Friendship is Magic

The Problem

2nd installment of the Friendship is Magic series

I awoke with a mild headache from last night’s party. I looked around the room, the sun shone in brightly to signal a sunny day ahead. The first thought in my mind was food I was absolutely famished. I could head over to Sugarcube Corner for breakfast and thank Pinkie Pie for the help last night. Donning my saddlebags and placing the key to the Quill and Sofa store inside, I set out on my quest for breakfast. I had gotten to know my way around Ponyville in the past day, so I no longer needed a map. I casually trotted over to Sugarcube Corner, anxious to eat some delicious treats.
I entered through the open door of Sugarcube Corner and sniffed the air. The decadent scents of blueberry muffins, cheese danishes, bear claws, and all sorts of breakfast goodies greeted my nose. For a moment I thought I smelled somepony I knew in Canterlot, a mare, but I dismissed the thought. Pinkie Pie greeted me with a wide grin when I approached the counter

“Sunny!” she exclaimed “Have I got a special treat for you! I borrowed a book from Twilight on Canterlot recipes and I found something amazing! I think its called kah-fee!”

“Do you mean coffee?”

“Yeah that stuff! It’s great! I’ve already drank like three cups!” I grimaced at this; she is one pony who should not have coffee. “So anyway Sunny, what can I get ya?”

“I suppose I’ll have a breakfast croissant and a cup of coffee.”

“Alright I’ll be done in a jiffy!” she sped off in a pink blur “Oh wait! I almost forgot! Would you mind bringing Rarity her daily order of croissants?”

“It would be a pleasure Pinkie.”

“Okey-dokey-lokey, I’ll get them both done in no time at all!” and with that she sped off a second time.

I had a seat on a cushiony pink chair to wait for my order. I decided to run through a mental checklist of what I was going to do today, adding bring Rarity breakfast to my list. I figured I could stop by the library now that I had saddlebags to carry books in, I think I’ll visit Sweet Apple Acres for lunch; Twilight told me all about Applejack’s magnificent cooking so I knew I had to stop by. That was it, but I can’t help but have the nagging feeling I’m forgetting something, but what was it? I ran through my checklist a second time. No, that wasn’t it, what am I forgetting? Oh that’s right! I wanted to-

“Suuuuuuunnnnnnyyyyy! Your order is ready!” and with that, the thought escaped my grasp.

“Thanks Pinkie.”

“Oh and also, here’s Rarity’s order.”

She pushed a brown paper bag towards me. I used my magic and placed it in my saddlebags. The croissants were still warm. I took my order and began walking to Carousel Boutique. I nibbled at my croissant and took a few sips of coffee. The croissant was buttery and flaky, just right for a croissant. The coffee was strong and bitter, waking up my mind with a few gulps. I trotted down Mane Street and waved to ponies that waved to me. I recognized many faces, but I was still getting to know some ponies, so I didn’t recognize everypony. I greeted those I didn’t recognize, still a little shyly, but definitely more confident than before. I met a few more ponies such as June Bug, Rose Luck, and Derpy’s adopted filly Dinky Doo. I finished my croissant, savoring those last precious bites, as I arrived at Carousel Boutique. I opened the door and was greeted by a soft ting as well as a small filly trotted over to me with an excited look in her eyes.

“Hey you’re that new pony Rarity was talking about! Do you think… maybe… you could help us get our cutie marks?”

“Us?”

“Oh yeah, me and my friends, Scootaloo and Apple Bloom. We three are the CUTIE MARK CRUSADERS!” she explained, shouting their club name at the top of her tiny lungs.

“I suppose I can help you, but first, Pinkie Pie asked me to deliver Rarity’s breakfast.”

“Breakfast?! I’ll go get Rarity!” The little filly then galloped off and into another room of the boutique. I heard chattering in the next room, but was soon distracted by the elaborate dresses and gowns that hung around the room. The colors and shapes were tantalizing, I would give almost anything to see them on some mare.
Rarity and the filly walked into the room and towards me.

“Ah, Sunset Wonder! Thank you for bringing me my breakfast. I understand you have met my younger sister Sweetie Belle?”

“Yes I have, she asked me to help her with ‘crusading’”

“I’m not surprised.”

“Anyway, here’s your food” I opened my saddlebags and pulled out the paper sack, floating it over to Rarity with my magic, where she took it in her own glowing field of levitation. I went to go leave with Sweetie Belle when she stopped me.

“Wait” she said “I need to go get my scarf.”

“It isn’t chilly outside, you won’t need it.”

“You don’t understand, just wait and see.” And so I did.

