Twilight Sparkle wasn’t usually seen around Ponyville alone. Despite having lived in the town for over a year and having made connections with most of the residents in town, she still tended to prefer being seen with her friends or with Spike than by herself.

So, it was a bit unusual for her to be wandering around town on her own. She only gave vague answers and reassurances that nothing was wrong whenever people asked what was up. Other times she wouldn’t even respond, simply walk by deep in thought.

After a while, Twilight finally came to a stop and looked at her surroundings. She had wandered over to the town lake, to the calming water and sand. Not many people come to this area this time of year, with the chilly breeze kicking up from the water.

Twilight liked coming here because it allowed her time to work on things like her findings and reports, without having to worry much about being interrupted. Sure, the library was great and had tons of areas to get away to if she needed peace and quiet but that was also the place where her friends would come to hang out and chat. She liked having her own private space from time to time.

She took a seat under a nearby tree and looked up at the leaves. They were a beautiful red and orange mix, ready to fall from their spots and float through the breeze. They looked ready to move on.

Ready to move on… It was an idea that Princess Celestia had taught her. Sometimes, things that you couldn’t control would happen and it could feel like everything had changed. It would take time to get used to these sorts of things and accept them, but sooner or later you would have to continue with your life. “One can only stay so long in the past, Twilight. I know that it is hard, but I really do hope you at least consider looking into things,” Celestia had urged her. She hadn’t sounded commanding when she said it, but Twilight knew that she was supposed to comply.

She pulled her phone out of her pocket and scrolled through her text messages. It always stung a bit to see her messages between herself and Rainbow just become one sided at the end. So many unanswered check-ins and texts to let her know that she was always available if Rainbow needed someone to talk to about things. The hope was that maybe one day she would finally text back and explain what was going on and that she needed her friends to help her. Maybe one day.

Of course, there was the other possible consideration that Rainbow Dash wasn’t just hiding away somewhere in Equestria. The possibility that she hadn’t just moved out of town or run away. The possibility that Rainbow Dash was…

Twilight quickly shook her head, slapping her cheeks a few times. “No, you can’t think like that. That’s ridiculous. If something like that was happening, you would’ve known about it and stopped it. Princess Celestia would’ve known about it and would’ve helped end it. She wouldn’t let you and Spike be in danger like that.” She hated having such pessimistic ideas. Rainbow Dash was fine, and she would come back someday.

But until then, Twilight had to consider someone who could step up to become the new element of loyalty. Spike was always a possibility, but the elements didn’t really seem to react or respond to those with dragon genes and it was a topic that needed further research.

She scrolled through her contacts and came to a stop at the name of another candidate she was considering. She felt a bit nervous as she tapped at the phone number and heard it ring. She was scared about doing this, but she needed to give it a shot. She had to show she was ready to move on from the past and that she was still devoted to things such as her friendship studies. The phone continued to ring as she felt herself get up and start to pace around the tree.

“You’ve reached the number of The Great and Powerful Trixie! Traveling performer, magician extraordinaire, and tamer of the great Ursa Major! Trixie can’t get to the phone right now but is more than willing to make a booking for any kind of party or event or get-together you have in mind. Leave your name and number so that Trixie can get back to you and discuss pricing packages and dates!”

Oh Celestia help her, she was doing this. Twilight took a deep breath. “H-hey Trixie. It’s Twilight Sparkle, from Ponyville. Listen, I’m just dropping a call to see if you can get back to me on something. It’s just, you travel around Equestria and a friend of mine has run off and I was wondering if you’ve seen them…” she paused, thinking. “A-and I really wanna make things up to you. I’m really sorry about your cart and what my friends and I put you through. I wanna talk about it if that’s alright. I’ll even pay for things like food if you wanna do it over a meal or something. Call back, if you want,” she paused again, thinking. “… I really am sorry about all that Trixie.” She hung up, before pressing her face into her hands and letting out a long embarrassed groan.

