When Shadows Bleed

So cold...I can't blink...what happened to me? The colt looked around. He tried desperately hard to blink, that's what his body urged him to do, nearly drove himself insane trying to do. It just wouldn't happen. The colt began to panic. Tears welled up in his eyes, and his vision blurred. Just before the child let out a wail, a blob of pink caught his desperate, unblinking eyes. For a moment, his hopes spiked, his heart beat faster. He "blinked" away the blurriness, giving his head a little shake to throw the tears off, just to find himself wanting to cry even more than before. The heap of pink wasn't friendly, wasn't inviting and comforting and pleasant. The pink was covered in red also, a lot of it. It flowed and ran and covered the ground. Something white protruded out of the pink, looking like a piece of splintered wood. The colt, his emotions unable to hold back any longer, screamed.

Rarity, out and about, heard the shrill scream and winced. The morning was already gloomy enough. Clouds completely covered the sun, and the smell of storm hung about like fog, surrounding and enveloping and ominous. It had already rained the previous night, but Rarity knew Nature wasn't done yet. Far off thunder brought proof to this. It was then that Rarity regained her focus on what was going on, and found herself already galloping towards the scream. She rounded a corner...and skidded to a dead halt, her heart stopping in a weird mixture of fear, horror, and disgust.

A small colt, a very young child, by the looks, sat on the street corner, wailing and screaming. He was a light shade of blue, with a darker blue mane and tail. Two small wings were folded at his side. Next to him lay the unmistakable pink of Pinkie Pie. Except, the once vibrant pony, lay lethargic on the ground. Not just lethargic, to Rarity's horror as she got close, but still, an effigy now. A dead, bloody, mutilated effigy. Rarity closed the distance quickly, and for the moment, forgot about the small colt, whose screams simmered down to little sobs when he saw Rarity.

"Pinkie...what happened to you?", Rarity asked softly. She felt her own tears well up, and then let the dam break, not caring anymore. She backed up a few steps, and tripped over her own hooves and fell down hard. "Oh Celestia...Pinkie...oh..." What she was staring at wasn't Pinkie any more. Half of Pinkie's face was gone, looking as if torn roughly off. Her chest was slashed open in multiple places, and parts of what was undoubtedly her rib cage stuck out at odd angles, the sharp bone piercing through the skin. Her mane and tail had been severed completely off, including the skin that had connected them to her body. One her legs lay a flattened and bloody mess. That wasn't to say the rest of her body wasn't like that. In all truth, Pinkie herself was just one big, broken, bleeding mess. Rarity remembered the colt and turned to look at him.

"Did...did you see this happen?", she asked, sobs turning her voice into an unintelligible mumbles after that. Then, she realized the sick irony of her question, when she saw the colt had no eyelids. "Wha...ha-happened to y-y-y..." Rarity gulped and calmed herself. "Eyelids?" The colt opened his mouth to say something, but then a very evil curtain flapped over his mind, allowing only one thought through. One thought that reduced the colt's mind to mush. His lip trembled and he whispered something cryptic. "What was that?" Rarity got close so she could hear this time.

"Y...Your tears fuel my fire...", the colt choked out. Rarity gasped and glared at the little colt, having no idea of the trauma that he had been through.

"You? You-you couldn't have done...this!", Rarity stammered. The colt looked sadly at her, but then a thought came to mind. A dark, sickening thought, but one that might help clarify this. Moving slowly, his body feeling like cement, the colt moved to Pinkie's body, and dipped his hoof in the blood. "What are you...!?", Rarity asked angrily. The colt walked out into the street, and began to write something. Though angry, and slightly sickened, that the colt would put his hooves in Pinkie's blood, curiosity won her over, and she moved to see better what the colt was doing. Multiple times he had to come back to the blood to get more, but soon, his cryptic message lay written in blood in the street. By this time many ponies had gathered, and either stood in shock or left to find authority. Rarity looked at the drawing, blinked to be sure what she was seeing was real, and looked again. The colt's message was the same, but the "o" in "Your" was a tear, with the tip pointed with an arrow. It was then that Twilight burst through the crowd, and rushed to Pinkie's side.

"NO!", she cried in despair. "NO,NO,NO!" Tears spilled freely from her eyes, and her body shook with sobs. "WHO DID THIS!?" The colt walked over to her, and said one little word. A little word that would be one of the last sensible things he said.

"Shadows..."

