The forest was eerie silent as the sunlight licked the sky. It was dawn, a quiet dawn. All was still and tranquil. Fresh dew blanketed the grass and a thick sheet of mist smothered the air. This felt comforting to the timid Pegasus that had woken from sleep relatively early this morning as she usually did. It was not uncommon for Fluttershy to wake up in the wee hours of the morning but after her inner turmoil the night prior, she was surprised that she managed any sleep at all.

The forest was eerie silent as the sunlight licked the sky. It was dawn, a quiet dawn. All was still and tranquil. Fresh dew blanketed the grass and a thick sheet of mist smothered the air. This felt like home to the massive earth pony that had woken from sleep relatively early this morning as he usually did. It was not uncommon for Big Macintosh to wake up in the wee hours of the morning; perhaps he adopted that habit from his ex-wife.

Fluttershy had spent majority of yesterday arguing with herself. Should she do it? Maybe she shouldn’t.

Big Macintosh had spent most of yesterday scavenging anything he could use as food. His search only yielded a few poisonous berries and fungi.

Fluttershy’s mind was a mess and the stress kept escalating. She was afraid that Butchershy was winning and there was nothing that she could do about it. Fluttershy went off in search for a suitable location to carry out Butchershy’s will.

Big Macintosh’s mind was somewhat stable to a degree. He was afraid of being responsible for any more casualties yet he knew already the consequences for his actions prior to this competition. Mac went off in search for a suitable location to find food.

A large tree caught the eye of Fluttershy and she went to inspect it, hoping it met the proper specifications.

A large tree caught the eye of Big Macintosh and he went to inspect it, hoping it may lead to food.

Fluttershy eventually made it to the tree and gazed upon its massive height…perfect. She faintly whistled to her feathered friends who appeared rather quickly. They lifted the Pegasus onto a high branch and set her down gently. They then flew up to the branch above her and secured one end of the rope in her possession tightly to the tree limb. It seemed sturdy enough to hold her weight, which wasn’t really much at all. Fluttershy wasn’t certain who was in control now but that really didn’t matter. She squeezed her head through the slipknot until it was snug around her neck as she contemplated what was to happen.

Big Macintosh eventually made it to the tree and gazed upon its massive height. Certainly there would be some sort of beneficial fruit growing on it right? His hunger however made him rather oblivious to the Pegasus on the other side. Then again, the Pegasus had no knowledge of the stallion who was bunching up the muscles in his haunches either. Mac released the build up of strength and bucked the tree with all his might. The clumsy Pegasus wobbled slightly but remained perched on her branch. Mac bucked again, sending a ripple through the thick wood and right back to the unsteady mare who had barely regained her balance from the initial tremor. This time however, she hadn’t been so fortunate. Big Mac was prepared for one final buck until he heard a snapping sound behind him. It didn’t sound like the snap of a twig or branch though, but more faint… like a popping sound. Curious as to what caused the unnatural noise. Big Macintosh took a step back and examined the massive tree. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary. He made his way around to the other side of the tree, and what hung before him brought his stomach into his throat. His ex-wife -whom he still loved very dearly- Fluttershy swung gently by her neck; a noose had been tied around it. He bowed his head in remorse and grief, knowing that he was to be held accountable hurt even more. The real question on Mac’s mind now was… why? Why would she try to kill herself?

Winter had come and temperatures were dropping to a severe low, lower than normal by Ponyville standards. Fluttershy didn’t seem to think much of it though. She thought it to be somewhat pleasant in a way. She was relieved as well; all her furry critters were tucked away in their dens and burrows for hibernation. This gave Fluttershy some reprieve from her usual schedule which had grown more demanding as the months went by. She’d taken this extra time to spend more time with her friends. She made more time to relax at the spa with Rarity, more time to read and discuss books over hot herbal tea with Twilight, more time to help Applejack with her own animals, more time to help Pinkie with whatever it is Pinkie does, and more time to lounge by the lake and watch as Rainbow Dash practiced her newest stunts; hoping that one day she’d be accepted into the Wonderbolts. Time was a liberty she cherished and she certainly did not waste any of it.

