WARNING:
This is a grimdark fan-fic. If anyone is squeamish about bloody, violent things, I suggest you don't read it. It's not the most gruesome fan-fic, but it has a few moments
Pinkie closed her eyes and jumped up and down excitedly as a flash of rainbow zoomed right in front of her.
"WOOOO! GO RAINBOW DASH!" She encouraged her friend, yelling out to the speeding rainbow bullet that was the cocky pegasus.
"Yaaaay, Rainbow Dash~!" A feeble voice whispered beside her. Fluttershy stood, slightly nervous, watching the her cyan friend with awe and pride in her eyes. Pinkie blinked in confusion as she saw a harsher emotion flash through the yellow pegasus' green eyes.
(Is that… Envy?)
But it was gone before Pinkie could think anymore, so she dismissed it as a trick of the light. The sun was just going down, and Pinkie knew that Princess Luna would be raising her moon any minute now.
High above them in the thin clouds, Rainbow Dash swooped and soared through the air, her brows furrowed and her teeth clenched. The wind whistled in her ears, and she felt nothing but the thrill of flight, filling her lungs and rattling through her bones. Her trusty wings beat the air with strong flaps, her feathers adjusting to each and every air current she felt. Pulling them in, she went into a dive, her eyes watering so that the world was a blur, and all she could make sense of was the wind. But, just before she hit the ground, her wings snapped out,
(as if they had a mind of their own)
causing her to stop and land perfectly right in front of her friends. She raised her head proudly, and ran a hoof through her mane.
"Watdaya think? Pretty cool, huh?" She boasted. Fluttershy's eyes were wide with both fright and amazement.
"Oh, Rainbow Dash, that was incredible…!" She said shyly. The cyan pegasus chortled.
"Just like me!"
"Yeah, Dashie!" Pinkie piped up. "That was so awesomely trifficastic how you went into that dive! I thought you were going to hit the ground for sure! You would have been like a Rainbow-Dash-Pancake! Ohhh, Rainbow coloured pancakes! I'll have to remember that for a new recipe down at Sugarcube corner~!"
Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes in amusement and shook her head as Pinkie went on a tangent about whatever it was she was yapping about.
Celestia's sun was now almost entirely gone, and Luna's moon shone above them.
Fluttershy stifled a yawn.
"Oh, my, I really should be getting back, Angel and the other animals will be getting hungry. See you later…" She trotted off, raising a hesitant wing in goodbye.
"BYE FLUTTERSHY!" Pinkie yelled to the retreating figure. She turned to Rainbow Dash with a grin. "I guess I better be heading off too! I gotta tell Mr and Mrs Cake about my amazingly wonderific new idea! Seeya later alligator!" She hopped off, singing some kind of song about rainbows and pancakes.
Rainbow Dash sat for a while, watching Pinkie slowly shrink until she could see her no more. She let out a sigh, smiled, stretched her wings, and pushed off from the ground, swooping into the air again. Now that those two were gone, she could practice some of her top secret moves that she made up.
The rainbow maned pegasus climbed and climbed until she could hardly see the ground. She was above the clouds now. Fluttering over to a small, thick looking one, she settled down on it, lying down to catch her breath before she started practicing. Looking out over the clouds, with Luna's magnificent moon above her, Rainbow Dash felt a soothing ease. She closed her eyes and lifted her head to the slight cool breeze that danced around up here.
Suddenly, her eyes snapped open as she though she heard a puff of another pegasus entering a cloud, but glancing around, she couldn't see anyone. All the clouds tonight were light and thin, save from the one she was lying on now, so a pony trying to hide would have been caught out immediately.
Good, I don't want anypony seeing these moves until I've gotten them down! Rainbow Dash thought to herself, standing up and flexing her wings. Looking down, she felt a thrill of excitement and threw herself from her cloud, keeping her wings close.
The pegasus fell in a controlled plummet, trying to keep her eyes open so she could see where she was going. Just before she felt herself nearing the ground, she flung out her wings, but instead of landing on her hooves, she shot horizontally, merely inches above the ground. This was the part she always had trouble with. She found it hard to adjust her wings to the uneven air pockets this close to the ground, and she felt herself wobbling. Clenching her teeth, she thrust herself upwards, beating her wings fiercely to try and pull herself back up into the firmament. She pulled her head and neck upwards so that she was facing vertical. Her wings were burning, but she pushed on, forcing them to flap faster. She felt a grin touching her lips. This was the first time she had gotten this far. Usually she wiped out while skimming along the ground.
She entered the clouds again, blowing some of them apart as she shot through them.
Suddenly, she found herself in a strange patch of thick, dark clouds.
This wasn't here before! She thought to herself in panic, her hooves flailing, and her wings getting tangled.
(...a puff of another pegasus entering a cloud...)
Out of the corner of her eye, she thought she saw something grey come pelting towards her, but she was so disorientated she couldn't make sense of anything. Besides, the whole cloud was gray, so it didn't really stand out much, despite the fact it seemed to be moving so fast.
Before she could react, she felt an impact in her side, shoving her straight out of the cloud and plummeting towards the ground. Rainbow Dash couldn't seem to catch her breath, it was flying out of her so quickly, and she could almost imagine seeing it spiral away, fading away safely into the dark black sky. Her eyes widened as she finally realised what was happening, but before then, it was too late.
