Without Regret

by SGTDiphthong

Rating: teen
Tags: Sweetie Belle, Sad, Main 6, Lyra, Gore, Original Character, Apple Bloom, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Dark, Bon-Bon, Tragedy
Length: 11133

When tragedy strikes, sometimes it's best to leave it unexplained. You never know what you'll find.

A murder strikes one late winter evening, and nopony seems to be able to provide clues as to what happened. Anytime somepony gets close to revealing anything helpful, they too end up dead. Things get personal when someone close to a certain unicorn ends up a victim. She devotes herself to finding the culprit. What she finds is a ruthless pony, willing to do anything to cover his or her tracks.

Nopony is safe. Not anymore. This pony acts without regret. Without remorse. Without a single thought of consequence.

This was a one shot, I think. I didn't really feel like separating each break into separate chapters, so I'll just leave it as is. Unless someone really wants me to break it up. I might then. It's just tedious, that's all. I may or may not decide to write some sort of epilogue or prologue or something of the like. Depends on the day, honestly. Hope everypony likes it, because I'm rather proud of it. Hell, even if you don't, leave a comment. I love feedback. Kind of a lot. (More comments, please. Doooo iiit.)

Thanks for the 700 views and all, guys. Although, I really wish you would comment a little more. I can't improve if you don't tell me what's wrong.

Published 2011-10-01 04:31:09 UTC
Last updated 2011-09-17 01:47:55 UTC

Chapter 1

Winter. That time of year everypony stays indoors, escaping the typical cold weather it brings forth. Nighttime dropped the temperature to an even more biting level, leaving Ponyville in that quiet emptiness. Nothing moved, other than maybe a tree in the wind. For the most part, this night was no different. Everypony lie sleeping, wrapped up in a bundle of blankets and sheets. A few shuffles in bed, maybe a murmur here and there. Nothing really broke the silence. Although, something was off this night. Something subtle. Something small. Maybe it was the cloud cover. No, it was relatively clear. The amount of snow covering the ground? No. That, too, was at about the level it should be. What was it, then?

A subtle snap of a tree branch tears through the silence, almost echoing. Somepony was dashing through the snow; a blur of mint colour, weaving through the trees. Her breath was short, and her steps were getting more and more haphazard. She was running. Galloping away from something. Fear and exhaustion were clear on her face, and she glanced over her shoulder in an almost rhythmic pattern.

Another broken branch. This pony was making her way back into the village. What she was doing so far from it was irrelevant, all that mattered was getting back to the safety of her home. She tripped over a fallen trunk she had forgotten about. Being so focused on keeping her pursuer in sight was working against her. A waste of a few seconds. Those precious seconds she had so few of. Strange, though, how long she’d been running. It felt like hours. The village couldn’t be that far away from where she was. Her mind brushed past these moot topics almost instantly, turning back to the pony chasing her through the forest. She didn’t get a close enough look at the pony’s face, as it was far too dark. It always feels worse when you can’t identify your attacker.

Gallop after gallop. This unfortunate mint pony continued on without even the slightest hesitation. That is, until she heard the distant gallop of her attacker fade into the breeze. She slowed her gallop to a careful speed walk, catching her breath. Her hind legs had practically numbed from the exhaustion, and there was a slight limp in her step. A few minutes passed in their quiet, ominous way. Ponyville came into sight, and the home stretch was in clear view.

“Oh, thank g-” She was quickly silenced by some sort of blunt object to the back of her head. What it was exactly wasn’t important. It hurt like hell, and that’s all that mattered. She slammed down onto the ground, groaning in pain. Blood poured from the wound in a most unhealthy way, and she was struggling to get onto her feet. She called out, weakly, “H-Help…! S-Somepony! Please!”

The poor, defenseless mint coloured pony’s eyes dashed left and right, trying to get at least a decent look whoever it was that did this to her. Of course, it was in vain. Her visibility was only a slight five meters or so. She could hear movement, mostly through crushing snow and snapping dry leaves. Whoever it was paced in circles, slowing down in irregular patterns. Eventually, after what seemed like an endless amount of time, the assailant paused.

“P-Please… What’re…? Just…” The mint pony sobbed, backing away from where she believed her attacker had stopped, “Somepony! Pleas-”

Her words were cut short by another slam of the blunt object. This time, to the jaw. It snapped loudly, and a large stream of blood stained the otherwise white ground. She shrieked in agony, hoping somepony could hear her. As much as it hurt, she rolled onto her stomach and began pulling herself across the floor, sobbing loudly.

“S… Hel…” She groaned, not able to get more than a few syllables at a time from her shattered jaw. Just as she crawled a mere meter away, the broken pony felt a hoof slam onto her tail, stopping her painfully in place. She glanced back, wincing loudly, and gazed at what she could see. Her vision was clouded with bitter tears of pain, but she could make out the cold, sadistic smile of somepony. In it, a bloodied crowbar. A twitch in this otherwise static smile, and everything went black. Strike after strike. Each shattering more and more. Blood practically erupted from each hit, painting the entire area red. The assailant slowed his or her pace, eventually stopping. There was a noise, and a bit of light. Somepony was awake. Almost as quickly as that poor mint pony was silenced, the assailant disappeared into the snow-covered darkness.

“Hello…?” A cream coloured pony plows through the snow, looking around for whatever it was that made all that noise. She had been expecting a friend to return home hours upon hours ago. The hour was late, and she must’ve fallen asleep while waiting. Was her friend hurt? He certainly hoped not. Of course, fate is a cruel, cruel thing. She made her way over to where she believed the noise had come, pushed her lantern through the darkness and looked down. With wide, teary eyes, she rears back a step or two. A blood-curdling shriek tears through the silence, echoing throughout Ponyville in a tragic fashion. Lights flickered on left and right, and half awake residents poked their heads through their windows. A few came rushing out of their doors, mostly stallions, wielding lanterns in their mouths.

“Bon Bon…! What’s wrong?” One asks, stopping himself, “We hear-”

He cut his sentence short, gazing in horror at the mangled pony that lie on the ground in front of a weeping Bonnie. The face was completely unrecognizable, battered into a bloody mess. The cutie mark was entirely visible, though. A lyre.

…

That morning, a deepened sorrow took hold of everypony in Ponyville. Bon Bon was specifically affected by the tragedy. Her closest friend was just brutally murdered, and there was nothing that anypony could do about it. Her friends kept her hidden, consoling her behind closed doors. Twilight Sparkle, who had woke during the initial moments of the incident, advised her friends of the situation.

“An’ she’s…?” Applejack shook her head in a dejected manner, “A’m not sure I understand.”

“Bon Bon found her late last night…” Twilight frowned, “We all heard her scream and…”

“Why would somepony do this…?” Rainbow Dash ceased the nervous fluttering in her wings. Everypony in the room was looking down in sorrow. Even the normally bouncy Pinkie Pie couldn’t force her sadness away. She merely sat there, biting her lip. Much the same with Rarity. She’d even skipped past styling her mane. This was more important. Fluttershy was lying on the ground, hiding her face. Rainbow Dash was next to her, rubbing her hoof across Fluttershy’s back. Applejack was gazing out of the window, watching the various ponies who wandered by.

“Well…” Pinkie Pie finally decided to break the sorrowful silence that besmirched the air, “She wouldn’t want us mourning…! Would she…?”

“It’s not that simple, Pinkie…” Rainbow Dash responded, “She’s…”

“I know, Dashie… It’s just…” Pinkie Pie frowned, “I can’t stand to see everyone like this!”

