The Boxby Matthew PennChaptersThe DilemmaDesperationConfrontationThe DilemmaHave you ever kept a secret from your best friend? Have your best friend ever tried to learn what your secret was? Was his/her attempts to do so almost destroyed that friendship? This is what almost happened to a certain pink pony. There are times when some secrets are ready to be shared with everyone. Other times, most secrets are best kept hidden. Like, forever. Our story begins on a beautiful summer day. Pinkie Pie merrily hopped to whatever direction she pleased across town. She did not know where she was going or why, but she hoped she would cross paths with at least one of her best friends. She hummed a familiar tune to herself as she did so. She lifted her head unto the sky, only to see Rainbow Dash fly through an unsuspecting cloud. “Rainbow Dash!,” she yelled. The rainbow maned pegasus looked down and saw who had called her. She happily waved back at the pink party mare. She flew down with such speed and verocity, but landed gracefully on the ground, posing with pride. “Hey Pinkie Pie. How’s it going?” “Everything’s great! I woke up early this morning, which is really strange because I never wake up early. Well, I do wake up early sometimes, but never at 6 am. Anyway I had chocolate-custard cake for breakfast, but Mrs. Cake was upset with me because I did and she said I should never have cake for breakfast and then Mr. Cake...” Pinkie Pie ceased her nonsensical rambling and glanced at a small box Rainbow was holding with her right foreleg. Rainbow’s face was locked on the box, with a smile gleaming from her face. “Hey Dashie, what’s with the box?” “This thing? Oh, nothing important,” Dash replied. The cyan pegasus looked at her box again and let out a small laugh. This intrigued Pinkie even more. “If it’s nothing important, why are you laughing?” “Like I said, it’s nothing important.” “Well, can I see? Please, please, please can I see it?” Pinkie Pie pleaded. Rainbow thought for a moment before looking at the box again. She laughed harder this time, and continued before giving her answer. “Nah, I don’t think you’d be interested in what’s in here.” “But the box made you laugh! And I love laughing! Laughing is my second most favorite thing to do besides throwing parties!” Pinkie reasoned. “I’m sorry Pinkie Pie. I wish I could show you, but I cant.” A frown appeared on Pinkie’s face for the first time in months. Her poofy, cotton candy mane deflated, but not to the extent of the surprise party incident. “Why can’t you show me?” “Because...,” Dash brought her head closer to Pinkie’s, “... because it’s a secret.” “A secret? Dashie, you know I don’t like it when anypony keeps secrets from me. Remember what happened last time?” “Yeah I know, and we’re all sorry, but listen - what’s in this box, I can’t reveal to anypony. Maybe when the time’s right, you and the rest of the girls can see it, but for now - this one’s with me.” Pinkie lowered her eyes to the ground. Her frown was becoming more visible and she felt like her heart was seconds away from exploding. She took a look at the cubical object Dash was holding. How come she doesn’t want me to see what’s inside she thought to herself. Her eyes widened as a lightbulb switched on above her head. “Rainbow Dash! If I tell you my secrets, will you show me what’s in your box?” Rainbow Dash gave a questioning look to the party pony. “You? Having secrets? I find that very unlikely.” “What do you mean? I have lots and lots of secrets! I promise you by the end - you will never look at me the same again.” “Try me,” was all Rainbow Dash could say. Pinkie Pie began to think. Dash was right of course, she had no secrets to keep. She was open to about almost everypony in Ponyville. But if she wanted to gain Dash’s trust, she will have to go to deep end and lie about the imaginary secrets she hold dear. “Well for starters... do you know you’re my very best friend?” “Pinkie Pie, we knew each other for three years.” “Oh. Well... sometimes, I don’t like it when I’m sad and lonely.” “I already knew that too.” “Um... I have an unhealthy addiction to sweets and parties?” Rainbow Dash yawned at that statement. Pinkie was losing her. Desparate times calls for desparate measures some would say. “Okay, okay, how about this?” Pinkie shifted her eyes to make sure nopony was near them. “I can’t tell my left from my right,” she whispered to Dash’s ear. “Really? Wow. You hide it so well,” Dash said surprised. A smile began to expand on Pinkie’s face. “And my mane? Made from real cotton-candy!” “I knew it!” Dash exclaimed. “Sometimes, I like to pretend the Cake Twins are my foals,” Pinkie said with joyous glee. “... why?” Pinkie was in the clear. If she kept this up, Dash would reveal what’s in her box in no time. She tried to come up as many secrets as she could. Out of nowhere she pulled out a lounging chair and motioned Rainbow Dash to sit and gave her a bag of popcorn and a soft drink. This could take a while... •---------- “... I sometimes see things that aren’t really there, I had an existential crisis while watching paint dry, I have dreams of becoming a winged unicorn, I have a crush on Big Mac, I might be schizophernic, I think Mrs. Cake cheated on Mr. Cake, a lot of the stallions here don’t feel comfortable around me for some reason...” A few hours passed since Pinkie had began revealing her “secrets” to Rainbow Dash. The cyan pegasus sat there, mezmerized by the words that came from the pink mare’s mouth. She thought she really knew Pinkie Pie until now. “... And at night, I check under my bed for monsters, and right now, I’m wearing my protective Anti-Discord undergarments! You can’t see them, but they’re there.” Rainbow’s mouth was agape. Never before was she exposed to a large amount of secrets in a span of three hours. She snapped out of her trance and stared at Pinkie with wonder. “Wow. You think you know a pony.” Pinkie Pie smiled at Rainbow and waited patiently for her to reveal the contents of her box. Rainbow could feel her blue irises trying to desparately dig deep into her soul. Before she could react she looked down at her box. She almost forgot her end of the deal. “Um, yeah, about the box... uggh, I still can’t show you.” “WHAT! After all the secrets I told you?!” “Look, Pinkie Pie, I just don’t think you’re going to like what’s inside the box.” “But... you said you show me your box,” Pinkie said sadly. “I didn’t say I’ll show you what’s inside the box. You assumed I was going to reveal it to you. Besides, if you see what’s in it, you would freak out like a maniac.” “But Dashie,” Pinkie pleaded. She wrapped herself around one of Dash’s hindlegs. “No Pinkie!” Rainbow floated a few feet into the air and shook Pinkie off her leg. She watched Pinkie land on her flank and stood beside her. She held the box with her forelegs as the rays of the sun shined a heavenly glow on it. “The contents of this box must not be seen by anypony other than me! To allow anypony else to look will break the sacred code the Secret Society of... uh... Secrets! My mind works differently than yours Pinkie Pie. While you may be an open door, my mind is a 135 puzzle you try to complete but get real frustrated so you give up. Do you understand, Pinkie? Pinkie?” Her hooves felt empty. She saw a pink dot miles that was running at full speed. Rainbow spread her wings and took to the sky, determine to catch the box thief. The mares chased each other across town, frightening the townsponies. As Pinkie bounced from one building to another, Rainbow crashed through them. At one point, Pinkie hid herself in Roseluck’s cart of roses, only for Rainbow Dash to lift the cart and throw it on the ground. The cyan pegasus dug through the pile of roses, but Pinkie was nowhere to be seen. Rainbow became angry/worried, and flew at supersonic speed, past a block of hay. Pink legs popped from the block of hay and tiptoed to another direction, much to the confusion of the other ponies. “Ah ha!” Rainbow used her superbreath to blow on the haycube, revealing Pinkie. She ran as fast as she could, carrying the box with her. “You can’t hide from me forever!”, Dash yelled at Pinkie. The pink pony ignored her words and increased her speed. Pinkie noticed a brick building coming up to her, forming a dead-end. She looked back and saw Rainbow hot on her tail. As Pinkie approached the building, she ran upwards, defying all laws of physics. Rainbow flew upwards, while at the same time marveling at the feat performed by Pinkie Pie. The chase was now on the roof. Pinkie stopped running when she realized it was a fifty-feet drop. She was cornered by a very frustrated pegasus. She gulped, preparing herself for the worse. “Pinkie Pie! Give me the box back, now!” “I can’t Rainbow! I have to see what’s inside!” “You can’t see what’s inside! It’s dangerous!” Pinkie held the tightly to her. Rainbow Dash was glaring at her, preparing to make the next move. Pinkie slowly opened the lid, until Rainbow pushed her. The party pony plummeted to the ground, screaming as she did so. “Pinkie!” Rainbow flew down to her rescue and caught her just in time. She slowly lowered her pink friend to the ground. Rainbow then pinned Pinkie to the ground, making sure she did not escape. “Why did you steal my box?!” Pinkie struggled but gave up. It was no use. “I’m sorry Dashie. It’s just that... well, I knew you wouldn’t let me see it, that’s why I stole it.” “I told you a dozen times you’re not ready see inside the box. I mean, I was going to let you see it someday, but after what you did, I change my mind! You are never allowed to see the box!” Hearing those words broke Pinkie’s heart. Her mane completely deflated, and looked as though she were about to cry. Rainbow turned her back to her, ignoring her sad, little whimpers. Pinkie continued to cry her eyes out and water formed around her from her tears. Rainbow looked back and saw how sad Pinkie was. She cooled down a little and wrapped her hoof around her. “Pinkie, look, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to yell at you. I was worried is all.” Pinkie stopped crying. What did she mean she was worried? “I didn’t want you see because I was afraid of your reaction. I don’t tell anypony this, but... I keep a lot of secrets. And If this one got out... lets just say Discord taking over the world won’t be the worst thing that’s happened.” Pinkie wiped her tears. Her hair slowly inflated to its original form, but she was still upset. “But you’re still not allowed to see it. Well, not yet. When the time is right, I show you what’s in the box. Okay?” Pinkie was not sure how to respond, but she had no choice but to respect Dash’s decision. She wiped away the remaining tears from her eyes and gave her a hug. As of now, all was well with the world. Pinkie and Dash spent the remainder of the day together. Every now and then Rainbow would look inside the box and get a quick laugh, much to Pinkie’s distraught. One way or another, she will look inside the box. —————— The day came to an end, and the moon rose above the sky. Rainbow returned to her home that floated above Ponyville while Pinkie returned to her room in Sugarcube Corner. All night, she could not sleep. She still thought about the box - what was inside that Dash did not want her to see? Why did she not want her to see it? And most importantly, have she shared the contents of the box with the girls? “Gummie, this is serious,” she said to her unconcerned baby alligator... lizard... thing. “I know we agreed that I will never look at the box, but this isn’t right. I’m Rainbow Dash’s best friend! Why does she want to keep something like this away from me?” She put a hoof on her chin as various answers came into her mind. “Maybe... what if she has a super-powerful ring that gives her lots of power! Wait, all the rings in Equestria have been destroyed. Maybe she’s diamond thief! No, Rainbow Dash would never steal anything. What if... she has a head of another pony. Or worst... it’s that embarrasing snapshot of me AT THAT HEARTH’S WARMING EVE PARTY!” The horrifying feeling traveled throughout her body and she screamed in terror. “... Pinkie Pie, go to sleep,” Mr. Cake called out from another room. She couldn’t take anymore. She jumped out of her bed and paced around her room, eager to find a solution to this ordeal. “I gotta find out what’s in that secret box, Gummie! Aww, but Dashie’s at home now! And I can’t walk on clouds. What am I gonna do?” She slumped back into her bed. She buried her head under her pillow and she stayed like that for a moment. She sat back up when an idea formulated. “If I can’t get her to tell me her secret, maybe I find a way to force her to tell me. But how? I know! I’ll go ask Twilight tomorrow! And she cast a truth spell or something! Yeah that’s it!” Pinkie hopped her room, excited for the newly formed plan. “What do you think, Gummie?” “...” “That’s great!” ————— Pinkie Pie hopped all the way to Twilight’s library. She could already see the outcomes in her head like a dream. As she got close to her destination, she paused and thought about her plan for a few minutes. She pulled out a notepad and began to go over the details: 1. Have Twilight cast a “truth spell” on Pinkie 2. Get close to Rainbow Dash 3. ????? 4. The Box “Hm. I really should have put more thought into this one. Oh well!” She hopped to the front door and knocked repeatedly. The door open to reveal our favorite lavender unicorn. She was much surprised to see the pink party pony on her doorstep early this morning. “Pinkie Pie, you’re up early this morning. What’s the occasion?” “Oh, nothing. I just came to say hi,” replied Pinkie. An awkward silence filled the air. “Well, hi,” Twilight said uncomfortably. “Is that all you came to do?” “Oh wait! I need you to do me a big favor! A really, really big, huge, gigantic, humongous, favor!” Pinkie was uncomfortably close to Twilight’s face. The unicorn used her magic to ease Pinkie back a few inches. “What did you want to do? You hardly ask me to do any favors.” “I know, it’s just that Rainbow Dash is keeping a secret from me and I really want to know what it is and I want you to enchant me with some kinda spell that makes ponies tell the truth.” “Rainbow is keeping a secret from you? That is very strange. Why would she keep a secret from you?” “That’s what I wanna know! So can’t you just do your magic thing and enchant me with something?” Twilight thought for a moment to consider her actions. On one hoof, keeping a secret from Pinkie Pie is something that nopony should ever do, or else the consequences will be dire. On the other hoof, maybe Rainbow Dash has a good reason to keep a secret from Pinkie. They’re not sure what Dash’s personal life is like, and maybe what she’s keeping from her is something she rather not talk about. “Pinkie, don’t you think you’re being over-dramatic. I think the secret she’s keeping from you is very personal.” “Personal?! Twilight, she laughed! Laughed! Her secret was kept in a box, and she laughed!” “Okay, maybe it’s not very personal, but I do believe she has a good reason to keep it from you. Maybe she’s just waiting for the right time to show it to you.” “That’s what she said! Twilight, you have to help me! This is driving me crazy and I need to know what she’s keeping from me! I love to laugh! Ha, ha, ha see? I love laughing!” The pink pony was close to her face again. No matter how she reasoned, Pinkie would not take no for an answer. Twilight let some air out of her lungs and walked toward a bookshelf. “Okay, Pinkie, If you really want to know Rainbow’s secret, then fine. I’ll help you.” “Oo goodie! Thank you, Twilight, thank you, thank you, thank you!” Pinkie gave the lavender unicorn the biggest hug she ever gave to anypony. When she finished Twilight caught up with her breath and preceded to levitate a book from the top shelf. It was a usual spells and encantations manual, with the spells perfectly memorized in her head (well, most of them). She levitated the book to a nearby desk and opened it to a specific chapter. “Let’s see. Here we are - The Omnitruth Spell. It says here that anypony enchanted with the spell can make another pony reveal a deep, dark secret or any kind of secret for that matter. All you have to do is to touch them, then the spell posses them.” “That’s exactly what I need!” “Are you sure you want to go through with this, Pinkie? You said a long time ago that betraying a friend’s trust is the worst thing that could happen.” Twilight was right, of course. Pinkie thought about the consequences of invading Dash’s privacy. Now she was starting to feel really bad, but she can’t shake the thought that what was in Dash’s box has something to do with her. “Please, Twilight, I need you to enchant me. It’s the only way I can know for sure. Besides, she already betrayed my trust by keeping a secret from me.” “... Okay, Pinkie. If you really want to.” Twilight looked back at the book for more information. When she finished, she motioned Pinkie to stand at the center of the room and stand still for a few minutes. She concentrated her magical energy to her horn. The horn had the familiar purple glow. A stream of white light hit Pinkie with tremendous force. She was in a daze but soon snapped out of it. “Pinkie Pie! Are you alright?” “I... I don’t know. Did it work?” “I’m not sure.” Pinkie looked at her hooves and then at Twilight... then back at her hooves... then back at Twilight. “Pinkie, what are you --” A pink hoof touched the side of her face. Twilight’s purple irises turned yellow; she seemed to be in a trance. “Twilight, whose the pony you admire the most?” “Princess Celestia, of course! She’s smart, kind, beautiful, and just an amazing friend. I wish she could see me more than just her student. Someday, I hope the two of us --” Pinkie removed her hoof before Twilight said anything elese. Her irises were purple again, and she looked as though she had woken from a deep slumber. “Uhh... what happened?” Pinkie bounced circles around Twilight. She was annoucing to the entire library that the spell worked. Twilight’s eyes widened. She realized what just happened to her. “Pinkie Pie... what did I just say to you? Pinkie Pie?” “Thank you, Twilight! Thank you, thank you sooo much! I don’t know what I ever do without your help! Now to find Rainbow Dash and end her web of secrets and lies once and for all!” With a single bound, she disappeared from the library. Twilight was bewildered at the preceding event. She just told Pinkie her deepest secret and she had not realized it. She didn’t feel like moving. She just wanted to stand there. “Hey, Twilight. What’s with all the ruckus?” Spike asked. She remained silent. “Twilight? Twi? Helloooo?” Spike waved his hand and snapped his claws. Nothing. “Oh no! You must have had a visit from your future self again! What happened this time?” TO BE CONTINUED DesperationThe plan was totally infallible. The pink pony felt a sense of pride as she skipped across town. Soon, the Element of Loyalty will learn that Pinkie Pie is a force to be reckon with. It is only the question of locating Rainbow Dash. There were some clouds in the sky that needed to be cleared, so she hoped she could Dash fly over head. Hours passed; she was nowhere to be seen. A