Taken

Sonata pulled the door open, revealing Pinkie Pie. Her body looking a bit thinner than usual, the young girl gasped and pressed her back against the corner, trying to make herself look smaller. Her breathing increased when Aria stepped inside and reached down. “N-No,” she whispered, shaking her head frantically. “No…!” Aria promptly jerked Pinkie into standing position and shoved her out of the closet.

“Alright, Pinkie,” Adagio said, crossing her arms. “Punishment’s over.” Adjusting her eyes to the light, Pinkie rubbed her sore arms. She stepped back a little, trying to put some space between her and the Sirens. Aria moved in behind her, causing Pinkie to squeak and freeze up when she bumped into her. “Now,” said Adagio, making Pinkie’s head to snap back towards her. “ Are you going to try to run away again?”

Pinkie quickly shook her head, trembling slightly. “N-No. I’m sorry! I won’t do it again, I promise!”

“Hmmm. Are you going to be a good girl from now on?”

Pinkie hesitated. But one look from Aria caused her to straighten up. “Y-Yes! I’l...I’ll be good.” She clasped her hands and fiddled her fingers together nervously. “It was really foolish of me to run. And I’m really sorry I bit your hand Sonata. I guess I wasn’t thinking straight...”

The Dazzlings smiled at one another, seemingly satisfied with her answer. The party planner internally wilted, immensely sore and exhausted. She had spent two days inside that dark and cramped closet with no food or water. The brief talk with Fluttershy was the only time she’d been allowed out before being forced back inside again.

Of course, Aria had her take a shower and tended to her injuries in order to cover everything up, but Pinkie doubted it did much of anything. Not even she could mask this much pain and fear with a smile. Her stomach rumbled and her body muscles screamed with pain. Her throat felt drier than sandpaper, and, perhaps worst of all, she was homesick. Oh, so very homesick. Everyday, she tried to hold on to the sound of music. The taste of cake. The warmth of everyone's smiles, and the thrill of throwing the next party.

Pinkie drew herself up. “Please,” she said quietly, attracting their full attention. “Please, you have to let me go. There’s gotta be something to make you all happier here…”

Her eyebrows knitted together. “I’ll do anything you want. I know lots of recipes for sweets, and I could throw you lots of parties...my friends and I, we won’t tell anybody.”

Adagio slowly clicked her tongue and placed a hand under Pinkie’s chin before lifting it up. “Oh, sweetheart,” she cooed, stroking her cheek. “You’ll do anything we want period.” Pinkie's shoulders drooped.“You’re in no place to negotiate anything. This process is between us and your friends. And until our demands are met, the only thing you can do...is obey. Understand?”

Pinkie swallowed hard, her eyes burning. “...yes.”

Adagio lifted an eyebrow. “Yes...what?”

Pinkie’s jaw clenched as she silently looked away.

Adagio grabbed Pinkie’s wrist and twisted it, making her gasp in pain. “Ahh! Ow! S-Stop! You’re hurting me!”

“Yes what?” Adagio repeated darkly.

Pinkie Pie let out a small, agonized whimper. “Yes...mistress.”

Adagio finally released Pinkie’s wrist and the party planner brought it to her chest, rubbing it tenderly.

She knew what the Sirens were trying to accomplish, tearing down whatever pride and confidence she had left. But it wouldn’t work, no matter what they did to her. She had to stay strong, for her friends, and herself.

“That’s a good slave,” Adagio smiled. Suddenly, a sparkly blue green smoke emanated from Pinkie and went straight into the strange objects hanging from the Dazzling’s necks. Each Siren seemed to gain even more strength as the smoke divided between them.

Pinkie Pie’s eyebrow quirked in confusion. “What..?”

“Just a little gift from your friends,” Aria said smugly, stroking her new ‘pendant’. “Your growing anger towards us is quite the filler-up."

"I...I, uh..."

"Save it. It's doing us a favor Though those Rainbooms thought they were pretty smart, putting trackers in these.”

For the first time in a long while, a genuine smile slowly adorned Pinkie’s face, brightening up her blue irises. “They did?”

“Too bad it failed,” Sonata laughed. “Too bad, so sad.” Her eyes flickered to Pinkie and coughed into her hand.

“But we do need to keep a closer eye on them,” Adagio cautioned. “With that brainiac on their team, they might have a thing or two up their filthy mortal sleeves.”

Sonata turned to Pinkie and smiled. “Why don’t you come with me and I’ll let you take a shower? Rarity made you a nice warm sweater to wear.”