“She’s right…” Rarity added, “She is most certainly right. All of us, sad like this…”

“Y-Yes…” Fluttershy agreed, shaking the tears from her face. A genuine, albeit forced smile grew over everypony’s face. All except Twilight Sparkle. Something was off. She didn’t think that this was something that could be so easily dismissed. It felt like this would happen again. Instead of smiling like the rest of the group, Twilight dove deep into thought. Trying to piece together what exactly happened. Who wanted Lyra dead? Did she piss off the wrong pony in her slightly unorthodox relationship with ‘Bonnie’? The possibilities were seemingly endless. She would have to talk to Bon Bon at some point. Maybe when things calmed down. Twilight put on a fake smile and joined her friends. They were busy distracting themselves with cooking some sort of breakfast. Smelled rather appetizing, really.

“Ah, dang.” Pinkie Pie groaned, “We need coffee!”

“Uhm… I could pick some up, or… Maybe…” Fluttershy noted.

“I’ll do it.” Twilight responded, “I needed to go out real quickly anyway.”

“Oh, okay!” Pinkie Pie smiled, clearly using up everything she had to act so happy, “Hurry back~.”

“Will do.” Twilight winked, walking out of the door. She’d stop by the coffee shop, ask around. News spreads fast around Ponyville. Somepony there would’ve heard something she could use. Anything would work. The village square was relatively lively, given the circumstances. There were things to do, places to be. Mourning was a luxury they couldn’t afford. Twilight made her way to the coffee shop, giving a few nods to ponies that called her name.

“Hey there, Twilight.” A tan coloured pony called out, wiping the counter with a rag, “What brings you here this dreadful morning?”

“Oh, Mocha Bean.” Twilight smiled, “Just picking up some coffee.”

“That’s all?” Mocha replied grabbing a bag of beans, “You seem like you’ve got places to be.”

“I’m just… Curious.” Twilight responded, slapping down the total for the coffee.

“’Bout?”

“Lyra.”

“Oo… Touchy subject.” Mocha noted, fiddling with some mugs, “We’re all drawing a blank here.”

“No kidding.” Twilight sighed.

“Poor Lyra…” Mocha shook her head, “I lo- Hm… It‘s a shame, really.”

“What was that…?” Twilight took note of the oddity in her head, but didn’t react much to it. She just simply nodded.

“Well, I’ll let you get back to whatever it is you’re doing.” Mocha smiled, “Have a good one, Darling.”

“You too.” Twilight nodded, leaving the store in a subtle hurry. Mocha Bean seemed uncomfortable. Bothered. Guilty? Not necessarily. Just… Aggravated. She drank a lot of coffee, that pony. Maybe she missed her morning cup? No, never. That would never happen. That’s something not even the death of a close friend would change. It all was just theory, but… Twilight may have been looking a bit too deeply into this, really. Perhaps it would be best to just forget about it for now. Just live life until more information got out. Yeah. That would work.

…

The rest of the day went off uneventfully. Aside from the overarching feeling of dread, nothing was really all that different. Typical winter Ponyville. It was getting late; ponies were closing their shops and heading home. Mocha Bean was no exception. She closed slightly later than everyone else, allowing everypony to finish his or her cups. The last customer left, and she was alone.

“Hah…” Mocha sighed, wiping a tear that had formed under her eye. She locked up the cash register, and headed for the door. The lights flickered off, which was unusual.

“Hm…?” Mocha turned around and was met immediately with a crowbar to the hind leg, forcing her to the ground. She cried out in pain, and turned toward the direction of the strike. She didn’t see anypony, but there were the sounds of steps circling her. A subtle giggle echoed throughout the room, which panicked her sufficiently.

“It… It was you!” Mocha tried to climb to her feet, but stumbled back down every time. She knew that if she didn’t get help, she’d end up like her friend, “Help! Somepony!”

“Any-” A strike to the back of the head, knocking Mocha completely onto her back. She was barely conscious, but she could make out a wide smile on the face of somepony. With a wince, she closed her eyes, sobbing. No words could leave her mouth, and she was unable to cry out for help. Her attacker struck each leg over and over, shattering each one into a mess of blood and bone. The sound of splatters and cracking bone filled the air in a sick, twisted harmony. Mocha had died completely due to shock, and everything this demented pony was doing was in pure fun.

“Hahaha…” A quiet, female giggle rode the sound of the breeze coming from the back door. Mocha was left lying were she was struck, each leg beaten separate from the rest of her body. Her face was pretty much intact, aside from a strike to the forehead. There was a tragic face forever frozen on Mocha’s blood stained body, one that spelled fear. Maybe a bit of an upset fear. Like she saw it coming in a most unfortunate way. Luckily for Mocha, the pool of blood beneath her had spread rather quickly, painting a trail of prints leading out of the shop. This wasn’t exactly carelessness on the part of the perpetrator, but rather a side affect of the thinning of Mocha’s blood. She didn’t bleed often, but when she did… She poured a fountain. Hours passed without a movement in town, although there were a few who could’ve heard the noise.

“I heard screams a while ago…” Somepony softly said, looking around the general area of the ruckus she had heard, “You don’t think…?”

“No… Not again.” Another responded, worried, “It couldn’t… Not again.”

“Did they come from Mocha’s shop…?” The first asks, pushing on the door. Locked, of course, “It’s locked… But…”

“’Scuse me.” The second motioned the first to the side, turning his back to the door. He bucked his hinds back and smashed it open, forcing the two of them inside, “Let’s find out if they did.”

“Jeez. You better hope that Mocha doesn-” The first pony’s eyes widened, and she felt suddenly ill. She backed up and screamed, gazing in horror at Mocha’s mangled corpse. The first pushed her back, looking away. The two emotionally disgusted ponies left everything as they found it and reported it to the police.

…

“That’s… Again?” Applejack shook her head, concerned with the safety of her friends, “An’ what’s to stop ‘em from getting ya’ll?”

“Don’t worry, Applejack.” Rainbow Dash reassured her, “I won’t let anyone get us.”

“Wow… Just… I can’t even begin to describe…” Twilight Sparkle was shocked. She had spoken to Mocha Bean a comparatively short time before that. Why Mocha Bean? Twilight admitted that she had acted a bit bothered and uncomfortable, but she didn’t understand what that meant. Her first thought was shattered, as it couldn’t have been Mocha that murdered Lyra. Unless she broke her own legs post mortem. Then the possibility was still there. Otherwise, she had to start from a blank slate.

“This is just… Too much.” Fluttershy frowned, hiding her face behind her mane. Pinkie Pie was trying her hardest to make everyone smile, much as she always did. She enticed a smirk here and there, but nothing much more than that. Rarity had stayed behind, as she had dresses to make for an important client. The five of them sat in relative silence for an extended period of time. Twilight distracted by deep thought and the rest preoccupied with cheering each other up.

“I’ve got to go. I’ll be right back.” Twilight Sparkle suddenly stood on all fours and turned toward the door.

“Where’re you going?” Rainbow Dash asked, clearly curious as to why she would just walk out.

“I need to figure this out.” Twilight responded, opening the door in a hurry. Her pace was relatively quick, and she certainly knew where she was going first. The coffee shop. It was, as it should be, taped off and filled with police wandering left and right. A few curious ponies had crowded around the parameter. Among them was Bon Bon, just as Twilight had hoped. They were friends, if she remembered right, “Bon Bon?”

“Hm…?” She turned, looking obviously upset by everything that had happened, “Oh… Twilight…”

“Are you okay…?” Twilight asked, taking a step closer to her.

“I’ll be fine.” Bon Bon weakly smiled, “I just… Don’t want to talk about it.”