Sweetie Belle returned wearing a sort of bandanna around her neck with red and gold fabric, as well as a small blue shield. She escorted me out the door and toward Sweet Apple Acres.

“It’s where our clubhouse is.” She explained as we walked. I got the feeling this was going to be like babysitting. Lucky me. The other two crusaders were already waiting at the clubhouse. The orange and magenta pegasus introduced herself as Scootaloo and the yellow and red earth pony introduced herself as Apple Bloom. I decided I would try to work this out as easy as possible.

“So do you girls have a checklist or anything, of things you’ve already done?”

“Yeah!” responded the pegasus “and next on the list is grizzly bear wrestling!”

I winced, that would not have ended well, had I not been here. Sweetie Belle brought out the checklist; it was nearly completed, with only a few more things left on it. I decided to try a different approach. “You see girls, the reason you haven’t gotten your cutie marks yet is that you are trying to force it.” A “Huh?” resounded from the three. “What I mean is that you are just doing random things, instead you should do things you like…What do you like anyway?”

“I like riding my scooter!” replied Scootaloo

“I like painting and building!” replied Apple Bloom, gesturing around the clubhouse “I fixed this place up ya know.”

“I like singing!” exclaimed Sweetie Belle. This is going to be easy.

“All right then, here’s the plan, practice these things. Work harder and harder until your cutie marks show. Doing what you like is the only way to get a cutie mark.” They each grinned at each other and ran off, Apple Bloom gathered up some stray boards and paints.

“I’m gonna build a ramp fer ya Scootaloo!”

“Cool! I’m gonna jump it!”

“And I can sing about it!” said Sweetie Belle, wheeling out a miniature piano. I smiled to myself as I left the clubhouse, with this plan, they’ll have their cutie marks in no time. They’ll also be staying out of danger (except for maybe Scootaloo, who might receive a few scrapes and bruises).

I looked up to the sun, it was about noon, the perfect time for lunch, and I was already at Sweet Apple Acres.

The scenery at the farm was lovely. Apple trees with full, ripe, red apples grew just about everywhere. Off in the distance I spied a large red barn. I heard the sound of workhorses in the same direction. I trotted off towards the sounds of ponies.

When I arrived at the barn, there was nopony to be seen. I circled it a few times before I spotted a red stallion; he was a large fellow, with the muscles of one whom works all day. I waved a hoof at him and he waved back. “Hello miss! Welcome to Sweet Apple Acres!”

“I’m sorry what?”

“Oh… My apologies sir! Just your mane and…”

“And my frame and, Yes, YES I KNOW!” I gradually raised my voice at him and he flinched a little, taken aback by my sudden outburst. “I’m sorry… I didn’t mean to shout, would you mind telling me where to find Applejack?”

“Eeyup”

“So where is she?”

“She’s out in the orchard, bucking apples. It’s harvest season.” I turned to go find Applejack, but I thought on it a little. It’s harvest season, so the Apple Family must be very busy, it would be a great imposition to just walk in and ask them to make me lunch. That would be rude. I instead turned in another direction to head over to the Café; maybe I would come some other time.

When would be best though? Probably around the same time Twilight came, the Apple Family Reunion. Then again, that would also be an imposition, coming uninvited to their family reunion and asking them to cook for me. There really wasn’t a good way to go about this. I suppose I’ll never taste Apple Family cooking. I suppose I could buy some apples and try to cook myself some other time.

I sat down at a patio table at the Café, the sky was clear and the sun was warm. I relaxed and gave my order to a waiter who entered the kitchen to place it. When he returned with my meal I ate it casually and stared into the sky. The pegasi do really work wonders, clearing the clouds and keeping Equestria’s sky manetained.
Pegasi…pegasi…pegasus… Ugh I’m so close to remembering, but I just can’t think! What was I trying to remember! WHAT WAS IT!

I refocused on the sky, trying to think of what it could be. I watched a pegasus fly over the town and do a barrel roll. I watched a little closer to possibly catch another trick when I noticed who it was. Rainbow Dash! That was it! I intended to talk to Rainbow about her nightmares! I ditched the remaining quarter of my lunch to follow her.

She casually flew to and fro, not paying attention to anypony on the ground. She finally stopped to land on a cloud; she sprawled out onto it and put her hooves behind her head. Now my plan could come into action.

I galloped to the nearest bench and lay down. I closed my eyes and focused on Rainbow Dash. If I could do this once I was sure I could do this a second time, help Rainbow Dash, fight away her nightmares! That’s what friends are for!

