Cupcakes ( full story)

Chapters

Is it a prank?
Please Don't Do It, Pinkie!
Every Rainbow Has An End
No, Not Pinkie Pie!
It's A Bad Apple
No, Not the Mayor!
Interviewing Apple Bloom
Rarity
Shy Fluttershy
Apple Bloom's Confession
End of the Horror?
A Happy Ending
A Happy Ending Gone Wrong
the new beginning
consideration
No more thoughts
Twilight's dawn
Dress-up Time!
Beauty and Grace can be cannibalistic
Rarity's Attempt
The Rendezvous
counting the possibilities

Is it a prank?

The air was warm, the sun was shining, and every pony in Ponyville was having a glorious day. The town square was bustling and crowded and busy ponies filled the streets. All the pony folk seemed to have somewhere specific to be. All except Rainbow Dash; her place was in the sky. She tore freely through the air, speeding one way and the next, buzzing the tree tops and racing the wind. The blue Pegasus swooped over a schoolyard, much to the delight of the children, then climbed several hundred feet and dove, streaking downward as fast as she could. Seconds before hitting the ground, her wings flew open and she pulled up back into the clear blue. Rainbow felt alive.

Suddenly, Dash remembered that she had somewhere to be; she was supposed to meet with Pinkie Pie in five minutes. Dash had gotten so caught up in her exercises that she’d nearly forgotten that Pinkie had asked to meet her at Sugercube Corner at three. Pinkie hadn’t said why or what they’d be doing, but Dash knew that with Pinkie, it could be anything. Dash wasn’t sure if she really wanted to go, though. She was so engaged with her stunts that she thought about blowing Pinkie off to continue flying. But, Dash’s conscience got the better of her. She knew that it would hurt Pinkie’s feelings; after all, Pinkie had said it was going to be something special just for the two of them. Dash considered it and thought “why not?” What did she have to lose? Heck, it might be more pranking. Pinkie might have found a bunch more fun stuff to pull on folks, and they’d had so much fun the last time. Dash kicked into overdrive to make up for lost time, and sped to her appointment.

When Dash walked into the store, she was immediately greeted by her host, who was bouncing in excitement. “Yay, you’re here! I’ve been waiting aaall day,” said the jumping pony.

“Sorry if I’m a little late, Pinkie. I was doing my afternoon exercises and lost track of time,” Dash apologized.

Pinkie giggled and responded in a gleefully reassuring tone, “Oh that’s ok, you’re here now. What‘s a few more minutes? I’ve been sooo excited thinking about all fun stuff we’re gonna do, I haven’t stopped bouncing since I woke up. I mean, I almost forgot to breathe I’ve been so happy.”

Dash gave a slightly uncomfortable laugh. She had always appreciated Pinkie Pie’s friendly, outgoing way of life, but Pinkie’s overabundant enthusiasm almost creeped her out. Dash maintained a polite expression, however. If Pinkie was this worked up, whatever she had planned must be good.

“So, you ready to get started, Rainbow Dash? I’ve got everything all ready,” the pink pony said.

Dash psyched herself up. “You betcha, Pinkie. So what do ya got planed? We gonna prank somebody? I got a couple of good ones I’ve been thinking about. Or maybe you’ve got some stunts you think I should try? Or perhaps…”

“MAKING CUPCAKES!” Pinkie happily announced.

“Baking?” Dash was disappointed. “Pinkie, you know I’m not good at baking. Remember last time?”

“Oh that’s not a problem at all. I only need your help making them. I’ll be doing most of the work,” Pinkie explained.

Dash thought for about it for a second. “Well, alright, I guess that’s ok. What exactly do you need me to do?”

“That’s the spirit. Here you go.” Pinkie handed Dash a cupcake.

Dash was puzzled “I thought I was helping you bake.”

“You will be. I made this one just for you before you got here.

“So, is this like taste testing or something?”

“Sorta,” Pinkie said.

Dash shrugged and popped the pastry in her mouth. She chewed a bit and swallowed. Not bad.

“Ok, now what?” Dash asked.

“Now,” Pinkie informed her, “You take a nap.”

Puzzled, Dash opened her mouth but felt instantly lightheaded. A wave of dizziness washed over her, the world spun, and seconds later she collapsed to the floor.

Please Don't Do It, Pinkie!

When Dash regained conciseness, she found herself in a dark room. She tried to shake her head but found that a taut leather strap held it firmly in place. She struggled to move, but braces around her chest and limbs glued her to a rack formed from a series of sturdy planks, which spread her legs wide apart. Dash’s wings were the only part of her not tied down, and they fluttered frantically while she struggled to escape. As she writhed, Pinkie jumped suddenly into her line of sight.

“Goodie, you’re awake. Now we can get started,” Pinkie stated gleefully. She bounded into the darkness, and quickly reappeared pushing a small cart covered with a cloth.

“Pinkie, what’s going on? I can’t move!” Dash said urgently.

“Well duh, that’s because you’re tied down,” chided Pinkie. “That’s why you can’t move. I didn’t think you’d need to be told that.”

“But why? What’s happening? I thought you said I was going to help make cupcakes.”

“You are helping. You see, I ran out of the special ingredient and I need you to get more.”

“Special ingredient?” Dash was now breathing heavily and starting to panic. “What special ingredient?”

Pinkie giggled and responded “You, silly!”

Dash’s eyes widened, and her face contorted in fear. Then she started to laugh and said, in a voice bordering on hysteria, “Woo, you really got me there, Pinkie pie. I mean, tricking me in to thinking I’m gonna get made into a cupcake? I gotta tell you, this the best prank yet. You win, you’re the best.”

Pinkie only giggled even more. “Aw, thanks Dash. But I haven’t done any pranks today, so I can’t accept your praise.”

Dash was struggling again. “Pinkie, come on, this isn’t funny.”

“Then why were you laughing?” Before Dash could answer, Pinkie grabbed the cloth and whipped it off the cart. On the cart was a tray containing various sharp medical tools and knives, carefully organized and wickedly sharp, as well as a large medical bag.

Dash was now in full panic mode. She was starting to hyperventilate. Her mind raced as she tried to reason with the pink pony. “You can’t do this Pinkie! I’m your friend!”

“I know you are and that’s why I’m so happy that I’ve got you here. We get to share your last moments together, just you and me.” Pinkie was skipping again.

“But, the other ponies will wonder where I am. When the clouds pile up, they’ll come looking for me and then you’ll get found out,” Dash cried in desperation.

“Oh, Dash,” said Pinkie. “Don‘t worry, there are plenty of pegasus ponies to take care of a few clouds. And besides, no will find out. I mean, how long do you think I’ve been doing this?” And with that ominous statement, the lights suddenly came to life and revealed the rest the room.

“Oh no.” Dash reeled in horror at the image presented to her. The room was decorated with a typical but twisted Pinkie Pie flair. Colorful streamers of dried entrails fluttered around on the ceiling, brightly painted skulls of all sizes were attached to the walls, and organs done up in pastels filled with helium were tied to the backs of chairs. The tables and chairs were made of bones and the preserved flesh of past ponies. Dash cringed upon seeing the center piece of the table nearest to her. The heads of four foals, their eyes closed as if they were sleeping, were wearing party hats made from their own skin. With a thrill of terror, Dash recognized one of them as Apple Bloom’s classmate Twist. Dash’s eyes darted back and forth and then fell upon a patchwork banner hanging from the rafters. Made from several tanned pony hides, the words “Life is a party” were scrawled on it in blood red.

Dash’s attention was brought back by a party horn unfurling and tickling her nose. She gaped at Pinkie Pie, who was standing right in front of her. The party pony was wearing a dress quilted from dried skin, emblazoned with cutie marks. On her back fluttered six pegasus wings, all of different colors. As the earth pony skipped in excitement, her necklace of severed unicorn horns clacked together loudly.

“Like it?” Pinkie asked. “I made it myself.”

Desperately, Dash pleaded with the smiling pony before her. “Pinkie please, I’m sorry if I did anything to you. I didn’t mean it. Please let me go. I promise I won’t tell anybody.”

“Oh Dash, you didn’t do anything. It’s just that your number came up and, well, I don’t make rules. We can’t turn back now.”

Dash was tearing up. How could this be happening?

“Aww, don’t be sad Dash,” said Pinkie. “Look, this’ll cheer you up. I brought you a friend.”

Seemingly out of nowhere, Pinkie produced a brightly painted blue and yellow skull. It was about pony sized, but it had a very defining feature: a beak.

Dash gaped in shock. “Is…is that….is…that?”

