White, powdery snow coated the dirt road they all traveled on. The wind howled loudly. Trees covered in icicles and more snow dotted the landscape around them. Dead leaves jutted out of the ground's soft white surface, crunching as they walked in silence.

Everypony was on edge. Even the most collected of them, Twilight and Rarity, were just hiding their fear below the surface. An invitation to a dinner party and sleepover at Discord's residence wasn't something to take lightly. Especially not with the incident that occurred mere months ago.

As they walked, an old, seemingly abandoned cottage came into view. There were shards of glass on the ground, and the fence in front of the cottage had snapped. Wood rubble dotted the pathway, and the bridge had a giant hole through it. A mailbox just outside the door was stuffed with letters and packages. "We're here," Rainbow choked out.

The group continued down the path. As they made it to the bridge, Twilight put up a magical forcefield over the hole to allow them to cross. Now that they were closer, they saw the disrepair in further detail. Where there were once birdhouses, now were missing entirely, and holes creatures used to burrow into were left abandoned.

They made it to the door, which was slightly off its hinges, and paused. Rarity turned to the others in the group and cleared her throat. "Since Twilight won't say it, I will," she declared. "What we are about to see may seem strange. I know from speaking to him that he is having a bit of trouble coping with the loss. I implore you all to remain calm during this. Especially you, Rainbow Dash."

All looked to Rainbow, who lifted a hoof in defense. "Hey," she guarded, "I know me and him don't get along too well, but I'm not the one who insulted him at his wife's funeral!"

Applejack rolled her eyes and sighed. "You ever gonna let me live that one down?" Applejack looked Dash directly in the eye and explained, "She's gettin' at your tendency ta make fun of him. I know you don't mean nothin' by it, but it's not somethin' you should be doin' at a time like this."

Rainbow huffed, and they all went into the cottage. The furniture inside looked just the same as they last saw it, only coated in dust and cobwebs. Not even spider webs. No creature seemed to have a desire to enter.

The floor's green paint had bits chipped off it, and they all noticed a white arrow pointing to the kitchen door. They followed its direction and entered to see a similar scenario.

All the furniture was where it should be, and the calendar attached to her fridge was on the same month that they last saw it. However, there was evidence of the kitchen being used. Pots and pans sat on top of the stove, and knives laid on a cutting board. "So he's just been eating and sleeping," Rainbow asked.

"That is precisely the behavior I warned you to avoid," Rarity reminded, quickly turning to Rainbow Dash to point an accusing hoof at her.

The group noticed another arrow, pointing to a door at the far side of the room. The door had Discord's name etched into its bark. The handle shined brightly, and the paint had been recently redone.

Twilight opened the door for the others. They hustled in and saw a set of stairs leading to the basement. The stairs, which were adjacent to them, were shrouded in darkness at the bottom.

Each braved the stairs, this time led by Rarity, and backed by Twilight. They both lit their horns to brighten up the room. When they entered, they saw a little light switch at the bottom and flipped it on.

As light filled the room, they saw it was almost entirely empty, apart from two doors, a washer and dryer, and a mop leaning in the far right corner of the room. The door to the right had a lock on it and a sign saying, "Stay Out." The door to the left was already open and had a red carpet leading into it.

From what they could already see, it led to a vast room far too big for a simple cottage. The walls nor the floor inside could be seen, only another set of stairs leading further down and the ceiling. They walked up to the door and stood still.

What they saw was unbelievable. There was grass at the bottom of the stairs and a cobblestone path leading to a giant mansion. It had thousands of windows and was at least five stories high, touching the ceiling with its roof. The inside rooms were all lit up, and almost all the curtains were open.

They looked at each other and began descending the stairs. It took ages to reach the bottom, but once they did, they saw the mansion's actual size. Though it looked big when they saw it first, they had no idea just how gargantuan it was.

They quickly noted that the grass was indeed real and mowed recently. The cobblestone path didn't seem to have any cracks in it either. It was very well kept up, which surprised the five.

Walking down the path, they observed the room surrounding them. The only wall visible was the one to their backs, which was painted black like the ceiling was. All other walls were utterly shrouded in darkness.

Finally, they made it to the front porch. They all stood at the front door, bracing themselves for what would come once they knocked. Rarity walked up to the door and gave it a few light knocks. A few seconds went by, and the door opened to the interior.

A pony wearing a well-pressed suit greet them. "Ah," the stallion remarked, "You must be the Master's esteemed guests. Please, do come in." The stallion was a middle-aged, dark purple earth pony with a duster for a cutie mark. He had a dark grey mane and dark brown eyes, which had bags underneath them.

