Day 6
I got to see Fluttershy today; she’s already doing much better. Stuck in bed, hooked up to painkillers, heavily bandaged and stitched up, but awake and alive, which she seems to be thankful enough for. Rainbow Dash left me with her this morning as she had to deal with the latest murders, apparently the killer learned from their mistake yesterday and made sure the Mayor didn’t survive. Funny, with every other victim there was always some ponies who were devastated at the news, but I haven’t found a single pony who’s terribly upset over the Mayor’s death.
Fluttershy said she was very unpopular, which made me wonder how she could possibly get elected if nopony liked her. Besides her, another stallion was killed last night; it was the brother of Applejack whom I met after the very first town meeting earlier in the week. This death caused a bit more of an uproar; turns out he visited the house of a war veteran who gunned him down on sight. Applejack was furious during the town meeting, a far sight from the calm, polite mare she had been when I met her.
She accused the veteran, Shining Armour, of being the serial killer, and demanded that he be executed. This did not happen however; as Rainbow Dash quickly explained why he couldn’t have been the serial killer since Fleetfoot had him jailed the other night. I could see the colour visibly drain from Applejack’s face as she heard that, I felt terrible for her. Rainbow Dash wasn’t so sympathetic, saying outright that it was Applejack’s own fault for trying to take the law into her own hooves and if she had just reported him Rainbow Dash could have explained and prevented this tragedy.
There was a very long, very uncomfortable silence following that. I managed to ask Fluttershy about it afterwards and she told me there was a long and bitter history between Rainbow Dash and Applejack, but advised me not to look any deeper into the subject. Tensions are clearly running high in the town; it makes me feel so out of place, here I am a complete stranger in town full of ponies who already have established histories and relationships with one another. I feel like such an outsider.
I brought this up with Fluttershy today and she told me I shouldn’t think such things, that if it weren’t for the terrible events of the past week I would have been welcomed into Ponyville with open arms. I also mentioned the strange itching sensation I’ve been having, although I didn’t mention when it occurs, Fluttershy didn’t know what to make of it, but suggested it might have something to do with my lost memories trying to resurface. I’ve been thinking on that possibility for a while now, but honestly I still don’t remember a thing.
It does feel like something’s there though, every time I get that feeling, it’s almost as if I can reach out and take hold of my memories, but trying just muddles the thoughts up and makes it harder to focus on anything today. Rainbow Dash let me walk with her around the crime scene while she checked some stuff, and the whole time we were there the itching just kept getting stronger and stranger until it felt like I was going to pass out. Anytime I closed my eyes images of daggers and bloody bodies would flash up.
I’d like to say the town meeting ended with Rainbow Dash and Applejack’s face off, but unfortunately something terrible brought it to a close. There was actually a third death today, as the town help another lynching. I’m a bit confused as to how it all kicked off, but somehow Pinkie Pie ended up being accused of being the serial killer. That struck me as ridiculous but suddenly it started escalating, random ponies jumping in on it until she was standing up there just like Flim had been.
She objected of course, throwing her own accusations out. I was so confused with what was going on, I tried to whisper to Rainbow Dash to let her go for now and jail her later and get to the bottom of it, but Rainbow said they already had various pieces of evidence suggesting Pinkie Pie was involved in Family criminal activity. From her tone I could tell she didn’t entirely believe it, but even if she had agreed with me it wouldn’t have mattered. Anyone who thought she was innocent or should be investigated further were drowned out and she quickly went the same way as Flim.
She wasn’t even dead before she began laughing, even as the noose cut off her air supply. I had no idea what was going on, nopony seemed to, she was dying and yet she laughed as if she had just achieved some great victory. Dash tried to step in and cut her down, clearly realising something was amiss, but it was too late for her. A diary was found in her bag, its contents were… disturbing. Long story short, Pinkie had not been the killer; in fact she hadn’t harmed anypony ever.
She had been sectioned for a long time due to mental health concerns, and had only been released back into the general public a few months earlier. This was known to some of Ponyville but wasn’t exactly common knowledge, it turns out that was the reason Fluttershy had warned me against associating with her. Her diary revealed that she had been going through… a lot of emotional and mental trials in her life; it ended up driving her to suicide… by our hooves.
