//------------------------------// // Influence // Story: The Epiphany of Pinkamena // by Vyven //------------------------------// Two days have passed since Brown Bark's murder, the royal guards have scanned the entirety of both Ponyville, Canterlot, and the neighboring towns. Captain Shining Armor was running out of places to look, and began to stock the streets up with flyers and posters, he refused to give up, Shining Armor will not abnegate his search and capture of Brown Bark. The Cutie Mark Crusaders noticed the drastic increase in security just as the citizens did. Homes, cellars, attics and basements were thoroughly searched, everypony was fearful as a result of not knowing whether or not Brown Bark was still in town. Pinkie Pie and Twilight Sparkle, departing for the newstand, are caught up to by the CMCs. "Hi, Twilight! What's going on here?" Apple Bloom asked, and Twilight recognized that look in their eyes, "Oh no, please tell me you three aren't planning to solve this case..." Twilight clutched, and the three fillies boasted, "Yeah! We're gonna find Brown Bark and turn him in!" Pinkie Pie twitches, and pops a pill in her mouth in response. Twilight protested, "No. It's too dangerous for you three, Brown Bark is a criminal that needs to be brought to justice, and it's apparent they're serious about catching him." Upon approaching the news stand, Twilight Sparkle takes up a newspaper, giving 3 bits to the stand owner before stepping aside with Pinkie Pie to observe the paper at the front cover news: PONYVILLE EXPRESS SEARCH FOR THE 'VANISHED ROBBER' Twilight disparagingly rolls her eyes, "Oh please...the Vanished Robber? Oh well...let's see what they've found so far..." Twilight reads on. 'Investigations are being called out to find the Vanished Robber, Brown Bark, but each returning very little findings, except one.' Intrigued, Twilight read on. 'One investigation has been returned to the Royal Guards, claiming they have found a vacant building in the Everfree Forest, empty, expansive, and filled with buckets, surgical tools, and 17 cutie marks pinned to the wall.' Twilight looks away from the article, choking with digust, "Those poor ponies...I hope Brown Bark receives what he deserves..." The Crusaders desperately try and get a good look at the article, but Twilight obscures the view from them and continues reading, biting her lip in suspense. 'They believe this building to be the hideout of the Vanished Robber, yet the presence of the surgical tools and cutie marks have yet to be explained: Did the Vanished Robber have an accomplice? This is currently under investigation.' She disheartenedly separates the article from the rest of the newspaper and gives the rest to the CMCs, but they object, "Why cain't we see? We're all big ponies!" Apple Bloom remarks, but Twilight Sparkle shakes her head, "Girls, this article isn't something you regularly read, it's about something that actually happened here in Ponyville, and it's too graphic for any of you to see! I understand that you want to read it..." Twilight places the folded up article in her saddle bag and preserves her dialog, "...but I don't think Rarity, Applejack or Fluttershy would approve of me letting any of you see something so severe." She gathers them up with her forelegs and embraces them, "Promise me, that you will not investigate this. I would never forgive myself if anything happened to any of you. Promise." She nudges them austerely, and the three fillies sulk, "...we promise." Twilight Sparkle's usual felicitous smile appears on her face as she releases them, "Excellent. Thank you." It wasn't until then that Twilight noticed something peculiar about Pinkie Pie: She was quiet, lost in thought, Twilight nuzzles Pinkie, and the pink mare shakes her head, "Hm? Huh?" Pinkie Pie's eyes peer into Twilight's, "Pinkie Pie, you're being really odd...is something wrong?" Twilight queried and Pinkie answers with a simple nod, "Yeppers! I'm abstitootally great!" "Hey, guys!" A voice rings through the air, in which Twilight recognizes, Rainbow Dash halts to a stop between Pinkie Pie and Twilight, being careful not to trample the Crusaders, "Did you hear about what's been going on? They found a weird building in the middle of the Everfree Forest! It's the talk of Cloudsdale!" Twilight raises an eyebrow, "I never would have taken you for one who reads the newspaper, Rainbow Dash." The winged mare shrugs, "Nah, everypony in Cloudsdale won't stop yapping about it, you can imagine how I would have no choice but to listen..." Pinkie Pie chimes in, "Hey, where's Fluttershy? I thought she was with you." Rainbow Dash waves a wing at her, "Nah, shes at her house. I knocked, but she's too scared to come out." Twilight's train of thought begins running...poor