Darkest Equestria

The tavern went silent at those foreboding words. The echoing finality of- "I'm here to collect" seemed to reverberate throughout the room.

"So, are you here to collect bits, or ale? I mean, you didn't really specify-" Pinkie was interrupted.

"I'm here to collect that mare's head." Bon-Bon growled and strode forward. Ponies scrambled out of the way at her arrival. "There's a bounty on it, and I intend to collect it."

That wasn't good news. Pinkie's eyes snapped to the axe at Bon's side. Clearly, she knew how to use it considering the dried blood on it. She hadn't seen the mare come in with the carts, had she braved the forest alone? If so, then she must know how to handle herself.

Rainbow Dash didn't stand up from the table and just crossed her hooves. "Collect my head? Seems a little much, doesn't it?"

"I'm not here to talk." Bon Bon drew her axe, holding it in her mouth. In her hoof, she grabbed that hook with a rope on it. A grappling hook.

Rainbow flipped her knife up, and it landed in her hoof. "At least tell me what you're trying to kill me for."

"You know." Bon withdrew one of the many papers from her chest and tossed it into the sky. It fluttered to the ground, revealing the face of a masked Rainbow drawn on the paper. It said, "WANTED" on the front and a price of two thousand bits below it.

Rainbow glanced down at the paper. "Are you sure that's me? It doesn't really capture my coolness."

"I'm sure." Bon took a menacing step forward. The crowd parted even more, leaving Rainbow alone at the table.

"Wait every pony! Let's talk this out." Pinkie moved in front of the two. "Maybe you have the wrong pony? Rainbow is a valued member of the operation we have going on here."

"Pinkie, move." Rainbow Dash whispered. "Don't you know who that is?"

"No, do you?" Pinkie asked.

"No. For some reason I thought you would, you seem to know every pony." Rainbow said.

"Well, her name is Bon Bon and she used to live in Ponyville. I don't know who she is now though." Pinkie said. "You know what I'm saying?"

"What? No, I don't know what you're saying, just get out of the way." Rainbow hissed. "You are just going to get in the way."

Bon Bon took another step forward. "Out of the way Pinkie. You already look like you went through a blender, don't make me maim an old friend."

"So, you still consider me an old friend?" Pinkie was honestly surprised, and it warmed her heart to hear that. "That means a lot to me. I thought you would have forgotten."

"Pinkie, now is not the time." Rainbow clutched her knife tighter. "She isn't joking around."

Bon seemed to have had enough of the conversation.

In her hoof she swung the grappling around with a flick and sent it flying towards Rainbow. It sailed over Pinkie's head before she could even react.

Rainbow dove out of the way, sliding across the wooden floorboards. The hook hit the wooden floor with a thunk. Bon pulled it back with a snap, sending it skittering across the floor.

Pinkie felt it catch the back of her hooves, and the next moment she the world spun. She hit the floor hard, her still-healing wounds immediately igniting into fiery pain. An involuntary shriek left her mouth. She really wished that these wounds would have healed faster.

Bon huffed and sent the hook flying again towards Rainbow. This time it wrapped around her hoof, and she harshly tugged it, pulling Rainbow towards her. Rainbow stumbled over her own hooves as she was dragged forward.

A flash of her knife, and Rainbow cut the rope pulling her in. Her wings flashed forward, and a metal feather went flying through the air.

It pelted against the scale mail of Bon, sinking in through a gap in the neck armor. If it hurt or had struck true, Bon didn't show it as she stepped forward, axe in mouth.

"Hey! Knock it off!" Pinkie pushed herself to her hooves, her heart thundering. They were both ignoring her.

The patrons in the bar had scattered, throwing themselves over tables and some even through a window. The rougher adventuring types had drawn their weapons, though looked hesitant to engage. Bon was clearly skilled, every movement powerful and practiced. The blood staining her weapon and armor spoke of kills, and if a pony was hunting a bounty, it could be assured they knew how to fight.

Bon advanced, throwing a table towards Rainbow with a powerful kick. She dodged out of the way, snapping back with another pin-point accurate feather. Bon stepped to the side, allowing it to go flying past her and stick into some pony's drink. Like a battering ram, Bon charged forward, throwing aside tables as she raced forward.

She caught Rainbow in the side with the charge, sending her flying across the room and into the wall. She hit it hard with a grunt, her dagger clattering to the floor. Groaning, she reached for it, but Bon was already on the way.

