//------------------------------// // Chapter 10 "The End." // Story: The End of a Nightmare. (A Grimdark Finale) // by TheMareinTheMoon //------------------------------// Chapter 10 "The End" The sun would soon rise. "Oh Twilight, don't you think you're a little old to be reading these silly filly stories?" Pinkamina said, eying the Necronomicon curiously, before tossing it into the darkness. Twilight watched as Pinkamina eagerly rummaged the contents of her saddlebag, throwing things in all directions, as if looking for something. "Aw, no souvenirs?" She spoke, dissapointed, "Oh well, you two are all I need now!" You two. Twilight suddenly remembered Applejack, and began frantically searching the dark room until her eyes fell upon the earth pony. Tied down similarly to herself on the slab next to her. She was breathing hard, staring at the ceiling in terror and shock. Pinkamina slowly walked in-between them, a smile splayed across her face. "Isn't this great!" She declared gleefully, "I get to spend the last moments of your lives with you! I even dressed for the occasion." Twilight looked in horror as Pinkamina began to twirl happily in a dress fashioned from dozens of different cutie marks stiched together in a terrifying display. She recognized a few, Bon Bon, Berry Punch, Cheerilee, Lyra...Dash. And as she looked closer she could see that Pinkie appeared to have...wings. There were about six of them. sewn onto her back in different colors. Fluttershy's wings were there. But perhaps what scared Twilight the most, was the necklace she wore. different horns strung all around her neck, all from different unicorns. Twilight began to struggle harder. "Do you like it?" She asked, stopping, "It helps me remember everypony once they're gone." "Where's Applebloom!?" Applejack interrupted, struggling in her bonds. "Oh" Pinkamina answered, as if she had forgotten, "They're right here! Scootaloo?" Suddenly a light flashed on, illuminating two small figures on the wall adjacent to them. Spike and Applebloom were bound similarly to them, however, they were blindfolded and gagged. Scootaloo stepped into the light before them. "Don't worry, I'll take good care of them Miss Pinkamina!" Scootaloo beamed. She looked at Applebloom with a smile on her face. "Oh my gosh you got your cutie mark!" She screamed excitedly, "Oh I always knew you would! It's going to look great on the dress!" "Why..." Twilight managed to whisper, "Why would you take them?" "We needed something to lure you here!" Pinkamina replied, pushing a cart between the two ponies. "You're number came up, it was just chance that I happened to get AJ too!" The room was eerily silent. the screeching of the cart's wheels, and the clopping of Pinkamina's hooves against the cold floor being the only sound present. "Pinkie, you don't have to do this," Twilight pleaded, "We're your friends," "No you're not!" Pinkamina breaking her happy posture, "You all left me! Alone...in the dark. But don't worry." Pinkamina drew a knife from the various tools on the cart., "Soon we'll be friends forever!" She began to approach Twilight, her eyes wild with a psychotic joy. "Now let's start with that horn," Pinkamina spoke, leaning against Twilight. She held the knife against Twilight's horn, ignoring her pleas to stop, when suddenly something wet hit the side of her face. She turned to Applejack to see her looking at her defiantly, her eyes filled with anger. "Leave her alone you sick little-" "It's NOT NICE to call people names, AJ..." Pinkamina interrupted, wiping Applejack's spit from her face. "I think you need a lesson..." She said, leaving Twilight, and slowly approaching the bound earth pony. "I-I don't care what you do to me Pinkie," Applejack declared, desperately trying to hide her fear, "I'm not scared of you." "Oh, that's okay," She replied, grabbing a large wooden mallet from the cart in between them, "I'm sure this'll change your mind." Pinkamina lifted the mallet high above her head and brought it down furiously on Applejack's leg. Applejack screamed in pain, piercing the silence, as it echoed through the dark room. "MMPHMPH!" Applebloom muffled through her gag. Twilight could only look on in terror as Pinkamina continued to bring the mallet down mercilessly on her friend. "APPLEJACK!" She shrieked, her eyes overflowing with tears. Again, the mallet came down. Applejack's eyes filled with dry tears, as she struggled to breath against the pain. Again. The sound stopped escaping her mouth. All that came out was the gurgling sound of blood and saliva. Again. Bones began to snap. The mallet was now painted crimson, along with the slab, and most of Applejack's leg. Her eyes rolled up as she nearly passed out from shock. Through the pain, Twilight tried desperately to loosen Applejack's bonds with her magic. Pinkamina was too excited to notice. She focused as hard as she could on the ropes holding her friend in place, carefully