“Hey, Dash lets hang together. These ponies are lame-os. Dweebs dweebs dweebs,” Pinkie mimicked. “I caught her right before she left town. Remember when I left the party for about twenty minutes? That wasn’t enough time to play with her of course; I had to wait till after the party to do that. But boy am I glad I did. It was worth it for the flavor alone. Griffons taste like two animals at once, it’s amazing. I know she didn’t have a number like everyone else in Ponyville, but when was I gonna get another chance to try griffon? I probably should have asked where she came from so I could have gotten more, but I forgot. I’ll tell you what though, she was quite the fighter. She lasted a long time, which was a lot of fun for me. I got the chance to play with somebody other than a pony and try new things. It’s too bad she had such a meanie mouth. She said so much bad stuff I just had to take her tongue out. You know, bad language makes for bad feelings, Rainbow Dash.”

Dash didn’t have anything to say. She just sobbed and writhed in her tight bonds.

“Well” said Pinkie with an air of finality, “that’s enough reminiscing. It’s time to begin.”

Putting down Gilda’s skull, the pink pony gripped a scalpel in the cleft of her hoof and walked over to Dash’s right flank. Without any flair, Pinkie placed the blade an inch above Dash’s cutie mark and began a circular cut around it. Dash shouted in pain and tried desperately to pull away, but the braces held her still. Finishing the incision, Pinkie grabbed a curved skinning knife from the tray. Screwing up her face in concentration, she worked it under Dash’s skin and sliced the hide away from the muscle. Dash ground her teeth as she tearfully watched her flesh peel off. Pinkie then moved to the other side and repeated the process on Dash’s left flank. Once she had finished, Pinkie held up both cutie marks in front of her friend and started waving them like pompoms. Dash just whimpered. Her thighs burned like nothing she had felt before.

Placing the ragged patches of skin down, Pinkie selected a large butcher knife and walked behind the blue pegasus. “Hope you don’t mind, I think I’m gonna wing it now,” Pinkie laughed. She grabbed Dash’s left wing in her mouth and played with it for a few seconds, yanking it back so the sharp pain reignited the fire in Dash’s flanks. Then, stretching the wing out, Pinkie brought the blade down hard at the base. Instantly, Dash screamed and thrashed her appendage. The movement threw off Pinkie’s aim. She tried to hit the mark again but missed, and carved a huge slice into Dash’s back.

“Dash, you gotta stay still or I’ll keep missing,” scolded Pinkie as her friend howled.

Pinkie took another whack and hit her target. She swung again and again. Blood sprayed into the air, but Pinkie realized she wasn’t getting anywhere. The blade just wasn’t going through the bone.

“Hmm, I guess I forgot to sharpen it. I’ll try something else,” stated Pinkie matter-of-factly as she tossed the knife over her shoulder, embedding the blade in the table. Through the haze of pain and tears, Dash heard the sound of a metal box opening and closing.

“Got it! Say Dash, why do they call it a hack saw? It doesn’t hack; hacking is what I was doing with the knife. This is a saw. I don’t get it.”

Pinkie placed the tool over the mangled flesh of the last attempt. Standing on her hind legs, she worked the saw back and forth with her front hooves. It sliced effortlessly through the bone and skin. The feeling of the jagged teeth grinding into her made Dash want to vomit. She watched numbly as her wing flew over her head and landed with a fluff on the table. Pinkie moved to the next wing and started sawing. Dash didn’t struggle this time; she’d given up trying to fight and focused on choking back screams of agony. Abruptly, the sawing paused. Pinkie was only half way done, the wing hanging off by a sliver.

“Hey Dash,” Pinkie piped up. “Think fast!”

Suddenly, Pinkie yanked the wing as hard as she could. The bone snapped but the blue pony’s skin held, then tore away. The pull ripped away a long strip of flesh all the way down Dash’s back to her rump. Her body seized at the unexpected trauma. As her pelvis tensed up, Dash felt a warm release between her legs, and her loud, unending melody of pain filled the room. Unable to catch her breath, she blacked out.

Dash awoke with a gasp. The stench of her urine filled her mucus caked nostrils. As her vision swam into focus, she saw a very pouty Pinkie Pie removing a large adrenaline needle from her chest. Stomping her hooves, the frustrated Pinkie lashed out at her helpless victim.

“Didn’t anybody teach you any manners? It’s very rude to fall asleep when somebody invites you over to spend time with them. How would you like it if I came over to your house and went to sleep? ‘Oh I’m sorry Dash, you’re so boring I think I’ll take a nap.’ You think I like always doing this by myself? I told you how excited I got when I found you were next. I was excited to have a friend be here with me while I worked. But NOOOOO! You’ve got to be inconsiderate. You know, I thought you were tough. I thought you could handle anything. I’ve had foals stand up better than you! Do I have to baby you? Huh? Is that how you want me to remember you, as a baby?”

As Pinkie stopped to catch her breath, Dash blinked and sobbed softly. Her back was in agony, her sides were on fire, and there was an intense pain in one of her legs. As she blinked again, she saw Pinkie pop something red into her mouth and began to chew. Noticing Dash’s stare, Pinkie quickly gulped the morsel down.

“What?” Pinkie asked. “Oh, this?” She held up another piece. “Well, while YOU were asleep, I got a little impatient and helped myself to a small sample. I got it from your leg; you’re not bad. Wanna try some?”

Without waiting for a response, Pinkie shoved the strip of meat into the revolted pegasus pony’s mouth. Dash gagged, and immediately spit it out. Pinkie frowned, and picked up the chunk of flesh. “If you didn’t want it, you could have said no.” She contemplated the discarded snotty morsel, then gulped it up. “It’s not like you haven’t had my cupcakes before.”

Swallowing, Pinkie turned her attention to a small can on the tray. She removed the lid, revealing that it was filled with red-hot coals. Lying on top of the coals were several large nails. As the adrenalin filled her veins, Dash began to panic again. Picking up the can, Pinkie walked over to Dash’s left. Holding some tongs with her mouth, Pinkie carefully picked up a nail and positioned it at the seam between her victim’s front left leg and hoof. She then grabbed a hammer and took careful aim.

“No Pinkie!” Dash screamed. “NO! NO!”

The hammer came down and the nail punctured Dash’s skin. The white hot burning was too much. Dash screamed as she pulled and thrashed at the braces, causing her raw skin to rub and tear. Pinkie tried to line up another nail, but couldn’t find her aim, and let out a frustrated grunt. When Pinkie brought the hammer back to take a wild swing, Dash burst out crying and begging.

“PLEASE STOP! PLEASE, PLEASE STOP!”

Every Rainbow Has An End

Chapter 3 - Every Rainbow Has An End

Pinkie rolled her eyes. Putting down the hammer and tongs, she walked back in front of her friend and stared pensively at the broken pegasus. Gilda didn’t even cry this much when she had a live parasprite stuffed down her throat. Pinkie thought for a minute about what to do next, then had a sudden spark of inspiration.

Rotating a wheel on the rack, Pinkie laid Dash on her back, then moved to Dash’s hind legs, bringing the can with her. Picking up her tools, Pinkie drove a searing hot spike of metal directly into the bottom of Dash’s hoof. As Dash yelled in pain, Pinkie moved around and drove a second nail into the other hoof. Next, Pinkie went back to her cart and located an enormous battery and controller, which she dragged over to where she was working. She tied copper wires between the terminals and the nails driven into Dash’s hooves, then gave Dash a wink and flipped the switch.

Electricity rocketed through Dash’s body. The blue pony reacted immediately; her body seized, and her muscles snapped taut. Dash’s hips thrust skyward, her eyes rolled back, and she let out a deep, throat shredding cry. Pinkie giggled and danced in place, then reached down and turned up the juice. Dash convulsed uncontrollably, and her bladder emptied once more.

After about five minutes, Pinkie shut off the power. Wisps of steam rose from the singed fur around Dash’s hooves, and the area reeked of cooked flesh and burnt enamel. Pinkie rotated Dash upright again and tried snap the drooling, delirious pony back to attention.

“Dash? Dash! Rainbow Dash, wake up!” Dash moaned and managed to give a modicum of weak acknowledgment. Pinkie studied her handiwork, then reached into the medicine bag and produced a large syringe. “Alright, time for the last round.”

Dash focused blearily on the needle, which Pinkie took as a question as to what it was.

“This is a little something to take the pain away,” Pinkie informed Dash as she walked around to her victim’s ruined back. Dash flinched as Pinkie jabbed the needle into the lower part of the blue pony’s spine. Moving in front of her friend again, Pinkie leaned down and elaborated.

“In a few minutes, you won’t be able to feel anything below your ribcage. Then you’ll be able to stay awake to watch the harvest.”

Dash started to cry again. “Pinkie?” she choked out.

“Yeah?”

“I want to go home,” Dash sobbed.

