Pinkamena's Final Actby MasterFrascaChaptersDitzy's DiscoveryThe First of ManyAn Honest HarvestDressmaking's EasyMy Faithful VictimThe Monster InsideFinal ThoughtsDitzy's Discovery"Oh boy!" I said jumping up and down. "Tonight is muffin night!" My calender had the message written right across the day in big, sloppy letters. Its hard to write with my vision so distorted. I can't help that My eyes are like this. I didn't care though because today was my monthly muffin-pickup day. This was always my favorite time of the month. I couldn't wait to get to Sugarcube Corner and claim my tasty confections! Picking up my mailbag so I could carry as many home as I could I called out to Dinky, who was reading up in her room, "Dinky! Mommy's going out to pick up some muffins. Be good for mommy and stay out of trouble!" A small high-pitched voice called back, "Ok Mommy." I opened up the door and started to step out when she came galloping down the steps. " Wait! Can you get me a cupcake while you're out? "Sure my little muffin," I replied as she smiled and headed back up the stairs. I went outside, making sure to close the door. While trotting down the steps to the street, A voice caught my ear, saying, "Good afternoon, Ditzy!" I turned to see it belonged to a orange-maned pony I knew very well. She was working in her garden like nearly every day. "Hello Carrot Top!" I answered before asking, "Can you do me a favor?" "Anything for my favorite pegasus," She replied setting down her gardening tools and looking up at me. "What do you need?" "Well, I'm off to go get some muffins, and Dinky's home alone. Do you think you could watch and make sure she doesn't run off or anything?" "I'll keep an eye on her," the yellow pony smiled. "I'm always glad to help out a neighbor." "Thanks a million," I replied, starting the short trek to Sugarcube Corner. It wasn't that I didn't trust Dinky, but I just wanted to make sure she was safe. I guess that comes naturally when you are a mother though. Galloping along, I crossed paths with many friends. I said a simple hello and beamed, excited about what I was going out to get. Muffins always were my favorite, and Pinkie always knew how to make them right. I just hoped that she would have a fresh batch ready like last month. As Sugarcube Corner came into view, I got a little more excited and changed my pace to a fast trot. Then the fast trot went to a slow gallop, and before I realized it I had broken out in a full on sprint. I didn't care what anypony thought that may have seen me. All I know is that I was about to get my Muffins. Stepping inside, I noticed that the place was empty. Usually the pink pony was always there to great me with great vigor. The place was unnaturally silent and clean today. "Hello?" I called out to the walls, hoping for the Earth pony to come zipping in at the sound of a voice. Nothing happened and the place stayed eerily silent. "Pinkie?" I called out again looking around for the usually-hyper pony. When I got to the counter, I noticed a closet door with a bit of light coming from the other side. "Are you in here?" I asked pushing open the door. The door that I thought was a closet was actually a staircase leading to the basement. I looked down to see where it led, but all I could make out was the faint flickering of a candle of some sort. Walking down the steps, I called out once more, "Pinkie are you down here?" I got to the bottom of the steps and looked around. Pinkie was down here, just sitting in front of the candle motionless. "P-pinkie are you OK?" I asked slowly walking up to her. I tapped on her shoulder to see if she even heard what I just said. Her body slumped over, revealing her front to me. She had a massive knife sticking in her chest with dried blood encrusted on it. "OH, DEAR CELESTIA!" The First of ManyShe was dead, and she must have been dead for nearly a day. The knife was rusty and blood encrusted, but the amount of blood on the floor was too much for one pony to create. This couldn't all be hers. Backing up, I barely kept the contents of my previous lunch in my stomach. My eyes weren't the best, but a dead pony...a dead pinkie wasn't something my mind would just make up. I felt my back legs hit the stairs, and glancing backwards, I saw that there was a light switch. Flicking the switch, I saw the room in all its horrible glory. The first thing I saw was some sort of bloody examination table with different surgical tools laid out on top. The tools were all drenched in a stomach-wrenching amount of blood, and bits and pieces of what I could only assume was pony flesh. This was the final straw for my brain. I couldn't stand the sights anymore and emptied my gut at the base of the stairs. While relieving myself of the previous days lunch, I noticed a discarded severed wing lying next to the examination table. It was a pastel yellow color with dried blood at the joint where it must have been severed. I knew that wing well, and it could only be... I chocked back tears and emptied what little remained in my stomach onto the growing pile by the stairs. ****** I woke up dizzy, Looking around I realized I had no idea where I was. Pinkie had said something about gummy having some teething issues. I thought maybe I'd have to help her with a cranky crocodile. She offered me a cupcake and then... then I woke up here. But where was here? I tried to move my head around only to realize that I was trapped. I panicked and squirmed a little, trying to break loose of my bindings, but I was being held down tightly by leather straps. T tried flapping my wings, but the way my limbs were positioned, all the could accomplish was making a loud racket as they smacked uselessly against the table I was strapped to. Darting my eyes around, I tried to make sense of where I was. If I wasn't mistaken, I thought I could faintly smell cotton candy in the background. "Pinkie?" I called out, wanting anypony to come help me off this table. "Are you there?" "Fluttershy!" pink pony rejoiced in her usual super-happy tone, finally coming into view directly over me. "I'm so glad you're awake! Now we can have some fun!" Something was wrong with her though. Her usually messy, cotton-candy-like pink mane had fallen straight, and her eyes were twitching with every few words. Her pupils were dilated by a lot, becoming small balls inside the massive white sea of the eye around her. Her usual peppy tone was there, but her voice had... changed. This wasn't the same pinkie that I knew and loved. "What game do you want to play first?" she asked, and before I could even ask her what was going on, she answered her own question. "Oh I know the perfect game! Lets play real life operation! I'll be right back, so don't go anywhere." I was frightened by how her eyes spread apart a little at those last few words. A chill ran down my spine, and I knew something was wrong. Pinkie hadn't acted this strange since we all threw her that surprise party at Sweet Apple Acres. My heart race sped up as I tried looking around for some way to free me from my makeshift prison. Before I could spot anything useful, Pinkie returned. "I always loved how you take care of animals," Pinkie said, dragging what sounded like a cart full of metal objects. Since my head was bound, I couldn't see exactly what those objects were. I had a slight hunch, but I hoped to Celestia I was wrong. "Haven't you always wondered though," Pinkie started, leaning over next to me, "What makes those animals tick? I've always been curious how a pegasus wing works, you know since these frail little things shouldn't be able to hold you off the ground." She had grabbed my wing, and instinctively, I flapped it, trying to remove her hoof. "Oh we have a fighter!" Pinkie eerily stated. "Looks like I'm just going to have a little fun with you." I didn't know what she meant by that, but my fears were confirmed when she pulled a bone saw in front of my eyes. I panicked, struggling and trying to loosen my bindings just enough so I could get free, but I was getting nowhere. "Oh you are going to make this difficult aren't you?" Pinkie asked no one in particular. "Oh well that makes it all the more fun for me." She brought the bone saw directly to the joint where my wing met my back. "I don't think you'll be needing this anymore," she said, cutting into the flesh. An Honest HarvestAfter recovering for the sight of the severed wing, I looked around some more. I wanted to run out of there as quickly as I could and never look back. But no matter how much my mind protested, my gaze stayed fixated on that operation table. I could only imagine what horrors occurred there. Staring at the wing, I thought of the week ago that Fluttershy went missing. I had heard it from Rainbow Dash that had seemed to just vanish one day. "Not even Angel knew where she went," Rainbow said after telling me of Fluttershy's odd disappearance. "It's as if she just up and left one night! I heard that Applejack and her family were sending out search parties outside of Ponyville. But why would a girl like her just leave without any reason?" So this must have been her fate, but where was the rest of her if all that remained was her wing? My curiosity overcame my horror and disgust, and I looked around the now-lit room more. Behind the operation table