The Smiling Stallion

by Robipony

Rating: mature
Tags: Dark, Alternate Universe, Main 6, Gore, Original Character, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Spike, Comedy, Cutie Mark Crusaders, Horror
Length: 41368

He watches and he hungers. He smiles upon all.

WARNING! This story does contain Gore. Reader's discretion is advised!

Fear is a primal emotion. One that many ponies take for granted.

Twilight and her friends decide to go on a trip to a cabin in the woods and decide to invite the three young crusaders to go along with them. It will be a fun event where they could all discuss their plans for the holiday and their costumes for this upcoming Nightmare Night. However it soon becomes clear that something unholy is pulling the strings and forcing them all to play his little game.

Story Note: This story takes place prior to the events of Luna Eclipsed. So Twilight is still a unicorn.

Also in the future [DLC] chapters might be added to the story.

Author's Note: For me it was grimdark fiction like Cupcakes, Rainbow Factory and the Shed that pulled me into the MLP fandom; and a part of me has always wanted to reached back a do a story based off of these roots.

There is also a certain game the reader can play with this story, which is mentioned in Preparations. However until all of the chapters involved in the game come out I would strongly recommend you read it normally (read the stories in chronological order).

Also to those of you who favorite this story, if you could be so kind as to give this story a Thumbs Up, that would be greatly appreciated. :scootangel:

Special OCs:
There are some special OCs that are show up in this fic they are:
-Silver Screen - HudsonHawk
-Shifting Winds - Thunderbolt Sentinel
-Artemis Featherclaw - Nionsiosbbb
-Lakin Spotson - Pankrazius
-Poptart - FamousLastWords
-Rose Velvet - Misspegasister7858

Also a special thanks to these three people:
TheDizzyDan
nioniosbbb
Everfreeforester
These guys/gals helped me by being proofreaders, editors, and just being great friends.

I also made the cover image myself using GIMP.

Published 2015-10-29 18:10:02 UTC
Last updated 2016-07-13 22:45:48 UTC

Preparations

From formless void sprung an emotion more primal then the elements of harmony. In its wake, nations tremble and the hooves of warriors shake. It is an emotion that many take for granted, yet none have lived without feeling its cold grasp. This emotion has thrived from the beginning of time and goes by many names. However, all recognize it by one common name:

FEAR.

-An excerpt from "The Origins of Fear in the World" within the Celestian Library.

Sugarcube Corner

"Be there in a second!" Pinkie Pie yelled as she ran down the stairs. Earlier the Cakes had to leave the shop and go see the doctor for some reason. With the Cakes gone for a few hours, Pinkie was left to take care of the shop. She had been preparing for the trip she and her friends were planning for only a few minutes, when the bell to the store door jingled.

After having descended the final step, Pinkie dashed in behind the counter to see the customer. The customer was a stallion of average build with gray fur, an orange mane and tail. He wore a black hoodie, which covered a large portion of his frame, and a white medical patch over his left eye. The stallion simply stood there, looking at some fresh Nightmare Night ginger cookies.

While Nightmare Night wasn't for another two weeks the Cakes had made sure to create pastries for the occasion.

"Hey there, Mister, what are you in the mood for today? Oh there is this! and this! Ohooo and I bet you would love this one!" Pinkie said, with a toothy smile as she pointed out the various pastries that were available.

The pony looked up at her with his single yellow eye and a large grin on his face. Despite whatever injury he had concealed behind his bandage, it didn't seem to bother him.

"If you don't mind," the stallion asked, "I would like a dozen of those ginger cookies to go."

"Oki-Doki-Loki!" Pinkie Pie said before she pulled out a paper bag and placed twelve of the ginger cookies inside.

"Here you go!" Pinkie said, giving him the paper bag at lightning fast speeds. The stallion smiled nervously in response to Pinkie's speed.

"Thank you." The stallion said as he reached into his pocket. "How much do I owe you?"

"Well, normally these cookies would go one bit apiece," Pinkie replied, "However, since you appear to be new here, I figured I would give them for free."

The stallion's smile disappeared with shock at hearing this, but once he realized how generous the pink party pony was being his large wide grin returned.

"Thank you very much." The hooded stallion said as he exited the store.

"Have a good day!" Pinkie called out after him. The stallion waved and smiled back at the party pony.

After leaving Sugarcube Corner the stallion pulled out one of the ginger cookies and took a bite. They tasted really good and would probably taste better with a refreshing beverage, he noted. Despite having put some food in his stomach, the burning sensation of hunger remained. No matter, it would be sated soon enough.

At the Golden Oak Library

Twilight was sitting down as she packed her back with a few books; meanwhile, Spike was in the kitchen preparing food for the trip. This would be a chance for them all to discuss their plans for the upcoming Nightmare Night.

"Spike?" Twilight called into the kitchen, "How are those daisy sandwiches coming?"

"I just have three more to go, and I should have enough for the trip." Spike called back.

"Well hurry up, please," Twilight replied, "the girls are supposed to be coming over soon."

Shortly after, the lavender unicorn heard a knock at the door. Twilight stood up and walked over to the door.

"Hello, Rarity," Twilight said as she greeted her friend, "glad to see you could make it."

"Of course darling," Rarity said as she walked into the library, "I wouldn't want to miss a fun trip like this one."

Rarity followed Twilight as she walked back to the table where a few drawings stood out to Rarity. They looked like sketches for a costume of some sort.

"What is this you are working on, Twilight?" Rarity asked. Twilight seemed a little bit embarrassed, for she tried to hide the drawings in a folder.

"Oh... I have just been having a hard time trying to figure out what kind of costume I want to wear for Nightmare Night." Twilight replied, "So I tried sketching out a few ideas to get the creative juices flowing. Sadly, they weren't very successful. Maybe you have some ideas."

"I could probably come up with a few," Rarity spoke, "perhaps when we settle down at the cabin all of us can help you figure it out. However, there is something I need to tell you."

"What is it?" Twilight asked.

"Well, Twilight you see, normally when I go on a trip I leave Sweetie Belle with Applejack and Applebloom," Rarity said, "however since Applejack is coming along she and I decided to bring the Cutie Mark Crusaders with us."

As Rarity finished what she was saying, Sweetie Belle entered the library. She wore a backpack along with a few additional bags that Twilight guessed probably belonged to Rarity.

"Well, if Applejack is okay with it then I don't have a problem," Twilight said, "After all, she is the one who is organizing this whole affair."

Applejack, Applebloom and Scootaloo walked into the library. The farm mare looked a little worn out from chasing the three fillies.

"Don't worry, Twi, there is plenty of room at the cabin for all of us." Applejack gave Twilight a reassuring look.

Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash entered the library. Seeing her idol enter the room, Scootaloo scurried over to Rainbow Dash.

"Hey guys, ready to go?" Rainbow Dash asked excitedly.

"Not yet," Twilight spoke, "Spike is still making snacks for the trip, and Pinkie Pie hasn't arrived yet."

As Twilight finished saying this, a pink blur zoomed into the room and nearly knocked every pony off their hooves. Once the blur settled the other ponies realized it was Pinkie Pie.

"Sorry for being late," Pinkie said between breaths, "I had to tend to some customers at Sugarcube Corner while the Cakes were out visiting the doctor."

"It's okay, darling. We understand." Rarity said.

"Why were the Cakes visiting a doctor?" Twilight asked.

"I don't know." Pinkie Pie said while bouncing in place.

The girls talked for a few minutes while waiting for Spike to finish making the snacks. Once the little dragon was done everyone took their bags out to a cart Applejack had brought along. The orange farm pony protested when she saw how many things Rarity wanted to bring along. With Twilight's help, they were able to reduce the number of Rarity’s bags, and they stored them in the library basement, where they would be safe. This of course displeased Rarity.

Once that was done, the group embarked for the cabin in the woods.

Asking for Directions

The leaves rustled as the wind blew through the trees. The music of the rustling leaves accompanied the group as they walked along the dirt road towards their destination.

"And then we should turn here..." Applejack indicated as she pointed a hoof toward the a turn in the road.

"We've already walked past this spot five times now A.J." Rainbow Dash said flying alongside her friends.

"You really should have let Twilight read the map dear." Rarity said.

The map Rarity was referring to was a large, worm piece of paper, Applejack was carrying in one of her hooves. The paper was old and brown with small tares along the edge.

"Applejack has more experience in the woods then I do so I don't think it would make any difference." Twilight spoke.

"I tell ya this map ain't accurate!" Applejack said in frustration.

It was past four o' clock in the afternoon when some of the ponies began to notice that the trees looked familiar.

"We’re lost, aren't we?" Applebloom asked her older sister, who was repeatedly scanning her map. While a fair majority of the group was walking, the Cutie Mark Crusaders, along with Spike, were sitting on the wagon that Applejack was pulling.

Applejack thought she had followed the directions to the letter. They had taken the correct road, and, a mile back, they had passed the town of Muleport before entering White Tail woods.

"Yep... Fraid to say it, but we’re lost." Applejack sighed.

"Where did you get that map anyway?" Rarity asked while pointing at the map in question.

"It was given to me and Big Mac by the Orange family." Applejack replied. The Oranges were a family distantly related to the Apples. who for the most part lived in Manehatten.

Twilight addressing Applejack, "So what do we do now?"

"I could fly up high and look for the house." Rainbow Dash volunteered.

"I'm not sure." Applejack replied, "I recall the cabin was hidden pretty well in the forest. If only there was someone around to ask fer directions."

"Hey, look!" Sweetie Bell said pointing ahead of them.

Ahead of them was a small cabin with somepony standing out front. The pony wore a red plaid shirt and a green logger’s hat. The stallion waved at the group.

"Hello there," The logging stallion said, "you appear to be lost. What are you looking for?"

"Hey there," Applejack spoke, "we are indeed lost. My name is Applejack. Whats your name?"

"Oh, my apologies," the logging stallion spoke. "Aside from the racers around here, I have very few visitors. The last visitor I had was a blue unicorn who spoke in the third person. My name is Cutter, and I cut wood for the ponies of Muleport. How may I help you?"

"We’re lookin’ for the Oranges' cabin," Applejack said, "Do you know where it is?"

Cutter pointed down the road, "You are actually pretty close to it. Just keep going down the pathway and turn down the path to the left. After about a mile you should come to the house."

"Thank you."

The group called out their thanks as they resumed their journey down the path. All the while Cutter waved them goodbye.

Muleport News

As of today, the five ponies who ventured into the mountains have been missing for three months. Rescue teams have looked for them but have found nothing, and the search is about to conclude.

At this point in time, some of the ponies’ families have moved on. Rescue experts give grim statistics for the party's survival.

Ponies are nonetheless urged to call the emergency hotline at 1-905-723-4359. Any information concerning the team’s whereabouts is vital. The lives of these five ponies could depend upon your actions.

Into the Cabin

The nine ponies and the baby dragon walked up the steps to the large wooden cabin on the hill. Yellow leaves littered the hill side. The steps were made of rocks and pebbles held together by concrete.

Spike was exhausted when he reached the top of the hill. Along with the things he had brought, he had managed to carry a portion of both Twilight's and Rarity's supplies.

"Whaddya think? Pretty good right?" Applejack said, motioning to the cabin. Once Twilight saw the building she realized she had underestimated the orange farm pony. She had imagined a simple, one-story building, which was far from what stood before them.

The building was at least two stories tall, surrounded by a white picket fence. The walls were painted orange with white trimming.

"How did you come across a building like this?" Twilight asked.

“Why, Applejack, when you said it was a cabin up in the woods, I thought you were referring to one of those small barbaric buildings you see in paintings,” Rarity said. “This building more aptly resembles a mansion.”

The other ponies nodded in agreement. While calling the building a mansion might have been a bit of an exaggeration, as it was not exactly lavish, they could all agree that it was building larger than they had envisioned. Applejack walked up to the white door and inserted a key into the lock, with a resounding click the door opened.

"Uh, well, there was a time my relatives the Oranges lived out here," Applejack answered, "before they moved to Manehatten. While they don't live 'ere anymore, my family still comes by to check on the place, make sure it's okay and all."

After hearing this explanation, the ponies went off to make the place cozier.

Rarity and Applejack went to look for their rooms with Spike following them. The Cutie Mark Crusaders ran around the house, looking for something fun to do. Fluttershy went outside to find some wood for the fire place. Pinkie Pie went to the kitchen to see if she could cook up something to eat. Rainbow Dash wanted to explore the house. Twilight looked around the living room for anything that might catch her interest.

As she did, she saw a rust bronze plaque on one of the pillars supporting the building. Twilight read the words written on the plaque.

"The cycle will not cease until the beast has finished its feast. The beast's hunger will not be tamed until one has finished the game. Discover the lair, uncover the truth. If worthy ye be, then you will be free. If not may Celestia have mercy upon thee. Over and over the clock shall reset, until all these conditions have been met. A great treasure lies within, but only if you have the courage to win."

Twilight scratched her chin with a hoof while she thought over what was written on the plaque, "That is indeed something strange to mount on the wall."

However, Twilight didn't think it was terribly significant, "Probably meant to entertain those who were here for Nightmare Night."

So she went off to find a room to sleep in tonight. Little did Twilight know that she and her companions were being watched.

Off Somewhere else

Grinning broadly the stallion stepped into the room. It was full of monitors showing the interior of the large cabin as well as a few of the areas outside. In the middle of the room, a Pegasus sat watching the screens. She had a pale blue coat with a long black mane and a slender tail. The mare wore black stockings on both her forelegs and her hind legs. On the table in front of the mare was a white ceramic mug filled with steaming hot coffee.

"So how does everything look?" The smiling stallion asked as he walked up to her.

"Well," The mare replied monotonously, as she took a sip of her coffee, "there are certainly a lot more of them than I had expected. Are you sure the machine will function properly with this many?"

"I am quite sure, Sky Blazer." The Smiling Stallion nodded, "However, I don't think I have done this with a dragon before."

"Do you think we should abort, then?" Sky Blazer asked, still in a monotone voice.

"No." The Stallion shook his head. "Considering how small he is, I don't think it will be that big an issue. Besides, we need to do this before hibernation time sets in."

"Okay."

The Smiling Stallion pulled a ginger cookie out of the paper bag and took bite. Then he pulled one out and held it out for Sky Blazer who shook her head.

"Sorry," Sky Blazer said, "But you know I'm not a big fan of sweets."

"Oh well," the Smiling Stallion said, as he wolfed down the cookie, "Your loss."

"Here." Sky Blazer handed something to the stallion.

"What is this?" The Smiling Stallion asked, looking at the object she had given him. It looked to be a puzzle cube of sorts.

"I know you have a hard time solving those three-by-three square Rubik’s cubes, so I thought you might find a two-by-two cube much easier." Sky Blazer replied, taking another sip of her coffee.

"Thanks, I guess."

The mare walked over to the other side of the room where something large sat, covered in a large, white bed sheet. The Pegasus pulled off the cover to reveal what appeared to be a large wheel. Segments of the wheel were separated into different colors much like the wheel one might have seen from a game show. Each of the colored segments had a different symbol. The symbols include: a cupcake, a Parasprite, a house, a dress, and many, many more.

"I pulled this out of storage, just like you asked." Sky Blazer said, as the Smiling Stallion walked over to it. His smile widened as he felt the wooden surface with his hoof.

"It is just as beautiful as the day it was made." The stallion said, as he tried to hug the large wheel.

"What is it?" Sky Blazer asked.

"It is the Wheel of Terror... or was it Misfortune? Can't really remember."

Just then, the door slammed open, and another gray pony with a white lab coat ran into the room. He had a green and brown mane and two red eyes. He had reached the middle of the room when he began to look back and forth between Sky Blazer and the Smiling Stallion, "Hey, guys so I was wondering what kind of potato chips I should bring for the event next week?"

"Event?" The Smiling Stallion asked in confusion, while Sky Blazer face palmed.

"Robipony, the event is THIS WEEK, not next week!" Sky Blazer yelled as she walked over to the other pony.

Hearing this, Robipony's red eyes shrunk, "What?"

"Yes, my friend," the Smiling Stallion said as he walked over, "the event is today."

"Ohhh mann," Robipony's face became really sad and his ears began to drupe, after hearing the news, "I already have some things scheduled for today... and I REALLY WANTED TO SEE A SINGING SIREN PONY MONSTER THIS YEAR!"

The Smiling Stallion walked the bummed out pony to the door, "It is okay, Robi; we all understand you are busy this time of year. Besides, we are not using any singing siren pony monsters this year."

Robipony sniffled. "You’re not?" He was now about outside the door.

The Smiling Stallion shook his head, "No, you see, we tried that last year, and it was deemed so messy that we removed it from the whole event. So they, along with the dyslexic zombies, were removed from the game."

"Why were the dyslexic zombies removed?" Sky Blazer asked.

The Smiling Stallion shrugged, "Apparently, ponies get confused when zombies yelling, 'sniarb' are chasing them. That, and I received a few complaints about it being too offensive and politically incorrect. So instead this year we are using the 'Wheel of Fate' for the event."

Hearing this, Robipony's eyes shot up, "You are using the wheel this year?!"

"Yes, we are," The Smiling Stallion answered, "Why do you ask?"

"Well, the last time we did the wheel event I came up with a great idea for how to make it more interactive with the audience." Robipony answered. Despite still having a wide grin on his face, it was clear that the Smiling Stallion was puzzled.

"Is that crazy pony still talking?" Sky Blazer called out as she sat back down in her chair and took another sip of coffee.

"What are you thinking about?"

*Robipony turns to look at the Reader of the story.*

"Alright, this is what you can do," Robipony spoke to the reader, "Make a wheel out of cardboard and divide into eight portions. In each portion put a different symbol. The symbols you should use are: a cupcake, a dress, a house, a potion, a flame, a Parasprite, an apple, and an eye. Once that is done, place a spinner in the center of the wheel. Before reading the following chapters, flick the spinner and read the chapter with the symbol that the spinner is pointing at.

Or, if you want, you could just roll an eight sided die to determine which chapter to read. I would strongly recommend using the following sequence to correspond with the sides of the dice if you choose to play using this method.

1 - House
2 - Flame
3 - Dress
4 - Potion
5 - Cupcake
6 - Eye
7 - Parasprite
8 - Apple

However, this is only a suggestion.

Now, if you don't feel like making the wheel or rolling an eight-sided dice or just don't feel like waiting for all the chapters to come out, then feel free to read the story in chronological order. The order in which the chapters have been released has been done in a way as to reveal everything in context.

However, this shouldn't diminish the importance of these symbols.

You see, in this game the symbol that is picked will affect our ten quests. Some of these symbols may cause these guests to act differently then they usually would. This is due to some supernatural properties of their environment as well as the symbols themselves."

"Is that it?" The Smiling Stallion asked.

"That is it." Robipony replied clearly happy with his statement.

"Okay then," The Stallion said as he slowly closed the door. "See you later."

Robipony was about to turn to leave when the door opened up again.

"Now, if you finish all that work you are doing and still have a chance to come over again, feel free to bring some 'sour cream and onion' potato chips with you." The Smiling Stallion said before slamming the door shut again.

"That guy really bugs me." Sky Blazer said not taking her eyes off the monitor in front of her.

"Personally, I find him kind of entertaining." The Smiling Stallion spoke, "So, where were we?"

Author's Note

Robipony is a reference to the name I go by when I do my Youtube MLP Readings. :twilightsmile:

[House] You are NOT supposed to be here!

The Wheel rolled to the House!

Fluttershy was not a big fan of Nightmare Night; in fact, she kind of hated the holiday. People ran around in scary costumes, and it didn't help that Rainbow Dash loved trying to scare her. Some of the other ponies could be mean and nasty too. It wasn't rare for her to hear rude comments from those that came to her door to satisfy their sugar rush.

Now here she was sitting in the living room of the cabin with Twilight who was trying to figure out what she wanted to wear for the holiday.

"Fluttershy, what do you think would be a good costume for me to wear?" Twilight asked.

"Umm... well, personally I am not a great big fan of Nightmare Night, so I really am not the pony you should be asking. Why don't you ask Rarity or somepony else?" Fluttershy answered.

"Okay. Still I would appreciate your feedback." Twilight said.

Even when the threat of Nightmare Moon hung over everypony's heads they enjoyed the holiday, and that was before her defeat at the elements of harmony. So the threat of an angry Alicorn that would eat you if you didn't offer her candy was a thing of the past.

"Well... umm..." Fluttershy seemed to be sweating as she contemplated how to respond to Twilight.

"Hey, Fluttershy," Applejack stepped into the room, "It'll be gettin' late soon. Would ya mind looking for some firewood. I bet there is probably some out in the woodshed."

"Okay," Fluttershy said, grateful to no longer be talking about Nightmare Night.

Once Fluttershy had left the room Twilight turned to Applejack. "Did you know Fluttershy doesn't like Nightmare Night?"

Applejack nodded, "Sure did."

"Do you have any idea why?" Twilight inquired with bemusement.

"Not exactly sure." Applejack answered, bringing a hoof to her head, "You should ask Rainbow Dash, they've been close friends for a long time."

"Oh, alright." Twilight said.

Watching the Shed

"Looks like it is the shy, yellow pony that will be entering the shed," said Sky Blazer, pointing to the monitor.

"I really do like this section of the wheel," The Smiling Stallion said, watching Fluttershy enter the shed, "There are so many interesting possibilities when the wheel rolls to the House."

"Well, I haven't actually seen the House rolled before, so could you perhaps explain how it is supposed to work?" Sky Blazer requested as she indolently refilled her coffee cup.

The Smiling Stallion wrapped a foreleg around Sky Blazer's shoulder.

"It is very simple, really." The stallion pointed to the screen. "The first pony to enter the shed and find the saw will develop a compulsive defensive complex for a section of the house and will attack anypony that gets too close to it. Out of the seven rounds I have seen with the house, six of those rounds the pony simply protected the shed itself."

"What was the exception?" Sky Blazer asked.

The Smiling Stallion stroked his chin as he thought back to the event. "I believe in that round the pony had become protective of the bathroom. It was both a fast and rather bizarre round. The pony was in the bathroom with the saw and the rest of the ponies had eaten some bad food and, as a result, needed to use the facilities. It was almost comical seeing a line of ponies easily decimated as they heaved the contents of their stomach on the linoleum floor."

"Does the pony have to use the saw to murder her victims?" Sky asked.

"Not really," the Smiling Stallion answered, "The saw merely serves as a catalyst so the pony will desire to murder her victims."

"What happens to the last pony?" Sky Blazer inquired, "Once the pony has killed off the others, then she would be all alone."

"Don't worry about it." The Smiling Stallion grinned widely. "There is always a little helper to clean up these little messes. Most of the time, if the wheel section doesn't already have a method to kill everypony, then the helper will deal with it."

"So who is the helper?" the mare asked.

"Usually it is put to a vote before this event happens. Perhaps you remember that little session?"

"I think so, yeah." Sky said, "Last year, it was the Bugbear that had been voted into the position."

The Smiling Stallion nodded, "Yep. He sure was."

"So, who won the votes this year?"

A grin stretched across the stallion's face. "I guess you're just going to have to wait and find out."

"That isn't fair!" Sky protested, crossing her hooves over her chest.

"Nothing in life is fair," the Smiling Stallion answered, "that is something you should be able to attest to all too well."

The Saw

The shed was a wooden structure that was covered in dark, red paint; paint which had begun to chip away years ago. Despite that however, the shed appeared to be structurally intact.

Fluttershy entered the shed and felt around for a means to illuminate the interior. The yellow pony's hoof came across a rope, and startled, she inadvertently pulled it. Pulling the string resulting in a light bulb being turned on. Seeing as there were no power lines to the cabin Fluttershy concluded there must have been a generator somewhere.

Now that Fluttershy had recovered from the flash of light, she was able to observe the shed's interior. Like the outside of the shed the interior was made of wood, however it was clear that the original pony had not cared too much about how it looked on the inside as there wasn't any noticeable paint on the wooden surfaces.

Old cobwebs occupied the rooms’ corners, and a thin layer of dark dust clung to every surface. At the back of the room there stood a work table with various items, including a toolbox, a few wrenches, pieces of scrap metal, and a red chainsaw. Next to the work bench lining the wall was a row of firewood. Cardboard boxes were strewn around the interior, some of which were covered in mold. On one side of the room was a rusted old bicycle with blue paint chipping off and a flat tire.

As Fluttershy walked over to the row to pick up some firewood, Fluttershy couldn't help but feel the strange urge, as if something was drawing her over to the work bench. It was like the whisper of a field mouse wanting to show her something special it had found. Feeling that no harm could come from it, Fluttershy walked over and took a closer look. That was when Fluttershy saw the old chainsaw.

There was something about the cherry-red chainsaw that was enticing to her, so with a trembling hoof she reached out and touched it. The saw reminded Fluttershy of the time she had seen rabbit lost in the woods and she just wanted to hold it so she could comfort the poor creature. Because of this Fluttershy felt as if touching it was the kindest thing she could do for it.

Odd. Once her hoof touched the cool, sleek metal, that strange desire simply disappeared. She was dazed for a moment but observed her surroundings again. Why had she come to the work bench, anyway?

Remembering the task she had been given, Fluttershy shook her head and returned to the wood pile and gathered up some firewood, careful not to disturb any of the ones with cobwebs attached to them. Once she had enough, she pleasantly trod back to the main building.

Walking back inside with the firewood, she could hear the Cutie Mark Crusaders laughing as they ran around the house.

"Come on Sweetie Belle let's go outside!" Scootaloo called out.

"Let's try not to get lost shall we? By sister's gonna kill me if we do." Sweetie Belle replied cheerily.

