Darkest Equestria

The scattered bones were like Pinkie's emotions. Splintered, once buried, and now close to being unearthed. She tried to reign them in, but she hadn't felt so irritated in forever. Why couldn't ponies just get along? And why wasn't she stronger? Pinkie knew that she shouldn't have lashed out like that.

"Finally! A suitable research subject." Minuette approached the corpse of the cultist.

And that. What had Minuette even thrown at those skeletons? That wasn't the same liquid that was in the syringes Redheart had given her, was it? Pinkie was starting to get sick of not being told what was going on with her. All those serums, what were they really doing to her?

It wasn't worth thinking about right now. As long as her body was functioning, then there was nothing more she needed to know. The task had to go on.

"Come on every pony!' Pinkie said. "Let's put this all behind us and figure out what is going on with these spooky skeletons!"

Applejack and Trixie didn't look happy at all, but they came forward, nonetheless. At least that was a small reprieve.

Pinkie couldn't help but feel slightly irritated by everything. The way they walked, the way the stone chaffed her hooves, the way Minuette seemed to be hacking apart that cultist's corpse... what was going on with her? She tried to clear her head and think straight again. Maybe it is the cultist's magic still affecting her mind.

"Didn't think you had it in you." Rainbow said.

"What do you mean?" Pinkie asked.

"To tell them straight how it is. Good on you." Rainbow said.

"I just wanted to make things better." Pinkie sighed.

"Well, I think it kind of worked." Rainbow said. "By the way, are you feeling okay? What was that strange vortex you were in?"

Pinkie shivered at the remembrance of the feeling. It certainly was wicked magic. She was shown just a glimpse of that terrible thing through the magic, but it was enough to make her want to never feel it again. Pinkie shook her head. "It was certainly nothing good. Let's just focus on the task, okay? And please, try not to get hit by something like that. It really messed with my heart."

"Your heart?" Rainbow asked.

"It made it beat faster, it just..." Pinkie struggled to think of the words to explain it. "It made me hear something that I'm not sure was supposed to be heard."

"You can check getting hit by that right off on my list then." Rainbow said. "Sounds creepy."

"Not like the skeletons, right?" Pinkie said with a light smile.

"Right. Not like the walking dead. Definitely not as creepy." Rainbow said.

Applejack was busy crushing their bones to dust in a fit of controlled rage. From her face, Pinkie could guess that she was probably imagining they were either her or Trixie.

Minuette was doing... something to the cultist. Based on the viscera and green goo, she really didn't want to get a closer look. Feeling bile rising in her throat, Pinkie turned away. That was absolutely wretched. What kind of pony could just hack open a corpse like that? And with such glee? Pinkie had seen a few pinatas in her time, but none made of flesh like that.

As Pinkie was looking around the area for anything of note, her gaze met Trixie's. The mare huffed and turned her head away. Her heart sank at the sight. It seemed in trying to help every pony, she had isolated herself from a friend. She had to make it up to Trixie somehow. Even though Pinkie believed that Trixie could have been nicer, it wasn't her fault entirely. Pinkie still wanted to be friends with the mare. It was fun.

"I don't understand why the dead can rise like this." Applejack said. "We have to find whatever did it and extinguish its existence."

"Where do we even start?" Rainbow was eyeing Minuette's butchering.

"We will have to do as we have been doing, scouting and searching these halls without a lead." Applejack said.

"Maybe we should turn back. We have scouted enough, and there could be more of these things down here." Rainbow said.

"We can't go back yet. Remember what Twilight said?" Pinkie spoke up. "We have rations for three days. We have to keep pushing forward, find treasure and scout out these tunnels, and then we can leave."

"Three days?" Rainbow asked. "How are we supposed to survive down here for three days?"

"It's the task." Applejack said. "Let holy light be our guidance, and we shall see it through."

"Alright then." Rainbow said. "Fine."

"If you aren't feeling up to it, then we can turn back." Applejack said.

"I'm fine. It's just not every day you see walking skeletons." Rainbow glanced back over to Minuette. "Amongst... other things."

"Let's just keep moving." Pinkie said. "The longer we stay here, the less ground we will cover."

"Fine. Fine." Rainbow waved a hoof. "This is the path to redemption after all..."

"Let me just get Minuette." Pinkie said.

She walked over to the mare, trying not to look at what she was doing to the corpse. Its wounds were being fed a green liquid, and the flesh grew pale and sickly.

"Minuette? We have to keep moving." Pinkie said.