“Mornin’ miss Fluttershy.” There it was; her favorite voice to hear at such an early hour.

“Good morning Big Macintosh, did you sleep well?

“Eeyup.” His signature response was all she needed.

Big Macintosh always passed by Fluttershy’s cottage on his morning walks and she never got tired of seeing him. She wasn’t sure if her advances were too noticeable or if they were too subtle. Macintosh seemed like a simple stallion, so simplicity was her natural approach. Over the few years that she’d known him, Fluttershy had developed an affinity towards the crimson stallion. He has always been so kind and respectful to Fluttershy and she admired that about him. He was very gentle and took care in all that he did; they seemed to share enough common characteristics as it is, so it was a mystery to the timid Pegasus as to why they were still not together.

It was on a Monday several weeks into the treacherous winter when both of their lives would change. Big Macintosh worked in the fields despite his grandmothers concerns about the weather. Fluttershy was running errands at the nearby farmers market where Applejack usually set up shop. Just a simple trip to get groceries, that’s all it was and that’s all it was supposed to be.

“Howdy Shy, anything ah can do for you this afternoon?”

“No not particularly, I just wanted to stop by and say hello.”

“Nope, Ah don’t believe you. Not one bit.”

“What makes you say that?”

“C’mon Fluttershy, your really expecting me to believe that, Ah’m the element of honesty for Celestia’s sake, Ah think Ah know a lie iff’n Ah heard one. Now what is it that you really want, Somethin’ to do with Big Macintosh Ah suppose?”

“How did you…?”

“Everypony knows bout yer lil’ obsession with mah brother, well everypony ‘cept him though. When do you plan on asking him out on a date?”

“I uh… I don’t… I don’t know. I kinda came to you to ask whether or not he liked me.”

“And what makes you think that Ah know anything about his romantic interests and pursuits?”

“I just… I thought that… well because you’re kinda…”

“Ah’m just yankin’ yer tail girl. Ain’t any reason to get worked up like that. Okay, Ah’ll let’cha in on a lil’ secret,” Fluttershy leaned in close to Applejack as the farmer whispered into her ear.“He does."

“Really?!” Fluttershy yipped in excitement.

“Yep, he likes to pretend that Applebloom and Ah don’t know, but his infatuation is even more obvious than yours. Here’s the real kicker, he don’ got himself a signed portrait of you when y’all was doin’ your modeling gig with Photo Finish and he hides it under his pillow at night. Albeit sometimes it’s a lil’ creepy but Ah think it’s kinda cute. So Ah bet if you asked him on a date, he would be more than happy to go.”

“Thank you so much Applejack! Now I have a stallion to claim.” Fluttershy pulled Applejack into a deep embrace for a moment before lightly skipping towards Sweet Apple Acres.

3 YEARS LATER

“Alright Miss Fluttershy, I’m going to need you to push really hard when I tell you to, ready 3, 2, 1, push!”

“GYAHH!” Fluttershy pushed with all her might. Her frail body was not ideal for this method of childbirth but with the current condition the foal was in, it would be too risky to put her on any form of narcotics.

“One more big push should do it 3, 2, 1, push!”

Fluttershy released a guttural scream, and the world around her went blank. The birth of her foal was- in a sense- against the odds. Not only was it premature, but the foal was also backwards in her womb. This was something Fluttershy had feared since the day she discovered that she was pregnant. She’d always tried to imagine that it would go off without a hitch but now the number of problems began to pile up.

