When Anarchy Strikesby AnonymousAlicornChaptersChapter 1Chapter 2Chapter 3Chapter 4Chapter 5Chapter 1The infinite night was still off-putting, as usual. Scoots was draining Raindrops of her blood at the moment, and Pinkamena was contemplating pulling another number. She still had to prepare Screwball for baking. The bloody teeth were already out, and the bones were ground into powder, but she still had to dissect a few organs. She reached into the corpse, and pulled out the heart after a careful separation with her scalpel. There was only the liver, which she just ripped out. The dim pale light from the eternal full moon reflected beautifully off bloody ribs. She made a mental note, as she tossed the dead skin bag into the walk-in freezer. She still had to bake Thunderlane, Flitter, Rumble, and Night Light. Damn, this would take forever. She went to the wooden box, and pulled a small slip of paper that read '372'. Buck, that was Ipsywitch. She had to do it, and survive. This would take Scootaloo assistance. "Scootaloo, I pulled Ipsy again. Grab the tranquilizer, and some unicorn horn powder, would you?" "Sure thing!" Scootaloo was always so enthusiastic about these things, and that almost made Piknamena's hair fluff up again, but would always fall short. She then saw the orange filly, blood staining her hooves and various marks of it across her face. "Sorry I couldn't stem the blood flow. Hope it wasn't too bad." Came Pinkamena's relatively flat response to the sight of the extremely cute sight of the bloody filly. "Oh, no. It wasn't a problem at all. It was actually funner like that!" "Just get yourself cleaned, and geared." "Okay." Scootaloo skipped over to the bathroom of the boarded up, dreary candy store that had once been sugarcube corner. The shower was going, and the egg timer on the oven went off. The Starlight Glimmer Cupcake was finished baking. She pulled out the pink cupcake, and put in the decoration. It read 'Sorry', because last time she drew Ipsywitch she nearly died herself, and wanted a more subtle approach this time. She then sprinkled the clear tranquilizer into the cupcake, giving it a sparkly look. She then gathered her black cloak, made from thunderlane's coat by Rarity, and began searching for anything she might need. A dagger, a vial of volatile acid, and enchanted wing guards. She placed them under her cloak, them serving as metal armor for her torso. The actual armor would be too bulky for this specific harvest. She also brought a small crossbow, and wristblades. She was going to get that witch this time. By the time she gathered her equipment, Scootaloo had her tranquilizer gun and unicorn horn powder in her saddlebag. She also had a cloak, but it was dark brown opposed to black. They left for the dreary outside. All doors and windows were all either barred up, barricaded, or broken into. They had to watch their backs, as anyone could be anywhere. There were red eyes from a shadow, and they rushed. Soon, they were at the target's house. Ipsywitch managed to get the old Mayor house, as she either burned, disintegrated, or melted whoever stood in her way. Other than that, she seemed nice. She held the cupcake on her back as she knocked, and heard a few locks unlock. "Let me guess, you wanna make up for trying to kill me from some silly number picking method? No." The dark lime mare with a black mane began to close the door, but Pinkamena put a hoof in the doorway. "Wait, I brought a cupcake." The door opened again, and Ipsy looked it up and down real quick. "You turned Starlight Glimmer into a cupcake?" She nodded. "And you think I enjoy the cupcake form of cannibalism, why?" "Everyone likes cupcakes." "Ugh, fine. Come in, but Scootaloo has to drop her gun." Scootaloo pulled out her nearly perfectly hidden gun, and gave it to Ipsywitch. "Good, now Pinkamena with the Wristblades, Come on." Where was this going. She obviously knew their purpose there by now, but she still handed over her gear. Bad idea. "Okay." Ipsywitch pulled the gun on them, and shot Scootaloo with the tranquilizer. Then, Pinkamena found herself at gunpoint. She tried to dodge, but was shot. She found herself tied up, a sharp feeling in her neck. She snapped open instantly, to see Ipsywitch holding a knife to her neck. "Just how dumb are you, exactly?" Ipsy was giving an inquiring look. She could ask herself the same thing. Scootaloo lay on the ground behind her, just waking up. "I just wanted a party, no harm done. Right?" She was putting on mock-nervousness to give Scootaloo time to get up. "Why is it that you think I like tranquilizer on my cupcake?" There was then a quick click of a trigger of a presumably empty dart gun. "Ugh, am I really the smartest one in this stupid town?" She pulled a vial of bubbling green liquid, and shattered it on the filly's face. There was a shriek of pain as the glass cut through her skin, and as the liquid soaked in. Pinkamena flexed her chest, and managed to get a dagger out of her cloak and to her back hooves while Ipsy looked to the orange filly. She began cutting. "Woah! Why did you do that? The gun wasn't even loaded?" "Ever heard the saying 'it's the thought that counts'?" "Still, what did you do?" The ropes were off now. She could wriggle out, but needed a distraction. "She shouldn't be able to see for an hour or two, but you two won't live that long. You'r not getting off the hook now, not after I wasted a potion on the brat." Scootaloo, blindly and clumsily, hit Ipsy on the head. There was a big thump, and she fell to the floor. "and I didn't even get to torture you..." With that, Ipsy fell. She was definitely out cold. Amazing the muscle you build up when you drag bodies all day. "Okay, she's not living through this." She plunged the dagger into her throat, blood splattering onto her face. The spine made a distinct crack as it split her spine. "Now, we're making a special cupcake with this one. She didn't really deserve it, and nearly killed me before I got a chance, but that's why she's gonna make an extra good one." "When we finish her, can I have some?" "Of course!" It was a dreary task preparing Raindrops, as usual. The organs were in a bucket at the edge of the room, ready to be fed to the timberwolves. Scoots was just walking around the corner, face covered in blood. It was so cute when she had blood all over her. What ruined the effect was the frown that came with it. "Pimkamena, we have a problem. Ipsy keeps healing the cuts, and blood. I also have to keep killing her. What do I do?" "Let me take a look." She followed the filly into the bathroom, and the tub was actually filling with blood. This wasn't usual, not since she tried to kill Rarity with that blacked out eye thing. She actually enjoyed it, and they just gave up. "Okay, maybe we could choke, drown, dissect, starve, dehydrate, electrocute, or just hack her to pieces. I could still work with any of those." Pinkamena noticed a slight movement in the not-so-dead Ipsy's chest. "Vivisection it is. Whatever keeps her ticking, maybe I can put it in you, Scoots." The filly beamed at that, then deflated. The very alive pony hanging above the tub was flailing everywhere, attempting to struggle. "Will I live through it?" "I have the school education to be a surgeon for literally every organ. If I could put a dragon head on a yak, I can move some foreign organs from point A to point B without killing point B. Now, get me the tranquilizer gun." The once again smiling filly ran off to the former kitchen, where most equipment now was. She waited for Scoots to return, as she wasn't going to deal with Ipsy while she was awake. She came running back, and gave the gun to Pinkamena. She then shot Ipsy, and nodded to Scoots. Scoots ran over to the tub, and very roughly pulled the soon to be corpse down, ripping the flesh in the legs. This didn't matter however, as she was now carrying the witch to the table. She then grabbed some chains, and chained her down by the legs and neck. With Ipsy ready, it was Scoots's turn. There were bags of b- blood type and o-- blood type for Scoots and Pinkamena. She grabbed the b- blood type, and put it next to the other table. "Okay, Scootaloo. Are you ready?" She came running in, nodding eagerly, and jumped onto the table. She lay there, and Pinkamena shot her in the side of the foreleg with the tranquilizer. She pulled the dart out, and inserted the blood-bag needle into a vein in the filly's hoof. With both parties ready, she made the usual cut through Ipsy's torso. She grabbed the bone saw, and got the ribs out of her way. She did the usual cutting out the lungs, heart, liver, and came across the unusual organs. It was a dark purple bag radiating with magic. She very carefully took it, and began cutting. It came out, and the magic faded. Pinkamema then made the cut in the filly, and manipulated the veins around just under the colon to come out to connect to the new organ. Normally, this would work better under the ribs, but she couldn't work around them, as well as there being no room. She grabbed a green magic paste she took from a hospital, and smeared it around where the new organ and veins connected. There was a green spark, they connected, and the organ started up again. She carefully rearranged things back to where they were, and pulled the flaps back. She took some thread and sewed them together. She then took the rest of the paste, and smeared over the incision, and it healed with a few green sparks. If this didn't work, she could always take it out. She then unbound the filly, and carried her to the bed on her back. She was getting tired, and the moon was getting dark, so she just left Ipsy how she was. She took a quick shower, and joined the filly in bed. It was cute how even in sleep, Scoots always cuddled up to her. Chapter 2Scootaloo felt heavier. She was now in bed, cuddled up next to Pinkamena, the straight flowing pink hair like a blanket. It kept her warm enough. The light was still off, the unnerving sliver of moon piercing into the window. She was snuggled up, as usual, to the closest thing she had to family. Near her thigh, it felt like there was something more. It was definitely inside her, and began to itch. Something was flowing blood through it that wasn't there before. She tried to scratch, and was met with soreness. Whatever it was, it was definitely from Ipsy. She knew she couldn't get up without waking her, she just lay there. She was trying to get used to the new feeling, a completely new thing inside her. it was like if an earth pony mutated wings, or a horn. After a while, Pinkamena woke as well. "Good morning, Pinkamena." "Good morning, Scootaloo." She replied in a flat, tired tone. "You want some Ipsy cupcake?" "Sure!" "Lets go make some, then." Pinkamena got up, Scootaloo followed suit. She followed Pinkamena to the kitchen, and the corpse that now smelled slightly, had bled everywhere. This is why they drained things in the tub. The organs were already out, mostly, and all they had to do was pulverize the bones. Pinkamena began doing her thing, as Scootaloo went to the corpse room. She still had somepony to drain, and she was still alive. The apple family up and left to Manehattan to join up with Babs Seed and that apple family branch, and she suspected that all the apple family was somewhere, farming their own food. Sweetie Belle, however, ran away from Rarity after she had cut her halfway along the chest. Of course, they took her in and kept her in the spare room. She reached the metal door, and almost forgot to bring tranquilizer gun. That thing was the cornerstone of life, it seemed. It was in it's place in the kitchen, and she grabbed it. Once back at the door, she knocked and gave a few seconds before opening. It was of course locked from the outside without windows, and more like a prison cell. It even had a food slot. Sweetie Belle was just sitting there on the bed, silent. She looked up, but was shot in the left foreleg before she could get a word out. Once she was comatose, Scoots dragged her over to the bathroom. She set her in the blood-stained tub, and lowered the leather straps to her level with a winch by the tub. Once sweetie was secure with the straps tight, she decided to push the hooks in to wake her up. "AAAGH!" Came the pained shriek from the other filly. This was something she always wanted. She always wanted to be her best friends' last sight. Now, it was happening. "Shhhhh, it'll all be over soon." "What's going on? Where am I?" Once she picked up the scalpel, her pupils shrunk slightly. She was absolutely helpless other than the slight ability to swing, which she was demonstrating now. "What are you doing? Scoots?!" "Come on, just be quiet. You'll make Pinkamena mad." "Pinkie?" "SHHH! She hates to be called that. Just focus on now. She thinks screams are soothing." She made a quick cut through the artery in one of the hooves, then tho other. She was met with a scream so high-pitched she thought she was a dog to have heard it, and almost loud enough to shatter glass. She winced, intensely. "Scream like that and I'll make this hurt more than it has to, okay?" She nodded, biting her lip hard enough to draw blood, that was starting to drip into the pool of blood from her hind hooves. "Sorry to snap, but that hurt my ears, you know? Anyway, try not to do that, 'kay?" She received a hastily spat unrelated answer. "Pleasepleaseplease dont do this! It hurts!" "You were always a baby, you know?" She made a small cut on her upper right foreleg, barely wincing, to demonstrate a point. "Please, just kill me already! It hurts so much!" "What, you don't want to spend your final moments with me?! Whats so wrong with me?!" She unprofessionally jabbed the scalpel into her torso. "Huh?! What made Applebloom so great?! Whats wrong with me?!" She was now cutting a hole in her torso, to expose her organs. "Did you ever to stop to consider or even care about me being an orphan?! When I told you and AB, she comforted me and all you wanted to do was keep crusading. You brushed my life issues off like they were nothing!" She just finished her circle, and put the scalpel down on the counter. Sweetie threw up her entire left lip, along with half her blood. "Please! Just KILL ME!" Scootaloo looked up to meet her gaze, pure fury raging through her eyes. She managed to calm her expression, and tone. "This is for a lifetime of lies." She reached out, and pulled the entire front off of Sweetie's torso. There was an eerie silence. The blood kept flowing out of her hooves and it poured out her torso, but she was unconscious. She blacked out from the pain. Serves her right. Scootaloo wanted to take the scalpel, wake her up, and rip out her lung and show it to her she was so mad. She did a breathing technique she saw someponies do where she put one hoof to a side. Once calm enough to not take Pinkamena's job, she turned around to let her to drain. She was not only unbelievably rude, but ruined something Scootaloo had hoped for since the Princess' disappearance and Pinkamena took her in. Long story short, she was enthusiastic in showing her parents how much she loved them with a knife, and Pinkamena had pulled her dad's number, so they just went with it. It dawned on her, she never told her friend and former friend how her parents died. She was so deep in thought, she didn't notice the pink mare in front of her. "You know, Dashie was just like that. So rude, I just couldn't help but make it hurt. You handled it better than I did." Shortly after Scoots went back to her parents, right before they died, Pinkamena pulled Rainbow's number. She even wrote a short story Scoots read