//------------------------------// // Chapter 10: Et Splendor Lunae // Story: Deadpool Kills the My Little Pony Universe // by iamthemithras //------------------------------// "... but... how do you... how do you know this?" "... I just DO. I already told you - I'm NOT THE BAD GUY!!" The glint of light beaming from the metal sheet bounced about, bending the moonlight rays of that cold uneasy evening. Deadpool hid the sword from her, nowhere in sight save for the mark it left brazenly on her neck - Her yellow fur folding lightly against the crease marked by the edge of his blade. "I'm not fishing for anyone's sympathy here - I know I'm a psychopath or whatever but that doesn't mean I'm not doing the right thing! You all just don't know how bad we all have it... if you did you would all be thanking me" {{All your life no one thanked you. You've always been that unknown hero. It's never fair, isn't it?}} The monster stood up, turning away from her gaze "Even YOU would know for a fact that I'm doing the right thing. If you were in my shoes, you'd do exactly the same thing! You just don't see it now, but you will... once you spend your waking life knowing what I do, you will" "Killing is never the right thing..." He took a sharp turn back to her. The utter disgust glaring straight into those hopelessly delirious, naive eyes. He's seen them before all too often - the kind that people cling to when they smell their death coming. These aren't eyes of survivors. These are eyes of sheep. "When you see someone dying and he can't do anything about it... like, a guy bleeding to his death on the floor and there's no way to save him - wouldn't the RIGHT thing to do is to put him out of his misery? What would you do? Scream for help? Pray to god? You'd rather let him bleed out than do the dirty work for yourself, right? No. You wouldn't stop his misery because you would be killing him. You selfish bastard. You're more concerned about keeping your hands clean than stepping up from the crowd and ending his misery. You're the kind that sees an accident but waits for somebody else to act, that's all you are - a crowd looking at a car crash but too stiff to move, waiting for somebody else to be the hero" Silence. "I stood at the sidelines for so long... not anymore. Kid, I'm done sitting my ass off this shitstorm we're in. I didn't think I had the chops to do what needs to be done until eventually I just single-handedly wiped off the Avengers, the X-men... then Conan the Barbarian, Mulan, to fucking Sherlock Holmes! Shit, It's sounds too easy when I say it like that... then again, I guess I'm a product of what I hate so much." "But... we're not dying, Deadpool" Complete silence. The air itself hung cold in anticipation. Irises so black as if light itself escapes his field of vision stare through her very core. Restlessly, the trees outside clash with their own against the wind. The evening crickets themselves participating in otherworldly silence. In that solitary room, the very which she shared with the demon standing at her reach, she stood. Towering. Unwavering. The greatest irony of all this... to gaining great courage, she first gained great fear. In the back of his mind, briefly Deadpool wondered. For Fluttershy, what else is there for her to lose? "... we're living. We're not dying, we're living" Chapter 10: Et Splendor Lunae The moon glows high above, peering over the vast metropolis of the Crystal Empire. The reflection bounding from each surface of the city brings a mesmerizing sight of light - glittering through its inner workings and corridors contrasting the evening darkness. It takes away her breath. The night is beautiful. On the balcony stands Princess Luna alone in her thoughts. Her gaze fixed on the details of the silver moon peering from the sky. The contours of its dusty exterior shining over the city give her a feeling of calm, and strangely nostalgia. The moon is beautiful. Its beauty illuminating over its blemishes, hiding them away from the prying eyes of the earth. She feel the somber silence spread from the crystal city, carrying with it an elated moment of clarity. Her gaze lingered on the majesty before her as hoofsteps clanking with a paced purpose reverb within the hall. A voice, soft and trembling with caution offset the calm the evening gaze provides her. "Your highness..." As his voice seemingly trail off, the princess interrupt his sudden silence "Good evening, Shining Armor. How fare the guards of the news?" He had a pause of choosing his words "Not... very well, your majesty. But they will be ready if it decides to attack. I've personally made sure the guards know what to expect" Luna had a slight glare at this show of bravado. It impacted her the wrong way "No. You will not be ready. Surprise is the fiend's favored weapon and it uses it keenly. We will not know when it will strike again" The captain bows low with an extreme hesitance to pursue the issue further, yet "Your majesty... What happened in Canterlot?" Memories of the mangled bodies of ponies strewn about flooded her thoughts. The royal guards cut like knife through butter, a path of blood making their way to the throne, a body crushed by a fallen pillar, a message written in blood. She snaps herself back to reality and make her gait inside the castle "According to everypony that have seen it - a strange creature single-handedly razed Canterlot to the ground" The stallion follows her, quickening his pace as she does "How did it destroy everything? Wh-What did it look like? Princess?" "I did not see it for myself" she take care not to pound the floor in frustration "Discord is dead" Shining's eyes widen as she interrupts his moment of revelation "If it comes, NO ONE is safe. You must NOT fight. Leave. Save as many ponies as you can. Lead them away from the city as quick as you can, captain" He turns to study her blank expression as they walk. He thinks to himself how strong the princesses must really be to keep a straight face in a crisis like this "So there is no way to fight it then?" "That is why we are here. To find out how we can... Twilight?" They meet Twilight Sparkle in escort with a unicorn of brilliant amber coat, a fiery mane of vivid crimson and yellow stripes, and piercing cyan pupils evidently studying her own appearance in return. "And you must be Sunset Shimmer" She curtsies to her "A pleasure to meet you, Princess Luna" "The pleasure is mine" she turns to Twilight "She is here to help us?" “Yes, she has some ideas – and she thinks it would help if she sees the monster herself” "What? Preposterous. That is too risky" The amber unicorn steps in "Um. I don't have to" she giggled to herself "If it’s alright, I’d like to see for myself what exactly happened. In Canterlot.” Luna read Twilight's expression for a moment then snap her attention back to Sunset "I am sorry but I am not sure that would be wise. I do not believe that the bodies have even been buried yet. Everything happened just this afternoon" Sunset turned to Twilight "Maybe we should ask Princess Celestia instead" "Perhaps you should, but not this evening" she scoffed at this insolence, perhaps too audibly "You must rest for the night and we will continue this in the morrow" She pause and turns to meet all their faces "Forgive me, I must be alone. Captain, I leave them to you. Be ever vigilant" He nods as the princess turn her back from them, making her way to the foyer. As her lonely figure shrink from their vision, Shining can't help but feel the cold of the air itself tug at the bottom of his chest. He spies upon the fiery eyes of his younger sister, Twilight Sparkle, looking upon her guest with a renewed sense of disdain and, as it almost appear to him, inexplicable malice. Lest the fires of