Diprosopus

by WritingSpirit

Burn Thy Body, Free Thy Mind

"But would she mind if I read them? Y-You know how she is with books and all..."

"Of course, Scootaloo," Fluttershy replied earnestly, wearing a grin.
"Twilight may be a little bit precarious when it comes to books, but she would be extra delighted for you to read some of her books. She always was!"

The orange filly nearly jumped with a gasp of glee on her face, though she held herself back at the last minute once Fluttershy let out a chuckle at her over-enthusiasm. Sheepishly, Scootaloo let out a meek 'thank you', slowly backing away until she reached the door, to which she quickly zipped out from.
She didn't know what happened to Scootaloo in the past few weeks they were in Canterlot, but the notoriety and what the yellow pegasus put as crude behavior was all but gone. What was even more surprising was that she was spending a lot of time with Twilight -- the last mare Scootaloo was expected to be with -- these days, which seemed like a good thing, considering the change of behavior that came with it. How Twilight convinced the teenager to do so was more of a mystery; she herself couldn't think of a way to change Scootaloo for the better, and for her friend who has completely no idea on foalsitting (counting out Spike and recently, Radiance), it was nothing short of impressive.

With a bemused sigh, she gathered the librarian's unkempt array of notes together, stacking them neatly along with the many books and dictionaries on the table; the result of their owner being absent and currently residing in the far north. The news of Twilight, Rarity and Spike's temporary sojourn to some small town was slightly abrupt to them, especially for the now disappointed Sweetie Belle, who wanted her sister to be there for tomorrow's round in the singing competition. Applejack had been trying her best to cheer her up, though even that wasn't enough to lift her spirits.
Otherwise, life went on as usual for them. There wasn't anything alarming ever since the recent attempted assassination of Rarity and Spike. Despite that, the Princesses, working with Shining Armor and Fancypants, were still stringent with the law all around Equestria, wanting to prevent the next bomb attack before it could happen; the calm before the storm.

A knock on the door spurred her to turn around, the sight of a dismal Rainbow Dash floating there with a forced smile slightly surprising her. It has been a while since the two old friends talked, and Fluttershy could understand why: the events of the dispute between rainbow-maned pegasus and a certain draconequus, and the resulting lawsuit that she had to suffer as a result. Again, Fluttershy never blamed her friend for separating Amber Rose from her, though it seems Rainbow had already did so.
"H-Hey, Flutters," she stammered, settling uneasily onto a chair.
"Can we talk for a minute? Please?"

"Sure."

Within a second, Fluttershy settled down right across her, obviously a little more comfort and relieved at having her company than her friend. She always hoped that Rainbow would come here to talk about how her flying was like in the past, or maybe even to get tips about taking care of her newborn twin daughters, but she knew all along, ever since that night, that it would never be the case.
"Amber's fine, just to let you know," the cyan mare spoke.

"I know," came the meek reply, along with the giggle.
"Mac told me this morning when he came to ask me on making oatmeal for her. He's a really good cook, though he just couldn't get the ounces of milk right."

Both of them laughed quietly, though it was quick to die down, leaving Rainbow to stare out the window and Fluttershy to just reminisce about her and Big Mac's time together before their marriage. How long has it been, since the nightmarish incident of her snapping one day in her cottage to the point where the stallion pledged to keep her company? Having reserved feelings for each other for so long now ever since Applejack first introduced her to the stallion after she moved from Cloudsdale, it wasn't a surprise that they were bound to share their first kiss, the only strange thing about it was the day it happened: Nightmare Night.
"What about you and Soarin'?" she asked.
"Are the both of you alright... if you don't mind me asking?"

"We're good," Rainbow answered, smiling still at her friend's timidity.
"He's a little rough on the patch when it comes to changing Firefly and Mayfly's diapers. Said something along the lines of working at the weather factory was way easier of a job than this. Sometimes, he really, really just gets on my nerves..."

Fluttershy couldn't help but let out a giggle.
"And?" she asked.
"How are the twins doing?"

"They're doing great," she exclaimed happily with a cheerful grin. For once, Rainbow Dash was overjoyed about something else other than pulling off her signature move, the Sonic Rainboom, the thought of which made Fluttershy chuckle in amusement.
"I think Firefly's learning a few words already! Like that one time, she suddenly just called me 'Mama' out of the blue! She called me her mother, Fluttershy! I was so excited that I just had to ask Soarin' to try it out! Betting he's still trying on the 'Dada' part with the two. You should've seen it: he looks so funny when he's frustrated! I can't believe it, how fast they're learning!"

"I'm glad to hear that, Rainbow," Fluttershy replied, smiling at her friend's progress in being a mother.
"The same thing happened to Macintosh and I, actually. Amber was a fast learner as well, it seems!"

At the mention of Amber Rose, Rainbow's grin started to falter, her face returning to the gloomy, bleak state that she wore when she stepped into the library. Eventually, silence enraptured the room, the tension between both pegasi re-igniting once again, though this time there was no rage, only sorrow. Both pegasi just looked down, their vexation of the other mare palpable through their biting lips with the desire to speak, yet they could not.
Fluttershy's breathing tensed abruptly, glancing up when she heard a sniffle from her friend, the qualms of guilt no doubt overwhelming the usually hard-headed, proud pegasus. She knew there'll come the time that this would eventually happen, just as much as she knew she couldn't have prepared for it.
"I'm sorry..." Rainbow apologized suddenly, hiding her face from her friend's view.
"I'm s-sorry..."