There was a good chance that Trixie would just ignore it anyway so really, this was just one of those silly little decisions that Twilight could look back on and laugh at and-

She almost jumped as she felt her phone vibrate in her hands, seeing the name on the caller ID. She picked up almost immediately. “H-hey.. So, you have any place in mind you wanna eat at?”

Pinkie walked around the aisles, pushing her shopping cart absentmindedly. She occasionally spaced out when she went grocery shopping, somehow getting mentally fogged up between the rows and rows of chips and cookies. However, she could take some relief in knowing that a lot of the other shoppers around her were probably doing the same.

Of course, it was also funny whenever she would get a small glance at people being surprised that she was out shopping. Apparently, seeing someone famous getting groceries was still the most mind-blowing thing around.

Maybe it was because she was farther out from town. The Ponyville grocery store was great and had tons of friendly people, but the one Pinkie went to had more variety in food options and more of the ingredients that she needed. Sometimes she wanted fresh fruit or veggies and didn’t want to wait until the weekend market to get it. And the deli that they had here? Unmatched in terms of cuts and taste.

She watched the wheels of the shopping cart turn and turn, the wheel on the front right wobbling and squeaking every few seconds. She wanted to jump on the cart and go speeding down the aisles, but that’d just wind up making a scene. Either she’d get mocked and called out for acting like a little kid… or everyone would see her and she’d have to bust out a song or some jokes and she just wasn’t in the mood at the moment.

As she watched the wheels of the cart, she saw the floor go from patterned tiles to cold muted concrete. She then noticed the strong chill that was going up and down her body. She had wandered into the store’s freezer section in the back. Large cuts of meat were hanging from hooks as the giant machines that cooled these rooms hummed and groaned.

“Geez, this was spacey for even me. Gotta get back before someone yells at me,” she muttered, to herself. She continued to push her cart forward, deeper past the giant slabs of beef and pork.

“Just gotta turn around, and make my way to the checkout line,” she said to herself, slowly bringing her cart to a halt and walking past it. Her arms were out in front of her, as if she was feeling out for a light in the middle of the dark.

“Need to get home before it gets too dark. Gotta start work on that cake order that came in. Need to make the best cake I can,” she told herself, as she wrapped her hand around a small door handle and pulled with all her might. She could feel the cold steel dig into her skin as the door slowly dragged open.

“I’m gonna have so much fun tomorrow with my friends…” her voice trailed off as she stepped through the doorway, moving her gaze down to the ground. She could hear her footsteps echo around her, as if the room she had just entered had suddenly shut itself away.

She didn’t look up, taking smaller and smaller steps until she felt herself bump into another body and fall on her behind. She finally forced herself to look up.

The frozen, unblinking corpse of Rainbow Dash was looking ahead. Looking straight at the door into this room, never looking away since she was left there, one early morning.

Pinkie looked up at her in silence, slowly getting back on her feet as she took more long, deep breaths. Rainbow still looked the same, still with that frozen expression on her face. One that showed she would never go gentle into that good night. No matter how much she tried to give her long dead face a smile or a look of sadness, the look of fight and resilience wasn’t leaving.

Pinkie watched her for a few more seconds, before promptly turning around and heading for the door. She was only a few steps away before she heard a guff chuckle. She turned her head and looked behind her.

“Come on, you’re not gonna even say a ‘hey Dashie’ or something stupid like that?” The corpse of Rainbow Dash asked, now sitting on a pile of frozen food boxes behind her. “I go all the way to your house to see you and now you can’t even give me a ‘hey’?”

Pinkie felt beads of sweat building up on her forehead, despite the freezing cold room. “That… that wasn’t a funny prank Dashie. You shouldn’t pull pranks when people are in the shower.”

“Oh, that wasn’t a joke. I meant what I said there, you know.” Rainbow Dash’s voice sounded distant, but full of smugness and anger. “I’m gonna fucking kill you. And quit the scared little girl act. It’s not working here.”

