Men And Monsters: The Silent Killer

“The only thing I need saving from is you, you broke my arm.” Rainbow responded with a dismissive scoff, gritting her teeth as she tightened her gaze.

Pinkamena tensed up at the slight hostility in her voice, her harsh words digging the pit of guilt in Pinkamena’s stomach deeper. “I’m....really sorry, I lost control for a bit. If I had kno-”

“‘For a bit?’ Even after I took my mask off, you begged me to leave before you’d kill me. I’m glad you’re alive, but...what the hell happened to you? You dyed and styled your hair, and can grow fangs and claws? Also, what’s up with your hand?”

Pinkamena glanced at the hand she’d extended, having forgotten that her right hand was entirely gray now. She pulled it back, trying to calm her erratic breathing as she was filled with an immense sense of nervousness, along with a blot of dread that stuck out.

“I…” She hesitated as she tried to find the words, where did she even start? “I don’t even know where to begin. When I went missing, The Syndicate took me and…” What she was about to say caught in her throat, those hellish three months flashing in her mind. “Changed me, in a lot of ways. I’m not entirely human anymore, and I’m not entirely ‘Pinkie’ anymore either. You’re different too, what pushed you to start killing criminals like that?”

There were so many things she wanted to ask Rainbow, among that was a strong urge to hug her and break down crying out of relief that one of her closest friends is still alive, even when she had convinced herself she was dead. She wanted to ask how and where she got that gun, how she learned to fight like that, and...if she was ok. There was a real possibility RD has killed more people than Pinkamena herself has. Even if she justified it by saying they were unforgivable criminals, taking a life is something you can never undo, and it puts a weight on your soul you can never take off.

But, she couldn’t. She didn’t have the time, she never did now. Time truly was the thing she had too much of, but never enough.

“I...I thought you were dead. I convinced myself that the reason you were taken away was because of criminals, that they’d kidnapped you, hurt you...killed you. ” The ex-athlete's voice was aggressive and hateful, a distinct resentment for criminals there as she scowled. “I couldn't go back to school. As much as I missed them, being around them would have reminded me that you were gone and that just makes me miserable. I decided that, if I couldn’t save you, then I would dedicate myself to taking out as many criminals as possible so nothing like what happened to you would ever happen again.”

She was partly right, she had been kidnapped and hurt by criminals. However, it was far more complicated than that, and worse. If she could help it, she’d avoid going into any kind of details, there was no way her plan would work otherwise.

“Dashie, you didn’t need to go that far for me. I’m...alive now, we both are, that’s what matters now.” Pinkamena pulled the stool from the workbench, placing it in front of Rainbow and sitting on it. It was extremely stiff and uncomfortable, somehow worse than standing. “Listen, there’s...so much I want to talk to you about. We don’t have time, you don’t have time. You started killing the wrong people, dangerous people, and they won’t stop until you either join them, or you’re dead.”

“Is that why you were trying to kill me? You work for these ‘dangerous people’?” Rainbow responded with a sardonic undertone. She stood up from her makeshift bed, the sheets and gauze of her arm cast holding together surprisingly well. Her face was pretty severely bruised, but otherwise she seemed fine.

She reached under the mattress, pulling out half of a bottle of a thick, brown liquid. She pulled the lid off of it, causing Pinkamena’s nose to scrunch up at the strong stench of hard liquor. Hennessy, to be specific.

“It’s...complicated. I promise, I can explain everything later, just let me-”

“Have you killed someone?”

The question was so sudden and empty, there was no warning or emotion in it at all, she might as well have been asking her for directions. Yet her inquiry shook Pinkamena to her core. Both because of what happened the night prior, and because Starlight made her realize how much killing took out of her.

She grit her teeth as she hesitated to answer, unable to keep eye contact as she glanced away and clenched her hands into fists.

“No need to respond, that reaction is answer enough.”

