The Darkness Never Diesby Frost VortexChaptersChapter 1: The Shocking DiscoveryChapter 2: A Hidden SecretChapter 3: Applejack's RageChapter 4: DeceptionChapter 5: Unexpected TurnaboutsChapter 6: ForeshadowsChapter 7: SuspicionsChapter 8: Seeking the TruthChapter 1: The Shocking DiscoveryPinkie Pie sank to her knees in despair as she took in the gruesome view in front of her, breaking down into tears. "I'm so sorry, Pinkie... we couldn't save her in time." Princess Twilight Sparkle hung her head, having also been majorly effected by Rarity's sudden death. In fact, she had even neglected to do the royal duties required of her for the day and instead rushed to the Carousel Boutique as soon as word had reached her ears. "How exactly did this happen? Tell me, how exactly did this happen?" Rainbow Dash's voice rose higher and higher as she rounded on Sweetie Belle, her eyes blazing with rage. "I-I don't k-know," Sweetie Belle stammered, terror evident on her face, "I j-just came up here after R-Rarity didn't answer me and I s-saw her like t-this." "Calm down now, ya'll. Cryin' will get ya nowhere; it's best to actually do somethin' about this and find out who murdered Rarity in cold blood. Ya with me, gals?" Applejack cut into the others' devastated grieving, her tone firm. "Y-Yes," Fluttershy whispered, her eyes glittering with crystal tears, "I-I just don't get why s-somepony would do something so h-horrible." Reluctantly, the others followed in her lead, finally accepting the truth. They owed it to Rarity to at least figure out her murderer if not having saved her in time... besides, justice needed to be served properly, and the remaining friends weren't going to neglect the opportunity to do so. "We first need to investigate the crime scene," Twilight finally spoke, her choked voice piercing the eerie silence that had just begun to dominate the room. "Judging by the body, Rarity must have only been dead for at least an hour or so. Sweetie Belle, do you remember the last pony to enter the Boutique during this time?" Sweetie Belle's expression converted to that of thoughtfulness as she tried to relieve some of her previous memories. "We got like ten visitors at the same time an hour ago; it was the most visitors we've ever achieved today. Rarity was still alive back then before she went upstairs to work on a brand new line. I'm pretty sure that when she did, though, that everypony had already left." Rainbow Dash snorted quite rudely. "Well, now we have a basic picture of what the Boutique was like an hour ago. Gotta say though, it wasn't really that helpful, especially in trying to figure out who this darned killer is." "Where... where did you go when Rarity went upstairs?" Fluttershy squeaked, her voice so quiet that the others barely just heard her. "Oh, about that," Sweetie Belle paused for a brief moment before she continued, "I went to the downstairs storage room to check out some fabrics so I could try to be helpful, but when I was done and called Rarity's name a few times, she didn't respond; I think she was murdered during that time." It was then that a self-satisfied shout from Rainbow Dash caught their attention, directing their gazes to the rainbow-maned pegasus. She was standing by the bed on which Rarity's body lay upon, uncovering a discarded object that had just been hidden underneath their friend's blood-splattered blanket. "It's a knife with some kind of green substance on it," Rainbow announced, clearly proud of herself for having discovered the knife. "I'm certain this was the murder weapon that the killer used on Rarity. The substance's probably some sort of poison too, because the messy bed here shows that Rarity struggled for a bit before dying. There's also stab wounds on her that are near her vital organs." Applejack whistled. "Wow there, Rainbow. Ah never knew ya were such a good detective." Rainbow Dash, upon hearing the farmpony's words, immediately swelled with pride. "Not everyone can be as awesome as me, you know." "The window's open," Twilight suddenly remarked, her expression one of intense alarm, "which means that only a pegasus could have done this." "Well, yeah, 'cause pegasi can fly darn well. It doesn't mean that a unicorn didn't do this, though, Twi. They could have just used that magic of theirs to levitate themselves to Rarity's window," Applejack told her. "Applejack, a unicorn would have needed to exhaust a lot of strength in order to use levitation from the ground. Rarity's room isn't exactly on the first floor, you know," Twilight countered, immediately denying Applejack's far-fetched theory. Applejack - her pride slightly wounded from Twilight's words as she believed that the alicorn was insulting her intelligence - opened her mouth to speak, but was interrupted as a familiar, yet malice-filled voice, sounded from behind them. "It doesn't matter if it's a unicorn or not," Pinkie Pie growled as she pushed herself to her hooves. Her mane had deflated completely from its usual poofy state and was now a darker pink, along with her body. "I'm going to make sure that whoever murdered Rarity... will regret it. Badly." She laughed darkly, a sadistic gleam to her eyes. "Uh... Pinkie? Ya alright there?" Applejack gulped, clearly frightened at her friend's sudden change of demeanor. "Why, of course I am!" Pinkie giggled madly as she turned around to leave, her hoof now sporting a silver knife that'd appeared out of nowhere. Fluttershy was now trembling in terror, throwing anxious glances around the room. "Um, g-girls? I-I really don't l-like where this is g-going." "Oh, for Celestia's sake! She's got a bucking knife, ponies! Why are we just standing here and not trying to stop her from doing something bad instead?" Rainbow Dash suddenly burst out, no longer able to contain the frustration boiling within her. "M-Maybe because we're s-scared?" Fluttershy suggested meekly, only to receive an angry glare from the rainbow-maned pegasus in response. Immediately, she shrunk down, her terror having increased tenfold. "Ya've gotta admit, though, that Rainbow does have a point," Applejack said, her voice awfully quieter than normal. "For all Ah know, Pinkie's gone insane with despair an' there's a murderer - no, maybe two now that Pinkie's like that - on the loose. She won't stop in her quest for blood until she's avenged Rarity." Twilight sighed deeply. "That's not the point, Applejack. The point is that as the one of the Elements of Harmony, murdering somepony else in cold blood is the one thing that Harmony absolutely forbids, which means that after she's gotten her revenge... she'll no longer be the Element of Laughter that we know and love." A sharp intake of breath on Fluttershy's part didn't do anything to improve their now dampened moods. "Why didn't you tell us earlier, Twilight? We've gotta stop Pinkie before she actually kills somepony! C'mon, girls, let's go!" Driven by her utter determination, Rainbow Dash zoomed out of the room through the open window and into Ponyville, where she then cast a desperate eye for a pink - actually, dark pink - mare. Back at the Carousel Boutique, Applejack was about to charge out of Rarity's room when she realized that the others were still exchanging anxious glances. "Aren't ya'll comin'? This isn't yer normal thing that happens every day, y'know! We've got two possible murderers on our hooves!" "U-Um, do I h-have to g-go?" Fluttershy spoke up, only to receive a glare from Applejack. The farmpony narrowed her eyes. "Don't tell me that even durin' a time like this, ya still can't get outta that shell of yers, Fluttershy! Pinkie's gone mad and Rarity's been buckin' killed! Do ya not care?" "I-I d-don't k-know," Fluttershy swallowed, visibly trembling, "I-I'm just really s-scared." "Yer either comin' or not, Fluttershy." Without another word, Applejack spun around and galloped out of sight, leaving Fluttershy and Twilight behind. Twilight glanced sideways at the yellow pegasus. "I can't really help you on this, Fluttershy. You've got to learn to come out of your shell, and since there's important things at stake, I'm pretty sure it won't be quite difficult for you. Be strong for our friends." She too broke into a run as she exited Fluttershy's view. "For my friends... I have to be strong... for them." Fluttershy gulped, staring after Twilight helplessly as she engaged in a mental battle with her very own personality. Applejack cursed under her breath. She could no longer see Rainbow Dash from below, as the rainbow-maned pegasus had just suddenly disappeared for no reason whatsoever. Where the hay is she? Soon after, a rainbow streak caught her eye as she once again raised her gaze to the sky, finally catching a glimpse of the friend she'd been searching for. "Rainbow!" she called as loudly as she could, waving a frantic hoof. To her relief, Rainbow Dash slowed down, having finally noticed her. "Applejack?" she asked as she landed, folding her wings. "What are you doing out here?' "Tryin' to find Pinkie as well, of course! What, ya thought that ya'd be alone in this?" Applejack responded matter-of-factly, tipping her Stetson slightly downward. Rainbow Dash shrugged. "I haven't spotted her since she ran away from the Boutique. Not even a single hint of her anywhere, which is impossible." "Let's try again then," Applejack suggested. "Ah'll help ya out with the searchin'. Ya with me?" "I thought you'd never ask," Rainbow grinned, unfolding her wings and taking flight once again. "C'mon, then! We haven't got all day, you know!" "Right behind ya, pardner!" Applejack took off after the rainbow-maned pegasus, filled with a newfound energy. Pinkie Pie - or rather, Pinkamena Diane Pie - paused as she passed Sugarcube Corner, her past memories flashing before her as she witnessed scenes of her still being happy and hosting fun parties for other ponies, always bringing forth a smile upon their faces. I was so happy back then... what happened to me that made me this way? However, as soon as she'd began pondering about what encouraged her transformation into her alter ego, Pinkamena seized control again as hatred and fury once again filled her. "Rarity must be avenged no matter the cost!" Pinkie growled, her now maniacal gaze darting all around her as she searched for her desired victim. "Pinkie, don't ya dare move another hoof!" a familiar, heavily accented voice reached the deranged mare's ears as she whirled around to find Applejack standing there, panting heavily. The sound of wingbeats also attracted her attention as Rainbow Dash landed beside the farmpony, folding her wings. "We've finally gotcha, Pinkie!" Pinkie narrowed her eyes, a demented grin forming on her face. If I can't find out who murdered Rarity... I'll murder everypony until somepony admits they're the culprit! "Hey, Dashie!" she sang, her silver knife shining menacingly in the sun as she slowly advanced on the rainbow-maned pegasus. Rainbow Dash, realizing Pinkie's true intent, quickly screamed as she unfolded her wings and bolted to the sky. "Don't you wanna play? Aww, c'mon, don't run from your friend Pinkie Pie!" "You're not my friend! You'll never be! I just want the old Pinkie Pie back!" Rainbow Dash shouted back, increasing her speed. Pinkie, upon hearing her words, immediately faltered as her grip loosened on her knife and it clattered to the floor loudly. "You... want the old me back?" she whispered, her voice cracking. "Eeyup," Applejack said in a perfect imitation of her brother, trotting into view. Pinkie recoiled in surprise; she'd forgotten that the farmpony was there. "Don't be like this, Pinkie. Just 'cause Rarity died doesn't mean sheddin' blood is the answer. We'll always honor Rarity's memory and the generous things she's done for us. Besides, Ah'm certain she's in a better place now, enjoyin' makin' pretty dresses of all kind and achievin' her fashion dreams." Pinkie's eyes widened as a torrent of former memories rushed through her mind, all of them consisting of either her being happy or just hanging out with her friends. "A-Applejack, I-I..." The real Pinkie struggled for control, but was only locked away helplessly in the end as Pinkamena easily gained victory over her. "No!" Pinkie-but-not-really-Pinkie snarled as she retrieved her knife, shocking Applejack to the core. The dark pink mare, taking note of her reaction, immediately began to giggle madly. "Oh, your face was so hilarious, Applejack! Aren't you just glad to see me? How about playing a game with me? It'll be so fun!" She slowly made her way closer and closer to Applejack, her silver knife glinting. "Oh, ponyfeathers," Applejack gulped, backing up anxiously. Rainbow Dash, on the other hoof, had finally realized that Pinkie was no longer chasing her and was instead heading for Applejack. "Applejack! Hang on tight, I'm coming!" the rainbow-maned pegasus yelled, rushing to her friend's aid as fast as she could. Author's Note For those of you who are wondering why I don't refer to Pinkie as Pinkamena even though it's clear she's descended into madness: It's still Pinkie. Pinkamena's