Hatoful Ponyfriend - Bad Ponies Love

We waste no time. I take off into the sky and Rarity gallops as fast as she can away from the monstrosity. Her horn is still lit, I follow her light from the sky as she runs back to the hospital. The last thing we need it to get separated with that thing trapped in here with us.

I land when Rarity stops outside the hospital. "What was that?" She gasps, panting. "No beast I've ever heard of, that's for sure."

"No clue," I reply, shaking my head. "Good thing we're together, though. I don't know what I would have done without your light. to follow."

The unicorn smiles. "I think you would have been just fine, dear," she says, but I can tell that she's flattered by the compliment.

"Really, thanks." I smile in return. "We should warn the others."

We walk into the hospital and back to the room where the examination of Spike's remains takes place. Zecora stands at the examination table with Princess Luna watching her as if out of curiosity. They turn as we stand in the doorway.

"Welcome back," the Princess Luna says. "I trust your investigations went well?"

"Princess, there was an incident," Rarity says, keeping her composure surprisingly well.

"Incident? We were could have been killed!" I burst out. I feel my wings flap as I shout and they knock over a table of medical equipment. "... Sorry."

The alicorn frowns. "Something happened?"

"We ran into a monster," Rarity explains. "It was fairly large, and resembled those those crude effigies that Applejack places in her garden to ward off vermin."

"We might be in danger, the whole town might be in danger," I say. "It's trapped in here with us. What if it attacks the town hall?"

Princess Luna puts a hoof to her chin in thought. "Safety in numbers. It's better than letting it pick them off one by one. That does raise a question, how did it get in?"

Rarity's face brightens and I feel a surge of hope. "If it got in, there must be a way out! That wall can't be completely solid!" Rarity looks triumphant.

"But what if it was here all along?" I asks quietly.

The room is silent. None of us want to consider this possibility. If this... thing had been in here all along, that means that somepony planned this from the inside. And we're trapped in here with them too. It's now I realize that Applejack is no longer in the room. I look at Rarity and I can tell that she noticed it too. She looks suspicious, but doesn't want to say anything in front of Princess Luna or Zecora.

"Never mind that," Rarity finally says, breaking the silence. She looks to Zecora, who has simply stood in silence. "Have you discovered anything from the corpse?"

The zebra nods. "While you were not around, many things I have found. From the meaty chunks which were once your friend, I was able to learn how he met his end. My conclusion from this investigation is that the cause of death was asphyxiation. His death was the cause of poison or illness. I have found no evidence that a pony did this."

She motions at the covered chunks of Spike as she continues. "There was no bleeding, not in the least. He was cut up once he was deceased. One more thing, did the evidence betray. He died in the evening yesterday. And with no warning, he was found well after morning."

I frown. Spike never showed any sign of illness. Nothing fatal, anyway. "He must have been poisoned," I say. "Cutting up his body, sending it across town, this must have been planned out."

"Sitting around waiting for him to get sick would be too unpredictable if this was to be a carefully timed plot" Rarity says. "You said he was found after morning?"

Zecora nods in reply.

The white unicorn turns to me. "You said you saw him at the library, did you not?"

"I did." I feel tears at the corners of my eyes. "He asked me in for tea, I said I had to go. Maybe if I had stayed..." I choke back a sob. "I would have been able to see... to stop..."

"We can't change the past," Princess Luna says, approaching me. "We can only go on and solve this mystery."

"Maybe we should take another look around," Rarity suggests. "There might be other ponies out. We can talk to Fluttershy about what we've learned."

"Please," Princess Luna looks at us seriously, "Be careful. We can't lose you two as well. I wish I knew more, but I only know what you've told me." She looks at me strangely. Is it regret? Suspicion? It's hard to tell. Part of me wants her to come with us, but I feel more comfortable knowing that she's here with Zecora. Something about that mare sets me on edge.

"I helped at the apple farm from dusk 'till dawn. In town, I know nothing of what went on." The zebra looks me in the eyes. Would she lie in front of these other ponies?

"We will be back," I say, trying not to doubt it myself. Rarity and I walk out the door and back into the darkness of the town.

"Who do you think did it?" I ask as we walk. The silence is eerie enough as is, I feel like I'll have some kind of breakdown if I don't say something.

"Applejack." Rarity speaks without a hint of doubt in her voice.

"You still trust Zecora, don't you?" The way I say it, it doesn't really sound like a question.

"Of course I do. That farm pony, on the other hoof,I don't trust her. I don't like her." Rarity shakes her head and I get a brief glance of our surroundings as she illuminates them with the light on her horn. "I never see her in town. She's always at that farm of hers. What does she lose from all of this?"

