Cupcake Killers

“Can’t we go find something sweet to eat?” Chippy Chocolate asked with a pout.

Cinnamon Twist rolled her eyes and Lemon Drop let out a soft chuckle.

“I really don’t think that’s a great idea,” Frostinilla told her friend.

“Why not?” she asked. “We could use these paper bits we found!”

“What if we need that for something else?” Lemon Drop asked.

Cinnamon Twist was walking with her arms crossed, shifting uncomfortably as they walked away from yet another garage. . “Is something wrong?” Frostinilla asked her, turning her attention away from Chippy Chocolate.

“No, I’m fine,” Cinnamon Twist said. Her lip twisted into an odd frown as she spoke.

“Don’t try being tough all the time,” Frostinilla said. “If you got issues, just let us know. We can help you.”

“Oh really?” Cinnamon Twist asked. “Well then. Why don’t you just lead us right back home.”

Frostinilla’s face heated at the sarcastic response. She looked away, rubbing the back of her neck. “Sorry,” was all she mustered.

Cinnamon Twist sighed, but didn’t say another word on the topic. The Cupcakes walked on in search of food. They no longer bothered holding hands as they walked through the crowds. They had finally grown used to the heavily populated sidewalks and rude behavior of those that insisted on pushing passed anyone that was in their way. Now they all just shuffled through, uncomfortably, but with more determination. They stuck close together and never lost sight of eachother.

“So,” Chippy Chocolate broke the silence. “How about some cake?”

The others sighed in unison.

“How much do we have?” Cinnamon Twist asked.

“I don’t know,” Chippy Chocolate admitted.

Frostinilla lost her footing as she walked behind her friends and hurtled forward. She brushed past Cinnamon Twist and crashed into a short man with messy black hair and a scruffy beard.

“Watch it,” he snapped as he pushed Frostinilla back.

She stumbled backwards and barely caught her footing while people pushed passed her from around. The man gave a huff of annoyance and walked away.

Cinnamon Twist stormed after the man, but Frostinilla grabbed her shoulder.

“Just forget it,” Frostinilla said.

Cinnamon Twist shook Frostinilla’s hand away and kept walking. “Hey!” she called after the man. “Hey,” she said a little louder when he didn’t respond.

She followed him through the crowd. The others glanced at each other, worried, and went after her. Frostinilla noticed flecks of light pass between Cinnamon Twist’s fingertips. This wasn’t good.

“Wait,” Frostinilla called out to her friend.

Cinnamon Twist ignored her friends and followed the man. “Get back here!” she demanded.

The man didn’t hear her, or at least, he acted like he didn’t hear her. He continued to walk on and Cinnamon Twist continued to follow him. Frostinilla grew increasingly worried as they went after the man. The longer they followed him, the more she wondered exactly how far Cinnamon Twist would go. The magic hadn’t stopped dancing along her fingertips.

The man made a turn into an alley way and Cinnamon Twist broke into a run.

“No!” Frostinilla called out as she ran after her.

Lemon Drop and Chippy Chocolate were right behind her as she followed Cinnamon Twist around the bend. Frostinilla barely caught sight of Cinnamon Twist disappearing behind another bend. Frostinilla sped forward in an attempt to keep up. She couldn’t afford to lose sight of her over another turn. If they lost each other, Celestia knows whether or not they’d find eachother again.

Frostinilla stopped. She had come to a brick wall and two possible choices of path. Frostinilla looked both right and left, but didn’t see Cinnamon Twist or the man. She wasn’t sure what to do.

“Should we split up?” Lemon Drop asked.

Chippy Chocolate grabbed Lemon Drops arm at the thought.

“I don’t-”

There was a scream and they all looked to the right, where the sound had come from. It wasn’t Cinnamon Twist’s scream. It the scream of a man.

The Cupcake’s ran after the sound and only had to make one more turn before finding them. Cinnamon Twist had the man she had chased held tightly in her magical grip. He was suspended high into the air, surrounded by the sparkling white aura. Cinnamon Twist’s expression was cold. She was clenching her teeth as she elevated the man even higher.

“What is this? What are you doing?!” the man yelled.

Cinnamon Twist said nothing. She only looked at the man with her cold and angry eyes.

“Cinnamon Twist! Put him down!” Frostinilla yelled as she reached her.

