happen?” She sobbed, clutching him tightly. “What did she ever do wrong?”

Part XI - Epilogue

The sun shone brightly in the sky, shining its golden rays down on the cold, dead landscape of the rock farm. The light warmed the grass below sixteen hooves as they marched from the edge of the land to the small cottage where they dwelled.

Unlike that of Rainbow Dash and Applejack, Pinkie Pie's funeral was a small, private affair. While the aforementioned mares' ceremonies had drawn in hundreds of ponies, only four were present at Pinkie's. In fact, the ceremony had already taken place by the time the rest of the country had even been notified of her death.

The Pies were a traditional family, and as such, kept things simple. Pinkie Pie was buried in a secluded area of the farm, next to her late grandmother. Exactly like the Pies before her, chiseled onto her headstone was the acronym “R.I.P.”. Below it was her name: “PINKAMENA DIANE PIE.”

Three flowers, two blue and one yellow, were laid on top of the fresh pile of dirt in front of the stone slab.

To speak in literal terms, life at the Pie family rock farm hadn't changed much. Pinkie had moved out years ago, and the farm had operated just fine in her absence. The granite was still mined, the marble was still polished, and the quartz was still cut.

Despite this, for the Pies, their lives seemed to be shrouded by a vast emptiness. The outside ambience was a little quieter. The rocks were a little grayer. The food was a little blander. Every little detail of their surroundings only seemed to remind them of the terrible chain of events that had led their dear family member to the great beyond.

But the Pies were a strong bloodline. They would get through these hard times and come out stronger than ever before. Or, at least, that was what they hoped for. Despite what they would have liked, life, as it had for billions of eons before, went on, and it would be up to them to keep up.

After the incident at the rock farm, Rarity, Fluttershy, and Spike had cut their visit short. They all shortly returned to their regular lives. Rarity continued to sew dresses, and Fluttershy looked after her animals. The only major change was the fact the Spike now lived with Rarity as her assistant.

Sure, things were the same on the surface. But between the death of loyalty, honesty, and laughter, and magic having gone off the grid, only two elements, kindness and generosity, remained in Equestria.

Fortunately, Equestria was not at risk. The elements had already been given up to the tree of harmony a few months prior. If anything, the six mares were only figureheads, the final remnants of an order lost to time. Life would go on.

Despite these striking similarities, however, it was clear that the absence of these four mares had left a void. Equestria would never be the same. The foolish innocence bred by a golden age of peace had come to a jarring halt. The familiar sound of closing doors was now followed by the clicking of locks. As soon as night fell, the streets became empty and barren. Friendly smiles were no longer pure, subtle glances of fear and suspicion instead filling the gap.

News of the horrifying atrocities that had been taking place under their muzzles for years had hit hard, and the scars would remain for a long, long time.

A new age had begun in Equestria. Not of love and friendship, but of fear and hostility.

* * *

Many weeks earlier

The unicorn kept his head low as he walked down the dreary dock, shielding his chapped skin from the freezing winter wind blowing hard in his face. Even in a place like Equestria, where the weather was completely under control, some ponies still found themselves unprepared for the harsh winter air when its time finally came.

Fortunately, he wasn’t one of them. The unicorn marched down the wooden surface, covered head to hoof in clothing. A long, gray cloak covered his body, obscuring his cutie mark. His hair and horn were covered by a hood, and most of his face was hidden under a long, blue and yellow scarf.

He picked up the pace once he caught a glimpse of the large sailing ship coming up on the horizon. The sooner he was out of the cold, he thought, the better. Once he finally arrived, he came upon a small wooden booth next to the roped-off gangplank leading onto the ship. Walking up to the booth, the unicorn reluctantly lifted his head up, wincing immediately as a chilly gust swept past the exposed portions of his face.

The old stallion behind the counter looked up from his newspaper. Before his customer could even open his mouth to speak, his horn lit up, sliding open the glass door between the two ponies. “May I help you, sir?” he said, clearing his throat.

The unicorn took a step back from the light inside the booth.. “Are there, ah... any tickets left for the boat going to the...the ah…” He shuffled around awkwardly, “..the Griffon Kingdom later tonight?”

“Let me see…” The stallion replied, turning around to shuffle through a box sitting behind him. After a few moments, he turned back around. “Looks like you’re in luck.” He nodded, “We’ve only got three left.”

If not for the scarf covering his mouth, the sigh of relief breathed by the unicorn would have been visible in the freezing air. “Oh, thank Celestia.” he said, picking a sack of bits out of his saddlebag. “What’s the- ah...what’s the damage?”