“Yeah, I can see wanting to do that,” replied the party pony. “Sometimes, I just wanna give up, just say ‘I’m done with this mess’ and go to bed. But you know what? You can’t shrug off your responsibilities. You got to pull yourself up and meet the challenges head on. That’s the only way you’re gonna get ahead in life.”

Dash hung her head and cried.

Minutes passed as the drug took effect. Eventually, Dash was completely numb from her chest to her flanks. At this point, Pinkie approached with a scalpel. Glancing at Dash and smiling, Pinkie made a long horizontal cut across the pegasus pony’s pelvis, just above her crotch. Moving up Dash’s body, Pinkie made a similar incision under her ribs. Finally, Pinkie made a long vertical cut down Dash’s stomach, connecting the first two.

“Looks like I got my ‘I’ on you, Dash,” Pinkie giggled.

With a moist, gooey sound, the flaps of skin opened. The sight of her own organs and the lack of feeling caused Dash’s breathing to intensify. Pinkie carefully sliced open Dash’s abdominal sac and grabbed her large intestines. As she separated the organ from the rest of the digestive tract and pulled it out of the new cavity, Pinkie grew jovial. Laughing as she gutted her friend, Pinkie began to make jokes. Dash, growing weaker from this new source of blood loss, tried desperately to shut out the macabre comedy act.

“Look at me, I’m Rarity!” Pinkie laughed, slinging the intestinal tube around her neck and spraying blood in all directions. “Isn’t my new scarf soooo pretty?”

Reaching back inside, she sliced the smaller intestine off from the bowls. Squeezing out the excess excrement, Pinkie filed the slimy organ through her teeth and dragged it back and forth. “Dentists say you gotta floss every day, Dash.”

Dash was barely aware of what was going on anymore. The shock was causing her to fade. Disappointed, Pinkie dived back into the blue pony’s guts, ramping up her routine.

“Aw, don’t go yet Dash.” Pinkie started pulling out the rest of Dash’s organs, pausing with each removal. “I know I can be a real pancreas, but you know I’m just kidney with you. You really got to learn to liver it up. Boy, these jokes are getting bladder. Guess ya gotta develop a stomach for them.”

Pinkie placed the discarded body parts into a bucket, keeping the last one for bit longer. “Ooo, bagpipes.” she said, placing the end of Dash’s esophagus in her mouth and the stomach in her armpit. She squeezed, and a spurt of acid hit her tongue. “Eww! Oh hey look, there’s your cupcake, Dash!”

Dash didn’t hear her tormentor. She had slipped from conciseness minutes ago. Pinkie, not yet satisfied, hit Dash with another adrenaline shot. Dash woke up for the last time, her heart pounding. Warm blood flowed out from the wound in her chest in great spurts. It wouldn’t be long now.

Pinkie brought Dash around onto her back again and straddled the blue pony’s chest, scalpel at the ready.

“Ya know, Rainbow Dash, I’m disappointed. I thought you would have lasted longer. I really wanted to spend more time with you before we got here. But I guess it’s my fault; I should have taken it a little slower. Oh well. It was really was nice knowing you, Dash!”

The blade sunk into the blue throat and worked its way up to Dash’s chin. Coming back down, Pinkie’s scalpel then circled Dash’s neck. The last thing Rainbow Dash felt was her skin being cut away from her skull, and the metal of the blade scraping her teeth.

Then she was gone.

Pinkie Pie stared into the mirror. She had done a really good job, even keeping the eyelids. She winked, and Dash winked back. Pinkie smiled.

But still, she was sad that her friend was now gone. Dash had only lasted fifty minutes, not nearly as long as Pinkie had wanted. She looked back at the cadaver hanging in the center of the room, the last of her friend’s fluids draining into a pan. Yup, no more Rainbow Dash.

As she looked, Pinkie cocked her head. She began to take notice of the fact that there really wasn’t much damage to the corpse. “It fact,” the pink pony mused, “I think….” An idea exploded in her head. She was good at sewing and she had all the pieces, all she had to do was put them back together. Yeah, she just had to get some stuffing and bingo, she’d have Rainbow Dash forever. In fact, thought Pinkie, that’s what she’d do for all her best friends when their numbers came up. She was so excited, she skipped right over to the body with her skinner to get started. The cupcakes could wait; Pinkie Pie had a friend to make.

No, Not Pinkie Pie!

It had been a week since Rainbow Dash had left. Pinkie had told everypony that she had gone off to be with the Wonderbolts, and had shunned all the others.

"Well tarnation!" Applejack had exclaimed. "Who needed her anyway?"

But Twilight was skeptical. She went back to the library to mull things over. ‘First Apple Bloom, then Twist, and now Rainbow Dash. Why is everypony in such a hurry to leave Ponyville? And why do they keep leaving exactly once a week?’

Suddenly, a horn sounded. The town had called a meeting. The mayor came up and made the announcement. "Rarity has left a note at my door stating that she will be leaving Ponyville to design dresses for Photo Finish in Manehattan. She will be leaving her Boutique to Twilight Sparkle.”

“Just yesterday Rarity told me that she would meet me in the spa”, a tiny, timid voice sounded from within the crowd. A tiny, timid voice that could only belong to Fluttershy. “She would never back down from a promise like that without telling me.”

A loud southern drawl rang out from the crowd next. “They’re all a buncha flakes is what they are!” Applejack yelled. “Rarity, Dash, and the rest of them. Y’all shouldn’t be surprised over them.”

Fluttershy protested, “But Appleja-”

“But nothin’. Rarity had her own thing to do, and figured us ponies were in the way.” Applejack paused, then turned to Twilight and spoke in a less irritated voice. “You take that Boutique and make something nice out of it.” Twilight said nothing as they slowly walked towards the building.

Twilight poked her head inside and opened the door. Everything was gone. The pony mannequins were bare, and the rolls of fabric were gone. The store rooms were dry and bare. All that was left was one roll of gold silk.

“That’s strange,” Twilight mused. “Fluttershy told me that Rarity wouldn’t stop talking about this stuff. Why wouldn’t she take it?” As she was leaving the closet, out of the corner of her eye she caught a small card. Twilight lifted it up. It was a business card that read ‘Photo Finish Complete Gallery’, and had an address on the back. Twilight sent a letter to the address inquiring about Rarity, and got one back saying that they had never spoken with her. ‘Okay, now I’m worried. Where is Rarity?’ Twilight wondered.

The next day, Twilight confronted the mayor of Ponyville. Twilight approached the large wooden door of her house, and knocked three times. On the third knock the door slowly creaked open. Twilight poked her head in and decided to announce her presence. “Hello? Is anypony here? Um, I’m just gonna let myself in, if that’s oka- AUGH!” Twilight’s train for thought was derailed by the sight of a shivering, frightened Mayor rolled up in a blanket.

“Mayor? Are you alright?” Twilight inquired.

“Yes, yes, perfectly fine!” the Mayor nervously announced. “Now! Why don’t you trot on out of here before somepony gets hurt?”

“I’m not leaving until I know what really happened to Rarity,” Twilight asserted.

The mayor turned to reveal that she was wearing a headdress of knives and a look of absolute terror. Their gazes locked on each other for a moment, then the mayor charged at Twilight. Twilight levitated her up and pressed her against the wall. The headdress came off and turned on the mayor as Twilight calmly and forcefully stated, “The royal court will find you guilty of attempted murder, Mayor. You could spend your whole life in the dungeon. But, if you tell me what really happened to Rarity, I might forget this horri-”

Twilight was interrupted again by the mayor’s frantic sobbing. “It’s not me, it’s her!”

“Who? Tell me!” Twilight yelled.

“Pinkamena Diane Pie,” the mayor bitterly stated. “She said I would get a higher number, that I would be the last to go if I kept my jaw tight. I can’t even look at myself, most days I’m in here like this.”

“This isn’t making any sense, give me an answer. Where is Rarity?” Twilight pressed.

“I don’t know, alright?!” the mayor cried.

“You know. Tell me or I’ll notify the Royal Guard.” Twilight threatened.

“No! Okay! Pinkie she, er, has taken Rarity. Her number came up. It’s Pinkie’s standard procedure. Perhaps too standard. She’s gotten lazy, but she said she needed at least one a week. Too many orders, too little cupcakes. Tomorrow, go to Sugarcube Corner. She will probably have something planned for you. Get the guard, get her behind bars. It’s going to take a lot of horsepower to take her down.” The mayor explained, sighing. “She’ll find out I told you… I’m as good as dead.”

“If you think that’s the case, I’ll have the Guards give you protection.” Twilight responded.

The mayor looked down sullenly. “I hope that will be enough.”

It's A Bad Apple

Twilight had woken up the next day in a cold sweat after having terrible nightmares the night previous. She had shaken her feeling of dread with some difficulty as she prepared to begin the hunt for Pinkie Pie.

