Out of the Darkness...

"Hmm? What?" Cheerilee sat up groggily in her bed as the knocking on her front door continued. She had spent the entire previous day waiting to speak to Her Majesty and had been finally granted an audience after all the nobles, high citizens, and military personnel had their briefing. The talk with Celestia took many hours, as Her Majesty wanted every detail Cheerilee knew concerning Sweetie Belle. In the end, Cheerilee had been offered a chariot ride back home, to which she'd blushed and graciously turned down, as she felt she was "just a simple teacher, and what would her neighbors think if they saw her riding in one of the Royal Chariots?" So, she'd caught the last train, dragged herself home, and without bothering to prepare a meal, had stumbled to her bed.

When she opened the door, she hardly recognized the mare standing there. Ever since she'd known her, the fashionista had always been meticulous in her makeup and was truly the envy of just about every mare in Ponyville. But even though it looked as though she'd made some effort with her appearance, there were dark circles under her eyes that no amount of cosmetics could conceal. And though she knew the source of her anguish, Cheerille was still stunned at the change. Rarity's eyes were bloodshot from crying, and it looked like it had been days since she'd slept...Cheerilee's heart went out to her, having some idea of her pain through her own struggles. Beside her was her sister, looking much better than the teacher had last seen her, all smiles and bubbly as she beamed up at her. "Miss...Cheerilee? May...we come in?" asked Rarity.

"Of course, of course!" She stepped back and threw her door open wide, sleep forgotten. "Please! Make yourselves comfortable!" Though she tried to hide it, she barely suppressed a yawn as her impromptu guests made their way in and settled themselves on her couch. Rarity's face fell.

"Oh...my! Did...we wake you?"

Cheerilee waved this off as she took out her teapot and set it on the stove. "Please, don't worry about it! I shouldn't be sleeping in the middle of the afternoon anyway, but I had such a long night I couldn't help myself." She took out some biscuits and put them on a tray, then brought them over to her guests. "Now, how can I help you two?" she asked as she seated herself.

Rarity fidgeted with her hooves and looked away as her face flushed, then said, "I...I want to apologize for my outburst the other night...I know you were only offering your help, and I was horrible to you!" She looked up. "Please...forgive me."

Cheerilee's eyes grew soft. "There's nothing to forgive, Miss Rarity. I cannot imagine the pain the two of you have gone through...are still experiencing...and I would do anything I could to help."

Rarity managed a smile. "That is the other matter. The Princess told Sweetie of your mission to speak to her...for her...and I can never repay you for that gesture." As Cheerilee was about to reply, the tea kettle began whistling. While preparing the tea and retrieving her best cups for her guests, Cheerille asked, "Was Her Majesty able to do anything to help? I'm afraid I was asleep the entire time she made her visit, so I don't know anything beyond her telling me she would come to Ponyville and "Take matters into her hooves."

"She was wonderful!" burst Sweetie. As her teacher set the tea service down, the little filly was bouncing on her seat. "You should have seen the looks on everyponies' faces when they saw me walking with her into Town!"

Cheerilee smiled as she took a sip of her drink. "Did it help? Are you feeling better now?" Rarity gazed fondly down at her sister as she continued to beam while finishing the story.

"I'll say! Even though I know it didn't change how those ponies think of me, I don't think I have to worry about any more whisperings behind my back or the other kids being horrible to me...she made THAT clear!"

Cheerilee looked off into the distance and sighed. "That...unfortunately...is a side of my job...of a teachers' job...to have to properly govern our students in a way that doesn't interfere with the parents' wishes...while at the same time, limiting unruly behavior." She sighed again and looked at Rarity. "There was only so much I could legally do to prevent your sister from being bullied, and the truth is, some children come from homes where the same level of discipline you and I expect from anypony is simply...not the same." She then turned her attention to the filly. "Even though you were right to defend yourself, I would have preferred it if you had not injured another child." She looked up at Rarity, then back to Sweetie. "I hope that doesn't happen again..."