Once this information was revealed ponies began making their excuses, they had seen her acting suspicious near crime scenes, she had a habit of accusing obviously innocent ponies, but nopony cared about the excuses. The simple fact was that we helped euthanize a pony who was in serial need of psychiatric help. Rainbow told me afterwards that I shouldn’t feel guilty, that as one of the few ponies who cared enough to want to vote her innocent, I could not be to blame for what happened.
I really don’t know how I feel about it, I wouldn’t say guilty, certainly not as much as most of the other ponies I saw leaving the town meeting today, but I don’t feel good. I was planning to stay with Fluttershy tonight, but Soarin said he would watch out for her and I should just focus on keeping myself safe. So now I’m sitting here, locked up tight inside Fluttershy’s fat, wondering if we’ll ever catch this serial killer… and trying to ignore the itching in my brain anytime I think about the serial killer.
Diary of Spike
Sunday 13th November
Even without the Mayor being generally useless, this town still finds ways to tear itself apart, like putting an innocent but sick mare to death on the most fragile evidence, or a veteran gunning down a high ranking member of the mafia and basically signing his own death warrant. It feels like I’m just here to watch everypony kill each other, I thought when I took on this case it wouldn’t take more than a couple of days to catch a killer in a tight knit town like this.
It’s safe at this point to throw out any suspicions regarding Fluttershy or Shining Armour. Fluttershy is definitely not in any state to have dragged herself out of bed and all the way into the centre of town to kill the Mayor, and Shining Armour was… accounted for I guess. Applejack will take revenge for sure, which makes it all the more important that I get Shining Armour arrested for the crimes I know he’s committing and get him far away from here. I approached him after the town meeting today since I didn’t get a chance to bring it up during all the arguing, and told him that he had still committed a crime by keeping all those weapons.
He seemed pretty apathetic about it, told me to go ahead and call in the guards, but until then he was going to continue defending himself. I wasn’t stupid enough to try and confiscate the weapons myself, and when I brought it up with Rainbow Dash she told me to leave it. She seems to think it’s better to leave him be, I’m pretty sure that’s just because he really helped her in hurting the mafia. She also informed me, upon request, that they jailed a prostitute last night by the name of Cloudchaser, but she was only able to give them info relating to the Family, nothing I’d find interesting according to her.
The execution at the town meeting was an interesting one, some guy accuses this chick, Pinkie Pie, suddenly everypony is ganging up on her, and all on the most ridiculous basis. Apparently she’s been drawing a load of attention to herself, whispering loudly about the crimes she’s going to commit, floating around the houses of the victims, stuff that only a stupid criminal would do, and we are definitely not dealing with a stupid criminal. It wasn’t long before she was having the noose tied around her neck, I knew she wasn’t guilty, at least not of being the serial killer, but I knew there was nothing I could do to stop.
I’ve already accepted that this town is twisted; actual legal processes don’t seem to factor into their psyche. If I’d known how things were going to pan out I might have actually stepped in and put a stop to it by force. I honestly didn’t see it coming that she would end up being some jester tricking us all into giving her the death she longed for, I imagine plenty of the townsfolk are feeling pretty shit right about now. Hats off to Rainbow though, for actually trying to cut her down when it became obvious something was up.
The bakers who offered me the room to stay in are pretty devastated, of all the ponies in this town, they had no idea about Pinkie’s mental problems, apparently she tried very hard to hide it from them. Anyway, I have a feeling that guy Shining Armour won’t last long, but I’ll still call for a squad tomorrow, maybe they’ll get here before it’s too late. As for the serial killer… well I’m completely at a loss, I think tomorrow I’m just going to have to swallow my pride and ask Rainbow Dash to let me work with her, because neither of us are getting anywhere alone.
Diary of Applejack
Sunday 13th November
Big McIntosh is dead… Shining Armour killed my brother… Shining Armour is a dead man.
My brother is dead… I sent my brother to his death… I’m a terrible pony.
