My Little Diseases

It's been weeks… Months since Rainbow Dash’s funeral. The news reports that spread across Ponyville and Cloudsdale explained that Rainbow Dash perished while trying to perform a new stunt in preparation for an upcoming wonderbolts show. The incident caused Rainbow Dash to lose course while flying, and clip her wings with great force, causing them to become disconnected from her body.

The photo within the newspaper showed the evidence of said crash, showing one of Rainbow Dash's wings laying limp in a field below cloudsdale. According to the article, Rainbow was killed upon impact… It was quick… Painless. She didn't suffer….
The article also explained that the funeral would be held on the date of the cupcoming Wonderbolts show, and the Wonderbolts would perform said stunt in Rainbow Dash’s honour.

The ceremony was beautiful, everyone was there, It was a brilliant and majestic send off to the newest wonderbolts member.

Applejack stared at the article, before ripping the photo of Rainbow’s wing out of the paper, pinning it to her bedroom wall.
Her bedroom wall was covered in photos, letters, scrolls, and much more, each piece connected with red string and pins. It didn't make sense. Her friends were always careful with their professions.
Something was going on, Something was wrong, and she was going to figure out what it was.

As Applejack stared at the wall, she would occasionally pace around the room, trying to think of any potential links she may have missed. How were her friends being killed in their own profession? Flutershy was killed by animals? Rainbow killed by flying? It wasn't adding up, her friends were always so careful as to avoid incidents.

Soon she was cut out of her thoughts for a moment, upon hearing her door knock. She turned to look at her door, before walking over and opening it, Applebloom was standing there, with a tired looking Scootaloo.
She hadn't taken the news of Rainbow’s passing very well, staying up late at night in tears, her mane was more unkempt than usual, and her feathers were kinked from the constant shuffling in her bed, she gave a soft yawn, and looked up at Applejack, smiling softly.

“Hey Applejack…” Scootaloo croaked, her voice hoarse from crying so hard recently.
Applebloom looked up at Applejack, her ears folding back, her face lined with concern.

“Scootaloo’s been havin’ trouble sleepin’ again…” Applebloom explained. “Do ya think she can stay with you big sis? You’ve been carein’ for all 3 of us and she asked to see you.”

Applejack looked down at Scootaloo, a soft smile on her face, as she gently picked up the filly, laying her across her back.
“That’s no problem Applebloom, Scootaloo can hunker down with me tonight.”

Applejack then turned back into her room, carrying Scootaloo to her bed and laying her down on it. As she was doing that, Applebloom saw Applejack’s wall, looking over it.
“Ya lookin’ over everythin’ again? Sis its been months now… Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash arent here anymore.. Ah know it's hard. It was hard sayin’ goodbye to Fluttershy… She was an amazin’ friend to me. But we should let them rest in peace now…” Applebloom said softly, her ears folding back as she looked back at Applejack.

Applejack gave a sigh.
“Ah know ah may be overreactin’, but somethin’ ain't addin’ up… The news doesnt make sense. Our friends wouldnt be so reckless to allow themselves to get killed like this…”
Applejack explained, looking over the wall again once Scootaloo had settled down. The wall looked daunting, with how many connection strings had been put up, and all the ripped news sections

“Ah’ll be ok Applebloom.. Ya go to bed ok? Ah’ll settle down once Scootaloo’s asleep.”
Applejack explained further, before hugging Applebloom tightly and sending her to bed.

Applebloom closes the door behind her as she leaves, leaving Applejack alone with Scootaloo, who was already drifting off to sleep.
The farm pony couldn't help but smile at Scootaloo finally getting some rest, before looking back at her wall of evidence.
The photos of Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash, surrounded with news articles of their deaths, as well as photos of their funeral, and funeral speeches from the remaining elements of harmony, those being herself, Twilight and Pinkie Pie.

Pinkie Pie and Twilight said similar things in their speeches. Explaining that Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash were amazing friends, and they were the best at their jobs. They also said in their speeches that Death comes in all shapes and sizes, and that even the best at their occupation make mistakes.
The ceremony after the funeral was wonderful, their headstones being placed alongside Rarity’s, surrounded by flowers that matched their mane colours. With Rainbow having specially bred roses to give a rainbow look.