Fluttershy. She must've heard the news and is now too frightened to leave her cottage, Twilight contemplates going to check up on her, but she knows she's okay, so it might not be necessary to do so...then again...maybe it wouldn't hurt... Rainbow Dash claps her hooves in Twilight's face, "Helllllloooooooo? Anypony home?" Twilight glowers at her, "What?" Rainbow Dash smirks, "If you're gonna think, don't do it while you're staring at me...it freaks me out!" Twilight chuckles, "Sorry Dash, just got lost in thought, that's all." Her stomach growls, and Twilight rubs her stomach, "Ugh, I forgot to eat breakfast...well, I'm afraid we're gonna have to cut this a little short, you guys." Pinkie Pie's eyes light up, "How about we go with you? Can we go with you? I know you want us to go with you!" Twilight smiles and agrees to let Dash and Pinkie join her. "What about us?" Sweetie Belle's face shines as well as the other crusaders, "You...wouldn't be interested in what we'll be talking about..." The crusaders beg to go with, and Twilight disapproves, "No, girls. You have to go home...all this hype is making me hungry..." Applejack's voice shouts out, startling the ponies, "There ya are, Apple Bloom! Ah've been lookin' everywhere for ya!" Applejack eyes her friends, "Howdy Twi. Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie. Come on home, Big Mac is worried 'bout ya." She places a foreleg around Apple Bloom, and the small filly lets out a groan, but Applejack brow beats her, "Y'all can play with yer friends tommorrow when the place ain't so hectic." Twilight fully agrees with Applejack, and she sees her country farm friend off, she then turns to Sweetie Belle, "As for you, we'll take you home." Sweetie Belle pouts, but Scootaloo is lost in awe walking beside her idol. -------------------------------------- After dropping Sweetie Belle off, Twilight pondered long and hard as to what to do with Scootaloo. She disdainfully faces her, "Scootaloo, I guess you can come with...." Scootaloo hops with joy. "But what about my friends? How come they can't come with?" Twilight stares at her, "Because...it's too risky to show all three of you what me and Spike have been up to lately, ever since Brown Bark was declared the most wanted criminal..." Pinkie Pie tilts her head, "What do you mean, Twilight?" Twilight clears her throat, looks around and leans in to whisper. "Me and Spike have devised an investigation of our own, a study, rather...I asked Princess Celestia, not even she knows where Brown Bark is." She takes out the folded article, and unfolding it, she shows it to Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash, "...I have a hunch that there's important details about this case that the investigators aren't telling us. Me and Spike are SO close to finding something, I can feel it in my horn!" Rainbow Dash takes the article from her, and looks at her as the page wilts in her hooves, "So what's the catch? Why are you telling us?" "Because I want you to keep my investigation a secret...if word lets out about it, the media is gonna swarm the library." Pinkie Pie's eyes widen, "Does Princess Celestia know you're up to this?! I'll be really sad if she punishes you for hiding this under her muzzle...but that would make it itch. I guess like a feather...I don't like itchy muzzles." Twilight nods, "As a matter of fact, she does. She's supporting it and strictly ordered not to release any information to the press until the investigation is complete. You cannot tell anypony. Any of you." The mares and the filly agree to keep it secretive, and she beams a smile at them. "Great. Now, let me order a sandwich, and we'll be on our way to the library. Spike is waiting for us." They approach Twilight's favorite restaurant, she orders a sandwich, places money on the counter, and awaits while the sandwich is being constructed. Pinkie Pie can't help but ask, "So what'cha get so far?" Twilight faces her, "I'll explain when we're more secluded." She takes up the sandwich and the group walks away. Reaching Twilight's library, she surreptitiously unlocks the door with her companions by her side, she then knocks on the door in morse code, then Spike answers the door, his eyes go wide, "I-I'll go hide the stuff--!" Twilight abruptly stops Spike with her magic, "Spike, they promised to keep it secret. It's fine." Nodding, he allows them entry and what Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash see is something they can't fathom: The Library is cluttered in paper, maps on the table with strings taped to them, marking routes, newspaper clippings of all of Brown Bark's committed crimes, notes written in Twilight's writing, and stacks of books based on investigating. "As of right now, the Citizen's Center was kind