was some sort of giant wheel with four latches attached to it big enough to put a hoof in. The thing had countless cuts in it as if someone had jammed a knife repeatedly into the wood. Also it, like everything else in the room, was covered with streaks of dried blood. The last thing I noticed was an all too familiar Stetson lying at the base of the wheel. Although I didn't think it possible, I added another bit of my stomach to the growing pile at the bottom of the stairs... ****** "Ugg," I grunted, feeling like somepony had bucked me right in the back of the head. I groggily opened my eyes that felt ten pounds heaver than normal, and was blinded by a spotlight pointed directly at my face. "What in the hay? Wha's goin' on?" Looking around, I saw that I was strapped to some sort of large wooden circle, each hoof being held down by an inescapable metal latch. I was confused as to how I had gotten here, wherever here was, and a very worried as to why I was here. I tugged a little at the straps, but none of them would budge. Even with my tough legs, I couldn't seem to break loose of my bindings. My hat fell off while I was trying to loosen the grip of these metal jaws holding me in place, but that seemed to be the least of my problems as of right now. As I was fruitlessly tugging at the straps some more, I started to hear a voice, no two voices, arguing about something. "Hey!" I called out trying to get their attention, "Help me out ova' here! I dun' stuck as a needle on a cactus!" They seemed to ignore me, so I tried shouting as loud as I could. "HEY!" I screamed. The voices stopped for a split second before going back to their bickering. I knew they had heard me, but they were ignoring me. I perked up my ears trying to listen in on what was so important that they would outright ignore me. "But she was my friend!" the one voice sobbed. It was very high pitched, and I recognized it instantly. "Pinkie?" I mumbled to myself before the other voice cut back in. This one was lower and angrier but still sounded vaguely familiar. "Oh come now," the second, somehow demonic-sounding voice started, "You didn't enjoy it? You love cupcakes!" "Those weren't cupcakes, you monster!" Pinkie practically screamed at the other voice. "That was cannibalism you fucking monster!" In all my life,I have never once heard pinkie use even slightly dirty language. I had no idea she even knew a single swear word, much less ever use one. I started to panic, though, because this pony, whoever she was, was willing to kill and eat others. "Pinkie!" I shouted into the darkness. "Come on over here! I'll help you out sugar-cube!" The voices stopped and slowly the familiar pink pony came into view, but something wasn't right with her hair. It was straight, but I didn't have time to talk about her new hairstyle. "A'right, help me out'a this here contraption, will ya Pinkie?" I asked still struggling at the bindings fruitlessly. "Sorry, but Pinkie isn't here right now," said the lower demonic voice, coming out of Pinkie's mouth. "What in the hay?!" I shouted scared for my life at this point. "Nope," the demonic-voiced Pinkie continued. "Only ponies here are you and me. Just Applejack and Pinkamena Diane Pie." Pinkie was talking, but she had called herself Pinkamena. "Oh you set yourself for a game already!" the pink pony continued with a giddy tone before I could ask why she called herself Pinkamena. "Uh...w-what game is that hon?" I asked, my mind reeling at all the things that were wrong with this situation. "Why, the wheel game, you silly filly," she started picking up my hat and placing it on her head. While she was messing around with the position of my hat, I asked, "What exactly is that, sugar cube?" "You can keep this," Pinkie said, ignoring my question while throwing the hat beneath my hooves. "We've got a game to begin!" she joyously said, grabbing the wheel I was on and yanking it into a quick spin. "So Applejack," she said next to me as I spun around, my stomach flipping over itself, "what do you think the chances of getting you in the head on the first shot?" "What in the buck do you mean by that?!" I shouted, barely containing my stomach contents from being released onto the floor. The last thing I saw was the gleam of a knife as it caught the light perfectly, only inches from my face. Dressmaking's EasyRocking back in forth on the bottom step, I thought over the horrors that I had just seen. Thoughts were spreading through my mind like wildfire. I didn't want them. They needed to leave, but I couldn't stop thinking about them. That spark of curiosity was keeping my mind glued here, and halting my body from leaving. As much as I wanted to leave, wanted to go and forget anything was ever down here, wanted to erase the images coursing through my mind like a storm, I just couldn't leave without knowing. Applejack was dead. Fluttershy was dead. There had to be more. No living creature capable of taking the life of another stops that quickly. "How many more, Pinkie?!" I shouted at the dead body, still lying where it had been when I came in. I no longer felt sad for the dead pony, after what she had done to those poor innocent souls. "How many more suffered under you? How many more died in this basement?!" Anger mixed with a heavy sadness welled up in me. I had to find out. There was more to this than just those two. "What else did you do?!" I yelled again at the corpse, standing up and walking over to her. Her eyes were wide open and glazed over. One looked as if she had recently gotten a black eye, and both staring into the ceiling. The face was curled into an unnatural smile as if she had been laughing when she died. The knife was still sticking out of her chest, surrounded by blood stains. She was slumped on the ground next a wooden table covered in dried blood. There was also a spool of string attached to a needle sitting on the table. "What did you use this for?" I mumbled to myself, not daring to even touch the thing. Looking back at Pinkie, I noticed something in the corner right next to the base of the stairs. Two doors sat side by side, with blood slathered on them. Unlike the rest of the room, though, this blood looked as if it were put there by hoof, as they formed letters on the doors. The first simply had "dress" painted on it, and the other, "garbage." I walked slowly over and gripped the door handle of the "dress" room, afraid of what awaited me on the other side. Turning the knob, I swung it open quickly to try and get the shock over with. Instantly, I stumbled back, turning my head as a rank smell hit my nose. It was the smell of rotting flesh, something I was surprised I hadn't already met with down here. Looking up, I saw something that will never, ever be erased from my memory. The small closet-sized room contained a dress if that was the correct term in this situation. This dress was made much like a quilt, with small patches woven together. This dress though... This dress had a material, no other dress did: Pony Flesh This dress was composed of the cutie morks of dozens of Ponies. Their flanks were all woven almost sloppily together to form a sort of cloak. The multicolored dress had blood splattered over it like everything else my eyes had come into contact. This changed things. This was no longer a few murders. This was genocide. ****** "Rarity, I think you're going to love this!" Pinkie said, as I just stared in horror, tears streaming out of my eyes, as, In front of me, sat Applejack, With a knife sticking right out of her left eye. I couldn't say anything, because when I woke up in a dark room chained to a wall, with a straight-haired Pinkie Pie calling herself "Pinkamena," and one of my best friends stuck to a wooden wheel by a butchers knife, I didn't have words to describe any of my thoughts. The only explanation I could have is that this was a nightmare. This was a dream, and I was going to wake up any second and have a good laugh at thinking Pinkie was ever capable of murder. That was what this was, and I was going to wake up any second. Any second now, I'm going to wake up. "This isn't a dream!" I screamed, my brain catching up with my surroundings. My mind snapped right into panic mode, I thrashed trying my hardest to loosen the chains off my hooves, and screaming as loud as I could. "Of course it isn't a dream you silly filly,"Pinkie said after I started to run out of air. "The walls are soundproof, so screaming wont help you out much if that's what you're trying to do. Thanks for the refreshing noise, though. Most of the ponies I bring down here never say a word, and I get bored." I didn't pay attention to a word she had just said, because now I was staring at her, mouth agape. "Oh I knew you would like it!" the pink pony said, do her signature hop and smiling. What she was wearing was, to put it lightly, awful, disgusting, horrifying, terrible, and downright demented. She was covered in a quilt-like...thing... made entirely out of pony flesh. It was a compilation of dozens of different cutie marks of all shapes, sizes, and colors. I couldn't hold it in any longer, and I let my lunch spill out in front of me, getting a bit on my tied hooves. That dress was the worst thing I had ever seen, and there was no way any sane pony could have crafted it normally. "Let