Cupcakes: Afterparty

Chapter 3:

“I’m sorry…”

Streams rushed down Fluttershy’s face as she looked up at Twilight. Her pitiful eyes said it all. Her irises shivered in true apology. Twilight didn’t understand.

Fluttershy reared up, and placed her left hoof on Twilight’s shoulder to balance herself. Her right foreleg pulled back, ready to strike.

Fluttershy shut her eyes and gritted her teeth. Tears fell even faster now as her hoof stuck forward, punching Twilight with a powerful right hook. The impact worsened Twilight’s headache and splattered blood out her mouth and onto the table.

“I-I’m s-so sorry…”

Another strike lifted and impacted twilight’s cheek. The pulse rang in her ears.

“I’m Sorry….”

Strike!

“I’m Sorry!”

Strike!!

“I’m Sorry!!!”

STRIKE!!!

“I’M SORRY!!”

Fluttershy’s hoof pulled back again. But instead of striking forward again, it shivered in place. Twilight spat the remaining blood from her mouth and looked at the terrified mare. Even though all the abuse, Twilight didn’t care. She wasn’t angry at Fluttershy, but rather she felt sympathy and pity or the mare. She was in pain, she needed help.

“I-I can’t d-do it…”

“You don’t have to do anything Fluttershy, *chough* you can just stop.”

“No-n-no,” Fluttershy’s breathing became rapid as ever. “I-I have to play. I HAVE TO! … She has Angle Twilight, she has Angle. I have to help him; I have to get him back!”

“AAAAAAAAAAH!!”

In her raging cry, Fluttershy struck Twilight once again. Twilight didn’t care; recoiling from the impact, Twilight only looked at Fluttershy with sympathy.

“STOP IT!! Don’t look at me like that. I have to play the game.”

“Then play…”

Fluttershy’s quivering face looked at Twilight with confusion, “What?”

“Play the game, Fluttershy, I don’t mind.” Twilight lifted her muzzle towards Fluttershy and gave her a small, sincere smile.” “Just play the game, get Angle back”

Fluttershy couldn’t take it. She didn’t want it. She didn’t deserve it. She wanted Twilight to hate her for what she was doing. She doesn’t deserve pity; she was a horrible friend. Fluttershy’s rear legs gave away from the turmoil. She fell on her back all rolled to her side. Each leg closed in, curling Fluttershy into a ball. Her forelegs covered her sobbing face. Her right hoof was stained in blood, but it was barely noticeable from all the scares around her body.

Twilight couldn’t do much but watch. Her body was beaten and tired, too exhausted to be angry or say anything. Blood continued to drool between her teeth as Twilight whispered to herself, “Oh Celestia, what did Pinkie do to you?”

Long seconds turned into long minutes. The terrified yellow mare quietly sobbed to herself, while Twilight could only watch. She nearly fell asleep while the screeching trumpet from the metal door announced Pinkie Pie’s return.

She walked in with two white plates balanced perfectly on her back. Twilight couldn’t tell what was on the plate from the only angle she was given, but she did notice something else new. Pinkie got a new necklace. Instead of strung unicorn horns, they were now some kind of white stubs. There were four of them on the sting, but Twilight couldn’t tell what they were from this distance.

“Oh Fluttershy,” Pinkie Pie called, “guess what I got!”

Fluttershy lifted her head only inches from the ground, wiping away so as to see the pink mare. “I-Is it Angle?” Fluttershy’s sobs started to fade.

Now that Pinkie Pie was turned to the side, addressing the wounded Fluttershy, Twilight could now see what was on the plates. Each had a chunk of something very red. The things dripped and oozed out an equally read liquid all around the plates they were on. It took Twilight a few seconds to put the pieces together. It was raw, bloody meat.

“Yep, I got him right here!” Pinkie Pie responded. She took the edge of one of her plates within her teeth and gave it to Fluttershy, placing it on the floor next to her. She then took the other plate in a similar fashion, and placed it on her table of vicious tools. What she did next almost made Twilight puke. Pinkie Pie started to eat the raw chunk of flesh. Fluttershy lay frozen and dumbstruck; staring endlessly at her plate. Pinkie Pie continued to enjoy her first large bite.

Pinkie swallowed and turned to Fluttershy. “What’s wrong Fluttershy, I said you could have Angel back; well, here he is!” Fluttershy started to tremble uncontrollably. “Go ahead; he’s really moist and tender. Oh and don’t get me started on these lucky rabbit feet. I got four of ‘em, and I’ll tell ya, I can already feel the-“

“EEEAAAAAAAAGGGGGHHHHH” Fluttershy couldn’t hold it in any longer. She lifted her head and screamed; not in terror, but in rage. She quickly got to her hooves and launched at Pinkie Pie, sending both crashing to the ground several feet away. Fluttershy forced Pinkie pie on her back. One hoof pinned her to the ground while the other was raised skyward, ready to make another strike.

“I’LL KILL YOU!!” Fluttershy’s eyes where filled with nothing but pure rage. Her hoof shivered heavily, eager to strike.

Cough, Ack, Cough

Suddenly, blood began to flow out Fluttershy’s mouth. She started to choke and drown in it as each cough splattered more and more blood. Her strength quickly drained from her body. Fluttershy’s shivering hoof fell, and the rest of her body followed suit. She fell off, and lay vulnerable next to Pinkie Pie.

