When Shadows Bleed

Inkblot's eyes slowly opened, only to snap shut again when the burning bright light of day shone through. Covering his eyes as best he could, he raised himself and tried to get a good look around. Clouds still covered the sky, but were beginning to clear. Light poured through these cracks in the clouds, and assaulted Inkblot as he tried to stabilize himself. It didn't help that his head was pounding, and his vision was spinning. Then, a vaguely familiar shape lying on the grass. Moving slowly, his body lethargic, his mind destroyed by anesthetics, he moved toward Trixie.

"T-Tri-xie...", he said weakly, tapping her. He collapsed again. Trixie stirred, and looked around.

"Huh? How...", she started. Then her eyes fell on Inkblot, and she panicked. "Inkblot! Are...are you okay?" Her eyes showed genuine worry.

"Somepony...some...drugged me...", Ink managed to get out. He looked blearily around again. The train wreck was gone, there was no fire, no screaming, no explosions. It was all calm. Eerily calm, to the point that a butterfly flitted over and landed on Inkblot's nose, resting there like nothing was wrong. "I..." He didn't finish, for he blacked out again. Trixie, worried for this new pony, pulled him close, and held his head in her hooves. She didn't remember the passionate kiss they had shared, she didn't remember much at all from their mushroom trip, other than his name, of course. Hopeless, she let him rest, and walked about, trying to find some kind of shelter.

"Remember kid. This all done mmph! procedurally. You just ha GET IN THERE DAMMIT! have to let it happen.", said the pony. The sound of the voice sounded both male and female, and at the same time, neither, monotone, robotic. The colt simply stared in shock as the pony flayed Pinkie, who was gagged. Every cut it made with the saw, every smack across the face, every hit with the different tools elicited a muffled scream, which was quickly silenced by the crying that quickly followed suite.

"Why...", was all the colt could get out. He simply lay splayed on the ground, in a state of shock. The pony had been very quick to stun him, putting some kind of numbing, paralysing drug in his system. It just happened all to quick. One second he had been walking past Pinkie, the next, he was laying on the ground, unable to move, and Pinkie was being attacked.

"Why? I don't actually know, to tell you the truth. So...STOP KICKING YOU LITTLE BITCH!...sometimes, I feel that I do it for the fun of it, but sometimes, I do it because I am asked to. Contract killer? Maybe. Freelancer? You bet you...leave that nail in place, or I swear it goes down your throat...your sorry ass I am.", the pony said. The colt felt some feeling return, and struggled to move, but only achieved a small twitch in one of his legs. He watched helplessly as the pony began to beat Pinkie to death, until finally, there was a hit and no scream. Pinkie was dead. The colt began to cry.

"You...you...", he began.

"Monster? Ha. Don't psyche yourself up kid.", the pony said. With that, it walked over to the colt. "Now, usually, a murderer doesn't want a witness, so I could kill you right now. You are lucky, however, that I have some minor sympathy for children who are in the wrong place at the wrong time." The colt, hearing this hopeful news, nodded vigorously, not realizing that the effects of the drug were wearing off, and that he could make a break for it.

"I promise...I won't tell nopony!", he cried.

"I know, and that is why I do this...", the pony said. Flicking a scalpel out, he took the colt's eyelids, and began to slowly sever them, enveloped in sadistic pleasure. The colt couldn't scream, he found, but the pain still shot through his body like a bullet, like hot metal searing through his insides. It was an agonizing ten minutes before the pony finally stepped away, carrying the colts now severed and bleeding eyelids. "Now, you won't be able to unsee this." The colt began to cry, a sobbing, high pitch wheeze. His tears fell off his eyes, with no skin to roll off of. The pony leaned down, and catching some of the tears, said: "Remember kid. Your tears fuel my fire..."

The colt, with an earsplitting shriek, awoke. He looked around, and found he was in some sort of jail cell. How he had managed to dream, let alone fall asleep, without the ability to close his eyes caught him as strange. The country pony, one he knew by voice, but not by name, sat in a chair not far from his cell. She was looking at him, and waited for him to get his bearings. Then, she walked over to him.