me tell ya," the demented party pony started after I let my guts spill, "this took me a few weeks to do, since getting ponies in here was so hard. Oh look here's Fluttershy's!" She pointed to a yellow patch near her own flank that had three pink butterflies pictured in the center in a triangular fashion. I wanted to cry so badly, but the shock of it all was keeping my eyes dry for now. "No..." I mumbled. "You monster..." "Oh and here's Applejacks!" Pinkie continued, ignoring my comment and walking up to me to show me a closeup view of the orange-brown patch with three red apples in it. "She was fun to do!" Instantly, anger welled up inside of me, and I used my horn to try and unlock the top left shackle to free my left forehoof. Managing to get it out before she noticed what I was doing, I instantly lunged my hoof directly at her face. It made contact with her eye, sending her stumbling back a few steps. While she was recovering from the blow, I started working on the next chain. "NOT SMART!" Pinkie growled with a very demonic voice. Her back leg bucked a lever connected to the wall, and instantly a mechanism went into motion as my bindings started pulling my limbs apart. I screamed in agony as my muscles started being pulled past their breaking point. I felt my tendons straining before I could no longer take the pain. As my bottom right leg was completely torn off from my torso, I passed out, never to reawaken. My Faithful VictimThe stench from the room was terrible. I was gagging, not being able to breathe in the fumes shrouding the air around me. Sucking in as much clean air as I could I crept up to the door and shut it, giving a few seconds to let the gasses dissipate. Holding my breath for nearly a minute, I couldn't wait any longer, finally exhaling and letting new air refill my lungs. The air was still thick with the smell of blood, but at least I could bear it for the time being. It was better than the smell of the rotting flesh of dozens of patches of pony skin. Taking a few breaths of the stale air and calming down, I looked directly to the right to fix my gaze upon the door caked with blood. The letters it formed said "garbage," but if it was anything like the dress room, that could be taken in hundreds of different ways. I had no clue what to expect, but I had to know. I had already reached the dirty grease of the pan, but I needed to see the bottom. I couldn't leave now. Although my mind was screaming and threatening to jump out my ear and run if I opened that door, my hooves set into motion like a machine. Slowly I crept up to the door as if proceeding too quickly would wake Pinkie up from the dead and have her come attack me. The bloody letters mocked me saying I would never be the same after this door. I ignored them and kept creeping forward. Four feet. Three feet. Two feet. I gripped the door handle, looking around to make sure nopony had joined me in this room of torture. The severed wing still sat under the operation table, and the iconic brown hat sat below the wooden wheel. Nothing had changed, not even Pinkie's creepy smile had faded from her face. This was the last room here, and I had no where else left to check. Turning the handle, I slowly opened the door. I was surprised at what I saw. Nothing was there, save a normal looking carpet. I didn't want to believe it. This can't be right. After all the horrors I had seen this room was just empty. "Nothing?!" I screamed, spinning around to look at Pinkie's corpse. "You've got to be bucking kidding me! There can't be nothing, not after all this!" In a little fury, I stamped my hooves on the carpet, pushing it back a little so that it bunched up slightly. That's when I noticed it. Under the space where I had moved the bit of carpet was a handle to a wooden trap door. I went in and pulled the carpet out with my teeth, tossing it aside before returning to the secret door. Gripping the handle with my teeth, I pulled it up as hard as I could using my wings to help me lift it. The thing was very heavy, and I barely had the strength to fully open it. When I did however, I noticed that the door led to a passageway that was erected out of stone. Looking as far as I could, I saw the passage faded into the black depths of the earth. There was no way I was going down there without a light. Looking back, I saw that the candle sitting in front of Pinkie was still burning softly. Walking over to it, I took it in my teeth and started to make my way down the passage. On the way down, the air was musty and cold, but periodically, a torch was mounted on the wall. I lit them as I passed by so I could make my way out if the candle went out on me. Finally after walking down steps for about five minutes, I saw a shut door at the end of a corridor. Lighting up the last few torches, I walked over to the heavy wooden door and placed my front right hoof on it. Giving it a small push I let the door swing wide open before proceeding in. I gasped, dropping the candle on the floor, because what stood in front of me was a pony. The thing was, it wasn't moving. Picking up the candle, I put it closer to the still figure trying to figure out why she hadn't reacted when I had opened the door. After putting the candle to its face, I saw that it was nothing more than a store mannequin. I looked to the left and saw a little indent filled with some sort of liquid. I put the candle near it to see it I could tell what the liquid was, when something made me jump dropping the candle again and putting it out for good. The liquid had lit up, spreading around the entire room, and what it revealed to me was enough to satisfy my curiosity. I sprinted back up the steps, blowing out all the torches from the wind I was generating. I practically flew out the secret passageway into the room Pinkie's body was now located in. Starting up the steps, I thought about who to tell. The royal guard needed to hear about this, because I had just found proof. I just found her storage room of all the bodies of those she murdered. ****** "Oh Twilight," Pinkie said to me as I wept over their bodies. "There's no need to cry. Auntie Pinkamena is here to make it all better." Her last few words stung like acid. "Why Pinkie?" I sobbed looking over at nearly half the population of Ponyville, but mostly at Fluttershy, Rarity, and Applejack. "What caused you to do such a thing?" "Pinkamena Diane Pie has done what she likes," The pink pony said in a twisted voice. "That intrepid 'Pinkie' as you all seem to be refering to her had no part in this. This was all me. Isn't it glorious?" "No!" I screamed back, wincing as I tried fruitlessly to try and teleport myself out of there. "Now Twilight," the former party pony started noticing the pain in my face, "I've already told you you can't use magic without this," she said, pointing to my broken horn, now taped onto her head. It wasn't painful unless I tried to cast a spell, in which it would act as if it were on fire. "Now you, like your friends, are going to die here, so any last requests, my faithful victim?" "Who are you, and where's Pinkie at?" I said, not believing that that wonderful pony was capable of doing such things. "Oh Pinkie's fine," the earth pony said, tapping her head with a hoof. "She's right up in here with me. Whatever I see, she sees and whatever I, Pinkamena Pie, do she gets to watch." The pony ended with a huge demented grin plastered onto her face. "Pinkie, I know you don't want to do this," I wept, trying to get pinkie to snap out of this demented personality. "Fight it! Fight it for me Pinkie! I loved you..." For a split second, Pinkie's mouth turned to a frown, and softly she spoke, "I'm sorry Twilight. I loved you too." "No!" the twisted voice came back in as Pinkie shook her head. "You die now!" Pinkie rushed forward, pointing my horn towards where I sat. I jumped out of the way as she rushed passed, enraged beyond what I had ever seen before. I frantically looked around trying to find out how to get out. I hadn't been searching whe I woke up in the middle of all my friends bodies. I didn't want to add to the collection. A loud bang indicated that Pinkie had finally hit a wall, and that I had a few seconds to act. Frantically looking, I saw a heavy wooden door on one of the stone walls. Glancing back, I saw that pinkie was getting back up. My horn had shattered, but her face was in a state of rage, and I knew I only had a few more seconds before she charged again. This time, I don't think she'd miss. Even without my horn, I started to conjure an unlocking spell in an attempt to get the door open. I mustered all the energy I could and Pushed the flow to the place where my horn used to be. Slowly, my head started to hurt more and more until the pain became almost unbearable. Screaming, I envisioned the door unlocking. A soft click told me that the spell had worked, but I opened my eyes to see blood dripping down off of my face onto the floor. The spell had burst the top of my head open. I was losing blood quickly, but an enraged scream from the other end of the room told me I needed to go now if I wanted to live. I bucked the door with all my might, opening it instantly, and ran through, up the passageway. "You won't get away from me that easily!" Pinkie screamed up the passageway as the