Pinkie got up. Her cheerful attitude and smile were unfazed by the sudden attack. She looked down at the wounded pegasus. “Aww, Fluttershy! You shouldn’t have moved around so much…”

Bash!

Pinkie Pie bucked at Fluttershy. “…now I got to retenderize you!”

Fluttershy’s body skidded across the room and stopped right in front of Twilight. Twilight struggled to free herself, to try and help her friend, but to no avail. Her bonds kept her in place, unable to do anything. Twilight couldn’t do much of anything. She teared up and her emotions get the best of her, “STOP IT! Pinkie Pie stop it! Please!”

At first, Pinkie Pie did not react to Twilight. She slowly walked to Fluttershy’s dying body. Only when she stood merely feet from both of her captives did she turn away from Twilight. Pinkie spun her body, and bucked Twilight in her chest. The hoof impacted just under her ribcage, at the diaphragm.

The wind was bucked out of Twilight entirely. Her lungs remained empty for several long seconds. As Twilight desperately tried to refill her lungs, Pinkie Pie reared up and rammed her forehead unto Twilight’s. Pinkie was unfazed, but the impact hit Twilight’s stub of a horn, driving pain through out her skull.

Heads still locked and eyes inches from one another; Pinkie lifted a hoof under Twilight’s muzzle. She whispered to Twilight. “Don’t worry Twi, I’ll play with you later.”

Pinkie got down and returned her gaze onto Fluttershy. The bleeding pegasis lay there, coughing up blood. Pinkie pie reared up and smashed her hooves against her chest.

The impact was blood curling to watch, let alone hear. Twilight watched in disgust as one friend physically beat the other, and smiled while doing it. She could hear the ribs as they cracked and gave into brute force. Blood splattered from Fluttershy’s lips. Her many cuts reopened and bled once again. Her eyes widened for a slight moment in surprise and pain, before falling behind her eyelids. She didn’t scream. Her body laid limb. She stopped coughing.

Twilight’s stomach nearly gave way. She forced its contents to stay put. Twilight yelled at Pinkie Pie, rage commanded her voice, “NOOOO!!!! YOU FUCKING PSYCHOPATH!! Why are you doing this?! She’s your friend, we all are!!” Twilight’s tears poured out from misery, but rage nearly evaporated them of her cheeks.

Pinkie Pie gasped in realization. “You’re right Twilight. I almost forgot about our other friends. Oh, I hope I’m not too late. This party is almost too big for me to manage on my own, and that’s really saying something.”

With that, Pinkie Pie completely lost interest in Twilight and Fluttershy. She trotted to the metal door. With the flick of a hoof, the lights cut out. The only thing Twilight could see now was a silhouette in the doorway. For many moments it stood there, shivering. Twilight could now hear the shaking body moan and sniff.

Is Pinkie Pie …crying?

The silhouette turned around. Twilight could not see any color, but the shape of her pink cotton candy mane was not in the shadow. It seemed to have grown limb and strait. Pinkie Pie continued to sob.

“T-Twilight….p-plea-ease….H-Help me…I-I c-can’t stop…”

Twilight just stared at her for several long seconds. What is she doing?

With that the shadow figure suddenly twitched her head to the side; the mane sprung back to life and its usual self. The sound of crying immediately stopped. She turned and continued down the hall, closing the metal door behind her.

Twilight didn’t understand what happened. Was she crying? Was she begging for help? She was quick to dismiss her questions. Who really needed her attention now was Fluttershy. Twilight summoned all her will, and forced magic through the stub she had left of her horn. She forced a simple illumination spell to form. The light was weak. Even with the splitting headache it caused, she could barely see anything in the confined chamber.

Twilight looked at the wounded pegasus, hopeful that she was ok. Twilight could see her chest slowing rising and falling. She was alright, well not really, but she was alive, and that was important.

“Twilight…” She was barely able to whisper.

“What is it Fluttershy?”

“Rainbow dash… was never missing… She got her Twilight… I saw the body. She cut it open… in so many places… and stitched it back up… like some kind of… doll.”

“Fluttershy…” Twilight could do nothing but hang her head in sorrow and pity.

“I think… we’re all going to… end up like her… just a bunch of… decorations…we all ate… those cupcakes…”

Twilight said nothing, but what could she say? Should she lie to her face and say everything is all right. There was nothing Twilight could do to help her friend…Well, there was one thing.

Adding even more pain to her head, Twilight struggled to cast another simple spell: Levitation. She reached with what little arcane energy she had and gripped something on the table; one of the blades. It felt heavy, like lifting a house.

“Twilight…. It hurts….”

“I know Fluttershy…”

This was the one thing Twilight could still do to help her friend, to end her pain.

A quick stab to the neck, that’s all it will be. I could cut the spinal cord. She won’t fell anything. S-she won’t be in pain, but…

Twilight lifted the blade closer to Fluttershy.

But I’ll kill her… I…I…

She waited too long, hesitated too much. Twilight’s energy failed, along with the spells she was casting. The room suddenly fell into darkness; the knife fell to the floor with a loud, echoing clank!

Twilight hanged in her bonds, thinking about what she had done, and what she was trying to do. She shivered in terror and disgust at her self.

I don’t even know what’s worse: The fact that I just considered killing one of my close friends, or that I couldn’t do it and now she has to suffer on.

Did I give her the chance to live on, or did I just prolong her pain?