//------------------------------// // Ch. 9: Brutal Jill // Story: There is an I in Generosity // by TundraStanza //------------------------------// Chapter 9: Brutal Jill There was a sudden burst of lightning when we left The Hayburger. After looking around in confusion, I noticed a pegasus hopping on a cloud. Rainbow Dash was giving a stern talking to said pegasus pony. It was something about weather team protocol. I couldn't quite make out the entire conversation from so far away. In any case, I was sure Rainbow could handle that situation on her own. It was at this point that I felt a strange wiggling sensation on my left hind leg. When I looked back, I noticed Sweetie Belle hugging on for dear life. I gave a gentle massage to her mane to try and calm her down. She chuckled nervously and resumed trotting next to me. I glanced back. "Twilight, if you eat all of those hay fries now, what will be left for poor little Spike when you get home?" "Oh, come on. He's not going to miss one or two fries." Twilight munched and muttered, "... or five... ten..." "Wow..." Fluttershy couldn't stop staring. "Look at her go." "Okay, okay, I get it." Twilight levitated the bag over. "Here, take this and keep me from eating too much." "Whatever you say, darling." I magically grabbed hold of the greasy bag and continued trotting along the way. --- Sweetie Belle pulled the door of the library open. I thanked her and trotted inside. I noticed it was rather dark in there. As my magic was busy holding Spike's meal, I swatted my hoof at the light switch. "Spikey-wikey!" I called out at the light came on. "We're ba-AAAH! By Celestia's mane!" Golden Oaks interior had gone through much redecorating in our absence. Pieces of green electrical tape were holding up rows of misshapen paper dolls. Several books were haphazardly on the floor, while others were hanging by their corners from the ceiling. Some pairs of silver scissors were sticking out of the floor. There was an awful shade of neon pink paint splotched randomly on the shelves. On the wall just below the top step of the staircase, a few scissors were jammed into the wall. These silver items were holding up a rather familiar baby dragon, with head limply looking down and his eyes closed. "Rarity, what are you shouting about?" Applejack walked around me before jerking her gaze at the high stair. "Land's sake!" "This is... I don't even know what..." Sweetie Belle shook her head. It was about that time that Fluttershy joined the rest of us inside. Her wings snapped shut and she shivered in place. As for Twilight... oh... Twilight... A heart attack would have been a mild reaction compared to the number of gibberish syllables coming out of her mouth to describe the atrocities within her abode. I didn't blame her. I was fighting to prevent myself from adding to the mess with my still magically held bag. After her little episode, she finally found the nerve to gallop up and magically pull Spike off the wall, careful to avoid the scissors. She held a hoof against Spike's face. "Spike? Spike... what happened here? Who did this?" The poor thing fought to keep his eyes open while his back was on the floor. "Too fast... didn't see... until... all over..." "Wait, is Pinkie okay?" Fluttershy flew up to the bedroom. She poked her head back out. "She's not in the bedroom." "Spike." I lowered my head. "W-Where is Pinkie Pie?" Spike took a sharp intake of air. "Th-That... thing... that wears... her body... calls itself... Jakku." The four of us with previous lives looked at each other. In unison, we asked, "Her human identity?" Spike slowly shook his head. "Not... human... or pony... monster..." "I...I've read novels like this." Applejack gulped. "Victims hung by scissors, normal locations twisted from their recognizable state... This is sounding like a serial murder case." "Serial murder?!" Fluttershy went down to the floor, holding her front hooves over her head and ears. "N-Now hold on." Twilight turned around. "We don't have all the facts yet. If such a creature exists and it has access to Pinkie's... uniqueness... wouldn't we have seen signs of such destruction before we made it back here?" I held a hoof to under my mouth. "And every pony we passed was going about their day as usual." "Right." Twilight nodded and put her hoof forward. "This is no time to panic. We just need to find Pinkie and talk to her long enough to cast the memory spell and bring the two personalities into a more balanced state." Fluttershy fidgeted with a strand of her mane against her hooves. "But how do we find her? She could be anywhere." "Rainbow Dash is pretty quick." Applejack turned her hat around. "If we get her help, it'll be easier to search the town." Twilight pulled out her chalkboard and started