Before her sister could reply, Rarity said, "So long as she isn't threatened, it won't happen again." She looked down at her. "She has been through enough trauma...she doesn't need the actions of other unruly children to add to her problems."

Cheerilee quickly nodded. "Of course, I understand." She looked up. "So...have you heard from Pinkie?" ---and instantly regretted her question once she saw their faces.

Rarity scowled. "Pinkie has been...distant ever since she heard about what happened to Sweetie." She turned her puzzled frown on the teacher. "I do not understand her. As bubbly and as welcoming as she normally is, I thought she'd be one of the first to offer comfort, but once word of the trial became public, nopony has seen her."

Cheerillee nodded again. "We've all been worried about her, for you are correct: this isn't like her." She drew a deep breath. "Perhaps it's just me, but things just aren't the same without her around, especially at Sugarcube Corner. The food simply isn't...as good."

Rarity forced a smile. "I do hope she's in no danger." She stood. "Well, we've taken up more than enough of your time, Miss Cheerilee. Thank you once again for all you've done!"

"It was my pleasure," she smiled as she walked her guests to the door. Then she looked down at Sweetie and asked her sister, "May I?" Rarity paused as she read her face, then smiled.

"May your teacher offer you a hug?" Sweetie grinned then wrapped her hooves around her teacher.

"Thanks again..." she whispered, and then, with a final wave, opened the door and made their way out. Cheerillee watched them from her door as they trotted away, then closed it and headed back up to her bedroom.

Just before she drifted off to sleep once more, her final thought was about the missing Party Pony...

Months earlier

In the dead of night, a certain mare tossed and turned in her bed, trying to come to terms with the nightmare her life had become. To make matters worse, even though Canterlot was the Royal Capital and, therefore, safer than most cities, she could not shake the feeling she was being watched all day by somepony or something malevolent.

Finally, she sat up and switched on her light, then gazed sadly down at the now-empty spot next to her. She reached out a hoof and touched his pillow, then picked it up and held it to her chest. It still had his scent, so if she closed her eyes, she could almost imagine him being in the bedroom with her, smiling that same grin that had caught her interest when they'd first met more than a decade ago.

She smiled to herself as she recalled how dashing he had been and how, even though he wasn't a soldier or a fighter, she'd still thought of him as the bravest stallion she'd ever known and how much she still loved him.

A tear slipped down her cheek as she thought about all the horrible things ponies were now saying about him...things that just couldn't be true! How could he have been capable of such...evil...and show no sign? She thought about those fillies he'd supposedly...touched...then immediately thought about their own two little girls. If it is true he committed those crimes, and she didn't know...could he have done the same to Candi and Melodi?

She left her bedroom and silently made her way to the twins' room. Opening the door carefully so as not to wake them, she stood for some time watching them sleep...and trying to read their faces. Surely, if he had done something to them, wouldn't it show enough that she could see? Her twins were the same age as the filly from Ponyville...so it was possible. She closed their door and slipped down to her knees. It felt as if her entire world was falling apart at the seams, and nothing was certain anymore. How could he even be accused of such horrors, let alone stand trial for them?

She thought about the first night she'd gone to the hospital and how terrified she'd been once she'd seen him. His face was...covered in bandages, as well as his body. When the doctors had informed her of the state of his injuries, she'd nearly fainted and had to sit down before she fell down. When she asked what had happened, the doctor hesitated, then said, "he'd been in a fight with another pony." She remembered becoming furious and demanding to know who it was that had nearly killed her stallion. But...the doctor wouldn't say; he only directed her to speak to the police.

And that was when she'd discovered the reason why he was in traction...and she was glad she had left their children with her sister for the night.

She'd returned to his room and sat watching him as he lay unconscious, trying to reconcile the horrors she'd just been told against the husband she thought she knew. She had stayed by his side the entire night and well into the morning, praying he'd wake up and feel well enough to speak to her. But, aside from his breathing, he gave no sign he was alive. Even so, they had been married for almost ten years, so there were still things about him she knew.