"Hey wait for me!" Apple Bloom yelled.

"Umm... girls," Fluttershy spoke as she walked up to the Cutie Mark Crusaders, "I don't mind all three of you playing outside. It's just that I strongly suggest that you stay out of the shed."

"Why?" Scootaloo asked, intrigued by the odd and unsolicited advice.

"It isn't safe," Fluttershy replied, "there are things in there that are dangerous."

The three fillies exchanged looks wondering about Fluttershy's vague warning. After a moment to clear their confusion they nodded and bounded off.

Having brought the firewood inside, Fluttershy checked on her friends. Rarity was upstairs in the attic working on something.

Should we really be doing this?

The crusaders soon discovered they could only do so much in an empty backyard. That is until they noticed the shed Fluttershy had mentioned before.

"What do ya suppose is inside?" Apple Bloom asked.

"I don't know." Sweetie Bell answered.

"Maybe there is something COOL in there." Scootaloo surmised, "I heard Twilight mention that there might be a treasure somewhere around here."

"Yeah, maybe the treasure is inside or perhaps there is something in there that could give us our Cutie Marks." Apple Bloom said.

"Um... I am not sure that is a good idea." Sweetie Belle said. "Besides, didn't Fluttershy say it was dangerous in there?"

"Yeah," Apple Bloom answered, "but I am certain she won't mind if we are careful."

"I'm still not sure about this." Sweetie Belle spoke, "What could be in there that would help us find our cutie marks."

Apple Bloom thought about this. Aside from finding the treasure there wasn't much she could think of that could be helpful in finding their Cutie Marks. Maybe there was a shovel inside that they could use to dig up the treasure maybe even a map. Or what if the treasure wasn't a treasure at all? Then an idea popped into her head.

"Perhaps there are some antiques in there." Apple Bloom said, "Maybe we could be antique dealers?"

Hearing this Sweetie Belle's face lit up, "Well, I could see myself having a Cutie Mark like that. After all Rarity and I do have a fondness for valuable things."

"Yeah, or maybe there is a secret relic in there that could lead us to an exciting adventure across Equestria!" Scootaloo said.

The other two fillies just stared at her before shaking their heads and simultaneously saying, "NAAHHH!"

"Ugh! You guys have no scope for things like that." Scootaloo said, "Come on let's go see what's inside that shed."

Thus the Cutie Mark Crusaders opened the door to the shed and ventured inside.

A Sickening Feeling

Twilight, Fluttershy and Rarity sat in the living room drinking some tea. They also had biscuits with some strawberry jam.

"This is some really good tea, Fluttershy," Twilight remarked.

"Yes, dear, you did a very nice job brewing this," spoke Rarity.

"Thank you." Fluttershy said, "I am glad you both like it."

Happy that her friends were enjoying the tea, Fluttershy poured some into a cup and took a sip. It was a peppermint tea with some additional ingredients, including sage, clove, and a pinch of lemon zest. Sometimes it was easy to become sick being around all those animals, so it was only natural that Fluttershy would know how to make some tea to combat these ailments.

Putting her nose over her cup Fluttershy let the scent of peppermint and lemon waft into her nostrils. The scent of the tea was very relaxing.

Fluttershy suddenly felt uncomfortable as though there was something terribly amiss.

"What is wrong, Fluttershy?" Twilight asked.

The Shed! It was as if it were calling out for her help, like a little animal trapped in a tree would have been calling out for her help as ravenous timber wolves howled below. Repressed memories resurfaced in Fluttershy's brain and she was suddenly overcome.

Twilight observed her friend's features and noticed that the yellow pegasus's face had turned pale.

"Fluttershy? Are you okay?"

Twilight's questions brought Fluttershy back. "What?"

"Are you all right?" Twilight asked, "You look like you are going to be sick."

"Oh, I just remembered that I needed to go check on something!" Fluttershy said, "I will be right back!"

Twilight watched as her friend rushed outside with frightening speed.

Confrontation and Discipline

"You did WHAT!?" Fluttershy yelled. Her voice reverberated throughout the dinning room.

"We uh... w-we went inside the... shed." Scootaloo answered, taken aback by Fluttershy's uncharacteristic break in temper.

"Even after I told you NOT TO!"

"But we thought it might help us find our Cutie Marks." Sweetie Belle whimpered.

"Fluttershy, just calm down," Applejack spoke, "the girls meant no harm."

The yellow pegasus's face was flushed with fury. Enraged, the pegasus scurried off, leaving her friends confused.

"Just stay out of that shed okay!" Fluttershy yelled before she disappeared.

"What was that about?" Rainbow Dash asked.

"I don't know, but perhaps it would be best if we try to reason with Fluttershy about this," Twilight replied. "It isn't like her to get mad like this."

"Yeah, that would be a good idea," agreed Applejack.

"AJ, perhaps you and I should go talk with her." Rainbow Dash said.

"Alright." Applejack said.

Rarity left the dinning room to take the scared Cutie Mark Crusaders to their room. Pinkie Pie hooped her way into the kitchen to make cupcakes for everypony. Rainbow Dash and Applejack were both about to go after Fluttershy, but Twilight stopped Rainbow Dash to talk with her.

"Hey, Rainbow Dash, could I ask you something?" inquired Twilight.

"Sure. What is it?"

"Did you know that Fluttershy doesn't like Nightmare Night?" Twilight asked, "I mean you and her have been friends longer then the rest of us so I thought you might know."

"Yes, but Fluttershy doesn't merely dislike Nightmare Night, Twilight," Rainbow Dash answered grimly, "Fluttershy hates the holiday entirely."

"Do you know why?" Twilight asked curiously.

Rainbow Dash's ears flopped, "Well, when Fluttershy was a little filly some of the other fillies and colts would try to pull pranks on her. However, some of them took it too far. Fluttershy tried to ignore them but this enraged them more. So they turned their attention to her animals.

"At first, they were just small things like painting polka dots on the animals or swapping their leads. However when that didn't give them the reaction they wanted they resorted to beating her animals. Still Fluttershy continued to care for the animals and ignore the bullies. Then one day, one of the fillies actually dissected one of Fluttershy's rabbits right in front of her. This happened in the afternoon before Nightmare Night."

Twilight gasped and held her hoof to her mouth, "That's... That's just horrible! I... I had no idea."

"Most ponies don't," Rainbow Dash answered. "She prefers not to talk about it and chooses to avoid anything having to do with the holiday. When other ponies see this they usually just assume it's her timid nature and leaves her alone."

"So, if she knew we were going to discuss costumes, for Nightmare Night then why did she come along?"

Rainbow Dash shrugged, "Beats me. Maybe she is trying to conquer her fears."

Twilight stared forward pensively for a moment before Rainbow Dash shrugged, turned, and made to join Applejack in the investigation. Twilight vacated to her room to unpack her things.

Pondering the Existence of Three Judases

When Fluttershy was only a few months old she had lost her parents. Her mother, who was an Earth pony had died shortly after giving birth to Fluttershy and not able to take care of the foal on his own Fluttershy's father gave her to some relatives, while he went to work as one of the guards in Canterlot. Apparently her father had died due to unknown circumstances.

While she was a pegasus Fluttershy had the mental traits of an Earth pony, which was mostly responsible for her fear of heights at a young age. As a result Fluttershy had been teased by many of the other fillies and colts.

For the longest time the only friends Fluttershy had was Rainbow Dash and the animals Fluttershy had began to take care of. So whenever an animal was in trouble or in pain Fluttershy always tried to help them.

Fluttershy couldn't explain it, but, when she had realized that those three fillies had intruded into the shed, against her warnings, she felt as if she had been betrayed. Her sense of betrayal was severe, it was like when a pony takes care of a small animal only to come home one day to find out that their best friend had killed their pet, perhaps not intentionally, but trust-rending all the same.

The fillies had opened up the shed and had inspected its innards, and this was unforgivable. They had violated the shed, and for that they would need to be punished.

However, before she did anything Fluttershy needed to make sure that the Shed was safe. Once Fluttershy could ascertain this , she could plot how she would discipline those three stupid fillies.

The Contents of an old box

Twilight released a deep sigh as she stepped into her cabin room and closed the door behind her.

The room Twilight had picked for herself had yellow wall paper with blue strips running vertically up the wall. The furnishing of the room was a desk, a wooden chair and a bed with blue bed sheets.

On the desk was an old music box that had a miniature wooden Alicorn inside that would "dance" when the box was opened and the music played. Twilight recognized the song as the Princess's Lament a song written long ago describing the tragic event when Celestia had to banished her sister to the moon for her jealousy.

Looking around the room Twilight noticed that the bed was a little bit lopsided. Her eyebrow tilted a bit as she went to fix it. So she decided to look underneath the bed to see if maybe there was some way she could fix it.

As she peered underneath the bed, Twilight noticed a cardboard box sitting by one of the bed's wooden legs. Using her magic Twilight pulled the box out from underneath the bed.

Inside the box Twilight found that it held an old notebook. Inspecting the book Twilight noticed that there were pages torn out and that most of the remaining pages appeared to have suffered some water damage. However, there were a few pages still legible.

"Apparently Artemis has locked herself inside the bathroom. I don't know why, though. She didn't eat any of the food the rest of us had. In fact, she has been hanging around the bathroom a lot the last few hours. This is the last time we are going to let Shifting Winds cook dinner. Oh, I do hope Miss Featherclaw gets out of the bathroom soon. My stomach is really killing me..."

At this point there was a break in the page due to some water damage that had smudged away most of the ink.

"Poptart is suggesting we should break down the door. I am not sure that is a good idea, but the pain in my stomach is very persuasive. Silver Screen says he will try to talk to Artemis first and try to convince her to leave."

While the notebook did intrigue Twilight she knew that sooner or later she would have to get her room ready, so she set the book down onto the bed and resumed unpacking. Perhaps she would be able to read more of the notebook later when she was finished.

Cut 'em up! Cut 'em down!

Applejack and Rainbow Dash stood in front of the wooden shed.

"So, why do you think she is so obsessed with this building?" Rainbow Dash asked.

"Beats me."

The two ponies opened the door of the shed and started looking around. Rainbow Dash opened a cardboard box and was shocked to find some old mildew covered magazines. She hastily closed the box to avoid the stench of the mold.

Applejack looked at some of the tools on the workbench.

"These tools look to be in pretty good condition considering how long it has been since anyone has used this 'ere shed." Applejack spoke.

The rainbow-maned mare spied some empty gas cans.

"What do you suppose these gas canisters were used for?" Rainbow Dash asked.

"I think there might be a generator in the basement," Applejack answered.

The two ponies continued investigating the shed, looking for clues as to why their friend was so touchy about ponies entering it.

Suddenly ,the two ponies heard what sounded like a loud motor running and turned to see the shed door bashed open. Fluttershy stood there with the chainsaw attached to her right foreleg by a built-in brace.

Applejack recognized this as the kind of chainsaw used by old Earth pony logging communities as the brace would allow the Earth pony to move with the saw and cut down trees with ease.

"Hey," Fluttershy spoke, "I told you all to stay out of my shed!?"

Seeing the angry yellow pony at the doorway, Applejack threw herself through a window, the wooden panels shattering due to the impact.

"Come on, Rainbow Dash!" Applejack yelled.

Rainbow Dash was frozen stiff. Despite the apparent need to flee from chainsaw-wielding maniac she just couldn't move. All she could do was just fixate toward those blue eyes as death came closer and closer. Was this The Stare?

Despite being frozen stiff by this power Fluttershy had Rainbow Dash tried to stop Fluttershy saying, "Snap out of it Fluttershy! You are better then this!"

However Rainbow Dash's efforts were in vain as Fluttershy continued to advance on her. Rainbow Dash winced as sharp metal teeth sliced through her neck but didn't feel anything once her head toppled from her shoulders. Shortly after the rest of Rainbow Dash's body fell to the floor.

"You invaded my sanctum, my good ol shed... YOU WILL PAY!!!" Fluttershy roared.

The yellow pony slinked out of the shed, searching for the orange farm mare that had escaped moments ago. Fluttershy saw Applejack limping towards the back door.

When Applejack leaped through the window she had sprained her right foreleg on impact.

"THERE YOU ARE!" Fluttershy yelled as she hovered over to the injured farm mare.

Moving as fast as she could, Applejack pushed her way through the door into the south hallway of the house.

"I have to warn them." Applejack said as she crawled into the dining room.

That is where Applejack met her demise as the sharp teeth of the chainsaw bit down into her back. The teeth ate their way further into her flesh until they cut into Applejack's internal organs. Blood splattered everywhere as flesh was torn open. As the saw reached the back of Applejack's head her skull split open spraying shards of bone and gray matter around the room.

"You!"

Fluttershy turned to see Pinkie Pie standing in the doorway to the kitchen, and from the looks of it, she was mad.

"You will PAY for hurting my friends!" Pinkie yelled. She dashed into the dining room with a knife in her mouth and lunged at Fluttershy.

The yellow pegasus leaned low and, once the pink pony was in range, swung her chainsaw. Pinkie Pie was caught by surprise when her forelegs were cut out from under her. Literally.

She slid to the floor, blood leaking out from the stumps of her forelegs. Realizing what had happened, Pinkie Pie's hair flopped and deflated as she started to cry in pain.

Fluttershy looked down at the crying party pony. Why had she attacked her? She hadn't gone into the shed and therefore she wasn't a threat. If Pinkie had minded her own business nothing would have happened to her.

Observing Pinkie Pie she realized that the pink mare reminded her of a fatally injured animal. Fluttershy remembered that sometimes the best way to spare an injured animal from pain was to put it out of its misery.

With this in mind Fluttershy started up the chainsaw again brought it down on the pink pony's head, cutting it in half. Some blood and pink matter splattered across Fluttershy's face as she separated the two hemispheres of her friend's brain. However, due to her residual rage the pegasus didn't seem to notice.

Rarity and Spike were in the hallway when they heard the commotion in the kitchen.

"What do you think is going on?" Spike asked.

"I don't know, dearie," Rarity answered, "but we should be very careful. Power tools can be so dangerous."

They opened the door a crack to look inside and caught the sight of a bloodstained Fluttershy,

"Oh dear!" Rarity said, a little bit too loudly.

Fluttershy turned to look at Rarity and Spike. Her face was streaked with tears.

"She... She attacked me! I... I didn't want to hurt her. I just wanted to protect it. That is all I wanted!"

Rarity and Spike merely gawked at their weeping friend.

"Wha... What is it you are trying to protect, dear?" Rarity, asked while trying to maintain her distance.

Suddenly, an eerily romantic grin grew on Fluttershy's face. Her eyes lit up like stars.

"Why, the Shed, of course... It loves me! It has always LOVED me!" Fluttershy said in a sweet tone, before bursting into laughter.

"Fluttershy, please stop this. It's not like you." Spike said with a distraught look.

Fluttershy's laughter broke suddenly. "Oh, Spike, there is no reason for you to be scared," said Fluttershy affably.

"Fluttershy dear," Rarity spoke, "maybe you should show us the inside of the shed and explain why it is so..."

Before Rarity could finished, an enraged Fluttershy leaped at her. Brandishing her chainsaw, Fluttershy sliced through Rarity's body, cutting a large gash into her belly.

"NOOOOO!!!" Spike screamed.

Spike fell to his knees feeling a hollow place where his heart should be. Blood covered his claws as Spike tried to shake Rarity's body, desperately wanting this all to be some sort of delusion. It wasn't... Rarity really was dead. The little dragon had always enjoyed Rarity's company but it wasn't until now that he realized how much he appreciated her. How he had enjoyed her presence and now... that presence was gone.

Now pony he loved was gone, cut down in cold blood. Spike, overcome with grief, didn't feel like he had much to live for now.

"Just do it..." Spike said, tears falling from his eyes.

"What?"

"Just kill me already..." Spike answered.

Fluttershy was confused. While it had clear the Spike had a crush on Rarity, Fluttershy had never realized how much he loved her. Up to this point all the ponies she had offed had begged for their lives or had tried to defend themselves. Now here Spike... wanted to die.

A wound caused by love could be rather painful. Perhaps it would be best to put the little dragon out of his suffering. But why? He wasn't really a threat. He didn't have any ill intentions, and while the lose of a loved one is painful, the little dragon would eventually recover.

Fluttershy thus rationalized that it would be best if she just left the dragon be. Besides, there were still three little fillies that needed to be punished.

A few minutes later, a pony came running down the stairs. This whole time Spike had just sat there frozen still by his grief.

"Spike, what is going on? What..." Twilight went silent upon spotting Spike and the body of her friend on the ground, surrounded in a pool of her own blood.

After a moment of shocked silence Twilight began to examine Rarity's body. By the way the blood was pooling Twilight could guess that the blood was coming from an injury on Rarity's ventral side in the abdominal region. Possibly caused by a sharp weapon with a jagged blade. By the smell produced from the body Twilight could also deduce that Rarity's intestines had been damaged by the assault.

Twilight turned her attention to Spike. "Who did this, Spike?"

The dragon looked up at Twilight with tears streaming down his purple cheeks.

"Flut... Fluttershy. She... I... I don't know why she... she did this." Spike continued to sob.

Twilight resolved to find Fluttershy, to figure out why her friend had done this terrible thing.

Tragic Memories

"What are you doing! STOP!"

Fluttershy was being held against a tree by two other ponies. One was a little earth pony filly with a pale yellow coat and a blue mane with pink strips. She was also wearing blue glasses. The other pony was a colt with a light brown coat and a dark gray mane.

In front of Fluttershy stood a unicorn filly with green coat with an aquamarine mane. She looked up at Fluttershy with menacing yellow eyes.

At the green filly's hooves was a white rabbit Fluttershy had been taking care of. Sharp sticks were impaling the rabbit's limbs stretching her out spread eagle. The rabbit's chest was heaving due to the pain it was going through, and its eyes were panicked.

"STOP! What are you doing to Angelica!?"

The green filly cruelly grinned at Fluttershy before she pulled out a blade with her magic and started cutting a line down the rabbit's belly. A small scream left Angelica's mouth as the blade cut her flesh. Once the ribs were exposed the filly used two sticks to pry the rabbit's diaphragm wide open.

"Now how did dad do this again?" The green filly said.

"NO! STOP! You're hurting her!"

Fluttershy watched in horror as the filly began to slowly and carefully pull Angelica's organs out into the open. At this point the little rabbit's eyes closed shut.

Once the green filly was done she motioned for the friends to let go of Fluttershy.

"Maybe you should pay attention to us next time, okay." The green unicorn filly said evilly as she and her friends left the area.

Fluttershy was crying as she lay down to look at Angelica's body. Despite what had happened, the little rabbit was still alive, however, with these injuries she would die a painful death. Fluttershy lamented, but she knew what she needed to do.

It was only a week ago that Angelica had given birth to a litter of baby rabbits. Even with the blood, it had been a beautiful thing... compared to this.

Slowly Fluttershy placed a hoof over the rabbit's head.

"I am... so sorry I wasn't able to save you..." Fluttershy sobbed as she pushed her hoof down ending Angelica's suffering.

Is me writing stuff like this considered 'Child Abuse'?

"So girls!" Fluttershy greeted as she stalked towards the three little fillies huddled in the corner of the shed. "You disobeyed my instructions. What should I do about that?"

"We're sorry, Fluttershy," Applebloom said between sobbing gasps, "We won't do it again. We promise."

The other two fillies nodded their heads in agreement, but the angry Fluttershy was still holding her chainsaw out, prepared to attack.

"Oh I think it's too late for apologies don't you think? It's time... for your punishment!" Fluttershy whispered with an evil gleam in her eyes.

"FLUTTERSHY!!!"

The yellow pony turned around to see a lavender unicorn standing with her head inside the shed.

"YOU! WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE IN MY SHED!!!"

"Girls, get out of here!" Twilight ordered. In response the three fillies scurried past the yellow pegasus and out of the shed, leaving the two mares alone.

"YOU FOOL!" Fluttershy roared, "YOU SHOULD HAVE JUST LET ME KILL THEM! BUT, NO, YOU HAD TO COME IN HERE! NOW YOU MUST DIE AS WELL!!!"

As the yellow pegasus threw herself with her chainsaw at Twilight, the lavender unicorn erected a shield spell around herself. The spell didn't offer much resistance against the chainsaw's teeth, but it gave the mare enough time to avoid any personal harm. She had a plan.

Unable to take any more of the brute force from the deadly weapon the Twilight's shield shattered; however, Twilight was ready and as the shield spell failed she blasted Fluttershy against the wall.

Hitting the wall hard, Fluttershy fell to the floor, seemingly unconscious.

Twilight walked up to the unconscious mare. She knew it was probably a bad idea, but Fluttershy was her friend and it wouldn't be right to just leave her there.

Using her magic Twilight threw away the chainsaw before she pushed Fluttershy over onto her side with a hoof.

Suddenly Fluttershy's eyes popped open and she lunged at Twilight, knocking her to the ground. With her hooves around Twilght's throat, Fluttershy began to strangle her friend.

"Flut...ter...shy..." Twilight tried to speak as her friend crushed her windpipe.

When Twilight's body had stopped twitching, Fluttershy retrieved her chainsaw and grimaced before going outside to the three fillies running back into the house.

"COME BACK HERE!!!" Fluttershy called as she ran into the house.

Fluttershy chased the three fillies with haste. They had been the first ones who had intruded into her shed, and now there was nothing stopping her from punishing them.

As Fluttershy turned a corner, a sound caught her attention. It was a loud, familiar buzzing noise.

She was then caught by surprise as something large rammed into her. Pain shot through her as a series of metal fangs tore at her flesh.

As the Cutie Mark Crusaders ran they all thought they heard the sound of another saw nearby. They heard Fluttershy scream, and the sound of the second saw became louder while the sound of Fluttershy's chainsaw died away.

The three fillies didn't look back, not wanting to met what had ended the life of their pursuer.

Watching the Perimeter

"Should we be worried about fillies reaching the perimeter?" The Smiling Stallion asked.

"As long as the Breach Protocol works, we should be fine," Sky Blazer replied. "Once those three fillies reach the boundary line, the protocol will activate and they will all suffer a spontaneous heart attack, and the round shall end."

"Very good." The Smiling Stallion spoke, "Now that just leaves the dragon and I am certain that once our little helper is done with the pegasus he will resolve that issue."

Tears don't last forever

Spike continued to lie on the ground next to the body of his dear friend Rarity. He had loved her from the moment he laid eyes on her, and now she was gone forever.

As he lay there something with heavy hooves walked into the hallway. Spike looked up to see if Twilight had returned. However spike couldn't fully see what it was that stood before him as it features were covered in shadow, due to the light of the moon being directly behind it. The only thing he could make out was the circular saw blade that emerged from it's head. The blood stained saw glistened in the moonlight that came in through the window.

While Spike didn't know exactly what it was, he knew that its intentions were to end his life, and Spike really didn't care. He had nothing to live for now, so to him it was fine if this creature killed him.

The little dragon relented as the song of the saw blade returned to his ears. Spike didn't even flinch as large, metal teeth cut through scales and flesh, spilling his life onto the floor.

Author's Note

When I was writing this chapter I was wanting to make a few references to Shed.mov as well as Murdershy as they were some of the things that drew me into the fandom.

[Dress] A Stroke of Inspiration

The Wheel rolled to the Dress!

As Rarity ascended the stairs she noticed that the purple dragon was still following her.

"Hey Spike, why don't you go find yourself a room?" Rarity asked.

"Oh... okay," the small dragon said, looking a little dejected about his dismissal.

While it was clearly apparent to Rarity that the little dragon had a crush for her, Rarity always tried her best to avoid stoking that flame. Rarity didn't love him, and, even if she did, Spike was a dragon. In the end it just wouldn't work out well for either of them.

Still, it was difficult for her; Rarity didn't want to break Spike's little heart.

"I sure hope there is another little dragon out there for him," Rarity said as she began her search for a suitable room.

A Game of Dress Up

"Personally, I find the dress roll to be very interesting," The Smiling Stallion spoke, "It targets the pony with the most creativity and persuades them that they must complete some sort of task or assignment. In completing this imaginary assignment, the pony may encounter a large amount of stress that may push them over the brink of sanity."

"You really enjoy this, don't you?" Sky Blazer sneered before taking of sip of her coffee.

"Oh, I do indeed," the stallion answered, "watching them lose their sanity is only half the fun, and the fear they cause each other is rather... delicious. There was one time I saw a mare, a royal bookkeeper, who extensively documented the lives of the other ponies in the round before killing them."

"Why did she kill them?" Sky Blazer asked.

"She started to believe that, by living, that the other ponies were creating extraneous work for her to do, for they’d do more activities that needed to be documented. Thus, by killing them she would have less to record, thereby lightening her workload."

"Sounds like that was a long round." Sky said.

"It was indeed," The Smiling Stallion said, "but it was very insightful."

"How do we get to see the finale at all, then?" Sky Blazer asked.

"Well, sometimes the pony does it by instinct," The Smiling Stallion answered. "Sometimes the manifestation of a dark muse is used to inspire the pony."

Moving In

Rarity had decided to take the attic to use as her room. It would be a quiet place that would allow her to work on her dresses in peace. She knew her friends came here to have fun, but she still a deadline to meet. Rarity was actually shocked that she had forgotten the deadline, if she had remembered she would have stayed home and let Sweetie Belle go on the trip with Applejack.

"Oh dear, and I had actually been looking forward to working on costume designs with the girls," Rarity said aloud.