___________________________________________________________________________

I awoke inside the Quill and Sofa store. I sat on a leather sofa; looking out the window I saw a dense fog. I stood on my hooves and looked about; the store was empty, except for the one sofa I was near. No furniture, no quills, what’s going on? I decided to check the back room.

That was a mistake. I opened the door to see a relatively clear room except for a rainbow mare, tied up on a sofa, and a horrifying version of myself. I saw relatively similar body features, but that was where the comparison ended. Knives stuck out across his (my?) back. Their sharp ends implanted into his (my) body. I could not see the face from where I stood, so I circled for a closer look. Bigger mistake. Around his (my) neck hung the skull of a filly, in both of his (my) eyes were needles with small droplets of blood coming from the end. His (my) mouth was stitched shut, and contorted into a macabre smile. He (me) approached Dash and she screamed.

I stood mortified. He (me) was frightening. I couldn’t allow anything that was supposed to be me and looked like that exist. I rushed him (me). I lowered my head, aiming my horn at his (my) side. I struck true, thrusting into his (my) side. Blood gushed out and ran down my face. He (me) turned, staggered, and looked to me. He (me) cackled a hoarse, phlegmy laugh. He (me) jumped onto me and stood over me. He (me) aimed his horn threateningly at my eye. I focused my magic on the knives in his back. I pushed them down into him (me) as far as they would go. He (me) coughed once again, spitting up blood onto my face. I refocused my magic onto the needles in his (my) eyes, and shoved them in, finishing him off. His (my) limp body fell onto me.

I shoved the evil pony to the side and got to my hooves. I realized I was breathing very quickly, and took a moment to calm myself. I looked to Rainbow Dash, who eyed me very angrily for somepony whose life had just been saved. I trotted over to her and slowly untied the ropes that held her. She stretched her wings and turned to me. “Why are you here again?”

“If it helps any, I’m here on purpose this time.”

“Well it doesn’t. Why did you hop into my dreams again?”

“I came to help.”

“What? Why?”

“Because, I know you Rainbow Dash, you haven’t sought any help on this issue. I doubt you’ve even told your friends. The fact that you’re still having these dreams proves it.”

“Fine. You caught me. I didn’t find help. But I can tough it out.”

“How often are you having dreams like these?”

“Ummm… every… time I sleep.”

“That isn’t healthy Rainbow Dash.”

“I know, I know, but I’m fine. Really.”

“It’s okay now. I’m here to help. I’ve read a lot of books on the matter, and I think I can help.”

“Fine then. What now?”

“First I need to identify if there’s any underlying cause.”

“No reason really. I just all of a sudden started having nightmares.”

“Has anypony ever talked about something like this? This macabre scene?”

“No, I just imagined it. I felt like there was some- no, never mind.”

“What? What is it?”

“I… I felt like there was something you weren’t sharing, something you wanted to hide from us.”

“I have nothing to hide.”

“Never mind. There are more monsters besides what’s left of you.”

“Will that ever resurface?”

“No, never, I found out what you were hiding.”

“What?”

“You’re a hero, and a lot tougher than you let on.”

“I appreciate the praise. Who else has been…warped?”

“Everypony. But I don’t know if you can help. You showed me what you hid, but how would you do so for anypony else?”

I pondered this for a moment. How would I find out what somepony else was hiding? More importantly, how would I get them to fess up? I decided to probe a little further.

“Rainbow Dash” I began “I will help you with your nightmares, I am the only other pony who has seen them and I feel as though it is my duty to help you, my friend.”

“Well said. I can tell you a list of ponies who I know are in this dream. These are the only ones I know of: Derpy, Cheerilee, Pinkie Pie, The Doctor, and Celestia.”

“The Princess? Really?”

“I can’t help it! I just know she isn’t innocent. There’s gotta be some dirty secret she doesn’t want us to know!”

“Whatever. You sound like a conspiracy theorist.” I started towards the door to the showroom. “Hey! Where are you going?!”

“I’m going to hunt down these monsters.”

“But what about me? I have to find the truth, not you!” she had a point. I needed to take her with me. Running her around in her own nightmare, how cruel is that? I motioned for her to follow me, and we re-entered the showroom. We then trotted towards the exit, and opened the way into the cold, dark, fog.

___________________________________________________________________________

The air was moist. A chill ran across our spines as we walked. Truly this was a scene from a horror film. We approached the bakery that was Sugarcube Corner. Its colors were muted by the fog, making what would have been cheery and comforting look menacing.