IN THE WAITING ROOM

Big Macintosh could hear her screams, her wails of agony yet he couldn’t interfere in such a situation as this. The proceedings were to be conducted with only medical professionals in the room. Macintosh was normally a very patient pony, but not on this day. It stopped, it finally stopped. It was over before he could register what all was happening. He didn’t know whether to be excited or concerned. He wanted to check on the wellbeing of his foal and Fluttershy but was incapable until told otherwise. He waited for the sound, the sound of crying. He wanted to hear that sound to give him reassurance that everything had gone accordingly, yet it felt as though something wasn’t right. After several moments of agonizing silence, he finally heard the crying; just not exactly the crying he wanted. The door swung open and nurse Redheart hesitantly entered the waiting room. She took a seat next to Big Macintosh. She put her arm around his massive shoulder and calmly delivered the news.

“I’m sorry, I’m very, very sorry. You can come inside to see Fluttershy if you would like. She already knows and is resting now. She’s been through a lot as I’m sure you have as well.”

Mac nodded his head and stood out of his chair. He entered the room to see his ex-wife sleeping rather peacefully considering the ordeal she just went through. He knelt by her bedside and lovingly stroked her mane; tears welling up in his eyes as he did so.

Now Big Macintosh found himself in that very same position he was in all those years ago, kneeling by her side and stroking her mane. It seemed to have lost its bright pink tint now.

Mac remained by her side for the next few hours; refusing to leave her side. After all this time alone he felt now very vulnerable in the open. He felt as though something was with him, something was… watching him. He turned his head around to relieve that notion. Fortunately nopony was behind him; he turned back around to look at Fluttershy once more but was instead greeted with a rather large blade placed across his throat. He tried to jump back only to collide with a large bundle of pink fur.

“Where ya going Mac,” The voice he heard was unmistakably that of Rainbow Dash. “Don’t you want to be with her forever? You did say… till death do you part.” Rainbow lunged forward and-with the help of her Pink companion-pinned Big Mac to the ground. Rainbow placed the cleaver back over the stallion’s throat and dug in relentlessly, and without any hesitation. His blood sprayed from his neck and onto his assailants, coating them in fresh crimson. After Macintosh stopped squirming, she stood beside her bouncy partner and admired the scene before her.

“What do you think Pinks, we didn’t even have to kill Fluttershy ourselves. Two birds with one stone.” Rainbow chuckled and turned to leave. ”C’mon Pinkamena, there’s more work to be done. We’ve got a river to turn red.” Rainbow Dash disappeared into the brush, leaving Pinkie to stare at the remains of her former friends.

“Ytinu tcefrep ni rehtegot lla meht sdnib hcihw, evol no tup seutriv eseht lla revo dna. Colossians 3:14.”

Pinkie leaned down over Big Macintosh’s cold corpse and planted a gentle kiss atop his head.

“Eybdoog, uoy devol syawla ev’I, uoy evol I.”

“It’s been approximately 46 hours 37 minutes and 12 seconds since we’ve been dumped on this island Trixie. It appears that Big Macintosh and Fluttershy have both been eliminated by what I can assume was Rainbow Dash and Pinkie. I’ll have to remember to avoid them at all costs. Did you get that Trixie?” Twilight asked her temporary ally without pulling herself away from her binoculars.

“Yeah, yeah sure.”

“Trixie I need you to take this seriously, we are both in a life or death situation and only one of us-and by that I mean myself of course-is going to escape this island alive. I need all of this information cataloged somewhere. Not some cave drawings that are quite… uncanny in resemblance to me. And why am I wearing wool knit socks in this one?” Twilight pointed towards a rather risqué image on the back wall of the cave.

“Trixie thinks that it accentuates your rather exquisite body quite well don’t you think?”

“I don’t have the patience to deal with your one track mind Trixie. Just remember who has all the supplies, including one very sharp knife that is capable of ending your life before you can utter another word. Do I make myself perfectly clear?!” Twilight was breathing heavily from her frustration.

“Crystal.”

“Good, now would you mind actually take sufficient notes for once?”

“Well seeing as how Trixie is incapable of using her magic, no.”

“Is it really that hard to write with your mouth? You seem to do quite a bit of talking; now it’s time to put that mouth of yours to good use.” Twilight didn’t initially realize what she’d said until Trixie threw a wink and seductive grin her way. “I didn’t mean for you to interpret that in such a disgusting manner you pervert.”