Such as the fact he'd been pretending to sleep for the past few minutes.

She'd heard the change in his breathing and thought she'd seen a telltale gleam of the one eye that remained uncovered. She frowned, then slowly made her way out of the room. It gave her pause to realize he'd seen her sitting there but hadn't wanted to speak to her...but she still wasn't ready to believe the worst of him.

...yet...

That was over a month ago. She'd been to see him twice, and each time, he'd offered her an excuse less believable than the other. And now, the trial was wrapping up, and it looked like he wouldn't be seeing the outside of a cell for a very, very long time. She still didn't know what to tell their daughters, but she knew she could not shield them from the truth for much longer. Ponies were talking, and she endured many a dark look each time she left their home. Her only comfort was she was sure, or as certain as she could be, that he hadn't molested his own children. She and her sister had sat down with them and asked, as gently as they could, "If Daddy had ever done anything to them that made them feel...dirty...or disgusted?" When they both showed genuine confusion, she peered intently into their eyes and saw they had no idea what she was asking. She had burst into tears and left them there with her sister, as she was both overjoyed and intensely angry. HOW could she not have known what kind of monster she'd married?!

She went down the stairs to the kitchen, intending to prepare something hot to drink, when suddenly...she stopped. That feeling of being watched came over her again. Standing in her darkened living room, she looked towards the windows to see if somepony was there, but saw nothing. The curtains were drawn, and the only light came from the Moon shining in from outside.

She was just about to light her horn when she heard a quiet voice say, "Don't scream." The mare startled, spun in the direction of the voice, and let out a blood-curdling scream. The voice said, "Now you've done it..." as the sound of a door being opened upstairs was followed by the yells of frightened children.

"Mommy! What's going on?!" as frantic hoofsteps could be heard rushing to the stairs.

"Don't come down here!" she yelled while backing away from the intruder. She looked around quickly for anything she could use as a weapon, then levitated a flowerpot and heaved it at the voice. Her aim was off as the pot crashed into the far wall, missing her target. Before she could grab something else, the lamp next to her husband's easy chair clicked on. The frightened mare stared speechless at the one revealed.

A pink pony with sunken eyes and her mane hanging straight down, nearly covering her face, sat watching her with a dark expression.

"Who...who are you?! And what are you doing in my house?!"

The pink pony didn't answer right away. Instead, she turned to the end table next to her chair, picked up a framed picture, and held it up. She pointed. "This is your husband...and you are Mrs. Slide Rule..." She then turned the picture to herself and stared down at it. "Your kids are cute," she looked back up at the mare and added, "...what did he do to them?"

Despite the situation, Mrs. Rule's face became flushed, and her nostrils flared as she growled through gritted teeth, "I don't know who you are, but you have no right to come into our home and make accusations!" She pointed to the door. "Get out! Get out, and don't ever come back!"

The mare dropped the family portrait and said, in a low voice, " ...you knew..."

"Wha...what?"

The mare gripped the arms of the chair as her eyes began to blaze. "You. Knew! You've known for years what he was and the things he did!" As Mrs. Rule was about to protest, the mare held up a hoof. "Don't bother lying! I can tell! My Pinkie Sense is never wrong!"

At this last, Mrs. Rule felt her heart go cold with a renewed fear. "You're...crazy...what are you talking about? What's a..."Pinkie Sense?" The mare closed her eyes tightly and hung her head.

"It...it doesn't matter! What matters is I should have stopped him; I should have known what he was the moment he set hoof in our town!" She opened her eyes and looked back up. "Then...he wouldn't have had the chance to...to...do the things he did to my friend's sister..." The mare then gripped her own head and muttered, "I should have stopped him..."

Something clicked. "You...you're from...Ponyville?" She turned at the sound of little hooves on the stairs, only to see her children staring with huge eyes at the stranger.

"Mommy? Who is that?" one asked as she pointed. The unicorn backed away and spread her arms to shield her fillies.