“Can I just ask you one thing?” Twilight pleads.

“I-I guess.”

“Do you know of any reason that the two of them would be killed? I mean, you were close, right?”

“No,” Bon Bon dismissed, “Not that I can think of.”

“But they were your friends? I mean, Lyra and Moch-”

“Mocha was not my friend.” Bon Bon scoffed, giving Twilight an annoyed look, “Listen, I just need some time alone, okay?”

“Oh… Of course. Sorry.” Twilight backed off. Something had happened between the two of them, that was obvious enough. What that was is another matter entirely. Twilight mentally ran through a list of ponies that she knew were in Ponyville, trying to remember which ones were friends with Bon Bon. She could only think of two, but that was a start. First, she searched for Flutter Doo. A slightly silly and somewhat dimwitted Pegasus. She had a kind heart, though, and when she feels something is important, she has a lot to say about it. It took a few minutes, but she did find her helping shovel some snow.

“Hey, Flutter Doo!” Twilight called out, waving her hoof.

“Oh! Hey, Twilight Sparkle.” She smiled, dropping the shovel where she stood.

“Can I ask you something?”

“Uhm. Sure! Why not.” Flutter Doo shrugged.

“It’s about Bon Bon and Mocha…” Twilight sighed, “I was under the impression that those two were friends.”

“That’s…” Flutter Doo frowned, “Not something I should tell you.”

“Why? Did something happen?”

“You can say that.” Flutter Doo shook her head, “All I can say is that Mocha betrayed Bonnie’s trust.”

“Oh. Well, that’s okay. Thanks.” Twilight smiled. She wasn’t going to get much out of Crescent, either. There was some sort of oath at work here, she figured. She’d just leave it at that, for now. Perhaps the killer would slip up. Make his or herself known. Whatever saves the most lives. The rest of the day went on uneventfully once more. Rainbow Dash and Applejack disappeared like they always did. They think they’re sneaky, but they’re not very subtle with their looks and movements. Pinkie Pie was planning a party to cheer the entire village up, but had hit an issue on deciding the theme. She would work that out soon enough, Twilight assumed. Fluttershy was tending to her animals most of the day. She tends to do that when she’s stressed.

“Something’s not adding up…” Twilight thought as she laid in bed, “There’s something I’m missing… Some sort of connection.”

“I’ll figure it out in the morning…”

…

Flutter Doo finished clearing the snow from the front of her house in a timely manner. The sun was setting quickly, and she was feeling tired. With an exhausted sigh, she wandered into her bedroom and jumped onto her bed happily. It was a long day for her, really. Another one of her friends had been murdered, and she felt like she could’ve done more to prevent it. She advised Mocha to watch her back. She told her that she should never be alone. Naivety got the best of her. She shut her eyes and sighed, embracing the silence of night. Which, of course, was broken by a creak from her door.

“H-Hello…?” Flutter Doo’s eyes quickly tore open, darting up and down the dark room. She laid up, gazing in horror at the figure that stood in front of her.

“W-Wait.” She pleaded, “I-I didn’t say anything. I swear. Please. Just…”

“I’m… I’m sor-” Her voice was halted violently by the sharp end of a crowbar, which pierced completely through her throat and impaled her into the wall. She gasped for air, struggling and writhing in place. Every breath bubbled and sprayed blood in front of her, staining her otherwise white room crimson red.

“Sor-ry.” Flutter Doo gargled, a tear running down her face. Her attacker leaned forward, that sick smile still on her face. She pulled the crowbar from Flutter Doo’s neck and threw it to the side. With a knife in her mouth she began carving into her neck. Blood poured from the wound with each motion and, eventually, after a few minutes of sawing, the head was completely separated. The attacker dropped the knife onto the floor and picked up Flutter Doo’s head by the mane. She brought the bloody lump outside and skipped gleefully to town square, setting it carefully under a tree. The attacker left a note next to it.

On it, written carefully with blood, read, “Trust is an important thing, isn’t it?”

…

That morning went off worse than the rest. Flutter Doo’s head was found relatively early, and the poor filly that found it panicked more than most ponies would’ve. The police quickly moved in to control the scene, but everypony was getting slightly anxious. That was three days in a row. Three dead ponies. Three lost friends. Twilight woke to the sound of a knock on her door. She didn’t bother to pretty herself up; it was probably one of her friends anyway. Maybe Pinkie Pie needed help with that party of hers. Of course, fate is cruel, and it was only bad news that met her.

“Again?” Twilight shook her head, saddened, “You’ve got to be kidding.”

“This one was more… Brutal is the word, I guess.” Rainbow Dash sighed, “Left a note this time.”

“A note…?” This was the break Twilight needed. A note. That would work wonders, “What did it say?”

“Something about trust, or so I’ve heard.” Rainbow Dash shrugged, “It’s sick.”

“Listen, I’m sorry but…” Twilight smiled nervously, “I need to do something real quick.”

“Oh, sure.” Rainbow Dash fluttered her wings and drifted away, “See ya’ later. I‘ll be at Applejacks if you need anything.”

“Yeah.” Twilight closed the door and began pacing in circles, “Trust. That’s what this is about. Trust.”

“But… No.” Twilight stopped head in her tracks, “No… No it couldn’t be-”

“Flutter Doo mentioned that Mocha ‘Betrayed her trust’…” Twilight fixed her mane magically, ensuring it laid the way she normally left it, “That would mean that… Bon Bon knows more than she’s letting on, at least. If Flutter Doo was killed because she told me too much… That means I’m also probably a target.”

Twilight sighed audibly. This was getting far more complicated than it needed to. It was all slowly coming together, but… She couldn’t make any accusations without solid evidence.

…

“Bon Bon?” Applejack noticed Bon Bon cleaning something off of her hooves in the river near her farm. She didn’t think much of it, but thought she’d ask anyway. There wasn’t anything that could be made out clearly from where Applejack was standing, but Bon Bon seemed pretty panicked, “Everythin’ alright, sugarcube?”

“Oh. Applejack.” Bon Bon responded, a cold sound behind her words, “What’re you doing out so early…?”

“Workin’ the farm, silly.” Applejack chuckled, “You doin’ okay?”

“Yes. Quite well, actually.” Bon Bon moved something submerged underwater closer to her left hoof. She stepped on whatever it was, grabbing onto it. Applejack noticed a substantial amount of blood running down river, and her eyes widened.

“Hey! Is everythin’ okay?” Applejack rushed to Bon Bon’s side, hoping to help with whatever the problem was, “That’s an awful lot o-”

Applejack felt a sharp pain in her chest, and felt a warm liquid flow down her front left leg. She looked down and gazed horrifically at the knife that was plunged into her, with Bon Bon’s hoof on the other end.

“It… Was… You…?” Applejack cringed as Bon Bon pulled the knife out violently.

“You. You have a lover, no?” Bon Bon smiled longingly at the dripping knife, giving Applejack a hate filled stare, “You know of ‘love’?”

“W-What…?” Applejack fell forward, struggling to stay upright. A lot of blood was pouring from the wound. It must’ve hit an important artery.

“You’ve put your heart out for somepony?” Bon Bon sadistically chuckled, “No!? Let’s fix that.”

Applejack cried out in agony as Bon Bon plunged the blade back into her chest. She began pulling downward, cutting a massive, bloody opening. Applejack tried to thrash and writhe, but Bon Bon had her pinned down sufficiently. With one fabled motion, Bon Bon tore Applejack’s heart from her body, laughing as blood exploded from the hole. The light left Applejack’s eyes almost instantly, but a faint word or two made it out at the last second.