"But what does she gain? Rarity, we can't just jump to conclusions."

"Like you are with Zecora?"

"That's completely-"

"HEY!"

Our argument is interrupted as a cyan pegasus with a rainbow mane and tail lands in front of us. She stands with her chest out, looking indignant.

"Hey! You guys went out exploring and you didn't invite me?" She demands.

"Rainbow Dash," Rarity sighs, exasperated, "It's dangerous out here. Why aren't you in Cloudsdale? You'd be safe there."

"It's a good thing I'm not there, you guys need me!" Rainbow Dash replies. "I should have come out sooner. What are you doing out here, anyway? What's going on?"

It takes me a moment for her words to process in my mind. Yes. The dome. Does she know about the murder, though? I shake my head. "Spike's dead, we're trapped in here, and there's a metal monster on the loose." I really don't feel like saying much more.

"A metal monster?" Rainbow Dash boldly stomps a hoof. "If I was there, I would have kicked it then and there! Bam!" She lifts off into the air and kicks out with her powerful hind legs. "I guess you two just had to sneak off, though."

Rarity sighs and puts a hoof to her forehead. "Listen, Rainbow Dash. Don't let anypony else know about this, if you can help it."

"We want to ask you something, actually," I say. I figure it would be best to get straight to the point. "Did you see Spike at all, yesterday? Or anything unusual?"

Rainbow Dash looks at the ground, frowning in thought. "Nah, I didn't see Spike. I guess he was in that library, as always. But..." she rest her chin on a forehoof for a moment. "I did hear somepony shouting and screaming real loud while I was practicing my flying tricks. I mean, real loud. Not 'Come buy my carrots!' loud, but 'MY HOUSE IS ON FIRE!!!!' loud. Is that normal?"

"Was there a house on fire?" Rarity asks.

"Nope."

"Just checking."

"Was it a mare or a stallion?" I ask. I realize that if it was a stallion, we would be even worse off than we started.

"A mare. Definitely." Rainbow Dash nods. "It sounded like it was coming from around Sweet Apple Acres."

Rarity and I exchange looks.

"Listen," the white unicorn gives the pegasus a serious look. "If the rest of the town knows about this, there's going to be some serious trouble. Can you do us a big favor?"

"Of course," Rainbow Dash replies without a second thought.

"Go back to the town Hall. Pretend nothing's happened. Don't let anypony leave." Rarity stares unblinkingly into the eyes of the other mare. This whole event seems to have the white unicorn shaken. I've never seen this side of her before. She's more serious, stern, but I can hear the fear in her voice.

I can see the disappointment in Rainbow Dash's eyes, even by the dim light. "But you guys need me! The monster-"

"-might attack the town hall." Rarity finishes. "If that happens, we need you there to rely on."

"One kick," I say, nodding. I feel bad sending her off, but it feels like bringing anyone else along with us would only slow us down. Time is of the essence.

Rainbow Dash looks between me and Rarity. "Promise me you two will be okay?"

We nod. "Do not worry, Rainbow Dash," Rarity says. "We will return."

"Thank you," I tell her. "Really."

"Not a problem." The cyan pegasus turns away and flies back the way she came. Somehow, I feel safer knowing that if the monster does attack the town hall, she will be there to beat it away.

We continue on to Fluttershy's cottage in silence. This time, neither of us can think of anything to say. The two of us are still thinking about what Rainbow Dash told us about the screaming mare. Was somepony else being murdered at the same time? Could it be entirely unrelated? It's strange, though, because it would draw attention to the second murder, right? Did somepony just burn themselves on the stove or something? She had said the sound was coming from Sweet Apple Acres. That implicates both Zecora and Applejack.

Once we arrive at Fluttershy's cottage, we can see her looking out the window as we approach. As soon as our hooves touch the welcome mat, she flings the door open, ushers us in, and slams the door shut.

"Did you learn anything new?" Fluttershy asks in her barely audible voice.

"Nothing really," I sigh. "We're trapped in here with a monster and Spike was probably poisoned."

"Well, that's not nothing," I hear a the voice of a familiar farm pony.

"Applejack! You're here too?" Rarity looks and sounds displeased, but not very surprised. "I guess Fluttershy did offer her cottage as a place to hide."

"Y'all would want to hide too if you saw what I saw," Applejack replies coolly. "Derpy Hooves mentioned a monster. Did it happen to be an ugly, two-legged creature made of metal and burlap sacks?"