cloud of disappointment hovered over her as she decided to rethink her stragety. She decided trotted to Rainbow Dash’s home, which was a cloud fortress that hovered outside Ponyville. When she got there, she yelled as loud as she could to get Rainbow’s attention. Minutes passed; there was no answer. “Where could she be?” Pinkie asked herself. “Maybe she knew I was thinking of a way to get to the box, so she’s trying to avoid me. No, that can’t be true. Can it?” Just then, she saw a pegasus fly over her. Disappointment settled in when she found it was not Rainbow Dash. He was a dark-grey pegasus, with a silver and blue mane. It was Thunderlane, an associate of Dash’s. That disappointment turned into excitement; maybe he knows where she disappeared to. “Thunderlane! Hey Thunderlane!” Pinkie called out. “Down here!” Thunderlane looked down to see a pink pony calling his name. He swiftly raced downward, and landed in front of Pinkie. “Pinkie Pie. What’s up?” “Oh, nothing. Hey, do you know where Rainbow Dash is?” “I, uh, I don’t know. I haven’t seen her all day. Why?” Confusion took over Pinkie. What if she really forseen Pinkie’s antics? No time to think now, she has questions that need to be answered. “Well, when did you last see her?” “Not since yesterday. She was acting really weird lately.” Pinkie leaned close to Thunderlane’s face with anxiety. “How weird?! Tell me, tell me!” “Uh, oh, I mean she was carrying this box and I wanted to--” “A box! Did she show you what’s inside! Did she?!” “No... Pinkie you’re scaring me.” He could be lying. She readied her hoof just in case she wanted to squeeze the truth out of him. “She did show you, didn’t she?” she asked, with narrow eyes darting at Thunderlane. His darted back and forth. Sweat was flowing down from his head. He was trembling. Pinkie cocked an eye at him, for these were signs of a liar. “Tell me, Thunderlane... what. Did. She. Show. You?” “Nothing! Sh-she didn’t show me anything! Scouts honor!” She was not about to take any chances. She lifted her hoof and touched his forehead. For a moment he felt nauseas, with the sensation that somepony was picking his brain, but he suddenly stopped. He stared blankly into space, his gold irises turning bright green. Pinkie smiled with satisfaction; Thunderlane was under her control. “Tell me the truth, Thunderlane - what was in the box?” “Rainbow Dash didn’t show me what was inside the box. She said it was a secret.” Pinkie’s smile turned upside down. Her hopes of finding the details of the box sanked. She removed her hoof and Thunderlane was back to his normal self, however, in a daze. “Uhh... what happened?” “Nothing. When you see Rainbow Dash, tell her... I’ll be waiting for her.” With nothing else Pinkie hopped away, albeit with scornfulness. Thunderlane has no idea what had happened to him. He just this feeling that, somehow, somepony else was controlling him. His eyes widened as he connect the two together. He realized the horror of the situation. “Oh my gosh. Rainbow Dash, what did you do this time?” Pinkie Pie sat at a nearby table in the center of town. She was enjoying a delicious strawberry milkshake, angrily. She took out her handy-dandy notebook and began to review the details of her “master plan” to find the secrets of the box. “Some master plan that was. Of all days, Dash disappears! I wouldn’t be surprised if she actually was a diamond thief! She’s probably in Canterlot stealing jewels, diamonds, rubies from the Princess right now!” Pinkie Pie imagined Rainbow Dash in a skin-tight black outfit sneaking into secret chambers of Canterlot Castle. She managed to evade the guards and made her way to the secret vault. She pulled out a stethoscope and place the end of it on the vault and make out the combination. She opens the vault and to her glee, a sea of magnificent treasure as far as the eye could see. She pulls out her box, which surprisingly was able to hold all the gold inside the vault. When the guards tried to stop her, she flew away as fast as she could, leaving a rainbow trail behind. She laughed all the way into the night. “If she’s a no good, rotten-to-the-core sneaky thief, then it’s my duty as the Element of Laughter to turn her in to the authorities!” she proclaimed as she banged her hoof on the table. The ponies around her were startled, and Pinkie felt a twinge of embarrassment. “Okay, she may not be a thief. But why did she have to disappear?” She saw that her glass of milkshake was empty. She began to consider her options when Scootaloo rode past on her scooter. “Hey, Pinkie Pie. Why you look so down?” “Rainbow Dash is missing and I don’t know where she is. I really wanted to ask her something.” “Rainbow Dash missing? Wow, bummer. Well, I gotta go - a big Cutie Mark Crusaders meeting is starting, and I don’t wanna be late. See ya!” “See ya,” Pinkie said somberly. She watched Scootaloo go, and she walked slowly towards another direction. She really wanted to use her new magic powers on Rainbow Dash, but with her missing, she had to rethink her strategy if she wanted to get close to the box. If only there was a way to -- “WAIT A MINUTE!” Pinkie turned her body around and ran to Scootaloo’s direction at supersonic speed. She ran so fast, she left a trail of fire on the ground, much to the amazement of the townsponies. The speed was tremendous - on the outside, it looked a pink blurred that was shaped as a magic missile. Pinkie ran as fast as her body would allow until the orange pegasus filly was in center view. “SCOOTALOO!” Scootaloo heard her name being called. She looked back and saw a pink blur approaching her fast. Fearfully, she increased the speed of her scooter, hoping to escape the clutches of the party pony. The chase continued throughout the reaches of the forest. The intensity of Pinkie’s speed destroyed and deformed many trees. Scootaloo looked behind her again, and squealed in terror as Pinkie Pie refused to be tired out by the run. Returning her attention forward, she was about to enter a cave. She was afraid of caves, but she must lose Pinkie at all costs. She closed her eyes and drove her Scooter into the deep, dark abyss of the cave. She rode along the black trail until she fell on a small ditch. She fell off her scooter and injured her leg. It was not broken, but it indeed hurt to stand. It was also bleeding, but the wound was not deep. It was a few minutes until she realized she in a cave. It was pitch black - she couldn’t hear Pinkie, so she let out a sigh of relief. She lit a match which gave small light, but enough to see her hooves. “Thank Celestia she’s gone.” “Oooh, I wouldn’t say that...” Scootaloo slowly turned around and, to her horror, Pinkie Pie was right behind her. Pinkie tackled the little filly, and pinned her to the ground. The orange filly tried her best to escape Pinkie’s grip, but the party pony head butted the little pegasus, bruising her head. Scootaloo pleaded the pink pony to spare her life, as Pinkie raised her hoof with great vengeance. She slowly lowered her hoof and touched Scoot’s forehead. Her pleas stopped suddenly, and her pink irises turned dark green. As with Twilight and Thunderlane, she stared blankly in no particular direction. Pinkie once again smile with great satisfaction. “Scootaloo, you know something I don’t. Tell me the truth - where’s Rainbow Dash?” “Rainbow Dash said she was visiting a friend on the other side of town.” “A friend? Hmm. Where exactly? “I don’t know.” “...” “Did she mention anything about a secret box to you?” “Yes.” “...” “Did she show you what was inside?” “Yes.” “...” “...” “What’s inside?” “A--” “Scootaloo! Scootaloo, where are you?!” Pinkie could voices from the distance. The voices belonged to Scootaloo’s two best friends, Applebloom and Sweetie Belle. Pinkie removed her hoof from the orange filly’s head. Scootaloo, back to her normal state, felt tired and out of breath. She did not have the strength to pick herself up. Pinkie Pie put Scootaloo on her back and trotted slowly out of the cave. “Pinkie... Pie...” “Ssshh...” Applebloom and Sweetie Belle continued their search for their pegasus. While they were not looking, Pinkie emerged from the cave with a weak Scootaloo on her back. “Girls,” Pinkie said. Bloom and Belle looked and saw the pink pony, but gasped when they saw the orange filly on her back. They raced to Pinkie and asked a series of questions pertaining to the incident. Pinkie lowered Scoots to the ground slowly and gave them a reassuring smile. “Don’t worry girls, she’s okay. She just tripped on her scooter and fell real hard on the ground. Luckily, I came to her help just in time! She just needs some rest that’s all.” Pinkie was cringing inside. “Aww thanks, Pinkie! Yer a good friend, ya know that?” Applebloom asked with admiration. “You don’t have to thank me--” “We should! Scootaloo’s are best friend! We’re not the Cutie Mark Crusaders without her!” Sweetie Belle exclaimed. Guilt rained over mind. She held on to that fake smile as long as she could. When the Crusaders were out of view, her fake smile vanished, replaced with a deep frown. She searched for a way out of the forest and back into Ponyville. She did not hop this time. While walking, the images of Scootaloo flashed in her mind. She was scared. Scared for her life. Scared of Pinkie. “I didn’t mean to...” Thunderlane sat on a small cloud with a mix of fear and confusion. He didn’t know what Pinkie did to him, nor did he want to know. By the way she sound, she was upset at Rainbow Dash. So many questions were raised. “I don’t get it. Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash are the two greatest best friends I know. What did Dash do to make her upset? And more importantly, what did Pinkie do to me?” He distinctly remembered that when Pinkie came close contact with him, he could feel some sort of... magic. It was like the magic had took over his mind. He never had that experience before. He looked to the sky and thought about the events from an hour ago. “When you see Rainbow Dash, tell her... I’ll be waiting for her.” The way she said those words. He did not know why, but he had the feeling that something bad was about to happen. This is Pinkie Pie, of course. And it’s up to Rainbow Dash to save the day as usual. “I gotta tell somepony! But who? Rainbow Dash is not here, and she’s the key to all this!” Thunderlane mind clicked when the perfect answer came to him. “I know! Twilight Sparkle! Maybe she knows why Pinkie is acting weird. And maybe she can help me find Dash!” He took off into the air and traveled to the Ponyville Library, eager to find answers soon... the fate of Ponyville depends on it. Pinkie Pie sat on a log in the middle of the forest and thought about her actions. She could not get the thoughts of Scootaloo out of her head. For the first time in her young life, a filly was actually terrified of her. Terrified. She spotted a puddle of water by her log and in it was her reflection. The frown on her face was alien to her. All her life, she wanted to spread joy and laughter to all ponies, especially little foals. She quickly looked away from her reflection. She covered her hooves with her face. “Oh Scootaloo! I’m sorry! I’m so, so, sorry! Please forgive me!” she whispered to herself. “I’m the worst pony in Equestria.” “Why does that matter to you?” A cold voice called from nowhere. Pinkie jumped and tried to look where the voice came from. “Hello? Voice? Where are you? I hear you but I can’t see you?” “Over here, idiot!” Pinkie shifted her eyes to direction of the voice, and could not believe her eyes. It was herself. There was a major difference, however. While our Pinkie Pie’s mane is curly and poofy, this Pinkie’s mane was straight, half of it covering her right eye. Her cutie-mark was in the form of three deflated balloons. She glared coldly at the confused Pinkie. “Wh-who are you?” “I’m Pinkamena. Your other personality.” Pinkie blinked. Words alone could not describe the surrealism of this situation. “You probably don’t remember me, but I took over your mind during your little surprised party incident. On the height of emotional strees you suffered, I took physical manifestation from deep inside your mind. Remember the bucket, the sack of flour, and pile of rocks?” Pinkamena gave Pinkie a mocking smile, and the memories came flooding back to her. Pinkie bowed her head in shame. “Please... leave me alone.” “Or what? Sing a stupid song about how to giggle at the ghostie? You’re much of a loser than I thought you were. What kind of special talent is laughter anyway? It’s not that special! Everypony laughs! Even at the expense of somepony else’s misfortune!” The words pierced through Pinkie’s already broken heart. She prayed that the dark version of herself would just go away. “What do you want from me?” “I’ve been watching how Rainbow Dash have been recently treating you. Not letting you see her secret box. That’s one thing you just can’t stand - your friends keeping secrets from you.” A small, evil smile slowly appeared on Pinkamena’s face. Pinkie tried her best to look away from her. “She told you that when the time is right, she will show you her little secret. But guess what - that time is never coming!” “You’re wrong - Rainbow Dash would never lie to me - she’s my best friend.” “Your best friend? Some friend she is. If she’s really your friend, then how come she disappeared the day Twilight gave you your magic powers? Hmmmm?” The question rang true in Pinkie’s mind, but she tried her best to resist the influence of her dark personality. But it did not make sense - there was no way Rainbow Dash could have known about Pinkie’s new ability to make ponies tell the truth - unless... “And Rainbow Dash visiting a friend? If that’s not a load of baloney I’ve ever heard, then I don’t know what is.” “No! Twilight would never warn Dashie about me. Twilight--” “Betrayed your trust, just like Rainbow Dash! And you know what? Twilight probably knew about the box too!” “Stop it!” “The box probably has that embarrassing photo of you from the Hearths Warming Party.” “Stop it, please!” “And Scootaloo was in on it too! What if those little crusaders of yours reunited as Gabby Gums?” “Stop it!” “... and posted an article on the newspaper...” “STOP IT!” The scream was so loud, the birds reacted by flying far away. Pinkamena finally had her right where she wanted her. Pinkie broke down, crying while trying to cover her face in shame. A wicked, satisfactory smile widened as Pinkamena watched her original giving in to the dark side. Now was the time to seal to the deal. “You are so naive, Pinkie. You and I know very well that best friends would never do such a terrible thing like keeping secrets. Especially secrets that pertain to the personal life of another pony. Rainbow Dash, Twilight Sparkle, and Scootaloo should be punished for their sins of deception.” Pinkie wiped the tears from her eyes, and locked her’s to those of her evil double. “H-how?” “You’re still enchanted with the OmniTruth Spell, aren’t you? Use that spell to get revenge! Uncover the dark secrets kept hidden by the ponies who wronged you! Then, when the time is right... reveal those secrets to all of Ponyville! And then we’ll see who has the last laugh!” Pinkamena extended her hoof to the still broken Pinkie Pie. She was hesitant for a moment, but decided that she has had enough of the string of secrets and lies from her so-called “best friends.” “Okay.” Pinkie shook hooves with Pinkamena and both shared an evil laugh. Pinkie was caught up in the moment, never stopping to think that she might draw attention to her self. She finally ceased her sinister laughter to talk to Pinkamena some more. “So Pinkamena, what did you have in mi--” She disappeared. Pinkie looked all over her, but she was nowhere to be found. “But... it felt so real.” She did not know if she was hallucinating, or dreaming, or even having her annual episodes, but she had an epiphany. Her friends would soon realize that keeping secrets from her was not a very good idea. A venomous smile slowly emerged on her face. She hopped her way back into Ponyville - determined to get her vengeance. Thunderlane finally approached his destination - Ponyville Library. He trotted quickly to the front door. He proceeded to knock repeatedly until he heard a feminine voice. Twilight Sparkle greeted Thunderlane with a friendly smile. “Hello, Thunderlane. Welcome to the Library. How may I help you? “Twilight, you’re friends with Pinkie Pie, right?” “Of course. Is something wrong with her?” She asked with a hint of concern. “I don’t know... but I got a feeling that... stuff’s about go down. I’m talkin’ downtown!” Confused, Twilight invited Thunderlane inside to tell her more information about what is about to happen downtown... whatever that means. She told Spike to prepare a pot of tea for their guest. He poured two cups of tea for Twilight and Thunderlane. The unicorn leviated her glasses to her face and made her comfortable on her chair, as if to interview her guest. “Okay Thunderlane, what is it that you mean that something is about to happen... uh... ‘downtown’, as you say?” “Well, I was minding my own business, ya’ know. Then Pinkie Pie came to me and asked me if I seen Rainbow Dash. I said no, and then the Pinkster started interrogating me and such. I’m like, whoa, this ain’t like her. Then all of sudden, she touched my forehead! I can’t remember what happen next, but it felt like... it felt like I was being controlled. Manipulated, ya’ know. Afterward, she said to me If I see Dash, Pinkie’s waiting for her.” “Wait one second - you said you can’t remember anything when she touched your forehead?” “Like I said, it was like some kind of magic had taken me over.” Twilight sipped her tea, then a moment of realization took hold of her. Her mind flashbacked to morning when Pinkie arrived at the library. The same thing happened to her. “What is it, Twilight?” “Oh no. Pinkie still has the OmniTruth Spell.” “The what?” “The OmniTruth Spell. I enchanted her with it this morning. It’s a spell that gives a pony the ability to make anypony reveal a hidden secret or tell the truth,” explained Twilight. Thunderlane was astonished. With that power, Pinkie could be the most feared pony in Ponyville, heck, even in Equestria. “Why did you do that, Twilight?” “This morning, Pinkie arrived at my library and said something about Rainbow Dash keeping a secret from her. And she was desperate to find out what it is.” “She did mention something about some secret box to me earlier,” added Thunderlane. “You don’t think that’s what she is talking about, right?” Twilight thought for a brief moment; knowing Pinkie Pie, there’s no telling what she plans to do with Dash. “I don’t know, Thunderlane. We have to find Pinkie Pie at all costs. But first, I have to find a way to reverse the spell. Something like the OmniTruth Spell could lead to psychological problems.” The pegasus agreed with the unicorn. He bolted out the door - only to stop when another thought came to him. “Oh, by the way - you don’t know where Rainbow Dash is, do you?” “Applejack told me that she was visiting a friend who lives on the other side of Ponyville - which is far away.” Twilight levitated multiple spellbooks from the shelf and set them on her