“Dashie… I love.”

…

Rainbow Dash had made plans with Applejack the day prior, and she certainly didn’t want to skip out. She had a date, and she’d been looking forward to it all day. She flew to the Apple orchid and looked around for a few moments. Applejack wasn’t in sight. Maybe she was working out back.

“Hey, Big Mac!” Rainbow Dash called out, waving, “Where’s Applejack?”

“Should be out back.” He responded, giving Rainbow dash a nod.

“Alright, thanks.” She smiled.

“E’yup.”

Rainbow Dash went out back, just as Macintosh had said. She didn’t see Applejack immediately, but noticed a blonde mane laying on the ground by the river. Her eyes widened, and she blindly ran toward it.

“A-Applejack!” Rainbow Dash called out, stumbling over her own hind legs, “Hey, are you okay?”

Rainbow Dash collapsed to her knees as she gazed upon her dearest friend. Her lips twitched, and her eyes began to water up profusely. She screamed let the tears flow unhindered.

“Applejack! Answer me! Applejack! Please!” Rainbow Dash cried, shaking her friend furiously, “No… Nonono… You’re not dead. You can’t be… Please… Answer me.”

“Applejack!”

“Please!”

“Applejack!”

“Don’t die…”

“Please…”

“I can’t…”

“No… No…”

…

Rainbow Dash was quickly discovered by Macintosh, who responded almost immediately to her shriek. He gasped in horror at his mangled sister, but nonetheless tried to pull Rainbow Dash back.

“No!” Rainbow dash thrashed Macintosh off of her, embracing her fallen friend once more. She was crying loudly, and it wasn’t long before others came to discover the cause of such a tragic sound. Eyes widened. Denials were attempted. News spread quickly to the police, and the quickly rushed to control the scene. One officer attempted to pull Rainbow Dash away from the scene, but she kept forcing herself back to her friend’s side.

“Don’t touch me!” Rainbow Dash shrieked, “Please! Stop!”

“Ma’am…” The officer motioned at a few others to help him.

“No! Nononono!” Rainbow Dash thrashed as she was dragged away from Applejack. Ponies looked on in horror, watching the shattered Pegasus torn from her closest friend. Everything was silent except for the painful, heartbreaking cries. Twilight Sparkle rushed to the farm the moment she caught wind of what had happened. She ran into Fluttershy, Rarity and Pinkie Pie along the way. They, too, were in a panicked hurry. They heard the echoing cries of their friend and knew that they had come to the right place.

“Rainbow Dash!” Rarity called out, “What’s happened!?”

“She’s gone!” Rainbow dash shrieked, “She’s dead! Applejack is dead!”

“I’m… Just… Calm down… “ Twilight had heard exactly that, but she didn’t want to believe it. Nopony did. Not a single one.

“Don’t tell me to calm down!” Rainbow Dash slapped Twilight’s hoof away, shaking the tears from her face. Fluttershy was covering her mouth, weeping nearly as heavily as Rainbow Dash.

“No… This can’t be true.” Pinkie Pie shook her head violently, “No. It can’t be. It couldn’t be.”

“This is my fault.” Twilight bit her lip, trying to fight the tears that she knew would fall, “I had a suspect but didn’t act. This is all my fault…”

“And… D-Do we know who did it…? I mean…” Fluttershy was struggling to find the words she was saying. Her sentences were broken, stuttered and interrupted by gasps for breath.

“They have no idea…” Rarity sighed, wiping the tears from her face, “This is… I don’t believe this.”

That day was a day of mourning. Nopony opened their shops. Nopony came to work. Nothing. Everypony had lost a friend, not just Rainbow Dash. Applejack held a special place in everypony’s heart, and she could never be replaced. Twilight and company stayed with Rainbow Dash during the entire ordeal. They tried to console her as best as they could, but it was rather difficult when you yourself needed the same attention. After hours upon hours; after their eyes could pour no more tears, the group attended the memorial. Just as everypony did.

“We’re gathered hear this evening to remember a certain pony. One who holds a special place in all of our minds, I’m sure.” The chief of police stated, shaking his head, “Applejack was found earlier this morning, brutally murdered by an unknown criminal. Rest assured, we’re trying our hardest to find whoever is responsible for this… This… Tragedy. I hand this off to Rainbow Dash.”

“I’m sure I speak for all of us when I say that we’ve lost an important part of our lives. Applejack was a loyal friend, and a fierce companion.” Rainbow Dash managed her false composure quite well, speaking with a bit of reassurance in her voice, “She was selfless. She was kind. And above all else; she was our friend. Now’s the time for mourning; I accept that. But… She wouldn’t want us wasting our lives missing her. I know most of all that she would want to be remembered as that lovable farm pony that never backed down from anything, not as a tragic loss. No matter how true it is. That’s… That’s all.”

“Rainbow Dash…” Twilight looked down with the rest of the ponies, “Typical of you to be the strongest in a time of tragedy.”

“Where are you, you son of a bitch?” Twilight muttered to herself as she weaved through the crowd. In the back, wearing a blank expression stood Bon Bon. Twilight approached her in a confronting manner, pushing her back a few steps, “You!”

“W-What?” Bon Bon reared back, a scared look on her face.

“You did this! It was you! It’s always been you!”

“I have no idea what you-”

“Stop lying!” Twilight slammed a hoof into the ground, “I know it was you, you sick bastard!”

“How dare you accuse me of such a thing!” Bon Bon tried her hardest to hide the smirk she wanted so much to make, “She was a friend to all of us. Including me.”

“Liar!” Twilight slammed one of her hooves into Bon Bon’s face, forcing a bit of blood onto the floor. A police officer quickly arrived and broke up the scene, forcing the two away from each other.

“What’s going on here?” He asked, struggling to keep an aggravated Twilight in place.

“She accused me of doing this… Disgusting act!” Bon Bon sounded slightly shocked.

“On what basis…?” The officer turned toward Twilight, who clenched her teeth in anger.

“She… Mocha… And Lyra… They… I don’t…” Twilight couldn’t find a way to explain what she was trying to say. In her head, she knew exactly what needed to be brought up. All of the circumstances that pointed to Bon Bon’s guilt. Something was holding her back. A bit of uncertainty, possibly.

“That’s what I thought.” Bon Bon turned away, annoyed, “How dare you disrespect Applejack like this.”

“What!?” Twilight was offended. Quite heavily. Bon Bon quickly turned the table and made her seem like the bad guy. Clever bitch, “I’m not-”

“Just drop it, Twilight.” Rarity pulled her away, not sure exactly who was making everything up. She certainly hoped that Bon Bon didn’t do it, but she didn’t think her friend was a liar either. The topic wasn’t brought up much more than that, and the rest of the day was peacefully morbid. Pinkie Pie had whipped up a rather good tasting dinner, which was ate in a saddening moment of silence. After all that, the five of them returned to their homes. Fluttershy went to bed almost immediately, not wanting to think about anything that was. Rarity postponed a shipment of dresses, as she was in no mood to work. Her clients would need to understand that. Pinkie Pie stuffed her face into a pillow and wept until she fell asleep. Twilight, though, she didn’t sleep. She was up and about, looking over everything. Newspaper articles, mostly. Everything pointed to Bon Bon, but there was that solid piece of proof missing. Eventually, she knocked out on her desk, piles of paper underneath her.

…

Apple Bloom was awake much later than she normally was. Her eyes were swollen with tears and her breath was stuttered in a rhythmic pattern. She’d lost her sister. Her precious sister. Sure, they got in arguments. Sure, they had their disagreements. That’s what sisters do. They still loved each other. Most of her family had fallen asleep. They were all so very exhausted. Something kept Apple Bloom awake, though. Maybe it was that fact that she could hardly breathe? That’s probably it.