"Already? But my experiment has not concluded!" Minuette sliced her scalpel through more flesh, as if relishing in the feeling. "There is so much to be learned from these cultists. Maybe their power comes from an organ?"

"Come on Minuette, we have to go." Pinkie said. "There will be more... specimens... later."

"Oh, I suppose your right Pinkie! Live ones do offer more results." Minuette stood up from the corpse, her black clothes covered in blood, and the beak of her mask all the same. "I hope you don't mind if I save a few pieces for on the go."

"Go right ahead." Pinkie eyed the mutilated body, her stomach churning. "Just don't let any pony see them."

"I'll try not to." Minuette said.

They all gathered together once more. A bit of gold coins had been found on the corpses, but it was not anything substantial. Just a hoof full of ancient bits.

"I'll hold onto this for now." Applejack took the bits they had gathered. "I'm strong, so I can carry more."

"Applejack..." Rainbow's voice grew low.

"I don't want to hear it, Rainbow." Applejack snapped.

"What is all this about now?' Pinkie played with one of the coins in her hoof. "It's just a few bits."

They were strange bits, that was for sure. Ancient. Celestia's sun was on the front of the coin, carved onto its face. Though weathered by water and time, it was still immutably carved. Pinkie wondered just how all of this fine hoof work could just be abandoned to rot in the ground. A pony put a lot of time and work into all the carvings on the walls, the statue, and the coin. This place should be a historical site, not left to decay.

"It's nothing special." Applejack opened a brown sack. "Just put your coins in here, and we will dole them out at the end of the expedition."

Seeing no reason to argue, Pinkie flipped her single coin into the bag. Every other pony complied as well. It seems the recent argument may have made them less likely to argue. A small reprieve, but a welcome one, nonetheless.

"Let's get going then." Applejack stood, throwing the sack into her saddlebags. "Guard up."

They started to march once more, into the dark. It had not even been a day, and they had already seen such terrible and wonderful things. These tunnels were clearly laden with ancient history, forever sealed in stone. And also laden with newer and more... malevolent forces. That dark altar came to mind. It would be on the way back, maybe it had some secrets to unveil?

Time drew on as they marched onward. The unchanging scenery was almost maddening, broken up only by the odd placed bookshelf or box. It was as if they were placed with no rhyme or reason. The workings of a mad pony. The tunnels made little sense as well. Passages seemed to go on forever, only to end abruptly, and some doors led to rooms empty of anything but dust and bones.

More of the skeletal rabble assaulted them, but it was taken care of in quick fashion. There were never more than three of them, and they all fell easily. With each victory, Pinkie felt a little bolder, but exhaustion was closing in.

It was nearly two hours later, and they had not found anything quite like at the start. Pinkie was starting to feel tired, her hooves aching from walking on the stone passage all day. With a little luck, this passage would actually lead somewhere.

With a sinking feeling in her chest, Pinkie saw that this particular passage ended in a cave in. A pile of thick stone rubble and bits of bone blocked their way, the only sign that there was another side was from a cool breeze blowing over the top of the pile. It seemed even the stone was bent on preventing their passage through the winding tunnels.

"Curses." Applejack snarled. "Another cave in. I am getting sick of this."

"Trixie agrees." Trixie looked tired, her head nodding and gaze slipping to the floor.

Pinkie was just happy that they agreed on something for once.

"I'm hungry." Rainbow said.

"I'm hungry too." Pinkie felt her stomach grumble. "Good thing I brought a cupcake!"

"You brought a cupcake?" Rainbow asked. "Did you make it?"

"Yep!"

"...Can I have some?" Rainbow asked. "I haven't had one of your cupcakes in forever."

"Oh, well..." Pinkie really wanted to cupcake to herself, but food did feel better to share with friends. "Sure!"

"Maybe we should rest then." Applejack said. "I'm done for right now."

"Trixie will rest as well."

Seeing that they were going to rest, Pinkie set her saddlebags on the floor. The weight off her shoulders was welcome. As they gathered around, Applejack took out a roll of wood from her back and set it down.

"What is that for?" Pinkie asked.

"A fire. We can cook on it, and we can save lantern oil." Applejack said.

"Ooh!" Pinkie was already anticipating a warm meal. That would certainly make her feel better. Maybe a warm soup or broth. That sounded really good right now.

One thing that the survivalist had taught them was if you were feeling tired, you had to sit down and eat something. It would reinvigorate the spirit and warm the body. Pinkie liked the sound of it. She loved food, especially sweets, but there was just something about a warm soup when it was cold.