Tartarus consume her companion, he steps forward "Well, uh... I’ll uh... uh - I'll get you girls a room. Follow me, this way” After walking past between them, he takes the lead them towards the room reserved for them by Princess Cadence. While he knows it is terribly bad manners to eavesdrop on the young mares, he can't help but pry into the whispers hushing about behind... "What's wrong with you? Why did you say that?" "What do you mean?" "You know exactl--! Asking for Princess Celestia instead?" "Well, what's wrong with that? If Princess Luna won't help us..." "How could you say such a thing to the princess? After what we've just been into-" "Look Twilight. You know the situation we're into, right? We have a monster out there that just destroyed Canterlot and it's loose. There are more important things to worry about than being polite to princesses that won't help" "Sunset! ... A-Are you listening to yourself?!" "SO uh, girls!" he interrupts, pointing to the purple alabaster double doors across them "Cadence had this prepared for you. One room, like you said little sis. So... sleep tight tonight, alright? We've got... long days... ahead of us" A tired chuckle is all she could muster. "Thanks big bro. You sleep tight too" He bows in acknowledgement to her and her guest "Sunset." The mare in the fiery mane returns the gesture as he walk away, taking in the echoes of his hoofsteps clanking in that dead of night. "So... your brother huh? ...Is he single?" "... He's married. To Princess Cadence" "Oh! ...oh." "Come on, let's sleep for now. Shining is right, we have long days ahead of us" “Long days, huh?” Twilight helps herself in the room as the mare in the fiery mane take one more glance at the receding figure of the new princess’ brother. “Wish I could say it’s good to be back” “How long do you reckon before Twilight comes back, sis?” Her little sister snuggling with the covers next to her “Not long sugarcube. Don’t you worry none - If I know Twilight, she’d figure all this out soon” She felt her mane, caressing Applebloom’s delicate forehead“ Why, I bet Twilight has figured something out right now. Everything will be alright, sweetpea” She lets out a weak chuckle, a small comfort for her and the little one. Applejack’s deep green eyes stare back, the moonlight from the window embracing her older sister’s figure like a crown. Entranced for only an instant, she retreats back into her hooves. The thoughts of her family still lingering in her idle mind, she bursts “I really miss Big Mac and Granny Smith” “I miss them too Applebloom” her eyes cast downward at the thought “I miss them too…” The creaking of the door opening echo about the room. They turn. A small figure embossed by the shadows slowly reached out from the crevice. The light peeking from the windowsill reflects back from its eyes in muted surprise “Oh! You guys are awake… sorry” “Spike…” she lets go of her breath “It’s alright” she glances to little filly nuzzling her with an assured smile “We’re both having trouble sleeping anyway” He takes a few steps forward into the dim light, head down and claws fiddling for a bit “You uh.. can I get you guys something? We have some apples downstairs, I can go ahe—“ his eyes widen at the realization ”Oh! Oh, I’m sorry. I-I’m not—I’m really sorry, I’m not thinking right..“ “It’s alright Spike. It’s alright” she betrays a tired sense of surrender “Don’t fret none... each of us is in shock right now, so… it’s alright” By habit he fiddled his claws, dreading the awkward silence. An idea pops up and he suddenly lights up “Oh! I think we have some cake downstairs. I’ll get you guys some! I’ll be right back!” Before she could say a word, Spike made a beeline downstairs faster than you can say “wait”. She smiled to herself and then turns to Applebloom “Spike sure is sweet ain’t he?” Applebloom nods “It sure was nice of Twilight to let us stay here…” she trailed off, seemingly lost in her thoughts “Big sis, are we going to move to one them other farms? At the funeral, Apple Fritter told me we should move in with ‘em” “Jonagold told me the same thing” Applejack studied her face for a while, wondering for a moment if she should ask “Do you want us to move in with them?” The filly looks down in indecision “I don’t know” She looks back up, waiting for what Applejack would say. The older sister for her part already had an answer in mind “Well, I guess it makes sense to help with the farm. We’re Apples after all and we stick together” “Does that mean we’re leaving Ponyville?” Her gaze still fixed on Applebloom, she wrestles in her mind what to say “I…” Leaving means going far away from the rest of their friends - probably for life. They can still find work in Ponyville but what are Apples without working with apples? This is a family tradition for a reason. The choice is obvious, but it ain’t an easy one. “What’ll we do, big sis?” She cradled her tighter as if to stop her from leaving. Unconsciously, her hoof caressed the little filly’s mane delicately “I’ll figure it out, sugarcube. Don’t you worry” The creaking of the bedroom door was sudden like a slam, knocking them out of their reverie. Spike came back carrying two plates, each with a slice of cake balancing on each of his claws “Here you go guys - cake for a midnight snack! Not bad right?” With practiced elegance he placed them on the bed next to their lying figures “Here you go! Go on, it’s great!” “Thank you Spike” AJ murmured as she pushed back the covers of the bed. Her gaze turning to the slice lying delectably on the plate – two yellow sponges joined together by a thin layer of chocolate on top another lined with whipped cream and topped with a single cherry. “This looks really good Spike!” Applebloom took her plate first, the excitement fully obvious on her eyes and lips “Thanks!” “You’re welcome! We have more downstairs - I can get more if you want” “No, that’s fine” Applejack also had to contain her excitement “Thank you very much though” She took a small bite with her spoon – she was right. “What in tarnation…” It’s absolutely delicious. “Spike, this cake is delicious. Who made this?” “Huh?” He stood dumbfounded for a moment. When he finally understood the question, he turned away in embarrassment “umm… I did, actually” “What?!” Applebloom almost stood in astonishment “Spike this is amazing! I didn’t know you could bake this good!” “Ahaha… well, it was hard at first. I wasn’t really good at baking but there were actually good books in the library for baking. I was surprised actually, I thought all the books are the boring stuff” He scratched the back of his head, trying his embarrassment. He wasn’t used to this sort of attention He sat on the bed and swayed his legs for a moment, thinking of something to say “You know, she isn’t here but I’m sure that... even if you didn’t ask her – Twilight would love to have you both stay here as long as you want” he paused, thinking of more to say “or even live here, you know! I’m sure Twilight would love that… now that she’s a princess, I’m sure there are a lot of things she’d need help for – I mean, I take care of enough paperwork as it is! Haha… anyway… just… saying what’s on my mind” He rubbed the back of his head, thinking of something to say. He turned and saw the both of them staring at him with a look of total surprise “What? Did I say something stupid again? I’m sorry, I don’t know what to say right now” “No Spike… You didn’t say something stupid… Thank you” He still didn’t understand but he returned the beaming smile she’s giving “Y-You’re welcome! … Twilight will figure things out, I’m sure of it!” They ate for a while, taking in the peace Spike afforded them. The clanking of the plates, and the smiles on the mares faces were enough to make him