Rainbow took a swing from the bottle, drinking it fast enough to where she didn’t even taste it. Then she walked over to the workbench, laying the bottle down and reaching under, pulling out a small box of Q-tips. She dipped one into the bottle and looked into the mirror attached to the wall, rubbing the alcohol against wounds on her face. The most disturbing part was that she barely even flinched, she must have had to do this so often she didn’t even react to the pain anymore.

“When I first started, I was angry, and cocky. I knew next to nothing about the criminal underworld, I thought it was just like the cop shows and movies. At night, I’d keep walking past shady alleyways, hoping to catch someone in the act of getting robbed. I eventually did, jumped in like some sidekick on their first night by themselves. I was so confident in my strength and my speed, I was just going to intimidate them into telling me anything they knew about you and let them go. I didn’t think he’d try to fight back, or try to kill me.”

Her voice trailed off as her hand drifted over her left eye, her index finger tracing the scar. “He cut me across the eye, giving me this. Then he...got me to the ground, started groping me, and told me he was going to kill me, but have some fun first. The dickbag that I saved from getting robbed in the first place already bailed, couldn’t care less what happened to me. I was in way more pain than I’d ever been in before, I was afraid of what he was going to do to me, and if I was going to be blind in my left eye. I’m not, but at least it makes me look awesome. Then…”

She placed the Q-tip down and closed her eyes, resting her hand on the edge of the bench, her body visibly rigid and shaking. “I saw red, and not just because of the blood in my eye. I was terrified in that moment, I hate to admit it, but I almost pissed myself. His shit eating grin, his filthy hand reaching under my shirt as he held the knife to my neck. I couldn’t help but imagine you in the same position. I always thought of you as the pacifist type, you always wanted to see people happy and never wanted to hurt anyone like Flutters, and that guy would have taken advantage of that.

I started remembering why I came there in the first place, and that, more than likely, you went through something like that, or worse. I wasn’t afraid anymore, I was angry again..”

Her eyes opened halfway as she peered into her reflection, a firm, unwavering look in them. “When I calmed down, he was dead. His knife was in my hand and his throat was slit, I stood over him and watched the life leave his eyes. It felt good, for about three seconds. Then I dipped, bleached the shit out of that knife and couldn’t get to sleep. I felt guilty about it at first, he was somebody’s son or friend, someone would miss him. I started thinking about it, and realized that people like him took you away without caring about any of that, so I didn’t care either.

I tried interrogating them when I could, but they never said a thing about you, other than that you were as good as dead. I held on to the hope that you were still alive for a while, but after a month...I thought I was too late. Instead, I started killing criminals in the act indiscriminately, using guns because it made it a lot easier when it came to killing them and not getting caught. And, well...you know the rest.”

Rainbow mumbled ominously, turning around to face Pinkamena, her hand still resting on the workbench. The expression on her face was blank and unreadable, her gaze looking through Pinkamena, her mind focused on something else. “But now, you’re here, you’re alive. I was glad at first, even if you were trying to kill me, I was the happiest I’d been in awhile just at seeing you alive. When I got here...it hit me. All those people I killed? All those criminals I murdered out of revenge? It hit me harder than Bulk Biceps ever did, I couldn’t sleep, couldn’t think about anything else but them for a while. Even now, some of their faces come to mind, along with that tinge of satisfaction I’d get with each kill, proud of myself for being good at it.”

Her grip strongly tightened, wood digging into her palms so deeply that blood began to run down her fingers. Her jaw visibility tightened as she grit her teeth, her head dropping shamefully. “Was it all in vain? Did I kill those people for nothing? I saved some people, sure, but some of those criminals used to be somebody, someone’s Pinkie. Now that you’re alive, I...I don’t know what to do with myself.”

She brought her hand to her right eye, pressing it against her face with her pupil barely visible from the gaps between her fingers. “I didn’t use to believe in guilt or regret, what’s done is done. Just get over it, right?” Rainbow said with a hollow chuckle, one that died down into something like a whimper. “I used to tell people the same thing, like it was that easy, now I realize that was just as stupid as telling Flutters to stop being shy. I thought it was like being sick or some shit, but no. It’s…” She paused as her hand drifted to her chest, tightly clutching where her heart was with a pained expression. “There’s this hole in me that got bigger with each person I killed, I pushed through it and kept filling it with rage like coal into a train engine. Now...I’m all burnt out, there’s no anger left, just the faces of the people I murdered in your name. And it makes me feel…” A single tear went down her face as her voice broke, her nails digging into the cloth of the blue-t shirt she was wearing. “Empty. This emptiness...is much heavier than I ever thought it’d be.”

