//------------------------------// // Chapter 4 // Story: 1 down // by Writey the writer //------------------------------// Pinkie looked out the window of Sugarcube corner. It was dark out. She smiled, this would prove advantageous, and the night would provide cover of her final amendments to the world. She reached the door and took a step outside; she glanced down at her body. She was still covered in blood from her previous two amendments. She needed to find a way to hide the blood as even an initial glimpse would terrorize anypony and she couldn’t afford to lose the element of surprise. She needed as many advantages at this point as possible, simple preparations were not enough to secure her the final killings. She headed back into the house and found Rarity’s cloak she had worn for the party. It was a deep purple with golden lining around the edges. She wrapped it around herself, it smelled faintly of lavender and little to her surprise fit well as her and Rarity were of a very similar build. She spun the sign of the Sugarcube corner to ‘close’ and locked the door. This was likely the final time she would ever do that she thought. It was a milestone she had never saw herself finally doing, at least anytime soon. She always saw herself handing it over to a younger equally enthusiastic (if possible) mare who she would have trained just like Mr Cake did her to continue the legacy of Sugarcube corner. Then she would retire but still visit to check up on things too ensure they maintained the highest standard Pinkie always had. She would never fulfil this moment she thought. It was a dream she once thought was almost certain, a dream now lost along with the memories fond memories of all she knew. She blamed them for this. They twisted her life. A spiralling cess-pool of lies and betral. She sighed and shut the door firmly. She turned to face the night. It was dark by 6:40. Which was expectable for this time of year; there would still be some ponies around but it would be best to avoid them she thought. Keeping confrontations to a minimal would be easier than killing when she didn’t need to. She only wanted to kill those who had wronged her, no others needed to be harmed unless they stop her reaching her prize. She kept to the back streets. The purple cloak blended into the darkness and with it pulled right over her head she was a mere shadow. She could see the library in the centre of the housing row, standing out due to it being the only building constructed on an enchanted tree. She reached the door of the library and glanced through the window to the right of it. Spike was asleep, as usual, and twilight was lying on her bed reading a book. The floor was scattered with books and research papers, documents reporting Twilight’s findings. Pinkie rolled her eyes, that pony never stopped. At least she’ll be doing what she loved. The preparations pinkie had done were very much dependant on how well she knew twilight. In her eyes twilight was very much a creature of habit and it was simply a matter of time. However the event which she hoped was hinging on her opening a very specific book, in which was a spring loaded clump of poison joke which would hopefully render twilights horn useless leaving her vulnerable. She could try and surprise her and kill her quickly but any mistake like with Rarity could prove disastrous especially with Twilights magic being so inestimable. The book she needed to open was currently being read for pleasure rather than study, ‘Marelin’ a book based on a mythical wizard long ago. She had been reading it consistently every night for the past week. It was simply a matter of time before she opened the book then it would be downhill from there, It was all a matter of waiting. Pinkie glanced through the window every now and again to check up on Twilight. She had been studying for the past hour, and still was. The chill of the night was getting to her. She wrapped the cloak around herself tightly and sat beneath the window, hidden by the greenery. Her eyes drifted up to the starry night sky. Luna’s moon was in full view. A delicate light covered the surroundings. Pinkie closed her eyes. “Oh what the? Spike...Spike!” came a voice from in the house. Pinkie’s eyes snapped open and she gingerly raised her head to view through the window. “Spike was this you?!” said Twilight bearing down on the small dragon. Spike was in fits of puerile laughing and rolled on the floor. Twilight frowned. Her horn was beginning to flex slowly and blue patches form on it. Pinkie smiled, she was too predictable. Spike spoke between laughter “twi....light.....fl....flopple”. Fell back onto the floor again and continued another division of laughter. Twilight rolled her eyes. Picking him up by the tail she put him in the spare room and shut the door. “Until you calm down you’re going to stay in there!” Shouted Twilight through the door. No more Spike to deal with thought Pinkie. A smile spread across her lips as she drew the knife from the cloaks deep pockets. Twilight headed back up the stairs and began reading the book. Fits of laughter were still emitting from the spare room. Pinkie walked cautiously up the door and removed the key she stored next to the library sign. It was part of her preparations to copy the key and a rather essential part of the plan. The slid the key into the lock and with a slow twist a click was heard. Being as quiet as possible was paramount for this to work. She grabbed the handle of the door and, pressing against it, she gradually opened the door just enough room for her to squeeze in. She shut the door to prevent a draft equally as careful as she had opened it. So far she was unnoticed; Twilight was still reading her book. The floor of the library was scattered with books, piled high due to them being alphabetized. Pinkie crept through the minefield of knowledge, each step placed carefully to avoid any sound. She reached the bottom of the stairs and stared up them. They were equally clustered as the main floor with stacks of books trailing up the side closest to the wall. She moved slower than she did on the main floor, she was so close now she couldn’t make a mistake. She reached the top of the stairs. Twilight was 3 feet in front on her bed. With knife in hoof she approached the unsuspecting pony. “Twi...” she said letting her voice drift. “Pinkie! I didn’t know-“ said twilight, her surprise was cut short by a knife embedded into her gut. Her eyes were wide staring at pinkie. Staring in disbelief at the being before her. Her mind worked motionlessly behind her eyes final few seconds counting down to a realization. Pinkie pulled the knife out to strike a final blow. “SPI-“ The knife was plunged into her neck. Blood poured