Five Down

by Bobby Charlton

Rating: teen
Tags: Tragedy, Dark
Length: 8730

Being the notes of Dr. Open Atlas on the behavioural patterns and physical trauma caused by an unknown pathomagical affliction.

The following text comprises the notes of Dr. Open Atlas on the behavioural patterns and physical effects of the unknown pathomagical affliction.

Please note that the final entry is last entry Dr. Open Atlas wrote before he unfortunately succumbed to the pathomagic in the embrace of our beloved Princess, Midnight Sparkle.

-Dr. Silver Shoe, Ph.D

Published 1970-01-01 00:00:00 UTC
Last updated 2015-01-30 09:27:24 UTC

One to Go

Date: 5/4/1007

Subject: Rainbow Dash

Examiner: Dr. Open Atlas, Ph.D

Rainbow Dash was transferred out of police custody and into the Third Dungeon of Shadows and Torment the Royal Protective Facility. It is apparent that the reason for her arrest is due to a case of battery.

Date: 6/4/1007

Subject: Rainbow Dash

Examiner: Dr. Open Atlas, Ph.D

Today I spoke with Rainbow Dash. She seems unfazed by her recent arrest, and indeed does not understand why she has been placed away from the public.

During the course of her incarceration, Miss Dash will undergo a series of psychiatric assessments as well as magical examinations. This will help to discover what prompted her recent assault, as well as whether other ponies are at risk.

Date: 7/4/1007

Subject: Rainbow Dash

Examiner: Dr. Open Atlas, Ph.D

Miss Dash underwent her first psychiatric examination today. She claims that she remembers nothing about her 'incident', as it was described to her. Rather, she believes that she and a female griffon named Gilda merely engaged in a heartfelt discussion, reuniting a broken friendship. As it turned out, the griffon in question (a male by the name of Gordon) insisted that the two had never met.

Either Miss Dash is lying, or she has deluded herself into believing her own version of events.

Date: 8/4/1007

Subject: Rainbow Dash

Examiner: Dr. Open Atlas, Ph.D

Today Princess Celestia admitted a mare by the name of Fluttershy into the Royal Protective Facility to visit the pony held there. A friend of Rainbow Dash and incidentally another bearer of one of the six Elements of Harmony, she appeared rather distraught. Apparently, she is linked to the Element of Kindness, a trait which matches her personality. She attempted to comfort Rainbow Dash in her quarters, although the gift she had brought - the contents of which are unknown to me - had failed to make it past security.

Their conversation was monitored, of course. This proved to be a boon, because during Fluttershy's visit an interesting event occurred. Rainbow Dash appears to take an adverse reaction to the name 'Gilda' (which happens to be that of the female griffon whom Gordon was mistaken for). When Fluttershy uttered this trigger word, Rainbow Dash's response was to shout expletives and flail at her visitor with her hooves. Fluttershy was escorted from the room in tears, as Miss Dash was restrained by security.

Needless to say, Princess Celestia has taken heed of my advice to disallow any visitors into the Royal Protective Facility in the near future. Unless, of course, it is necessary.

Date: 9/4/1007

Subject: Rainbow Dash

Examiner: Dr. Open Atlas, Ph.D

Miss Dash was in a placid state today, a definite contrast from yesterday's behaviour. Similar to her response on the 6th and 7th, Rainbow Dash does not believe that she acted in an extremely threatening and indeed violent manner towards Miss Fluttershy. Instead, she claims that in response to Fluttershy's statement ("Seeing somepony who looked so much like Gilda must have been a real shock"), she agreed with Fluttershy yet confirmed that the two had apologised and made up "a few days ago." This is, as it so happens, the day when Miss Dash was arrested for her attack on Gordon.

Rainbow Dash is scheduled for a magiomedical examination tomorrow.

Date: 10/4/1007

Subject: Rainbow Dash

Examiner: Dr. Open Atlas, Ph.D

Today, during a psychiatric assessment, Rainbow Dash admitted that she was harbouring an immense amount of hatred towards me, and that it was taking all of her willpower not to lash out. When asked for a reason, if any, she stated that it was due to the fact that I had wings. I have also learnt that Rainbow Dash has an adverse reaction to images of griffons. When presented with an image which resembles a griffon in any way, she attempted to violently destroy it. This ranged from tearing up a magiograph to smashing a figurine against the floor.

Miss Dash underwent her first magical examination today. I commented on the relative slowness of the procedure - Rainbow Dash has currently been in the Royal Protective Facility for five days already - and was informed that this was because although Princess Celestia is concerned by this odd behaviour from one of the Bearers, she shows no signs of physical damage or magical trauma. Be that as it may, I am certain that there are some changes that were not present yesterday. Her coat has lost some of its hue, I'm sure of it. And something about her neck doesn't look right. I have mentioned this to Dr. Silver Shoe, and he seems to agree with me. I hope he will look over this in the next examination.

Date: 11/4/1007

Subject: Rainbow Dash

Examiner: Dr. Open Atlas, Ph.D

The results of Miss Dash's examination have been delivered to me. Interestingly enough, both the mare's coat and cutie mark have faded, and in the past twelve hours the rate of colour loss has been phenomenal. There is also cracking around the hooves, and they seem unusually brittle. It should be noted that up until twelve hours ago this change was very gradual, and could not be noticed without constant scrutiny (which, in my case, was provided through Rainbow Dash's psychiatric assessments).

In addition to this, there is a slightly raised and discoloured band of skin around her neck, with a faint scar underneath which appears to take the shape of a lightning bolt. The overall effect is that of a necklace or medallion. When Princess Celestia was informed of this, she reacted with shock; as it turns out the deformed skin looks very similar to the Element of Loyalty. Dr. Silver Shoe is conducting another examination on a sample of skin from Rainbow Dash's neck, comparing it with a sample from beneath the disfigurement. Hair, hoof, feather, and cutie mark samples will be tested as well: in short, centres of magical concentration.