scribbling out a list. "Okay. Applejack and Fluttershy, you'll be in charge of finding Rainbow Dash and convincing her to help search via the skies. Meanwhile, Rarity and I will focus on starting the ground search." I looked over at the poor dragon, who was still lying there in shock. "Ahem, Spike? Would you like to accompany me?" That seemed to perk him right onto his feet. "Y-Yeah, I mean... if you need me to." "What about me?" asked Sweetie Belle. "I suppose you're my escort too," I relented. "Just be careful. On the off chance that Pinkie's other self is violent, I'd rather you didn't get the rest of us or yourself into trouble." "Got it." Sweetie locked eyes with determination. --- A thief quietly stalked the streets somehow, even though it was the middle of the day. She hugged a wall here, turned around a barrel there, and ducked behind boxes whenever a wandering eye came close. Her new forelimbs were hardly an afterthought as she held a pair of scissors in either grip, and even one more pair with her hair. She quietly giggled as she snipped a hair from one pony, hid, and clipped a few strands of a mane off a different pony. Then, she caught sight of a jackpot: a cute little pony with a brown and white coloration, like some doggie named Spot. --- Spike was rather eager to lead the way for us. I was afraid I had overdone my charm this time. Sure, I hadn't really felt much regret in asking small favors from him before. But this was a potentially life-threatening person that had literally left him hanging to dry less than an hour ago. On the other hoof, I didn't have the heart to tell him to curb his enthusiasm. Instead, I focused on gathering an inquiry about Pinkie Pie's whereabouts or anything stranger than usual. The first few ponies I asked shook their heads. There was a tangent about how one of them noticed that their head felt slightly lighter than usual. At the same time, I quietly took note of their unusual split ends right on one patch of their mane. I was about to ask who their hairdresser was. "Help!" Sweetie Belle gasped. "That sounds like Pip!" She galloped in the direction of the voice. "Sweetie Belle, wait!" I ran after her, picking up Spike as a back passenger in my rush. As we all rushed around a corner, Sweetie Belle slid to a stop and looked up. When I managed to see what had gotten her attention, I was speechless. Two pairs of silver scissors were lodged into the brick wall. The tools were holding up the front hooves of Pipsqueak from Trottingham. There were also a few splashes of fuchsia paint splattered on the wall around him. "Pip, hang on!" called Sweetie. Poor choice of words. I glanced to the side before shaking my head. "Do you think you can hold him steady long enough for me to remove the scissors?" She gave me a confused look. "Hold him with what?" With my left hoof, I pretended to tap the air just in front of her horn. "Oh." Sweetie looked back up at Pip. Her horn glowed a in a light jade aura and a similar light surrounded the colt's belly. Meanwhile, I focused my magic at the obstructive silver and pulled back. They were kind of stubborn. As I gritted my teeth against the resistance, I wondered who could possibly dig a non-drilling item so far into a brick. I felt Spike's claws pull on my hind legs. After several seconds, I saw the scissors fling out of the wall. I took a deep breath and let them fall to the ground. I breathed heavily as I tried to recover. Meanwhile, Sweetie Belle was breathing at a similar exhaustion as Pip was slowly lowered. Once he was on all fours, she let her magic fade and leaned against me. "Are...Are you okay?" Sweetie asked between breaths. "I am now." Pip exhaled. "Thank you." "How did you get up there?" Spike walked around. "Was it Pinkie Pie?" "It sure looked like her." Pip tapped a hoof against his mane. One end looked perfectly straight like it was cut recently. "But I can't chalk up hanging me for dear life as her usual self. What's going on with her?" "That's what we're hoping to find out as soon as we catch her." I pulled out a brush and wiped out the sweat from my mane. "Did you see which way she went?" "Um..." Pip held a hoof under his mouth. "I think she was muttering something about a house of gingerbread before she ran off." "Sugarcube Corner!" exclaimed all three of our impromptu search party's members. "Thanks, Pip." Sweetie Belle galloped ahead while Spike and I followed. --- Perhaps my gasping muscles were getting overworked today. I couldn't help it. There was just far too much going on that was... not right. The inside of Sugarcube Corner simply added to my exercise of the gasp. Random squirts of frosting dripped from the ceiling. Cup Cake and Pumpkin Cake were huddled in the corner, covering their heads with their