"Shh..." the butter-colored pegasus lifted her friend's face, cheeks already trickling with tears.
"I don't blame you, alright? You were just trying to protect Firefly and Mayfly--"

"B-but... but it just isn't fair!!"
Rainbow stomped a single hoof on the table with such force that it made the mugs of stationery, a few of the thinner books and Fluttershy's heart jump. She suddenly broke out into a loud sob, burying her face into her friend's shoulder, the weight of guilt evidently snapping the veil she desperately tried to maintain.
"IT'S ALL MY FAULT!!" she screamed, voice muffled.
"It's because of me that you can't be with Amber anymore! It's because of me that you can't be with your own daughter!" and at that point, Rainbow pushed herself away from her friend, stumbling and turning her back towards her.
"N-N-No... y-you were wrong, Fl-Fluttershy; this was COMPLETELY MY FAULT!!"

"R-Rainbow, please--!"

"I had a family to turn to, Fluttershy!" she continued, ignoring her friend's desperate protests.
"I had ponies that I know would care for me! You DIDN'T!! YOURS WAS TAKEN A LONG TIME AGO!! YOU SUFFERED WHILE I LIVED A LIFE WORTH LIVING, FLUTTERSHY!! EVERYPONY TEASED YOU AT SCHOOL, EVERYPONY JUST BRUSHED YOU OFF WHEN YOU LOOKED FOR A JOB, AND NOW.... A-AND N-N-NOW THIS?!!"

The cyan mare smashed her hoof onto the table again, this time managing to punch it inwards, forming a porcupine of splinters on the underside. In a fit of rage, Rainbow Dash gave punch after punch into the table, splinter after whizzing splinter forming small, subtle cuts in her hooves, already being bruised blue-black from it all. She screamed loudly until her throat almost felt like popping, and with every violent, staggering hit unto wood, it grew louder.
Fluttershy could only watch, too shocked at the mare's violent display to do anything, her heart already tingling with anxiousness and worry at her friend's condition. The library was filled with Rainbow Dash's hellish screaming and backbreaking punches, and all the terrified pegasus could wonder was why the royal guards hadn't stormed through the doors yet.

"YOU DON'T DESERVE THIS!! YOU DON'T DESERVE ANY OF THIS!!"

At that point, Rainbow's trembling hooves finally gave away, collapsing just in time for the horrified Fluttershy to catch her, violently convulsing as the butter-colored pegasus lifted her up and helping her back onto the chair. She was still sobbing heavily, cheeks red from vented rage and eyes overflowing with tears before cringing in her seat, the other mare being only able to watch somberly from the side.
"Wh-Why......" she griped, clenching her eyes shut, her teeth harshly pressing down onto her lips.
"It's... it's just... isn't f-fair......"

Fluttershy just quietly hushed her, the feelings she has repressed for so long boiling in her heart again. It was reminiscent of the day that the stranger in white came knocking on their door and murdered her father; it was reminiscent of the day that her mother was executed right before her very eyes.
Perhaps it will come again when she meets the pony responsible for their deaths again. Perhaps when they see each other one day, she would show it; her feelings all wrapped up. After all, she had lost her family to him, and for her to have Big Mac and their daughter as family, she doesn't want to lose them again.

For Rainbow to understand that means a lot to her.

For her to grieve over it...

"It's alright," she comforted her gently, stifling a weak smile.
"Just because the court split me and Amber apart doesn't mean she's gone forever. Plus, I still have Mac to take care of her, don't I?"

"B-But... but I--"

"You were just overreacting, Rainbow," the mare softly cut in.
"I know you're concerned about me, but you still have Firefly and Mayfly to take care of, remember? Just like how I take care of Amber Rose, you have to be a mother to them. They need you."

Somehow, Rainbow Dash couldn't get what she was saying, yet there was a tingle in her heart; a clear sign that told her what her friend said was right. Maybe it was her motherly instincts that drove her to agree to her words, but whatever the reason, she knew it was the right and responsible thing to do.
"Maybe you're right..." she said, wiping her tears.
"B-But why...?"

"Hmm?"

"Why are you so nice to me?" Rainbow asked again.
"I-I did all these bad things to you... a-and... and you never did anything to me. I treated you like a jerk-- no, more than a jerk! I don't d-deserve your kindness..."

"You do, Rainbow..."
Her response was puzzling, and as the cyan mare quietly watched her friend striding towards the window, her head pondered over the simple question: why? Fluttershy's gesture brought her over, her head pointing towards the window, to which she couldn't help but let the curiosity of it overwhelm her.
The sight of a beaming Big Mac cradling Amber Rose to sleep was one that made her even more confused. Yes, it was understandable for Fluttershy to adore the sight, but her? It would be different if it was Soarin' and one of her daughters instead, yet at some point...... something told her it wouldn't seem right if it was so.

"Don't you realize it, Rainbow?" Fluttershy continued, eyes shimmering with a quivering sigh, the sight of it making the other mare glance at her in surprise.
"You gave me a chance, Rainbow. You were there when everything happened, right? You could've ran away and yet... y-you chose to help..."

Rainbow could only stare at the floor, gawking at her friend's words while her head tried to run through the events of the past. It was true, that she was the one that called the police when she saw Fluttershy being beaten up by her mother that night, and that she was the one that found her after her escape from the orphanage and kept her away from the bullies, and when she realized where Fluttershy was long after her sudden disappearance on the day they had their Cutie Marks, she was the one that moved to Ponyville to keep her company.
"You gave me a chance, Rainbow..." she repeated, more happier this time with her gaze stuck to her husband and daughter right across from the window.
"Without it... I wouldn't have had Amber. I wouldn't have met Macintosh. I wouldn't... I wouldn't be here... I would just be in Cloudsdale... crying and... and just... not knowing what might've happened if it all changed..."