Her aggressive triggers seem to have broadened to a great extent. While before it was only griffons which set her off, and anger generated by the sight of wings, she has now taken to viciously attacking anything with wings. I now conduct her psychiatric assessments while wearing a morph band - which just goes to show how important this is to Princess Celestia now. Morph bands are not just handed out to anypony.

It may be of note that she only responds with violence towards feathered wings. Insect wings and indeed batpony wings do not generate any reaction.

Date: 11/4/1007

Subject: Applejack

Examiner: Dr. Open Atlas, Ph.D

A second pony by the name of Applejack, coincidentally both a Bearer and a close friend of Rainbow Dash, was brought to the Royal Protective Facility. Similarly to Miss Dash, she had been arrested for battery. However, while Rainbow Dash's actions merely caused bruising (the word 'merely' is relative here, as such an attack is nearly unprecedented. Violent crime and indeed crime in general is almost unheard of throughout Equestria), Applejack's attack left the victim, an unnamed male pony, hospitalised with broken bones and missing teeth. According to reports, she was restrained by a third pony, her brother, before any further damage could be done.

What is shocking, however, is that in Applejack's psychiatric assessment today she made it rather clear that she intended to beat her victim to death. The reason she gave was "he was talking about [Rainbow Dash]. Nopony talks about [Rainbow Dash]."

A magical assessment was undertaken with considerably more hast than Miss Dash's. Initial findings show the same raised and discoloured band of skin around the neck, with a scar underneath that corresponds directly to the symbol of the Element of Honesty - an apple. She has not yet shown any signs of colour loss, nor damage to the hooves. However, Dr. Silver Shoe is of the opinion that she should be placed under observation, in order to determine whether this deterioration will occur. The rest of the magiomedical team is in agreement with him.

Needless to say, Princess Celestia has commissioned several guardsponies to keep an eye on the remaining four Bearers. As of today they have yet to exhibit any abnormal behaviour.

Date: 12/4/1007

Subject: Rainbow Dash

Examiner: Dr. Open Atlas, Ph.D

Dr. Silver Shoe presented me with the results of Miss Dash's second magical examination. They are rather worrying. The band of disfigured skin around her neck appears to be infused with an extremely powerful form of magic, albeit in a small amount. The worrying part is that the magic has a resonance which perfectly matches that of each of the Elements of Harmony. The magic has noticeably permeated Miss Dash's red blood cells, travelled around her body, and accumulated in areas with already magical properties. To be precise: her hooves, feathers, and cutie mark. Because the 'pathomagic' resonates at a level vastly different to her own natural magic, the telekinesis localis just above the hooves and the repulsion organs in her feathers (all of which depend on Miss Dash's natural magic) are deteriorating rapidly. Her coat and mane are affected as well, due to extreme magical corruption around her cutie mark. All other areas of the body show no sign damage caused by the magic. Miss Dash underwent three magical detox treatments today, all of which had no positive effect. If anything, they may serve to accelerate the process in the long run.

Date: 12/4/1007

Subject: Applejack

Examiner: Dr. Open Atlas, Ph.D

Applejack's condition has deteriorated extremely rapidly in the last twelve hours, in the same manner as that of Rainbow Dash as recorded on the 11th. In this case, however, the decay was more severe and did in twelve hours what took eight days to occur in Miss Dash. She displays the same physical symptoms: discolouration, cracked and brittle hooves, severe damage to the telekinesis localis. She displays an extra symptom as well: that of muscle atrophy around the hind legs and pelvis. It should be noted that the damage to Applejack's hooves is far more extreme than Rainbow Dash's state; Dr. Silver Shoe hypothesises that this and the extra symptom is because Miss Applejack is an earth pony, and thus the pathomagic targets the defining characteristics of her breed. That is to say, the stronger hooves and more powerful leg muscles. Rainbow Dash, on the other hoof, is a pegasus and so the pathomagic targets her wings in particular. I believe that more cases are required before any decisions can be made.

While Rainbow Dash's trigger is anything which looks or sounds like anything griffon-related, be it a name beginning with G or a feather, Applejack has but one trigger: Miss Dash. Hearing Rainbow Dash's name spoken by anypony but herself causes Applejack to attack with intent to kill. It is clear, however, that Miss Applejack is becoming rather possessive and obsessive in regards to Miss Dash.

Fluttershy attempted to visit Applejack today, but was turned away. This, of course, is for own safety.

Date: 13/4/1007

Subject: Rainbow Dash

Examiner: Dr. Open Atlas, Ph.D

It is evident that Rainbow Dash has gone insane. Her aversion to feathers has become so strong that she attempted to break her own wings earlier today. Immediately after being restrained and subsequently sedated, however, she claimed no knowledge of the event. In a brief moment of lucidity, she involved herself in a petty squabble with one of the younger doctors. As she stuck her tongue out, she suffered a violent seizure and bit straight through it. And then swallowed it, rather happily.

Her physical condition has deteriorated to the extreme. All colour has faded from her coat, mane, eyes, and tail, and her cutie mark is all but gone. She is entirely grey. Her feathers are crumbling and falling out rapidly, and the damage to her telekinesis localis is such that it is impossible for Miss Dash to pick up objects. In addition, her hooves are so painfully cracked that walking is torture. However, even if her legs were in a fit state to wall, she lacks the energy to do so. She is very lethargic.

Dr. Silver Shoe and Princess Celestia are both convinced that the Elements of Harmony are the cause of this. Judging from the obvious signs (the distorted skin around the neck being the main one), I am inclined to agree with them.