Anypony watching would have watched powerlessly as the dare-devil blue pegasus fell helplessly through the air, smashing into the earth with a bone-breaking thud.
"Hey, has anypony seen Dashie?" Pinkie Pie hopped into Twilight Sparkle's library, causing her friend's head to turn in confusion.
"What? I haven't seen her since yesterday, when she said she wanted to go out and practice her flying with you and Fluttershy," Twilight said, using her magic to put down a book she was pouring over. Pinkie shook her head violently.
"Me and Fluttershy left her just as the sun was going down. We haven't seen her since then…" She broke off into a huge gasp. "What if something terrible has happened?! What if the Diamond Dogs got her?! Or that Hydra?! Or, or-!"
"PINKIE!" Twilight shouted, interrupting her crazy pink friend.
"Wow, Twilight, no need to yell," Pinkie said. Twilight looked at her with an unimpressed look on her face.
"What I'm try to say, is that she's probably fine. She probably stayed out a bit longer after you went back and she's tired out, so she's sleeping in… A really LONG sleep in…" She said, glancing out of the window at the sun, which was in the middle of the sky. It was mid-day, and Rainbow Dash didn't usually sleep in this long. "Anyway, I'm sure she's fine."
"B-But-!" Pinkie began, but broke off from a look from Twilight.
"Look, if you're really that worried, why don't you go look for her. I'm sure Spike will go with you," She turned to her assistant. The baby dragon looked up from the quill sorting he was doing.
"Yes please," He said, cracking his back. "I've been sorting quills all day!" He said, scampering over to Pinkie and jumping up onto the pink Earth pony's back.
"Okie dokie lokie," Pinkie said, trotting out of the door.
The sun was bright and warm that day, and ponies were out doing their usual daily business. There was a slight cool breeze that reminded the ponies that winter was not far off. Pinkie grinned in greeting at Applejack who was selling apples at the market. The orange pony dipped her hat back, then turned to an interested costumer.
"Yes-ser-ree bob, we got the best darn apples in all of Equestria right here, mam," Pinkie heard her say in her southern accented voice before she lost it in the hustle of all the other voices.
"So, where do you wanna check first?" Spike asked Pinkie Pie.
"Hmmm… Well, I guess we should check where me a Fluttershy left her last night first!" She said cheerily.
"Um, Pinkie, why would she still be there?" Spike asked her skeptically.
"I dunno, I just gotta feeling," She said, not breaking her steady trot.
"All right, you're the boss," Spike said, sitting back.
"It was right around… here!" Pinkie said, hopping over to a clump of grass she has been standing not far from the day before. "Look around Spike, and don't leave a stone un-turned!" Pinkie said, leaping around dramatically, looking for 'clues'. Spike shook his head, and turned the other way, waddling through the grass field, glancing at the horizon where he could see some of the Apple family's apple trees. He was walking around distractedly, not watching where he was going, when he tripped over something, landing flat on his face.
"Oww! For Celestia's sa- GAHH!" He yelled, his eyes widening in horror at what he saw he had tripped on. Lying at his feet was Rainbow Dash's broken and battered body. "P-PINKIE!" He yelled, waving to get the pink pony's attention. Pinkie came bounding over.
"What's up, Spike? Found any juicy clu-" She broke off, her eyes huge sky blue orbs in her face. "Dashie!" She screeched, sprinting over to where her friend lay.
"W-What do we do?!" Spike asked Pinkie in panic. He paced around his heart hammering in his chest. He couldn't believe that the cyan blue pegasus had been out like this all night! Especially that the nights were so cold now that winter was nearly here.
"W-we gotta get her back! Help me get her on my back!" Pinkie said, breathing in short, panicked gasps. Spike helped push Rainbow Dash onto Pinkie Pie's small, thin back, and watched helplessly as the pink mare struggled to carry her friend.
"Q-Quick… Spike…" She said, puffing under the limp pegasi's weight. "Run ahead… and get… Twilight…!" She strained, trying to walk as fast as she could with little success. Spike sprinted back towards Ponyville, his mind racing with thoughts, glancing back now and again to see the struggling pink pony.
He dashed through the streets, getting strange and confused looks from ponies he passed by, and finally reached the tree which housed Twilight's beloved library.
"Twilight!" Spike yelled as loud as he could, summoning the purple unicorn's slightly irritated face to appear in the window.
"What, Spike?" She huffed. "I thought you and Pinkie were out looking for Rainbow… Dash…" Her voice flattered as she saw the baby dragon's horrified expression.
"W-We did! Out near Sweet Apple Acres! She's hurt, and she's been out there all night!" Spike managed to pant out, doubled over to try and catch his breath. Twilight gasped, her violet eyes widening.
"What? Dear Celestia!" She disappeared from sight and thundered out of the door a few seconds later, scooping up Spike from where he stood. "Tell me exactly where to go! But first, we need to pick up Applejack. She's the strongest, she'll be able to help us get Rainbow Dash back here."
"I-I hope," Spike said, his voice faint from weakness after his hurried dash to get help. "Pinkie's back there…. now, trying to… carry her here."
Twilight shook her head.
"There's no way she'll get her all the way back here by herself," She muttered, half to herself.
Dirt flew up behind them as Twilight pounded her way into Ponyville's centre, before skidding to a halt, swinging her head wildly from side to side.