called 'Cupcakes' that was supposed to take place in a world where Nightmare Moon was Luna, and Celestia was still around. She called it realistic fiction, but no way Celestia could possibly still be alive. It would be impossible to bring Nightmare Moon back to Luna, not even the strongest magic would be able to do it. But, it was based on the actual event, and inside the basement was 100% accurate. Pinkamena continued, once again waking her from thought. "If I were you, I would have done much worse. You have some self control, there, and I really am proud of you. You finally found your Rainbow Dash, and it was worse than mine, but you handled it much better. Anyway, I just began baking. You ready for breakfast?" "Sure. Is that really how Rainbow was when you pulled her?" "You have no idea." After a calming 20 minute long cuddle with Pinkamena in the couch, the egg-timer went off. She got up, and followed Pinkamena to the oven room. She put on special boots, and went inside. She came out holding a pan full of dirty lime green liquid, just like Ipsy's coat, and went to pour it into a cupcake tray. This is where she shone. Even if her flat, drooping hair signified her defeat of fate and cutie mark, she was a flash around the room. She was making this one extra special, as she pulled a lung from the bucket with her organs. There were bits flying everywhere, and it was carved into something and quickly stuffed into the conventional oven with the baking cupcake. She then began with the frosting, using skin, fur, and the slightest bit of blood that must have remained pooled in the corpse. That was now in a blender, along with some dandelion. Scootaloo could swear there were 2 of her. Then, she paused with a cup under the cut in her arm she made in her tantrum with Sweetie, and pressed a few times until blood came out. She flinched less with every press, but said nothing. She didn't mind being part of the meal, and the new organ thing had already halfway healed it. She pressed the cup there, drawing more blood. The cup slightly filled, and she removed it. The blood still flowed, so she got another cup and left it right where it was going to hit the floor. The blood stopped after a few seconds, and her curiosity got the better of her. After being a cannibal for so long, she was used to eating any meat, but she had always wondered something. She picked up the cup, and drank the red contents. It tasted sort of like regular blood, but had the familiarity of having been inside her a few seconds ago, as well as the warmth. It was also much more pleasant, but she couldn't exactly tell why. She then looked back to see Pinkamena holding the empty cup, and lick inside it. She was apparently curious as well. "You taste good really, Scoots." She had a sort of surprised look on her face. "Probably because of the cupcakes." "Wanna try me?" Scoots shrugged, and Pinkamena had already made a cut slightly down her foreleg. Then, she got a clean cup and put her hoof over it, allowing the blood to slowly trickle down her leg and off her forehoof into the cup. She let this go for a while, leting the cup full enough for them both to be able to try it. She then used a nearby rag to tie around the cut, and picked the cup up. She took a sip, and passed it ti Scoots. She drank the rest, and her eyes widened. This was actually really good! Pinkamena was licking her leg clean of the blood, and her hair almost went fluffy, but that would never happen. "Woah, you're awesome!" She couldn't help complimenting her on her blood. "I think you tasted way better." "Well, we like each other's blood more. Good to know, I guess." She trailed off. This would lead to some pretty awesome toppings, but only for special occasions. Then, it dawned on her. "Did we ever taste Rarity?" A smile crossed Pinkamea's face, and her eyes widened. She looked kind of scary that way. "Let's go." She turned everything off, so as to have it ready when they got back to continue without ruining anything. then, she started for the door, grabbing her cloak on the way. Scoots followed suit, and they were once again outside. It was decrepit, as usual. It was a relatively short walk to Carousel Boutique, thankfully, and they were knocking before they knew it. A few locks were undone, and a white mare with neat blue hair meekly opened the door. The only thing restraining Scootaloo from rape was that they weren't here for evil purposes. "Um, hello?" "We're here to see Rarity. And yes, we've seen her recently with the blacked out eye thing." "Oh, come in." Coco Pommel let them in, quickly shutting and locking the door behind them. "She's, well, occupied at the moment." It was a good 5 minutes of awkward silence, then a panting Rarity came down the steps, small cuts and whip marks everywhere. Scootaloo couldn't help but notice the sweat, and bleeding from between the hind legs, and the matted fur around her hooves. She was also out of breath when she spoke. "Oh, hello, darling. What do you need?" "Just a little blood." "How much?" She had a more flat, straight to the point tone. "Just a taste for each of us." Coco spoke up again. "Um, that kinda sparks my interest, I have to admit." "Okay, I'll be right back, darlings." She went into the kitchen for a just under a minute, and came out with a new large cut in her wrist and 3 large cups full of her blood. She gave one to Coco, Pinkamena, then Scoots. There was instantly the sound of Coco spitting it out after Scoots took an absolutely lovely sip. "Bleh! How do you drink that?" "We're cannibals, and used to it." Scootaloo responded flatly. "To me, this is absolutely delicious!" She then chugged the entire cup, the stuff was actually really good. It didn't take long to notice an empty cup on the floor, and Pinkanena literally sucking on Rarity's hoof where she cut it. Scootalo still had a taste for regular food, however, so this wasn't as good an Pinkamena made it look, at least to her. "Oh, darling. You know how much I love ponies kissing my hooves, but- oh what am I saying. Keep going." Rarity than began giggling, as if it ticked. Meanwhile, Scootaloo and Coco were locked in an awkward silence. "So-" Scootaloo was cut off by a hastily spat defense from Coco. "I probably don't taste good." "Geez, I wasn't gonna ask that." Rarity was still giggling in the background. "Pinkamena doesn't like to admit it, but she is really a nice pony. Rules are rules, so that's why we do what we do." "Why is the rule there that you have to make cupcakes out of ponies?" "She made a deal with some immortal or something, and that's how she got her party pony power. She doesn't use it very much, but she still has it, so still has to make cupcakes." "Do you ever regret killing somepony or anything?" "I regret letting Sweetie Belle talk when I drained her. She was the absolute rudest pony so far, and to think I ever called her my friend. Applebloom was always the nicer one." "Well, I can see that. On a lighter note, you want a cookie?" Her eyes widened at that, as well as her ears perking up. "You have cookies?!" Coco nodded and led the filly to the kitchen where she opened a cookie jar. She then pulled out a crispy mouthwatering chocolate chip cookie, which she gave to the bouncing filly. Scootaloo literally had the entire thing in her mouth in less that 0.5 seconds, and it was SO GOOD! If the economy still existed, she could make a fortune from these. "May I ask how you cut your flank? It looks pretty bad." Scootaloo hadn't even thought about her cutie mark in a while. She thought about the CMC, but not the fact that she had a cut as a cutie mark. She turned around, showing that she had the exact same thing o the other side. "Wait, is that-" "My cutie mark. I got it after working with Pinkamena for a while. Although, every time I told anypony before the whole anarchy thing, they hated me. I don't know why." "I would think they were scared, if they knew that it was your cutie mark." "But why?" "They probably thought you would hurt them if you stayed around. Ponies always judge by looks, which is why I came to stay here with my only true friend. My old boss tried to rape me when I asked to quit." "3 questions. One, who was your old boss?" "A fashion designer like Rarity, but a total bitch." "Two, did murder really not cross your mind?" "I was scared, and ran. Also, I have a hard enough time cutting Rarity, let alone being able to kill." "3, How would you react if I told you I thought about rape when I saw you, and only restrained because we weren't here for harvest?" Her smile dropped in an instant. "Wait. You, a-" Coco trailed off. "How do you think I deal with the boredom of watching blood drain, or going into heat?" "Well, uh, I-I never really thought about it like that." She was not as unnerved as Scoots would have thought she would be. Then, a thought so dumb it might just work struck her. "You know, common standards are out the window, the world is going to hell, and I'd rather not suffer. If you want to-" Scoots trailed off, not having thought this far ahead. She got a shocked, but not disgusted look from Coco. She could tell she wasn't completely being shot down. "Well, maybe we could-" Pinkamena's voice came from the doorway. So close! "Scoots, you ready to go?" "Can we come back and visit soon?" "Sure, but we still have to finish Ipsy, remember?" It was a delicious cupcake, but Scootaloo was still soaking in the fact that next time there over, it would be much more fun. "You know, Scoots, you are one sly little filly." "Uh, whatever do you mean?" She was almost as bad at lying as Applejack. "I heard the entire thing through the wall, but Rarity ran dry, otherwise I would have given you more time. Didn't wanna be suspicious. We can go back tomorrow, if you like." She jumped at that, exited for actually getting somepony who was willing. It was bound to be more fun like that. There was no 'tomorrow' or 'yesterday' but the moon cycled from black for 12 hours to growing for 6 hours and shrinking for 6 hours. It was actually near black right now, and she was only realizing how hungry she was. They had spent the entire light there, and this could be considered dinner now. She was used to eating light however, and breakfast normally lasted the entire day, so it wasn't a big deal. The cupcake was ABSOLUTELY DELICIOUS! IT WAS THE EDIBLE REINCARNATION OF CELESTIA HERSELF! Sadly, she only got 6 out of the dozen. She paused before she shoved the last one down her throat, and decided to save it. "Are you really going to give that to Coco?" "Hey!" She whined. "Maybe I am." "I think somepony's got a crush." "Do not!" "Whatever you say. Anyway, I'm going to bed. You coming?" She nodded, and followed her to the bed after she put the cupcake in the fridge. She snuggled up to the pink mare before she slipped into sleep. Chapter 3The moon began shining through the window once again, a sort of evil beauty to the dead, pale light. A good way to wake up. This was one of the times where Pinkamena wanted to just lay in bed, cuddling her little filly. Scootaloo didn't like being called that, so she didn't. Not out loud, at least. "Morning, Pinkamena." "Morning, Scoots. I'll make breakfast, then we'll go to Rarity's, okay?" "Sure!" It only took a moment for the filly to roll of the bed, and begin bouncing to the kitchen. She dragged herself up, and groggily made her way to the kitchen. There was still some frosting in the blender, and assorted dough of Ipsy's flesh. Eh, leftovers sounds good. She collected the dough, frosting, and some toppings. It didn't take long to assemble, and before she could tell she was sitting at the table with Scoots with a few cupcakes in front of each of them. It was a good meal, but silent. The cupcakes were too good to talk around eating them. Something that almost made Pinkamena laugh was the bit of frosting on the tip of Scootaloo's mane. "You got a little frosting in your mane." She just stuck the tip of her mane in her mouth, and kept eating. They finished in 2 minutes flat at least. Pinkamena got up, and grabbed her cloak. She also grabbed Scoots's and tossed it to her. She bounced into it, and to the door. Well, somepony was excited. Oh, Scoots has that fling with Coco today, that's kind of why they were going. It was early, so there wouldn't be many dangers awake yet outside. They rushed over to the Botique, so as not to be caught by any gangs or timberwolf packs, and arrived relatively quickly. It didn't take long for Scootaloo to knock. Rarity answered promptly, clearing the way for the filly to enter. Coco was upstairs for about 5 seconds. They were both in a bedroom before Pinkamena could get a word in edgewise. Rarity sparked conversation first. "Young love, am I right?" "Yeah, I'm kinda worried about Coco, though." "If you knew her, darling, you'd worry about the younger one." "Highly doubt that. Scoots has fucked a box, a snail, a snake, and a pillow, twice." "Coco doesn't remember the 3 digit number of times she's had a fling." "I had to hide in a metal box the entire time Scootaloo was in heat." "Coco really doesn't stand a chance, does she." "Today, maybe. In 2 days exactly is the anniversary of her first time in heat. Then, we should all hide." "She's only been in heat once?" "It hit hard." Rarity gestured to follow her to the living room. They each took a seat, and continued. "So, just 2 sadistic blood loving ponies living with sex-craved kids." "How old's Coco?" "14. Just a few years older then Sweetie Bell. Speaking of, do you happen to know where she is?" Pinkie's expressionless face turned to stone, poker face mode. What would Rarity think if she found out what Scootaloo was up to last night? "Haven't seen her. You think the batpony gang got her? I could check." "Oh, would you please? I've been so worried about her!" "Okay, I'll go. If I'm not back soon, make sure Scoots stays here." She received a nod on her way out, and rushed back to her cottage. Once in, she went over to the closet. She hadn't used this stuff in years, and no one else even knew it existed. She slid the door open to reveal a black set of armor, and a large broadsword. She picked up the helmet, many bad memories coming back. The bandit who broke into the rock farm and killed half her sisters until she made her own first cut attempted kill. He was using this gear. She had been training with it ever since, and began using the armor as soon as she was big enough. She donned the armor, as well as a large black cloak. The broadsword had it's own black sheath that fit perfectly with the cloak. With it all on, she looked like some grim badass from Tartarus. She then donned black boots with wrist blades hidden, and revealed absolutely no pink. She had a purpose for this, as well. A while back, she had pulled the number of a royal batpony commando. She didn't have the time, so she put the number in the to-do box. once fully armed and armored, she set off for what used to be Sweet Apple Acres, now batpony HQ. She just kept a slow pace, knowing she could decimate anything that had the guts to touch her. Her only opposition was a small time bandit group. 