sound of her hooves joined my own. My heart was pounding, and I was losing blood even faster than before. I had to make it out of here. I had to stop this demon from any more murders. I was starting to get light headed from blood loss. My adrenaline was wearing off, and my vision was darkening. I wasn't going to make it. I collapsed at the top of the passage, unable to move any further. Pinkie finally reached the top of the steps, and breathing heavily, she said, "Pity, I thought you'd be a lot more fun, but I always hate the ponies who don't play fair. As my vision started to grow dim, I saw her raise a forehoof, before swiftly bringing it down on me. The Monster Inside"What's the situation?" I asked, not even trying to act formal. This was neither the time nor the place for formality. By the message I had received, this was something very serious. "I got the message this morning that something had been found. What is it?" The brown pony I had been asking turned his head to face me. "Princess," he started politely, giving a slight nod. "I think we've finally discovered the disappearances of all the ponies in Ponyville over the last month." We were both standing outside Sugarcube Corner, the local bakery of the town, and an ambulance was parked outside of the front door. The entire block had been roped off with many royal guards keeping an eye on the press ponies snapping pictures and asking anypony around them why there was all this commotion. "Do we know who was behind it?" I asked, looking around to make sure none of the press was within earshot. "We do," the earth pony responded, "but I'd prefer to tell you inside, where there is not a chance of being overheard. I don't want the press running with the story before we know all the details." He waved a hoof at me before entering the bakery. I followed suit and shut the door behind me. Three ponies dressed in surgical masks stood just inside the door waiting patiently for something. "We haven't moved any of the bodies or disturbed any of the evidence," The brown pony told me as I looked over to the open door with wires leading down the steps. "All we've done is set up lighting so we can properly see down there. I'm not going to try and explain anything. I think it better that you take a look yourself." Walking past the still ponies in surgical masks, I started down the steps. Before I made it a few steps, I noticed that the bottom step was half covered in a nasty yellow-green liquid. Somepony had been down here already, and they must not have been able to keep their lunch down. I was almost afraid to see what had caused this. "Do you want a mask, Princess?" The brown pony said noticing I had stopped. "No Mr. Whooves," I replied, taking a few more steps, "I think I'll be ok." Taking the last few steps, I saw the entirety of the room in all its terrible glory. Quickly glancing around, I took a small assessment of the situation. "We have an operation table with various medical tools, a torture wheel, fitted with hoof clamps and many stab marks, and one dead pony in the middle of the room," I mumbled to myself before turning to Whooves. "Do we have an ID on the body?" "Yes ma'am, "He said taking out a notepad. That there is Pinkamena Diane Pie. Didn't you have a case involving her a while back?" Pinkamena Diane Pie was a name I thought I would never hear again. Twenty years ago I had dealt with that monster. I thought I had trapped it forever, back when she had no idea of the force she was dealing with. "Pinkie Pie, you say?" I asked a tear escaping my eye. I couldn't help it, knowing now what I would be dealing with. "Yes, that's correct," the brown earth pony replied giving me a confused look. "Are you ok Princess? "Yes, I'm fine," I lied as another tear escaped from my eyes. Now he needed an explanation, and I needed to be strong. "That case twenty years ago did involve Pinkamena. I fear now that history has repeated itself." "What do you mean, Princess?" Whooves asked me. "Twenty years ago, I had been called out to a lowly farm on the outskirts of Ponyville to investigate the disappearance of the Pie family. When I arrived, I found the entire family in the basement of the house, mutilated beyond recognition in various creative, if not demented styles. The taker of all their lives was lying on the floor weeping when I entered. Pinkie, as all her friends and family referred to her in those days, was Curled up in a ball, bawling her eyes out. She just kept muttering the same phrases over and over again: 'Pinkamena did it,' and 'I couldn't stop her.' "When I finally calmed her down, I asked her who Pinkamena was, and what she did to Pinkie. 'Pinkamena lives here,' she told me pointing to her head. When I asked her what she meant by that, she only said that Pinkamena only came out when she went to sleep, and she always did horrible things to animals when she did. After asking her what she meant by that, she told me she thought they were only dreams, nightmares to be exact. She told me this was the first time Pinkamena had killed an actual pony. "Pinkie had a demon sleeping inside of her and I tried to make everything right by using my magic to sort of lock her up inside of a dark corner of Pinkie's mind. I didn't think she would ever escape. Not after all of Pinkie's resistance training with me. I thought if she moved here to Ponyville and made some friends that Pinkamena would leave her head. I was certainly wrong about that." Looking at the dead Pony lying in the middle of the blood stained floor, I thought about what she must have done. She must have committed suicide to prevent Pinkamena from taking any more victims. "How many bodies are there?" "Dozens have been found down here, your highness," he said pointing a hoof to a closet-like room with a trap door, "But none of the bodies have been recognizable. We did find these down there, if you would like to give them a look. They explain a lot." He held two pieces of paper in his mouth, ready for me to take them. I levitated them over to me and looked them over. The first was a list of crossed-out names with a simple title of "Cupcakes" at the top: Cupcakes Fluttershy Caramel Blues Candy Mane Applejack Apple Bloom Scootaloo Octavia Rarity Sweetie Belle Vinyl Scratch Big Macintosh Twilight Sparkle Roseluck Daisy Rainbow Dash The list continued on to include nearly every pony in Ponyville, if not all of them. Those were the only names crossed off the list however. I knew what that meant, though. Tears were now streaming out of my eyes as I realized that the Elements of Harmony were no more. Moving on to the next piece of paper, I saw a hoofwritten letter signed by Pinkie herself. It was short, but it was evident that she had been crying while writing it. To whomever receives this letter, I want to say that I, Pinkie Pie, am sorry this ever happened. I thought I could control this beast inside of me, but I failed. I've taken innocent lives with these hooves, and now I'm going to stop this demon, even if that means taking my own life alongside it. All of my friends are gone now because of me. Some more also died along the way. I can't stand it anymore. I need to leave this body. I need to end this now. I'm sorry. I'm just so sorry. -Pinkamena "Pinkie" Diane Pie "I'm sorry too, Pinkie," I said finishing the letter. "We better release a list to the papers so we can have some obituaries Mr. Whooves. Then lets get this mess cleaned up and move on with our lives." "Right away, Princess," He said taking the list I was holding and going back up to the steps. "I'm so sorry I ever let it come to this. Goodbye, Pinkamena Diane Pie. You will be missed" Final ThoughtsInspired by the line, “We stopped looking for the monsters under our bed when we realized that they were inside of us all along.” No…no no no no no no. What did I just do? I…no, it, just killed her. I had no control over it…it just took over and…All I could do was watch it tear her up, piece by piece. I can’t believe I let that… that thing take over me…That beast…it just slipped out from nowhere. She was my best friend…how could I…kill…no I didn’t do anything…but no one else will let it go at that. Her blood is on my hooves now…Oh Celestia her blood…and her flesh…it’s in my… Don’t think about that! I don’t need that thought plaguing my mind…or my stomach. Her body is right there…next to all the others. I can’t believe he made me…and to all of them. They’re all standing there watching me do this…Their missing eyes…staring into mine… into my soul. It won’t let me put the scalpel down…and the knife is still stuck in there…No! Please don’t make me take it out! No! Her eyes…they’re staring at me! Why?! Why is it doing this to me?! She was my best friend! That fucking bastard! What does it think it’s accomplishing with this? WHAT? These aren’t cupcakes…these are my friends…my friends who trusted me…who loved me…All I’ve brought them is death. All it has made me do is end their happy… days slowly and painfully. Now it won’t even let me take away my own life…won’t let me join them in their sanctuary in the sky. This knife…this bloody knife could end it all…quick and painless. But it won’t let that knife penetrate my hide. It’s not done with me yet…It’s telling me to do something… it wants…NO! That’s horrifying…how could I? Please don’t… not with her… Please, I couldn’t do that with her… but its making me… Stop it! Stop this madness, monster! All I want to do is die… death’s sweet embrace to save me from it…I’d welcome him in like an old friend… She was the last of all of them…every single one is now lying there in the corner…all their…their organs… are gone…all that’s left is their skin… It has made me do things with that skin…it’s had me wear it…Their empty bodies… all sitting around like discarded tissues…it won’t even let me rid the living memories of previous…operations. I don’t want this…I don’t know how my soul is still trapped in this beast. It wants more…its telling me to go find a new victim…my friends weren’t enough for its cravings. I can’t do this… my friends are bad enough, but strangers…their families would be devastated…No more…I can’t live anymore…I refuse to. It’s letting me go…I can take over again. But I don’t want to…not in this body…I don’t even have the strength to cry… This is my last act…before he takes me back…before I let him gain control again. This knife is my freedom… “I’m sorry Rainbow Dash…I’m so sorry”