feel better. For a while, there were no need for words. When they were done he jumped off the bed “I guess I should leave you guys alone now… goodnight” “Goodnight Spike, Thanks again” In practiced motion he took the plates with him as he gently closed the door behind him, making his way to the kitchen. Without a thought, he starts washing the dishes until he hears someone knocking at the front door. “Huh? Who could that be?” He dries off his claws with a towel then starts towards the door. “It’s like midnight” He whispers as he grip and turn the handle open to the sight of their visitor. The moonlight hid her features for a moment but he recognize that silhouette anywhere – her flowing mane, elegant piercing eyes, that beautiful white coat, and those diamond cutie marks. “Rarity? W-What brings you hear so late?” He can feel the warmth radiating from her graceful smile “I’m doing good, Spike... How are Applejack and Applebloom?” Just the sight of her vivid deep azure eyes gleaming of the stars of that moonlit night takes him aback, stunning him in his place. “Spike?” “Oh! Th-They’re asleep I think…” “Oh… Yes, of course… I mean, may I come in?” “O-Of course!” he holds open the door “Come in, come in, I’ll take you inside” She follows the lead of the spritely young gentledragon before her. They ascend the stairs making their way to the second room floor, then onto a solitary oakwood door slightly ajar peering a glimpse of two mares – one adult, one child – snuggling together under the white sheets of the bed. She beheld the two sisters sleeping soundly in their embrace as Spike opened their bedroom door. The moonlight clothes them like an infant’s blanket, peacefully and delicately still. She smiles and takes in this small respite. ‘At least some of my friends, even for a moment, are at ease’ Her gaze lingers on until she started to become conscious of Spike studying her expression. She motions him to close the door and they begin to leave. “Sorry Rarity, we were just talking earlier, I guess they were really tired” “That’s quite alright, dear” They continue to go downstairs, keeping their steps as silent as they can “I just wanted to see if how they are faring” The scales on the little dragon’s face appear harder somehow to her. His green eyes stared back at her, perhaps studying the lines forming up below her own tired eyes. “How about you, Spike? How are you faring these past few days?” “Huh?” He stares back and scratches his head for a bit “Uhh… good, I… I guess…” She remains quiet to give him the opportunity which he seizes “Well, not really to be honest but I’m not the one who lost their family and friends so I don’t think I should feel so bad” He looks at the confusion in her eyes and corrected “Oh I mean – It’s not that I should be happy because this happened, of course not! I just feel like I shouldn’t be so sad because… you know, I – I should… feel lucky to be alive or – or be happy that Twilight or… or my friends aren’t hurt – I mean...” “… I…” He keeps silent, grasping for the right words to say in his mind. The silence was short but tense. “It’s alright to feel sad for your friends, Spike” Rarity grasped his shoulder “I feel sad too” “I just think we should be strong for them” She takes her gaze away from him and to nothing in particular “I think we should be there for them” “… That too” He looked at her for a moment, curious on the thoughts she must have staring blankly at nowhere “Do you want to stay for a slice of cheesecake?” “No, I’m sorry. I have to get the store ready for tomorrow” The swift delivery really stung for some reason. “… really?” She smiles a bit at his response “Yes. As bad as things are, work is going to help keep the bad taste of the past few days from the mouth... do you have library duty tomorrow?” “Twilight just told me to keep them company but… now that you mentioned it, I guess I’ll take care of the library too. Yeah, I think taking care of the place while Twilight is gone is going to help keep my mind off things” “That’s right Spike. We take care of our friends best when we take care of ourselves first” She reach out and embraces him. His heart skips a beat and for a while he tried not to breath too much of her scent. For what seemed like forever, she finally let go of him and gave him a beaming smile only Rarity could pull off “You have a good night’s sleep now, okay? Take care of yourself, Spike” He stands there outside the library with the moon at his back for a while, staring at her retreating figure. He keeps both claws to his chest because he feels like it would leap out from his chest if it didn’t stop. “Calm down Spike, it was just a hug. She didn’t mean anything else by it” He breathed in and breathed out until he could stop feeling the permeating drumroll in his chest, and then he felt it. That moment, that feeling that he wants to say something to her, but he can’t wrap it in his head what. He looks around but she’s no longer around. “Two death battles, another reboot, two movies starring a short terminator, an ethnically diverse really lucky girl, and the guy who played green lantern and we’re still, really. Really. REALLY doing this?” Deadpool stood up from the reddish bedrock he was laying down on. The air is heavy and he could feel his throat retch at the strange dampness of the air. He turned around to the blank horizon which seem to stretch infinitely with absolutely nothing in sight but the bedrock floor and swirling shapes in dark red sky. Pinkie Pie’s domain. Or whatever. Technically she’s not the real Pinkie Pie of this particular universe but some alternate creepier and killier version of her, born in some delectable creamy pasta dish from what Deadpool understands. It’s pretty fucking weird, that’s for sure. You know it’s kinda confusing to call her Pinkie Pie when there’s also another Pinkie Pie, right? We’ll just call her Creamypasta Pie from now on. Because 10 chapters in this thing, a third introduction to everyone is exactly what everybody needs, right? {{This is the reason why we do what we do}} the ominous voice within him speaks {{Stop the literary limbo we and many like us face}} “We’re literally telling everyone what happened because it’s been two years since the last chapter. I just hope we finish what we started. Is there even a point to all this? It’s like the more I do, the less I accomplish in the grand scheme of things. What are we trying to do again?” Detecting the very subtle nod to remind our readers what’s happening, Creamypasta Pie raised her hoof [[Ooh! Ooh! To destroy the elements of harmony?]] “Erm... Yeah. I think. Is that what we were trying to do?” {{Destroying the ideaverse has been our main goal for some time.