Broken.

That is the first word that came to Pinkamena’s mind, seeing her friend speak in such a self deprecating way and riddled with guilt was familiar in the worst way. She knew that look, those emotions, that pain, too well. A normal person would have already given in and broke down completely, and maybe in time, that’s what would happen to Rainbow if she didn’t help her.

Pinkamena gripped the sides of the stool she was sitting on, biting the inside of her cheek, a bad habit she’d picked up since pain was one of the few things that could calm her down. She already felt terrible for so much, knowing now that she was the reason that Rainbow had been pushed like this, and that she was the reason her life was in danger now…

The remorse was almost unbearable.

However, she couldn’t give in. Not here, not now. She gave in last night, she got a break, she couldn’t afford to take another one. She swallowed the guilt, preparing to say the only words she could think of that might help.

“Dash, I’-”

“Don’t. Just...don’t.”

Her voice was surprisingly firm and authoritative considering how shallow it was moments before, stopping the apology before it even started.

“If you say I’m sorry, I’m going to deck you.” Usually, Pinkamena could tell when Rainbow was joking or not. She wasn’t. “I don’t care who or what the hell you are now, the Pinkie I remember...she wouldn’t have left like that. Whatever happened, I don’t doubt you didn’t have anymore say in it than the rest of us. No one’s to blame but me for assuming you were dead, and deciding to take it out on criminals...well, I could blame that on my old man, but I don’t like to talk ill of the dead. If I shit talk someone, I’d like them to at least be able to do the same to me.”

That comment about Rainbow’s parents was the first time she’d ever mentioned her family in recent memory, perhaps ever. With how casually she said it, it almost seemed like she hadn’t even intended to bring it up.

Before she could ask her about it, RD let out a frustrated groan, her hand darting up to her head and rubbing her temple. “Listen to me sitting here and rambling about my problems, when you look worse than Sunset after she crawled out of that hole. I’m sorry, I know I can be a real bitch sometimes.”

She grabbed the bottle in her hand, offering it to Pinkamena. “Here. You probably need it more than I do, if last night’s anything to go by. No offense, but I did kind of kick your ass for a while, you’d probably be way worse than me if you couldn’t heal.”

That was admittedly true, the blood loss alone almost put her out of commission. Pinkamena hesitated in taking the bottle, she didn’t want this to lead into them having a long talk like they used to, not that she could get drunk that easily anymore.

She reluctantly grabbed it and took a swig, the hard liquor burning her throat as it went down despite being a cold drink, a sensation she never really got tired of.

“So, what have you gotten dragged into? I’m just guessing you’re connected to some group since some guy came to save you when I almost offed you. Sorry ‘bout that, by the way.”

“Not your fault. And, yeah, I’m...a part of The Syndicate now. Mind you, not by choice, I’d leave if I could.”

“You there lapdog then? They send you to get rid of anything that might be a problem to them?”

Pinkamena failed to suppress a chuckle as she handed the bottle back to her. “Certainly feels like it sometimes. At first, they wanted to convert you, your skills are impressive. Then they just got pissed, and want you dead.” She decided not to mention that the main reason there was a push for that was because of The Apples. Considering she almost took off AJ’s head, she was assuming Rainbow didn’t know that she was the current head of The Apples. If she did, then she was much further off the deep end than she thought.

“Now….that’s not an option. I have a plan, I just need you to cooperate, and I think I can get you out of this.”

“You come up with plans now? Aside from overly elaborate pranks I mean. Still think putting laxatives in Gilda’s protein shake was my favorite one, it was the most simple.”