She was standing apprehensively outside of Sugarcube Corner. Behind her were several of the legendary pegasi of Celestia’s Royal Guard. After some time of preparation, they stormed in, prepared for the worst. Upon entering, however, they noticed the store was empty, save for a plate of cupcakes on the table. As the pegasi tore the place up, Twilight used her magic to spot a loose floor board. She pried it aside, revealing a button. When she pressed it, an oven swung open. Twilight approached it, but a guard pushed her aside and started walking toward the entrance.

“Lady, if what you’ve told me about her is true, then I want to be the guy who catches that monster.” The guard took one step into the newly opened passageway. The one step happened to land on a bear trap. The sharp metal teeth dove into his leg, splintering the bone and producing a horrible crunching sound. The guard’s bravado immediately ended, replaced by blubbering and screaming. “My leg! It’s got my leg!” he yelled. The more he writhed in pain, the deeper the trap’s fangs sunk into his leg.

“For Celestia’s sake, get him outta there!” Another guard piped up. He rushed to the injured guard and began pulling apart the trap, but as he eased the pressure, a blood vessel decided to rupture, sending a spurt of blood into his eye. His hooves slipped, and the trap came down again, this time all but severing the unfortunate guard’s leg, leaving it connected by just a small piece of skin. The guard was finally pulled out of the trap, and put on a stretcher.

As he passed by Twilight, he looked in her eyes solemnly and said “I hope it’s worth it to you.”

Twilight lit the path up, finding and springing the rest of the traps. There were seven, one for each guard she had brought with her. As she and the remaining guards went down the narrow stone stairway, Twilight noticed a certain smell getting stronger and stronger, a smell that reminded her of the dissections they had done in magic class. She’d always pretended to be sick on those days. Twilight knew she knew what it was, but she couldn’t quite place it.

They arrived at the bottom of the staircase, which emptied out into a dark room. The lights went on, revealing what had to be the single most sickening thing Twilight had ever seen. The room was decorated in a disturbing yet light-hearted manner. Lungs and hearts filled with helium floated at the corners of the room like party balloons. Two skinned ponies sat at a table covered in hide on chairs made of bone. Intestines hung from rafters like streamers. Mounted on the wall at the back was a banner saying ‘Happy birthday, Twilight’ written in blood. Twilight finally remembered what that smell was - formaldehyde. Pinkie had used it to preserve the corpses.

Twilight noticed a note nailed to one of the ‘streamers’. She ripped it off and started reading.

Hi Twilight!

You’re probably so wrapped up in this investigation that you forgot that today is your birthday! Well, I went ahead and planned this whole thing JUST FOR YOU! I hope you like it, because I went ahead and got you a present! Use it well!

P.S. Behind you.

As Twilight turned, one of the Guards spoke up. “Twilight, I think you need to see this.” In a dark corner of the room, a different, fouler stench filled the air. In a rust covered cage, surrounded by the bleached skulls of foals was a small, dark shape. Upon closer inspection, Twilight discovered it was Apple Bloom.

“Get her to a doctor, it looks like she’s alive,” called Twilight.

As the guards forced open the cage and grabbed her, she sprung and bit viciously into the face of the one that freed her. "Get her offa me!" he yelped as she clung on, her teeth digging deeper into his flesh. It took two guards to restrain her, and another to fit a muzzle onto her snarling face.

No, Not the Mayor!

twilight sighed, asking herself when this torture was to end, and crept up the stairs. When she reached the kitchen upstairs, she noticed a calendar. “Hey, what do you know, Twilight dolefully said to herself. “Today is my birthday. Thanks for the present.”

Twilight walked towards the mayor’s house, her mind swirling with unanswered questions. She opened the door and called out, “Mayor? I have a lot of questions for you. Pinkie wasn’t there, so if you could provide some information, which would certainly be helpful.” No one answered. Twilight walked down the hallway, when she noticed she stepped in something wet next to a doorway. She opened the door and went inside the unlit room. Just as she did, the lights turned on to reveal the mayor, hung from her front hooves, her stomach cut open, and her organs hanging out.

“Please,” a raspy voice whispered. “Please make the pain go away.” Over the mayor’s head was scrawled a familiar phrase:

Losing a friend’s trust is the fastest way to lose a friend.

The rest of the walls were covered in the word ‘forever’. Twilight closed her eyes. She wanted out, but there was no escape. She knew what she had to do. She knew she had to face Pinkamena Diane Pie.

Interviewing Apple Bloom

“She’s getting up.”

“Good, Ah thought she was in a coma or something.”

“Actually, Ah almost hoped that would be the case.”

“Oh Big Macintosh, what in the world are we gonna do now?”

“We live, Applejack. We’ll get her to be alright in the head, we’ll give her her life back. We’ll take back what Pinkie has taken from us. But right now, she just needs to rest.”

“Hi bro and sis! Whatcha talkin’ about?" Apple Bloom piped up, shooting down Big Mac’s suggestion.

“Apple Bloom! What happened in there? What did she do to you?” Applejack half-cried, hoping her sister hadn’t been too traumatized.

“Oh, nuthin’, just some arts and crafts, a bit of paintin’, and a lot of cupcake makin’.”

Applejack blinked. “You helped her? But…” She couldn’t bring herself to think of her sister becoming like Pinkie Pie.

“Oh, it’s no big deal, I was just playin’ with my friends. Pinkie Pie did most of the work; I just helped a little every now and then. Now why am I in this funny-lookin’ glass stable?”

“The doctors s-said that you w-weren’t right in the head, Apple Bloom. That Pinkie did some terrible things to ya. That you’re a d-danger to yourself and everypony around you.”

“Pinkie said that this was a special way of playing,” Apple Bloom continued, ignoring that her question had been answered. “A way that would bond us as friends forever. She even said that since Rarity loved making dresses so much, she’ll make Rarity a special dress! Or was that make Rarity into a special dress?”

Applejack reeled in horror and disgust. Her own sister had been transformed, had been changed from the sweet little filly she knew into a broken-down monster.

As Applejack numbly trotted into the kitchen to grab a drink, Twilight let herself into the room. “Applejack, I need to speak to you about Apple Bloom!” she shouted. “I’m here on Princess Celestia’s behalf.”

Applejack looked at Twilight and slowly said through her teeth, “What do you wanna know, Twilight?”

“I need to interview Apple Bloom. She’s vital to this case.”

“Sorry, no can do,” Applejack replied. “But, seeing as that was more of a statement than a question, Ah can assume you’re going to anyway.”

“Well, yes…”

“Come with me." Applejack led her down the long twisting hallways of the farmhouse. “The doctors said to not to get close to the glass. Items may be exchanged through the sliding metal tray, but do not give her anything sharp.”

“That’s all?” Twilight asked.

“One more thing. Do not, do not let your guard down. She’s been, ahem, trained by Pinkie Pie.”

“Can do,” Twilight said confidently, but internally mortified at what she might hear or see in that stable. As she approached the stable, she saw a stool, and quickly sat.

“Why so quick to relax, Twilight?” Apple Bloom asked coolly. “Didn’t Applejack tell you not to let your guard down?”

“You let that guard down, Apple Bloom. He’s still receiving treatment. Doctors say that they might not be able to recover his right cheek.” Twilight paused, glaring at the filly in the stable. “Why did you do it?”

“I ate his cheek, and had some fava beans later on the side. Pinkie always told me that the cheeks were the tastiest part of any creature. She also left me in there with no food for six days. I can imagine that’s what’s happening with poor little Rarity right now.”

Twilight froze. She realized it all now.

“You see,” Apple Bloom continued, “Rarity might not be dead yet. Pinkie kept talkin’ about it, how one needs to starve a pony for a few days. Loosens the skin. And then-”

“Pinkie’s going to make a dress out of Rarity?” Twilight interjected, horrified by this revelation.

“Yep! She’s been talkin’ about it for a while now. Ah don’t know how far she’s gotten, but if she’s doin’ that, then you’ve definitely got some time before she kills her.”

Twilight was taken aback by the filly’s excitement for Rarity’s death, but relieved that her friend was still alive. “Do you know where she’s hiding, Apple Bloom?”

“Well, this has to end sometime. But Ah can’t help you with that, Twilight. Ah’ve never been with Miss Pinkie to the hideout. All Ah know is it’s somewhere in Manehattan. She’d been makin’ cupcakes there too, but that place had been just a temporary holdout.”

“Why are you helping me like this, Apple Bloom? Aren’t you Pinkie’s helper?” Twilight choked on the last word. Unlike Applejack, she simply could not see Apple Bloom as a monster.