Then she turned back, the first tear falling from her eye, albeit one filled with joy. Rainbow stifled a smile that would've been Fluttershy's to wear, but she didn't mind; what matters is that they were happy. With that, both of them wrapped their hooves around each other, giving a soothing hug.
"Thank you, Rainbow..." the mare softly whispered.

For once, Rainbow Dash just let her tearful smile say the words.

"You don't have the nerve! DO YOU HEAR ME?! YOU DON'T HAVE THE NERVE!!"

"Do I?"

She trembled within her raggedy sheets like a mare on the streets in the climax of winter, where the snow would batter her and the frost would render her still with the only other source of warmth she could produce being her cloudy breath itself, her eyes flitting fearfully upon the ponies around her. All those hungry eyes... lusted for blood as their leader stepped forward with something glinting in his hoof, his figure as high as he always was in the past.
It was the one she knew for a long time, albeit now simmered within the darkest voids of corruption, forged from the Tartarian interlopers that roamed these ruins. He stepped closer, flaunting in the suit he donned; a glazing navy blue uniform complete with epaulets and a pair of medals, both heralded in high regard, but nevermore. Now, all she could do was scream for help, but what help would come in the banishment of hell?

None.

Unfortunately, he knew that as well.

"LET ME GO!! PLEASE JUST LET ME GO!!"

"You made this happen, didn't you? You were responsible for everything that happened, so who else is to blame but little... old... you~?"

Curse her ears for hearing their vile laughter; curse them as much as the malevolent souls around her. She gritted her teeth as he once again approached her. The eyes of his that she had once cherished, the same pair that held the glory of the deep color of the ocean as well as its prosperous lives, were now soulless. Polluted.
"Just let me go... pl-please..." she begged. It was the last resort; she told herself never to give up to him, yet the sweet disposition of death was more preferable than the bleeding legion of suffering. The stallion about to give the latter treatment would've commend her on that as well, but he changed. For the worse.

"Please... j-just... no! NO!! STAY AWAY!! JUST GET AWAY FROM M--!!"

Her lips crunched and bled, though not as much as her chest: the core of the searing pain that hit her faster than any aphrodisiac that would've calmed it. It dug deeper, piercing through every network of nerves that stood in its way, to the point where a shrill erupted from her mouth, her outstretched jaws catching tears of desperation. Of anger and disappointment.
Sounds of folding flesh being shredded like lettuce echoed throughout the room when it started to spin, though she was the only one that heard the screeching behind it. The blood that streamed out like a virgin geyser had discolored into a dark red, forming a murky puddle with the dirt and dust lingering on the floor. Her pinprick-sized pupils could only watch in horror, the propeller nestling within her turning faster and faster, chopping into meat and drilling them out with the fervor of a blender.

Disgust met desire when she was pulled deeper in, her chest jabbing with full force into the blades, though all that was lost with a kiss. It was coarse and sickening, and squirm as she may, she could not grapple herself from it. There wasn't a sensation that she once enjoyed, only mixed pain and sorrow.
His hoof crept down between her exposed form, a moan launching out from her and a laugh breaching right into it. Love turned into mad lust, and with each grind of his hoof, all she could do was let out breathless pants, her head stuck in the borders of lust and pain that blurred much more as time passes. The acts on her loins became more outrageous with time even as the blades turned faster still in her chest, to the point where she wanted more, her addled mind no more fragile than her diced heart. It was sordid as it was sexual, but the worse part wasn't that he was doing it.

The worst part was that she liked it.

And she wanted to crawl back to him again... for pain and pleasure... and moan into his ear...

"Take me..."

"Harmony?"

Harmony Peridot awoke with a sweaty gasp, the sight of an evidently worried Stellar Lionheart looming over her being the only thing that eased her. With a sigh, she started to lift herself up, stopping when the butler knelt down suddenly, her surprise overwhelming her when he reached his hoof towards the cheek, brushing away... a tear.
"You were crying in your sleep, Miss Peridot," he solemnly spoke.
"And I don't mean softly whimpering. Caduceus would've woke up already if you were any louder."

"Deep sleeper, isn't he?" she remarked with a smirk, making him chuckle softly.
"Oh, and about the crying... it's nothing. Just some... nightmares. You know how one can get many nightmares in Pendant Lakes, especially when it's like this..."

"Are you sure?" the colt asked doubtfully.
"You know how I hate liars, especially when I know they're lying to me."

Of course, the mare scolded herself. This was the stallion that, as Gypsum once told her, had a lie detector implanted in his head. She stifled a weak smile at the remembrance of her long-gone friend; another unfortunate victim of Janus that left the rest of them shattered apart. Her cheerful, signature giggles and her gypsy music... she somehow missed it really, even though she was overly annoyed by it when the mare was still around.
"Perhaps..." she quipped.
"But what's the point of telling somepony when it already happened? What would you do then, Stellar Lionheart, if I told you? That you would pity me? Sympathize me over my sins?"

"We'll have to know what we're dealing with," he calmly spoke.
"You lingered down here longer than the rest of us. You know every inch of the ruin and every essence that dominates the paths we are about to take..." Stellar stopped for a brief sigh, "Caduceus was right about it, saying we needed to trust you on this, even if you did what you did. You too said that you wanted to stop Janus and...... that's... that's good enough of a reason for me."