enough to let me borrow Brown Bark's file, I solely believe that we can find where he went based on his personality traits, his last in-town transaction, and use the maps to pinpoint his sightings ever since the date of his recent crime. That's what all of these strings indicate." She points at the strings all over the map on her table, she opens up a folder, "Look at all of this, a birth certificate, proof of citizenship, his criminal background. It turns out his real name is Strong Stomp, an earth pony, wanted for ponynapping, battery...all of the information about him that we need is right here!" Spike adds in, "Him being a citizen of Ponyville makes it much easier to find what we need...the idea that the building in the Everfree Forest was his hideout is..." Twilight finishes Spike's sentence, "Preposterous. How would Strong Stomp manage to make it that far completely unnoticed? Why has nopony seen him ever since 2 days ago? And mainly, what happened to him? Was he captured by a second-party? He could be hiding in somepony's basement right no--no, they checked every single one, so if they did that, then it has to mean that he isn't in town...but what if he isn't, what if something happened to him?" She hits her head in frustration, "This doesn't make any sense! The homes of the ponies that were searched, the owners can't possibly hide anything once THAT happens..." Pinkie Pie sulks in guilt and Rainbow Dash takes notice, "Pinkie, what's wrong with you?" Pinkie begins sobbing, "I-I had no idea, you were looking for him, Twilight." Twilight tries calming her down, "Why? Why are you crying, Pinkie Pie?" Her welled-up eyes meets Twilight's, "I saw him before he vanished..." Twilight dumbfoundedly reacts, "Why didn't you tell anypony? Do the guards know?" Pinkie Pie sniffles, "I thought he was just somepony who wanted to play a game called Secret...he tricked me, Twilight." Twilight desperately places her hooves at Pinkie Pie's sides, begging for more answers, "Tricked you into doing what?!" Pinkie wipes the tears from her eyes, "...into hiding him." Twilight gasps and Spike speaks up, "This is good! I think we have the answer we need to know where to go from here, Twilight!" She nods, "Where did you hide him? How long did you hide him?" Pinkie Pie stops crying, "I hid him at Sugar Cube Corner, I let him stay the night, I thought we were playing a game..." Twilight uses her magic to levitate a notepad and quill, she jots down notes, "Can you tell me what he said to you?" Wiping more tears off, she lifts her head up, "He said something about fake loot..." Rainbow Dash tilts her head, "Fake loot? What the hay does that mean?" Twilight signals Rainbow Dash to be quiet, but Pinkie Pie answers her question, "The fake loot wasn't fake after all...it was the money he stole from the bank...he had it in this pouch--" Twilight anxiously asks her, "What did he do with it? Do you remember any physical features you noticed about him? Did you see him leave at all?" Pinkie tries her best to keep up with Twilight, "The money pouch, he put it in my closet, I remember him having this pretty bad sprained hoof, and did he leave.....did he?" She scratches her head trying to remember, "...no, I don't know if he left or not..." Twilight blinks at her, "You...don't know or you can't remember?" Pinkie shakes her head, "I mean when I figured out that the money was real, I blacked out...I don't remember anything after that..." Twilight's face fills with fear, and the notepad falls to the floor, "...you mean you didn't take your pill....?!" Pinkie Pie quivers, "I tried to! But I accidentally spilled them trying to get one!" Pinkie's tears return, and Rainbow Dash tries to get her head around everything, "Pills? What pills? Pinkie takes pills? For what?" "My split personality disorder." Twilight knows what 'blacked out' means...Pinkamena surfaced, and must've done something to Strong Stomp. "Pinkie Pie, thank you very much. The information you gave me fills in a very large gap...but that building in the Everfree Forest...what does it have anything to do with this case? You said he had a sprained hoof? How badly was he limping?" Pinkie wipes her tears once more, "On a scale of 1 to 10, I'd say 7." Twilight writes more notes, "A limp THAT bad is no sprain, he either broke it or sliced it...we need to find out which one...but how....?" Spike taps Twilight's leg, and she greets him with a stare, "Would there, by any chance, be any blood spills if it was sliced? So we can get a blood sample?" Spike asks, and Twilight rubs her chin, pondering the possibility. "There might...if there is, we can run some tests...Spike, does the medical history say anything about what his blood type is?" Spike cocks an eyebrow, "Medical history...?" "Yes, it