The attic lacked any wall paper or paint. Old cardboard boxes littered the floor, and there were a few cobwebs in the room's corners. The only furnishings in the room were a bed, a wooden table, and, oddly enough, a few mannequins, all of which were covered in dust. In the corner of the room sat a few empty birdcages.

"Oh, how dreadful."

The only reason Rarity had chosen this place was because she thought it would allow her to work privately on her dress designs. If she was positive she could achieve the same goal in a much cleaner room she would have. However, she was certain that her sister Sweetie Belle or her friends might try to disturb her in one of the other rooms.

As Rarity began setting up her supplies, Twilight walked into the room.

"Hello, Twilight," Rarity said, "what is it you are looking for, darling?"

Twilight walked over to the desk and set down a folder she had been carrying. She opened the folder to reveal that the contents contained a few of her sketches.

"I have been trying to figure out a costume design for Nightmare Night," said Twilight, "and I thought that you may have some feedback on it."

Rarity looked nervously at the drawings Twilight had laid out. They reminded her of the large order given by one of her patrons. She had tried to finish the order before coming on this trip, but sadly there had been delays and as a result there would be much work waiting for her when she returned home.

"Forgive me, Twilight, but the reason I took the room in the attic was so I would have a private place to work on a line of clothing I need to have done in the next few weeks," Rarity said, "So if you please don't mind, I would like you to leave."

"But I thought you were going to help us make costumes."

"I was planning to," Rarity spoke, "but suddenly I remembered a deadline that I must have forgotten. If I could finish enough of it I will try to help the rest of you with your costumes."

"Oh, alright then." Twilight said understandingly.

Twilight was about to leave when she noticed a box with some old newspapers in it. Curiosity overwhelmed her; she really wanted to read the newspapers' contents.

"Do you mind if I take a look at these?" Twilight asked with an ebullient grimace.

"Go ahead and take it!" Rarity snapped, "Just leave me to my work!"

Before she could realize, Twilight found herself outside the attic with the door in her face.

Twilight was shocked by her friend's impatience, but after reasoning that Rarity must be under a lot of stress, she resolved to take the newspapers she had found downstairs to look at them without a second thought on the matter.

Delving around...

Twilight sat at the table, looking through the box she had discovered in the attic. In the box there were various pieces of old newspapers. The pages were yellow and the edges were deteriorated. One of them caught her eyes.

Pony families assigned by Celestia for the creation of Ponyville have been told to look out for strangers due to a recent string of murders in the area. The killer, dubbed "the Impaler," has been responsible for several murders involving pony families heading out that way.

Celestia stated in a conference Thursday evening that she will be assigning some of her royal guards to escort these families on their journey.

Twilight riffled through the other scraps and found another article that was dated some time later.

The murderer known as the Impaler has been caught, and authorities assure he will no longer be a threat to ponykind. However, when asked for further details about who this pony was or how he would be executed, the authorities declined to answer.

When Celestia was asked these questions she answered that the manner of execution, she stated that whatever the Impaler would be given would be severe, but that it was unnecessary for the public to know the details.

"What's that yer lookin' at, Sugar-cube?" Applejack asked as she walked into the kitchen.

"Just reading some old newspaper articles," Twilight replied. Applejack leaned in for a closer look.

Applejack leaned in for a closer look. "Huh. I remember Granny Smith talkin' to us about this when we were younger," Applejack remarked, turning to pour some apple cider into a wooden cup.

"What did she tell you about it?" Twilight asked, her eyes still glued to the page.

"Oh, just somethin' about rememberin' seeing the newspapers about it back then," Applejack answered blandly, "it caused a lot of hassle back then."

"Do you know anything about who this 'Impaler' was?" Twilight inquired.

"Uh, no." Applejack replied, "No use learnin’ too much about menaces – ‘specially long-gone ones like that fella. It tends to rile a pony up, you know; no point in worryin’ about past evils."

Twilight, while she understood Applejack’s reasons and partially agreed, nonetheless resumed rummaging through the box. Considering how Applejack possessed the Element of Integrity, her explanation figured well in Twilight’s mind.

Twilight thought to herself, “It was probably more practical for Applejack to concern herself with apple farming methods, anyway. . .”

"Well, thanks anyway." Twilight said.

Frustration and Inspiration

Rarity slammed her hooves angrily against the table. She had been trying for hours to come up with some decent dress designs; however all her attempts were in vain.

She needed something new, something unique and original, something that would seize the attention of her patrons. Perhaps a new type of fabric, but where would she find anything like that in this dump?

The white unicorn slumped back in her chair, mentally exhausted and creatively dry. As she sat there in frustration she noticed the sound of hooves ascending the stairs into the attic. Seconds later, there came timid knocking on the door.

"Who is it?" Rarity asked, trying to recompose herself.

"It's me, Fluttershy," the pegasus murmured from behind the door, "Just thought you might like to know we are going to have lunch soon."

Of course it had to be Fluttershy! who else would knock so gently?

"Fine. Perhaps a break would help."

As Rarity and Fluttershy stepped out of the room, something caught the white unicorn's eye. The pegasus's cutie mark was magnificent. Looking at the mark an idea started to creep into her mind. A horrific idea.

'Wouldn't her coat make a fine dress?' A strange feminine voice spoke in the recesses of her mind.

"On second thought Fluttershy perhaps there is something you could help me with." Rarity said.

"What is it?" Fluttershy asked; Rarity continued to stare as she mused.

Rarity internally admonished herself, "Rarity, what are you doing? Why are you thinking about this? Stop it."

"There was a concept for a dress I was thinking about, and I believe you could give me just the feedback I need," Rarity said with feigned excitement. "if you don't mind, let's go into this room so I can show you."

'Yes, welcome her in.' The devious voice inside her head spoke in disarming, velvet tones of approval. 'Lure the little fly into the trap.'

"Could you look at this ribbon for me?" Rarity asked, holding up a purple ribbon for Fluttershy to look at.

"Oh, okay," Fluttershy said as she looked at the ribbon, "So what about it do you want me to..."

Rarity suddenly swung the ribbon around Fluttershy's neck and with her magic began to strangle her. Fluttershy coughed as she struggled to breathe.

"Just relax, dear," Rarity spoke in tones similar to the one that had spoken to her. "It will be all over soon enough."

As Rarity pondered what she was going to do with Fluttershy, a dark idea dawned on her. She would need to go outside and see if she could find some kind of rodent.

'Yes, should we not have some fun with this one'

They came from the skies... pigs?

The Cutie Mark Crusaders yelled happily as they ran back into the house from the backyard.

"Whoa! Easy girls!" Applejack said, "Running around like that, you might hurt somepony if you run into ‘em."

"Hey, Applejack do you know why my sister is hanging around the shed?" Sweetie Belle asked.

"What?"

Applejack looked out the window and was surprised to see Rarity looking around the shed for something.

"I wonder what she is doing that fer," Applejack thought aloud. The idea of Rarity, of all ponies, hanging out in a dirty place like that baffled Applejack. Applejack had also been surprised when Rarity had gone out to the shed instead of having lunch with them. Now that she thought about it, Fluttershy had missed out on lunch, too.

"It must be raining pigs or somethin'."

Sky Blazer looked away from the monitor and looked over to the Smiling Stallion, "Can pigs rain during the event?"

The Smiling Stallion put a hoof to his mouth and pondered for a moment and sighed at length.

"At this point, no. However, that is an interesting idea. Take a note of that. We might want to use something like that for the next event."

Sky opened up a word document on another computer and started typing down the idea.

"How do you think it would work?" Sky asked as she typed away.

"Well, perhaps the pigs could come in space ships and surround the area."

"I don't know," Sky said, "Sounds like something that would happen in a movie."

"Hmmm... you're probably right. Maybe we should have them arrive in a ship disguised as a meteorite, which then crashes nearby. Perhaps then the pigs could charge out with ray guns. To do that, though, I would either have to find some mutant pigs or train regular pigs to stand on two legs and properly shoot the guns."

Sky Blazer rolled her eyes, "I was merely joking when I brought the subject up. I can't believe you took it seriously and ran with it."

The Smiling Stallion turned and quirked an eyebrow, smiling widely, "Maybe I knew it was a joke and went along with it anyway."

Dead End

Twilight sat puzzled in her chair. She had searched the box further for all information on the Impaler but had only found articles regarding apple farming and the election of the first Ponyville mayor. While this information was somewhat interesting, it hardly compensated for her unsatisfied curiosity.

"I wonder if there are some more newspapers up in the attic," Twilight thought aloud, "Perhaps later I should go and check. Also, I could check on Rarity and see how she is doing."

Before she sat up from her chair, Rainbow Dash hurriedly flew into the room, "Hey Twilight, have you seen Fluttershy?"

Thinking back, Twilight didn't even recall seeing Fluttershy for lunch.

"Sorry, I haven't. Did you check her room?"

"Yeah, but she wasn't there, either!"

STOP MOVING! STOP SCREAMING!

Rarity wasn't sure what to do. A voice inside her head kept telling Rarity that she should cut open Fluttershy's chest and place the rat Rarity had found out in the shed inside Fluttershy's body.

'Just do it!' The voice inside Rarity's mind spoke, 'It will be fun to watch, and it would be great if we could observe her reactions!'

However, Rarity refused. She merely wanted to make some good dresses that would be ready for the patrons to view, not to torture her friend.

'Oh, come on now.'

Fluttershy whimpered. After she had fallen unconscious, Rarity had bound her and sewed her mouth shut. Now Fluttershy was awake, and she was doing her best to plead with Rarity to stop with her lips closed shut.

"No, these are my dresses, and I shall make them my way." Rarity said as she began to skin her friend.

Tears poured from Fluttershy's eyes as the blade pierced her flesh. Fluttershy struggled as Rarity's began the process of separating the skin from the muscle.

"Stop struggling!" Rarity growled, "You're only making this harder for me, dear!"

Fluttershy continued to struggle against her bonds. Fluttershy‘s wriggling caused Rarity to cut through the coat.

"I said stop moving!"

Annoyed, Rarity jabbed the knife into Fluttershy's chest. Fluttershy's eyes bulged and blood sputtered from the lips of her mouth. She shook violently before her eyes dimmed and the life left them.

Once Fluttershy was dead, determinable by her cessation of movement, Rarity resumed skinning her friend casually humming a song Fluttershy herself had taught her. Rarity already had a few ideas for what kind of dress she could make with this new material.

Reguris Clothis

"Rarity, can I talk with you?" Twilight asked as she knocked on Rarity's door.

Twilight had been on her way to check the attic for more newspaper articles concerning the Impaler when she had stumbled upon Applejack in the hallway. Applejack had told Twilight that she had seen Rarity out by the shed.

So, instead of coming to Twilight to discuss her costume ideas Rarity had chosen to look, at the stupid old shed.

"She better have a good reason for this." Twilight grumbled as she continued knocking on the door.

The door opened and Rarity peeked her head out.

"Twilight! Oh, you are just in time to see the first of the outfits I have been working on," Rarity said. "Take a look and tell me what you think."

As Twilight entered the room, a faint metallic scent entered her nostrils. The scent seemed fresh, and Twilight couldn't recall if she had smelled this scent the last time she was here.

"So what do you think of my new dress?" Rarity asked, motioning toward the new article.

Twilight examined the dress. It was a yellow with pink frills at the edges. Twilight felt the fabric and noticed it was rather soft like fur. Then she noticed the pink and blue butterflies on the collar.

Twilight stepped back in horror once she realized that the outfit on the makeshift mannequin was made out of the coat of her friend Fluttershy.

"Well, what do you think? Do you like it?" Rarity inquired with unsettling eagerness.

"Rarity, what have you done?" Twilight asked.

"Oh, Twilight it is only a dress," Rarity replied. "Look, if it will make you feel better, I will make you a dress, as well."

The purple mare turned to run away but was knocked unconscious before she could leave. While Twilight wasn't looking, Rarity had picked up a brick with her magic and lobbed it at her friend's head.

Rarity picked up a sewing machine and proceeded to bash her friend's skull in with it. Once Rarity knew for certain that Twilight was dead, she pulled out a knife and began to flay her. Her studies with Fluttershy had proven that it was easier to skin ponies when they were dead.

First thing Rarity did was remove the lavender unicorn's horn. After all, Twilight's special talent was magic, so it would be a crime not to use her horn in the construction of the dress. It proved to be a rigorous task, for Rarity had to use a fabric cutting knife to sever the horn.

After doing this, Rarity noticed that she herself was bleeding. On her left forehoof were three long cuts resembling a cat's claw marks. The blood dripped slowly from the wound.

"I wonder how that happened." Rarity said as she used her magic to sew the wound shut.

Once she finished sewing the wound shut, Rarity resumed her work.

How odd?

"So where do you think those scratches came from?" Sky Blazer asked.

The Smiling Stallion looked at the screen with a puzzled look, "I actually don't know. I haven't seen this before. It might be a glitch. Well, I would say just keep an eye on it. After all, it might make this more interesting."

"Do you think it could cause an issue?"

"I don't believe it will be a problem. If the cuts become severe enough to kill her then the helper will take care of the remaining survivors."

Be careful who you trust

"Applejack dear, there is something I need to show you in the attic." Rarity spoke sweetly.

Rarity had come downstairs to find Applejack lounging on the couch in the living room and twirling her hat.

"Sure, what is it?" Applejack asked.

"It is kind of hard to describe. It would be best if I were to just show you." Rarity answered.

"Oh, alright then."

The two left the living room and started walking up to the attic. That was when Applejack noticed the cut on Rarity' foreleg.

"Are you alright, sugarcube?"

"Of course I am, dear. Why do you ask?" Rarity replied obliviously.

"Well, I just noticed that cut on your leg," Applejack said.

"Oh, this thing. I accidentally hurt myself with the sewing machine, but it is nothing to worry about, I assure you, dear."

"Alright. If you say so."

Applejack was the first to open the door to Rarity's room.

"Okay Rarity, what is it you wanted to show me?" Applejack said as she opened the door. In a blink, she saw a skinned Twilight lying dead upon the floor.

"NO! WHAT DID YOU DO!?" Applejack turned around in fury, only to be hit in the head with one of the mannequins. The impact broke the mannequin off its poll.

"Well, that was a nuisance," Rarity said before throwing the broken mannequin away.

Rarity looked down at Applejack.

The voice inside of Rarity's head spoke, 'Let's not kill her just yet. Why don't we have some fun with her instead?'

After she had nailed Applejack to the table and sewn her eyes and mouth shut with thread, Rarity began to think of what other kind of dresses she could make.

"Maybe I should make something with a more punkish look to it."

Rarity left her room and after she locked the door walked down to the dining room where Pinkie Pie sat. Her head was lying down on the table.

"Are you all right my dear?" Rarity asked.

Pinkie opened her eyes groggily. It was clear she had been resting. The party pony yawned.

"Sorry. I must be really hungry," Pinkie Pie said, "Maybe I should make myself a cupcake."

"Well, dear, why don't you let me do it?" Rarity asked.

"Are you sure you want to?" Pinkie Pie asked. If Rarity's cooking skills were anything like her sisters', the cupcake would be burnt to a crisp.

"Don't worry about it, Pinkie. I'll make a cupcake for you." Rarity said. "I will even throw in a special ingredient."

"HA! You will?" Pinkie replied with excited astonishment.

Rarity flipped her luxurious mane and stepped into the kitchen to start making some cupcakes for her friend.

Missing

Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle were sitting in the living room when Apple Bloom walked in.

"Hey, have you guys seen my sister?" Apple Bloom asked her fellow crusaders, "I went to her room to talk with her, but she isn't there."

The other two fillies shook their heads.

"Sorry, Apple Bloom," Scootaloo spoke, "we haven't seen her."

"Maybe she went to see Twilight." Sweetie Belle suggested.

Apple Bloom's brow furrowed. She hadn't seen Twilight or Fluttershy around lately either. Could they be working on something together?

"Then again, maybe my sister knows where she is." Sweetie Belle said, "I'll go look for her."

"Okay, Sweetie Belle."

Sweetie Belle left the living room and began to search the house for her sister.

The Secret Ingredient is... MURDER!!!

Rarity stood in the kitchen, making a special cupcake for Pinkie Pie. As she mixed the batter, Rarity put in her special ingredient to give it that special kick. After pouring the batter into the pan, Rarity placed it into the oven and turned it on for a few minutes until it was baked.

Once she was done, Rarity put some frosting on top of the cupcake and brought it out to Pinkie Pie.

"Here it is!"

Pinkie Pie smiled and clapped her hooves together as the cupcake was presented before her.

"It looks great!"

Picking up the cupcake, Pinkie threw the whole thing into her mouth, and after chewing it twice, she swallowed. However, it wasn't very long before Pinkie began gurgling blood.

"Oh my! Dear, you really should chew your food more," Rarity mocked. "Savor the flavor. After all, you only live once."

Blood continued to flow from Pinkie's mouth and she gawked at Rarity desperately.

"Pinkie, do you need a little help with something?"

Hearing this, Pinkie realized what she was feeling stabbing into her throat, mouth and stomach: sewing needles. Shortly after Pinkie's head hit the table and she breathed her last.

Using a handkerchief, Rarity cleaned the blood away from Pinkie's mouth.

"Hey sister?"

A small little voice broke the silence, nearly startling Rarity. "Hey, sister?"

'Well, what do we have here?' the voice inside Rarity's skull spoke as she turned to look at her little sister.

"Wha... What is it dear?" Rarity asked, trying to conceal Pinkie's corpse.

"Have you seen Applejack?" Sweetie Belle asked. "Apple Bloom is worried about her."

As she asked this Sweetie Belle noticed Pinkie Pie with her head on the table.

"Is Pinkie alright?"

"Uh... No dear. Pinkie isn't actually feeling well. Would you mind helping me take her up to my room?" Rarity spoke calculatingly, "If you do, I will help you and the others find Applejack."

Sweetie Belle smiled, "Alright."

Rarity and Sweetie Belle grabbed Pinkie's body and with caution sneaked the body up to the attic. As they did, Rarity did what she could to ensure that Sweetie Belle didn't learn that Pinkie was actually dead.

"So if Pinkie is sick, then why are we taking her up to your room?" Sweetie Belle asked as they ascended the stairs.

"Well... because she needs some special medicine I have in my room," Rarity lied to her sister.

"Oh, okay." Sweetie Belle said, trusting the judgment.

Upon opening the door, a disgusting smell wafted to Sweetie Belle.

"What is that smell?" Sweetie Belle asked, wrinkling her nose as she helped Rarity place Pinkie's body onto Rarity's bed.

Rarity realized she would have to do something about the smell in the room. She might have some perfume in her bag that she could use to cover up the stench.

'Smells fine to me.' The voice inside Rarity's head said.

Sweetie Belle gasped; she had come across Applejack as she lay attached to the table.

'Uh oh.' The voice spoke, 'Looks like somepony has been snooping around. We should deal with her.'

"Sis, what are you doing to Applejack! What are-"

Looking around, Sweetie Belle saw a few skinned corpses in the other corner of the room.

"By Celestia..."

Sweetie Belle was cut off. Rarity used her magic to grab her sister by the throat and tossed her into one of the birdcages. The filly contained, Rarity let go of her sister and locked the door to her new prison.

Trapped, Sweetie Belle tried to kick her way out of the cage. However, despite being old and rusty, the bars of the birdcage held firm.

"Rarity, what are you doing!? Let me go!" Sweetie Belle protested.

'She might be a bit of a nuisance.' The voice said to Rarity. She ignored both it and Sweetie Belle's cries as she began the tedious work of converting Pinkie Pie into a good dress. She soon noticed a pain in her right side.

Rarity examined it and saw another cut on her skin.

"Well, that simply won't do." Rarity said as she grabbed a needle and some pink thread to sew the wound closed.

The search for lost friends

All this time, Rainbow Dash had been napping in her room.

When she woke up, Rainbow Dash was surprised that her friends were nowhere in sight. While the fact was worrisome, she hadn't been too worried until Scootaloo and Apple Bloom told her that Sweetie Belle had disappeared after going off to search for her sister Rarity.

Rainbow Dash had searched many of the rooms, but all she had found was Spike sitting on the toilet in the bathroom.

"Do you mind?!" Spike yelled.

In response Rainbow Dash had hurriedly closed the door and resumed her search. The only room she had not checked was the attic.

Rainbow Dash opened the door and was horrified by what she saw. Rarity had turned the pink party pony's fur into a hoodie with her frizzy mane stretching along the coat's spine.

"Doesn't it look lovely?" Rarity asked, emerging from a shadow in the room, "Sort of has a punkish, roguish look to it."

On a table nearby Applejack had been nailed down with her mouth and eyes sewn shut. In one corner a few skinned bodies were piled up, while in the other was Sweetie Belle trapped in a small birdcage. The room smelled as if a bottle of expensive perfume had fallen and smashed on the ground.

Rainbow Dash turned to run but stopped when she rammed her head into a wooden plank Rarity had telekinetically held for her. To be fair, Rainbow Dash's head was strong enough to break the board.

As she began to slip into unconsciousness, she thought she could make out Scootaloo saying something.

'Oh no! Scootaloo, if that is you, please... run!' Rainbow Dash thought.

However, Rainbow Dash didn't have the chance to exhort her before she drifted away.

Scootaloo and Apple Bloom had seen Rarity knock out Rainbow Dash and had tried to run away; however, Rarity shut the door using her magic.

"Now, now, my dears. It is improper to run indoors," Rarity reprimanded.

The two fillies found themselves being flung into a birdcage next to the one where Sweetie Belle was imprisoned.

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!" Scootaloo yelled.

"LET US OUT!" Apple Bloom cried.

"Quiet, girls!" Rarity growled, "Can't you see that I have work to do?"

Despite her retort, the two fillies continued to yell.

Who is she supposed to be?

The Smiling Stallion watched the screen as the white unicorn prepared for her next dress.

"Are you sure she is a dressmaker?" The Smiling Stallion asked, "She skins those ponies with the precision of a hunter."

"Yes, sir." Sky Blazer answered. "That mare is Rarity; she is a dress-making prodigy, according to some sources I found in the newspaper."

"So she's a celebrity?" The Smiling Stallion inquired.

"Not really," Sky replied. "She has made some good dresses for a few celebrities, but she isn't terribly popular in the dress-making community. At least not yet."

"I see." The Smiling Stallion spoke, "So we don't have to worry about a rescue party."

"Not for a while now, anyway. You know, you really should study your victims. You could find something interesting."

Covering one's tracks... hooves... hoof tracks?

Rarity closed and locked the shed’s door. It seemed a fair enough hiding place for her friends’ remnants.

"Rarity?"

Spike's voice startled Rarity.

"Oh dear, did he see my hide the bodies?" Rarity thought, "does he know of what I have been doing?"

"Yes, what is it, dear?"

Spike was silent for a bit before he sighed and said, "Never mind."

Watching the sad little dragon walk away, a cruel little idea popped into Rarity's mind.

"Spike, could I have a word with you?"

Confused, Spike turned to face Rarity, "What?"

"There is something I need to show you up in the attic. Think of it as a gift of sorts. Oh, I know you would absolutely adore it."

A large grin appeared on Spike's face. "I... I would be delighted." Spike replied scrambling for words.

Rarity smiled. "Good. Now come with me."

The two of them walked into the house and ascended the steps to the uppermost floor. Rarity stopped in front of the door to her room.

"Spike, do you love me?" Rarity asked.

"Of course I do." Spike swooned. "You're perfect."

"Well, then I need you to do something for me."

Rarity opened the door and had Spike take the lead into the room. The dragon gasped when he saw Rainbow Dash bound in a corner of the room and Applejack nailed to a table. There was also a mannequin with a dress resembling Twilight Sparkle's coat.

Before Spike could say anything, he felt something metal against his neck. Blood gurgled from Spike's throat as Rarity slit it open with some scissors.

In only a few seconds, Spike was dead and lying on the ground.

"Oh, it is such a shame that you had to make such a mess before you died." Rarity shook her head, frowning.

Piggy Back

Rainbow Dash awoke to realize that she couldn't feel her wings. In fact, it felt as if they had been pulled from their sockets.

However, this wasn't the only thing that was off. There was something heavy on her back that she couldn't shake no matter how hard she tried.

"Oh my. Finally you're awake, darling."

Feeling betrayed, Rainbow Dash glared at Rarity. " What have you done to me, you BITCH!"

Rainbow Dash tried to stand up to fight Rarity but found that she was unable to due to her hooves being bound together by tight ribbon.

Rarity put a hoof to her mouth, "Now, now, dear, it isn't proper for one to swear in the presence of a filly."

The heavy object on Rainbow Dash's back twitched and emitted a painful groan. In horror Rainbow Dash turned her head to see that it was, indeed, Scootaloo who was attached to her back. As the realization kicked in, Dash could feel the threads that connected her to the poor little filly. Rarity had stitched them both together, back to back.

Rainbow Dash looked back in shock at Rarity, who only stood there, smiling back at her.

"Why? Why did you do this, Rarity?"

"Well, at the time I wasn't sure what I was going to do with you and Scootaloo, so I decided it might be fun to sew you both together while I thought of something," Rarity answered reminiscently, "It was only fitting, seeing as Scootaloo is your biggest fan, that I should attach her to you. After all, fans always have their idol's back, and of course, you have her back because you possess the element of loyalty."

Rarity giggled at how inspired the idea was. To think, she hadn’t had any ideas just that morning!

It was around this time that Scootaloo began to stir.

"Wha... WHAT!"

Scootaloo began to scream a shriek, which nearly deafened Rainbow Dash, once she realized she couldn't move. Minutes later, Scootaloo ceased screaming, her throat completely raw from the endeavor, but continued to shed tears.