"Hey...bad dream?", she asked softly. The colt nodded. "What about?"

"...P-Pinkie...", he replied. Then, he shook his head, signaling that he would say no more, that he didn't want to talk about it anymore. AJ understood. If she had relieved a murder in her dreams, she wouldn't want to talk about to just anyone.

"It's alright, little one. Ah sent some letters out, and ah am goin' to get ya some help.", she said. She sat down. "So, what is your name?" The colt looked suspiciously at her.

"Blue Mood...", he said softly, barely a whisper, and then, much louder: "You tears fuel my fire." AJ closed her eyes for a second, but made sure to turn away when she did so, not wanting to mock Blue. What a terrible name for a child...ah guess it doesn't really get much worse than what he is going through right now. His name is such a bad omen to his life. Rarity...she was the first there according to some. Would she know what Blue meant by 'Your tears fuel mah fire?' Ah don't know, but it's worth a shot.

"Whose fire? Ah know you can't possibly be the killer. Anything that helps us find that sum...evil pony who did this to ya." In response, Blue walked to the center of the room, and began to mutter to himself. He drew in the dirt, his eyes transfixed on everything, but at the same time, nothing. He was there in body, but in mind, he was gone. He was suffering. He was in post-trauma.

"Your...my fire...tears....my fire...fuel....tears", were only a few of the words that AJ picked up, but it was enough to know he was repeating the same thing over and over again his head. Unable to close his eyes, unable to forget, to unsee what had been done. It was driving him insane. Something needed to be done, before things got out of hoof. To AJ, however, it was too late. That pony who did this, he attacked two ponies at once, and did a number on both. He or she killed my friend, and scarred this little child. Things are already out of hoof, and have been for a long time. To AJ, this was already personal. Applebloom's accident. Before, so convincing. Now...

Time is up...

Trixie had stumbled along blindly for some time now, only knowing that she had moved forward, as to not lose Inkblot. Then, she saw a sight that she would never thought to be so comforting.

"Ponyville...a place where we can find peace...I guess it is time to put aside feuds and grudges, because now, now is not the time to be fighting...", she breathed. Her eyes swept the landscape, and she smiled. She turned around and raced back to Inkblot.

Inkblot was just waking up, again, when Trixie started to tap him. He looked at her, and smiled, and she blushed.

"I found someplace to stay.", she said. Ink smiled again.

"That's good...did you check to see if there are any other survivors?", Inkblot asked, getting shakily up.

"Yeah. I think we are the only ones, but then again, I don't see a train wreck, so it is possible we were moved?", Trixie half stated, half asked. Inkblot just shrugged.

"That somepony who drugged me after the train wreck, he or she might have, but I can't be sure.", Ink said. He looked around, and started to panic. "Where is my satchel!?" He began to run around, looking everywhere. Trixie, having not done serious hallucinogenics, did not have the dependency on them that Ink did. Ink, resorting to his last measure, used a trick that usually crept ponies out. He closed his eyes, and calmed his breathing. He began to walk forward, almost aimlessly, but with an air of purpose. He reached a patch of longer grass, and started digging. He found his satchel, completely unharmed except for a few burn marks where the brown had been blackened, a few inches under the ground. He slung it around his shoulder, and walked back to Trixie.

"How did you..."

"I don't know. It just comes to me. I don't usually do that...it is a long story...I will be sure to tell you at some point.", Ink said quickly. With a shrug, Trixie began walking.

"This way.", she called back to Ink, who started following her. They walked in silence for some time. "So...about that kiss...on the train..."

"You and I were high. We had no idea what we were doing. Anything could have happened. We should consider it lucky that we only kissed, and didn't take it any farther than that.",  Ink said simply, knowing what happened. Multiple times he had been a situation similar, but there had never been physical contact. This was because when he usually got in that kind of situation, he was in the open, and escaping wasn't hard. On the train, however, there had been no escape, so he had to let it just happen. Besides, he would actually have preferred it to happen rather than not. It wasn't everyday that a pony that was as pretty in Ink's eyes as Trixie wanted to kiss him.