}} With a deep tremble in the back of his mind, Deadpool could feel the Ominous voice (Who we will name Red Caption) resound within his head {{We’ve accomplished many feats until we came to this pony universe. Pinkie Pie has been helping us take out the notable characters that build the story of this universe – stop the circus and let us freaks finally rest}} “Right, right, sorry. It’s just been so long and so many things happened I’m personally having trouble catching up” [[We’ve made some progress but it’s not nearly enough – especially as we haven’t really killed anyone important yet]] “W-What?! We leveled an entire city, a castle, and killed a magic dragon! You cannot be serious” [[You mean Discord? He’s still alive]] “WHAT?!” [[So is the rest of the main cast, actually. Nobody is actually dead yet. You could say Zecora is, but really everyone knows she was the first to go because it’s hard to write rhymes]] I bet you’re enjoying the story, huh? “How hard is it to write rhymes? It’s not hard to sound sublime. Go say whatever’s on your mind, go look up what the word sounds like. Mumble the words like you’re taking a crapper, boom, you sound like a modern rapper” [[… that… was horrible]] “Whatever! Haters gonna hate, it’s a fact since forever. Just because of that, I’ll rap till I’m tired!” Deadpool then moved his hands like he’s scratching some turntable and started flicking them like some generic rapper “Uhh, Menacing methods label me a lethal weapon Making ponies die, witnessin’ reckless damn aggression Can you picture my specific plan? No you can’t because this story’s been going on for like 6 years, man. Uhh It all started when Mister Cullen Bunn Thought it was funny if I started killing everyone They all died in the end, but in the end there’s more It turns out I also have to kill the literature universe! Me? A born killer, never leave the block without my heater Now I’m killing ponies for some reason in this fan fiction How the fuck did I sank so low Shit, I got two movies but here I am killing animals in some kiddie show How can I show you how I feel inside? Six years but still not finished! Am I being taken for a ride? Can we please just get this over with? ‘Cause this is just wrong There’s writer’s block and being lazy but there’s also being a shitty writer and not finishing what he started. Let it be known that it’s troublesome. …” Everyone is quiet for a few seconds until Creamypasta Pie started to say something [[ … Well. That was… ]] She cleared her throat. [[ A rip-off ]] “Don’t be like that. Imitation is the highest form of flattery, so they say. Deathstroke for instance.” He cleared his throat for a moment “Hey, do I have to kill 2Pac too?” She scoffed a bit at him [[ What are you, crazy? He’s dead ]] “First of all, yes. Second, that’s the popular opinion but nobody really knows now, do they?” He sat down on the cold bedrock, his arms wrapped on his knees as he stare at hallucinating shapes on the horizon. This is a really freaky place. Can’t believe he’s actually getting the hang of it. “Speaking of crazy how’s Lyra’s doing now?” [[Let’s find out!]] She drags her crystal ball from off-screen and waves her hooves around it like some kind of lunatic [[Mirror mirror on the wall, show that pony in this ball!]] The haze inside the glass disperse as it reveals Lyra Heartstrings smack dab in the middle of Ponyville in this time of night. She sneaks to seemingly nowhere in particular like some kind of burglar. Deadpool crouched down towards the crystal ball on the floor “The way she’s sneaking, someone is going to mistake her for a thief. Not that it’s any worse than a would-be murderer.” [[I still can’t believe she just agreed to kill her just like that. Do you think we could trust her, Wade?]] He scratched his chin for a bit “Uh, sure we can. We can definitely trust the random crazy pony I brought with us to kill one of her friends with no real apparent motivation to do so” He stood up and stretched his arms for a bit “Besides, what can she do? Warn everyone that I’ll kill them? Like they don’t know that already” [[And if she tells them about me?]] “Well… you’ll be fine, right? It’s not like you’re killable. What can possibly kill a teleporting magical demon horse?” “Or me, for that matter” … Creamypie gave him a tight smile [[Oh my, what can indeed?]] He smiled back to her “Maybe that street fighter dude earlier, maybe he could’ve killed me. Or not. I actually regenerated now that I remember” [[Well I don’t know about that either, but I think I know somepony who probably can]] Even in the evening, you can tell the vanilla cookie roof, butter cream walls, and those cupcake spiral tower from afar. The asymmetrical structure, vibrant color palette, and the distinct icing lining the roof makes it stand out from anything in the town. Sugarcube Corner. You’d be hard-pressed to find anything like it. What madness would it take to design a bakery to look like an actual dessert? Pinkie Pie madness, maybe? Lyra pulls open the fuchsia wooden door and make her way inside. The counter is empty and there’s nopony attending the place, obviously. You’d think people would lock their doors this time with the killings and all. She takes care to keep her steps silent so as to not wake anypony up through the stairs. Pacing carefully through the hallway, her eyes adjust to the darkness and she sees a door at the end of the hall. With her hoof on the on the door, she pushes it ever so slowly keeping the creaking of its hinges deathly silent. Lying on a bed, a lone mare with fluffy pink mane sleeps silently under her balloon print cover. Lyra inches towards her like a predator finding the right time to strike. Finally within reach of Pinkie Pie she stops for but a moment, to study her still figure. Under the covers her chest is rising rhythmically. Her eyes closed blissfully serene and unaware of the lightless world around them. Slowly her hooves reaches out to Pinkie’s vulnerable figure and place them on her chest. “Pinkie” she whispers “Wake up” Pinkie’s eyes dart up and look directly at hers, sparing the few seconds to understand what’s happening “… Lyra? W-What are you doing here?” “I need to tell you something important” she backs away to give her room to sit up from her bed “I’m thinking you’re probably the only one that can stop all this madness” “Why? What’s going on?” “I went to the forest last night to try to find the monster that was killing everypony and…” Lyra looked away from her as if she’s not ready to continue “and I found the monster” Pinkie found herself leaning forwards Lyra, her attention now fully enraptured by her. “It killed a Manticore and saved my life” “That’s really dangerous, Lyra. Why did you do that?” “… well… anyway, I met the monster, Pinkie, and he told me he’s here to kill everypony” She let what Lyra said sink in for a few seconds before asking “Did he say why?” Lyra looks away and rubs the back of her neck “No, sorry. He didn’t” Pinkie places both hooves on her shoulder and turns it into a hug “It’s a good thing you’re safe, Lyra. That thing could’ve killed you” After a short moment, Lyra asks “Pinkie… can the elements of harmony really kill him?” Pinkie looks at those brilliant gamboge eyes, trying to decipher what she means behind that “I… don’t know about kill… but we can definitely stop it” She moves her hoof in a criss-cross motion across her chest “Pinkie swear” “Yeah… and when you use your magic, you’ll turn him into good, right? Instead of evil?” ”Yeah, That’s what will happen! We’ll turn the monster good and… it’ll be friends with everypony” “Can that really happen? Even with all the ponies it killed?” “We have to try” so she says but she didn’t sound convincing to herself “B-besides, it saved you right? It’s probably not TOTALLY evil, m-maybe if we find out the reason why it thinks it needs to kill everypony we can understand it better and we can stop all of this and we’d be able to be friends with it” “Like Fluttershy?” “Huh?” “You think Fluttershy would be able to be friends with him even though he killed her animals and Discord?” “… um… Fluttershy has always been friendly towards animals, and she might give the monster a chance too” “What about Applejack? Do you think she would want to be friends with him when he killed her family and destroyed their barn?” “… Um…” “What about everypony else who lost their friends and families back in Canterlot? Do think when you’ve made Deadpool non-evil, everypony won’t want to kill him?” “Deadpool?” The cold night breeze seemingly stood still in the room, as if out of tension between the two mares. “… Is that the monster’s name? What else do you know about him?” Lyra turned away from her gaze like a prisoner under interrogation “I don’t know anything else. He told me his name and said he’s going to kill everypony