Just Smile

by Fire-Dash

Chapter Four

Chapter Four

“Fear cannot be without hope nor hope without fear.”
-Baruch Spinoza

The morning was terribly still. Silent. So deathly silent that naught a bird chirped, no foals laughed, no mice squeaked. It was the kind of silence you could drown in, a loud silence that made your ears throb and spirit ache. Rainbow sat up, rubbing the sleep away from her eyes. Almost immediately, she knew something was wrong. Very wrong.

Spike came down the stairs, looking around at all the ponies sleeping below. “You all stayed over again?” he asked, looking at Rainbow Dash.

She nodded, though absently. There was something... off. As the others began to wake up, yawning and blinking sleepy eyes, Rainbow found herself counting heads.

One, two, three, four....

She frowned, trying again. One, two, three, four and five including herself. Somepony was missing.

The others seemed to be catching on, noticing the concerned expression on Rainbow's face.

After a long pause, it was Twilight who asked, “Where's Pinkie Pie?”

From there it was all a rush. Just a blur of movement, hooves stomping, wings fluttering. The door was swung open, everypony raced outside, frantic eyes scanning the area, hearts pounding and breathing fast. The streets were full of ponies gathered around. The Mayor seemed to be out in front but nopony was talking. Not that the panicking friends would be able to hear them anyway.

Rainbow pushed and shoved ponies aside, forcing her way to the front of the crowd, drowning in the silence -the loud, loud silence that rung in her ears.

And just like that, everything stopped.

In her frantic fumbling to the front, the blue pegasus had failed to notice the decorated streets, the glittered paths, the signs marked with 'don't worry', 'cheer up' and 'we'll find them'. But now, now she saw everything. For what laid in front of her, directly at her hooves was a tattered, bright pink banner with the words, 'Don't give up, they wouldn't want you to be sad'. Rainbow shook her head. No. She wouldn't believe this. This didn't happen. It couldn't happen!

All around the banner lay broken decorations, torn streamers and popped balloons. Hoofprints, large and small dotted the area, trampling happy-face signs and crushing candies. And, commingling with the glitter, lay tiny specks of red. Rainbow didn't want to think about what had happened here, didn't want to imagine it, didn't want to hear about it. But she couldn't stop the images from entering her mind. Haunting images of her friend, who only wanted to help, taken away and hidden in a dark place nopony could find.

Around her the others gathered, staring with shock and disbelief. Fluttershy started whimpering, perhaps crying softly. Rarity sat down, as if she no longer had the strength to stand. Twilight closed her eyes and Applejack shook her head, repeating the word “no” over and over again.

When the Mayor finally started to speak, Rainbow could hardly hear her.

“This is the third mare to go missing in three days,” she began, her voice strong, as a leader's should be, but with the slightest hint of fear hidden in those words. “As Mayor of Ponyville, I hereby declare a curfew for all ponies, no matter the age, to be set at 8:00 P.M until further notice. This is for your own protection. Until whoever has done this is caught and these mares are found, there will be no ponies out walking late at night. Remain inside, lock your doors and close all windows. We do not know how far this abductor is willing to go.”

She never mentioned any of the mares by name. Rainbow supposed that was because if she said any of them out loud that would make it more real, more terrifying. Ponies would get angry, start crying, blame others, there was no telling the reactions. And everypony knew Pinkie Pie. There wasn't a single soul who wouldn't be hit by this.

The sky clouded over, blocking out the sun. Work that should be done by Pegasai was not going to be done today. Too many distractions, too much on everypony's mind. Every shadow was avoided, mates stuck together like glue. Some ponies remained at the scene to ask the Mayor some questions but otherwise, everypony was off to their home. Rainbow remained still, her friends at her side as they gazed at the decorations, the sparkling glitter, the smiling drawings, the neon-bright balloons.

“She should have known better,” Rainbow said at last, not looking at anypony. “She should have known that if she went out she would....” She couldn't finish. She could feel the tears forming in her eyes but she blinked them away, a fierce anger boiling deep inside.

“You know Pinkie,” Twilight started slowly, her voice soft. “She just wanted everypony to feel better.”

“Why would she do something so stupid?” Rainbow asked, starting to pace now. She wasn't talking to the others, but not quite to herself either. She was talking for the sake of talking, because if she didn't talk, she'd think. And once she started thinking, she'd start imagining, picturing, seeing in her mind all the awful, awful things that could be happening right now to her friend. Every worst-case scenario, every negative outcome-

“Rainbow, stop!”

She didn't look to see who said it. Everything sounded muffled, like she was in a glass case, locked tight and sealed away.