“Now this is simply tragic.” A cold voice said from behind.

“W-What?” Apple Bloom shook the tears from her face, looking around the room, “W-Who’s there?”

“I’d like to apologize for doing this to you, little one.” Bon Bon slowly wandered out of the shadows, smirking slyly, “She just saw things she shouldn’t have…”

“S-So… Twilight Sparkle was right!” Apple Bloom hopped off of her bed, taking a few steps back, “Mom! Da-”

“Shut up.” Bon Bon covered Apple Bloom’s mouth with a tattered rag, gagging her silent, “We can’t have anyone interrupting me… Now can we?”

“Mmmph…!” Apple Bloom struggled in place, trying to break free from Bon Bon’s surprisingly strong grasp. Bon Bon wasted no time at all, and pulled a knife from saddle she was wearing.

“I’m sorry about this, little one.” Bon Bon smiled, “This is just too fun.”

“Mmph!” Apple Bloom groaned as the knife plunged into her chest, throwing a bit of blood upward. Bon Bon began forcing the blade downward, creating a massive gash running down Apple Bloom’s body.

“M… Mmp…” Apple Bloom twitched as her eyes rolled back. Blood began to soak the rag in her mouth, and it wasn’t long before it began to pour from her mouth. Bon Bon began laughing slightly as she threw innards left and right, spraying blood over every surface possible. No longer did she kill for a purpose. Instead, she was acting out of pure thrill. Pure excitement. Pure enjoyment. This was evident in the way she left the corpse. Mangled. Much less controlled.

“Hah… Haha.” Bon Bon dipped a hoof into the pool of blood underneath her and began scribbling on the wall.

“She missed her sister.”

…

As if there was anypony that wasn’t already torn into several emotional pieces, the death of a young filly would surely spark it. Poor Apple Bloom was found dead early in the morning, as life on a farm started early. The horrific scene caused quite a ruckus around the farm, and it wasn’t long before news spread to everypony. Twilight, of course, was particularly affected by the knowledge. She couldn’t help but ask herself why. Why would anypony harm an innocent filly? Especially Apple Bloom. What did she ever do? Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo were kept at Rarity’s. They understood what was going on, and they certainly didn’t need to be anywhere near the farm.

“This has gone too far.” Twilight said to herself as she stormed into the Police station. She wouldn’t let this go on any further. Nopony else needed to die. Not anymore. This was just too much. Of course, not a single officer believed her. They all just laughed it off as some sort of personal gripe between the two. Nothing more.

“I’m probably next.” Twilight bluntly stated.

“Oh?” The officer chuckled, “And why do you think that?”

“Gut feeling. Never steered me wrong before.” Twilight frowned, looking over her shoulder. Nothing yet. Good.

“Just get home an’ rest, Twilight.” Another Officer smiled, “You look tired.”

“If you find me dead in the morning…” Twilight fought a tear of fear, holding it back as best as she could, “Tell my friends to watch their backs.”

“Right, right.” The officer nodded, motioning her away. He gave her a goodnight and shut the door behind her, hoping he’d not see her again.

“Where the hell are you…?” Twilight was delightfully paranoid, looking over her shoulder at even the slightest of sounds. She made it to her home in one piece, thankfully, and locked every bolt on her door. There was no way that Bon Bon could get in without her knowing. After all, the library had only one door. The windows were locked tight as well. No way in. Perfect. Wonderful. The day passed in it’s now normal fashion. Grieving was done. Remembrance was acted out. The sun began to set, and everypony went to bed. Everypony except Twilight. She was far too busy being concerned with her own survival.

“You won’t win.” Twilight groaned to herself. She was growing more and more tired, and was running out of ways to keep herself awake. Reading and interesting book wasn’t helping. When reading doesn’t help Twilight, there’s a problem. Although, as time went on, it became too difficult to keep her eyes open. She collapsed onto a paper she’d been scribbling on and fell into a much needed rest. Which, unfortunately, led to an entirely new set of problems. No longer was it just about staying awake. That was a game of the past. This was survival. Would Bon Bon decide to target her? Or was she really accusing the wrong pony? She did not know.

…

There’s that smell. Back again. It’s distinct, the smell of blood. It burns the nostrils in a most unique way, and it usually leaves a taste. Not a pleasant one, either. Twilight slowly peeled her eyes open, but quickly squinted as she was met with a bright light. A brightly burning lamp, relatively close to her face.

“Morning, Sunshine.” Bon Bon chuckled, setting the lamp on the table, “How’d you sleep?”

“What… What is this…?” Twilight felt a sharp pain in several places as true consciousness introduced itself. One was on her head. Her horn was removed, and the wound was dripping blood into her eyes. On top of that, in each of her legs, a large hook pierced through several important muscles. These hooks lifted her above a pool of her own blood. She was effectively immobile, defenseless, and dead.

“This… This is dealing with a thorn in my flank.” Bon Bon smiled slyly, taking a few steps back, “You know too much, darling.”

“This is… You’re insane!” Twilight tried to struggle, but that sharp pain told her otherwise. Instead, she merely twitched in place.

“No… Well… Maybe.” Bon Bon placed a hoof onto a table and pulled from it a large cleaver. It was clean and polished. Probably sharpened as well. Twilight looked on in horror as she watched her demise prepare.

“You’re going to…?”

“Yes.”

“And there’s nothing I can…?”

“No.”

“Can you at least explain!?” Twilight was shivering with fear, on top of a twitch due to blood loss.

“I guess I can give you that.” Bon Bon frowned, “Be quick.”

“Why?” Twilight pleaded, “Why do this at all!?”

“Well, you like to get straight to the point, don’t you? Alright.” Bon Bon searched through her shattered mind for the answer, “Lyra. Lyra started it. She and that… Stupid fuck Mocha Bean! She cheated on me. Lyra cheated on me. She said I was losing my ‘passion’ or some shit. Said Mocha was much less of a ‘downer’.”

“You… You killed them because Lyra cheated on you!?” Twilight was shocked. Such a trivial matter sparked this horrific chain of events?

“Of course I did! Wouldn’t you? If the only pony you’ve ever connected with shattered your heart?”

“No!” Twilight shook her head, which hurt more than it needed to, “Those are lives! Innocent lives!”

“No. You’re wrong. You’re wrong. You. Are. Wrong. And then Flutter Doo told you too much… She had to go.”

“And A-Applejack!?” Twilight was getting progressively weaker. Far too much blood was pouring from her body.

“She saw me wash the blood from my hooves. She just had to go.” Bon Bon noticed the weakening Twilight and decided to speed things up, “Apple Bloom was for fun, honestly. No real reason for that.”

“Y-You’re sick… You’re sick…” Twilight shut her eyes, letting the tears flow from her face. She would never see her friends again. Never. No more cynical jokes from Rainbow Dash, poking fun at her various quirks. No more parties thrown by the eccentric Pinkie Pie. No more advice from the well-informed Rarity. No more love and understanding from Fluttershy. No more anything. She just let every bit of pent up emotion out at once.

“Now this is… Unexpected.” Bon Bon admitted, gazing at her delightfully sharp cleaver, “You almost make me feel bad.”

“Please! I don’t want to d-” Then there was silence. Bon Bon had forced the blade deep into Twilight’s throat, pulling down with a tremendous amount of force. Twilight quickly lost consciousness as the blade tore through various important innards. As Bon Bon made her way down, everything began to find it’s way out of Twilight’s body. Blood and organs poured their way into the ground, splashing in a most unpleasant way.