but that’s it” “… are you sure?” She tried to look directly into Pinkie’s eyes that stared back with a strange expression of worry mixed with distrust. Especially on her face “Pinkie, what if the monster killed one of the elements?” “… HUH?” “Like, if one of the wielders of the elements die will you still be able to use the elements of harmony to banish or kill him or something? Can he kill you like the way he killed everypony else?” “…Lyra, what exactly happened with you and the monster?” Lyra shook her head “Nothing! Sorry… I just don’t want anypony else to die…” she starts to leave the room but stopped short “I’m sorry I came to your house without thinking” “Wait, Lyra” Pinkie stepped down from her bed. “Thanks for telling me this. I really appreciate it.” For a while she could only stare back at her. She didn’t want to think it but it looks like Lyra knows a lot more than she’s letting on. Does she not trust her? Did she make friends with the monster? What exactly happened that made her visit in this time of night? “Um… how’s Bon Bon and Roseluck?” “… Bon Bon left for Manehattan and Roseluck is dead” Lyra closed the door of the room behind her and left Sugarcube Corner. The immense guilt of doubting Lyra finally hit her when she didn’t even realize how lonely Lyra must be feeling. “I should do something to cheer her up… I know! I’ll throw a party – wait, nevermind” Pinkie turned towards the basket on the far end of her room where her pet alligator, Gummy, lay sleeping. She pat his head, feeling a little less sad with him around. “Things are really affecting everypony, huh? What should I do, Gummy?” Her thoughts come back to Lyra, fidgety and asking weird questions. It’s so weird for her to visit so suddenly in the middle of sleeping time. She didn’t even figure out why. “Do you think Lyra is hiding something, Gummy?” She shook her head “No no! It’s not right having doubts towards a friend! Lyra is really lonely right now which is why she’s acting like that” Pinkie nods to herself and goes back to bed “Goodnight Gummy. See ya in the morning” She closed her eyes and try to sleep again. She tries not to think about it anymore, but something still bothered her about what Lyra said. Something about that monster’s name… “Deadpool…” She closed the parchment sent to her by her sister and with a flick of her magic, threw it into the flames of the fireplace of her quarters. With her magic, she levitated a blank parchment from her night table and dipped her quill into an inkwell as she writes her own thoughts for her sister. Dear Sister, I am writing in response to your letter where you share me your news. As you wish, I shall keep that matter private for now and we will continue to discuss it more in person. I implore you to forgive me for what I am about to say. Despite what you believe is damning evidence, I do not believe acting against her to bring a swift resolution to this trial is our best option. While I know the reformation our mutual friend went through, we cannot truly trust his word as he is by nature a trickster and manipulator as I’m sure you would agree with me. I also see that you are of flaring temper right now. I too am shocked and enraged of the events of the last few days but know that this is exactly what hypothetically somepony could be counting on so that we may commit rash decisions and act towards a supposed agenda. I apologize for my distrust but I do not want you to forget that this friend was once our long-standing enemy who stood against the rightful order of things we believed in. I wish you to remember what jealousy and anger have done to transform me into Nightmare Moon and that to stop her, you had to banish your dear sister to the moon. Inevitably, the night came when she had to return to Equestria and in turn banish you because you were willing to wait for the proper course of action to take place. The Crystal Empire remains largely unaffected by the events back home. We are also fortunate as Twilight was able to bring your former pupil from the other side, ready to assist in our endeavor. She expresses her wish to see the tragedy that have happened back home and while I shared my refusal towards that notion, I will not stop them if they truly believe it will help us track this monster down. The Elements of Harmony will stop this monster like it has always saved the day and how the wielders took me down and helped me feel worthy to call myself your sister again. We will be riding the morning train back to Canterlot to greet you soon. I look forward to continue our discourse by then. Thank you for raising the moon in place of my duty. I hope you have a pleasant sleep this evening. I remain your loving sister, Luna Her spell rolls up the parchment and with a burst of light, displaces it from the air to reappear in her sister’s quarters. With that done, she prepares to sleep. Ready for the nightmares she herself must face. Darkness blankets the world around her as her weight lift from the bed, levitating her in the void. A mass of stars twirl around and morphs into a swirling form of a massive alicorn, looking down on her helpless form. The Tantabus. Because she wasn’t punished for what she done as Nightmare Moon, she was certain that she created this creature to torture herself to infect her dreams into nightmares as penance. The form of the Tantabus reached down onto her. An otherworldly white smile appeared on its face. “Tonight, your nightmare is not a dream” She finds herself staring at the dark ceiling of her quarters, roused from her sleep. Drawn by some force she can’t explain, she step down from her bed and reach for the door onto the way out her quarters. With hoof on the door, she push it open. Patches of moonlight peers from the hallway windows revealing a solitary creature standing at a long distance from her. For a while they both stood silent, as if wondering what to do at the sight of one another. The creature talks first. “You should really get guards that don’t sleep at night” Its voice carries itself within the echoes of the crystal walls, amplified even more by the eerie silence of everywhere else. “Deadpool.” The figure seem to relax and look down on her as it cross its arms. “The one and only. I’d like to say that you catch on real quick but it’s hard not to know who I am when I wrote my name and all for you to see” It takes three steps towards her. The reverb echo about the crystal walls, sounding off like warning shots “Now I know you have a lot of questions and all but I’m not really in the mood to answer them all for someone who’s about to die real quick” “You talk as if you are certain to kill me” Even with this distance she can see the red and black peculiar manner of clothing covering what appears to be its body, standing almost a little taller than her. Two leather straps worn around its person carrying what appears to be a variety of blades and arms, primed for battle. “I am certain. This is how this story goes. I take you out and everyone else, plain and simple. Between you and me, I just want to get this over with” “You were going to kill me in my sleep, then? And how do you propose to do that now that I’m awake and fully capable of defending myself?” It laughs like a mad beast daring the heavens to take action against it “Killing without a fight isn’t fun anyway. And besides, I’ve been itching for one in the first place” Both claws took out two blades from its back, the moonlight refracting crimson light from the dry bloodied metal. One sword waving menacingly at her. “But I admit, I was looking forward to stabbing my sword inside you as we lay huddled together on your bed…” “… … …You do understand that with my magic, I can kill you where you stand?” “Ooooh, a death threat from