When do the overlooked, the mistreated, the rejects, get a second shot? If you answered anything but never, you are so horribly wrong. It is why we are rejects. It is why we are overlooked. Hell, I am asking this question in my journal that no one other than me is going to read. Shouldn't that be proof enough?, Inkblot Stain wrote. I mean, no one seems to even notice me! I went for an interview to become a journalist, and I swear to Celestia, the interviewer took one look at me, and somehow, by some fucked up "divine intervention", "knew" not to let me take the job. He asked me a few questions, and his response, "I will consider your application.", was enough of a no to me as I needed. What a prick...

Ink Blot finished his finished his journal entry, and got up. He sighed in something that was part desperation, and part depression. He looked around his dreary Manehatten apartment. What there was to look at, anyway. It was small, furnished with nothing but a bed, a cheap desk, and some light fixtures, consisting of a few roof lights, and a lamp. The rest of the furnishings were just drawings and paintings that Inkblot did in his spare time. The walls were brick, and nopony had ever bothered to paint them, so that is just what they were. Brick. Boring, hard, stupid Brick.

A small mirror hung up in his apartment, usually only used for inspiration. Looking at himself now, Inkblot scowled and shook his head. He was actually quite a handsome pony, but when nopony bothered to even throw you a glance, and you went through life like you didn't even exist, it lowered your expectations, a lot. He was on the lighter tan side, but had a black mane and tail. The hair of his mane was so fine and jet black, that it looked like a moving ink stain on his back., hence his name. His height was just above average. Two cynical walnut brown eyes judged himself. A horn stuck out between his long hair. With another exasperated sigh, he looked away. He sat down among his many pieces of art. He sold one every so often for a good amount of money, at least something good to say about his life, and it was that money he got from selling paintings and doing odd jobs that scraped up just enough for him to survive on. He could pay the rent, buy food and necessities, and have the occasional trip, but that was it. Then, there was the drug problem.

"Damn these things...", Inkblot muttered to himself, pushing away the bag of hallucinogenics. Push us away all you want, but we all know that you will just come running back to us, begging for more. You're a filthy addict, a stupid nopony. That is why you started taking us in the first place, though, no?, they seemed to taunt. Inkblot jerked his head away, and started towards the door. He reached for the knob, froze, let his hoof fall back down. Fetching his satchel, which carried everything he needed to go through daily life, and stuffing the bag of assorted substances in there, he was finally able to comfortably go outside. Using his magic, all self taught, and actually quite powerful despite that setback, he locked his door so nopony else could break in. There was a small town he had heard about across Equestria, Ponyville, and he planned on going there. He had already bought the train ticket. All he needed to do now was get on, and leave this horrible city behind for a week. Celestia help the soul of anypony unfortunate enough to try to ruin his vacation. Celestia help them indeed.

The funeral for Pinkie was as dreary as the day, as dreary as Inkblot's apartment. Mourners slowly shuffled through, giving their best regards to the other's that had made up the Elements of Harmony, that group of friends and peace-activists who saved the town over and over again. In fact, the entire town seemed to have lost all of it's light, all it's happiness and liveliness now that Pinkie was gone. She had kept the town abuzz with all sorts of fun, but most of all, she had brought fun into the lives of the other five.

'Ah...Ah need to step outside for a moment...", Applejack whispered to Twilight, who nodded. AJ walked outside, just as the first of the rain began to fall. Pinkie's body had been taken away a few hours earlier, leaving the town in shock. AJ let the first of her tears finally drip to the ground, splashing and merging with the other puddles of water. That is what everypony was, though, no? Just one small little pebble amongst the rocks, just one small drop of water in a big puddle. Something so small that took part in something much larger. Then why did Pinkie's death cause such a big ripple, such a big landslide? It's because of her unity with the town. She tried so hard to make everypony happy, so hard to make them feel like they belonged., AJ thought. "Pinkie...if-if you can hear me, wherever you are...ah won't let you go...if it is the last thing ah do, it will be to kill that horrible sumbitch who did this to you...it ain't gonna be the same around here without ya...ah already miss ya...ah didn't even get to say goodbye...nopony did...and ah think that is what hurts us the most..." AJ felt a wing wrap around her, and the warm lips of Fluttershy kiss her.

"It is, AJ. It is what hurts us the most.", she said softly, leaning into AJ. The two had held a secret relationship for some time now, with no one who knew but Twilight, who had helped them confront, and finally confess, their feelings for each other.

"It sure is nice to have someone, 'specially in a time like this.", AJ said. Fluttershy smiled sadly, and kissed AJ again.