Twilight and Pinkie Pie both checked in on applejack during the wake, asking how she was doing, as well as asking about the Cutie Mark Crusaders.
Applejack thought back to that conversation…

”Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash were as close friends to those 3 as they were to us.” Twilight had said. With Pinkie quickly following it up.
“Especially Scootaloo… I can only imagine how hard she’s taking this right now. Rainbow Dash was like a sister to her.”

“Ah know…” Applejack responded to them. Holding her hat against her chest. “The 3 are tryin’ their hardest to see the light in these tough times… Applebloom has been takin’ it in her stride to help her friends mourn however they need, and help them move on.”

Applejack shook the thought from her head for now, looking back at the wall she made.
She then realised that both Fluttershy and Applejack, were last seen going toward Ponyville.

“Did somethin’ happen there?” Applejack mumbled to herself, not wanting to wake Scootaloo.
Applejack then looked at the news articles again, at the photos, and the connection strings. She then began moving the strings around, only for her mind to finally make the critical connections.
“They never died doing their jobs..!” Applejack muttered, her eyes widening and her ears folding back.
Seeing that she had made all the red strings connect to twilight’s castle.

“They’re at Twilight’s castle!” Applejack exclaimed, as she turned on her heel, making her way toward the exit of her home.
If anyone knew where Flutershy and Rainbow Dash were, it was Twilight.

Applejack quickly skidded to a halt at the bottom of her stairs, as she saw someone standing in the open doorway of her home. It was Pinkie Pie. Her smile was wide, manic, crazy… Her eyes were the size of pinpricks, the bags under her eyes making them look sunken in on themselves.
Her flat mane swayed softly in the night time breeze, and in one of her hooves… Sat a sturdy wooden bat, the rubber handle being held firmly, ready to swing.

Applejack took on a defensive stance, spreading her hooves slightly as she kept her gaze on Pinkie.
“Pinkie Pie… What’s goin’ on…?” Applejack slowly asked

Pinkie stepped into the house, her hooves clicking menacingly against the ground.
“Well… Lets just say that ive been keeping an eye on you for a while… That little wall you’ve made is pretty interesting. I never expected the farm pony to play detective.”

Pinkie responded, ending her sentence with a chuckle, before stepping forward again.
“And it seems like you figured out our little experiment. But unfortunately, we can't let any information get out about our work… we’re making revolutionary medicine for our home town, we’re becoming a very healthy community here in Ponyville, but how can we get our medicine and vaccinations to work without a few test subjects..”

Pinkie’s smile widened as she continued to stare at Applejack, her
“And… Subject 3… We need a new test subject.”

That was enough for Applejack to make a move, She quickly ran toward Pinkie, barging past her and running out of her door, into the depths of the orchard.
She could hear her heartbeat resonating in her ears, tears began to cloud her vision, but she continued to run, weaving between trees and hiding behind thicker trees, hoping to lose Pinkie Pie in the maze of tree trunks.

“Aaaaaaplejaaack!” Pinkie’s voice called out. Followed by the wooden bat smacking against nearby trees, the knocking echoing through the trees, shaking Applejack to her core.

She could hear Pinkie getting closer. Her chest was beginning to ache from running so fast, her legs shook with fear, and her eyes continued to flow with tears. Her friend… Pinkie Pie… Was about to kill her!

“SURPRISE!”
Pinkie Pie shouted, jumping around the tree Applejack was hiding behind, and attempted to swing at her head. But applejack was faster, and managed to duck out of the way, before taking off running again.

Applejack’s heart pounded, her instinct for survival taking over as she ran as fast as she could, ignoring the pain in her joints and her chest as she tried to gain some distance between herself and the crazy pink pony that was hot on her tail.

“C’MON APPLEJACK! DON'T MAKE THIS HARDER THAN IT NEEDS TO BE!”
Pinkie yelled after Applejack, her hooves pounding against the ground as she ran after her.
Applejack managed to quickly gain some distance between herself and Pinkie, by weaving on sharp corners around some thinner trees, as well as just running as fast as she could.

She was physically a lot stronger than Pinkie Pie, as well as having more stamina through working so hard on the farm. So she was naturally able to gain some distance. Applejack quickly turned around, running in a different direction, back toward the barn.