“Eighty bits.”

The unicorn looked up again, wallet secured in his magical grip. As soon as his yellow eyes found themselves level with the booth, however, he nearly dropped it.

“You alright, sir?” The stallion behind the counter said, looking at his customer with one eyebrow raised.

“Um, y-yes.” the unicorn stuttered, opening his bag. “I’m fine.”

The stallion snickered. “What, you scared by that guy’s ugly mug?” he said, gesturing to the poster hanging on the right side of the window. “That’s the son of a mule who killed all those poor mares over in Ponyville. I tell you what, If I ever saw that Pokey guy, I’d tear him a new one, reward or not.”

“Y-Yeah, totally…” the unicorn replied, unsure about whether he should blame his chattering teeth on the bitter cold or the adrenaline pumping through his body. Whatever was to blame, it was making it quite difficult to focus on the task at hand. “Twenty, forty, sixty…” He quietly mumbled, quickly shuffling through his wallet and placing twenty-piece coins on the counter. “...eighty.”

“Alright, sir.” The stallion smiled, swiping up the four large gold coins and placing them into the cash register. “And what did you say your name was?”

“Po-” He hesitated, “um, I mean, uh...Co-Cobalt.”

The stallion hit a few keys and ripped the freshly printed ticket out of a machine beside him. “Alright, Cobalt, you’re good to go.” The stallion said, levitating the ticket in front of his customer. “Stay safe now! And don’t let the Blue Butcher get ‘ya!” he laughed, waving him off.

To be continued...

Author's Note

Thank you for reading Popped! I hope you've enjoyed reading as much as I've enjoyed writing it. :pinkiecrazy:

I started this story in the summer of 2013 with a simple mission. Being such a big fan of fics such as Le Petit Four and Cheerilee's Garden, I wanted to take a stab at writing my own gory story. It started out simple enough, but as I wrote more and more, I found myself re-hashing the plot and adding more details until that idea finally became the story you're reading now.

It took me almost two years, but I'm happy to say that this story is finally finished.

Of course, this is only the end of the first major arc of this tale. As I'm sure you're aware, there are still plenty of loose ends that still need to be addressed. But fear not, all will be explained in the sequel, which you can read here!

Thanks for reading! Make sure to like this story if you haven't already - It really helps me out!

Part I - Out of the Frying Pan

The sweet scent of freshly baked blueberry muffins filled the air as Mrs.Cake opened the oven door. Equipped with her oven mitt, she carefully leaned into the furnace, feeling the hot air against her face as she removed the scalding hot metal tray. She placed it carefully onto the counter top in the middle of the kitchen, returned the oven mitt to its proper place, and called out to her assistant in her usual motherly tone. “Pinkie, dear, could you come here a second? The muffins are ready to be put on display.”

She waited patiently for a few seconds, but received no reply.

“Dearie? The muffins are out of the oven." She called in a louder voice, scrunching her nose slightly. "Could you spare a minute?”

She waited for another few seconds, but still failed to hear the response she had hoped for.

With a roll of her eyes, Mrs.Cake removed the oven mitt from the rack and picked up the tray. She trotted towards the bakery’s main room, a slight scowl adorning her face. If there was anything Mrs.Cake disliked more than anything, it was being ignored. As soon as she passed through the saloon-style doors, however, her jaw dropped, nearly causing the hot tray of muffins to fall onto the floor.

The bakery was absolutely swarming with ponies. Lacking any kind of organization, they filled every inch of her vision. Today was the day before Hearth's Warming Eve, which meant that Sugarcube Corner was having its annual holiday sale. Mrs.Cake knew that business would be moving much faster than usual, but this was unlike anything she had ever seen. Sure, on particularly busy days the line could sometimes extend out the door, but such a thing would be a luxury at the moment. There were at least four ponies at the counter all trying to order at once, and the mare in charge at the moment was quite visibly stressed out.

A young mare piped up. “Can I get a dozen chocolate cupcakes please?”

“Sure thing! A dozen chocolate cupca-”

Another pony shoved his way up to the counter. “Hey! Can I get, um...half a dozen scones?

“Of course sir, but could you wait a mi-”

The young mare spoke again. “Yes. No, wait. Could you make that a dozen cupcakes and a slice of red velvet please? To go?”

As quickly as she could, Pinkie Pie scribbled down the torrent of orders on a small sheet of yellow lined paper.

Another stallion pushed his way up to the front and placed three bits on the counter. “Two banana bread muffins, please.”