The name Gilda put a sour taste in Pinkamena’s mouth that was similar to the taste she got before throwing up, yet she couldn’t help but smile. She used to think that Gilda was one of the worst bullies she’d ever met, how truly ignorant she was.

“I do a lot of things now I’d never thought I’d do.”

“Hm.”

Rainbow’s response was a curt and blunt grunt, her eyes narrowing as she leered at her. Then she nonchalantly tossed her head back, chugging whatever was left in the bottle without even a flinch, which would have been impressive if she hadn’t seen her do it before. When it was empty, she tossed it to the side without a second glance, landing perfectly in a trash can with a thud.

“Alright, “ Rainbow made a come forth motion with her hand. “Run your plan by me.”

“That’s...probably not a good idea.” She had to bite her tongue to not mention that most of the plan came from The Whispers. Physically, she finally got to actually sleep. Mentally, however, she got to spend most of the night with Alice. She agreed to help her save Rainbow as compensation for what happened last night. It didn’t even come close to making things right, but it’s what she had to work with. “There are parts of the plan you aren’t going to like anymore than I am. Telling you them could cause it all to fall apart, you just...have to trust me.”

“Trust you?” She asked skeptically with a raised eyebrow. “I do trust you. If I didn’t. I would have shot you the second you came through the window. The fact that you came here to talk to me shows you still care, that some part of you is still Pinkie, that’s good enough for me. What do you need me to do?”

“First...I need your gun. The sniper you’ve been using that can change to other guns.”

She remained silent for a tense moment, walking over to her workbench with her back facing Pinkamena. “Will I get it back?”

“Yes.”

She didn’t say anything more as she placed her hand in a random spot on the bench, the wall part of it where all the parts collapsed in on itself, revealing a rather large compartment within. Large enough to hold the sniper, though it had been reduced to a much smaller form much more similar to a shotgun, one she had seen before. There was also her stealth suit she always wore, mostly fine with the occasional claw mark.

It was startling to see and left Pinkamena completely speechless, only having seen something like this from Discord. How did Rainbow get something like this? Was it a part of the apartment, or the workbench itself?

“Here, catch.”

She didn’t get much time to think about it as the gun was tossed to her, she scrambled to catch it in time. It landed in her hands, she let out a slight gasp as it was both heavier and lighter than she expected.

“Actually...it’d be easier if you carried it on your back like usual, along with wearing your suit.”

“Why?” Rainbow asked as she scowled.

“If they see you in normal clothes, it’s going to make it a lot harder to convince people I brought you in by force. Plus, I’d prefer as many people as possible not knowing who you really are.”

She pursed her lips as she listened to the explanation, making a tsking noise and letting out an exasperated sigh. “Fine.”

It took her less than a minute to slip it on, going through the motions like a football player putting on their equipment. It was routine for her, not even she probably knows how many times she’s had to wear it. The interesting thing about it is that she didn’t have to take off her current clothes to put it on, it fit perfectly on her anyway like a tracksuit.

Once it was on and she looked exactly the way she did the three times they fought, she brought a finger to her neck where her Adam’s Apple would be, pushing in like she was pressing a button hidden underneath.

“What now?”

It must have been whatever voice modifier made it impossible to tell gender or identity, as now it sounded like her voice was a recording being played through a gramophone.

“Put your gun on your back.” Pinkamena responded as she tossed the gun back to her. “Then...I have to knock you out. I’ll be carrying you into The Syndicate’s HQ.”

“I thought you said that they wanted me dead? Wouldn’t bringing me in alive make that all the more suspicious?” Rainbow inquired as she twisted the gun around in her hands, causing it to expand into its much more familiar sniper form. She put it over her shoulder effortlessly and moved it around a bit until there was a muffled clicking noise, there must have been something on the back of the suit that the sniper was made to fit into perfectly.

“A bit. However, there’s someone there who’s very interested in your gun, and I’m sure your suit would be something a few would want to know about. At most, I can probably keep you alive for three days while I get things ready. Right now, that’s the best I can do.”