“Oh come on Twiley, live a little and have some fun. It’s not like anypony will find out.”

“Firstly, don’t you ever address me by my pet name, and second, I’m not a fillyfooler. How many times must I reiterate that to you?”

“Trixie thinks it’s rather cute.”

“Well I don’t.” Twilight was growing more and more flustered by the second. Her mane had become twice as frizzled as it were yesterday. Twilight turned to her view over the forest once again. Twilight had unfortunately stumbled upon the Smitten and Love-struck Trixie. She honestly missed- no, yearned for the old, narcissistic Trixie that had almost ruined her life several years ago. She would’ve been much more tolerable than her current attitude. She found Trixie alone in a small cave positioned on a steep hilltop that overlooked everything from the cave to the beach. She had been able to monitor nearly every event in the competition thus far with her binoculars. However, not all of her findings were retained due to aforementioned ponies such as Trixie. Nevertheless, Twilight refused to let Trixie break her.

Earlier that day she had discovered several small patches of poison joke dispersed throughout the island. With that in mind she was fortunate however to have been gifted a rather generous amount of extract from the blue plant and was slowly building up an immunity towards the strange toxins vested in the flower. Trixie on the other hoof had not, which gave Twilight a devious idea. Twilight knew of the mysterious effects the plant had on ponies, but that was Zecora’s controlled crop. She wondered just how dangerous wild joke could be.

Twilight turned around to see Trixie once again doodling images of Twilight on the cave floor. This gave her time to grab the blue bottle from her bag undetected. She quickly removed the cork from the bottle with her teeth and poured a decent amount onto her hoof. She lifted her hoof up to her mouth and smeared the sticky substance on her lips. Twilight was certain that she looked stupid with the shade of blue that the plant possessed but she also knew that it wouldn’t make a difference in Trixie’s mind.

“Oh Trixie…” Twilight began.

“How can Trixie be of service?” Trixie responded the way she usually had.

Twilight turned around to face the azure unicorn hoping the awkward shade of blue wasn’t a turn off. Much to her preferences it wasn’t.

“Oh, you’ve been such a worthy companion; it has completely slipped my mind to reward you for such noteworthy services.” Twilight continued, assuming that Trixie would believe her act. Twilight couldn’t abnegate Trixie’s intelligence, even when her mind was clouded with intimate thoughts of Twilight.

“Trixie does feel she deserves some reprieve from tedious note taking. What type of reward are you considering?”

“Oh, I don’t know, probably something very special for a very special pony.” Twilight added a provocative tone to her voice when addressing the gullible unicorn. Twilight circled Trixie, swaying her hips just a little more than usual. This attracted Trixie’s attention even further.

“Trixie… special?” Trixie lifted her hoof and pointed it at herself playfully.

“Oh yes, very special indeed. My special somepony even, but let’s not get ahead ourselves.” Twilight stopped only inches away from Trixie’s face and began closing the gap at an agonizingly slow pace. “Remember how I said I’d put your no-good mouth to use? Well I think I found a solution to both our problems.” Twilight slammed her lips into Trixie’s. The kiss was awkward, both of them knew that, but they also took into consideration the fact that Twilight had never actually been with anypony before, so kissing was a foreign concept. None of that mattered to Trixie however who had basically melted into a puddle of love struck goo on the cold cave floor. Twilight had welded her eyes shut so she didn’t have to look at Trixie; kissing her was bad enough. Though admittedly it wasn’t all that unpleasant, Trixie’s lips were warm and soft against hers. Twilight could feel Trixie trying to push her tongue into Twilight’s mouth. She denied any entrance into her mouth but if Trixie somehow managed to push past her teeth, she would be tempted to bite her tongue off. Twilight held the uncomfortable lip lock until Trixie exhibited signs of the poison infecting her body.

Trixie broke away abruptly and started wiping her mouth off with a hoof. Trixie was feeling a burning sensation on her lips and it felt as though somepony was attempting to force a searing coal into her mouth.