"Now that you are done screaming, I can talk about what I am planning to do to you." Rarity spoke, her smile unbroken.

Rarity raised herself on her rear hooves and raised her forelegs, revealing that Rainbow Dash's wings were attached to some gruesome mockery of a cloak.

"I was thinking I would make a cape out of your wings. Perhaps I can use your coat, mane and tail to make a dress to go with it."

The unicorn walked around the two bound pegasi. Scootaloo hung from Rainbow Dash's back where she had been attached. Due to her small body being so high off the ground, Rarity hadn't bothered binding the filly's hooves.

"Now, I am not exactly sure what I am going to do with you." Rarity paced about. "I was thinking of making you into a purse, but I already have one. In fact, mine is made of dragon scales. Would you like to see it?"

Scootaloo cried, ignoring her.

Rarity looked around the room. After looking at the broken mannequin stand, a brilliant idea began to unfold before her.

"Well, well. I have been meaning to repair my mannequin. Perhaps I could use you two for it."

"What?"

Using her magic, Rarity picked up the broken mannequin stand and brought it over, its sharp tip glistening in the light.

"Now, hold still, my dears," Rarity said as she thrust the stand forward.

The two ponies were impaled at once. Blood leaked from Rainbow Dash's and Scootaloo's mouths as their final breaths left them.

Rarity looked proudly at the pony shish kabob she had just made and then frowned when she realized that there was probably some damage done to their coats.

"That's a shame," Rarity said. A bright idea came to Rarity's mind as she looked at the cage she had previously used. "Perhaps I should deal with it later."

"Oh, Applejack," Rarity, her eyes wide with intent, spoke as he stood over the mare, "I think I know how Apple Bloom can get her Cutie Mark."

A Note from Shifting Winds

Hello, my name is Shifting Winds, and I am an adventurer. I’ve traveled the world, searching for interesting things to explore.

I recently came across stories about this cabin on the outskirts of Muleport. According to some stories I have heard, the locals believe it to be haunted, saying they have heard noises and seen lights coming from within the house. Some have even claimed that at times the cabin is unreachable, almost as if the woods had swallowed it whole.

Immediately upon hearing this, I was made curious and wanted to find this cabin.

After talking with a mare named Lakin Spotson at Marehall College about the cabin, she, too, became curious and decided she wanted to come along with me. However, she said we should probably bring a group of ponies along. That way, if anypony became injured, someone would be able to call the authorities.

It just so happened that, while we were talking about during a lunch one day, a stallion overheard us. His name was Silver Screen, and he was curious about the location, as it reminded him of a location from one of his favorite movies. To be honest, though, I am really surprised he decided to come along with us. He was really nervous the whole time he talked with us.

At the conclusion of the meeting, we all agreed that we would meet at Muleport and that Silver Screen would bring a couple ponies to join us in the experience.

About an hour ago, we met up at Muleport where we met the other two members of our party.

First, we have Poptart. He is a stallion who used to live in Las Pegasus but moved to Ponyville for reasons he chooses not to disclose to us. I don’t know what his deal, is but he seems to be kind of… well… full of himself.

The second pony to join us was Artemis Featherclaw. She seems to be a pony of action and isn’t very talkative. However, I can’t shake the feeling that she has a wild side, and I notice she observes everything with the eyes of a prowling animal.

Tomorrow, we shall leave Muleport and head out to the cabin. I am so excited for this adventure that I may have a hard time sleeping tonight.

Apple Skins

Rarity stepped back to admire her creation. She had sewn the pattern of an apple blossom onto Apple Bloom's flank.

"Now doesn't that look lovely?" Rarity said, speaking loud enough so that Applejack could hear it, "Oh, that's right; you can't see it. Well, I can assure you, your sister will look gorgeous when I am done with her."

She began skinning the filly from the cut Rarity had made in Apple Bloom's throat. Once Rarity was done, she stacked the material she had accumulated from the little filly and put it aside to work on later.

"Well now, I guess it is time to work on you, isn't it, Dashie?"

After removing the two corpses from the mannequin pole, Rarity began her work on Rainbow Dash's body.

First, Rarity took Rainbow Dash's wings. Maybe she ought to attach them to the sides of a dress to symbolize her friend's great flying skills.

Next, Rarity cut off Dash's tail and what she could from her mane. After that, she removed the cyan coat from the body.

"You will make a marvelous dress!" Rarity giggled.

Once she had all the materials set up, Rarity started to make illustrations for her next dress.

With the designs for Rainbow Dash's dress completed, Rarity contemplated what to do next. Should she start working on another dress? She then remembered that she needed to harvest the materials for yet another dress.

As for the two fillies, well, she would make an outfit using their bodies later. Right now, she had one final mare to work on.

Just by looking at Applejack's face, Rarity could tell that all the mare's hope and will had drained away. All Applejack could do was just sit there and wait to die.

"Oh, don't be so sad, dear," Rarity said, putting her mouth next to Applejack's ear, "You will be reunited with your little sister soon enough."

A needle with thread attached floated into the air.

"I had been looking forward to practicing my embroidery work." She said as she began stitching the shapes of green and red apples into Applejack's flesh. While Applejack did wince every once and a while she otherwise continued to remain still.

"Oh, come on, dear. You need to be more in touch with your emotions."

When she was done embroidering a large portion of Applejack's coat, Rarity pulled out the fabric cutter.

"Since you seem so relaxed, perhaps I should go ahead and start skinning you," Rarity said. Applejack didn't respond; she just continued looking at the ceiling.

It wasn't until after a few minutes of skinning that Rarity noticed that Applejack's breathing had stopped.

"Oh, what a shame. Even if you weren't as talkative as usual, I did enjoy your company."

The Dawning of Inspiration

Rarity looked over the five dresses she had made and sighed. Something was missing, but she couldn't put a hoof on it. When she had started making these dresses there had been a certain theme she was going for. Now she couldn't remember what it was.

Sweetie Belle cried from within her cage. The images of her two fillyhood friends being killed and skinned still flashed before her eyes.

The white unicorn looked at the two dresses she had created using Scootaloo's and Apple Bloom's coats. While they looked decent, they didn't seem to match the theme she was going for with the other five dresses. What was she missing?

Realization struck Rarity and she burst out laughing. Her older sister's sudden outburst caused Sweetie Belle to stop crying and look up from the floor.

"I figured it out," Rarity said, "I figured out what I am missing!"

Rarity picked up a knife off the table with her magic and walked over to Sweetie Belle who recoiled back into the corner.

"Sweetie Belle, I remembered the theme I was originally going for!" said the hysteric unicorn.

The filly shook with dread in the corner. What was her sister going to do? What was Rarity going to do with her?

"The Elements!" Rarity spoke motioning to the five dresses, "My five main dresses are based off the Elements of Harmony."

"We have kindness..." Rarity stated, pointing to the yellow dress made out of Fluttershy's coat.

"Loyalty..." The white unicorn motioned to the blue dress with rainbow-colored embroidery. Hanging over its shoulders was a cape made of feathered wings.

"Honesty..." Next to the orange dress laid a forsaken cowboy hat.

"Laughter..." Rarity motioned toward a pink hoodie.

"And magic!" The last dress was purple with star-like patterns sewn in. "However, I am still missing an Element. What could it be?"

Rarity paced in a circle, trying to think what the last remaining element could be. She stiffened and started laughing when she finally realized conceived her answer.

"Generosity," Rarity rasped, "I completely forgot generosity!"

Sweetie Belle watched in horror as her sister took the knife and started to use it to cut her own flesh. After a few incisions around the chest and forelegs, Rarity began the painful process of peeling off her own coat.

While it hurt, Rarity pushed through the pain. After all, hard work was painful, but the praise for her work afterwards would be its own reward.

At first, there was a burning sensation, but as time went on, her nerves deadened, and there was only nothingness in its place. Looking at the fabric, she had torn from her own body, Rarity noticed that the edges had a red stain. It might take a while but with enough bleach, it should come off. Rarity also realized that there was something else missing.

Her Cutie Mark! All the other dresses had their Cutie Marks, so why not hers?

'Yes, why not?' the voice inside her head said as she put the knife blade to her flank.

After cutting a circular pattern around her Cutie Mark she peeled it off and placed both it and her white coat on her workbench. She suddenly felt very tired. Perhaps she should take a quick nap before resuming her dress making.

Rarity walked over to the bed and lay down upon it. Small pools of blood leaked out onto the mattress. No matter. She would clean the sheets when she woke up.

As Rarity drifted off into sleep, she could have sworn she saw furry, white spiders with blue diamond patterns hanging from silk webs on the ceiling above her. While she felt repulsed by the sight, she didn't bother to move. She just listened to the voice in her mind, repeat one final word.

'Sleep.'

Buy One, Get a Second Half-Off

"Those were certainly some interesting dress designs. Too bad we couldn't keep them." The Smiling Stallion said as he looked at the screen.

"Why?" Sky Blazer asked, "I wouldn't wear any of them, and I don't think any of your other friends would wear them. So that means the only person who would wear them would be you."

"Oh, don't be silly," The Smiling Stallion answered, "Nobody would wear them. The dresses would merely be for decoration... something to liven up the place back home."

"I don't know," Sky said, "I am pretty sure we already have lots of decorative baubles laying around."

The Smiling Stallion sighed. "Yeah, you're probably right."

Just then, a device next to the stallion's chair made a dinging noise, and a green light appeared.

"Aww... It is time to eat." The Smiling Stallion said as he placed a glass underneath the device.

A frothy, fluorescent, yellow liquid flowed from the device into the waiting glass. Once the device was done dispensing the fluid, the Smiling Stallion removed the glass and took a sip of the liquid.

"Yes, the taste of corporeal fear is quite delicious."

"Master!" Sky spoke with a tinge of worry in her voice.

"What is it?" The Smiling Stallion asked.

"As I was archiving the dresses, the computer brought up a cross reference saying the dresses have a connection to something called the Elements of Harmony."

"Elements of Harmony? What is that?"

"I am not sure," Sky spoke, searching the computer, "While it sounds familiar, I can't place where I heard it from. I am going to try to search for more information on this."

Caged with nowhere to go

Sweetie Belle continued to sob within the birdcage as a large creature smashed its way into the attic. Looking up through tear soaked eyes, Sweetie Belle saw a pony-shaped creature; however, the only features she could make out with the light in the room was its head. The creature's head was covered in an old burlap sack with a large circular saw blade coming out of the center.

The creature made a snorting sound like an angry bull, and the saw buzzed to life. It charged into the cage Sweetie Belle was trapped in.

"Eek!!!" Sweetie Belle squealed as the creature cut into the cage with its saw blade which continued to buzz, even when it passed through the cage bars and cut into the flesh of the young foal inside.

The screams stopped and the metal blade stopped its song. A new round was ready to begin.

[Cupcake] Just in Time for Dessert!

The Wheel rolled to the Cupcake!

Pinkie Pie looked in the kitchen cabinet for anything that might be useful for making a meal. Sure, Spike had made some daisy sandwiches and a few oatmeal burgers for the trip, but, seeing as there was actually a kitchen in this cabin, Pinkie couldn't help but look at the supplies to make something to eat.

There were all sorts of supplies that could be used to make some tasty treats. As she searched through the cabinets, Pinkie's hooves came across a book. Pulling out the book, Pinkie cleaned the off the dust to reveal the title on the leather cover: Delicious Pony Treats.

"What an interesting title, I will have to take a look at the recipes at some point," Pinkie Pie said as she tucked the book in her frizzy tail and walked out into the dining room.

Twilight sat at the dining table looking at a few pieces of paper.

"What are you working on, Twilight?" Pinkie asked.

Twilight sighed, "I am trying to think of a costume to wear for Nightmare Night, but I am not sure what I want to wear."

"How about a Weirdo Clown?" Pinkie suggested. In response Twilight gave her a skeptical look. Despite this Pinkie continued to look at her with a sincere expression.

"Thanks, Pinkie, but I am not sure that is the look I was going for." Twilight replied as diplomatically as she could manage.

"Oh. Okay." Pinkie said with a smile.

Pinkie decided to go to her room and take a look at her new book. The wallpaper in her room was pink much like herself with yellow lines that would zig zag across the wall. To another pony this would be annoying, however to Pinkie the wall paper was cheerful much like herself. A picture frame of old mare and stallion holding a pitchfork in front of a barn hung from the wall.

The furniture in the room was an old wooden rocking chair and a bed with pink bed sheets.

She jumped onto her bed and pulled the recipe book out of her tail. As she opened the book, an electrical feeling rushed over her.

Pinkie took a closer look at one of the recipes in the book and read the title aloud.

"Cupcakes! I love cupcakes. I wonder what ingredients the author recommends using..."

Pinkie Pie read on, noting the ingredients the author used: flour, milk, eggs, a pinch of salt and ingredients for flavoring.

"Now, for a special taste none of your friends will forget I suggest that with all your treats you add a pinch of... huh?" Pinkie read but stopped short when she saw that the rest of the page had been torn off, thus obscuring the author's suggestion.

"Aw..."

Pinkie was really curious what the author's suggestion was. Perhaps if she looked around she might be able to find the missing piece of the page.

So, Pinkie Pie left her room and started searched the kitchen over for the missing piece of paper. However, her efforts were unfruitful.

Unable to find it, the pink mare decided to read the rest of the cook book and found notes stating that flavors of the other pastries were mediocre compared to the cupcakes mentioned earlier in the book. She needed that special ingredient.

"Pinkie," Scootaloo spoke, "were hungry. Could you make us something to eat?"

"Okay, I will get started on it." Pinkie said.

As the three fillies pranced out of the kitchen into the dining room, Pinkie started pulling out supplies to make some food. Even if she didn't know the secret ingredient, Pinkie could still make some nice, yummy cupcakes for the fillies.

Then, while trying to open a bag of flour with a knife, the pink mare accidentally cut herself. Blood dripped from her injured hoof.

Looking at the wound, a strange thought occurred to Pinkie Pie and she had a strange urge to see what it tasted like.

The pink pony looked around the room to see if there was anypony else in the room. With no one inside the room she licked up the red fluid with her tongue. It had a metallic taste but was surprisingly sweet.

As the pink mare started making some cupcakes for the three crusaders, she decided to try this new sweetener.

When Pinkie came into the dining room with her cupcakes, the three Cutie Mark Crusaders met her with beaming faces. They were kind of surprised to find that the cupcake's pink frosting had a strange metallic taste to it, but, not wanting to insult the party mare, they told her that they liked their cupcakes.

Pinkie was really excited. Had she found a new special ingredient to use in her pastries? As the party pony relished this, a morbid thought entered her mind. If blood could enhance the flavor, what was to say that skin and muscle tissue wouldn't either?

But where would she get such ingredients? He surely couldn't cut herself and feed her friends... could she?

Suddenly, an idea came to mind, "Maybe there is something in the basement that could help..."

As Pinkie looked around the basement, something in the corner of the room caught her eye. It was behind a shelf covered with other strange materials. These materials varied from jars filled with bizarre plants, to old toys, trinkets and dust covered books.

Walking behind the shelf Pinkie Pie was shocked to find herself looking at a pony skeleton. Examining the bones closer Pinkie recognized them to be the bones of a Pegasus.

Pinkie turned back to the shelf and saw that one of the items it contained was a book on pony anatomy.

"Well, if blood tastes sweet, then I wonder what other parts of a pony might go well in a cupcake."

Pinkie contemplated this as she read the book. As she read Pinkie was surprised to learn that blood and eggs shared a similar protein structure. Ideas on how such a thing could work started to form in her mind.

Darkness and Rainbows

Rainbow Dash was the first victim. Pinkie merely had to tell her she had found something cool in order to lure the rainbow-maned pony into the basement. Here, Pinkie smacked her friend in the back of the head with a rolling pin.

Pinkie wasn't sure why she had picked Rainbow Dash. Perhaps it was her athletic endurance or just her colorful mane. She would admit, it was a little weird to select her best friend to be part of this project, but, as she continued to think on it, it made more sense. The two of them had been great friends for a while; they had pulled pranks and even made jokes together. So, why should Rainbow Dash be the first?

When Rainbow Dash came to she found herself strapped to a table with her limbs spread wide apart.

"P...Pinkie?"

However, she wasn't able to stay awake long and soon found herself under the spell of the sand-mare.

The rainbow-maned mare did reawaken once her friend started cutting into her flesh.

She was awake long enough to see a large portion of her organs yanked out of her abdominal cavity and placed in a bowl for titration. However, due to the excruciating pain and blood loss, the rainbow-maned Pegasus lost consciousness as her friend dispassionately continued to remove her organs.

At one point Pinkie contemplated cutting off her friend's wings and cutie mark for a dress but decided against it for two reasons. First, she didn't have the time, and second, unlike Rarity, she wasn't a skilled tailor.

After mashing the innards Pinkie mixed them with some milk, salt, sugar, flour, and baking powder. Once the ingredients were mixed together, she broke in a few eggs and continued beating the mixture for a few more minutes before pouring the mixture into a cupcake pan.

Pinkie was about to take the cupcakes up to be baked when she heard another pony descending into the basement.

"Hey, Pinkie, whatcha doin'?" Applejack called out casually.

Oh no! Rainbow Dash's body was still out in plain sight! Pinkie Pie couldn't let Applejack see the body or she would be in really big trouble.

The pink mare rushed to the stairs, hoping to keep Applejack from getting a good view of their friend's remains.

"Hey, there Applejack," Pinkie said with a cheerful voice, "What do you want?"

"Just thought ya might like to know that Fluttershy and Twilight made us some dinner," Applejack replied.

"Okay, that's great." Pinkie cheerfully said, trying not to sound nervous.

"Is somethin' wrong?" Applejack asked.

"Wrong? What do you mean?"

"You seem a little bit nervous, Pinkie," Applejack said, "what have you been doing down here?"

"Nothing. Nothing at all!"

Applejack stepped past her friend and walked into the basement. The orange mare was shocked when she saw the corpse of her pegasus friend.

"Pinkie, what have you...!"

Before Applejack could finish Pinkie Pie slammed her rolling pin against the back of the farm mare's head, knocking her unconscious.

Looking at her friend lying unconscious on the ground, Pinkie Pie started to wonder how cupcakes made from the orange mare's body would taste.

Despite her being unconscious, the farm mare's body stirred, compelling Pinkie to smack her a few more times in the head until she began to bleed.

With Applejack lying dead on the ground, the little pink pony got to work with her baking project.

We interrupt this program for a commercial break
No, this isn't a joke, this really is a commercial.

Dear ponies, have you ever had that irresistible urge to eat large quantities of cupcakes?

"YEAH!" yells some random background pony.

Well, then do we have the place for you! Come on down to Pinkamena's Bakery and Coffee shop, where the coffee is great and the cupcakes are to die for.

"That is totally right, formless announcer guy," Pinkamena spoke, "come on down and try some new pastries. This week's special is going to be: applicious."

Some flavors are limited so attend while limited supplies last. Side effects of eating too many cupcakes from Pinkamena's Bakery include the following:
-Diarrhea
-Vomiting
-Sudden shaking or shivering
-Twitchy eyes
-Slurred speech
-Fits of laughter
-An addiction to eat more cupcakes
-The sudden urge to kill your friends

Since you have been warned, Pinkamena's Bakery cannot be held responsible if you experience any of the aforementioned side effects.

End of transmission.

Let the Stabbing Begin!

"Hello Twilight." Fluttershy said, as the unicorn entered into the dining room.

"Hey girls!" Twilight said, as she sat down at the table, "look what I found in my room."

Using her magic Twilight pulled out a rusty silver key and set it on the table. A folded piece of paper was attached to the key by a string.

"What do you think it is for?" Rarity inquired.

"I'm not sure." Twilight answered, "It doesn't seem to match any of the locks I have seen around the house."

"What does the folded piece of paper say?" Rarity asked.

"It says something about the going past the basement but that is all," Twilight answered, "not anything very helpful."

"Maybe it is for a jewelry box." Fluttershy suggested.

"I don't think so darling," Rarity replied, "most jewelry box keys are smaller then that. However it could be for a chest. *Huh!* with jewels in it!"

"Maybe. Perhaps Applejack has an idea what it could be for." Twilight said.

"Speaking of which, where is Applejack?" Rarity asked.

"I'm not sure." Twilight replied, "last time I saw her, she went off to tell Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie that we were about to have dinner."

"She has been gone an awfully long time," Rarity said, "and I am simply famished."

"Well, how about you go ahead and start eating, then," Twilight answered, "I'll go see what's keeping them."

"Maybe I should go with you." Fluttershy said.

"No, Fluttershy," Twilight answered, "you should stay here and eat something."

Out of the whole group, Fluttershy was the smallest in stature, so Twilight didn't wish to risk Fluttershy's health by having her starve any longer.

"I'll go with you." Spike said, "I had a snack earlier, so I am not too hungry."

"Alright, come with me."

Twilight and her trusty assistant looked around the house for their friends. While they had no luck finding Rainbow Dash or Applejack, they were successful in finding Pinkie Pie when they checked her room. She seemed to be busy doing something.

"Pinkie, have you seen Rainbow Dash or Applejack?" Twilight asked.

"Why?" Pinkie asked, not turning to look at her friend.

"Well, we are all hungry, and we figured they would be too." Twilight answered.

"Oh," Pinkie spoke, "they won't be joining us..."

"W...Why no..."

Before Twilight could finish speaking Pinkie, bounced at her and jabbed a knife at the lavender unicorn. The knife punctured one of Twilight's lungs, causing her to cough up some blood.

"Spike... RUN!" Twilight sputtered. However, before the little dragon could even leave the room, Pinkie threw another knife at the dragon, penetrating the back of his skull. Spike was dead before his body hit the ground.

"No!" Twilight called out, coughing up more blood as Pinkie pulled the blade from the unicorn's side.

Pinkie shoved Twilight against the wall; due to the loss of blood the mare wasn't able to resist.

"Why... why are you... doing this Pinkie?" Twilight tried to ask between coughs, as she fought to remain awake. In mere seconds Twilight lost the battle and fell unconscious.

"Oh, you silly," Pinkie giggled, "there is no reason for me to answer your question if you're asleep."

Cautiously Pinkie managed to sneak both Twilight and Spike's body down to the basement.

With Twilight incapacitated, Pinkie Pie cut off her horn so that she couldn't use her magic if she woke up. Perhaps it could be ground up and be used like sprinkles on one of the cupcakes...

As for Spike, his scales could add an interesting flavor to the cupcakes as well. She would admit, she thought it would take more than a knife to pierce his hide and skull, but, then again, he was a baby dragon, so perhaps his scales hadn't fully hardened yet.

"Maybe I could grind his scales to make some green and purple frosting," Pinkie said with a pensive grin, "but I should test it first. Wouldn't want to chip a tooth or anything!"

Spike's eyes were rather interesting. They weren't like a normal ponies' eyes but rather more serpentine yet somehow still innocent-looking. Pinkie didn't think they would be any good in a pastry, but perhaps, she could make a necklace with one of them.

Taking another look at Twilight's body, she noticed that she had a note and a rusty key with her.

"Hmmm... I wonder what this says." Pinkie said, picking up the note and reading it, ignoring the key.

Most of the note appeared water-damaged with only a few legible sections.

"As I was looking around in one of the closets, I found an old book that described events similar to the infamous Black Trance event. When I return to Marehall College I should try to see if I can find other documents referring to similar events in the historical department."

This rest of the note was damaged very badly. The only thing that was otherwise discernible was a signature at the bottom of the page.

"-Lakin Spotson"

"Oh, who cares! I have cupcakes to make!"

Pinkie shook her head and picked up Twilight's body and began to work on another batch of cupcakes.

A Sight to behold...

"Hey, Rarity can I show you something?" Pinkie asked.

Rarity was sitting on the couch in the living room, relaxing while her sister and her two filly friends played outside.

"What is it, dear?"

"There is something I would like to show you in the basement." Pinkie answered.

"What kind of thing would you want to show me down there?" Rarity said with a slight scowl on her face.

"Applejack, Rainbow Dash and I have been working on something down in the basement. We thought you might like it."

"Well, in that case I might as well go then," Rarity answered, "after all, I have been curious what Applejack and Rainbow Dash have been up to."

Pinkie and Rarity descended into the basement.

"It is dreadfully dark down here," Rarity spoke, "could we adjust the lights?"

"There is a switch at the bottom of the steps." Pinkie said, "We had to turn off the lights so we wouldn't spoil the surprise."

"Oh, alright then."

As they continued down into the basement, the pungent scent of something metallic filled Rarity's nostrils. The strange scent made her feel uncomfortable, but Rarity continued her descent, curious as to what the gift was.

Reaching the bottom of the steps, Pinkie walked over to the side and held her hoof over the light-switch.

"Alrighty, time for the big reveal." Pinkie said as she flipped the switch.

Rarity gasped at what she saw.

Before her was a table with tea and cupcakes on top. Seated at the chairs around the table were three pony skeletons. One of a pegasus, one a unicorn and the other an earth pony. They were positioned in such a way that they appeared to be enjoying their tea and pastries.

Next to the skeleton of the unicorn lay the remains of a certain purple dragon.

"Pinkie, what have you...?!" Before Rarity could finish her question, she felt a sharp blade cut across her throat. Red fluid spurted from her throat, staining the ground beneath her hooves. Rarity wobbled from the ghastly sight.

The red puddle splattered as Rarity's corpse fell to the ground. The once beautiful white fur was now stained crimson from the mare's own blood. Pinkie leaned down to examine the body.

"I wonder, what I should do with you?" Pinkie Pie thought aloud.

After a few seconds an idea popped into Pinkie's head.

