Whatever Happened to Pinkie?

If Dash and Apple were complete strangers, they might not have said a word on the train to Canterlot. As it stands, however, the two ponies speak wildly to each other, with Dash talking about what he plans to do to Evening Light once they rescue Scootaloo, and AJ talking about how Evening Light deserves a good kick to the flank. Saddle, however makes no efforts at talking at all except to go over the vitals of their mission. After an hour of the boisterous behavior, Saddle loses his patience.

"Do I really need to remind you two what we are doing here? This is a pony who allegedly killed your friend. He has another of your friends hostage, and you two are treating this trip like you're going to a pep rally. You, Rainbow Dash."

"Yeah?"

"Do you care about this...Scootaloo?"

"What? How dare you ask me a question like that! Of course I care about him!"

"Then act like it."

"Act like it? How about I kick your flank? Maybe that will convince you."

Applejack stands between them. "Enough. He's right."

"What?"

"Yall, we need to go inta this cool headed. Yer right, Mr. Saddle. I was just trying to get us focused for tha task at hand. I'm sorry."

"How are you taking his side?"

"It's not about takin' sides, Rainbow. It's about doin' what we need ta save Scootaloo. Ya don't know if he's got a weapon. If we go blarin' in there like the wild west, we could get Scootaloo killed."

Rainbow gulps. "You're right, AJ. Sorry Saddle."

Saddle sighs. "No problem. I just need to know you're both serious about this. We can get your friend out alive, but you need to listen to me and follow my direction, understood?"

Rainbow huffs. "I don't know..."

"They're trained for these kinds of things, Rainbow. Aren't you, Mr. Saddle?"

"Of course, and please just call me Saddle."

"F-fine. But if you let Scootaloo get hurt, so help me, I'll-"

"I'll take it to my grave," Saddle interrupts with a grim lip.

The rest of the train ride is awkwardly silent. They arrive in town mid afternoon.

"Okay," AJ says, "So according to this here address, Evening Light's house is on the opposite end of Canterlot, a few miles away from the palace."

"Decent real estate," Saddle raises an eyebrow. "Curious what the place looks like."

Rainbow rolls her eyes. "It's going to take us forever to get there. What are we waiting for guys? Scootaloo is in danger. We got to get there quicker. Taxi! Hey taxi!"

The taxis, ignore her and drive straight past. "Oh no you don't." Rainbow flies right in front of a taxi and it screeches just in time to stop. "And that, is how you stop a taxi." She smiles smugly and gets in. The other two follow behind quickly.

"Rainbow, you buckhead, you could've gotten yourself killed."

"Nah. I have lightning reflexes. I still would have had time to move. What's the address, AJ?"

"Erhm, 25th and Whinny Street."

"Hmm. I know where that is," the cab driver says. "Strange request, though."

"Oh?" Saddle says. "Why's that?"

"Well, there's not really anything up there except an old, abandoned mansion. It's owned by somepony, but nopony ever comes around to fix it up or something, so I guess the property owned just doesn't care. Anyway, lots of ponies say ghost stories about that old house. They reckon it's haunted, which is why nopony goes there."

"Hunh, I almost wish it was haunted," AJ says. "Would be a darn sight better."

Rainbow hushes AJ. "We're just visiting it. An old friend of ours stayed there once and we wanted to see if its still the way it was."

"Well," the cabbie says. "Good luck with that. The place has a large gate around it to keep ponies out. I doubt you'll be able to get far. Plus, if the owner doesn't want you there, you'd be trespassing."

"I get the feeling he does want us there." Saddle says. "Thank you for your drive, Mr."

"Just call me Speedy." The cabbie smiles.

Saddle hands a small bag of bits to Speedy. "Will you do us a favor? Will you stay here and wait for us until our business is finished?"

Speedy eyes the bits. "Sure thing, sir. You aren't doing anything illegal are ya?"

"No." Saddle says the word flatly. Speedy does not appear convinced.

"Everything will be alright," Dash says. "We wouldn't leave you stuck in a weird position like that." Rainbow winks.

"Alright, well take care of yourselves and let me know if you see any ghosts."

AJ, Saddle, and Rainbow make their way up the hill by the gate. The gate is wide open. The three walk past and trudge their way up to the mansion.

"Wow," Rainbow says. "Twilight didn't say anything about this guy being loaded. Look at this place!"

"I don't like this, Saddle," AJ says. "A building that big, Scootaloo could be anywhere, and he could easily get the drop on us."

Saddle stares at the mansion for a moment. "This is the right address, correct?"

AJ nods. "Sure as I am of anythang."

"Either of you ever fire a gun before?"

Rainbow turns her head to Saddle. "You're asking us now?"

I'm going to give you each a weapon. "Only use it in emergencies. Don't take it out unless you're certain it's him, and for the love of Celestia don't shoot me. Keep it hidden from sight. When you shoot, line up your eyes between the cross-hairs, take a breath, hold it, and squeeze just the trigger. Don't try any crazy shots. You will miss."

AJ nods. "Got it."

"You're seriously giving me a gun."

He sighs. "I hate to say this, but it's our best shot. I know it's stupid."