Applejack set up the logs with little trouble but was having difficulty sparking them alight. Rainbow took the lighting mechanism, a simple flint and steel, and together they were able to spark the logs with a bit of kindling to start. Soon, a warm fire began to blossom, warming Pinkie's coat. They all gathered around it and shut off their lanterns.

Gathered around the fire together, the darkness almost lost its edge. Almost.

"Do you remember the hearth's warming tale?" Pinkie asked as she shuffled through her bags.

"Not really." Rainbow stared into the fire.

They were all huddled close to the firelight, basking in its warmth. There was just something about the warmth of the flame. It reminded Pinkie of the dawn in a way. Warm and bright, standing fast against the darkness. And yet, the flame they had was so small. It was flickering, barely staying alive in this cold crypt.

"I remember." Applejack said. "How did it go... the three pony tribes all came together and shared a cave or something?"

"Yeah. When they united together, it beat back the blizzard, and the flame of friendship thawed them from ice." Pinkie said.

"Why mention it?" Applejack asked.

"I just wonder if this is how they felt, gathered around their fire." Pinkie said. "Before the cold closed in."

The flames popped and flickered.

"But their friendship kept them warm." Pinkie poked at the fire with a stick.

"Fire tends to do that." Rainbow Dash said.

"It also tends to burn." Trixie said with a glare towards Pinkie.

Pinkie gave her a sad smile. "It does, but that isn't the only thing it can do."

Trixie huffed and turned her head away.

Pinkie took out her cupcake. It was slightly squashed but otherwise in good condition. As she held it in her hoof, the eyes of the party members turned towards it. It was not often that such a cheery looking pink sweet could be seen nowadays. Sugar was a luxury after supply lines with neighboring countries went down.

"So, who wants a piece?" Pinkie asked.

She ended up splitting the cupcake into five pieces, one for each of them. The slight smiles of their faces warmed Pinkie's heart more than the fire ever could. Especially the smile on Trixie's face. She struggled to hide it, but Pinkie could spot a smile anywhere. It was her calling after all.

"That was delicious." Rainbow Dash said. "Why don't you bake more often?"

"There aren't any supplies." Pinkie said. "I want to throw parties and bake like I used to, but I can't."

"I can relate." Rainbow Dash said with a heavy sigh. "To feel the wind beneath my wings again… I would give nearly anything. To soar the skies, unburdened, unchained. Just me and endless horizons. The speed I used to fly; it would blow the hats off ponies I went by!"

"I remember that." Pinkie giggled. "Remember how you used to crash into buildings all the time?"

"Yea. That was certainly something." Rainbow chuckled. "That can't be the only thing you remember about my epic flying, can it?"

"Of course not. It's just the funniest thing that came to mind." Pinkie nudged her. "When you were flying, no pony could beat you at it."

"Those were the good days." Rainbow said. "The good old days..."

Rainbow had a somber look on her face as she stared into the fire. Perhaps in those crackling flames, she was seeing the days gone by, and a world lost to the dark. Oh, how the sun used to shine, and Pegasi flew the skies. When magic flowed from horns like water, and when Pinkie could throw parties that sent the town into a sugar-induced joyous rampage of laughter and smiles.

"What about you, Applejack?" Pinkie asked.

Applejack was setting a metal pot on the fire. Inside, something was starting to bubble. "What?"

"What do you miss the most?" Pinkie asked. "About how things used to be."

She threw a piece of hard bread into the pot and some hay. A mysterious concoction. "Don't know."

"You have to remember something." Pinkie said. "What about sweet apple acres?"

Applejack's gaze stopped on her pot. The metal ladle she was stirring with stopped. "Those days are done. Not worth thinking about anymore."

"They are gone, aren't they?" Rainbow Dash said.

The stirring continued.

"Well, I think it's worth thinking about." Pinkie said. "If you lose sight of those days, then what is there that's good to remember?"

"Some things are best not remembered." Applejack said. "And the past is one of them."

"Well, Trixie remembers her past well. And when she performs a magic show again, she shall wow all of you with her glory and supreme magical abilities!" Trixie said.

"That sounds fun, Trixie." Pinkie said. "I'll be there."

To that Trixie puffed up, however she still seemed a little hostile. Berating her might have caused more damage to their relationship than Pinkie thought. But at least they were starting to make up, even if it was just a little.