Ditzy's Discovery"Oh boy!" I said jumping up and down. "Tonight is muffin night!" My calender had the message written right across the day in big, sloppy letters. Its hard to write with my vision so distorted. I can't help that My eyes are like this. I didn't care though because today was my monthly muffin-pickup day. This was always my favorite time of the month. I couldn't wait to get to Sugarcube Corner and claim my tasty confections! Picking up my mailbag so I could carry as many home as I could I called out to Dinky, who was reading up in her room, "Dinky! Mommy's going out to pick up some muffins. Be good for mommy and stay out of trouble!" A small high-pitched voice called back, "Ok Mommy." I opened up the door and started to step out when she came galloping down the steps. " Wait! Can you get me a cupcake while you're out? "Sure my little muffin," I replied as she smiled and headed back up the stairs. I went outside, making sure to close the door. While trotting down the steps to the street, A voice caught my ear, saying, "Good afternoon, Ditzy!" I turned to see it belonged to a orange-maned pony I knew very well. She was working in her garden like nearly every day. "Hello Carrot Top!" I answered before asking, "Can you do me a favor?" "Anything for my favorite pegasus," She replied setting down her gardening tools and looking up at me. "What do you need?" "Well, I'm off to go get some muffins, and Dinky's home alone. Do you think you could watch and make sure she doesn't run off or anything?" "I'll keep an eye on her," the yellow pony smiled. "I'm always glad to help out a neighbor." "Thanks a million," I replied, starting the short trek to Sugarcube Corner. It wasn't that I didn't trust Dinky, but I just wanted to make sure she was safe. I guess that comes naturally when you are a mother though. Galloping along, I crossed paths with many friends. I said a simple hello and beamed, excited about what I was going out to get. Muffins always were my favorite, and Pinkie always knew how to make them right. I just hoped that she would have a fresh batch ready like last month. As Sugarcube Corner came into view, I got a little more excited and changed my pace to a fast trot. Then the fast trot went to a slow gallop, and before I realized it I had broken out in a full on sprint. I didn't care what anypony thought that may have seen me. All I know is that I was about to get my Muffins. Stepping inside, I noticed that the place was empty. Usually the pink pony was always there to great me with great vigor. The place was unnaturally silent and clean today. "Hello?" I called out to the walls, hoping for the Earth pony to come zipping in at the sound of a voice. Nothing happened and the place stayed eerily silent. "Pinkie?" I called out again looking around for the usually-hyper pony. When I got to the counter, I noticed a closet door with a bit of light coming from the other side. "Are you in here?" I asked pushing open the door. The door that I thought was a closet was actually a staircase leading to the basement. I looked down to see where it led, but all I could make out was the faint flickering of a candle of some sort. Walking down the steps, I called out once more, "Pinkie are you down here?" I got to the bottom of the steps and looked around. Pinkie was down here, just sitting in front of the candle motionless. "P-pinkie are you OK?" I asked slowly walking up to her. I tapped on her shoulder to see if she even heard what I just said. Her body slumped over, revealing her front to me. She had a massive knife sticking in her chest with dried blood encrusted on it. "OH, DEAR CELESTIA!"
The First of ManyShe was dead, and she must have been dead for nearly a day. The knife was rusty and blood encrusted, but the amount of blood on the floor was too much for one pony to create. This couldn't all be hers. Backing up, I barely kept the contents of my previous lunch in my stomach. My eyes weren't the best, but a dead pony...a dead pinkie wasn't something my mind would just make up. I felt my back legs hit the stairs, and glancing backwards, I saw that there was a light switch. Flicking the switch, I saw the room in all its horrible glory. The first thing I saw was some sort of bloody examination table with different surgical tools laid out on top. The tools were all drenched in a stomach-wrenching amount of blood, and bits and pieces of what I could only assume was pony flesh. This was the final straw for my brain. I couldn't stand the sights anymore and emptied my gut at the base of the stairs. While relieving myself of the previous days lunch, I noticed a discarded severed wing lying next to the examination table. It was a pastel yellow color with dried blood at the joint where it must have been severed. I knew that wing well, and it could only be... I chocked back tears and emptied what little remained in my stomach onto the growing pile by the stairs. ****** I woke up dizzy, Looking around I realized I had no idea where I was. Pinkie had said something about gummy having some teething issues. I thought maybe I'd have to help her with a cranky crocodile. She offered me a cupcake and then... then I woke up here. But where was here? I tried to move my head around only to realize that I was trapped. I panicked and squirmed a little, trying to break loose of my bindings, but I was being held down tightly by leather straps. T tried flapping my wings, but the way my limbs were positioned, all the could accomplish was making a loud racket as they smacked uselessly against the table I was strapped to. Darting my eyes around, I tried to make sense of where I was. If I wasn't mistaken, I thought I could faintly smell cotton candy in the background. "Pinkie?" I called out, wanting anypony to come help me off this table. "Are you there?" "Fluttershy!" pink pony rejoiced in her usual super-happy tone, finally coming into view directly over me. "I'm so glad you're awake! Now we can have some fun!" Something was wrong with her though. Her usually messy, cotton-candy-like pink mane had fallen straight, and her eyes were twitching with every few words. Her pupils were dilated by a lot, becoming small balls inside the massive white sea of the eye around her. Her usual peppy tone was there, but her voice had... changed. This wasn't the same pinkie that I knew and loved. "What game do you want to play first?" she asked, and before I could even ask her what was going on, she answered her own question. "Oh I know the perfect game! Lets play real life operation! I'll be right back, so don't go anywhere." I was frightened by how her eyes spread apart a little at those last few words. A chill ran down my spine, and I knew something was wrong. Pinkie hadn't acted this strange since we all threw her that surprise party at Sweet Apple Acres. My heart race sped up as I tried looking around for some way to free me from my makeshift prison. Before I could spot anything useful, Pinkie returned. "I always loved how you take care of animals," Pinkie said, dragging what sounded like a cart full of metal objects. Since my head was bound, I couldn't see exactly what those objects were. I had a slight hunch, but I hoped to Celestia I was wrong. "Haven't you always wondered though," Pinkie started, leaning over next to me, "What makes those animals tick? I've always been curious how a pegasus wing works, you know since these frail little things shouldn't be able to hold you off the ground." She had grabbed my wing, and instinctively, I flapped it, trying to remove her hoof. "Oh we have a fighter!" Pinkie eerily stated. "Looks like I'm just going to have a little fun with you." I didn't know what she meant by that, but my fears were confirmed when she pulled a bone saw in front of my eyes. I panicked, struggling and trying to loosen my bindings just enough so I could get free, but I was getting nowhere. "Oh you are going to make this difficult aren't you?" Pinkie asked no one in particular. "Oh well that makes it all the more fun for me." She brought the bone saw directly to the joint where my wing met my back. "I don't think you'll be needing this anymore," she said, cutting into the flesh.