workdesk. “Thunderlane, I want you to find Pinkie and bring her to the library. I’m looking for ways to reverse the spell. Pinkie is very unpredictable, and we can’t let her cause any damage.” “Can do, Miss Sparkle!” Thunderlane spread his wings and took off to the air. He scanned the entire the area for any sightings of the party pony. Spike emerged from another room, concerned over the conversation that had transpired. “Twilight, what’s wrong with Pinkie?” “I don’t know, Spike. Let’s just hope she has not done anything jarring.” “Wow, Scootaloo! You’re lucky to be alive!” Sweetie Belle exclaimed to the young pegasus. Applebloom had done a nice job at wrapping a bandage on the wounded area of her leg. Belle placed a small patch on the bruise on Scoot’s head. “Eeyup! It’s a good thang Pinkie came by to rescue ya when she did!” Bloom and Belle sang their praises to the pink pony who saved the little pegasus. Scootaloo, however, could not get the horrifying images from her mind. The way Pinkie looked at her - as if she was trying to... no, Pinkie would do such a thing. Could she? She tried pushing those thoughts out, but to no avail. Applebloom had not noticed it before, but Scootaloo was uncomfortably silent by the time they arrived at the clubhouse. “Hey Scoot, ya all right?” The orange filly finally reacted when she heard her name. “Oh, uh, yeah... I’m fine. I’m still just a little shock by the whole accident and all.” Scootaloo tried to put on the best smile she could make, but the thoughts of Pinkie pinning her to the ground and head butting her were too much to bear. The last thing she remember was Pinkie placing her hoof on her forehead and... everything went dark. She wanted to tell her friends, but how would they react? How would Rainbow Dash react? A single tear rolled down her cheek. “Scootaloo, what’s wrong?” asked Sweetie Belle. She pulled out a piece of tissue paper, and wiped the tear from Scoot’s face. The orange filly took a quick glance at Belle before more tears followed. Applebloom sat next to Scootaloo; surely something was bothering her. “Scoots, what in the hay is wrong with ya? Ya been mighty quiet all day.” “It’s... it’s nothing.” “It has to be something,” replied Sweetie Belle. The sight of Scootaloo in tears was making her wanting to cry as well. Applebloom was trying her best to hold back any emotion. She made eye contact with Scootaloo and put one of her hooves on her shoulder. “Scootaloo, we are yer pals. If there’s somethin’ ya’ll wanna tell us, just say it.” Scootaloo thought for a moment. One last image of Pinkie Pie flashed before her mind. She shuddered at the very thought. For a brief moment, silence filled the air. Then she closed her eyes and took a deep breath. “It’s about Pinkie Pie...” ————————————————— On the other side of Ponyville (which is about at least 28 miles away), there was a small, wooden house that stood in the middle of forest. The forest was always peaceful and quiet, and not a lot of animals inhabited the area. The house belong to a pegasus named Sky Dancer. Sky Dancer had the same color coat as Rainbow Dash, but her mane and tail were white. She was an old friend of Rainbow Dash; not anything like a childhood friend, but somepony she used to be acquanted to. Dash thought it would be a good idea to spend some time with her, see how life has been treating her. “Got some lemonade, you want some?” asked Sky Dancer. “Don’t mind if I do.” Rainbow Dash grabbed the glass and consumed the contents. Lemonade was great drink to have on a hot summer day as this. Sky Dancer sat next to her on the couch. “So Dash, you said you wanted to show me something. An important something.” Rainbow instantly knew what she was referring to. After she finished her lemonade, she made eye contact with Dancer. “Yeah, I do. You won’t believe what I have!” She opened her saddlebag and pulled out her secret box. Sky Dancer eyes widened at the sight of the box. A sense of wonder and intrigue overtook her. “How many ponies have you shown this box to, Dash?” “...Just one. You’re the second. And hopefully, she will be the third.” “Who?” “...My best friend.” Rainbow placed on of her hooves onto the lid. She slowly opened it, only to stop. She looked at Sky Dancer firmly into her eyes. “Sky Dancer, promise me you won’t tell anypony what is inside this box! Right now, The Secret Society of Secrets only allowed me to show the box to three ponies in a particular order before the time is right for it to go public. Can I trust you to keep quiet?” “Rainbow Dash, you have my word,” replied Sky Dancer. Rainbow smiled before opening the box. The lid was open... what Dancer saw was a glourious sight to behold. A golden light emanated from the box, almost blinding Dancer. The light was equal to the aura emanating from Princess Celestia herself. No words could describe what the object of the box looked like. Words alone could not do justice to describe the feeling of just looking at it. A single tear rolled down Sky Dancer’s cheek. This was something... this was something a pony only saw once in a lifetime. “Sky Dancer? Sky Dancer? Sky Dancer!” Dancer was momentarily brought back to the real world. Sky Dancer stared at Dash, whom was giving a friendly smile. Dasher came close to Dash. She put her hooves on her shoulders. “Rainbow Dash - I’m going to blind myself now. After what I saw in the box, nothing else is worth looking at anymore.” Dash giggled at the statement. This has been a great day for her. She got see her friend she has not seen in years, showed her the mystery box, and got a good response. “Thanks, Dancer. Now one more pony left, and then the process is complete. So... same time, same place?” “You betcha!” Dancer said with laughter. The two pegasi shared one last laugh together before Dash made her way back to Ponyville. Dancer waved goodbye, and Dash waved back. She took off into the air, the warm breeze blowing on her face. Days like these, she just feel like could fly all over Equestria. I can’t wait to see Pinkie’s face when I finally show her the box! Was all Dash could think about. It would a long while before Dash makes it back to Ponyville, but the ride would be worth it in the end. ———————————————— “They all rejected me. They all pushed me away. They are all my false friends. But from now on, things are gonna be different around here.” Pinkie Pie finished completing her helmet. Once her red helmet was placed on her head, she strapped a purple cape on her around her neck. She walked out slowly from a cave, and raised her hoof into the sky, as if to curse creation itself. “From Now On, my name is no longer Pinkie Pie! All the world refer to me as... Susie! The Master of Mind Control!” TO BE CONTINUED Author's Note Ladies and Gentlemen, there has been a change in plans. Instead of a two-part story, There will be three! The saga of the Mystery Box will be concluded in the third and final chapter. Stay tuned! ConfrontationTwilight read through her books of spells, trying to find a good that would stop Pinkie from doing anything out of the ordinary. Her concentration weakened when she was struck with a hornache. She put her hoof on her horn, her body trembling as she tried to contain the pain. In another room, Spike could hear groans of pain. He ran to the main room to see that the unicorn was about to faint. Spike caught her just in time (although she was a little heavy for his height). “Twilight, are you okay? What happened?” Twilight slowly opened her eyes to see her assistant. He could see the fear in her purple irises. “I don’t know, Spike. It’s like... I felt a disturbance with my magic.” “A disturbance? Like in Solar Wars?,” asked Spike. “Something like that.” The pain in her horn soon diminished, and Twilight found the strength to stand. She trotted to a nearby mirror. She stared at her horn for an eternity before she turned back to Spike. Never before has she felt such intense pain, nor did she ever think it would happen to her. She remembered the Princess gave her something special in case anything like that happened. She sighed, having no other choice but to use it. “Spike, go upstairs and get my helmet. It’s time.” Thunderlane flew across the skies for any sign of a pink pony. The past half hour have been lackluster for him. He searched the area in the forest where he saw her last; nothing. He asked the Cakes if they have seen her; they said she had a day off. He asked Pinkie’s other close friends for her whereabouts; they also thought it was strange that they have not seen her. After a period of frantic flying, Thunderlane sat on a boulder to rest and to catch up with his breath. “I hope Twilight is faring better than I am,” he told himself. He put his thoughts aside to relax his wings and nerves. He and laid back on the boulder and reclined under the sky. It was late in the afternoon, so it was considerably cool; Thunderlane did not mind, as long as he got his rest. The forest was, for the most part, unnaturally quiet. The only sounds that could be heard was the slight rustling of the leaves from the summer breeze. Not even the creek made its natural babbling noise. The dark-grey pegasus was slightly uncomfortable for the moment, but paid it no mind. It’s probably just the stress from today he thought to himself. Thunderlane closed his eyes and let his body recuperate. “Thunderlane...” He sat up when he heard his name. The voice sounded small - like it belonged to a filly. He turned his head to find its source. When the voice called for him the second time, he looked below the boulder. He saw three fillies, all with sad faces. He instantly recognize them as the (in)famous Cutie Mark Crusaders. “Hi girls, what’s up?” he asked weakly. The fillies answered by either shrugging their shoulders or mumbling. Thunderlane could not help but noticed that something was wrong. He jumped off the boulder lowered himself to their level. “Girls, what’s wrong? Giving up tryin’ to get your cutie-marks? Look guys, I know it’s hard, but it took a long time to--” “No, it’s not that,” Scootaloo interrupted. Thunderlane took a good look at her and saw a bandage wrapped around her leg. He also spotted a small patch on her forehead. His jaw dropped at the sight of the injured filly. “Scootaloo, who done this to you?” Scootaloo wanted to tell him, but she could not get the words out. She was still in shock over what happened earlier. Multiple times she tried to formulate words. “It was Pinkie Pie!” Apple Bloom called out. Thunderlane was at lost for words. There was no way Pinkie was responsible for this - it wasn’t like her to hurt a little filly. Apple Bloom recounted the preceding events to her memory to the small audience consisting of her friends and the pegasus stallion. Scootaloo was nearly in tears when the story was finished. Sweetie Belle tried her best to console the filly. Thunderlane got back on his hooves and legs and stretched his wings. The time for rest was over. He took out a few bits from his pouch. “Girls, go home. Take these and buy something to help Scootaloo. I’m gonna put an end to this once and for all.” He took off into the sky, leaving a trail of dust behind him. Pinkie had gone too far this time - and she will answer for her crime. As he flew with tremendous speed, he could only think of one thing: I have to find Rainbow Dash. Pinkie Pie (or Susie as she renamed herself) emerged from the woods as a new mare. Soon, everypony in Ponyville will learn why it is not a good idea to keep secrets from her. She rudely shoved the ponies at of her way in order to make her appearance known. She stood proudly in the middle of town, but the ponies were ignoring her. That would soon change. “Attention, Ponyville!” proclaimed the former party pony. Her voice was loud enough for the townsponies to hear. The populus stopped their activities to see what she had to say. “I, Susie, the Master of Mind Control, will assume complete dominance over Ponyville! All who refuse to submit to my rule will be punished!” “Uh, Pinkie, are you feeling alright?” asked a certain mint-coated unicorn mare. “I feel fine! Why do you ask?” Pinkie/Susie said, complete with a sadistic smile. That terrifying smile bore deep into Lyra’s soul. For some reason, Lyra felt all the happiness drained from her. “I have power far beyond your understanding! If we all cooperate, we will all have a wonderful time! If not, you will all regret the day you were ever born!” A stern looking stallion with a beard appeared from the crowd. He carried a tennis racket, as if he preparing to strike Susie with a moment’s ease. Susie saw the stallion as a challenger, and considered it an opportunity to demonstrate her power. “What right do you have to rule over us?” asked the bearded stallion coldly. His name was Ace. And he was not happy. “Didn’t you hear what I said?! I said I have powers beyond your understanding! What part of that did you not understand?!” “Pinkie, I know you’re crazy, but this is too far! You can’t call yourself the queen just because you have imaginary superpowers!” “I can. And I have,” answered Susie. “Would you like to see what I can do?” “That’s it! Don’t make me have to knock some sense into you!” Ace threatened. He raised his racket slowly, warning Pinkie to stop this nonsense. “No. Let me knock some sense - into you!” A pink hoof touched Ace’s forehead. He struggled with the weird sensation of being controlled, but to no avail. His blue irises turned yellow, and his eyes stared blankly into no direction at all - just like the others. “Now then, what is your deep secret you’ve kept from your friends?” Susie asked, putting an cold emphasis on the last word. “I’m afraid of the dark. I have trouble telling the difference between the lowercase b and a lowercase d. I sometimes stutter when I’m nervous. It’s a problem I have had since I was colt. I went to weekly speech therapy sessions during my colthood years.” Pinkie let go of her hoof, and Ace was back to normal. However, he didn’t feel right. He felt like he blacked out for a moment then his senses awoke. It was a strange feeling. “Wha-what happened?” he asked confusingly. Susie answered with the most diabolical smile she could make. “W-w-w-what d-d-did you do?! This-- this--- this isn’t funny!” He caught himself stuttering. He looked at Pinkie with astonishment/fear. “You monster!” Susie stood on her hind legs and laughed evilly into the (conveniently) dark sky. Nothing could stop Susie now that she was in control. The ponies of Ponyville cowered before their new ruler. It will not be long until her revenge would be complete. Pinkie looked westward into the town. She spotted a huge oak tree in the distance. Her eyes narrowed as she thought of only one thing: Twilight - you’re mine! The curtains in her bedroom was closed. It was pitch-black, save for the candles the lit the room mostly. She stood on a circle she created with her magic. The inside of the circle was filled with characters, letters, markings, numbers, and many other things only the wisest of unicorns understood. While standing on the middle of the circle, she meditated, trying to ease her mind of what was to come. “Twilight? Are you ready?” asked the purple dragon. Twilight opened her eyes and saw Spike holding a golden helmet. The helmet which would cover her entire face, save for the three holes; two on the helmet for her eyes and one on the top for her horn. “Yes, Spike. Bring it here.” Spike walked slowly to the lavender unicorn with the helmet in his hands. Before he could put the helmet on her, Twilight stopped him for a moment. “Don’t be afraid, Spike. If I do anything or say anything out of the ordinary, just remember - it’s someone else.” She gave the dragon a reassuring smile to ease his nerves. Spike nodded and put the helmet on her. The circle she was standing on glowed. She floated a few inches above the floor; her eyes were filled with white glowing light. The little flames from the candles dissipated from the sheer powerful force of magic. Spike could not bear to watch anymore and covered his eyes in fear. When Twilight screamed, he thought he heard two voices. Then, all was quiet - the figure that stood before Spike was - unworldly. “Twilight? Is that you?” The helmet covered all of Twilight’s head, except for the horn and eyes. The transformation also came with flowing golden cape. She looked like she could be a good candidate for the Royal Guard. The unicorn looked at Spike with an expressionless face, and spoke: “No, not Twilight - there is only Gamma Ray.” Thunderlane flew as fast as his wing could take him. He didn’t know which way he was going, all he knows is that he has to find Rainbow Dash - and fast! The stress was building up inside his heart, he thought he was going to faint right in the middle of the sky. He continued flying frantically, but it was no use - it’s like Dash disappeared from the face of the earth. Thoughts raced across his mind to the finish line that was his conscience. Everything was crashing into his brain at once, until he saw a faint figure flying overhead. It was coming toward him really fast and Thunderlane performed a barrel-roll. That was when he saw the rainbow streak. Wasting no valuable time, he maneuver his body around the clouds and followed the recognizable trail of ROYGBIV. It took him awhile, but he caught up with her just in time; he wasn’t as fast as her, and she always teased him about it. Thunderlane flew right next to Rainbow Dash and attempted to get her attention. He tried to tapped her shoulders, but her wings were making the task impossible. He yelled out her name, but her ears were filled with the sound of her wings flapping with enthusiasm. He flew below Rainbow while increasing his speed. At the right moment he would appear in front of her; that way, she would stop. It seemed like a good idea. He went forth with his plan and waited for the perfect moment to rise above the clouds. Suddenly, he flew up in the air and spread his hooves across. He closed his eyes waited for the impact. Rainbow Dash flight back to Ponyville was so glorious, she had not noticed that sompony was trying to get her attention. Throughout her flight she had not let go of her secret box. Her journey home also gave her time to think about what happened yesterday. She felt bad about keeping the box a secret from Pinkie, but she had to keep it from until the time was right. She was relieved that Pinkie was the last one on the list. When she finally see what was in the box, they can both move on and put this whole mess behind them. She was so deep in her thoughts she did not noticed a dark figure standing in front of her. She did a double-take and pressed her internal breaks at the last minute. It failed. She crashed into Thunderlane and they both fell downward. Rainbow regain her composure and flapped her wings. She shot herself down faster than a speeding rainbow bullet and caught Thunderlane before he could crash-landed. “Wow, thanks, Rainbow Dash! I’m sure am happy to see you!” “Don’t get sentimental on me, Thunderlane! Of course of all the pegasus I had the pleasure to crash into, it would be you!” Rainbow dropped Thunderlane just a few inches to the ground. She mumbled something to herself about him being incompetent. She placed herself