Obsession and Regression

4

On the other side of Ponyville, the remaining Mane 6 gathered at the library. They sat around a large circular table and spoke in loud voices:

"Rainbow's somewhere in there. I know it!" Exclaimed Twilight.

"We should contact the police!"

Any tell 'em what, Rarity?" Snapped Apple Jack. "Tell 'em we think some mean, crazy old witch kidnapped our friend?"

"I didn't say anything at the time," said Fluttershy. "But out of the corner of my eye I saw Buttercup kick Winona."

"An' I heard the blow land and Winona cry!" Apple Jack stamped her hooves on the table. "I know Winona would never growl at any pony, even the most unpleasant. That mare gives me the creeps, consarn it!"

"Agreed." All ponies murmured, except Pinkie Pie... who remained silent.

"I know where Rainbow is..." Pinkie mumbled quietly. Nopony heard her, and even Fluttershy talked over her. "I said I KNOW WHERE RAINBOW IS!"

Everypony went silent, turning to her.

"Where?" Asked Twilight.

"She's in the basement of the house."

"How do you know?"

"I can feel it... my Pinkie sense is telling me she's in the basement. And she's suffering. We need to get her out before they do something bad to her."

All ponies looked at each other... if this was true, it was pretty grave news.

"Well, it's a better lead than any of us have been coming up with, and it makes sense." Twilight cleared her throat. "Winona was pulling in a downwards direction towards the house, Buttercup standing right where Winona was pulling. It's a stretch, but my knowledge of pre-contemporary architecture tells me that there might have been a window there at one time... perhaps it was blocked off so ponies can't see what's down there?"

"You're right, Twilight!" Said Apple Jack. "It's a much better theory than any of us have been able to come up with so far... and it's somethin'."

"But we can't all go into the house again at once..." Rarity said hesitantly. "We'll be seen and it will have grave repercussions!"

"It's true," said Twilight. "She could press charges... sue us. Apple Jack could lose her farm, Rarity her shop."

"You better believe it'd be worth it to me just to try and find Rainbow."

"It would be worth it to me, too... after all, I got Rainbow into this mess."

Again, Twilight cleared her throat:

"We should select one pony then... any volunteers?"

All ponies hooves went up... even Fluttershy's.

"This isn't going to work..." Twilight looked up above her head. "Owlowiscious! Will you please come here and give up 5 of your feathers for our friend's well-being?"

Owlowiscious descended from Twilight's ceiling and landed right in front of her.

"Hoo!" He said, shutting his eyes and bracing himself for the great pluck.

"Look away, girls..."

All ponies shut their eyes as Twilight gently took 5 quills from her owl pet, patting him on the head afterwards for his cooperation. He immediately flew off.

"There!" Twilight said, holding the quills up. "They all look identical, but they're of varying length! Shortest quill goes in."

The purple Unicorn walked up to each pony, who selected a quill, leaving one for Twilight in the end.

"Okay," Twilight said, sitting down. "Let's see what we have..."

Twilight had a quill long enough to be a writing utensil, putting her out first thing. Both Rarity and Fluttershy nervously held up their fairly short quills... Apple Jack was confident she'd be going. Pinkie Pie held up the shortest quill, not even an inch in length.

"Okay, it's been decided. Pinkie Pie is going!"

* * *

It was a pitch black night. 5 ponies dressed in black sneaking suits crept quietly through the streets in the outskirts of Ponyville. Their target, a farm house upon a hill.

"Are you sure you want to do this completely alone, Pinkie?" Asked Twilight. "Any one of us is willing to go with you."

"I can handle myself, Twilight!" Pinkie replied, focusing on the house. "I've got my Pinkie sense on my side!"

"You have to be *very* quiet, Pinkie..." Said Apple Jack.

"You'll hear a pin drop all the way out here before you hear me!" Pinkie replied.

"Okay... if you're not out in 15 minutes, we're all coming in."

Pinkie saluted Twilight, then disappeared... slowly creeping through the shadows towards the house.

First she tried the front door... Her Pinkie sense didn't tell her the door was about open or anypony was coming. The front door was, of course, locked up tight. She tried each window beside the enterance, and each window was locked.... she crept around to the back door. No such luck! Locked as well. She tried each window, and each window was locked... there was one final winow, just out of reach. She looked around and saw an old fashion garbage can twinkling in the dim light. Skillfully she picked up the canister, quietly setting it just under the window... she stealthly climbed to the top and sucess! The window opened. She crept inside.