“She forgot about me, Twilight. Ah was her faithful student, Ah had screamed for days on end for her to release me, but she never did. She acted like Ah wasn’t even there. She ignored me.”

“How did you end up there in the first place? What did she do to you?” Twilight hurriedly started questioning Apple Bloom.

“Well, Ah can’t share that story with you right now.”

“Why not? Is the pain too much to bear?”

“No,” Apple Bloom replied with a smile. “Because my sister is right behind you.”

“Come on, Twilight,” Applejack said wearily. “My poor sister has been through enough, it’s time for you to move them hooves outta here. Little Apple Bloom needs her rest.”

“I’ll be back soon, Applejack. I hope you know that.” Twilight said sternly.

“Oh, Ah know that,” Applejack whispered, mostly to herself.

“Twilight!” Apple Bloom yelled. “Remember! Rarity still has time. She still has…”

Rarity

“…Time to check up on my favorite little pony!” Pinkie Pie gleefully shouted as she hopped across dimly-lit the room towards the pit.

Rarity had dressed her wound with the fabric from her dresses. She’d been there for two days now. The pain medication had worn off though, so it had been burning in her forehead. She had been enduring it for hours, too afraid of her fate to sleep. The searing pain in her forehead had made every other limb in her body ache. She had grown very weak.

“Soiled yourself again, Rarity?” Pinkie mocked her. “That isn’t very ladylike.”

“Pinkie, how could you? I thought we were friends!” Rarity sobbed. It was true, there had simply been no place to go to the bathroom, and either way, she was too weak to move.

“Well, that won’t do, we can’t have your coat and mane getting all dirty.” Pinkie hopped away, and quickly returned with a large hose.

“Pinkie, what are you doing?” Rarity asked, trying to delay the inevitable.

“Washing you, silly!” Pinkie turned on the water and it rushed out of the hose onto Rarity, chilling her to the bone and nearly drowning her. Pinkie shut the water off, and Rarity just sat there, shivering and coughing, looking down at the ground and wondering how this was actually happening.

Her eyes were quickly caught by a basket that was being lowered down. It had a towel and a small light on it. As soon as it arrived, she took out the towel and dried herself off, then set it aside. Then she noticed a small bottle that said ‘special lotion’.

“Take that rag of your head,” Pinkie called down to her captive. “It looks silly.”

Rarity reluctantly complied, slowly peeling her makeshift bandage off and wincing at the feeling of the fabric coming off. The spot where her horn had been had gotten infected, and there was a steady stream of yellow pus flowing out from one of the smaller sores that had formed, some of it leaking down into Rarity’s eye.

“Oh no, that won’t do. Well, like Granny Pie always said, ‘It puts the lotion on the skin or else it gets the hose again.’” Her alligator, Gummy, scurried up and waggled his tail. “Yes she will, Gummy, she will get the hose.” Pinkie said in a childish tone to her scaly friend. Again, Rarity complied, squeezing out a bit of the off-white mixture and putting it on the infected area. It stung unlike anything Rarity had ever felt before. Her head reeled back from the pain, but she ground her teeth and continued applying it. She knew that Pinkie was keeping her alive, and that there was a chance someone was looking for her.

“Now it puts the lotion back in the basket!” Pinkie said.

“Please Pinkie,” Rarity sobbed. “I want to go home!”

“Funny, that’s what Rainbow Dash said. And Twist. And Gilda. But that’s beside the point. It puts the lotion back in the basket!” Pinkie repeated, this time more forcefully.

“Please-” Rarity began, only to be interrupted by Pinkie.

“Put the lotion back in the basket!”

Rarity put it back, and as the basket rose, its light revealed several bloody scratch marks on the walls of the pit, and in between two pieces of cobble, a broken piece of hoof. Rarity backed up, hunched over, and began to scream.

Pinkie just looked down and started mocking her again.

Shy Fluttershy

Rain dripped loudly against the window of Twilight’s library. She was trying to sleep, but couldn’t. She knew that Pinkie knew where she was. She also knew that even with the Royal Guard’s protection, she was exposed. She tried to calm herself down, but nothing seemed to work. She had read books about the subject of psychology, and knew what she was suffering from, but that didn’t help her cope with it at all.

Her fearful reverie was interrupted by three muffled knocks that rang through the house. Twilight sat up with a jolt. She paused, waiting for something to happen. ‘Must be my imagination,’ Twilight said to herself as she laid her head back down on the pillow. Then the sound came again, three more quiet knocks. “Is someone there?” Twilight called, walking towards the door.

“Twilight? Can I talk with you?” A soft voice spoke through the door. Twilight was already sure who it was, but she still wasn’t taking any chances. She looked through the peephole and saw a drenched, shivering Fluttershy standing outside.

“For Celestia’s sake, get in here!” Twilight said as she undid the deadbolt and chain. “Fluttershy, why would you need to see me at an hour like this?”

“I’d like to help you, but I can’t risk getting caught; I don’t want anyone to know.” Fluttershy spoke softly but clearly.

Twilight wore a puzzled look for a moment, then shook it off and said, “I’m sorry Fluttershy, but this is too-”

Fluttershy interrupted. “Too scary? Too gruesome? I’ve seen far worse than anything Pinkie Pie could do, and after what happened, I don’t think I could live with myself if I let another one of my friends die.”

“What do you mean, Fluttershy?” Twilight asked.

“The winter before you came here, during Winter Wrap-Up, since we were so unorganized, the pegasus ponies, they-” Fluttershy stopped, choking up.

“They melted the snow too early, didn’t they?”

“Yes. Oh, how those poor little woodland creatures wailed and screamed. The birds could fly, and I was glad they were safe, but all the others, there were simply too many to save.” Small tears ran down Fluttershy’s pained face. “I figured if could save just one, I would be happy. That’s how I got Angel.”

“You just wanted them to stop screaming, didn’t you… You just wanted silence.” Twilight said with a strong, solemn look.

“Please Twilight, if there’s anything I can help you with, I’d be honored to.”

“Well, there is one thing. I’m positively stumped as to the whereabouts of her hideout. I got a map of Manehattan, and a list of where the ponies that had gone missing were last seen, but I can’t figure out where she’s doing this from.”

“Well, Twilight, I can’t seem to pull anything from this either.”

“That’s okay, I’ll talk with Apple Bloom tomorrow, and I’ll start investigating the neighborhood, starting with this house.” Twilight marked a house down.

“Hm. Okay, see you later.” Fluttershy said as she walked out into the night.

Apple Bloom's Confession

The next morning, Twilight headed for Sweet Apple Acres, ready for a torrent of protest from Applejack. She was willing to put up with it. She knew that she had to speak with Apple Bloom again.

“You know Ah don’t like it when you come over here to stress my sister.” Applejack complained.

“I’m sorry Applejack, but this is too important to worry about staying within your comfort zone.” Twilight retorted.

“Oh, so it’s like that, huh?” Applejack said, stomping her hooves in protest. “You think just because you got special permission and whatnot you can come in here and make the house yours? Ah’m telling you Twilight, when this is over, we’re going to need to have a serious talk.”

“I’d love to. When this is over, of course.” Twilight replied with finality as she approached the glass stable.

“Hi Twilight!” Apple Bloom greeted Twilight almost cheerfully. Then she noticed a small saddlebag draped across Twilight’s side. “What’s in the bag?”

“Apple Bloom, I need you to help me find where Pinkie is.”

“Really? Well, show me what’s in the bag then.”

Twilight pulled out a map of Manehattan, which was covered in dots, and slid it through to Apple Bloom. “I need you to use this to help me find her.” Twilight said.

Apple Bloom stared blankly at the map for a moment, then turned back to Twilight. “Tell me Twilight, are you afraid of losing somepony else? Pinkie told me all about it, about the, uh, abso- absolution in a pony’s eyes as they’re about to die. But she lied to me about one thing: That she could actually care for anypony. She said that Ah was her favorite, that Ah was too good for cupcakes… But she forgot about me.”

Twilight tried to think of something to say, but she could only let her mouth hang open dumbly. She stared into Apple Bloom’s eyes, seeing the tortured soul trapped inside.

Apple Bloom started again. “Ah’ll help you Twilight, but promise me this: You find the real thing that keeps pulling you along, the real reason you haven’t just passed this on to somepony else.”

With that, Twilight got up and left. She thought about what Apple Bloom said; she knew why she was doing this, but she couldn’t express it.

Twilight spent that entire night with her spare map, trying to figure out where Pinkie was hiding, but all the disappearances seemed random. She eventually got an idea that Pinkie could have hidden at the rock farm by the town, the one she had grown up on. Twilight didn’t have a search warrant, however, so she decided to continue her investigation in Manehattan. She sent a letter to Princess Celestia outlining her suspicions, and quickly got her reply:

My faithful student, Twilight:

We have had the same suspicions, and are now on route to capture Pinkie Pie. I guess great minds think alike. Hope to see you soon.