“And I think I might have something for you to do after you’re done,” Adagio added sweetly.

Chestnut hit the grass, the wind suddenly knocked right out of him. One minute he was standing under Applejack’s window. The next, he found himself flat on his back, pinned by the girl herself. Chestnut gasped, his breathing coming out in short bursts while Applejack’s piercing green eyes burned into him. “Where is she!?” she barked. “What did you do to her?” The heel of her palms pressed harder into his neck, making him gag. “How could you hurt somebody so sweet n’ loving? She didn’t do anything to you! I could just--”

“Ahhhpple...J-Jackkk…!” Chestnut rasped desperately. “C-Can explain!” The southern girl breathed heavily for a few moments before releasing his neck with a grunt. The young man wheezed and choked as Applejack got off him and stood back, practically quivering.

Chestnut sat up, looking up at the window above before focusing back on Applejack. “You...did you just...jump from that window?” he heaved incredulously.

Applejack met him with a steel glance. “What...did you do...with my cousin.”

Chestnut blinked twice. “C...cousin? Ahhh, crap.” He sighed and ran his fingers through his hair.

“You got that right,” Applejack said in a low voice. “Now start talkin’ before you regret ever comin' to my house."

“...My Uncle’s sick,” he sighed. “He broke his arm falling from a ladder...tryin’ to clean the gutter, stubborn old man…”

Applejack’s eyes lost some of its hardness. Only by a little.

“We’re low middle class, me and my baby brother. Sure, we got plenty food in the fridge and enough clothes on our backs, but we just couldn’t  pay enough to him to stay at the hospital! My job never pays enough...It’s just me, supporting my family all on my own. I needed that money.”

He heeved a shuddering sigh. “I’m not all proud of what I did. Thing is though...I don’t regret it.”

Applejack’s jaw clenched. “You used it, didn’t you?”

Chestnut’s eyes trained on the ground. “Like I said. With that cash, we can pay all the hospital bills and our rent. But then I remembered your friend…” his voice trailed off as he recalled the girl he had betrayed. “Curly pink hair, bright colored dress; talked a mile a minute before I could get a word in.”

“That’s her,” Applejack murmured.

“I messed up, Applejack. Big time. I know the money’s already spent, but...the least I can do is help you get her back.”

Applejack’s heart skipped a beat and her legs numbed. This guy knew where Pinkie Pie was. He knew where she was. She shook her head, breathing ragged breaths. “How do I know that I can trust you?”

“...Everton Hospital. My Uncle’s checked in there. His name’s Redwood.”

After a moment of staring at eachother, Applejack slowly pulled her phone out of her back pocket and dialed. Without taking her eyes off of Chestnut, she held it to her ear and waited. “Twilight? Sorry to wake ya. There’s somethin’ I need you to check out for me.”

Twilight turned around in her chair. “He’s the real thing alright.”

“You mean he’s actually telling the truth?” Rainbow said incredulously. Twilight looked over at the wary young man sitting on her bed and gave a nod. “I analyzed his thumbprint sample and ran it through the Everton Hospital database. His DNA matches a patient there named Redwood.”

“And I visited Everton myself,” Fluttershy added. “He said he had a grandson named Chestnut and another named Treenut. He had a broken leg too.” She smiled. “He’s such a nice old man, too.”

“Good,” Rainbow said, uncrossing her arms. She whirled around on Chestnut, and pulled back her fist. As the young man cried out, Applejack maneuvered between them and stopped Rainbow’s punch with one hand. “Hey, what gives!? He helped take Pinkie!”

“I know, Sugarcube,” Applejack said grimly. “But fight’n him ain’t gonna solve our problems. I figured we could use him for our benefit!”

Rainbow begrudgingly pulled her arm free and grunted. “You’re saying we actually trust this guy?”

“We don’t have much of a choice here, Rainbow,” Applejack told her. “This is the only lead we’ve got.”

“Kids at school are getting suspicious,” Fluttershy said. “Most keep asking if Pinkie Pie is coming back soon. I can’t think up of much more excuses!” Her pink forelock fell over her eyes. “I hate lying to everybody.”

“Mr. and Mrs. Cake are getting antsy too,” Sunset huffed. “I’m covering Pinkie’s shifts as much as I can, but it’s only a matter of time before…”

“I’ll make this right,” Chestnut said earnestly. “I know where the...Dazzlings are keeping Pinkie. They’re holding her deep in the Whitetail Woods, a little further past San Palomino Dessert.”