2 pegasi, a small unicorn, and 4 earth ponies. They attempted to hide their nervousness, and failed miserably. The unicorn spoke first. "Give us your bag, and nopony gets hurt, alright?" His voice wavered several times. She doubted she would even have to fight. "I suggest you hide, now." She slowly began drawing her sword, and the entire group backed up. They didn't, however, run. Okay, here it goes. She pushed herself up to her hind legs, completely drawing the blade. She held it behind her, charging up, and swung. It shattered through the skull of one earth pony, and sliced off the 2 front legs of a flying pegasus. She curved the blade up, and brought it down on the skill and spine of another earth pony. The others were already running off at top speed, and that was nothing. She just smirked under the veil, and continued to the very badly made gate. She once again stood on her hind legs, drew the sword, and sliced through the wooden barricade along the metal gate. She was instantly confronted by 3 bulky guards in dirty armor and swords. They knew she was here to fight, and didn't even try to talk. One tried to fly at her, but was sliced through the chest and in two. A liver fell out as well as a few ribs. She turned to slice a head off the second guard, and the third ran. She slowly followed, staying on her hind legs. She kicked the door down to have a sword strike on her breastplate. It bounced off harmlessly, and she spun around bringing her greatsword through the batpony's skill. The brain splattered onto her sword and various places in the room. Turning back to the other guards, she lunged and sliced 3 of the rapidly appearing guards. However, she was now completely surrounded. "Traveller." An all-to-familiar voice called. "This is suicide, why are you here?" "I'm not a traveller, you should know me." She removed the hood and veil to face the pony who butchered half her family. "I'm here for a few corpses, one of them yours." She launched herself towards the batpony, or rather to his side, dragging her sword to his head. Before anyone could react, there was a clean cut and the head rolled to the ground. "Now, anypony else wanna try me?" Not a single movement. Nopony wanted to mess with someone who just went all the way across the room in under 0.2 seconds. She re-sheathed the blade, going back to 4 hooves on the ground, and set out for the commando. He would likely be at the farmhouse, protecting the leader. She kicked the door in, one hinge coming off, and made her way in. She was intercepted by 2 poor, sorry guards. She jumped onto her hooves and backward as she drew her blade, making a large swing to cut the legs off of said guards. Blood all over the place and leg bones shattering, but she had her attention turned to the large, heavily armed stallion next to the slim batpony in a large chair. The larger one, who she was here to kill, stopped her. Still being on her hind hooves, she placed a clean cut on where he was. Okay, time for a swordfight. She spun to face the blade she narrowly dodged, but it still ripped a leather strap in her armor. This caused the chest piece to fall, so she jumped out of it. This left her at a disadvantage, obviously, as he was still fully armored. She dashed forward at a left angle, bring her sword around, and dashed completely right to let the sword shatter the armor, but once again missed. On a hunch, she dodged forward and out of the way of another slash. Finally, she spun and met blade-to-blade with the warrior. She had hers going slightly faster, and was much heavier, so completely smashed through the defense and halfway through his armor. This left his sword across the room, and him stuck to a giant sword. She charged him to the wall, and spun away from the cut in his armor to completely shatter through him entirely. The spine made a loud crack, and she had apparently cut through the intestines. He recently had corn and apples, along with maybe some other plant. Definitely green. She turned to loom at the wide-eyed batpony in the chair, who was slowly inching his way out and away. "Relax, I'm not here for you." He seemed even more surprised, but not as scared. "Are you, Pinkie Pie?" "Yeah. What about it?" He took on a sort of smooth, seductive-Oh! She'd seen that look before, he was trying to seduce his way out of death. "You're just a bonus." She threw the blade, and cut his head clean off. Blood began to squirt out of his neck. She returned to 4 hooves, and went to collect the bloody sword. She sheathed it, and went over to collect the well-toned body. She had him in her back, and left unchallenged. It was a slow walk back, and no one dared approach her. She briefly went into Sugarcube Corner, left the corpse in the walk-in freezer, and took the gear off. Once everything was off and put back, she took the sword and put it over the sink as a reminder. In the meantime, she had to get back to the Boutique. She was much more threatened unarmed, and ran when some animal lunged at her from the shadow. When a large weight came down on her back, she rolled onto it and and elbowed a snout. It was some sort of dog. She elbowed it in the neck, shattering it's wind pipe and probably spine. She realized she had a bite in her back and cuts on either shoulder. It also bit her neck, and she was feeling light-headed from the blood loss out of the large hole in said neck. So, it really was true it hurt more when you saw it.. She ran as fast as she could and barely managed to knock on the door before everything went black. She woke in a bed, fancy bandages around her neck, her mid-body, and around her shoulders. She attempted to move but was greeted with immense pain, and decided that probably wasn't good. She just called out. "Hello? Anyone there?" She recognized Rarity's bedroom at this point. A freshly showered, still slightly wet Scootaloo entered. "You feeling better?" A twinge of relief in her voice. "Ah, I'll be fine. What'd I miss?" "Well, uh, a lot." "Like how Coco is in bed?" Scoots didn't blush, surprisingly. "She wouldn't have a threesome with my cardboard box." She said, disappointing. "You actually asked?" "Well, it would have been awesome!" She gave the box-fetish filly a lame look, cracking a smile. "You and your boxes. That reminds me, don't you go into heat tomorrow?" "Oh, yeah, about that, well-" "You can stay here if Coco knows what she's getting into." She rushed off, allowing Rarity to enter. Pinkamena got the best view she had ever seen, and it was even slightly scary for her. It was like her pupil was the substance of pure death in the middle of the void. Neat. "What happened, dear?" She nearly forgot to respond, captivated by that amazing eye. "Oh, yeah. A wolf or something decided to try me, and it's definitely dead." "You came close, you know. How's everything feeling?" "Neck hurts most. Shoulders are eh, and lower back's decent." "It's amazing how good Scootaloo is medically." "She patched me up?" She was actually surprised. She was the very last pony she expected. "She surprised me as well. However her most surprising trait is her, erm-" "Box fetish." She finished flatly. "Well, yes." "I honestly have no idea what she sees in cardboard boxes. It's weird even for my standards, and that's saying something." "Anyway, did you find Sweetie anywhere?" "Sorry, but they don't have her. They sold her off as food to the dragons." Once again, no problem lying. "Anyway, I'm kinda feeling light-headed and there's blood running down my neck, so I'm just gonna, yeah." Chapter 4It was a cold night in a bed Scootaloo wasn't used to. She normally cuddled into the pink mane that was now in a medical cot recovering from a wolf attack, but the near white coat and light blue mane were close enough. Scootaloo slipped out of the embrace, not disturbing her. Coco really slept like a rock. Either that, or she was an early riser. When the sun still existed, she always was. Then, something nearly made her fall over. The moon was almost under the horizon, and the very slightest hue of blue was showing. She began stumbling to the door, only to fall clumsily and wake Coco in the process. "Uh, you're up early." She couldn't keep her voice steady to save her life. "L-look out the w-window." A loud gasp, followed by a thud from a falling Coco pursued. This was taking her entire life and changing it back to that was living hell, and it would be even worse now. She had to tell Pinkamena, but somepony beat her to the door. Rarity burst through the door, slamming it open. "The sun's back!!" That hurt her ear, being right in it. "Agh! We know. We have to go. If the military comes back, both Pinkamena and I are dead." "Oh, I highly doubt that. If Celestia is really back, she is a just leader and wouldn't punish anypony for what they did in the dark." Scootaloo could tell that obviously even Rarity didn't even believe herself. "Sure, I gotta go check on Pinkamena, you just keep saying that." She brushed past Rarity and to the living room. where hung a very bandaged pink mare in a hammock by the couch. It was good to see the blood didn't seep through the bandage. It would be bad to wake her up now, she's still healing. The rising sun disagreed, as the rays hitting her face awoke her. A pained moan was the first sound, "Uh, what is that?" Scootaloo was now on the side of the hammock away from the window, and stopped Pinkamena from falling off. "Yep, that's the sun. Long time, no see, right?" "Heh, too long. I would have been fine if it was just a few days sooner." "What now?" "We go pay the princess a visit, and we never did anything during the anarchy. You should put on a saddlebag, or something." Of course, Rairty sprung into the conversation. "Stay right here, I'll be back in a second." In what was surprisingly less than a second, she zoomed into the giant closet, and back out with an unnerving amount of clothes. Just like old times. After hours of trying on everything that might fit her, she was now in a simple saddlebag, aside from the blue and white flower fabric pattern around the edges, and a similarly themed checker pattern along the rest. On each side was also a blue rose. Of course the term "simple" didn't compute for Rarity when it came to clothes, but she did the best she could.Trains obviously didn't work, so they walked. Pinkamena had to be pulled along in a cart, sadly. Nothing attacked, aside from the son and their eyes. It took absurdly long to adjust, as they had been darkness for a few years. After said grueling walk, they arrived at the city. The city managed to sustain itself, it appeared, as it was still in decent shape. There was a farm some to the left, where they might have built another residential area, but it was colossal. Apples, all apples, the workers and product. They took a detour, Scootaloo looking forward to furniture. "Hey, scoots, where are we going?" "Just wanna stop by and say hi to Applebloom." "Sure, No rush, I could use a visit from Applejack. I hope she has something for this pain." It was a short trip, and luckily the farmhouse was close. It might be an hour to the middle of the farm. She knocked, and was met with a familiar face, but not the exact one she wanted. It was a miracle, but Granny Smith was still alive. How in tartarus? She decided questioning it was a bad idea. She wouldn't get anywhere. "Oh, hello, little one. It's been a long time, are you here to see Applebloom?" "More or less. I just wanted to stop by, we were in the neighborhood because of the whole sun thing." "Well, come on in, dearie. We're makin' apple pie!" She entered, the wonderful smell of apple pie filling her nose, then the cart followed just barely fitting. "Oh! What happened?!" Pinkamena responded. "A dog had the nerve to attack me, I managed to snap it's neck, but Scoots had to patch me up." "Well, she aint bad at it. Actually, if she could do this, you two came at a perfect time." Scoots had her eyebrows raised, waiting for her to continue. "Caramel bucked his leg out, and I think he broke somethin. Could you take a look?" "Sure, but where can I leave her." Applejack had made her way into the room unnoticed, and chose now to make her presence known. "Leave 'er there, I'll take care of it." She nodded, and unhooked the saddle. She followed Granny through a maze of rooms to a room with an open door and occupied bed. There was a bandage and a stick around a leg. "Uh, hey. We haven't met, have we?" "No, but I'm gonna try my hoof at your leg." "Go 'head. It's not getting any worse, at least I don't think." "Don't temp me, please." She made her way to the leg, and ran her hoof down it. It was broken in several places, definitely from the hoof. "Wow, what'dya do? Fall a hundred feet and lan on only this leg?" "Felt like it. Bucked a Steelbarrel tree, missed the sweet spot." "Ow. I'll see what I can do. Just don't move." She got to work revising the bandage, and using much more from the bedside table, and braced both sides of the leg. "This might hurt, a lot. Brace yourself. Really." She pushed the bones back into place, a small grinding and loud scream of pain filling her ears. Anyway, she put a brace on the front and back of the leg, bandaged everything together, and was kind of sure she did it right. "Okay, stay off this leg or else I'll have to do the bone thing again. And I will." Caramel nodded, trembling, and Scootaloo left to rejoin Applejack and Pinkamena, to be nearly tackled halfway back by Applebloom. Normally, she would have definetely fal,len, but she had gotten way stronger since they last talked. Applebloom had an extremely exited look on her face, mirroring her own, but it slipped for a second. "Hey, where's Sweetie?" She put on the absolutely saddest face she could, looking down. "Oh. She- well, got caught by the batpony gang a few days ago. She didn't make it out." She just stayed frozen, waiting for the response. The response seemed distant, emotionless. "Oh, ah see. Well, there's a bright side at least." "Heh, you see one?" "Ah, nevermind. You'd think it was mean." "You're one of my only friends left. Rainbow left me, and died later. I never really liked Rarity that much, and everypony else left after the dark. If I think it's that mean, I'll live with it." "Okay, but don't you be mad, y'hear?" Scoots nodded, and AB looked up to make eye contact. "She was always the one that didn't want to do anything, and I always liked you more." That wasn't the most surprising thing she could have said, but wasn't the most expected either. They were locked in each other's gaze, so Scoots made the move. "She really did hold us back, now that I think about it. And you were always cooler too, you know. Actually, thinking about it, she might have just hung with us because she didn't have her cutie mark." "Oh, hey! That reminds me, look at this!" She spun, and had a cool cup of apple cider on her flank. "Yeah, mine takes a bit of explaining." She used a hoof to pull the bag off to reveal what looked like a cut without the blood coming out. "Turns out, I'm good with injuries. I just fixed Caramel up." "Really? He was messed up somethin' bad." "I've fixed up some of the worst injuries you could think up. Try me." "Missin' an arm" "Missing an arm, shoulder, amnesiac concussion, and impaled through the spine and a lung. She's still alive." She fixed up Pinkamena more than once, but that was the worst. The amnesia was surprising. "Ama-ne-she-ac?" "Amnesiac. Means she got amnesia, didn't remember." "Ah. Who was it?" "Pinkamena. She's gotten to some pretty bad shapes through the night. Now, she got herself in a fight with some dog or something, and I had to fix her again." "Really? You're pretty darn good." "Yeah. Wonder how Applejack's doing with Pinkamena." "Also, your talkin' bout Pinkie, right?" "Oh, yeah. she doesn't like to be called that since the darkness, though. Force of habit." There was a long silence, both contemplating their time without the sun. It permanently changed the world, and everypony got used to it. Now, everypony has to readjust to a new/old life. "Uh, hey. The sun's gettin low, again. You wanna sleepover, like we used to?" "It's a good way to start again." They went to the living room, and