hate and rage is basically influencing her, causing her to do things she would never have done before. I suppose you could say that while Pinkamena remains trapped in the deepest parts of Pinkie's mind, she's gathered enough strength to technically "take over her mind". I hope this explanation can answer any questions you may have regarding this matter. Chapter 2: A Hidden SecretPinkie, noticing Rainbow's quickening approach, decided on exterminating Applejack right then and there without any further delay. "And here I was, Applejack, thinking I could have some fun with you before your death." Pinkie burst into a fit of giggles, continuing to advance menacingly on the farmpony. "Oh well, I guess Dashie ruined that, didn't she? No worries, though! You'll die knowing that one of your best friends was with you when you did!" Applejack backed up even further, only to hit a solid wall. What? Ah backed mahself into a dead end! Beads of sweat starting to drip down her forehead, she could see Pinkie growing on her, her insane grin even wider than normal. "Pinkie... please, ya've gotta stop! Can't ya see what yer doin' is just madness?" Pinkie narrowed her eyes. "Madness?" she echoed. "No, I don't think so, Applejack. I'm doing what's best for Rarity right now, don't you see? I'm going to make everything right again by avenging her, and I'm going to do that by murdering everypony in Ponyville until Rarity's killer admits to killing her!" "It's not right to avenge Rarity by takin' out yer grief on other ponies! Listen to what yer sayin', Pinkie! Is this what ya would have wanted? Is this what Rarity would have wanted?" Applejack cried out in desperation. "What... Rarity... would have... wanted?" Pinkie faltered, a mental battle once again going on within the recesses of her mind. "You're going down, Pinkie Pie!" a familiar voice suddenly shouted just as Applejack witnessed Rainbow Dash slamming into the dark pink mare from above, sending her plummeting into a nearby wall before she had any time to react. "Rainbow! What in tarnation are ya doin'?" Applejack exclaimed, rushing forward to restrain the pegasus and prevent her from doing any further damage to the now unconscious Pinkie. "Applejack, can't you see she's gone crazy?" Rainbow Dash struggled against Applejack's grip; unfortunately for her, the farmpony's iron grip was too strong to be so easily rid of. Applejack was clearly furious. "No, yer the one that's gone crazy! Couldn't ya see that the real Pinkie was tryin' to break free of whatever's controllin' her?" Rainbow snorted in response. "Seriously? Have you been brainwashed or something? Pinkie's gone crazy because of Rarity's death! She's not being possessed or whatever you're talking about! She became a monster because she wanted to!" As soon as she'd finished saying those words, she knew she'd made a mistake; the dark expression on Applejack's face said it all. "What... did... ya... say?" Applejack growled, tightening her grip so hard that Rainbow began to choke. Spluttering and gasping for air, the pegasus was not able to voice a response as she struggled feebly. To her relief, as soon as black dots began dancing around her fading vision, Applejack loosened her grip. It wasn't much, but it was enough for Rainbow to at least breathe again, and that was a luxury of its own. "Serves ya right, ya little varmint." Applejack's emerald eyes were narrowed dangerously, causing Rainbow to tremble in terror at the sight of her; she had never before witnessed this side of Applejack. As a matter of fact, she was certain that none of her other friends had ever did as well. Great, just great. I'm the lucky winner, aren't I? "You do know," Rainbow began, choosing her words carefully, "that this kind of behavior just isn't like you, AJ?" For a brief moment, the air surrounding them was crackling with tension as Rainbow awaited a response, dearly hoping that it wouldn't be an aggressive one like before. Suddenly, Applejack's eyes widened as the truth behind her friend's words sank in. "Ah'm so sorry, Rainbow," she mumbled, adjusting her Stetson so that it covered her guilt-ridden face completely. "Ah just... lost control of mahself. It hasn't happened to me in a long time." "Huh? What'd you mean by that?" Rainbow folded her wings - which had flared out instinctively when Applejack had almost choked her to death - as a perplexed expression formed on her face. Applejack, unable to meet Rainbow's eyes, quickly averted her gaze. "It's a long story, Rainbow. Trust me when Ah tell ya that you really don't want to hear it." Rainbow, being the pony she was, did not surrender that easily. "Just tell me, AJ! We're friends, aren't we? If you've got a dark secret, then a friend's what you need to help you open up! Besides, I guess you could consider it an apology for, well, trying to choke me to Tartarus." The farmpony let out a long, exasperated sigh. "Rainbow, listen to me. Ya don't wanna hear this, ya got me?" Rainbow rolled her eyes. "What, you mean that you're not actually sorry for choking me?" "Ah am sorry, okay? Just... just forget about all this," Applejack answered, irritated. "Seriously, AJ-" Rainbow Dash's words trailed off as a moan from behind her caught both ponies' attention. She whirled around to find Pinkie Pie pushing herself to her hooves, the confused expression on her face clearly indicating that she was still dazed from the impact of crashing into a wall headfirst. "Ugh," Pinkie groaned, massaging her head. The pain she had felt moments before was slowly subsiding, as did the haze that enveloped her vision. "Oh goody," Applejack muttered under her breath, tipping her Stetson down even further. "Hey, um, Pinkie? Are you... you?" Rainbow gulped as Pinkie stared directly at her. "Dashie?" Pinkie blinked rapidly, her vision finally clearing. "Oh um, hey, Pinkie Pie!" Rainbow chuckled nervously, her senses on the alert in case her friend made any sudden movements. Slowly, everything came back to Pinkie as memories from before she'd went unconscious surfaced once again. Her expression shifting to one of intense hatred, she growled, "Oh, that's so not funny, Dashie. You knocked me out before I could finish off Applejack!" Applejack - having noticed Pinkie's sudden change of mood - immediately made frantic hoof gestures at Rainbow Dash, willing her as hard as she could to understand what she was implying. Unfortunately for the farmpony, her attempts were futile as her pegasus friend merely shook her head and once again directed her attention to Pinkie Pie. "You don't want to keep doing this, Pinkie. Just don't." "And what can you do stop me, Dashie? I can do anything I want! I'm Pinkamena Diane Pie!" "You're nothing but a monster!" Rainbow Dash snapped, not even acknowledging the fact that Pinkie had just said her full name. "You're just being a bucking evil pony! Can't you see that or are you just so blind right now?" An awkward silence ensued. "I'm a monster?" Pinkie repeated slowly, her eyes beginning to narrow. "You don't know what you've got yourself into, Rainbow Dash." Rainbow Dash froze in place, knowing from past experiences that whenever Pinkie said her full name like that, she was utterly serious. This is really, really bad, the rainbow-maned pegasus thought to herself. "Pinkie, please, calm down! This isn't like you! We need the old you back!" a shaking voice cried out as a familiar yellow pegasus landed in front of Applejack, her turquoise eyes filled with misery. "Fluttershy?" Applejack and Rainbow Dash exclaimed in unison. Chapter 3: Applejack's Rage"The old me?" Pinkie Pie sneered before Fluttershy could respond, although the others could have sworn that they saw Pinkie's eyes cloud with sadness for a brief moment before it was once again replaced by hatred. "The old me was nothing but a pink moron, bouncing around all happy-like and completely oblivious to the world! All the old me ever cared about was parties and smiles!" "Parties an' smiles are better than murder an' blood will ever be!" Applejack growled, beginning to lose her cool again. Rainbow Dash gulped; she knew it wasn't going to be pretty once Applejack completely lost it. After all, she herself had been subjected to her wrath earlier, and it definitely wasn't a memorable experience. Pinkie's eyes narrowed to slits, but she didn't respond and instead opted to retrieving her fallen knife, the silver blade shining as menacingly as ever. Applejack, noticing this, immediately backed up a few steps. "Don't ya dare do what Ah think yer about to, Pinkie." "And what'll happen if I do?" Pinkie snorted. "You were scared of this knife at first sight, Applejack! You're such a scaredy-pony!" The farmpony gritted her teeth, her anger growing with every passing second. Being hit with the usual insults was a big predicament of its own already, but being called a "scaredy-pony" really crossed the line, especially since it was what she considered the worst insult of all time. Rainbow Dash could only watch as Applejack fought her inner rage, struggling to tame it. She definitely doesn't want to lose it again, even though Pinkie would get a pretty good beating if she did, the pegasus thought, shivering slightly. "Aww, what do we have here? Does the Element of Honesty want to kill me, her best friend?" Pinkie remarked snidely, a smirk on her face as she observed Applejack's losing battle. "Ya... little... PINKIE PIE!" Applejack snarled as she charged, her emerald eyes blazing with malice. "Applejack, no!" Rainbow Dash lunged forward, snatching the end of Applejack's tail in her mouth. As expected, Applejack tried to shake the pegasus off, now snorting steam as she did so. "LET. ME. GO!" she roared so deafeningly that even Pinkie recoiled in shock, eyes wide. However, as loud as it was, it still ceased to break Rainbow Dash's determination. "AJ, look at yourself! You've lost control two times in a row now! Sure, you almost killed me back there when you first lost it, but if I let go of you right now... Pinkie's gonna die for real! You said yourself that you saw hope in her! You said yourself that she was breaking free of whatever's controlling her!" Time seemed to stop right then and there, an eerie silence descending upon them that masked all noises so well that you could even hear a pin drop. A moment passed. Then two. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, the pony they all least expected to do so broke the silence. "Pinkie Pie," Applejack said slowly, fixing her gaze on said mare. Panic immediately struck Rainbow Dash as she clamped down even harder on Applejack's tail, fearing the worst. To her surprise, however, what she envisioned never came to be. "Pinkie Pie," Applejack repeated, her tone firm. The same determination that Rainbow had displayed earlier now burned behind her own emerald eyes. "Ah know the real ya's in there, Pinkie, so ya better listen good: don't be afraid to give whatever's controllin' ya a good buck to the face! We're all countin' on ya!" Author's Note Sorry about how short this chapter is! I didn't have much time today due to real life affairs, and since I can't get on during the weekdays, I decided to cut this one down by a few paragraphs so you wouldn't need to wait until next weekend for a new chapter. Anyways, Chapter 4 should be released on Friday, October 9th if all goes well. Chapter 4: DeceptionPinkie Pie visibly twitched - her eyes becoming more dilated by the second - while Rainbow Dash had a huge grin plastered on her face, certain that without a doubt Applejack's words had gotten through to the real Pinkie Pie. Applejack, on the other hoof, had an concerned expression on her face; it didn't take much for her to realize that Pinkie's extra-extreme reactions were signs of something more suspicious going on. "I-I'm so s-sorry," Pinkie whimpered, her shoulders shaking with sobs, "I never m-meant for this to h-happen." Fluttershy laid a comforting hoof on her friend's shoulder, her gaze warm and friendly. "There's no need to apologize, Pinkie. As long as you're... feeling better, we're all happy." Applejack gave a brief nod of assent, although her suspicions still remained as she pondered them heavily. How could this be so easy? Ah'm certain somethin' fishy's goin' on here. Could Pinkie be trickin' us into thinkin' she's back to normal now? Realization struck the orange mare as soon as she caught a glimpse of something small and sharp that had just appeared in Pinkie's hoof. "Fluttershy!" she shouted, forcefully hauling Fluttershy back just in time for her to evade Pinkie's silver knife slicing through air like it was butter. Hurt filled Fluttershy's eyes as she stumbled, staring at Pinkie, whose face was now home to a sinister grin the likes of which nopony had ever seen before. "Oh, Fluttershy, you haven't changed a single bit," Pinkie chuckled, her voice sounding more distorted than normal, "it's no wonder that you bear the Element of Kindness." Switching her attention to Applejack, her expression immediately darkened. "I'll give it to you, AJ: you almost got me back there, but not so