//------------------------------//
// Chapter 6 
// Story: Pinkie Pie the Octopus 
// by BronyHeretic 
//------------------------------//

	After Fluttershy recovered from her injuries in the hospital, the gang of ponies had regrouped at Sugarcube Corner to discuss Rarity's "plan". All of the ponies were up in the room while Twilight wheeled Fluttershy up the stairs, as she had to wait a day before she could perform any major movements. It was going fine until she fell out, and with a gasp, began rolling down the stairs. Many snaps and crackles could be heard along the way. 
"C-can you just leave me h-here f-for a minute, T-Twilight?" Fluttershy was trying not to cry.
Once all of the ponies were settled, Rarity began to speak, "It seems there may not be any pony who can be of assistance here. But, if I do so recall, Zecora cured us of things just as horrid as this. Why do we not just ask her?"
"That's actually not such a bad idea, Rarity," Twilight agreed.
"Eh, we may as well. I still think Pinkie's fine," Rainbow Dash chimed in, squishing and prodding the octopus.
The ponies all got up and head out of the door to see Fluttershy  struggling to crawling up the staircase. 
Just as she reached the top, she looked up and asked, "Where are you g-girls going?"
"Oh, I forgot you were there. We're going to the Everfree Forest to talk to Zecora," Twilight replied.
With a heavy sigh, Fluttershy let her grip go and she began to slide back down the stairs. The ponies quickly traversed through the market without causing any mishaps and entered the Everfree Forest. Fluttershy clung to her wheelchair, for some reason it grew darker the farther in they went, and the bumps of the dirt and cobble path was disgruntling. 
"C-can we turn b-back, please?" Fluttershy whimpered. 
"We have to keep going, we'll be safe once we get to Zecora's hut," Twilight reassured. 
The sounds of cackling and howling in the distance made it an unsettling scene, and a fog began to roll in. The ponies began to have trouble seeing, and Pinkie, who was nestled atop Rainbow Dash's head, was holding tight. Suddenly, a violent roar shook the ground, and caused Pinkie to fly up in the air and land on Fluttershy's lap, making her scream loudly. Twilight lost her grip on the chair and let go, causing it to go rolling away.
"FLUTTERSHY!" Twilight yelled, as the wheel chair rolled down a hill, but all too late.
At that moment, everything stopped, the ground stopped shaking and it was silent.
"We've gotta go find them!" Rainbow Dash flew down the hill, leading everypony behind her.
At the bottom, the trees became more dense, and so did the fog.
"I can barely see anything," Rainbow remarked.
"There has to be some sort of trail we can follow, look for broken twigs or tracks," Twilight replied.
"Twilight, over here!" Rainbow dash pointed at the ground a few feet ahead of them, there was drips of shining black liquid.
"It's Pinkie's ink! C'mon, we have to find them!"	
Following the trail, Twilight could see that the ink trail became more frequent and blotchy, almost like diarrhea. 
"Uh, oh," Rainbow Dash said, pointing to a bush. In it was Fluttershy's wheelchair. The ink trail also stopped, "What now?"
Before Twilight could answer, a small scream could be heard not far from them. Twilight and Rainbow Dash ran towards it, and saw Fluttershy covered in ink being carried by hooded pony, along with Pinkie on her head.
"Zecora?" Twilight asked, hopeful.
The pony took off it's shroud, revealing that it was in fact, Applejack.
Twilight gasped, "Applejack! Put her down right now!"
Applejack smirked, "Y'know I can't do that, sugarcube."
Rainbow Dash tackled Applejack to the ground, letting Twilight pick up Pinkie with magic and grab Fluttershy and run off into the bushes. Rainbow Dash then jumped off and flew to where Twilight headed.
"Git back here, ya varmints!" Applejack shouted after them.
"Fluttershy, are you okay?" Twilight asked to Fluttershy, "I noticed that there was some brown puddles as well as Pinkie's ink."
Fluttershy blushed, but couldn't answer, as Rainbow Dash barreled through the brush and landed next to them.
"Whew, that was a close one. Are we near Zecora's hut?"
"Actually, I think I see a light just up ahead," Fluttershy pointed out in front of them up a hill.
"Good work, Fluttershy, let's go."
The ponies ran up the hill, covered in roots and mud. It was just starting to rain, and Flutteshy had lost her chair. There didn't seem to be any sign of Applejack being near them, but they had to sat on guard just in case she caught up to them. It hurt Twilight to think about what she did to her, and how she would never be able to forgive her for such unspeakable actions. It was a kindness to not have the princess behead her on the spot. It was best not to think about it, it was also easier. 
Twilight  banged on the door, waiting for a reply, there was none. She started to hit it harder and longer, none. She was practically about to break down the door when a familiar zebra opened it, with a worried and frustrated look in here eyes.
"Zecora," Twilight cut her off, "We have a problem," Twilight stuck out the octopus, who started squirming her tentacles and squirted a stream of fresh ink in Zecora's face. It hit right as lightning struck, so that was pretty cool. Like lightning hit her, except it didn't. Like when you're on the toilet and you start to have chain farts, and it sounds like a song. That's always nice, I guess. It's those little moments that make the fondest of memories, though it may seems odd. I, for one, have no trouble accepting fart related instances as fond memories, I remember when I was 7, I would announces when I farted, even in restaurants. That is, until my parents made up a game where I had yell "safety!" when I farted, if they said "doorknob!" first, they would lightly hit until I touched a doorknob.
Zecora wiped the ink off of her face and allowed the ponies to come inside.
"I don't know why, but I found Pinkie Pie like this one day, can you help us? We have no idea what to do," Twilight begged.
"I have not seen anything like this, though it appears she is in a state of bliss," she replied.
"Can you fix it?!" Rainbow asked.
"If it is a cure for this you seek, your odds may be bleak," Zecora frowned, "If you wish your odds to be the best, I must send you on a quest," the zebra looked Twilight in the eye.
"We'll do anything," Twilight replied.
Suddenly, Rarity burst in the door. 
"Oh, yeah. We left you while you were taking a nap," Rainbow smirked.