should be in his file...we have both ends of this case covered up...now we're going to find out just what Pinkamena did with Strong Stomp..." Spike gathers the file in his claws and sifts through the papers, eventually reaching a tan paper with the Ponyville Medical symbol marked at the top, "This is it! Okay. Blood Type...blood type..." Spike repeats himself as he scans the paper, pointing a claw, "Blood Type: O Positive." Twilight cheers, "Great! Let me get the kit then we'll have Pinkie escort us to Sugar Cube Corner, sound good?" She faces Pinkie with a reassuring smile, and the pink mare agrees. "You're right..." Scootaloo says, "...this is boring, so I'm gonna go home...catch you later Rainbow Dash!" Dash sees the filly off as she leaves through the door. "Remember the promise you made, Scootaloo!" Twilight calls out to her. --------------------------- At the Sugar Cube Corner, Mr. and Mrs. Cake await eagerly for another customer, the bell rings as the door opens, "Welcome to Sugar Cube Corner!" Their eyes lose excitement when they see Twilight and Pinkie Pie. "Oh, good evening, Twilight Sparkle. How may we help you?" Twilight politely answers, "May I have your permission to look around?" The Cakes blink and look at each other before returning their stares to Twilight, "O-Of course." "Spike and Rainbow Dash, I need you to look around outside Pinkie Pie's room for blood, dried up or not. Pinkie Pie, show me to the closet, I want to see this 'loot'." She follows Pinkie Pie up to the closet, steps into the room and points to the closet, distancing herself from it. Twilight opens the door and sees the money pouch, with bits spilled onto the floor, just the way Pinkie Pie left it. "We need to return this to the Bank, but after we get the blood tested...if we find any..." She shovels the money back into it's pouch, seals it up, and nudges it against the wall, the money insdie chiming with a chink as it hits. "Twilight! I found something." The two mares hurriedly leave the room and meet with Spike, holding up a chunk of something, "Spike......that's wood bark..." Spike squints at it, then tosses it behind his back, "Looked a lot like blood. Sorry Twilight. I guess it 'barked' up the wrong tree." Everypony stares at Spike, "Worse. Joke. Ever." Rainbow Dash laughs. "Okay, it was a bad joke, but A+ for effort, right?" Twilight shakes it off, "Check the walls, the floor, every spot you can think of." As Rainbow Dash approaches Twilight and the others, a small speck on the wall catches her eye, she looks at it closer, seeing it has a dull hue of red, "Twilight, I think I found what you're looking for..." The lavender mare jostles her way past Pinkie and Spike, pardoning them as she examines the speck...indeed, it was blood. Twilight takes a cloth out of her saddlebag, and tries to break the speck off into a small crumb. Twilight then furnished herself with an index card in her saddlebag, she instructs Pinkie to look away as a sterilized needle is then pulled out. She breaks the blood crumb into two parts, placing them on their own ends of the index card, then soaking them in the antibody solution, shortly after stirring them until they are nothing but a smear. Twilight surveys the smears carefully, and the crumbs of blood vanish. Twilight then studies a small list, and a smile stretches on her face, "O Positive...Strong Stomp was here..." Twilight puts the kit away, telling Pinkie it was okay to look, "H-How do you know aside from the fact that Pinkie told us?" Twilight boasts, "The clumps of blood dissolved in the antibodies, according to the list I was referring to, that's what O Positive type blood does." "So how are we gonna figure out what Pinkamena did with him?" Twilight thinks, "Maybe that building in the Everfree Forest can give us answers..." Spike begins to panic, "Twilight, I don't think the investigators will let us in--" Twilight's hoof covers Spike's mouth, "They will if we have a friend's permission." The group leaves and give the Cakes gratitude on the way out. They depart towards the Everfree Forest, staying inconspicuous to the passing ponies, they were on the verge of finding answers. Charging through the Everfree Forest, they skid to a stop, Rainbow Dash bouncing off of Pinkie Pie's tail as they spot investigators swarming a stray building, "This is it!" Twilight exclaims as Rainbow Dash stands up, "Gee, I wonder what gave it away..." Twilight ignores Dash's sarcasm as they approach the building, a detective wearing a khaki colored coat is seen leaving the building, adjoining with Twilight, "Ah, good evening Ms. Sparkle." Twilight nods a hello, and Rainbow Dash tilts her head, "Wait...you know each other?" The detective's gaze falls upon Dash, "Yes, me and Twilight have been working on a classified