Pinkie scribbled down orders at an ever-quickening pace. Her usually cheerful visage transformed into one of frustration, her handwriting becoming more and more illegible as the page filled up.

Taking a step back, Cupcake turned to the mob and raised her voice. “Excuse me?”

Expecting everypony to comply, she scanned her eyes across the crowd. Not a single one of them looked up.

She took another step back and stamped one hoof on the ground as hard as she could. “EXCUSE ME!" She yelled. "Would you all please stop acting like foals and form a single-file line? I swear! The nerve of you ponies!”

An awkward silence hung over the room. With many looks of shame and embarrassment quickly forming among the crowd, everypony hung their heads and formed a somewhat organized line which eventually extended out of the building and down a few blocks. As they did so, Pinkie let out a small sigh of relief. “Oh, thank goodness...”

* * *

The bell of the cash register rang as the final customer collected his food and wished Pinkie and the Cakes a happy Hearth’s Warming. As soon as the door shut behind the satisfied customer, Pinkie collapsed onto the counter top.

“Phew...” she sighed. “What a day...do you think he’s the last one?” Pinkie inquired to nopony in particular. “Oh, please tell me he was the last one today!”

Mr.Cake poked his head in from the kitchen. “I’m not sure, but we’ll need you to man the register for the last thirty minutes of your shift, Pinkie.”

“Okay...” she uncharacteristically mumbled, laying face down on the counter. “See ‘ya tomorrow, Mister and Misses Cake.” Pinkie watched the two spouses as they trotted up the stairs and down the hallway, toward the room which housed their children.

Before turning the corner, Mrs.Cake turned around to glance at Pinkie, who without words told them that she could handle it with a slight, exhausted smile.

They continued calmly down the upstairs hallway and entered the nursery. “She really is a good mare, that Pinkie Pie." Cupcake said, turning to speak to her husband as they approached the twin's crib. "What say we give her the next week off? I’m sure she’ll want to visit her family.”

Carrot Cake nodded in approval. He opened his mouth to speak, but his reply was delayed by a long, drawn out yawn. "Sounds good to me, honeybun."

Meanwhile, on the bakery’s ground floor, Pinkie stood in place, staring mindlessly into the wall across from her. She tried her best to stay awake, but with nothing to occupy her time, the fatigue set in. Over and over, her eyes would close before abruptly shooting open once again. I'll just rest my eyes for a few seconds, she thought. Gently, she closed her eyes...and...

Ding!

“Gah!” Pinkie’s eyes flew wide open. However, with her senses overcome with the sudden change in light, she instantly closed them shut, cringing from the stinging sensation in her eyes. “Wha- Huh? Who’s there?!” When her eyes finally adjusted to the bright luminescence of the bakery, She stopped herself mid sentence, looked up, and with an adorable giggle put on her biggest grin. “Oh, it’s just you! Hiya! Welcome to Sugar Cube Corner! What can I get for you tonight?”

A tall, well-built unicorn with a dark blue coat and curly white mane stood in the doorway. His name was Pokey Pierce. He froze in place for a moment with a surprised expression before sluggishly walking up to the counter, donning a nervous grin on his face. “Well...hey there, Pinkie. Are your..." Pokey paused for an unusual amount of time in the middle of his sentence. "Are the Cakes here?” he spoke spoke slowly, drawing out each syllable , almost as if he was speaking a foreign language that he hadn't quite mastered. Pokey, however, was very fluent in Equestrian.

Letting her tired eyes wander, Pinkie glanced at the clock above the front door.

Oh my gosh! 2:07 in the morning! She thought, her eyebrows raised in surprise.

Her face turned a delightful shade of red. She glanced back towards Pokey, who was now standing in front of the counter. "Silly me, I fell asleep and forgot to close up!” She giggled.

Pokey grinned and leaned in closer. “I noticed...” he said, his unusually pointy horn nearly jabbing Pinkie in the face.

Pinkie raised an eyebrow and leaned away, going straight-faced for a moment before returning to her trademark smile. “Well, um...thanks for wakin’ me up, Pokey! Can you imagine if I had accidentally left the lights on all night? The Cakes would be furious!” She said, placing a hoof over her mouth to muffle her loud giggling. “You did what, Pinkie? I’m not made of money! Rawr!” She mocked, doing her best impression of Mr.Cake.

Pokey quietly stared at Pinkie for a moment before opening his mouth to reply. “No problem. Uh, hey...do you mind, um, taking an order?” he mumbled, leering into Pinkie's eyes. “I’m, ah, awful hungry.”

