Blade

Pinkamena returned to the cottage and locked the door behind her. She hadn’t stopped running the whole way. She was exhausted.

Pinkamena went into the bedroom upstairs and lied down to catch her breath, when she heard her name called.

Pinkie…

It was very soft and it sounded like it was coming from downstairs. Pinkamena bolted up, frightened.

How had somebody followed her? She looked over her shoulder to make sure every couple seconds or so. How had they even gotten into the house? It was locked. Panic rushed through her as she tried to think of what to do.

For some reason, she decided to hide under the covers like a child, shivering from fear.

Pinkie.

She knew who it was now.

Pinkie!

“No!” She shouted into the empty room. “No, no, no, no, no, NO!”

Find me, Pinkie.

Pinkamena grasped at the sides of her head and shut her eyes tightly.

“You were gone! You were GONE!!!” Pinkamena shrieked.

Well, I’m back, Pinkie. And I want to play Hide and Seek!

Frustration and turmoil brewed in her. She had been rid of him. The voice was dead. She killed him along with Kanker.

Nopers. I’m still here, Pinkie. And I want to play!

Pinkamena couldn’t think of anything she could do but scream. Nothing but her own voice could block it out, so that’s what she did.

Pinkamena screamed at the top of her lungs for as long as she could. She slammed her head against the wall over and over to try and shake the voice around. She thought that maybe he wouldn’t like it.

You can act like a fucking idiot, or you can do what I say, Pinkie. Remember what happened the last time you did what I said?

The voice was right. She had listened to him and in turn, he had done what she wanted. Once Kanker’s eyes rolled into his head, the voice had silenced. Maybe it’d do the same if she just played.

She was still scared. She was gritting her teeth and frantically looking all over the room.

Breathe in. Breathe out.

This was followed by the sound of somebody breathing loudly.

Pinkamena did as instructed. She inhaled deeply, closed her eyes, and exhaled. She repeated this until she was calm enough to get off of the bed.

Now, come on. Let’s play, Pinkie.

“O-okay…” She answered anxiously. She gulped.

Pinkamena moved downstairs and looked around the main room. There was nothing in sight.

Warmer. The voice got closer.

Pinkamena turned toward the closet.

Warmer.

Pinkamena opened the closet and lifted the hatch. The room below was dark and dusty.

Warmer.

She went down the ladder. Pinkamena turned down the corridor and saw the iron door leading to the basement.

You’re getting much closer, Pinkie. Oh, I love this game!

Pinkamena was trembling. She had no idea what she would see when she found whatever she was seeking. Pinkamena reached the iron door and pushed on it firmly, making it slide open. She looked down into the black.

You’re hot. Keep going.

Pinkamena grabbed the pull string above her and the lights flicked on.

For a split second, she saw a creature in the middle of the room so vile her heart skipped a beat. But the black evil was gone as soon as it had appeared, and in its place was the enormous knife she had taken from the case earlier.

You found me! You found me! Oh, that was so much fun!

It was nothing more than curiosity that fueled Pinkamena to go down the stairs and up to the knife in muddle. The knife glimmered in the dull red light. She finished going down the steps and picked up the knife, on top of the metal bolted-down table in the center of the room.

Pinkamena stared at it. It was so clean, shimmering in such poor light. For no reason at all she wondered how sharp it was. Pinkamena was startled by the voice.

I’m it!

Pinkamena gasped and dropped the knife in her shock.

The knife hit the floor.

Ow! That hurt! That wasn’t very fun.

Pinkamena looked at the knife and saw that it had jittered a bit whenever the voice talked. She picked it back up and examined it again.

Don’t drop me, stupid!

The voice was in the knife. It was talking to her.

The voice sounded a lot more playful then it usually did. Pinkamena was calm. At least she knew where the voice was. This comforted her somehow. It made her think about the brook and how gentle it was.

“How did you do that?” She asked genuinely.

We can do a lot of things, Pinkie.

“We?” Her stomach sank. “There are more of you!?”

Calm down. I am We. We are many.

Pinkamena looked around the room. She hadn’t the slightest idea what the knife was talking about.

