//------------------------------// // Best Friends Forever // Story: Sleepless // by Samey90 //------------------------------// Riot Control trotted through the halls of the hospital and sat on the first chair he found. He was still trying to get his bearings after the fire. He could still see it: pegasi diving into flames to rescue foals; bleeding Minuette, trying desperately to get to the camp, before Nurse Redheart pulled her away; Carrot Top, injured and crying after she realised that her daughter wasn’t among the survivors. He shuddered; he still had to go to Dr. Tulp. His worst nightmare was going to come true: he’d see Ginger Snap’s burned body lying on the autopsy table. He raised his head and saw Front Kick approaching him. His usual smile disappeared; he was carrying some papers which he put on the coffee table next to Riot Control. “Did you find her?” the older guard asked. Front Kick nodded. “It got complicated,” he said, sitting on one of the chairs. Riot Control blinked and looked at him. “What do you mean by ‘complicated’? She called an attorney? No lawyer will help her...” “No, it’s not that,” Front Kick replied. “I have… doubts. We found her napping on a tree not far away from the meadow, slightly hung over. Do you think she’d be there if she did that?” “I don’t know.” Riot Control shook his head. “If I recall correctly, she’s kinda dense… You’ve mentioned she said that she wanted to burn some bat pony’s house but then someone stole her kerosene, right?” “Indeed, she’s not the sharpest tool in the shed,” Front Kick said. “But even then, she seems wise enough to not sleep in a place where the fire could’ve easily spread. And, if we’re to believe the toxicology results, she wasn’t that drunk to just pass out there.” Riot Control rolled his eyes. “That’s not important,” he said. “We have a can of kerosene with her hoofprints; she wanted to kill a bat pony. Now imagine a jury consisting of, umm… ethnic minorities and angry housewives. They’ll make pillows out of her feathers…” He sighed. “Not that I have something against that…” Front Kick looked at him nervously and levitated one of the papers from the table. “I checked that can again,” he said. “Her hoofprints are not the only ones there…” Diamond Tiara took her saddlebags and checked their contents. Everything was in its place. She looked around her room; it was as clean as it never was before. Then she sat on her bed and looked around again, checking every corner of her room. She sighed with relief; Curtain Call was nowhere to be seen. At first Diamond Tiara thought about a long, warm bath and a razor blade. How did Sunshine call it? “Along the way, not across the street”, or something like that. But then she reconsidered that. It’d be a messy death. Messy deaths were good for blank flanks; she wanted her body to be pure. No traces to wash off; she’d just die and let the ponies forget about her and move on. She took the rope out of her saddlebags and smirked. There was some poetic justice about it. Diamond Tiara heard that if the rope didn’t break a pony’s neck instantly, the death was long and painful. She remembered exactly how Zippoorwhill had trashed, trying to catch some air. Dying in the same way as her seemed like a good idea. She wanted to feel pain; to be punished for her deeds. Pipsqueak, Ruby, Alula, Twist and Zippoorwhill didn’t deserve what had happened to them. But Diamond Tiara was a different case; she wanted to die in the most painful way possible. She put the rope back into the saddlebag. Then she took the letter from the drawer and placed it carefully on her bed before leaving the room. Riot Control stared at his assistant in disbelief. “Another set of hoofprints?” he asked. “Whose?” “I don’t know exactly,” Front Kick replied. “They seem small… As if they belonged to a filly...” He scratched his head. Suddenly, an idea appeared in Riot Control’s mind. He remembered all the details about the past murders. Something was wrong... “When Pipsqueak died…” he said slowly, “...whose hoofprints were on the crime scene?” “Pipsqueak’s…” Front Kick replied. “His friends’... some other kids’...” Riot Control slammed his hoof against his forehead. “Remember the place where Ruby fell into the water? Whose hoofprints were there?” “Ruby’s…” Front Kick said, scrunching his face. “And lots of kids’ hoofprints. They often play there.” “Exactly!” Riot Control exclaimed. “And how about Twist and Alula?” “Well, we discovered them later…” Front Kick replied. “The