from her wound. Her deep purple eyes went dull as the moment seeped in. She was dying. Blood seeped from the sides of her mouth. Blood soaked into the bed as well as Rarity’s cloak. A tear rolled down her cheek and landed in a pool of her blood. Her breathing stopped abruptly and her eyes grew glassy. Pinkie sighed in relief, there was no more hiding. She had one more amendment. Failing to kill Applejack would result in her breaking a promise. I’ve came so far she thought. Staring into Twilights lifeless eyes. She pulled the knife out from her throat in a quick action. More blood came forth from the wound and soaked pinkie further. She stood up off the bed and walked to the window. The clock tower read 11:08. Less than an hour to reach Applejack. Less than an hour to get what she wanted most. She pulled open the window and jumped out, landing in the bush below to break her fall. Glancing out to see if any pony was watching she met with the path and began walking to her terminal destination. She was running as fast as she could, the blood stained cloak streaming behind her. Apple acres was a 20 minute walk out of Ponyville, even at this pace she would be cutting it close. As even 40 minutes to kill a pony was nothing like the time scale she had prepared, as she had left a comfortable hour for each of them. She hated the feeling of being rushed. The she ran past the barn and through to the front of the house. All the lights were out, likely the whole family was asleep she guessed which was expectable for this time of night. She had memorized the layout of the house, Applejacks was the back left room. She made her way round the side of the house. A ladder was by the side of the house, she had made note of that. She lifted it up off the ground and propped it against the wall next to the window being careful not to accidently hit the window which would alert her target. She removed the cloak and climbed the ladder warily. She glanced in through the window. Squinting to make out what was inside. The bed was empty. She swore and climbed down the ladder. She hadn’t planned for this. Pinkie pressed her head against the wall. This error of misjudgement may end up costing her the final amendment. She turned and pressed her back to the wall. Rain began to fall, softly patting her on her cheeks. She squinted at the barn in the distance. A faint light was visible from the window. How had she failed to notice that when she ran past it, she thought? Leaving the cloak behind, she sped off towards the barn each step echoing in her mind as a second ticking away. The barn door was ajar. The faint light was a lamp hanging from a nail propped to one of the wooden posts. She dubiously opened the door and walked inside the smell of hay and earth was strong from within. “Ah new you’d come fer me.” Came the southern accent to the left of her. Pinkie spun quickly on the spot knife in hand. Applejack lay on her back in the hay, in her hoof was a shotgun. Pinkies eyes widened at the sight of it. “So what now pink?” Said Applejack standing up. “Were you gonna kill me?” Pinkie stood silent for the moment. Then began approaching Applejack slowly. “Pink, don’t think I won’t do it” said Applejack calmly. Pinkie continued her advance, the knife raised in front. “Pinkie! Ah will shoot!” said Applejack louder this time. Pinkie stopped abruptly and stared at the gun, then at Applejack. “Do it then” she said. A large smile spread across her face. She closed her eyes. “ah’m sorry Pink” said Applejack holding the weapon firmer. “ah truly am” She fired the gun. The shot continued in Pinkies mind. The gentle rain hitting the roof of the barn was the only thing heard. She opened her eyes. Coloured streamers floated down from around her and party streamers fell from the end of the barrel. She looked at Applejacks face contorted in horror. “Surprise...” said Pinkie. That was the last preparation she had done, and the one she was now most thankful for. She lifted the knife higher and ran toward Applejack. Applejack was frozen in disbelief. Pinkie had little time left and she knew it, she forced all of her momentum into the knife. Into Applejack. Applejack fell to her back, the knife deep in her chest. Smiling pinkie withdrew the knife and plunged it into her again. Blood sprayed out with each strike. Multiple gaping holes emerged on the orange chest. Spontaneous laughter came from Pinkie as she realized what she was doing. Applejack was the final pony. The final amendment. The promise was completed. She stood up from the heavily bloodied corpse, leaving the knife in the disembodied form of Applejack. She sighed in great relief, it was done. “You finally did it” came Rainbows voice from behind. She turned around slowly. A pool of rainwater had gathered on the floor. Next to it stood the white Pegasus. “I’m finished” said Pinkie “I’ve done what you asked of me”. Pinkie stepped closer to the emblematic friend. “Before you receive your gift, tell me.” Rainbow hesitated. “Why did you so willingly kill our friends?” Pinkies eyes narrowed. “They betrayed me, they spent my life lying about liking me, shouldering off every last token I gave them of my longing desire for friendship.” “I understand.” Rainbow refused to make eye contact. “I wish to share something with you before the gift, share a memory” A look of curiosity appeared on Pinkies face. She dropped to her knees. Sudden images, thought bombarded her mind. Images of her birthday, her friends setting up balloons, Twilight picking up the cake. They were talking. She heard Fluttershy’s voice strongly above others. “She is going to love this” it said. “best birthday she’ll have had” said another one unrecognisable. ‘I’m so exited for pinkie to arrive thought Rainbow; I just know she’s going to love it.’ “We’ve been planning for months I do hope she likes it’” came the voice of Rarity. A final image of them all in the party stood out above all others. The memory from the white Pegasus ended. Pinkies eyes opened. Tears began to pour forth from them. “How....why....”she was lost for words. Tears streamed down her face. She tried to process the information warping through her mind. She looked at her reflection in the pool of rainwater. Her face was covered in blood, her mane was dark. “I’m a monster.” She said between sobs. I’ve based by entire final existence on a lie. I’ve killed all my friends because I saw the worst in them she thought. She stared at her fore hooves, they were shaking. “what am I?” she said at last. She sat there for a further few minutes contemplating the memory she had been given. Rainbow finally interrupted. “Do you want your present now?” Pinkie raised her head. Streaks of tears had formed on her face. She nodded slowly.