Pinkie’s shouting had faded into the distance, and she could no longer hear Pinkie’s hoof steps behind her.
But she knew she wasn't safe yet. She needed to find somewhere to hide until Pinkie gave up the hunt. Thinking quickly, she decided to climb up and hide inside of the Cutie Mark Crusaders clubhouse. She knew it wasn't the best hiding place, but it was better than being out in the open.

Applejack shut and locked the clubhouse door behind her, before climbing the ladder inside of the clubhouse, taking up a hiding spot on the top floor. Her chest was in agony as she tried to regain her shaky, terrified breathing. Her wide eyes darted in the direction of each window, her legs shook as they tried to recover from running.

Pinkie Pie soon found her way out of the forest, looking up and down the pathway that led toward the entrance of the farm. Panting slightly, pinkie began walking away from the barn and past the clubhouse.

Applejack’s eyes flowed with tears as she heard Pinkie walk past, her hoofsteps slowly fading away. Applejack took a moment to think about what just happened, beginning to weep quietly. Covering her face with her front hooves as tears flowed down her cheeks and made a small puddle on the ground below her chin.

‘Subject 3’? Pinkie didnt even use her name. She was nothing but a plaything to Pinkie now.
Applejack decided to stay in the clubhouse for a couple of hours. Wanting to be 100% certain that Pinkie was gone. She poked her head out of the top window, looking at her immediate surroundings, and checking the treeline for any moving shadows.

Once she felt safe enough to come out of the clubhouse, she did so. Unlocking the door quietly and slowly stepping out, onto the platform the clubhouse sat on.
Applejack looked at the moon as it hung high in the sky… It was midnight, everyone was fast asleep, the forest was finally quiet.

Applejack gave a shaky sigh of relief, before turning to close the clubhouse door, as the door closed, it revealed Pinkie standing right behind it, the moment the door was shut, Pinkie swung her bat, making contact with applejack’s head with a loud thudding sound.
“Nighty Night Applejack~!”

Applejack fell to the ground, quickly losing consciousness, blood flowing slowly down her head from the impact of the bat to her temple.
Once Applejack hit the ground, Pinkie chuckled softly, before her giggles turned into manic cackles. Her laughter echoing into the crisp night sky.

She then got an idea, her crazed smile spreading across her face once more. She walked down the steps of the clubhouse, picking up a large rock and bringing it back. She placed the rock down to the flattest side and made sure it sat flush with the ground, before resting one of Applejack’s back legs on top of said rock.

Pinkie then chuckled, before jumping on Applejack’s hoof that hung in the air, off of the rock, causing a large snap to be heard. As well as spraying some blood over Pinkie’s face and chest. Applejack’s back leg was now broken, blood flowed out of the gash caused by the bone suddenly breaking and breaching the skin and muscle.
Staining her orange fur and the wooden platform below.

Pinkie Pie then repeated the process with Applejack’s other back leg. Another loud snapping sound could be heard, with this breakage causing more blood to fly into the air and all over Pinkie. Blood flowed out of the gash, this one going a lot further out of the back of Applejack’s leg, the bone standing proud like a flagpole as Pinkie removed the rock from beneath the leg.

Pinkie then quickly wiped the blood off of the rock and threw it into the treeline, accidentally scaring some birds into flight from a nearby tree.
She then quickly scooped up Applejack’s body, laying her across her back, before making her way back to ponyville. Thanks to the cover of night, the town was empty, meaning Pinkie didn't have to worry about being seen by anyone.

When Pinkie arrived back at the castle, she quickly made her way to the basement. Twilight was standing there when she saw the beaten and bruised Applejack across Pinkie’s back.

“So… you caught her then.”
Twilight said calmly upon seeing Pinkie return. Pinkie eagerly nodded in response.

“As much as I love what she’s done here... Wasn't breaking her legs a bit much?”
Rarity’s voice spoke up, Twilight’s ears twitching in response to hearing it. Twilight tilted her head and walked behind Pinkie, looking at Applejack’s legs, smirking as she saw them both broken.

“Nice work my love..” Twilight started.
“Less chances of her escaping now.”

“I quite agree” Rarity’s disembodied voice responded, causing Twilight to chuckle, and Pinkie smirked in response.
Soon, the castle was filled with the crazed laughter of Twilight and Pinkie Pie.