Daydreamer Series: Story #1, Pathway to Madness

by Dalek-Galvo

Rating: mature
Tags: Other, Equestria Girls, Tragedy, Profanity, Adventure, Violence, Crossover, Daydream Shimmer, Midnight Sparkle, Gore, Dazzlings, Dark, Death, Alternate Universe, Shadowbolts (EqG)
Length: 7719

Have you ever had a rotten day, well, in the case of Twilight sparkle, she has had a really rotten day, and now it might turn her into a monster.

As people would always say, all it takes is one rotten day to turn a normal member of society into a monster. But most people just say that would never happen in their lives, tell that to Twilight Sparkle. She had a really rotten day, after being beaten by her drunken father and bullied by her peers at school, she thought her life couldn't get any worse, but after she is abducted by her classmates and suffers severe mental torture by them, the night finally ends with her falling into a vat of liquified magic. As she staggers back to her home, she has a nice good look at her face, she is shocked and horrified by her new appearance. She tries to cling to her sanity, but she finally snaps after hearing that not only was her mother murdered by her father in a drunken rage but the liquified magic should've killed her, making her think that her life was nothing but a dark demented joke. Now as Midnight Sparkle, she vows to take revenge on the city she thinks had wronged her, leaving behind a trail of terror and madness in her wake, and she does all of it with a smile. Can Sunset Shimmer, aka the vigilante known as "Daydreamer," stop this insane maniac before more lives are lost.

Published 2020-02-14 12:40:01 UTC
Last updated 2023-01-22 18:22:22 UTC

Prologue: The Birth of insanity incarnate

Twilight moaned. Right now, she was trying to clean the scratches on her body by picking the shards of glass out of her arms. Her father had gotten drunk again, and like always, she had been the center of his drunken tirades. He lashed out at everyone when he was drunk, but Twilight was his favorite target. Usually, he would beat her whenever she irritated him or did something wrong, and often called her the problem child of the family. Her being bullied or harassed by her classmates didn’t help, as this led him to calling her a crybaby.

He would often say things like:

"Why so serious!" or “Damn girl, woman up!”.She had learned to accept his behavior, but nevertheless, it hurt.
But on this particular day, her father took it to the extreme and hit her on the head 3 times with a beer bottle. When he said: "When I'm done with you, you won't be crying anymore. Why don't we put a smile on that face.", Twilight knew there was a big difference from the other times. He had gone to grab a carving knife and Twilight honestly thought he was going to kill her, but thankfully her mother stopped him. Maybe this extreme situation was the turning point for her, or she had just gotten sick over his behavior over the time, but in the end, she finally told him that their relationship was over and kicked him out. Of course, he tried to resist, but soon, drunk as he was, stormed out of the house and vowed to return and to get back at them. Twilight Velvet walked over to Twilight's room and saw her sitting in a corner, sobbing deeply. Twilight Velvet sat next to her Daughter and tried to comfort her.
"Sweetie, you can calm down now, it's all over, he's not going to hurt us anymore." But Twilight wasn’t convinced.
"Haven’t you heard him? Oh no, it's far from over, he'll come back and he'll kill us."
“No sweetie, he was drunk, and didn’t know what he was saying.”
Twilight didn’t reply, and all Velvet could do was to sit down and hug her bloody and bruised daughter as the night went on.
When Twilight finally could fall asleep, the nightmares began. She dreamed of her father, climbing through the window into her bedroom, armed with the same carving Knife, repeating the same phrase over and over again, like a mantra. "Let's put a smile on that face!" The nightmares all ended the same way: A Twilight, awakened by her own screams, every night, over and over again, with no end in sight.
Soon, the nightmares were affecting her mental health, whether due to the lack of sleep or lasting psychological trauma. She’d act hostile towards her teachers or random bypassers, but only if she actually left the house once. After seven weeks of sleep deprivation, she looked terrible. There were large bags under her eyes and her once lavender skin had lost its usual light purple color and darkened to a much duller shade of purple. And when her peers tried to bully her today, she just looked at them for a second and then continued on her way.
After school ended, while Twilight was taking her usual route home, a familiar voice caught her attention.
"Miss Sparkle," said Indigo Zap.
Twilight sighed. “Alright, what do you want?” Twilight’s voice was groggy, and she was tired, closing and then opening her eyes repeatedly.
"We don't like that you're not giving us our bonus money anymore. You have ignored all of our previous warnings, and this morning was the last one." Sour Sweet said in a threatening tone.
Indigo spoke again: “You see, it's not about the money, it’s about the other students. If they see you rebelling against us, and we do nothing about it, they might get the wrong idea and even try to stand up for themselves. So. Why. Did. You. Not. Pay. Your. Fee!” At this, Twilight couldn’t help it and laughed.
"Ooooh, ok, this is just rich, first you pester and bully me every day at school, because for whatever reason you just want to make my life a living hell, and now, you're pissed off because I haven't paid your fucking extortion money.” Twilight’s anger and tone built up. “Yeah, thanks, but I didn't pay because 1) I stopped caring since my life has been nothing but a living tragedy already without you, and 2) I hate every single one of you because you are just egoistic assholes who care about nothing but yourselves, and especially not about me!" The Shadowbolts’ faces became a sour grimace.
"Oh, that's how you want to play this game," Indigo’s voice was calm, yet threatening. "Well, let's see if you're still so rude to us when we're done with you!"
Twilight shouted a “Go to hell!”, but little did she know that her opponents came prepared.
The shadowbolts pinned her down while Sour Sweet searched her bag for the anesthetic she had brought with her. After it had been injected into Twilight's bloodstream, she got immediately knocked unconscious, and the shadowbolts put her in a bag and loaded her into the trunk of Sunny Flares car, leaving no clue to their or Twilight’s whereabouts.
When Twilight finally woke up from the effects of the drug, she noticed that she was in some kind of chemical factory. Next, she saw the faces of the shadowbolts looking down at her.
This caused her to go into full panic mode. "W-what are you doing? Why have you brought me here? Please, just leave me alone, I want to go home."
"Well Twilight, I'll tell you why we brought you here. Since we don’t like little know-it-alls like you, and we especially don’t like rebellious ones, so we took the liberty of reading your academic file. And we found some, really, interesting stuff on it. For example, we found that your father was once a worker of this factory, and do you want to know what's in those vats?," Indigo said in a sinister tone of voice. "Some really dangerous chemicals that will most certainly kill you. So, we thought that we could end your suffering here and now," Sour Sweet said. "But before that, I just want to ask, have you watched the news today?"
"N-n-no, I h-haven't," Twilight stammered. "Why?"
"Because we heard that your sweet and innocent bitch of a mother was murdered today, by your father in a drunken rage. I just wanted to let you know that." Indigo said with an evil grin on her face.
Twilight, after hearing this, started wailing with uncontrollable tears, knowing that she would never ever see her mother again.
"Alright, enough with this sad whining, let's just dump her in the vat and end this already," an contemptuous Sour Sweet said.
"Umm, girls, I think we're taking this a little bit too far," Sugarcoat said, since she was afraid, as they were about to take an innocent life.
"Ohh, so you want to join her in the dumping?" Indigo barked.