"I shouldn't just make cupcakes. No, I should throw a big party!"

This thought pleased Pinkie. Everyone was going to have SOOO much fun.

"I just need to set up some streamers... oh, and no party is complete without a few games! OH! This is going to be AWESOME!" She nudged the pegasus skeleton but, without noticing the skeleton falling over, asked, “Don’t you think?” and ignored the crash of bones against the floor.

Pinkie returned her attention to Rarity's body, with even more ideas on what she could do for party games dawning to her.

"Don't worry, Rarity, I know exactly what I am going to do with you."

Hey, look what I found!

Fluttershy watched from a window as the three fillies played outside in the backyard. They looked like they were having so much fun.

Looking over at the shed, Fluttershy felt uncomfortable. It was as if she had had some dark memories about it, but, whatever those memories were, she couldn't grasp them.

Feeling somewhat tired, Fluttershy decided to go to the living room to rest on the couch.

"Some sleep wouldn't be too bad." Fluttershy said, "Considering how Angel bunny kept me up last night."

Fluttershy made her way to the living room via the dining room.

"Hey, Fluttershy," Pinkie called out, "look at me!"

Having stepped out of the dining room into the hallway, Fluttershy was caught by surprise by Pinkie Pie who was wearing a white and red mask.

*Huh!*

However, further inspection of the mask revealed to Fluttershy that it was, in fact, not a mask but the flesh of a pony's face. The skin of the face had been stretched, and it featured red stains around where the eyes and mouth should've been.

Pinkie pulled off the mask; Pinkie’s face had drops of blood from where the mask had been. "Ewww... while that was kind of fun, this thing REALLY stinks."

A few drops of blood stained Pinkie's face where the mask had been.

Fluttershy gawked at Pinkie, too astonished to react outwardly.

"No! This isn't good! This isn't good at all!" Fluttershy yelled inside her head.

"What is the matter, Fluttershy?" Pinkie asked, "Is something wrong with the way I look?"

"I need to get away!"

Fluttershy started to move back to the door to the dining room.

"Oh, don't run away Fluttershy!" Pinkie Pie spoke, "It isn't fair to your friends to back out on all the fun."

Pinkie ran toward Fluttershy, her knife ready to strike, but she slipped, and the knife slid across the floor... to Fluttershy's hooves. The yellow pegasus took up the knife and held it in front of her.

"Nopony hurts Fluttershy's friends!" The yellow pegasus burst out with the knife in her mouth.

Achievement Unlocked - Karma is a Pain in the Ass!

The pink mare saw that Fluttershy had not noticed the achievement pop up, so she seized the opportunity and grabbed the achievement. She then proceeded to bludgeon Fluttershy's head in with the achievement.

It wasn't until the sound of bones cracking was replaced with fleshy sounds that Pinkie stopped beating her friend's head to pieces.

With that finished Pinkie began her preparations for her last batch of cupcakes.

Where art thou...

The Cutie Mark Crusaders had come back into the house from their playing and were puzzled at the absence of their chaperones.

"Rarity!" Sweetie Belle yelled.

"Hey, sis, where are you?" Apple Bloom called out.

"Where do you think they are?" Scootaloo asked.

"I'm not sure." Apple Bloom said.

Almost completely out of nowhere, Pinkie Pie appeared before the three fillies.

"Hey, girls!" Pinkie spoke to the Cutie Mark Crusaders with overwhelming eagerness, "would you like to try these cupcakes I just made?"

On the table next to Pinkie was a silver tray with three cupcakes sitting on top. They were yellow with butterflies glazed onto them with frosting.

"Thanks, Pinkie, but we are looking fer our sisters." Apple Bloom said.

"Oh, come on, Apple Bloom, we can get to them later," Scootaloo spoke, "we have been running around playing all day. Some cupcakes would be great."

"Yeah, I wouldn't mind having one." Sweetie Belle agreed.

Apple Bloom merely watched as Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle started eating their cupcakes. Something about this felt off to Apple Bloom.

"Are you sure you don't want a cupcake?" Pinkie asked.

"I'm fine." Apple Bloom answered.

"These are some great cupcakes." Sweetie Belle remarked.

"Yeah, they're great!" Scootaloo spoke.

"I am glad you think so." Pinkie Pie said.

Suddenly, Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle fell to the floor, sound asleep.

"Wha... What?" Apple Bloom said.

"You know, Apple Bloom, you really should have taken the cupcake."

A sharp pain throbbed in the back of Apple Bloom's head before she, too, fell to the floor and drifted into unconsciousness.

The Death of the Party

The three fillies woke up to find themselves bound to some wooden chairs in the dining room. The room was arranged like one of Pinkie's parties, except for some gruesome differences. Streamers lined the walls, but instead of being made out of colorful paper they were the lining on some unfortunate ponies' intestines.

Pinkie could be heard humming a song somewhere from within the kitchen.

The back of Apple Bloom's head throbbed from where Pinkie Pie had hit her. Apple Bloom couldn't remember what she had been struck with, but she was certain it had been made of wood.

In vain, the Cutie Mark Crusaders tried to break free of their bonds; however, all their efforts merely resulted in chafed limbs. Sweetie Belle tried using her magic to untie the bonds but Pinkie had tied them very tight and the little unicorn's magic wasn't very skilled.

Then, the kitchen doors burst open with a humming Pinkie Pie walking, in pushing a cart with various pastries on it. Like before, the pink pony's hair hung low, except now it seemed longer and the pupils of her eyes much smaller.

A long, silver chain with a green serpentine eye attached hung around Pinkie's neck .

"Hi, there kids," Pinkie said as she walked by each of them and placed a pastry on the plates in front of them. Each of the cupcakes seemed to specifically customized for the fillies they sat before.

Scootaloo's cupcake was blue with a rainbow pattern on it; Apple Bloom's cupcake was green and orange; and Sweetie Bell's cupcake was white with some blue sprinkles on top.

"So, what do you think?" Pinkie Pie asked them, "don't they look great?"

"Pinkie Pie, could you please let us go?" Scootaloo asked.

"Sure, Scootaloo," the deranged Pinkie Pie answered, "right after all of you eat your cupcakes. Then we can play a few games, like hide and seek as well as Whack the piñata."

"Piñata?" Apple Bloom inquired.

"Why, yes," Pinkie said as she moved the lights to reveal the piñata to the young fillies. "You take turns whacking it with a large stick until it burst."

The "piñata" was the gutted corpse of a white unicorn suspended above the ground by a long rope around her neck. The unicorn's face was missing.

Sweetie Belle started to cry, and so did the other two fillies upon realizing that the piñata was Sweetie Bell's older sister Rarity.

"Now, now, don't be sad," the pink pony spoke tenderly, "this is a party. Everyone is supposed to be happy at parties."

"How are we supposed to be happy?!" Scootaloo rebutted. "You killed everyone!"

Pinkie Pie's smile disappeared and her right eye began to twitch sporadically.

"You aren't eating your meal" the pink pony noted. "You know, when Pinkamena didn't eat what was given to her, her parents forced her to eat what was on her plate before leaving the table. Now, I have some games set up for us to play, so you better start eating!"

Suddenly, Pinkamena forced Scootaloo's mouth open and shoved the rainbow colored cupcake into the orange filly's mouth. To Scootaloo, the cupcake was sweet with a metallic aftertaste. It was revolting.

The young filly tried to spit it out, but Pinkamena held Scootaloo's mouth closed.

"No! No! No! You are going to chew your meal and swallow! Understand?"

In spite of her attempts to avoid swallowing, holding the sickeningly sweet taste in her mouth nauseated her. She just wished she would wash her mouth clean of the taste. Eventually, Scootaloo relented, shamefully swallowing the cupcake that was stuffed in her mouth.

"Aw... now that is a good little filly." Pinkie said, patting Scootaloo on the head before turning to Sweetie Belle. "Now it is your turn."

She repeated the task with Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom, forcing them to eat the cupcakes that had been placed in front of them. The three fillies were left gagging.

"There, was that so hard?"

The three fillies coughed and retched, but the pink mare didn't seem to notice.

"Now it is time to play some games." Pinkie cut the ropes that bound the fillies to their chairs.

"So, who would like to step up and hit the piñata first?"

Hearing this, Sweetie Belle began to cry.

"Very well, then..." Pinkie turned and grabbed a knife. "Perhaps we should play a game of hide and seek, then. All three of you hide and I will..."

The pink mare turned around and saw that three filly's had already run off.

"Okay, then I will start counting." Pinkie giggled as she turned around and closed her eyes, "Ten... Nine... Eight... Seven... Six... Five... Four... Three... Two... One! READY OR NOT HERE I COME!!!"

After a few minutes of searching, the pink mare found Scootaloo hiding in the supply closet on the first floor.

"Heh. Heh. There you are." Pinkie said, giggling to herself.

The young filly tried putting up a fight as Pinkie attempted to pull her out of the closet. It was all fun and games until Scootaloo started biting the pink mare. Annoyed, Pinkie stabbed the filly a few times with her knife. The pink pony was pleased once the orange filly stopped moving.

Next, Pinkie found Sweetie Belle hiding in the upstairs bathroom in the bathtub. Her blood flowed beautifully with her tears down the drain. Almost like a minty swirl, Pinkie noted.

That meant that only Apple Bloom was left.

"COME OUT COME OUT WHEREVER YOU ARE!" Pinkie called out as she looked around the house for the little filly.

Pinkie checked the bed rooms, looking under the beds to see if Apple Bloom was hiding underneath. With no success, Pinkie moved her search to the living room.

Hunting is SO much fun!

Apple Bloom was hiding behind one of the curtains by one of the living room windows, when she heard Pinkie come into the living room.

"HERE BLOOMY! BLOOMY! BLOOMY!" Pinkie called out, "HERE BLOOMY! BLOOMY! BLOOMY!"

The little filly held her breath, trying to be quiet. Not a single muscle dared move.

"Hmmm... I wonder, where she could be?" Pinkie Pie said as she stalked about the living room.

The room became silent as a door opened and closed somewhere in the house. Apple Bloom allowed herself to breathe silently for a few more minutes.

'I think she is gone.' Apple Bloom thought as she filled her lungs to catch her breath.

Suddenly, a sharp pain erupted in the filly's chest as something shiny pierced the curtain and stabbed her. Apple Bloom fell forward, and the curtain came with her and to top it off from the curtain rod above crashed down on top of her.

Pinkie leaned forward, putting her mouth next to the ear of the dying filly.

"Found you!"

What have you done?

“Wow isn’t this great!” Pinkie Pie said, “The only thing that could make this better, would be if we had some chocolate rain too!”

As Pinkie looked down at the ground, she saw a scrap of paper. The pink mare picked it up.

Could this be it? Could this be that piece of paper with the secret ingredient to those wonderful cupcakes?

Pinkie Pie looked at the paper and read what it said.

Love.

The secret ingredient for the cupcakes... was love.

At this the pink pony's hair deflated and flattened against her form.

Pinkamena wept for her friends. Why had she done this terrible thing? The book! The cook book must have had something to do with it. After all, she hadn't had this desire until she came across that book.

Who wrote the book, and why had they written it? Did they know this would happen? No, that couldn't be right. Clearly, it had been a genuine cook book. However, maybe the piece of paper had been torn out intentionally.

Overcome with grief, Pinkamena descended back into the dark basement. Perhaps there was something there she could use to take her own life.

She looked around the basement and saw a gasoline can. While she wished for death, she wasn't fond of the idea of lighting herself on fire, not that she felt she deserved any better.

Feeling the necklace around her neck with Spike's eye attached, Pinkamena pulled it off and crushed the disgusting thing under her hoof.

As Pinkamena morosely looked around the room, she noticed something about the dumbwaiter she hadn't noticed before: beside the buttons was a key hole.

This reminded Pinkamena of the key Twilight had discovered. Perhaps that key would fit in this lock. The pink pony didn't know why, but she felt a need to know what the key did.

After going upstairs and retrieving the key from Twilight's corpse, Pinkamena caught a shape outside the window. She turned to look at it but the shape was gone. The only impression she had of it was its outline. It was shaped like a pony with a large circular disk in its head.

She could also see what appeared to be spotlights moving outside in the forest. Had some pony heard the screams and called for the police? All Pinkamena knew was that if she wanted to solve this mystery she would have to avoid capture at all cost.

With the key in her possession, Pinkamena returned to the basement.

Pinkamena inspected the key and noticed the note that was attached to the key, which said, Descend Past the Basement to the Depths Below.

The pink pony put the key into the slot and turned it; the button to go down lit up. Pinkamena crawled into the dumbwaiter and pushed the button. Seconds later, she was descending into the uncharted darkness below.

As she descended, Pinkamena thought she heard something come in through the front door of the house. Continuing the descent Pinkamena noticed a few clear rooms with strange torture devices and surgical equipment inside.

Inside one room Pinkamena saw a strange creature. It resembled a pony, except the fur of its mane, coat, and tail was long and hung low to the ground on account of the sloughs of dirt and grime that clung to each hair like glue. The creature used to be a Pegasus but now it’s long, mud-covered wings wormed into large claws. Where the creature would have had lips there was now only raw flesh with large yellow teeth sticking out of bright red gums. Its yellow, soulless eyes glowed as the creature glared back at Pinkamena from the murk.

The creature roared at Pinkamena as the elevator continued to descend, its enraged cries reverberated off the surrounding metal and concrete framework.

The elevator came to a sudden stop.

"I don't believe you are supposed to be here!" spoke a voice over a hidden speaker.

Suddenly the room began to fill with green smoke causing Pinkamena to cough vigorously, before she fell unconscious.

A Note from Artemis Featherclaw

At first I was reluctant to come to Muleport, but after I heard that the populace of the local animals had started disappearing, I felt compelled to investigate it. Thus when Silver Screen said he was going with a few friends to explore the cabin in Muleport I decided to follow along and see if I could discover what was happening to the animals.

I met Silver Screen a few months ago in Ponyville. Apparently he had tried escaping from a bad date when he bumped into me outside the restaurant! Shortly afterwards, he and I became friends. He is a nice stallion, but until he sheds his habitual self-deprecation, he probably won’t find anyone to live the rest of his life with.

Silver Screen arranged for us all to meet up in Muleport, which is where I met the others. It seemed that Shifting Winds and Lakin Spotson were also eager to uncover the mysteries of the cabin.

When we arrived at the cabin it reminded me a lot of the cabin I grew up in, back when I was a foal, back when my parents were still alive… before the snow tigers came and took them away from me. It reminded me of the ranger Forest Wing, who took me under his wing and raised me, back when he was still alive.

Still, I need to keep my mind on the objective. I need to find out what is causing these animals to disappear. I am worried something could be terribly amiss.

Until I find something I will have to play along with the rest of the group. I have overheard some discussions indicating that most of the ponies here are looking for a treasure left behind by the previous owners. Well, unless this treasure is somehow responsible for the disappearance of these animals, I truly couldn't care less. It is theirs if they want it so badly.

Death by Chocolate

Pinkamena awoke to find herself in a cylindrical glass container. As she had woken up in a sitting position in the glass tube, she discovered her confines were quite cramped. Outside of the tube in front of her stood a familiar face.

"Aw..." The Smiling Stallion spoke, "Glad to see that you are finally awake."

"Let me out of here!" Pinkamena growled, "I am going to kill you for what you made me do to my friends!"

The Smiling Stallion merely smiled as he looked down at the pink pony.

"Oh, I can't let you do that," The Smiling Stallion said, "It would defeat the whole point behind this event. Besides, you should be grateful."

"GRATEFUL!" Pinkamena yelled, "GRATEFUL FOR WHAT?!"

"Well, for one, I didn't eat you," The Smiling Stallion said, his grin widening and a large slit splitting down his forehead, revealing large, sharp teeth. "However, doing so would make the 'Reset' nearly impossible. I mean, it could be done, but then your party-loving self would cease to exist."

The Smiling Stallion laughed, and as he did the vertical slit on his forehead quivered, giving Pinkamena a good view of the teeth behind. A shiver went down the pink pony's spine. Then, the slit closed up and disappeared.

"So, rather than eat you I decided to off you differently," As he said this, the Smiling Stallion pulled a switch, "I know how much you love chocolate rain."

Pinkamena felt something wet drip down her face. The pink mare looked up to see at the top of the tube a shower faucet with a strange brown liquid dripping out. A drop fell into Pinkamena's mouth. It tasted of dark chocolate.

"Now, I know drowning isn't the best way to die," The Smiling Stallion conceded, "but it certainly beats being eaten alive."

As the chocolate shower continued to flow, the Smiling Stallion motioned to somepony in the corner. A pale-blue mare with a straight, black mane stepped forward, pushing a cart with a television on it. Once the screen was in Pinkamena's line of sight, the Smiling Stallion turned it on. Images of her friends flashed on the screen: images of all of them having fun before they had come to the forsaken mansion.

"I figure the least I can do is reunite you with your friends in your final moments." The Smiling Stallion said before he and the pale-blue mare left the room.

Tears fell from Pinkamena's eyes as she watched. How had it come to this? Why had it come to this? The pink pony wept there as the container she was in filled with chocolate milk. In five minutes she was dead, suspended in a tube of sweet milk and bitter tears.

[Eye] Be careful what you wish for...

The Wheel Rolled to the Eye!

"The eye. Now this is a fun one." The Smiling Stallion said.

The Stallion was going to explain when suddenly door slammed open and Robipony walked into the room. Sky Blazer looked annoyed at the newcomer while the Smiling Stallion's grin widened.

"Hey, guess what!" Robipony said, as he entered; however, before the other two could reply, he answered his own question, "I was able to finish my work, so now I can watch the event!"

"That's great!" The Smiling Stallion said, as he walked over to the newcomer, "I was just about to explain to Sky Blazer how the current event works."

Robipony took a seat on another chair that watched the array of televisions. "Then explain away. Don't let my arrival interrupt you."

After clearing his throat the Smiling Stallion spoke, "When the wheel rolls the eye, an interesting event occurs. If all the participants have a Cutie Mark, then one of them is picked to bear the 'Nightmare Mark'. If, however, one of them lacks a Cutie Mark, then the one without one will be selected to bear the mark. Those around the mark-bearer will suffer from various phenomena such as: unexplainable injuries, hallucinations, paranoia, and other strange maladies. As the 'Nightmare Mark' continues to grow, the more drastic the effects of the mark will become."

Sky Blazer raised her hoof, "What if there is more than one pony who doesn't have a Cutie Mark?"

"Well, then one of them will be picked randomly to bear the mark." The Smiling Stallion replied.

Looking for Treasure

"Hey, did any of you read that plaque?" Scootaloo spoke.

"No, why?" Sweetie Bell asked.

"Well, it mentioned something about treasure on it." Scootaloo said.

"So?" Apple Bloom asked.

"So, if we find that treasure we could be rich!" Scootaloo replied.

"Oh, and perhaps, if we find it, maybe we will find our Cutie Marks, too." Sweetie Belle ventured.

"Yeah! That's a great idea!" Apple Bloom spoke.

"CUTIE MARK CRUSADERS: TREASURE HUNTERS!" The three fillies yelled simultaneously.

The three fillies ran around the house looking for clues as to the location of the treasure. However, when this proved to be unsuccessful, they decided to take a look outside.

As they were about to go outside, Fluttershy came in. She advised them not to go into the shed since there were potentially dangerous objects in there.

While they were outside, they looked around the backyard for any clues. However, after not finding anything they decided to look for a shovel, for they would need it if they did discover where the treasure was.

"Where do you think we could find a shovel?" Scootaloo asked.

"How about in that shed?" Apple Bloom suggested.

"Are you sure it is safe in there?" Sweetie Belle asked.

"It should be fine as long as we don't knock anything over." Scootaloo answered.

With that, the three fillies walked into the shed and started looking around.

"Maybe there is a secret compartment in the floor." Apple Bloom said as she started tapping her hoof against the ground. Scouring the floor proved to be a fruitless endeavor.

"There could also be poisonous spiders in here." Sweetie Belle said, while eyeing some of the cobwebs.

"Oh don't be such a chicken." Apple Bloom spoke.

"Perhaps something in here serves as a secret lever." With that said, the fillies began tapping anything that faintly looked like it could be used as a lever.

Despite not finding anything the Cutie Mark Crusaders were having a fun time, until Scootaloo suddenly was overcome with a feeling of illness.

"Ugh!" Scootaloo held her belly.

"Scootaloo? Are you okay?" Apple Bloom asked.

"No I'm not." Scootaloo replied.

"Maybe you should go lie down." Sweetie Belle suggested.

"Yeah, I think I will." Scootaloo said as she staggered out of the shed back into the house.

Once she was in her room, Scootaloo curled up underneath her bed sheets. She felt terrible, like as if there was something stabbing her insides.

The pain was so bad that Scootaloo dry heaved a few times. After a few minutes the pain lessened enough for the poor filly was able to fall asleep.

The Fire in His Eye!

Scootaloo found herself walking in some strange dark void. What was going on? How did she get here?

Then the laughing started. Something else was in here with her and it was enjoying itself.

"Who... who's there?" Scootaloo asked. Was the laughter coming from another direction?

"Hello!" A voice said as a bright blue light illuminated the darkness, startling Scootaloo.

As Scootaloo's eyes adjusted to the bright light, she saw its source was a rather bizarre creature. It resembled a glowing blue die; however, the number of sides it had would change. Sometimes it would have as many as twelve sides and at other times only four. On each side it had one eye with black, smokey tentacles sprouting from the angles where the die's sides met.

"It is a pleasure to meet you." The blue dice creature spoke, "I am Jim Gates, and I am here to let you know about the opportunity you have been given."

"Jim Gates?" Scootaloo gave Jim a strange look, "That doesn't sound like any pony name I have heard."

"Whether my name is a pony name or not isn't the point," Jim replied, "The point is that..."

"Is it a pony name?" Scootaloo interrupted.

"No, it isn't," Jim spoke, "Now, if you would listen to me, I have a very important opportunity for you."

"Opportunity?" Scootaloo asked.

"Yes," Jim replied, looking at the little filly with a single yellow eye, "your wish is about to come true."

"What wish?"

"Why, to have a Cutie Mark, of course."

"REALLY? You are going to give me a Cutie Mark?" Scootaloo asked excitedly.

"Isn't that what I just said, little pony?" Jim replied; as he did, plumes of black smoke began to swirl around the orange filly.

"So... that is it? You are just going to give me a Cutie Mark?" Scootaloo asked, "What is the catch?"

"Don't worry, my little pony," Jim answered, "The price for your Cutie Mark has already been paid."

The black smoke crawled closer to Scootaloo. Other than the creepy smoke, Scootaloo was really excited by this development. No longer would she be made fun of by the other fillies at school.

"GREAT!" Scootaloo said, "So what kind of Cutie Mark will it be?"

"Oh, you will just have to wait and see." Jim answered with a hint of malice in his voice.

With that, the world went dark around Scootaloo and she saw no more.

What a Surprise!

Scootaloo woke up from the strange dream. She couldn't really remember what had happened, just that she had talked to some strange floating shape and that there was lots of smoke.

Despite having that bizarre dream, Scootaloo felt well rested. In fact, she had forgotten that she had been feeling ill earlier.

The little filly jumped out of bed and went looking for her friends. Scootaloo found them in the recreation room.

Her friends turned to smile at her but suddenly stopped and started staring at her.

"Uh... what's wrong?" Scootaloo asked, "Why are you guys looking at me funny?"

Sweetie Belle was the first to speak, "Didn't you notice?"

"Notice what?"

"That you have a Cutie Mark now." Sweetie Belle said, pointing at Scootaloo's flank.

Scootaloo looked down at her flank in confusion and was shocked to see that there was indeed a Cutie Mark there.

"So it really did happen." Scootaloo said aloud as memories of her dream returned to her.

"What?"

"Oh nothing." Scootaloo spoke, "So what do you both think?"

"It's great!" Sweetie Belle said.

"Yeah... great." Apple Bloom said, with a hint of jealousy in her voice.

"How did you get it?" Sweetie Belle asked.

Scootaloo paused. She wasn't sure the two of them would believe her if she told them that a strange creature had given her the Cutie Mark in her dream. They would probably say she was crazy or worse: weird. After all, who ever heard of a pony finding their Cutie Mark in a dream?

"I don't really know." Scootaloo answered, "I wasn't feeling well, so I went to sleep, and I didn't even know I had it until I saw you guys just now."

Apple Bloom suspiciously cocked an eyebrow. Scootaloo squirmed a little. After all, it wasn't a complete lie.

"Well, at least now you have your Cutie Mark." Sweetie Belle said, "And if you found yours, then Apple Bloom and I are sure to find ours soon."

"But what is it for?" Scootaloo asked, looking back at her Cutie Mark. The Cutie Mark was the image of six balls of blue flame standing in a circular formation.

"I don't know," Sweetie Bell said, "maybe we should ask Twilight. She may have a good idea what it is for."

Scootaloo looked back at the cutie mark. Something about it seemed off.

"I suppose that would be a good idea."

Doubting the motives of Rabbits

The six older mares sat around the dining room table, discussing their plans for this upcoming Nightmare Night.

Fluttershy told the others she probably wouldn't participate in the holiday as she had some bad memories associated with it. Most of Fluttershy's friends were polite enough not to invade her privacy with the exception being Pinkie Pie, who kept trying to ask Fluttershy what had happened. However, Pinkie did stop when Rarity intentionally changed the topic to the creation of Nightmare Night treats.

Rainbow Dash talked about her plans to prank all the ponies in Ponyville.

"You aren't planning on hurting anypony, are you, sugarcube?" Applejack said disapprovingly.

