12

Pinkie figured that Rarity didn't want Twilight to be there, but she still wasn't entirely sure if this was safe. So Twilight agreed to go with her and stay hidden in case something bad happened. The market seemed pretty vacant at this particular time, so if Rarity wanted to murder her, there wouldn't be any witnesses. Except Twilight, but she didn't know about that.

When they got there, though, Rarity didn't seem to be hostile. She didn't have a weapon visible. She didn't notice them, so Twilight quickly jumped into a bush nearby. The rustling alerted Rarity, and she spun around. "What was that?"

Pinkie pretended to be clueless. "What was what?"

Rarity shook her head. "Never mind." She walked over to Pinkie, who started to feel doubt as she added, "I thought you would've brung a knife to defend yourself."

Pinkie backed away. "What are you--"

"Don't worry. I'm not going to hurt you. I just thought you would assume I was planning to." Rarity sighed. "You still think I'm a gambling psychopath, don't you?"

Pinkie nodded. "So, you're not?"

"I stopped gambling after the incident. It's been harder to get money, but I felt putting a stop to gambling would help me a little." Rarity smiled a little. "That's not what I wanted to meet you for, though." She levitated a small bottle from under her cloak. The bottle had a rust-colored liquid inside. "Whatever you do, don't drink this. And make sure no one else does, either."

"Why not?"

"It's poison. I've had it for a while in case it was needed. There is one pony in this town who needs to leave. I'm sure you'll agree."

There was a short silence.

Pinkie tilted her head. "Gonna tell me who?"

Rarity gave her the name. "You're the only one who can help. I'll tell you exactly how."

Fluttershy's husband let her eat more than usual. He'd noticed her slowly starving, apparently. As she finished her dinner, he asked, "Where did you go this morning?"

She gasped. "How'd you--"

"Heard you coming in. When a pony comes in, they musta gone out." He pushed his plate aside. "You and the kid."

There was no point in lying about going out. "We were just going for a walk," she said softly. It was the truth, but she immediately knew her husband wouldn't believe her.

Sandy stood up, anger in his dark eyes. "Don't lie to me!"

"I promise that's what happened!" Fluttershy stood up, her voice raised in fear, and backed away a little.

"Then who were ya talking to?"

"I was talking to little Dusk! Who else?"

Sandy punched her face. It was sudden enough for Fluttershy to fall to the ground, but she quickly got up. "You have to believe me!" she yelled.

The stallion rolled his eyes. "The last time ya 'went for a walk...'"

"I'm telling the truth this time!"

Sandy walked over to her slowly. He didn't hurt her again. He said quietly, "You're my wife. You have to always tell the truth."

Fluttershy nodded.

He continued. "If we don't tell the truth, this little relationship means nothing. Who were you talking to?"

Sandy didn't know who Spike was, at least not by name. Fluttershy pondered how she'd refer to him. "You know that lavender mare you saw yesterday?"

"The dirty little beggar? Yeah, why?" He glared at Fluttershy accusingly. "Were ya talkin' to her?"

"No. I was talking to her little companion."

Before Sandy could respond, there was a knock at the door. Sandy pushed her in the direction of it. Fluttershy stumbled a little, but stayed standing. She walked over to the door to push it open. She sighed with relief. "Hi, Pinkie," she greeted her, quietly so Sandy wouldn't hear.

Pinkie smiled kindly. "I brought you a present. But you can't eat it." She handed her a muffin.

Fluttershy stared at the muffin in confusion. "Why can't I eat it?"

"You have to give it to your husband. You can't eat it, whatever you do." Pinkie backed away a little. "I'll wait outside in case something bad happens."

Fluttershy decided to just trust Pinkie, who closed the door. She turned to her husband and asked, "Who was that?"

"It's for you," Fluttershy said, feeling a little uncertain as she offered Sandy the muffin.

Sandy took the muffin and took a small bite. "Tastes off. What flavor is--" He gasped. "What's in this?"

When the stallion nearly stumbled backward, Fluttershy hurried outside. True to her word, Pinkie was still out there. "Something's wrong with my husband!" she cried. "What's in that muffin?"

Pinkie smiled a little. "Poison. He'll be gone in minutes."

Fluttershy gasped. She never thought that Pinkie Pie, out of everyone she knew, would have the nerve to kill. "W-what?"

"Rarity told me to. She wanted to make up for how she hurt you last year." She glanced through the nearby window. "Spike told us what you said. He doesn't need you for anything other than to hurt you."

Fluttershy still had trouble processing this. "Y-you'll get arrested."

"Then how come he didn't get arrested?"

Fluttershy sighed. "Because he hid the abuse."

Pinkie looked confused for a moment, then said, "I'm not talking about Sandstorm. I'm talking about the guy who killed the Cakes." She glanced at the window again. "Fluttershy, he doesn't love you."

Dusk then ran outside. "Mommy! Daddy's sick! He just fell asleep on the floor!"

Pinkie looked away. "I'm sorry. Rarity said it's the only way to help you escape."

Dusk took a few steps toward Pinkie. "What are you doing here?"

Pinkie smiled a little at the colt. "Your dad can't hurt you anymore." She was honestly unsure how to feel about this. She had helped Fluttershy, but the method seemed wicked to her. Sure, Sandstorm deserved to be poisoned. While she was preparing the muffin back at the bakery, Twilight mentioned that she witnessed Sandstorm try to stab Fluttershy the day before. And it's not like Fluttershy would be homeless now. She and Dusk had the house to themselves. But she realized that despite all he had done to them, Fluttershy and Dusk were still in shock of the incident. Even Pinkie herself found it hard to believe that Sandstorm was dying--possibly already dead, judging by what Dusk had said when he came out--because of her.

-

Twilight and Spike were heading toward Fluttershy's home. Both of them knew what Pinkie was there for. They wanted to make sure things were okay.

The sun was setting, but there was enough light to guide the way. However, there was not enough light to reveal what was hiding nearby.

Something suddenly grabbed Twilight's hoof. She gasped and tried to pull away, but the grip was strong. Her horn lit up, about to force the grip off of her, but she saw a blade poke out of the darkness. It glinted in the fading sunlight, and Twilight, looking closely, noticed a crimson stain. Spike tried pulling her away, but he wasn't strong enough.

The knife was being levitated by magic. A pale blue aura not unlike Rarity's. But the hoof that was tightly gripping her own was not white, but dark gray. And the voice that spoke was male. "I'm sorry it had to be this way, Twilight Sparkle."

She glanced at Spike and whispered a single word--"Run"--before attempting to fire a beam at her attacker. But the beam only passed him. He'd apparently dodged. For a split second, she could see the station's face. His pale blue eyes were filled with pleasure. Is he insane?

He raised his knife and quickly plunged the blade in her chest.