Each entered in single file and lined up in front of the stallion cleared his throat. "I am the estate's head butler, Prim Bright. I shall be attending to your needs, should you request anything. Master Discord is a bit busy at the moment, but he shall be joining you during this evening's dinner. Would you care for me to show you to your rooms?"

"If you wouldn't mind," Twilight said with a smile. The butler nodded and turned towards a set of stairs parallel to the front door. They began ascending the stairs and reached the second floor. Lime green walls had sectioned the hall they entered with light green stripes and a wooden fringe that extended over half the wall. Both had open doorways, each leading to a different hall.

The butler turned to the doorway to the right of them and continued. Following him closely, they worked their way through the hall until they reached an end barring four doors. The butler turned to the group and stated, "Rarity, you will be in this room here," pointing to the first door to the left. "Twilight, you will be in the room to the right of Rarity's. Pinkamena, you're in the room at the end of the hall. Applejack and Rainbow Dash, the Master has given you both the room to my right," he informed. "Now I must be off, for the Master has asked me to set up the dining arrangements. Have you all had lunch yet?"

They all nodded, and Applejack informed, "We just came from the Daffodil Diner."

"Good," the butler said, turning around. "If there is anything you need, feel free to ask. I shall send one of my underlings to check on you in an hour. Enjoy." With that, the butler walked off, and everypony went into their respective rooms.

As soon as Rainbow got into the room with Applejack, they both began exploring the room. Right next to the door was another door that led into a private bathroom. The bathroom was a modest size but had all the necessities. It honestly reminded Rainbow of a hotel in Baltimare she once stayed in.

Moving out of the bathroom, Rainbow Dash observed Applejack lying on a regal bed. It reminded her of Rarity's bed: an arrogant, overdone decoration piece disguised as a bed. At least, that's how she saw it. Next to the bed was an antique bedside table painted white with an envelope on top of it.

Rainbow Dash walked up to the letter and picked it up, lying down next to Applejack. On the backside of the envelope was Applejack's name, written in some frou-frou style. Rainbow Dash proceeded to pass it to Applejack, who opened the letter.

The letter read: Dear Applejack, I forgive you for your insult. I wasn't a particularly good friend at the time, and you had nothing to do with her death. Just know if you ever need to talk, I'll always be here to help. Your friend, Discord.

"Huh," Applejack commented, placing down the piece of paper beside her.

Rainbow Dash replied, "That was oddly… mature for him." The two sat in silence for a moment, trying to let the note sink in. Breaking the ice, Dash decided to abruptly peck Applejack on the cheek. Rainbow let her eyelids droop a bit as she smiled up at her girlfriend.

Applejack returned the smile and held a similar expression. She lifted a hoof to her hat and flung it onto a white chair. She propped herself up and maneuvered herself above Rainbow. Lowering her head, Applejack leaned over to Dash's lips as they parted just slightly.

They sealed the deal, locking their lips onto each other. Dash lifted her forelegs and wrapped them around Applejack, her girlfriend following suit. The couple parted lips for a moment, passionately starring at each other.

Unfortunately, a loud knocking came from their room door, interrupting them. Applejack pulled herself off Rainbow and whispered, "I'll be back in a bit," winking as she got up. Applejack strolled over to the door and opened it, seeing Twilight at the door.

"S-Sorry to interrupt," Twilight apologized, "but I was hoping I could ask you about something." Twilight fidgeted her forehooves on the hardwood floor outside the room.

Applejack nodded and stepped out into the hall, closing their room door behind her. "Need a lil' help with somethin'?"

Twilight nodded and turned towards her room door, opening it. "I'd… like to talk about it in private. I-If you don't mind," she stammered.

"Sure," Applejack replied, as the two stepped into Twilight's room. The room Twilight was given was much smaller. Also, unlike her room, the walls had alternating hues of pink instead of white, keeping the color only for the accents instead of everything.

They walked over to the central part of the room, where a twin-sized bed covered in even pinker sheets sat in a corner. Twilight sat down on the bed and tapped to the left of her. Applejack sat down where she offered and asked, "So what's on your mind, Twi?"

Twilight looked down and away from Applejack, rubbing her left foreleg with her right forehoof. "Well," she started, "I've been thinking about what happened. I… I've tried to move on, but…" Twilight felt her eyes beginning to water up, remembering the last time she saw Fluttershy.

Applejack wrapped her right foreleg around Twilight and leaned in a bit. "Everypony's goin' through the loss," she assured. "I know Rainbow, and I don't show it much, but–"

Twilight cut her off, crying, "No! I know that! I want to know why! Why did she go out so late? Why… Why did she have to die?" Twilight began stammering as fresh tears began to drizzle out of her eyes.