Pinkie frowned slightly. “Well gee, I dunno, Pokey. It’s awful late, and Gummy needs to be put to bed.” She yawned. “Heehee! And apparently so do I! Don’t worry though, come sunrise you’ll be first priority!”

A brief flash of rage could be seen in Pokey’s eyes for a split second. He looked down, mumbling something to himself before once again locking his eyes with Pinkie's. “You sure? I could really use something to eat right about now...” He lamented, doing what he could to twist his face into what he hoped looked like a frown. “...seeing as I’ll be all alone on Hearth’s Warming Eve.”

“Aww...” Pinkie pouted, her gaze drifting downward. “Tell you what, Pokey! You wait right here. I’ll whip something up for you! What’ll it be?”

In an instant, Pokey’s cheeky grin returned, bigger and brighter than ever. “Oh, ah, I'll have a chocolate chip muffin or something. But I, ah, I gotta...I need to leave for a few minutes." He stuttered, mindlessly playing with a loose floorboard below one of his shaking hooves. "I-If I’m not back by the time you’re done, could you bring them out to me? My cart is parked right behind the shop.”

Pinkie put on her sweetest smile and gave her customer a wink. “Okey Dokey, Pokey! One chocolate-chip muffin comin’ right up!”

“Great. See you in a few.” Pokey said, turning to exit. The bell above the door chimed brightly, and before long, Pokey Pierce was out of sight.

With a spring in her step, Pinkie turned around and trotted into the kitchen. She preheated the oven to four-hundred degrees and took the muffin tray from the cabinet, all the while humming to herself an improvised melody as she gathered the ingredients. Then, once everything was prepared, Pinkie closed the oven door and waited patiently for her culinary concoction to come to life.

With nothing better to do to occupy herself while she waited, Pinkie wandered over to one of the wooden bookshelves on the far end of the kitchen. Scanning the various books on the shelf, She found herself overcome with an unpredicted wave of nostalgia when she discovered an old, dusty cookbook among many others. The once pristine, white pages had now faded to a dull beige, and the cover was ripped in some places. She opened it, and felt butterflies in her stomach when she read the message written in the margin of the title page:

“Happy 9th Birthday, Pinkamena!

From: Mom”

This was her first cookbook. The one she had brought with her when she moved to Ponyville.

Mom...I haven’t seen her in years...or the rest of them... She thought, beginning to feel the oven’s cozy warmth as it slowly filled the room. She stared at the writing, now faded to a dull blue, and felt her throat tighten up.

Just like the last two years since they had been brought together, she had made plans to spend Hearth’s Warming with her friends, but as she gazed longingly at her mother's hoofwriting, she felt an uncomfortable pang of guilt deep in her stomach. Sure, her family was a bunch of boring old rock farmers, but they were just as important as her friends in Ponyvi -

Her train of thought ended abruptly, the bright chime of the oven bringing her back into reality. Carefully setting the old cookbook down on the counter, Pinkie Pie trotted towards the machine. She grasped the oven mitt with her mouth and carefully took the muffins out of the oven before finally placing them in a paper bag. She had made three instead of the one Pokey had requested, putting an extra one in the bag for him and another for a late-night snack.

Before she began towards the bakery's front counter, Pinkie made a beeline towards a large coat rack in the corner of the kitchen. She stood on the tips of her hooves, squinting and sticking her tongue out as she attempted to reach a long, blue and yellow scarf that hung on one of the pegs. Then, with one swift movement, the scarf was wrapped snugly around her neck.

Sufficiently prepared for the harsh winter air, Pinkie grabbed the bag of muffins and started toward the front entrance of the building, before, with a giggle, halting in realization.

"Wait a sec, where am I going? Pokey said he’d wait for me behind the bakery! Duh!" .

Correcting herself, Pinkie turned around and began trotting in the opposite direction, feeling a distinct, slightly painful pinch in her knee. She was too preoccupied with her current train of thought to pay any attention to such petty things, however.

Like usual, many thoughts ran through Pinkie's idle mind. But in that moment, one in particular stood out among the others.

She tilted her head slightly. Behind the bakery...that's kinda weird when ‘ya think about it.

* * *

Pokey Pierce waited anxiously behind the bakery. Come on, Pokey, you can do this. Just one swift kick. No sweat. He could feel his body filling with adrenaline as he watched Pinkie's shadow grow longer.

Sugarcube Corner's back door gave a slight squeak as it opened, announcing Pinkie's entrance as she walked out into the cold gravel street. With a spring in her step, Pinkie approached her customer with his order.