“You were my best friend-”

“You weren’t my friend. Not when you fucking drugged me, restrained me and… oh yeah, killed me!”

“You swear too much, Dashie. You should watch that language, in case Scootaloo hears it or something…” Pinkie’s own voice was growing weaker as she watched the corpse talk and move.

Rainbow Dash sat on the boxes, one leg resting on top of the other. Her jacket was partly open and her shirt ripped down the middle to show off her bruised and stitched up chest. “Scootaloo? Now you’re really trying to avoid this shit,” she said, leaning back more and stretching her arms out. Had death really turned her this aggressive, or had she always been like this? “You can play this dumb little game of facades and dress up all you want, but it’s not gonna be fun for much longer.”

“... I’ll see you later Dashie. Get some sleep, you’re cranky.”

“If you didn’t want to see me, why’d you come in here then? Why don’t you just stuff me in a furnace or cut me up and put me in a meat grinder? I’d be fine with that, you know. Beats being stuffed in here for the rest of my days. And it’s not like my body is gonna keep looking like this forever.” Her smile seemed to grow on this last idea. “I mean, it would be worth it, I guess. Seeing you look so shocked and dumbfounded when the rot and decay mix with the freezer burn. Losing all my parts and skin that make me your ‘best friend’.”

Pinkie just turned back around to head for the door, but saw it was now at the end of a seemingly endless hallway. “Why did you come here, hm? To tell me off for the little shower scare I gave ya? To see if this was all just a bad dream or something?” Rainbow paused, slowly getting up. “Or, is it finally starting to sink in for you?”

“... Just please stop talking, Dashie.”

“Aw, what’s the matter? Finally feeling guilty?” Rainbow Dash cackled at this idea. “Or do you finally get that you’re nothing?”

Pinkie snapped back around at this. “W-what’s that supposed to mean?”

Rainbow started to slowly rise above Pinkie, her flesh cracking and tearing wings slowly sprouting out from her back. Pinkie winced at the frozen groans it was causing. “It’s simple. You’re replaceable. You work in a bakery and people hire you to throw parties. Whoop-de-friggin-do. You know who else can do that kinda shit? Any other clown! You’re not good at making outfits or talking to animals or even picking apples! You’re no Fluttershy, you’re no Twilight, you’re no Applejack, you’re no Rarity, and you’re certainly no Rainbow Dash.”

“But I’m the element of laughter!”

“Who cares about laughter? Anyone can make others laugh! Spike could fill the role! He makes me laugh, and I can actually tolerate him! You? You’re just the comic relief that sticks around way too long. Is that why you started killing people? ‘Cause you realized no one was finding you funny anymore?” Rainbow asked, floating above Pinkie as the wings spread out in their full glory. They were a beautiful blue, feathers floating off and around in the air. They mixed in with the large chunks of freezer burn on the walls, feathers and snowflakes flying about.

Pinkie felt her fists tighten as her sadness and meekness suddenly turned into a pulsing, burning anger. “Don’t you ever shut up, you stupid meatheaded asshole?!” she shouted, jumping and grabbing at her legs. She pulled her down to the ground as the two were sent into a spiral. The small rectangular freezer they were once in was now hundreds of feet below them as they came crashing down through the air.

“Ooo, look, I’ve upset the killer! She can’t delude herself anymore! It’s all falling to bits around her! What a shitty joke she’s telling!” Rainbow simply laughed as Pinkie reached up and grabbed her by the throat.

“I should’ve severed those vocal cords of yours! I would never have to hear another second of your voice again! You’re the fraud here, Rainbow! You are!” Pinkie shouted, digging her nails as deep as she could into Rainbow’s neck. Her eyes widened as she saw viscous black fluid start to bubble out from the cuts and run down her hands.