"Twi, she wasn't right in the head," Applejack reminded. "You remember how she was, all paranoid like. Seein' things that weren't there. She wasn't gonna listen to no pony. Not you, not me, not even her husband."

She continued to cry as Applejack embraced her. The tears began flowing out at a more rapid rate, and Twilight began sobbing more audibly. She buried her face into Applejack's mane, and her hug tightened.

As Twilight's sobs became more violent, Applejack began stroking Twilight's mane slowly. "Let it all out," she hummed. "That's it. Just let all your troubles flow away."

The two sat there, on the small bed, as one comforted the other with more reassurance. It didn't feel like an hour had passed, but they heard a soft knocking at the door. Twilight looked up at Applejack with big, water-filled eyes. Applejack stroked her mane one last time before getting up and walking to the door.

Opening the door, Applejack saw a young stallion that wore the same outfit as Prim Bright. "Hello, madam. My apologies, but your friend Rarity has requested all of you to join her in the library."

"Oh, uh, sure thing," Applejack said, scratching the back of her neck. "Tell her me and Twi will be down in a minute."

"My apologies, but Master Discord has requested no pony wander around his home without us to guide you. All other staff are currently getting the feast prepared or catering to the others' requests," he sneered, grinning slightly.

Applejack rolled her eyes and asked, "Can't ya'll just go there and come back?"

The butler, annoyed with his failure to receive a yes or no, glared at Applejack. "I'm busy as it is. Are you coming with me or not?"

Groaning, Applejack nodded and called, "Twi, you comin' to meet Rarity with me, or…" She let the question trail off as she poked her head further in the room to see Twilight, who shook her head.

Turning back to see the anger-inducing butler, Applejack stepped out into the hall. The two walked through a maze of halls to get to a stairwell leading to the third floor. Climbing the stairs, the butler paused at the top for a moment, pondering something. After the small delay passed, the two made their way through more hallways until finally reaching the library doors.

The butler opened the door and waved a hoof in, cueing Applejack to enter. The door shut behind her, and she examined the room she was in. The library was two stories tall and had bookshelves covering most of the walls. There were even more bookshelves in rows, creating isles on each side of the room. In the center was a vast walking space with large wooden tables.

Looking to the library's end, Applejack spotted her friends waiting for her at one of the tables. She trotted down the cold, beige marble floor at a brisk pace and slowed to a halt once she arrived at the table.

They all sat in silence, staring at Applejack. She noticed Rarity looking behind her with confusion. Rarity turned her attention to Applejack and asked, "Did Twilight come with you?"

Applejack shook her head and sat down at the table. "I asked for us to get a minute, but that damn butler pony wouldn't allow it. Made me leave Twilight cryin' on the bed."

Rarity shifted her gaze to the side and ran a hoof through her mane. "Yes, the staff are a tad rude as of late," Rarity informed. "Though you'll have to forgive them. You see, the staff here are a bit… on edge at the moment. Prim Bright is the only pony seeming to have a level head."

Rainbow Dash, her curiosity growing, questioned, "I've been meaning to ask you, why do you seem to know so much about this place? It seems like you've been here before."

Nodding, Rarity answered, "Discord came to me a week after her… unfortunate accident. He was having trouble coping and wanted help from me, so I offered to spend a few nights with him. Which brings me to why I brought all of you here."

Rarity turned her head from one end of the table to the other, making sure to address everypony. "As Applejack pointed out," she acknowledged, "the staff here, apart from Prim, are fairly on edge. After Fluttershy's passing, Discord's… attitude has been, to put it simply, drained. He's not the same creature we knew before. As such, he's been fairly reliant on them to attend to his needs, along with-"

Rainbow cut Rarity off and countered, asking, "But if Fluttershy's dead, and Discord needs more attention, doesn't that just equal to the same amount of work as before?"

"Yes," Rarity confirmed, "but it is a different kind of attention. Whereas Fluttershy was dealing with a slew of mental disorders, Discord is mourning. Sure, there is overlap, but you cannot approach them the same way."

"Why not," Rainbow shot back. "I mean, Fluttershy was depressed all the time too! Can't you just use the same treatment as before?"

Rainbow felt a hoof on her foreleg and turned to Applejack. "Sugar cube," she explained, "There are different treatments for different creatures. Besides, Fluttershy was seein' things that weren't there. He ain't."

"Precisely," Rarity agreed. "Which brings me to what I was saying before you interrupted me. You see, Discord has some… unusual ways of coping with the loss. Specifically, he happens to… hold on to a doll. One that… well… let's just say it has a striking resemblance to Fluttershy."

Rainbow's face turned to a grimace as she responded, "That's just… weird. Like, he's always been somewhat weird, but that takes the cake."