“What have you done to Trixie?!”

“Tying up some loose ends is all. It’s just business, nothing personal.”

“Trixie thought you loved her?”

“Well I guess you thought wrong.” Twilight picked up her stuff and exited the cave only stopping to give her final regards. “Hasta la vista Miss Lulamoon, The pleasure was all mine.” Twilight took a bow and ran off into the unknown. Trixie was now alone in her suffering.

The burning pain now moved to the back of her throat. She started gasping for air but whenever she tried to gulp down any, her lungs just seemed to throw it right back out. Her throat was swelling at a rapid rate and soon she wouldn’t be able to breathe at all. Trixie became dizzy and disoriented. Her lungs were burning and reality started fading, cutting in and out. Her ears started ringing as her brain started shutting down, finally everything went black.

Twilight eventually stopped running when her bracelet buzzed. She caught her breath and sighed. It did feel somewhat wrong what she did but it was something that had to be done. One less nuisance to cope with. Then the sudden realization hit her, she’d just killed somepony. Unlike everyone else in this game, she hadn’t killed anyone. She became light headed so she just sat on the spot. Her head rush wouldn’t go away though. She felt cold now, cold on the outside and cold on the inside. Is this what being a murderer felt like? Whatever the feeling, she didn’t want to embrace it. Tears began to fall down her cheeks and her body began to shiver. She felt like throwing up but there was nothing in her stomach anyway... except regret maybe. Her tears fell to the ground and one splashed onto her bracelet. She looked down at the clunky accessory and she realized just what was going on. She was trapped.

“You know, I’ve always been free,” She looked up towards the sky which had grown grey with clouds again. “I’ve never been controlled. All my life I’ve been guaranteed freedom to do whatever I please, but not anymore.” She looked at her bracelet again. “You think this scares me Discord? Well it doesn’t, and do you want to know why?! It doesn’t scare me because I know that I write my story, not you or some political party. Only I can choose my destiny. Am I upsetting you Discord? Huh, does this frustrate you that I can say whatever it is that I want and you can’t do a thing about it? Well I hope that it does. Go ahead, detonate this wrist band and show the entirety of Equestria how dishonest you are. You promised everypony a fair and regulated event but the second you press whatever button or pull whatever lever it is that you are holding to end me, there will be blood on your behalf and ponies will riot in the streets. I am their princess am I not? How would that look to your associates and other foreign leaders if you killed somepony just because I can get under your skin? So go ahead and kill me, blow me sky high! I said do it!” Twilight waited for an answer. “What, are you scared Discord? Are you scared because all of Equestria is watching? Coward! You’ve always been a filthy coward. Just let that sink in whilst I suffer for my transgressions.” Twilight turned back towards the cave which she had previously resided in.

She became noxious at the sight of Trixie’s corpse. Her body just lay still, unmoving. That was the scariest part. Twilight reluctantly approached her body and lay down beside her. She actually looked rather peaceful in her post mortal state. Twilight scooted in closer and pressed her body against Trixie’s as if trying to keep her warm. Twilight rested her snout on her forearms and released a prosaic sigh.