“You really don’t get it, do you Pinkie?” Rainbow asked, before giving Pinkie a strong shove and pushing her off, watching as she fell back down to the frozen concrete below with a loud-

THUD

Pinkie blinked a few times as she saw she had fallen back on her behind again. The door was open behind her, only a few steps away. Dash was back in her original position now with a few small scratches on her neck and cheeks. “No no no, I’m so sorry Dashie, I didn’t mean to… I didn’t mean for any of it…” Pinkie started to mutter, quickly getting back on her feet and tending to the cuts.

“We need to get going. We have groceries we have to attend to,” the pink pony remarked, standing by the doorway. “Coming here after that little experience wasn’t a good idea. You knew something like this would happen.”

Rainbow Dash started to move again and tutted, the sounds of her frozen skin cracking as she turned her head to look at the pony. “Neither of you really get it, do you? There’s blood in the water, and sooner or later, people are gonna notice. And when they follow it, they’ll see it’s leading right back to you.”

Pinkie finally broke away, running out of the room then slowly shutting the door. She watched the door’s shadow as it slowly grew and covered Rainbow’s face, leaving the corpse back in the darkness once more.

The pink pony led her back over to her shopping cart. “You need to stop coming back here,” it explained. “It’s just going to end up breaking you.”

Pinkie didn’t respond, pushing her cart back out into the store. She didn’t even care if she was seen by others right now. She didn’t want to acknowledge what was reality and what was fantasy. She just wanted to go home.

“Think happy thoughts,” the pony remarked, walking past her towards one of the aisles. “You don’t need anyone asking why you’re looking so off,” it said as it trotted ahead. Pinkie looked at her reflection in the deli counter’s windows.

Her hair had gone completely flat.

Applejack let out a long sigh to herself as she stood at her apple booth in the town market. Her head still hurt like all hell, but she had a job to do and she knew that she’d get in even more trouble if she quit early.

At least it was a slow day, so she didn’t have to worry as much about how she looked… but it was also a slow day so she had very little to do at the moment. “Jeez, the one day where I don’t have a drop of anything and it’s the day where nothing’s happening.”

Applejack didn’t like having time alone with her thoughts. She liked doing things with others. Anyone who was willing to give her the time of day was someone that she could talk to, laugh with, have fun with. She needed that.

She leaned out from her booth and looked in the distance. She could see Applebloom with her friends. That was always something that made her feel a bit better, seeing that her little sister was still keeping in touch with Scootaloo and being there for her after Rainbow Dash left town. Poor girl had probably actually taken it worse than she had. And with her parents being the way that they were, Scoots needed all the support she could get.

Squinting, Applejack could make out that the girls were talking to Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon. Applejack could already feel her hangover intensify as she thought about all the possible outcomes of this. Those two girls meant nothing but trouble for the crusaders and even when she tried to tell the both of them off herself, they never took her seriously.

She then saw Scootaloo slug Silver Spoon across her face, causing her to crumple to the ground in a heap. “Aw, hell…” Applejack muttered, leaping over the booth’s counter and dashing over.

As she got closer, she could see Applebloom and Sweetie Belle restraining Scootaloo as she violently kicked and struggled. “Alright, what’s going on here?” she asked as she helped Silver Spoon back on her feet.

“I-I didn’t do anything, Applejack!” Applebloom blurted up, glancing up at her. “Honest!”

Sweetie Belle nodded along. “Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon just wanted to apologize to us! They’re saying they’re sorry for all the bullying.”

Applejack glanced over to Diamond Tiara. She looked sheepish as she turned her head away. “It’s true… we just wanted to say we’re sorry for picking on them all the time. We were being stupid.” It was killing her to admit to this.

Silver Spoon rubbed her cheek, readjusting her glasses. “I just wanted to tell Scootaloo that she was welcome to have a sleepover at my house if she wanted. Wasn’t a prank or anything…”

“I don’t need your pity apologies! Y-you’re just saying this cause you both think Rainbow Dash isn’t coming back! She is! I know she is! She’s just out winning a buncha cool trophies and medals and when she comes back, she’ll tell me all about ‘em! Then you can apologize and make these stupid offerings! When you actually mean it!” Scootaloo was still struggling and thrashing about, trying to keep from crying.

