The Rise and Fall of Chaos

Chapter 7 – The Eternal Party

“We're so close now, my child. Soon all our efforts will pay off!” “Yes...” “Oh do try to be more enthusiastic.” “Yes, of course...”

“Pinkie, look out!”

It was too late. The warning had fallen on deaf ears, and in an instant Pinkie was covered in cake. She opened her eyes with a gasp, not certain of where she was or what she was even doing there. A hazy fog clouded her mind, her vision was blurred, and her nose was filled with the sweet aroma of the Cake's latest masterpiece. In a flash, Pinkie's instincts took over and she hungrily devoured the bits of cake that had fallen on her.

“Mmmm, this is good!” she said with a satisfied smile.

The fog had lifted and was replaced by an overwhelming joy. At once she knew she must be at Sugarcube Corner, helping Mr. and Mrs. Cake 'taste test' their latest works.

Mrs. Cake let out a disappointed sigh “Oh well, time to start over again.”

“Oh don't worry Mrs. Cake,” Pinkie said, licking the small remaining bits of cake off her hooves between words, “I'm sure your next cake will be even better than this one was!”

“I guess-” Mrs. Cake began, before a shrill scream from outside interrupted her. “Oh good heavens what was that?!”

The Cakes shot each other worried glances and ran outside, Pinkie following closely behind. A horrifying sight met their eyes as they exited the door.

“A hydra?!” Pinkie exclaimed, her eyes wide with fear.

“Pinkie!” came a voice from somewhere nearby.

She instantly recognized the voice “Hey Twilight!” she said, waving at her friend.

Pinkie saw that Twilight was not alone, the rest of their friends were with her, their eyes fixed on the giant hydra. Pinkie ran over happily and was nearly swiped by the hydra.

“Pinkie be careful!” Twilight said, her voice shaky.

“What in the hay is a hydra doin' here?” asked Applejack, “I've never seen one outside Froggy Bottom Bog!”

“That doesn't matter, we need to lead it back to the bog and away from Ponyville, before it does any harm.” said Twilight, her face fixed in a look of pure determination.

“Oh you can't be serious darling,” Rarity said, “I'm not going anywhere near a bog! They're so... dirty.”

“I-I umm... I think I'll just stay here, if that's okay with you.” Fluttershy said, backing away slowly.

Rainbow sighed with frustration “Fine, you guys can stay here, but I'm going!” She turned her attention to the hydra and called out “Hey, you!” She flew over and delivered a powerful kick to one of the hydra's heads and flew off in the direction of the bog, “Come get me if you can!”

“Rainbow! Now what did ya go and do that for? Now it's gonna-” Applejack was cut off by the roar of the hydra, all four of its heads screaming at once. “Well, shoot. Let's go girls, we've got a job to do!”

Applejack took off running after the hydra as it chased Rainbow. Twilight followed her for a few feet, then stopped and turned around “You girls coming?” she said with a look of desperation.

Rarity groaned “Oh alright!”

Pinkie and Fluttershy exchanged worried glances before nodding their heads in agreement, and the three quickly took off, following Twilight.

***

Rainbow's speed had proven too much for the hydra, as she had reached the bog so quickly that she could no longer hear it following behind her. She turned around to see if she could catch a glimpse of it, when she saw a familiar orange shape running through the trees.

“Applejack? Where's the hydra?”

“Right behind me!”

“What? I don't see-” Rainbow stopped abruptly, hearing a fearsome roar echoing from inside the shrouded forest. She looked up and saw four heads towering above the trees “Oh. There it is.”

One of the hydra's heads made a dive at Applejack, just barely missing her. She picked up her pace, running as fast as her legs could carry her, determined to put as much distance between her and the hydra as possible. The other four followed behind the hydra, being careful not to draw its attention.

“Well, we made it to the bog, now what?” Applejack shouted to Rainbow.

“Ummm, I hadn't actually thought that far ahead.”

“Great. Say, I would appreciate it if you could get this thing away from me seein' as you can fly real fast and all!”

“You got it!” Rainbow shouted as she zipped toward the hydra. She flew circles around it, making it dizzy. She stopped and hovered in the air in front of the hydra, teasing it. “What's the matter? Can't keep up? Haha!”

All four heads of the hydra were spinning in confusion, their eyes circling around. They shook off the dizziness and roared at Rainbow.

“Rainbow, be careful!” shouted Twilight, “That thing is dangerous!”

“Yeah yeah, I got it handled.”

The hydra chased Rainbow deeper into the bog, determined to make a meal out of her. It had managed to gain a bit of ground, nearly catching up. It made a wild swing for her with one of its heads, hitting her and knocking her out of the air. She hit the water hard, bouncing for a few feet before coming to a halt on solid ground.

“Rainbow!” screamed Applejack.