respective hooves. Meanwhile, Carrot Cake and Pound Cake were trapped with scissors lodged in the wall, preventing their limbs from moving. Every fiber in my body screamed at me to call my fainting couch. However, a quick clenching of my teeth on my hoof brought me back to a state where I could focus. I motioned for Spike to look after the ladies while bringing Sweetie Belle over to help me get the colts down. After they were safely on the ground, I turned my attention to the rest of the place. If I were Pinkie Pie being controlled by a crazy person, where would I- A loud crash echoed from the kitchen. Because of course she'd be there. I sighed and whispered, "Spike, stay here with the Cakes. Sweetie, with me." Both of them nodded and took up their respective posts. I silently tip-hoofed over to the kitchen and craned my neck to try and look inside. The light was too dim to make anything out. Sweetie tried looking under the swinging door, but the scrunching of her mouth indicated she couldn't see anything concrete either. Subtlety isn't going to work. This door creaks no matter which way it opens. I took a deep breath and exhaled. I shall have to borrow a page from Applejack and Rainbow Dash's book. I illuminated my horn and stepped into the kitchen with obvious noise. "Hello~? Mr. or Mrs. Whoever-You-Are? Are you in here?" Sweetie Belle slowly trotted next to me while muttering, "I'm not scared. I'm not scared," over and over. From what I could see in my limited light spell, this kitchen was covered in an awful mess. A rolling pin and a whisk were on the floor. A patch of what I could only hope was flour covered the corners of counters. More silver scissors were scattered around the sink of all places. A batch of cupcakes was all set up on forks that were duct taped in a way that they were standing on the ends of their handles. Each pastry had a fuzzy topping that resembled... mane hair. "I changed my mind. I'm terrified." Sweetie Belle hugged my left leg. I tried hugging her with the same side's front hoof. "It's going to be okay." Something pulled my mane and cut right on top of my ear. "AAAAAAAAAAAH!" "Rarity!" called two voices before I blacked out on my couch. --- The sudden furniture bumped the thief off balance and they went flying with their newest piece. They collided headfirst with a stack of baking pans. The top pan whacked a lemon down below. The lemon was squeezed and its juice hit a standing fork. The fork fell down into an open bowl, did a one-eighty along the inside curve, and flew upward. This eventually led to the fork popping a giant balloon, resulting in the dim light returning to its normal brightness. Sweetie Belle yelped upon the sudden increase of light and squeezed her eyes shut. Spike ran in and went straight over to the currently unconscious Rarity, lying back against her fainting couch. He attempted to fan the air over her head, using his right hand. Meanwhile, Sweetie slowly regained her own sight. When she saw a fluff of pink stuck under a couple pans, she ran over to have a look. --- "Come on! Wake up already, Rarity!" said the rude Dash. "I know you're not actually hurt when you faint like that." "Urgh... you certainly speak from the heart, Rainbow darling." I rubbed a hoof against my temple as I pulled myself off the couch to a standing position. "Wait..." I set my hoof down. "What are you doing here?" "A.J. was filling me in on what happened to Spike, when I heard you scream." She chuckled. "The way Sweetie Belle told what happened after, you made a big sacrifice to save her tail." "What do you mean by tha-" As I was brushing my mane back to a more presentable state, I caught sight of a straight cut where one of my curls should have been. "Oh..." "Yeah, well... could you hold off on fainting again?" Rainbow tilted her head. "I think Twilight's about ready to bring Pinkie's thoughts back and I'd hate to have to re-tell you what happened all over again." I smirked. "Whatever do you take me for, my dear?" I let my mane go back to where it would, save for the missing curl. " 'Tis hair. It will grow back eventually." "Heh, that's more like it." Rainbow turned around. We walked over to where the rest of our friends were standing. Aside from Twilight who was in the middle of casting her memory spell, Applejack, Fluttershy, Sweetie Belle, Spike, and the Cakes were standing a few feet away. We watched carefully as our pink friend slowly opened her eyes. "Oh no." In a heartbeat, Pinkie Pie was hugging me and crying. "I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to ruin your coiffure! Please, please, please, forgive me!" "Wow..." Rainbow blinked twice. "I never thought I'd see the day where Pinkie gets more upset over mane hair than Rarity." I returned the hug more