An Honest HarvestAfter recovering for the sight of the severed wing, I looked around some more. I wanted to run out of there as quickly as I could and never look back. But no matter how much my mind protested, my gaze stayed fixated on that operation table. I could only imagine what horrors occurred there. Staring at the wing, I thought of the week ago that Fluttershy went missing. I had heard it from Rainbow Dash that had seemed to just vanish one day. "Not even Angel knew where she went," Rainbow said after telling me of Fluttershy's odd disappearance. "It's as if she just up and left one night! I heard that Applejack and her family were sending out search parties outside of Ponyville. But why would a girl like her just leave without any reason?" So this must have been her fate, but where was the rest of her if all that remained was her wing? My curiosity overcame my horror and disgust, and I looked around the now-lit room more. Behind the operation table was some sort of giant wheel with four latches attached to it big enough to put a hoof in. The thing had countless cuts in it as if someone had jammed a knife repeatedly into the wood. Also it, like everything else in the room, was covered with streaks of dried blood. The last thing I noticed was an all too familiar Stetson lying at the base of the wheel. Although I didn't think it possible, I added another bit of my stomach to the growing pile at the bottom of the stairs... ****** "Ugg," I grunted, feeling like somepony had bucked me right in the back of the head. I groggily opened my eyes that felt ten pounds heaver than normal, and was blinded by a spotlight pointed directly at my face. "What in the hay? Wha's goin' on?" Looking around, I saw that I was strapped to some sort of large wooden circle, each hoof being held down by an inescapable metal latch. I was confused as to how I had gotten here, wherever here was, and a very worried as to why I was here. I tugged a little at the straps, but none of them would budge. Even with my tough legs, I couldn't seem to break loose of my bindings. My hat fell off while I was trying to loosen the grip of these metal jaws holding me in place, but that seemed to be the least of my problems as of right now. As I was fruitlessly tugging at the straps some more, I started to hear a voice, no two voices, arguing about something. "Hey!" I called out trying to get their attention, "Help me out ova' here! I dun' stuck as a needle on a cactus!" They seemed to ignore me, so I tried shouting as loud as I could. "HEY!" I screamed. The voices stopped for a split second before going back to their bickering. I knew they had heard me, but they were ignoring me. I perked up my ears trying to listen in on what was so important that they would outright ignore me. "But she was my friend!" the one voice sobbed. It was very high pitched, and I recognized it instantly. "Pinkie?" I mumbled to myself before the other voice cut back in. This one was lower and angrier but still sounded vaguely familiar. "Oh come now," the second, somehow demonic-sounding voice started, "You didn't enjoy it? You love cupcakes!" "Those weren't cupcakes, you monster!" Pinkie practically screamed at the other voice. "That was cannibalism you fucking monster!" In all my life,I have never once heard pinkie use even slightly dirty language. I had no idea she even knew a single swear word, much less ever use one. I started to panic, though, because this pony, whoever she was, was willing to kill and eat others. "Pinkie!" I shouted into the darkness. "Come on over here! I'll help you out sugar-cube!" The voices stopped and slowly the familiar pink pony came into view, but something wasn't right with her hair. It was straight, but I didn't have time to talk about her new hairstyle. "A'right, help me out'a this here contraption, will ya Pinkie?" I asked still struggling at the bindings fruitlessly. "Sorry, but Pinkie isn't here right now," said the lower demonic voice, coming out of Pinkie's mouth. "What in the hay?!" I shouted scared for my life at this point. "Nope," the demonic-voiced Pinkie continued. "Only ponies here are you and me. Just Applejack and Pinkamena Diane Pie." Pinkie was talking, but she had called herself Pinkamena. "Oh you set yourself for a game already!" the pink pony continued with a giddy tone before I could ask why she called herself Pinkamena. "Uh...w-what game is that hon?" I asked, my mind reeling at all the things that were wrong with this situation. "Why, the wheel game, you silly filly," she started picking up my hat and placing it on her head. While she was messing around with the position of my hat, I asked, "What exactly is that, sugar cube?" "You can keep this," Pinkie said, ignoring my question while throwing the hat beneath my hooves. "We've got a game to begin!" she joyously said, grabbing the wheel I was on and yanking it into a quick spin. "So Applejack," she said next to me as I spun around, my stomach flipping over itself, "what do you think the chances of getting you in the head on the first shot?" "What in the buck do you mean by that?!" I shouted, barely containing my stomach contents from being released onto the floor. The last thing I saw was the gleam of a knife as it caught the light perfectly, only inches from my face.
Dressmaking's EasyRocking back in forth on the bottom step, I thought over the horrors that I had just seen. Thoughts were spreading through my mind like wildfire. I didn't want them. They needed to leave, but I couldn't stop thinking about them. That spark of curiosity was keeping my mind glued here, and halting my body from leaving. As much as I wanted to leave, wanted to go and forget anything was ever down here, wanted to erase the images coursing through my mind like a storm, I just couldn't leave without knowing. Applejack was dead. Fluttershy was dead. There had to be more. No living creature capable of taking the life of another stops that quickly. "How many more, Pinkie?!" I shouted at the dead body, still lying where it had been when I came in. I no longer felt sad for the dead pony, after what she had done to those poor innocent souls. "How many more suffered under you? How many more died in this basement?!" Anger mixed with a heavy sadness welled up in me. I had to find out. There was more to this than just those two. "What else did you do?!" I yelled again at the corpse, standing up and walking over to her. Her eyes were wide open and glazed over. One looked as if she had recently gotten a black eye, and both staring into the ceiling. The face was curled into an unnatural smile as if she had been laughing when she died. The knife was still sticking out of her chest, surrounded by blood stains. She was slumped on the ground next a wooden table covered in dried blood. There was also a spool of string attached to a needle sitting on the table. "What did you use this for?" I mumbled to myself, not daring to even touch the thing. Looking back at Pinkie, I noticed something in the corner right next to the base of the stairs. Two doors sat side by side, with blood slathered on them. Unlike the rest of the room, though, this blood looked as if it were put there by hoof, as they formed letters on the doors. The first simply had "dress" painted on it, and the other, "garbage." I walked slowly over and gripped the door handle of the "dress" room, afraid of what awaited me on the other side. Turning the knob, I swung it open quickly to try and get the shock over with. Instantly, I stumbled back, turning my head as a rank smell hit my nose. It was the smell of rotting flesh, something I was surprised I hadn't already met with down here. Looking up, I saw something that will never, ever be erased from my memory. The small closet-sized room contained a dress if that was the correct term in this situation. This dress was made much like a quilt, with small patches woven together. This dress though... This dress had a material, no other dress did: Pony Flesh This dress was composed of the cutie morks of dozens of Ponies. Their flanks were all woven almost sloppily together to form a sort of cloak. The multicolored dress had blood splattered over it like everything else my eyes had come into contact. This changed things. This was no longer a few murders. This was genocide. ****** "Rarity, I think you're going to love this!" Pinkie said, as I just stared in horror, tears streaming out of my eyes, as, In front of me, sat Applejack, With a knife sticking right out of her left eye. I couldn't say anything, because when I woke up in a dark room chained to a wall, with a straight-haired Pinkie Pie calling herself "Pinkamena," and one of my best friends stuck to a wooden wheel by a butchers knife, I didn't have words to describe any of my thoughts. The only explanation I could have is that this was a nightmare. This was a dream, and I was going to wake up any second and have a good laugh at thinking Pinkie was ever capable of murder. That was what this was, and I was going to wake up any second. Any second now, I'm going to wake up. "This isn't a dream!" I screamed, my brain catching up with my surroundings. My mind snapped right into panic mode, I thrashed trying my hardest to loosen the chains off my hooves, and screaming as loud as I could. "Of course it isn't a dream you silly filly,"Pinkie said after I started to run out of air. "The walls are soundproof, so screaming wont help you out much if that's what you're trying to do. Thanks for the refreshing noise, though. Most of the ponies I bring down here never say a word, and I get bored." I didn't pay attention to a word she had just said, because now I was staring at her, mouth agape. "Oh I knew you would like it!" the pink pony said, do her signature hop and smiling. What she was wearing was, to put it lightly, awful, disgusting, horrifying, terrible, and downright demented. She was covered in a quilt-like...thing... made entirely out of pony flesh. It was a compilation of dozens of different cutie marks of all shapes, sizes, and colors. I couldn't hold it in any longer, and I let my lunch spill out in front of me, getting a bit on my tied hooves. That dress was the worst thing I had ever seen, and there was no way any sane pony could have crafted it normally. "Let me tell ya," the demented party pony started after I let my guts spill, "this took me a few weeks to do, since getting ponies in here was so hard. Oh look here's Fluttershy's!" She pointed to a yellow patch near her own flank that had three pink butterflies pictured in the center in a triangular fashion. I wanted to cry so badly, but the shock of it all was keeping my eyes dry for now. "No..." I mumbled. "You monster..." "Oh and here's Applejacks!" Pinkie continued, ignoring my comment and walking up to me to show me a closeup view of the orange-brown patch with three red apples in it. "She was fun to do!" Instantly, anger welled up inside of me, and I used my horn to try and unlock the top left shackle to free my left forehoof. Managing to get it out before she noticed what I was doing, I instantly lunged my hoof directly at her face. It made contact with her eye, sending her stumbling back a few steps. While she was recovering from the blow, I started working on the next chain. "NOT SMART!" Pinkie growled with a very demonic voice. Her back leg bucked a lever connected to the wall, and instantly a mechanism went into motion as my bindings started pulling my limbs apart. I screamed in agony as my muscles started being pulled past their breaking point. I felt my tendons straining before I could no longer take the pain. As my bottom right leg was completely torn off from my torso, I passed out, never to reawaken.
