A Slicing of Life

Pinkamena’s ears were still ringing from all the screaming of her recent victim. Personally, she preferred whimpering and begging, but not all ponies could be like that.

She pushed open the door to her office—if it could be called that. The room was still a mess from when somepony had tried to assassinate her.

In her opinion, the bloodstains didn’t go well with the light blue walls. In fact, dried blood itself wasn’t quite as pleasing to the eye as fresh blood.

She moved her straight mane out of her eyes and stepped into the room, turning to the one loyal pony she could always trust—Rainbow Dash.

Pinkamena closed the door behind her and took out something she had concealed in her mane.

“Hi Dashie! Did you see what I got?”

She put her nose right up to Rainbow Dash, who didn’t move an inch.

“Ooh… Am I getting the silent treatment today?” Pinkamena asked. “You know I don’t like that game. It’s not very fun.”

Dash simply stared back.

Pinkamena sighed and placed the object—a patch of skin with a cutie mark of a pencil—on her desk in a pile of other cutie marks. She really needed to get more work done with sewing them together.

Humming quietly to herself, she bounced over to a closet and opened it, picking out a rather old dress. Considering that it was the first dress she crafted, it wasn’t particularly well-made, but she cherished it all the same. No other article of clothing had as many memories as this one.

She put on the dress and trotted back over to her friend.

Pinkamena glanced around quickly before whispering into Rainbow Dash’s ear. “I think the coast is clear. She isn’t watching us.”

Rainbow relaxed from her stiff posture. “You don’t wanna know how boring it is to stand still like that for so long.”

Pinkamena giggled. “I’m guessing it’s really really hard, but you’re my best friend, so you would do anything for me because that’s what friends do for each other.

“Sooo… I wanted to talk about something that’s been bothering me for a while.”

Rainbow Dash frowned. “Is somepony being mean? Do I need to go teach them a lesson?”

“No, it’s not that,” Pinkamena said. “I just wanted to ask something.”

“Sure, go ahead.” Rainbow waited expectantly.

“Well, I’m kinda confused if what I’m doing makes me a bad pony. I mean I know I’m following the law and doing my job and doing whatever Queen Meanie says and being a ‘good citizen’, but I still don’t feel good.

“I know those ponies I slice up don’t deserve it. But they’re criminals. They broke the law and Black Snooty says all ponies that break the law are bad, but I don’t think that they’re evil.

“I think it’s Queen Meanie who is evil.”

Pinkamena put a hoof her mouth and looked around before putting her hoof down and continuing to talk.

“I know she’s like the only royalty and everything and she’s ruled since before we were born, but I don’t think that means she knows what’s right. I mean, if there was a law that said you couldn’t breathe, would everypony who holds their breath and dies from subsequent asphyxiation be better ponies than the ones who don’t obey the law?

“I guess maybe her laws don’t determine whether a pony is good or not. I know some ponies I had to execute just said they didn’t like her.

“So, what do you think?”

Rainbow Dash scratched her chin with her hoof for a moment. “Uh, some of this might be going way past my head, but I think you should just do what your heart is telling you, no matter what.”

“Oh, but Dashie… That’s the problem. My heart says I should go give Queen Meanie a piece of her mind, but my mind tells me that’s a really silly idea because I wouldn’t be able to actually do anything.

“If I stay here though, I get to be the only torturer that actually cares about the ponies. I mean, I always make sure to remember everypony I meet here. I always try to make the kill quick, too.”

She leaned in close to Rainbow Dash and whispered, “Queen Meanie thinks I keep these cutie marks as trophies. I don’t. I keep them because there should be at least somepony to remember these innocent ponies. They don’t deserve to be lost in history. They should be remembered because they were brave when facing Queen Meanie.”

Pinkamena backed up from Rainbow Dash and looked down at the ground, only to feel a sudden hoof on her shoulder.

“Hey, Pinkie. Listen. I believe you. That’s what friends are for, right?”

Pinkamena looked back up at Rainbow and sighed. “I know you believe me, but other ponies won’t believe me. What would you expect if a mare with blood on her face sliced up ponies while smiling?

“The thing is, I do ‘enjoy’ torture, but I don’t truly enjoy it. I ‘like’ the feeling when a knife slices through somepony, but I don’t like it. It makes me feel bad inside, but I still smile. Is it truly ‘enjoying’ if it is just feeling pleasure?

“I’m not sure if I can convince anypony else though that I don’t enjoy it. Maybe I can’t. Maybe when Twilight and the others finally bring down Queen Meanie, they’ll kill me too.”

She stared straight into Dash’s eyes. “I keep going because deep down I know I’m doing the right thing. Other ponies who work here give into their evil pleasure because Queen Meanie chose sadistic ponies. I’m sadistic just like them, but I’m different in so many other ways. I actually care about who I have to torture.”

She walked over to Rainbow Dash’s side and touched a hoof to where there was a hole allowing stuffing to fall out. She had never exactly been the best with taxidermy.

Pinkamena curved Dash’s lips into a smile. She then held her hoof to her heart.

“I promise when—not if, but when—this is all over, I’ll make sure you’re properly buried.”

She stood there for a moment before smiling and walking out of the room back to the blood and gore, where she would gladly do her duty and remember just like every other day.

No matter the cost.