Date: 13/4/1007

Subject: Applejack

Examiner: Dr. Open Atlas, Ph.D

Having reached the same state of decay as Rainbow Dash yesterday, Applejack's body now deteriorates at the same rate as the pegasus. Her coat is the same grey as that of Miss Dash's, and like Miss Dash her cutie mark has vanished almost completely. She sits in her room, constantly muttering Rainbow Dash's name. One of the younger doctors (the same one who was arguing with Rainbow Dash) suggested that we observe what would happen if we placed Rainbow Dash and Applejack in the same room. I dismissed that idea, but Dr. Silver Shoe mused that we could use a life-size doll or figurine in the shape of Rainbow Dash instead. This proved to be not such a good idea. Upon seeing the doll, Applejack rushed over to it, alternating between sobbing and tearing out chunks of the doll with her teeth.

It is rather horrifying that both Applejack and Rainbow Dash have transformed from healthy, sane ponies to broken wrecks in a matter of days. On a happier note (happiness also being relative here - nopony should have to go through this), evidence strongly suggests that only Bearers - that is, ponies who have worn or used the Elements of Harmony - are affected. This does imply that only a maximum of six seven ponies may succumb.

Date: 13/4/1007

Subject: Rarity

Examiner: Dr. Open Atlas, Ph.D

The third of the Bearers, Rarity, was brought in late this afternoon. She was apprehended when two Royal Guard ponies who were assigned to observe the Bearers spotted her haggling with a shopkeeper for an suspiciously large quantity of strong anaesthetic. Miss Rarity seemed rather cheerful, and only too happy to accompany the guardsponies to the Royal Protective Facility. It soon became clear, however, that Rarity was suffering the same loss of sanity as Applejack and Rainbow Dash. As I talked to her, she only too happily revealed that the anaesthetic was for drugging and abducting several ponies. She then assured me that this was a perfectly reasonable thing to do, as she would turn the skins into a series of fashionable hide jackets. She is now detained in the Royal Protective Facility until further notice.

Rarity will undergo the same magiomedical examination as the other two Bearers, although Dr. Silver Shoe is of the firm opinion that she will display the same physical symptoms that we have observed before. Dr. Silver Shoe also believes that the pathomagic will begin breaking down her body in short order. She already has very slight cracking around the hooves and horn, and the raised and yellowed skin around the neck is visible from a close distance.

Princess Celestia will send guardsponies in the morning to collect the remaining three Bearers, so we can discover if they will exhibit the same symptoms. In addition, the number of Royal Guards observing these three ponies has been increased.

Date: 14/4/1007

Notes on examinations of Fluttershy, Pinkamena Diane Pie, Twilight Sparkle

Examiner: Dr. Open Atlas, Ph.D

Physically and mentally these three appear as healthy as they should be. No cracking, no glimpses of insanity. Nothing. I did notice several things that seemed out of the ordinary, but I later discovered that the three mares routinely displayed these traits. In addition, Dr. Silver Shoe noticed trace amounts of ingrained and possibly corrupted magic on Pinkamena Pie, particularly the resonances associated with teleportation, telepathy, and matter compression. Twilight Sparkle was also rather restless, but she informed me that she was conducting an experiment with her assistant, and she wanted to get back to it as soon as possible. The Princess informs me that Miss Sparkle can become obsessed with knowledge and anything relating to it, so that would account for her restlessness.

I requested that Princess Celestia allowed my fellow doctors and I to continue examining Pinkie Pie especially, but she refused. She also forbid us from keeping them in the Royal Protective Facility to pre-empt any homicidal or overly aggressive incidents.

Date: 14/4/1007

Subject: Rainbow Dash

Examiner: Dr. Open Atlas, Ph.D

Rainbow Dash's mind is completely destroyed. She is entirely grey, with no cutie mark. Her wings are damaged from yesterday's self-harming session, and her feathers have entirely fallen out. Her tail and mane followed suit. Her hooves have crumbled away completely, revealing raw muscle and bone. She does nothing but eat, drink, and defecate. She screams all the time save when she is eating or drinking, and seems to be attempting to utter words around the stump of her tongue. She does not sleep.

On the plus side, she no longer displays any aggressive tendencies.

Something which I find incredibly odd: the band of distorted skin around her neck has changed from yellow to a metallic gold, glistening with some kind of fluid. Beneath this is a throbbing red growth in the shape of a lighting bolt. Upon comparison, a colleague of Dr. Silver Shoe informed me that the band was a precise match for the Element of Loyalty (in terms of shape and colour).

Date: 14/4/1007

Subject: Applejack

Examiner: Dr. Open Atlas, Ph.D

Applejack's mind and body have wasted away to the same stage as Rainbow Dash. Her rear leg muscles have atrophied such that she can only drag herself along the ground with her front legs. Not only that, but the band of skin around her neck looks exactly like her corresponding Element. She has not stopped muttering Rainbow Dash's name under her breath.

Every scientist working on this is in agreement: anypony who has used the Elements has the potential to become affected. Sadly, Princess Celestia has decided to give the remaining three the benefit of the doubt.

Date: 14/4/1007

Subject: Rarity

Examiner: Dr. Open Atlas, Ph.D

Rarity has regressed at such an extreme rate that the total atrophy is more severe than Rainbow Dash or Applejack. Not only is there hoof damage and colour loss, but her skin has cracked and crumbled away. Swathes of muscle has been exposed, and Rarity's spine is showing in places. A band of distorted skin appeared around her neck as well, rapidly taking the appearance of the Element of Generosity. While Rainbow Dash screams and Applejack mutters, Rarity giggles quietly to herself. Occasionally she softly croons the names of those who she would have skinned.

As Dr. Silver Shoe suspected, her horn broke off after the nervous membrane rotted away.

Date: 15/4/1007

Subject: Rainbow Dash

Examiner: Dr. Open Atlas, Ph.D

Rainbow Dash's condition is now stable. That is to say, she has not degenerated any further.