good enough that it broke me entirely. So, good job on that." Applejack scowled. "Ain't need no 'good job' from ya, impostor, to know that our Pinkie's still not back yet." "Impostor?" the dark pink mare screeched, her eyes wild. "You dare call me an impostor? I am Pinkamena Diane Pie!" Suddenly, Applejack broke into a huge, mischievous grin. "Ya care to test that? How 'bout this, then? If ya answer a question of mine an' get it right, then we'll all believe that you're the real Pinkie without any further doubtin'. If ya miss it, however, then ya'll admit yer not real. Alright?" Pinkie scoffed. "Oh, who cares? It's just one question. Fine then, AJ, I agree to your terms. The question must be related to me, though, or else you'll... suffer the consequences." "Sure thin'. Okay then, answer this: why'd ya call yerself Pinkamena Diane Pie?" "Duh, I call myself Pinkamena Diane Pie because it's my name. What kind of stupid question is that?" Pinkie rolled her eyes in irritation. Applejack's grin grew even wider. "Wrong, impostor. Too bad, ya've lost." Pinkie nearly fainted. "W-What? How in Celestia's name is that wrong?" "You forgot one thin', which is that Pinkie doesn't go by Pinkamena Diane Pie anymore! Yer an impostor!" "It's still the name I was born with, even if I don't use it anymore!" Pinkie retorted. Applejack's grin was immediately replaced by a self-satisfied smirk. "Yer still wrong either way. Pinkie - or shall Ah say, the real Pinkie - told us a long time ago that she wanted to forget all about her real name since she didn't like it anymore. If she's the one who told us that, what makes ya think that she'll be the one to break an' use her name again, especially if she starts addressin' herself with it?" Pinkie's left eye twitched. "I... did say something of the sort... did I?" Applejack, sensing that her deliberate distraction had worked, immediately made hoof gestures at Rainbow Dash. Unlike last time, the rainbow-maned pegasus gave a brief nod in response, understanding what the orange mare wanted her to do. Acting accordingly with the plan, Rainbow cleared her throat and began complaining, "Oh, c'mon, Applejack! What's the point in telling her about boring history? We've already established that she's a fake!" Pinkie's head immediately snapped up as she was freed from the distant, memory-recalling state she was in a moment ago, her eyes blazing with fury as she shot a venomous glare at Rainbow. "I'M. NOT. A. FAKE!" Rainbow shrugged carelessly. "Who knows? You might be the real one, but as far as your wrong answer, you don't seem to be. I'm just going with the flow here, y'know?" Pinkie gritted her teeth in frustration before suddenly, realization hit her hard. "Oh my gosh, I can't believe I wasted so much time with you boring ponies when I could have found Rarity's killer already!" Whirling around, the dark pink mare galloped off into the shadows and disappeared before anypony could stop her. "Eh, I guess your plan failed then, huh AJ?" Rainbow glanced questioningly at the farmpony, whose expression was unreadable. "To be honest, it wasn' really that much of a plan. Just somethin' that Ah threw together at the last minute," Applejack replied, her eyes downcast. "Well, ya really can't expect that much from a flawed plan, can ya? The only option left now is to chase Pinkie down before she does anythin' bad to another pony." "Do we... have to? She's still our f-friend." Fluttershy's quiet voice surprised the others; it'd been a long time since she'd last formed any sort of speech. Applejack stepped forward, placing a comforting a hoof on Fluttershy's shoulder. "Sorry, sugarcube, but we have to. Ah'm sure everythin' will be all right in the end, though, so don't lose hope just yet." "Speaking of friends," Rainbow suddenly remarked, "anypony here seen Twilight lately?" Author's Note Well then, there's that. Came out right on time, just like I promised. Anyways, I suppose I'll leave you to your... questions now. You'll have to keep reading if you want the answers. Stay tuned! Chapter 5: Unexpected TurnaboutsFluttershy frowned. "I did see her right before she left the Boutique, but I don't know where she went after that." "Oh, this is just great! We just had to deal with a crazy Pinkie Pie at first, but now we've got a missing Twilight Sparkle too! Will the craziness ever end?" Rainbow Dash groaned, facehoofing. She was clearly irritated; a mere glance at her expression would have proven that to any skeptic. Applejack snorted. "Missin'? Oh, c'mon, Rainbow. Twi's a princess! Ya'd think that at least somepony would recognize her if she went missin'!" Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes. "It's possible that somepony ponynapped her or something." "Darn right," Applejack answered, her voice dripping with barely repressed sarcasm, "the Element of Magic herself got ponynapped." "What's to say that it didn't happen, huh? Her captor could have put a magic-binding ring on her horn and made her unable to use any magic!" Rainbow retorted defensively. "Girls, please stop arguing," Fluttershy interrupted before Applejack could respond, her expression deadly serious, "we can find Twilight later, but before that we'll need to focus on Pinkie." Two ponies turned to stare at her in disbelief, mouths agape. Pinkie Pie grinned as she casually wiped off - with a hoof, of course - the blood coating her silver knife, having just finished with her latest victim. At this rate, I'll find Rarity's killer in no time! She raised her gaze to the darkening sky, her glee increasing tenfold. Under the cover of Princess Luna's night, she would be able to get away with murders much more easier since nopony would be able to see her while doing so. As simple as it sounded, however, it still left one more question: who'd have the honor of being her next victim? Immediately, the answer came to her head. The poor little thing would never suspect her, especially considering the current circumstances... It was the perfect plan. Fluttershy, her shy instincts taking effect, immediately recoiled in surprise. "W-Was it s-something I s-said?" she squeaked, shrinking down. "No, everythin's just dandy," Applejack spluttered, masking her mixed emotions with much difficulty. Rainbow shot a sideways glance at the farmpony, her eyes wide. "Do you think we should tell her?" the Pegasus asked, mouthing the words. Applejack frowned, giving a brief shake of her head. "She's Fluttershy, Rainbow. Ya can't expect to tell her that without damagin' her confidence," she mouthed back, her lips moving silently. Rainbow shrugged. "Oh, thank goodness!" Fluttershy breathed in relief, her terror fading away. "I was scared that I'd said something wrong... are you okay, Applejack?" She stared at said mare, whose face now bore a troubled expression. "Did ya hear that? It sounded like... somepony screamin'." Applejack glanced in the direction of the screams, which everypony could now hear easily. Fluttershy gasped. "That pony's in trouble! We need to go help them now!" Rainbow nodded, her wings flaring open. "Follow me then, gals!" Applejack yelled over her shoulder as she broke into a quick gallop, heading toward the screams. Immediately, the others took flight to the skies, beating their wings rather hard in order to catch up with Applejack. The Elements of Harmony would never deny a request for help... even if it wasn't genuine. Pinkie paused, her eyes narrowing. She was currently in a dark alley, using it in order to get to her destination quicker. Still, despite all the strangeness that usually occurred in a place like that, voices and loud hoofsteps were definitely not a part of them. "Pinkamena Diane Pie...," the slightly disembodied voice she'd heard from earlier hissed. Hoofsteps once again sounded from behind her - it always did whenever she heard that unnatural voice. "Who are you, and why'd you know my na- real name?" Pinkie caught herself with a scowl, inwardly cursing, before whirling around at the speed of lightning. As expected, there was nopony there, although she could have sworn she'd seen two heterochromic eyes glinting in some nearby shadows. "Relax, Pinkamena," the voice reassured her, taking on a more friendlier tone. "I do not wish to cause harm to you in any way. All I want is to have a little... chat with you." "You only want to chat?" Pinkie repeated in disbelief, her suspicions growing. "Indeed. But who am I to ask when I have not even introduced myself yet? You may call me the Mastermind, Pinkamena." Author's Note And let the theories begin! Just saying that you're allowed to send me your theories via PM if you want to. I won't tell you if you're right, though. Chapter 6: Foreshadows"Right," Pinkie Pie stated flatly, her tone clearly indicating that she wasn't buying it in the least. "So your name's the Mastermind, eh? Well then, how'd you know my real name? If I've actually met somepony with a name like yours, I'd definitely have remembered you." The Mastermind chuckled. "Quite the sarcastic one, I see. Let's just say I have rather helpful resources that I consult with." Pinkie merely grunted in response, still not believing this so-called "Mastermind" pony. "I presume I'm allowed to continue, yes?" the Mastermind questioned politely, to which Pinkie gave a brief nod of assent. "Very well, then: Pinkamena, it is in my best interests to form an alliance to you. Rest assured when I say that we will both benefit greatly from this one-time alliance. Do you accept?" A harsh laugh escaped Pinkie's lips. "An alliance, Mastermind? You should know as well as anypony that I work alone. I've already lasted up to now, so what makes you think that I won't be able to carry out future murders?" "The dangers of working alone are great at this time, Pinkamena. Your friends are hunting you down like a predator does with their prey, unrelenting in their quest to end your reign of terror. Without an ally, you will not succeed in uncovering the true identity of Rarity's murderer." Pinkie drew in a sharp intake of breath, the Mastermind's words having set off the alarm bells in her head. "How did you know that I was looking for Rarity's killer? I told absolutely nopony except my fri- former friends!" She could tell she'd struck a nerve, judging by how long it was taking the Mastermind to respond. "Like I've said before, I have resources, Pinkamena," the Mastermind finally answered, breaking the tense silence that'd descended upon the alley. "I suppose it hasn't crossed your mind yet that you still haven't provided a satisfactory answer?" "Yes, I'm perfectly aware," Pinkie snapped, pausing for dramatic effect before continuing, "that I've already told you that my answer was no." "Very well... if that is your answer, then so be it. Be forewarned though, Pinkamena Diane Pie, that you are dooming yourself by rejecting my assistance. You can still regret your decision right now and reverse your fate, but it depends on whether that little pink menace is actually influencing your outlooks. Am I right, Pinkamena?" The shadows shifted as the two glowing eyes from before once again appeared, this time narrowed to slits. "Don't you dare mention her, Mastermind," Pinkie hissed, her voice now as menacing and warped as it'd been during Pinkie's last encounter with her friends. The eyes widened in mock fear. "Oh, and what can you do about me if I do, Pinkamena? Isn't existing alongside the complete opposite of your personality enough to enlighten you already? Would you derive pleasure from murdering me in cold blood?" The dark pink mare's eyes flashed dangerously. "Indeed I would," she sneered, "and I'd make sure you feel every last ounce of pain." The Mastermind chuckled darkly. "But you cannot, is that not true? You have no idea who I truly am, even more so no idea what degree of danger I present to you." "Danger?" Pinkie snickered. "You, a coward that hides in the shadows and refuses to speak face-to-face, a danger? Please, even Fluttershy would be more dangerous than you!" "Fluttershy, eh? An interesting choice of words...," the Mastermind rumbled. "Well, I shall extend my stay here no longer. If you ever happen to have any regrets, you'll know where I'll be. The shadows surround you, my friend." Pinkie frowned; there was something strange about the way the Mastermind had said "friend". Nonetheless, she watched as the eyes disappeared into the shadows, no longer demanded of to stay unless required. "Might as well get to where I was going all along," Pinkie muttered, her voice having returned to normal. With quick steps, she made her way to the end of the alley, an evil smirk creeping onto her face as her destination loomed in front of her. The Golden Oak Library would be expecting a visitor soon... especially Spike the dragon. Applejack facehoofed. "So yer tellin' me that ya don't remember where the screams were comin' from?" "Hey, it's not my fault that they stopped all of a sudden!" Rainbow Dash protested in response. "Um, girls," Fluttershy said softly, a discarded object on the ground catching her eye, "you might want to take a