Harmony just stared at him, fuddling with her words before stuttering out a small 'thank you', to which Stellar returned with a welcoming nod. She had always wondered how he became the butler of the whole family, what with his, in her opinion, obnoxious way of thinking and diligent pride, but now... it seems even he's more than the old snob she always pictured him as in the past, when the days were more different than the nights in Pendant Lakes. Cruel for her to only realize it after the grand city's demise.
"About what happened to my... heart is a topic I'd rather not discuss yet," she said, glancing somberly down at the hollow cavity on the left of her chest.
"But otherwise, I'm pretty fine with all of it."

"I'll try..." Stellar murmured, clearing his throat as he asked question number one.
"How are you still alive?"

"Again, I'm no more alive than a rotting corpse."
With a sigh, Harmony shifted to the sight, mind progressing into her premature reincarnation.
"I don't... I don't know what happened, actually. I remembered floating... falling freely in perpetual naught, waiting for the landing that never came, when suddenly I was just... brought in? I don't know, by the light. For some reason, I felt it clawing at my body and gnawing at my flesh, almost as if it wanted to... tear me apart... Everything started to blind me, dragging me down into the abyss and tossing me around like a doll and suddenly... I... woke up."

The old colt leaned forwards, listening with rapt attention as she continued:
"I found myself in the Palace. On the bed, as if everything was just a dream, but the state it was in was enough of an indication, really. I've thought of going back to sleep, but every time I closed up my eyes, something stirred me awake, almost as if it warned me how it's not my time to go yet, as if I had something to do. That's the time when I left and tried to explore what's left of the city, but when I accidentally cut myself later on, the feeling of... of emptiness and numbness beyond emotion... that feeling told me and made me realize... I was dead..."

"Then how are you still walking?"

"Never knew how..." she answered.
"But what I know is that I'm not the only one who has woken; there are others with the conscience of a demon, looking more deranged and grotesque than me, who had rose from the dead once again. And they're not friendly at all."

Stellar shuddered, remembering one such encounter a few days ago back at the dilapidated building once known as the famous Foster Orphanage. The monstrosity was still vivid in his head, its jarring, grotesque appearance branded in his memory; a figment of Tartarus he would never want to see again.
"It seems you've seen one of them," Harmony mused, apparently noticing his sudden discomfort.
"Better than seeing none, I suppose. Get a little taste of what you'd be facing."

"Perhaps so."

"Describe it for me, then."

Stellar blinked in surprise once she said that, asking in return:
"I beg your pardon?"

"Describe it for me," Harmony repeated, a little annoyed.
"They're all different, you know? These monsters were once ponies in life, their bodies having been possessed and transformed by the darkest of spirits that seek only for blood. I've met too many to recognize each of them, but it might be a little bit personal for you, I think..."

How bad could it be, he said to himself. With a sigh, the butler began his description: pale, ghostly face, sewn mouth, soulless, empty eyes and mane draping over the body like a curtain. The more he proceeded with it, the more Harmony's face started to darken, the grim look she was displaying ringing a question in Stellar's heart.
"Does she look familiar?" he asked, assuming it was a she.

"Too familiar."
The pink mare bit her lip, unable to let the answer out. She knew perfectly well who the monster was in life; a mare that held the grace that will be the envy of every ballet dancer, the beauty that would make all the flowers seem rotten and withered and the radiating calmness that could tame the rowdiest of dragons, perhaps even the crowd of them. For her to become who she is now is travesty, really; instead of pacifying fears, she was now inciting them.
Of course, Stellar was not bestowed with any of that knowledge. If he did, he would probably be sulking in the corner and thinking about past events instead of being the attentive colt he is now. She wouldn't know how he would react to it, but if there was an answer he was expecting, then an answer she had to give.
"That mare was a mare you know very well," she said, making him turn in surprise.
"She's not a friend of yours, luckily, but still you know her. You did serve under her before..."

Stellar's jaw dropped in horrific realization. That monster roaming the orphanage with such a malevolent, macabre of a figure was a Palgiot? Of all the ponies that once lived... he felt faint at the thought of it. Frozen in horror, he set himself down onto the floor, unable to understand why.
"Wh-Which one was it?" he asked, voice trembling.
"Which Palgiot...?"

The answer was quick and simple, yet the name that came out like a blind lottery swung itself like a bat, smashing through the glass panes of his conscience, cracked already by the revelation before it. Cruel irony, Harmony thought to herself, for a mare that inspired beauty to become a creature that was abhorred by as such.
The colt, on the other hoof, was too shocked to even think about anything else other than the creature's precedent form. Of all the ponies, not to mention of all the Palgiots, it had to be her, to the point where her name echoed like a harsh reminder in his head.

"Autumn Palgiot..."

"But what if... what if he was in league with those baddies that tried to kill us back at Princess Terra's shrine?"

"I assure you, he's nothing like that," Phoenix assured, trying his best not to laugh.
"He's one of Velvet's oldest friends, alright? He's not some random stranger we're gonna simply bump in the street and ask for some help! Usually, that would be Ollivander's job."

"But what if... ooh, what if he's a vampony?!"