"Can you see her?" Spike asked her worriedly, his lungs now breathing normally and regularly having caught his breath during his ride over.
"No!" Twilight said in a strained voice. "I can't see her any- Aha!" She took off like a bullet, nearly flinging Spike from her back with a strangled cry. "Applejack!" She yelled out to the cowpony. Applejack looked over her shoulder.
"Why, howdy Twi, Spike," She greeted them. "How can I help ya'll?"
"It's Rainbow Dash," Twilight explained what happened, and Applejack's face got graver every second.
"Right. Let's go then," She said, raising her front hooves into the air, then cantering towards her farm, with Twilight close behind.
With Spike's directions, there finally managed their way through Applejack's apple orchard, and onto the open, grassy field.
"Now, where's Pinkie?" Twilight asked, panting heavily.
"There she is!" Applejack cried, running towards their friend, seemingly not worn out in the slightest. Twilight wearily trotted after her.
They reached Pinkie quickly, who was hunched over, almost dragging herself forwards in an attempt to help her friend. She looked up at them with dull eyes that sparkled with relief at the sight of them, and carefully slipped Rainbow Dash's limp body from her back, sinking to the ground with a sigh.
"I'm sorry, I couldn't carry her... She was so heavy…" Pinkie whimpered.
"It's fine, Pinkie," Twilight soothed, upset with seeing her usually boisterous, crazy friend like this. "You tried your hardest, and that's all we can ask of you." She placed a hoof on her friend's pink shoulder. Pinkie looked up at her, relieved.
"Alrighty, let's get this gal to the hospital," Applejack's voice caused them both to look around to see Rainbow Dash on the strong pony's back.
"Lead the way, Spike," Twilight said quietly, and Spike slipped off her back, moving into the front and leading the group back to Ponyville.
"She'll be fine. She's just got a few bruised and battered bones. One of her wings is broken, and few rips are cracked, as well as a couple of other bones, but other than that, she'll just need to get over the shock and concussion. She hit her head pretty bad," The nurse told Twilight and her friends. "She'll be up and about in no more than two weeks."
"Thank you. Is it alright if we go in to see her?" Twilight asked her. The nurse nodded and lead the way into a room a little way down the hall.
Rainbow Dash lifted her head wearily as the walked in, her eyes drooping and looking tired and in pain, but smiling all the same as she saw her friends.
"H-Hey, guys…" She said, trying to sit up.
"Whoa there, hold yer horses," Applejack said, gently pushing her friend back. "No need to stand up fer us. Ya need to get all the rest ya can get."
"How are you feeling?" Twilight asked anxiously. It was the next day, and after a night in the hospital, she was hoping her friend was feeling better.
"Heaps better," The rainbow maned pegasus said, lifting her head up so she could see them better.
There was a scream from the door, which made them all jump, and turned to see Rarity standing in the doorway, with Fluttershy hovering nervously behind her.
"DARLING!" She screeched. "Why, that is simply HORRENDOUS! The green of those hospital gowns clash HORRIBLY with your mane!" She strutted over, flipping her mane. "Whoever designed this should be HANGED. But never mind, I'll whip something up back at the boutique. I'll have it in to you by tomorrow." She said proudly.
"Uhhh.. Rarity, you don't need to do that," Rainbow Dash started.
"Nonsense, darling, you need to look your best, even if you aren't feeling it," She fretted. "Besides, maybe a little 'get well soon' present will help you do just that."
"Ohh, Rainbow Dash, are you o-ok?" Fluttershy's small voice piped up from the back, and they all moved aside to let her through. "I just know it's my fault for leaving you last night, I never should have don-"
"Fluttershy, it wasn't your fault," Rainbow Dash interrupted. "I wanted you to leave anyway, because I was practicing one of my really top secret awesome moves that I don't want anypony to see until I can do them properly."
Fluttershy dipped her head. "W-well, yes, but…" She trailed off.
"Uh-hem…" There was a stern noise from behind them, and they peered over their shoulders to see a stony looking nurse pony frowning at them. "Visiting times are over, and there are simply too many ponies in here right now, so I ask you to hurry up and wrap up your chatting and then get out." She stormed off with her nose in the air.
"Jeez, what a sour-sob," Rainbow Dash complained, rolling her eyes. She already felt a lot stronger and wanted to get up, but she knew she wouldn't be able to.
"Well, I guess we better go." Twilight said, glancing nervously back at the door incase the nurse came back to yell at them again.
"Y-Yeah, I guess…" The wounded pegasus said from where she lay in her small hospital bed. "Seeya later guys."
"Seeya later when your legs are straighter, Dashie!" Pinkie Pie said cheerily, and Rainbow Dash realised she hadn't even noticed her come in.
"I'll be in tomorrow with your new gown, Dashie, darling," Rarity said. "Sleep well!"
"Uh, yeah, bye Rainbow Dash…"
"Guess we'll be seeing ya tomorrow, partner. Git a good night's sleep, ya hear?"
They all left one by one, leaving Rainbow Dash alone in the room. Suddenly, she felt uneasy, like her being here was the start of something bad.
"Don't be stupid," She whispered to herself, turning over in her bed, wincing as her broken wing shifted. "Every thing's fine."