The girls gasped in shock. “San Palomino?” Rarity repeated. “That’s at least eleven hours from here!”

Applejack held a hand to her forehead. “They took her off farther than I thought…”

Rainbow shot up. “What are we waiting for! Let’s g--” Her sentence was cut off when she was suddenly pulled back by the collar of her shirt.

“Not so fast,” Sunset said. “We can’t just go in willy nilly. We need to think up a strategy.”

Rainbow moaned and wriggled free. “Every minute we hang around here is another minute Pinkie is trapped alone with those...those psychopaths!”

“Which is exactly why we need to plan this out carefully,” Sunset replied gently. “It’s a long drive out there, and we’d be leaving your family and friends behind...it’s not going to look good if we all disappear at once.”

“I don’t care..” Fluttershy murmured quietly. Her friends looked up at her. “I just want her back.”

“I...:could get Sweetie Belle and her friends to cover for us, Applejack,” Rarity said hesitantly.

Applejack pursed her lips and shifted onto one knee. “I really didn’t want to bring Apple Bloom into this.”

“You know how they are, darling. They’ve been pressing for answers all weekend. It’s only a matter of time before they found out.”

Applejack was silent a moment. “Fine. Go on.”

Rarity nodded. "Then it's settled. But first..." She marched over and gave Chestnut's cheek a resounding slap.

Rainbow threw up her hands. "Hey! How come she gets to hit him and I don't!?"

Pinkie grunted softly as she worked the scrub brush in her hand back and forth on the wooden floor. Her fingers and knuckles burned as water and soap sloshed over her hands. She turned slightly as she dumped the scrub brush in a bucket pale and shook it out. She hummed a soft tune, and croaked out, “Cause all I really need’s a smile, smile, smile...yes I do...it fills my heart with sunshine all the while...yes it does….’cause all I really need’s a sm--oof!”

Aria had kicked her shoe firmly against Pinkie’s behind, propelling her onto her stomach. “I don’t remember signing up for a canary.”

“I-I’m sorry,” Pinkie said, sitting up on her knees and turning around. “I just thought it’d be fun to...to pass the time…”

“I prefer not to hear it,” Aria said curtly, shoving a spoonful of mashed potatoes into her mouth. “I didn’t tell you to stop either.”

Pinkie’s mouth hung open slightly at the sight and smell of the home cooked meal Applejack had made her on the dining room table. Her stomach rumbled painfully, sending a fresh wave of dizziness through her. She slumped onto her side on the floor, her arm wrapping around her stomach. “Please,” she groaned. “I’m so hungry…”

“Who wouldn’t be?” Aria chuckled, taking another bite out of the mashed potatoes and licking her lips. “It’s nothing like negative energy, but your redneck friend sure can cook up a meal.” She reached over and and grabbed a tall bottle of apple cider before popping it open; bubbles floated up to the surface.

Pinkie swallowed hard.

She let go of the scrub brush and crawled forward in front of Aria’s chair. She once again sat up on her knees and clasped her hands in a pleading gesture. “Can I pretty please have a sip of that? I haven’t had anything to drink in so long! Just one little sip? Please?”

Aria looked annoyed. “Now you’re thirsty? What’s next, a back rub?”

Pinkie blinked back tears. “Applejack gave that to me! I’ve done everything you’ve asked me to do!”

“Not everything.”

“Yes, yes I have!”

“No, you haven’t.” Aria promptly put her boot on Pinkie’s shoulder, causing the latter to grimace.”What do we say when we want something, slave?”

“...Mistress…” Pinkie sighed, her cheeks growing warm. “Please let me have some of that cider, Mistress.”

Aria took her boot off Pinkie’s shoulder. “Since you asked so nicely.” She leaned forward and held the bottle of cider to Pinkie’s dry lips. Pinkie quickly took the bottle between her hands and guzzled it down while taking shaky breaths through her nose. Aria’s firm grip on the base of the bottle tightened, and she abruptly pulled it away. “Alright, that’s enough.”

Pinkie licked the last few drops of cider dripping off her chin and sighed contentedly. “Thank you!” She grinned from ear to ear, hugging Aria’s legs. “Thank you.” Aria’s eyes darted left and right before she grunted and pushed Pinkie off.

“Yeah. Whatever. Keep scrubbing, kid.”

Pinkie nodded and grabbed the scrub brush, but froze when Adagio came storming down the stairs. Aria raised her eyebrows. “What?”