Bon stomped forward over shattered glass; her axe held high. It gleamed in the flickering lantern light. Below the crescent edge, Rainbow groggily looked up.

"Don't you want more money?" Pinkie yelled, fear filling her. This couldn't happen. She couldn't let Rainbow die without doing anything. That mare was her old friend first most, even if they weren't friends anymore, and she was needed for the fate of Equestria.

At that, Bon stopped, her axe hovering in the air. "Price."

"What?" Pinkie asked, leaning on one of her good hooves. The reopened wounds hurt a lot. Why couldn't this happen after she was fully healed?

"Name your price. Anything less than two-thousand bits I won't accept." Bon said.

"Twilight is offering one hundred bits a week here." Pinkie said.

Bon took another step forward.

"A-And I have a thousand bits I can pay you up front!" Pinkie hastily spoke. That was practically all of her money, but it would be worth Rainbow's life. She wouldn't be able to fight right now with all her still healing wounds. If she could even beat this monster of a mare.

Bon stopped. "One thousand five hundred, and the mare lives."

"Deal!" Pinkie said. That was literally all of her money.

Rainbow looked confused as the bounty hunter backed away from her. Her knife was snatched up and held in her hoof, and her wings were extended. She looked ready to fight, even though her gaze was unfocused. She had been hit hard.

"Not a single bit left out." Bon growled. "Now, pay up Pinkie."

"It's at my house!" Pinkie said with a shaky grin. "Follow me!"

"You better not pull anything." Bon followed her out of the tavern, axe still clutched tight in her mouth.

"Don't worry, I wouldn't even think about it!" Pinkie walked stiffly, her instincts telling her to face the pony with the axe. She didn't dare turn around though, lest Bon think she was trying something. Her heart was thundering in her chest, and every one of her wounds ached. The dirt roads of Ponyville felt harder than ever, and the piercing looks of curious and horrified ponies alike filled her coat.

This wasn't exactly how she thought her visit to the tavern would end up going. Then again, what was life without a few surprises?

They walked in complete silence.

"So… What have you been doing all this time?" Pinkie asked breathlessly.

Bon Bon didn't say anything in response. The sound of their hooves filled the streets.

"Where is Lyra? I thought you would have been with her." Pinkie said.

Bon’s pace staggered at those words, but she quickly righted herself. "I don't want to talk about it, so stop asking."

"Are you sure? I mean, if you want to-"

Pinkie felt the edge of an axe touch her coat. It didn't bite, but the sharp edge told her all she needed to know. She shut her mouth, and just focused on walking. That was probably the best decision to make at the moment. Without any armor whatsoever, all it would be cutting is her flesh.

They arrived at Sugarcube Corner in little time. The dilapidated building stood shakily in the middle of town. It was home, but it still felt foreign to Pinkie. It just wasn't the way it used to be, and the axe at her back wasn't really helping with her mood.

"Where is it?" Bon asked. "Bring it out quick."

"You're not going to kill me if I move, are you?" Pinkie asked.

"No. Now get to it."

Pinkie raced inside the building as fast as her staggered gait would carry her. Technically, she wasn't getting robbed, but it sure felt like it. She had thought that more ponies coming to town would be a good thing, but this was a little much. What had happened to Bon Bon over all these years? She had left with the majority of most ponies who left Ponyville, so Pinkie wasn't sure what had really gone wrong.

Why did ponies who left Ponyville keep coming back here? Was it Equestria's shattered fate?

Pinkie shook her head and quickly slid down into her secret party planning cave. She threw open her chest of bits. It was piled full, years of not being spent having slowly accumulated an impressive sum. One thousand five hundred bits was by no means a small amount of money. With a slight hesitation, Pinkie shut the box and placed it on her back. Then, she climbed out of the party cave.

It was all of her money, but it was nothing compared to the life of a pony.

"Here you are!" Pinkie forced a smile as she placed the chest down in front of Bon. "Everything agreed upon!"

Bon took the chest and stepped backwards, eyeing Pinkie suspiciously. Carefully, she opened the chest, only to see the bits glowing in front of her. With a huff, she took a coin out of the box and placed it on the ground. Then another, and another.

"What are you doing?" Pinkie asked.

"Counting." Bon grumbled. "I'll not accept a single coin short."

