The Elements of Disharmony

"Oh no oh no oh no oh no..." Rarity mumbled to herself, pacing around her room, Opal's body still covered by her blanket. She had healed her cuts as best as she could, but it didn't do much good to make them go away. There were still three visible lines across her left eye, and ponies would no doubt ask what happened. Thankfully for her, Opal scratching her was a valid excuse.

The main thing worrying her right now was what to do with the body.

Everything that happened to Rarity, from the scratch to her sudden arousal, put her in a frenzied state of mind, and several different ideas kept popping into her head. She could bury it in the backyard or throw it in the dumpster, but somepony would most likely see her. She'd thought of cremating the body, but threw that idea out the window the second after. Rarity was too much of a softie to burn an animal's body, dead or not.

"Rarity! What's going on?"

Rarity jumped at the sound of Sweetie Belle's voice. Sweetie Belle. How could Rarity forget about her? No matter what she did with Opal's body, there's no doubt that Sweetie would notice. The little filly adored Opal and loved playing with her whenever she could...and when Opal wanted to, of course. Rarity would have to come up with a good excuse for why Sweetie couldn't see her anymore. After all, with her being such a young filly, why trouble her with thoughts of her pet being dead? The door opened and Rarity turned around to see her walk in.

"Rarity? Is something wrong?" the filly asked, raising an eyebrow curiously.

About a second later, Rarity came up with the best excuse she could think of.

"Oh, Sweetie Belle. I'm sorry to say, but Opal is sick." she said to the filly.

Sweetie Belle gasped. "Opal's sick? Can I see her?" she asked in worry.

"Uh, well, you see, even I'm not supposed to. It appears to be very contagious, so she has to stay covered until she feels better." Rarity answered to the best of her ability.

"Oh...okay..." Sweetie replied, a sad expression on her face. Rarity took notice of this and tired to lighten the mood.

"B-But the good news is that she's going to feel better sooner or later. It's just going to take some time, that's all." she said, chuckling nervously.

"Oh! Well, that's good, then!" Sweetie Belle squeaked, her sadness disappearing in an instant. Rarity was so glad that Sweetie was easy to make happy. "I'll go make her a get well card!" Before Rarity could respond, Sweetie sprinted out of the room.

During the whole conversation, Rarity's heart had been beating furiously in her chest, but now she sighed in relief, glad that she could keep Opal's true fate hidden under her blanket. Now that that was taken care of, she could get back to how to deal with the body. Just like before, each of her ideas was worse than the last one.

Soon enough, however, her mind began drifting towards what she saw in Pinkie's basement.

It shocked her to see it, no doubt about that. She would also freely admit that she was terrified. But then she started to think about if she were Pinkie's next victim. One would think the idea would make her hyperventilate with sheer horror.

But it didn't. It only brought back her lust.

Rarity had just discovered her sexual interest in receiving pain, and felt a desire to receive even more. To be cut up and injured by Pinkie was too good a thought for her to dismiss right out the gate. At the moment, no other thought brought her more delight and pleasure. It was at that moment that she realized how she actually felt about Pinkie, and why she had been more worried about her than her other friends had been.

Before, Rarity had had a crush on Pinkie for as long as she knew her. Now that she knew Pinkie's secret, she had fallen in love with her.

With this newfound discovery, Rarity looked back at Opal's body and put a hoof to her chin, thinking...

--

Over the next three days, Twilight had been hard at work in her library, looking into things that Spike couldn't guess at. He'd tried asking her what her deal was, but every time, she had shooed him away so that she could get done as quickly as possible. In the meantime, Spike was content to read his Power Ponies comics and spend time outside the treehouse. Whenever he went outside, it was usually just to explore Ponyville and casually greet his friends that he came across.

Every time, he made sure to go past Rarity's boutique, but he was disappointed that Rarity herself wouldn't come out, only being able to see her silhouette in her bedroom window. He'd knocked on the door, but Sweetie Belle was the one to answer, and when Spike asked what Rarity was up to, she told him that her big sister was very busy at the moment. Spike asked what she was busy with, and Sweetie merely shrugged, indicating her mutual lack of knowledge. He supposed it was some new secret dress design, which, given Rarity's track record, was sure to be excellent.