look at this." Immediately, the two rivals whirled around, upside-down smiles plastered on both of their faces. "What the hay is that?" they exclaimed in unison, only to shoot each other a glare as they realized what'd just happened. "Don't even bother, Rainbow," Applejack grunted, holding up a hoof just as Rainbow opened her mouth to respond, presumably with a snide remark, "Ah've had just enough of yer crazy antics; this ain't funny no more." Magenta eyes rolled in irritation. "Yeah, I've had just about enough of you too, AJ." Applejack bit back a harsh remark, knowing that it wouldn't have done anything good nonetheless. "Maybe ya wanna consider listenin' to Fluttershy for once? She looks pretty annoyed with ya if ya ask me!" Rainbow gulped, slowly rotating her head to look at Fluttershy. Sure enough, the yellow pegasus was glaring at her, lips pressed into a thin line. "Rainbow Dash," Fluttershy stated flatly, her tone completely devoid of any emotions, "you're in big trouble, miss." Rainbow immediately averted her gaze. Hearing Fluttershy speak with emotions was bad enough already, but hearing her speak without them was the scariest thing of all. It was like a nightmare come true for the rainbow-maned pegasus. "Um, y-yeah, I guess?" Fluttershy sighed, placing a hoof to her forehead. "Anyways, like I was saying before, you should probably check this out." She gestured at the object, its silver surface shimmering in the sun. "Is that... Pinkie's knife?" Applejack exclaimed. "She lost her killin' weapon?" "Wait a minute," Rainbow mused, a thoughtful expression on her face, "if she dropped it here, does that mean the screams we heard before were from whomever Pinkie just killed with this?" "Ain't that likely," Applejack replied, inspecting the knife. "The bloodstains on here aren't recent, that Ah know. It looks like it's from a few days ago also. Otherwise, there's no proof sayin' that this caused all the screamin'." "Wonderful," Rainbow muttered under her breath, "another dead end." "Um, girls... I think I found something else." Fluttershy's panicked gasp caught their attention as they whirled around as quickly as they could. And gasped as well. There, lying on the ground with blood pouring out of a wound in her side, was Princess Twilight Sparkle. Author's Note Yay, this got released three days early! Anyways, fortunately for you, you get way more in this one chapter than what I originally planned. Still, I aim to please! EDIT: For those of you who are still confused why Pinkie speaks in a distorted voice one second and then back to a normal one, it's because whenever she does that it's technically Pinkamena taking over and talking. Chapter 7: Suspicions"Gallopin' haybales, Twi! Are ya alright?" Applejack exclaimed, rushing over to her friend's side. A stray thought flickered across her mind, but she paid it no heed. Twilight's safety mattered more than how suspicious it was an alicorn somehow got injured by a simple knife. "Y-Yes," Twilight wheezed, struggling to get to her hooves. Her attempts were futile as she continuously failed, collapsing to the ground in a heap. "Ya ain't movin' one hoof, ya hear me? Yer bleedin' too much for that!" Applejack grunted with the exertion of pulling Twilight up, surprised at how heavy Twilight was. The lavender alicorn shakily got to her hooves, her breathing shallow. "What happened, Twilight? Who did this to you? I promise you, that pony will beg for me to end their life after I get my hooves on them!" Rainbow Dash snarled, her expression one of pure fury. "I-I'm fine, Rainbow," Twilight reassured her, wincing at the pain that came with her every movement, "you don't n-need to go to all that t-trouble for me." She could tell that the rainbow-maned pegasus was not buying it, judging by the way her eyes narrowed suspiciously. "What happened?" Fluttershy gasped, snapping out of her shock-induced state and moving forward to join her friends. Twilight closed her eyes, shuddering slightly as she relieved those horrifying memories. "I was ambushed," she said softly. "Ambushed? By who?" Rainbow demanded, her wings flared open. Twilight shook her head in response. "I couldn't get a clear view. It was definitely a mare though." "Was it Pinkie Pie?" Rainbow persisted even further. "No, it couldn't have been. The mare's coat wasn't pink in the slightest way, nor were her eyes blue," Twilight denied, a thoughtful expression on her face. Applejack frowned. There was something wrong with the entire situation, how Twilight as an alicorn princess had gotten injured in the first place by a knife... A knife... The knife! Applejack thought, understanding dawning upon her as her gaze immediately slid over to said weapon. The bloodstains on it weren't recent, yet somehow Twilight had been found near it with a major injury, which could only mean that... "Twi?" Applejack asked, acknowledging that she had to choose her words carefully if she wanted to get to the bottom of this whole mess. "Yes, Applejack?" Twilight glanced questioningly at the farmpony. "Look at this knife," Applejack said slowly. "Do ya recognize it in any way?" "No, not really. Why do you ask?" A confused expression now adorned the alicorn's face. "We found this knife a few minutes before we found ya. Judgin' by its appearance, the blood ain't from recently, but ya've got a pretty nasty wound over there which can only be made from a knife like this. How'd ya explain that?" Applejack could have sworn she'd saw a dangerous gleam in Twilight's eyes as she said this, but it faded away as quickly as it'd appeared. "It's possible that whoever assaulted me tampered with the evidence," Twilight stated matter-of-factly, her tone betraying nothing at all, "you of all ponies should know that, Applejack." "Exactly mah thoughts, Twilight. But how'd ya expect a pony to change blood itself? Did yer attacker cut themselves on purpose just to cover up a little assault? And most importantly, if that knife really was modified, why didn't ya recognize it as the weapon used against ya in the first place?" "AJ, are you accusing Twilight of all ponies?" Rainbow gaped, the shock evident in her voice. Applejack met Rainbow's gaze with a steely one of her own. "Right as rain." Twilight's eyes widened in disbelief. "But me, Applejack? Do you actually think I hurt myself this badly on purpose?" The farmpony sighed, averting her gaze. "Ah don't know, Twi, Ah don't know. It's just that a lotta things aren't makin' any sense here, an' ya seem to be at the center of it. Maybe ya'd care to explain what happened exactly when ya were ambushed?" The alicorn facehoofed at this, but nonetheless still relented. "Fine then. Basically, I was taking a shortcut through one of the alleys when I was suddenly tackled by a mysterious pony. I tried to fight them off with magic, but they were too quick and plunged the knife into me first before fleeing the scene. The wound ended up being really deep and I was bleeding out pretty quickly, so I crawled my way out of the alley as fast as I could for help and was about to lose consciousness when you girls came along." "A shortcut through one of the alleys," Applejack echoed. "Why the alleys? It's common knowledge that they ain't safe." "There wasn't any other way, okay?" Twilight groaned in exasperation, throwing up her hooves. "I did what I had to do to catch up with her!" Applejack raised an eyebrow. "An' who's this her yer referrin' to?" "Oh, Spikey-Wikey!" Pinkie called out in her best Rarity voice as she entered the library, hiding behind a tall stack of books nearby. Even though it wasn't an accurate impression of her deceased friend, it still managed to lure out a miserable Spike that was clearly grieving for her. "Rarity? Is that you?" Spike said hoarsely, dried tears staining his face. "I t-thought you were d-dead!" Pinkie giggled softly to herself as Spike's gaze darted all around the room, searching for his beloved Rarity. If her plan would go as she desired, Spike would eventually head right toward the books she was hiding behind and right into her trap. Fortunately for the insane mare, the young dragon didn't disappoint her. He slowly made his way over to the book stack, getting closer, closer... and stopped just a few inches away from Pinkie. "Rarity? Are you there?" The trap had been sprung. "AHH!" Spike cried out as Pinkie leapt out from behind the book stack and tackled him, bringing him down. She quickly produced her knife and held it right by the dragon's throat, laughing madly all the time. "P-Pinkie? W-What are you d-doing?" Spike looked up at the former party pony, his emerald eyes wide. "Where's R-Rarity?" "Oh, you silly filly!" Pinkie chuckled. "Rarity was never here! I made my voice sound like her just to lure you out! Wasn't that a great plan, Spikey?" Spike's eyes grew even wider as the truth behind the situation finally hit him. "Are you t-trying to k-kill me?" Pinkie rolled her eyes. "Well, duh! Why else would I be holding a knife?" "But... w-why? I'm your f-friend!" "Sure, you're a great friend at that, especially at betraying!" Pinkie snorted. "When I came up with my brilliant plan of killing everypony to find Rarity's murderer, what did AJ and the others think? They didn't want me to and tried to stop me!" Silence. "So, to make up for you all being horrible friends to me, get ready to say goodbye!" Pinkie moved the knife even closer, causing Spike to tremble in terror. One slash was all it took. Author's Note Well, this is a surprise! Somehow, I've managed to publish early two chapters in a row! Maybe this means you guys no longer have to wait that long for a new chapter? Anyways, stay tuned for the next chapter (which hopefully will be released early just like Chapters 6 and 7)! Chapter 8: Seeking the Truth"Pinkie Pie, of course!" Twilight Sparkle responded, rolling her eyes as if the answer was supposed to be an obvious one. "An' ya never told us somethin' this important until now?" Applejack fumed, eyes narrowed to slits. Twilight shrugged. "You never asked, Applejack, which is an important part of actually getting an answer from somepony. It's been proven scientifically impossible for somepony to know what somepony else is thinking, so if they wanted to ask that pony a question, they wouldn't know the answer to it unless they personally asked." Everypony else facehoofed. "Twi, please, now really isn't the time for yer scientific stuff," Applejack grumbled, placing a hoof to her forehead in irritation. The alicorn sighed in exasperation. "Okay, fine. What I was trying to say was that I apparently saw Pinkie Pie, but she was going too fast for me to catch up with her, so I cut through a nearby alley." "You do realize that you're an alicorn, right?" Rainbow Dash stated flatly. "Apparently, an alicorn princess that can do magic-y stuff with your horn. Couldn't you just teleport or something?" Twilight shot an irked glare at the rainbow-maned pegasus, huffing in frustration. "If you were in my hooves at the moment, and you were trying to catch up with a friend who apparently's gone crazy, would the thought of using magic to teleport actually cross your mind, Rainbow? Would it?" "I guess you do have a point," Rainbow finally spoke after a long moment of consideration. "Still, you can do magic, y'know? It's not like you don't have a horn or anything." "Yes, I'm perfectly aware of that," Twilight muttered under her breath, her voice dripping with sarcasm. Fortunately, the pegasus didn't do anything that indicated that she'd heard her. "Anyways, Twilight," Applejack coughed loudly, once again becoming the center of attention, "ya said ya saw Pinkie of all ponies?" "Mhm," Twilight grumbled half-heartedly before waving a hoof in dismissal. "For Celestia's sake, ponies, all of these questions aren't relevant to the situation at all!" "Um... actually, I think they are," Fluttershy said sheepishly, recoiling as the others turned to look at her, "if y-you think s-so too, of course." Rainbow sighed. "Let's just cut to the chase already, can't we? All of these distractions are just so boring!" "That's for you to say," Twilight remarked icily. "Apparently Applejack here has problems with trusting me, her best friend! Doesn't that just sound ridiculous?" "Ain't ridiculous when yer hidin' somethin' from us, Twi," Applejack growled. Said mare turned to face her, eyes narrowed. "Hiding something?" she spat. "You actually think I'm hiding something from you? If you really believe in that theory, Applejack, give me one reason that proves it." A devious smirk crept onto Applejack's face as she heard those words. "Gladly, Yer Majesty." Author's Note To begin with, I apologize for the short chapter and long delay. I've been experiencing a major case of writer's block these days, and it's apparently crippled my writing abilities (temporarily, of course) to the degree where I can't even think of anything. Since the layout of this chapter was already planned out, and most of it had already been written before I got hit with this "illness", I just added some finishing touches and released it.