matter around the press' surveillence. I am Carlyle Westhoof, Ponyville's finest detective." It's fine Carlyle, these are friends of mine, they're with me. So anyways, what did you find?" Carlyle snickers, "I was just about to ask you the same thing, Ms. Sparkle. The surgical tools have been used recently, however that's as far as I could get in this investigation, sadly." Blood? Could it be...? "Carlyle, I found a blood sample at Sugar Cube Corner, it tested O Positive. We found out that Pinkamena has something to do with Strong Stomp." Twilight began to explain Brown Bark's identity and Pinkamena, and the detective nods, "I understand. So if I allow you inside this building, will you test the blood I've found?" Twilight nods, "Of course! If that blood tests O Positive, we'll know what Pinkamena did to Strong Stomp." The detective opens the metal door, following behind the group, the putrid odor hits their nostrils, and Rainbow Dash spots the source of the stench coming from a bucket full of decomposing organs, the detective, speaking while he holds his jacket over his muzzle, explains, "The royal guards said to leave it as it is evidence of a barbarous act. I tried getting them to at least cover it up, but their behavior of being duteous towards Princess Celestia prevailed..." Twilight looks around the large room, she admits to herself that it's well-cleaned, she inspects the surgical tools, seeing that they were indeed scattered about as if used just recently...but no blood to test. "O-Oh sweet...Celestia...please tell me those were used for...meat only..." Spike quivers in front of the meat hooks, and Twilight adjunctively sides with Spike and pokes at the hook, some of them being more rusty than the others. "Perhaps I should have informed you of the detail about the skulls that have been found." Twilight decides it can wait as she fixes her gaze on a dry, bloodied looking meat hook, she takes out her cloth and scrapes the blood off onto the cloth, far more quantity than what she attained at the Sugar Cube Corner. She begins working with the sample, and once the test is done, she becomes puzzled, "This blood, isn't O Positive..." She looks at her small list..."It's AB Negative..." Rainbow Dash utters words, "C-Check a different hook!" She flies over and examines each one, she comes across a hook, dead in the center of the wall, in which a flake of blood clings to her hoof. Dash brings the flake to Twilight, and everypony remains suspenseful. "Got him! O Positive! O Positive...!!!" Twilight looks at the hook, her excitment dies down, "Oh sweet Celestia, O Positive...Pinkamena hung Strong Stomp on that hook..." Carlyle adds a possibility, "But how can we be certain it was him on this hook?" Twilight faces the detective, "Carlyle, Pinkamena didn't re-surface for months, but Pinkie told me she blacked-out when she realized why Strong Stomp was there, and nopony has seen him since two days ago...Carlyle, it's the only possibility I can think of that makes sense...there was no other pony that Pinkamena attacked other than Strong Stomp, that HAS to be HIS blood on that hook!" Carlyle nods in agreement, "Yes, it makes sense now! Ms. Sparkle, I do believe this case is solved." Twilight jumps for joy, hugging the detective, as well as her friends, "Shall I report to the Ponyville Express?" Twilight nods, "Princess Celestia DID say not to release any information until it was solved, so yes please." After all the excitement dies down, the group realizes the stench lingering in the air, Spike coughs and covers his nose, "Can we please leave now?" Rainbow Dash begs Twilight, "Please Twilight! I don't know what's worse, the smell, or these stupid flies..." She swats at a fly and Twilight, unable to handle the smell for much longer, drags her friends out of the building, the group and detective Carlyle inhale and pant, shutting the door behind them. "Sweet, merciful, fresh air!" Twilight speaks in between pants. --------------------- All the countless hours of reading, writing, studying and investigating have finally paid off, Twilight, her friends and Carlyle West have cracked the case. The Ponyville Express released their next paper as soon as the details were given, copy after copy was sold, and Spike barely managed to get one for Twilight. Spike enters the library, toting the paper in his claw and extending it to Twilight who then looks up from her book and levitates the paper to her. Spike collapses on the floor exhausted, "Thanks for getting the paper for me, Spike. I appreciate it." Spike gives her a thumbs up, and Twilight sets the paper over her book, reading the front page story: PONYVILLE EXPRESS 'VANISHED ROBBER' MYSTERY SOLVED! 