"More strange than Pinkie takin' a vow of silence," Applejack interjected. She smirked as her girlfriend sunk back into her seat, nodding.

"Fair point," Dash replied, looking over to Pinkie. Sighing, she shook her head and pulled herself back together, sitting up again. "I guess I can get used to that," she thought aloud, a bit of weariness in her voice. "Hell, if I got used to Pinkie being quiet, this'll be easier than taking candy from a-"

"Girls," Rarity interjected, trying to gather back her audience. "As I was saying, Discord carries around a doll that resembles his late wife, but that isn't the whole story. Not only does he carry it around, but he also… talks to it. As if it were her. A-And he doesn't expect anypony else to, but please avoid any jokes about it. He is extremely sensitive now."

"That's a huge undertaking," Rainbow sneered, "but I'll keep my thoughts to myself. Cross my heart and hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye."

Smiling, Rarity turned to Applejack. "And what about you," she asked, already expecting a yes.

The nod answered it all, but Applejack decided to add, "Big Mac does a similar thing with his 'Smarty Pants' doll. Ain't a problem for me. Apple Bloom, on the other hoof, might have a few gripes with the idea. Thinks that's for little foals." Applejack gave a small chuckle after finishing.

"A similar story with Sweetie Belle, unfortunately," Rarity muttered. "I'm assuming you won't be saying much at all, correct," She asked, looking towards Pinkie. All the mare responded with was a nod.

When Pinkie first made the vow, no pony expected her to keep it. Maybe for a day or two, at most a week, but she had. Her whole self was different. Her mane was flat, she never smiled, and her zany antics dropped as soon as she got the news. Gone was the premiere party planner for Ponyville, and in was a rain cloud taken pony form.

Everypony sat there in silence, not knowing what else to add. After what felt like an unbearable amount of time, they heard the library doors squeak open. Prim Bright, wearing the same elegantly pressed suit, trotted over to the group.

"I apologize for the interruption, but I need you all to head back to your rooms," he said, slowing to a halt once he approached the table. "Master Discord has requested the library be vacated, as well as all other rooms besides guest rooms until the dinner party begins."

"Understood," Rarity replied, standing up from her seat. Everypony got up, and Prim escorted them out of the library. "I hope you don't mind me asking," Rarity inquired as they continued through the maze of hallways, "but is there a specific reason he wished for us to stay in our rooms?"

The butler nodded and explained, "The Master worries that something may go wrong tonight and wishes to prevent any possible misshapes. He does have a sense for those."

"I sensed it too," a quiet mumble spoke. All of them paused and turned to see Pinkie standing in the back. Everypony's eyes shot wide open. They stood there, motionless, and hoping to see if it was her. Before any could ask, Pinkie mumbled, "Sorry."

A chill ran down everypony's backs. Pinkie's sense of things was never wrong. Sure, it was misinterpreted every so often, but never wrong. What made it worse was the last time she told anypony about her Pinkie Sense, Fluttershy died. As such, Applejack managed to stutter out, "W-What's gonna happen?"

Instead of replying verbally, Pinkie just looked off to the side and let a tear roll down her cheek. Nerves got the better of Prim, who decided to break his professionalism, quickly shouting, "Into your rooms. Now!"

They all booked it down the hall except Pinkie, who kept her pace as usual. Fears of what was to come filled the mares' minds. What would happen that night?

Approaching the stairs, everypony skidded to a halt. Below was the snobby butler from before, only now he laid dead on the ground. Blood oozed out from his head and onto the wood flooring, pooling all around him.

Questions on how and why this happened were quickly answered when Rainbow spotted the broken step. "Guess we know what Pinkie was sensing," Rainbow Dash muttered.

Finally, after a painstaking amount of time, Prim collected himself yet again and called for everypony's attention. "Everypony," he called in a commanding voice. "I need you all to stay perfectly calm. We shall go around the body and continue forth to your respective rooms. Then, I'll… get somepony to clean this up." His voice noticeably trailed off on the last sentence, as his face turned to a grimace. "Be careful as you descend the stairs," he reminded.

Everypony slowly began strolling down the stairs, making sure to avoid the hole in the step. As they made it to the floor, each looked over to the body. It was clear that the blood oozing from his head came from the giant split covering the upper left half of his head.

Rainbow Dash was the last pony to make it to the floor. She used her wings instead of the stairs, too paranoid about using it. As she passed the body, she noticed a trail of blood that hit the wall, almost making out the letter "F." Shrugging off the strange coincidence, Rainbow continued to follow her friends.

Rainbow?

Author's Note

Hope you liked the first! I don't know when the next chapter will come out, so please be patient.