“Hey, you okay? You seem kinda frightened.” Pinkie asked with genuine concern.

Pokey twitched. “Why don’t you just ah...put them on the...on the ground over there, okay? Could you do that for me?” he replied, his slow paced, nervous diction returning from earlier.

Pinkie gave a quick smile and a nod. “Sure thing!” She chirped, making her way over to the spot where Pokey had told her to go.

When she turned her head to face the ground, Pokey readied his kick.

This is it. This is my chance. Okay. Let’s do this.

Pinkie placed the bag on the gravel road next to Pokey's cart before retracting her head from its position near the ground. “Okay, Pokes! Anyth- AGH!”

After a single, swift kick, Pinkie Pie fell face-first into the ground. “Ow! Ow ow ow ow! What was that for!?”. She cried, holding her head between her hooves in pain.

Pokey turned around to face his victim. No! She's not supposed to be conscious! Panicking, he pounced on top of her and grasped her head between his hooves. Pinkie tried to bat them away, but her efforts proved to be in vain as the full-grown stallion easily overpowered her. The instant he gained a firm grip, Pokey lifted Pinkie’s head off of the ground before quickly slamming it back down again against the cold gravel.

“Ow! Stop it! What are you doing?! Stop!” she cried. Pokey picked up her head and slammed it down once again, harder and more aggressive this time.

Why won’t this stupid mule just pass out already? Pokey thought. He picked up the pace, slamming her head against the ground again and again as blood began to stain the gravel below her. Each time she remained conscious after taking a blow, Pinkie’s cries grew louder and Pokey became more and more enraged. Pokey's plan wasn't working, and at this rate, Pinkie would wake up the entire town with her cries.

Tears rolled down Pinkie cheeks as she hollered in pain. “HELP! PLEASE! SOMEPONY HELP ME!”

“Shut! Up! Be! Quiet!” Pokey growled, slamming Pinkie's head against the ground after each word. He grabbed both ends of her scarf, pulling each end as tight as he could, suffocating his victim as well as muting her desperate cries. Pinkie weakly clawed at his hooves while trying her hardest to be as loud as possible. However, all she could manage to muster up were a few weak cries, which were much too soft for anypony behind closed doors to hear. A smile grew on Pokey’s face as Pinkie’s movements gradually slowed down, before stopping altogether as she finally passed out.

* * *

“Nnngh...owww...”

Pinkie Pie awoke with a blaring headache. Blood pumped to her head every second, accompanied by terrible throbs of pain. She opened her eyes slowly, but found that the inadequate lighting of the room prevented her from seeing anything. Despite this, she could still sense that something was wrong.

She was in quite an irregular position for a pony: standing up vertically on her hind legs, which would otherwise be impossible without the assistance of some sort of device.

Pinkie grunted, attempting to shift her weight forward so that she could stand more comfortably on four legs, however as she did so she quickly found that this wasn’t possible at the moment. She couldn’t see it, but it felt like her two front legs were suspended in the air by cuffs, which were in turn suspended in the air by what sounded like chains.

Her head was in pain. She was uncomfortable, and she was very confused. Maybe she had a hangover? She had gone overboard with cider before. That would explain the throbbing headache and the confusion, but it still didn’t explain why in the world she was suspended in the air by chains in a dark, musty room.

Within a few minutes, Pinkie's eyes had adjusted to the darkness, which enabled her to see a few feet in front of her. She was in a square-shaped room with four brick walls all around her, with herself in the center. There was about 5 feet of room in each direction. In front of her was a large wooden door with a rounded top and a window with thick iron bars. The floor was either very filthy or the earth itself, as it was absolutely covered with dirt. That was all she could see. And it was definitely not her room.

If anypony had been there to gaze into them, they would have noticed that the look of panic in Pinkie’s eyes grew with each passing second. Pinkie soon realized that she wasn’t dreaming. That this was real. And it terrified her.

Pinkie hanged there in silence for minutes before thinking to call out to anypony who may be able to help her, or at least tell her where she was.

“...Hello?”

She waited a few moments. Nothing.

“...Is...is anypony there? Hello?”

Another few moments passed. The only reply that she received was the faint echo of her own voice reflected off of the walls. Pinkie felt a shiver shoot down her spine. She called out several more times before finally giving up. She hanged there, whimpering, confused, and scared for what seemed like hours.

Eventually however, due to the lack of sensory stimulation, Pinkie began to doze off to sleep, despite all of the factors that would have prevented her from doing so. Perhaps this was all a dream, and she would wake up in her own bed, away from wherever she was. Perhaps...