Applejack was locked in a similar conversation. Applejack was currently speaking. "-wanna stay here t'night?" "Sure, but I can't leave the cart. Doctor's orders." Scootaloo's turn. "That's right. You get up, the bandages get slightly loose, you bleed half to death in your sleep and I won't be able to do anything. It won't be good." This apparently startled Applejack, who nearly fell back. She forgot about her ghostly effect she sometimes had with her silence. "Oh, ah didn't see ya there. Anyway, you wanna stay here ta'night?" "Sure." She followed Applebloom to her room, and was amazed how big the house is. 3 hallways, and 2 rooms, and AB's room door. She wouldn't be able to find her way out by herself. Once inside, she smelt the slightest hint of something only a veteran cannibal would ever notice. It was definitely blood. That caught her off guard, so much so that she just stood there stunned. Blood in Applebloom's room? "What?" "Okay, this might sound weird, but do I smell blood here?" That sent her into a panic state of motionless. There was something going on. She talked so fast, its a wonder she caught it all. "ItwasFulthyRichandweowedmoneyandIdidn'tknowwhattodosohe'sinmyclosetand-" "Geez! Calm down, we all did stupid stuff during the darkness. Now explain, slowly. You won't scary no matter what." "Okay. You see, ever since we moved here Filthy Rich has been using his power to take most our money, and we were starving tryin' to keep up. All of us knew what we had to do, but no one did anythin'. I had to, we were gonna die. It was us or him." She was tearing up at this point. Scootaloo went over to comfort her. Now sitting side-by-side, she put a hoof around her friend's neck, pulling her into a hug. "Hey, it's cool. I would have done it as soon as we started going hungry. You were lucky, you know. Pinkamena and I had to deal with a raid a week from a gang of batponies. She always sent me into our room, and when I came out there were bloody bits everywhere. Worst part is, it didn't phase me. I eye-witnessed my dad get stabbed to death, and my mom died of cancer before I even met you. I lived on the street all my life until I met rainbow, and after a year she tries to kill me and turn me into a rainbow. I escape, then the darkness comes in. My life is one obstacle after another. I've tried to kill myself twice, and I've cut myself more times than a reverse porcupine, then I meet Pinkamena. Not Pinkie, Pinkamena. I met her when I killed my abusive foster parents, and I've been draining people of blood so she can turn them into cupcakes so we can eat." Scoots decided to tiptoe around the whole Sweetie Belle incident. " So, no matter what, I've been through worse. I've done worse. I'm a murderer, you just killed in self defense, survival, because you had no other choice. I've killed for sport, and I'm pretty darn good. Nothing you do could do to scare me off, Applebloom." They let a silence wash over them for a while, then Scoots sparked up conversation again. "So, on a lighter note, you find that special somepony yet?" "Of course you'd ask that of all things, y'all just had to. No, a haven't," "You know, 2 thirds of the population are still mares, and-" "Before you imply anything, I like colts. I ain't got nuthin 'gainst lesbians, but I ain't one." "Ah, it was worth a shot. So, I haven't eaten all day, and I pulled a cart all the way from Ponyville. I'm absolutely starving." "Dinner should be ready any minute now, were havin' apple pie!" "Oh, it's been SOOOO long since I tasted any apple pie, last time I had it you were there. You remember that?" "Of course! I also remember the first time, before you knew Rainbow. Somehow, you ate more than Big Mac, and that's sayin' sumthin. Plus, y'all didn't leave any mess left! How'd you even do that?" "Wasn't sure I'd ever eat anything again, just like every time before I met Rainbow, then she tried to turn me into a rainbow, I escaped to see the darkness roll in, I kill my foster parents, I go home with Pinks. Just a recap in case you missed anything." "Well, 'parently ah missed a lot. You sure you ain't magic?" "Maybe in the head." A really loud bell rang outside, but it still hurt her ears slightly. "Uhp, dinner's ready. And trust me, no way you're gonna eat the most. Some of my cousins make Mac look like Blueblood at a dinner wit' the princess." "Now that's a title I'm not gonna lose." She went over to get her saddlebbag, and followed AB to a large, standard red and white barn, large for barn standards, anyway. When she opened the door, it contained 2 tables from one end to the other, one with chairs and plates and one with the buffet. They were the first ones there, followed closely by Big Mac and a large green stallion with a red mane and apple tree cutie mark. The 2 stallions each took 3 whole pies, and Scootaloo did the same. Applebloom took 3 slices, looking like she wasn't going to get seconds, but Scootaloo's stomach has in tremendous hunger pain and began getting too weak to grumble when they came out of Trottingham. They each took their seats as the family began pouring in, and it looked like they were all one hive mind to not be bumping into eachother. Overall, the table had only half it's food missing once everypony was sitting. She dug in, and was met with the best thing she had ever tasted in her life. It was a flash, and all the 3 pies were gone before anypony else even finished one. She was like a lightning bolt from the table and back with 5 pies, and just skipped the seasoning. It was much better without, and she was back at the table with the green stallion. She took another three while he took eight stacked. They finished around the same time that time, mainly because they were competing for best eater right now. A few others were doing the same, and there was much more than enough pies. It was a blur of eating before both Scootaloo and the green stallion had each eaten 30, leading by far the table in pies eaten. Scootaloo was still slightly hungry, and the stallion was obviously reaching his limits, and he ended at 47 while she went up to 56 before being full. She could tell the only noise was from utenils, and not a single word. "Y'all can eat, little filly. Orchard Harvest, and y'all are?" "Scootaloo. It's not really fair, though. I pulled a cart with a full grown injured mare in it all the way from Ponyville, and didn't even have time to stop and eat. My stomach was too tired to make a peep after the halfway point." "All that way? Now, that's hard to believe." Applejack found her way to an empty pie tin near the end of the table, where the cart was. "It's true. I reckon that filly should'a collapsed from exhaustion, but she's tough as an Apple. She's been through alot, from what I hear." "Oh really?" "You really don't wanna know. The darkness in what used to be ponyville was a breeze for her, and it's chock full of creepy crawlies. My friend Pinkie here was the one in the cart, almost had her head taken off by a dog 'o'sorts. Scoots patched her up nicely." "I have a cutie mark for it." Applebloom found her way into one of the many growing conversations. "It's true. It looks like a cut, but she's really good at surgery 'n stuff. She fixed Caramel up when she got here." "I've done things that make that look like a nap in a cloud." Bad choice of words. As a result, it brought back memories of a certain somepony she used to love, who you could always find napping in a cloud somewhere during the day, or in a factory at night. Her thoughts were luckily interrupted. Orchard Harvest broke the pause. "Y'all look like y'seen a ghost. What's up?" "Ah, I just remembered something. Let's move on. How's the farm?" AB. "It's great! I'm learnin' to buck, but I can't shake a ladybug off one of them steelbarrel trees. That's how Caramel messed himself up." "He told me. Apparently he missed the sweet spot, and it shattered his leg into 4 pieces. Now, that's gotta hurt." Harvest had seen it. "Y'all shoulda seen him. He definitely broke sumthin' and it weren't no tree." "We might be staying until the trains are up again, so I'll help around if I can." "You already helped out Caramel, and narrowed leftovers down so nuthin's gonna go bad." "It was nothing. We mainly came here to see if the princesses were back, because the sun definitely is." "Nope. Celestia's gone for good, but the princess Cadence, who kept the city runnin, learned how to rise the sun. Also, there's a prince Shining Armor, if ya didn't know. We can take a trip there, if ya like." "Ah, I'd have to run it by Pinkie, and-" A certain, high-pitched tone of voice from a now cheery pink mare that Scoots hadn't heard since yesterday interrupted them. "Sure! I remember Cadence! We met once before!" Scoots looked over to the cart, but there was no bouncing. That was good, at least. She'd reopen her wounds if she bounced. That was definitely Pinkie Pie. "So, were staying the night. I'm full." She followed AB to her room, through an immense maze of rooms, and they were both in bed before they knew it. Force of habit, but she rolled over into AB, initiating a pause, and was met with an unexpected response. "Woah, you're coat's so soft." "Taking my baths in blood, then rinsing in water. That's how I keep it so soft." "However disturbing that is, it works like a charm. Hey, would you mind if I-" "Go ahead." AB began resettling, then Scootaloo did the same to bring the two into a mutual embrace. Slowly, they drift into sleep. Chapter 5The shoulder still hurt. Not as much, but it still hurt. The night that luckily didn't last more than 12 hours. Relieved, she used her left, what was now her only good hoof, to toss the quilt Applejack gave her to the side of the wooden cart, hiving her fluffy pink mane some air. It still felt like she shouldn't get up, so she didn't, but it did feel much better. The smell of apples filled her nose, and Applejack walked in carrying a tray with apple cider and sliced apple sandwich. "Mornin' sugarcube. Got'cha breakfast." "Thanks." She took the tray by the hooftip, stretched her mouth to impossible proportions, and flipped it into the air. She caught the sandwich in her mouth, eating it all in one bite, and caught the mug without spilling a single drop. Once she finished chugging, she caught the tray with her mane, put the mug on it, and set it down on a nearby bed stand. It was nice having a functional mane again, and the sun back, and, well, everything. Everything was so much nicer than before, and all she needed was the sun to brighten up her day. Forgetting about that unfortunate pain, she tried to get up with counterproductive results. Falling back into the luckily cushioned cart, she let a frustrated moan escape before AJ's lecture. "Now don't you go messin with that leg, sugarcube, don't wanna make it worse. Want me to go get Scoots?" "Um, well, I guess it is starting to bleed, so yes." The wetness began to pool in the bandage, and drip at an alarming rate. AJ took of at a brisk, hurried trot, and Pinkie began to feel light-headed. She felt more pressure on the bandage, and as she lay there she felt everything around her shoulder soak. She was getting more distant by the second, and darkness seeped in. She was draining blood extremely fast, and before she passed she was greeted by Scootaloo. "What happened?" "Everything's dark, and i... tried...-" The beep of a heart monitor woke her from her dormancy. The worried look of the orange filly hovering over her was the first sight after the flash of light that greeted her after she opened her eyes. "Wow, I'm really groogy, what happened?" "You almost killed yourself when you tried to get up, and were out for 2 days. I had to do some quick sewing bone replacement. Your leg ripped out of place, and presumably cut the nerve lines before any pain could reach your brain, so once we got the leg realigned I did a quick reattachment with as many nerves as I could on the cart ride after I stemmed the blood stream then the professionals took over as they built on and complimented me on my work. I'm just glad your okay." "Yeah, sorry about that. I get a little anxious sometimes, heh heh." "When AJ saw you with that bone sticking out, she went into shock. She's actually paced herself a small cave outside and she's bound to go through to the Zebra half of the world by the end of the month. Really, do not do anything. I'll be right back. Nothing." She left with hesitation at the doorway, then a sprint. 2 days, then. She had been out for almost a full week. Better than almost a month, or almost a year, or like that until she was old and grey. The sun was shining, and Scootaloo was bringing an oversized ladder to a hole, and fit almost the entire thing in. She yelled something, and AJ was up it in 2.5 seconds. in another .5 seconds, she was at Pinkie's side before the door slammed into the wall. A relieved look on her face, accompanied by silence. "So, what happened while I was asleep?" "Not much except law kicked back in, everypony got a pardon for what happened last the night, and things are going back to normal. So. pretty much everything that could happen happened, except no one can find Rainbow Dash." "Well, she probably didn't make it through the night. What happened to Nightmare Moon?" "The Princess is keepin' her in the dungeon 'till we can find a way to undo the whole nightmare thing, but were short one element of harmony." "Twilight's back?" "Yep, I reckon she went with Celestia to whereever they went. I waited for you to go ask what happened. You ready for the trip? I'm pullin' ya." "Sure. Whenever we're ready."It was then she noticed she was still in the cart, the spot where the blood was darkened but clean. AJ trotted over to the bottom of the cart, strapped in, and took off at a slow pace. The cart somehow just barely fit through the doorways, and before she knew it they were outside, Scoots walking by her side, a worried look on her face. "So, how's it holdin' up?" "Aw, don't worry, Scoots. It'll be fine, as long as I don't forget about it. You did extra-super-fantastic!" "Thanks, I was worried you lost too much blood before I managed to stem the artery outlet pathways, or whatever they're called." "Normally, I'd help, but I honestly have no idea either. Whatever. Did I miss much?" "Nope." They were approaching the gates, which were open. Entering unbalked, they made their way through the halfway refurbished, halfway deteriorating palace, and came to Princess Celestia, in the middle of a nap apparently. Princess Luna, formerly Nightmare Moon, greeted them in a hushed tone, so as not to wake her sister. "Greetings. I presume you are here about the sun thing? I'm not sure we gave the third degree to you, yet." "Sounds like you two've had a busy time explanin?" "Why, yes. Please say no one came after you." "Ah reckon not, but I ain't sure." "Okay, well long story short,-" Pinkie interrupted, a hunch coming on. "Princess Twilight banished the thing that made you all evil after Celestia wore herself out fighting it for a few years, and she's out helping rebuild right now, and after the thing was banished it lost all it's power and the pocket dimension fell apart, landing you all back here. Before you ask, just a hunch." "Well, that's the basis of what occoured, but there's something Celestia wanted me to tell you, the filly is the new Element of Loyalty. She said you would know what that meant." Scootaloo's heart must have skipped a few beats, as she was just informed of her new position. That was a lot to take in, even by Pinkie standards, and that's saying something. Well, that was a wrapped up story if she knew one. Her shoulder would heal, her magic was back, and the world was fixing itself.