a cartoon pony. I’m so scared. Please don’t hurt me with your weird… amoeba-looking hair, pixar eyes, and ‘I was a wild 15 year old girl’ tattoo. Yeah, I know all about your magic, princess. You’re not the first magic dude I’ve killed. Frankly, I’m more scared of the crazies than wizards and geeks” “You have one chance to explain why you are doing this” The hideous figure only stood defiantly still. “Don’t make me destroy you. You have been warned” It’s like the foundation of the walls themselves shook with trepidation of her majesty, yet the monster remained belligerently unmoved. Two seconds. Deadpool already closed the distance between them by almost a half. It is fast. But the princess is faster. In one second she manipulates the matter around Deadpool to freeze him in a blue aura of magic. In a swift motion, it twists his own appendages into impaling his own chest with his swords. “GGAAHH!” The swords tear upward his chest and retreats to stab down his stomach in a downward motion. “GGAAAAAAAAAHHH!!” She releases her magic and lets the creature fall down and curl on the floor. “AAAHH!! …Ahhh…. Fuck…” “Your hacking and slashing can only get you so far, fiend” She levitates him closer to her by its head, letting its impaled body spray its crimson blood while it drags on the floor. “You’re not a herald of destruction to be feared with. No, you do not even deserve to be called a monster. You are simply a rabid animal that is asking to be put down” The blue aura of her magic almost blinds her as she bring Deadpool, face to face. Large black ovals centered its small narrow eyes staring deliriously at her. “Killing helpless ponies as you see fit, but now against someone that can stop you what can you do? I do not know what you plan to accomplish with your senseless slaughter but now I know you can be stopped... and what’s more, that it’s disappointingly easy…” She morphs the matter around him to constrict his neck, tearing apart the small ligaments connecting his head to his body. The whites in his eyes start to redden as the blood vessels begin to collapse. His mouth move to speak. “Ggrrghck! When I said I wanted to -- GGHCK! -- stab you with my sword, It wasn’t in the S&M territory! GHRACK! This isn’t how I remember 50 Shades of Grey did it – GGRACK!!” “SHUT UP!” In an instant, the magic release its hold on his neck and he breathes. “TELL ME WHY YOU ARE TRYING TO KILL EVERYPONY! I HAVE LOST MY PATIENCE! You have better tell me NOW or I SWEAR I will be the last thing you will SEE!” “OKAY, OKAY! I’ll tell you!” She releases her hold on him and steps back as he cough out his blood and winces in pain all over. The sounds of a crowd hoofsteps approach and she finds the guards finally arrive at the end of the hallway. “STAY BACK” The crystal guards halt in their tracks and they turn to their attention to the creature hacking blood a few hoofsteps from her. “Your majesty, are you alright?!” Shining Armor steps away from the crowd to approach but the princess holds up a hoof to command him to stay “What is that…” The creature turns to them. The crowd inadvertently stepped back from his gaze “Aaghh… ahh… Dammit, I really need to get better at sneaking” Deadpool lifts himself up to stand to face the princess. “You really want to know why I’m killing everyone? Fine! I’ll tell you!” he cups and rubs his neck “None of us are real! We’re all just characters created for entertainment! We exist only satisfy the fantasies of the ones that created us!” The only sound in the hallway is his coughing and labored breathing. “Did you ever had a moment in your life when things were shitty and you just thought to yourself ‘Man, is God doing this on purpose? Is he playing me for kicks?’? What if I told you that not only that, the next thing you’ll be doing and even the exact words I’m saying right now is pre-ordained to the letter by our creators? That’s exactly what’s going on!” “I’m cutting us out! I’m giving you ALL a way out! The only real choice that we can do against our creators is to choose to deny them creation. REFUSE to be their puppet anymore! The only real choice is to DIE!” “If you believe that, then why don’t you kill yourself?” Deadpool turns to the direction of the voice, an alicorn with pale, light grayish mulberry coat and dark sapphire blue straight mane is standing apart from the crowd. “If you think that every aspect of our life is controlled by forces beyond our control and that we ultimately have no free will, why didn’t you start with freeing yourself first? Why did you have to involve everypony else and killed them for it? None of them deserved what you did to them!” “I’m doing this because it’s exactly that they don’t deserve it. You don’t get it! And you don’t get it because you can’t see it like I do! If you’ve bee--“ “—And WHY can’t we see it like you do?! What do you understand that nopony else can’t even possibly try to comprehend? What makes you feel so special that you feel that the only logical course of action is to KILL EVERYPONY?!?” “Fuck if I know! For all I know I was born this way! The only difference is I’m finally doing something about it!” A moment pass where only Deadpool’s and the alicorn’s breathing can be heard. Finally the alicorn speaks. “Something is very wrong with you, but we’re here to stop it. You can’t get away from us this time” “I can’t get away from what I am. It’s my nature, and your Elements of Harmony won’t ever stop that” The alicorn raises an eyebrow at him. “Yeah, I know who you are, Twilight... Or at least I think that’s your name. Twilight… Did I get that right? Or is it Twinkle? Twinkle twinkle little star, or something?” He shakes his head “Nevermind. You may have worried me at first with your magical friendship bullshit, but then I remembered – OH WAIT A MINUTE – I’m motherfucking Deadpool! The guy who managed to single handedly kill, like, the entire MARVEL roster including magic types like Doctor Doom, and Doctor Strange, and Doctor… …Bruce Banner who are all actually pretty badass compared to your magic of friendship shit” “Like you, right?” He turns back to Princess Luna who until now didn’t know what to think “Nightmare Moon. Which is an awesome stripper name, by the way. Banished to the moon for like a hundred years, I think. Finally gets her revenge in episode one where she returns to earth. Pinkie Pie told me all about you” “Pinkie Pie?” As soon as the name leaves her lips, it echoes on everypony else’s. “Pinkie Pie?!” Twilight screams at Deadpool “What does Pinkie Pie have to do with this?!” Deadpool keeps his face straight at Luna “A hundred years of planning and preparation, harnessing the power to back up your world conquest, then what do you get? Your ass handed down to you by six ponies who just met each other. Don’t you think that’s a little stupid?” “I’m talking to you! What does Pinkie Pie have to do with this?!” “How do you punch the clock every morning with that hanging over your head? Doesn’t it make sense if it were ACTUALLY arranged to happen that way only for an archetypal villain to be defeated by a band of friends to produce predictable entertainment and push moral values?” “Stop talking to the princess and face me!” “You weren’t defeated by the Elements of Harmony.” He inches towards her “You were defeated by fantasy” he raises his limbs in the air “Fantasy created AAALL in someone’s head! You were taken down to push the idea that even the worst villain can be redeemed! And it did it in the most humiliating way possible, JUST BECAUSE.” Everypony is silent. “Earlier you said hacking and slashing can only get me so far, and you’re right. Earlier you also said I’m just a rabid animal asking to be taken down but that’s where you’re wrong.” He points his claws at himself. “I’m Deadpool, bitch. And you and me, we’re a lot more alike than you thought and you know it.” In her dream, the form of the Tantabus reached down onto her. “One monster knows another. Especially when it gets sliced by its own swords and strangled like you did” An otherworldly white smile appeared on its face, and said: “Princess Luna, high and mighty. Righteous and just! You preach but you can’t run away from what you are!” Tonight, your nightmare is not a dream. “NOOO!!!” A blue sphere of light blinds the crowd looking in from the other end of the hallway as matter itself collapsed within space. A moment pass and everypony rub their eyes until it adjusts to the sight before them. The princess, wide-eyed and shaken. Her coat drenched in crimson blood, entrails littered all over her mane. And the monster… it’s headless body lie backwards from her. Its remains splattered all over the walls, blood shooting out in jets from the headless stump. “Oh, sweet Celestia…” Twilight steps towards alone. A few from the crowd finally screamed at the sight but the rest stay immobile as statues. “Oh my -- Oh, my goodness. Sweet sweet Celestia— Hrmh!