Rainbow closed her eyes tight, trying to shut everything out. This wasn't happening. It couldn't be. Wasn't possible. Pinkie was fine. She never went out. She's at the bakery, at Sugar Cube Corner making sweets for everypony. Everything is just fine. Just fine.

But no matter what she told herself, she knew it wasn't true.

_________________________________________________________________________

Darkness.

Just a big, empty, looming darkness. Filled with the echo of her pounding heart. Pinkie sat up, rubbing her head and feeling something wet on her temple. Blood?

Where was she? Certainly not a place she'd been before. No place in all of Equestria could possibly be this dark. “Hello?” she called. “Anypony home?” She started to walk forward but felt something heavy on her back left leg. It rattled as she moved.

She started running then, not really sure why, just running. To see if the darkness ended, maybe. Something snagged her leg, tripping her and holding her in place. She struggled but couldn't break free. “You know, it's really rude to tie ponies up," she said. "You won't get any visitors if you keep-”

“You'll run away,” a deep voice called, echoing through the dark and bouncing off the walls. “They always leave. Always go away.”

Pinkie jumped to her hooves, looking around but her eyes had not yet adjusted to the gloom. “It's awfully dark in here. Maybe you could turn on a light.”

“Whatever you like,” came the reply and with it a match was struck. The room lit up then and Pinkie found herself backing up, pressing herself against the wall. A tall figure loomed over her, a long black cloak draped over him, his torn, ragged wings folded against his back, the only part of him she could make out. He brought the match over to a lamp hanging from the ceiling and lit it, letting the soft glow fill the chamber.

The room was dusty and dry. Dirt was everywhere. Clumps of it, as though somepony had re-filled several holes, lay in a row along the back wall. Something moved in the corner, huddling into a ball. A chain rattled.

She turned back to her captor, confused, still trying to figure everything out. “Why did you bring me here? Want some decorating done? I can throw you a party, put up some decorations, paint the walls a nicer, happier colour-”

“No!” the hooded figure shouted, startling Pinkie. She scrunched herself up against the wall, ducking her head as he swiped at her. When he missed, he stomped his hoof down on the ground, causing dirt to fly up everywhere. “It should be dark -has to be dark. Dark and he won't find me. Never again.”

“Who won't find you?”

The figure shook his head, turning around and opening a large, heavy door in the back of the room. “Wouldn't think to look in the dark,” he gave a short chuckle. “Not in the dark.”

And with that, he walked out, slamming the door shut behind him.

_________________________________________________________________________

She's got to be out here somewhere! Rainbow thought, weaving around trees and ducking under branches as she flew through the Everfree Forest. She folded her wings quickly to get through a gap, unfurling them again as fast as lightning. A spectrum of colour flowed behind her as she went. Branches caught her face, tugging her fur, scratching her ears, but she didn't even notice. She had to keep flying, keep looking. “Pinkie!” she called, knowing in the back of her mind it was hopeless, that the Lurker would not simply give up his captives. He wouldn't let them cry out. Wouldn't let them hear.

But hope is relentless and Rainbow was determined. She looked for hours that felt like minutes, looked until the sun was setting, until she knew she had to go back.

In the distance, she could hear calling. Her friends, maybe, or a patrol out to fetch her. Why was nopony else looking? Was she the only one who actually cared?

When the sun drifted below the horizon, Rainbow finally started back. She hadn't realized how exhausted she was until she made it to her house. She didn't feel like staying with the others tonight. Tonight all she wanted was to be alone. So the only pony around to blame was herself.

So she wouldn't snap at anypony else.

As tired as she was, sleep was not going to come easy tonight. For every time she closed her eyes, she saw torture. Every time she started to relax, she started to imagine. To see in her head all the horrors that could be going on right now, everything her friend could be going through. She wanted to go out again, to keep looking but the curfew would not allow it.

The pegasus sighed, sitting up on her bed, holding her head in her hooves. Three days. Three mares gone. One of them her close friend, a pony who never wanted anything but to make others smile. That was all. She never deserved this. And now she was gone.

Gone.

When Rainbow finally did get to sleep that night, the dream was there to torment her.

Comments

[Alpha Scorpii]

Remember when I said that your writing style was very good? Forget about that, your writing style is amazing I could almost feel Rainbow's anguish in my own skin. This chapter was great.

I just hope everything goes well at the end... poor Dash

[Fire-Dash]

900123

Thank you so much!

I'm working on the next chapter now.

[Tealove]

So not the right time in my life to read this but I just have to know what happens. I'm scared for Pinkie.