"No"

"Then help me dump her," Indigo said.
Then, the shadowbolts surrounded Twilight, picked her up, and carried her to the large vat of purple chemicals.

"Please, stop, I'm begging you!" Twilight screamed in horror, as she was dumped in the chemical vat.

Sour Sweet laughed. “You should have begged when you had the chance to."

"Cmon, girls, let's get out of here before we're caught." Indigo Zap said. As they left, Sugarcoat, Sunny Flare, and Lemon Zest looked back at the chemical vat with faces of dismay and anguish bot only Sugarcoat said:

"I'm sorry, I hope you'll forgive me."

There was a large tube outside the factory that connected the vats to the lake nearby, and a few moments later, out of this tube came a dark purple figure and fell into the polluted freshwater.
Twilight rushed to the lake surface, and then to the lake’s shore. She tumbled, trying to get back on her feet and began to cough and gag from the chemicals she had swallowed.

"Oh my god, this burns," Twilight moaned, slowly going from staggering to walking.

"My whole body is aching and itching all over, what's hap-," Twilight froze when she looked at her reflection in the lake. Her skin was a dark purple, she had blue eyes with purple pupils, and due to the chemical burns she’d suffered, she looked like she had a Glasgow smile. Merely looking at herself awoke something in Twilight, something that made Twilight feel like her entire life was nothing but a demented gag, and she was the punchline of it all. This was enough for her to finally snap.

Twilight let out maniacal laughter.

“Mwahahaha, this was supposed to kill me, huh? My mothers dead, good one, ha ha ha, good one, what a joke on me, ha ha ha, my life's just a big, funny joke, hahaha"
Twilight chuckled, while her last shards of sanity finally shattered to pieces.
Then, she looked forward, with a glint in her eyes. The shadowbolts wanted to take a life, just because they hated someone for being different, but little did they know that they instead created a monster, ready to take revenge on the city that had caused pain for so long. And this monster would do it with a big, fat, "SMILE," laughing the whole way.

Author's Note

Hello everyone, I'm trying to make this story the mlp version of Batman: The killing Joke.

I also wanted to make Midnight Sparkle's origin story a little more psychological than just a being born from magic.

I wanted to say, you won't have to wait for the violence and death to come. That begins in Chapter 1.

Because I really didn't like her Canon Origin.

And I bet people are glad that I'm doing something other than Doctor Who stories.

I hope everyone likes this story.

Hope all of you have a good day and, as always, "ALLONSY!"

Chapter 1: There's nothing more Contagious then Laughter! Part 1: The Confrontation

It was a dark, stormy night in the middle of Manehatten when a severely drunk Night-Light had drunk his last drink after being kicked out of his favorite bar for the 10th time this month. He had been kicked out after a little dispute with a dancer's boyfriend had escalated into an all-out brawl. If that wasn't bad enough, he was also diagnosed with alcohol poisoning meaning he can't ever drink again. He was now straddling back to an apartment he had rented a few weeks earlier with an irritated look on his face. Night Light is in a better home, with a loving girlfriend, and a whole new life. He thought that no one could judge him now, that no one could touch him, well almost nothing except perhaps....the past.