'The vanished robber, Brown Bark, his true identity being Strong Stomp, was pronounced dead after Detective Carlyle West discovered the gruesome act in the stray building found 3 days ago. Any further details as to what was contained in that building is too violent to be provided, the building which was not Strong Stomp's hideout. It is still unclear as to who murdered Strong Stomp, Detective West states that he was unable to detect any info on that mat--.' Twilight's reading becomes disrupted by abrupt knocking, and Spike lays too fatigued to even drag himself. "Don't worry, Spike, you just get some rest." The knocking continues impatiently, "One moment, I'm coming!" Twilight answers the door, and immediately is greeted by Fluttershy's solid hug, "Twilight! I'm so happy to see you!" Twilight hugs the pegasus back, "I heard you kept yourself in your cottage the entire time, what caused you to come out? You heard the news, didn't you?" Twilight can feel Fluttershy's nodding on her shoulder, "Oh yes! But I wonder who murdered Strong Stomp..." Twilight pats her back, "Hey, all that matters is you're okay, don't think about that..." Fluttershy pulls away with a smile on her face, "Okay. I'm just so happy it's all over. What about you? Aren't you happy?" Fluttershy asks with her usual gentle, above-whispery voice, "Why wouldn't I be? Now that the Royal Guards are clearing out of the streets, things can be back to normal, back to the way things were before Strong Stomp made the news." Fluttershy nods and turns to leave, "I-I should be getting some food for Angel, the poor dear is starving...I might come back though, if you aren't busy, that is....but if you have plans for tonight, then--" Twilight interrupts Fluttershy, "Oh no, not at all! You can come by for a visit later if you want to, and hey, we'll even celebrate. I'll go ask Pinkie if she'd like to setup a..." Twilight thinks, "...whatever-she's-gonna-end-up-calling-it party...not that she's really going to give it a title like that, but we'll see." "Oh, okay. I'll see you then." Fluttershy waves at Twilight and flies off as the door closes. "So...a party, huh?" Spike utters words, still laying on the floor, "Do you.....need me to take you to your bed?" Spike waves his arm, signaling a 'no,' "...just let me lay on the floor like this for a few more minutes and I'll be good to go." Spike rests his cheek onto the floor, and Twilight smiles, "I'm going to go invite everypony...I know Pinkie Pie is going to be thrilled to accept my offer to set up a party." ------------------------------------- After going around inviting Rarity, Rainbow Dash, and Applejack, Twilight strides to Sugar Cube Corner, making haste to ask her because of the sunset. She raps on the door, and the one mare she's been needing to see answers the door, "Twilight! I'm so glad you're here! You've been needing to ask me something, right? That's what I heard from Fluttershy anyways, so of course you're going to ask me something, it's why you're here! Am I right? Huh huh huh?" Twilight beckoned Pinkie to stop, "Yes, I want to celebrate that the case has been solved, and I want you to throw a party. Do you accept?" Pinkie Pie hops up and down, "Yeah! I'll throw a party! What are we celebrating? Oh wait, you told me already, nevermind! Don't tell me again! Okay, I'll throw a Hooray-the-case-is-solved-and-Fluttershy-came-out-of-her-cottage-from-hiding party!" Twilight grins, "We're holding it at the library, sound good?" By then, Pinkie Pie is already holding party supplies on her back, "Okie Dokie Lokie! To the library! Hey, everypony should have a transition screen, how come transition screens don't exist? Well, they do, but only on TV, they should make them for real life, because if my transition screen were to exist, it would be bright, pink, poofy, and magical--" Pinkie Pie gasps, "--and it'll have the word MAGIC in it to add pizzazz! Pizzazz. Pizzzzzzzzzzzzzazzzzzzzzzzzz." She giggles, "I like that word, it sounds funny! Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzazzzzzzzzzzzzzz. Pizzzzzzzazzzzzzzzz." Twilight can't help but crack a smile to Pinkie Pie's personality, good old Pinkie Pie. As Twilight and Pinkie Pie pass by an alleyway heading towards the library, a hoof flies out and knocks Pinkie out, which then pulls Twilight into the alleyway. Her screams muffled, the stallion roughly shoves her against a wall, being pinned shortly after, "Ah...I know you, you're Twilight Sparkle, the mare that runs the public library..." He says as he rubs her flank, she squirms and struggles, casting a forcefield, but she grimaces when it gets broken, "Don't try and cast that spell, It won't work..." 