"Yeah...", Fluttershy replied. There was some time of silence. "We need somepony to try to solve this case...I just don't feel comfortable with a killer running amok..."

"Ah actually had that on my mind. Ah am going to send some letters, hopefully we can get somepony out here. Ah want to avenge Pinkie's death.", AJ said. She stomped one of hooves in a puddle, splashing it everywhere.

"Hush, dear. One death is enough. I don't need you to go out murdering somepony else, even out of revenge...", Fluttershy said. Perhaps it was her soft and gentle touch, perhaps it was the logic behind her words, but for whatever reason, AJ calmed down.

"You are right...", she replied. Looking back and seeing that the line had dwindled, they walked back to AJ's farm together. Together, they felt safer and found that they could forget most things. It was together that they felt that they could push through this event that had depressed them beyond anything before. Anyways, if they wanted to forget, they could also try to forget about the colt with the missing eyelids, at least for the time being...but as time goes, it tends to repeat itself in the worst ways...

The train ride was going to be long, and Inkblot knew this. Huddled in his seat, thanking Celestia that he was alone in his row, Inkblot let his mind wander. He reached down into his satchel, and brought out the bag of drugs. He absently reached in a grabbed a mushroom. He sealed and put away the bag, and just sat staring at the mushroom. A mare walked by, backtracked, and then froze when she saw what held in his hooves. He looked up.

"Is that...?", she asked, and backed up in the slightest.

"Listen, don't tell anypony, please? I am not actually going to take it, I am just looking at it. I have been trying to break the addiction for some time now, but I still can't seem to go anywhere without these things.", he said. He got a good look at the mare. She was young, a little younger than he was. He was probably around 23, putting her at just about 21. She was pretty, a blue with a white-light blue mane and tail. She was a unicorn. She had innocent and wary, deep purple eyes, the eyes of an adult just beginning to realize what it meant to come of age. She scowled and looked around, and then sidled into the seat next to him. Feeling slightly uncomfortable, Inkblot flinched.

"Maybe I can make an exception for you if you give me...one...", she said, her eyes darting to the ground and back to him in shame. Inkblot stared and cocked his head, and then let out a soft chuckle. Knowing that he wasn't going to judge her, she let out a chuckle of relief.

"Why didn't you just say so?", he said calmly. He gave her the mushroom, and grabbed another for himself. They ate them, and then lay back to let the effects kick in. Within a few minutes, the full effects of a hallucinogenic trip were washing over them. Inkblot wrapped his hooves around her, and she lay her head back against his chest. Outside the train, it rained drops of light, of pure euphoria. Inside the train, the color and the patterns popped out and moved and danced. Everything was just beautiful.

"I don't think I ever introduced myself...my name is Trixie...", Trixie slurred. Inkblot smiled at her.

"My name is...is...ah damn...", Inkblot said. He looked away and spaced out. Trixie laughed softly.

"You're cute...", she said, and blushed.

"Inkblot! That's my name...!", Inkblot shouted suddenly, startling Trixie, who then started to laugh softly again. She flipped around so she could look up at Inkblot. She smiled, and Inkblot, who was now looking back at her, smiled back. To him, her eyes were pools of purple, glowing and beautiful and entrancing. To her, his eyes were giant wheels of art, of architecture that popped out at her. His touch...euphoric. Her touch...calming, inviting.  She started raising her head to his, which he didn't realize, for he had spaced out again. "Can't be-beli....just met...", he said, and then they were kissing. He caressed her, and she embraced him. A bump set them apart, and woke them up from their passionate kiss. They looked around, and the sound of screeching filled their ears, followed by another larger bump, and an explosion.

"What was that...?", Trixie asked. Another explosion, and a bigger bump, this one throwing both ponies into the air. Inkblot pulled Trixie in close again.

"HOLD ON!", he shouted over another explosion. Then they were rolling, rolling, rolling. They were thrown about, and then hit the ground. Inkblot raised a weak hoof and caressed Trixie, who was knocked out. He looked around, and saw a pony walking up to him.

"You always said you wanted to try new things!", the pony shouted over the sounds of explosions, fire, and screams, neither male nor female, and jabbed a syringe into Inkblot. Inkblot cried out in pain, and then blacked out as the drugs hit his system. The last thing he saw was the pony sitting in the middle of the fire laughing and dancing and moving his hooves  as if he was conducting the orchestra of suffering. Then, nothing.