"He'll be dead under my hoof."
The stallion never told her, but his gruff tone was clear enough of an indication to tell her of his hatred of vamponies, and it's not only from how they were portrayed in modern literature. He had met a few vamponies in his journeys with the caravan before this and, apart from a few, most of them were as violent and greedy as they were deceptive.
"Just relax, Pinkie," he finally urged.
"He's somepony worth trusting. Velvet told me he's a professional in his line of magic. You don't have that much ponies in this world who have the talent to regain memories, especially from those who have firsthoof experience."

Pinkie Pie could only nod, her eyes darting throughout the bustling streets of the town of Valewood. It was a fairly crowded town, with the housing mostly being tall, rigid apartments made from gloomy brick and concrete lining across the sidewalks complete with alleyways streaking between them. The only inch of color in the dull landscape, aside from the ponies wandering around, were the redundant graffiti sprayed over the walls, some too vulgar and unsettling for her spectrum of understanding.
The suburbs, however, were a more welcoming district to be in. Although still packed tightly together, the houses were shorter and wider, the white brick walls sterile and free of the juvenile acts in the uptown community. The slate roads snaked around every building and miniature archway, the pure and pristine sight of such further impressing the mare of the architectural design that the town possessed.
"I don't mind living here," she remarked softly.

Phoenix nodded in response. The celebrated essence of peace was strong here, considering how remote it was from the northern borders of Equestria; the Beyond, as the ponies there would've phrased it, just like how they phrased the Dragon Kingdoms to be the Badlands, the Southern deserts the Wildlands and the Eastern valleys the Outlands. He himself preferred their actual names instead.
He had studied a bit on Valewood during their journey here: the town with a cultural heritage that spanned over six centuries and a modern flair in vintage fashion and styles. It was exceptionally famed for its surrounding orchards, the largest one of which Velvet's friend had inherited.

Sure enough, the cobblestone streets made way for a dirt path, the row of apartments ceasing to a halt as both ponies came to an iron gate, rust already beginning to eat away its depiction of swallows swooping down and snatching grapes in their beak from a giant chalice in the center. The doorways parted with a creak, the owner apparently notified of their arrival by none other than Velvet himself.
The mouth-watering sight of lush, ripe oranges hanging on the branches of the trees aligned with the path caught Pinkie's attention, and she would've lunged to grab a bite from them if not for the presence of Phoenix walking alongside her. At the end of it was a white, slightly derelict farmhouse, with one side being covered in scaffolding and ladders leading up to the roof, no doubt for patching a few crevices across the slate surface.

Phoenix raised a hoof in greeting at the sight of two ponies chatting on their porch, stopping only when they noticed their approach. One of them was Velvet himself, savoring a cup of warm tea. The other was, no doubt, Velvet's friend: a silver unicorn with spiky mane and flowing tail a vivid arctic blue, the same color present in his Cutie Mark: an energy ball. He was wearing a black vest donned with golden buttons, the only thing that alleviated Pinkie's doubts about him other than that being the black cane he was carrying, its golden hilt fashioned into a fierce cobra, fangs protruding and poised to strike.
There was no doubt: this was the pony that Princess Terra said visited her shrine and possessing the same delirium that Pinkie herself was going through. He looked as if he was apparently recovered, by what method, she was intending to find out. Perhaps then, once and for all, she'll know at least something about her past.
"You must be Velvet's companions," he exclaimed warmly, shooting a glance at his friend.
"The name's Lithehoof. Saturn Lithehoof, if you may. Welcome to the wondrous town of Valewood!"

"It's a pleasure to meet you," Phoenix answered, shaking his hoof.
"I assume he told you of the reasons for our arrival?"

"Of course, of course! Now, if you may please step this way..."

Pinkie was the most hesitant, trying her best to hide behind Phoenix once they stepped inside the hallway. Judging from the musty air, the house was old, its bare walls stripped of its aged decor and smelling of rotting oak and damp moss. Clamping her nose from the stench, she spotted a few unused cans of plaster and paint, along with rolls of wallpaper in the corner, free of the lingering dust around that had already formed layers on everything else.
"Sorry about its state. Just bought it couple of months ago," Saturn explained, limping towards the door.
"T'is hard to revive a dead business, especially one focused solely on exporting fruits. Once I got the money from them, I'll hire a few more ponies to help hasten the renovations, and everything will turn out smoothly from there. Had I knew you guys were coming here earlier, I would've finished the guest bedrooms and toilets already!"

"It's alright, my old friend," Velvet replied, patting his back.
"Our stay in Valewood would be temporary. There's no need to place another burden on your back! Once we've settled with all our affairs here -- this included -- we'll set off once again."

"Ah, of course! This is the caravan we're talking about!"
Everypony, save Pinkie, chuckled, just as they entered into what the mare guessed was supposed to be the study. It was empty and barren, with the only few things occupying the room being a faded 'Welcome' mat, two or three potted plants and several tall stacks of books, waiting patiently to be shelved. There was little light here, rendered as such by the curtains, though somehow it gave a strange sense of reticence. Of privacy.
Phoenix's sights, however, were set onto the floor in the center of the room; a detail he would've missed out if not for the rainbow-like swirls shone by the lackluster light coming in from the windows. Kneeling down, he took a whiff, his tail hastily shifting to the side once he realized what it was.

"Oil..."

The pattern it was drawn out as was more disturbing: it was a giant circle, enclosing a five-pointed star within, the result notoriously known instead as the pentagram. There was only one thing, in his expense of his knowledge, that used the combination of both oil and this shape in the practice of magic; a field of magic deemed tainted and untouched, banned by the Equestrian Ministry for a variety of understandable purposes.
"You intend to use this?" he asked sternly.
"You intend to use black magic?"