“Hey Trixie,” Twilight began “Even though you can’t hear me, I hope you’re still listening. Believe it or not, I know quite a bit about you. You traveled Equestria in search of a suitable place to settle but the draw to the road was too strong. So you took up illusionary magic. You trained at the finest magic academies from Canterlot to Manehatten, hoping to fulfill your dream of hitting it big. Trixie you traveled all over; amazing crowds and telling stories of unfathomable nature, even by your standards. So that is what I will do; I’ll tell you a story. As a little filly raised in a wealthy household in Canterlot, I was given everything I could ever want. Even if everything I ever wanted were books. I had the finest tutors and teachers-Princess Celestia even-teaching me everything I needed to know and then some. Some might say I was born with a silver spoon in my mouth and I wholeheartedly agree with that notion. Big brother joined the royal guard and I was off to Princess Celestia’s magic school for gifted unicorns. I spent my time studying and working to achieve my goals, a concept I’m sure you’re quite familiar with. I studied diligently for my final test and come that fateful day I was nervous. But who wouldn’t be? I’m sure you would’ve gone in thinking that you’d ace it I bet. Who knows, you very well may have. It took a while but I wasn’t getting anything accomplished. Then all of a sudden a flash of light appeared out the window which burst into a beautiful display of rainbows which I later discovered was the result of a sonic rainboom. At the very instant the shockwave reached me, it unlocked a power inside of me that I could never wrap my brain around. Even to this day I haven’t yet discovered how I possessed such ability. What happens after isn’t relevant but the moral of this story is that there are fixed points in time that are meant to occur and that must never be tampered with. I certainly learned that lesson when I attempted time-travel, but I digress. You Trixie, you are one of those fixed moments in time that I could never change; not even if I wanted to. I was supposed to meet you, and I was supposed to traverse this journey with you. I wish I’d known that sooner and maybe you’d still be alive, drawing explicit images of me on cave walls but I’m okay with that. Trixie, wherever ponies like you and I go after life, I hope I see you there, that way I can apologize. I can apologize for never valuing you as an individual, as an acquaintance, and as a friend. I’m sorry Trixie. If there is any part of you that can hear me, just know that I care about you. If only it hadn’t taken your death to realize that. I’m not sure whether I should fear death or embrace it. Either way, I know its coming,”

Twilight took hold of the red tag on her bracelet with her teeth and pulled it. A bright red light started flashing.

“And I’m ready for it.”

Scootaloo kept running, she never stopped. She refused to stop, not to look back, not to take a breath, she just… ran. That was all she could do. Night was falling on the forest and it was only a matter of time before they caught her. Knowing the filly chasing her, she would have to keep running until the sun came up if she wanted a chance.

“Don’t shoot Sweetie; these guns only got one bullet in ‘em. Why waste it on a moving target?”

“Valid point.” Sweetie Belle lowered her gun.

“She can’t hide forever and she can only run for so long. Run Scootaloo. Just… keep… running.”

After Pinkamena and Rainbow Dash killed Big Macitosh, the pair have began their pursuit on another unsuspecting pony. But who?

Rarity and Applejack have continued migrating from one cave to another, but eventually there luck must run dry.

Applebloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo secured the remaining pistols but the trio seems to have lost one of its members.

Scootaloo seems to be running away from somepony but what she doesn’t realize, is that she is also running towards somepony.

Shining Armor and Babs Seed have struck gold after discovering some coconut trees but some things are just too good to be true.

The Scratch’s have taken refuge near the only source of fresh water on the island, but that might be a costly mistake. I didn’t know river water was red? And neither did they.

End of Night 3

Eliminated:

Soarin- Killed by Lightning Dust (Slit throat followed by decapitation)

Spitfire- Killed by Lightning Dust (Detonated wristband)

Lightning Dust- Unintentional Suicide (Detonated wristband)

Spike- Killed by Rarity (Unspeakable events involving a spoon)

Gilda the Griffon- Unintentional suicide that was orchestrated by Pinkamena which actually was a grand scheme put together by Rainbow Dash (Burned to death)

Fluttershy- Accidentally lynched by Big Macintosh. (Lynched)

Big Macintosh- Killed by Rainbow Dash (Slit throat)

Trixie Lulamoon- Killed by Twilight Sparkle (Asphyxiation)

Twilight Sparkle- Suicide (Detonated wristband)

Remaining:

Pinkamena Diane Pie

Rainbow Dash

Rarity

Applejack

Applebloom

Sweetie Belle

Scootaloo

Shining Armor

Babs Seed

Vinyl Scratch

Octavia Scratch

Author's Note

Y'all thought I was dead didn't you? Rest assured I'm alive and kicking. Expect another chapter out very soon.

Please inform me of any and all mistakes so that I can go back and fix them ASAP.