"AJ, that path leadin' too the chicken coop is broken up, yer gonna havta go put some more cement in it 'gain." Applebloom trotted into the Apple family's house, pausing to wipe mud from her hooves onto the map before entering.
"And yer tellin' me this now?" Applejack said irritably, glancing out of the window at the dark night sky.
"Ah just noticed it, 's all." The filly defended herself.
Applejack sighed. "Well, it's gonna have to wait till tomorra." She decided.
"Nope," The two mare's brother, Big Macintosh walked into the room. "Pegasi planned a rainin' fer tomorroa. Gonn' have ta do tonight." He told her.
"Fer Celestia's sake," Applejack muttered, heading out of the door and shooting Applebloom an annoyed look. The little yellow filly grinned and bounded down the hall to her room.
Applejack headed outside, trotting towards the shed where the family kept all their supplies. She creaked open the door, shivering as the ice cold wind pierced through her fur behind her. Fancy Applebloom telling her about the path now. She shook her head, still annoyed, and pulled out the cement mixer. She pushed it over to the chicken coop path. Applebloom was right though. It was broken up really badly, like a giant had come over and jumped on it a few times.
"How in tarnation does it even git like this?" She asked herself unbelievingly, shaking her head. She started up the cement mixer, hearing the steady, grating whirls as it turned the contents of it's belly over and over. Applejack stood, waiting for it to get to the right consistency, whistling a song when she heard something over the whirls. She froze, looking around. The wind rustled trees in the distance, and she could hear the far-away clutter of the Apple house hold. Squinting her eyes in the darkness, she scanned along the horizon where the apple trees stood.
"Huh, must be hearin' things," She said, shrugging to herself, and turning around. Then she said it.
It was a black pony figure, standing only ten metres away. Applejack's legs locked stiff, and her blood ran cold. The figure was slowly moving forward. As it got closer, Applejack noticed it was wearing a full, black body suit. It look like it was patched together with whatever the maker could find lying on the ground, and parts of it were misshapen and bulky looking. The figure had wings, but she couldn't see it's eyes, as they were blocked from view by two glowing red goggles.
(Shadowbolts?)
Applejack started to shiver.
"H-Howdy there, partner," She said, her voice seeming to come from somewhere over than herself. "How ya'll doin'? I'm afraid you won't be able to get any apple's tonight, we're closed till tomorra, but be sure to come round then, I'm sure we cou-" She broke off as the pony lunged.
She staggered backwards, hitting the cement mixed and falling over backwards, trying to scramble to her feet but by then it was too later. The pony was upon her.
She struggled with the pony, but it seemed un-naturally strong. What's more, she could hardly hear it breathing.
Knowing she wouldn't be able to break free, she sucked in a breath full of air, ready to scream for help, and… swallowed a mouth full of what felt like wet grit and mud. She gaged, and realised with a rising horror what was actually happening.
The pony had grasped the pipe running from the mouth of the cement mixer that was used to pour cement cleanly into place, and had it shoved into her mouth. She was suffocating on cement.
She bucked and scuffled underneath the pony, but it seemed no used. Already, she could feel the cement pouring down her throat, into every single opening. It was filling up her stomach, making her gag with the horrible heavy feeling of it. She felt it slowly fill up her lungs so she couldn't breath.
Her chest heaved, trying to suck in air, but on succeeded in drawing in more of the cement. Her whole body felt stuffed and heavy, and she could already tell the cement was hardening.
(Yesser-y, the fastest drying cement in all of Equestria. Hardens in almost seconds, and will be completely dry in less than five hours!
Whatdaya think, Big Mac?
Eeyup)
Her throat was burning, and she retched and gaged, trying to bring up the foul stuff while more still was being pumped into her body. Her eyes rolled widely in their sockets, and it took her a while to realise the pony wasn't even holding her anymore, but she was being held down by her own weight.
The pony wasn't even pumping cement in anymore, but just watching from a short distance away, as cement dripped out of her mouth, nostril and ears.
Applejack was fading, her chest spasming un-controllably. Her eyes fluttered shut as her body dripped of cement, and her chest finally stopped.
(Now who's going to fix the path…)
Twilight walked down the hall of the hospital, the burden of her news visibly weighing her down.
"Ok, bye, Rainbow Dash~!" The dense sounding yell from the grey pony carried easily down the hall towards her. Twilight looked up as she passed the cross eyed pegasus, Derpy, trotting happily down the hall. She sighed, and entered the room.
Rainbow Dash looked up.
"That Derpy..." The cyan pegasus shook her head affectionately. She blinked in confusion at Twilight's grave look. "What's up?"
The hunched, purple unicorn gave a sigh. "Rainbow… Applejack was murdered last night."
The injured pegasus sat stunned for a moment, processing what she had just been told.
"W-What…" She said, numb-struck, as her eyes filled with tears that she didn't even notice.
"Big Macintosh found her this morning after she went to cement a path late last night… It wasn't pretty," Twilight winced at the memory of the hard, bloated body that used to be her friend. "There's not going to be a funeral…. The death was too horrific."
"What happened." It wasn't a question, it was a demand.
"The police think she was attacked and the cement mix was forced down her throat… She suffocated." Twilight's voice broke at the end of her sentence, and she collapsed on the floor, sobbing.
Rainbow Dash just sat, still stunned. She stared blankly at the wall.