* * *

Hours later, Pinkie Pie’s eyes shot open upon hearing a loud clanging sound.

“Wha..huh? Who’s there?!”

The door to Pinkie’s cell slowly creaked open, revealing the shadowy figure of a pony.

A unicorn.

Pinkie’s ears perked up, and she smiled in relief. “Oh, thank Celestia! Can you help me? I don’t know where I am and I’m super duper scared and it’s Hearth’s Warming today and I really wanna go see my family and my girls and stuff because I think I’m in jail or something but I don’t think I did anything bad and if I did I’m super duper sorry and you can have as many cupcakes as you want at Sugarcube Corner 'cause I’ll take it out of my paycheck or if you don’t like cupcakes we have other stuff too like cookies and cakes and pies and donuts and rolls and scones and brownies and biscuits and croissants and eclairs and fudge and strudels and tarts and truffles and taffy, and, um, well that's about it. B-but if you don’t like any of those either Mister and Misses Cake are saving up for an ice cream machine so you can have that too if you want!” Finally finished with her tirade, her head fell forward as she took a deep breath.

Unfortunately, her efforts turned out to be a waste of breath. The unicorn didn’t pay her any attention. Instead, he appeared to be focused on setting up some sort of device in front of her.

“...H-Hello?”

The unicorn continued to ignore Pinkie’s rambling as he finished setting up the device.

Pinkie huffed, scrunching up her snout. “Could you at least, like, talk to me? Hellooo?” She complained, drawing out the word for emphasis.

The unicorn walked to the leftmost wall of the room and pulled a string that hung from the ceiling.

And then there was light.

And then, immediately after that, there was terror.

Pokey Pierce.

Pokey casually turned to Pinkie and gave a hearty laugh. “Don’t you worry, Pinkie Pie, I'm well-off enough to afford all the sweets I need. It’s a shame you won’t be able to give them your special touch, but, uh, I think I’ll make do.” He levitated and empty bag adorned with Sugarcube Corner's logo in front of Pinkie’s face. “Thanks for the extra muffins, by the way. That was thoughtful of you.”

Pinkie's eyes widened. As she examined at the bag, encased in Pokey’s dark blue magical aura, she could feel adrenaline rushing into every last nook and cranny of her body as she recalled the events of the previous night. Or, rather, perhaps it was yesterday night. She had no idea how long she had actually been down here. Pokey had attacked her, choking her unconscious. And now she was here. Chained up in a dark dungeon with only her assailant as company.

She opened her mouth to speak, but the only thing that came out was panicked, unintelligible babble. Shutting her eyes, she took a deep breath to console herself and tried again. “Wha...what is this place? Where am I?”

Pokey looked his victim in the eyes. “Where are you?" He said, smiling. "That should be the least of your concerns right now."

“Wha- What do you mean?" Pinkie asked, turning her head to avoid Pokey's intense, unsettling gaze.

“I’m going to make you scream. I’m going to make you cry. I’m going to make you beg for mercy.”

Pinkie grunted, writhing in her bonds, the sound of rattling chains echoing off of the walls. Her voice became gradually louder as the fear set in. “N-no, you’re lying! I know you, Pokey! You wouldn't hurt me, you're my friend!”

Pokey turned on the camera he had set up. “To be perfectly honest, Pinkie, nopony really likes you. You’re annoying. Everypony just humors you because they don't have the heart to tell you to go away. Including me. Turns out some ponies have a darker side.”

Pinkie looked like she was about to cry. “What? But lots of ponies come to my parties...”

“That was unfair. Sorry. It’s more of like a third of the town that can’t stand you. Anyway, we should get on with this torture business.”

“W-what? No! Please don’t hurt me! Just let me go, a-and I’ll be less annoying, I swear!”

Pokey laughed. “That’s not what this is about. I just thought I’d point that out to you. You’re here because you’re stupid. An easy target. You're so naive that I knew you would never suspect a thing."

He pressed the “record” button as a flashing red light appeared on the screen. “Pinkie Pie, session one.”

Pinkie thrashed erratically in her bonds, “No! Get away from me! Don’t touch me! Somepony help!”

“Oh wow, you're a natural, already putting on a good show. Keep that up while I get my tools and decide how to start you off.” Pokey said before trotting out of the cell.

Pinkie hanged there, paralyzed with fear. She babbled incoherently for a while, too shocked to form any clear words.