“Now aren’t you pretty?” Bon Bon chuckled throwing the knife to the side, “I wonder what Rarity will think…? I guess we’ll find out, won’t we?”

“Not so high and mighty now, are you?”

…

News of Twilight’s disappearance didn’t spread until he afternoon of the next day. Pinkie Pie needed help setting up that party she had been planning, but there was no answer at the door. She noticed it was unlocked and wandered inside, hoping a prank would soon follow. Maybe a bucket of water? Yeah, that would be great. Much to her dismay, however, she found the entire library in a state of disorder. Books were thrown about in various places and there was an unfinished cup of coffee sitting atop a note.

“What’s this…?” Pinkie Pie titled her head in confusion, pushing the cup off of the letter. It was unfinished, she noticed. There were several lines crossed out, and Pinkie Pie couldn’t make out a single word out of any of them. Although, near the bottom, there was an unfinished statement or two.

“If you’re reading this, I’m dead. It’s Bon Bon. It has always been her. Do me a favour and…” Past that, it was unfinished. This was a disconcerting fact. Why had she left it unfinished? Pinkie Pie hadn’t a clue. The first statement was a slightly disturbing one, and Pinkie had no idea whether or not it was credible. Twilight couldn’t be dead. She decided to take the thing and bring it first to Rarity, who she had already planned on visiting.

“Oh, morning Pinkie.” Rarity opened her door, clenching a bit of fabric in her teeth, “Where’s Twilight?”

“I ‘dunno…” Pinkie Pie shook her head vigorously, shrugging slightly. She handed Rarity the letter and frowned, “She left this.”

“But this… This is a problem.” Rarity dropped what she was doing and bit her lip, “We need to go.”

“What’s wrong, Rarity?” Pinkie Pie was innocently confused by Rarity’s sudden urgency, but followed her obediently. Pinkie was aware of the severity of what she had discovered, but she couldn’t bear to face what she feared was true. Her friend was gone. Another one. She had only so many left. Rainbow Dash hadn’t come down from Cloudsdale since Applejack, and Fluttershy was an emotional wreck. It was just Rarity, Twilight and Pinkie. The three musketeers. She couldn’t accept that Twilight was gone. Not the slightest. The two eventually arrived at the police station and barged in, slamming the note down onto the table.

“This is…?” One of the officers glanced down, skimming over the hastily scribbled note.

“She came to you again, didn’t she?” Rarity shook her head, her eyes tearing up, “You ignored her again, didn’t you!?”

“So… She’s missing?” The officer shook his head, clearly feeling guilty. They had ignored pleas for help, which is exactly the opposite of what they stand for. Although they hoped not to find anything suspicious, the police did agree to at least question and search Bon Bon’s home. They didn’t expect to find anything, but… Just in case. It was worth a try. A few knocks on her door echoed in silence, which was a disconcerting fact, “Well that’s… Admittedly suspicious.”

“She should be home…” Another officer noted, looking around the neighboring areas.

“Fuck it.” The first slammed the door open with his hind leg, chuckling slightly. The house was dark. Still. It seemed like Bon Bon had just bailed in the middle of doing something important. Recently, even, as there was still a cup of hot coffee sitting on the kitchen table. Nopony just leaves everything so… Hectic. Something certainly was off.

“You two stay out here…” One of the officers pushed Rarity back, shaking his head. Rarity reluctantly agreed, and stayed out front with Pinkie Pie. The two officers moved their way carefully through the house, searching every room. There wasn’t anything suspicious, other than maybe slightly more sharp utensils than a normal pony would have. Maybe she cooked exotic foods? Who knows? It didn’t raise all that much suspicion. That is, until one of the officers caught a whiff of a rather rotten, metallic odor. They followed the smell to a small, beaten door. It was creaked open, as if somepony had just left the room as quickly as possible. That, of course, brought forth a few questions of its own. The two curious officers made their way down, but were immediately met with a horrid smell. Decay. Something was dead down there, and it had been for at least 12 hours.

“This is…!?” On officer took a few steps back, putting a hoof over his mouth. Hanging in front of him was the mangled, decaying corpse of a bloodied Twilight Sparkle. Scratched into the ground in front of the pool of blood underneath her was a slightly disturbing note. It read: ’Keep an eye on Rarity and Pinkie. They’ll probably be the first to notice that little note. Love, Bon Bon.’

“Go back and check on those two.” The obviously higher ranked officer quickly commanded, “Now! Go!”

The other officer nodded in a haphazard manner and quickly darted up the stairs. Things had fallen apart quickly, and both of them felt helpless and weak. The higher ranked officer merely sat gawking at the horror that hung in front of him. How could Bon Bon - No - Anypony do this? He noticed an expression of fear in Twilight’s blank eyes. Although, hidden within her empty gaze lie a sense of acceptance. She didn’t want to die, but she accepted that she was going to.

“They’re gone.” The second officer called from upstairs, “They’re both just… Gone.”

“Shit.” The first shook his head, leaving Twilight where she was. He would call in a team to clean up once the issue at hand was resolved.

…

Rarity opened her eyes and found herself in a damp, dimly lit room. She felt ill, and could hardly lift her head to look around. When she finally did manage to tilt her head upward, she found herself strapped tightly to a chair. Each of her legs had been shattered by some unidentified object, and they pulsated with a sharp tear inducing pain. Pinkie Pie was in a similar state, but she hadn’t regained consciousness.

“Finally! God damn, you two aren’t exactly physically powerful are you?” Bon Bon smiled, “Man, even Twilight woke up faster than you two.”

“Wha… What is this!?” Rarity tried to wriggle in place, but her legs screamed in agony. There would be no moving on her part.

“You and your friends just had to complicate things…” Bon Bon smiled widely at a sharp knife that lie next to Rarity, “I don’t have any time for finesse, so I’ll be quick with this, okay?”

“No… No, wait.” Rarity eyes widened as she saw Bon Bon approach with the blade. Tears began flowing from her face, and the pleading began almost immediately. Pinkie Pie’s eyes slowly peeled open, and she opened her mouth in shock as she saw Rarity.

“Rarity! What’s… What’s going on!?”

“Pinkie! It’s…” Rarity shook her head, “It’ll be fine, okay? It’ll all be fine. What ever happens to me… You don’t give up? Okay? Answer me!”

“O-Okay…” Pinkie Pie nodded, tears flowing from her eyes.

“Take care of Sweetie Belle… And… Just… Be good, okay?”

“Rarity… No…” Pinkie Pie shook her head, “Rarity!”

“I’m so-” Rarity was silenced with a knife to the neck. Bon Bon carved left and right; Rarity’s body twitched with every slice. The horrid sounds of gargling and ripping muscle tore through Pinkie Pie’s frantic weeping. Eventually, the sound of a massive flow of blood onto the floor filled the air. Then, silence.

“Hey… Doesn’t she look so pretty?” Bon Bon placed a hoof under Pinkie Pie’s chin and lifted it up, forcing her to gaze upon Rarity’s severed head.

“No!” She struggled, bearing through the pain of her broken legs, “They’re all gone! All of them…!”

“Not all of them, hun… Just most of them…” Bon Bon chuckled, shaking the bloody knife clean, “Damn Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy don’t show their faces anymore… Might just let them live. Depends on how bored I get.”