"So you saw it too," I confirm. I hear a soft sound of hoofsteps and I turn around. Fluttershy has backed up several steps."Are you sure you will be okay here, Fluttershy?"

"Oh, you don't need to worry about me," she says in a voice that I'm sure she thinks is reassuring. "You have your own friend to worry about. Do you plan to keep going?"

"Better than sitting here waiting for something to happen, I guess."

"Where are you going?" I hear Rarity demand. Turning around, I see Applejack heading out the door.

"Back to the hospital," Applejack says, not seeming at all bothered by the interruption. "Did you need something?"

"Did you see Spike yesterday, around the evening?" I ask. "Zecora said that's around when he died."

Applejack nods slowly. "Ahh. She also mentioned that she was with me on the apple farm, right?"

I nod.

"Well, there you go. I was there with her. I could give you a whole list of what we did, every hour of the day, but you have more important things to do."

Rarity looks at me triumphantly. "See? Zecora could not have committed the crime."

"Neither could Applejack," I point out. "That does bring up something else, though." I look at Applejack again. "Were either of you screaming yesterday? I know it sounds crazy, but-"

"No," Applejack interrupts. "We heard that racket, but it sure wasn't us."

Rarity narrows her eyes at the farm pony. "Rainbow Dash said the sound was coming from around Sweet Apple Acres."

"Around, Rarity." Applejack says calmly, holding up a hoof. "Not necessarily from. Neither of us were screaming. I'd best be going now. Good luck, y'all." Applejack tips her hat and walks out the door.

I turn back to Fluttershy. "Do you have any suggestions? Have you found anything?"

"I will continue my research," the mare replies, returning to her books. "I have found little to no relevant information."

"The Mayor," Rarity says suddenly. "Why didn't I think of it sooner?" She slaps a hoof to her forehead.

I jump slightly, nearly knocking over a small table. "Did you think of something?"

"We should talk to Mayor Mare." It's not even up for debate as far as Rarity is concerned. "She's the one who issued the emergency alert, she must know something. I do hope you find something useful," she adds meaningfully to Fluttershy.

"Thanks again, Fluttershy," I say apologetically. I wish Rarity wouldn't be so rude sometimes.

"Good luck," I hear the pegasus whisper as we leave the cottage.

"I will storm in there and I will demand answers! I will knock down the door if need be, march up to that old mare, and tell her what a commotion she has caused!" Rarity is ranting as we walk to the Mayor's office. Sparks fly from her horn, no doubt caused by the strong feelings that she shamelessly shows. "I will demand a reelection. She will have no further political career. This is the last mistake she has made!"

"Keep it down." I nudge her in the side. "We don't want to stir everypony up. That can wait."

When we arrive at the mayor's office we are both surprised to find out that the door is locked. "Maybe she's not in?" I suggest, as silly as it sounds.

"Nonsense. Mayor Mare!" Rarity pounds on the door with a hoof. "Let us in now!" She takes a moment to catch her breath, then begins her furious assault on the door. "We know you are in there! We demand answers!"

Rarity seems really worked up. It's as if she's taking this whole thing personally, like this whole thing is one big insult to herself and her family. "Maybe there's a key under the mat," I say quietly.

But Rarity was having none of that. She turned on her heels and, with a very unladylike grunt, brought the door to pieces with three kicks. A part of me thinks that Rainbow Dash could have brought it down in only one, but that's not important. We walk over the splinters into the deserted waiting room. There are no signs of life. It's black but for the light on Rarity's horn, which has yet to go out.

"Hello?" I call out. Something about being alone in an unlit building gives me a bad feeling. "Mayor Mare?"

The assertive air around Rarity is gone, she seems worried as well. "Please," she says into the darkness, "We need answers."

There's a quiet creak down the hall, like that a door. Sure enough, a door at the end of the hall slowly swings open to reveal a desk and a single chair. A thing in the shape of a pony sits turned away in the swivel chair as if waiting for us, illuminated faintly by a flickering desk lamp.

"Mayor!" I shout and I trot towards her. I hear Rarity call something out behind me. I don't care if it's rude anymore. I don't even care if it's her. There must be a reason this pony sits in Mayor Mare's desk in her office. I stop in the doorway.

"Mayor?" I approach slowly. The pony in the chair is silent. I reach a hoof over the desk and turn the chair to face me and fall back in disgust.

The thing here is not Mayor Mare. Not anymore. Her eyes are glassy and half-closed and her mouth hangs open. Rarity was right. This was the end of her political career.