Dark Laughter

"Pinkie Pie...oh, why, oh, why..." Fluttershy paced back and forth. "We can't...we just, can't..."

Pinkie didn't have anything to say as she stared breathlessly at the lifeless body of the filly. Diamond Tiara. She couldn't get the taste out of her mouth. Pinkie knew what it was, what she just did, but she didn't feel guilty. Just shocked beyond belief. At least the burning in her throat had stopped.

"I...I didn't realize...I just don't know what happened to me, Fluttershy. I couldn't help myself."

Fluttershy didn't even acknowledge Pinkie's words. "How can we even show our f-faces in Ponyville? First, Angel, then you, then this...I j-just wish I could kill myself and end it all!"

Pinkie gaped at her friend. "Fluttershy, how could you think that?! This was my fault! You can't think of s-suicide...don't you know what that would do to your friends...to me?"

"It's just...it's just..." Fluttershy began to shudder, keeping in tears. "How can I live with this, knowing what I've done? How can I even stay here, in Equestria? They'll never forgive us..."

Pinkie nodded. "Maybe we should just...leave." Fluttershy gaped.

"Hey, DT, we found your tiara!" Scootaloo shouted in triumph as the Cutie Mark Crusaders rushed into the clearing, stopping as they surveyed the area.

"Fluttershy? Pinkie Pie? DIAMOND TIARA?!" The Crusaders screamed as they put the pieces together.

"P-please, girls, it's not what it looks like!" Fluttershy pleaded, flying over to them. But this only let the fillies get a closer look at Fluttershy's bat wings, red eyes, and fangs, making them run away in terror.

"Wait! Please!" Fluttershy cried. Pinkie unfolded her wings and attempted to fly after the Crusaders, but she fell flat on her face...again.

As Pinkie picked herself up and prepared to run, Fluttershy stopped her with one hoof. "Pinkie...it's too late. They're going to tell the police...and they'll c-come after us..." Fluttershy cowered on the ground, covering her face with both wings. "They'll catch us...even if we r-run...and they'll give us the...d-d-death p-p-penalty..."

Pinkie's eyes widened. She didn't want to die! She wanted to keep living, to keep throwing parties, to keep making her friends smile, smile, smile... Then, something seemed to click inside Pinkie's mind. She couldn't do those things anymore. Everything was different now. There was no going back.

Pinkie's mane deflated. But this time, it wasn't because of deep sadness, like every other time. This, time, Pinkie Pie had realized that she couldn't be the excitable, party pony she used to be.

"We're not going to die, Fluttershy," Pinkie said calmly. "We have to find someone who can take us in. And then...we'll leave Equestria. My Granny Pie used to tell me that there were places beyond Equestria, places where ponies don't live. They could accept us there."

"Pinkie," Fluttershy looked up, seeing her best friend's deflated mane, "do you really think so? But what about our friends, our family?"

"It's our only choice. Fluttershy, even if they do forgive us, we'll never be safe near so many ponies."

"Then who should we go to?"

"I don't know," Pinkie sighed. "We need somepony--I mean, someone--who didn't know Diamond Tiara. Someone who lives away from civilization, someone who's been accused of terrible things, who'd understand us..."

"Zecora!" Fluttershy perked up. "She lives nearby. We should stay with her until we...leave."

"Okay. Lead the way, Fluttershy."

"Well, we're here," Pinkie said as they stood in front of Zecora's tree hut. "I guess we go in..."

"B-but what if she doesn't take us in?" Fluttershy panicked. "What if she reports us?"

"We'll just have to take that chance. Maybe Zecora knows where we should go once we leave. She used to live outside of Equestria, right?"

"She d-did."

"Then let's ask her," Pinkie said, knocking on the door.

"I'm busy brewing a potion, I fear," Zecora's mystical-sounding voice was heard faintly from inside. "Who's there?" The door opened, and Zecora got a good look at the two bat-ponies. "Oh, dear."

"Zecora, we n-need your h-help," Fluttershy explained. "You see..."

"Hm, your predicament is very bad," Zecora mused when the explanation was finished. "I'll help you two, don't be sad."

"That's great!" Fluttershy said, relieved.

"Can you tell us how to get out of Equestria?" Pinkie asked.

Zecora nodded. "After a long journey to the border of Equestria, there is a glowing line. Once you cross it, you will be fine. For Celestia's guards may not cross the border, of that they have been given harsh orders."

"Then that's where we'll go," Pinkie said decisively. "Zecora, can you spare us traveling equipment? We'll want to leave soon, before word of the murder reaches everypony."

"Of course--" Zecora was interrupted by a knock on the door. "Ma'am, please open your door. We need to talk to you about two ponies that have committed a murder crime."