'Only unicorns could break that spell...' Twilight thought, her rapist is a unicorn as well as she is. Her erratic thoughts come to a halt when she jumps as his hoof slips between Twilight's legs, she couldn't shake him off, couldn't scream, and despite her wasted efforts, she continued to struggle until she was worn out. Suddenly, Twilight feels the rapist get pulled off of her and thrown to the ground, a struggle sounding behind Twilight, who is leaning against the wall wearily. She hears a mare giggle followed by the rapist yelping in pain, Twilight turns to look, despite her fatigue, to behold not Pinkie Pie, but Pinkamena sitting on the pony's back with a knife lodged in his chest, Twilight gasps and Pinkamena turns to look at her, "Oh, was that you under this stallion against the wall, Twilight? I was beginning to be hopeful to having two playmates instead of just this one...and I guess you could say I was jealous that this one already had a playmate, but I didn't think it would be you..." Pinkamena twitches, causing her to pull the blade upwards and the stallion yowling in pain, "P-Pinkamena! I-I wasn't...he tried to rape me!" Pinkamena's smile vanishes, "Rape? You mean you weren't his playmate?" Twilight shakes her head furiously, "No! It's so disgusting that anypony would try and do such a thing!" She shivers in disgust, and Pinkamena returns her gaze to the stallion laying under Pinkamena whining in pain, Pinkamena then wrenches the blade out of his chest, she begins whispering in his ear, "...if it's a playmate you want, you should've asked me..." She then playfully kisses his cheek before dismounting him. Twilight Sparkle stands there in an abhorrent fright as Pinkamena's silhouette rises from the still body and approaches her with knife in mouth. "P-Pinkamena...what have you done?! You killed him!" Twilight outcries to the pony, but she continues to advance towards Twilight, sounding her usual disturbing breathing, "What do you mean 'what have I done?' You were watching me play with him...." she rubs the blade with her hoof, cutting it and lapping up whatever blood drips out while keeping her eyes on the frightened Twilight, "Sometimes....the road to silent, eternal happiness is one....cut....away..." Pinkamena rubs the blade up and down Twilight's throat, and the lavender mare's thoughts are jarred by fear, "...you just gotta know where to stick the blade in..." "Pinkamena, you don't want to do this, you don't want to kill m-me...I'm on your side..." Pinkamena snickers, and pecks a kiss on Twilight's lips, pushing the handle of the blade with her tongue into her friend's mouth, "...if that's true..." Pinkamena shoves Twilight to the side of her would-be rapist, Pinkamena's hoof wraps around Twilight's shoulder and her cheek rests against Twilight's, "...then show me. Show me that you can be as fun as me..." The rapist, bleeding prolifically from the chest, tries crawling away, and Twilight, with the knife in her mouth, gets pushed closer by Pinkamena. "P-Please don't kill me, I'm sorry!" Pinkamena nudges Twilight, and an angry expression appears on Twilight's face, "Sorry? You're sorry?! An apology isn't going to excuse you from trying to do something so vile to me!!!" Twilight suddenly draws closer to the rapist without Pinkamena's shoving, Twilight feels rage boil inside her and the pink pony cheers her on, "Show him how we play, Twilight!" Twilight leaps on top of the pony, but is knocked off as the stallion frantically stands to run. Twilight swings the knife, cutting off a portion of his tail as well as his thigh, causing him to stumble into the side of a dumpster. Twilight shoves the pony onto his back, mounts him again and proceeds stabbing him over and over, a few in the neck, and in the chest. The rapist lays motionless under Twilight, she continues stabbing until Pinkamena approaches her side. She eyes all of the stab wounds, and grins, "Well, well, well! You play just as good as I do!" The knife slips out of Twilight's mouth, her thoughts reeling at her. What have I done? I committed a murder, that's what I've done! What am I going to do? I killed somepony. What will I do if they catch me? What will Princess Celestia do if she finds out what I did?! Banish me? Imprison me?! Exile me from Ponyville??!! I will NEVER do this again! But...what if...what if Princess Celestia orders a warrant for my arrest despite how regretful of this I am? No... ...Princess Celestia CANNOT know about this...I turn to Pinkamena, "...Pinkamena? Keep it a secret...please..." Pinkamena smiles, "Twilight, shouldn't you be asking that after we take care of the body?" Twilight, now aware of the dead body's presence, panics, "You--! What do you usually do to hide the body?! What is it you do to hide the body well enough so nopony EVER finds it?!" Pinkamena snickers, "...I cut them up, cook them, then eat them..." Twilight blinks, "C.....come again...?!" The pink mare laughs, "I