Chapter 1The infinite night was still off-putting, as usual. Scoots was draining Raindrops of her blood at the moment, and Pinkamena was contemplating pulling another number. She still had to prepare Screwball for baking. The bloody teeth were already out, and the bones were ground into powder, but she still had to dissect a few organs. She reached into the corpse, and pulled out the heart after a careful separation with her scalpel. There was only the liver, which she just ripped out. The dim pale light from the eternal full moon reflected beautifully off bloody ribs. She made a mental note, as she tossed the dead skin bag into the walk-in freezer. She still had to bake Thunderlane, Flitter, Rumble, and Night Light. Damn, this would take forever. She went to the wooden box, and pulled a small slip of paper that read '372'. Buck, that was Ipsywitch. She had to do it, and survive. This would take Scootaloo assistance. "Scootaloo, I pulled Ipsy again. Grab the tranquilizer, and some unicorn horn powder, would you?" "Sure thing!" Scootaloo was always so enthusiastic about these things, and that almost made Piknamena's hair fluff up again, but would always fall short. She then saw the orange filly, blood staining her hooves and various marks of it across her face. "Sorry I couldn't stem the blood flow. Hope it wasn't too bad." Came Pinkamena's relatively flat response to the sight of the extremely cute sight of the bloody filly. "Oh, no. It wasn't a problem at all. It was actually funner like that!" "Just get yourself cleaned, and geared." "Okay." Scootaloo skipped over to the bathroom of the boarded up, dreary candy store that had once been sugarcube corner. The shower was going, and the egg timer on the oven went off. The Starlight Glimmer Cupcake was finished baking. She pulled out the pink cupcake, and put in the decoration. It read 'Sorry', because last time she drew Ipsywitch she nearly died herself, and wanted a more subtle approach this time. She then sprinkled the clear tranquilizer into the cupcake, giving it a sparkly look. She then gathered her black cloak, made from thunderlane's coat by Rarity, and began searching for anything she might need. A dagger, a vial of volatile acid, and enchanted wing guards. She placed them under her cloak, them serving as metal armor for her torso. The actual armor would be too bulky for this specific harvest. She also brought a small crossbow, and wristblades. She was going to get that witch this time. By the time she gathered her equipment, Scootaloo had her tranquilizer gun and unicorn horn powder in her saddlebag. She also had a cloak, but it was dark brown opposed to black. They left for the dreary outside. All doors and windows were all either barred up, barricaded, or broken into. They had to watch their backs, as anyone could be anywhere. There were red eyes from a shadow, and they rushed. Soon, they were at the target's house. Ipsywitch managed to get the old Mayor house, as she either burned, disintegrated, or melted whoever stood in her way. Other than that, she seemed nice. She held the cupcake on her back as she knocked, and heard a few locks unlock. "Let me guess, you wanna make up for trying to kill me from some silly number picking method? No." The dark lime mare with a black mane began to close the door, but Pinkamena put a hoof in the doorway. "Wait, I brought a cupcake." The door opened again, and Ipsy looked it up and down real quick. "You turned Starlight Glimmer into a cupcake?" She nodded. "And you think I enjoy the cupcake form of cannibalism, why?" "Everyone likes cupcakes." "Ugh, fine. Come in, but Scootaloo has to drop her gun." Scootaloo pulled out her nearly perfectly hidden gun, and gave it to Ipsywitch. "Good, now Pinkamena with the Wristblades, Come on." Where was this going. She obviously knew their purpose there by now, but she still handed over her gear. Bad idea. "Okay." Ipsywitch pulled the gun on them, and shot Scootaloo with the tranquilizer. Then, Pinkamena found herself at gunpoint. She tried to dodge, but was shot. She found herself tied up, a sharp feeling in her neck. She snapped open instantly, to see Ipsywitch holding a knife to her neck. "Just how dumb are you, exactly?" Ipsy was giving an inquiring look. She could ask herself the same thing. Scootaloo lay on the ground behind her, just waking up. "I just wanted a party, no harm done. Right?" She was putting on mock-nervousness to give Scootaloo time to get up. "Why is it that you think I like tranquilizer on my cupcake?" There was then a quick click of a trigger of a presumably empty dart gun. "Ugh, am I really the smartest one in this stupid town?" She pulled a vial of bubbling green liquid, and shattered it on the filly's face. There was a shriek of pain as the glass cut through her skin, and as the liquid soaked in. Pinkamena flexed her chest, and managed to get a dagger out of her cloak and to her back hooves while Ipsy looked to the orange filly. She began cutting. "Woah! Why did you do that? The gun wasn't even loaded?" "Ever heard the saying 'it's the thought that counts'?" "Still, what did you do?" The ropes were off now. She could wriggle out, but needed a distraction. "She shouldn't be able to see for an hour or two, but you two won't live that long. You'r not getting off the hook now, not after I wasted a potion on the brat." Scootaloo, blindly and clumsily, hit Ipsy on the head. There was a big thump, and she fell to the floor. "and I didn't even get to torture you..." With that, Ipsy fell. She was definitely out cold. Amazing the muscle you build up when you drag bodies all day. "Okay, she's not living through this." She plunged the dagger into her throat, blood splattering onto her face. The spine made a distinct crack as it split her spine. "Now, we're making a special cupcake with this one. She didn't really deserve it, and nearly killed me before I got a chance, but that's why she's gonna make an extra good one." "When we finish her, can I have some?" "Of course!" It was a dreary task preparing Raindrops, as usual. The organs were in a bucket at the edge of the room, ready to be fed to the timberwolves. Scoots was just walking around the corner, face covered in blood. It was so cute when she had blood all over her. What ruined the effect was the frown that came with it. "Pimkamena, we have a problem. Ipsy keeps healing the cuts, and blood. I also have to keep killing her. What do I do?" "Let me take a look." She followed the filly into the bathroom, and the tub was actually filling with blood. This wasn't usual, not since she tried to kill Rarity with that blacked out eye thing. She actually enjoyed it, and they just gave up. "Okay, maybe we could choke, drown, dissect, starve, dehydrate, electrocute, or just hack her to pieces. I could still work with any of those." Pinkamena noticed a slight movement in the not-so-dead Ipsy's chest. "Vivisection it is. Whatever keeps her ticking, maybe I can put it in you, Scoots." The filly beamed at that, then deflated. The very alive pony hanging above the tub was flailing everywhere, attempting to struggle. "Will I live through it?" "I have the school education to be a surgeon for literally every organ. If I could put a dragon head on a yak, I can move some foreign organs from point A to point B without killing point B. Now, get me the tranquilizer gun." The once again smiling filly ran off to the former kitchen, where most equipment now was. She waited for Scoots to return, as she wasn't going to deal with Ipsy while she was awake. She came running back, and gave the gun to Pinkamena. She then shot Ipsy, and nodded to Scoots. Scoots ran over to the tub, and very roughly pulled the soon to be corpse down, ripping the flesh in the legs. This didn't matter however, as she was now carrying the witch to the table. She then grabbed some chains, and chained her down by the legs and neck. With Ipsy ready, it was Scoots's turn. There were bags of b- blood type and o-- blood type for Scoots and Pinkamena. She grabbed the b- blood type, and put it next to the other table. "Okay, Scootaloo. Are you ready?" She came running in, nodding eagerly, and jumped onto the table. She lay there, and Pinkamena shot her in the side of the foreleg with the tranquilizer. She pulled the dart out, and inserted the blood-bag needle into a vein in the filly's hoof. With both parties ready, she made the usual cut through Ipsy's torso. She grabbed the bone saw, and got the ribs out of her way. She did the usual cutting out the lungs, heart, liver, and came across the unusual organs. It was a dark purple bag radiating with magic. She very carefully took it, and began cutting. It came out, and the magic faded. Pinkamema then made the cut in the filly, and manipulated the veins around just under the colon to come out to connect to the new organ. Normally, this would work better under the ribs, but she couldn't work around them, as well as there being no room. She grabbed a green magic paste she took from a hospital, and smeared it around where the new organ and veins connected. There was a green spark, they connected, and the organ started up again. She carefully rearranged things back to where they were, and pulled the flaps back. She took some thread and sewed them together. She then took the rest of the paste, and smeared over the incision, and it healed with a few green sparks. If this didn't work, she could always take it out. She then unbound the filly, and carried her to the bed on her back. She was getting tired, and the moon was getting dark, so she just left Ipsy how she was. She took a quick shower, and joined the filly in bed. It was cute how even in sleep, Scoots always cuddled up to her.
Chapter 2Scootaloo felt heavier. She was now in bed, cuddled up next to Pinkamena, the straight flowing pink hair like a blanket. It kept her warm enough. The light was still off, the unnerving sliver of moon piercing into the window. She was snuggled up, as usual, to the closest thing she had to family. Near her thigh, it felt like there was something more. It was definitely inside her, and began to itch. Something was flowing blood through it that wasn't there before. She tried to scratch, and was met with soreness. Whatever it was, it was definitely from Ipsy. She knew she couldn't get up without waking her, she just lay there. She was trying to get used to the new feeling, a completely new thing inside her. it was like if an earth pony mutated wings, or a horn. After a while, Pinkamena woke as well. "Good morning, Pinkamena." "Good morning, Scootaloo." She replied in a flat, tired tone. "You want some Ipsy cupcake?" "Sure!" "Lets go make some, then." Pinkamena got up, Scootaloo followed suit. She followed Pinkamena to the kitchen, and the corpse that now smelled slightly, had bled everywhere. This is why they drained things in the tub. The organs were already out, mostly, and all they had to do was pulverize the bones. Pinkamena began doing her thing, as Scootaloo went to the corpse room. She still had somepony to drain, and she was still alive. The apple family up and left to Manehattan to join up with Babs Seed and that apple family branch, and she suspected that all the apple family was somewhere, farming their own food. Sweetie Belle, however, ran away from Rarity after she had cut her halfway along the chest. Of course, they took her in and kept her in the spare room. She reached the metal door, and almost forgot to bring tranquilizer gun. That thing was the cornerstone of life, it seemed. It was in it's place in the kitchen, and she grabbed it. Once back at the door, she knocked and gave a few seconds before opening. It was of course locked from the outside without windows, and more like a prison cell. It even had a food slot. Sweetie Belle was just sitting there on the bed, silent. She looked up, but was shot in the left foreleg before she could get a word out. Once she was comatose, Scoots dragged her over to the bathroom. She set her in the blood-stained tub, and lowered the leather straps to her level with a winch by the tub. Once sweetie was secure with the straps tight, she decided to push the hooks in to wake her up. "AAAGH!" Came the pained shriek from the other filly. This was something she always wanted. She always wanted to be her best friends' last sight. Now, it was happening. "Shhhhh, it'll all be over soon." "What's going on? Where am I?" Once she picked up the scalpel, her pupils shrunk slightly. She was absolutely helpless other than the slight ability to swing, which she was demonstrating now. "What are you doing? Scoots?!" "Come on, just be quiet. You'll make Pinkamena mad." "Pinkie?" "SHHH! She hates to be called that. Just focus on now. She thinks screams are soothing." She made a quick cut through the artery in one of the hooves, then tho other. She was met with a scream so high-pitched she thought she was a dog to have heard it, and almost loud enough to shatter glass. She winced, intensely. "Scream like that and I'll make this hurt more than it has to, okay?" She nodded, biting her lip hard enough to draw blood, that was starting to drip into the pool of blood from her hind hooves. "Sorry to snap, but that hurt my ears, you know? Anyway, try not to do that, 'kay?" She received a hastily spat unrelated answer. "Pleasepleaseplease dont do this! It hurts!" "You were always a baby, you know?" She made a small cut on her upper right foreleg, barely wincing, to demonstrate a point. "Please, just kill me already! It hurts so much!" "What, you don't want to spend your final moments with me?! Whats so wrong with me?!" She unprofessionally jabbed the scalpel into her torso. "Huh?! What made Applebloom so great?! Whats wrong with me?!" She was now cutting a hole in her torso, to expose her organs. "Did you ever to stop to consider or even care about me being an orphan?! When I told you and AB, she comforted me and all you wanted to do was keep crusading. You brushed my life issues off like they were nothing!" She just finished her circle, and put the scalpel down on the counter. Sweetie threw up her entire left lip, along with half her blood. "Please! Just KILL ME!" Scootaloo looked up to meet her gaze, pure fury raging through her eyes. She managed to calm her expression, and tone. "This is for a lifetime of lies." She reached out, and pulled the entire front off of Sweetie's torso. There was an eerie silence. The blood kept flowing out of her hooves and it poured out her torso, but she was unconscious. She blacked out from the pain. Serves her right. Scootaloo wanted to take the scalpel, wake her up, and rip out her lung and show it to her she was so mad. She did a breathing technique she saw someponies do where she put one hoof to a side. Once calm enough to not take Pinkamena's job, she turned around to let her to drain. She was not only unbelievably rude, but ruined something Scootaloo had hoped for since the Princess' disappearance and Pinkamena took her in. Long story short, she was enthusiastic in showing her parents how much she loved them with a knife, and Pinkamena had pulled her dad's number, so they just went with it. It dawned on her, she never told her friend and former friend how her parents died. She was so deep in thought, she didn't notice the pink mare in front of her. "You know, Dashie was just like that. So rude, I just couldn't help but make it hurt. You handled it better than I did." Shortly after Scoots went back to her parents, right before they died, Pinkamena pulled Rainbow's number. She even wrote a short story Scoots read called 'Cupcakes' that was supposed to take