"I'll kill them."
"W-What…?" Twilight sat up, wiping her eyes.
"Who ever did this to her… I'm going to find them, and I'm going to BUCKING KILL THEM!" The her voice raised to a shrill scream. She was up out of her bed now, her eyes blazing angrily.
"Rainbow!" Twilight cried, noticing that the pegasus's bones were jutting out at odd angles. "Rainbow Dash, stop! Look what you're doing to yourself! Get back in bed. What's done is done, there's nothing we can do about it. She's gone, Rainbow. Gone. And even if you do kill whoever did this, it won't bring her back." She gazed at the shaking pegasus, who glared back with hate, anger and sorrow filled eyes. They held eye contact for a few moments before the pegasus broke down, wailing and crying. Twilight placed an arm around her and they sat there, two broken, wretched friends, worried for the future.
The news spread like wildfire through Ponyville, though the details were hazy, as they always are with rumors. Most ponies were terrified, many interested, but all were downright miserable. Applejack was a friendly pony, and knew almost everypony in Ponyville. Everypony had been brought up on her families apples their whole lives, so it was a great loss for the whole community. There was a memorial in her honor, and ponies placed carved apples around her grave, and a single apple tree was planted in the middle of Ponyville.
Her friends and family were hit the hardest, and for the next few days they simply stayed by themselves.
At her cottage, Fluttershy was crying. She had been crying non-stop since she found out. She knew everypony thought she was weak, and she agreed. But no only was she upset about her friend's death, but she was also scared for herself and the rest of Ponyville. She had been thinking. What if Rainbow Dash's crash hadn't been an accident. What if the same pony who killed Applejack had tried to kill Rainbow Dash first? She thought she should tell somepony, but she hadn't had the courage to leave her house.
Looking out the window through tear filled eyes, she saw the sun just beginning to set. How could Celestia still be raising and setting the sun everyday now that Applejack was dead and gone? She felt like her life would never go on, or at least never be the same again.
Suddenly, it struck her. It had been four days since Applejack's passing, and she hadn't been looking after her animal friends. She gasped, and stumbled out of her cottage, down to where she kept her animals. By the time she got there, the sun was casting long shadows, and it was nearly completely dark.
"Angel! Angel! Oh, Angel, come out. I'm sorry for not feeding you and my other friends. However, when she got to the pen, the gate was swinging wide open and all the animals were gone. She gasped, feeling fresh tears well up in her eyes, and she ran back towards her house, letting out small, quiet sobs. She pushed the door open, her head down, tears blurring her vision. She had started hiccuping from the amount of crying she had been doing. But she wiped her eyes and started to search for Angel.
"Angel? Where are you bunny? I promise to give you the biggest, juiciest carrot I can find. Just come ouuuut…" She cried out to her beloved pet. She dragged her feet over to the door to her cupboard, opening it… And started screaming.
Angel's body fell with a thud to the ground, covered in blood, and missing parts of his fur, ears and eyes. She screamed again, covering her eyes and wailing out her misery.
"This can't be happening! First Applejack, now Angel!" She screeched out to the empty house.
"Now.. you." She heard a growl behind her, and whipped around with a whimper. Standing in front of her was a black cladded pegasus with glowing red eyes. Fluttershy's fur stood up on end and she couldn't feel her body. So when puddle of urine started to grow from under her, she neither noticed, nor cared.
What happened next seemed like in slow motion. The shadowy pegasus reached behind itself and produced a large, rusty looking hacksaw. It threw itself at Fluttershy who simply stood, too shocked and stunned to react fast. She tried to stumble away, but it was with little effort. She knew she was going to die tonight.
With a quick, clean flick of its head, the pegasus cut right through Fluttershy's tender flesh around her throat. She screamed as the blood poured out, and she heard a whistle as wind was sucked into the slit. The pegasus had cut to her wind pipe. She gaged and jerked, her hooves clawing at her throat to no avail, and she barely felt as the pegasus sliced the saw through her belly, spilling her intestines. She lay in a twitching heap on the floor, and pile of blood, fur and internal organs.
It didn't take long for her to fade out, but not before she noticed the slice in the ponies bulky outfit. Underneath was what looked like short, light grey fur.
"Fluttershy too?" Twilight Sparkle gazed at the officer in front of her in dismay. That was two of her friends, three counting Angel, dead in six days. She thought about going to tell Rainbow Dash, but decided against it. She closed the door to the officer's retreating figure, and went back into her library, laying down on the ground to shed yet more tears for another of her departed friends.
"Why is this happening?!" She whispered to herself, her head pounding from the amount of crying she had been doing. She rolled onto her back and looked up at the books in her library.
There was obviously something going on here. These was some kind of planned murders, not just one off things. She thought about Rainbow Dash's accident, completely un-aware that she was going over the exact thing Fluttershy was merely 12 hours ago before she was brutally slaughtered.
What if it wasn't an accident? She had to go and talk to Rainbow Dash about it. She got up, fixed herself up so she wouldn't look so bad in front of her injured friend and arise suspicion, and set out for the hospital.
"Anything at all…" Rainbow Dash pondered, looking worn out and tired. "I-I really don't know, Twi.. I'm sorry."