"Stupid barkeep, she doesn't know what she's talking about," Night Light said angrily. "Well, at least my new wife is cooking up nachos tonight, so I guess the nights, not a total loss."

He went to his apartment door and noticed that the lock to his door was broken, and he knew that someone was inside his room.

Luckily for him, he always carried a double caliber pistol with him for situations like this, not just because he wasn't as strong as he was due to the alcohol poisoning, but his room had been broken into on multiple occasions.

So, he quietly opened the door and pulled his pistol out for any thieves or worse, those dag nabbing teenagers from next door who are always keeping him up at night. When he turned to look, he noticed that all the lights were turned off. So, he turned to look for a light switch and when he did...nothing happened, no light would come on and night light had to result in using his flashlight on his phone to see his surroundings. He saw that his apartment was ransacked with furniture tipped over and the windows were broken. But, then when he was about to reach for his pistol, he heard the familiar click of a double-barreled shotgun and someone in the shadows saying "Don't even bother."

"Who are you, what are you doing in my apartment," Night-Light said in distress.

"Really, after all, this time you don't even recognize me...Dad," The intruder said.

"Twilight!" Night-Light said in shock.

"Ding-Ding-Ding Daddio, it's me, your "supposed" daughter," Twilight said as she stepped out of the darkness.

Night Light saw her features, her skin was a darker shade of purple, her school uniform was in tatters, her hair was all messy, and her usual violet eyes were replaced by a much darker purple, and her usual afraid small-fry face looked more psychopathic.

"Twilight, oh my God, what happened to you," Night-Light said in fright.

"Ohh, what happened to me, heh heh, well the usual, I was just having a normal day of never-ending suffering and then my "kind and innocent" classmates took me on a little field trip to a chemical factory, and after a nice and relaxing bath in a pool of chemicals that should've, (snicker) KILLED MEEEEEEHEHEHEHEHEHEHE, I was a changed girl," Twilight said in a sheepish, but sinister tone of voice.

"What do you mean?" Night light said in confusion.

"I'm not the same, frightened little girl that you used to beat within an inch of my life, or is that true? I'm not sure of myself. heh heh heh heh heh heh." Twilight said as she giggled with insane glee.

"Please, Twilight, please forgive me, I'm sorry." Night Light said as he pleaded for his life.

"Oh, and dad, one more thing, QUIT FUCKING CALLING ME TWILIGHT, YOU ALCOHOLIC ASSHOLE, YOU DON'T DESERVE TO CALL ME THAT AFTER I HEARD THAT YOU "SUPPOSEDLY" MURDERED MY MOTHER!!!!" Twilight said, as her glee changed to insane rage.

"Please, Twi, please, let me live, I'm...I'm a changed man, I'm a better person, I have a loving girlfriend who I take great care of, please, let me..." Night Light's thoughts were interrupted by Twilight's loud snoring.

"ZZZZZZZ...Buegh huh, yawwwwwn, you bore me, you're sad excuse of a sob story is so boring it even put me to sleep. So, I'll tell why I'm here, THE REASON I'M HERE IS THAT I'M GONNA KILL YOU!" Twilight told her former father.

"Why, why are you doing this?" Night Light asked in fear.

Why, WHHHHHYYYYY, HAHAHAHAHAHAHA, HAHA HAHAHA, HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA, well, let's just this little thing called good old fashioned revenge for you taking my childhood and innocence from me." Twilight told her father.

"Oh, and before your head is blasted into hamburger, I want to ask you what my true name should be, I wanna look good when I cast my laughing hand of vengeance upon this serious and boring city for abandoning me. I was thinking like the purple-skinned psycho girl or Laughing girl of darkness, but then it hit, how about, Midnight Sparkle, geeee, that does sound good when you think about it, wonder why I didn't think about it sooner," Midnight Sparkle said Victoriously. "Alright, now that we've gotten that taken care of, how about WE PUT A SMILE ON THAT FACE!"

Night Light screamed in horror as Midnight fired her shotgun into his head, blasting it to pieces, and ending his life, blood splattered on the walls, ceiling, and on her uniform.

"Great, JUST GREAT, now there's red messy stuff on my uniform, IF IT WASN'T DIRTY ENOUGH FROM ALL THESE TATTERS AND TEARS, THANKS A WHOLE FUCKING LOT DAD!" Midnight screams as she picks up a machine gun from her backpack and blasts the rest of her father's body to pieces of unrecognizable meat. "Wow, now no one will recognize you, you big ol sack of whiskey, shouldn't have kept your guns where people could find him and try to kill you Daddykins, aww shit why am I trying to sound formal, I'm a psychopath, not some cute maid." Now, before I get some tasty revenge on my cruel classmates, what I need right now is a wardrobe change for my clothes and hair. Might need some awesome new glasses to go with my costume." Midnight said as she reloaded the shotgun. Alright well, I'll be off Daddio, I see that your busy right now, you know, with your new splattered head career, I'm going shopping, I hope you don't mind if I use your credit card, hope the bank doesn't terminate you, heh heh, haha, HAAAAA HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA." Midnight says in her bloody clothing as she laughs and cackles like a complete lunatic into the dark of night. Midnight, upon thinking this, laughs even harder as Canterlot is about to face the definition of not only the victim of a very rotten day but the incarnation of psychopathy.