On the bright side, now that the lights had been turned on, Pinkie had a clear view of the room. She turned her head in every direction, inspecting every nook and cranny for anything she could use to escape. Pinkie inspected the wall in front of her and what she could see of the walls to her left and right.

Nothing.

She looked up towards the ceiling, only to find it made of old, rotting wooden planks.

Finally, she looked down, towards the floor. It was just dirt, like she had thought, but there was something else below her.

Pinkie Pie did a double take before giving a deafening shriek that echoed throughout the entire basement. Below her was a deep pit lined neatly with a ring a bricks. What frightened her the most, though was the ring of dried blood surrounding it.

Pinkie’s heart rate shot through the roof. “HELP ME!” SOMEPONY, PLEASE!” she sobbed, her screams accompanied by the rattling of chains. “PLEASE HELP ME! PLEASE!"

Before long, Pokey Pierce made his way back into the room, using his unicorn magic to levitate a large metal bucket next to him. He set it down on the floor, allowing Pinkie to see the faint orange glow that radiated from inside.

“Wow, what a voice! I might actually be afraid of somepony hearing you if we weren’t in a cabin in the middle of nowhere. But hey, maybe somepony'll decide to take a trip up here this Hearth’s Warming, and you can have a friend to suffer with you! Would you like that?”

Pinkie Pie closed her eyes and looked down towards the dirt floor, careful not to remind herself of the gruesome sight below her. Tears ran at a steady pace down her face, periodically dripping off of her chin and mixing with the dried puddle of blood underneath her hooves. “No! J-Just please let me go! You’re crazy!” She said, struggling violently and screaming as loud as she could. “YOU’RE CRAZY! LET ME GO!”

Pokey's face stretched into a cheeky grin, watching his victim thrash back and forth before him. The first day was always his favorite. They were always so full of energy, kicking and screaming like it was the end of the world. It was always a nice change of pace after finishing off the previous mare, who had by then become so weak and broken she could barely even speak.

Pokey shook his head, snapping himself out of the train of thought. Then, without a moment of hesitation, he levitated one of the glowing pieces of metal out of the bucket and lobbed it toward his victim. “Shut up!”

Pinkie had little time to respond before the red-hot metal made contact with her chest, gasping in shock for the shortest moment before howling in agony. While the metal had only touched her skin for a split-second before it fell to the ground, it was enough to sear her skin and leave a serious burn where it had made contact.

As she screamed, Pinkie twisted her hips back and forth in an effort to generate enough air flow to cool down the burn. The pain persisted, however, and the intense heat leftover from the metal continued to destroy her skin as the burned area slowly expanded.

"Why are you still making noise?" Pokey asked with a frightening amount of aggression in his voice. "I told you to shut your mouth!"

Pinkie tried to gain enough composure to form some sort of apology, but the pain on her chest had only now begun to fade. She was only able to remain silent for a few seconds before the urge overcame her, and she bursted out into another wave of sobs.

“Shut your mouth!” Pokey yelled, lifting another piece of metal out of the bucket with his magic.

The bright glow of the metal stood out against the darkness of the cell. No matter where she looked, Pinkie Pie couldn't ignore the warm, orange tint that graced every surface of the small room. "NO! STOP, PLEASE!" she screamed, preparing herself for the coming pain.

Pinkie shrieked as another piece of scalding hot metal made contact with her chest, followed by three more pieces which landed on her cheek, forehead, and shoulder, respectively. Each one left red, uniquely-shaped wounds which expanded at an easy pace as the layers of Pinkie’s skin slowly burned away. The chains that held her in place rattled around loudly as she jolted around, an instinctive movement necessitated by both the intense pain and the desire to decrease Pokey’s accuracy as he mercilessly tortured her.

“STOP! PLEASE STOP! I’LL BE QUIET! I’M SORRY! I’M SORRY!” Pinkie wailed, still clinging on to the hope that Pokey had any shred of empathy in him.

Little did she know, this was just the beginning.

Pokey lobbed three more pieces toward his victim, one of them hitting her on the chest, and the other two clinking against the wall behind her. He grunted. “Hold still, you stupid mule! Stop moving!”

Pinkie did her best to follow his orders. She wanted to stop moving. She wanted to stop her suffering. But as her skin slowly burned away where the metal had touched her, the intense pain prevented her from doing any such thing.

This wasn’t regular pain. Pinkie had been hurt lots of times. She had stubbed her hoof. She had skinned her knee. But that kind of pain only hurt for a little while before going away. This was a different kind of pain. It was the type of pain that kept hurting for days and days. Sure, Pinkie had been burned before too. She works in a bakery. She’d had experience with it..