Chapter 1: The Shocking DiscoveryPinkie Pie sank to her knees in despair as she took in the gruesome view in front of her, breaking down into tears. "I'm so sorry, Pinkie... we couldn't save her in time." Princess Twilight Sparkle hung her head, having also been majorly effected by Rarity's sudden death. In fact, she had even neglected to do the royal duties required of her for the day and instead rushed to the Carousel Boutique as soon as word had reached her ears. "How exactly did this happen? Tell me, how exactly did this happen?" Rainbow Dash's voice rose higher and higher as she rounded on Sweetie Belle, her eyes blazing with rage. "I-I don't k-know," Sweetie Belle stammered, terror evident on her face, "I j-just came up here after R-Rarity didn't answer me and I s-saw her like t-this." "Calm down now, ya'll. Cryin' will get ya nowhere; it's best to actually do somethin' about this and find out who murdered Rarity in cold blood. Ya with me, gals?" Applejack cut into the others' devastated grieving, her tone firm. "Y-Yes," Fluttershy whispered, her eyes glittering with crystal tears, "I-I just don't get why s-somepony would do something so h-horrible." Reluctantly, the others followed in her lead, finally accepting the truth. They owed it to Rarity to at least figure out her murderer if not having saved her in time... besides, justice needed to be served properly, and the remaining friends weren't going to neglect the opportunity to do so. "We first need to investigate the crime scene," Twilight finally spoke, her choked voice piercing the eerie silence that had just begun to dominate the room. "Judging by the body, Rarity must have only been dead for at least an hour or so. Sweetie Belle, do you remember the last pony to enter the Boutique during this time?" Sweetie Belle's expression converted to that of thoughtfulness as she tried to relieve some of her previous memories. "We got like ten visitors at the same time an hour ago; it was the most visitors we've ever achieved today. Rarity was still alive back then before she went upstairs to work on a brand new line. I'm pretty sure that when she did, though, that everypony had already left." Rainbow Dash snorted quite rudely. "Well, now we have a basic picture of what the Boutique was like an hour ago. Gotta say though, it wasn't really that helpful, especially in trying to figure out who this darned killer is." "Where... where did you go when Rarity went upstairs?" Fluttershy squeaked, her voice so quiet that the others barely just heard her. "Oh, about that," Sweetie Belle paused for a brief moment before she continued, "I went to the downstairs storage room to check out some fabrics so I could try to be helpful, but when I was done and called Rarity's name a few times, she didn't respond; I think she was murdered during that time." It was then that a self-satisfied shout from Rainbow Dash caught their attention, directing their gazes to the rainbow-maned pegasus. She was standing by the bed on which Rarity's body lay upon, uncovering a discarded object that had just been hidden underneath their friend's blood-splattered blanket. "It's a knife with some kind of green substance on it," Rainbow announced, clearly proud of herself for having discovered the knife. "I'm certain this was the murder weapon that the killer used on Rarity. The substance's probably some sort of poison too, because the messy bed here shows that Rarity struggled for a bit before dying. There's also stab wounds on her that are near her vital organs." Applejack whistled. "Wow there, Rainbow. Ah never knew ya were such a good detective." Rainbow Dash, upon hearing the farmpony's words, immediately swelled with pride. "Not everyone can be as awesome as me, you know." "The window's open," Twilight suddenly remarked, her expression one of intense alarm, "which means that only a pegasus could have done this." "Well, yeah, 'cause pegasi can fly darn well. It doesn't mean that a unicorn didn't do this, though, Twi. They could have just used that magic of theirs to levitate themselves to Rarity's window," Applejack told her. "Applejack, a unicorn would have needed to exhaust a lot of strength in order to use levitation from the ground. Rarity's room isn't exactly on the first floor, you know," Twilight countered, immediately denying Applejack's far-fetched theory. Applejack - her pride slightly wounded from Twilight's words as she believed that the alicorn was insulting her intelligence - opened her mouth to speak, but was interrupted as a familiar, yet malice-filled voice, sounded from behind them. "It doesn't matter if it's a unicorn or not," Pinkie Pie growled as she pushed herself to her hooves. Her mane had deflated completely from its usual poofy state and was now a darker pink, along with her body. "I'm going to make sure that whoever murdered Rarity... will regret it. Badly." She laughed darkly, a sadistic gleam to her eyes. "Uh... Pinkie? Ya alright there?" Applejack gulped, clearly frightened at her friend's sudden change of demeanor. "Why, of course I am!" Pinkie giggled madly as she turned around to leave, her hoof now sporting a silver knife that'd appeared out of nowhere. Fluttershy was now trembling in terror, throwing anxious glances around the room. "Um, g-girls? I-I really don't l-like where this is g-going." "Oh, for Celestia's sake! She's got a bucking knife, ponies! Why are we just standing here and not trying to stop her from doing something bad instead?" Rainbow Dash suddenly burst out, no longer able to contain the frustration boiling within her. "M-Maybe because we're s-scared?" Fluttershy suggested meekly, only to receive an angry glare from the rainbow-maned pegasus in response. Immediately, she shrunk down, her terror having increased tenfold. "Ya've gotta admit, though, that Rainbow does have a point," Applejack said, her voice awfully quieter than normal. "For all Ah know, Pinkie's gone insane with despair an' there's a murderer - no, maybe two now that Pinkie's like that - on the loose. She won't stop in her quest for blood until she's avenged Rarity." Twilight sighed deeply. "That's not the point, Applejack. The point is that as the one of the Elements of Harmony, murdering somepony else in cold blood is the one thing that Harmony absolutely forbids, which means that after she's gotten her revenge... she'll no longer be the Element of Laughter that we know and love." A sharp intake of breath on Fluttershy's part didn't do anything to improve their now dampened moods. "Why didn't you tell us earlier, Twilight? We've gotta stop Pinkie before she actually kills somepony! C'mon, girls, let's go!" Driven by her utter determination, Rainbow Dash zoomed out of the room through the open window and into Ponyville, where she then cast a desperate eye for a pink - actually, dark pink - mare. Back at the Carousel Boutique, Applejack was about to charge out of Rarity's room when she realized that the others were still exchanging anxious glances. "Aren't ya'll comin'? This isn't yer normal thing that happens every day, y'know! We've got two possible murderers on our hooves!" "U-Um, do I h-have to g-go?" Fluttershy spoke up, only to receive a glare from Applejack. The farmpony narrowed her eyes. "Don't tell me that even durin' a time like this, ya still can't get outta that shell of yers, Fluttershy! Pinkie's gone mad and Rarity's been buckin' killed! Do ya not care?" "I-I d-don't k-know," Fluttershy swallowed, visibly trembling, "I-I'm just really s-scared." "Yer either comin' or not, Fluttershy." Without another word, Applejack spun around and galloped out of sight, leaving Fluttershy and Twilight behind. Twilight glanced sideways at the yellow pegasus. "I can't really help you on this, Fluttershy. You've got to learn to come out of your shell, and since there's important things at stake, I'm pretty sure it won't be quite difficult for you. Be strong for our friends." She too broke into a run as she exited Fluttershy's view. "For my friends... I have to be strong... for them." Fluttershy gulped, staring after Twilight helplessly as she engaged in a mental battle with her very own personality. Applejack cursed under her breath. She could no longer see Rainbow Dash from below, as the rainbow-maned pegasus had just suddenly disappeared for no reason whatsoever. Where the hay is she? Soon after, a rainbow streak caught her eye as she once again raised her gaze to the sky, finally catching a glimpse of the friend she'd been searching for. "Rainbow!" she called as loudly as she could, waving a frantic hoof. To her relief, Rainbow Dash slowed down, having finally noticed her. "Applejack?" she asked as she landed, folding her wings. "What are you doing out here?' "Tryin' to find Pinkie as well, of course! What, ya thought that ya'd be alone in this?" Applejack responded matter-of-factly, tipping her Stetson slightly downward. Rainbow Dash shrugged. "I haven't spotted her since she ran away from the Boutique. Not even a single hint of her anywhere, which is impossible." "Let's try again then," Applejack suggested. "Ah'll help ya out with the searchin'. Ya with me?" "I thought you'd never ask," Rainbow grinned, unfolding her wings and taking flight once again. "C'mon, then! We haven't got all day, you know!" "Right behind ya, pardner!" Applejack took off after the rainbow-maned pegasus, filled with a newfound energy. Pinkie Pie - or rather, Pinkamena Diane Pie - paused as she passed Sugarcube Corner, her past memories flashing before her as she witnessed scenes of her still being happy and hosting fun parties for other ponies, always bringing forth a smile upon their faces. I was so happy back then... what happened to me that made me this way? However, as soon as she'd began pondering about what encouraged her transformation into her alter ego, Pinkamena seized control again as hatred and fury once again filled her. "Rarity must be avenged no matter the cost!" Pinkie growled, her now maniacal gaze darting all around her as she searched for her desired victim. "Pinkie, don't ya dare move another hoof!" a familiar, heavily accented voice reached the deranged mare's ears as she whirled around to find Applejack standing there, panting heavily. The sound of wingbeats also attracted her attention as Rainbow Dash landed beside the farmpony, folding her wings. "We've finally gotcha, Pinkie!" Pinkie narrowed her eyes, a demented grin forming on her face. If I can't find out who murdered Rarity... I'll murder everypony until somepony admits they're the culprit! "Hey, Dashie!" she sang, her silver knife shining menacingly in the sun as she slowly advanced on the rainbow-maned pegasus. Rainbow Dash, realizing Pinkie's true intent, quickly screamed as she unfolded her wings and bolted to the sky. "Don't you wanna play? Aww, c'mon, don't run from your friend Pinkie Pie!" "You're not my friend! You'll never be! I just want the old Pinkie Pie back!" Rainbow Dash shouted back, increasing her speed. Pinkie, upon hearing her words, immediately faltered as her grip loosened on her knife and it clattered to the floor loudly. "You... want the old me back?" she whispered, her voice cracking. "Eeyup," Applejack said in a perfect imitation of her brother, trotting into view. Pinkie recoiled in surprise; she'd forgotten that the farmpony was there. "Don't be like this, Pinkie. Just 'cause Rarity died doesn't mean sheddin' blood is the answer. We'll always honor Rarity's memory and the generous things she's done for us. Besides, Ah'm certain she's in a better place now, enjoyin' makin' pretty dresses of all kind and achievin' her fashion dreams." Pinkie's eyes widened as a torrent of former memories rushed through her mind, all of them consisting of either her being happy or just hanging out with her friends. "A-Applejack, I-I..." The real Pinkie struggled for control, but was only locked away helplessly in the end as Pinkamena easily gained victory over her. "No!" Pinkie-but-not-really-Pinkie snarled as she retrieved her knife, shocking Applejack to the core. The dark pink mare, taking note of her reaction, immediately began to giggle madly. "Oh, your face was so hilarious, Applejack! Aren't you just glad to see me? How about playing a game with me? It'll be so fun!" She slowly made her way closer and closer to Applejack, her silver knife glinting. "Oh, ponyfeathers," Applejack gulped, backing up anxiously. Rainbow Dash, on the other hoof, had finally realized that Pinkie was no longer chasing her and was instead heading for Applejack. "Applejack! Hang on tight, I'm coming!" the rainbow-maned pegasus yelled, rushing to her friend's aid as fast as she could. Author's Note For those of you who are wondering why I don't refer to Pinkie as Pinkamena even though it's clear she's descended into madness: It's still Pinkie. Pinkamena's hate and rage is basically influencing her, causing her to do things she would never have done before. I suppose you could say that while Pinkamena remains trapped in the deepest parts of Pinkie's mind, she's gathered enough strength to technically "take over her mind". I hope this explanation can answer any questions you may have regarding this matter.