on the ground and looked at him with contempt. “So what’s the big idea? What was so important that you kept me from reaching flight nirvana?” “Well, it’s about Pinkie Pie,” Thunderlane answered. Dash furrowed her brow and rolled her eyes. “What about her?” “Well, she’s gone crazy!” “So? She’s Pinkie Pie. She’s crazy 24/7. You don’t see me complaining about it. Mostly.” “No, you don’t understand! She’s gone nuts! She’s like chocolate with nuts! Only the nuts are actually almonds and sompony lied that the almonds are nuts, and... and... I have no idea what I’m talking about.” Rainbow Dash turned her back to him and flew off. Thunderlane tried to call her back, but she completely ignored him. She does not have the patience for a pony as thick-skulled as Thunderlane. She contemplated what she would to him as an act of revenge, when she noticed that both her front hooves were on her sides. The box was missing. “Omigoshomigoshomigoshomigosh!” She flew back to Thunderlane and tackled him into the ground. Her purple irises pierced through his very soul - it was flight school all over again. “WHERE IS IT!” “Where’s what, Dash?” “DON’T PLAY WITH ME, LANE! WHERE. IS. THE. BOX?” Thunderlane gently removed an angry/frantic Rainbow Dash away from him. He stood back up and looked at her straight in the eyes. “I don’t know where your box is. I never even seen it before.” “Don’t you lie to me! You probably stole it! That box has something valuable inside and I can’t let you--” “Dash, this is what this whole mess was about - you and your box.” “You mean... Pinkie’s gone crazy because of the secret box?!” Thunderlane nodded. Rainbow Dash flew circles furiously in the sky and yelled obscenities. It was good thing no fillies were present during this scene. She landed on the ground with great impact that shook the entire forest. “This is great! This is just great! I dropped the box only Celestia knows where, and now I can’t find it! Now, anypony probably has their hooves on it! Thanks a-bunch Thunderlame!” “Sorry.” Thunderlane’s weak apology has done nothing for them. The damage was already done. Rainbow sat on a log and her set her head on her hooves. Thunderlane knew she did not want to talk him, but he trotted to her side anyway. “What was in the box, anyway?” “Like I’m telling you. Only a select few ponies were suppose to see the box!” “I’m guessing Pinkie was one of them?” Rainbow rolled her eyes. “Does the box has anything bad in it?” “No. There’s nothing bad in the box. But I’m still not telling you what’s inside!” He could tell that Dash was really frustrated at him. He sat himself down next to her, her back still facing him. “... Dash, I’m sorry for making you lose your box, okay. It’s just that, uh, Pinkie been acting crazy today.” “Like I said, she’s always crazy! Tell me something I don’t know.” “... She attacked Scootaloo.” “...” “... what?” Thunderlane recounted the tale of how Pinkie took control of his mind, and how she mercilessly attack poor Scootaloo. He told her of how she lied about saving her. He told her about how he saw the bandages on different parts of her small body. He also mentioned of how she cried when she walked. “... I don’t know where she is now. And Celestia forbid she’d done this to anypony else. That’s why I was so busy trying to find you, so you can sort things out.” Rainbow tried to keep a straight face, but small tears trickled down her cheeks. She was heartbroken that a little filly close to her was severely injured; she was heartbroken that the perpetrator was her best friend. All because of that stupid box. “This is my fault. I should’ve never shown anypony that box,” she whispered to herself. Thunderlane wrapped his hooves around her, in an effort to comfort her. “I’m sorry too...” The two pegasi remained silent. They stared into the forest trees for what seem like an eternity. When all was said and done, Rainbow sat up from her log and gave a stern look to the grey pegasus. “Thunderlane. Get up - we have to find Pinkie Pie.” “What about your box?” “Forget the box. Sompony has to learn - if you mess with the Scoots, you mess with the Dash!” Thunderlane smiled at her bold statement. The two pegasi hovered into sky and continued the the journey to Ponyville, determined to set things right. Susie was finally in control. The very ponies whom used to mock and lie to her were now cowering under her iron hoof. Her revenge was almost complete - she had unfinished business with a certain lavender unicorn. She walked to the Ponyville Library, her next target waiting for her. A crowd of terrified ponies gather around to see what will happen next. She scanned the interior of the library carefully. The second-floor window caught her attention, however. A bright, golden flash of light was seen, followed by high-pitched scream. This frightened the other ponies, fearing something terrible had happened to Twilight Sparkle. “What! Somepony else has gotten to her first! Awww, I wanted to punish her for deceiving me and associating herself with liars!” When she finished whining, the front door slowly opened. The golden light blinded everypony, including Susie. The illumination faded, and what was standing proudly at the door took everypony by surprise - especially Susie. “Evildoer, you have disrupted the Balance! Cease your horrendous actions, and surrender to the Side of Righteousness!” This pony was indeed Twilight, but at the same time, it was not. The gold helmet concealed her head, except the horn, and the golden cape majestically flowed in the air. When it spoke, it spoke in two voices: one belonged to Twilight, and other belonged to an entity that was not of their world. The ponies cowered even more than they had before. Fillies and colts hid behind their parents, Fluttershy trembled while in fetal position, and Rarity fainited. “Who are you? And what have you done to Twilight?! I wanna destroy her!” “There is no Twilight Sparkle - there is only Gamma-Ray!” The other townsponies collectively gasped in unison. Susie stood her ground, and prepared for the worst. “From the smallest atom to the largest star, Gamma-Ray is everything... our tremendous power shall illuminate the entire universe, and those beyond this plane of existence! All glory to Gamma-Ray!” With that, Twilight/Gamma-Ray shot a beam golden light from their horn. It hit Susie square in the face and it sent her crashing to the nearest building. The ponies looked in awe at the damage caused by the unicorn. Susie was apparently buried in the rubble. All was well, until a pink hoof punched its way out. The pink pony emerged out of the rubble. Her body was glowing with a blood-red aura around her. Saying that she was really angry would not do the situation justice. “TWIIIIIILIIIIGHT!” She charged at her opponent with frantic speed and held her hoof so she could punch the golden unicorn. She threw multiple punches at Twilight, but she blocked them all with her force field. Every punch, kick, or uppercut would not penetrate the shield. “You fool. You can not break through the Shield of Justice!” Magic engulfed Susie and Gamma-Ray slammed her back and forth to the ground. The ponies watching now started to scream and dispersed, before any of them get caught in the crossfire. The slamming ended with Susie face-down on the ground. Gamma-Ray looked down on her and requested once more that she surrender and free the town from her darkness. “Me, surrender... HAHAHAHA! This is only the beginning Twilight! Soon, every city; every province; every kingdom will fall like dominoes! All who laughed at me will perished in the fires of Tartarus as might mighty hand will crush any opposition!” Susie circles around Gamma-Ray until a pink tornado formulated. The tornado took Gamma-Ray for a ride as the swirling cloud cause havoc across town. Susie taunted Ray and laugh at the ponies running helplessly from the destruction. Gamma-Ray used chanted a spell that made the tornado disappear. Gamma-Ray landed back on the ground. Susie, now frustrated more than ever, pulled a giant slingshot from her back pocket and shot several objects at Gamma-Ray. She/it dodged every single object being thrown. Gamma-Ray charged at its/her opponent and kicked her in the jaw. Susie crash-landed on a cart full of tomatoes. Susie wiped the tomatoes from her face. Her head was reaching scorching temperatures thanks to her anger. “You. Will. Pay!” She pulled out a giant mallet and was hell-bent on smashing Gamma-Ray into tiny pieces. While trying to smash the Golden Unicorn, she smashed several buildings. Gamma-Ray saw a group of fillies whom were huddled together under a cart and trembling on sight. She/it teleported them to a safe location before the mallet smashed their hiding spot. Gamma-Ray tried to aim its horn to deflect the oncoming mallet, but Susie proved to cunning. “This isn’t working, Gamma-Ray. We need some help,” Twilight’s conscience said. “Indeed. I can’t make a good aim with that mallet everywhere at once,” Gamma-Ray’s spirit stated. Twilight did not have any idea what to do. Time was short and the fate of Ponyville is hanging by a thread. Gamma-Ray made itself invisible, and hid behind a building. While thinking over a strategy, Gamma-Ray heard a faint explosion from the sky. He turned and saw a streak of rainbow heading its direction. It was traveling faster than the speed of light. With a howling warcry, the rainbow streak collided with Susie, and sent both of them crashing through a brick wall. The cyan, rainbow maned pegasus had Susie pinned to the ground. A vein was throbbing in her head while she breathed heavily to her opponent. The two ponies locked eyes, waiting for the other to make the next move. Susie kneed Dash, giving a chance to escape her grip. The Master of Mind Control stood face-to-face with the Fastest Flyer in Equestria. “Pinkie... I swear--” “MY NAME’S. NOT. PINKIEEEEE!” Susie charged at Rainbow Dash and headbutted her with her red helmet, giving the pegasus a broken nose. Rainbow Dash swiftly grabbed Susie by her cape, picked her up, and slammed her into the ground - creating a medium sized crater. Susie leaped out and wrapped her hooves around Rainbow’s neck, strangling her. Gasping for air, Rainbow Dash was brought to her knees. Susie grabbed grabbed the choking pegasus’ head and slammed it face first into the ground. She proceed to turn her body around, and used both her hooves to make bruises on her face. Rainbow Dash caught Susie’s right hoof and punched her in the jaw. She got back up, and roundhouse kicked Susie into a stop sign. Both bruised and battered, the two mares ceased fighting for a moment. “Pinkie Pie! Why are you doing this? What’s gotten into you?” “What’s gotten into me?! This is your fault, Rainbow Dash! You are the most selfish, self-centered, egotistical, boastful pony in Equestria! All I ask - as a best friend, no less - was for to kindly show me what was in your box!” “Pinkie, please! I don’t have the box! I lost it! I was gonna show it to you today, honest, but... I lost it somehow!” “You’re probably lying. Just like the rest of them! No matter... I’ll just beat the truth out of you - just like I did to Scootaloo!” Hearing that made Rainbow’s blood boil. With a spine-chillingly, desperate warcry, she charged with great vengeance and KO’d Susie across the face with furious anger. The punch was so powerful, it sent shockwaves throughout the town, shattering glass windows and causing earthquakes. The last thing to be seen was a rainbow explosion, before everypony’s vision turned white. Once everything was clear, a giant crater was formed. Both Rainbow Dash and Susie laid there, unconscious. The cyan pegasus was the first get up - her entire self was blanketed with battle scars and a face full of bruises, as well as a broken nose. Susie just laid there - broken teeth, swollen face, black eye. Susie’s good eye opened and looked upon Rainbow Dash with contempt. She was too weak to stand, but that didn’t stop her from trying. Revenge was her only absolute. “Evildoer, the Balance must be restored.” Susie turned around - Gamma-Ray was behind her, holding a golden staff with a purple crystal at the top. He leaped into action and pointed the staff at Susie. Rainbow Dash came up behind her and held her tight, keeping her from escaping. Gamma-Ray levitated the red helmet from Susie’s head and the purple crystal glowed. “Black Spirits of the Underworld - I command you to leave this innocent pony! Go back to the horrible abyss that is prepared for you and your dark master! Thus Saith Gamma-Ray!” A purple force field engulfed the crater. Lightning strikes were abound, noises of demons screaming in pain. A interdimensional hole spontaneously appeared in the sky, and a purple beam of light targeted Susie. She let out one last blood curdling scream before her entire body was encased with light. Rainbow Dash thought it was good time to let go of her. Sparks of light, explosions of color, and screams of otherworldly beings filled the tome of magic. Then... silence. Pinkie, now free from her evil personality, slowly faded in unconsciousness. Rainbow grabbed her just as she fainted. The party pony’s mane was still straight; it would take a long time to get it back to its natural, poofy, state. Rainbow Dash held her close. “It’s over. It’s finally over...” Blackness. That was all what could be seen. Such blackness such as this was unnatural. No light; no sound; no activity. Is this what death is suppose to be like. Is there no reward or punishment for earthly deeds? Out of the blackness, a small bright light revealed itself. The light kept growing... and growing. Maybe this is the reward. “What happened to her?” Voices. “I’ve never seen her take a beating like that!” More voices. “Twilight, what in the hay have ya done to her?” Familiar voices. “I did what was needed to be done.” The blackness disappeared. Her vision was blurry - all she could see was blurs of multi-colored shapes. Her vision cleared after opening and closing her eyes multiple times. She was in a hospital room. Her best friends, Spike, Thunderlane, Nurse Redheart, and the Cutie Mark Crusaders were gathered around her bed. She took a good look at her surroundings and saw she was covered in bandages, casts, and she a severe headache. “W-what happened? Why does my head hurt so much?” Rainbow Dash embraced her with a loving hug. “I’m sorry, Pinkie. I’m so sorry.” She didn’t understand at first. But the images came flooding back to her. Everything that has ever happened this past weekend, and what lead to her in this room. The box; the fight; the anger... everything. The two mares had their little moment with each other. Pinkie looked at her concerned friends and colleagues. She had an enormous debt to pay. “Guys... I’m sorry for the way I acted. It’s just that... I... I hate it when my best friends keep secrets from me.” The ponies could hear her voice starting to crack. “I do my best to be open with everypony I meet, and share my secrets too. And when my friends is keeping certain things away from me, it makes me think that...” She broke down. Tears were flooding from her eyes as her sobs could be heard across the halls of the hospital. “Pinkie, it was my fault.” Pinkie wiped her tears and stared at a remorseful Rainbow Dash. “I shouldn’t have been prancing around with the box that day. And because of me, it’s gone. I understand if you’re upset Pinkie. I’m upset with myself too.” A lumped formed in Pinkie’s throat. Rainbow covered her eyes in shame - the broken bonds would take some time to heal. Pinkie looked at Scootaloo, and more tears showed. “Oh Scootaloo, I’m so sorry! I don’t know what came over me! I would never hurt like that! Please forgive me!” The little filly leaped on her bed and wrapped her hooves around her. Pinkie promised to Scootaloo that she would never lay a hoof on her ever again. Thunderlane, witnessing the heartwarming moment, was getting teary-eyed himself. “Alright guys, not that don’t like these mushy Hallmare moments, but... I gotta go. My little bro is probably worried about me.” Thunderlane made his way out the door only to be stopped by Pinkie. “Thunderlane... I’m sorry.” “All is forgiven.” Exit Thunderlane. Rainbow Dash thought about what Thunderlane had to go through yesterday. He hardly even knows Scootaloo, or any of her friends for that matter - yet, he went out of his way to help the filly. A smile grew on her lips. “Dashie, what about your box?” “It’s gone now - maybe forever. But who cares? It was just a dumb old box anyway.” “But why was it so important that you were keeping it from me?” “... Because the pony I trust the most was supposed to see the box last. And that pony... was you.” Pinkie’s eyes grew into the shape of saucers. Rainbow Dash really trusted her. “But since we’re not gonna see the box ever again - I guess it’s okay to tell you what’s inside.” “Don’t worry about it, Dashie. After everything that’s happened... I’m not interested anymore,” giggled Pinkie. The other girls laughed softly as well, seeing that the two were already rekindling their friendship. Her mane was slowly returning to its poofy style. “Hold on a minute. We are obviously leaving out a very important subject,” Rarity spoke up. She turned her attention to Twilight. “Twilight, darling... what happened to you other night? Who was... Gamma-Ray?” “It’s a long story, Rarity. I’m too tired to tell it now.” “Alright, then. Maybe you can tell it over tea.” “Definitely.” The mares plus Spike and the Crusaders laughed with their hearts content. With The Box now out of their lives forever, Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie finally renewed their friendship, and all of them promised each other to never keep secrets and to always be open with each other. It was bright new day for the Bearer of the Element of Laughter. What about Twilight Sparkle and Gamma-Ray, you ask? Well, that is something for another story. Yesterday, Late in the Afternoon... Dinky Doo loved hiding out in the woods, it was her private sanctuary. The day would have gone better than she had hoped, if it were not for the constant teasing from Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon for being what they call, a “blank-flank.” She reminded herself to join the Cutie Mark Crusaders sometime this summer. She looked at the setting sun over the mountains. She had to hurry home; her mother would not appreciate it if she late for dinner again. Dinky continued to walk the path to her house until something on the ground caught her eye. A box. A square, cubicle, light-brown box. She turned the box over its sides; it had such perfect angles. On the top of the box it was labeled: PROPERTY OF THE SECRET SOCIETY OF SECRETS AND WONDERS. She wanted to put the box back where she found it, but was conflicted about the circumstances. This was something one only saw once in a lifetime. She decided to take just one peek. She slowly opened the lid - and lo and behold a bright light blinded her eyes. Dinky shield her eyes, but at that moment, she saw something that ponies only saw in their dreams. “Oh my gosh... it’s... it’s... “ THE END Author's Note The saga of the Mystery Box is not quite over, and the Adventures of Gamma-Ray have only just begun. Look up toward the sky and the future will be in your hands.