dog’s, Zipporwhill’s and Vinyl Scratch’s… But she made them when she went after us and lost her lunch when she saw the bodies… They were some older prints, but I assumed that they were Twist’s...” “Nevermind,” Riot Control said. “You like patterns. Can you see the pattern?” “Well… Not really,” Front Kick replied. “Am I missing something?” Riot Control straightened in his chair and looked into Front Kick’s eyes. “Well, ‘missing’ is a good word,” he said. “Something’s missing on the crime scenes… Think about those hoofprints… What’s missing?” A spark appeared in Front Kick’s eyes. “An adult!” he exclaimed. “All the hoofprints belonged to foals… Some kid’s killing them!” “Silver!” Silver Spoon put down a book she was reading and opened the door to her room to hear her mother better. “Yes, mom?” she asked. “Can you go to the market and buy some apples?” Silver Spoon sighed and rolled her eyes. She slowly got up from her bed and trotted downstairs, where Silverspeed was waiting for her. “I’m not sure if there’ll be somepony on the market,” Silver Spoon said when her mother gave her the money. “During such heat, nopony wants to get sick…” “Then you’ll go to the Sweet Apple Acres,” Silverspeed replied. “It’s even closer than the market…” “Yes mom…” Silver Spoon replied, sighing. Diamond Tiara climbed up the hill and inhaled the air. The weather was hot; a light breeze was rustling the leaves of the apple trees. Diamond Tiara could still smell the smoke coming from the outskirts, tarnishing the beauty of that remote part of Sweet Apple Acres. Diamond Tiara looked around. The place looked good. It was far from any buildings; it was green, full of grass and flowers. The smell of fresh apples was overwhelming. Diamond Tiara could hear buzzing of the countless insects and birds singing cheerfully. She sighed and walked to the nearby tree. Its branches looked sound enough to withstand her weight. Not far away from it, she found a trunk of some cut-down tree; even though someone had dug it from the ground, it was quite heavy. She pulled it and placed it below the branch; then she put her saddlebags on it. Whistling some happy tune, she took the rope out of the bag and began tying a noose. When it was ready, she tied the rope to the branch. “What are you doing?” Curtain Call asked. She was lying in the grass, rubbing the suntan lotion into her body. “Not your business,” Diamond Tiara replied. She checked if the rope was firmly attached to the branch, then she stood on a trunk. “Don’t do that,” Curtain Call said, watching her with a smile on her face. “We still don’t have all the actors to our pageant.” “Not my problem,” Diamond Tiara muttered, putting the noose on her neck. “I don’t know why you bother. You don’t even exist.” “Yet you’re still talking to me,” Curtain Call smirked playfully. “And I do exist… I’m just in Trottingham… so lonely…” “Then go back there and stop pestering me!” Diamond Tiara exclaimed. “Think about it.” Suddenly, Diamond Tiara felt that Curtain Call was next to her. “I’m a product of your poor, sick brain. The same part of your mind that makes you walk at night killing ponies. Still, I’m a part of your mind. You don’t want to do that, Diamond Tiara.” “I want and I will!” Diamond Tiara exclaimed. She bent her knees, readying herself to jump off the trunk. Nothing happened. Her muscles froze, keeping her in place. “See?” Curtain Call’s smile was so wide that she could see all her teeth. “You don’t want to do that, Diamond…” Diamond Tiara gritted her teeth. She tried to jump, but Curtain Call was holding her. “Get off me!” she exclaimed. “Diamond Tiara? What are ya doin’ here?” Diamond Tiara blinked. She looked around and saw Apple Bloom approaching her. “Are ya crazy?” Apple Bloom asked. “Get down!” “As you wish,” Diamond Tiara muttered. She took the noose off her neck and jumped off the trunk to face Apple Bloom. Curtain Call was following her. “Why did ya try to do that?” Apple Bloom asked, looking at the rope. “I’m crazy and killed those foals,” Curtain Call prompted. She sat next to Apple Bloom and began to play with her mane. “I’m cr– I mean, it’s none of your business, blank flank!” Diamond Tiara muttered, shooting her a nasty glare. “Blank flank… How original…” Apple Bloom sighed. “Really, Diamond… And Ah bother to save yer life…” “Craaaazyyy…” Curtain Call sang. “No one asked you for that,” Diamond Tiara replied. “Get out of here!” “It’s mah orchard,” Apple Bloom said. “It’s ya who should get out…” “Get