Chapter 2: A Hidden SecretPinkie, noticing Rainbow's quickening approach, decided on exterminating Applejack right then and there without any further delay. "And here I was, Applejack, thinking I could have some fun with you before your death." Pinkie burst into a fit of giggles, continuing to advance menacingly on the farmpony. "Oh well, I guess Dashie ruined that, didn't she? No worries, though! You'll die knowing that one of your best friends was with you when you did!" Applejack backed up even further, only to hit a solid wall. What? Ah backed mahself into a dead end! Beads of sweat starting to drip down her forehead, she could see Pinkie growing on her, her insane grin even wider than normal. "Pinkie... please, ya've gotta stop! Can't ya see what yer doin' is just madness?" Pinkie narrowed her eyes. "Madness?" she echoed. "No, I don't think so, Applejack. I'm doing what's best for Rarity right now, don't you see? I'm going to make everything right again by avenging her, and I'm going to do that by murdering everypony in Ponyville until Rarity's killer admits to killing her!" "It's not right to avenge Rarity by takin' out yer grief on other ponies! Listen to what yer sayin', Pinkie! Is this what ya would have wanted? Is this what Rarity would have wanted?" Applejack cried out in desperation. "What... Rarity... would have... wanted?" Pinkie faltered, a mental battle once again going on within the recesses of her mind. "You're going down, Pinkie Pie!" a familiar voice suddenly shouted just as Applejack witnessed Rainbow Dash slamming into the dark pink mare from above, sending her plummeting into a nearby wall before she had any time to react. "Rainbow! What in tarnation are ya doin'?" Applejack exclaimed, rushing forward to restrain the pegasus and prevent her from doing any further damage to the now unconscious Pinkie. "Applejack, can't you see she's gone crazy?" Rainbow Dash struggled against Applejack's grip; unfortunately for her, the farmpony's iron grip was too strong to be so easily rid of. Applejack was clearly furious. "No, yer the one that's gone crazy! Couldn't ya see that the real Pinkie was tryin' to break free of whatever's controllin' her?" Rainbow snorted in response. "Seriously? Have you been brainwashed or something? Pinkie's gone crazy because of Rarity's death! She's not being possessed or whatever you're talking about! She became a monster because she wanted to!" As soon as she'd finished saying those words, she knew she'd made a mistake; the dark expression on Applejack's face said it all. "What... did... ya... say?" Applejack growled, tightening her grip so hard that Rainbow began to choke. Spluttering and gasping for air, the pegasus was not able to voice a response as she struggled feebly. To her relief, as soon as black dots began dancing around her fading vision, Applejack loosened her grip. It wasn't much, but it was enough for Rainbow to at least breathe again, and that was a luxury of its own. "Serves ya right, ya little varmint." Applejack's emerald eyes were narrowed dangerously, causing Rainbow to tremble in terror at the sight of her; she had never before witnessed this side of Applejack. As a matter of fact, she was certain that none of her other friends had ever did as well. Great, just great. I'm the lucky winner, aren't I? "You do know," Rainbow began, choosing her words carefully, "that this kind of behavior just isn't like you, AJ?" For a brief moment, the air surrounding them was crackling with tension as Rainbow awaited a response, dearly hoping that it wouldn't be an aggressive one like before. Suddenly, Applejack's eyes widened as the truth behind her friend's words sank in. "Ah'm so sorry, Rainbow," she mumbled, adjusting her Stetson so that it covered her guilt-ridden face completely. "Ah just... lost control of mahself. It hasn't happened to me in a long time." "Huh? What'd you mean by that?" Rainbow folded her wings - which had flared out instinctively when Applejack had almost choked her to death - as a perplexed expression formed on her face. Applejack, unable to meet Rainbow's eyes, quickly averted her gaze. "It's a long story, Rainbow. Trust me when Ah tell ya that you really don't want to hear it." Rainbow, being the pony she was, did not surrender that easily. "Just tell me, AJ! We're friends, aren't we? If you've got a dark secret, then a friend's what you need to help you open up! Besides, I guess you could consider it an apology for, well, trying to choke me to Tartarus." The farmpony let out a long, exasperated sigh. "Rainbow, listen to me. Ya don't wanna hear this, ya got me?" Rainbow rolled her eyes. "What, you mean that you're not actually sorry for choking me?" "Ah am sorry, okay? Just... just forget about all this," Applejack answered, irritated. "Seriously, AJ-" Rainbow Dash's words trailed off as a moan from behind her caught both ponies' attention. She whirled around to find Pinkie Pie pushing herself to her hooves, the confused expression on her face clearly indicating that she was still dazed from the impact of crashing into a wall headfirst. "Ugh," Pinkie groaned, massaging her head. The pain she had felt moments before was slowly subsiding, as did the haze that enveloped her vision. "Oh goody," Applejack muttered under her breath, tipping her Stetson down even further. "Hey, um, Pinkie? Are you... you?" Rainbow gulped as Pinkie stared directly at her. "Dashie?" Pinkie blinked rapidly, her vision finally clearing. "Oh um, hey, Pinkie Pie!" Rainbow chuckled nervously, her senses on the alert in case her friend made any sudden movements. Slowly, everything came back to Pinkie as memories from before she'd went unconscious surfaced once again. Her expression shifting to one of intense hatred, she growled, "Oh, that's so not funny, Dashie. You knocked me out before I could finish off Applejack!" Applejack - having noticed Pinkie's sudden change of mood - immediately made frantic hoof gestures at Rainbow Dash, willing her as hard as she could to understand what she was implying. Unfortunately for the farmpony, her attempts were futile as her pegasus friend merely shook her head and once again directed her attention to Pinkie Pie. "You don't want to keep doing this, Pinkie. Just don't." "And what can you do stop me, Dashie? I can do anything I want! I'm Pinkamena Diane Pie!" "You're nothing but a monster!" Rainbow Dash snapped, not even acknowledging the fact that Pinkie had just said her full name. "You're just being a bucking evil pony! Can't you see that or are you just so blind right now?" An awkward silence ensued. "I'm a monster?" Pinkie repeated slowly, her eyes beginning to narrow. "You don't know what you've got yourself into, Rainbow Dash." Rainbow Dash froze in place, knowing from past experiences that whenever Pinkie said her full name like that, she was utterly serious. This is really, really bad, the rainbow-maned pegasus thought to herself. "Pinkie, please, calm down! This isn't like you! We need the old you back!" a shaking voice cried out as a familiar yellow pegasus landed in front of Applejack, her turquoise eyes filled with misery. "Fluttershy?" Applejack and Rainbow Dash exclaimed in unison.
Chapter 3: Applejack's Rage"The old me?" Pinkie Pie sneered before Fluttershy could respond, although the others could have sworn that they saw Pinkie's eyes cloud with sadness for a brief moment before it was once again replaced by hatred. "The old me was nothing but a pink moron, bouncing around all happy-like and completely oblivious to the world! All the old me ever cared about was parties and smiles!" "Parties an' smiles are better than murder an' blood will ever be!" Applejack growled, beginning to lose her cool again. Rainbow Dash gulped; she knew it wasn't going to be pretty once Applejack completely lost it. After all, she herself had been subjected to her wrath earlier, and it definitely wasn't a memorable experience. Pinkie's eyes narrowed to slits, but she didn't respond and instead opted to retrieving her fallen knife, the silver blade shining as menacingly as ever. Applejack, noticing this, immediately backed up a few steps. "Don't ya dare do what Ah think yer about to, Pinkie." "And what'll happen if I do?" Pinkie snorted. "You were scared of this knife at first sight, Applejack! You're such a scaredy-pony!" The farmpony gritted her teeth, her anger growing with every passing second. Being hit with the usual insults was a big predicament of its own already, but being called a "scaredy-pony" really crossed the line, especially since it was what she considered the worst insult of all time. Rainbow Dash could only watch as Applejack fought her inner rage, struggling to tame it. She definitely doesn't want to lose it again, even though Pinkie would get a pretty good beating if she did, the pegasus thought, shivering slightly. "Aww, what do we have here? Does the Element of Honesty want to kill me, her best friend?" Pinkie remarked snidely, a smirk on her face as she observed Applejack's losing battle. "Ya... little... PINKIE PIE!" Applejack snarled as she charged, her emerald eyes blazing with malice. "Applejack, no!" Rainbow Dash lunged forward, snatching the end of Applejack's tail in her mouth. As expected, Applejack tried to shake the pegasus off, now snorting steam as she did so. "LET. ME. GO!" she roared so deafeningly that even Pinkie recoiled in shock, eyes wide. However, as loud as it was, it still ceased to break Rainbow Dash's determination. "AJ, look at yourself! You've lost control two times in a row now! Sure, you almost killed me back there when you first lost it, but if I let go of you right now... Pinkie's gonna die for real! You said yourself that you saw hope in her! You said yourself that she was breaking free of whatever's controlling her!" Time seemed to stop right then and there, an eerie silence descending upon them that masked all noises so well that you could even hear a pin drop. A moment passed. Then two. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, the pony they all least expected to do so broke the silence. "Pinkie Pie," Applejack said slowly, fixing her gaze on said mare. Panic immediately struck Rainbow Dash as she clamped down even harder on Applejack's tail, fearing the worst. To her surprise, however, what she envisioned never came to be. "Pinkie Pie," Applejack repeated, her tone firm. The same determination that Rainbow had displayed earlier now burned behind her own emerald eyes. "Ah know the real ya's in there, Pinkie, so ya better listen good: don't be afraid to give whatever's controllin' ya a good buck to the face! We're all countin' on ya!" Author's Note Sorry about how short this chapter is! I didn't have much time today due to real life affairs, and since I can't get on during the weekdays, I decided to cut this one down by a few paragraphs so you wouldn't need to wait until next weekend for a new chapter. Anyways, Chapter 4 should be released on Friday, October 9th if all goes well.