The DilemmaHave you ever kept a secret from your best friend? Have your best friend ever tried to learn what your secret was? Was his/her attempts to do so almost destroyed that friendship? This is what almost happened to a certain pink pony. There are times when some secrets are ready to be shared with everyone. Other times, most secrets are best kept hidden. Like, forever. Our story begins on a beautiful summer day. Pinkie Pie merrily hopped to whatever direction she pleased across town. She did not know where she was going or why, but she hoped she would cross paths with at least one of her best friends. She hummed a familiar tune to herself as she did so. She lifted her head unto the sky, only to see Rainbow Dash fly through an unsuspecting cloud. “Rainbow Dash!,” she yelled. The rainbow maned pegasus looked down and saw who had called her. She happily waved back at the pink party mare. She flew down with such speed and verocity, but landed gracefully on the ground, posing with pride. “Hey Pinkie Pie. How’s it going?” “Everything’s great! I woke up early this morning, which is really strange because I never wake up early. Well, I do wake up early sometimes, but never at 6 am. Anyway I had chocolate-custard cake for breakfast, but Mrs. Cake was upset with me because I did and she said I should never have cake for breakfast and then Mr. Cake...” Pinkie Pie ceased her nonsensical rambling and glanced at a small box Rainbow was holding with her right foreleg. Rainbow’s face was locked on the box, with a smile gleaming from her face. “Hey Dashie, what’s with the box?” “This thing? Oh, nothing important,” Dash replied. The cyan pegasus looked at her box again and let out a small laugh. This intrigued Pinkie even more. “If it’s nothing important, why are you laughing?” “Like I said, it’s nothing important.” “Well, can I see? Please, please, please can I see it?” Pinkie Pie pleaded. Rainbow thought for a moment before looking at the box again. She laughed harder this time, and continued before giving her answer. “Nah, I don’t think you’d be interested in what’s in here.” “But the box made you laugh! And I love laughing! Laughing is my second most favorite thing to do besides throwing parties!” Pinkie reasoned. “I’m sorry Pinkie Pie. I wish I could show you, but I cant.” A frown appeared on Pinkie’s face for the first time in months. Her poofy, cotton candy mane deflated, but not to the extent of the surprise party incident. “Why can’t you show me?” “Because...,” Dash brought her head closer to Pinkie’s, “... because it’s a secret.” “A secret? Dashie, you know I don’t like it when anypony keeps secrets from me. Remember what happened last time?” “Yeah I know, and we’re all sorry, but listen - what’s in this box, I can’t reveal to anypony. Maybe when the time’s right, you and the rest of the girls can see it, but for now - this one’s with me.” Pinkie lowered her eyes to the ground. Her frown was becoming more visible and she felt like her heart was seconds away from exploding. She took a look at the cubical object Dash was holding. How come she doesn’t want me to see what’s inside she thought to herself. Her eyes widened as a lightbulb switched on above her head. “Rainbow Dash! If I tell you my secrets, will you show me what’s in your box?” Rainbow Dash gave a questioning look to the party pony. “You? Having secrets? I find that very unlikely.” “What do you mean? I have lots and lots of secrets! I promise you by the end - you will never look at me the same again.” “Try me,” was all Rainbow Dash could say. Pinkie Pie began to think. Dash was right of course, she had no secrets to keep. She was open to about almost everypony in Ponyville. But if she wanted to gain Dash’s trust, she will have to go to deep end and lie about the imaginary secrets she hold dear. “Well for starters... do you know you’re my very best friend?” “Pinkie Pie, we knew each other for three years.” “Oh. Well... sometimes, I don’t like it when I’m sad and lonely.” “I already knew that too.” “Um... I have an unhealthy addiction to sweets and parties?” Rainbow Dash yawned at that statement. Pinkie was losing her. Desparate times calls for desparate measures some would say. “Okay, okay, how about this?” Pinkie shifted her eyes to make sure nopony was near them. “I can’t tell my left from my right,” she whispered to Dash’s ear. “Really? Wow. You hide it so well,” Dash said surprised. A smile began to expand on Pinkie’s face. “And my mane? Made from real cotton-candy!” “I knew it!” Dash exclaimed. “Sometimes, I like to pretend the Cake Twins are my foals,” Pinkie said with joyous glee. “... why?” Pinkie was in the clear. If she kept this up, Dash would reveal what’s in her box in no time. She tried to come up as many secrets as she could. Out of nowhere she pulled out a lounging chair and motioned Rainbow Dash to sit and gave her a bag of popcorn and a soft drink. This could take a while... •---------- “... I sometimes see things that aren’t really there, I had an existential crisis while watching paint dry, I have dreams of becoming a winged unicorn, I have a crush on Big Mac, I might be schizophernic, I think Mrs. Cake cheated on Mr. Cake, a lot of the stallions here don’t feel comfortable around me for some reason...” A few hours passed since Pinkie had began revealing her “secrets” to Rainbow Dash. The cyan pegasus sat there, mezmerized by the words that came from the pink mare’s mouth. She thought she really knew Pinkie Pie until now. “... And at night, I check under my bed for monsters, and right now, I’m wearing my protective Anti-Discord undergarments! You can’t see them, but they’re there.” Rainbow’s mouth was agape. Never before was she exposed to a large amount of secrets in a span of three hours. She snapped out of her trance and stared at Pinkie with wonder. “Wow. You think you know a pony.” Pinkie Pie smiled at Rainbow and waited patiently for her to reveal the contents of her box. Rainbow could feel her blue irises trying to desparately dig deep into her soul. Before she could react she looked down at her box. She almost forgot her end of the deal. “Um, yeah, about the box... uggh, I still can’t show you.” “WHAT! After all the secrets I told you?!” “Look, Pinkie Pie, I just don’t think you’re going to like what’s inside the box.” “But... you said you show me your box,” Pinkie said sadly. “I didn’t say I’ll show you what’s inside the box. You assumed I was going to reveal it to you. Besides, if you see what’s in it, you would freak out like a maniac.” “But Dashie,” Pinkie pleaded. She wrapped herself around one of Dash’s hindlegs. “No Pinkie!” Rainbow floated a few feet into the air and shook Pinkie off her leg. She watched Pinkie land on her flank and stood beside her. She held the box with her forelegs as the rays of the sun shined a heavenly glow on it. “The contents of this box must not be seen by anypony other than me! To allow anypony else to look will break the sacred code the Secret Society of... uh... Secrets! My mind works differently than yours Pinkie Pie. While you may be an open door, my mind is a 135 puzzle you try to complete but get real frustrated so you give up. Do you understand, Pinkie? Pinkie?” Her hooves felt empty. She saw a pink dot miles that was running at full speed. Rainbow spread her wings and took to the sky, determine to catch the box thief. The mares chased each other across town, frightening the townsponies. As Pinkie bounced from one building to another, Rainbow crashed through them. At one point, Pinkie hid herself in Roseluck’s cart of roses, only for Rainbow Dash to lift the cart and throw it on the ground. The cyan pegasus dug through the pile of roses, but Pinkie was nowhere to be seen. Rainbow became angry/worried, and flew at supersonic speed, past a block of hay. Pink legs popped from the block of hay and tiptoed to another direction, much to the confusion of the other ponies. “Ah ha!” Rainbow used her superbreath to blow on the haycube, revealing Pinkie. She ran as fast as she could, carrying the box with her. “You can’t hide from me forever!”, Dash yelled at Pinkie. The pink pony ignored her words and increased her speed. Pinkie noticed a brick building coming up to her, forming a dead-end. She looked back and saw Rainbow hot on her tail. As Pinkie approached the building, she ran upwards, defying all laws of physics. Rainbow flew upwards, while at the same time marveling at the feat performed by Pinkie Pie. The chase was now on the roof. Pinkie stopped running when she realized it was a fifty-feet drop. She was cornered by a very frustrated pegasus. She gulped, preparing herself for the worse. “Pinkie Pie! Give me the box back, now!” “I can’t Rainbow! I have to see what’s inside!” “You can’t see what’s inside! It’s dangerous!” Pinkie held the tightly to her. Rainbow Dash was glaring at her, preparing to make the next move. Pinkie slowly opened the lid, until Rainbow pushed her. The party pony plummeted to the ground, screaming as she did so. “Pinkie!” Rainbow flew down to her rescue and caught her just in time. She slowly lowered her pink friend to the ground. Rainbow then pinned Pinkie to the ground, making sure she did not escape. “Why did you steal my box?!” Pinkie struggled but gave up. It was no use. “I’m sorry Dashie. It’s just that... well, I knew you wouldn’t let me see it, that’s why I stole it.” “I told you a dozen times you’re not ready see inside the box. I mean, I was going to let you see it someday, but after what you did, I change my mind! You are never allowed to see the box!” Hearing those words broke Pinkie’s heart. Her mane completely deflated, and looked as though she were about to cry. Rainbow turned her back to her, ignoring her sad, little whimpers. Pinkie continued to cry her eyes out and water formed around her from her tears. Rainbow looked back and saw how sad Pinkie was. She cooled down a little and wrapped her hoof around her. “Pinkie, look, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to yell at you. I was worried is all.” Pinkie stopped crying. What did she mean she was worried? “I didn’t want you see because I was afraid of your reaction. I don’t tell anypony this, but... I keep a lot of secrets. And If this one got out... lets just say Discord taking over the world won’t be the worst thing that’s happened.” Pinkie wiped her tears. Her hair slowly inflated to its original form, but she was still upset. “But you’re still not allowed to see it. Well, not yet. When the time is right, I show you what’s in the box. Okay?” Pinkie was not sure how to respond, but she had no choice but to respect Dash’s decision. She wiped away the remaining tears from her eyes and gave her a hug. As of now, all was well with the world. Pinkie and Dash spent the remainder of the day together. Every now and then Rainbow would look inside the box and get a quick laugh, much to Pinkie’s distraught. One way or another, she will look inside the box. —————— The day came to an end, and the moon rose above the sky. Rainbow returned to her home that floated above Ponyville while Pinkie returned to her room in Sugarcube Corner. All night, she could not sleep. She still thought about the box - what was inside that Dash did not want her to see? Why did she not want her to see it? And most importantly, have she shared the contents of the box with the girls? “Gummie, this is serious,” she said to her unconcerned baby alligator... lizard... thing. “I know we agreed that I will never look at the box, but this isn’t right. I’m Rainbow Dash’s best friend! Why does she want to keep something like this away from me?” She put a hoof on her chin as various answers came into her mind. “Maybe... what if she has a super-powerful ring that gives her lots of power! Wait, all the rings in Equestria have been destroyed. Maybe she’s diamond thief! No, Rainbow Dash would never steal anything. What if... she has a head of another pony. Or worst... it’s that embarrasing snapshot of me AT THAT HEARTH’S WARMING EVE PARTY!” The horrifying feeling traveled throughout her body and she screamed in terror. “... Pinkie Pie, go to sleep,” Mr. Cake called out from another room. She couldn’t take anymore. She jumped out of her bed and paced around her room, eager to find a solution to this ordeal. “I gotta find out what’s in that secret box, Gummie! Aww, but Dashie’s at home now! And I can’t walk on clouds. What am I gonna do?” She slumped back into her bed. She buried her head under her pillow and she stayed like that for a moment. She sat back up when an idea formulated. “If I can’t get her to tell me her secret, maybe I find a way to force her to tell me. But how? I know! I’ll go ask Twilight tomorrow! And she cast a truth spell or something! Yeah that’s it!” Pinkie hopped her room, excited for the newly formed plan. “What do you think, Gummie?” “...” “That’s great!” ————— Pinkie Pie hopped all the way to Twilight’s library. She could already see the outcomes in her head like a dream. As she got close to her destination, she paused and thought about her plan for a few minutes. She pulled out a notepad and began to go over the details: 1. Have Twilight cast a “truth spell” on Pinkie 2. Get close to Rainbow Dash 3. ????? 4. The Box “Hm. I really should have put more thought into this one. Oh well!” She hopped to the front door and knocked repeatedly. The door open to reveal our favorite lavender unicorn. She was much surprised to see the pink party pony on her doorstep early this morning. “Pinkie Pie, you’re up early this morning. What’s the occasion?” “Oh, nothing. I just came to say hi,” replied Pinkie. An awkward silence filled the air. “Well, hi,” Twilight said uncomfortably. “Is that all you came to do?” “Oh wait! I need you to do me a big favor! A really, really big, huge, gigantic, humongous, favor!” Pinkie was uncomfortably close to Twilight’s face. The unicorn used her magic to ease Pinkie back a few inches. “What did you want to do? You hardly ask me to do any favors.” “I know, it’s just that Rainbow Dash is keeping a secret from me and I really want to know what it is and I want you to enchant me with some kinda spell that makes ponies tell the truth.” “Rainbow is keeping a secret from you? That is very strange. Why would she keep a secret from you?” “That’s what I wanna know! So can’t you just do your magic thing and enchant me with something?” Twilight thought for a moment to consider her actions. On one hoof, keeping a secret from Pinkie Pie is something that nopony should ever do, or else the consequences will be dire. On the other hoof, maybe Rainbow Dash has a good reason to keep a secret from Pinkie. They’re not sure what Dash’s personal life is like, and maybe what she’s keeping from her is something she rather not talk about. “Pinkie, don’t you think you’re being over-dramatic. I think the secret she’s keeping from you is very personal.” “Personal?! Twilight, she laughed! Laughed! Her secret was kept in a box, and she laughed!” “Okay, maybe it’s not very personal, but I do believe she has a good reason to keep it from you. Maybe she’s just waiting for the right time to show it to you.” “That’s what she said! Twilight, you have to help me! This is driving me crazy and I need to know what she’s keeping from me! I love to laugh! Ha, ha, ha see? I love laughing!” The pink pony was close to her face again. No matter how she reasoned, Pinkie would not take no for an answer. Twilight let some air out of her lungs and walked toward a bookshelf. “Okay, Pinkie, If you really want to know Rainbow’s secret, then fine. I’ll help you.” “Oo goodie! Thank you, Twilight, thank you, thank you, thank you!” Pinkie gave the lavender unicorn the biggest hug she ever gave to anypony. When she finished Twilight caught up with her breath and preceded to levitate a book from the top shelf. It was a usual spells and encantations manual, with the spells perfectly memorized in her head (well, most of them). She levitated the book to a nearby desk and opened it to a specific chapter. “Let’s see. Here we are - The Omnitruth Spell. It says here that anypony enchanted with the spell can make another pony reveal a deep, dark secret or any kind of secret for that matter. All you have to do is to touch them, then the spell posses them.” “That’s exactly what I need!” “Are you sure you want to go through with this, Pinkie? You said a long time ago that betraying a friend’s trust is the worst thing that could happen.” Twilight was right, of course. Pinkie thought about the consequences of invading Dash’s privacy. Now she was starting to feel really bad, but she can’t shake the thought that what was in Dash’s box has something to do with her. “Please, Twilight, I need you to enchant me. It’s the only way I can know for sure. Besides, she already betrayed my trust by keeping a secret from me.” “... Okay, Pinkie. If you really want to.” Twilight looked back at the book for more information. When she finished, she motioned Pinkie to stand at the center of the room and stand still for a few minutes. She concentrated her magical energy to her horn. The horn had the familiar purple glow. A stream of white light hit Pinkie with tremendous force. She was in a daze but soon snapped out of it. “Pinkie Pie! Are you alright?” “I... I don’t know. Did it work?” “I’m not sure.” Pinkie looked at her hooves and then at Twilight... then back at her hooves... then back at Twilight. “Pinkie, what are you --” A pink hoof touched the side of her face. Twilight’s purple irises turned yellow; she seemed to be in a trance. “Twilight, whose the pony you admire the most?” “Princess Celestia, of course! She’s smart, kind, beautiful, and just an amazing friend. I wish she could see me more than just her student. Someday, I hope the two of us --” Pinkie removed her hoof before Twilight said anything elese. Her irises were purple again, and she looked as though she had woken from a deep slumber. “Uhh... what happened?” Pinkie bounced circles around Twilight. She was annoucing to the entire library that the spell worked. Twilight’s eyes widened. She realized what just happened to her. “Pinkie Pie... what did I just say to you? Pinkie Pie?” “Thank you, Twilight! Thank you, thank you sooo much! I don’t know what I ever do without your help! Now to find Rainbow Dash and end her web of secrets and lies once and for all!” With a single bound, she disappeared from the library. Twilight was bewildered at the preceding event. She just told Pinkie her deepest secret and she had not realized it. She didn’t feel like moving. She just wanted to stand there. “Hey, Twilight. What’s with all the ruckus?” Spike asked. She remained silent. “Twilight? Twi? Helloooo?” Spike waved his hand and snapped his claws. Nothing. “Oh no! You must have had a visit from your future self again! What happened this time?” TO BE CONTINUED