“You… Why…? Why? I don’t understand…” Pinkie Pie shook her head, thinking of her friends. She’d never see them again, and that was upsetting. No more parties. No more cupcakes. No more… Anything. Bon Bon laughed a bit and jabbed the knife deep into Pinkie Pie’s chest. She pulled it side to side. Over and over and over. Pinkie twitched and screamed in agony, trying in vain to move away from the pain. The trashing slowed to a stop, and both halves of her body were separated.

“There…” Bon Bon smiled, turning toward the staircase. She knew she was pressed on time, and therefore needed to get moving as quickly as possible. The police were probably hot on her trail, and it wouldn’t be long before they noticed that Lyra’s home was unlocked. The smell of blood would lead them down here, and, well… She needed to be far away when that happened. The Everfree forest was a good place… Wide open, dense. Close to Fluttershy’s home. Maybe she could get her to come outside. She would be so much fun to gut… Such an adorable little pony, “One thing at a time, Bonnie.”

…

Rainbow Dash had locked herself inside of her home in Cloudsdale since the incident with Applejack. She hadn’t left for anything other than a grocery trip to the local market. Even that only happened once. Most of her time was spent sulking in her own depression, staring out of her window. She didn’t really have any friends in Cloudsdale, and Fluttershy hadn’t left her house either. Instead, the both of them mourned in unison, ignorant of the other.

“Maybe I’ll go see Pinkie Pie…” Rainbow Dash said to herself, shaking the fringe into her mane, “She always manages to cheer me up.”

“Yeah… That’s a good idea.” She nodded, walking slowly toward her door. Just as she moved to push it open, a subtle knock sounded upon its surface. It was a delicate knock, and Rainbow Dash probably wouldn’t have heard it if she weren’t standing right next to the door. She slowly pushed the door upon and was met with the weakly smiling face of Fluttershy.

“Uhm… Hi, Rainbow Dash… Uhm…” Fluttershy softly said, looking to the side, “I just… Uhm… Wanted to see how you were doing, or something…”

“Oh, alright.” Rainbow Dash stepped back, surprised that Fluttershy left the safety and solitude of her own home, “Come on in.”

Fluttershy did just that, and treaded carefully inside. It had been a while since she had been to Cloudsdale, and was quite used to typical solid ground. Fluttershy looked a bit eager, yet also looked a bit ill. Something was bothering her, clearly, and she didn’t just come to say hello. Rainbow Dash knew this, but decided to let Fluttershy do the talking.

“Uhm… Listen.” Fluttershy bit her lip, looking down, “Rarity and Pinkie Pie are… They’re…”

“No…”

“It’s… They were found in Lyra’s basement and…” Fluttershy began to break into tears. It was just the two of them left. Every single one of their friends had been wiped out in a matter of days. Rainbow Dash quickly consoled her friend, allowing her to cry on her shoulder. There were no words to say, really. It was just them, and there was nothing either of them could do, “They haven’t even caught her yet…”

“This is wrong…” Rainbow Dash shook her head, letting the tears flow down her face. Neither of them were emotionally prepared for all of this tragedy. Especially not Fluttershy. Rainbow Dash could at least fake a pretty good smile, power through her day. Fluttershy could not. Not even close. When she was feeling sad, she was really feeling sad. The two of them eventually made their way onto Rainbow Dash’s bed, in search of a more comfortable spot to weep. Thoughts raced through the both of their heads faster than they wanted to. Every memory they shared with their friends flashed before them, bringing more and more tears to their faces. Rainbow Dash remembered when she first met Twilight Sparkle. How she thought she was such a dork. Fluttershy remembered all of the parties Pinkie would throw just to cheer her up, usually through unhealthy consumption of cupcakes. All of the generosity Rarity shared with the both of them. All the dresses she made in attempts to beautify them. Rainbow Dash remembered every night she spent with Applejack; all the time they spent just talking. If ever she had a problem, Applejack could fix it. No matter how big or small, silly or reasonable. Applejack could fix it. Now, all of their attention turned toward each other. How thankful they were that at least they were alive. That at least they had each other.

“Fluttershy… I’m… Sorry.” Rainbow Dash took a deep breath, shaking the tears from her face, “They wouldn’t want us to be like this…”

“It’s… I’ll be okay…” Fluttershy smiled, somewhat nervously, “As… As long as I… Have you.”

“Wh… That’s…” Rainbow Dash didn’t know exactly how to take what she just heard, but Fluttershy’s blushing face was a good indicator. Did she just confess? How long had she been holding that back? Rainbow Dash blushed in response, but couldn’t find any words to express her feelings. They had always been there, at least somewhat. But Applejack… She was… Rainbow Dash quickly became confused, but didn’t exactly fight what happened after. Push came to shove and the two did a few things that they didn’t exactly regret. A few hours passed, the sun began to hide behind the horizon, and Fluttershy decided that it was high time she headed home.

“Are you sure?” Rainbow Dash asked, a worried look on her face, “You can stay here if you want.”

“No… I should go…” Fluttershy shook her head, “I need to make sure that Sweetie Belle gets to Scootaloo’s house alright.”

“Is she staying with you…?” Rainbow Dash frowned, feeling sympathy for the little filly. She lost one of her closest friends and her sister within a week. That isn’t healthy.

“For now, yes.” Fluttershy sighed, “I really should get going… I can’t leave that filly home alone. It’s not safe anymore…”

“And you traveling alone is better?” Rainbow Dash slapped her lightly on the back, “At least let me make sure you get home alright.”

“Yeah… Okay.” Fluttershy smiled. For whatever reason, these two were doing a great job at acting at least remotely okay. There was no way that they would get over all that had happened in some time, but they could at least try and make each other feel better, right? That’s what their friends would’ve wanted; they were sure of that. The trip down to Fluttershy’s home wasn’t a long one, only a few minutes. Sweetie Belle greeted Rainbow Dash in a slightly dejected manner, which was completely understandable. They walked her to Scootaloo’s in a timely manner, hoping to get her there before dark. Of course, they did without much of a problem.

“Try to enjoy yourself… Okay?” Fluttershy patted Sweetie Belle on the back.

“Yeah…” She shook her head, fighting the tears she so desperately wanted to fall.

“Listen, kid.” Rainbow Dash kneeled down next to Sweetie, “I know it’s tough; Trust me. We both lost someone very important to us. But you and I both know that she wouldn’t want you sulking.”

“That’s easy for you to say.” Sweetie Belle scoffed, looking away.

“No, no it’s not.” Rainbow Dash reassured her, rubbing her hoof through Sweetie’s mane, “Just… Have fun, kiddo.”

Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy waved a worried goodbye and slowly wandered back to Fluttershy’s house. It was getting late, and the both of them were far more tired than they needed to be. They arrived promptly at her house and sighed.

“Well… I’ll see you tomorrow… Right?” Fluttershy asked, shoveling some dirt with her hoof.

“Yeah.” Rainbow Dash smiled, sighing in relief. She had been crying for far too long. It was nice to finally take a break from it. Fluttershy pushed her door open and stepped inside. Rainbow Dash turned and prepared to fly back to her home, but she heard a slight thud behind her. She turned to the noise and gasped in horror; Fluttershy had collapsed.

“Fluttershy!” She called out, quickly running to her side, “Are you al-”

A sharp pain struck the back of her head, and then there was nothing.

…

Rainbow Dash shook the unconsciousness from her body and looked around the room. She was in Fluttershy’s basement, presumably, but she couldn’t see more than a few meters in front of her. The room was barely lit by a small candle or two.

“Flutter… Shy…” Rainbow Dash felt weak, and could barely utter out what words she could. She was bleeding rather profusely from the back of her head, and it clearly wasn’t helping her much.