out!” Diamond Tiara exclaimed. Her pupils shrunk to pinpricks when she saw that Curtain Call rose and began sneaking to Apple Bloom with a rock in her hoof. “Or…” “Or what?” “Or else I’ll adorn the grass with the contents of your thick skull,” Curtain Call prompted calmly. “Or I’ll…” Diamond Tiara hesitated. Then she darted forward and tackled Apple Bloom, pinning her to the ground. She had to admit that she underestimated Apple Bloom. They rolled on the grass and soon Diamond Tiara was trying to catch her breath after she got headbutted in the chest. She grabbed Apple Bloom’s mane and yanked it, pulling her closer. She felt the taste of blood in her mouth and realised that she was biting Apple Bloom’s ear. Apple Bloom screamed and thrashed, pushing Diamond Tiara away. Then, a powerful buck threw Diamond even further; she spat a chipped tooth and looked around groggily. Apple Bloom was standing in front of her, staggering. A tip of her ear was missing, she had a black eye and a nosebleed. “Ya’re sick!” she exclaimed. Then she turned back and walked away, limping. “Now!” Curtain Call whispered into Diamond Tiara’s ear, pointing at the rock lying next to her. Letting out a powerful scream, Diamond Tiara rose and threw the stone at Apple Bloom. It hit the back of her head; she collapsed on the grass. Before she could get up, Diamond Tiara was next to her, hitting her with bare hooves. Apple Bloom tried to shield herself, but one of the punches landed on her temple; she lay on the ground limply with her hooves spread wide. “Say goodnight…” Diamond Tiara muttered, raising the rock to deliver the final blow. “It’s not just ‘some kid’,” Riot Control said. “You were right about the hair…” “What?” Front Kick rose his eyebrows. “But we found no match! And we even took the samples from foals…” “Yes… but only from foals who were in Ponyville at the time when we started collecting them…” Riot Control said. “Shit…” Front Kick muttered. “She has violet mane… And she was in Trottingham when Zippoorwhill…” “Exactly.” Riot Control got up from his sit. “Our culprit is Filthy Rich’s daughter!” Silver Spoon wiped sweat from her forehead. She was slowly climbing up the hill, panting heavily. She’d decided to approach the Sweet Apple Acres from the East, since it was the closest way from her house. Too bad, it was also the most uneven one, with a couple of steep hills she had to climb on. She was just thinking about taking a short rest, when she saw somepony at the top of the nearby hill. She came closer; two ponies were rolling in the grass. Silver Spoon blushed. She once overheard her mother saying something about the Apples “liking each other too much”, but she never thought that it could be true. She was about to turn around and choose another way, when she saw something else. One of the ponies just threw a rock at another. Silver Spoon darted forward. “Help!” she shouted, running up the hill. “Somepony help!” One of the ponies rose a hoof with the rock, ready to hit the other with it. Silver Spoon couldn’t see who it was, as the sun was blinding her. She saw, however, that the mysterious assailant turned their head at her, threw the rock on the ground and ran away. Panting, Silver Spoon reached the top of the hill. The assailant was nowhere to be seen. Silver Spoon galloped to the pony lying in the grass and immediately recognised her as Apple Bloom. She was lying in a puddle of blood, but she was breathing. When she saw Silver Spoon, she tried to lift her head and say something. “Don’t move…” Silver Spoon muttered. “Calm down, Apple Bloom… I’ll call help…” She looked around and spotted Applejack not far away from them, bucking apple trees. She left her saddlebags with Apple Bloom and galloped to her. “Ms. Applejack!” she shouted. “Quick! Help me! Someone attacked Apple Bloom!” “Silver Spoon? What are ya doin’ here?” Applejack asked when she saw her. “Apple Bloom! She’s hurt…” Silver Spoon panted. “What in tarnation…” Applejack muttered. “Big Macintosh! Go and find a doctor!” She followed Silver Spoon to the hill. Apple Bloom was moving. When she saw Applejack, she tried to get up. “Don’t move, sugarcube…” Applejack said. “Ah’m with you…” Suddenly, Silver Spoon saw something shining in the grass. She approached it and examined it closer. When she looked at it, she staggered, feeling the taste of bile in her mouth. She looked at Applejack unsurely, but she was too busy taking care of Apple Bloom to notice her. Silver Spoon picked the