Soon after Twilight had left to check on the first house on her list, Fluttershy passed by the library and saw a small stack of papers on Twilight’s front porch. She decided glanced over them, and saw that they were some of Twilight’s case files. ‘Why would she leave them here?’ Fluttershy wondered as she started sifting through them. She stopped at the map. ‘Twilight, doesn’t this random assortment of disappearances seem a bit strange?’ She thought about it as she scanned the map. She froze when she noticed that each disappearance was along one route that lead back to one house in Manehattan.

“Oh, no.” She said aloud.

End of the Horror?

Pinkie gave a harrumph, then rushed back to her room and snatched up a crossbow. Just then, she heard a loud knock. “Visitors!” she happily squealed, and rushed up the stairway to the door, quickly donning a disguise on the way.

“Hello, is anyone there?” a voice spoke. There was no response.

“Just a second,” Pinkie said, taking on a deeper tone.

“Hello there. I’m Twilight Sparkle, here to investigate a series of disappearances. Would you mind if I took a look around?”

“No, not at all,” Pinkie replied, yielding to her ‘friend’. The upper part of the house seemed to be done up hastily. Most of the surfaces were very dusty. The whole place seemed to lack a certain quality that a house has when someone lives in it. Everything seemed to be brand new, but neglected. The floor was unpolished, and the walls were white.

“Just moved into town, I see.” Twilight said.

“Nope, been living here all my life,” Pinkie said, in her fake voice.

“This house could use a little more, erm, life, don’t you think?” Twilight asked.

“Well, that’s your opinion,” Pinkie retorted. She paused before adding, “So, these disappearances, they found what caused them yet?”

“Yeah, this pony named Pinkamena Diane Pie, we’ve tracked her down to a rock farm outside of town. Well, it looks like there’s nothing suspicious in this house, so I’ll leave you be.” Twilight said, walking towards the door.

“Okie dokie lokie!” Pinkie said in her regular voice.

Twilight quickly turned around.

“Oops.” Pinkie stared at Twilight for several moments, then bolted into the basement.

Twilight followed her, but Pinkie had already ducked into one of the many winding hallways. The basement was dimly lit and damp, and reminded Twilight of a dungeon. “Pinkie Pie, you are under arrest!” She yelled as she ran down one of the hallways. She looked through a doorway and saw Pinkie’s room. She noticed a sewing machine and the dried skin of some unfortunate pony. She gagged at the sight, but pressed forward. She kept running until she heard a voice.

“Twilight? Is that you? Oh, Twilight, please save me!”

She raced towards the pit to find Rarity glaring pitifully up at her. “Hold on Rarity, I need to find Pinkie, just hang tight.”

“Twilight! Twilight, come back here! Don’t leave me alone, please!”

Twilight backed into a corner, horn at the ready. Suddenly, all the lights in the basement shut off.

Pinkie Pie could smell Twilight. She knew her house by heart and could smell out exactly where Twilight was. She got close to Twilight as she was fumbling around in the dark, but as she pulled the drawstring on the crossbow, Twilight heard it creak, swung around, and pinned Pinkie in place with magic. Pinkie thrashed and strained against it, but to no avail. Twilight lit up the rest of the room, then stood where she was, panting, exhausted but relieved that her ordeal was over.

Twilight watched several guard pegasi carrying Pinkie away in a straightjacket. “How did you know I was here?” she asked one of the guards.

“Somepony named Fluffershy or something sent a message that Pinkie was here.”

A Happy Ending

As the pegasi pulled Rarity up out of the hole, Twilight went outside, and was surprised to find Spike waiting for her. “I had to come out here and see it for myself,” he said. “Thank you so much for saving Rarity.”

“You’re welcome Spike, now take a letter to the Princess.”

“Yes, Ma’am!” he replied enthusiastically.

“That won’t be necessary, Spike,” a voice said from behind them. Twilight and Spike turned to see Celestia walking towards them. “Twilight Sparkle, my faithful student, you have served Equestria well. We are finally past the horror that was Pinkie Pie.” She paused. “You have something to say, don’t you? Go ahead.”

Twilight saw that the Princess was acknowledging her in front of the crowd that had been forming outside Pinkie’s hideout. “Princess Celestia, I do have something to say. Over the past few days my friends and I have seen some of the most horrid crimes committed in pony history. They were atrocities beyond comprehension, but they showed that even in times of hardship, the power of true friendship never fades.”

Celestia looked at Twilight solemnly. “ Really Twilight after countless murders from an insane pony, of which you have just caught, you are going to claim that you used ‘friendship’ to solve this. *sigh* For your actions, you will be receiving the Honorary Pony Award!”

The entire crowd burst into fevered applause, but Twilight looked sullen. She was relieved that this was finally behind her, but she couldn’t ignore that she had just lost two of her closest friends.

A Happy Ending Gone Wrong

The air in Ponyville was chilly, its sky dark and cloudy, in stark contrast to the usual sunny weather. The entire town looked like its color palette had been muted for the day. Twilight’s voice rang out over the town square. “We will never forget those lost in this massacre. Seeing as Rainbow Dash was the only pony who was completely recovered, she will be commended to the clouds.”

Rainbow Dash’s hideously taxidermied body was raised up onto a cloud by a single grey pegasus. A signal was given, and the cloud was set ablaze and fired into the heavens. The crowd was overcome with hushed whispers and soft crying as the burning cloud winked out in the horizon. Some said that on that day, as Rainbow Dash rocketed away, that they could hear a faint ‘boom’ and see a tiny, multicolored circle in the sky.

The rest of the procession went on as planned, and afterwards, Twilight, Spike, and Applejack went to see Rarity in the hospital. “You’re looking better already,” said Applejack.

“Oh stop, just stop! I look terrible! This scar is simply revolting.” Rarity complained.

“At least you got your horn back,” Twilight reminded her. “Those doctors are amazing.”

“And I still think you look beautiful, Rarity,” Spike said softly.

“Girls, come quick!” Fluttershy burst in, half yelling and half whispering.

“Fluttershy! You were supposed to come here with us, weren’t ya?” Applejack asked irritated.

“Well, yes I was, but somepony stopped me on the way and told me to bring you this.” Fluttershy dropped a note in front of her friends and started reading:

Dear Friends:

Hi! Looks like we had lots of fun that time, didn’t we? Good thing you didn’t just kill me on the spot, because Apple Bloom was clueless on how to get out of that asylum you sent us to. But no hard feelings. Anyway, I think you’re just too good for me, Twilight. So I’ve decided to take a separate way, to separate ponies limb from limb. Hee hee hee!

Your friend, Pinkamena Diane Pie.

P.S. You’re welcome.

As if on cue, there came a knock at the door. “Room service!” a voice outside the door called out. Twilight cautiously approached the peephole.

“Twilight, no!” Applejack pleaded quietly.

Twilight peered through and saw that the pony outside holding a tray was not Pinkie. “Uh, hello? Anypony there?” he asked again. Twilight let him through. As he entered, he felt an array of stares fixated on him. “S-somepony se-sent these up here. I don’t know who though.”

“If you ever get that figured out, give us a call.” Applejack said.

“What’s on the tray?” Spike asked after the pony had left. Twilight slowly picked up the cover. Everypony was expecting the worst, but all that was on the plate was a single blue cupcake.

the new beginning

It was early in the morning when Twilight went to go and make sure that Rarity was doing ok. When she arrived Rarity was covered in all the fabrics on the floor. Twilight dashed over to the motionless unicorn. “No, there is no way she’s back in ponyville, there is just no way. Even if she escaped from the asylum it’ll still take months to get here!”

Then the fabric began to shift around. Twilight was startled and jumped back. Rarity got up look as though she had just been skydiving. Her hair was a giant puffball on top of her head, bags under her eyes from a lack of sleep. She muttered something under her breath, but she couldn’t make out what she said. The two friends went to go speak with Fluttershy at her cottage at the edge of the woods. When they got to the homely cottage Twilight went to knock on the door, but when she knocked on the door it was already unlocked and open. They both glanced at each other as they passed through the door way in the house. “Fluttershy…Fluttershy, are you in here? It’s Twilight and Rarity, we would like to talk to you.”Twilight shouted trough out the empty house. They searched the cottage top to bottom, but didn’t find her. They went back outside and went to the chicken coops to find Fluttershy feeding the chickens. Twilight and Rarity walked in behind Fluttershy and accidently scared to the point to where she turned around and swung her whoof out and hit Twilight in the left check. “Oh my. Oh my, what have I done. Oh, dear. I’m so sorry. Please…” “ It’s ok Fluttershy. Don’t worry about it, I’m fine.” Twilight interrupted, “we just wanted to stop by and see how your holding up since the…you know.”