Twilight noticed Rainbow Dash was looking worse than ever, her broken bones clearly and painfully visible through her thin coat. Her usually magnificent rainbow mane was dull and lifeless, as were her magenta coloured eyes.
"Actually… I think I remember something…" She said suddenly. "The night I was out flying, before I crashed I ran into this really big, dark raincloud."
"And?" Twilight asked, not sure how this was getting at anything.
"Well, that night there were hardly any clouds at all, and they were all long and thin. I would have noticed a huge, grey raincloud like that. That means that it would have been made by-"
"Another pegasus!" Twilight finished. Rainbow nodded.
"Right. And what's more, I thought I saw something grey shooting at my while I was in there and push me out, which is what caused me to fall."
Twilight jumped to her feet. "Sweet Celestia…" She breathed, before cantering out of Dash's room and through the front door of the hospital. Rainbow Dash watched her go, confused.
"What's she up to…?" She asked herself.
That next morning Rainbow Dash awoke, feeling groggy and eve more tired than the night before. She had been having terrible dreams, about falling through the dark, and her friend's murders. She heaved herself up, and started as she saw Pinkie, Rarity, Spike and Derpy sitting there looking grave.
"W-Whoa… What's going on?" She asked them. Rarity looked up, her blue eyes dull.
"Twilight was killed last night…" She told the pegasus.
"What?!" She screamed at them, her eyes stinging with the now familiar feeling of tears. "No! NO! WHY?! WHY IS THIS HAPPENING?!" She screeched, and Rarity, blinking away tears of her own, comforted her as best as she could.
Pinkie Pie sat there, her normally pouffy hair flat and lifeless. Spike's eyes were glazed with shock and sorrow, and even Derpy's strange eyes looked sad.
"I don't know why this keep happening, darling…" Rarity said sadly, glancing over at the bright purple hospital gown lying on the bed stand she had given Rainbow Dash what seemed like years ago. This brought new tears to her eyes, and she stifled a sob. She was trying to be brave for all of them. Three of her friends had died in the past seven days, and there were only four left. She didn't want them to drown in their sorrows, so she had to try and keep their hopes up. "But whatever happens know that nothing is going to happen to the rest of us. I know it will never be the same again, but we have to make it work… For Applejack and Fluttershy and Twilight. They wouldn't want us to be like this. We have to push on."
They sat in silence, Rarity awkwardly trying to solace the hunched over Rainbow Dash.
"I-I know some place we could maybe go to, now, maybe… If you wanted," Derpy's naturally obnoxiously loud voice broke the silence with a shatter. "It's windy, so maybe you could feel better. 'Cos it's like when you fly. And you like flying. You know. Remember?" She said.
"I-I really don't thin-" Rarity began.
"Alright," Rainbow Dash croaked, looking up into Derpy's nervous looking, crossed eyes.
"Are you sure about this, Rainbow…?" Rarity asked quietly.
"Positive. Besides, it'll do me good to get out…" She said, softly pushing Rarity back and slithering out of bed. Her legs wobbled as she landed on them. Rarity watched, concerned. She would have expected Rainbow Dash to have made a better recovery than this.
Using her friends for support, Rainbow Dash made her way out of her room and down the hall. The grumpy nurse from when they first brought their wounded friend in intercepted them before they could escape.
"And just what do you think you're doing?" She demanded.
"Going outside," Rainbow Dash growled determinedly, pushing past her with a wince. The nurse gaped at the group of them as they exited, shocked that a patient would ignore her like that.
Once they were outside, Derpy took the lead, looking almost excited about the fact that she was in front. The place she had in mind was just outside of Ponyville, a very windy, grass cover cliff overlooking the ocean. It wasn't too far to take their injured companion, but it was still a bit of a walk, so Rainbow Dash was pretty exhausted by the time they got there.
They all sat down near the edge of the cliff, peeking over the edge to see the waves crashing into the sharp rocks. The cold wind whistled around them, and they shivered. Rarity wasn't even bothered when her mane whipped around, out of control, loosing it's perfect shape. Luna's moon was out, and it was then that Rainbow Dash realised that she must have slept all day. She glanced down and saw that her cyan blue coloured fur looked like a light grey in the moonlight, while Derpy's glowed silver next to her.
So, there they sat for some time, each thinking to themselves how they would survive without their friends, all scared for the future, and wondering if the murderer would strike again.
"Rainbow Dash?" Derpy's voice broke the silence. Rainbow Dash turned to her slowly, noticing she was a bit further back than the rest of them. As she looked into her friend's strange, strange eyes, expecting fear, sympathy and sorrow. But she didn't. The pegasus's face was knitted into a sadistic kind of grin, her crossed eyes glowing with hate and triumph. "Rainbow Dash…."
"W-What?" The former dare-devil said in surprise.
"Switch." Derpy's mouth opened into a wide grin.
Rarity turned at this, watching in confusion at what was happening.
"Rainbow?" She asked, turning her friend around to face her. "What's wr- AHHH!" She screamed, stumbling backwards, closer to the edge of the cliff. Pinkie Pie turned around, letting out a gasp at what she saw, and Spike yelled out in surprise.
Rainbow Dash's eyes glowed with anger, hate and pure evil. The usual happy, pride magenta was darker, filled with malicious joy at whatever thoughts were going through her head. And, they were crossed in a ridiculous way that seemed disturbing and unsettling. Just like Derpy's.