"Okay...I just wanted to make sure you knew that this wasn't the start of anything...", Trixie said, with a nod of response from Ink. Facing forward again, she let the blush come back. Is it not, Trixie? Don't tell me that you didn't love the way his hooves caressed you when you kissed. Before you even try to argue, don't even think about denying the fact that you want to feel that all over again, to feel his lips against yours, to feel his hooves hold you close and tight. You loved every second of that, and you want more. So why don't you just tell him the truth. You know the way he looks at you. It wouldn't be a dangerous bet to say that he possibly wants the same. "Maybe later...", Trixie unconsciously said out loud.

"What was that?", Ink asked, now right beside her, his long and sure gait able to match hers in perfect time. Trixie's blush went a deep rose red.

"N-nothing...", she said, and attempted to pull ahead again. That's when the bomb went off in her head. She screamed and fell to the ground in spasms. Ink was at her side in less that a second.

"TRIXIE!?", he shouted. She didn't hear. She wasn't aware that her screaming had become rhythmic, each one loud and in time with each explosion that went off in her head. She seizured, she spasmed, she violently twitched on the ground. It was over in under a minute. Ink felt her pulse. Nothing. Checked her breath. No movement. Her eyes, glazed over and lifeless. Ink stared in shock, and fell to the ground. "Oh...nonono...why...what has she done wrong!? WHAT HAS SHE DONE WRONG!?" Inkblot saw Ponyville over the rise, and, one of very few tears that ever escaped him fell to the grass. Picking up Trixie's lifeless body, he walked solemnly towards Ponyville.

So much for a good vacation...I swear to Celestia...if it was that pony who drugged me who did this to her...I am going to make him or her wish that they never lived...

Twilight was out walking, trying desperately hard to focus. It wasn't easy when you lost somepony so close to you, it was almost like family.

Who am I kidding? Pinkie was family. All of us are just one big family. Dash, Rarity, AJ, Fluttershy...all of us going through the same trauma, the same depression. Why? Simple. We were a family. To everyone else, we lost a friend, but to us, we lost a sister, somepony who would always be there for us in our best times and our roughest times. To be there and make things happy and joyful and wonderful...

Twilight, unable to hold it back any longer, simply collapsed in tears. Her body shook violently with each sob, her cries loud, but unheard by others. Then, a voice called out to her, male and pained, just a she was.

"Hello!?", the voice called. Twilight looked blearily up, and saw said stallion standing not far from her. Something was on his back...but Twilight couldn't tell, not yet.

"Y-Yes?", Twilight asked. She blinked away the tears. This pony wasn't from around here. He was from Manehatten, she could very easily tell from his voice.

"Oh thank Celestia! Can you come and help me?", he shouted, only inching closer. He seemed tired, and out of it, his body shaking. His breathing was calm, but big inhales signified exhaustion. Twilight raced over to him, then skidded to a stop. She recognized that shape on his back. It was...it was... "Let me take one guess...grudge?" Twilight nodded and shot a glare at the limp body of Trixie. Of course, just as Ink was clueless to Pinkie's death, Twilight was clueless to Trixie's.

"I can't carry her.", Twilight almost spat.

"Well you're a unicorn! Can you just use some magic to help at least lighten the load?"

"You are a unicorn too!"

"I am too weak to do it...I promise I will explain later...please?" Ink looked tiredly, but understandingly at Twilight. His eyes showed grim honesty, though the cynical look never left them. Twilight had one final question, a question too obvious to not know would be asked.

"Why should I?"

"She is dead...and I was drugged with some kind of anesthetic...I am too exhausted to carry the full load anymore...and my mind is too blurry to focus on magic..." It only took the first sentence for Twilight's breath to catch in her throat.

"W-what?" She had to sit down, for her world was spinning. She...she can't be dead! Unless...he killed her? No...his eyes are too honest, his manner too truthful. His voice is pained also, like losing her wasn't an easy thing for him...but perhaps he is lying? The reply came back almost instantly. You can't know for sure, but what if he is telling the truth?