"Wait, what?" Pinkie exclaimed, shocked.
"You mean he... he was trying to..."

"Believe me, black magic would be the last thing I would ever resort to."
With a deep, melancholic sigh, Saturn settled himself down onto the floor, with Velvet aiding him by wrapping a hoof around his shoulders. Placing his cane aside, he reached into his vest pocket, pulling out a match and striking it against the floor before lighting up the trail of oil, burning it up into a fiery spectacle of a pentagram.
"I've tried many other methods I could find, but in the end all I got was this." he stopped to wave his limp hoof. "If there was some other way to get your memories back, then I'll be happy to help, but this was the only spell that helped me back then, and I believe would be the one that could help you right now."

"What's it called?" Velvet asked.

"The Firewalker's Mirror."

Pinkie and Phoenix just exchanged confused looks, with Velvet himself even shrugging confusedly once their eyes turned to him. Neither had any knowledge of the spell, which made them ever the more uncertain. Yet, if Saturn managed to pull though it, as he reputed, perhaps Pinkie would as well?
"What is she supposed to do in this?" Phoenix asked.

"Burn thy body, free thy mind."
The phrase was met again with baffled looks, to which the disgruntled Saturn had to explain:
"That's the first part of the incantation. Basically, our friend Miss Pie has to close her eyes and clear any intruding thoughts, particularly those of the present. She must slowly exert her focus onto remembering, all the while walk towards the center of this pentagram. When she finally reaches the center, she would then enter the Retrospective Stasis, where her senses would be toned to nonexistence and her mind released, thus the phrase. She would finally remember something. Hopefully."

"But!" the stallion voiced out sharply before any of them could start talking.
"If she breaks out of focus, the catch is that the fire would start to take over her, to the point where she might be burned to death. She has to be ready."

"So she has to walk into the fire?" Phoenix reaffirmed, earning a nod in return.
The choices were impossible as it was risky: finally learn about her origins, or lose her into the flames. He only wanted what he knew was the best for his team, though this time neither seemed like a viable option. Then again, Princess Terra did remind him it wasn't his choice to make...
"What do you think, Pinkie?" he asked, turning to the now surprised mare.
"We could always do it next time if you want to."

Pinkie could only bite her lip. It seemed unfair for her: to finally regain some of her lost memories back, or a chance with death? Really, the latter possible outcome was a way heavier price to pay, yet she wanted to know so badly; she wanted to know where she was from, who were her friends before this and what was the significance of the sapphire hoop was for.
Waking up with such a gem on her hoof was strange, almost as if she had bought it right before whatever accident she went through. It was now safe in a jewel case, away from the many prying eyes and greedy hooves that she knew would take it: the one small item that could possibly reveal her whole life. Now, she was given this chance. Her mouth was ready to say 'yes'. She was ready to say 'yes'.

Her mind, however, had other ideas.

"Maybe next time, when I'm more comfortable," she spoke somberly, the rest all nodding in agreement.
"Maybe next time..."

She just hoped that there will be a next time.

"B-But... but..."

"But how?!" Spike finished Twilight's sentence.
"Y-You... you w-were--"

"Dead, I realized, but only in the records."
Inkie Pie understood their dilemma and surprise: neither had expected her to be alive after all these long years. To suddenly appear out of nowhere in front of three of her elder sister's friends; the ones renowned throughout Equestria as the Elements of Harmony, saviors and heroines of their own country, was surprising to her as she was to them.
Rarity was more perturbed by her. No doubt, the mare of Cirrus Gorge has heard of their recent fiasco in Pendant Lakes that resulted in the loss of her sister, Pinkie Pie. Being the only one to see her friend's downfall into the dark abyss, not to mention the last one to see her friend at all, was the one scar she was trying the hardest to heal, and for that mare's sister to be right in front of her now......
"Seems I owe all of you an explanation, don't I?" she spoke, clenching her eyes shut.

"You don't have to do this, Inkie," Rarity spoke up suddenly, much to the surprise of the rest.

"There are things better left known than unsaid," came the reply.
"Sometimes, secrets must be let out one day. You can't escape from that fate, Rarity."

The white unicorn would've protested against it, though she caught a glimpse of Twilight shaking her head at the last minute, prompting a smile from Inkie.
"Take a seat. All of you," she said, beckoning them towards the couch.
"Perhaps you learned of me and Blinkie's abduction, back in Canterlot...

"Worthless piece of--"

*SMACK*

"DON'T HURT HER!!" Inkie Pie screamed.
"DON'T YOU LAY A HOOF ON BLINKIE!!"

Their unknown captor just laughed, grabbing her by the throat and raising her high up, slamming her against the wall. All the mare could do was grit her teeth, her hatred for him equally oppressive as the pain that shot through her body. If her hooves weren't bound, she would've already snatched his blade and stab him to death.
The sounds of Blinkie Pie's whimpering pained her heart, growing when she spotted her sprawled on the floor, her uniform from Canterlot U torn from the side and a stream of blood running down from her lips. A blade was placed at her neck, lifting it up into the light for her to see her little sister's shimmering brown eyes, turned red from the excessive tears dripping from her cheeks.

"The rebellious one, eh?" their captor snarled, teeth glinting in the grin he wore as he stared down at her. In response, she spat into his face, to which he turned away at the sudden move, no sooner than that returning it graciously with a powerful slap that made her wince before tossing her onto the floor.
"You're lucky my boss didn't mention anything about killing you yet," he continued his threats.
"Such a shame, to serve under one such merciful as him."