place in a world where Nightmare Moon was Luna, and Celestia was still around. She called it realistic fiction, but no way Celestia could possibly still be alive. It would be impossible to bring Nightmare Moon back to Luna, not even the strongest magic would be able to do it. But, it was based on the actual event, and inside the basement was 100% accurate. Pinkamena continued, once again waking her from thought. "If I were you, I would have done much worse. You have some self control, there, and I really am proud of you. You finally found your Rainbow Dash, and it was worse than mine, but you handled it much better. Anyway, I just began baking. You ready for breakfast?" "Sure. Is that really how Rainbow was when you pulled her?" "You have no idea." After a calming 20 minute long cuddle with Pinkamena in the couch, the egg-timer went off. She got up, and followed Pinkamena to the oven room. She put on special boots, and went inside. She came out holding a pan full of dirty lime green liquid, just like Ipsy's coat, and went to pour it into a cupcake tray. This is where she shone. Even if her flat, drooping hair signified her defeat of fate and cutie mark, she was a flash around the room. She was making this one extra special, as she pulled a lung from the bucket with her organs. There were bits flying everywhere, and it was carved into something and quickly stuffed into the conventional oven with the baking cupcake. She then began with the frosting, using skin, fur, and the slightest bit of blood that must have remained pooled in the corpse. That was now in a blender, along with some dandelion. Scootaloo could swear there were 2 of her. Then, she paused with a cup under the cut in her arm she made in her tantrum with Sweetie, and pressed a few times until blood came out. She flinched less with every press, but said nothing. She didn't mind being part of the meal, and the new organ thing had already halfway healed it. She pressed the cup there, drawing more blood. The cup slightly filled, and she removed it. The blood still flowed, so she got another cup and left it right where it was going to hit the floor. The blood stopped after a few seconds, and her curiosity got the better of her. After being a cannibal for so long, she was used to eating any meat, but she had always wondered something. She picked up the cup, and drank the red contents. It tasted sort of like regular blood, but had the familiarity of having been inside her a few seconds ago, as well as the warmth. It was also much more pleasant, but she couldn't exactly tell why. She then looked back to see Pinkamena holding the empty cup, and lick inside it. She was apparently curious as well. "You taste good really, Scoots." She had a sort of surprised look on her face. "Probably because of the cupcakes." "Wanna try me?" Scoots shrugged, and Pinkamena had already made a cut slightly down her foreleg. Then, she got a clean cup and put her hoof over it, allowing the blood to slowly trickle down her leg and off her forehoof into the cup. She let this go for a while, leting the cup full enough for them both to be able to try it. She then used a nearby rag to tie around the cut, and picked the cup up. She took a sip, and passed it ti Scoots. She drank the rest, and her eyes widened. This was actually really good! Pinkamena was licking her leg clean of the blood, and her hair almost went fluffy, but that would never happen. "Woah, you're awesome!" She couldn't help complimenting her on her blood. "I think you tasted way better." "Well, we like each other's blood more. Good to know, I guess." She trailed off. This would lead to some pretty awesome toppings, but only for special occasions. Then, it dawned on her. "Did we ever taste Rarity?" A smile crossed Pinkamea's face, and her eyes widened. She looked kind of scary that way. "Let's go." She turned everything off, so as to have it ready when they got back to continue without ruining anything. then, she started for the door, grabbing her cloak on the way. Scoots followed suit, and they were once again outside. It was decrepit, as usual. It was a relatively short walk to Carousel Boutique, thankfully, and they were knocking before they knew it. A few locks were undone, and a white mare with neat blue hair meekly opened the door. The only thing restraining Scootaloo from rape was that they weren't here for evil purposes. "Um, hello?" "We're here to see Rarity. And yes, we've seen her recently with the blacked out eye thing." "Oh, come in." Coco Pommel let them in, quickly shutting and locking the door behind them. "She's, well, occupied at the moment." It was a good 5 minutes of awkward silence, then a panting Rarity came down the steps, small cuts and whip marks everywhere. Scootaloo couldn't help but notice the sweat, and bleeding from between the hind legs, and the matted fur around her hooves. She was also out of breath when she spoke. "Oh, hello, darling. What do you need?" "Just a little blood." "How much?" She had a more flat, straight to the point tone. "Just a taste for each of us." Coco spoke up again. "Um, that kinda sparks my interest, I have to admit." "Okay, I'll be right back, darlings." She went into the kitchen for a just under a minute, and came out with a new large cut in her wrist and 3 large cups full of her blood. She gave one to Coco, Pinkamena, then Scoots. There was instantly the sound of Coco spitting it out after Scoots took an absolutely lovely sip. "Bleh! How do you drink that?" "We're cannibals, and used to it." Scootaloo responded flatly. "To me, this is absolutely delicious!" She then chugged the entire cup, the stuff was actually really good. It didn't take long to notice an empty cup on the floor, and Pinkanena literally sucking on Rarity's hoof where she cut it. Scootalo still had a taste for regular food, however, so this wasn't as good an Pinkamena made it look, at least to her. "Oh, darling. You know how much I love ponies kissing my hooves, but- oh what am I saying. Keep going." Rarity than began giggling, as if it ticked. Meanwhile, Scootaloo and Coco were locked in an awkward silence. "So-" Scootaloo was cut off by a hastily spat defense from Coco. "I probably don't taste good." "Geez, I wasn't gonna ask that." Rarity was still giggling in the background. "Pinkamena doesn't like to admit it, but she is really a nice pony. Rules are rules, so that's why we do what we do." "Why is the rule there that you have to make cupcakes out of ponies?" "She made a deal with some immortal or something, and that's how she got her party pony power. She doesn't use it very much, but she still has it, so still has to make cupcakes." "Do you ever regret killing somepony or anything?" "I regret letting Sweetie Belle talk when I drained her. She was the absolute rudest pony so far, and to think I ever called her my friend. Applebloom was always the nicer one." "Well, I can see that. On a lighter note, you want a cookie?" Her eyes widened at that, as well as her ears perking up. "You have cookies?!" Coco nodded and led the filly to the kitchen where she opened a cookie jar. She then pulled out a crispy mouthwatering chocolate chip cookie, which she gave to the bouncing filly. Scootaloo literally had the entire thing in her mouth in less that 0.5 seconds, and it was SO GOOD! If the economy still existed, she could make a fortune from these. "May I ask how you cut your flank? It looks pretty bad." Scootaloo hadn't even thought about her cutie mark in a while. She thought about the CMC, but not the fact that she had a cut as a cutie mark. She turned around, showing that she had the exact same thing o the other side. "Wait, is that-" "My cutie mark. I got it after working with Pinkamena for a while. Although, every time I told anypony before the whole anarchy thing, they hated me. I don't know why." "I would think they were scared, if they knew that it was your cutie mark." "But why?" "They probably thought you would hurt them if you stayed around. Ponies always judge by looks, which is why I came to stay here with my only true friend. My old boss tried to rape me when I asked to quit." "3 questions. One, who was your old boss?" "A fashion designer like Rarity, but a total bitch." "Two, did murder really not cross your mind?" "I was scared, and ran. Also, I have a hard enough time cutting Rarity, let alone being able to kill." "3, How would you react if I told you I thought about rape when I saw you, and only restrained because we weren't here for harvest?" Her smile dropped in an instant. "Wait. You, a-" Coco trailed off. "How do you think I deal with the boredom of watching blood drain, or going into heat?" "Well, uh, I-I never really thought about it like that." She was not as unnerved as Scoots would have thought she would be. Then, a thought so dumb it might just work struck her. "You know, common standards are out the window, the world is going to hell, and I'd rather not suffer. If you want to-" Scoots trailed off, not having thought this far ahead. She got a shocked, but not disgusted look from Coco. She could tell she wasn't completely being shot down. "Well, maybe we could-" Pinkamena's voice came from the doorway. So close! "Scoots, you ready to go?" "Can we come back and visit soon?" "Sure, but we still have to finish Ipsy, remember?" It was a delicious cupcake, but Scootaloo was still soaking in the fact that next time there over, it would be much more fun. "You know, Scoots, you are one sly little filly." "Uh, whatever do you mean?" She was almost as bad at lying as Applejack. "I heard the entire thing through the wall, but Rarity ran dry, otherwise I would have given you more time. Didn't wanna be suspicious. We can go back tomorrow, if you like." She jumped at that, exited for actually getting somepony who was willing. It was bound to be more fun like that. There was no 'tomorrow' or 'yesterday' but the moon cycled from black for 12 hours to growing for 6 hours and shrinking for 6 hours. It was actually near black right now, and she was only realizing how hungry she was. They had spent the entire light there, and this could be considered dinner now. She was used to eating light however, and breakfast normally lasted the entire day, so it wasn't a big deal. The cupcake was ABSOLUTELY DELICIOUS! IT WAS THE EDIBLE REINCARNATION OF CELESTIA HERSELF! Sadly, she only got 6 out of the dozen. She paused before she shoved the last one down her throat, and decided to save it. "Are you really going to give that to Coco?" "Hey!" She whined. "Maybe I am." "I think somepony's got a crush." "Do not!" "Whatever you say. Anyway, I'm going to bed. You coming?" She nodded, and followed her to the bed after she put the cupcake in the fridge. She snuggled up to the pink mare before she slipped into sleep.
Chapter 3The moon began shining through the window once again, a sort of evil beauty to the dead, pale light. A good way to wake up. This was one of the times where Pinkamena wanted to just lay in bed, cuddling her little filly. Scootaloo didn't like being called that, so she didn't. Not out loud, at least. "Morning, Pinkamena." "Morning, Scoots. I'll make breakfast, then we'll go to Rarity's, okay?" "Sure!" It only took a moment for the filly to roll of the bed, and begin bouncing to the kitchen. She dragged herself up, and groggily made her way to the kitchen. There was still some frosting in the blender, and assorted dough of Ipsy's flesh. Eh, leftovers sounds good. She collected the dough, frosting, and some toppings. It didn't take long to assemble, and before she could tell she was sitting at the table with Scoots with a few cupcakes in front of each of them. It was a good meal, but silent. The cupcakes were too good to talk around eating them. Something that almost made Pinkamena laugh was the bit of frosting on the tip of Scootaloo's mane. "You got a little frosting in your mane." She just stuck the tip of her mane in her mouth, and kept eating. They finished in 2 minutes flat at least. Pinkamena got up, and grabbed her cloak. She also grabbed Scoots's and tossed it to her. She bounced into it, and to the door. Well, somepony was excited. Oh, Scoots has that fling with Coco today, that's kind of why they were going. It was early, so there wouldn't be many dangers awake yet outside. They rushed over to the Botique, so as not to be caught by any gangs or timberwolf packs, and arrived relatively quickly. It didn't take long for Scootaloo to knock. Rarity answered promptly, clearing the way for the filly to enter. Coco was upstairs for about 5 seconds. They were both in a bedroom before Pinkamena could get a word in edgewise. Rarity sparked conversation first. "Young love, am I right?" "Yeah, I'm kinda worried about Coco, though." "If you knew her, darling, you'd worry about the younger one." "Highly doubt that. Scoots has fucked a box, a snail, a snake, and a pillow, twice." "Coco doesn't remember the 3 digit number of times she's had a fling." "I had to hide in a metal box the entire time Scootaloo was in heat." "Coco really doesn't stand a chance, does she." "Today, maybe. In 2 days exactly is the anniversary of her first time in heat. Then, we should all hide." "She's only been in heat once?" "It hit hard." Rarity gestured to follow her to the living room. They each took a seat, and continued. "So, just 2 sadistic blood loving ponies living with sex-craved kids." "How old's Coco?" "14. Just a few years older then Sweetie Bell. Speaking of, do you happen to know where she is?" Pinkie's expressionless face turned to stone, poker face mode. What would Rarity think if she found out what Scootaloo was up to last night? "Haven't seen her. You think the batpony gang got her? I could check." "Oh, would you please? I've been so worried about her!" "Okay, I'll go. If I'm not back soon, make sure Scoots stays here." She received a nod on her way out, and rushed back to her cottage. Once in, she went over to the closet. She hadn't used this stuff in years, and no one else even knew it existed. She slid the door open to reveal a black set of armor, and a large broadsword. She picked up the helmet, many bad memories coming back. The bandit who broke into the rock farm and killed half her sisters until she made her own first cut attempted kill. He was using this gear. She had been training with it ever since, and began using the armor as soon as she was big enough. She donned the armor, as well as a large black cloak. The broadsword had it's own black sheath that fit perfectly with the cloak. With it all on, she looked like some grim badass from Tartarus. She then donned black boots with wrist blades hidden, and revealed absolutely no pink. She had a purpose for this, as well. A while back, she had pulled the number of a royal batpony commando. She didn't have the time, so she put the number in the to-do box. once fully armed and armored, she set off for what used to be Sweet Apple Acres, now batpony HQ. She just kept a slow pace, knowing she could decimate anything that had the guts to touch her. Her only opposition was a small time bandit group. 