"What's going on?!" Rarity shrieked. Derpy let out a harsh barking laugh.
"I can't believe you bucking idiots really agreed to come out here with me," She mocked them. "And I can't believe you didn't realise."
"R-Realise what?" Pinkie Pie squeaked.
Derpy laughed again, starting to pace around and around in a crazed way. Rainbow Dash stood next to her like an obedient dog, her face drawn in a scowl of hate.
"Who do you think had been killing your friends?" She asked, smiling.
"Y-You!" Spike yelled, his eyes wide with shock and horror.
Derpy smirked. "Oh no. That's what you'd hope." She pointed a hoof at the motionless Rainbow Dash.
"Rainbow?! No, she'd never do that! What have you done to her?!" Rarity demanded, filled with fear and fury.
"Well, at first I just wanted to make her like me. You have no idea what it's like to be like this! Everyone thinks you're a bucking idiot, and treats you like one! So, I made up a plan to try and make the coolest, awesomest pony in Ponyville like me. Then, no one would make fun of me again! I ambushed Rainbow Dash when she was practicing her moves. Pushed her right out of a cloud I made up. I hoped that a hit on the head hard enough would do the trick. But it didn't work. Didn't work the way I planned. Oh, no. It worked so much bucking better." Derpy snarled, her pupils pin-pricks, her mouth a beam of lunatic madness.
"I found out when I visited her in the hospital. Right after you five had. I sneaked in, since visiting times where over. Boy, was she happy to see me. I was talking to her, and I discovered that if I said a word, she would… change. You see, I found out that when she hit her head, she developed a split personality that I controlled. I could make her do anything I wanted.
So, I targeted your friends. I knew that nopony would suspect Rainbow Dash of killing her friends, one because she was injured in the hospital, and two because, well, they where her friends. I… borrowed... some material's from your boutique, Rarity, and managed to make a suitable disguise for her. Then, I told her to go and kill Applejack, then Fluttershy a few nights later.
But when I was going to visit her last night, when I was going to tell her to go and kill you, Rarity, I saw Twilight going in first. So, I flew around to Rainbow Dash's window, which was luckily open, and heard everything. When Rainbow Dash said she thought she saw something grey flying towards her in that cloud, Twilight knew it was me. I'm the only pegasus with a grey coat. So when she left, I snuck in and told her to kill that interfering purple idiot. Let me tell you, I enjoyed watching Rainbow Dash rip her to shreds and hide her remains in your ingredient cupboard, Pinkie Pie." Derpy finished, looking at them, her pupils looking like two lost, insane dots in her eyes. There was a stunned silence, in which Derpy simply stared at them, waiting for their reactions. Her out-of-focused eyes never wavered, and she looked as happy as a filly on their birthday.
"And now… It's time to get rid of you three. Rainbow Dash… Attack." The word hung in the air, and Rainbow Dash sprung at the group, standing on the edge of the cliff. Her eyes blazed with a deranged hunger, seeming to stare at all member present at once. The group scattered, and she landed with a thud, letting out a grunt of pain as some of her bones inside her broken leg cracked with small snapping sounds.
"The good thing about her, is that in this state, she feels hardly any pain. And even if she does, she has to listen to me." Derpy's matter-of-fact commentary of this sick display floated calmly of the sounds of scuffling and squealing, as Rainbow Dash dragged her friends closer and closer to the edge of the cliff.
"Rainbow Dash, STOP!" Rarity scream hysterically, flailing her hooves wildly in the air as she was dragged through the mud and grass. But Rainbow Dash's crazed eyes didn't flicker in memory or realization, and she just tugged harder. Meanwhile, Pinkie Pie was struggling away. Rainbow Dash stopped, bounding over to her and pulling her towards the edge. While she was busy, Rarity tried to scramble to her feet, but was forced down again and Rainbow Dash landed on her with a huff. She could hear Pinkie sobbing, as well as her own cries of pain and fear. She couldn't hear Spike, or Derpy, but she hoped he was okay.
"W-What are you doing? STOP!" An enraged, pain-filled howl ripped through the air, as well as the sound of snapping bones.
"R-Rarity, Pinkie! I broke Derpy's wings!" Spike's triumphant yell followed after it, and Rarity looked up to see him still on the pegasus's back, her wings bent and useless in his claws. With a scream of rage, the yellow maned pony bucked her back legs high in the air, sending the baby dragon tumbling through the air, right towards the edge of the cliff.
"Spike!" Rarity called out. But he stopped himself before he bounced off the edge, shivering in fear.
Rainbow Dash was now focused on Pinkie, nearly having her over the edge of the cliff. Rarity got to her hooves, starting to race towards where Spike was.
"No! Go and get her! You need to stop her!" Spike yelled at the unicorn. She turned widely, seeing the injured pegasus still lying on the ground, struggling to get up. Her body raged with fury, and she pounded towards the monster that used to be her friend. As she reached her, she raised her front hooves up, bringing them down hard on Derpy's chest. The pegasus screamed in rage and pain, flailing around on the ground, as Rarity kicked, bucked and butted the helpless pony in her rage. Soon, Derpy was cowering beneath her, almost as battered as Rainbow Dash, who meanwhile looked like a bag glass, as her bones stuck out un-evenly beneath her coat, creating sick bumps and lumps all over her, some even sticking through her skin, piercing the flesh and causing blood to run in thick clumps down her fur. Yet she still kept going.