“So you’re awake?” Bon Bon smiled, playfully slapping a crowbar left and right, “That took a while.”

“You… What did you do…?” Rainbow Dash tried to break the ropes that bound her in place, but couldn’t make much progress, “Where’s Fluttershy…?”

“Oh she’s right here.” Bon Bon turned to a bloodied and beaten Fluttershy, “Had a bit of fun before you woke up.”

“Please…” Fluttershy softly pleaded, breathing hard, “No more…”

“What’s that?” Bon Bon asked, preparing the dripping crowbar for another round, “How about more? How does that sound?”

“No… No… Please.” Fluttershy shook her head weakly. Her face was bruised and dripping with blood, and tears were flowing from her face, “No more… No m-”

The air filled quickly with a loud shriek of pain, and Fluttershy writhed in place. A loud crack from her left hind leg, followed by a bloody, shattered bone protruding from it.

“Fluttershy!” Rainbow Dash cried out, “Stop it! Stop!”

“Haha… Haha…” Bon Bon chuckled, turning toward Rainbow Dash, “You want me to stop?”

“Leave her alone!” She responded, tears pouring from her eyes.

“Okay, how about you, then?” Bon Bon skipped over to Rainbow Dash, searching for a good place to start, “How about your legs? No… Should I just kill you now? No, that’s no fun. Ah! How about…”

Rainbow Dash suddenly let out a violent scream, trashing in place heavily. Her left wing cracked loudly as the crowbar brought down on it. Swing after swing, shattering the wing into a more bloody mess. Rainbow Dash groaned out in agony as Bon Bon threw the crowbar to the side and grabbed the broken thing. She pulled and pulled until it ripped violently from her back, splashing blood in every direction. Bon Bon then moved onto the other wing, doing much of the same. Swing. Crack. Swing. Crack. Grab. Rip. Scream. Rainbow Dash had never felt this much pain in her entire life, and wanted it to end as quickly as possible.

“Enough…!” Fluttershy weakly cried, clearly uncomfortable with the amount of pain she was in. She knew exactly what would come as she said that single word, but she didn’t care. Her friend was in pain, and she was willing to bear it for her.

“You two really like making it harder on yourselves, don’t you?” Bon Bon turned back the Fluttershy, smiling widely, “I’m tired of you.”

“No… Nono…” Rainbow Dash gazed on in horror as she saw Bon Bon lift a knife above Fluttershy. She thrashed and thrashed until she felt something she didn’t expect. The rope had loosened, as it must’ve been hastily tied. Whatever the reason, she took the opportunity and broke free from her restraints. She put the crowbar that Bon Bon had left in her mouth and ran at her. The knife began its quick descent down, aimed at Fluttershy’s neck. As it came close, however, Bon Bon was struck in the head, forcing the blade to the side. It, instead, plunged deeply into Fluttershy’s shoulder. Not a complete success, but it was better than nothing.

“You... How did you…!?” Bon Bon could no longer move. Her neck was broken, and her entire lower body was paralyzed in place. She had a look of fear in her eyes, which was slightly ironic. Oh how the tables have turned.

“You…” Rainbow Dash twitched, her body screaming in disapproval, “You killed my friends. My friends.”

“Haha... It was fun. I must admit.” Bon Bon smiled, knowing that she was defeated, “Can’t say it wasn’t worth it.”

“You. Sick. Fuck!” Rainbow Dash struck in unison with each word. Bon Bon’s head was quickly shattered, blood spraying in all directions. Rainbow Dash lost control of her actions and kept swinging until the splatters stopped sounding. She reared back, throwing the blood-covered bar to the side.

“Hah… Hah…” She turned to Fluttershy, limping slightly toward her, “You okay…?”

“No… But… It hurts…” Fluttershy sobbed, glancing at the knife in her shoulder.

“Here… This might hurt.” Rainbow Dash bit down on the blade and took a deep breath, “One. Two. Three…!”

“Nngh.” Fluttershy groaned, clenching her teeth, “I… Can’t…”

“Hey, hold on… Just… Hold on…” Rainbow Dash quickly untied Fluttershy’s restraints and laid her over her back. It hurt to have any weight anywhere near the bloody stubs that were once her wings, but she’d be fine. She limped up the stairs, careful not to let Fluttershy fall off of her. The pain had escalated to an almost unbearable point, but she eventually stumbled her way out of the home.

“Help…!” Rainbow Dash called out as loudly as she could, hoping somepony could hear her. She cried out in somewhat rhythmic patterns, slowly limping her way closer and closer to Town Square.

“No… No… I can’t stop…” Rainbow Dash felt her legs buck, forcing her to the ground, “No… Somepony… Just…”

She slowly shut her eyes, unable to continue. A bit of light coming from her left is the last thing she saw before her mind blacked out.

…

A few days passed in a slightly more relaxed manner. The Crowbar Massacre, as everypony had decided to call it, was finally over. Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy were found collapsed onto the ground in the middle of the night, and they were quickly brought to the hospital. They did their best to patch up the various wounds the both of them had sustained, with Fluttershy’s being the more urgent. Rainbow dash would never fly again, which hit her heart hard. Her dreams of becoming a Wonderbolt were destroyed, and her joy in life was stolen from her. She took this fact surprisingly well, though. At least she was alive. Fluttershy… She was alive too. This made up for it.

“Hey.” Rainbow Dash smiled, glad that Fluttershy’s eyes finally opened.

“H-Hi…” Fluttershy sighed, looking around the room in a relieved manner, “I’m… Really Hungry.”

“Can’t argue with that.” Rainbow Dash chuckled. They were scarred, hungry, and broken. But they were alive. That’s all that mattered, “Let me just do something real quick…”

Rainbow Dash grabbed a pen and pressed it to a paper, hoping her handwriting would be legible enough.

“Dear Princess Celestia,
I’m not sure how much you’ve heard, but a series of tragic events have occurred. The Crowbar Massacre is what everypony is calling it, I guess. It’s finally over, and nopony else will be harmed. I’d like to say how sorry I am that Twilight Sparkle was among the victims. I know how close she was to you, and I wish you the best of luck. I, too, lost somepony close to me. Applejack. I’ll miss her. I’ll probably never stop missing any of them. Applejack, Pinkie Pie, Rarity, Twilight Sparkle, Apple Bloom, Lyra and Mocha Bean. Remember all that they gave to us. The magic of friendship… The magic of love. You find both in places you don’t expect during times of tragedy.

Fluttershy and I are recovering from our injuries, but we’re alive. There’ll be a memorial for all of them soon, and I hope you can make it. Until then,

Rainbow Dash”

…

Months and months passed. Seasons whizzed by and time flowed in its usual way. Proper Burials were had for all 7 of the lives lost, and a memorial was set up in Town Square. Nopony really forgot what happened, but everypony was certainly much happier. Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy moved in together not too long after the incident, partly due to the handicaps they both shared. Rainbow Dash took months to become accustomed to travel without wings, annoyed that she could no longer just fly to wherever she wanted to go. Fluttershy’s broken leg took a while to heal, and she still couldn't really walk on it without limping. Sweetie Belle decided to stay with the two of them not long after that, as she had nopony else to turn to, and they acted as mother figures to the innocent filly. All three were lucky to have lived, and they certainly weren‘t going to waste their lives. Not anymore. Sure, they mourned the loss of their friends that were so heartlessly ripped from them. Sure, their lives would never return to the way they were. That didn’t bother any of them, really. The tragedy brought everypony closer than they ever were before, forcing some unexpected love to spring forth. Love is just a deeper form of friendship, and after all…

Friendship is Magic.