Her name is Midnight Sparkle, and she's about to paint this town with a smile.

Author's Note

Wow, Part 1 of Chapter 1 done, I hope you like some nice juicy revenge, violence, and madness that unfolds in this chapter of my story.

Don't worry, part 2 will be coming very soon, so wait patiently.

Oh, and Sunset will be appearing in part 2, just to let you know.

I hope you all enjoy the read and, as always, Allonsy!

Chapter 1: There's nothing more Contagious then Laughter! Part 2: The Comedy begins!

It was a bright and beautiful day when Canterlot high school student Sunset Shimmer was getting ready to go home for the day when suddenly the blue blur of Rainbow Dash zoomed past her, making her drop her belongings in the process.

"Oh, Sunset, sorry for running into you, I'll try to be more careful next time." Rainbow Dash said as she came back to help Sunset put all her stuff back in her backpack.

"It's ok Rainbow Dash, just try and be a little more careful next time," Sunset said as she got back on her feet. "By the way, why are you going off in such a hurry?" Sunset asked in curiosity.

"Oh, you didn't hear, the ShadowBolts are going to be playing against the WonderColts this week, and I heard both team captains are coming in about 30 minutes to sign autographs, and Crystal Prep and Canterlot High's Principals Cinch and Celestia are going to give some big speech at the Canterlot national park to wish both teams good luck during the games." Rainbow Dash said in absolute excitement.

"Ok, then why are you going to the park right now, it's only like 5 minutes away from where the school is," Sunset said.

"I want to be there so I can have a signed autograph from my idol Spitfire herself, ohhhh that will be so awesome when I hang that up in my living room!" Rainbow said.

"Okkkkk," Sunset said, a little creeped out. "But, since everyone else is coming and I don't really like being cramped in such a huge crowd, could we go to your place and watch it on the news."

"Alright, alright, I guess I'll guess I'll call scootalo to watch it with us too."Rainbow Dash said, with a disappointed look on her face.

On the way to Rainbow Dashe's house, Rainbow stopped Sunset so she could talk to her about something that was on her mind "Oh, I wanted to ask, what do you do every night, I heard last night on the news that not only were two bank robbers beaten to a living pulp by someone they called Daydreamer but some guy at an apartment building was murdered last night, had his head blown up by what the police said was a shotgun."

"Oh, that sounds very odd, we never had any murders in a long time," Sunset told Rainbow Dash. "Did they find the perpetrator?"

"No, but not all I heard, the next part is even weirder," Rainbow said. "They found these 5 people in this abandoned warehouse that all had these grotesque deformities such as Dark purple skin and Big grins on their faces, they said it was like something out of a horror film."

"Oh, well I'm sure that it's just some prank made by that alleyway kids just to scare people, that's all," Sunset assured Rainbow, calming her worries to rest.

When they finally got to Rainbow Dash's place, Sunset went to the living room to wait while Rainbow Dash was preparing nachos to enjoy during the big game speech. Once the nachos were made, and everyone, including Scootalo, was in the living room, Rainbow Dash turned on the tv and the three of them relaxed as the game began.

"Before we start our series of games, We have some words from our kind, honest, and loyal principal, please give applause to Crystal Preps Abacus Cinch!" One of the announcers said as Cinch stepped onto the arena.

"Welcome everyone to these fine games tonight. I just wanted to give out a few words before the start of the games. First of all, I have unfortunately found out that, our team captain Twilight Sparkle, has been missing after she was taken into a chemical plant by unknown assailants." Cinch said, giving the ShadowBolts a condescending look, making them turn their heads down. "But, for the games to continue, I am switching the rank of team captain over to Lightning Dust for the time being until she is found."

"Their Team Captain was taken in a chemical plant, I wonder if this has anything to do with the people at the warehouse." Sunset thought to herself.

"Second, I just wanted to tell all of you that, to achieve victory, you must all work as a team, you must help each other, and (cough, cough) further-more (Cough, Cough, Cough)..." Cinch said before she stopped to clear her throat.

"Ms. Cinch is something wrong, do you need me to take over," Celestia asked Cinch, whose coughing was changing into quiet snickering.

"No no no, I'm fine, heh heh heh, I just got (heh) something in my (heh heh) throat," Cinch said as her snickers then changed into hysterical laughter.

"Ms. Cinch, I think you need to let me..." Celestia said before she saw that Cinch's normal blue skin was slowly turning into a dark purple, and her grin was getting bigger and laughter was getting louder.