untying them as not to alert Pinkamina. After about a minute in between strikes, she had loosened them enough for Applejack to slip through. She could only hope her friend possessed the energy to do so. Pinkamina stopped for a moment to catch her breath. Her smile grew wider as she observed the result of her beating. blood rolled off of the slab and onto the floor, Pinkamina saw her reflection in the crimson liquid. She brought the mallet up again. Suddenly, Applejack moved from her bonds. Grabbing a scalpel from Pinkamina's cart, and using the last of her energy to violently bring it into Pinkamina's arm. "AHHHHH!" She screamed, dropping the mallet and desperately attempting to stop the bleeding. "Miss Pinkamina!" Scootaloo screamed, hurriedly approaching the injured mare. Applejack landed hard on the blood-soaked floor as she fiercely tried to drag herself toward her sister, ignoring the intense pain in her tattered leg. Twilight took advantage of Pinkamina's distraction to frantically use her magic to untie her own bonds. Sweat poured down her face she focused on each rope, untying them quickly while hoping Pinkamina wasn't watching. She wasn't. Her eyes were locked onto the orange earth pony desperately crawling away from her. She pushed Scootaloo away, quickly grabbing her mallet from the floor as she approached the broken mare. "You're not playing FAIR!" She screamed, lifting the mallet high above Applejack's terrified face. Twilight looked what was happening before her. In her mind, Applejack was replaced with each of her friends, Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, Rarity. No, she wouldn't let another pony die! "NO!" She screamed, ripping the last of her bonds and launching herself toward Pinkamina. Pinkamina turned to her left just in time to see the unicorn fly into her, sending the mallet skidding across the floor. Twilight quickly pinned her under her body, and used her magic to lift a knife from the cart and in front of Pinkamina's face. KILL HER! KILL HER! The voices in her head screamed. DON'T LET HER HURT ANYPONY EVER AGAIN! Twilight brought the knife back, her eyes wild, when suddenly something stopped her. As she looked at the struggling pony below her, she saw something in her eyes. Fear. Twilight remembered the fear in the childrens' eyes in magic kindergarten. She remembered their terrified expressions, their screams, their blood. Twilight stared at the knife before her before finally throwing it to the side. "No." She said, closing her eyes, "Not again." PInkamina looked at the conflicted mare before the madness returned to her eyes. She took hold of her necklace and used one of the many horns to stab Twilight's hoof. Twilight screamed in pain as she fell off of the pink mare, grabbing her hoof in pain. Then Pinkamina was on top of her. As this happened, Applejack continued to crawl toward her sister, leaving behind a trail of blood as she did. after what felt like an hour of intense pain, she reached her. She removed the gag from her mouth. Applebloom began to cough and gag, as she breathed every precious bit of air she had been lacking. "APPLEJACK!" She screamed in between coughs, "WHAT'S GOING ON!? WHERE ARE WE!?" 'E-everything is going to be alright..." Applejack replied in a broken tone, "I'm here now, It's-" Applejack looked up to see a shadow engulfing her and her sister. As she turned around she saw the shadow belonged to Scootaloo. The filly approached the two slowly, a blade in her hoof as she did. Scootaloo raised the blade above her head and prepared to strike. Applejack closed her eyes. Ready for it all to be over. But the knife never came down. It stayed there in the air, before the filly finally dropped it with tears in her eyes. "I...Can't." She mouthed. "I can't." Scootaloo ran away up the stairs away from the basement. Pinkamina looked away from Twilight for a moment to see her pupil fleeing up the stairs. "Scootaloo! Where are you going!?" Suddenly a hoof struck her hard against the side of her face. She fell back and recoiled in pain, as Twilight ran from under her and toward Applejack. "THIS IS NOT HOW THIS IS SUPPOSED TO WORK!" She screamed hysterically, lifting a large butcher's knife from the cart nearby. Suddenly there was a loud boom. Everyone froze, as they looked around, confused. Even Pinkamina stopped her rage as she scanned the room for the source of the noise. "Miss Pinkamina!" Scootaloo screamed from upstairs, "There are soldiers here!" "WHAT!?" "There's dozens of them! Outside!" PInkamina's pupils shrunk in fear. No, No No, They can't be here! NOT NOW! "Pinkie." Twilight called, breaking the eerie silence. "Please, it's not too late." "To do what?" She responded harshly. "To stop." Pinkamina began to laugh, "Yes it is! I NEED you! Your number came up, I have to make you my friend!" "No you don't," Twilight replied with newfound courage, "We are your friends. We always have been." "LIAR!" Pinkamina