"Inkie!" her sister cried, running to her side underneath his booming laugh. Blinkie could only gasp at her bruised, swollen eye, quickly yet precariously dabbing it with the tip of her hoof.
"Celestia..."

"I-It's okay," she managed to squeak, hoof running through her sister's frayed mane.
She couldn't remember what happened before this. One moment, they were walking through the university grounds, about to stop by at Donut Joe's for lunch. The next, somepony suddenly seized them from behind, probably knocking her out before she woke up in this mire of a cottage. Her sister then was frantically tugging at her own bonds right across her, trying to bite through her gag.
They were still in Canterlot; the air was too familiar for her own sake. Having left their parents' rock farm a year ago, it was a strange new setting for them to immerse in, and would've been even more so if not for their older sister's fondness of fun and laughter. Pinkie even wanted to stay behind to take care of their parents even after she was insisted to go to college by her and Blinkie, which only made her miss her old home more. Inkie knew her elder sister was a smart mare, and would've been a prodigy if she wasn't so focused on making ponies happy all the time. Then again, Father did say knowledge was in the family blood. Theirs included.

"You best behave," their captor spoke harshly.
"Never learned any etiquette in your university, didn't ya? Always getting along with colts you didn't know at night? Have a little party and woke up in somepony else's bed the next day?"

"AT LEAST WE HAVE A SOMEPONY TO DO IT WITH, YOU BITCH!!"

"WHY, YOU LITTLE--!!!

Everything suddenly happened so fast after her ruthless comeback. There he was, lunging towards her with his lumberjack's axe raised up high over his head, with Blinkie Pie immediately heaving her back from the glinting point of steel. Horror flushed through her almost immediately, and all she could do was cover her widened eyes as she braced for what would be a fatal blow.

*BANG*

*BANG*

"Somepony heard our cries. Somepony knew we were trapped."

With hooves extended and shivering, Inkie accepted a cup of water that Twilight bestowed, sipping it loudly with concerned looks all directed towards her.
"Our kidnapper was dead; two direct shots through the skull, if I remembered. A few guards started to carry us out into the open, with a whole crowd staring at us, sirens wailing and all. We were brought to the hospital for a few checkups, then to the palace, where we had a secret talk with Princess Celestia."

"I remembered that," Twilight solemnly spoke.
"She excused herself while she was tutoring me back then, saying it was urgent and about talking to somepony important. Never told me it was you, however..."

"As I said, secrets must be let out one day. Not even the regal sisters were spared from it," she said, sending the lavender unicorn into deep, doubtful thoughts.
"The visit with Princess Celestia was certainly... uneventful. I knew already what she was about to do: that she is to send us off back home, away from society where anypony would not find us; that she will erase any and all history about myself, Blinkie and our family so as nopony can track us down, and that she'll find out who's behind this."

"So we were off by midnight, guards escorting us quietly out of town. I told myself, Pinkie would've liked this; she always has her fondness for surprises, after all. When we finally got out, Blinkie and I soon galloped like the wind, trying our best to get away from Canterlot as soon as possible and forget everything that happened there. It's cruel, running away from the safest place in Equestria, yet knowing danger only lurks within."
Inkie stopped to take a sip of water, before resuming:
"Otherwise, everything went along smoothly. Soon, we were having chit-chats and laughs all over again, just like the old days! Every time, Blinkie would make fun about the colts that stared at her while she was in the uni, and I would make fun about the boring subjects they were teaching us. There are some nights where we talked about our future: what to do when we finally get home, and what we're going to work as, but everything was fine."

"Then... we finally reached home..."

"And he tried to ask me out! As in a 'kneel down, take out rose' ask me out!"

"Really?" Inkie replied, fairly surprised at her sister's account of one of her admirers.
"And? Did you give him the dibs? Or were you still the same 'Dumpy Pie' you are?"

"Stop it, Inkie!" Blinkie said, scrunching her face up and nudging the laughing mare's shoulder.
"You know how I feel about guys! They're just so... so weird to be around! Everypony knew I'm not the type that likes all these lovey-dovey things! You might be, but not me! Nu-uh!"

"Oh, come on~!"
Inkie wasn't a top notch professional when it comes to romance, but she knew enough about it to confirm that every stallion and mare would have a crush at one point or another, especially those at their age. She had her fair share of admirers to prove it, and she did have a little admiration for a few of them, but otherwise none at all.
"There'll come a time when you have to find your stallion, Blinkamena Evelyn Pie. Oh, you can let it build, of course, but one day, you might just snap and suddenly, you'll marry the first colt that you meet once you step outside the house! Just think about it, your dream stallion, picture perfect and carrying you in your hooves, and--"

She stopped.

Their conversation, like their joyful trotting, came to an abrupt end.

Their smiles faded into look of disbelief, which changed to one of shock at the sight before them.

Underneath Celestia's blazing sun, down below the bowl of a barren valley too familiar for them to forget, was the charred remains of a wooden house and, behind it, a barn, the walls reduced to a heap of black, burnt wood on the floor. Beside them was a windmill, torn apart with only three or four blades of the propeller still spinning, and a water tank riddled with bullets, its contents dried out as the rest of the land.
Inkie's jaw slowly fell at the sight, a small tear forming in the corner of her eye. The same was for Blinkie, who was shaking her head, not wanting to believe the sight they were seeing. This must be a nightmare, their minds told them. This must be a nightmare!