Rainbow looks forward. "Well, you put it like that, I feel much better."

"Rainbow and I will start at the front door. AJ, you take the back."

"What? We're not going together?"

"He will expect Rainbow to come after Scootaloo. He may even suspect an agent like myself. You have the best chance to sneak up on him and take him by surprise. Walk carefully, AJ, and stay quiet. We're in this together."

AJ nods quietly and approaches the back. Rainbow and Saddle walk slowly up the steps to the front door. It creaks. Saddle motions for Rainbow to be silent. Saddle tries the doorknob, half expecting to have to break the door down. It opens without issue. The main entryway is a disheveled mess. Old coats, dust and shoes litter the floors. A few walls have graffiti sprayed all about. The graffiti looks as old as the dust on the walls.

Dash's ears pick up something and her coat bristles. She hears a voice. It sounds like crying. The crying is coming from upstairs.

"Scootaloo!" Dash audibly says. She starts to dart up when a hoof catches her.

"Are you crazy?" Saddle whispers. "Slow down. Are you trying to get her killed?"

Dash shrugs him off and whispers sharply. "Any second we waste is a chance for her to get hurt. I'm going."

She flies straight up past the stairs and follows the sound of the crying. Saddle rolls his eyes and runs up after her. Dash slows down as she nears the source of the sound. It's definitely Scootaloo's voice. She sees a door with a picture of a crib drawn on the outside. The nursery. Dash reaches her hoof to the door. The door is not all the way shut. She hesitates, draws the gun, then opens the door slowly.

Saddle catches up to her, hears the sound, and also draws his weapon. The room is mostly dark, and the most destroyed of all the rooms. In one corner, Dash sees a crib, smashed to pieces. In another, a family picture complete with Misty shattered into hundreds of pieces on the floor. On the wall where the picture was, is carved the words "Nothing left," and "Revenge" over and over. Both ponies turn toward the source of the sound. The crying is loud enough to be heard but not too loud, almost a soft whimpering. A pony shape sits in the corner across from the closet. It is covered by a blanket with a rope tied around it.

Rainbow walks toward the figure but Saddle stops him. Saddle motions Rainbow toward the closet and begins to walk up to the blanketed figure. Rainbow raises an eyebrow, but points her gun toward the closet. Saddle takes a few steps closer to the figure. He reaches out his hoof at the rope, only to see the figure slump down. He sees a pillow and a tape recorder playing the sound of Scootaloo's cries.

Saddle flips around. "Rainbow, the closet!"

A loud gunshot fires off, hitting Saddle twice in the stomach. He slumps over. Rainbow covers her ears instinctively from the sound of gunshots, then spins toward the closet and fires every shot in her gun at the closet at once. After six deafening shots, her gun makes a click, no more bullets, then something hits her on the head hard. She stumbles, and then the world fades.

Things are fuzzy at first, blurred and hazy. Dash hears a few sounds and words but doesn't really understand them. A few words snap her back into reality, "Die like Scootaloo." She shrugs off the haze and realizes where she is.

"Ah! That brought her back." Rainbow sees a malevolent smile across from her. The smile belongs to a stallion with a coal colored fur and a course yellow mane. She tries to say something but the duct tape across her mouth prevents her.

"She really is a ball of fire, that one. I can see why you care for her. You two have much in common. It must drive you crazy to know that you're going to lose her, that you failed, that you're both going to die."

Dash shakes and tries to kick herself free, but she is shackled to heavy chains that won't even budge. "Oh relax, Rainbow Dash," he throws his mane back with pride. "It's not like I'm going to take my time with her. No. She's simply going to...disappear."

"In case you're wondering about your friend from the CRIA, the shots he's sustained are enough to keep him from moving. I disarmed him and left him to die. He's CRIA, so he deserves his fate for his poor detective work."

Dash jolts and stops in thought. He never mentioned Applejack. Maybe he doesn't know.

He takes the gun and points it at her, then brings it back down with a smile. "You were the easiest one to kill yet. Just wanted you to know that. So easy to catch you off guard. All it took was a little tugging at your heartstrings." He takes out a picture of Dash and crosses it out slowly with red marker. A few tears go down Dash's cheeks.

"You know what it's like to lose your entire family, Rainbow Dash?" Light sits down next to her. "We're chummy right? We can share. Well, it's like this. Imagine your entire world is turned upside down. Everything that made you you, all of it is erased because all of a sudden you have to act like the people you care about no longer matter. Everyone moves on and expects you to do the same. They expect you to be the same pony when literally everything that gave you purpose has been removed. There's no reason for me to do anything anymore Dash, you understand? That's why I'm fine with splattering this wall with your brain, because it stopped mattering years ago. It stopped mattering when Misty was taken. I want Twilight to know what this is like. That's why I'm doing this to you and your friends. She's the one who has to pay. She will know what it's like to have everything taken from her."

Light spends a moment looking off distantly, then stands up.

"Alright, let's get this over with." He stands up and readies his gun. "Wait, this is missing something!" A wicked grin crawls across his face. "Do you know what this is missing, Dash? What's better than a hero dieing? How about a hero dieing in front of her greatest admirer? I think it's time I went to retrieve your little friend."