“Oh, I’m doing just fine, except that I’m even more frightened than usual.” Fluttershy responded.

“That’s good, hey I was about to go and check on Apple Jack and Apple Bloom wanna come along with me?”Twilight asked gingerly.

“I’d be happy to” Fluttershy responded with an innocent smile flowing across her face.

“I hope you don’t mind if I tag along to, do you?” Rarity asked cheerfully.

The three of them finally made it to Sweet Apple Acers. Once there, they made their way to the barn to find Apple Jack. They found her in the pens house next to Apple Bloom’s cube of captivity.

“Ah don’t suppose ya’ll came here for a nice cup of tea for some reason. What can ah do for ya?” Apple Jack greeted them quietly, so she doesn’t wake Apple Bloom.

“We came over to see how things are going on with you and Apple Bloom. Any news?” Twilight asked.

“Ah actually needed to speak with ya’ll. Let’s go on over here so we don’t wake Little Apple here.” Apple Jack said as she motioned for the others to follow her out of the barn.

“Ah don’t mean to be a bother er nothin’, but I’m not sure if I’m ganna be able to take much more care of Apple Bloom if she stays like this. Ah was hopein ya’ll might be able to help me out a bit.”Apple Jack confessed with a hint of sorrow in her voice.

“ I would be happy to help, Apple Jack” Twilight responded.

“I would like to help too” Fluttershy said in a voice that was made of a mixture of melancholy and a hint of a solemn soul.

“As would I” Rarity proclaimed.

So with that conversation ended and them on their way back to the barn they hear a loud crash come from the barn. They took off as fast as they could to get there. And when they walked in they found the glass container smashed and covered in blood. They gasped in horror, for they thought that the young filly was asleep the whole time. Twilight noticed a piece of paper in the grotesque puddle of blood. Once upon further inspection they found it to be a note, written in blood and pictures of the stuffed

carcass that once was Rainbow Dash, and in the background they could see another dungeon much like the one found in ponyville, but there was something different about this one, there was more of the gore, more organs, more insistence, and more hides thrown on top of each other in a large heap of bloody pulp and a reminder of the murders and blood lust from the insane pink pony. The stuffed Rainbow Dash seemed to be stitched together perfectly, except that the wings where to damaged to look correctly on the mangled body. They all had a chill run down their weak spines and down to their feeble thoughts. The images where never going to leave them. Fluttershy was unmoved by the pictures, Twilight had noticed this and began to wonder what had happened to the sweet, quite, and shy Pegasus. Being distracted by the horrifying pictures Twilight finally began to read the note that was left behind with them.

Dear “friends”

I have noticed how you all seem to react to the way I was making my delicious cupcakes. We have had a lot of fun this time don’t you think. Well I have had so much fun that I have decided to keep having fun, with all the intestine and the blood, oh the blood how I love the smell, the fell, and the taste. I still await the turn up of your numbers. So I can keep all my friends with me……..forever.

Your dear friend,

Pinkiemania Pie

They all traded glances with shock. While they read the note, Fluttershy creped out of sight and disappeared. Nopony noticed this, except for Rarity who thought nothing of it.

consideration

Twilight was on her way home from Apple Jacks When she noticed a shadow was following her. She got suspicious and used her magic to make some light. After walking down the road for about 50 yards she noticed that the shadow was no longer following her. She got to her welcoming home inside the tree. She saw a piece of paper on her door step. She picked it up and began to read the small piece of paper, but before she started reading she saw the bushes rustling around and she began getting a little worried. She read the note,

Dear Twilight,

I know what you think, that i am the one doing the murders and the gore filled cupcakes, the dungeon, the hides. All of it was someone else, you might not believe me but I am not responsible for this. If you do believe me please meet me at the edge of the everfree forest.

Your innocent friend,

Pinkiemania Diane Pie.

Twilight was a little surprised by this. She went inside and whet to bed with the note weighing heavily on her mind. She drifted off to sleep after a few hours of lying in bed thinking if she should meet with Pinkie or not.

‘If anyone can help me it has to be Twilight.’ She was watching her as she was walking home, watching from the sides of the dark alleys. She didn’t want to be seen, for she didn’t want to be killed in the streets of where she used to live, and more than likely, by her friends to. The thought Scared her.

It was now early in the morning and Twilight had just woken up. She was quiet getting her things and walking out the door, so she didn’t wake up spike that was sleeping in his basket. As she begins her walk to the edge of the everfree forest to meet with the “innocent” Pinkie Pie. All the way there she kept thinking ‘what if it’s a trap, she might kill me, and I could turn up like rainbow dash.’ At the thought of the cupcake she rushed over to the bushes and threw up. The colorful chunks splattered all over the grass, when she was done with that she had saw that there was hoof indentions in the grass, and then she knew what the shadow was that night. She was still making her way to the forest edge. She had no more distractions all the way there. Once she reached the edge she called out,

“PINKIE, I’M HERE. I WANT TO TALK.” Twilight had yelled. From behind her she heard the leaves moving and crunching. She turned around and out of the forest line came Pinkie Pie. She looked as though she had been living in a swamp. Her mane was tangled and clunked up due to all the mud, it dripped down her pink mane and covered her body. She stood in place shivering and crying. “We should probably head over to my house.” Twilight said.

“NO,NO,NO,NO,NO. I can’t go back there, not at least after this clears up. If I do, they would all kill me,” Pinkie protested loudly. “I’ll be fine, don’t worry about it. Now, for the reason I asked you here. On the note I said I was be framed, I am, but I have to know who is framing me, and you’re the only one that can help. You have an open mind you think much more critically then everypony else in ponyville. Please you have just got to help me.”

“OK,OK. I’ll help. Just let me think for a few days and ill get back to you on what I can do.” Twilight responded.

No more thoughts

Over the next 3 days Twilight thought of anything that she could do to help her scared, forsaken friend. They met once more at the edge of the Everfree forest, much like they did the first time. Once Twilight got to the edge she called out “PINKIE I’M HERE!”

Then out of the corner of her eye she saw the pink pony emerge from the bushes.

“Oh, thank Celestia it’s you, some of the ponies of ponyville have been claiming that they have been seeing me around.” The troubled pony cried.

“Well that’s not a problem if they haven’t, right? I mean if they just say that they have what harm could it do?” Twilight responded.

“Well, it wouldn’t be a problem if they hadn’t really seen me. I couldn’t help myself but to go into town and look around, watching from the bushes.” Pinkie said with a very guilty look on her face.

“OK, well, I will come back late tomorrow. OK?” Twilight said trying to calm down the troubled pony.

Twilight's dawn

The next day, she began approached the meet up point. As she got closer she heard a loud snap, like something broke. When she got there she started to look around to try and find Pinkie. She heard something rustling in the bushes. She turned around, but there was nothing there. She then heard something bursting out of the hedges behind her, and a grunt coming from sompony.

She was out cold.

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When she came to her sight was very blurry, but could make out the figure of a pony. The pony didn’t move, it didn’t talk, nor did it blink. It took Twilight a good amount of time to realize what it was, and when she did she noticed that her body was burning, and raging in pain. The pony figure was a mannequin from Rarity’s store….but with Twilight’s own pelt wrapped around it. She looked at her arms, all she saw was tissue and muscle. She began to panic, she looked around to see if she could find any sign of help. When she took in her surroundings she noticed that the floor was covered in broken glass and salt. She then saw a dim light coming from the other side of the room. Then it hit her….this was all a game. A sick and twisted game, just to amuse Pinkie. No later after that did she hear Pinkie’s voice coming from the dim lighted part of the room.

“Ah, I see that you are finally awake. As you probably figured out by now, this is how I pass time.” Pinkie confesses darkly.

“Pinkie… can you at least tell me why you are doing this. Why you are killing us.” Twilight pleads confidently.

“Why? You already know why.” Pinkie replies.

“If I knew, then I wouldn’t be asking.” Twilight snaps back aggregately.

“Twilight Sparkle…now this is just sad. We both know that YOU know why I am doing this, but you just don’t want to except it.” Pinkie explains.

“no, NO, JUST NO!!! YOU CAN’T REALLY BE KILLING US FOR THIS,THIS….that just can’t be the real reason why you did this.” Twilight complained.

“Indeed I am. I am ‘killing’ you people so I can make us some cupcakes.” Pinkie said with a smile.

Dress-up Time!

Drip, drip, drip.

Rarity tossed and turned, eyes closed. ‘Is the roof leaking again?’ She wondered.

Drip, drip ,drip.

‘This will be the third time I’ve had to get those colts to fix that thing.’