2 pegasi, a small unicorn, and 4 earth ponies. They attempted to hide their nervousness, and failed miserably. The unicorn spoke first. "Give us your bag, and nopony gets hurt, alright?" His voice wavered several times. She doubted she would even have to fight. "I suggest you hide, now." She slowly began drawing her sword, and the entire group backed up. They didn't, however, run. Okay, here it goes. She pushed herself up to her hind legs, completely drawing the blade. She held it behind her, charging up, and swung. It shattered through the skull of one earth pony, and sliced off the 2 front legs of a flying pegasus. She curved the blade up, and brought it down on the skill and spine of another earth pony. The others were already running off at top speed, and that was nothing. She just smirked under the veil, and continued to the very badly made gate. She once again stood on her hind legs, drew the sword, and sliced through the wooden barricade along the metal gate. She was instantly confronted by 3 bulky guards in dirty armor and swords. They knew she was here to fight, and didn't even try to talk. One tried to fly at her, but was sliced through the chest and in two. A liver fell out as well as a few ribs. She turned to slice a head off the second guard, and the third ran. She slowly followed, staying on her hind legs. She kicked the door down to have a sword strike on her breastplate. It bounced off harmlessly, and she spun around bringing her greatsword through the batpony's skill. The brain splattered onto her sword and various places in the room. Turning back to the other guards, she lunged and sliced 3 of the rapidly appearing guards. However, she was now completely surrounded. "Traveller." An all-to-familiar voice called. "This is suicide, why are you here?" "I'm not a traveller, you should know me." She removed the hood and veil to face the pony who butchered half her family. "I'm here for a few corpses, one of them yours." She launched herself towards the batpony, or rather to his side, dragging her sword to his head. Before anyone could react, there was a clean cut and the head rolled to the ground. "Now, anypony else wanna try me?" Not a single movement. Nopony wanted to mess with someone who just went all the way across the room in under 0.2 seconds. She re-sheathed the blade, going back to 4 hooves on the ground, and set out for the commando. He would likely be at the farmhouse, protecting the leader. She kicked the door in, one hinge coming off, and made her way in. She was intercepted by 2 poor, sorry guards. She jumped onto her hooves and backward as she drew her blade, making a large swing to cut the legs off of said guards. Blood all over the place and leg bones shattering, but she had her attention turned to the large, heavily armed stallion next to the slim batpony in a large chair. The larger one, who she was here to kill, stopped her. Still being on her hind hooves, she placed a clean cut on where he was. Okay, time for a swordfight. She spun to face the blade she narrowly dodged, but it still ripped a leather strap in her armor. This caused the chest piece to fall, so she jumped out of it. This left her at a disadvantage, obviously, as he was still fully armored. She dashed forward at a left angle, bring her sword around, and dashed completely right to let the sword shatter the armor, but once again missed. On a hunch, she dodged forward and out of the way of another slash. Finally, she spun and met blade-to-blade with the warrior. She had hers going slightly faster, and was much heavier, so completely smashed through the defense and halfway through his armor. This left his sword across the room, and him stuck to a giant sword. She charged him to the wall, and spun away from the cut in his armor to completely shatter through him entirely. The spine made a loud crack, and she had apparently cut through the intestines. He recently had corn and apples, along with maybe some other plant. Definitely green. She turned to loom at the wide-eyed batpony in the chair, who was slowly inching his way out and away. "Relax, I'm not here for you." He seemed even more surprised, but not as scared. "Are you, Pinkie Pie?" "Yeah. What about it?" He took on a sort of smooth, seductive-Oh! She'd seen that look before, he was trying to seduce his way out of death. "You're just a bonus." She threw the blade, and cut his head clean off. Blood began to squirt out of his neck. She returned to 4 hooves, and went to collect the bloody sword. She sheathed it, and went over to collect the well-toned body. She had him in her back, and left unchallenged. It was a slow walk back, and no one dared approach her. She briefly went into Sugarcube Corner, left the corpse in the walk-in freezer, and took the gear off. Once everything was off and put back, she took the sword and put it over the sink as a reminder. In the meantime, she had to get back to the Boutique. She was much more threatened unarmed, and ran when some animal lunged at her from the shadow. When a large weight came down on her back, she rolled onto it and and elbowed a snout. It was some sort of dog. She elbowed it in the neck, shattering it's wind pipe and probably spine. She realized she had a bite in her back and cuts on either shoulder. It also bit her neck, and she was feeling light-headed from the blood loss out of the large hole in said neck. So, it really was true it hurt more when you saw it.. She ran as fast as she could and barely managed to knock on the door before everything went black. She woke in a bed, fancy bandages around her neck, her mid-body, and around her shoulders. She attempted to move but was greeted with immense pain, and decided that probably wasn't good. She just called out. "Hello? Anyone there?" She recognized Rarity's bedroom at this point. A freshly showered, still slightly wet Scootaloo entered. "You feeling better?" A twinge of relief in her voice. "Ah, I'll be fine. What'd I miss?" "Well, uh, a lot." "Like how Coco is in bed?" Scoots didn't blush, surprisingly. "She wouldn't have a threesome with my cardboard box." She said, disappointing. "You actually asked?" "Well, it would have been awesome!" She gave the box-fetish filly a lame look, cracking a smile. "You and your boxes. That reminds me, don't you go into heat tomorrow?" "Oh, yeah, about that, well-" "You can stay here if Coco knows what she's getting into." She rushed off, allowing Rarity to enter. Pinkamena got the best view she had ever seen, and it was even slightly scary for her. It was like her pupil was the substance of pure death in the middle of the void. Neat. "What happened, dear?" She nearly forgot to respond, captivated by that amazing eye. "Oh, yeah. A wolf or something decided to try me, and it's definitely dead." "You came close, you know. How's everything feeling?" "Neck hurts most. Shoulders are eh, and lower back's decent." "It's amazing how good Scootaloo is medically." "She patched me up?" She was actually surprised. She was the very last pony she expected. "She surprised me as well. However her most surprising trait is her, erm-" "Box fetish." She finished flatly. "Well, yes." "I honestly have no idea what she sees in cardboard boxes. It's weird even for my standards, and that's saying something." "Anyway, did you find Sweetie anywhere?" "Sorry, but they don't have her. They sold her off as food to the dragons." Once again, no problem lying. "Anyway, I'm kinda feeling light-headed and there's blood running down my neck, so I'm just gonna, yeah."
Chapter 4It was a cold night in a bed Scootaloo wasn't used to. She normally cuddled into the pink mane that was now in a medical cot recovering from a wolf attack, but the near white coat and light blue mane were close enough. Scootaloo slipped out of the embrace, not disturbing her. Coco really slept like a rock. Either that, or she was an early riser. When the sun still existed, she always was. Then, something nearly made her fall over. The moon was almost under the horizon, and the very slightest hue of blue was showing. She began stumbling to the door, only to fall clumsily and wake Coco in the process. "Uh, you're up early." She couldn't keep her voice steady to save her life. "L-look out the w-window." A loud gasp, followed by a thud from a falling Coco pursued. This was taking her entire life and changing it back to that was living hell, and it would be even worse now. She had to tell Pinkamena, but somepony beat her to the door. Rarity burst through the door, slamming it open. "The sun's back!!" That hurt her ear, being right in it. "Agh! We know. We have to go. If the military comes back, both Pinkamena and I are dead." "Oh, I highly doubt that. If Celestia is really back, she is a just leader and wouldn't punish anypony for what they did in the dark." Scootaloo could tell that obviously even Rarity didn't even believe herself. "Sure, I gotta go check on Pinkamena, you just keep saying that." She brushed past Rarity and to the living room. where hung a very bandaged pink mare in a hammock by the couch. It was good to see the blood didn't seep through the bandage. It would be bad to wake her up now, she's still healing. The rising sun disagreed, as the rays hitting her face awoke her. A pained moan was the first sound, "Uh, what is that?" Scootaloo was now on the side of the hammock away from the window, and stopped Pinkamena from falling off. "Yep, that's the sun. Long time, no see, right?" "Heh, too long. I would have been fine if it was just a few days sooner." "What now?" "We go pay the princess a visit, and we never did anything during the anarchy. You should put on a saddlebag, or something." Of course, Rairty sprung into the conversation. "Stay right here, I'll be back in a second." In what was surprisingly less than a second, she zoomed into the giant closet, and back out with an unnerving amount of clothes. Just like old times. After hours of trying on everything that might fit her, she was now in a simple saddlebag, aside from the blue and white flower fabric pattern around the edges, and a similarly themed checker pattern along the rest. On each side was also a blue rose. Of course the term "simple" didn't compute for Rarity when it came to clothes, but she did the best she could.Trains obviously didn't work, so they walked. Pinkamena had to be pulled along in a cart, sadly. Nothing attacked, aside from the son and their eyes. It took absurdly long to adjust, as they had been darkness for a few years. After said grueling walk, they arrived at the city. The city managed to sustain itself, it appeared, as it was still in decent shape. There was a farm some to the left, where they might have built another residential area, but it was colossal. Apples, all apples, the workers and product. They took a detour, Scootaloo looking forward to furniture. "Hey, scoots, where are we going?" "Just wanna stop by and say hi to Applebloom." "Sure, No rush, I could use a visit from Applejack. I hope she has something for this pain." It was a short trip, and luckily the farmhouse was close. It might be an hour to the middle of the farm. She knocked, and was met with a familiar face, but not the exact one she wanted. It was a miracle, but Granny Smith was still alive. How in tartarus? She decided questioning it was a bad idea. She wouldn't get anywhere. "Oh, hello, little one. It's been a long time, are you here to see Applebloom?" "More or less. I just wanted to stop by, we were in the neighborhood because of the whole sun thing." "Well, come on in, dearie. We're makin' apple pie!" She entered, the wonderful smell of apple pie filling her nose, then the cart followed just barely fitting. "Oh! What happened?!" Pinkamena responded. "A dog had the nerve to attack me, I managed to snap it's neck, but Scoots had to patch me up." "Well, she aint bad at it. Actually, if she could do this, you two came at a perfect time." Scoots had her eyebrows raised, waiting for her to continue. "Caramel bucked his leg out, and I think he broke somethin. Could you take a look?" "Sure, but where can I leave her." Applejack had made her way into the room unnoticed, and chose now to make her presence known. "Leave 'er there, I'll take care of it." She nodded, and unhooked the saddle. She followed Granny through a maze of rooms to a room with an open door and occupied bed. There was a bandage and a stick around a leg. "Uh, hey. We haven't met, have we?" "No, but I'm gonna try my hoof at your leg." "Go 'head. It's not getting any worse, at least I don't think." "Don't temp me, please." She made her way to the leg, and ran her hoof down it. It was broken in several places, definitely from the hoof. "Wow, what'dya do? Fall a hundred feet and lan on only this leg?" "Felt like it. Bucked a Steelbarrel tree, missed the sweet spot." "Ow. I'll see what I can do. Just don't move." She got to work revising the bandage, and using much more from the bedside table, and braced both sides of the leg. "This might hurt, a lot. Brace yourself. Really." She pushed the bones back into place, a small grinding and loud scream of pain filling her ears. Anyway, she put a brace on the front and back of the leg, bandaged everything together, and was kind of sure she did it right. "Okay, stay off this leg or else I'll have to do the bone thing again. And I will." Caramel nodded, trembling, and Scootaloo left to rejoin Applejack and Pinkamena, to be nearly tackled halfway back by Applebloom. Normally, she would have definetely fal,len, but she had gotten way stronger since they last talked. Applebloom had an extremely exited look on her face, mirroring her own, but it slipped for a second. "Hey, where's Sweetie?" She put on the absolutely saddest face she could, looking down. "Oh. She- well, got caught by the batpony gang a few days ago. She didn't make it out." She just stayed frozen, waiting for the response. The response seemed distant, emotionless. "Oh, ah see. Well, there's a bright side at least." "Heh, you see one?" "Ah, nevermind. You'd think it was mean." "You're one of my only friends left. Rainbow left me, and died later. I never really liked Rarity that much, and everypony else left after the dark. If I think it's that mean, I'll live with it." "Okay, but don't you be mad, y'hear?" Scoots nodded, and AB looked up to make eye contact. "She was always the one that didn't want to do anything, and I always liked you more." That wasn't the most surprising thing she could have said, but wasn't the most expected either. They were locked in each other's gaze, so Scoots made the move. "She really did hold us back, now that I think about it. And you were always cooler too, you know. Actually, thinking about it, she might have just hung with us because she didn't have her cutie mark." "Oh, hey! That reminds me, look at this!" She spun, and had a cool cup of apple cider on her flank. "Yeah, mine takes a bit of explaining." She used a hoof to pull the bag off to reveal what looked like a cut without the blood coming out. "Turns out, I'm good with injuries. I just fixed Caramel up." "Really? He was messed up somethin' bad." "I've fixed up some of the worst injuries you could think up. Try me." "Missin' an arm" "Missing an arm, shoulder, amnesiac concussion, and impaled through the spine and a lung. She's still alive." She fixed up Pinkamena more than once, but that was the worst. The amnesia was surprising. "Ama-ne-she-ac?" "Amnesiac. Means she got amnesia, didn't remember." "Ah. Who was it?" "Pinkamena. She's gotten to some pretty bad shapes through the night. Now, she got herself in a fight with some dog or something, and I had to fix her again." "Really? You're pretty darn good." "Yeah. Wonder how Applejack's doing with Pinkamena." "Also, your talkin' bout Pinkie, right?" "Oh, yeah. she doesn't like to be called that since the darkness, though. Force of habit." There was a long silence, both contemplating their time without the sun. It permanently changed the world, and everypony got used to it. Now, everypony has to readjust to a new/old life. "Uh, hey. The sun's gettin low, again. You wanna sleepover, like we used to?" "It's a good way to start again." They went to the living room, and Applejack was locked in a similar conversation. Applejack