“Ugh... I'm alright...” she said, getting up slowly. The hydra stood poised above her, ready to strike.

“Hey, over here! Ya big dumb galoot!” Applejack shouted, trying to draw its attention.

The hydra stopped and stared at Applejack, then looked back down to Rainbow. A smile crept over all four faces of the beast as it plunged at Rainbow.

“Whoa!” Rainbow shouted, moving out of the way just in time. “You're not getting me that easy!”

“Nice moves Rainbow Dash!” shouted Pinkie.

“Heh, thanks. Wha- look out!”

The hydra had turned its attention toward Pinkie, snarling angrily, almost as if it understood what she said and was angry that it was being mocked. It swiped at her, making contact. Pinkie flew backwards, straight into a cave. She hit the back wall of the cave hard. The last thing she could hear was the concerned voices of her friends yelling her name, then it all faded to black.

***

“Pinkie... Pinkie wake up. Please wake up...”

Pinkie opened her eyes slowly, and was dismayed to find that she was still in the cave. She looked around frantically for the source of the voice, worried by how frazzled it sounded.

“Oh good, you're awake” said the voice before coughing harshly, “I was afraid you were...”

Pinkie thought she could recognize the voice, despite how weak it sounded. “Rainbow? Wh- where are the others?”

Pinkie's eyes began to adjust to the darkness, and what she saw instantly brought tears to her eyes. Rainbow was lying on the ground, caked with blood. Her wings had been broken severely, her hind legs twisted unnaturally behind her. She thought she could hear wheezing noises coming from Rainbow's mouth as she breathed.

“Heh... the hydra... too strong. Too fast. We weren't...” Rainbow coughed again, and this time Pinkie could see that she was coughing up blood. “Pinkie... the others... they...”

Pinkie sat up, looking around for any sign of the others. She could find nothing. “What happened to them?”

Rainbow swallowed hard, she appeared as if she was trying to fight off something.

“They... they didn't make it.”

Tears began to flow down Pinkie's cheeks. She was grief-stricken at the thought of losing her friends, but she allowed for a brief hope, though.

“At least you're okay, right?” she managed to choke out between sobs.

“Heh, no... no I don't think so. Pinkie...” she reached out her hoof.

Pinkie grabbed it between her front hooves, holding it tight.

“I've... really enjoyed the time we've spent together. All of us. But...” she coughed violently, “it looks like my time is up.”

“No! Don't say that! You're gonna be just fine!” Pinkie said, not wanting to believe that she would lose Rainbow too.

“Sorry... not this time... goodbye, Pinkie.”

“G-goodbye.” Pinkie said, holding on tightly to Rainbow's hoof.

Rainbow Dash shuddered violently as her breathing sped up. She took one last deep breath, and exhaled, the life leaving her body. Pinkie held her hoof against her cheek, hugging it tightly.

“Goodbye, Rainbow Dash. Goodbye... everypony...” at that last word, Pinkie could not hold back anymore, and she began to cry.

***

A small pink shape could be seen on the horizon, approaching Ponyville. No one paid it any mind, until somepony noticed a cyan shape on her back, with blotches of red covering it.

Pinkie had thrown Rainbow's body onto her back to carry her back to town, determined to at least give her a proper funeral. She couldn't find the bodies of any of her other friends.

Big Macintosh was in town running errands for the Apple farm. He had just finished throwing 2 bits onto a merchant's stand when he heard the commotion. He looked up, wondering what all the fuss was about, and saw Pinkie. He instantly recognized the pony on her back, and immediately his heart began to sink. He had heard about his sister and the rest of her friends leading a dangerous creature out of the town, and the sight of Rainbow's unmoving body sprawled across Pinkie's back combined with the distinct lack of Applejack's presence had driven him to a state of near-panic.

He ran over to Pinkie as fast as he could.

Pinkie saw Big Mac running toward her, and realized that she would have to be the one to break the bad news to him. It didn't make things any easier.

“Big Mac...” she began, her eyes tearing up, “there's something I have to tell you...”

By the tone of her voice and the tears welling up in her eyes, Big Mac could already tell what she wanted to say. He tried his best to keep himself from crying, not wanting to embarrass himself in front of everypony.

“Tell me what happened...”

“Oh it was horrible... we led the hydra out of town and back to the bog... but... they...” Pinkie closed her eyes and lowered her head, choking back a sob. Her legs felt weak, both from having to carry Rainbow's body all the way back to town and from the whole ordeal earlier.

Big Mac saw her legs begin to shake, and he offered to carry Rainbow's body. Pinkie reluctantly arched her back, placing her friend's body onto Big Mac's back.

“It's all my fault!” she shouted, breaking into an uncontrollable fit of sobs, “I wasn't there to help them! That dirty hydra knocked me out!”