gently to Pinkie. "Water under a bridge, my friend. We know you weren't yourself." "But that's just it! I was myself. I mean, my past self. I mean... guh!" Pinkie looked around, in hysterics. "And...And Spike, Mr. and Mrs. Cake, and the twins... Oh gosh, so many others... I can't be safe to be around. I'm really, really sorry for what I put you through." "W-Well, it looks like Twilight brought you back to your senses." Carrot Cake gave a reassuring smile. "We forgive you." "Yes, all's well that ends well," added Cup Cake with a nod. Pinkie sniffed and wiped her eyes. "I guess so. But it's going to be a long time before I forget all of these older things." "You seem calmer now at least," Applejack adjusted her hat. Fluttershy took a step closer. "Do you think you can tell us about your past self, now that you remember them?" Pinkie Pie nodded while nibbling one of the hairy cupcakes. "Okay... I owe you guys at least that much." --- My last memories of that life were as an academy student. It was a school for exceptional individuals. Allegedly, graduating there meant being set for life. Somebody there thought I was the exceptional author. I was a proud girl, so I accepted the offer without a second thought. But then, things started getting weird. You see, I also had a split personality. I'm not sure when it started, but I noticed the signs like blackouts and people claiming to see me in areas that I was sure I had never been. Normally, the personalities can't remember each other's awareness. But it seems that reincarnating has given me both of them. Unlike the proud girl who would have been satisfied writing stories for a living, the second personality had less than wholesome desires. As that other personality, I took pleasure in slowly plucking hairs off some... potential victims. It was mostly guys. No, it was always young men. Then, after getting their scent via the hairs, I'd find them again... and use my favorite scissors to hang them by their wrists or their elbows, depending on how long I thought that weight could support them. People couldn't ignore hanged men for very long. So, they gave this second personality of mine a nickname. --- "Genocide Jill." Applejack sat wide-eyed with a hoof over her chest. "That's the same name they gave to the culprit of that serial murder case." "Now wait a minute," Fluttershy interrupted. "None of your... um... victims here in Equestria died." Pinkie Pie looked down. "Back then, I... wasn't quite as picky about what happened to the bodies. I often slit wrists and ankles. I heard news that four of Genocide Jill's targets died from blood loss." She looked around slowly. "You still think it's okay for me to walk around freely?" Rainbow flicked her tail idly. "I don't really get all of it, but... the gist of it is that you were pretty terrible, right?" Pinkie turned her eyes to the floor in front of her again. "Yes. I was." "But that was back whenever." Rainbow shrugged her wings. "The way you're talking about it now sounds like you really regret it." Pinkie slowly nodded her head. "Yeah... I do." "Then you're fine." "Wait, what?" Pinkie looked up and blinked. She then spread her front hooves wide. "Are you cray-cray? I just admitted to being a dangerous killer! How is that fine?" Rainbow smirked. "How many of your targets today did you make bleed to death?" Pinkie slowly lowered her hooves back to floor level. "N...None." Rainbow nodded. "Yeah, hanging ponies to leave for other friends to help out is a bit of a nuisance, but I wouldn't rank it as dangerous and lethal. Besides, it means that there was still some of the same ol' Pinkie Pie in you being her Pinkie Pie self. Taking great care not to hurt other ponies, baking sweets, and having a good laugh about the whole thing." Pinkie sighed. "I... think I get what you're saying, but... I don't know. It'll take me a while to really... believe that." "You don't have to believe me right now." Rainbow waved a hoof dismissively. "How about this? If there ever comes a time where you do intentionally destroy some pony's life, I'll sweep in and clobber you." She performed the motions for a silent Pinkie Promise. "Deal?" Pinkie wiped her eyes again and giggled. "Oh, Dashie... you always know what to say to cheer me up." She leaned over and hugged her. "Yeah..." Rainbow grunted against what looked like slightly too tight of a hug. "I'm a real riot." Twilight cracked a smile. "Only Rainbow Dash could cheer someone up by promising reactive violence." Aside from Pinkie and Rainbow who were busy hugging it out, everyone else started laughing at the nonsensical yet perfectly logical statement that Twilight made. I chuckled into my hoof, trying to contain myself from exaggeration. Failing that, I just cut loose with my guffaw. ---