Cinnamon Twist turned to see Frostinilla approach and stand next to her but she didn't put the man down. “Why? Why should I show these disgusting creatures any mercy?” She looked back at the man. “Every single one of them deserves to die!”

“You don’t know that!” Frostinilla said, trying to ease her tone.

“They killed our parents! They hurt us! They almost killed us even here! Even now, now that we are one of them, they are still a threat to us! How can you defend these things?!”

“I don’t-” Frostinilla stammered. She racked her memeories for some sign of good, some small sliver of hope to show that these things weren’t pure evil. “I-” Frostinilla’s voice lowered in defeat. “I can’t.”

“We are in a world of monsters,” Cinnamon Twist said. “We were thrown into a world of demons.”

The man was writhing in the air, trying to fall away from the aura. It seemed foolish to Frostinilla. Why would he try to get out when he was so high? At this point, a fall would kill him, or at the very least, leave him permanently crippled. The man began screaming again.

“Let go of me you little brat!”

A small, crooked smile crept across Cinnamon Twist’s face. “Are you sure you want me to let you go?” she asked.

“Of course I want you to let me go! Are you stupid? Why would I not want you to let me go?!” the man yelled.

“As you wish,” Cinnamon Twist said.

Keeping her hand outstretched, Cinnamon Twist unclenched her fist. The aura disappeared in an instant and the man was released into a freefall. He fell several feet, screaming the whole way down. He covered his face with his arms, but it was a useless effort.

His body hit the ground with a snap. Frostinilla took a step back, staring at the limp body lying, face down, on the ground before them. Blood began pooling around him. There wasn’t a single sound. He had died.
Frostinilla wasn’t sure how to feel. She felt guilt over the fact that she didn’t quite feel guilty. She hadn’t been the one to put an end to his life, but she hadn’t fought for it either. She wanted to feel sorrow for the death, but she didn’t. She wanted to be angry at Cinnamon Twist, but she wasn’t.

Cinnamon Twist hadn’t moved from her spot. She stared at the man with a blank expression. Frostinilla wondered if she had felt any guilt. She wondered if she felt anything at all. Was she proud? Did she feel some sort of relief?

Frostinilla heard a sniffle from behind them. She turned around to look at Chippy Chocolate. She was clutching the bag to her chest. Tears streaked her cheeks and Frostinilla could see that she was shaking. Lemon Drop took her into her own arms and tried to comfort her. Chippy Chocolate hid her face against Lemon Drops Chest and Lemon Drop patted her back.

“It’s alright,” Lemon Drop soothed.

“We should go,” Frostinilla told Cinnamon Twist.

Cinnamon Twist nodded and looked away from the man’s lifeless body. She walked past the others and took the lead once again. They followed her, Frostinilla right behind her. Lemon Drop was still trying to comfort Chippy Chocolate, who was still crying.

Cinnamon Twist didn’t pay attention to the others. She walked at a quick pace and didn’t bother looking back to see if they were keeping up. She seemed to be walking with a purpose, but there was nowhere she could possibly be trying to go. They had nowhere to go, nothing to do, and no one to see. Frostinilla jogged ahead to catch up to Cinnamon Twist.

“Do you think you could slow down?”

“We need to get out of the area,” Cinnamon Twist said.

“We need to stick together,” Frostinilla rebuttled.

“Then keep up.”

Cinnamon Twist sped up, and Frostinilla needed to jog continuously to stay behind her. Lemon Drop grabbed Chippy Chocolate’s wrist and ran up to the others.

“Where are we going?” Lemon Drop asked when they caught up.

“Away,” Cinnamon Twist put simply.

“She just wants to get us away from,” Frostinilla trailed off, not wanting anyone overhearing.

“Oh,” Lemon Drop said, understanding immediately.

They followed Cinnamon Twist in silence. She led them through the city, somewhere to the other side. They had no clue as to where they could go. Cinnamon Twist led them into a clothing shop, the first she noticed.

“What are we doing here?” Frostinilla asked.

“We should change,” Cinnamon Twist said quietly.

Lemon Drop gave a slight shrug as if to say, “she does have a point.”

Chippy Chocolate’s eyes brightened as she looked around. The bright colors and new items had lifted her spirits just enough to wipe her frown away. She let go of Lemon Drop’s arm and went off to look around. Lemon Drop was right behind her. Even if Chippy Chocolate didn’t seem to need support, Lemon Drop didn’t feel comfrotable letting her roam free on her own.