Rarity grabbed Derpy's tail and started dragging her towards the cliff. If the pegasus tried calling out for Rainbow Dash to help her, or tried to get away, the white unicorn stopped and bucked her hard in the face, hear cracks and smacks as her hard hoof connected with Derpy's injured, un-recognizable face.
She got her over to the edge, rolling her to the tip. She forced her head up to look at her, breathing heavily. The crossed eyes swam with tears, and blood dripped into them, but her jumbled up pupils blazed with rage and hate.
"This is what happens when you hurt my FRIENDS!" Rarity screamed in her face, making Derpy cringe and spraying her with spittle. With a final heave of effort, the fashionista pony bucked the pathetic creature from the top of the cliff, hearing the scream of terror and fury as the now flight-less pegasus fell to meet her death on the sharp rocks at the bottom. Above the waves, Rarity thought she heard a sickening crunch, and the screaming stopped. She glanced over her shoulder… and screamed. Rainbow Dash now had Pinkie Pie completely off the cliff, and the pink pony was only hanging on to the side desperately. Rainbow Dash was some how in the air, her broke wings flying around wildly as she managed to stay airborne, as if by magic.
"RAINBOW DASH! NO!" Rarity scream, just as the rainbow maned mare dived to finish the job. "U-UH… SWITCH!" She screamed desperately, remembering what it was that Derpy said to make her turn into this deranged creature she saw before her. She saw Rainbow Dash blink in confusion, her eyes sliding back to their normal position before an expression of pain flickered across her face. She cried out, her wings giving out and she plummeted the rest of the way, rolling in the air to land right in front of Pinkie instead of on her to knock her off like originally planned. Rarity galloped over to Pinkie, pulling the hysterical pony to her feet. She held her friend as she bawled out her fear and horror. Spike crept over to them, and they managed to support both Rainbow Dash and Pinkie away from the edge. They lay together in a heap of blood, fur and tears in the freezing wind, knowing that what ever had happened, was over.
"I-I… I'm so… so-" Rainbow Dash's voice cracked, and she broke down with it, sobbing into her hospital blanket. They were back in the hospital, a few days after the incident with Derpy, and Rarity was finally telling her friend what had happened.
"It's not your fault, sweety, it wasn't you doing it. It was Derpy." She said, her voice hardening with pure hate at the name.
Rainbow Dash babbled a stream of inaudible words, gasping for breath through her tears. After she finally calmed down, she looked up at Rarity.
"I killed them. I killed out friends."
"No, Rainbow Dash. You didn't. It wasn't you," She said sternly. "And our friend's wouldn't blame you either. No pony does. It was Derpy. And she's gone now. Nothing like this will happen again. It's over." She said softly, placing a comforting hoof on the once again crying pegasus.
"Alright, Rainbow Dash, be careful, darling. And if you need anything, make sure to call me," Rarity said to Rainbow Dash, standing at her bedroom door. After almost a year laying in bed at the hospital, Rainbow Dash was finally allowed to go home - or at least Rarity's home. There was no way she would be able to get up to her cloud house yet, if ever again- and lay in bed for probably another year. She had un-gone harsh psychological counselling, to insure that she would recover from the shock. She had been told that she probably wouldn't be able to walk without some kind of supporter, as the bones in her legs, and some other parts of her body had been ground into dust and snapped so badly they would probably never heal properly. They had managed to fix some of them, and she knew she would have to go back to the hospital many times in the future to get other things fixed up. But right now, she was feeling alright. She was in almost constant pain, both emotionally and physically, but she was a tough pony, and she was determined to see this through.
"Ok, thanks, Rarity," She said to the unicorn. "But before you go, can you pass me the radio over there, I wanna listen to it for a bit if that's alright?"
"Of course," Rarity's horn glowed, and the radio floated over to Rainbow Dash's outstretched hooves.
"Thanks."
"Not a problem, my dear. Now remember, if you need anything, just call."
"Go it."
Rarity left the room, closing the door behind her. Rainbow Dash fiddled with the buttons, eventually finding a channel she liked. The radio reporters were talking about the Wonderbolt's up-coming show. Rainbow Dash wished she could go, but she knew it was pointless.
"Yes, so I hear they're getting a new member of the team this year, Petal Bloom. A mare named Wind Rush," One reporter said, his voice crackly over the radio. "And kicking out a current member, who's name I can't seem to remember…" There was the sound of shuffling papers. "Ah, here it is. The young colt, Silver Lining."
"They're doing a switch?" Petal Blooms higher voice asked.
"Seems so."
But Rainbow Dash stopped listening. The radio slipped from her grasp, landing with a soft thunk on the carpeted floor, causing it to switch off. The pegasus sat rigidly in her bed, breathing shallowly. Her eyes rolled in their sockets into a cross eyed expression, her brows knitted together, and her mouth split into a wide grin of deranged joy. She uttered a low growl in her throat as she tried to struggle her way out of her blankets, ignoring the sharp jabs of her bones beneath her pelt. Her master wasn't here, but she could still complete the task she asked of her. Oh yes, quite easily.
"Rainbow Dash… KILL."
Author's Note
Well, just an idea I had in my head for a while. I slightly apologise for this