Pinkie stood for a moment, before her aching wounds made her sit down. She held in a hiss of pain, and gingerly touched her back. When she looked at her hoof, it was stained with a trickle of blood. That didn't look good. Well, it wasn't anything out of the ordinary these days.

Watching her gold get counted away was a lot more irritating than Pinkie thought it would be. She had never really cared for bits and money; it was just a means to throw bigger parties, but something deep inside was telling her to defend what was hers. Alas, she ignored the voice as she always did. Gold had no meaning to her, it never did.

Bon glanced up at her as she counted the bits. She kept glancing up at her with nearly every counted coin. Eventually, she said something.

"What happened to you?"

"Cannon." Pinkie said.

"They are still using that thing?" Bon asked. "And why were you in its sights again?"

"I'm an adventurer now." Pinkie said.

"You?" Bon chuckled. "Even now you have the best jokes."

"I know, right?" Pinkie laughed forcefully. "But I'm serious."

"Really?" Bon asked. "I never expected that from you. What do you even do, make them laugh to death?"

Pinkie could distinctly remember the feeling of her scythe cleaving through tendon and slicing into bone. The blood that raced through her body and stained her hooves. The metallic scent of gore in the air, and the sickeningly sweet scent of rot. And deep down, a sort of sick enjoyment she could never get rid of. Maybe that feeling is what Applejack had been talking about.

"Something like that." Pinkie said. The feeling of her saddlebags was almost heavier now, as if the weapons inside of them were reminding her of their presence. "What have you been doing? Other than collecting bounties on heads it seems."

"You know, you're awfully chipper and calm for having just spent such a large sum of bits." Bon said. "And almost having a pony killed in front of you."

"I'm used to it." Pinkie felt those words hurt her more than anything else. She didn't want to be used to it. She wanted it to terrify her every time she saw it, for it to be a rarity in this land like it used to be.

"I just collect bounties. Need the bits." Bon said. The pile of gold next to her was growing quite large now.

"For what?" Pinkie asked.

Bon huffed. "I got somepony I have to take care of, and that's all you need to know."

Pinkie could guess that it was Lyra. It was always about Lyra with Bon Bon. Something had happened to her, but what? The thought worried Pinkie, but she didn't want to risk her head by asking. Her head was something that she liked having.

"It's all there." Bon closed the chest shut with a snap of wood. "You always were trustworthy, Pinkie. The world could use more ponies like you."

"Aww, you don't mean that." Pinkie waved a hoof.

Bon Bon stared for a moment before backing up. "Where is Twilight? You said I could get a hundred bits from her a week?"

"She is at the Golden Oak Library!" Pinkie said.

"That money is consistent, might have to take her up on that offer." Bon said. "If so, I look forward to working with you."

Pinkie had nearly forgotten that if Bon was working here then she would have to see her often. The pony that was fully ready to kill Rainbow to cash in on her head. That was great, wonderful even.

"Yep! Can't wait to see you out on the field. Put those skills to some use." Pinkie winked. "You sure know how to move that axe."

"I didn't even kill any pony." Bon grunted.

"I'm sure you know how to use it." Pinkie said.

Bon walked away; Pinkie's hard-earned bits being dragged along with her from their place stuck in her saddlebags. The sight nearly killed her mood, but if just that could kill her mood, then could she really call herself Pinkie Pie? In fact, Pinkie was glad this happened. She had effectively hired a bounty hunter to join the cause!

It was a little tiring to keep lying to herself…

The loss of bits still hurt though. It seemed like the world revolved around the gold things now. Maybe it always did, but these days it was so much easier to see that every pony wanted those golden disks. Another fractured piece of harmony, Pinkie supposed.

Strange how Bon turned out to be a bounty hunter. But for some reason, Pinkie felt like it fit. She couldn't place it, but Pinkie always felt like Bon had a darker side to her even in the old days. Something about her evasive nature and few friends. Well, there was no point in asking about it now.

Pinkie glanced back at her now bitless dwelling. Unfortunately, money was required to live, so she would have to get some more. She watched Bon leaving, then with a tired shrug, made her way back to the tavern. Best to check on Rainbow and make sure she didn't have a concussion or something. Bon had hit her hard.

She tried to think of a joke, but she wasn't feeling it right now. Pinkie didn't know why, but she couldn't stop thinking about the loss of her gold. It really didn't matter to her, but the culmination of all her efforts over the years just vanishing like that made her sigh. Well, at least there wasn't a dead Rainbow. Best to see the fruits of her efforts. Maybe that would cheer her up.