"What about you, Minuette?" Pinkie asked.

"Oh, you wouldn't believe what I used to do!" Minuette packed away something wrapped in bloody cloth into her bags. "Before the dawn of my intellectual mind, I worked on formulas for toothpaste!"

"How did you end up doing... that?" Rainbow gestured to her. "The whole get up and the tonics and everything."

"Oh, well..." Minuette trailed off. "No ponies really cared for toothpaste anymore after the fall. That is when doctor Parcelses found me and my friends. He took me in, and together we learned the ways of the plague doctor."

"Plague doctor." Applejack said. "I've never heard of that before."

"It was a thing in medieval times." Minuette said. "Only now with all the new diseases and sicknesses, it has sprouted again. We treat ailments of all kinds, and develop tonics to both heal, and harm."

"I saw that with those orbs you are throwing at the skeletons. What is even in those?" Rainbow asked.

"I'm glad you asked! It's a mix of ninety-seven different acids, plague strains, and tonics! Developing it with my friends was really fun." Minuette said. “Of course, it all stemmed from blight itself…”

"Oh. Right. Fun." Rainbow said. "The melting things part, or the creation part?"

"Both!" Minuette giggled.

"I'm glad you're having fun." Pinkie said. "But please, watch where you throw one of those things next time. It got on my clothes."

"It did? I'm so sorry! Did you have any reactions to it?" Minuette's hidden eyes scanned over her. "Any nauseousness? Light-headedness?"

"No, can't say I have!' Pinkie said.

Hearing that such a wide variety of diseases and acids were in that globe of green, Pinkie was suddenly feeling all the more aware of her current state. She didn't feel any different, but she couldn't help but wonder just what was in those syringe's Nurse Redheart gave her. They looked oddly similar to the green globes Minuette was throwing around.

"You all should get some rest." Applejack said. "I'll keep watch tonight."

"Are you sure? You look exhausted as well." Pinkie said. "I have energy to spare."

"You always have energy to spare it seems." Applejack shook her head. "I have kept watch while in the crusade many times. I trust no one else to keep vigil."

Pinkie hummed. She looked over her friends, their solemn faces. The atmosphere was oppressive, that was for sure. But in particular, she saw the hardened look on Trixie's face. She was refusing to look at her, to acknowledge her. It made her frown. She had to do something to make it up to Trixie. After a moment of thought, she came up with an idea.

"Hey Trixie!" Pinkie said.

"What?" Trixie hesitantly looked at her.

"Want to see a magic trick?" Pinkie asked.

"A magic trick?" Trixie raised a brow. "Nothing you can do could possibly be better than Trixie's magic tricks!"

"Just watch." Pinkie leaned forward.

She stared into Trixie's eyes, uncomfortably close.

Trixie started to look uncomfortable. "What is the meaning of this?"

"Boop!" Pinkie bopped her on the nose. "Behold, a frown turned upside-down!"

Trixie's lips wavered, before a smile inched its way onto her face. She immediately turned away, hiding it. "Ridiculous! My magic tricks are far superior, that wasn't even a magic trick."

"You're right, but it's the best I got." Pinkie said with a shrug. "Did it work?"

"No. Of course not." Trixie was still hiding her face.

"How about a song then? For all of us?" Pinkie pulled out her lute.

"Why are you doing all of this?" Rainbow asked. "It doesn't really fit the theme, does it?"

"That's the point!" Pinkie said. "Maybe if we are all smiling, this place won't be so bad."

"Your song will attract the monsters to our location." Applejack said.

"Don't worry, I'll keep it quiet." Pinkie winked. "You will barely even hear it over the crackling of the fire."

"Fine. But the moment I deem it too loud..."

"Don't you worry." Pinkie gently strummed her lute and tried to think of a song. "I'll be quiet as a mouse."

She remembered one in particular. For some reason, it had slipped her mind for years. But now, surrounded by shadow and darkness and death, it seemed all too fitting. She started a gentle and calming tune, one that could barely be heard over the crackling of the fire.

It started with a twinkle, and a peaceful yet hopeful melody began to fly from her lute. Not the usual tune for this song, but it would have to do.

"When I was a little filly, and the sun was going down..."

She played until eventually, every pony fell asleep besides Applejack. She remained in vigil, and with a pony watching over her, it was easy for Pinkie to slip into a warm slumber by the fire.

For just a moment, rest could be found even in this catacomb of the accursed.