Date: 15/4/1007

Subject: Applejack

Examiner: Dr. Open Atlas, Ph.D

Applejack's condition is now stable.

Date: 15/4/1007

Subject: Rarity

Examiner: Dr. Open Atlas, Ph.D

Rarity's condition is now stable.

Date: 15/4/1007

Subject: Twilight Sparkle

Examiner: Dr. Open Atlas, Ph.D

As it turns out, our assumptions about Twilight Sparkle were wrong. Horribly wrong. I realise now that I should have asked her about the nature of the experiment she was conducting with, or rather on her assistant. It is highly likely that had Fluttershy not interrupted her shortly after the three mares assessed yesterday afternoon returned from Canterlot, then the dragon involved may well have died. Indeed, Spike will never be the same again, as will Fluttershy.

Princess Celestia has finally agreed that the two remaining sane mares be placed in the Royal Protective Facility, to avoid the chance that other ponies will be injured by their actions. All six will be placed under constant surveillance (although it is unlikely that Rainbow Dash, Applejack, and Rarity will be going anywhere). The Princess has also decreed that Fluttershy shall receive the finest medical treatment that Canterlot can provide, although it is obvious that she will be ground-bound for the rest of her life. Spike, the dragon who was critically injured by Twilight Sparkle's actions, will also receive such treatment. Despite what the Princess might say, she appeared reluctant to extend the offer until I prompted her.

Twilight Sparkle displayed rage when, in response to a question, she was told that she would not be allowed to experiment further on Spike. Fluttershy, despite her shocked state, informed me that she often became agitated when knowledge was denied from her. It could be that whatever is affecting these ponies amplifies their habits to murderous extremes. If so, I dread to think what could happen if Pinkie Pie was in Ponyville when she succumbed.

Twilight Sparkle already shows the telltale signs of pathomagic-induced decay. The other two do not, although it is certain to only be a matter of time. It will be interesting to see the effects of this pathomagic on an alicorn. I have expressed the importance of an examination to Princess Celestia, but she has refused. It is possible that alicorns are immune to the more extreme effects present in Rainbow Dash, Applejack, and Rarity in the same way that alicorns are mostly unaffected by magical diseases.

If they are not, then Princess Celestia will almost certainly be affected.

Date: 15/4/1007

Subject: Pinkamena Diane Pie

Examiner: Dr. Open Atlas, Ph.D

Pinkamena Diane Pie (henceforth referred to as Pinkie Pie) shows no signs of physical or mental damage. In fact, her demeanour is almost identical to that of when she was assessed on the 14th. She acts with a greater degree of nervousness, but this is probably a combination of her disposition and the current events - that is, four of her closest friends going insane. I am certain that some kind of symptom will be visible soon. However, Dr. Silver Shoe is adamant that the symptoms manifest themselves simultaneously - that is, Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie cannot go insane because there is no-one for them to attack. This, admittedly, does provide an explanation for why Twilight Sparkle displayed no physical symptoms, but it is quite obviously incorrect. For one thing, Rainbow Dash's physical symptoms manifested themselves five days after she attacked Gordon the griffin. Not only that, but Twilight Sparkle showed no sign of physical damage until after she was apprehended.

Only time will tell whether anything will develop.

Date: 15/4/1007

Subject: Fluttershy

Examiner: Dr. Open Atlas, Ph.D

Fluttershy, like Pinkie Pie, shows no sign of physical or mental damage (excluding the massive trauma dealt to her left wing). However, she is even more aghast at the current turn of events than Pinkie Pie. This is most likely due to the character traits she has which lead to her being chosen as the bearer of the Element of Kindness.

Date: 16/4/1007

Subject: Rainbow Dash

Examiner: Dr. Open Atlas, Ph.D

Rainbow Dash's condition is stable.

Date: 16/4/1007

Subject: Applejack

Examiner: Dr. Open Atlas, Ph.D

Applejack's condition is stable.

Date: 16/4/1007

Subject: Rarity

Examiner: Dr. Open Atlas, Ph.D

Rarity's condition is stable.

Date: 16/4/1007

Subject: Twilight Sparkle

Examiner: Dr. Open Atlas, Ph.D

Twilight Sparkle has degenerated at the same rate as Rarity, and the stress put on her system has increased the decay to a similar level. Her feathers have crumbled away, her horn rotted and fell off, her coat and cutie mark has faded away, and her hooves have shattered.

She cries, calling out Spike's name along with reassurances that she never meant him any harm.

Date: 16/4/1007

Subject: Pinkie Pie

Examiner: Dr. Open Atlas, Ph.D

Pinkie Pie is now deceased, though not due to the physical effects of the pathomagic.

At half past twelve in the afternoon, Pinkie Pie escaped from her cell room. And by 'escaped', I mean that she teleported. Quite how, nopony has the faintest idea. Princess Celestia was immediately notified of this, and ten Royal Guards were dispatched to find the mare. They found her an hour and a quarter later - one hour of flying to the most likely location, and fifteen minutes to spot her. Alas, they were too late. In the very short space of time that she had, Pinkie Pie managed to round up every pony in Ponyville and proceeded to hold an enormous party in the centre of town. The reasoning behind this was presumably to cheer up the townsfolk at the sudden disappearance of a group of well-known ponies. When we found her, she was standing on a stage, giving a speech dedicated to "the best party any of you will ever go to." She was seemingly oblivious to the corpses that lined the streets. She had poisoned the food. According to the Royal Guardsponies who were at the scene, she too succumbed to the poison just before they managed to reach the stage.

Her body will be examined later today. I expect that Dr. Silver Shoe will find the tell-tale signs on Pinkie Pie. It will be interesting to see the effects of the pathomagic on a corpse. I have yet to lay eyes on her.