eat them. But I always pick out the bones before cooking the raw! Lots and lots of protein!" Twilight, now daunted, panics once more, "Oh my--! Gah! That's cannabalism! I refuse to eat a dead body!" Pinkamena giggles, "Why? Lose your interest? You and the others have done it before." Twilight shakes her head, "Are you insane?! I've never eaten a dead body before, never in my life have I done such a thing!" "Oh really? That stew Pinkie Pie made 3 days ago...where do you think I got the meat?" Twilight's eyes lower to the ground, "Three days ago? The day when Strong Stomp--OH SWEET CELESTIA!!!!" Twilight holds back her stomach, "YOU MEAN TO SAY YOU SERVED ME AND THE OTHERS STRONG STOMP IN A STEW??!! I think I'm gonna be sick..." Pinkamena laughs hysterically, "You gotta admit, that stew was delicious!" Twilight stops gagging, "...the carrots were well steamed, and the meat was nice...and tende--HEY!" Twilight and Pinkamena stare at the body, it was true, Twilight took part in eating Strong Stomp. She didn't want to eat the body, but she didn't want Princess Celestia to realize her deed either. She sighs, "...alright. Please help me cut it up..." She sinks her face in her hoof, then helps Pinkamena drag the body to a secluded area...into the Everfree Forest. They enter the building, and the putrid smell greets them, Twilight begins gagging again, but Pinkamena walks in, sniffing the air, "I think I left something in here that needed to be thrown out..." She spots the bucket of organs, carries the bucket outside, and digs a hole in the ground, dumping the organs in, and burying them. Juices at the bottom of the bucket causes the odor to remain, Pinkamena takes a water hose and targets the bucket, spraying out the juices, then shutting the valve off. "Now then, shall we?" Pinkamena guides Twilight in, and shuts the door. The two mares proceed cutting up the body with a saw, and Twilight occasionally taking a break whenever she was tempted to throw up. After about two hours, the body now deboned and blood squeezed out, they place each piece into a pouch, "That blood...what do you do with it?" Pinkamena looks up at her, "...It depends what I'm in the mood for, but mainly, I just drink it..." Twilight pretends she didn't hear her answer, "Are we almost done?" Pinkamena tosses the saw aside, "Yep! All done! You carry the meat, and I carry the blood." Pinkamena props the pouch full of meat on Twilight's back, "So much meat....I-I don't think I should eat anything other than healthy..." Pinkamena japes Twilight over the matter, "Meat IS healthy...in a way. You gotta take a break from those salads and pack yourself up on protein, a vitamin you need." "No, a vitamin Rainbow Dash needs..." In denial, Pinkamena turns to Twilight with the blood sloshing in the leather pouch, and tilts towards her, "A lot better than eating half-stale bread behind steel bars...but what do I know? I saw it in a movie once." Pinkamena turns and motions Twilight to follow, checking around making sure nopony is looking in our direction, they would grow suspicious if they saw us leaving the Everfree Forest with full leather pouches. Twilight contemplated the pouch full of pony meat, although whatever is seen in the movies isn't real, Pinkamena has a point...Twilight would very much prefer to eat a pony rather than be placed under arrest by the alicorn she praises the most. The two mares draw near to where they need to go, slipping against the walls, Pinkamena makes a break for it into the shade being casted by a lantern hanging on the side of the house across from where Twilight is, and just as Twilight prepares to meet up with Pinkamena, she spots a glimpse of her telling Twilight to stay where she is. The pair of royal guards pass by, carrying parts for tents, they must be shutting down their patrol unit due to the recent news. The guards vanish out of view, Twilight peers around the corner and runs to reunite with Pinkamena. "This way..." she whispers, and Twilight follows her towards Sugar Cube Corner, observing the surroundings one last time, she opens the door and the two make haste in their entry, quickly shutting the door and locking it. Twilight sighs in relief, both scared and happy, scared for the possible consequences if anypony finds out, and happy that she has the help of a friend to cover up her deed. Little do the two know that Carlyle West kept an eye on them from a distance, his suspicions piqued. "Ms. Sparkle, what makes you think you and your friend can cover up the crime you've taken part in?" He mumbles to himself, placing his notepad in his jacket and a smile forms on his face, "...you are now my investigative subject, no doubt about it. THIS will make a good front page story when you and your friends take the fall."