She was in a long hallway which she slowly snuck down on the very tips of her hooves. She hardly made a sound... her whisper-quiet breathing could be heard before the sounds she was making as she crept through the house.

She saw what looked like the front door from the other side... she walked up to it and unlatched the locks, allowing it to silently swing open. Looking out into the cold, country air she waved to her friends. Twilight nodded, then Pinkie snuck back inside...

Pinkie was again in the long hallway, looking at dusty old pictures of Princess Celestia and some of the founders of Ponyville. As she quietly strode down the corridor, she noticed the small doors on either side of her... since she was out to get a mental picture of the place first, she would come back to explore them later. Finally she came to the end, where there was a big door. She turned the knob and it opened a crack... she peered inside at the large room. First thing she heard was the loud sound of a pony with a bad snoring problem. She looked around the room to find the Golden Pegasus asleep on a very lavish sofa, a tea kettle and cup beside her.

So Crazy pony's there. Pinkie thought to herself.

Pinkie quietly closed the door, going back into the grand hall. As she descended the hall, she inspected each door closely... Twilight had first told her along the way to look for a door with a lot of locks on it, as that means there's something they want no pony to know about behind it. Sure enough, Pinkie found a mustard-colored metal door with two dead-bolts she could unlock from her side. An odd way to secure one's property... whatever they had behind the door, they clearly wanted it to stay there and it wouldn't leave without help. Pinkie carefully unbolted the first lock, followed by the second. The door creaked open and she gulped once she saw the blackness before her... it was scary, but she could always laugh it away... if it were an imaginary danger.

She slowly descended the stairs, bringing the door to a near shut position. She then felt for a light switch and found a tiny one hidden under the railing.

Do I really wanna flip this yet? She asked herself, deciding it would be better to hold off.

As Pinkie crept down the stairs, she heard snoring... she didn't know whether it was a pony or not, but she certainly hoped it was:

I hope that's not some gimpy monster who lives in a box and wants to eat me!

She smelled an odd smell as she descended the stairs...

Foal powder?

The smell confused her as it was not what she expected a dank, grimy basement to smell like... but she smelled it on the property before, so she knew she was on the path to something! Her Pinkie sense started to act up as creepy crawls ran up and down her spine. She was unsure of what that meant, but knew it probably meant danger, so she kept an eye and an ear out for trouble. Her love for Rainbow Dash outweighed her fear as she continued down yet another stair... and another... until she reached a landing where she heard a soft moan escape the snoring creature.

"Dashie?" She said aloud, immediately putting both hooves in her mouth.

The snoring stopped and all was silent for a moment.

"I'm still here," quietly cried Rainbow Dash. "I thought I heard Pinkie Pie calling me, but I must've been dreaming... I'm still here."

"Rainbow Dash!" Exclaimed Pinkie in a hushed voice, taking giant leaps on the stairs to get to her quicker. "Rainbow Dash, you are here!"

"This better not be a trick..." Said Rainbow in an exhausted, monotone voice. "Is it really you, Pinkie?"

"Yes it is!" Pinkie finally got up to her and hugged her, tears streaming down the pink mare's face. "Rainbow Dash! We were so worried about you! I'm glad I found you. This place gives me the willies!"

"I can't see you, but I'm glad you're here." Rainbow sighed. "I'm stuck, Pinkie. You're not going to get me out without a key."

"I'll have to find it then, Dashie. I saw Buttercup in the big room. That'd be a good place to-- hrkk!"

Pinkie Pie was silent... all was silent for a moment before Rainbow Dash spoke:

"Pinkie Pie?"

There was no response. Pinkie had been right next to her.

"Pinkie... please... answer me! What's happening?"

THUD.

"Good evening, Miss Dash." Said Ironhoof's cold voice from behind the table. "What a pity you are now awake... you looked so adorable sleeping as you were."

Rainbow did not respond at first.

"D-did... did you just kill Pinkie Pie?"

"No. She's alive. With a hoof to her mouth I sedated her with a knock-out solution. She just dropped off and is snoozing like a foal. She'll be okay, just like you were..."

"Please don't hurt her..."