"No..."

Within a split second, the two rushed down simultaneously, throwing away their satchels of rationed food and canteens of water in their frantic gallop towards the ruins. Tears were already flying across their cheeks, growing in number the closer they were to the house, and when Blinkie reached the porch first, all she could was cover her mouth, too horrified at the sight to talk.
"PINKIE?!" Inkie called out, frantically glancing around the farmland.
"MOM?! DAD?! ANYPONY, PLEASE!!"

"CELESTIAAA!!!"

Blinkie's devastated wails called her in, the mare herself suddenly collapsing onto the floor, pushing herself frantically backwards in tears at the sight of two burnt bodies sprawled across the soot-covered floor. All Inkie could do was stride towards them, the realization breaking into her knees and making her fall, sobbing at the sight of one of their frozen faces.
"M... M-Mom...?"

Her sister's loud sobbing rang through the barren wasteland, and she would've joined along if it wasn't for the terror and despair that snatched her voice away. She crawled forwards, the harsh reality of her mother and father's bodies washing in like a tidal wave, her throat croaking as she yelled:
"NO!!! NO, NO, NO, NO, NO-ho-o...!!!"

"I'm so sorry!! I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry..." Blinkie sofly sobbed out, engulfed in too much despair to think of anything else. Every nerve of her right mind broke, her heart stabbed by a hundred or more pokers with too much pain for her to resist.
Inkie, still on her knees, just shook her head, hooves pressing into her ringing skull and wide eyes staring at the floor as if wanting to escape from this horrendous nightmare. This couldn't be real. Any of this-- no, ALL OF THIS!! IT COULDN'T POSSIBLY BE REAL!!
"Please... she wished in vain.
"Please, please, please... just... j-just..."

"Don't..."

"We never did manage to find Pinkie, yet somehow we knew she was safe and sound. It was like... a tickle in the bottom of your heart... though we were never sure if it was to be true."

Inkie was trying her best not to tear up at the memories she dragged back from the dead; memories she had placed within a dozen impenetrable vaults in her head and locked secure, where Celestia forbade her to ever head back and retrieve them again. She never thought she had to unleash it again, along with all the pain and devastation that came along like a complimentary package, yet she tried her best to steel her emotions.
"After that... I don't know, we ran? We just kept running and running, telling ourselves never to turn back even when we had to. I don't know how far we ran, nor do I care, but we just wanted to get away from all of it. We were never the same. I was never the same again."

"Then what happened to Blinkie?" Spike couldn't help but ask.
"Where is she?"

"Woke up to find her gone one morning," was the depressing answer.
"She left me a note, saying she wants to forget things once and for all and move on, as well as advising me to do the same. Never told me where she was going, never knew what she was planning to do, and she just... left me there. Had a few more days of walking and finally settled in here 'til now. I never saw a single hair on her mane, but somehow I just know, from another tickle of my heart... she's safe somewhere. Safe and happy, hopefully. Maybe one day I'll see her name or face on the newspapers, just like I saw Pinkie's that day."

The rest of them just glanced at her in surprise.
"You saw Pinkie in the newspaper?" Twilight asked.

"Too many times, to be honest," Inkie replied, wearing a cheerful grin.
"It was like, around eight months after settling in. Recognized her face on the front page of the newspaper while I was grabbing a bite at the cafe. You should've seen how overjoyed and relieved I was to know that she was still alive!"

"No kidding," Spike remarked, earning a stare from both librarian and fashion designer.
"What?"

"After that, it became the norm to see her every now and then," the gray mare continued, sighing as she stared into space, no doubt reminiscing about her older sister.
"How she and this group of some sort... the Voyager Six, if I'm not mistaken, toppled all this corrupted families and such. Disappeared for a short while, but when she popped back, there she was, standing with you guys in Princess Celestia's palace, wearing the Element of Laughter around her neck. I was so proud of her, knowing she saved the world so many times... then..." Inkie's smile faded suddenly, "last year..."

"It was my fault," Rarity cut in before the rest of them could speak. She was, no doubt, still shaken about the events of that night, and like the mare before her, the feelings she had repressed for so long: the ones of guilt and regret, started to burst back out again, her hooves already shivering under them.
"I could've saved her, Inkie! I could've lifted her up from the ledge before the explosion! If... If I had been any stronger... she wouldn't have let go... she wouldn't have fallen..."

"Nothing would've changed."
The response was met with looks of disbelief from the trio, with Rarity's being the most vivid of them all. With a chuckle, Inkie settled her cup down, turning to give a smile at the white unicorn.
"I know Pinkie too well," she explained.
"And one thing's for certain about her: when she has a responsibility, she'll see to it that she'll do it until the very end. She made herself believe that Janus's ascension was her fault, and such when he fell, she made sure he did. Plus, I know she's still alive; I could still feel it in my heart. You don't need petty rumors to tell you that your family's alive."

Rarity's heart stopped, wide-eyed when the gray mare placed a hoof on her shoulder.
"You were never at fault, Miss Rarity," she assured, wearing a smile.
"As a sister of Pinkie Pie, I know that."

Then she said something; something that she thought one day would hear the bubbly pink mare say to her and chase those feelings away. Those three simple words quickly alleviated her guilt over the loss of her friend and finally, once and for all, fulfilled the empty void in her heart, even though it was a different mare that said it; even though it was only an echo of Pinkie's voice in her sister's body.
Yet that... that was enough to calm her down. That was all she needed to hear.

"I forgive you."