"NO, NO, HAHAHAHA, I HAVEN'T BEEN BETTER, HAHAHAHAHAHAHA, I FEEL SO GOOD, MY WINDPIPE IS BEING CRUSHED FROM THE INSIDE OUT, HAHAHAHAHA, SO FUNNY, HAHAHAHAHAHA Heh...heh....heh!" Cinch screamed in laughter as she finally fell in the arena, stone dead.

Everyone, including Sunset and Rainbow Dash, was shocked in awe at what they had just seen, as paramedics rushed over to the scene. A dark figure appeared from the audience stands and rushed into the arena, followed by five thugs wearing purple tuxedos, four carrying machine guns telling everyone to put their attention to the Girl up front, and one taking one of the news cameras and pointing it towards their boss.

"Helllooo everyone, sorry for interrupting this very special occasion tonight, but, after I went shopping for this awesome costume and then killed the shopkeep, it was either I come here and poison a principal who looks happy by the way, love that big smile, or I blow up an orphanage full of defenseless children that were 10 blocks away, and unfortunately, your school was on the chopping block, so I'll say, HELLO, GOODBYE, YOU'RE ALL GOING TO DIE, HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA," The mysterious girl said, as she laughed maniacally. "Sorry, it's just that I'm so funny, I just kill me."

"But, let's all get down to business, I bet that all of you sports fans and tv watchers at home are thinking, "Ohh, This crazy lady just killed a principle tonight, I bet there's nothing worse this lunatic can do tonight, right." She said, in a sarcastic tone of voice. "Well, tough luck chuck, because you're all dead wrong, I've got a lot more shenanigans in store for all of you tonight. Let's see, what to do, what to do? OHHH, I know, let's have a little fun tonight."

"Indigo Zap, I hear the hand of fate pointing at you tonight," She said in a sinister tone of voice. "Now if I was looking at a crystal ball, I'd say your future is dim, and that the evil spirits of goofiness will come and get you when the clock strikes twelve...Ohh, what the heck I'll just say it to you. Indigo Zap, you will die at precisely midnight. So, let's all sit down in our comfy sofas, get some snacks, and enjoy a cruel laugh at her expense." She said as she raised a revolver and pointed it at the camera.

"BANG!" She said as a white flag came out of the revolver that had the word bang on it.

"Ohh, my word. What is this, you just can't trust old ammunition these day's, so luckily, for me, I have a backup weapon, looks like I'm riding "Shotgun" tonight," She said, as she raised the Double-Barreled shotgun, laughed maniacally, and shot at the camera, leaving Sunset and Rainbow's tv screen at static.

"Ummm, ok, Sunset, one thing...CAN SOMEONE TELL ME WHAT JUST HAPPENED!" Rainbow Dash said in absolute distress.

"I DON'T KNOW, RAINBOW, just calm down, and let's think about the situation," Sunset said, finally calming Rainbow down.

"Look Sunset, I know that Indigo Zap is on the opposing team, but she's still a human being, and I'm going to go see to it that Indigo makes it through the night," Rainbow said, sounding like some kind of sci-fi hero. "You coming with me Sunset?"

"Oh, sorry, I have something I need to do, don't worry, I'll meet you later when you're with Indigo," Sunset said.

"Ok, I guess I'll see you later," Rainbow said as Sunset left her house.

Once she was away from anyone listening, Sunset went into an alleyway and thought, maybe Sunset Shimmer can't solve this, but maybe Daydreamer can." Sunset said as she hurried towards her house.

Author's Note

Hi, everyone, CyberEmperor here, part 2 of Chapter 1 has been made, I will be making the outro to part 2 later, so keep your eyes clear for it.

And, as always, if you liked the story so far, please give me a thumbs up and write a comment telling me how much you liked it. So, have a nice day, and, ALLONSY!

Chapter 2: The Fatal Countdown to Madness! Part 1: Terror at the Grand Prix

11:15 P.M.
"Wait, what do you mean I can't race?" Indigo Zap protested as she was arguing with her manager.

"Look Zappy, I'm just trying to protect you, you heard what that lunatic said that you were going to be kicking the bucket at midnight right, Shining Armor, the Chief of Police, said that you're not allowed to race tonight!" Her manager said with a disappointed look on her face.

"I mean look at the time it's like 11:15 p.m. that's almost midnight." "Oh, come on Doc, just let me race this one time, I promise nothing is going to happen," Indigo said as she assured her manager that everything was going to be ok. Indigo was a pro-Canterlot Racer and she wanted to protect her title at all costs.

"Well, ok, I'll let you race tonight, I could never say no to a cute face like that." The manager said as Indigo Jumped for joy.

"Thank you, thank you so much, see you on the race track," Indigo Said as she left to change into her racing gear.

11:35 P.M.
Indigo was about to put on her helmet when a strange figure in a hoodie approached her and said, "Good luck on the race tonight, I hope you beat Lightning Dust at her own game tonight." Indigo was utterly confused and said,

"Ok, thanks for the nice compliment, but I have to get to the race right now so I don't have time for... OWWWWW." But before she could leave, the figure grabbed Indigo's arm and she felt a sharp pain coursing through her arm, she swatted the hand of the figure away and screamed, "WHAT ARE YOU DOING!!!"