With a stumbling gait, Pinkie made her way back to the tavern. It was trashed now, with broken glass all outside the windows and scattered on the streets. It was mostly empty; all the new ponies had fled. The regulars had just picked up wooden tables and righted them, sitting and drinking away once more. As she entered, eyes turned towards her. Silence filled the air, and murmuring filled the tavern.

Pinkie scanned the crowd. She didn't see Rainbow at first, until a flash of color caught her eye. The mare was behind the counter, getting a small knick on her head tended to by Berry Punch. She was safe, thank Celestia.

"Guess what everypony? I'm broke! And you know what that means!" Pinkie yelled.

The tavern burst into cheers, and tankards and glasses were raised to the air.

"Wait! Wait!" Rainbow shouted, standing up from her place behind the counter. "No songs until I talk to Pinkie!"

A grumble echoed across the crowd, but they said nothing more. The wild gleam in Rainbow's eye stopped them from saying anything.

Pinkie couldn't help but feel her fur stand on end as Rainbow marched towards her. "Hey Rainbow-"

Rainbow grabbed her by the mane and pulled her outside the tavern. Pinkie yelped at the harsh pull. She stumbled after Rainbow and out of the tavern. "Hey! What's the big idea?"

This certainly wasn't the thanks she was hoping for.

"Don't you ever do that again." Rainbow growled. "Your life isn't worth more than mine."

"Life? Oh, come on Dashie, I was just doing a friend a favor!" Pinkie said. "Now can you let go of my mane? It kind of hurts."

Rainbow let go of her mane with a fierce look. "I'm not your friend Pinkie. Not anymore. Don't give me anything, don't do anything for me, and don't call me nicknames."

"Why not?" Pinkie felt her heart break a little. "Why can't we be friends?"

Rainbow's lip curled. "You're still so naive. Even when you're butchering things with a sickle. The world has changed Pinkie, and I don't want your friendship. I don't deserve your friendship, and I certainly don't want you to sacrifice anything for me."

"You know I can't do that." Pinkie said.

"Because of what Twilight said? It's a joke that she thinks that. My rainboom didn't cause anything to happen. you're both just coming up with delusions on how to make this world better. Well guess what? It's not going to get any better. This is the way the world is. Accept it." Rainbow said.

"Not just because of that." Pinkie said. "It's because I still want to be your friend."

"I'm not worth it. I saw your hatred of bandits. Guess what? I was one of them, but you already knew that." Rainbow said. "If you knew exactly what I had done, you wouldn't want to be friends with me anymore."

"I want to be friends with you." Pinkie was determined.

"You want to be friends with a killer? I'm not as cool as I used to be, Pinkie." Rainbow touched her locket. She opened it and faced it towards Pinkie. "Look. Look."

Pinkie looked at the locket. It was an oval locket made of tarnished silver. Dulled by time and trial, it still maintained only a bit of its previous shine. In the center of the locket was shattered glass, and behind that, a faded picture. It had the image of a mare and her foal, smiling towards the camera. Pinkie didn't recognize them.

"Who are these ponies?" Pinkie asked.

Rainbow paused, and her gaze turned away towards the forest. She sighed. "My greatest shame, and the reason you can't be friends with me. No pony can, until I redeem myself."

Pinkie looked at the locket once more. It was shattered clearly, but closer inspection revealed dried flecks of blood staining the picture. "I don't understand."

"I killed them." Rainbow said. "I was a bandit, I watched the road, stole bits from passing carriages... I got a bad tip and... the carriage I ambushed didn't have who I thought was in it."

"You killed them?" Pinkie asked. She looked at the bright eyes of the foal and mother. It was a picture clearly taken before the fracturing of Equestria.

"That's right. I killed them, and that is why we can't be friends. So, stop wasting your sympathy on me." Rainbow said. "I'm not who I was before."

Pinkie couldn't help but be resentful. Rainbow really was a bandit, and she had killed a foal and his mother. Two lives that didn't deserve it, wasted in a chase for bits. It fueled her hate for bandits even more, and Pinkie was starting to resent gold as well. It seemed to be the driving force of the world, of all evil, and of all good. Why did it have so much sway?

And yet, looking at Rainbow's slumped shoulders and evasive gaze, Pinkie knew something. Rainbow was guilty, guilty of what she had done. That meant that there was still some good in her.