Drip, drip, drip.

“No, it’s time to get up, get dressed.” Rarity sleepily yawned, opening her eyes. She noticed it was so dark she could hardly see a hoof in front of her. She looked down at her bed sheet. “That’s strange, this doesn’t feel like a bed sheet.” It took Rarity a few moments to notice that she was actually sleeping on a pile of her dresses. She looked up, and saw a large hole with light coming through it. Suddenly, a head popped out.

“Hi Rarity! Looks like you’re finally awake!” a high pitched voice squeaked from the edge of the pit.

“Pinkie, is that you?” Rarity probed.

“Yep! Looks like you hit that one right on the nose, or should I say horn? Hee hee!”

Rarity slowly pulled her hoof to her head, and felt a wet spot, but no horn. “Pinkie? Wh- what did you do?” she stammered. Hearing Pinkie Pie snickering mischievously, she looked back at her hoof in the light to find that it was stained with dark red, contrasting with her white coat. The dripping she had heard was coming from her wound. She began to scream in shock and despair.

Pinkie spoke over her cries, “Wah, wah, wah, just like a baby. Twist didn’t cry this much. Well, I’d have to say, you are quite a lucky filly. When your number came up, my first thought was cupcakes, but then I remembered it was fashion designer Rarity I was talking about. I think that after all those dresses, you deserve to be served one. No wait, I mean served as one. Hee hee hee hee! Well, I can’t talk forever, orders to fill and whatnot. Bye!”

Rarity shook her head, trying to convince herself this wasn’t happening. ‘Pinkie’s my friend, this is probably all some practical joke,’ she thought. She called out nervously, “Ha ha, Pinkie, you have surely fooled me into fright, what with the well and the ironic death and all. But I must say, how did you pull off such an impressive missing horn illusion?”

Pinkie laughed and retorted as she was trotting off, “Who said that was an illusion, silly?”

Beauty and Grace can be cannibalistic

Wakey wakey, rise and shakey!” Pinkie sang. “Today, I have a special surprise for you! Cupcakes! I thought I was all out of my very special ingredient, but I guess I still had some left! Now eat it.” Pinkie lowered a cupcake down the pit on a string.

Rarity opened her eyes. She had not eaten anything for days. Her whole body ached and wobbled as she crawled over to the cupcake. She ate it without a thought, cramming it in her mouth and taking most of the string along with it.

“Wow, Miss Piggy, aren’t you?” Pinkie mocked her prisoner. “I guess beauty and grace does fade. Well, here, since you liked it so much, I may as well just give you some more of the special ingredient.” Pinkie threw a blood-soaked strip of flesh onto Rarity’s face.

“Pinkie,” Rarity said weakly. “What is this?”

“Do you remember that friend of ours, the one who like to, erm, dash?” Pinkie giggled sadistically.

“No, not Rainbow, why?”

“Her number came up, just like yours. She was weak, weaker than most ponies actually. I only got to play with her for fifty minutes. Well, at least I got to play with you for much longer. And I think you’ll make a great dress; that’s what’s important.”

As Pinkie turned and left, Rarity had a million thoughts racing through her head. She was stuck in a pit. She was going to be made into a dress. She had just eaten Rainbow Dash.

Rarity's Attempt

Pinkie was in a room by herself. The walls were covered in missing pony notices. The bed was dressed in dyed-pink hide. Near the door was a mirror surrounded by light bulbs, but only a few were still working. She reached her hoof over to a record player and started it up. Pinkie sat looking into the mirror as she retrieved a small vial of blood and smeared it on her lips. “Do you want be my friend?” she spoke to her reflection. “I’d like to be your friend. I’d be your friend forever and ever.” She backed up and started putting on her ‘special dress’ made from a patchwork of colorful pony hides and cutie marks emblazoned across the sides. “Ooh!” She lit up as the song on the record changed. “This is my jam!” She started to dance and sing along, creating her own lyrics.

Meanwhile, Rarity had managed to concoct an escape plan. She tied a piece of string over the chunk of Rainbow Dash, and threw it up to the edge of the pit. “Here, Gummy,” Rarity called out for the crocodile. “Come over here, boy!”

The crocodile waddled towards the piece of meat, wearing his usual half-perplexed look.

“Come on, you carnivorous little ruffian, eat the meat.”

Gummy looked down at her, then turned and started ambling away.

“No, no, oh, no, come on you horrible little creature!” Rarity called out, trying to restrain the utter hatred she felt towards quite literally everything at the moment.

Pinkie Pie set up a camera in front of herself. “Now introducing Ponyville’s finest. It took so long to make, but I think it adds just the right touch, don’t you?” As she was dancing, she heard a tug and a whimpering cry. Pinkie Pie rushed over to the hole.

Rarity looked up at Pinkie with mad determination on her face. “I have Gummy, Pinkie Pie! He broke his tail on the way down here; he needs to go to the hospital!”

“Gimme back my alligator!” Pinkie yelled in a childish tone.

“I’ll kill him, I swear I will, I’ll snap his neck!” Rarity called back shrilly.

The Rendezvous

“ooooooooooooooooo” spike said drooling over the floor. He begins to slowly approach the cupcake, he picks it up about to eat the thing whole. “NO, Spike don’t eat the cupcake!!!” Rarity screamed at the top of lungs.“Wha…why not?” he asked with a very disgruntled look on his face. “I really don’t want to say this, but I have to, that cupcake is…well…more of a rainbow then you may think.” Rarity explains solemnly.

Apple Jack stares at her with a very disturbed look upon her face, and asks “Do you mean that…you know…Rainbow is in there?”

Rarity closes her eyes and nods her head. Everypony gasped in the horrific news. Spike was shocked just as much as everypony else, but he just could hold himself from saying,

“Now I know what they mean when they say ‘taste the rainbow’.”

They all stared at him in disappointment and gaped in horror at his remark. He cowered in fear of the looks he was receiving from the others, regretting what he had said.

“Well at least it’s over now.” Stated Twilight. “Oh I’m so wonderfully happy that Pinkie is gone, I feel as though I can finally relax.” Fluttershy whispered just loud enough for all to hear. “Ah don’t really know what ah’m supposed to do with the orchard while ah take care of Apple Bloom.”Apple Jack reported as though expecting to say that they would buck all the trees for her, or ask if they could help out with Apple Bloom.

“Well girls, I am as hungry as I’ve ever been. Apple Jack do you think you could fix up some nice steamy pies for me?”

“Ah’d be honored to.” Apple Jack replied.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It was about 4 weeks after Pinkie was taken the asylum. The rest of the gang where still getting used to not having Pinkie around, the sweets and laughter where now seen as crimes and murders.

Rarity was put into a hospital for a few days after the arrest.

counting the possibilities

‘Why is it numbers? How can I predict them? What do I do to stop her?’ She thought to herself. She was alone to her thoughts and silence. She kept wondering how it could be stopped, but every way she approached it she was wrong.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Have you guys seen Fluttershy anywhere?” Rarity asked worriedly.

“Na, ah ain’t seen er any where, sorry.” Apple Jack replied.

‘That’s not good I’ve asked everyone, but no has seen her since Apple Bloom got out.’ At the thought of the smashed cube, a terrifying shiver ran down her spine.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

‘How can this be ended? Why did this start? Why am I doing this now? Why? Why? Why?’ she thought to herself once more still to herself with nopony else to bother her, not the ponies of ponyville, not the wind or sun, not even the animals where there to bother her.

‘Why, why me and why them? I have to figure this out. Now more than ever, but I don’t understand the numbers. The numbers what do they mean, how are they used, and why us?’

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“I really need to speak with Fluttershy are you sure you don’t know where she is?” Rarity asked even more scared than ever.

“I’m sure, Rarity, she’s probably out in the meadows helping the bunnies or something.” Twilight considered unconfidently.

“I’ll go take a look out there, I guess.” Rarity stated warily.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

‘I’m never going to figure this out. Why is this so confusing? How have I not got this around my hoof yet? Maybe there is no pattern, but there are always patterns everywhere and everything.’ She began to pace back and forth, thinking, pondering of what is next to happen and she couldn’t stop thinking and pacing. As her hooves hit the ground it was light and hard to notice, mostly because she was so far away from anypony. So far away that she wasn’t able to her anything except her own thoughts and light paces.

‘Where is she? Why does she do this? How do I determine the numbers, I tried every logical pattern that would work, but none of them fit.’ Her thoughts started making her head hurt. She sat down on the soft dark green grass, and slowly began to lie down. She closed her eyes, tired from the days of thinking. She drifted off to a relaxing deep sleep the tall soft grass felt like a bed, a pile of leaves made her a pillow. Then Pinkie feel into a deep sleep.