"Of course not." Rainbow Dash answered, "I am just going to have some fun."

Rainbow Dash let out a menacing laugh, which made Fluttershy cringe.

"So, Pinkie dear, what do you plan to dress up as for Nightmare Night?" Rarity asked.

Pinkie smiled, "I'm going to be a rooster!"

"Don't you mean a chicken?" Twilight asked.

"No, a rooster." Pinkie replied while squinting her eyes at the other confused mares.

"Pinkie, you do know that a rooster is a male chicken right?" Applejack inquired.

It was a few seconds later that the realization hit Pinkie. "Oh, right! Yeah, I was just... kidding with you all! Of course, I know a rooster is a male chicken. You're so silly!"

"Sure you knew." Rarity mumbled under her breath.

"What was that?"

"Oh, nothing dear." Rarity replied nervously.

It was then that the Cutie Mark Crusaders entered the room.

"Why, hello, girls," Applejack spoke, "How are... why, Scootaloo, it looks like you found your Cutie Mark!"

All eyes were on Scootaloo.

"Uh... yeah." Scootaloo said, putting a hoof behind her head nervously.

Rainbow Dash flew over and examined Scootaloo's Cutie Mark, "That is a pretty cool Cutie Mark kid!"

"You really think so?"

The fact that Rainbow Dash had thought that her Cutie Mark was cool, made Scootaloo very happy.

Fluttershy was feeling proud of Scootaloo's fortune of finding her Cutie Mark, when suddenly she lost her balance and fell backwards onto the floor.

"Oh dear."

"Hey, Fluttershy are you okay?"

Fluttershy looked around to try to find her friends. However none of them were around. Instead, large rabbits looked down at her, their red, menacing eyes dwarfed by their large smiles. Large blue horns stretched from their furry heads, and their claws were a purplish black.

A purple bunny stepped forward, "What a cute little pony."

"Yes, she does look nice." A blue bunny spoke.

"Let's eat her!" The pink bunny said, its grin widening.

What?

"Yes, she does look delicious, doesn't she?" An orange bunny said as it hopped over to them.

No.

"How should we cook her?" The purple bunny asked.

"We could grind her up for some sort of frosting to put on a pastry." The pink bunny suggested.

"Why not put her in the oven?" The orange bunny suggested.

No!

"That isn't a bad idea." The purple bunny said.

"Let's do it!" The blue bunny spoke up.

"Yes, indeed." said the white bunny.

NO!!!

Fluttershy jumped off the floor. Her panicked eyes darting back and forth between the other ponies.

"What's wrong Fluttershy?" Twilight asked.

Panicking, Fluttershy ran out of the room, crying as she went.

"Fluttershy, wait!" Rainbow Dash called out.

"Where do ya think she is going?" Applejack said.

"I don't know, but somepony should go after her!" Rainbow Dash said.

"I'll do it, dear." Rarity said as she left the room.

"I'm kind of tired," Pinkie yawned, "but maybe later I will try to make us all some cupcakes!"

Upon hearing this Rainbow Dash's ears drooped; however, if anypony noticed, they didn't mention it. Nor did any of the ponies realize when Rainbow Dash started distancing herself from Pinkie Pie.

Cats Are Devilishly Clever

Fluttershy ran out the back door as fast as she could into the forest. Leaves and Twigs snapped and crackled under hoof as she ran. She had to run, to escape from those horrifying creatures. Where had those rabbits come from, and why did they want to eat her?

When she was certain that no one was following her, Fluttershy stopped to catch her breath.

"Why, hello there, little pony."

Hearing the voice, Fluttershy looked up to see a large cat sitting in a tree branch above her. It had striped gray fur with its ears folded forward. The cat watched Fluttershy with two large eyes, one that was bright yellow while the other was white and clearly blind. A large grin full of sharp, yellow teeth stretched across its face.

"Um... Hello." Fluttershy said nervously.

"It seems you have been running away from something." the cat said. "Is something the matter?"

"There were these bunnies and they... they wanted to... eat me! And worse, as it happened, all my friends suddenly disappeared, too!" Fluttershy sobbed.

"I see."

The cat stretched his back before jumping into a shadow, seconds later he emerged out of a shadow in the trunk of the tree, which elicited a squeak from Fluttershy.

"I think I know the solution to your problem." The gray cat said while licking his paw.

"You do?"

There was something strange about the cat's eyes. They seemed to be pulsing rhythmically.

"Indeed. You see, those rabbits are responsible for the disappearance of your friends. As long as those twisted bunnies are alive, your friends will remain trapped."

"If that is true, then what can I do?" Fluttershy asked.

"Isn't it obvious?" The smiling cat answered, "In order to save your friends, you must kill the rabbits!"

"K-kill? But... How would this bring them back, anyway?"

"It is kind of complicated," The smiling cat replied, "Let's just say these creatures who have disguised themselves as rabbits have locked away your friends, and unless they are all defeated, there is no way you would be able to get the key. Once all those creatures are dead, you will understand what I am talking about."

"Okay, but how would I do that?"

The cats smile widened. "Don't worry. I will give you something to make the task easier."

Almost out of thin air, a present appeared in the cat's large paw. It was a box covered in pink wrapping paper and tied shut with a green ribbon.

"Use this to kill the rabbits."

Fluttershy opened the present and examined its contents, "I'm not sure how this would help."

The cat walked into the shadow of the tree, and Fluttershy was startled when she saw the cat's body with the exception of its eyes and broad grin, disappear. Once more, the eyes seemed to throb in a rhythmic fashion.

"Don't worry, little pony. Once you put it on, you will know how to use it."

A Peculiar Mark

"Hey, Twilight?" Scootaloo asked.

"What do you need, Scootaloo?" Twilight replied.

"Well... I was wondering if you might know what my Cutie Mark is for."

Twilight examined Scootaloo's Cutie Mark with squinted eyes, "I am not quite sure. I would say it could be a magical Cutie Mark, but you're a Pegasus so that is unlikely. Do you have any idea how you earned your Cutie Mark?"

Scootaloo wasn't sure how to respond. Would Twilight believe that she had been given the Cutie Mark by a strange creature in a dream?

"I'm not sure." Scootaloo answered, "I woke up after feeling sick and discovered it."

"Well, then perhaps you should try to retrace your steps." Twilight spoke, "Perhaps you could discover what it was that helped you find your Cutie Mark."

"I guess that couldn't hurt." Scootaloo said before going out to the backyard.

Thinking back, Scootaloo had been hanging around the shed with her friends when she had the stomach ache that caused her to go to bed. Perhaps there was something out back in the shed that could enlighten her.

Despite her efforts, all Scootaloo couldn't find anything that could be a clue as to how she found her Cutie Mark. That could have explained why Jim had paid her a visit in her dreams. Scootaloo did manage to find an old note in the grass next to the shed; however, she put it back after finding the note difficult to read and went off to look for other clues.

Dreams of Thrones

After what had happened with Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie had decided to go to her room and take a nap, and as she slept, she dreamed.

In her dream Pinkie Pie found herself standing on a frozen lake. In front of her was a tree branch stretching out of the ice. The bark of the branch was bleached a light gray due to many years of sun exposure. The branch and the twigs sprouting from it were shaped in a manner that it could be used as a seat.

Sitting on the throne was a pink Pegasus with most of her body hidden behind her wings. It was as if she were using her wings as a curtain. Curious as to who this pony was, Pinkie Pie cheerfully trotted up to her.

"Hi, I'm Pinkie Pie," Pinkie introduced herself, "what is your name?"

The Pegasus pulled back her wings, and in response Pinkie's jaw dropped.

"Wha... what?"

Before Pinkie wasn't a Pegasus but an Alicorn. A bloodstained horn stretched out from the Alicorn's head. The Alicorn looked down at her with menacing blue eyes. While the Alicorn's presence was shocking, it was her appearance that unnerved Pinkie. For the Alicorn had the exact same Cutie Mark as she.

Suddenly, more details became apparent to the party pony. The Alicorn's mane was straight and covered one of her blue eyes. In her hooves the Alicorn held a butcher's cleaver.

Other details became apparent to Pinkie as she realized the branches the Alicorn was sitting on weren't wooden at all but rather a large bone. Looking around the lake, Pinkie saw lots of bones sticking out of the ice, including the bones of what appeared to be a giant alligator. In the distance Pinkie could see the silhouettes of other ponies who looked back at her with glowing yellow eyes. Kitchen knives stuck out of the side of their heads.

"This... this isn't a fun dream." Pinkie spoke, "Not fun at all."

As the pink Alicorn smiled wickedly at Pinkie Pie, a loud crunching sound could be heard. Pinkie looked down to see the ice below her give way, and she fell into the water. As she sank, Pinkie noticed something about the water around her. It was warm and it was bright red.

HELP ME! SOMEPONY HELP ME!

"Why would we want to do that?" A voice came from Pinkie's right.

Turning in the water, Pinkie came face-to-face with the skeleton of a Pegasus, who looked back at her with glowing yellow eyes.

"Indeed, why should we want to help you, darling?" Another voice spoke. Pinkie turned to see that it belonged to the skeleton of a unicorn.

"After all, you are the one responsible for this," said another unicorn skeleton who had appeared behind the first.

Pinkie Pie continued to sink, but soon she realized that she was nearing the bottom of the lake. Intestines reached up toward the light like seaweeds.

"No one loves you, Pinkie... nobody..."

The party mare jumped out of bed, horrified by the dream she had just had. Pinkie was dripping with sweat. What had she just experienced? It didn't feel like an ordinary nightmare.

Perhaps it would be a good idea if she talked to somepony about it.

Am I Really a Pony?

Sweetie Belle just felt wrong. Earlier today, Sweetie Belle had started to notice things about herself that she hadn't noticed before. Her limbs seemed to move in more of a jerking motion.

There had also been a few times she had noticed that her voice sounded more like a recording and less like her actual voice. Sometimes she heard static and feedback.

Her sight also seemed to be acting up. At times she would see a long white line moving from the top of her vision to the bottom before disappearing again.

"What is wrong with me?"

Maybe she was just imagining it. Perhaps it was normal for ponies to wonder if they were robots sometimes.

GET OUT OF MY HOUSE!

Rarity awoke with a start to find herself in a strange room. This was confusing. Rarity remembered going out to look for Fluttershy when she had felt something heavy hit the back of her head and the world around her went black. The walls were painted white with paintings of old stallions and fashionable mares hanging from the walls. In the center of the room was a desk with a bookshelf to the left. To the right of the desk was a mirror that had clearly seen better days.

Behind the desk was a large window with two potted plants sitting on both of its sides. Rarity tried looking outside the window, but it was so bright that she couldn't see anything except for white nothingness.

Random papers appeared to be strewn over the desk, covering it almost like a blanket. The only places not covered with papers were where a radio and what appeared to be a clock sat.

That clock must have been broken, for the digital numbers on it were stuck at 1:00.

Behind her was a door. Turning around, Rarity tried to open the door only to find that it was locked.

"HEY, YOU THERE!"

Rarity was surprised by the sound of somepony speaking through the radio.

"GET OUT OF MY HOUSE! NOW!"

"I am really sorry." Rarity spoke to the radio. "I didn't mean to trespass."

The room was silent for a few second before the voice spoke again.

"There is a mirror in the room... go over to it."

Rarity turned and looked at the mirror mounted on the wall. Slowly, she walked over to it.

"Man... you are one UGLY pony!" The pony on the other side of the radio said.

"Why, excuse me!" Rarity exclaimed. Insulted by the rude pony on the other side of the radio.

There was more silence before the voice spoke.

"Look, there is a key in this room. If you can get it, you can get out of this room, and I won't have to come in there and deal with you myself."

After the voice had finished speaking, the clock on the desk came to life, counting down.

0:59

With haste Rarity began to look around the room for the key. She checked the desk drawers, but all she found were some papers, and oddly enough, a tinderbox.

0:44

The white unicorn looked all over the bookshelf but found nothing. She even checked the book shelves to see if, perhaps, one of the books was a switch, like in some of those mystery novels she had read. Nothing.

0:32

Glancing around, her eye caught something shimmering on the bottom of one of the potted plants.

Rarity rushed over to the planter and picked up the gleaming object with her magic. It was a key ring with six keys attached to it.

"Wait which key is it?" Rarity asked.

"That isn't my concern, lady!"

0:21

Using her magic, Rarity began trying all the keys on the door.

0:15

"Oh come on!"

0:12

Rarity was about to try the last key when she accidentally dropped them.

"No. No. No. NO. NO!" Rarity panicked as she scrambled for the keys.

0:09

Picking up the keys, Rarity cycled through them again until she found the final key.

0:06

Pushing the key into the lock, Rarity turned it until she heard the satisfying click of the door being unlocked.

0:03

Hastily, Rarity opened the door and hurried to the other side.

0:01

Rarity slammed the door shut behind her and was surprised when she found herself outside of the woodshed.

"Wait a minute! How did I get out here?"

She couldn't explain it. Rarity had gone off to find Fluttershy when everything had gone black. The room she had woke up in looked like it should have belonged inside the house.

However, there was no way that room and the shed could have been connected. Rarity confirmed this when she opened the shed door, only to see the shed’s dust-covered interior. It was then that Rarity noticed that the key she had used had disappeared.

Puzzled, Rarity decided it might be a good idea to tell one of her friends what she had just experienced, so Rarity went back inside.

Rock, Paper, Insanity

Pinkie Pie was going to kill her; she just knew it. Rainbow Dash paced in a circle in her room. Ever since Pinkie talked about making some cupcakes, Rainbow Dash somehow knew of Pinkie's ill intentions. Once Scootaloo showed up with her new Cutie Mark and she saw the look on Pinkie's face, Rainbow Dash clearly discerned that the pink pony was up to something. That twisted smile was all she needed to know the pink mare's true nature.

The pink party pony was going to kill her, gut her, and make her an ingredient in some cupcakes, muffins or... something. Then, once she was out of the way, the others would follow.

Apple Bloom was also in on it. She didn't know how, but Rainbow Dash was certain that the young filly was a cohort of Pinkie's. An apprentice, perhaps. The little filly would do anything if she thought it would help her find her Cutie Mark.

But it didn't matter. Rainbow Dash wasn't going to let them kill her. She would do whatever she had to in order to survive. Determined to have a means to protect herself, Rainbow Dash made her way to the kitchen to find a knife that she could use in self-defense.

Rainbow Dash looked through the knife drawer until she found a decent knife that she could use with ease. After setting the knife on the counter, Rainbow Dash accidentally hit a pan knocking it into the kitchen sink making a loud clang. The sound was loud enough that it drew Pinkie Pie's attention.

"Hey, Rainbow Dash," Pinkie Pie yelled, "what are you doing?"

Caught off guard by the pink pony's sudden appearance, Rainbow Dash adjusted, preparing herself to fight. While Pinkie did notice her friend jump she didn't notice Rainbow Dash's defensive stance or the knife sitting on the counter.

"Dashie, what are you doing?" Pinkie Pie asked. While Pinkie's voice sounded unusually sad, Rainbow Dash was too paranoid to notice.

"Na...na...nothing." Rainbow Dash replied nervously.

Pinkie Pie slowly approached Rainbow Dash with a plaintive look on her face, "Can I talk to you about something?"

"Su... Sure." Rainbow Dash stuttered.

As the pink mare stepped closer to the Pegasus, Rainbow Dash seemed to retract. Pinkie didn't notice this as she was trying to think of a way to word her fears. Nor did she notice that Dash's hoof was sitting next to a kitchen knife on the counter.

"I... I had this dream."

Pinkie shuddered and lunged forward. She was scared and she just wanted a hug from her friend for comfort. This motion startled Rainbow Dash, and before she knew it, she had picked up the blade and stabbed it into Pinkie Pie's chest.

"Wha...Why?"

Her friend gave her a sad confused look before she fell to the floor, the knife going deeper upon impact and blood dripped from the corners of her mouth.

Confusion riddled Rainbow Dash's head. Had Pinkie attempted to attack her, or was she just trying to do something else? Rainbow Dash looked down and saw that her hooves were shaking.

"What have I done?"

Suddenly, there was an outburst as somepony walked into the kitchen and beheld the grizzly sight. Rainbow Dash looked up and saw that it was Rarity.

"No... No, this isn't what it looks like!" Rainbow Dash protested, "I thought she was trying to attack me!"

Before she could even realize, the kitchen was crowded as Rainbow Dash's friends came into the room and saw what had happened.

"Rainbow Dash, why did you do this?" Twilight asked.

Before Rainbow Dash could defend her actions, the rest of the group had already established that she had murdered Pinkie Pie and that it would be in their best interest to lock her up in the basement until the authorities arrived.

"No, guys! I didn't do it! I didn't do it!" Rainbow Dash protested as Applejack and Twilight took her down to the basement and had her chained to some pipes on the wall.

"Please, don't do this to me, guys!" Rainbow Dash called out as her friends ascended the steps out of the basement.

Dreaming of Gears

Sweetie Belle found herself staring up at a white light on the ceiling. The sound of machinery could be heard around the room. For some reason, Sweetie Belle was unable to move.

"What do you think of her?" An unfamiliar male voice asked, "Does she fit your qualifications?"

"She's perfect!" A female voice answered. While it sounded familiar, Sweetie couldn't place who it belonged to.

Sweetie Belle tried to move her head so she could see the ponies who were talking; however, she was unable to. Who were these ponies?

"Remind me why you wanted this unit to be constructed?" the male voice asked.

"Why, to have somepony to do the chores around my shop, of course," the female voice answered, "and if she believes that she is my sister, then it will make things much easier."

Suddenly, Sweetie Belle realized who the female voice belonged to, it was her sister Rarity's voice.

"Oh, it looks like she is recording," the male voice spoke.

Rarity's face came into view, eclipsing the ceiling light. She looked down at Sweetie Belle with a cautious look on her face.

"Will that be a problem?" Rarity asked.

"No," the male voice replied, "I'll just clean it from her memory banks, and she won't remember a thing."

"Good. Now, last I checked one thousand bits was the agreed-upon price, correct?" Rarity spoke.

"Yes, it is," the male voice answered, "Just make sure that, if anyone finds out, that you don't tell them about me or this place. I don't want to have to worry about the Equestrian police finding me. Just claim you had no knowledge of this matter, okay."

"Certainly, dear." Rarity replied, "Whatever you say."

Sweetie Belle felt a cold hoof touch the side of her neck and the world went completely dark. All that was left was nothingness.

Startled, Sweetie Belle awoke from the terrifying dream. Something in her chest was beating rapidly, but whether it was her heart or some sort of mechanical contraption, she wasn't sure.

Afraid of Shadows and Masks

Walking around the house, Rarity could have sworn something was stalking her. Every time she walked through the hallway, she could hear somepony else's hoofsteps behind her. At first, it hadn't bothered her, figuring it was one of the fillies or Spike playing with her.

Then, Rarity had seen "it" out of the corner of her eye. It was a pony wearing black robes and a mask, which resembled a grinning clown. At first, she had dismissed it as a figment of her imagination. That was until she had seen him leave her a note in her room. The note read: "You will scream for me!" and was written in green crayon.

Was it the pony from the intercom in that strange room? Was he coming to deal with her?

Afraid for her life, Rarity had begun searching the house for something she could use as a weapon for protection. Inside the closet Rarity found what she was looking for.

Inside an old, rusty metal box was a revolver. It was silver with a wooden handle. While the revolver was too heavy for Rarity to hold with her hooves, it wouldn't really matter, for she could just use her magic to hold the pistol.

As for ammunition for the revolver, the box only held a total of six bullets that would have to be loaded into the gun manually.

"We'll see who will be screaming!" Rarity said as she hid the firearm in her mane.

Rivalry among Friends

"You did it on purpose, didn't you?" Apple Bloom said in an accusatory tone.

"What?"

"Don't lie to me!" Apple Bloom spoke, "You got your Cutie Mark knowin' that I had been working so hard to get my own!"

Scootaloo wasn't sure what to say. She had never intended to hurt Apple Bloom's feelings or to make her jealous.

"I'm... I'm sorry." Scootaloo said, unsure of what else she could say.

"Don't worry," Apple Bloom said, "All you have to do is show me how you got your Cutie Mark and everything will be fine."

"But I don't know how I got it." Scootaloo replied, "It was just given to me."

"YOU LIAR!" Apple Bloom yelled.

Apple Bloom's face was red with rage, and her eyes seemed sharp and deadly.

"You're going to show me how you got your Cutie Mark, Scootaloo," Apple Bloom growled, "Whether you want to or not!"

Scootaloo jumped to the side as Apple Bloom lunged at her with hooves outstretched. Not wanting to make the situation worse, Scootaloo ran out of the room.

"COME BACK HERE!" Apple Bloom roared.

Tears leaked from Scootaloo's eyes as she ran down the hall. She hadn't wanted this to happen. She hadn't thought her friends would go nuts, that Rainbow Dash would kill Pinkie, or that Apple Bloom would be jealous of her. She had just wanted to be normal, to be cool. If she could take it all back, she would just so everything would be normal again.

As Scootaloo turned the corner, she bumped into something and fell to the ground.

"Careful, Sugarcube," a familiar country mare's voice spoke, "you might hurt somepony if you don't pay attention to where you're going."

Applejack chuckled as she helped Scootaloo up; however, she stopped laughing once she noticed the tears in the filly's eyes.

"Is something wrong, Scoots?"

Scootaloo looked up into the farm mare's eyes before hugging her leg as tears fell from her face to the floor.

"There there, child," Applejack tried to comfort the filly, "It's alright. Please, tell me what is troubling you."

While Applejack was certain she had a fairly good idea what was bothering Scootaloo she thought it would be best to let the filly tell her herself. This would hopefully release any pressure Scootaloo was feeling and allow her to calm down. Applejack figured it must have been sad for Scootaloo seeing her idol fall so low.

"Why... why does Apple Bloom hate me?"

'What?'

This puzzled Applejack; Apple Bloom and Scootaloo had been good friends for a while, so why would she ask such a question?

"Apple Bloom doesn't hate you." Applejack tried to reassure the filly.

"Yeah, she does," Scootaloo sobbed. "She hates me because I got my Cutie Mark before she did."

That made more sense to Applejack; she had watched her sister on multiple occasions trying to earn her Cutie Mark. It would make sense that Apple Bloom would be jealous if one of her friends found their Cutie Mark and she didn't.

"Don't worry, Scoots. She doesn't really hate you," Applejack spoke, "she is just jealous because she hasn't found her Cutie Mark yet is all. How about you go get something to eat, and I will talk to Apple Bloom."

After wiping her eyes, Scootaloo let go of Applejack and walked toward the kitchen. Once Scootaloo was out of sight, Applejack made her way toward the bedroom Apple Bloom was in. She needed to talk with her sister about this.

As Scootaloo walked to the kitchen she looked back at her Cutie Mark and noticed something. Had the six flaming orbs moved closer to each other?

Unexpected

"How strange," The Smiling Stallion spoke, "It seems the farm mare is immune to the effects of the Nightmare Mark."

"Is that an issue?" Robipony asked.

"No, it just makes things interesting." The Smiling Stallion replied, "Most of the ponies in the past who have experienced this round generally suffer from the effects of the mark. However, only a few have ever shown to be immune to the Nightmare Mark's effects. I think it would be wise to study this farm mare when this whole spectacle is done."

"You might also be interested in knowing that the dragon also seems to be immune to the Nightmare Mark." Sky Blazer remarked, "Seeing that he is a dragon, that shouldn't be unexpected, but still, I thought you should know."

"Relax," The Smiling Stallion spoke, "So we have two individuals who are immune to the effects of the Nightmare Mark. That shouldn't be an issue. The fact that the others are will generate enough fear and perhaps it will cause those unaffected to feel a little scared."

Sunflowers Aren't Supposed to Sing!

As Rainbow Dash sat chained to some pipes in the basement, her mind continued to slip into madness.

Her eyes had caught a section of the concrete wall where long ago a filly had painted some sunflower. Looking at the flowers, Rainbow Dash began to imagine that they were alive. As they swayed back and forth with the nonexistent wind, some played flutes and other musical instruments, while others crept toward her with their pasty roots and began to talk with her.

"Oh, poor Rainbow Dash, it seems your friends have abandoned you." A smiling sunflower spoke in a squeaky voice.

"Yeah, poor dear," another sunflower squeaked, "I can only imagine what they are planning to do to her."

"I heard it had something to do with making cupcakes." The first sunflower said.

Rainbow Dash's heart skipped a beat. Had her friends been conspirators in Pinkie Pie’s plot the whole time? Had they bound her with the intentions of killing... and eating her later?

"No, I am going to escape!" Rainbow Dash said.

"Really? How?" One of the sunflowers asked.

"Yeah, Dashie," a squeaky voice spoke from above, "How do you plan to escape?"

Dash looked up and saw Pinkie Pie sitting on the ceiling. She wore a large green top hat and was sipping some sort of brown beverage from a broken teacup. Despite hanging upside down the tea remained inside the cracked cup. If any other pony had been there, they would have told Rainbow Dash that what she was seeing was just a hallucination, but in Dash's mind it was real.

Rainbow Dash had to think. There must be some way she could break free from her bonds. She began to look around the room, trying to see if there was anything she could use. She then noticed a hacksaw sitting on top of a cabinet next to her.

She started trying to hit the cabinet with her hoof; while the hacksaw was out of reach, if she could knock the cabinet over, the saw might land close enough for her to grab it.

The first kick made the cabinet wobble, but it continued to stand.

"Come on!"

Rainbow Dash kicked the cabinet again with more force this time, causing the cabinet to wobble more.