Lemon Drop’s protective instinct brought Vanilla Bean to Frostinilla’s mind. She missed her younger sister. The thoughts were maddening. How could she have ran after Cinnamon Twist? She should have stayed back to protect her sister. Frostinilla only hoped that one day she would see her young sister again. The filly needed her.

“Start looking,” Cinnamon Twist ordered, smacking Frostinilla’s shoulder with the back of her hand.

Frostinilla sighed and walked over to a shelf of clothing to browse. She went through a pile of jeans. She wasn’t sure how to tell what would fit. She lifted a pair and turned it around, trying to analyze the sizing.

“Can I help you?”

Frostinilla turned around. A woman with short black hair was standing with her arms crossed and hip leaning out. She looked impatient. The tapping of her foot just verified that.

“Um.” Frostinilla wasn’t sure what to say. She hadn’t communicated with any of these things since they arrived. She was nervous. “I uh-”

“You know this is the men’s section, right?”

Frostinilla laughed awkwardly. “Well, I-uh.”

The woman rolled her eyes. “You might want to check over there.”

She pointed behind her with her thumb, but Frostinilla looked up, misunderstanding the motion.

“Over there!” The woman reached her entire arm behind her to point to the women's section at the other side.

“Oh.” Frostinilla blushed.

“Haven’t you ever shopped before?” the woman asked.

“Yeah,” Frostinilla said. “Just not-Just not here.”

“Oh, right. This place is just sooo different from where you’re used to shopping,” the woman said sarcastically. “Although,” she looked Frostinilla up and down. “This must be a huge step up from the garbage cans you usually visit.”

“What was that?” Cinnamon Twist asked, walking up to Frostinilla’s side.

Her cold expression had returned. There was violent intent shining in her eyes. The intent gaze threw the woman off. She didn’t seem to know how to respond to it. She even looked a little scared. Frostinilla wasn’t sure, but it seemed that Cinnamon Twist was pretty intimidating to these things. It wasn’t surprising. She was pretty crazy.

“Is there something wrong?” Cinnamon Twist asked.

The woman shook her head. “Just trying to help this girl out.”

Cinnamon Twist looked at the woman suspiciously, then turned to Frostinilla. “What’s going on?” she asked.

Frostinilla shrugged. “I’m looking at the wrong stuff, I guess.”

“What are you supposed to be looking at?”

Frostinilla extended her arm and pointed with a close fist to where the woman had pointed earlier. The woman looked at the expression with a raised eyebrow.

“Then get over there,” Cinnamon Twist said, as if she should have already gone.

Frostinilla obliged and Cinnamon Twist followed her over. “So what are we getting?” Frostinilla asked.

“Oh my god!”

Frostinilla ans Cinnamon Twist both turned to the sound of the woman’s outburst. She was walking past racks and shelves. Cinamon Twist and Frostinilla both went after her.

“What do you think you’re doing?” the woman asked in outrage. “We have fitting rooms for that!”

Frostinilla poked her head over the woman to see Chippy Chocolate wearing a dress much too big for her. Her own dress was lying in a heap on the floor. Her expression was dazed and confused. It was like that of a filly that had just woken up where it had not fallen asleep. Lemon Drop stood in front of Chippy Chocolate like a protective mother.

“You can’t just change out in the middle of the store!” the woman raged.
She pushed past Lemon Drop to look directly at Chippy Chocolate. Lemon Drop grabbed the woman’s shoulder and pulled her away. She wouldn’t let anyone near Chippy Chocolate. The woman shoved Lemon Drops hand away and went back towards Chippy Chocolate. Lemon Drop took it as a threat and, again, grabbed the woman’s shoulder.

“Back off!” the woman said as she spun around on her heal.

“Stay away from her,” Lemon Drop said thorugh gritted teeth.

“Are you kidding me? She just undressed in the middle of the store!”

“I could put my own dress back on,” Chippy Chocolate said under her breath, undoing the zipper in the back of the dress she was wearing.

“Stop that!”

The woman reached out to stop her, but Lemon Drop grabbed her wrist. She held it in a tight grip and the woman started to yell.

“What the fuck is wrong with you people?”