It’s a game I play, Pinkie. Sometimes I jump out of your cozy little head and play pretend with something else. The voice explained. Right now, I’m a knife. My name is Tag.

Pinkamena thought of how strange a name that was.

“Tag?” She asked the knife. “Why is that your name?”

Because it’s my favorite game.

Pinkamena remembered how Ariel and her had played tag whenever they finished early (which was quite rare) and remembered that it was her favorite game too.

“Yea.” Pinkamena agreed much too friendly. “I like that game too.”

Really? The voice asked in excitement. Oh, Goodie! That’s fantastic news!

“Why?” Pinkamena asked innocently.

Because I want to play it right now.

Pinkamena looked around the basement again, as to confirm they were alone.

“But, there’s nopony to play with.” She said.

Sure there is.

Pinkamena thought hard as to solve Tag’s riddle. Then it clicked. She dropped the knife in terror. She backed away from the knife and into the corner of the basement.

“No.” She whispered. “I can’t.”

I’m a knife, Pinkie. How else am I going to tag somebody?

“Why would I…” Pinkamena choked. “I can’t…kill somepony!”

Of course you can. You just don’t want to.

“Who would!?” She yelled at Tag.

I would.

“But you aren’t somepony! You’re a monster!”

The knife rattled hard and its metal clicked on the floor violently. The voice was suddenly booming and horrendous.

Am I, Pinkie!?! AM I!? It bellowed. Who beat his own child and stood by while doctors tried to kill you!?!? And who made all of that a little worse by giving you a shit job and forced you to blow him!?!?  ME!?!? IT WASN’T ME, PINKIE. IT WAS THEM. AND WHEN DID THINGS GET BETTER FOR YOU!?!?! IT WAS WHEN YOU KILLED HIM!!!

Pinkamena stood bewildered. She flashed back to her mother telling her about right and wrong. That melted away and became nothing. The voice was right. The only thing that made her life better was removing the problems. Just maybe, the only way to do it properly was to destroy the problem. The problem had been Kanker, and she had destroyed him.

You want to help that apple boy, don’t you? Tag asked Pinkamena menacingly.

Pinkamena moved from the corner and cautiously went to pick the knife back up.

Solve his problem the right way.

Pinkamena looked down at the knife and saw the brilliant reddish shimmer on the blade.

Play some tag, Pinkie… All you have to do is make those brothers It.

“I’m telling you, Flam. It’s genius!”

“Really, Flim? How much money could she possibly have?”

“The real question is, who gives a shit? Money is money, brother.”

Flim continued to pitch his plan as Flam lit a fresh cigar. He took a drag and blew out a cloud of smoke from his nostrils.

“What are you saying; we just sneak into the hospital?” Flam asked sarcastically.

“No, stupid.” Flim replied enthusiastically. “We act all like we’re visiting, see? And then when the coast is clear…” Flim stopped in suspense.

When he was least expecting it, Flam had his cigar ripped right out of his mouth.

“Yank! The old lady’s toast!”

Flam grunted and knocked the cigar out of Flim’s hoof.

“Fuck you, Flim! That was a good cigar! Demonstrate on something else, would ya?”

“Fuck you, Flam. We’re entitled to whatever she’s got when she croaks. We’ll just plug her back in after she dies, and the doctors’ll think it were natural causes!”

“Alright.” Flam admitted. “You’ve got a plan, but what do we do about Big Mackey? You know that bastard’s gonna be suspicious.”

“He’ll never get his hooves on a single lick of evidence. Besides, who’s gonna believe ‘im?”

“Didn’t he mention something about his sister being a lawyer?” Flam asked.

“I haven’t ever seen her, have you?”

“Guess not, brother.”

“If we ain’t seen her yet, we ain’t gonna see her.”

Flam smiled and raised his glass filled with apple brandy.

“Never pictured myself saying this when we were playing in the sandbox, but let’s pull that plug.”

“Twenty bucks says Granny Smith is going to hell after we kill her.” Flim bet.

“There’s no gambling there, brother.”