Date: 16/4/1007

Subject: Fluttershy

Examiner: Dr. Open Atlas, Ph.D

Princess Celestia has forbidden me or the other doctors to examine Fluttershy in any way. Instead, Fluttershy will be taking an extended audience with the Princess today.

Later, I will request if I may examine the Princess. As we now know that the pathomagic can affect alicorns, it is likely that she will develop symptoms. If she becomes insane in the same manner as the rest, then I dread to think what could happen.

Epilogue

Fluttershy sat on the narrow bed, trying to suppress a sob. She desperately turned her mind to her animals, a book she'd read recently, what she had had for breakfast that day. Anything to avoid thinking about her friends.

It had been more than a week since those policeponies had taken Rainbow Dash away, after she tried to hurt that griffin. It was just so unlike her to just lash out like that. And then Fluttershy had gone to visit Dashie in Canterlot, and they had talked, and then Dashie just leapt from her chair and swung at her! And then those burly stallions had burst in and held Dashie down, and she was yelling and struggling and Fluttershy was sprawled on the ground... What had gotten into her? Rainbow Dash was energetic, yes, and she was boisterous and maybe a bit hot-headed, but this was wrong.

One of the white-coated ponies who worked at the Royal Protective Facility had said that Fluttershy wasn't allowed to come and see Rainbow Dash anymore. Fluttershy was sad when she couldn't see her friend, but... did she really want to?

And then Applejack went and got herself into trouble when she hurt that poor pony who had stopped round Sweet Apple Acres. Big Mac had looked worried when Fluttershy went to see him. He had confided in Fluttershy that, had he not been there to hold Applejack back, he did not know if she would have stopped. The white-coated ponies had turned Fluttershy away again when she tried to visit both her friends in Canterlot.

Two days later, Fluttershy turned up at Rarity's house to find that she was not there. As she went looking around town, she arrived at the market just in time to see the policeponies taking Rarity away as well. Something had fallen out of the unicorn's saddlebag; a piece of paper with several names written on it, Fluttershy's included. She thought that her friend must have been buying a gift or something for the ponies on the list, or maybe she was planning for a new set of clothes. She just didn't know what was so bad about going shopping that they had to take Rarity away. Fluttershy didn't think any more about that until later that day.

The letter had materialised itself in her letterbox just as she was arriving home, a puff of green smoke wisping its way out of the box. Fluttershy read it, skimming over the contents as her mind was on other things. She found it hard to ignore the official-yet-friendly summons from Princess Celestia, however.

A train ride and a walk through a veritable labyrinth of of castle corridors later, Fluttershy found herself and her two remaining friends waiting in an area surprisingly similar to a doctor's waiting room. If such a room had been made out of slightly mossy stone, with nary a magazine in sight. One by one, Pinkie, Twilight and finally Fluttershy herself were called into a second room. A rather nice pegasus who introduced himself as Dr. Open Atlas seated Fluttershy on a couch and asked her a lot of questions, some of them uncomfortably personal. But there was something off, she thought, about the way that the doctor kept on glancing at her neck, out of the corner of his eye.

After Dr. Open Atlas had finished asking his questions, and put away his inky papers, and stopped writing things down on his notepad, Fluttershy was ushered into yet another room. Here a group of white-coated ponies prodded her with bits of metal and waved expensive-looking instruments in her direction. They chipped tiny flakes off her hooves, they scraped skin from her neck, they snipped off little snippets from her feathers. In fact, when they were finished Fluttershy felt distinctively more uncomfortable than when Dr. Open Atlas had been asking his slightly rude questions. That Dr. Silver Shoe looked at her strangely as well, though this was more disconcerting because he was both rather old and happened to be possessing of things that could poke and prod. It was, she concluded, rather more than a run-of-the-mill doctor's appointment.

The thing was that nopony had told her why she or any of her friends had been called to Canterlot.

That was remedied when Princess Celestia seated the three of them down and explained that, in fact, Dashie and the rest weren't just acting strangely. There was something very wrong with them, something which nopony seemed to be able to explain sufficiently. Everypony there was worried, to say the least. Princess Celestia had reassured them all that nothing bad was going to happen to them. The tests that the doctors had put them through had come up clean, and there didn't seem to be any trace of the mysterious thing that was causing the whole mess. While this apparently satisfied Pinkie, who was rather optimistic, and Twilight who would take anything Celestia said at face value (up to a point), Fluttershy wasn't entirely convinced that the alicorn was being entirely sincere. But she didn't want to cause a fuss and look bad in front of the Princess. She stayed quiet. On the train back to Ponyville, Twilight looked worried. She muttered something about an experiment, and that she didn't want to keep Spike waiting with nothing to do. Or possibly being done, it was hard to hear.

And that afternoon, Fluttershy went to see how Twilight was doing. Just a friendly house call, maybe have something to eat and to drink, just provide some company during the difficult times they had all been thrust into. The two of them could even go around to Pinkie's, surprise her with a little get-together. Fluttershy had come up to the door and knocked.

"Who's there?" called a voice from inside.

"It's me!" replied Fluttershy. "Fluttershy," she added in case any clarification was required.

"I can't come to the door right now, but come in by all means," Twilight called. Fluttershy complied, wiping her hooves on the doormat as she did so. A tingle of annoyance ran through her body; it was one of those mats which slid around the floor, so that one could never properly cleanse one's hooves.

"Where are you, Twilight?"

"I'm downstairs, working on a little something with Spike. Come on down, I think you'll like this." By the sound of her voice, Twilight was happy. Not too surprising, as she always enjoyed working with her assistant. Her friend continued to talk as Fluttershy descended the stairs towards the basement.

"I'm actually writing a book, Fluttershy. I've got lots of material, but I just needed to do this in order to write the last section." There was a pause. Fluttershy thought she heard an odd little noise. She raised a hoof to the door handle.