"I've no intentions of that, Miss Dash. I'm setting up another table, right beside yours. That's really all I can do, other than kill her. She'll surely go to the police if I don't hold her here, too. You now have company, at least."

"Please... no! Just dump her on some street somewhere... maybe she won't remember this. I don't remember much of anything right before I went under."

"She'll be out for just over ten minutes... wake up with a head ache, but she'll remember. I've made my mind up, Miss Dash. I have to act fast."

"But she came here for me... please, just do it for me. It's my one request. Please?"

"I guess having your good friend come all this way just for you makes this your fault then, doesn't it...?" He patted Rainbow's head, feeling the tears running down her cheeks with his forearm. "Perhaps she'd come back again if I cut her loose... you have good friends, I'll acknowledge that. They'll be your friends to the end, but if it means 6 tables for you all to be together again... then that's what we'll do. Neither of you are ever leaving this basement alive."

"No... you won't get away with this."

Ironhoof did not respond. Rainbow Dash heard the sound of the aging stallion grunting as something heavy, composed mostly of dead weight, was being dragged across the floor... it moaned softly.

Pinkie Pie...

"She's restrained now..." Ironhoof panted. "I can at least take my time with this."

"My friends will stop you," Dash hissed. "We've stopped worse monsters with the power of our Friendship!"

"Do you think the rest of your friends are here now?"

"I hope so."

"You'd best not hope so! ...I'm going to release the hounds."

Rainbow Dash's eyes widened:

"But that'll kill them!" She cried. "You said you'd never do anything to harm another pony."

"To quality that, Miss Dash: in my charge, in my charge... If they make it here, they'll end up safely in a table... if they don't, they're puppy chow. It's the mistress's order that I deal with late night intruders this way, but once they enter the house... it's my responsibility to stop them as I wish."

"If I could move, I'd kill you." Said Rainbow, jerking forward in the darkness bound by her restraints.

"You frustrate me Miss Dash... I hope you will not appreciate my mercy only after it runs out. I could always get the blunderbuss." He patted something heavy he had on his person, about head-level. "Ah, thermo-optics... I can see you quite well... but you can't see me. Hiding in the shadows, they will never see me coming."

* * *

"It's been too long... think somethin' happened to her?" Asked Apple Jack, looking up at the quiet country home.

"I don't know," said Twilight. "But it has been long enough... move out, girls!"

The four crept silently towards the house on the hill, not making a peep. With them they had Twilight's knowledge, Apple Jack's strength, Rarity's keen eye, and Fluttershy's wings... would that be enough for them to accomplish their task? They all hoped so...

The four were about 30 ft. from the house, by the hedges one would pass first entering the yard when they heard it. It sounded like a garage door being raised from behind the house, pulling piles of leaves along with it... as if it were in the ground. Suddenly the three heard a loud crash behind them, and turned to see a 10-foot high chain-link fence blocking the exact spot where they had just entered. This was not the most disturbing thing they heard... there was loud, piercing bark, followed by two deep, thunderous growls.

"That's not good..." Said Apple Jack, taking in a big gulp.

The creepily quiet sound of large animals skittering around the house accompanied the loud, angry barks... they'd be upon them any second.

"Make for the door!" Shouted Twilight, taking off in the direction of the house. "They'll get you for sure if you try to climb the gate!"

The house got closer and closer... it looked like they were going to make it. 7 feet from the entrance, Twilight was still leading with Apple Jack beside. By this point the purple pony's hoof was less than a foot from the door knob...

There was a cutting sound that echoed... a horrible guttural roar coming from right from behind the ponies. Loud and visceral, the creature that made it was clearly aiming to kill and maim. It turned the pony's blood to ice... and leapt upon the nearest mare with more rancor than any beast she'd ever had the misfortune of being attacked by.

"Help!" Screamed Rarity, as the horrendous sound of tearing fabric and frantic crying filled the air. "Oh, Celestia. Please help me! It's going to tear me to shreds!"

Apple Jack turned right around as Fluttershy got behind her, her wings frozen in fear. The group was now face-to-face with two Big Mac-sized Rottweilers.

"Time to play!" Howled the hound not set yet upon Rarity in ecstasy, as the other dog holding her down looked up at Apple Jack and smiled sadistically. It looked to its prone friend, who continued to grin, then set its red eyes firmly on Apple Jack. "TIME TO PLAY!"