"I'm not giving up on you." Pinkie said. "I hate bandits more than anything, but you're not one anymore, are you?"

Rainbow said nothing, her gaze locked onto the ground.

"I still consider you my friend, no matter what." Pinkie said. "You are trying to do something to redeem yourself, doesn't that say more than anything else?"

Rainbow huffed. "It's just what any pony would do."

"No, it's not." Pinkie said. "You want to see what most ponies would do? Look no further than Bon Bon. No guilt in taking my bits, and no guilt in going to kill a pony she once knew well. Look at the ponies in the tavern. They gave up on anything, content to drink their days away, waiting for the end to claim them. Look at the bandits in the forest, killing ponies and taking their gold without a care in the world. They are never going to change and never want to change. You didn't do that Rainbow, you got back up, and you decided to do something. And I think that speaks more for itself than any words."

"When did you get so wise?" Rainbow grumbled.

"I'm not wise." Pinkie said. "It's just that, if you are willing to listen, you can learn a lot from other ponies."

She remembered all the ponies she had interacted with over the years, all the ponies she had made friends with. And she remembered her friendship with Rainbow Dash. She had always been the one to stick up for her friends when no pony else would. And the words she was telling her now, were words that Rainbow had told her years ago. When the town had been blasted into flames by the bandit attack. It was just before she was admitted into the patient cells of the hospital. Of course, Rainbow was gone by then, but the words still remained with her.

The world truly was broken, wasn't it? A pony telling words she heard from a pony back to her... it was madness.

"Do you want to give this a shot?" Pinkie extended a hoof. "Friendship once more?"

Rainbow looked at the extended hoof. It was a long, long moment. Eventually, she sighed.

Then, she took the hoof. "Don't you dare try to save me again like that, and don't even think that we are friends."

"I can't promise anything." Pinkie winked.

Rainbow rolled her eyes and looked away. She clutched the locket tight in her hoof, then slipped it beneath her thick jacket. Her metal wings folded against her sides.

Maybe it was just a trick of the light, but if Pinkie looked hard enough, she could have sworn that Rainbow's mane had flickered with its previous bright color once more. A familiar feeling filled the air, and a warmth filled Pinkie's heart.

And then, the oppression came down once more. The joyous feeling faded, stifled beneath an overwhelming blanket.

Pinkie blinked.

What was that? She had never noticed it before, but was there something in the air? She focused on it, but it was hard to tell. There was nothing to go off of, nothing to see. Her gaze wandered towards the distant Castle of the Two Sisters, and the stifling feeling heightened. She had never noticed it before, but now that it had disappeared in that moment then returned, it was almost overwhelming.

Pinkie stared at the distant castle, all other noise faded to a blur. She stared, and she swore that something stared back. The distant shadows squirmed beneath her gaze, as if conscious of it.

Pinkie turned away, her heart thundering in her chest. Her breathing quickened, and the feeling of being watched she hadn't even noticed before vanished.

"Pinkie?" Rainbow asked. "You zoned out."

"Oh, did I?" Pinkie shook her head. "I was just thinking."

"Thinking about the castle?" Rainbow gestured to it. "Always creeps me out too."

"What do you think is in there?" Pinkie asked.

"I don't know." Rainbow said. "But we are probably never going to get there anyways. Not worth thinking about."

"Now why would you think that?" Pinkie asked. "We are going to excise this evil if it's the last thing I do!"

"Excise, now where did you learn a word like that?"

"Twilight said it." Pinkie said. "It sounded cool, so I used it."

"Cool. Now that's a word I can get behind." Rainbow said, a hint of her old smug voice filtering through. "Are you really broke now though, out of bits?"

"As a foal's piggy bank!" Pinkie started walking towards the tavern. "Speaking of which, I have to busker some bits."

"At least that's better than robbing." Rainbow grumbled.

"Don't beat yourself up over it too much. We need you." Pinkie said. "You're doing the right thing right now, and that's all that matters."

To that, Rainbow said nothing.

Pinkie couldn't help but take one last look back at the Castle of the Two Sisters. The feeling was gone once again, but she remembered it clearly.

"I'm coming for you." Pinkie whispered to the open air. "And when I find you, I'll banish you from my world forever. You shattered everything I ever loved, and I'll pay that back tenfold. Soon, your party's going to be over."

And for some reason, Pinkie couldn't help but feel like the thing had heard her.