Chapter 4: DeceptionPinkie Pie visibly twitched - her eyes becoming more dilated by the second - while Rainbow Dash had a huge grin plastered on her face, certain that without a doubt Applejack's words had gotten through to the real Pinkie Pie. Applejack, on the other hoof, had an concerned expression on her face; it didn't take much for her to realize that Pinkie's extra-extreme reactions were signs of something more suspicious going on. "I-I'm so s-sorry," Pinkie whimpered, her shoulders shaking with sobs, "I never m-meant for this to h-happen." Fluttershy laid a comforting hoof on her friend's shoulder, her gaze warm and friendly. "There's no need to apologize, Pinkie. As long as you're... feeling better, we're all happy." Applejack gave a brief nod of assent, although her suspicions still remained as she pondered them heavily. How could this be so easy? Ah'm certain somethin' fishy's goin' on here. Could Pinkie be trickin' us into thinkin' she's back to normal now? Realization struck the orange mare as soon as she caught a glimpse of something small and sharp that had just appeared in Pinkie's hoof. "Fluttershy!" she shouted, forcefully hauling Fluttershy back just in time for her to evade Pinkie's silver knife slicing through air like it was butter. Hurt filled Fluttershy's eyes as she stumbled, staring at Pinkie, whose face was now home to a sinister grin the likes of which nopony had ever seen before. "Oh, Fluttershy, you haven't changed a single bit," Pinkie chuckled, her voice sounding more distorted than normal, "it's no wonder that you bear the Element of Kindness." Switching her attention to Applejack, her expression immediately darkened. "I'll give it to you, AJ: you almost got me back there, but not so good enough that it broke me entirely. So, good job on that." Applejack scowled. "Ain't need no 'good job' from ya, impostor, to know that our Pinkie's still not back yet." "Impostor?" the dark pink mare screeched, her eyes wild. "You dare call me an impostor? I am Pinkamena Diane Pie!" Suddenly, Applejack broke into a huge, mischievous grin. "Ya care to test that? How 'bout this, then? If ya answer a question of mine an' get it right, then we'll all believe that you're the real Pinkie without any further doubtin'. If ya miss it, however, then ya'll admit yer not real. Alright?" Pinkie scoffed. "Oh, who cares? It's just one question. Fine then, AJ, I agree to your terms. The question must be related to me, though, or else you'll... suffer the consequences." "Sure thin'. Okay then, answer this: why'd ya call yerself Pinkamena Diane Pie?" "Duh, I call myself Pinkamena Diane Pie because it's my name. What kind of stupid question is that?" Pinkie rolled her eyes in irritation. Applejack's grin grew even wider. "Wrong, impostor. Too bad, ya've lost." Pinkie nearly fainted. "W-What? How in Celestia's name is that wrong?" "You forgot one thin', which is that Pinkie doesn't go by Pinkamena Diane Pie anymore! Yer an impostor!" "It's still the name I was born with, even if I don't use it anymore!" Pinkie retorted. Applejack's grin was immediately replaced by a self-satisfied smirk. "Yer still wrong either way. Pinkie - or shall Ah say, the real Pinkie - told us a long time ago that she wanted to forget all about her real name since she didn't like it anymore. If she's the one who told us that, what makes ya think that she'll be the one to break an' use her name again, especially if she starts addressin' herself with it?" Pinkie's left eye twitched. "I... did say something of the sort... did I?" Applejack, sensing that her deliberate distraction had worked, immediately made hoof gestures at Rainbow Dash. Unlike last time, the rainbow-maned pegasus gave a brief nod in response, understanding what the orange mare wanted her to do. Acting accordingly with the plan, Rainbow cleared her throat and began complaining, "Oh, c'mon, Applejack! What's the point in telling her about boring history? We've already established that she's a fake!" Pinkie's head immediately snapped up as she was freed from the distant, memory-recalling state she was in a moment ago, her eyes blazing with fury as she shot a venomous glare at Rainbow. "I'M. NOT. A. FAKE!" Rainbow shrugged carelessly. "Who knows? You might be the real one, but as far as your wrong answer, you don't seem to be. I'm just going with the flow here, y'know?" Pinkie gritted her teeth in frustration before suddenly, realization hit her hard. "Oh my gosh, I can't believe I wasted so much time with you boring ponies when I could have found Rarity's killer already!" Whirling around, the dark pink mare galloped off into the shadows and disappeared before anypony could stop her. "Eh, I guess your plan failed then, huh AJ?" Rainbow glanced questioningly at the farmpony, whose expression was unreadable. "To be honest, it wasn' really that much of a plan. Just somethin' that Ah threw together at the last minute," Applejack replied, her eyes downcast. "Well, ya really can't expect that much from a flawed plan, can ya? The only option left now is to chase Pinkie down before she does anythin' bad to another pony." "Do we... have to? She's still our f-friend." Fluttershy's quiet voice surprised the others; it'd been a long time since she'd last formed any sort of speech. Applejack stepped forward, placing a comforting a hoof on Fluttershy's shoulder. "Sorry, sugarcube, but we have to. Ah'm sure everythin' will be all right in the end, though, so don't lose hope just yet." "Speaking of friends," Rainbow suddenly remarked, "anypony here seen Twilight lately?" Author's Note Well then, there's that. Came out right on time, just like I promised. Anyways, I suppose I'll leave you to your... questions now. You'll have to keep reading if you want the answers. Stay tuned!
Chapter 5: Unexpected TurnaboutsFluttershy frowned. "I did see her right before she left the Boutique, but I don't know where she went after that." "Oh, this is just great! We just had to deal with a crazy Pinkie Pie at first, but now we've got a missing Twilight Sparkle too! Will the craziness ever end?" Rainbow Dash groaned, facehoofing. She was clearly irritated; a mere glance at her expression would have proven that to any skeptic. Applejack snorted. "Missin'? Oh, c'mon, Rainbow. Twi's a princess! Ya'd think that at least somepony would recognize her if she went missin'!" Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes. "It's possible that somepony ponynapped her or something." "Darn right," Applejack answered, her voice dripping with barely repressed sarcasm, "the Element of Magic herself got ponynapped." "What's to say that it didn't happen, huh? Her captor could have put a magic-binding ring on her horn and made her unable to use any magic!" Rainbow retorted defensively. "Girls, please stop arguing," Fluttershy interrupted before Applejack could respond, her expression deadly serious, "we can find Twilight later, but before that we'll need to focus on Pinkie." Two ponies turned to stare at her in disbelief, mouths agape. Pinkie Pie grinned as she casually wiped off - with a hoof, of course - the blood coating her silver knife, having just finished with her latest victim. At this rate, I'll find Rarity's killer in no time! She raised her gaze to the darkening sky, her glee increasing tenfold. Under the cover of Princess Luna's night, she would be able to get away with murders much more easier since nopony would be able to see her while doing so. As simple as it sounded, however, it still left one more question: who'd have the honor of being her next victim? Immediately, the answer came to her head. The poor little thing would never suspect her, especially considering the current circumstances... It was the perfect plan. Fluttershy, her shy instincts taking effect, immediately recoiled in surprise. "W-Was it s-something I s-said?" she squeaked, shrinking down. "No, everythin's just dandy," Applejack spluttered, masking her mixed emotions with much difficulty. Rainbow shot a sideways glance at the farmpony, her eyes wide. "Do you think we should tell her?" the Pegasus asked, mouthing the words. Applejack frowned, giving a brief shake of her head. "She's Fluttershy, Rainbow. Ya can't expect to tell her that without damagin' her confidence," she mouthed back, her lips moving silently. Rainbow shrugged. "Oh, thank goodness!" Fluttershy breathed in relief, her terror fading away. "I was scared that I'd said something wrong... are you okay, Applejack?" She stared at said mare, whose face now bore a troubled expression. "Did ya hear that? It sounded like... somepony screamin'." Applejack glanced in the direction of the screams, which everypony could now hear easily. Fluttershy gasped. "That pony's in trouble! We need to go help them now!" Rainbow nodded, her wings flaring open. "Follow me then, gals!" Applejack yelled over her shoulder as she broke into a quick gallop, heading toward the screams. Immediately, the others took flight to the skies, beating their wings rather hard in order to catch up with Applejack. The Elements of Harmony would never deny a request for help... even if it wasn't genuine. Pinkie paused, her eyes narrowing. She was currently in a dark alley, using it in order to get to her destination quicker. Still, despite all the strangeness that usually occurred in a place like that, voices and loud hoofsteps were definitely not a part of them. "Pinkamena Diane Pie...," the slightly disembodied voice she'd heard from earlier hissed. Hoofsteps once again sounded from behind her - it always did whenever she heard that unnatural voice. "Who are you, and why'd you know my na- real name?" Pinkie caught herself with a scowl, inwardly cursing, before whirling around at the speed of lightning. As expected, there was nopony there, although she could have sworn she'd seen two heterochromic eyes glinting in some nearby shadows. "Relax, Pinkamena," the voice reassured her, taking on a more friendlier tone. "I do not wish to cause harm to you in any way. All I want is to have a little... chat with you." "You only want to chat?" Pinkie repeated in disbelief, her suspicions growing. "Indeed. But who am I to ask when I have not even introduced myself yet? You may call me the Mastermind, Pinkamena." Author's Note And let the theories begin! Just saying that you're allowed to send me your theories via PM if you want to. I won't tell you if you're right, though.
Chapter 6: Foreshadows"Right," Pinkie Pie stated flatly, her tone clearly indicating that she wasn't buying it in the least. "So your name's the Mastermind, eh? Well then, how'd you know my real name? If I've actually met somepony with a name like yours, I'd definitely have remembered you." The Mastermind chuckled. "Quite the sarcastic one, I see. Let's just say I have rather helpful resources that I consult with." Pinkie merely grunted in response, still not believing this so-called "Mastermind" pony. "I presume I'm allowed to continue, yes?" the Mastermind questioned politely, to which Pinkie gave a brief nod of assent. "Very well, then: Pinkamena, it is in my best interests to form an alliance to you. Rest assured when I say that we will both benefit greatly from this one-time alliance. Do you accept?" A harsh laugh escaped Pinkie's lips. "An alliance, Mastermind? You should know as well as anypony that I work alone. I've already lasted up to now, so what makes you think that I won't be able to carry out future murders?" "The dangers of working alone are great at this time, Pinkamena. Your friends are hunting you down like a predator does with their prey, unrelenting in their quest to end your reign of terror. Without an ally, you will not succeed in uncovering the true identity of Rarity's murderer." Pinkie drew in a sharp intake of breath, the Mastermind's words having set off the alarm bells in her head. "How did you know that I was looking for Rarity's killer? I told absolutely nopony except my fri- former friends!" She could tell she'd struck a nerve, judging by how long it was taking the Mastermind to respond. "Like I've said before, I have resources, Pinkamena," the Mastermind finally answered, breaking the tense silence that'd descended upon the alley. "I suppose it hasn't crossed your mind yet that you still haven't provided a satisfactory answer?" "Yes, I'm perfectly aware," Pinkie snapped, pausing for dramatic effect before continuing, "that I've already told you that my answer was no." "Very well... if that is your answer, then so be it. Be forewarned though, Pinkamena Diane Pie, that you are dooming yourself by rejecting my assistance. You can still regret your decision right now and reverse your fate, but it depends on whether that little pink menace is actually influencing your outlooks. Am I right, Pinkamena?" The shadows shifted as the two glowing eyes from before once again appeared, this time narrowed to slits. "Don't you dare mention her, Mastermind," Pinkie hissed, her voice now as menacing and warped as it'd been during Pinkie's last encounter with her friends. The eyes widened in mock fear. "Oh, and what can you do about me if I do, Pinkamena? Isn't existing alongside the complete opposite of your personality enough to enlighten you already? Would you derive pleasure from murdering me in cold blood?" The dark pink mare's eyes flashed dangerously. "Indeed I would," she sneered, "and I'd make sure you feel every last ounce of pain." The Mastermind chuckled darkly. "But you cannot, is that not true? You have no idea who I truly am, even more so no idea what degree of danger I present to you." "Danger?" Pinkie snickered. "You, a coward that hides in the shadows and refuses to speak face-to-face, a danger? Please, even Fluttershy would be more dangerous than you!" "Fluttershy, eh? An interesting choice of words...," the Mastermind rumbled. "Well, I shall extend my stay here no longer. If you ever happen to have any regrets, you'll know where I'll be. The shadows surround you, my friend." Pinkie frowned; there was something strange about the way the Mastermind had said "friend". Nonetheless, she watched as the eyes disappeared into the shadows, no longer demanded of to stay unless required. "Might as well get to where I was going all along," Pinkie muttered, her voice having returned to normal. With quick steps, she made her way to the end of the alley, an evil smirk creeping onto her face as her destination loomed in front of her. The Golden Oak Library would be expecting a visitor soon... especially Spike the dragon. Applejack facehoofed. "So yer tellin' me that ya don't remember where the screams were comin' from?" "Hey, it's not my fault that they stopped all of a sudden!" Rainbow Dash protested in response. "Um, girls," Fluttershy said softly, a discarded object on the ground catching her eye, "you might want to take a look at this." Immediately, the two rivals whirled around, upside-down smiles plastered on both of their faces. "What the hay is that?" they exclaimed in unison, only to shoot each other a glare as they realized what'd just happened. "Don't even bother, Rainbow," Applejack grunted, holding up a hoof just as Rainbow opened her mouth to respond, presumably with a snide remark, "Ah've had just enough of yer crazy antics; this ain't funny no more." Magenta eyes rolled in irritation. "Yeah, I've had just about enough of you too, AJ." Applejack bit back a harsh remark, knowing that it wouldn't have done anything good nonetheless. "Maybe ya wanna consider listenin' to Fluttershy for once? She looks pretty annoyed with ya if ya ask me!" Rainbow gulped, slowly rotating her head to look at Fluttershy. Sure enough, the yellow pegasus was glaring at her, lips pressed into a thin line. "Rainbow Dash," Fluttershy stated flatly, her tone completely devoid of any emotions, "you're in big trouble, miss." Rainbow immediately averted her gaze. Hearing Fluttershy speak with emotions was bad enough already, but hearing her speak without them was the scariest thing of all. It was like a nightmare come true for the rainbow-maned pegasus. "Um, y-yeah, I guess?" Fluttershy sighed, placing a hoof to her forehead. "Anyways, like I was saying before, you should probably check this out." She gestured at the object, its silver surface shimmering in the sun. "Is that... Pinkie's knife?" Applejack exclaimed. "She lost her killin' weapon?" "Wait a minute," Rainbow mused, a thoughtful expression on her face, "if she dropped it here, does that mean the screams we heard before were from whomever Pinkie just killed with this?" "Ain't that likely," Applejack replied, inspecting the knife. "The bloodstains on here aren't recent, that Ah know. It looks like it's from a few days ago also. Otherwise, there's no proof sayin' that this caused all the screamin'." "Wonderful," Rainbow muttered under her breath, "another dead end." "Um, girls... I think I found something else." Fluttershy's panicked gasp caught their attention as they whirled around as quickly as they could. And gasped as well. There, lying on the ground with blood pouring out of a wound in her side, was Princess Twilight Sparkle. Author's Note Yay, this got released three days early! Anyways, fortunately for you, you get way more in this one chapter than what I originally planned. Still, I aim to please! EDIT: For those of you who are still confused why Pinkie speaks in a distorted voice one second and then back to a normal one, it's because whenever she does that it's technically Pinkamena taking over and talking.