Light walks over and lifts the door in the ceiling. She sees the night sky outside. Light smiles one last smile before closing the door to complete darkness. "Don't go anywhere."

AJ walks as quietly as she can muster. The grass is wet, so thankfully it doesn't crunch under her feet. She peeks at the windows before heading toward the door. Nothing. She tries the door but it is locked. She prepares to buck it but catches herself.

Silence. She needs to be quiet, hopefully catch him off guard. She looks for spare key, checks under the mat, looks under what looks to be a fake rock but with no success. She looks over back to the window and attempts to open it. Luckily, it opens up fine and she slips in. She finds herself near the kitchen and walks in the general direction. Broken glass and china lies on the floor everywhere and everything is covered in dust. "What in the devil?" she quietly asks herself. She carefully navigates the floor in an attempt not to make noise from the glass. She hears a distant sound that sounds like crying at first. She steps in the direction of the sound and hears Rainbow and Saddle moving toward it, but then she hears a different sound. Muffled. It's coming from somewhere in the kitchen. She sees a double-doored pantry on the opposite end of the kitchen. It is barely audible, but muffled and the sound is coming from there.

Applejack at first doesn't see anything but then notices something odd with the back of the pantry. There appears to be a crack. She opens up the pantry and finds a hidden wall behind what appeared to be the back wall of it. She sees Scootaloo, duct tape over her mouth, tied tightly, eyes red from tears, and with several cuts on her body and wings. The filly quakes and shivers and at first lurches back, until she realizes it's Applejack. She starts crying. AJ hugs her quickly.

"There, there now. It's going to be okay," The Filly keeps crying in her arms and AJ looks around to make sure everything is okay. "Let's get you out of here. It's not safe."

AJ unties her and removes her gag and motions for Scootaloo to be quiet. The two ponies hear gunshots coming from upstairs. Scootaloo just about screams and bolts, but AJ covers her mouth at the last second and looks her in the eyes. The two sneak out the back and around to the cab. AJ quietly opens the door, and sets Scootaloo inside.

"What the, is that a Filly? What happened to her?"

AJ turns to Speedy, "Speedy, I need ya ta get this Filly ta the nearest hotel and then call tha police. She's been through a lot. Her name is Scootaloo and she is a resident of Ponyville. I don't have money ta give ya right now, but I swear by my word I will take care of tha bill. Please, just make sure she's safe."

"Don't worry about the money," Speedy says. "This is more important. I'll make sure she's taken care of." Speedy pauses and raises an eyebrow. "Question is, where are you going?"

"I'm going back for my friends. The stallion who did this is still there, and I need to make sure they're safe as well. As soon as you get her to a safe place, please call the police. Promise you'll do that for me, Speedy."

"You got it. You all are some brave ponies. Best of luck to you."

Dash sits in quiet terror, shaking in fear. She hears little, until an unexpected shout fills her ears. The screaming seems to be coming from Light, somewhat distant but getting louder. She hears a door open and slam and now the shouting, or perhaps cursing grows exponentially louder.

The cellar door opens with an unoiled creak. Anger streaks across his face. He pulls out a knife. "I'm going to ask this one time and only one time. You will nod yes if yes, nod no if no. If I think you're lying, I'll cut your face. Now. Do you know what happened to the Filly?"

Dash's eyes widen with surprise. She shakes her head no, but almost starts to cry. Applejack must have got her out.

"You have another friend here, don't you? Which one is it? Twilight? Please tell me you brought her here. It would be glorious if you brought her. No...I can tell in your eyes. No matter, I'll take her out just the same. I'll get you later." He grabs his gun, and opens the door to the cellar, only to be met with an immediate kick to the face. He tumbles down the stairs. He turns and hides. Applejack walks cautiously down the steps. Light breaks his hoof through a step and trips her. The pony stumbles and lands on her back. Light points his gun down at her.

"Hunh. The farm pony. Didn't see that coming." He aims and then hears sirens. He hesitates and then runs. AJ takes the tape off of Rainbow.

"What are you doing?" Rainbow says, "You can come back to me. You've got him right where you want him. Don't let him get away!"

AJ nods and runs up out of the cellar, but Light is nowhere to be found. She doesn't know where to look, but knows if she goes after Light he could get the drop on her again, and then both of them would be in danger. She unties Rainbow.

"Sorry Rainbow, he's gone."

"Not on my watch, he ain't." Rainbow bursts out of the cellar and attempts to fly but loses her balance, the pain from her head still throbbing. She lands wobbily.

"Dammit, no..." She tries to fly again.

"Rainbow, let it go."

"No. That bastard shot Saddle, AJ. He was going to shoot me in front of Scootaloo. I'll make him pay." She flies upward. "I'll make him pay if it's the last thing I," Rainbow flops back down again.

"Hey, we'll get him, okay? Scootaloo is safe. I promise. He's safe."

"Yeah...ok."

"Let's check on agent Saddle."

Police lights fill the area, and soon CRIA agents are all around. The two exchange partially worried, partially relieved glances and hobble toward the nursery in hopes of finding an alive agent Saddle.