The Rocking Horses of Ponyville

The next morning, Twilight was informed by Rainbow Dash that Fluttershy was nowhere to be found. Well, this was the straw that broke the camel's back. "Okay, that's it! Get the others. We're going to that taxidermy shop!!" She gathered Rarity, Applejack, and Rainbow Dash and trotted down to the lonely shop. "I KNOW YOU'RE IN THERE!!" Twilight shouted, pounding on the door with her hooves. The door opened, and Ketamina was there, looking confused.

"Twinkle? And friends? what are you doing here?" Twilight and her friends barged past her and into the shop.

"where the hell is your friend?!" Twilight blurted at Keta, who lifted a shaky hoof to the back room. Applejack looked furious.

"If I find out that hussy put her hooves on my sister, I'm gonna buck her to death..."

Rarity knocked daintily on the door of the back room, being greeted by the messy-maned gray mare. "do you have an appointment?" she said dully. Twilight pushed past Rarity.

"Where are all the missing ponies!? Where are Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy!?"

Mel's eyebrows raise slightly. "missing ponies? I've been working so hard I haven't been able to leave my shop." Twilight narrowed her eyes at the mare.

"I'm investigating your shop, right now." Twilight noticed a staircase that was behind the front desk and decided to save it for last. She didn't want to believe this mare did anything to her friends or the other ponies of Ponyville. Applejack and Rainbow Dash were busy trying to question Mel while Rarity and Twilight searched the shop.

"maybe today isn't a good day, M-Mel isn't feeling good today...." Ketamina murmured, getting an unreadable look from Mel and locking the door with a sigh. Applejack shut the door so she could shout at Mel without bothering anypony else.

"WHERE'S MY FUCKING SISTER!?" Applejack roared at her, Rainbow Dash narrowing her rose eyes at her. Mel coughed and put a medical mask over her muzzle.

"I'm sorry, I'm not feeling well today..." The earth pony and the pegasus began to feel odd; they felt dizzy and light-headed. Rainbow Dash noticed that Mel was pressing a button under her desk and a light fog was coming from the vents.

"hey!! What the hell are you doing!?" she shouted. Rainbow Dash tried to lunge for Mel but her movements were sluggish and fatigued. Applejack tried next, but soon the ponies that weren't wearing masks were unconscious on the floor.

While Twilight and Rarity were searching upstairs, Twilight searched the rooms on the right and Rarity on the left. Twilight was searching in some boxes, looking through pictures. She saw many of them were of Melancholy and Ketamina. The more Twilight looked through the photos, the more she started to doubt her suspicion of Mel, that was until the sound of Rarity's shriek of horror pierced the stale air of the shop. Twilight ran towards the sound and found Rarity sobbing and covering her eyes on the floor. "what's the matter...??" and then Twilight saw it.

the room was dark and smelled of death. in a large box in the back of the room were several forms of skinless ponies, shivering and rasping in pure agony. some the size of full-grown mares, some only fillies. their eyes were red and clouded over from a lack of eyelids to blink. they were inside a large cardboard box, their red viscera soaking through the bottom of the box and making it soggy. "oh dear sweet Celestia...." Twilight said in barely a whisper. "we need to get out of here, get the princesses involved..." but before Twilight could turn back around, she found herself and Rarity being magically thrown into the opposite room and locked inside.

"Let us out!!" Twilight pounded on the door along with Rarity before a foggy substance seeped from the vents. soon, Rarity and Twilight were unconscious on the floor.