"Yeah...", Inkblot replied. Twilight got up, and with the application of simple magic, made Trixie feel almost weight less.

"Follow me. You can rest in my home. From there, we can arrange something for Trixie." Inkblot nodded, and followed Twilight.

"I don't believe I caught your name." Inkblot said. "My name is Inkblot Stain. Everyone just calls me Ink, or Inkblot. If my accent doesn't give it away, I am not from around here."

"My name is Twilight Sparkle. Just call me Twilight..." It wasn't long before they reached Twilight's home, where they stepped inside, and closed the door. Twilight lead Inkblot upstairs, and helped him lay Trixie on a bed. He sat up beside her, and caressed her head with sadness. Twilight felt her pulse, checked her breathing. Nothingness. So he was telling the truth... A single, lonely tear fell on Trixie, and Inkblot wiped it away carefully, as if the slightest rough touch would corrupt Trixie, even in death. "So...what exactly happened?" Twilight noticed that another thing Inkblot held close was a simple satchel, charred in a few places. He kept it tucked close, as if there was something he treasured, or something he feared to be seen, inside. I wonder what's in there...

"Well...I was on a train coming from Manehatten to here, and so was Trixie. We ended up in the same row, and began to talk. We formed a pretty good bond in the short amount of time, finding that it would be nice to call each other friends. Then, the train crashed. It was all I could do to protect Trixie from the impacts. As we lay on the ground, Trixie unconscious, this pony walked up to me and drugged me. When Trixie and I awoke again, were lying in the grass, not too far from here. The train wreck was gone, everything was pristine. I blacked out again, and apparently in that time, Trixie found this place, and rushed back to me. We were walking here together when she fell to the ground in seizures and spasms. I didn't know what to do. When that was over, she was gone. Not wanting to leave her out there, I brought her, hoping to find a proper burial for her. That is when I stumbled across you." Twilight bit her cheek, and nodded. That would explain the bruises and cuts on both him and Trixie.

"Why were you coming here?"

"Vacation...I just needed to get away from...from..." My shitty life, the closed walls of my small home that close even tighter, marking my progress into insanity and depression... "from the city life, I guess. It was just all so busy. I just wanted a place to relax, where I could find some peace and quiet, and maybe even just some happiness. Just a nice place to be." Twilight nodded yet again.

"Happiness is not something you are going to find here.", Twilight said.

"And why is that?", Ink asked, genuinely curious.

"Well, today my best friend was murdered. At least, sometime early this morning..." Ink simply stared, and would have kept doing so if he hadn't felt something.

"Wha...", he murmured. He looked down at Trixie. I swear I just felt...there it is again! A light bump on his hoof. Almost like...A heartbeat! The bump was now a thump, and getting steadily stronger and faster. A small twitch, and Trixie's eyes moved ever so slightly. Then, they slowly fluttered open. The first thing they saw was the brown of Inkblot's, and a smile spread across her face.

"Hey...", it was barely even a breath, but Ink heard it nonetheless and he smiled and cried in joy.

"Trixie! You're okay!", he cried out. Trixie nodded weakly, and pressed herself against him. He helped her sit up, and the first thing she did was to lie back down, except this time, against Ink's chest. Twilight was so surprised by the whole thing, that she could do nothing but simply gawk. Then she noticed something. Inkblot's eyes had changed. The cynicism in the had left entirely, leaving behind joy and care. It was then that Twilight truly saw Inkblot, noticed how handsome he was, realized his utter devotion to keeping Trixie safe, saw how they looked at each other, how they alone seemed to emit a glow of happiness so strong, Twilight didn't realize herself smiling until her cheeks hurt with the effort. Yet, even among this, she felt that evil, evil emotion that was innately within everypony. That emotion that could drive ponies to dangerous lengths. That horrible emotion called jealousy. One look at the two, and her heart yearned for someone of her own. For some strange reason, Inkblot in particular. It seemed that old grudges didn't entirely go away, and Twilight wanted to now deal just that more damage by stealing Inkblot away from Trixie. For now, she pushed the thought away, cursing it. There was key words in there, however.

For now..., her mind whispered back to her. For now...