"Oh, is this a game? Can I play?" The tea drinking Pinkie asked.

With another satisfying kick, the cabinet fell over. Rainbow Dash had to move quickly to the side to avoid being crushed by the cabinet. The hacksaw landed at her hooves.

Using her hooves she was able to place the hacksaw handle in her mouth so she could cut through the chains that bound her to the pipe on the wall. With a satisfying click, the chains broke and fell free from her hooves.

"Good!" Rainbow Dash said as she rubbed her sore hooves, "Now I just need to take care of those traitors upstairs!"

Books Aren't Supposed to Have Wings

Books began to drop from the bookshelf, growing bat-like wings and took flight before they could hit the ground. The books began to develop red eyes and long, sharp fangs. Examining the bat book's titles, Twilight could tell they were mostly smut romance novels.

'Okay... who writes this kind of stuff?' Twilight thought.

As the books flew around the room, Twilight could make out a bizarre chattering sound. Suddenly, the bat books began to charge at her.

"Ahhh!" Twilight screamed as she dodged one of the books. She looked around to see that the bat-winged books had converged into a swarm and were preparing for another assault.

"Why is this happening?" Twilight called out as she evaded another onslaught from the books.

Twilight rushed to the door as the bat-winged books tried to attack her. However, as she tried to open the door she discovered that it was locked.

"ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!" Twilight yelled as she dodged a bat-winged book with the title, 'Shipping for Stupid Ponies.'

Suddenly, a red beam appeared, disintegrating the bat book. Seconds later, a few more of the bat winged books disintegrated.

Twilight saw that it was another book that was flying around destroying the books that had been assaulting her. Due to its fast speed, Twilight couldn't make out any details aside from it being larger than the others and having a black cover.

It wasn't a minute later before the havoc had settled and the black bat book had successfully killed the other books, leaving it the only book left flying around the room. The book went over and touched the door knob before its wings disappeared and it fell to the floor.

Twilight walked over to the door and found that it was now unlocked. She then looked down and picked up the book that had saved her.

The book sported a leather cover with no title. Opening the book, to the page Twilight saw the title as well as the author's name.

The Rules of Horror Stories, by Brace Lovinghoof.

"Well, I guess I should read you." Twilight began looking through the pages. "After all, you did technically just save my life."

All Shadows Have a Source

"Alright, I am just being paranoid," Rarity reassured herself, "I just need to relax, and everything will be all right."

Rarity was about to enter her room when she saw the masked stallion standing in front of the door.

His mask was white with a big purple nose and black sunken eyes. Its grin was held up by large purple lips with large yellow teeth inside.

"Why, hello there, little pony!" The stalker laughed, "I look forward to popping your skull open, my little tart!"

After letting out a loud scream, Rarity turned around and rushed down the stairs. As she ran, she tripped on one of the steps and fell down the stairs.

"Ouch!"

Once she reached the bottom of the steps, Rarity tried to pick herself back up but couldn't due to her hip being broken. The revolver she had been carrying with her had fallen and skidded across the floor.

"Somepony help me!" Rarity called out.

Shortly after, Sweetie Belle walked down the hall toward Rarity.

"Sweetie Belle, I need your help!" Rarity spoke.

However, Sweetie Belle just stood there, looking down at her sister.

"Sweetie Belle? Why are you just standing there?"

"Why did you lie to me?" Sweetie Belle asked.

"What?"

"Why didn't you tell me sister that I am a robot?"

"Sweetie, dear, what are you saying?"

The little filly turned around and started walking away.

"Wha... Sweetie what are you doing?" Rarity called out. Sweetie Belle didn't turn around but continued to walk away.

As she watched, Rarity could hear the stalker coming down the stairs.

"Belle!"

Her sister continued walking away, moving in a robotic fashion.

"Oh, it looks like you're all alone, little tart!" spoke a menacing voice above Rarity.

Rarity tried to push through the pain and use her magic to grab the gun but wasn't fast enough as the blade of an axe came down and severed her head from her body. Blood poured out of her exposed neck tissue onto the floor, staining it red.

However, the masked killer wasn't actually a part of Rarity's imagination. He was real, and his next target was walking mechanically down the hallway.

Not All Books Should Be Read

Something about the book really intrigued Twilight. The rules of how a horror story was supposed to be told looked back up at her from the pages. The words seemed to be speaking to her in a soothing tone as she read them.

While there were some rather minor rules, the book labelled three major rules that all spooky stories must follow.

"The first major rule you must always build up the story with slow suspense."

As Twilight read, the rules she started writing them down in a notepad as a means to memorizing the text. Somehow, Twilight had this weird feeling that this knowledge would be useful.

"The second major rule is that, midway through the story, you must add tension and increase the stakes. The best way to do this is by killing the characters of your story off one by one."

How fascinating. It almost seemed as if the book was talking to her. Talking through her.

"Finally, the third major rule is that a good story should have a twist near the end. This twist can vary from the protagonist being the monster to the concept that the whole event is the protagonist's nightmare. To make it more horrifying, you could have the monster kill off all the characters, or in the case of the nightmare scenario, have the protagonist trapped in their nightmare for all eternity."

Whoever wrote the book knew how to pull the reader in. The documentation of how complex a true suspense story could be fascinated Twilight. That was when a thought popped into Twilight's head.

"What if these rules applied to real life, as well?"

Such a concept was intriguing, and it seemed to make sense considering what had been happening so far around the cabin. It could explain how Rainbow Dash had gone mad and how Fluttershy had disappeared. Perhaps they were all pieces in a twisted chess game based off a horror story.

"Maybe this is something I should investigate further."

A Grizzly Discovery

"Hello? Rarity?"

Spike had gone to look for Rarity, thinking he might be able to talk to her. As the little dragon walked down the hall, he thought he saw two strange shapes lying on the floor. As Spike stepped closer he realized that the two shapes were the bodies of Sweetie Belle and Rarity.

"What?"

Stepping closer, Spike could see that someone had decapitated Rarity. Her white coated mingled with her own sticky blood, which had by now congealed to the floor.

"No! How could this happen?"

After weeping for a while, Spike noticed something glimmering out of the corner of his eye. Looking up from Rarity's body he saw a revolver lying on the ground.

"Where did this come from?" Spike said aloud as he picked up the gun. Had Rarity tried to use this against her attacker?

After examining the firearm Spike decided he should try to find Applejack and give her the gun. If anypony knew where it came from or how to use it, it would probably be Applejack.

Spike ran back down the hall until he came to Applejack's room, knocking on the door three times before a groggy Applejack emerged.

"What do ya want, Spike?" Applejack asked while looking down at him through tired eyes.

"Rar... Rarity is dead!"

Hearing this brought Applejack to full attention.

"Wait, what happened?"

Spike took Applejack down the hallway and showed her the body of their dear friend. Applejack held a hoof to her mouth and tried to hold back tears as she looked down at her friend's body. As Applejack looked around, she noticed that there were some bloody footprints roughly Spike's size along the floor.

"Did ya tamper with the body?" Applejack asked. In response Spike showed her the gun he had found.

"Spike, where did ya find this?" Applejack asked as she examined the gun.

"I found it next to her body." Spike answered.

As Applejack searched Rarity's body, she discovered the box of ammunition for the revolver.

Suddenly, there was a loud scream resonating through the hallway. Applejack could have sworn it sounded like Apple Bloom.

"Spike, go find Twilight!"

"But Applejack..."

"Just do it!" Applejack yelled before running off in the direction of the screams.

Friends and Bullets Don't Mix

Rainbow Dash stood in front of Apple Bloom with the hacksaw in her mouth. Her eyes were open wide with mania.

"Hello there, Apple Bloom. Did you miss me?"

"Ra... Rainbow Dash! What are you doing?" Apple Bloom slowly backed up from the crazed mare.

"You thought you and Pinkie could turn the others against me and make me into a cupcake. Well, you're wrong! Nopony is going to eat me!"

Apple Bloom turned around and screamed as Rainbow Dash charged at her, brandishing the hacksaw with ferocious speed.

"Come back here, you little brat!"

Running as fast as she could, Apple Bloom was relieved when she saw her sister step out into the hallway.

"Sister! Help!" Apple Bloom yelled.

"So you're in on it too!" Rainbow Dash growled, "Guess I'll have to get rid of you, too!"

Putting herself between Rainbow Dash and her sister, Applejack pulled out the revolver Spike had given her and aimed it at her friend.

"Please, Rainbow Dash don't make me do this." Applejack said as a few tears left her eyes.

Rainbow Dash continued to rush forward, forcing Applejack to pull the trigger. The bullet flew through the air before it pierced the flesh of Rainbow Dash's neck. The Pegasus fell to the ground, and she started coughing as blood trickled out onto the floor and down her throat into her lungs.

Putting away the gun, Applejack walked over and looked down at her dying friend with a puzzled look on her face. Rainbow Dash's eyes moved around in a frantic and confused manner, as if she were waking up from a bad dream.

"Wha..."

"Why Rainbow Dash? Why did you force my hoof?"

The dying pony attempted to gurgle a response but was unsuccessful before she perished. After using a hoof to close Rainbow Dash's eyelids Applejack let out a deep sigh. She would have to find a blanket to cover up Rainbow Dash's body until a proper burial could be performed.

"Applejack!"

The Unmasking

"Twilight!"

The unicorn looked up from her reading to see Spike enter the room.

"Spike, what is it?"

The little dragon leaned forward trying to catch his breath.

"Applejack told me to come find you." Spike gasped, "That it was dangerous out there."

Twilight followed the tired dragon to the door when suddenly a clown appeared in the doorway wielding an axe and laughing maniacally. As the crazed clown swung the axe, Twilight managed to teleport out of the axe's reach. Spike, however, was not so lucky.

Spike's head was split in half by the axe's blade. Blood and gray matter dripped from the wound as the axe was yanked free from the young dragon's skull. Twilight glared at the assailant who had killed her assistant; this, however, didn't seem to bother the homicidal maniac who laughed in a sinister voice.

"Hi, I'm Poppin the clown! Are you ready to die?"

Twilight narrowly dodged the axe that the clown-faced killer swung.

"Stop moving, you little tart, and just let me kill you!"

Teleporting out of reach, Twilight laughed maniacally, "Why? It would ruin all the fun!"

The assailant swung the axe again, only for Twilight to teleport behind him.

"Oh come on!" Twilight giggled, "Surely you can do better than that?"

Roaring in frustration, the masked killer continued to swing his axe frantically at the teleporting unicorn. Twilight flashed in front of her bedroom door.

"Oh, now you're boring me!" Twilight spoke, "I guess I need to end this!"

Using her magic, Twilight tore the axe out of the killer's grasp before swinging the blade into his side. The killer crumpled to the floor and lay on his side.

"Too easy!" Twilight said walking up to the demented clown, "Now, let's see what is under that mask of yours!"

Twilight pulled the mask off the assailant to reveal the face of a yellow mare underneath. Fluttershy groggily opened her eyes and stared up at Twilight before breathing her last. The axe fell to the floor.

"I see," Twilight spoke as tears welled in her eyes, "Maybe I am the monster."

For a few minutes, Twilight wept over her friend's corpse. However, after a few minutes of weeping and pondering, her sobs changed to laughter. A large smile stretched across the unicorn's face, "Well, isn't that a twist!"

At this point, Twilight realized the truth. She would have to embrace being the monster and kill off the remainder of her friends in order for this story to end. Once the story was over, everything would reset and things could go back to the way things used to be.

It would be a tough and painful task, but Twilight was willing to do it if it would end this nightmare.

The Killer Unicorn Cometh...

"Applejack!"

The farm mare turned to see her sister coming down the corridor. In the adrenaline rush of having to shoot her friend Applejack had forgotten about her sister.

"Are ya okay, dear?" Applejack asked as she checked her younger sister for any injuries before pulling her into a long embrace.

"I'm fine." Apple Bloom protested in an annoyed manner.

Suddenly, Applejack felt something warm splash against the side of her face. Opening her eyes Applejack discovered that her little sister's head was gone replaced by a smoldering ruin.

What?

Applejack was caught by surprise as she heard laughter resonate throughout the room. She looked up to see Twilight standing there with a sad look on her face. The trace of dried tears could be seen on her checks.

"Twilight! Why did you do this?" Applejack asked as her sister's body slumped to the floor.

"Why, I'm the monster, of course." Twilight replied, "Why else would I have the sudden urge to go on a murder spree?"

"What are ya sayin'?"

"It is simple, really." Twilight spoke, "Since I am the monster, I will have to kill you, and once that happens the story will end. With the story completed, everything will go back to the way things were, and everypony will be alive again!"

Upon finishing her statement, Twilight's mannerism began to change from depression to tragic mania.

Applejack stared, dumbfounded at her giggling friend, "Twilight, you're crazy!"

Hearing Applejack's remark, Twilight stopped laughing and gave Applejack a death glare, her bloodshot eyes shooting arrows of anger at her friend.

"No, Applejack," Twilight growled, "I am perfectly sane!"

Upon finishing her response, Twilight charged at Applejack. In reply, Applejack pulled out the revolver and pulled the trigger, firing three shots at Twilight. Instinctively, Twilight used her magic to teleport out of the way of the bullets. Applejack attempted to fire a fourth shot; only this time the gun didn't fire.

"Shoot, it must have jammed!" Applejack growled, throwing the weapon at Twilight's face. Twilight teleported out of the way of the gun.

While Applejack was furious about her sister's death, she knew it would be unwise to stay and try to fight her friend. Even if her friend had gone nuts, she was still her friend. Furthermore, Twilight had an advantage right now. Applejack would have to take Twilight out of her comfort zone if she had a chance to stop her.

Running through the house, Applejack made her way to the back door with Twilight on her hooves. Applejack attempted to slam the door in Twilight's face as she ran, but all that did was cause Twilight to stop and blow the door off its hinges with her magic.

Applejack ran as Twilight chased her through the forest.

"Applejack," Twilight yelled, "You need to stop running! You know you need to die!"

"But why?" Applejack cried out as she continued to run away.

"Because you're a redneck character in this story," Twilight called out, "and since this story lacks a zebra character, you must take on the role to die!"

"I'm not a redneck!" Applejack retorted, "I'm an apple farmer!"

"It's close enough!"

"Pretty sure it ain't."

Applejack jumped over a root on the ground, avoiding the opportunity to trip. Twilight was not paying as much attention, so her hoof was caught by the root and she fell flat on her face.

"Hey, that isn't right!" Twilight protested, "I am the monster in this story, which means that you are supposed to trip over the root, not me!"

Despite Twilight's complaints, Applejack continued to run.

"Come back here!" Twilight yelled as she freed her hoof from the root.

Scootaloo ran out into the woods in the direction that the two mares had gone. Somehow, Scootaloo knew she was responsible for what was happening, and it was up to her to stop them before they killed each other.

Eventually, Scootaloo found the two ponies in the forest. Twilight was still firing bolts of magical energy at Applejack, who managed to dodge each blast.

"Twilight! Applejack! STOP!" Scootaloo yelled.

"Scootaloo! Get back into the house! Now!" Applejack yelled.

Suddenly, Twilight launched a bolt of energy at Scootaloo. The magical bolt cut through Scootaloo's left shoulder before coming out her right side. Smoke curled upward from the cauterized wounds as the filly toppled to the ground.

"Twilight!"

Enraged, Applejack lunged at Twilight, who attempted to fire an energy bolt at the farm mare. Ducking to the side, Applejack dodged the magical attack and delivered a swift kick to the side of Twilight's head, knocking her to the ground. Believing Twilight was dead, Applejack ran over to check on Scootaloo.

"Scootaloo wake up! Speak t' me!" Applejack yelled as she shook Scootaloo.

Coughing, Scootaloo's eyes opened. Thankfully, the energy bolt hadn't damaged any of Scootaloo's internal organs.

"Scootaloo are ya okay?" Applejack asked.

"I... hurt... really... badly." Scootaloo replied as she tried to hold in the pain.

"Don’t worry, girl, we’re going to take good care..."

Applejack was cut off as a loud shot resonated through the night. Blood gurgled from Applejack's lips as she felt the hole in her throat were the bullet had passed.

"Resource management is very important in a horror scenario." Twilight giggled as she walked toward Applejack and Scootaloo. "Also, more often than not, the monster needs to be killed twice before the story ends!"

'She must have removed what was jamming the gun with her magic somehow.' Applejack thought as her life flashed before her eyes and faded from existence. At least she would be with Apple Bloom now.

"Now there is only you." Twilight said aiming the gun at filly, "Good night, Scootaloo."

With a squeeze of the trigger, the gun fired and hit Scootaloo in the abdomen.

As Scootaloo lay dying on the ground, the world above her seemed to be spinning as if she were on a merry-go-round at a carnival. The sound of a saw buzzing could be heard in the distance as Scootaloo's life came to an end. On her hip was her Cutie Mark, which now resembled a blue serpentine eye enveloped in blue flame.

Not All Monsters Are Created Equal

Twilight stared down at the two corpses in front of her.

"So this is it." Twilight giggled, "This is what it feels like to become a monster! But soon, it won't matter as everything will reset."

She waited, but nothing happened.

"Come on." Twilight chuckled, "Any second now!"

As the mad unicorn laughed in the forest, she wasn't aware of the creature stepping closer to her. That is, until she heard the loud sound of a motor and the metal teeth of a saw blade cutting into the back of her spine.

Twilight let out a loud scream as she fell to the ground and realized she couldn't feel her hind legs anymore. Panicked, Twilight tried to pull herself across the ground on her two front legs away from the sound of saw blade. Despite her actions, the creature continued to follow Twilight at a steady pace.

Suddenly, Twilight had a realization. Once she was dead, everything would reset but not back in Ponyville. Twilight and her friends would be stuck here in this forsaken cabin in a continuous cycle of death and mayhem forever.

"No..."

As Twilight said her final word, the saw blade came down and cut through the unicorn's neck severing her head from her body.

A Note of Tarnished Tarts

Hello there, stallion, you came here for my treasure, yet you do not seek the aid of your companions. Instead, you do whatever you can to distance yourself from them. Foolish little stallion.

Now you stand wearing that costume as a mischievous joke to play upon your companions. It is such a shame you will never be able to pull it off. No, instead your flesh will become that of the suit you wear.

Your purple nose will light your way. Your face shall have a perpetual smile. Scare your companions all you want, my little clown, for that is all you will be doing from now on.

Bring joy and fear to those who came with you, for as long as seek out the treasure, all you will reap is pain and sorrow. My treasure shall forever flee you because you don’t have what it takes. For you are not a stallion, my friend. You are a clown.

But while you can’t find the treasure, that doesn’t mean the others have to find it, either. Why don’t you ruin their fun? You were already a jerk; why not continue to be a jerk?

Go ahead and stab your friends in the back. Stalk them around the house. It is yours now. This house is my gift to you, my little clown.

While you can't remove the mask yourself, you can be freed from this curse. Another can pull the mask from your face and end your suffering.

Author's Note

The author in this story named Brace Lovinghoof is actually a reference to two people. Bruce Campell, who played Ash in the Evil Dead series and H.P. Lovecraft, who wrote the Cthulhu mythos (which contains the Necronomicon).

[Flame] You Really Need to Do Something about Your Breath

The Wheel rolled to the Flame!

Boys and Dragons

Sky Blazer observed Spike on the monitor. So far, she had discerned that the purple dragon really liked the white unicorn, an affinity that was clearly unrequited. Perhaps she was oblivious or deliberately ignoring his romantic advances; after all, they were different both in species and in age.

"Do you see how that baby dragon acts around the white mare?" Sky Blazer asked, "Reminds me a lot of my annoying boyfriend."

Sky Blazer's boyfriend was another Pegasus from Baltimare, persuaded that all cool ponies played guitar or at least were friends with people who played guitar. While she did find it cool that Wind Strings could strum the strings of a guitar, he acted haughtily towards other ponies who were not up to his guitar playing standards. Now that she thought about it... why was he her boyfriend again?

"Well, opposites have been known to attract," The Smiling Stallion said.

"Better be the dragon you're talking about." Sky Blazer mumbled under her breath.

"What's that?" The Smiling Stallion asked.

"Nevermind!"

Fun Little Games

Spike followed Rarity for a while before she stopped walking and turned to face the young dragon.

"I am sorry, Spikey, but I need to go find a room to unpack, and I need some time alone." Rarity spoke to her friend, "Why don't you go ahead and unpack your things?"

Reluctantly, the purple dragon left her to go do so.

The little dragon found a room next to Twilight Sparkle's room. At first, Spike had felt uncomfortable about not sharing the same room with his teacher, but after looking around the room for a bit, he thought he might be able to get used to the idea.

Sitting down on the small bed, Spike opened his suitcase and started emptying it. He pulled out a blue blanket Twilight had bought him and a few comic books he had brought along which he set out out on top of the bed. Looking around the room, Spike was shocked to find a television set sitting on the other side of the room. Oddly enough, it seemed to be in good condition, considering how old the house was.

Spike sat down by the television. The young dragon didn't usually get to watch much television since Twilight didn't own a TV set and had often remarked that the contraptions could destroy brain cells, given how non educational and unstimulating they were in comparison to books, which abounded back home in the library. While Spike kind of understood where Twilight was coming from, he didn't really agree with her on the matter. He had seen a few ponies around Ponyville with their televisions, and they seemed to be having a good time watching them.

Thus, seeing this chance to mess around with one really made Spike happy; however, as he turned on the television, the only thing that showed up on the screen was static. Looking the television over, that Spike noticed a few wires that were attached to back of the television. The purple dragon traced the wires back to a Pony Station game console. Spike had met a few colts who owned this game system; however, the most up-to-date version of the console was the Pony Station 2.

Despite it being an earlier console, Spike was curious as to what games might be available for him to play. In a cabinet under the television was a box that held a few games, the titles ranging from Mega-Mare to Quest of the Dragon and Pac-Mare. The first game Spike tried was Quest of the Dragon; however, he had difficulty understanding the RPG elements of the game, and after dying a few times, he decided to try something else. So he pulled the Pac-Mare disk out of its case and inserted it into the Pony Station.

Immediately the logo PEGA appeared on the screen, revealing the game's creators before starting the game. The logo consisted of white letters spelling out PEGA, with what appeared to be wings branching off the back of the P.

The game featured a yellow earth mare who ran through a maze picking up oranges while a few diamond dogs chased her through the maze. However, if the yellow pony picked up an apple, the diamond dogs would run in terror, allowing the player to temporarily defeat diamond dogs until they respawned in the outside corners of the map. The goal of the game was to pick up all the apples and oranges in the maze. Once that was done, the player would move onto the next level.

Spike played the game for a while. Once the little dragon learned how to play the game, he was able to pass the first five levels with ease.

He was about to begin the next level when Twilight called out, "Spike, we are sitting down for dinner!"

While a little annoyed at the interruption, the little dragon hit the pause button on his controller and walked out of the room.

"Alright! I'm coming!" Spike growled.

Dinner Is Served

The ponies talked and laughed around the dining room table. All except for Spike, who was eager to return to playing his games. Spike attempted to eat as quickly as possible without being conspicuous.

"So Spike, what have you been doing?" Twilight asked.

Spike was silent. He knew that if Twilight figured out about the game system in his room, then she would either have it removed or have him moved to another room.

"Just been getting my room ready." Spike answered.

"Oh, alright then." Twilight said before returning her attention to the other conversations around the table.

Once Spike finished his meal, he stood up from his seat, "May I be excused?"

"I guess. Are you feeling all right, Spike?" Twilight asked.

"Ye... Yes, I feel just fine." Spike replied, "I just feel a little tired is all."

"Okay. Would you like me to come tuck you in?" Twilight asked.

"No, I will be fine," Spike answered, "Thanks anyway."

There was a moment of silence as Spike left the dining room.

"Do you think Spike is okay?" Rarity asked.

"I'm sure he is fine," Twilight said. "He is probably just tired from the trip."

Talking About... Stuff

"That dragon sure does enjoy playing those video games," Sky Blazer said.

"He certainly does," spoke the Smiling Stallion, a twinge of pride in his voice.

"Where did we get those games, anyway?" the Pegasus asked.

"Oh, I bought then from some Zebra Enchantress to the south," the Smiling Stallion answered. "At first, she was very reluctant to sell them to me, saying they were cursed. However, after she learned who I was, she was more than eager to sell them to me."

"What was her name?" Sky Blazer asked.

"I believe she referred to herself as 'Zebarbur.'"

"How much did the games cost?" She asked, genuinely curiously.

"Oh, no more than your usual salary," The Smiling Stallion teased.

Sky Blazer knew this was his way of trying to dance around the subject. He hadn't really used her money to buy the games, but rather the means it had taken him to purchase them was best left unmentioned.

"So, when will things start to get crazy?" Sky Blazer inquired.

"As soon as that little dragon puts in the right game, the real fun will start," the Smiling Stallion said as he watched the screen, "and from what it looks like, that should be soon."

Flame Breath: The Game

While Pac-Mare was a fun game, the levels were really repetitive, and eventually, Spike grew bored of it, so he decided to look for another game to play.

As Spike searched through the cabinet, he came across a clear game case. Inside was a blank disk with the words "Flame Breath" written on the disk in permanent marker.

After looking at the disk, Spike decided to see what was on it and put the disk into the game console. The screen read: "Loading... FLAMEBREATH.EXE."

When the game menu showed up, the words of the game's apparent title stretched across the screen with a red dragon watching over his treasure serving as the backdrop.

Using the controller, Spike scrolled down to a tab with the word “Info.” Selecting it a message popped up on the screen.