Pinkamena was being completely honest with her. Truly, that was the best she could do, and she hated it. She was intentionally leaving out the parts where Rainbow would be in a cell for those three days, and that she couldn’t be let out of due to the risk that someone would see her.

“...alright. If this is what you think will work, I believe you. However, I want an explanation of everything. We’ve got a lot of catching up to do. First, let me leave a note for Scootaloo. She’s at school right now, and she gets worried if I’m gone too long without explanation. There should be enough left here for her to last a few days, I just wish I could tell her personally, she hates being alone too long.”

The mention of Scootaloo was a deep stab to her heart, her nails digging into the center of her hands. The memories of last night were fresh with agony. She hid as much of her face as she could behind her hair, hoping Rainbow wouldn’t see it.

“I’m done.” Rainbow said after writing a piece of paper, leaving it on the mattress. She put the gun piece back in place and the bench shifted around, reverting back to normal. She kept her back facing Pinkamena, the sniper attached to her back and unmoving as she pointed to the back of her head. “Hit me here, it's the weakest point. And please, make it quick, I know I’m going to have a terrible headache when I wake up.”

She gulped as she got off the stool, standing behind her and raising her fist. “I’m sorry this is how we have to do things, Dashie.”

“Not as sorry as you’re going to be if anything happens to Scoots while I’m gone, you better watch her.”

Her words were menacing and had a lot more impact than she probably intended. After Pinkamena struck her and caught her unconscious body, she let out a loud, heart wrenching sob, tears running down her face as she tried to suppress another one coming out.

“I am sorry. I’m so...sorry.”

___

Luckily, her trip back to The Syndicate was uneventful. There was a bit of concern in the back of her mind that Juno would come and ask her why she didn’t just kill TSK, but he didn’t do that. Carrying RD along with her gun wasn’t as bad as Pinkamena thought it’d be, whether she could chalk that up to her being stronger than she thought or not was just a guess.

It was still early in the day, and this place was much more active during the night. She maneuvered through the hallways, taking the longer ones because they usually had less people. Right now, she was going to get to one of the cells, the same one that Blake put her in. She would give her the best treatment she could, any avoid anyone knowing she was there if possible.

No one saw her, which meant having her put on the suit was kind of pointless. She laid her down on the cold floor, cursing Blake for not even allowing so much as a blanket for them to sleep on. The sniper on her back came off with relative ease, the suit much more so of a struggle. It just...came off a certain way, no zippers or anything.

Pinkamena lifted the back of her best friend’s head and felt around the back, noticing a bump on the back where she’d struck her. She wordlessly apologized, realizing that she was going to have a terrible headache when she woke up just like she predicted.

She walked out of the cell, the suit draped over her shoulder and holding the gun by the barrel. She placed it leaning against the wall and then rested against it herself, falling down to her knees as she visibly shook with relief.

First step is done. If it helps, that was the second hardest. It’s a good thing she likely still has some remnant of feelings towards you and blindly trusts you because of it, makes everything easier. As long as everything goes as we foresee it, and you don’t confess the truth of Scootaloo, this should work.

Alice’s words reverberated through her head like Principal Celestia’s whenever she’d make an announcement on the intercom, it was her best effort at making her feel better, which failed miserably.

She brought her hands to her face and closed her eyes, taking solace in the briefest of peace. The Whispers were right, that was the second hardest part of this plan. While it was clear to her that Rainbow was a total mental trainwreck at the moment, she put up a tough front after a moment of weakness like always, pushing forward for her and Scootaloo. They were also right in that she could never tell her about what happened with Scootaloo, if she did, any chance of saving her would go down the drain.

Her respite was over, that fleeting feeling of tranquility vanished. She reached into her pocket and pulled out her phone, drawing a sharp breath and dialing Discord’s emergency number, it barely even rang once.

“Pinkamena, I’m very busy right now. If this isn’t a life or death situation, I will be very perturbed. W-”

“It is a life or death situation, just not my life that’s at stake.”

She could make out Discord pulling the phone away from his face and mumbling something to someone.

“I’m listening.”

“I need you...to help me fake someone’s death.”