But never like this.

Pokey continued to pelt her, the smell of burnt fur filling the air. But for every three pieces he threw, only one actually managed to hit her.

Seething with rage, Pokey yelled in a tone so vicious it could tame a dragon. “STOP MOVING OR I’LL MAKE YOU!”

Pinkie Pie sobbed loudly and babbled phrases that somewhat resembled “I can’t” and “I’m sorry”, with the occasional “please stop”. Along with the burns accumulated on her body, slowly expanding, the skin around Pinkie’s forehooves deteriorated with each thrash as it rubbed against the tight cuffs encased in a layer of red rust.

Pokey grew more and more frustrated with each passing second that Pinkie didn’t hold still. He levitated the remaining contents of the bucket, their orange glow complementing the blue aura that surrounded them. Pokey thrusted the seven remaining pieces at his victim, which impacted her body, scattering like shrapnel.

With all but two of the pieces striking her body at once, Pinkie roared in misery as her body was engulfed in tremendous pain. She attempted to speak, but all she could do was shriek and writhe in her suffering.

Furious all but a few seconds ago, watching his victim get her punishment for disobeying calmed Pokey down considerably as he smiled with a satisfied sigh.

After Pokey stopped, Pinkie continued to scream and writhe in agony for another few minutes. Eventually, as Pinkie’s screams gradually turned into sobs, Pokey took the opportunity to make small talk. “You really do have a great voice.” He said as he approached her, being careful not to step on the metal that littered the floor. “No, really, do you sing?”

Pinkie Pie ignored his question and continued to cry as the ground around her was slowly soaked with tears. There was even the occasional hiss to be heard when one of Pinkie’s teardrops hit the still hot metal below her.

“Right then. I see we’re not in the mood to talk. That’s fine. Are you thirsty?”

Pinkie was still for a few moments, but eventually surrendered a weak nod.

“Aww. I’ll get you some water.” Pokey began walking towards the cell door, but stopped when he saw the opportunity to lift the mood. “Stay right there” he said, enjoying the irony.

A short while later, Pokey came back, struggling to levitate a rather heavy bucket filled to the brim. “Here you go. Happy Hearth’s Warming.” He remarked, before dumping ice cold water on top of her. Pinkie gasped due to the initial shock, but then moaned in relief as the freezing water relieved the burning pain for a few seconds.

“Thank you...” She mumbled, before groaning once again as the pain quickly returned.

“How cute! I see you’re already warming up to me!” Pokey said, standing directly below Pinkie. This assumption was quickly disproved as Pinkie suddenly lashed out.

“No! I hate you! I hate you I hate you I hate you I hate you I hate you I hate you I hate you!” she repeated, the phrase going from being screamed to being sobbed with each successive repetition. Pokey simply laughed, and Pinkie took the opportunity kick him in the nose. Hard.

Pokey recoiled with a grunt of pain, but quickly recovered. “You’re going to wish you never did that, you little runt!” he said, picking up the empty bucket with his unicorn magic.

Fear and regret could be found in Pinkie Pie’s cerulean eyes at that moment. “No, wait! I’m so-”

Pinkie cut her apology short to make room for screaming as Pokey viciously beat her head with the bucket.

“I’ll! Teach! You! To! Dis! Re! Spect! Me! You! Dumb! Mule!” He yelled, striking her skull with each syllable much like he did at Sugarcube Corner the night before. Pinkie Pie could only whimper pathetically as she was punished.

He continued to slam the metal container mercilessly against her head until it was sufficiently covered with blood. He slammed it one final time so that it covered her head and she was wearing the bucket, dripping with her own blood and covering her chest, mixing with the water, thinning it as the mixture lightly stained her pink coat.

Thoroughly satisfied, Pokey made his way over to the camera to end the recording. “Go on, Pinkie, wish the camera a happy Hearth’s Warming!”

Pinkie simply cried to herself before mumbling some indecipherable phrase, which was further distorted by the bucket she was wearing on her head. “What was that now?" Pokey said, lifting the bucket off.

“...H-happy...Hearth’s W-W-Warming...”

“That’s my girl.” Pokey remarked, before aggressively slamming the bucket back on her head. With that, he ended the recording and turned off the camera.

Pokey collapsed the device and carried it out of the cell. After a few minutes, he returned, turned the lights off, and locked the door. As he made his way upstairs, he slowed down to listen to Pinkie as she softly cried to herself, accompanied by moans of pain. Pokey smiled. Today was a good day, He thought, locking the basement door.