“ she covers her mouth to stop her puke “Mmrh – ugh… Oh my goodness… … Princess Luna?” Luna is staring straight at the form of what used to be the monster taunting her, lying on its back before her. Blood beginning to pool around the spot its head is supposed to be. “What have I done…?” She shifts her attention to Twilight in the distance - her face a concoction of fear and concern towards her, to the crowd showing the same expression, then back to Deadpool. She can still see his face in his mind, raving at her with his wild eyes and his red and black mask – now tattered and spread around her person. “Excuse me. I must write a letter to my sister” With a motion of someone sleepwalking, she turns back inside her quarters. They remain still. Her magic takes a blank parchment out from her night table and places it on her desk. Her quill dips into the inkwell– “Pri--!” She hears the sound of her wings snapping, grabbed and pushed to the ground. Her mouth starts to scream but it turns into a gurgle as blood burst from her neck. A hundred stabs make their way onto her back. The pain made her dart sideways, facing her assailant. A mass of flesh, contorting and screaming in rage looked her down in fury until two blades pierced her own eyes. “GGGHHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHH!” Magic! She has to use her magic! If she can concentra-- Electricity fizzles out from her head along with the sound of her horn snapping sideways. Everything else is drowned out by her own screaming. “Save the Princess!!” Twilight and the rest of the crowd rush in to save her. The howling inside her quarters is so surreal, it chills everypony to their bones. Like something not belonging to her. Only a few hoofsteps away but the door closed swiftly on them. They all slam against it. “What?! What’s going on!?” The guards push and ram against the door but it continues not to budge. “Open the door! EVERYPONY OPEN THIS DOOR!” Amid the screaming of everypony, of the guards banging on the door, Twilight hears something familiar. A mare laughing with childlike glee. “What in the…?” She looks into guards ramming the door “Everypony stand back!” As soon as they make way, her magic arranges the matter forming the door to bust open. However, an outside force counteracts the energy her magic is manipulating onto the door. “Something is countering my magic!” As soon as she realize this, she relents the force and instead opt to transmute the particles that make up the door into different ones. She then proceed to turn the door into water but the outside force continues to act against her and turns it into solid concrete. Matter form into clay but then it turns into rock. Foam then to metal. She wrestles with this entity until it relents and the door opens by itself. The crowd stands still. Twilight and Shining Armor take the first steps. Speechless, the rest kept their distance. A mass of emotions swirl in everypony’s hearts. Defeat. Fear. Hopelessness. The body of Princess Luna lay on her back. Blood streaming from the stab wounds covering every inch of her body. Once graceful wings now lie crooked and splayed in different angles on the floor. Head twisted to the side facing them, parting loosely from the deep slices of her neck. Her once caring blue eyes now punched open and bleeding a sickly yellow hue. Not least of which, the jagged stump where her slender horn used to be. “Oh, Princess…” Her hooves give out and she face the floor littering with the blood pooling from the princess. She covers her eyes, but it doesn’t stop the tears… “Guess that shows you how much my hacking and slashing can do, huh?” Deadpool starts to unzip his costume and air out the blood and the entrails all over him “And this is a clean costume too. I hope I don’t run out of these things. Clothes make the man, as they say” He wipes the blood off his big and manly pecs and some of the entrails that came between his firm cheeks. He’s glad he regularly worksout at the gym because being ripped made him faster, and sexier just as a bonus. Slowly he unbuttons his pants and pulls – “Woah there, cowboy. This isn’t that fan fiction. Get your mind outta the gutter. Hey Lyra, can you hand me those pockets?” “Here” Lyra held a belt attached with pockets towards him with a buckle of his logo “What else are in your pockets exactly?” “Nothing, really. At least as far as Liefield was concerned, maybe” He takes out a rumpled mask from one of the pockets and unfolds it “But for superheroes these things always carried whatever’s handy so I guess hurrah for 90s comics design” He rolls the mask from the top of his head and slip it all the way to his neck. Ah, the smell of pus, 2-week laundry, and last night’s burrito. Yup, smells just like home. “Feels great to feel my face again… Hey, thanks again for getting this back to me” “No problem” “So…” He puts his arm around her “What do you think about being human so far?” Lyra tensed a bit at his touch but he doesn’t remove it. Her eyes shift from side to side as she think on the situation “… It feels wrong but… right at the same time. On one side I feel like helping you kill everypony is wrong but on the other I think I probably just feel that because I still identify as a pony in some respect.” “Maybe when I think more as a human like you, I won’t feel the regret so much and just look back on all this as… totally natural. I mean, humans eat meat right? Humans don’t feel bad when they kill animals. “ “This is just what we’re doing, killing animals. It’s a natural thing for a human to do. And I’m human” He let what she said sink in for a moment then withdrew his arm. Shit, this pony is crazy alright. “Besides, with you killing Princess Luna I think this just proves that I’m playing for the winning team…” [[AND THAT WAS SOO - AWESOME!]] Creamy Pie jumped like a cheerleader and has her own pom-poms for some reason [[THE WAY YOU WERE LIKE I did it because they didn’t deserve it AND YOU WERE LIKE You can’t run away from yourself THAT WAS – SO – COOL! – AND THEN YOU TORE HER WINGS AND WENT STAB STAB STAB STAB STAB STAB STAB STAB!! AND EVERYPONY WAS SCREAMING AND TRYING TO GET IN THE ROOM but I was stopping them AND THE PRINCESS WAS DYING and you kept STAB STAB STAB STAB! – that – WAS – awesome!]] Deadpool rubbed the back of his head a bit “Yup, that’s exactly how it went… Still, we got that normal Pinkie Pie to worry about.” As if on cue, Creamy Pie appeared next to him with her hoof around him [[You just killed a princess of Equestria, Wade! Granted, you did it behind her back while she was in shock, speechless, terrified, and numb to your