DesperationThe plan was totally infallible. The pink pony felt a sense of pride as she skipped across town. Soon, the Element of Loyalty will learn that Pinkie Pie is a force to be reckon with. It is only the question of locating Rainbow Dash. There were some clouds in the sky that needed to be cleared, so she hoped she could Dash fly over head. Hours passed; she was nowhere to be seen. A cloud of disappointment hovered over her as she decided to rethink her stragety. She decided trotted to Rainbow Dash’s home, which was a cloud fortress that hovered outside Ponyville. When she got there, she yelled as loud as she could to get Rainbow’s attention. Minutes passed; there was no answer. “Where could she be?” Pinkie asked herself. “Maybe she knew I was thinking of a way to get to the box, so she’s trying to avoid me. No, that can’t be true. Can it?” Just then, she saw a pegasus fly over her. Disappointment settled in when she found it was not Rainbow Dash. He was a dark-grey pegasus, with a silver and blue mane. It was Thunderlane, an associate of Dash’s. That disappointment turned into excitement; maybe he knows where she disappeared to. “Thunderlane! Hey Thunderlane!” Pinkie called out. “Down here!” Thunderlane looked down to see a pink pony calling his name. He swiftly raced downward, and landed in front of Pinkie. “Pinkie Pie. What’s up?” “Oh, nothing. Hey, do you know where Rainbow Dash is?” “I, uh, I don’t know. I haven’t seen her all day. Why?” Confusion took over Pinkie. What if she really forseen Pinkie’s antics? No time to think now, she has questions that need to be answered. “Well, when did you last see her?” “Not since yesterday. She was acting really weird lately.” Pinkie leaned close to Thunderlane’s face with anxiety. “How weird?! Tell me, tell me!” “Uh, oh, I mean she was carrying this box and I wanted to--” “A box! Did she show you what’s inside! Did she?!” “No... Pinkie you’re scaring me.” He could be lying. She readied her hoof just in case she wanted to squeeze the truth out of him. “She did show you, didn’t she?” she asked, with narrow eyes darting at Thunderlane. His darted back and forth. Sweat was flowing down from his head. He was trembling. Pinkie cocked an eye at him, for these were signs of a liar. “Tell me, Thunderlane... what. Did. She. Show. You?” “Nothing! Sh-she didn’t show me anything! Scouts honor!” She was not about to take any chances. She lifted her hoof and touched his forehead. For a moment he felt nauseas, with the sensation that somepony was picking his brain, but he suddenly stopped. He stared blankly into space, his gold irises turning bright green. Pinkie smiled with satisfaction; Thunderlane was under her control. “Tell me the truth, Thunderlane - what was in the box?” “Rainbow Dash didn’t show me what was inside the box. She said it was a secret.” Pinkie’s smile turned upside down. Her hopes of finding the details of the box sanked. She removed her hoof and Thunderlane was back to his normal self, however, in a daze. “Uhh... what happened?” “Nothing. When you see Rainbow Dash, tell her... I’ll be waiting for her.” With nothing else Pinkie hopped away, albeit with scornfulness. Thunderlane has no idea what had happened to him. He just this feeling that, somehow, somepony else was controlling him. His eyes widened as he connect the two together. He realized the horror of the situation. “Oh my gosh. Rainbow Dash, what did you do this time?” Pinkie Pie sat at a nearby table in the center of town. She was enjoying a delicious strawberry milkshake, angrily. She took out her handy-dandy notebook and began to review the details of her “master plan” to find the secrets of the box. “Some master plan that was. Of all days, Dash disappears! I wouldn’t be surprised if she actually was a diamond thief! She’s probably in Canterlot stealing jewels, diamonds, rubies from the Princess right now!” Pinkie Pie imagined Rainbow Dash in a skin-tight black outfit sneaking into secret chambers of Canterlot Castle. She managed to evade the guards and made her way to the secret vault. She pulled out a stethoscope and place the end of it on the vault and make out the combination. She opens the vault and to her glee, a sea of magnificent treasure as far as the eye could see. She pulls out her box, which surprisingly was able to hold all the gold inside the vault. When the guards tried to stop her, she flew away as fast as she could, leaving a rainbow trail behind. She laughed all the way into the night. “If she’s a no good, rotten-to-the-core sneaky thief, then it’s my duty as the Element of Laughter to turn her in to the authorities!” she proclaimed as she banged her hoof on the table. The ponies around her were startled, and Pinkie felt a twinge of embarrassment. “Okay, she may not be a thief. But why did she have to disappear?” She saw that her glass of milkshake was empty. She began to consider her options when Scootaloo rode past on her scooter. “Hey, Pinkie Pie. Why you look so down?” “Rainbow Dash is missing and I don’t know where she is. I really wanted to ask her something.” “Rainbow Dash missing? Wow, bummer. Well, I gotta go - a big Cutie Mark Crusaders meeting is starting, and I don’t wanna be late. See ya!” “See ya,” Pinkie said somberly. She watched Scootaloo go, and she walked slowly towards another direction. She really wanted to use her new magic powers on Rainbow Dash, but with her missing, she had to rethink her strategy if she wanted to get close to the box. If only there was a way to -- “WAIT A MINUTE!” Pinkie turned her body around and ran to Scootaloo’s direction at supersonic speed. She ran so fast, she left a trail of fire on the ground, much to the amazement of the townsponies. The speed was tremendous - on the outside, it looked a pink blurred that was shaped as a magic missile. Pinkie ran as fast as her body would allow until the orange pegasus filly was in center view. “SCOOTALOO!” Scootaloo heard her name being called. She looked back and saw a pink blur approaching her fast. Fearfully, she increased the speed of her scooter, hoping to escape the clutches of the party pony. The chase continued throughout the reaches of the forest. The intensity of Pinkie’s speed destroyed and deformed many trees. Scootaloo looked behind her again, and squealed in terror as Pinkie Pie refused to be tired out by the run. Returning her attention forward, she was about to enter a cave. She was afraid of caves, but she must lose Pinkie at all costs. She closed her eyes and drove her Scooter into the deep, dark abyss of the cave. She rode along the black trail until she fell on a small ditch. She fell off her scooter and injured her leg. It was not broken, but it indeed hurt to stand. It was also bleeding, but the wound was not deep. It was a few minutes until she realized she in a cave. It was pitch black - she couldn’t hear Pinkie, so she let out a sigh of relief. She lit a match which gave small light, but enough to see her hooves. “Thank Celestia she’s gone.” “Oooh, I wouldn’t say that...” Scootaloo slowly turned around and, to her horror, Pinkie Pie was right behind her. Pinkie tackled the little filly, and pinned her to the ground. The orange filly tried her best to escape Pinkie’s grip, but the party pony head butted the little pegasus, bruising her head. Scootaloo pleaded the pink pony to spare her life, as Pinkie raised her hoof with great vengeance. She slowly lowered her hoof and touched Scoot’s forehead. Her pleas stopped suddenly, and her pink irises turned dark green. As with Twilight and Thunderlane, she stared blankly in no particular direction. Pinkie once again smile with great satisfaction. “Scootaloo, you know something I don’t. Tell me the truth - where’s Rainbow Dash?” “Rainbow Dash said she was visiting a friend on the other side of town.” “A friend? Hmm. Where exactly? “I don’t know.” “...” “Did she mention anything about a secret box to you?” “Yes.” “...” “Did she show you what was inside?” “Yes.” “...” “...” “What’s inside?” “A--” “Scootaloo! Scootaloo, where are you?!” Pinkie could voices from the distance. The voices belonged to Scootaloo’s two best friends, Applebloom and Sweetie Belle. Pinkie removed her hoof from the orange filly’s head. Scootaloo, back to her normal state, felt tired and out of breath. She did not have the strength to pick herself up. Pinkie Pie put Scootaloo on her back and trotted slowly out of the cave. “Pinkie... Pie...” “Ssshh...” Applebloom and Sweetie Belle continued their search for their pegasus. While they were not looking, Pinkie emerged from the cave with a weak Scootaloo on her back. “Girls,” Pinkie said. Bloom and Belle looked and saw the pink pony, but gasped when they saw the orange filly on her back. They raced to Pinkie and asked a series of questions pertaining to the incident. Pinkie lowered Scoots to the ground slowly and gave them a reassuring smile. “Don’t worry girls, she’s okay. She just tripped on her scooter and fell real hard on the ground. Luckily, I came to her help just in time! She just needs some rest that’s all.” Pinkie was cringing inside. “Aww thanks, Pinkie! Yer a good friend, ya know that?” Applebloom asked with admiration. “You don’t have to thank me--” “We should! Scootaloo’s are best friend! We’re not the Cutie Mark Crusaders without her!” Sweetie Belle exclaimed. Guilt rained over mind. She held on to that fake smile as long as she could. When the Crusaders were out of view, her fake smile vanished, replaced with a deep frown. She searched for a way out of the forest and back into Ponyville. She did not hop this time. While walking, the images of Scootaloo flashed in her mind. She was scared. Scared for her life. Scared of Pinkie. “I didn’t mean to...” Thunderlane sat on a small cloud with a mix of fear and confusion. He didn’t know what Pinkie did to him, nor did he want to know. By the way she sound, she was upset at Rainbow Dash. So many questions were raised. “I don’t get it. Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash are the two greatest best friends I know. What did Dash do to make her upset? And more importantly, what did Pinkie do to me?” He distinctly remembered that when Pinkie came close contact with him, he could feel some sort of... magic. It was like the magic had took over his mind. He never had that experience before. He looked to the sky and thought about the events from an hour ago. “When you see Rainbow Dash, tell her... I’ll be waiting for her.” The way she said those words. He did not know why, but he had the feeling that something bad was about to happen. This is Pinkie Pie, of course. And it’s up to Rainbow Dash to save the day as usual. “I gotta tell somepony! But who? Rainbow Dash is not here, and she’s the key to all this!” Thunderlane mind clicked when the perfect answer came to him. “I know! Twilight Sparkle! Maybe she knows why Pinkie is acting weird. And maybe she can help me find Dash!” He took off into the air and traveled to the Ponyville Library, eager to find answers soon... the fate of Ponyville depends on it. Pinkie Pie sat on a log in the middle of the forest and thought about her actions. She could not get the thoughts of Scootaloo out of her head. For the first time in her young life, a filly was actually terrified of her. Terrified. She spotted a puddle of water by her log and in it was her reflection. The frown on her face was alien to her. All her life, she wanted to spread joy and laughter to all ponies, especially little foals. She quickly looked away from her reflection. She covered her hooves with her face. “Oh Scootaloo! I’m sorry! I’m so, so, sorry! Please forgive me!” she whispered to herself. “I’m the worst pony in Equestria.” “Why does that matter to you?” A cold voice called from nowhere. Pinkie jumped and tried to look where the voice came from. “Hello? Voice? Where are you? I hear you but I can’t see you?” “Over here, idiot!” Pinkie shifted her eyes to direction of the voice, and could not believe her eyes. It was herself. There was a major difference, however. While our Pinkie Pie’s mane is curly and poofy, this Pinkie’s mane was straight, half of it covering her right eye. Her cutie-mark was in the form of three deflated balloons. She glared coldly at the confused Pinkie. “Wh-who are you?” “I’m Pinkamena. Your other personality.” Pinkie blinked. Words alone could not describe the surrealism of this situation. “You probably don’t remember me, but I took over your mind during your little surprised party incident. On the height of emotional strees you suffered, I took physical manifestation from deep inside your mind. Remember the bucket, the sack of flour, and pile of rocks?” Pinkamena gave Pinkie a mocking smile, and the memories came flooding back to her. Pinkie bowed her head in shame. “Please... leave me alone.” “Or what? Sing a stupid song about how to giggle at the ghostie? You’re much of a loser than I thought you were. What kind of special talent is laughter anyway? It’s not that special! Everypony laughs! Even at the expense of somepony else’s misfortune!” The words pierced through Pinkie’s already broken heart. She prayed that the dark version of herself would just go away. “What do you want from me?” “I’ve been watching how Rainbow Dash have been recently treating you. Not letting you see her secret box. That’s one thing you just can’t stand - your friends keeping secrets from you.” A small, evil smile slowly appeared on Pinkamena’s face. Pinkie tried her best to look away from her. “She told you that when the time is right, she will show you her little secret. But guess what - that time is never coming!” “You’re wrong - Rainbow Dash would never lie to me - she’s my best friend.” “Your best friend? Some friend she is. If she’s really your friend, then how come she disappeared the day Twilight gave you your magic powers? Hmmmm?” The question rang true in Pinkie’s mind, but she tried her best to resist the influence of her dark personality. But it did not make sense - there was no way Rainbow Dash could have known about Pinkie’s new ability to make ponies tell the truth - unless... “And Rainbow Dash visiting a friend? If that’s not a load of baloney I’ve ever heard, then I don’t know what is.” “No! Twilight would never warn Dashie about me. Twilight--” “Betrayed your trust, just like Rainbow Dash! And you know what? Twilight probably knew about the box too!” “Stop it!” “The box probably has that embarrassing photo of you from the Hearths Warming Party.” “Stop it, please!” “And Scootaloo was in on it too! What if those little crusaders of yours reunited as Gabby Gums?” “Stop it!” “... and posted an article on the newspaper...” “STOP IT!” The scream was so loud, the birds reacted by flying far away. Pinkamena finally had her right where she wanted her. Pinkie broke down, crying while trying to cover her face in shame. A wicked, satisfactory smile widened as Pinkamena watched her original giving in to the dark side. Now was the time to seal to the deal. “You are so naive, Pinkie. You and I know very well that best friends would never do such a terrible thing like keeping secrets. Especially secrets that pertain to the personal life of another pony. Rainbow Dash, Twilight Sparkle, and Scootaloo should be punished for their sins of deception.” Pinkie wiped the tears from her eyes, and locked her’s to those of her evil double. “H-how?” “You’re still enchanted with the OmniTruth Spell, aren’t you? Use that spell to get revenge! Uncover the dark secrets kept hidden by the ponies who wronged you! Then, when the time is right... reveal those secrets to all of Ponyville! And then we’ll see who has the last laugh!” Pinkamena extended her hoof to the still broken Pinkie Pie. She was hesitant for a moment, but decided that she has had enough of the string of secrets and lies from her so-called “best friends.” “Okay.” Pinkie shook hooves with Pinkamena and both shared an evil laugh. Pinkie was caught up in the moment, never stopping to think that she might draw attention to her self. She finally ceased her sinister laughter to talk to Pinkamena some more. “So Pinkamena, what did you have in mi--” She disappeared. Pinkie looked all over her, but she was nowhere to be found. “But... it felt so real.” She did not know if she was hallucinating, or dreaming, or even having her annual episodes, but she had an epiphany. Her friends would soon realize that keeping secrets from her was not a very good idea. A venomous smile slowly emerged on her face. She hopped her way back into Ponyville - determined to get her vengeance. Thunderlane finally approached his destination - Ponyville Library. He trotted quickly to the front door. He proceeded to knock repeatedly until he heard a feminine voice. Twilight Sparkle greeted Thunderlane with a friendly smile. “Hello, Thunderlane. Welcome to the Library. How may I help you? “Twilight, you’re friends with Pinkie Pie, right?” “Of course. Is something wrong with her?” She asked with a hint of concern. “I don’t know... but I got a feeling that... stuff’s about go down. I’m talkin’ downtown!” Confused, Twilight invited Thunderlane inside to tell her more information about what is about to happen downtown... whatever that means. She told Spike to prepare a pot of tea for their guest. He poured two cups of tea for Twilight and Thunderlane. The unicorn leviated her glasses to her face and made her comfortable on her chair, as if to interview her guest. “Okay Thunderlane, what is it that you mean that something is about to happen... uh... ‘downtown’, as you say?” “Well, I was minding my own business, ya’ know. Then Pinkie Pie came to me and asked me if I seen Rainbow Dash. I said no, and then the Pinkster started interrogating me and such. I’m like, whoa, this ain’t like her. Then all of sudden, she touched my forehead! I can’t remember what happen next, but it felt like... it felt like I was being controlled. Manipulated, ya’ know. Afterward, she said to me If I see Dash, Pinkie’s waiting for her.” “Wait one second - you said you can’t remember anything when she touched your forehead?” “Like I said, it was like some kind of magic had taken me over.” Twilight sipped her tea, then a moment of realization took hold of her. Her mind flashbacked to morning when Pinkie arrived at the library. The same thing happened to her. “What is it, Twilight?” “Oh no. Pinkie still has the OmniTruth Spell.” “The what?” “The OmniTruth Spell. I enchanted her with it this morning. It’s a spell that gives a pony the ability to make anypony reveal a hidden secret or tell the truth,” explained Twilight. Thunderlane was astonished. With that power, Pinkie could be the most feared pony in Ponyville, heck, even in Equestria. “Why did you do that, Twilight?” “This morning, Pinkie arrived at my library and said something about Rainbow Dash keeping a secret from her. And she was desperate to find out what it is.” “She did mention something about some secret box to me earlier,” added Thunderlane. “You don’t think that’s what she is talking about, right?” Twilight thought for a brief moment; knowing Pinkie Pie, there’s no telling what she plans to do with Dash. “I don’t know, Thunderlane. We have to find Pinkie Pie at all costs. But first, I have to find a way to reverse the spell. Something like the OmniTruth Spell could lead to psychological problems.” The pegasus agreed with the unicorn. He bolted out the door - only to stop when another thought came to him. “Oh, by the way - you don’t know where Rainbow Dash is, do you?” “Applejack told me that she was visiting a friend who lives on the other side of Ponyville - which is far away.” Twilight levitated multiple spellbooks from the shelf and set them on her workdesk. “Thunderlane, I want you