Adagio growled and held up a small pink object. Pinkie’s eyes widened. My phone! As Adagio scrolled down its contents, Pinkie was silently thinking about how if she could just get a hold of it, she could contact her friends, her family, the police, anybody!

“Over 1,000 unread texts, and 50 missed calls!” Adagio exclaimed.

“For her?” Aria said incredulously, glaring down at Pinkie Pie.

The frizzy-haired girl gave a sheepish shrug and grinned nervously. “Heh...I like to socialize!”

Adagio sighed. “That’s not the main problem, but if this keeps up, people will start asking her parents, and the parents will contact the police. We’re not yet strong enough to conquer them.”

She looked down at the phone and raised a hand to her chin. “Here,” she said finally, marching over to Pinkie. “You received a call from a Marble Pie an hour ago. A relative of yours? One of your sisters, perhaps?”

Pinkie went stiff at the mention of Marble’s name. Adagio smirked. “Thought so. We’re going to call your dear sister back, and you’re going to tell her that everything’s just peachy-keen.”

Pinkie narrowed her eyes and glowered. “I’m not lying to Marble for you!”

Adagio grabbed a fist full of Pinkie’s curly hair and yanked backward, causing Pinkie to cry out. The young girl squirmed and uttered high pitched whines as she reached up and tried to pull at Adagio’s hand. Adagio leaned over and lowered her mouth to Pinkie’s ear. “If we can get to you, we could easily get to your sisters too, you know.”

Pinkie gasped. “You wouldn’t...erg...you leave my sisters alone!”

“Then make the call. Or your sisters pay for your mistake.” She pressed on Marble’s caller ID, relaxing her grip on the back of Pinkie’s head. “Remember. Happy and cheerful.” She flipped her hair over her shoulder and pressed the phone to Pinkie’s ear.

“You're a big meanie,” Pinkie whispered through clenched teeth.

“Oh, I’m much worse than that, cupcake,” Adagio whispered back.

“Mhm?”

Pinkie’s heart nearly exploded into tiny bits of confetti at the sound of her sibling’s voice. A tear trickled down her cheek and she smiled wide.

“Marble!”

“Pinkie Pie?” Marble exclaimed softly, sounding surprised. “Oh, I didn’t think you’d be calling me back so soon, since it’s a early in the week...you’re always so busy.” She paused. “In fact, it was pretty silly of me to call so early in the day. I won’t take up any more of your time.”

“Oh no no! Don’t hang up! I’m super glad you called me! How’ve ya been? What’s going on in the world of Marble Pie, huh? How’s homeschooling?”

“Nothing special,” Marble mumbled. “Are you..having a lot of fun at your sleepover?”

Pinkie raised an eyebrow. “Sleepov--aah…” Adagio yanked Pinkie’s head back again, forcing the party planner to look deep into Adagio’s piercing eyes. “Aahh, ah, sleepover! Yeah, of course! I’m having a blast!”

“...Are you alright?”

“W-What do you mean? Of course I’m alright!”

“It’s just that you sound…” A noise interrupted her, and the quiet and reserved voice was replaced by an irritated, gravelly one.

“I know what you’re trying to do, doofus!” Limestone growled. “Stick us with the chores while you party all week with your friends, huh? Well I hope you enjoy it while it lasts, because you’re doing my laundry for a whole MONTH when you get back!”

Pinkie couldn’t contain her laugh. In any other situation, she would’ve been slightly annoyed. “I’d be glad to do your laundry, Limestone,” she said lovingly.

There was an odd pause on the other end. “You...would?”

“Uh huh. Yessiree!"

Another pause. “Uh...great? Uh--here, Marble, have it back. I’m still pissed!”

“Marble? Marble, is Maud there with you?” Pinkie asked hopefully.

“Mm-mm. Maud is still away on her trip to the rocky canons,” Marble replied.

“...Oh.”

Pinkie deflated a bit. If she were ever to talk to Maud again, this could very well be her last chance. Adagio gripped her tighter and nodded her head. Pinkie’s heart thudded. No, please no...it's too soon...I don’t want to hang up… “Well...I just wanted to say hi….Hi.”

Marble giggled. “Well, I’m glad you’re having fun.”

“I love you so much, Marble Pie.”

Adagio ended the call before she could ever hear the reply, and finally released her hair. Tears brimmed Pinkie’s eyes. "Now get back to work," Adagio said curtly, walking away, but not before tracking dirt prints on the floor.

"You missed a spot," Aria said.