"I just thought we were having a nice conversation together." The stranger said.

"YOU BETTER GET AWAY FROM ME RIGHT NOW, OR I'M CALLING THE POLICE!! DO YOU HEAR ME!!!" Like that the stranger in the hoodie ran out of the locker room and out of sight.

"What is wrong with that guy, oh well, I can't be worrying about some weirdo right now, I got a race to win. You better be waiting for me Lightning dust, cause you're going to be eating my dust when I cross the finish line." Indigo Zap said as she ran towards her racecar.

Suddenly, the hooded figure came out of the hallway, revealed to have been Midnight Sparkle.

"Oh yes Zappy, I'll see you real soon, as when you eat the dust of death and flames, then you'll get the real punch-line for tonight. So have fun Zappy, and race till you drop dead Hehehehehehehehehehehehe," Midnight said as she giggled to herself.

11:50 P.M.

Sunset Shimmer, Pinkie Pie, Rainbow dash, AppleJack, and AppleBloom were all sitting in the audience chairs, enjoying themselves with food and entertainment as the race had finally started. Once the Referee waved the flag, signaling the drivers to go, the Racers were off.

"Omg Dashie, I wonder whose going to win tonight." Pinkie said Excitedly.

"It doesn't matter who wins tonight Pinkie, I just want to know that Indigo Zap will be safe and sound when Midnight comes and goes," Sunset said to Pinkie.

11:59 P.M.
As the race continued, Indigo Zap zipped past Gilda and Limestone Pie until the only driver in front of her was Lightning Dust. She had her in her sights, she was almost about to get past Lightning and achieve first Place and defend her title of the champion until the Fateful Hour had finally come.

12:00 A.M. (Midnight).
It was 12:00 A.M., and Sunset saw that there was no carnage, no mishaps, and no dead Indigo Zap.

"See Sunset, I told you that there was nothing to worry about." Rainbow Dash told Sunset. But just as Dash said that Sunset looked at the Jumbo-Tron and realized that something was terribly wrong.

She saw that Indigo Zap's car was slowly turning left and right erratically until it started swerving out of control. Sunset knew this would happen. Then, Indigo's car turned and as it hit a nearby wall, the car exploded and its engine burst into flames. Sunset told Pinkie that she was going to get help, and as she left, she went into a restroom and changed into Daydreamer. As she flew towards the enflamed car, she used her powers to absorb all the flames and found Indigo Zap inside, as she carried her out of the car, she realized it was too little, too late as she saw Indigo skin was dark purple, her pupils were violet, her irises were light Blue, and she had a ghastly grin on her face. There was no mistaking it. Indigo Zap was dead.

Chapter 2: Fatal Countdown to Madness: Part 2 It’s a Mad World out there. Part 2 of 2: Would not, could not, would not, could not, could not join the dance.

Lemon Zest’s vision was getting hazy, as she was seeing a theme-park attraction of wonderland, seeing many props and distorted wonderland music. Then Lemon Zest started seeing things that were not supposed to be there.

As the car Lemon was in started moving through the attraction, the voice of Midnight Sparkle could be heard throughout the loud-speakers.

“I hope you’re enjoying this little ride as much as I am, Lemon,” Midnight said through the speakers. “Besides, isn’t this what you always wanted, to return to your world of wonderlands?”

“I hope you don’t mind the new toxin that I put in the ventilation of this place, it may just…clear your head,” Midnight stated as lemon saw the purple-colored gas coming out from the vents. “There is a thin line between reality and insanity.”

“This has gotten me thinking, did my life have any meaning at all,” Midnight said to herself. “Or is it, did your life ever have any meaning?”

“Nng, wait, I-I remember…” Lemon said before Midnight interrupted her.

“Remembering, oh no, I wouldn’t do that, remembering’s dangerous,” Midnight said. “I find memories of the past to be some of the many worrying and vile events in my messed-up head.”

“Relying on memories of the past is just so treacherous,” Midnight stated. “One moment, you’ll be lost in a carnival of delight, the laughter of children, the neon strobe lights of puberty, all of those sentimental candy bites or whatever they're called these days.”

“The next moment, those memories take you to places you don’t want to be,” Midnight said as her once-happy voice turned cold. “Somewhere dark and unforgiving, filled with the depressing shapes of things that you would want to forget, memories can be such dreadful and putrid little monsters…like toddlers maybe, hahahahahahahaaa!”

“What I’m trying to say is, do we have to rely on rationality to get on with our lives,” Midnight said. “Or…could it be that being rational is basically…a crutch so that all those big wigs can keep us, little people, in check.”

“I mean we don’t have to be shackled by the chains of rational thinking,” Midnight said. “Perhaps, allowing ourselves to finally break out from those shackles and succumb to the world’s madness will allow our eyes to finally open and see the world for what it truly is.”

“Life is just full of many tiny torments, each with their shapes, sizes, and flavors,” Midnight said as Lemon saw a hallucination of her father say. “Wouldn’t you say, Lemon?”

Lemon was starting to burst into tears, as her sane mind was starting to crack. “Daddy, I’m sorry, I should’ve done my music practice instead of reading those books, please don’t punish me anymore, I’m sorry.”