It lunged at her... Apple Jack had one surefire defense and only a split-second to get into position. With nerves of steel, she turned around and struck the monster dog square in the face with her two muscular back legs as hard as she possibly could. The blow connected with the creature's lower mandible, fracturing its jaw. It howled in pain, immediately running off into the night, tearing a section of the chain link fence down with it...

As Apple Jack's altercation with the hound took place, the other dog preparing to feast on Rarity took one final rip at her clothing... exposing a delicate ivory leg. It was just about to take a bite when Apple Jack turned towards it and shouted:

"LET HER GO RIGHT NOW!"

The creature smiled at her, exposing its sharp fangs and rancid drool:

"Kill." It grumbled in a low, guttural voice getting up. "KILL!"

The second dog lunged at Apple Jack, and she had even more time to prepare for it. She turned and bucked as hard as she could in its direction... this time missing completely. The hound dodged her attack swiftly and like a freight train it plowed right through her, knocking both her and Fluttershy over.

"Pony! Pony! Pony! Pony! Pony! Pony! Pony!" Howled the dog in a frenzy as it turned and lunged for Applejack yet again.

Her body was thrown like a rag doll against the house, knocking the wind out of her. Rarity was just getting up at this point, unharmed except for a few bruises. The dog repeatedly slammed Apple Jack against the side of the house, cracking a couple of her ribs in the process, blood spurting from her now broken nose. Once it stopped, the hound looked down at it's writhing victim, licking the blood off her face:

"Gunna suck your guts..." It hissed in her ear.

This whole time Fluttershy and Twilight had been paralyzed with terror. Since ponies had been a peaceful race for hundreds of years, never in their lives had any of them witnessed such brutality... this was especially nasty even for a guard dog. It had been bred not to protect, but to dismember. Rarity got up and limped towards her friends as they half covered their eyes, watching the vicious assault completely in a daze, unsure of how to help their brave orange friend.

"No. I won't let you." Rarity gritted her teeth, snarling. "No!"

Rarity charged at the attacking animal... she wasn't sure what it was going to accomplish, but she was going to try. Apple Jack was her friend, and without her... Rarity would've been in unspeakably horrible pain by now, praying to Celestia to just let her die. This wasn't going to be Apple Jack's fate... not if she had anything to say about it.

She head-butted the creature as hard as she could and bounced right off it's thick, muscular body. However, when she hit the dog, it wailed loudly in pain... clutching its side where she had made contact.

From the ground she looked up at the wincing animal, which was buckled over, protecting a fresh wound... how had she done that? She then noticed the blood on her horn.

As Rarity got up, Twilight followed suit with the same tactic, aiming for the animal's chest... because the hound had already been hit and was in shock, it's defenses were down and when she connected, she needed even less force to make a hole just as deep as Rarity had. Apple Jack pulled herself away as the creature covered its fresh wounds and cried out.

The hound turned its attention towards Fluttershy now, growling...

"Please, just go away..." she whispered nervously as it took a few slow, lumbering steps towards her. "GO AWAY!"

She attempted to use The Stare, but she immediately knew it was no good... if anything, it made the creature's eyes glow even more intensely.

As it prepared to lunge, she simply rose into the air, out of its reach. Distracted and batting at the flying pony, Rarity and Twilight took the opportunity to ram the creature's exposed belly on either side. The hound fell to its stomach, letting out pathetic cries. It looked as though they had defeated it, when it got up... now turning to Twilight.

"Kill." It muttered, setting its red gaze on her. "Kill."

Slowly it limped towards the purple unicorn, snapping its jaws.

"These dogs ain't giving up!" Said Apple Jack, standing by Twilight's side. "If it gets the better of me, ram it again. "She wiped the blood from her face. "I'm gunna make it rue the day it met me."

She charged at the dog, throwing both forehooves into the air, bringing them down to make explosive contact on the animal's face. Three direct hits -- she chipped one of it's teeth and gave it a shiner. In response, the animal snapped at her face and throat, fortunately missing completely. She lost her balance, however, falling to her back and exposing her delicate underbelly to the horrible monster.

The hound leapt upon her aching, tired body. It looked down at her, grinning, its sharp claws twisting into her sides. Slowly it pulled its head back, opening its mouth and hissing. She shut her eyes... this was it. She was going to die and she couldn't bare to see it coming...