My Faithful VictimThe stench from the room was terrible. I was gagging, not being able to breathe in the fumes shrouding the air around me. Sucking in as much clean air as I could I crept up to the door and shut it, giving a few seconds to let the gasses dissipate. Holding my breath for nearly a minute, I couldn't wait any longer, finally exhaling and letting new air refill my lungs. The air was still thick with the smell of blood, but at least I could bear it for the time being. It was better than the smell of the rotting flesh of dozens of patches of pony skin. Taking a few breaths of the stale air and calming down, I looked directly to the right to fix my gaze upon the door caked with blood. The letters it formed said "garbage," but if it was anything like the dress room, that could be taken in hundreds of different ways. I had no clue what to expect, but I had to know. I had already reached the dirty grease of the pan, but I needed to see the bottom. I couldn't leave now. Although my mind was screaming and threatening to jump out my ear and run if I opened that door, my hooves set into motion like a machine. Slowly I crept up to the door as if proceeding too quickly would wake Pinkie up from the dead and have her come attack me. The bloody letters mocked me saying I would never be the same after this door. I ignored them and kept creeping forward. Four feet. Three feet. Two feet. I gripped the door handle, looking around to make sure nopony had joined me in this room of torture. The severed wing still sat under the operation table, and the iconic brown hat sat below the wooden wheel. Nothing had changed, not even Pinkie's creepy smile had faded from her face. This was the last room here, and I had no where else left to check. Turning the handle, I slowly opened the door. I was surprised at what I saw. Nothing was there, save a normal looking carpet. I didn't want to believe it. This can't be right. After all the horrors I had seen this room was just empty. "Nothing?!" I screamed, spinning around to look at Pinkie's corpse. "You've got to be bucking kidding me! There can't be nothing, not after all this!" In a little fury, I stamped my hooves on the carpet, pushing it back a little so that it bunched up slightly. That's when I noticed it. Under the space where I had moved the bit of carpet was a handle to a wooden trap door. I went in and pulled the carpet out with my teeth, tossing it aside before returning to the secret door. Gripping the handle with my teeth, I pulled it up as hard as I could using my wings to help me lift it. The thing was very heavy, and I barely had the strength to fully open it. When I did however, I noticed that the door led to a passageway that was erected out of stone. Looking as far as I could, I saw the passage faded into the black depths of the earth. There was no way I was going down there without a light. Looking back, I saw that the candle sitting in front of Pinkie was still burning softly. Walking over to it, I took it in my teeth and started to make my way down the passage. On the way down, the air was musty and cold, but periodically, a torch was mounted on the wall. I lit them as I passed by so I could make my way out if the candle went out on me. Finally after walking down steps for about five minutes, I saw a shut door at the end of a corridor. Lighting up the last few torches, I walked over to the heavy wooden door and placed my front right hoof on it. Giving it a small push I let the door swing wide open before proceeding in. I gasped, dropping the candle on the floor, because what stood in front of me was a pony. The thing was, it wasn't moving. Picking up the candle, I put it closer to the still figure trying to figure out why she hadn't reacted when I had opened the door. After putting the candle to its face, I saw that it was nothing more than a store mannequin. I looked to the left and saw a little indent filled with some sort of liquid. I put the candle near it to see it I could tell what the liquid was, when something made me jump dropping the candle again and putting it out for good. The liquid had lit up, spreading around the entire room, and what it revealed to me was enough to satisfy my curiosity. I sprinted back up the steps, blowing out all the torches from the wind I was generating. I practically flew out the secret passageway into the room Pinkie's body was now located in. Starting up the steps, I thought about who to tell. The royal guard needed to hear about this, because I had just found proof. I just found her storage room of all the bodies of those she murdered. ****** "Oh Twilight," Pinkie said to me as I wept over their bodies. "There's no need to cry. Auntie Pinkamena is here to make it all better." Her last few words stung like acid. "Why Pinkie?" I sobbed looking over at nearly half the population of Ponyville, but mostly at Fluttershy, Rarity, and Applejack. "What caused you to do such a thing?" "Pinkamena Diane Pie has done what she likes," The pink pony said in a twisted voice. "That intrepid 'Pinkie' as you all seem to be refering to her had no part in this. This was all me. Isn't it glorious?" "No!" I screamed back, wincing as I tried fruitlessly to try and teleport myself out of there. "Now Twilight," the former party pony started noticing the pain in my face, "I've already told you you can't use magic without this," she said, pointing to my broken horn, now taped onto her head. It wasn't painful unless I tried to cast a spell, in which it would act as if it were on fire. "Now you, like your friends, are going to die here, so any last requests, my faithful victim?" "Who are you, and where's Pinkie at?" I said, not believing that that wonderful pony was capable of doing such things. "Oh Pinkie's fine," the earth pony said, tapping her head with a hoof. "She's right up in here with me. Whatever I see, she sees and whatever I, Pinkamena Pie, do she gets to watch." The pony ended with a huge demented grin plastered onto her face. "Pinkie, I know you don't want to do this," I wept, trying to get pinkie to snap out of this demented personality. "Fight it! Fight it for me Pinkie! I loved you..." For a split second, Pinkie's mouth turned to a frown, and softly she spoke, "I'm sorry Twilight. I loved you too." "No!" the twisted voice came back in as Pinkie shook her head. "You die now!" Pinkie rushed forward, pointing my horn towards where I sat. I jumped out of the way as she rushed passed, enraged beyond what I had ever seen before. I frantically looked around trying to find out how to get out. I hadn't been searching whe I woke up in the middle of all my friends bodies. I didn't want to add to the collection. A loud bang indicated that Pinkie had finally hit a wall, and that I had a few seconds to act. Frantically looking, I saw a heavy wooden door on one of the stone walls. Glancing back, I saw that pinkie was getting back up. My horn had shattered, but her face was in a state of rage, and I knew I only had a few more seconds before she charged again. This time, I don't think she'd miss. Even without my horn, I started to conjure an unlocking spell in an attempt to get the door open. I mustered all the energy I could and Pushed the flow to the place where my horn used to be. Slowly, my head started to hurt more and more until the pain became almost unbearable. Screaming, I envisioned the door unlocking. A soft click told me that the spell had worked, but I opened my eyes to see blood dripping down off of my face onto the floor. The spell had burst the top of my head open. I was losing blood quickly, but an enraged scream from the other end of the room told me I needed to go now if I wanted to live. I bucked the door with all my might, opening it instantly, and ran through, up the passageway. "You won't get away from me that easily!" Pinkie screamed up the passageway as the sound of her hooves joined my own. My heart was pounding, and I was losing blood even faster than before. I had to make it out of here. I had to stop this demon from any more murders. I was starting to get light headed from blood loss. My adrenaline was wearing off, and my vision was darkening. I wasn't going to make it. I collapsed at the top of the passage, unable to move any further. Pinkie finally reached the top of the steps, and breathing heavily, she said, "Pity, I thought you'd be a lot more fun, but I always hate the ponies who don't play fair. As my vision started to grow dim, I saw her raise a forehoof, before swiftly bringing it down on me.