According to this, the game was about a dragon that was protecting his treasure from a group of knights seeking to take it. The goal of the game was to move through the cave and defeat all the knights in the cave before they took all the treasure. There was also a princess inside the cave that the dragon had to protect. However, he would have to be careful, for each of the dragon's attacks took up a certain amount of energy.

After studying the controls, Spike pushed the start button, which resulted in the dragon breathing fire on the title screen and the game starting. Spike felt a chill down his spine and shuffled his scales. This was going to be awesome...

"WARNING! Five knights and their three squires have invaded your cave and are attempting to rob you of your treasure and take away your princess! Stop them!"

Spike directed the sprite of the dragon he was playing towards the first knight, a small knight with bright yellow armor.

"I will win this game!" Spike growled.

A Burning Sensation

Fluttershy felt the floor shake under her hooves in the living room as some strange siren sounded in the distance. Seconds later, everything stabilized.

To the yellow pegasus's surprise, the room felt an awful lot warmer than it had just a second ago. In fact, it felt like she was beside a bonfire, and the heat seemed to be rising.

"What is goi..."

Before Fluttershy could finish her statement, the floor beneath the yellow pegasus burst into flames, causing her to scream.

A Horrid Sight

"Seriously, AJ, I could TOTALLY pick up all the dishes on this table and have them washed in the sink under one minute flat!" Rainbow Dash said, puffing out her chest.

"I doubt it. More likely, you'd break all the dishes and the table with it." Applejack replied.

"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

Rainbow Dash and Applejack perked their ears when they heard their friend scream in the next room.

Hearing her cry, Applejack and Rainbow Dash rushed into the room, gasping as they saw the body of their friend burning in front of them. The scent of burnt hair filled the room. Her skin bubbled and boiled as the flames burned it away. The image of her screaming face burned into their eyes.

"Dash, get some water from the kitchen!" Applejack yelled. Rainbow Dash rushed out through the hallway into the kitchen and grabbed a pot and began to fill it will water in the kitchen sink.

"COME ON!!!" Rainbow Dash yelled, as the water slowly filled the pot.

While Rainbow Dash was getting the water, Applejack looked around the room for something to help her smother the fire. She tore the curtains from the window and threw them over Fluttershy before dropping her to the ground. Applejack then started patting Fluttershy down with the curtain as Rainbow Dash flew in with the water.

SPLASH!!!!

The combination of the curtains and the water extinguished the fire.

"Fluttershy, are you okay?" Rainbow Dash asked.

Removing the blanket Applejack and Rainbow Dash beheld a horrible sight: the charred remains of their friend lay dead upon the ground. Her burnt feathers had curled up like an eagle's talons. Fluttershy's eyelids had been burned shut over her blacked eyes.

"No," Rainbow Dash whimpered as she fell to the ground, tears forming in her eyes.

"We were too late, sugarcube," Applejack spoke, holding her hat to her chest.

Through Flame-tinged Lenses

"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

As Fluttershy screamed in her final moments, the pegasus could have sworn she saw something. Something was clogging her vision. Was it the smoke? No, there was a definite form to what was clouding her vision.

In the background Fluttershy could hear the panicked voices of her friends as they tried to put out the fire that was consuming her. However, the pegasus knew it would be all for nothing. She couldn't even feel the water as it splashed across her body.

As her vision went black, Fluttershy was finally able to see what was clogging her vision. They were words. Two large words in white font. Fluttershy tried to make them out but couldn't, for her soul left her mangled body.

Stay Here!

"YEESSSSSSSSSS!!!" Spike exclaimed as he observed the pixels of the yellow knight go up in pixelated flames.

Before Spike had the chance to fully enjoy his victory, he heard someone knocking frantically at his bedroom door. Turning off the television, the little dragon ambled over to see who it was.

When he opened the door ,he was greeted by a frantic-looking Twilight.

"Spike, are you okay?" Twilight asked, her teeth chittering, as she stood in the doorway.

"I am fine." The little purple dragon replied, quirking a brow, "what is going on?"

Twilight sighed in relief, knowing that her friend was all right; however, this relief vanished away as she stood there in the doorway, contemplating what to say next.

Should I tell him what happened to Fluttershy?

The unicorn concluded it would be better for him to remain ignorant of the details regarding Fluttershy's death, at least for now.

"Spike," Twilight spoke nervously, "something happened to Fluttershy."

"What happened?" Spike asked, his expression worried.

"Well, we really are not sure," Twilight answered, "however, she was injured really badly."

SHOOT! WHY COULDN'T YOU JUST TELL HIM THE TRUTH, TWILIGHT! WHY COULDN'T YOU JUST TELL HIM THAT SHE'S DEAD!!!

"Can I see her?"

"Actually, I think it would be better if you stayed here for right now, Spike," Twilight deflected.

"Oh, alright." He cocked an eyebrow in suspicion.

"If anything happens, please call out for us. Okay?"

"Yeah, yeah, sure, I am not a baby, you know," Spike retorted.

"Alright." With that said, Twilight closed the door.

Locked in the Castle

Rarity tried to open the door, but it was locked. How was that possible? The door could only be locked from the inside. Maybe someone had obstructed the entrance way.

"Hey, Rainbow Dash, stop this prank this instance. It isn't funny!" Rarity yelled, her eye twitched.

There was no response but instead an eerie silence, that crept into Rarity's heart like cold tendrils.

The white unicorn tried banging on the door. At first, the blows were slow, but they became more frantic when there came no sign of acknowledgement. This was one of the most outrageous pranks Rainbow Dash and Pinkie had ever pulled on her.

Still no response.

Annoyed, Rarity looked around the room. Eventually those two would let her out. Rarity threw herself onto her sleeping bag as she waited for her friends to let her out. There she lay, looking at the ceiling.

However, after a few minutes her boredom overtook her, and she started pacing around the room.

"RWWWWWWWWYYYYYYYYYRRR!!!" Rarity yelled, as she slammed her hoof into a pile of boxes, knocking them over.

When she had calmed down, Rarity looked regretfully at the mess she had made, only to notice a pile of paper on the ground. Curious, Rarity used her magic to lift the papers to eye level. They were a stack of old notes.

Sitting back down on her sleeping bag, Rarity began to read the notes.

"My name is Artemis Featherclaw,

A few other ponies and I ventured to this strange cabin. I am not fond of Poptart; he is very disrespectful and has no respect for life. On the way here he had thrown a few rocks at some squirrels. I told him to stop, but he told me to mind my own business.

To make matters more annoying, he keeps running around with a goofy-looking clown mask.

As for the other three ponies in the group, they aren't too bad. The pudgy one, Silver Screen, is alright. However, he does appear to be shy around females.

Then there is that energetic one, Shifting Winds, who can never seem to stay in one spot for too long. It isn't necessarily an annoying trait, but I wouldn't want to bring her along to observe the wildlife. Chances are she would scare the animals away with all her excitement.

And then there is Lakin... hmmm... what was her last name again? Spotson! Yes, that was it. She was the one who told us about this place and the rumored treasure within.

In about an hour we will regroup to discuss where to start our exploration."

Well, the note was short, but it was something to entertain her as she lay trapped in this room. Thankfully, this was just the first note. However, the thought of treasure being hidden in this cabin really piqued Rarity's interest.

"I do wonder where this treasure is..."

More Commercials
Because we have to pay for this story somehow.

"Fillies and gentlecolts, are you tired of your food tasting bland and boring?" a gruff voice asked over the speakers.

A mare and a stallion sitting at a dining table nodded their heads in agreement. The walls of the room were a bright turquoise with a few pictures hanging throughout. The table the couple was eating at was made from a dark oak. On the table sat two plates, each with a bland-looking daisy sandwich on top.

"Then I have the solution just for you!" the gruff voice answered.

Suddenly, the wall behind the couple exploded, and a very buff Minotaur stepped forward.

"Hello, my name is Iron Will. I am a Minotaur, and I am the creator of Iron Will's Spicy Hot Sauce!"

As the Minotaur spoke, he brandished a bright red bottle with a label spelling out the name "Iron Will's Spicy Hot Sauce" with Iron Will's likeness on the front giving a thumbs up.

"This hot sauce is so good, it will liven up any meal, bland or otherwise!"

The stallion took the bottle and put a few drops of the sauce on his sandwich and took a large bite.

"It certainly does set your taste buds ablaze," The stallion said. His face was now a bright red color. Iron Will let out a hearty laugh.

"Indeed, it will!" Iron Will spoke, "Now, while these two enjoy their improved meal, let us talk to some of our other satisfied customers!"

The image of Pinkie Pie popped up on the screen.

"When my friend Twilight first came to Ponyville, I threw her a big surprise party. When she tried some of Iron Will's Spicy Hot Sauce in her drink, it knocked her right off her hooves!"

Another image popped up revealing Maud Pie, who was sitting next to some large rocks.

"Iron Will's Spicy Hot Sauce is the best." Maud spoke in her usual monotone voice.

Some footage of the Pegasus known as Bulk Biceps showed up on the screen. After flexing his chest muscles, Bulk held up a bottle of Iron Will's Spicy Hot Sauce.

"THIS SAUCE IS AMAZING!!!"

There was an explosion and the scene returns to Iron Will, "Yes, my customers love my hot sauce, and you can, too, now available at your local market! Go grab some!"

Before the commercial ended, some white text flashds past a screen and a sped up version of Iron Will's voice read the dialogue in a muffled tone.

"Warning! Iron Will's Spicy Hot Sauce is really hot and can cause heart attacks, chest pain, dehydration, intestinal cramping, mass diarrhea, constipation, and heat stroke when used by the elderly, young foals, or those with a weakened immune system. Iron Will does NOT take any responsibility in such events and cannot be held accountable for such events. No refunds will be given for opened bottles of Iron Will's Spicy Hot Sauce. It is recommended (but not necessary) that you keep Iron Will's Spicy Hot Sauce refrigerated when not in use. Failing to do so can result in spontaneous combustion. Do not use more of Iron Will's Spicy Hot Sauce then you feel comfortable using. Don't attempt to chug a gallon of Iron Will's Spicy Hot Sauce as a challenge (even if it will prove how strong you are). You will probably die if you do so. Use Iron Will's Spicy Hot Sauce responsibly."

... [Place explosion effect here].

Back to the Game

As Spike moved his character along the game map, his eyes caught sight of some pink pixels. The pink knight pony was coming for his character. The pixels of the pink knight sprite were arranged in a similar fashion to the armor Spike had seen the royal guards wear in Canterlot.

Not wanting to lose the game, Spike moved the sprite of his dragon behind a door to serve as a trap for the intruder. At this point in the game, Spike's character was weak out in the open, but he could win with an ambush.

As Pinkie Pie trotted around the hallway, she thought she heard something like a growl coming from another room. Hearing the noise, Pinkie stopped in her tracks and her mane fell flat. Curious, the pink mare sought out the source of the sound. That was when she noticed an orange glow coming from under the door.

At first, she thought of opening it but her Pinkie Sense told her it would be a bad idea. She agreed with her senses once she put her hoof up against the door. It was hot.

"Well, that can't be good." Pinkie said.

Fearing that there could be a fire behind the door, Pinkie Pie mystically pulled a fire extinguisher from her puffy tail and strapped it to her back. If it were any other pony, this would have been considered bizarre, but something like this was common for Pinkie. With the nozzle of the extinguisher in her mouth, Pinkie pushed open the door with her hoof.

"Hopefully I don't need my flame retardant suit."

However, when she opened the door, she didn't see a fire. Instead, she saw a large ball of flame flying towards her. She tried the use the extinguisher, but the fireball hit her before she could respond.

"I should have grabbed the suit!"

Thankfully for her sake, she didn't feel anything as the heated ball of plasma consumed her flesh, leaving behind only ash. The only thing that didn't burn away was a small card, which fell to the floor beside the ashes, that read: "Every day is a party!" Eventually, the ash pile and the card would be discovered by Rainbow Dash, who sullenly reported the news back to her friends.

Prizzzzzzzzzzzzzzzeeeeessssssssssssssss!!!

"Alright, there we go!" Spike said proudly, having successfully dispatched the pink knight.

Suddenly, a message appeared on the screen.

"You have successfully dispatched a powerful knight. You have won a prize box! Do you wish to open it?"

At the bottom of the message there were two options: Yes and No.

'Hmmm... should I go ahead and use it or not?' Spike thought to himself before he made his decision. 'Well, why not?'

Spike moved the analog stick on his controller, selecting the "Yes" option and pressed the "A" button. With that, another message popped up on the screen.

"Congratulations! You have earned the ability known as Dragnosis. Now, all the remaining squires supporting the knights have been removed from the game and will be replaced by Dragonling Minions, who shall aid you in protecting your treasure!"

"That is AWESOME!" Spike exclaimed. With this new prize, the rest of the game should be easier. What was also great was that Spike hadn't dispatched any of the squires, meaning that he had three Dragonling minions on his side.

"Perfect!"

Moving Shapes

Wishing to check on her sister and her two friends, Applejack walked down the eastern hallway to the room where the fillies were sleeping.

Opening the door, Applejack walked up to the sleeping bag he sister should be sleeping in, only to find it empty.

"Apple Bloom?"

Applejack looked around the room and discovered that not only was Apple Bloom's sleeping bag empty but so were the sleeping bags of the other two foals. Suddenly, the sound of something growling caught Applejack's attention.

Turning around, Applejack saw three small creatures. They resembled Apple Bloom and her friends, except, instead of having fur, they had scales and draconic wings on their backs. The creatures looked up at Applejack with yellow serpentine eyes and saliva dripping from their mouths, which were filled with rows of sharp teeth. Smoke seemed to leak from their nostrils.

"What?"

The small dragonlings lunged at Applejack and attempted to claw at her with their talons. While Applejack did manage to kick off one of the dragonlings, she was overcome and pushed to the ground.

"Stop!"

Applejack struggled against the brute strength of the dragonlings but due to the transformation their original strength had tripled. In their fury, the three dragonlings unleashed a torrent of flames upon the farm mare, burning her. Once their prey was dead, the dragonlings began to feast upon her flesh.

Silent Rooms

Twilight thought over what had happened. Both of her friends Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie had been killed while in the house. What could be causing this?

Maybe Rarity would have a good idea. Rarity had gone up to her room to unpack before the incidents had happened and had not been seen since.

The unicorn ascended up the stairs to the room Rarity had chosen for herself.

"Hey, Rarity, may I have a word with you?" Twilight called out as she knocked on the door. However, there was no response.

Twilight tried to open the door, but it was locked tight.

"Hello, Rarity, the door is locked. Can I please come in?" Twilight called out again, but there still seemed to be no response from anyone behind the door.

However, Twilight didn't give up, she had one more trick up her sleeve.

"Rarity I am going to try to teleport myself into the room, okay?"

Thinking of the location behind the door, Twilight's horn lit up as she cast the teleportation spell. When she opened her eyes, however, she noticed that she was still out in the hallway. Twilight tried casting the spell again, but nothing happened.

"Surely I am doing this right." Twilight thought. She then teleported herself a few feet away, seeing that she was, indeed, casting the spell correctly. For some reason she couldn't teleport herself into Rarity's room.

"Rarity, there is something I need to tell you..." Twilight spoke, "Fluttershy and Pinkie... they're... they're dead!"

A door with a million locks

"TWILIGHT! PLEASE LET ME OUT OF HERE!" Rarity screamed at the door. She had heard Twilight trying to call out for her in the hallway, and Rarity was hoping her friend would be able to help her.

Minutes earlier, Rarity had heard the sound of an explosion somewhere else in the house.

"Hello, Rarity, the door is locked. Can I please come in?" Rarity heard Twilight call out from the other side of the door.

"NO, THE DOOR ISN'T LOCKED ON THIS SIDE!" Rarity yelled back. She continued to jiggle the knob, but nothing happened.

"Rarity, I am going to try to teleport myself into the room, okay?"

"YES! BY CELESTIA, THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU!" Rarity proclaimed as her heart jumped with delight at the thought of being saved. However, this sensation evanesced as a minute had passed and her friend had not appeared in the room.

"Twilight?"

"Rarity, there is something I need to tell you..." Twilight spoke, from the other side of the door, "Fluttershy and Pinkie... they're... they're dead!"

"What?"

The revelation caught Rarity off guard. How could something like this happen? Hours ago, Rarity had seen Fluttershy and Pinkie alive and well. Now they were both dead.

"Anyway, I have to go." Twilight's voice said from the other side of the door.

"NO! WAIT!" Rarity called out, but the only response she received was the echoing sound of a pony's hoofsteps descending from the attic back to the main floor.

Saddened by her inability to escape, Rarity sat back down on the bed and resumed reading the notes she had found earlier. This time, however, the notes she began to read had a different form of hoof writing.

"Hello, my name is Silver Screen,

So Artemis has been writing some of these notes. I am afraid to say that she is dead, but I am certain she is.

We were looking around the basement looking for the treasure when suddenly this creature came out of nowhere and attacked us. It looked like a pony, but it wasn't. It had a circular blade in its head and it was covered in bandages.

It cut Poptart in half, and it would have killed me if it weren't for Artemis. She managed to push me out of the way when the horrific monster charged at us.

Artemis told Shifting Winds and me to run for it before she brandished a pair of metal claws on her hooves, saying she was going to buy us some time.

We ran and didn't look back. Shifting Winds and I ran for the door, but it was locked. We tried the windows, but they wouldn't budge. I even threw a chair against the window, and the glass refused to even crack. The chair, on the other hoof, shattered.

After hearing the creature ascend the steps, Shifting Winds and I split up looking for places to hide.

I don't believe Artemis survived. I am certain of this because I am hiding here in the attic, and I can still hear the sound of a buzzsaw in the distance. About a half an hour ago, I thought I heard another scream. It must have come from Shifting Winds.

I am going to finish writing this letter because I think I hear it coming for me. I will try to remain hidden here, but I fear it will find me. Somehow, it sees without sight.

"How awful!" Rarity said as she let the letter fall to the floor.

Rarity lay on the bed, wondering if perhaps this would become the fate of her and her friends, as well.

Anticipating the End

Spike stared at the television with sweaty palms holding the controller.

On Spike's screen there was an indicator showing that there were two knights left: a blue one and a purple one. They both possessed armor that was designed less for protection and more for speed and agility. This lightweight armor would allow them to outmaneuver his dragon in a fight, which meant Spike would have to be very careful with his tactics.

Perhaps a charged fire breath would be useful.

"Alright, here goes nothing."

With sweaty palms, the dragon picked up the controller and readied himself for the upcoming battle.

Between a Rock and a Cauldron

"Hey, Rainbow Dash, have you seen Applejack?" Twilight asked.

"I think she went to check on the fillies." Rainbow Dash answered.

Looking at the wall, Rainbow Dash found herself examining some of the paintings on the living room wall. One painting was of a stallion wearing a blue shirt with some white flowers on it. Another painting had the image of a gray pegasus mare with blue eyes and a blue mane. Both of the portraits had a strange black backdrop with some runny yellow paint behind them. Both of the ponies appeared to be looking out of the portraits with a sinister look on their face.

Suddenly Twilight started notice a strange scent in the air. Was it... gas?

"Rainbow Dash, I think we need to get out of here!"

Sniffing the air, Rainbow Dash noted, "Yeah, something seems off."

However, it wasn't the smell that made the two mares worry but instead the gurgling sound that seemed to resonate throughout the house.

"Rainbow Dash we need to run! NOW!"

As Twilight ran, one of her hooves caught on a nail sticking out of the floor, causing her to fall face-first to the floor. Upon hitting the floor, most of the force of the impact went to the horn causing it to crack.

"Ouch!"

Returning to her hooves, Twilight resumed running as fast as she could. Up ahead, Rainbow Dash had made a swift turn up the stairs towards the attic. An ominous gurgling sound could be heard in the distance, impelling Twilight to attempt the use of a teleportation spell to catch up with Rainbow Dash; however, all her horn did was glow and sputter.

When the gurgling sound resonated through the hallway, Twilight realized where she had heard it before. She remembered Spike's stomach making a similar sound before he used his breath to deliver messages to Celestia, or when he belched at home.

The sound of stone clashing against stone could be heard before the rushing of wind as a great torrent of flame blew down the hallway towards Twilight. The flame engulfed Twilight, turning the unicorn to ash. White text blinked before her nonexistent eyes.

Flame engulfed the corridor, burning the wall paper and scorching the wood underneath. Once the fire subsided, small embers danced in the air.

Should Have Waited Before Counting Your Eggs

A blue pixel blinked on the screen showing that the blue knight had survived Spike's attack.

"Drat!"

His dragon's last attack had taken up so much energy that the fight against the blue knight would be extremely difficult... unless. Spike opened his menu to discover that he still had three Dragonling minions in the game.

No, Spike would win this game. He was now sure of it.

"Just one more to go."

The Writing on the Wall

Rainbow Dash ascended the stairs at an exhausting rate. She was tired and worn out from the running after the already exhausting trek to the mansion. Looking back, the Pegasus saw that the flame was gone now, save for a few embers on the charred wooden floor below the steps. The scent of something burning entered her nostrils; no doubt, Twilight did not survive.

Every pony was gone, taken away by some unseen force that Rainbow Dash doubted she could understand.

Reaching the top of the steps, Rainbow Dash collapsed on the floor. As she lay there, she thought she heard something growl. Looking up, Rainbow Dash saw three dragon-like creatures looking down at her, their mouths drooling thick saliva.

"Oh, buck!"

As Rainbow Dash finished swearing, the Dragonlings opened their maws and breathed fire upon her. Her face was burned by a combination of orange, purple and violet flames.

Rainbow Dash was still alive despite having her face charred, a fact that the Dragonlings would be remedying soon. Sharp teeth reached around her scorched neck. As her throat was torn out, two words made of white lettering appeared before her blackened vision.

GAME OVER.

The Dragonlings tore the flesh from the Pegasus's corpse and devoured it until there was nothing left but bones. Full from their meal, the three Dragonlings rolled up into little balls and went to sleep.

The Price of Winning

Spike looked at the screen, which read: "You Win!" Then, a few seconds later, another sentence showed up at the bottom of the screen: "But at what cost?"

The purple dragon waited for the screen to change, but it didn't. Bored, the little dragon decided to leave the room and go speak with the other ponies. Sure, Twilight had told him to stay inside his room, but that must have been hours ago. Surely whatever problems they had been experiencing had been resolved by now.

Stepping out of his room, Spike was surprised to find that the light in the hallway was flickering. He tried to open the door to Twilight's room, but it was locked. The purple dragon then checked the other rooms in the hallway, but all the doors were locked.

Spike then tried to open the door to the hallway leading to the entrance of the house and found it was unlocked. However, once he stepped through the doorway, he found himself in a hallway much like the one he had just come from. Like the previous hallway, all the doors were locked.

"How did these get here?"

There were pictures of Spike and his friends on the wall, pictures of him with Twilight, Rarity, and some of their other friends.

The dragon continued to the door and left the hallway, only to once again find himself in another hallway, except now there was a strange smell in the air. Like the scent of sulfur.

"What is going on?" Spike asked, "Where is everyone?"

As the dragon walked through the hallway, he noticed that one of the doors was open. He looked inside to what appeared to be Twilight's room, however there were strange fleshy sacs hanging from the ceiling.

Feeling uneasy, Spike closed the door and proceeded down the hallway and opened the door.

Upon entering the new hallway, Spike noticed that it was pitch black. Suddenly, there was a gust a wind and the door slammed shut behind him, leaving the poor dragon lost in the dark. Cold sweat dripped down the Spike's scales as he chewed on his claws.

As his sense of sight was robed from him, Spike's other senses compensated. The little dragon could hear what sounded like dripping water occupied by a bubbling liquid. The stench of sulfur was stronger with the scent of some additional acidic substance wafting through the air. Spike felt something wet and squishy between his feet.

Spike realized that he might be able to illuminate his surrounding by using his fire breath. He wouldn't be able to hold the flames too long, but perhaps it would be enough for him to see where he was.

The little dragon inhaled and expelled a puff of green flame, illuminating the room for a few seconds. The walls were gone replaced with red slime-covered flesh. Spike was trapped inside some sort of digestive system.

Blowing another puff of smoke, Spike soon realized that the fleshy walls were started to come together, creating a claustrophobic environment.

"What?"

Spike held out his arms, trying to stop the progress of the mounds of flesh. However, this proved pointless.

"OWWWWWWWWW!!!!!!!!" Spike screamed as his arm bones snapped.

The dragon tried to scream but failed as the bones of his ribcage snapped. All he could do was whimper as the mounds of flesh crushed his small, fragile body.

That Ends the Game

"Well now, wasn't that a fun little game?" The Smiling Stallion said, leaning back proudly in his seat.

"Maybe, but how did you know the dragon would find the game?" Sky Blazer asked, "I mean, what if he never found the disk? Would this cycle have gone on forever?"

Smiling, the stallion stood up from his chair. "No, because there were two additional programs in place for such a scenario. One would have lured the dragon to find the disk, and the other that would have let loose our little assistant in the case that the first program failed."

"So you had a failsafe."

"Of course. I always have a back up plan."

A Month Later

The attic room was full of cobwebs, some newer than the others. A new layer of dust had collected on all the items in the room despite the attempts of the room's prior owner to keep it clean. All her cleaning had been in vain.

On the bed lay the skeleton of a unicorn mare. Her bones covered in the dust and cobwebs. Spiders had made her remains their home and had covered her in silk; her body resembled that of a mummy.

She had died weeks ago from dehydration, and here her bones lay unburied. This attic room had become her tomb.

Three young dragons guarded her room, making sure that nopony took their princess from them.