Still facing the stranger, she whispered, "Somepony who is leaving...now, go back upstairs and lock yourselves in your room." When she felt them hesitate, she shouted, "Do as I say! NOW!!" Both children screamed and then bolted back up the stairs, followed by the sounds of a door being slammed and locked. Mrs. Rule lit her horn.

"I don't know what you think you're doing, but know that I will kill you before I allow you to hurt my babies..." Even though she was at least half the size of the pink mare, she lowered her head and began to advance as she poured more magic into her horn, making it shine and pulsate with the offensive spell she was forming. "Now...GET OUT," she snarled.

The mare lowered her arms and faced her. "...you KNEW..."

"LIAR!!" screamed Mrs. Rule, "I didn't know! I had no idea what he was doing, or I would have dealt with him myself!"

Still, the mare stared at her. "I...don't believe you."

"I DON'T CARE!!" then rushed her.

"WHY, Pinkie?" Her sisters and parents stood outside of her jail cell, staring in at her. Her mother and sisters were crying as her father repeated his question. "What was thine thinking, daughter? Why didst thou attack that mare?"

Pinkie faced away from them as she whispered, "Because somepony had to. She's a part of her husband's crimes, and all I wanted was for her to admit it." Igneous exchanged a look with his wife, then frowned.

"No, Pinkie...she isn't. She was willing to talk to me and told me everything: how she realized it was thou who had been stalking her that day, how thou broke into her home and confronted her in front of her children, and the fight that followed." When Pinkie turned her bruised and battered face to him, he added, "Thee couldst have killed each other, and to what end? Some misguided sense of...retribution?"

Pinkie hung her head and began to weep. "You...you don't understand, Father...it's my fault he was able to get to Sweetie..." She looked back up at her family as her eyes filled with tears. "My Pinkie Sense should have warned me about him, then I could have warned Rarity...I failed, Father...I failed."

"No, Pinkie, you're wrong," said Maude. "We've known you all of our lives, and we know how you can sense things before they happen...but this time, you weren't meant to know. It wasn't your fault."

"But...but...Sweetie...and those other fillies..."

Maude stomped a hoof. "NO, Pinkie...you can't blame yourself." She stepped closer to the bars. "You are not the protector of Ponyville; you're a baker who is fond of parties and making ponies happy." As Pinkie gazed sadly at her, she added, "I know you're hurting, but the real criminal is behind bars, awaiting sentence. It's not up to you to "make things right." As she hung her head again, her father spoke up one last time.

"Once thine sentence is over, I wish for thee to come home with us; thee should not return to Ponyville until thou art healed... of body...and mind."

"We will take care of thee, daughter," her mother tearfully added. "Thou art in sore need of rest and comfort, and that is best while in the bosom of thine loving family."

It was several weeks before she felt well enough to return to Ponyville, and within that time, word had reached her of Rule's final fate. Like Sweetie, she felt conflicted upon hearing this news; on the one hoof, she was happy he would never harm another child, but on the other, she was sad to hear of his death, especially one so brutal.

But the tears she wept that night were more for herself, as part of her innocence was gone...

"Pinkie!" cried Mrs. Cake. "You're back! Where have you been?" It was a beautiful sunny morning as she opened the entrance to the Shoppe, only to see their adopted daughter standing on the threshold.

"I had something I had to do...and made some mistakes, but I'm better now...much better." Pinkie said with a sad smile, "May I come in?"

"Of course!" she said as she stepped back from the door. Calling over her shoulder, she yelled, "Carrot! Look who's back!"

Her husband popped his head from around the corner with a dot of flour on his nose, then grinned. "Welcome back, Pinkie!" He came around the corner and held a pink apron out to her. "Ready to get back to work?" She beamed up at him as her mane >poofed!< back to normal.

"I sure am, Mr. Cake!" As the first customers of the day began to file in, she pronked over behind the counter and greeted them with her usual smile.

"Welcome to Sugarcube Corner! What can I get you?"