Pinkie woke sometime later, her belly full of warm stew. Her face was stuffed into a pony's side, which she groggily realized was Rainbow Dash.

She stayed there for a moment. It had been a long time since she had slept next to another pony, and the warmth was rather pleasant. It reminded her of those days back on the rock farm, sleeping next to her sisters when they were just foals. They were fine of course, still living on the farm, and they often had asked her to return to her home. However, something always told her to stay in Ponyville, to wait just a little longer. And Pinkie couldn't help but ask herself why she had done so.

Maybe it was fate. More likely it was something else.

Then, she heard a noise. It touched her ears in a whisper. A maddening chittering that sounded almost familiar. Pinkie's eyes snapped open, and she forced herself to her hooves.

"Hear that?" Applejack was still holding her sword, watching over the pile of sleeping ponies.

"Yes. What is that?" Pinkie asked.

"I don't know, but it just started, and it's already driving me mad." Applejack said.

The tittering reverberated maddeningly in the halls, grinding on Pinkie's ears. She swore it was speaking to her, whispering to her.

"I'll wake every pony up." Pinkie said.

"Good. I'll make sure nothing sneaks up on us until we are ready to move." Applejack said.

Pinkie shook Rainbow awake, who woke with a jolt, her hoof flying immediately to her blade. At the sight of her, Pinkie narrowly evaded getting gutted.

"Watch yourself Pinkie, you nearly scared me to death." Rainbow said.

"Sorry!" Pinkie rubbed the back of her neck. "Won't happen again."

Rainbow nodded and listened to the air. "What is that?"

"Let me wake the others first." Pinkie said.

She shook Minuette and Trixie awake without issue. Soon, they were all listening to that maddening voice.

"It could just be more of the living dead." Rainbow spat, drawing her blade. "Cultists, skeletons, mushroom ponies, bandits, and now what?"

"Trixie wishes to make the source of this noise disappear." Trixie said.

The noise was getting closer, and the sound of hooves echoed down the hallway over the mindless chittering. Amongst the noise, Pinkie could swear that she heard the peaceful clicking of a music box, which played a serene tune. As it got closer, the two discordant melodies heightened.

"I think you are about to get your chance." Rainbow flexed her metal wings, the sharp feathers gently poking out of their sheathes.

From the darkness, a figure stepped forward into the firelight. It was a pony, that much was clear. A mare to be exact. She was clothed in a white straitjacket which was ripped, allowing the mare to walk free. The ripped cloth was dirty and tattered. The mare herself was malnourished and walking on bone-thin legs. In one hoof, she held a music box, which played a peaceful melody. Her shadowed eyes were entranced on it, watching the pony in the music box spin on and on.

That pale yellow coat, though ragged, was familiar. Her raspberry mane, though grimy, was familiar. And on her flank, was a cutie mark of a rose.

"Roseluck?" Pinkie asked.

The last she had heard of Roseluck, she had escaped detainment in the patient cells of the Ponyville hospital. Every pony thought that she had died when she ran screaming into the Everfree forest. But now... she was standing right in front of them, muttering beneath her breath.

At Pinkie's voice, the muttering stopped, and she slowly looked up and towards them.

Her eyes, once straight and focused, were now looking anywhere but straight. Spinning on an unseen axis in a slow but methodical manner. The sight made Pinkie take an unconscious step back. It almost reminded her of Derpy's eyes. Before they were... indisposed of by the Ponyville populace.

"Pinkie?" Roseluck's gaze slowly straightened, one of her eyes locking onto her. "You're her, aren't you?"

"Yes! But what are you doing down here? Every pony thinks you are dead!" Pinkie said.

"Pony? We are no ponies... Oh Pinkie... I have such... terrible and wonderful things to show you..." Roseluck's body shook, and she covered her eyes with her hooves. "You can't go on without knowing. You all can't go on without knowing! I have to tell you, let me tell you! It's too terrible, too wonderful to not know!"

"What?" Pinkie took a step forward, only for a hoof to block her approach.

"Can't you see she's not well?" Applejack asked.

Roseluck's convulsions stopped, and suddenly, she shot to her hooves, eyes wild and sweat soaking her coat. And then, a string of words sprang from her lips, almost incomprehensible in the speed they were said, as if the words were not her own.

"I know us, I know our trueness, our form, and harmony and disharmony. It's terrible, horrible, but it is the truth! Let the flowers of truth bloom on this blood-soaked soil! I will tell you what I have come to know."

And for some reason, Pinkie didn't want to know what she had to say.