was currently speaking. "-wanna stay here t'night?" "Sure, but I can't leave the cart. Doctor's orders." Scootaloo's turn. "That's right. You get up, the bandages get slightly loose, you bleed half to death in your sleep and I won't be able to do anything. It won't be good." This apparently startled Applejack, who nearly fell back. She forgot about her ghostly effect she sometimes had with her silence. "Oh, ah didn't see ya there. Anyway, you wanna stay here ta'night?" "Sure." She followed Applebloom to her room, and was amazed how big the house is. 3 hallways, and 2 rooms, and AB's room door. She wouldn't be able to find her way out by herself. Once inside, she smelt the slightest hint of something only a veteran cannibal would ever notice. It was definitely blood. That caught her off guard, so much so that she just stood there stunned. Blood in Applebloom's room? "What?" "Okay, this might sound weird, but do I smell blood here?" That sent her into a panic state of motionless. There was something going on. She talked so fast, its a wonder she caught it all. "ItwasFulthyRichandweowedmoneyandIdidn'tknowwhattodosohe'sinmyclosetand-" "Geez! Calm down, we all did stupid stuff during the darkness. Now explain, slowly. You won't scary no matter what." "Okay. You see, ever since we moved here Filthy Rich has been using his power to take most our money, and we were starving tryin' to keep up. All of us knew what we had to do, but no one did anythin'. I had to, we were gonna die. It was us or him." She was tearing up at this point. Scootaloo went over to comfort her. Now sitting side-by-side, she put a hoof around her friend's neck, pulling her into a hug. "Hey, it's cool. I would have done it as soon as we started going hungry. You were lucky, you know. Pinkamena and I had to deal with a raid a week from a gang of batponies. She always sent me into our room, and when I came out there were bloody bits everywhere. Worst part is, it didn't phase me. I eye-witnessed my dad get stabbed to death, and my mom died of cancer before I even met you. I lived on the street all my life until I met rainbow, and after a year she tries to kill me and turn me into a rainbow. I escape, then the darkness comes in. My life is one obstacle after another. I've tried to kill myself twice, and I've cut myself more times than a reverse porcupine, then I meet Pinkamena. Not Pinkie, Pinkamena. I met her when I killed my abusive foster parents, and I've been draining people of blood so she can turn them into cupcakes so we can eat." Scoots decided to tiptoe around the whole Sweetie Belle incident. " So, no matter what, I've been through worse. I've done worse. I'm a murderer, you just killed in self defense, survival, because you had no other choice. I've killed for sport, and I'm pretty darn good. Nothing you do could do to scare me off, Applebloom." They let a silence wash over them for a while, then Scoots sparked up conversation again. "So, on a lighter note, you find that special somepony yet?" "Of course you'd ask that of all things, y'all just had to. No, a haven't," "You know, 2 thirds of the population are still mares, and-" "Before you imply anything, I like colts. I ain't got nuthin 'gainst lesbians, but I ain't one." "Ah, it was worth a shot. So, I haven't eaten all day, and I pulled a cart all the way from Ponyville. I'm absolutely starving." "Dinner should be ready any minute now, were havin' apple pie!" "Oh, it's been SOOOO long since I tasted any apple pie, last time I had it you were there. You remember that?" "Of course! I also remember the first time, before you knew Rainbow. Somehow, you ate more than Big Mac, and that's sayin' sumthin. Plus, y'all didn't leave any mess left! How'd you even do that?" "Wasn't sure I'd ever eat anything again, just like every time before I met Rainbow, then she tried to turn me into a rainbow, I escaped to see the darkness roll in, I kill my foster parents, I go home with Pinks. Just a recap in case you missed anything." "Well, 'parently ah missed a lot. You sure you ain't magic?" "Maybe in the head." A really loud bell rang outside, but it still hurt her ears slightly. "Uhp, dinner's ready. And trust me, no way you're gonna eat the most. Some of my cousins make Mac look like Blueblood at a dinner wit' the princess." "Now that's a title I'm not gonna lose." She went over to get her saddlebbag, and followed AB to a large, standard red and white barn, large for barn standards, anyway. When she opened the door, it contained 2 tables from one end to the other, one with chairs and plates and one with the buffet. They were the first ones there, followed closely by Big Mac and a large green stallion with a red mane and apple tree cutie mark. The 2 stallions each took 3 whole pies, and Scootaloo did the same. Applebloom took 3 slices, looking like she wasn't going to get seconds, but Scootaloo's stomach has in tremendous hunger pain and began getting too weak to grumble when they came out of Trottingham. They each took their seats as the family began pouring in, and it looked like they were all one hive mind to not be bumping into eachother. Overall, the table had only half it's food missing once everypony was sitting. She dug in, and was met with the best thing she had ever tasted in her life. It was a flash, and all the 3 pies were gone before anypony else even finished one. She was like a lightning bolt from the table and back with 5 pies, and just skipped the seasoning. It was much better without, and she was back at the table with the green stallion. She took another three while he took eight stacked. They finished around the same time that time, mainly because they were competing for best eater right now. A few others were doing the same, and there was much more than enough pies. It was a blur of eating before both Scootaloo and the green stallion had each eaten 30, leading by far the table in pies eaten. Scootaloo was still slightly hungry, and the stallion was obviously reaching his limits, and he ended at 47 while she went up to 56 before being full. She could tell the only noise was from utenils, and not a single word. "Y'all can eat, little filly. Orchard Harvest, and y'all are?" "Scootaloo. It's not really fair, though. I pulled a cart with a full grown injured mare in it all the way from Ponyville, and didn't even have time to stop and eat. My stomach was too tired to make a peep after the halfway point." "All that way? Now, that's hard to believe." Applejack found her way to an empty pie tin near the end of the table, where the cart was. "It's true. I reckon that filly should'a collapsed from exhaustion, but she's tough as an Apple. She's been through alot, from what I hear." "Oh really?" "You really don't wanna know. The darkness in what used to be ponyville was a breeze for her, and it's chock full of creepy crawlies. My friend Pinkie here was the one in the cart, almost had her head taken off by a dog 'o'sorts. Scoots patched her up nicely." "I have a cutie mark for it." Applebloom found her way into one of the many growing conversations. "It's true. It looks like a cut, but she's really good at surgery 'n stuff. She fixed Caramel up when she got here." "I've done things that make that look like a nap in a cloud." Bad choice of words. As a result, it brought back memories of a certain somepony she used to love, who you could always find napping in a cloud somewhere during the day, or in a factory at night. Her thoughts were luckily interrupted. Orchard Harvest broke the pause. "Y'all look like y'seen a ghost. What's up?" "Ah, I just remembered something. Let's move on. How's the farm?" AB. "It's great! I'm learnin' to buck, but I can't shake a ladybug off one of them steelbarrel trees. That's how Caramel messed himself up." "He told me. Apparently he missed the sweet spot, and it shattered his leg into 4 pieces. Now, that's gotta hurt." Harvest had seen it. "Y'all shoulda seen him. He definitely broke sumthin' and it weren't no tree." "We might be staying until the trains are up again, so I'll help around if I can." "You already helped out Caramel, and narrowed leftovers down so nuthin's gonna go bad." "It was nothing. We mainly came here to see if the princesses were back, because the sun definitely is." "Nope. Celestia's gone for good, but the princess Cadence, who kept the city runnin, learned how to rise the sun. Also, there's a prince Shining Armor, if ya didn't know. We can take a trip there, if ya like." "Ah, I'd have to run it by Pinkie, and-" A certain, high-pitched tone of voice from a now cheery pink mare that Scoots hadn't heard since yesterday interrupted them. "Sure! I remember Cadence! We met once before!" Scoots looked over to the cart, but there was no bouncing. That was good, at least. She'd reopen her wounds if she bounced. That was definitely Pinkie Pie. "So, were staying the night. I'm full." She followed AB to her room, through an immense maze of rooms, and they were both in bed before they knew it. Force of habit, but she rolled over into AB, initiating a pause, and was met with an unexpected response. "Woah, you're coat's so soft." "Taking my baths in blood, then rinsing in water. That's how I keep it so soft." "However disturbing that is, it works like a charm. Hey, would you mind if I-" "Go ahead." AB began resettling, then Scootaloo did the same to bring the two into a mutual embrace. Slowly, they drift into sleep.
Chapter 5The shoulder still hurt. Not as much, but it still hurt. The night that luckily didn't last more than 12 hours. Relieved, she used her left, what was now her only good hoof, to toss the quilt Applejack gave her to the side of the wooden cart, hiving her fluffy pink mane some air. It still felt like she shouldn't get up, so she didn't, but it did feel much better. The smell of apples filled her nose, and Applejack walked in carrying a tray with apple cider and sliced apple sandwich. "Mornin' sugarcube. Got'cha breakfast." "Thanks." She took the tray by the hooftip, stretched her mouth to impossible proportions, and flipped it into the air. She caught the sandwich in her mouth, eating it all in one bite, and caught the mug without spilling a single drop. Once she finished chugging, she caught the tray with her mane, put the mug on it, and set it down on a nearby bed stand. It was nice having a functional mane again, and the sun back, and, well, everything. Everything was so much nicer than before, and all she needed was the sun to brighten up her day. Forgetting about that unfortunate pain, she tried to get up with counterproductive results. Falling back into the luckily cushioned cart, she let a frustrated moan escape before AJ's lecture. "Now don't you go messin with that leg, sugarcube, don't wanna make it worse. Want me to go get Scoots?" "Um, well, I guess it is starting to bleed, so yes." The wetness began to pool in the bandage, and drip at an alarming rate. AJ took of at a brisk, hurried trot, and Pinkie began to feel light-headed. She felt more pressure on the bandage, and as she lay there she felt everything around her shoulder soak. She was getting more distant by the second, and darkness seeped in. She was draining blood extremely fast, and before she passed she was greeted by Scootaloo. "What happened?" "Everything's dark, and i... tried...-" The beep of a heart monitor woke her from her dormancy. The worried look of the orange filly hovering over her was the first sight after the flash of light that greeted her after she opened her eyes. "Wow, I'm really groogy, what happened?" "You almost killed yourself when you tried to get up, and were out for 2 days. I had to do some quick sewing bone replacement. Your leg ripped out of place, and presumably cut the nerve lines before any pain could reach your brain, so once we got the leg realigned I did a quick reattachment with as many nerves as I could on the cart ride after I stemmed the blood stream then the professionals took over as they built on and complimented me on my work. I'm just glad your okay." "Yeah, sorry about that. I get a little anxious sometimes, heh heh." "When AJ saw you with that bone sticking out, she went into shock. She's actually paced herself a small cave outside and she's bound to go through to the Zebra half of the world by the end of the month. Really, do not do anything. I'll be right back. Nothing." She left with hesitation at the doorway, then a sprint. 2 days, then. She had been out for almost a full week. Better than almost a month, or almost a year, or like that until she was old and grey. The sun was shining, and Scootaloo was bringing an oversized ladder to a hole, and fit almost the entire thing in. She yelled something, and AJ was up it in 2.5 seconds. in another .5 seconds, she was at Pinkie's side before the door slammed into the wall. A relieved look on her face, accompanied by silence. "So, what happened while I was asleep?" "Not much except law kicked back in, everypony got a pardon for what happened last the night, and things are going back to normal. So. pretty much everything that could happen happened, except no one can find Rainbow Dash." "Well, she probably didn't make it through the night. What happened to Nightmare Moon?" "The Princess is keepin' her in the dungeon 'till we can find a way to undo the whole nightmare thing, but were short one element of harmony." "Twilight's back?" "Yep, I reckon she went with Celestia to whereever they went. I waited for you to go ask what happened. You ready for the trip? I'm pullin' ya." "Sure. Whenever we're ready."It was then she noticed she was still in the cart, the spot where the blood was darkened but clean. AJ trotted over to the bottom of the cart, strapped in, and took off at a slow pace. The cart somehow just barely fit through the doorways, and before she knew it they were outside, Scoots walking by her side, a worried look on her face. "So, how's it holdin' up?" "Aw, don't worry, Scoots. It'll be fine, as long as I don't forget about it. You did extra-super-fantastic!" "Thanks, I was worried you lost too much blood before I managed to stem the artery outlet pathways, or whatever they're called." "Normally, I'd help, but I honestly have no idea either. Whatever. Did I miss much?" "Nope." They were approaching the gates, which were open. Entering unbalked, they made their way through the halfway refurbished, halfway deteriorating palace, and came to Princess Celestia, in the middle of a nap apparently. Princess Luna, formerly Nightmare Moon, greeted them in a hushed tone, so as not to wake her sister. "Greetings. I presume you are here about the sun thing? I'm not sure we gave the third degree to you, yet." "Sounds like you two've had a busy time explanin?" "Why, yes. Please say no one came after you." "Ah reckon not, but I ain't sure." "Okay, well long story short,-" Pinkie interrupted, a hunch coming on. "Princess Twilight banished the thing that made you all evil after Celestia wore herself out fighting it for a few years, and she's out helping rebuild right now, and after the thing was banished it lost all it's power and the pocket dimension fell apart, landing you all back here. Before you ask, just a hunch." "Well, that's the basis of what occoured, but there's something Celestia wanted me to tell you, the filly is the new Element of Loyalty. She said you would know what that meant." Scootaloo's heart must have skipped a few beats, as she was just informed of her new position. That was a lot to take in, even by Pinkie standards, and that's saying something. Well, that was a wrapped up story if she knew one. Her shoulder would heal, her magic was back, and the world was fixing itself.