screamed, swinging the blade in rage. "You left me! You all left me!" Small tears began to form in her wild eyes. "You left me! All of you!" "No Pinkie, we didn't. You left us." "SHUT UP!" She yelled, losing every remnant of her happy attitude, "That's not my name! My name is Pinkamina Diane Pie! PINKAMINA DIANE PIE!" "Don't talk to me about friendship!" She screamed, her voice echoing through the dark room. "IT'S ALL A JOKE! Everything we've ever cared about or struggled for, it's all one big demented gag! SO WHY CAN"T YOU SEE THE FUNNY SIDE!? Why aren't you laughing..." Without warning, Pinkamina fell to her knees. She dropped the blade and began to sob. Tears dripped onto the cold floor, mixing with blood and causing her to surrounded by puddles of pink fluid. It's too late, It's too late, too late. She repeated in her head. Twilight knew this was her chance. She slowly began to approach the pink mare, bringing her arms around her and drawing her close. "It's not too late, you can stop. Your friends are still here." As Scootaloo looked out the shop's window at the guards outside she began to notice something...Odd. They all seemed to look...the same. It was true all of the princess's guards wore the same armor, but these guards seemed to have the same face as well! they all seemed to look almost identical. Scootaloo immediately led her eyes to see a soldier's cutie mark, a sword of course, but as she looked over at the numerous other guards, she began to notice the same sword, over and over again. they were all the same! Scootaloo glared in shock at the image before her, when she began to notice something...Blue, in the distance. As she looked closer, she was able to make out the figure of a unicorn. Purple cape, purple hat, it all made sense now. "THE GUARDS AREN'T REAL!" Scootaloo screamed, running back down the stairs, "THEY'RE CONJURES! IT'S TRIXIE!" At these words, Pinkamina's expression of sadness and pain shattered. Her Wild, violent eyes took it's place. Then there was the sound of metal piercing flesh. Time froze. The dark room was silent, only the sound of drops of blood hitting the stone floor breaking it. Everyone looked at the blood dripping between Pinkamina and twilight with fear. Twilight looked down and saw it belonged to her. She shook in pain as she felt the blade piercing her skin. Her life essence dwindling as she looked at Pinkamina with tearful eyes. "You lied to me Twilight." She spoke, her eyes wild, but flowing with the same tears. "I'm sorry you made me do this." "No Pinkie," Twilight declared blood dripping from the side of her mouth, "I'm sorry." As Pinkamina let Twilight fall to the floor,she began to feel herself rise. The horns around her neck seemed to tighten, as she was lifted inches off the ground. She kicked and struggled before realizing that the chain around her neck had been magically fastened to one of the bones hanging from the ceiling. She was choking. She frantically tried to reach for the blade she had dropped, but it was inches too far. she began to kick and flail in all directions before remembering Scootaloo. "Scootaloo help me!" She screamed at her pupil. No response. "Scootaloo!" "You killed her." Scootaloo spoke, looking down at Twilight's bleeding body. "I HAD TOO! WE'VE KILLED DOZENS OF PONIES, WHAT MAKES THIS ANY DIFFERENT!?" "I thought we were going to make her our friend, forever." "There was no time! NOW HURRY UP AND HELP ME!" Scootaloo looked around her. At the blood, The sisters cowering in the corner, Spike, Twilight. "No." Pinkamina looked at her in total shock and fear. "NO!? Did you just say no!?" Scootaloo couldn't look at her. She turned away as tears began to well in her eyes. "I LOVED YOU!" Pinkamina screamed, coughing while she struggled. "HOW COULD YOU DO THIS TO ME!?" It was at that moment that everything flashed before her eyes. Her days on the rock farm, moving to Ponyville, meeting her friends. But then it became dark. She remembered when she killed Rainbow Dash. She remembered her screams, her protests, her tears. She remembered making it all stop with one motion. She remembered all of the ponies she killed. Their lives ripped away from them, their families never to see them again. She remembered the cupcakes. Selling them to ponies everywhere, so they could eat their own kind. She remebered the dress, the wings...The necklace. She looked down at herself and was disgusted. Then suddenly, she was at a party. It was bright, happy. All her friends were there. And she was so happy, Her mane bounced as she did, and the sun shone on her smile. Then she opened her eyes. And the nightmare was still there. "Come on everypony, smile, smile, smile." She began to sing eerily with the last of her breath. "Fill my heart up with sunshine, sunshine." She Smiled as the tears rolled down her cheeks. "All I really need is a smile...smile...." She choked, coughing blood. "Smile." And then the sun rose.