"Stop wriggling, Spike. I know this might be just a little uncomfortable, but if you just relax everything will be fine." Then there was that noise again. A little squeak. "There, you see? That wasn't so hard, was it?"

Fluttershy opened the door.

There was nopony there.

"Over here, Fluttershy!" She looked to her left, a short way away from the door.. There was Twilight, beaming at her. There was the apron Twilight used for cooking, white but stained with red. There was Spike, lying on the table. There was the pair of pliers suspended in the air, something white held between them. There was the little red trolley with the red knives and the red scissors and the oh Celestia, the little dishes with the lumps of red

"So what do you think, Fluttershy?" asked Twilight, turning to face her. "Spike offered to help me with an experiment! I'm writing a book on dragons, you see. I've got their diet, their behaviour, their likes and dislikes... " The pliers floated over to a jar. Fluttershy's eyes widened as she saw it contained seven of Spike's claws. The eighth one dropped from the pliers.

"The only thing I haven't got is a detailed description of their internal biology. Come over and take a look!" Fluttershy looked on, rooted to the spot, her eyes wide, as Twilight reached for the dishes on the trolley.

"This one," she said as she raised a reddish-purple piece of meat, "is the igniferous gland. And this one- " she held up a pink, worm-like object, "-is his tongue, and this- " Twilight reached down and lifted up a long object the same shade of purple as Spike's scales, "-is his tail. I removed it so that he would lie flat on the table."

"T-Twilight," Fluttershy stammered, her stomach lurching, "what did you do?"

"Why, vivisection, of course! Do you like it?"

"Twilight, you - you need help. Just - just come with me, and we can get Spike to a hospital, and we can tell Princess Celestia about this... "

"Tell Celestia? Of course not! The book's a surprise for her. And Spike doesn't need a hospital. The whole point of this is so that I can remove his organs, not put them back in again!" Her eyes narrowed. "Unless, of course, you don't like it. Is that it?"

"No!" said Fluttershy. "I don't like it. It's horrible! You - you've gone crazy!"

The pliers dropped onto the basement floor with a clatter.

"I'm sorry? What did you say?"

"You're crazy! Spike's hurt! Why can't you see that? I'm going to find a policepony. They'll know what to do."

"No, you won't."

"Twilight... "

"No. You won't."

"Twilight, what are you- "

"STEP AWAY FROM THAT DOOR NOW!" Something bright flew towards Fluttershy at eyewatering speed. Fluttershy cried out as the silver dish, its contents splattered on the floor, sliced straight through her wing and embedded itself in the wall. Fluttershy struggled to free herself, as the dish still pinned her by a flap of skin. Twilight walked closer.

"I knew you were jealous, Fluttershy. Bullies like you - they're everywhere! You always try to get other ponies in trouble when they can do something better than you can. Well, guess what? Maybe I can do an extra chapter on pegasus organs as well!" Fluttershy screamed again as she teared herself free. Her wing stayed behind, completely severed. She fled up the stairs, and heard Twilight following her.

"No! Come back here! We can make this quick!" Fluttershy sobbed as the stump of her wing brushed against the staircase wall, smearing blood on the wallpaper and sending a horrible pain through her body. Something flew over her head, and as Fluttershy reached the top of the stairs she saw the kitchen knife embedded in the wall. Another makeshift surgical instrument sliced into her flank. She ran through Twilight's hallway, out the front door-

Her hooves slid out from under her as she tried to gallop over the slippery doormat. She fell forward and landed face-first in the street. As Fluttershy tried to get to her hooves, she felt something slam into her back and she fell again. Raising her head, she saw Twilight standing over her with a pair of kitchen scissors and a scalpel floating in the air. They both were encrusted with Spike's blood.

"Now we're ready to start! Maybe if I cut your legs off, you'll stay still."

The makeshift weapons drew back, and then-

Fluttershy's train of thought was interrupted by a knock on the door of her room. She opened it.

"Hello?"

"Hello, Miss Fluttershy." A golden-armoured Royal Guard unicorn stood on the other side. He was one of the two who had saved her from Twilight, encasing the alicorn in a magical bubble before escorting the pair to the Royal Protective Facility. "Princess Celestia wishes to speak with you." Fluttershy nodded, and the two of them walked in silence to the throne room. They stopped outside the towering doors - large enough for a fully-grown minotaur to fit through, for when the Princesses held diplomatic talks - and the unicorn cleared his throat.

"Miss Fluttershy is here to speak with the Princesses." The pair of guards outside the doors, a unicorn mare and a pegasus stallion, looked at him.

"Princess Celestia and Princess Luna are engaged in a meeting with the nobility of Equestria. Please wait until they are finished," spoke the stallion. As he said this, the doors opened and a large group of ponies meandered out. As they passed, Fluttershy could hear some of them whispering under their breath.

"There's another poor cripple asking favours from the Princesses, I suppose."

"I would watch who you are calling a cripple, Your Grace. That is Princess Celestia's new favourite."

"What happened to that purple mare?"

"Oh, bad business there, Your Grace. Very bad business."

"The Princesses will see you now."

The doors shut behind Fluttershy with a loud clang, making her jump a little. The harsh sound seemed out of place in the splendorous room, which one almost expected choir music emanating throughout. Fluttershy laid her eyes upon the Princesses. Celestia spoke, her voice warm and friendly.

"Ah, my little pony. I have wanted to speak with you. Come closer, Fluttershy." She did so, feeling slightly elated as she approached the white alicorn. By contrast, Princess Luna seemed slumped in her throne, and rather downcast. "My dear Fluttershy, you are worried. Why is this?"

"It's my friends!" blurted Fluttershy. "There's something wrong with them! I - I went to see them, in the - in the Facility, and they were grey and - and... " Celestia smiled.