“Oh, so you have daddy issues, eh,” Midnight said as she snickered in delight. “Heh heh, well who doesn’t, fathers make perfect tormentors, do those chores, wash those dishes, order those beers, clean those messes.”

“All it takes are way too many demands to make the crazy train start rolling,” Midnight said as she thought back to the beginnings of her madness. “All it takes is one rotten day, to turn a normal person of high society… INTO A MONSTER!”

“Well, in my definition, a rotten day and a chemical bath,” Midnight said as she started laughing maniacally.

Midnight Sparkle was waiting at the end of the ride when the car Lemon was in appeared from the doors at the end.

“So Lemon, I going to need your honest opinion, how did you like this little lunacy ride I put together,” Midnight asked.

Lemon Zest was curled up in a ball, shaking and trembling uncontrollably.

“Hello knock-knock, anyone home,” Midnight said as she tapped on Lemon’s head. “Oh, don’t tell me your mind has broken already!”

“Wh-Why,” Lemon pleaded.

“Oh, so you still have some sanity left in you,” Midnight said in astonishment. “I’m quite impressed by that; I thought my new insanity toxin would’ve broken your mind completely.”

“Why are y-you doing this,” Lemon Zest asked in fright.

“First of all, revenge, obviously,” Midnight said.

“Second of all…To prove a point,” Midnight said in a sinister voice. “Here’s to madness.

Midnight then gave Lemon a green Top Hat, similar to the hat the Mad Hatter from the wonderland books had worn.

“Have this hat, you’ve earned it, my little Mad Hatter,” Midnight said as Lemon put the hat on her head. “Now, to finish your mid-term madness exam, I’ve brought someone very special for you to see again.”

Midnight then opened the green curtain in front of Lemon, revealing it to be her father.
“Lemon Zest is that you,” Lemon’s father said as he saw his daughter sitting on the ground.

Midnight then handed Lemon Zest a kitchen knife and said, “You know you want to.”

“Y-Yes,” Lemon said as the toxin in her body was starting to diminish the last ounces of sanity left in her.

“C’mon Lemon, let yourself be free of your shackles,” Midnight whispered in Lemon Zest’s ear. “Time to join the club.”

Daydreamer, using her rocket-powered wings, was flying toward the abandoned Canterlot Amusement Park, the last location where Lemon Zest was found at.

“Oh, Lemon, please be all right,” Daydreamer said as she was about to touch down. “Maybe Midnight is still there.”

When Daydreamer arrived, she saw that Midnight Sparkle and her goons were long gone.

“Damn it,” Daydreamer said. “I was too late.”

Then Daydreamer heard movement to her right.

“Lemon Zest is that you,” Daydreamer said as she ran to the location of where the sound was coming from.

Daydreamer’s blood ran cold as she saw the lifeless body of Lemon Zest’s father, who had 18 stab wounds on his chest and arms.

Then Daydreamer heard a voice from behind her, “Where is my Alice, she is late for tea.”

Daydreamer turned around to see Lemon Zest, with blood all over her.

“Lemon Zest are you ok,” Daydreamer said as she tried to remove Lemon’s hat.

“NO,” Lemon screamed as she swatted Daydreamer’s hand away. “IT’S MY HAT, MINE! YOU CAN’T HAVE MY HAT!”

Daydreamer could only watch as Lemon started rocking back and forth, giggling manically, and rambling on asking where her Alice was.

The Police were soon called, and they quickly took her away to the Canterlot Home for the Criminally Insane.

“What the hell happened in there,” Commissioner Soarin asked. “What was Midnight trying to accomplish by driving that poor girl to absolute madness?!”

“This is a message meant for me,” Daydreamer replied to Soarin. “Midnight’s trying to tell me that she doesn’t have to kill to leave scars on people, she’s trying to tell me that there are fates crueler than death.”

Midnight was watching by the sidelines on a helicopter as she was marking Lemon Zest’s name off of a list in her hand, Indigo Zap’s name was already marked off.

Midnight then looked at Sour Sweet’s name, meaning that Sour Sweet was next on her list.

“All right Sour Sweet, when I’m done with you, the people in this city are going to see how much of a Two-face you are,” Midnight said, letting out a Maniacal laugh as she flew away.

(Will continue in Chapter 3: The Two-Faced Trial, Sour Sweet’s Binary Breakdown).

Author's Note

Hello everyone, This is Grand-Galvatron, and I am really happy to be continuing this fic again. Don't worry it's not dead.

Let me know what you think of this stories newest update.

Chapter 2: Fatal Countdown to Madness. Part 2: It's a mad world out there. Part 1 of 2 Will you, Won't you, Will you, Won't you, Won't you join the dance.

Pathway to Madness:

Chapter 2: Fatal Countdown to Madness,

Part 2: It's a Mad World out there.

Part 1 of 2: Will You, Won't You, Will You, Won't You, Won't you join the dance?