Pinkie and Fluttershy looked at each other in horror. Zecora motioned them towards a trapdoor in the back of the tribal-style hut. "Hide in there, don't be scared."

The two of them rushed over to the trap door. Pinkie opened it with her teeth, and jumped in, pulling a hesitant Fluttershy along with her. They found themselves landing on a damp, musty wooden floor.

"This must be some sort of cellar," Pinkie theorized.

"Shh! The g-guards are c-coming in!"

"We're terribly sorry to bother you, Miss Zecora," one of the guards said, his voice muffled to the two bat-ponies hiding underground. "Earlier today, two monster-ponies, resembling the animal-caretaker Fluttershy and the party-planner Pinkie Pie were witnessed killing a filly named Diamond Tiara."

"It's just that we are aware that you know these fugitives," another guard continued. "And that your residence is near enough that two ponies could travel here within the time of the murder and now."

"Are you suggesting I am harboring criminals?" Zecora raged, sounding very sincere. "I can assure, the chance of that is minimal!"

"Oh, no, we aren't suggesting that you're harboring them. That would be illegal, after all."

Fluttershy squeaked in fear.

"But do you perhaps know the location of these two? When was the last time you saw them?"

"I'm afraid it's been a while since I've talked to Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie. I can't help you sirs, I apologize."

"That's quite alright. Well, we'd better ask other ponies." The door was slammed shut as the guards walked out.

The trapdoor opened slowly, and Zecora's striped head greeted the two fugitives. "The guards are gone, but come back they might. I suggest you two stay the night."

"Okay, we'll get an early start tomorrow," Pinkie said.

"Your agreement is very good. I'll give you two candles, water, and food." The items spoken of were lowered down into the cellar.

"We can't thank you enough for this, Zecora," Fluttershy sniffled.

"You are very welcome, Fluttershy. I have to go now, to not attract suspicion nearby. You two must sit tight. I'll be back in the morning to help you take flight." And with that, Zecora shut the trapdoor and left her house, leaving Fluttershy and Pinkie in pitch-black darkness.

"Oh...I'm scared of the dark," Fluttershy tittered through the inky blackness.

"Don't be. Zecora gave us candles, remember?" Pinkie felt around for a candle and a match. Soon, she found them, and lit a candle. The soft orange light cast shadows on Fluttershy's face, but Pinkie could still see that she was frightened and...annoyed? "Fluttershy, what's wrong?"

"Well, um...normally, you would tell me that I have to laugh in the face of my f-fears. And tell me to smile."

"That was the old Pinkie. Things have changed."

"You sound just like I did when I got too assertive!"

"What?! No, I don't!"

"I know that's not the real you, Pinkie Pie. The real you would try to make me smile, no matter what happened. You're just acting so serious now. It's not like you."

"Fluttershy, why does this matter to you?" Pinkie rolled her eyes. "Once we escape Equestria, then we can worry about personality issues."

"It matters to me...because...b-because...you're my best friend, Pinkie Pie. My best friend in the whole world."

"What?" Pinkie's jaw hung open. "You mean, the very best?"

"Th-that's what I thought for such a long time. To be completely honest, you were always my favorite out of all our friends."

"Me? Really? Even after all those times where I was insensitive to you?"

"Everypony has their flaws, Pinkie. Have you ever wondered why I decided on you of all ponies to reveal my secret to?"

Pinkie frowned. She hadn't thought about that at all. "Why?"

"Because you never fail to bring smiles to everypony's faces. I knew that you would be the one pony who could truly help me see the bright side of things. Twilight just would've gotten stressed out trying to find a magic solution, Applejack is so traditional, she'd never accept me like this, Rainbow Dash would crack under pressure, and Rarity would just keep making remarks on how 'horrid' I looked. But you, Pinkie, I knew you could cheer me up. You might be a bit eccentric and loud, but you never want anything except your friend's happiness." Fluttershy wiped a couple tears from her red eyes. "That's the Pinkie I want to see. That's the Pinkie I've loved all these years."

"Fluttershy...I..." Pinkie said, speechless. "I'm sorry. For being such a downer." With a happy sound like a balloon inflating, Pinkie's mane returned to its fluffy, bouncy state. "But you'll forgive me, right?'

"Of course I will!" Fluttershy exclaimed, happy that Pinkie was back to normal.

"I thought so! After all, we're officially best friends now!"

"Best friends forever," Fluttershy agreed. The two mares hugged each other by the candlelight. It didn't matter that--although they didn't know this--the Equestrian court had put bounties on their heads to bring them back, dead, that their friends and family would never forgive them, that they were permanently creatures of darkness, forced to feed off of and kill others.

All that mattered was that they had each other.