Big Mac looked at Pinkie with sympathy, trying to remain strong despite the news that his sister was no longer among the living. “Now don't go sayin' that, Pinkie. It wasn't your fault.”

“B-but, if I hadn't been knocked out, I could've helped! I-”

“Listen. If you hadn't been knocked out, who knows what could have happened? For all you know, you could have ended up like them!”

“I... just leave me alone!” Pinkie shouted, running to Sugarcube Corner.

Big Mac sighed and shook his head. He turned around and prepared to take Rainbow's body to be cleaned up, refusing to let himself give in and break down in front of everypony. He would save his tears for later, when he was alone.

***

Pinkie laid in her bed, crying into her pillow. It felt as if every last shred of joy she had ever experienced was gone, never to be felt again. She couldn't shake the image of Rainbow Dash from her mind, her broken body finally giving out, the last words she said. Pinkie hadn't actually seen the rest of her friends die, and she was grateful for that. Watching Rainbow's life slip away from her was bad enough.

She couldn't accept the fact that she would never be able to see her friends again. She thought back to all the good times they had, seeing their smiling faces had given her so much joy. Now, she would never see them again. All Pinkie ever wanted to do was make everypony smile, especially her best friends. She came to the startling realization that the only pony she wanted to see smiling now was herself, and with it came the pain of knowing that she probably never would be able to smile again.

There was a sudden knock at her door. She turned and shouted “Go away!” with a ferocity that surprised her.

A calm voice came from the other side of the door “Pinkie Pie, it's me, Princess Celestia. May I come in?”

“F-fine.”

The door opened slowly and Celestia walked in, her eyes red and puffy. Pinkie wasn't the only one affected by the death of her friends. Still, she had to be strong. After all, she was the Princess, and she had little time to grieve. She walked over to Pinkie, standing next to her bed.

“I heard about what happened, my dear. I'm so sorry. I know how much your friends meant to you. If there is anything I can do...”

“Oh Celestia!” Pinkie cried out, hugging her tight, “Why did this have to happen? It's all my fault!”

Celestia put one hoof around Pinkie, closing her eyes and allowing her tears to fall unabated.

“No, my dear, it's not your fault. Not at all. There was nothing you could have done.”

Pinkie looked up at her, her face twisted into a look of despair.“But... if... if I hadn't yelled out then the hydra wouldn't have turned to me, and I would've been awake and able to help!” With that, she buried her face against Celestia, crying.

After a few moments, Celestia gently pushed Pinkie away.

“Princess... they're gone... gone forever...”

“Not forever, my dear. You'll see them again, some day. For now, so long as you keep their memories alive in your heart, they will live on through you. Never forget that.”

Pinkie stopped crying, staring off to the side. A singular thought had begun to occupy her mind, her face fixed into a look of sheer determination. She knew what she had to do to make this right, to make up for not being there for her friends when they needed her the most, and nopony was going to stop her. Not even Princess Celestia.

“Pinkie... are you alright?”

Pinkie snapped out of her trance and smiled at Celestia. “I'm fine... Princess, I'd like to be alone right now, if that's okay with you.”

“Sure thing. If you ever need anything, please come see me.”

“Okey dokey lokey” Pinkie said shakily.

Celestia thought she could see something in Pinkie's eyes, but dismissed it. She turned and walked out the door, shutting it gently behind her, leaving Pinkie alone once again.

“She's right... I can be with my friends again... and I don't even have to wait! We could have a party... with plenty of candy, and cakes, and balloons... yep! Then they'll forgive me. They'll have to forgive me!” Her face twisted into a smile, her eyes distant.

She began to dig through her closet, looking for something. “Yep... soon... I'll be with them soon...”

She found what she was looking for, and attached one end of it to the ceiling, letting it dangle. She pushed her table over to it to be able to reach it easier, jumping on top of it and quickly tying the other end of the object up until she felt it was ready to be used.

“Looks juuuuuuust riiiiiight...” she said, her voice cracking. Her head twitched slightly.

“Don't worry everypony, the party will begin in just a few minutes!”

As she stood there staring at the rope in front of her, the faces of her friends began to swim through her mind. Tears began to fill her eyes once more as she slowly slipped her head into the noose she had tied.

“Soon I'll be with all of you again and we can party forever...”

***

“Hmph. That was easier than I thought it would be.” grumbled a slightly disappointed Goatroth. “No matter, the last one has been broken and now the fun can begin!”

“Indeed, my child... all we have to do now is wake them up with our little spell intact, and they will believe that their dreams really happened. Oh the delicious Chaos that will cause...”

“Yes... Chaos...” he said out loud.

“Why do you hesitate? Do it! Wake them up!”

He gazed over at the six helpless ponies in front of him with cold, unfeeling eyes. For a brief moment, a flash of pity could be seen in them, but it had faded as quickly as it came.

“Here we go...”