On the third day, Spike came back to the treehouse after one of these walks and was greeted with Twilight running towards her in excitement. "Spike! I found it!" she cried happily.

Spike jumped at the sudden noise and began rubbing the inside of his ear with one of his claws. "Geez, warn me next time you're gonna do that..."

"Sorry. I just finally found what I was looking for! I knew that I read it somewhere, but I couldn't for the life of me remember where."

"What did you find? Are you gonna tell me what's been going on?" Spike asked.

"Come here and look." Twilight said, motioning with her hoof for him to follow. She led him into the separate room on the other side of the house, which housed even more books than she could fit in the main room. On the desk sitting near the window was a huge book that appeared to be an archive of newspapers that had been collected and put together for an authentic look at the history of places all over the world.

"You see, Spike, I've been thinking about Gilda and all the other missing cases that have been popping up recently. I've been keeping an eye on the papers, and there have been more missing ponies than usual. And I think Pinkie has something to do with it..." she said, sounding as if she didn't want to believe it.

Spike could concede with that feeling. "Wait...Pinkie? Really? Are you sure you're not jumping to conclusions again?" he questioned.

"I thought I was, too, but I remember reading something about a similar situation long before I even met her. It just took me a long time to figure out where, but I've found it. Take a look at this page here." Twilight pointed to one of the pages in the book that it was turned to.

Spike jumped up on the stool and looked at the page. It was an article from a few decades ago about another pony that went missing without a trace. He didn't have the inclination to read the entire article, but the picture managed to catch his attention.

"Wait...is that...?"

"Mm-hmm. Pinkie's old rock farm." Twilight stated matter-of-factly. "And the more interesting part? The missing pony...is her father."

--

Twilight and Spike would have taken the rest of their friends on the train, but for one reason or another, they couldn't. Pinkie would have denied anything that might have happened to her father, anyway, so she wouldn't have been much help. Rarity was still staying secluded in her boutique, hard at work on what had to be her new design. They received no answer from Fluttershy's cottage, not even her animals to give an explanation. Applejack was working extra hard on keeping her apple farm up and running, and Twilight took note of her bloodshot eyes. Rainbow Dash was nowhere to be seen.

So the two had to go by themselves to Pinkie's rock farm. Luckily, the train route passed just by it, so there wouldn't be too much walking to be done. As they sat in the booth, Twilight was looking out the window, watching the landscape speed by as the train chugged to its destination.

"I'm sorry, Twilight, but I seriously doubt that Pinkie has something to do with these missing ponies." Spike said, the skepticism coloring his tone of voice.

"Well, maybe she isn't involved with all of them, but some of them I'm sure of." the unicorn replied.

"And you really think her family would know anything about it?"

"Spike, you've seen the article. Haven't you wondered why Pinkie hasn't mentioned anything about her father at all in the whole time we've known her? It can't be a coincidence."

Spike sighed. "Maybe...but I won't believe it until I see it."

Hours passed without another word being spoken between the two, but the skepticism and worry stayed floating in the air like a pesky bug that wouldn't go away no matter how hard one swatted at it. As the train continued, the land passing them by slowly shifted from the lush green grass and beautiful trees of Ponyville to the dry, dead-looking world of the outskirts. Neither Twilight nor Spike wanted to admit it, but it made them feel depressed just looking at the lack of life. Soon, the train began to slow down, and a voice came over the loudspeaker. "Passengers, we have arrived at the rock farm. Repeat: We have arrived at the rock farm."

Once Twilight and Spike got off the train and got a look at the rock farm, they were comparing it and the picture they saw in their heads, and noticed that it didn't seem to have changed at all. The farm itself was very old and ancient-looking, as if it was built during the Middle Ages rather than a settlement that could have been built today. The field in front of it was empty save for, predictably, rocks that scattered the place here and there, sure to be moved later in the day. The windmill was just as dreary and plain-looking as ever, spinning only slightly due to the light breeze.