People? Frostinilla mulled the word over in her mind. Is that what they were? It must have been. What else would it refer to. She just called them people, didn’t she?

The woman almost slapped Lemon Drop, but Lemon Drop grabbed her other wrist before she managed to hit. Lemon Drop’s expression became fierce and the woman tried to pull back.

“What the hell do you think you’re doing?” the woman asked.

“Leave her alone,” Lemon Drop said sternly.

“Alright!” The woman yanked her arms free and backed away. She looked around and to each of the girls. “Get out of hear! All of you!”

Chippy Chocolate ran past and left the shop. The woman didn’t even care that she still had the dress. The others followed her. Cinnamon Twist managed to catch up to her and pulled her back to slow down. She stayed by her side and Lemon Drop walked on her other side. Frostinilla walked from behind, looking back to see if the woman would follow them for any reason. She wondered if anyone would bother them later for taking the dress.

Cinnamon Twist pulled Chippy Chocolate around a corner and down another alley.

“Let me see the bag,” she said, pulling her to a halt.

Chippy Chocolate obliged and handed her the bag. She didn’t say a word, only nodded. Cinnamon Twist went through the bag and pulled out her own mask.

“What are you doing?” Frostinilla asked.

“Getting us some new clothes,” Chippy Chocolate said, putting the mask on.

Her body glowed bright and morphed into a glowing orb. The light morphed into the form of a pony and Cinnamon Twist was standing before them in her original pony form.

“I’ll be right back,” she said, bolting away.

“Wait!” Frostinilla called, but it was useless.

She picked up the bag that Cinnamon Twist dropped and found her own mask. She put it on and let the light take over and change her back into the form she was more used to.

“You wait here!” she told the other two before running off.

Luckily, they hadn’t gone far and finding the shop wasn’t difficult at all. She had no issue getting through the crowd either. Poeple just ran out of her way. Shocked looks and squeals were everywhere. People just stepped away and stared at Frostinilla, not sure how to react. Some jumped away with obvious fright, others backed away in what seemed to be disgust.
Frostinilla heard a scream coming from the shop she was headed for. She quickened her pace and pushed through the door. She ran to the back of the shop where she found Cinnamon Twist and the woman. Again, Cinnamon Twist was using her magic for levitation. She had the woman up in the air pressed against the ceiling. The woman let out another scream. She hadn’t said a word. She didn’t have to. All of her fear was written across her face.

“Cinnamon Twist, stop this!” Frostinilla yelled.

“What’s going on?” someone asked from the entrance.

A man had entered, along with two others. They were looking at the ponies, confused. “What the hell are you doing?” he asked.

“Can they even understand us?” another man asked.

“Get rid of them!” Cinnamon Twist demanded.

The men looked shocked when they heard her speak.

“What?” Frostinilla asked. “How am I supposed to do that?”

“Figure it out!” Cinnamon Twist snapped.

Frostinilla trod over to the med. She wasn’t sure where to begin or what to do at all. They looked back at her.

“We aren’t going anywhere,” the man said. “Not ‘till you let that young lady go.”

Frostinilla sighed. “This would go so much easier if you’d just leave.”

The three men advanced towards her. At first she backed away, but then she stood her ground. Her expression hardened and she bared her teeth. The men stopped and condsidered the situation. After a moment, the leading man laughed. Frostinilla turned her head to the side, wondering what they thought was so funny.

“It’s kind of cute, isn’t it?” the laughing man asked.

The other two looked at eachother, unsure of whether they should be agreeing or not. Frostinilla didn’t give them a chance to decide. She galloped at full speed, right for them. They scattered, avoiding getting run over. Frostinilla ran into the door and fell onto her flank. Her head spun and she rubbed it with her hoof.

“Shit! She broke it.” A man was pointing at the door she ran into.

A crack trailed its way down the center.

“Forget the door,” the first man said.

He ran toward Frostinilla, ready to strike her with his fist. Frostinilla quickly spun around on her flank and lied down on her back. Before he managed to strike, she kicked him hard in the stomach with her back legs. The man went flying back and crashed into the shelves against the wall. He fell to the floor and the shelves fell right onto him.

“Holy crap!” another man said.

The other two both ran to him. While they put their combined effort into lifting the fallen shelf off of the man, Frostinilla hopped onto her hooves.

“Leave,” she said sternly.