Rainbow Dash approached the door cautiously; sweat beading up on her brow. She looked inside. All was dark and not a pony was in sight. I heard something odd, talking. I looked around to see what it was, and then I saw the window into the basement. I waved a hoof at Rainbow Dash and pointed at the window. She nodded and walked over towards the window. She peeked into the darkness down below and gasped. I gave her a quizzical look and she frantically waved her hooves at me, pointing into the basement. I looked down there and saw Pinkie Pie, as well as Pinkie Pie. I was perplexed, how could Pinkie Pie be here? I guessed that the dream invading spell had a wider effect are than I had originally assumed. Pinkie must have been taking a nap somewhere nearby and was pulled into the dream along with me. I whispered to Rainbow Dash “We have to help her.”

“Are you insane? The crazy one is down there too! It might already be too late anyways.”

“But she’s your friend!” she cringed at this, and then nodded with a determined look “Let’s go.”

We entered the bakery; the ground floor was almost the same as in the real world, but on the wall behind the counter hung Mr. and Mrs. Cake’s corpses on makeshift nooses. We listened at the door to the basement, and could now clearly hear their speech. It was neigh impossible to determine which one was which, but it was clear who was tied up and who wasn’t.

“So let me get this straight, you’re me? But how?”

“I dunno, so when are we going to make cupcakes? They’re my favorite!”

“We’ll be starting very soon.”

“YAY!” Pinkie screamed with delight. Was she really so naïve? We slowly opened the door to the basement. The evil Pinkie’s ears perked up at the sound and turned to us. “Rainbow Dash! My favorite victim! And Sunset Wonder too!” she cocked her head for a moment. “What happened to you man?” I realized I still had streaks of pony blood on my face and in my mane. I gave Pinkie a menacing look and replied “I met the evil me, and I killed him.” There was a silence for a moment, and then Pinkie began clapping. “Bravo Sunny, you’ve found your dark side! I hope you realize the spiral you’ve sent yourself into!”

“What are you talking about?”

“Oh never mind, you’ll find out soon enough.”

“Give us back Pinkie Pie. I don’t have time for your games.”

“How about… NO!” Evil Pinkie picked up a cake knife from a nearby table and lunged at good Pinkie. Rainbow Dash launched into the air, throwing herself at the evil Pinkie. The evil Pinkie scrambled to get out of Rainbow Dash’s way, but to no avail. The evil pink pony was trapped underneath Rainbow Dash’s body. The evil Pinkie tried one last resort, she threw the knife at good Pinkie. I was caught off guard as the knife came closer and closer to Pinkie’s head, I grasped at it with my magic, stopping it just slightly too late. The knife had cut into much of Pinkie’s eye as she screamed out in pain. I tossed the knife aside and rushed to Pinkie.

I untied Pinkie’s bonds as she cried and whimpered. I let her down gently, allowing her to lie on the floor. Rainbow Dash promptly thrust the bad Pinkie into the bindings. She quickly tied up her hands, feet, and head. The bad Pinkie was bound tightly. Rainbow Dash turned, raised her hind legs, and bucked as hard as she could into the evil Pinkie. The cracking of ribs resounded and the evil Pinkie coughed until blood came out. “Finish… me…” she weakly pleaded. I gladly obeyed her request.

I grabbed the knife with my magic and aimed it precisely above her eye, the exact same one that Pinkie had been cut in. I pushed it into her eye, slowly. She wailed in pain as I tortured her, until I finally finished her. Pinkie and Rainbow Dash both looked at me in utter horror. I had not only taken this pony’s life, but tortured her to the very end. “I-…I’m…I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to- I mean, I- well Pinkie, and her eye and- oh sweet Celestia, what have I done?” the tears of self loathing came slowly, but surely, breaking out into huge sobs. At this point Pinkie had stopped crying, and came to embrace me. I held her tight, her squishy pink body was warm and fuzzy. “I hate this place… Can we just leave?” I looked to Rainbow Dash, she nodded and we left the demon bakery of Sugarcube Corner.

___________________________________________________________________________

We sat on the step outside Sugarcube Corner. The fog was slightly less thick, and the air had remained cool. I turned to Pinkie, making sure she was okay. Her eye had stopped bleeding and she pouted at the fact that her eye was now useless. I then looked to Rainbow Dash, who sat pensively next to Pinkie Pie. I decided we should talk. “So Rainbow Dash, aren’t you going to get the truth from Pinkie? To get rid of that horrible nightmare once and for all?”

“Yeah, yeah.” She turned to Pinkie Pie “So Pinkie Pie, is there something you’re hiding? Something you don’t want anypony to know?”