approach, but you still did it! It just shows that everypony dies… even the princesses! And this will TERRIFY everypony!]] {{It makes our job easier, and the masses drenched in fear is exactly the kind of spectacle you want}} Deadpool looked back on Lyra sitting like a human with her back slumped , and to Creamy Pie’s hollow eyes and black void smile, beaming at him. He just killed one of the most powerful beings of this world, whether by luck or strategy, no one can ignore that. {{Everything from here on out is going to be a cakewalk}} The morning sun rises in Ponyville for everypony to start a new day. The birds chirp as they fly above the cookie thatched roof of the Sugarcube Corner. Pinkie Pie opens her eyes to the mild daylight peering from her bedroom window. She sits up on her bed, rubbing her eyes as she spy Gummy still peacefully asleep. “Good morning, Gummy!” She gives him a pat on the head as she bounce her merry way downstairs “Now that I had my rest, I realize that moping around isn’t going to do anypony good. Now it’s time to make everypony smile! And I know just the thing…” “CAKE!” she says as she dash and grab Gummy by the tail “Let’s start with Lyra! She’s extra lonely right now, but I bet she’s going to be super happy once she sees the cake we bake for her!” Everypony makes way for the golden armored guards of Canterlot castle moving en masse as one mob in town. The sun shining down their helmets make them look like a yellow river flooding Ponyville. In the middle of the legion, Shining Armor looks upon a yellow-walled building crafted with cupcake spires standing tall in the middle of town. “There’s Sugarcube Corner” He turns to his lieutenant “Get the ground team in formation. Remember – five meter radius, the earth ponies in front and the unicorns behind, just like we practiced” “Yes Captain” As the ground leader announce the formation, Shining Armors turns to the sky team leader “Get the sky team to surround the building, hover just fifteen hooves from the roof – enough to signal to us and also stop her if she makes a break for it there” “Yes Captain” “Remember, just like we practiced! She won’t be able to escape us this time!” “There! Now that the timer’s been set, let’s get the frosting and the icing ready” She grabs Gummy under his arms and sets him down on the tabletop. “Do you think we should go with cyan frosting and white icing, or white frosting and cyan icing? What do you think would go best with Lyra?” Gummy gives her a vacant stare. “I know… One choice seem better than the other, but so does the other choice seem better than the other!” The pet alligator continued to stare in no particular fashion. “Huh… This one tough cookie to crack” Everypony looks on as the mass of golden helmets surround the ground and the sky around the bakery, the pegasi guards almost blocking out the entire sky and their shadow casting over the masses. The Ponyville residents chatter among them in hushed murmurs at the spectacle before them. Among the bystanders, Rarity approaches one of the guards standing in attention. “Excuse me, good sir but may I –“ “—Rarity!” She turns to Twilight approaching from within the mass of guards “You came at the right time” “Twilight?” she points to the mass of guards circling the bakery “What are the royal guards do– Good lord! Twilight, you look horrible” She cups the alicorn’s pale and sickly face with her hooves, looking at the bags under Twilight’s bloodshot eyes “What…. in the world happened?” “You’ll… know soon enough. Please tell everypony to stand back from the guards” “What for?” she asks but Twilight immediately push between the guards “Twilight?” she kept her eyes locked onto her until she sees Twilight speaking to Shining Armor. “This is strange. I knew I left it here last night” She goes through her things as she look for the saddle she found near Applejack’s farm “Where did I put it?” “Rarity!” Rainbow Dash came descending from the sky to her “Hey, what’s going on here? Why are the guards surrounding Pinkie’s place like this?” “I don’t know. Twilight said to tell everypony to stand back” “Huh?” Rainbow turns to the guards and sees Twilight talking with her brother below. She flies over but some of the pegasi guards start to block her path. “You can’t come through here! The space is blocked off by order of the princess” “What? Why is it blocked off? What are you guys even doing here?” “We can’t tell you that yet, Miss Rainbow Dash” “Why not?!” “I-It’s the princess’ orders” Rainbow pushes between them and flies straight to her friend “Twilight!” “Rainbow Dash” The guards around her make way as the pegasus alights “What is it?” “What do you mean what is it? Why don’t you tell us what’s going on, Twilight? Why are the guards surrounding the bakery like something bad is going to happen?” “This isn’t the time for that right now. I’ll explain everything later, alright?” “She’s coming out!” as soon as one of guards exclaimed, everypony else turned to the direction of the bakery. “Stay here, Rainbow!” she glares as she push between the guards circling the bakery. The air stood still in anticipation as the everypony freeze in place. “I’m going out to buy more ingredients, Gummy. I’ll be right back soon” On her way out, she turns back to her pet one more time “Watch over the place for me!” She push the door open but after one step, she freeze in her tracks as she sees the ponies in golden armor surround Sugarcube Corner in every direction. Stunned in place, she looks the entire scene over. The helmets of the royal guard reflect the sun as they swarm the place in full circle. Pegasi guards hover above in a circle around the bakery. “Don’t move, Pinkie Pie!” “Twilight?” She sees her friend standing apart from the crowd speaking with a megaphone “Wha… What is—“ “--Step away from the door and take three steps towards us right now.” She blinks. The guards tense as she takes her first step. She took her second step. The third step, she can feel the stillness of the air. It’s too quiet. After doing what she’s told, she lets out a nervous chuckle “Hehe… Are we playing a new game? What’s it called?” “No, Pinkie” Twilight and Shining Armor begin to approach along with four other guards walking slowly from all sides “We’re done playing games” The four guards stand four hoofsteps away around all sides. As they block her path, two more guards from the crowd move in swiftly to her direction to cuff her hooves together. She turn to the cold steel wrapping her pink hooves then onto the glaring figure of the alicorn standing before her. “Twilight, what’s happening?” The captain beside her speaks “We’re taking you in on suspicion of assisting in the murders of the ponies of Canterlot, the draconequus Discord, and her royal highness, Princess Luna” She turns in total disbelief of what she just heard. She tries to find her voice but with all her strength she can only whisper “What…? No, I didn’t do anything…” The world is getting blurry as the tears start to flow “Twilight… I don’t know what’s happening…” “I heard you laugh, Pinkie. I heard you laugh when you locked us out of Princess Luna’s quarters when the monster was killing her” Her eyes are beginning to hurt. She can’t see a thing “No… I can’t do anything like that…” “I don’t know what you can’t do, to be honest. Being in two places at once, taking party cannons and stuff out of nowhere. I wouldn’t be surprised if you actually have magic we don’t know about” “No, Twilight… I swear…” “Everything fits, Pinkie… I always thought you were crazy but I didn’t want to believe you can do anything like this” “I didn’t do anything!” Everything is drowned out by the sound of her own crying. She moves to plead with Twilight but the chains stop her. “No… You won’t do anything else”