The two men lifted the shelving and shoved it back up against the wall. The other was holding the back of his head and groaning in pain. He sat up, but immediately curled back over and clutched his stomach. He began coughing aggressively. Blood splattered the flooring before him. He looked up at Frostinilla once the coughing had ceased. Blood streaked the lower portion of his face, dripping from his lips.

Frostinilla’s stomach churned, but she choked back the uncomfortable feeling rising in her thought. “Leave!” she said again. The other two grabbed the injured man by each arm and helped him to the door. Frostinilla stepped away and let them leave. One of them looked back as they left, but Frostinilla met his gaze with the coldest stare that she could manage. He looked away, carrying his friend. She saw him pull out a tiny device and start pressing buttons.

“I think they might be alerting someone!” Frostinilla warned Cinnamon Twist, who was stuffing bags full of clothing. She still had the woman up against the cieling.

“What?!” Cinnamon Twist asked. “Why didn’t you kill them?”

“What?! You just said to get them out of here!”

“I told you to get rid of them!”

“I did!” Frostinilla argued.

“Yeah and now we might just be getting a lot more. You should have just killed them!”

"Not all of us are so easily able to kill!" Frostinilla burst.

The woman in the air began to wail. “Let me go!” she screamed, her face was glistening from her tears.

“We need to go!” Frostinilla said.

“We need to take care of this one,” Cinnamon Twist said, pointing at the woman, who let out another shrill cry.

“We don’t have time! Just forget it,” Frostinilla pleaded. “What’s more important? Getting back at someone for something very minor, or getting out of here alive? Honestly, if you’re so determined to find revenge, save your life for the ones that really deserve it!” Frostinilla didn’t know where that came from, but it worked.

Cinnamon Twist let the woman fall with a thud and ran for the door. She couldn’t push it open, so she turned around to kick the glass into pieces with her hind legs. She jumped over the broken glass and galloped away. Frostinilla followed her. People screamed as they pushed through the crowd.They ran past the alley that they had left Lemon Drop and Chippy Chocolate in. They didn’t want to lead anyone to them.

They ran about four blocks past the original before they turned behind an alley. Cinnamon Twist lead Frostinilla around another turn before halting. Frostinilla crashed into her and they fell to the ground. They rolled onto their backs and caught their breaths.

“Now what?” Frostinilla asked.

“We get these masks off and change. We should take the dresses off first and leave them. They shouldn’t find it in any form of their own.”

Frostinilla nodded and stood up. She ripped the dress off with her teeth. She was too tired to maneuver her way out of it. Cinnamon Twist did the same. They took their masks off and and sat on the cold pavement. Frostinilla hugged herself. She was so cold. Cinnamon Twist was doing the same. She was hugging the back to her chest, as if trying to hide something.

“Pass me something,” Frostinilla said.

“Oh,” Cinnamon Twist opened the bag and tossed a white cloth over to Frostinilla.

Frostinilla lifted it up and looked it over. It was a simple dress with spaghetti straps. Frostinilla threw it on, not wanting to spend another second feeling so open. It fit a little snuggly, but it wasn’t too tight. The dress fell down past her knees and the top lined nicely against her collarbone.

“You think you could go around the corner?” Cinnamon Twist asked.

“Huh?” Frostinilla asked.

Cinnamon Twist was still on the ground hugging the bag to her chest. She didn’t seem willing to move.

“Thanks,” Cinnamon Twist said quietly.

Frostinilla went around the corner and sat against the brick wall of what she assumed to be the side someone’s home. The buildings around her were very tall. She was surrounded by about four buildings and all of them were about the height of the town hall in ponyville. Why was everything so big here?

Frostinilla began growing impatient after a while of waiting. Cinnamon Twist seemed to be taking an odd amount of time putting on some clothes.

“This isn’t the time to worry about your looks,” Frostinilla said. “There’s nopony here to be pretty for. Can you hurry up?”

“Sorry,” Cinnamon Twist said, walking around the corner. “I’m done now.

She was wearing a pair of jeans that seemed ofly tight. Frostinilla didn’t see how anyone could possibly be comfortable in them. Besides the seater, she was wearing a huge and extremely big grey sweater.

“Ready?” Cinnamon Twist asked.

Frostinilla nodded. They went off to find the others, carrying the bag but leaving the dresses behind.