to find Pinkie and bring her to the library. I’m looking for ways to reverse the spell. Pinkie is very unpredictable, and we can’t let her cause any damage.” “Can do, Miss Sparkle!” Thunderlane spread his wings and took off to the air. He scanned the entire the area for any sightings of the party pony. Spike emerged from another room, concerned over the conversation that had transpired. “Twilight, what’s wrong with Pinkie?” “I don’t know, Spike. Let’s just hope she has not done anything jarring.” “Wow, Scootaloo! You’re lucky to be alive!” Sweetie Belle exclaimed to the young pegasus. Applebloom had done a nice job at wrapping a bandage on the wounded area of her leg. Belle placed a small patch on the bruise on Scoot’s head. “Eeyup! It’s a good thang Pinkie came by to rescue ya when she did!” Bloom and Belle sang their praises to the pink pony who saved the little pegasus. Scootaloo, however, could not get the horrifying images from her mind. The way Pinkie looked at her - as if she was trying to... no, Pinkie would do such a thing. Could she? She tried pushing those thoughts out, but to no avail. Applebloom had not noticed it before, but Scootaloo was uncomfortably silent by the time they arrived at the clubhouse. “Hey Scoot, ya all right?” The orange filly finally reacted when she heard her name. “Oh, uh, yeah... I’m fine. I’m still just a little shock by the whole accident and all.” Scootaloo tried to put on the best smile she could make, but the thoughts of Pinkie pinning her to the ground and head butting her were too much to bear. The last thing she remember was Pinkie placing her hoof on her forehead and... everything went dark. She wanted to tell her friends, but how would they react? How would Rainbow Dash react? A single tear rolled down her cheek. “Scootaloo, what’s wrong?” asked Sweetie Belle. She pulled out a piece of tissue paper, and wiped the tear from Scoot’s face. The orange filly took a quick glance at Belle before more tears followed. Applebloom sat next to Scootaloo; surely something was bothering her. “Scoots, what in the hay is wrong with ya? Ya been mighty quiet all day.” “It’s... it’s nothing.” “It has to be something,” replied Sweetie Belle. The sight of Scootaloo in tears was making her wanting to cry as well. Applebloom was trying her best to hold back any emotion. She made eye contact with Scootaloo and put one of her hooves on her shoulder. “Scootaloo, we are yer pals. If there’s somethin’ ya’ll wanna tell us, just say it.” Scootaloo thought for a moment. One last image of Pinkie Pie flashed before her mind. She shuddered at the very thought. For a brief moment, silence filled the air. Then she closed her eyes and took a deep breath. “It’s about Pinkie Pie...” ————————————————— On the other side of Ponyville (which is about at least 28 miles away), there was a small, wooden house that stood in the middle of forest. The forest was always peaceful and quiet, and not a lot of animals inhabited the area. The house belong to a pegasus named Sky Dancer. Sky Dancer had the same color coat as Rainbow Dash, but her mane and tail were white. She was an old friend of Rainbow Dash; not anything like a childhood friend, but somepony she used to be acquanted to. Dash thought it would be a good idea to spend some time with her, see how life has been treating her. “Got some lemonade, you want some?” asked Sky Dancer. “Don’t mind if I do.” Rainbow Dash grabbed the glass and consumed the contents. Lemonade was great drink to have on a hot summer day as this. Sky Dancer sat next to her on the couch. “So Dash, you said you wanted to show me something. An important something.” Rainbow instantly knew what she was referring to. After she finished her lemonade, she made eye contact with Dancer. “Yeah, I do. You won’t believe what I have!” She opened her saddlebag and pulled out her secret box. Sky Dancer eyes widened at the sight of the box. A sense of wonder and intrigue overtook her. “How many ponies have you shown this box to, Dash?” “...Just one. You’re the second. And hopefully, she will be the third.” “Who?” “...My best friend.” Rainbow placed on of her hooves onto the lid. She slowly opened it, only to stop. She looked at Sky Dancer firmly into her eyes. “Sky Dancer, promise me you won’t tell anypony what is inside this box! Right now, The Secret Society of Secrets only allowed me to show the box to three ponies in a particular order before the time is right for it to go public. Can I trust you to keep quiet?” “Rainbow Dash, you have my word,” replied Sky Dancer. Rainbow smiled before opening the box. The lid was open... what Dancer saw was a glourious sight to behold. A golden light emanated from the box, almost blinding Dancer. The light was equal to the aura emanating from Princess Celestia herself. No words could describe what the object of the box looked like. Words alone could not do justice to describe the feeling of just looking at it. A single tear rolled down Sky Dancer’s cheek. This was something... this was something a pony only saw once in a lifetime. “Sky Dancer? Sky Dancer? Sky Dancer!” Dancer was momentarily brought back to the real world. Sky Dancer stared at Dash, whom was giving a friendly smile. Dasher came close to Dash. She put her hooves on her shoulders. “Rainbow Dash - I’m going to blind myself now. After what I saw in the box, nothing else is worth looking at anymore.” Dash giggled at the statement. This has been a great day for her. She got see her friend she has not seen in years, showed her the mystery box, and got a good response. “Thanks, Dancer. Now one more pony left, and then the process is complete. So... same time, same place?” “You betcha!” Dancer said with laughter. The two pegasi shared one last laugh together before Dash made her way back to Ponyville. Dancer waved goodbye, and Dash waved back. She took off into the air, the warm breeze blowing on her face. Days like these, she just feel like could fly all over Equestria. I can’t wait to see Pinkie’s face when I finally show her the box! Was all Dash could think about. It would a long while before Dash makes it back to Ponyville, but the ride would be worth it in the end. ———————————————— “They all rejected me. They all pushed me away. They are all my false friends. But from now on, things are gonna be different around here.” Pinkie Pie finished completing her helmet. Once her red helmet was placed on her head, she strapped a purple cape on her around her neck. She walked out slowly from a cave, and raised her hoof into the sky, as if to curse creation itself. “From Now On, my name is no longer Pinkie Pie! All the world refer to me as... Susie! The Master of Mind Control!” TO BE CONTINUED Author's Note Ladies and Gentlemen, there has been a change in plans. Instead of a two-part story, There will be three! The saga of the Mystery Box will be concluded in the third and final chapter. Stay tuned!
ConfrontationTwilight read through her books of spells, trying to find a good that would stop Pinkie from doing anything out of the ordinary. Her concentration weakened when she was struck with a hornache. She put her hoof on her horn, her body trembling as she tried to contain the pain. In another room, Spike could hear groans of pain. He ran to the main room to see that the unicorn was about to faint. Spike caught her just in time (although she was a little heavy for his height). “Twilight, are you okay? What happened?” Twilight slowly opened her eyes to see her assistant. He could see the fear in her purple irises. “I don’t know, Spike. It’s like... I felt a disturbance with my magic.” “A disturbance? Like in Solar Wars?,” asked Spike. “Something like that.” The pain in her horn soon diminished, and Twilight found the strength to stand. She trotted to a nearby mirror. She stared at her horn for an eternity before she turned back to Spike. Never before has she felt such intense pain, nor did she ever think it would happen to her. She remembered the Princess gave her something special in case anything like that happened. She sighed, having no other choice but to use it. “Spike, go upstairs and get my helmet. It’s time.” Thunderlane flew across the skies for any sign of a pink pony. The past half hour have been lackluster for him. He searched the area in the forest where he saw her last; nothing. He asked the Cakes if they have seen her; they said she had a day off. He asked Pinkie’s other close friends for her whereabouts; they also thought it was strange that they have not seen her. After a period of frantic flying, Thunderlane sat on a boulder to rest and to catch up with his breath. “I hope Twilight is faring better than I am,” he told himself. He put his thoughts aside to relax his wings and nerves. He and laid back on the boulder and reclined under the sky. It was late in the afternoon, so it was considerably cool; Thunderlane did not mind, as long as he got his rest. The forest was, for the most part, unnaturally quiet. The only sounds that could be heard was the slight rustling of the leaves from the summer breeze. Not even the creek made its natural babbling noise. The dark-grey pegasus was slightly uncomfortable for the moment, but paid it no mind. It’s probably just the stress from today he thought to himself. Thunderlane closed his eyes and let his body recuperate. “Thunderlane...” He sat up when he heard his name. The voice sounded small - like it belonged to a filly. He turned his head to find its source. When the voice called for him the second time, he looked below the boulder. He saw three fillies, all with sad faces. He instantly recognize them as the (in)famous Cutie Mark Crusaders. “Hi girls, what’s up?” he asked weakly. The fillies answered by either shrugging their shoulders or mumbling. Thunderlane could not help but noticed that something was wrong. He jumped off the boulder lowered himself to their level. “Girls, what’s wrong? Giving up tryin’ to get your cutie-marks? Look guys, I know it’s hard, but it took a long time to--” “No, it’s not that,” Scootaloo interrupted. Thunderlane took a good look at her and saw a bandage wrapped around her leg. He also spotted a small patch on her forehead. His jaw dropped at the sight of the injured filly. “Scootaloo, who done this to you?” Scootaloo wanted to tell him, but she could not get the words out. She was still in shock over what happened earlier. Multiple times she tried to formulate words. “It was Pinkie Pie!” Apple Bloom called out. Thunderlane was at lost for words. There was no way Pinkie was responsible for this - it wasn’t like her to hurt a little filly. Apple Bloom recounted the preceding events to her memory to the small audience consisting of her friends and the pegasus stallion. Scootaloo was nearly in tears when the story was finished. Sweetie Belle tried her best to console the filly. Thunderlane got back on his hooves and legs and stretched his wings. The time for rest was over. He took out a few bits from his pouch. “Girls, go home. Take these and buy something to help Scootaloo. I’m gonna put an end to this once and for all.” He took off into the sky, leaving a trail of dust behind him. Pinkie had gone too far this time - and she will answer for her crime. As he flew with tremendous speed, he could only think of one thing: I have to find Rainbow Dash. Pinkie Pie (or Susie as she renamed herself) emerged from the woods as a new mare. Soon, everypony in Ponyville will learn why it is not a good idea to keep secrets from her. She rudely shoved the ponies at of her way in order to make her appearance known. She stood proudly in the middle of town, but the ponies were ignoring her. That would soon change. “Attention, Ponyville!” proclaimed the former party pony. Her voice was loud enough for the townsponies to hear. The populus stopped their activities to see what she had to say. “I, Susie, the Master of Mind Control, will assume complete dominance over Ponyville! All who refuse to submit to my rule will be punished!” “Uh, Pinkie, are you feeling alright?” asked a certain mint-coated unicorn mare. “I feel fine! Why do you ask?” Pinkie/Susie said, complete with a sadistic smile. That terrifying smile bore deep into Lyra’s soul. For some reason, Lyra felt all the happiness drained from her. “I have power far beyond your understanding! If we all cooperate, we will all have a wonderful time! If not, you will all regret the day you were ever born!” A stern looking stallion with a beard appeared from the crowd. He carried a tennis racket, as if he preparing to strike Susie with a moment’s ease. Susie saw the stallion as a challenger, and considered it an opportunity to demonstrate her power. “What right do you have to rule over us?” asked the bearded stallion coldly. His name was Ace. And he was not happy. “Didn’t you hear what I said?! I said I have powers beyond your understanding! What part of that did you not understand?!” “Pinkie, I know you’re crazy, but this is too far! You can’t call yourself the queen just because you have imaginary superpowers!” “I can. And I have,” answered Susie. “Would you like to see what I can do?” “That’s it! Don’t make me have to knock some sense into you!” Ace threatened. He raised his racket slowly, warning Pinkie to stop this nonsense. “No. Let me knock some sense - into you!” A pink hoof touched Ace’s forehead. He struggled with the weird sensation of being controlled, but to no avail. His blue irises turned yellow, and his eyes stared blankly into no direction at all - just like the others. “Now then, what is your deep secret you’ve kept from your friends?” Susie asked, putting an cold emphasis on the last word. “I’m afraid of the dark. I have trouble telling the difference between the lowercase b and a lowercase d. I sometimes stutter when I’m nervous. It’s a problem I have had since I was colt. I went to weekly speech therapy sessions during my colthood years.” Pinkie let go of her hoof, and Ace was back to normal. However, he didn’t feel right. He felt like he blacked out for a moment then his senses awoke. It was a strange feeling. “Wha-what happened?” he asked confusingly. Susie answered with the most diabolical smile she could make. “W-w-w-what d-d-did you do?! This-- this--- this isn’t funny!” He caught himself stuttering. He looked at Pinkie with astonishment/fear. “You monster!” Susie stood on her hind legs and laughed evilly into the (conveniently) dark sky. Nothing could stop Susie now that she was in control. The ponies of Ponyville cowered before their new ruler. It will not be long until her revenge would be complete. Pinkie looked westward into the town. She spotted a huge oak tree in the distance. Her eyes narrowed as she thought of only one thing: Twilight - you’re mine! The curtains in her bedroom was closed. It was pitch-black, save for the candles the lit the room mostly. She stood on a circle she created with her magic. The inside of the circle was filled with characters, letters, markings, numbers, and many other things only the wisest of unicorns understood. While standing on the middle of the circle, she meditated, trying to ease her mind of what was to come. “Twilight? Are you ready?” asked the purple dragon. Twilight opened her eyes and saw Spike holding a golden helmet. The helmet which would cover her entire face, save for the three holes; two on the helmet for her eyes and one on the top for her horn. “Yes, Spike. Bring it here.” Spike walked slowly to the lavender unicorn with the helmet in his hands. Before he could put the helmet on her, Twilight stopped him for a moment. “Don’t be afraid, Spike. If I do anything or say anything out of the ordinary, just remember - it’s someone else.” She gave the dragon a reassuring smile to ease his nerves. Spike nodded and put the helmet on her. The circle she was standing on glowed. She floated a few inches above the floor; her eyes were filled with white glowing light. The little flames from the candles dissipated from the sheer powerful force of magic. Spike could not bear to watch anymore and covered his eyes in fear. When Twilight screamed, he thought he heard two voices. Then, all was quiet - the figure that stood before Spike was - unworldly. “Twilight? Is that you?” The helmet covered all of Twilight’s head, except for the horn and eyes. The transformation also came with flowing golden cape. She looked like she could be a good candidate for the Royal Guard. The unicorn looked at Spike with an expressionless face, and spoke: “No, not Twilight - there is only Gamma Ray.” Thunderlane flew as fast as his wing could take him. He didn’t know which way he was going, all he knows is that he has to find Rainbow Dash - and fast! The stress was building up inside his heart, he thought he was going to faint right in the middle of the sky. He continued flying frantically, but it was no use - it’s like Dash disappeared from the face of the earth. Thoughts raced across his mind to the finish line that was his conscience. Everything was crashing into his brain at once, until he saw a faint figure flying overhead. It was coming toward him really fast and Thunderlane performed a barrel-roll. That was when he saw the rainbow streak. Wasting no valuable time, he maneuver his body around the clouds and followed the recognizable trail of ROYGBIV. It took him awhile, but he caught up with her just in time; he wasn’t as fast as her, and she always teased him about it. Thunderlane flew right next to Rainbow Dash and attempted to get her attention. He tried to tapped her shoulders, but her wings were making the task impossible. He yelled out her name, but her ears were filled with the sound of her wings flapping with enthusiasm. He flew below Rainbow while increasing his speed. At the right moment he would appear in front of her; that way, she would stop. It seemed like a good idea. He went forth with his plan and waited for the perfect moment to rise above the clouds. Suddenly, he flew up in the air and spread his hooves across. He closed his eyes waited for the impact. Rainbow Dash flight back to Ponyville was so glorious, she had not noticed that sompony was trying to get her attention. Throughout her flight she had not let go of her secret box. Her journey home also gave her time to think about what happened yesterday. She felt bad about keeping the box a secret from Pinkie, but she had to keep it from until the time was right. She was relieved that Pinkie was the last one on the list. When she finally see what was in the box, they can both move on and put this whole mess behind them. She was so deep in her thoughts she did not noticed a dark figure standing in front of her. She did a double-take and pressed her internal breaks at the last minute. It failed. She crashed into Thunderlane and they both fell downward. Rainbow regain her composure and flapped her wings. She shot herself down faster than a speeding rainbow bullet and caught Thunderlane before he could crash-landed. “Wow, thanks, Rainbow Dash! I’m sure am happy to see you!” “Don’t get sentimental on me, Thunderlane! Of course of all the pegasus I had the pleasure to crash into, it would be you!” Rainbow dropped Thunderlane just a few inches to the ground. She mumbled something to herself about him being incompetent. She placed herself on the ground and looked at him