“Well… umm…”

“Yes?”

“I once told Mrs. Cake I had eaten two corn cakes, when I really ate three!” Rainbow Dash looked unimpressed. “Okay six! I ate six!”

“No Pinkie, some deep dark secret, that nopony should ever know.”

“Oh yeah, I think I’ve got something like that.”

“What is it? If you don’t tell me, that evil Pinkie Pie will come back!” Pinkie Pie grimaced as she spoke. “You remember that basement down there, right?”

“Yes.”

“And all the knives, and tools, and straps, right?”

“Yes.”

“Well…”

“Yes?”

“IT”S ALL TRUE!” Pinkie looked disgusted with herself; she sobbed into her hooves and turned away from Rainbow Dash. “What’s true?”

“The cupcakes! I do all that! I killed them all! To make delicious pony cupcakes!” she sobbed even harder “I’m sorry Dashie, I didn’t want you to know, I thought you wouldn’t like me anymore, but when you started calling me a monster, or a fiend, I couldn’t take it! I had to tell you!”

“Then when you were strapped down there…”

“I knew what was going on, I figured I deserved it.”

“Oh Pinkie.” Rainbow Dash hugged the pink mare. “I’ll always like you, although now I might not trust your cooking.” She joked. Pinkie giggled a little, and then returned the hug. “I had found the recipe in a book, something called… umm… Necronomicooking! I decided to try it out, but then it called for pony flesh. I had promised my friends the best cupcakes ever, so I had to continue. They ended up being the best cupcakes ever, so I continued making them for Ponyville, hoping that I’d be caught or something, to release me from my cupcake bonds.”

“If it helps, we could send you to therapy.”

“No. I’m not crazy, just evil. And I just wanted to please the ponies. Unfortunately, the cost was high.” Pinkie Pie released Rainbow Dash and sat again. I spoke to Rainbow Dash again “So what now? Who’s next?”

“Cheerilee’s house is closest to here, we could go there next.”

“Promise me there’s no more murderous ponies.”

“I’m pretty sure that’s it”

“Thank Celestia; I don’t think my mind could handle much more.”

“Me neither.”

I got to my hooves and turned in the direction of Cheerilee’s house. The others soon followed, and we eventually arrived at Cheerilee’s door. I decided I should be prepared for what was in store before I opened this door. “So what’s wrong with this Cheerilee?”

“Umm… It’s kind of hard to explain. It’s best to just see.” I turned to the door once again. I sighed and thought to myself thanks for the help there RD. I looked at the ground and picked up a rock with my magic, now I was slightly prepared. Rainbow Dash looked at me funny. A sort of ‘What the hay is wrong with you?’ kind of look.

I opened the door to Cheerilee’s home, rock in hoof. In the other room I could hear Cheerilee’s breathing. This was going to be bad. I entered the next room and there lay Cheerilee, on her bed, hoof between her legs. I reacted in a split second. “NO!” I shouted, taking the rock and bashing her in the head until her body stopped convulsing. Once again Rainbow Dash gave me that look. I turned to her and said “I’m sorry, I respect Cheerilee and her teaching capabilities, I didn’t realize your sexual fantasies were going to be included here.” Rainbow Dash looked at me with her mouth wide open. Pinkie Pie looked at Rainbow and blurted out “You’re a lesbian?!” I realized all too late what I had done. I had revealed one of Rainbow Dash’s own secrets to one of her friends, whom had known nothing about this. I had to apologize. “Rainbow Dash! I’m so sorry! I didn’t mean to tell her! I wasn’t thinking! I-“

“You mean he knew?! Why didn’t you tell me? Your best friend?” Rainbow Dash turned her head, looking away from us, then spoke

“I’m sorry you two. Pinkie, I should have told you, I know you can keep a secret. And you Sunset Wonder, I should have warned you about Cheerilee.”

“It’s fine, really.” Pinkie and I spoke at the same time. We looked at each other and giggled. I looked back to Rainbow Dash “So who’s next?”

“I think this has been a long enough nap. It’s been like four hours.”

“Really!?”

“Yeah, we should probably wake up.” Pinkie jumped in next “And next time, don’t include me.” I turned to her “I’m sorry Pinkie Pie, I didn’t mean to bring you into this.”

“Oh it’s all right. Maybe when we wake up I can make you a batch of cupcakes!”

“Like what? I hope you aren’t suggesting making me into cupcakes. Or anypony else.”

“No silly! Just regular sugar filled cupcakes!”

“I think I’d like that.”

End Part 2

All characters belong to their respective companies, yadda, yadda, yadda.