Written By: The CyberEmperor

Lemon Zest was busy heading back to her apartment after a long day of work. Lemon Zest worked as a singer for the nearby music shop, but what people didn't know is that, before music, Lemon loved to read nursery poems. She loved reading poems such as the Quangle Wangle's Hat, The Language of Cat, The Spider and the Fly, and The Mock Turtle's Song. She especially loved reading the Alice Adventures in Wonderland books, as she would normally go to the library and would usually read many of the wonderland books that were there.

That is until her father found out about what she was doing and since he wanted her to go into the music industry and didn't want her drowning her mind in books, he decided to burn up every wonderland book that she owned. Lemon Zest was devastated after losing her precious books. Her father told her that she needed to get out of her supposed wonderland and face reality. Well, Lemon has seen reality, and it's completely engrossing and horrid. Sometimes she wished she could quit the music business forever and go back to reading the books she used to love so much.

Lemon knew about what had happened to her classmate Indigo, back at the Grand Prix, so she decided that the most logical thing she needed to do was to stay at home and lock all her windows and doors. She knew she had enough food to last her until this incident fades away. But, she will not only soon find out that just because you're at home, doesn't mean that you're safe, but once the laughing girl is done with her, Lemon will realize that Canterlot can become a perfect wonderland.

Lemon Zest opened the door to her apartment room, only to be greeted with a dark room. Lemon thought this was odd since the lights are usually on when she comes home, but even though she couldn't see anything, she could faint buzzing coming from the dining room. She assumed that it was from that old radio she had in her dining room that she used to listen to either listen to the news or listen to classic rock.

Using her phone as a flashlight, she tried to find the door leading to the dining room was, and once she found it, opened the door, revealing nothing but an empty room. Nothing was out of place and her radio was shut off, but she could still hear that buzzing noise. Then she saw a package on the dining room table that was wrapped in purple wrapping paper, like some kind of Christmas present.

"I never ordered any package today, who sent me this?" Lemon Zest thought to herself. She at first didn't want to open the mysterious box, but as her curiosity got the better of her and she decided to open the strange package.

"What is this?" Lemon said curiously as she saw a white mechanical rabbit which was the source of the buzzing. She then saw a red button underneath the rabbit right back paw, and once she pushed the button, the rabbit started to move in a weird motion, almost like it was dancing. The rabbit then started to sing as it said,
“Will you walk a little faster?” said a whiting to a snail.
There’s a porpoise close behind us, and he’s treading on my tail.
See how eagerly the lobsters and the turtles all advance!
They are waiting on the shingle — will you come and join the dance?
Will you, won’t you, will you, won’t you, will you join the dance?
Will you, won’t you, will you, won’t you, won’t you join the dance?"

"Th-This is crazy, whose doing this?" Lemon said in fear of what the mechanized rabbit was saying. Then the rabbit stopped singing as it turned to face Lemon, and as it did so, it raised its right paw, and as it put its paw on Lemon's arm, she felt a sharp pain course through her arm, startling her enough to make her drop the rabbit, smashing it to pieces.

After that, her vision started to get blurry, and the room and the room turned to a bright green. As time went on, Lemon saw the walls of the floor of her room start crumbling apart. And then, she saw herself falling and falling and falling as if it was a bottomless pit. Then Lemon saw a light at the bottom of the hole and as she braced for a hard landing, she saw herself sitting in a chair that looked more like a throne room.

She then saw many figures looking at her. The figures were all like characters from one of her wonderland books, some wore rabbit masks, others looked like living playing cards, and the final figure looked was wearing a twisted jester mask. The Jester walked towards Lemon and after taking off its mask, revealed itself to be Midnight Sparkle.

"Welcome Lemon, it's been a while hasn't it?" Midnight said, as one of the Rabbits took her discarded mask and put it on a nearby bookshelf.

"Mmmmmm," That was all Lemon could muster out of her mouth, as she was still groggy because of that drug.

"Let's see, how long has it been, a year, two years, heck I don't know so why am I asking you, hehhehhehhehhehhehheh!" Midnight said while chuckling to herself. "Alright, now with all the fun stuff out of the way, back to business, I guess you are wondering where we are. Well, I looked at your school file, and when it said that you used to enjoy reading "Alice in Wonderland," I decided that we'll all go to an Alice in Wonderland theme park Attraction. Well, there were some guards, They looked so glum, so I put smiles on their faces."

"Mmmm, what a-am I doing here. Are you going to ki-k-kill me?" Lemon said in a tired tone of voice.

"HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAAAA! KILL YOU? I'm not going to kill you. I mean, If I wanted you dead, I would've killed you by now. Oh, some things are worse than death. So the punch-line is, I'm not going to kill you...I'm gonna drive you mad. Get ready to meet your perfect WONDERLAND!" Midnight said as the chair Lemon sat on moved, revealing to be a cart for the attraction.

An intercom above her then said, "Please, keep your arms, legs, and madness inside the vehicle at all times. Now, hang on to your seat Lemon...The show's about to begin." Midnight said as the doors opened up and the ride into the mouth of madness begins.

End of Part 1. Will continue in Part 2: Would not, could not, would not, could not, could not join the dance.