Instead of feeling sharp jaws clamping down on her neck, she heard a sharp yell come from one of her friends behind her, followed by a high-pitched whine above her head. She buckled as she felt the entire weight of the monster collapse on to her body... and lay still, as though it were a throw rug. Dead weight?

* * *

All was silent as the three ponies gathered around the behemoth.

"Apple Jack?" Shouted Twilight. "Are you okay?"

"Git this thing off me!" The orange pony shouted in a muffled voice, under the large hound's lifeless body.

All three ponies worked to push the heavy carcass to the side, exposing their friend to the fresh night air.

"Wha... what happened?"

"I nailed it in the heart," said a faint-looking Twilight, motioning to her blood-spattered horn. "I'm so glad you're okay..."

"Me too," said Apple Jack, attempting to get up. Intense pain shot through her sides. "Gah! Ahhh! Consarn it!"

Twilight pulled down Apple Jack's sneaking suit and examined her closely.

"You've got two broken ribs and I think you might be bleeding internally," she said with clinical detachment. "You shouldn't go any further... we'll pull you inside so the other dog doesn't come back through that hole and maul you," she turned to the yellow Pegasus. "Fluttershy, when we get her in there, guard her!"

"No!" Shouted Apple Jack, attempting yet again to get up. "I'm fine!"

"No!" Twilight shouted back, watching Apple Jack wince and cry in pain as she rose to her hooves.

"I'm not resting until we find Rainbow and Pinkie," she said, now standing. "Once we find 'em and we're out of here, I'll go straight to the Hospital, but until then ma needs come second."

"Apple Jack," said Rarity, watching the orange pony slowly limp towards the door. "Rainbow will understand... you're in such bad shape. You could be dying!"

AJ didn't answer. She kicked open the door and went inside. All three ponies still outside looked at each other:

"They most likely know we're here now," said Twilight. "So maybe we are better off with Apple Jack being mobile."

No pony argued. They just went inside.

* * *

The lights were now on in the Nursery, though Rainbow Dash couldn't see a thing outside since she had been turned towards the stairs. He friends were RIGHT out there. She'd heard the dog's vicious growling and her friends screaming. She's also heard some very canine-sounding whines accompanying the sound of Apple Jack's attack, but before that... when she heard Rarity's frantic, blood-curdling screams... she knew the ivory pony didn't stand a chance. She cried for them, believing that at least one of them had died a very horrible death trying to save her.

Ironhoof, with his pair of heavy-duty black goggles propped on his forehead, smiled at the cyan Pegasus:

"Sounds like a few of your friends made it into the house." He looked down at the unconscious, bound Pinkie Pie still in her sneaking suit. "The mistress is probably awake now, but she's on the other side of the house. Securing the intruders so they don't get to her before I do takes precedence. I will be back with the rest, Miss Dash."

He tightened his saddlebag, pulling a hypodermic needle from it. Rainbow Dash caught a peek of the inside of Ironhoof's saddlebag for the first time... he had more knifes and hypodermic needles organized in there than she could count... some of the syringes having a skull and crossbones emblazoned on them. He then trotted over to small light, pulling the goggles down over his eyes and turning it off. Rainbow and he were now in complete darkness again. She felt him creeping around, heading away from her... upstairs. He barely made a sound. She didn't even want to breathe out of fear of missing the tiniest noise. She barely heard the metal door creak at the top of the stairs, she heard what sounded like Twilight's voice organizing the search not far off...

"GIRLS! HE'S COMING TO GET YOU!" She shouted as loud as she could. "WATCH OUT! HE CAN SEE IN THE DARK!"

There was an immediate response, that sounded like a Karate champion delivering a heavy blow:

"Gaaa-RAAH!" Apple Jack yelled out in a vicious growl, like she was bucking a two-pony wide tree. There was a titanic crash, louder than two carts colliding on the road... then silence. The two distinct voices of Ironhoof and Apple Jack rose in volume as they fought, struggling and screaming in pain. There was the sound of scraping, hooves against metal, making all pony's fur stand on end. The forceful sound of loud tumbling filled the air... down the stairs it went, a percussive crescendo getting louder and louder, like thunder, ending right beneath the restrained Rainbow Dash. She prayed it wasn't Apple Jack...

All was still for a few brief moments, which seemed like an eternity to her. She heard Ironhoof's deep groan beneath her and sighed in relief. It was finally over...