The Monster Inside"What's the situation?" I asked, not even trying to act formal. This was neither the time nor the place for formality. By the message I had received, this was something very serious. "I got the message this morning that something had been found. What is it?" The brown pony I had been asking turned his head to face me. "Princess," he started politely, giving a slight nod. "I think we've finally discovered the disappearances of all the ponies in Ponyville over the last month." We were both standing outside Sugarcube Corner, the local bakery of the town, and an ambulance was parked outside of the front door. The entire block had been roped off with many royal guards keeping an eye on the press ponies snapping pictures and asking anypony around them why there was all this commotion. "Do we know who was behind it?" I asked, looking around to make sure none of the press was within earshot. "We do," the earth pony responded, "but I'd prefer to tell you inside, where there is not a chance of being overheard. I don't want the press running with the story before we know all the details." He waved a hoof at me before entering the bakery. I followed suit and shut the door behind me. Three ponies dressed in surgical masks stood just inside the door waiting patiently for something. "We haven't moved any of the bodies or disturbed any of the evidence," The brown pony told me as I looked over to the open door with wires leading down the steps. "All we've done is set up lighting so we can properly see down there. I'm not going to try and explain anything. I think it better that you take a look yourself." Walking past the still ponies in surgical masks, I started down the steps. Before I made it a few steps, I noticed that the bottom step was half covered in a nasty yellow-green liquid. Somepony had been down here already, and they must not have been able to keep their lunch down. I was almost afraid to see what had caused this. "Do you want a mask, Princess?" The brown pony said noticing I had stopped. "No Mr. Whooves," I replied, taking a few more steps, "I think I'll be ok." Taking the last few steps, I saw the entirety of the room in all its terrible glory. Quickly glancing around, I took a small assessment of the situation. "We have an operation table with various medical tools, a torture wheel, fitted with hoof clamps and many stab marks, and one dead pony in the middle of the room," I mumbled to myself before turning to Whooves. "Do we have an ID on the body?" "Yes ma'am, "He said taking out a notepad. That there is Pinkamena Diane Pie. Didn't you have a case involving her a while back?" Pinkamena Diane Pie was a name I thought I would never hear again. Twenty years ago I had dealt with that monster. I thought I had trapped it forever, back when she had no idea of the force she was dealing with. "Pinkie Pie, you say?" I asked a tear escaping my eye. I couldn't help it, knowing now what I would be dealing with. "Yes, that's correct," the brown earth pony replied giving me a confused look. "Are you ok Princess? "Yes, I'm fine," I lied as another tear escaped from my eyes. Now he needed an explanation, and I needed to be strong. "That case twenty years ago did involve Pinkamena. I fear now that history has repeated itself." "What do you mean, Princess?" Whooves asked me. "Twenty years ago, I had been called out to a lowly farm on the outskirts of Ponyville to investigate the disappearance of the Pie family. When I arrived, I found the entire family in the basement of the house, mutilated beyond recognition in various creative, if not demented styles. The taker of all their lives was lying on the floor weeping when I entered. Pinkie, as all her friends and family referred to her in those days, was Curled up in a ball, bawling her eyes out. She just kept muttering the same phrases over and over again: 'Pinkamena did it,' and 'I couldn't stop her.' "When I finally calmed her down, I asked her who Pinkamena was, and what she did to Pinkie. 'Pinkamena lives here,' she told me pointing to her head. When I asked her what she meant by that, she only said that Pinkamena only came out when she went to sleep, and she always did horrible things to animals when she did. After asking her what she meant by that, she told me she thought they were only dreams, nightmares to be exact. She told me this was the first time Pinkamena had killed an actual pony. "Pinkie had a demon sleeping inside of her and I tried to make everything right by using my magic to sort of lock her up inside of a dark corner of Pinkie's mind. I didn't think she would ever escape. Not after all of Pinkie's resistance training with me. I thought if she moved here to Ponyville and made some friends that Pinkamena would leave her head. I was certainly wrong about that." Looking at the dead Pony lying in the middle of the blood stained floor, I thought about what she must have done. She must have committed suicide to prevent Pinkamena from taking any more victims. "How many bodies are there?" "Dozens have been found down here, your highness," he said pointing a hoof to a closet-like room with a trap door, "But none of the bodies have been recognizable. We did find these down there, if you would like to give them a look. They explain a lot." He held two pieces of paper in his mouth, ready for me to take them. I levitated them over to me and looked them over. The first was a list of crossed-out names with a simple title of "Cupcakes" at the top: Cupcakes Fluttershy Caramel Blues Candy Mane Applejack Apple Bloom Scootaloo Octavia Rarity Sweetie Belle Vinyl Scratch Big Macintosh Twilight Sparkle Roseluck Daisy Rainbow Dash The list continued on to include nearly every pony in Ponyville, if not all of them. Those were the only names crossed off the list however. I knew what that meant, though. Tears were now streaming out of my eyes as I realized that the Elements of Harmony were no more. Moving on to the next piece of paper, I saw a hoofwritten letter signed by Pinkie herself. It was short, but it was evident that she had been crying while writing it. To whomever receives this letter, I want to say that I, Pinkie Pie, am sorry this ever happened. I thought I could control this beast inside of me, but I failed. I've taken innocent lives with these hooves, and now I'm going to stop this demon, even if that means taking my own life alongside it. All of my friends are gone now because of me. Some more also died along the way. I can't stand it anymore. I need to leave this body. I need to end this now. I'm sorry. I'm just so sorry. -Pinkamena "Pinkie" Diane Pie "I'm sorry too, Pinkie," I said finishing the letter. "We better release a list to the papers so we can have some obituaries Mr. Whooves. Then lets get this mess cleaned up and move on with our lives." "Right away, Princess," He said taking the list I was holding and going back up to the steps. "I'm so sorry I ever let it come to this. Goodbye, Pinkamena Diane Pie. You will be missed"
Final ThoughtsInspired by the line, “We stopped looking for the monsters under our bed when we realized that they were inside of us all along.” No…no no no no no no. What did I just do? I…no, it, just killed her. I had no control over it…it just took over and…All I could do was watch it tear her up, piece by piece. I can’t believe I let that… that thing take over me…That beast…it just slipped out from nowhere. She was my best friend…how could I…kill…no I didn’t do anything…but no one else will let it go at that. Her blood is on my hooves now…Oh Celestia her blood…and her flesh…it’s in my… Don’t think about that! I don’t need that thought plaguing my mind…or my stomach. Her body is right there…next to all the others. I can’t believe he made me…and to all of them. They’re all standing there watching me do this…Their missing eyes…staring into mine… into my soul. It won’t let me put the scalpel down…and the knife is still stuck in there…No! Please don’t make me take it out! No! Her eyes…they’re staring at me! Why?! Why is it doing this to me?! She was my best friend! That fucking bastard! What does it think it’s accomplishing with this? WHAT? These aren’t cupcakes…these are my friends…my friends who trusted me…who loved me…All I’ve brought them is death. All it has made me do is end their happy… days slowly and painfully. Now it won’t even let me take away my own life…won’t let me join them in their sanctuary in the sky. This knife…this bloody knife could end it all…quick and painless. But it won’t let that knife penetrate my hide. It’s not done with me yet…It’s telling me to do something… it wants…NO! That’s horrifying…how could I? Please don’t… not with her… Please, I couldn’t do that with her… but its making me… Stop it! Stop this madness, monster! All I want to do is die… death’s sweet embrace to save me from it…I’d welcome him in like an old friend… She was the last of all of them…every single one is now lying there in the corner…all their…their organs… are gone…all that’s left is their skin… It has made me do things with that skin…it’s had me wear it…Their empty bodies… all sitting around like discarded tissues…it won’t even let me rid the living memories of previous…operations. I don’t want this…I don’t know how my soul is still trapped in this beast. It wants more…its telling me to go find a new victim…my friends weren’t enough for its cravings. I can’t do this… my friends are bad enough, but strangers…their families would be devastated…No more…I can’t live anymore…I refuse to. It’s letting me go…I can take over again. But I don’t want to…not in this body…I don’t even have the strength to cry… This is my last act…before he takes me back…before I let him gain control again. This knife is my freedom… “I’m sorry Rainbow Dash…I’m so sorry”