"Come closer, dear Fluttershy. I have something we wish to show you." Fluttershy did so, stepping forward. "Good. Now, take a good look at my sister Luna." Fluttershy complied, looking over the alicorn. She was slumped, and she was staring at her hooves-

Princess Luna toppled out of her throne and hit the marble floor with a splat and a ripping, tearing noise. A thin red fluid leaked out from underneath her belly. Fluttershy let out a cry, and jumped backwards.

"W-what's happened to Princess Luna?"

"Well, our dear, I found some time during that rather tedious meeting to exercise our command over the solar orb. Quite simply, I melted our sister from the inside."

"You - you- " Fluttershy gulped. "You've gone mad as well, Princess Celestia!"

"Not mad, not mad. Just bored. I've had the same sister for over a thousand years - wouldn't you agree that we need some variation? Out with the old, in with the new?" Fluttershy ran to the door, tried to open it, but it wouldn't budge. "Do stop being such a pain and come here, Fluttershy."

"Please! Let me out!"

"I said come here, Fluttershy." The alicorn's horn glowed, and Fluttershy found herself being pulled by an unseen force to come to rest a few metres from Celestia. "That's better. Now we can talk." She paused. "My dear, do you know why we wanted you to come here?" Fluttershy shook her head, too afraid to reply. "No? I shall tell you, then.

"Equestria requires us to share its rulership with one other pony at all times. In addition, only an alicorn may rule, and they may not be the ruler of any other territory. This, unfortunately, rules Princess Cadence out. Up until about half an hour ago, Princess Luna qualified, but has now been struck from the list for being obnoxious, monotonous, and dead. The latter, admittedly, is not her own doing, but to use the colloquial: she had it coming. That leaves one other pony available, my delightful student Twilight Sparkle. Alas, she is now insane and thus unqualified. After all, who would want a madpony on the throne? The thing is, though, that the definition of 'alicorn' in those days was rather lax, as the ponies of yore obviously possessed now-antiquated knowledge. The definition, in case you are wondering, is 'a pony possessing of both wings and a horn of magical property'. You may notice that that does not, strictly speaking, mean that one must be born an alicorn to be considered a candidate."

Fluttershy's eyes widened, as she realised what Princess Celestia was about to say.

"No, please! Not me!"

"Ah, astute as ever, my dear Fluttershy! We can make you into a very special little alicorn, in just a few easy steps. First, the wings. I seem to notice that you only have one. That would never do - the rules is wings plural. Now we could simply give you a second, but that would not provide a very pleasing image. After all, there isn't much worse in the world than a lopsided princess!" Celestia giggled. "So what we're going to do is a smidgen of recycling. I'll take the wings off this very handy corpse that just presented itself- " Princess Celestia's telekinesis took hold of Luna's wings and pulled, and they came off easily. "-and trim a little off of you- " Fluttershy screamed as the bandaged stub and the healthy wing on her back was wrenched off. Before the pain had died away, Celestia jammed her sister's wings onto the bleeding gouges in Fluttershy's flesh. "-and weld everything together!" A coil of smoke drifted into the air, and a searing pain ran up Fluttershy's back. There was a horrible stench of burning hair and roasting flesh.

"Congratulations, Fluttershy!" exclaimed Princess Celestia, clapping her hoof against the ground in appreciation of her work. "Your wings are whole again! And we'll wager you didn't even feel a thing." The pegasus sobbed.

"Please, Princess, please stop! I - I don't want to be an alicorn. You're hurting me!"

"Nonsense, my little pony. This entire procedure is entirely painless." Celestia grinned. "On to the next act! Now, you'll need a horn. We can take that from this handy corpse as well." Luna's horn was removed with a disgusting squelch. "Now the thing with horns is that the base, the bit at the very very bottom needs to be in contact with the brain in order to function. So for that, I'll need to do some excavation."

As the shard of marble broke off from the floor and floated towards her, Fluttershy screamed louder.

Dr. Open Atlas arrived at the doors to the throne room, white coat flapping, to find his path blocked by two Royal Guards.

"Sorry, doctor," said one. "I know the Princess has a vested interest in what you're doing down in the dungeons, but she's given specific orders not to be disturbed while she speaks with her student."

Student? thought Open Atlas. I thought that Twilight Sparkle was...

Princess Celestia's voice suddenly flowed through the air, making the doctor jump. The guards, either used to the Princess speaking from behind a door or simply hard to shock, stayed put.

"Sonic Boom, Gleamhorn, would you please enter the throne room? I have special instructions that you must hear right now." The two Guardsponies shrugged and trooped through the doors. A few seconds later they exited, their faces all smiles.

"The Princess will see you now."

There was a chill in the air when Dr. Open Atlas entered the throne room, and his wings shuddered involuntarily. This was more than unusual, this was impossible: Princess Celestia's aura kept the room permanently warm, while Luna somehow emitted a slight breeze that stopped the room from becoming unbearably stuffy. A natural air conditioner. In fact, he could see what looked like ice in one of the corners, but there was something large heaped on top of it as well. Princess Luna was absent, but there was somepony else sitting on her throne. Was...

Was that Miss Fluttershy?

"Ah, Dr. Open Atlas. We wish to speak with you."

"Your Majesty. The reason for me speaking here, ah, coming here and speaking to your (sorry) you is so that I could... " The doctor trailed off. "I'm sorry, I meant to say that the reason for me wishing to speak with you is... um... what was it... "

"You wanted and Dr. Silver Shoe were hoping that they could perform more tests on little Fluttershy here, yes?"

"Ah, yes, Your Majesty. Actually I- aaaaaah!" Open Atlas yelped as he found himself suddenly hoisted into the air by his leg. His white coat fell around his head, then was suddenly ripped off.