piece of a broken tiara and hid it in her saddlebags. Then she looked at the place where squished grass was marking the assailant’s route of escape. Silver Spoon swallowed her tears. A piece of broken jewellery in her saddlebags was an absolute proof. For a while, she was thinking what to do with it. Then she sighed and quickly ran down the path. Riot Control and Front Kick barely left the hospital when they saw a cart skidding to a halt in front of them. A couple of paramedics emerged from it, carrying a stretcher with an unconscious filly on it. Applejack trotted behind them, not even noticing the guards. “What’s going on?” Riot Control exclaimed. “Another attack!” one of the paramedics replied before he joined his colleagues. “Where?” Front Kick shouted. “Sweet Apple Acres!” the paramedic replied before he disappeared behind the door. “Quick!” Riot Control exclaimed. “Maybe we’ll catch her!” The stench of smoke and ash was overwhelming. Silver Spoon could barely walk, seeing the remains of the tents and scattered equipment. She could easily imagine what happened there at night. It was easy to spot Diamond Tiara’s hoofprints on the ground, but hard to follow them; apparently, she’d been running in circles, stopping from time to time, as if she was talking to someone. “Diamond!” Silver Spoon called. “Are you here? Diamond!” There was no answer. Silver Spoon trotted forward, tripping over a couple of writhen pipes – the only remains of a bunk bed. She wiped the ashes from her face and continued to walk, calling Diamond Tiara from time to time. “Diamond! I… I know about everything…” she said. Tears were flowing down her face, leaving two streams in the soot. “Diamond, please… come with me… Together we’ll… we’ll find the cure…” Suddenly, she saw something pink hidden behind a pile of half-burned saddlebags. She trotted there and saw Diamond Tiara lying on the ground, panting heavily. “D-diamond…” Silver Spoon cried. “Are you okay?” “Get out.” Diamond Tiara’s voice was a barely audible mechanical whisper. Her pupils were shrunk to pinpricks; her eyes were focused on some point far in the distance. “No, Diamond… I can’t leave you…” “Get out!” Diamond Tiara yelled. “Don’t you understand? I’m dangerous… She’s talking to me… I can kill you at any moment…” “You won’t kill me!” Silver Spoon exclaimed. “Whoever she is, you can fight her… We’re best friends, remember?” “Y-yes…” Diamond Tiara sat down, resting herself against another bunk bed. “That’s why you should leave… I… I don’t want to kill you…” Silver Spoon approached her and pulled her into a hug. “Come with me…” she said. “I’ll help you…” “Once…” Diamond Tiara muttered. “Once I thought I killed you, but… it was Twist… Please, Silver, go away… I don’t know h-how long I’ll be able t-to control myself… I don’t even know if you’re real...” “I’m real,” Silver Spoon replied. “And I won’t leave you… I don’t want you to hurt yourself…” “I tried… I couldn’t”,” Diamond Tiara replied. She was walking slowly next to Silver Spoon. “Apple Bloom tried to stop me and look what happened.” “She’s alive…” Silver Spoon said. “Listen, Diamond, I’ll take you to the hospital… They’ll cure you, but let me help you…” “Yes.” Diamond Tiara staggered and fell down. She got up, holding a metal pipe from a bunk bed, using it as a cane. “Good…” Silver Spoon smiled. “Just a couple more steps and we’ll be there…” Suddenly, her vision darkened. She collapsed, not sure what just happened. All she felt was cold, spreading from her stomach to the whole body. Her heart was pounding against her chest, almost cracking her ribs. “No!” She heard Diamond Tiara’s voice above her. “Silver Spoon, I’m sorry! I’m so sorry!” “It’s okay…” Silver Spoon replied calmly. She felt Diamond Tiara’s arms wrapping around her. She didn’t feel pain, just numbness. She looked down and saw a metal pipe protruding from her stomach. “It’s okay, Diamond Tiara…” “No! Silver, don’t leave me!” Diamond Tiara shouted, pulling her into a hug, smearing blood and ash on her fur. “I won’t leave you…” Silver Spoon replied, watching blood sipping from her wound. “No matter what happens, I will never leave you…” She closed her eyes. Her mind slowly drifted away. Diamond Tiara felt her body getting colder in her hooves and cried, sinking her face in Silver Spoon’s coat. Her screams echoed through the burned meadow, soon reaching Ponyville. When Riot Control and Front Kick found her, she was still sitting there, holding Silver Spoon’s body in her hooves.