Applejack winced at this, before steadying herself. Time to be the big sister. She walked over, softly taking Scootaloo’s hand. “I’ll be right back with her. Applebloom, Sweetie Belle, help make sure that Silver Spoon isn’t hurt too bad. And you two.” She looked over at Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon. “I’m keepin’ ya to that apology. If I ever hear about you being mean to these girls, I’m calling both of yer folks and telling them.”

She watched the two slowly nod as she turned her gaze back to Scootaloo. She was looking away, trying her hardest to keep from looking up at Applejack.

After getting far enough away, Applejack put her hands on Scootaloo’s shoulders before pulling her into a long hug. “It’s ok, it’s ok. Cry as much as you want around me, I won’t mind one bit.”

It was muffled, but Applejack could hear the sounds of whimpers as the front of her shirt slowly became stained with tear spots. She knew the feeling all too well. She would cry with the girl right now if she wasn’t being the big sister. “I miss her too, Scoots. I miss her every damn day of my life, and it makes me feel weird sometimes. And that’s ok, you know? Our emotions don’t always have to make sense, but that don’t mean I can just go and hit someone ‘cause of that,” she explained, softly wiping some of her tears away.

“Th-they didn’t mean it…” Scootaloo muttered, pulling her head back. Tear streaks were still on her cheeks and chin. Applejack continued to wipe them away. “They’ll just pick on us again when Rainbow Dash comes back.”

Applejack patted her on the back. “Aw, come on now, you don’t know that. Those two might just be honest in what they’re saying. And listen, you don’t have to do it, but maybe go to that sleepover. At the least, you’ll get free pizza out of it and I know you ain’t gonna say no to that, right?”

Scootaloo sniffled, nodding as she started to smile. “Y-yeah, I guess I can give it a shot.” She then quickly perked up. “Ooo, and with that I can get a cutie mark in forgiveness or hospitality! It’ll be perfect for me!”

“Not entirely the right idea, but still, I like the spirit. Now go have fun with your friends. It’s gonna be alright. Promise. And I’m always here for you if you need anything,” she said, pulling Scootaloo into one last hug.

“Thanks, Applejack,” Scootaloo said before breaking away and running off to join the other girls. Applejack smiled to herself as she watched. She did enjoy being the big sister. Though, she did notice something. The backs of Scootaloo’s arms had massive black and purple bruises, as well as a few small scattered burns.

Applejack didn’t know Scootaloo’s parents that well. Only a few off-and-on talks at school events and the like. She wasn’t their biggest fan, but there were never any signs of them being abusive to Scootaloo in public. Someone would’ve seen it by now if that was the case. It was probably just being even more reckless than usual when hanging out with the other girls.

She shook her head, sighing. Sooner or later, someone would step in for the girl if something was going on, right? Someone else would see it, and if not, Applejack would be the one to step up. At some point.

She watched Scootaloo rejoin the others, her body language showing she wasn’t the best at giving apologies for stuff like what she did. Applejack chuckled, it was nice to see that some things were slowly getting back to normal.

She just hoped all of it could at some point.

Author's Note

I'm back from Ciderfest with another updated chapter for you to enjoy. Ciderfest went well, being part of the amazing writing staff for the con felt like a high honor. So many great people made it all come together for one hell of a time. I brought twenty copies of the Beasts of Fall Book and left with only seven. It still feels unreal, saying that I sold over half my stock. If anyone who brought a copy is reading this here. Thank you.

I am looking into ways that I can sell the left over and extra copies that I currently have, but I've never done anything like that before so it'll likely be a bit before any updates on that. In the meantime, please enjoy the new update!

Comments and critique always welcome!