"So, Dr. Atlas. You were hoping to perform your little experiments on my sister? On our new student? On my favourite alicorn out of the entirety of Equestria?"

"No!" gasped Open Atlas, as an attempt to extract himself from the invisible force resulted in him spinning on the spot. "I - I wanted to- It was Fluttershy I wanted to see, not Luna!"

"Who said anything about Luna? Fluttershy here is an alicorn. Come forward, Fluttershy!" Dr. Atlas' eyes widened as he saw Fluttershy (for it was she) step off Princess Luna's throne and slowly walk towards him. Not only did she appear to have a new set of wings, but a horn had planted itself firmly in her forehead. "Freshly created to replace poor Luna, who has been dismissed from ruling on a charge of having her organs liquefied."

"W-what? She - she's dead?"

"As a doornail."

"You - you've gone mad! Ha! You're as mad as the rest!" The doctor tried to free himself again. "Aah! Please let me down!"

"What do you think, Fluttershy dear? Should I put him down?" The terrified little alicorn nodded.

"Please don't hurt him! Please!" Princess Celestia smiled.

"Of course I won't hurt him. Sonic Boom! Gleamhorn! On the double!" The pair of royal guards outside hurried into the throne room, their halberds at the ready and large smiles plastered across their faces.

"Your Majesty?" they chorused in unison.

"Sonic Boom, Gleamhorn, get this poor pony down."

"With pleasure, Your Majesty!" the Guardsponies said together. Gleamhorn, the unicorn, swung his halberd.

Dr. Open Atlas screamed as the weapon sliced through his hind leg, dropping him to the floor. As blood flowed from the stump of his leg, the remains of the limb dropped to the ground.

"P-Princess!" gurgled Fluttershy shakily. "You - you said you wouldn't hurt him!"

"Indeed! And hurt him we didn't. It was all Gleamhorn's doing. Wasn't it, Gleamhorn?"

"Your Majesty! I live to serve, Your Majesty!"

"Don't you just love those Guardsponies when their minds are broken? So much easier to handle." As she talked, Open Atlas writhed on the floor, shrieking with pain. Princess Celestia waved a hoof in his direction.

"Sonic Boom, Gleamhorn, hold the doctor down."

"With pleasure, Your Majesty!" chorused the Royal Guards, as they grabbed Dr. Atlas' forelegs and remaining hind leg. Celestia turned to Fluttershy.

"Now, Fluttershy, I believe you were asking for a demonstration of how I killed Luna?"

"No!" sobbed the little alicorn. "Please, please don't kill him! Just - just stop!"

"Oh, please. Didn't you agree when we asked you whether I should put him down?"

"Y-yes, but not like- "

"Well, then. Watch closely please. There will be a practical test later on." Celestia's horn lit up. Dr. Atlas, who had stopped screaming over his leg, began to plead with the Princess.

"Aah! Princess, please! I - augh! I - I'm sorry that I - aaaaah! - that I tried to look at Fluttershy, just please! PleeeeeeaseAAAAAAAUUUGH!"

As he begged, his belly began to glow a deep cherry red. It slowly expanded, the skin and hair bubbling, and the pegasus' words turned once again to mindless cries. And then...

He burst.

"Hooray!" cheered Princess Celestia, oblivious to the viscera that was staining her white coat a pinkish mess. "Pop goes the pegasus!"

Fluttershy retched as a piece of stinking intestine draped over her muzzle. Shaking it off, she tried to look somewhere else to escape the gore. Her eyes fell on the two Royal Guards, who held a total of three legs connected by a thin film of skin. Dr. Open Atlas' head lay staring on the ground, his neck split apart by the expanding flesh and blood. Tiny shards of bone peppered their coats, and both of them were splashed with red.

She tried to back away, to get as far from the hideous mess that lay in the middle of the throne room. But once again, the invisible force caught her and pulled her back to Princess Celestia.

"Ah, ah, ah. We don't believe I dismissed you. You see, there's one more thing that we need to do, something that I've just noticed. You're not tall enough to pass for an alicorn, not if you're going to replace my sister. We're going to have to stretch your legs out a bit. So I'll make a gentle squeeze here, here, there and there. That should do it." And nothing happened.

"All right, then. If a gentle squeeze isn't working, then we'll try something different."

The telekinetic field contracted, breaking all four of Fluttershy's legs with a horrible snap. The pain was unlike anything she'd felt, even taking into account everything Celestia had done to her.

"Oh, good. That worked. And now, I'll stretch them." Fluttershy was floating on a sea of agony, barely noticing the pain now. "And for a finishing touch, we'll mold the bones back together. There, that wasn't hard, was it? And completely painless. That's what I love about magic." She looked around. "A-hem?"

"Oh, yes, Your Majesty! That's what's great about magic!" clamoured the Guardsponies.

"And oh, look. The poor dear's asleep. WAKE UP!" Fluttershy, who had quietly lapsed into unconsciousness, jerked awake.

"Oh, Angel, there you are. I just had the most horrible... most horrible... most... Oh, no, no, no no no!"

"Yes, our little alicorn. You must be awake, for now is the time you receive your princess name! I'm sorry, dear, but 'Fluttershy' just won't cut it. You need something original, something creative. And I have just the thing. Little alicorn, you are to be both a replacement sister and a student of mine. And so your name must reflect both these aspects of your future. Something that combines both Luna and Twilight Sparkle. Now, what could it... Eureka! You shall be... Princess Midnight Sparkle!"

The two guards stomped their hooves in approval.

"And now, dear Midnight, you must sleep. You have a big day tomorrow!" As Fluttershy lapsed into unconsciousness yet again, she could overhear the three madponies talking.

"Your Majesty, what shall we do with this doctor's corpse?"

"Oh, just drag it into the ice corner with Luna. We will have a use for it."