"Huh. You'd think there'd be something different about this place by now, right?" Spike said, puzzled.

"Yeah...but these are very tradition-centered ponies. Maybe they don't want to change things, that's all." Twilight remarked.

Once they reached the front door, Twilight knocked on it. They heard hoofsteps behind it, and when the door opened, they were greeted by a mare with a silver coat and dull-blue mane and tail. Her mane had a bun in it, and she had glasses the likes of which you'd see on a stuffy librarian.

"Yes? How may I help you?" she said.

"Uh, hi. I'm Twilight Sparkle, and this is my dragon assistant, Spike." Twilight introduced, Spike nervously waving at the mare.

"Greetings. My name is Cloudy Quartz. What are thou doing in my homestead?"

Wow, they really ARE old-fashioned. Twilight thought.

"Well, we were wondering...do you know Pinkie Pie?"

Cloudy Quartz raised an eyebrow. "You mean Pinkamena Diane Pie? Yes, she is my daughter."

Twilight smiled. "Okay, great! Because, well...we have some questions about your family."

Twilight noticed that Cloudy's face took on a bit of apprehension upon hearing that. "Well...I suppose I have answers for thee. Come on into my humble dwelling." she said, moving aside to let them in.

Twilight and Spike came in through the door one at a time, and got more of a sense of how old-fashioned these ponies were. The inside of the rock farm was very rustic and unrefined, looking like the plainest house one could ever own. What few decorations there were were rocks chipped down into unique shapes, which helped give the place a tiny bit of identity. Other than that, the wooden chairs and table, the fireplace, the furniture, and even the colors of the walls gave the rock farm just as dull a look as the outside of it. If it weren't for the ponies inside, it would be completely lifeless.

The unicorn and dragon had gotten a bit of information on Pinkie's sisters from the stories she told, but seeing them in real life made them feel like Pinkie was embellishing how interesting they were. They all had dull colors, and each one was quiet in their own way. One of them had a very stoic expression and a short purple mane and was toying with a tiny rock smaller than her hoof. Another had very long gray hair that covered one of her eyes, and was sitting in the corner not wanting to talk to the new arrivals. The third had somewhat mussy hair and a perpetually angry expression. She was tapping on the wood of the table, supposedly trying to keep her mind off the guests interrupting her peace and quiet. According to what Pinkie told them, these were Maud, Marble and Limestone respectively.

"Have a seat." Cloudy Quartz said, gesturing to the living room couch. Twilight and Spike obliged, sitting next to each other. Cloudy took her seat in one of the spare chairs in front of them. "Now, what did thee want to discuss?"

Twilight shifted around in her seat. "Well, might as well cut to the chase. Um...what happened with your husband?"

The effect this simple question had was instantaneous. Maud's pupils became slightly dilated and stopped playing with her rock, which according to Pinkie was named Boulder. Marble squeaked and began shivering in the corner she was sitting in. Limestone practically slammed her hoof on the table and glared at the two in fury. Cloudy Quartz closed her eyes and took a deep breath.

"I had an inkling that that's what you were here for. Well, you'll be disappointed to know that we refuse to discuss it, especially with strangers."

"Please, we need to know what happened. We could all be in danger if we don't know!" Twilight exclaimed.

"No excuses." Cloudy said explicitly.

"But you don't understand. Pinkie's been acting really strangely and the rate of ponies going missing has been skyrocketing!"

Cloudy Quartz was about to say something, but stopped. Her stern nature faltered in place of vulnerability. "Did...Did Pinkamena have straight hair?"

Caught off guard by this question, Twilight answered regardless. "Uh, well, she...uh, Rainbow Dash, another friend of ours, said that she had straight hair last time she saw her."

"And...has she been selling new pastries?"

"Yeah...why?" Twilight inquired.

Cloudy Quartz simply sighed in defeat and responded. "You want to know what happened to her father?"

Twilight and Spike looked at one another and leaned toward Cloudy, ready to listen.