with contempt. “So what’s the big idea? What was so important that you kept me from reaching flight nirvana?” “Well, it’s about Pinkie Pie,” Thunderlane answered. Dash furrowed her brow and rolled her eyes. “What about her?” “Well, she’s gone crazy!” “So? She’s Pinkie Pie. She’s crazy 24/7. You don’t see me complaining about it. Mostly.” “No, you don’t understand! She’s gone nuts! She’s like chocolate with nuts! Only the nuts are actually almonds and sompony lied that the almonds are nuts, and... and... I have no idea what I’m talking about.” Rainbow Dash turned her back to him and flew off. Thunderlane tried to call her back, but she completely ignored him. She does not have the patience for a pony as thick-skulled as Thunderlane. She contemplated what she would to him as an act of revenge, when she noticed that both her front hooves were on her sides. The box was missing. “Omigoshomigoshomigoshomigosh!” She flew back to Thunderlane and tackled him into the ground. Her purple irises pierced through his very soul - it was flight school all over again. “WHERE IS IT!” “Where’s what, Dash?” “DON’T PLAY WITH ME, LANE! WHERE. IS. THE. BOX?” Thunderlane gently removed an angry/frantic Rainbow Dash away from him. He stood back up and looked at her straight in the eyes. “I don’t know where your box is. I never even seen it before.” “Don’t you lie to me! You probably stole it! That box has something valuable inside and I can’t let you--” “Dash, this is what this whole mess was about - you and your box.” “You mean... Pinkie’s gone crazy because of the secret box?!” Thunderlane nodded. Rainbow Dash flew circles furiously in the sky and yelled obscenities. It was good thing no fillies were present during this scene. She landed on the ground with great impact that shook the entire forest. “This is great! This is just great! I dropped the box only Celestia knows where, and now I can’t find it! Now, anypony probably has their hooves on it! Thanks a-bunch Thunderlame!” “Sorry.” Thunderlane’s weak apology has done nothing for them. The damage was already done. Rainbow sat on a log and her set her head on her hooves. Thunderlane knew she did not want to talk him, but he trotted to her side anyway. “What was in the box, anyway?” “Like I’m telling you. Only a select few ponies were suppose to see the box!” “I’m guessing Pinkie was one of them?” Rainbow rolled her eyes. “Does the box has anything bad in it?” “No. There’s nothing bad in the box. But I’m still not telling you what’s inside!” He could tell that Dash was really frustrated at him. He sat himself down next to her, her back still facing him. “... Dash, I’m sorry for making you lose your box, okay. It’s just that, uh, Pinkie been acting crazy today.” “Like I said, she’s always crazy! Tell me something I don’t know.” “... She attacked Scootaloo.” “...” “... what?” Thunderlane recounted the tale of how Pinkie took control of his mind, and how she mercilessly attack poor Scootaloo. He told her of how she lied about saving her. He told her about how he saw the bandages on different parts of her small body. He also mentioned of how she cried when she walked. “... I don’t know where she is now. And Celestia forbid she’d done this to anypony else. That’s why I was so busy trying to find you, so you can sort things out.” Rainbow tried to keep a straight face, but small tears trickled down her cheeks. She was heartbroken that a little filly close to her was severely injured; she was heartbroken that the perpetrator was her best friend. All because of that stupid box. “This is my fault. I should’ve never shown anypony that box,” she whispered to herself. Thunderlane wrapped his hooves around her, in an effort to comfort her. “I’m sorry too...” The two pegasi remained silent. They stared into the forest trees for what seem like an eternity. When all was said and done, Rainbow sat up from her log and gave a stern look to the grey pegasus. “Thunderlane. Get up - we have to find Pinkie Pie.” “What about your box?” “Forget the box. Sompony has to learn - if you mess with the Scoots, you mess with the Dash!” Thunderlane smiled at her bold statement. The two pegasi hovered into sky and continued the the journey to Ponyville, determined to set things right. Susie was finally in control. The very ponies whom used to mock and lie to her were now cowering under her iron hoof. Her revenge was almost complete - she had unfinished business with a certain lavender unicorn. She walked to the Ponyville Library, her next target waiting for her. A crowd of terrified ponies gather around to see what will happen next. She scanned the interior of the library carefully. The second-floor window caught her attention, however. A bright, golden flash of light was seen, followed by high-pitched scream. This frightened the other ponies, fearing something terrible had happened to Twilight Sparkle. “What! Somepony else has gotten to her first! Awww, I wanted to punish her for deceiving me and associating herself with liars!” When she finished whining, the front door slowly opened. The golden light blinded everypony, including Susie. The illumination faded, and what was standing proudly at the door took everypony by surprise - especially Susie. “Evildoer, you have disrupted the Balance! Cease your horrendous actions, and surrender to the Side of Righteousness!” This pony was indeed Twilight, but at the same time, it was not. The gold helmet concealed her head, except the horn, and the golden cape majestically flowed in the air. When it spoke, it spoke in two voices: one belonged to Twilight, and other belonged to an entity that was not of their world. The ponies cowered even more than they had before. Fillies and colts hid behind their parents, Fluttershy trembled while in fetal position, and Rarity fainited. “Who are you? And what have you done to Twilight?! I wanna destroy her!” “There is no Twilight Sparkle - there is only Gamma-Ray!” The other townsponies collectively gasped in unison. Susie stood her ground, and prepared for the worst. “From the smallest atom to the largest star, Gamma-Ray is everything... our tremendous power shall illuminate the entire universe, and those beyond this plane of existence! All glory to Gamma-Ray!” With that, Twilight/Gamma-Ray shot a beam golden light from their horn. It hit Susie square in the face and it sent her crashing to the nearest building. The ponies looked in awe at the damage caused by the unicorn. Susie was apparently buried in the rubble. All was well, until a pink hoof punched its way out. The pink pony emerged out of the rubble. Her body was glowing with a blood-red aura around her. Saying that she was really angry would not do the situation justice. “TWIIIIIILIIIIGHT!” She charged at her opponent with frantic speed and held her hoof so she could punch the golden unicorn. She threw multiple punches at Twilight, but she blocked them all with her force field. Every punch, kick, or uppercut would not penetrate the shield. “You fool. You can not break through the Shield of Justice!” Magic engulfed Susie and Gamma-Ray slammed her back and forth to the ground. The ponies watching now started to scream and dispersed, before any of them get caught in the crossfire. The slamming ended with Susie face-down on the ground. Gamma-Ray looked down on her and requested once more that she surrender and free the town from her darkness. “Me, surrender... HAHAHAHA! This is only the beginning Twilight! Soon, every city; every province; every kingdom will fall like dominoes! All who laughed at me will perished in the fires of Tartarus as might mighty hand will crush any opposition!” Susie circles around Gamma-Ray until a pink tornado formulated. The tornado took Gamma-Ray for a ride as the swirling cloud cause havoc across town. Susie taunted Ray and laugh at the ponies running helplessly from the destruction. Gamma-Ray used chanted a spell that made the tornado disappear. Gamma-Ray landed back on the ground. Susie, now frustrated more than ever, pulled a giant slingshot from her back pocket and shot several objects at Gamma-Ray. She/it dodged every single object being thrown. Gamma-Ray charged at its/her opponent and kicked her in the jaw. Susie crash-landed on a cart full of tomatoes. Susie wiped the tomatoes from her face. Her head was reaching scorching temperatures thanks to her anger. “You. Will. Pay!” She pulled out a giant mallet and was hell-bent on smashing Gamma-Ray into tiny pieces. While trying to smash the Golden Unicorn, she smashed several buildings. Gamma-Ray saw a group of fillies whom were huddled together under a cart and trembling on sight. She/it teleported them to a safe location before the mallet smashed their hiding spot. Gamma-Ray tried to aim its horn to deflect the oncoming mallet, but Susie proved to cunning. “This isn’t working, Gamma-Ray. We need some help,” Twilight’s conscience said. “Indeed. I can’t make a good aim with that mallet everywhere at once,” Gamma-Ray’s spirit stated. Twilight did not have any idea what to do. Time was short and the fate of Ponyville is hanging by a thread. Gamma-Ray made itself invisible, and hid behind a building. While thinking over a strategy, Gamma-Ray heard a faint explosion from the sky. He turned and saw a streak of rainbow heading its direction. It was traveling faster than the speed of light. With a howling warcry, the rainbow streak collided with Susie, and sent both of them crashing through a brick wall. The cyan, rainbow maned pegasus had Susie pinned to the ground. A vein was throbbing in her head while she breathed heavily to her opponent. The two ponies locked eyes, waiting for the other to make the next move. Susie kneed Dash, giving a chance to escape her grip. The Master of Mind Control stood face-to-face with the Fastest Flyer in Equestria. “Pinkie... I swear--” “MY NAME’S. NOT. PINKIEEEEE!” Susie charged at Rainbow Dash and headbutted her with her red helmet, giving the pegasus a broken nose. Rainbow Dash swiftly grabbed Susie by her cape, picked her up, and slammed her into the ground - creating a medium sized crater. Susie leaped out and wrapped her hooves around Rainbow’s neck, strangling her. Gasping for air, Rainbow Dash was brought to her knees. Susie grabbed grabbed the choking pegasus’ head and slammed it face first into the ground. She proceed to turn her body around, and used both her hooves to make bruises on her face. Rainbow Dash caught Susie’s right hoof and punched her in the jaw. She got back up, and roundhouse kicked Susie into a stop sign. Both bruised and battered, the two mares ceased fighting for a moment. “Pinkie Pie! Why are you doing this? What’s gotten into you?” “What’s gotten into me?! This is your fault, Rainbow Dash! You are the most selfish, self-centered, egotistical, boastful pony in Equestria! All I ask - as a best friend, no less - was for to kindly show me what was in your box!” “Pinkie, please! I don’t have the box! I lost it! I was gonna show it to you today, honest, but... I lost it somehow!” “You’re probably lying. Just like the rest of them! No matter... I’ll just beat the truth out of you - just like I did to Scootaloo!” Hearing that made Rainbow’s blood boil. With a spine-chillingly, desperate warcry, she charged with great vengeance and KO’d Susie across the face with furious anger. The punch was so powerful, it sent shockwaves throughout the town, shattering glass windows and causing earthquakes. The last thing to be seen was a rainbow explosion, before everypony’s vision turned white. Once everything was clear, a giant crater was formed. Both Rainbow Dash and Susie laid there, unconscious. The cyan pegasus was the first get up - her entire self was blanketed with battle scars and a face full of bruises, as well as a broken nose. Susie just laid there - broken teeth, swollen face, black eye. Susie’s good eye opened and looked upon Rainbow Dash with contempt. She was too weak to stand, but that didn’t stop her from trying. Revenge was her only absolute. “Evildoer, the Balance must be restored.” Susie turned around - Gamma-Ray was behind her, holding a golden staff with a purple crystal at the top. He leaped into action and pointed the staff at Susie. Rainbow Dash came up behind her and held her tight, keeping her from escaping. Gamma-Ray levitated the red helmet from Susie’s head and the purple crystal glowed. “Black Spirits of the Underworld - I command you to leave this innocent pony! Go back to the horrible abyss that is prepared for you and your dark master! Thus Saith Gamma-Ray!” A purple force field engulfed the crater. Lightning strikes were abound, noises of demons screaming in pain. A interdimensional hole spontaneously appeared in the sky, and a purple beam of light targeted Susie. She let out one last blood curdling scream before her entire body was encased with light. Rainbow Dash thought it was good time to let go of her. Sparks of light, explosions of color, and screams of otherworldly beings filled the tome of magic. Then... silence. Pinkie, now free from her evil personality, slowly faded in unconsciousness. Rainbow grabbed her just as she fainted. The party pony’s mane was still straight; it would take a long time to get it back to its natural, poofy, state. Rainbow Dash held her close. “It’s over. It’s finally over...” Blackness. That was all what could be seen. Such blackness such as this was unnatural. No light; no sound; no activity. Is this what death is suppose to be like. Is there no reward or punishment for earthly deeds? Out of the blackness, a small bright light revealed itself. The light kept growing... and growing. Maybe this is the reward. “What happened to her?” Voices. “I’ve never seen her take a beating like that!” More voices. “Twilight, what in the hay have ya done to her?” Familiar voices. “I did what was needed to be done.” The blackness disappeared. Her vision was blurry - all she could see was blurs of multi-colored shapes. Her vision cleared after opening and closing her eyes multiple times. She was in a hospital room. Her best friends, Spike, Thunderlane, Nurse Redheart, and the Cutie Mark Crusaders were gathered around her bed. She took a good look at her surroundings and saw she was covered in bandages, casts, and she a severe headache. “W-what happened? Why does my head hurt so much?” Rainbow Dash embraced her with a loving hug. “I’m sorry, Pinkie. I’m so sorry.” She didn’t understand at first. But the images came flooding back to her. Everything that has ever happened this past weekend, and what lead to her in this room. The box; the fight; the anger... everything. The two mares had their little moment with each other. Pinkie looked at her concerned friends and colleagues. She had an enormous debt to pay. “Guys... I’m sorry for the way I acted. It’s just that... I... I hate it when my best friends keep secrets from me.” The ponies could hear her voice starting to crack. “I do my best to be open with everypony I meet, and share my secrets too. And when my friends is keeping certain things away from me, it makes me think that...” She broke down. Tears were flooding from her eyes as her sobs could be heard across the halls of the hospital. “Pinkie, it was my fault.” Pinkie wiped her tears and stared at a remorseful Rainbow Dash. “I shouldn’t have been prancing around with the box that day. And because of me, it’s gone. I understand if you’re upset Pinkie. I’m upset with myself too.” A lumped formed in Pinkie’s throat. Rainbow covered her eyes in shame - the broken bonds would take some time to heal. Pinkie looked at Scootaloo, and more tears showed. “Oh Scootaloo, I’m so sorry! I don’t know what came over me! I would never hurt like that! Please forgive me!” The little filly leaped on her bed and wrapped her hooves around her. Pinkie promised to Scootaloo that she would never lay a hoof on her ever again. Thunderlane, witnessing the heartwarming moment, was getting teary-eyed himself. “Alright guys, not that don’t like these mushy Hallmare moments, but... I gotta go. My little bro is probably worried about me.” Thunderlane made his way out the door only to be stopped by Pinkie. “Thunderlane... I’m sorry.” “All is forgiven.” Exit Thunderlane. Rainbow Dash thought about what Thunderlane had to go through yesterday. He hardly even knows Scootaloo, or any of her friends for that matter - yet, he went out of his way to help the filly. A smile grew on her lips. “Dashie, what about your box?” “It’s gone now - maybe forever. But who cares? It was just a dumb old box anyway.” “But why was it so important that you were keeping it from me?” “... Because the pony I trust the most was supposed to see the box last. And that pony... was you.” Pinkie’s eyes grew into the shape of saucers. Rainbow Dash really trusted her. “But since we’re not gonna see the box ever again - I guess it’s okay to tell you what’s inside.” “Don’t worry about it, Dashie. After everything that’s happened... I’m not interested anymore,” giggled Pinkie. The other girls laughed softly as well, seeing that the two were already rekindling their friendship. Her mane was slowly returning to its poofy style. “Hold on a minute. We are obviously leaving out a very important subject,” Rarity spoke up. She turned her attention to Twilight. “Twilight, darling... what happened to you other night? Who was... Gamma-Ray?” “It’s a long story, Rarity. I’m too tired to tell it now.” “Alright, then. Maybe you can tell it over tea.” “Definitely.” The mares plus Spike and the Crusaders laughed with their hearts content. With The Box now out of their lives forever, Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie finally renewed their friendship, and all of them promised each other to never keep secrets and to always be open with each other. It was bright new day for the Bearer of the Element of Laughter. What about Twilight Sparkle and Gamma-Ray, you ask? Well, that is something for another story. Yesterday, Late in the Afternoon... Dinky Doo loved hiding out in the woods, it was her private sanctuary. The day would have gone better than she had hoped, if it were not for the constant teasing from Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon for being what they call, a “blank-flank.” She reminded herself to join the Cutie Mark Crusaders sometime this summer. She looked at the setting sun over the mountains. She had to hurry home; her mother would not appreciate it if she late for dinner again. Dinky continued to walk the path to her house until something on the ground caught her eye. A box. A square, cubicle, light-brown box. She turned the box over its sides; it had such perfect angles. On the top of the box it was labeled: PROPERTY OF THE SECRET SOCIETY OF SECRETS AND WONDERS. She wanted to put the box back where she found it, but was conflicted about the circumstances. This was something one only saw once in a lifetime. She decided to take just one peek. She slowly opened the lid - and lo and behold a bright light blinded her eyes. Dinky shield her eyes, but at that moment, she saw something that ponies only saw in their dreams. “Oh my gosh... it’s... it’s... “ THE END Author's Note The saga of the Mystery Box is not quite over, and the Adventures of Gamma-Ray have only just begun. Look up toward the sky and the future will be in your hands.