Chapter 7: Suspicions"Gallopin' haybales, Twi! Are ya alright?" Applejack exclaimed, rushing over to her friend's side. A stray thought flickered across her mind, but she paid it no heed. Twilight's safety mattered more than how suspicious it was an alicorn somehow got injured by a simple knife. "Y-Yes," Twilight wheezed, struggling to get to her hooves. Her attempts were futile as she continuously failed, collapsing to the ground in a heap. "Ya ain't movin' one hoof, ya hear me? Yer bleedin' too much for that!" Applejack grunted with the exertion of pulling Twilight up, surprised at how heavy Twilight was. The lavender alicorn shakily got to her hooves, her breathing shallow. "What happened, Twilight? Who did this to you? I promise you, that pony will beg for me to end their life after I get my hooves on them!" Rainbow Dash snarled, her expression one of pure fury. "I-I'm fine, Rainbow," Twilight reassured her, wincing at the pain that came with her every movement, "you don't n-need to go to all that t-trouble for me." She could tell that the rainbow-maned pegasus was not buying it, judging by the way her eyes narrowed suspiciously. "What happened?" Fluttershy gasped, snapping out of her shock-induced state and moving forward to join her friends. Twilight closed her eyes, shuddering slightly as she relieved those horrifying memories. "I was ambushed," she said softly. "Ambushed? By who?" Rainbow demanded, her wings flared open. Twilight shook her head in response. "I couldn't get a clear view. It was definitely a mare though." "Was it Pinkie Pie?" Rainbow persisted even further. "No, it couldn't have been. The mare's coat wasn't pink in the slightest way, nor were her eyes blue," Twilight denied, a thoughtful expression on her face. Applejack frowned. There was something wrong with the entire situation, how Twilight as an alicorn princess had gotten injured in the first place by a knife... A knife... The knife! Applejack thought, understanding dawning upon her as her gaze immediately slid over to said weapon. The bloodstains on it weren't recent, yet somehow Twilight had been found near it with a major injury, which could only mean that... "Twi?" Applejack asked, acknowledging that she had to choose her words carefully if she wanted to get to the bottom of this whole mess. "Yes, Applejack?" Twilight glanced questioningly at the farmpony. "Look at this knife," Applejack said slowly. "Do ya recognize it in any way?" "No, not really. Why do you ask?" A confused expression now adorned the alicorn's face. "We found this knife a few minutes before we found ya. Judgin' by its appearance, the blood ain't from recently, but ya've got a pretty nasty wound over there which can only be made from a knife like this. How'd ya explain that?" Applejack could have sworn she'd saw a dangerous gleam in Twilight's eyes as she said this, but it faded away as quickly as it'd appeared. "It's possible that whoever assaulted me tampered with the evidence," Twilight stated matter-of-factly, her tone betraying nothing at all, "you of all ponies should know that, Applejack." "Exactly mah thoughts, Twilight. But how'd ya expect a pony to change blood itself? Did yer attacker cut themselves on purpose just to cover up a little assault? And most importantly, if that knife really was modified, why didn't ya recognize it as the weapon used against ya in the first place?" "AJ, are you accusing Twilight of all ponies?" Rainbow gaped, the shock evident in her voice. Applejack met Rainbow's gaze with a steely one of her own. "Right as rain." Twilight's eyes widened in disbelief. "But me, Applejack? Do you actually think I hurt myself this badly on purpose?" The farmpony sighed, averting her gaze. "Ah don't know, Twi, Ah don't know. It's just that a lotta things aren't makin' any sense here, an' ya seem to be at the center of it. Maybe ya'd care to explain what happened exactly when ya were ambushed?" The alicorn facehoofed at this, but nonetheless still relented. "Fine then. Basically, I was taking a shortcut through one of the alleys when I was suddenly tackled by a mysterious pony. I tried to fight them off with magic, but they were too quick and plunged the knife into me first before fleeing the scene. The wound ended up being really deep and I was bleeding out pretty quickly, so I crawled my way out of the alley as fast as I could for help and was about to lose consciousness when you girls came along." "A shortcut through one of the alleys," Applejack echoed. "Why the alleys? It's common knowledge that they ain't safe." "There wasn't any other way, okay?" Twilight groaned in exasperation, throwing up her hooves. "I did what I had to do to catch up with her!" Applejack raised an eyebrow. "An' who's this her yer referrin' to?" "Oh, Spikey-Wikey!" Pinkie called out in her best Rarity voice as she entered the library, hiding behind a tall stack of books nearby. Even though it wasn't an accurate impression of her deceased friend, it still managed to lure out a miserable Spike that was clearly grieving for her. "Rarity? Is that you?" Spike said hoarsely, dried tears staining his face. "I t-thought you were d-dead!" Pinkie giggled softly to herself as Spike's gaze darted all around the room, searching for his beloved Rarity. If her plan would go as she desired, Spike would eventually head right toward the books she was hiding behind and right into her trap. Fortunately for the insane mare, the young dragon didn't disappoint her. He slowly made his way over to the book stack, getting closer, closer... and stopped just a few inches away from Pinkie. "Rarity? Are you there?" The trap had been sprung. "AHH!" Spike cried out as Pinkie leapt out from behind the book stack and tackled him, bringing him down. She quickly produced her knife and held it right by the dragon's throat, laughing madly all the time. "P-Pinkie? W-What are you d-doing?" Spike looked up at the former party pony, his emerald eyes wide. "Where's R-Rarity?" "Oh, you silly filly!" Pinkie chuckled. "Rarity was never here! I made my voice sound like her just to lure you out! Wasn't that a great plan, Spikey?" Spike's eyes grew even wider as the truth behind the situation finally hit him. "Are you t-trying to k-kill me?" Pinkie rolled her eyes. "Well, duh! Why else would I be holding a knife?" "But... w-why? I'm your f-friend!" "Sure, you're a great friend at that, especially at betraying!" Pinkie snorted. "When I came up with my brilliant plan of killing everypony to find Rarity's murderer, what did AJ and the others think? They didn't want me to and tried to stop me!" Silence. "So, to make up for you all being horrible friends to me, get ready to say goodbye!" Pinkie moved the knife even closer, causing Spike to tremble in terror. One slash was all it took. Author's Note Well, this is a surprise! Somehow, I've managed to publish early two chapters in a row! Maybe this means you guys no longer have to wait that long for a new chapter? Anyways, stay tuned for the next chapter (which hopefully will be released early just like Chapters 6 and 7)!
Chapter 8: Seeking the Truth"Pinkie Pie, of course!" Twilight Sparkle responded, rolling her eyes as if the answer was supposed to be an obvious one. "An' ya never told us somethin' this important until now?" Applejack fumed, eyes narrowed to slits. Twilight shrugged. "You never asked, Applejack, which is an important part of actually getting an answer from somepony. It's been proven scientifically impossible for somepony to know what somepony else is thinking, so if they wanted to ask that pony a question, they wouldn't know the answer to it unless they personally asked." Everypony else facehoofed. "Twi, please, now really isn't the time for yer scientific stuff," Applejack grumbled, placing a hoof to her forehead in irritation. The alicorn sighed in exasperation. "Okay, fine. What I was trying to say was that I apparently saw Pinkie Pie, but she was going too fast for me to catch up with her, so I cut through a nearby alley." "You do realize that you're an alicorn, right?" Rainbow Dash stated flatly. "Apparently, an alicorn princess that can do magic-y stuff with your horn. Couldn't you just teleport or something?" Twilight shot an irked glare at the rainbow-maned pegasus, huffing in frustration. "If you were in my hooves at the moment, and you were trying to catch up with a friend who apparently's gone crazy, would the thought of using magic to teleport actually cross your mind, Rainbow? Would it?" "I guess you do have a point," Rainbow finally spoke after a long moment of consideration. "Still, you can do magic, y'know? It's not like you don't have a horn or anything." "Yes, I'm perfectly aware of that," Twilight muttered under her breath, her voice dripping with sarcasm. Fortunately, the pegasus didn't do anything that indicated that she'd heard her. "Anyways, Twilight," Applejack coughed loudly, once again becoming the center of attention, "ya said ya saw Pinkie of all ponies?" "Mhm," Twilight grumbled half-heartedly before waving a hoof in dismissal. "For Celestia's sake, ponies, all of these questions aren't relevant to the situation at all!" "Um... actually, I think they are," Fluttershy said sheepishly, recoiling as the others turned to look at her, "if y-you think s-so too, of course." Rainbow sighed. "Let's just cut to the chase already, can't we? All of these distractions are just so boring!" "That's for you to say," Twilight remarked icily. "Apparently Applejack here has problems with trusting me, her best friend! Doesn't that just sound ridiculous?" "Ain't ridiculous when yer hidin' somethin' from us, Twi," Applejack growled. Said mare turned to face her, eyes narrowed. "Hiding something?" she spat. "You actually think I'm hiding something from you? If you really believe in that theory, Applejack, give me one reason that proves it." A devious smirk crept onto Applejack's face as she heard those words. "Gladly, Yer Majesty." Author's Note To begin with, I apologize for the short chapter and long delay. I've been experiencing a major case of writer's block these days, and it's apparently crippled my writing abilities (temporarily, of course) to the degree where I can't even think of anything. Since the layout of this chapter was already planned out, and most of it had already been written before I got hit with this "illness", I just added some finishing touches and released it.