I should probably stop drinking, Applebloom was just at the door, but I didn’t have the guts to face her. Maybe she blames herself; I should go see her, tell her it’s not her fault. All she did was report the facts, Shining Armour had a fuck ton of weapons, I was the one who was stupid and jumped to conclusions. He had even been cleared of suspicion by Rainbow Dash, I could have found that out if I had just held off for one night and did some research.
When she told me during the meeting that he had been jailed the other night, I wanted nothing more than to run up and punch her in the face, and punch her again and again and cry and cry…
Sorry, I need to get my shit together. I want to kill Shining Armour so badly, but it would be suicide, he knows I’ll want revenge, I bet he’s sitting right there, shotgun aimed right at the front door ready to kill anyone who walks in. As much as it pains me, I have to wait; I’ll avenge Mac someday, but not today. And to really rub salt in the wound, we’re still no closer to finding the real killer, although I wasn’t sad to see the Mayor go. I told Applebloom I didn’t want her investigating any more, I think that hurt her most of all, the idea that I blamed her, that she let me down.
I really should go talk to her; I should tell her the truth… Granny always said I should have told her from the beginning, like me and Mac had been, but I couldn’t do it. Ma asked me to take care of her, and that’s what I promised I would do, I would take care of Applebloom and protect her from all the evils outside… and inside this Family.
I wonder if Rainbow is laughing at me right now, I wonder if she’s feeling like she’s won. I remember when I saw her at Granny Smith’s funeral, was she there to sniff out my weakness, testing the waters to see if the time was right to strike… or was she there to pay her own respects, for old time’s sakes? Is she planning her next move to destroy everything I’ve helped to build… or is she sitting in her own house, a glass of cider in her hooves, remembering the old days?
I should speak to Rainbow…
No! That’s stupid; she made her choice a long time ago. I’m loyal to my family until the end… that’s why I need to go talk to Applebloom.
Diary of Rainbow Dash
Sunday 13th November
How am I supposed to feel right now? This is what I wanted isn’t it? To hurt them, to break them… but never to hurt HER.
Fleetfoot said Big Macs death marks a significant victory in my mission, but then why am I sitting here drinking a glass of cider to his memory? He was my enemy, they all are. It’s been a long time since they were anything but. I still remember those cold winter nights, when there was no heating at whatever house I was squatting in, the Apple’s doors were always open. I still remember the way they would greet me by offering me a warm glass of this very cider, they’d let me sit closest to the fire and we’d all talk and joke and laugh. I still remember those times when it felt like I had a Family of my own.
Everyone in Ponyville called Granny Smith ‘Granny’, but for me it was as if she was the real deal. Whenever I didn’t have a bed or a roof over my head, she was there. Whenever I was hungry she gave me food, and whenever I was too proud to accept she gave me a few bits in return for helping around on the farm. She cared for me like nopony ever did, along with Applejack, Big Mac and little baby Applebloom they were my family, the only one I ever knew.
And I still remember when that world came crashing down around me, when I learned the truth about the Apple Family, about the things they did, monstrous, horrible things. I saw how they pushed ponies into the dirt and walked right over them, how they cheated and stole, and how they hurt those who got in their way. And even to this day I can hear Granny Smith’s words, “that’s just the way it is, the strong will always feed on the weak”.
I ran and ran. I ran until I couldn’t run anymore. It felt like a knife had been driven right into my heart, and it left a wound that I’ve felt to this very day. I ran to Cloudsdale where I found knew friends, a new family… no, nothing could ever replace what I thought I had, but they were special, they still are. They knew some details, but I’ve never told anypony the whole story, even now I can’t believe I just wrote it out.
When they talked about moving to Ponyville I wanted to stop them, but I was afraid of being left alone again… but I was more afraid of my new friends becoming victims of my old ones. So I swallowed my fears and went with them to the town I grew up in. I barely recognised the town, the Family had more power than ever, they were at the top of the food chain, they had fed on so many weaklings until they were the strongest all around.
That was when I swore to bring it all to an end; I knew what it was like to be the weak one, constantly in fear of the strong. I wasn’t going to let monsters like that reign anymore, so I began my mission, I dedicated my life to bringing the Family down; to making them pay for the crimes they had committed. It always hurt me, constantly reopening that wound every time I acted against those who had once meant so much to me.
There was a time I wished for nothing more than for Applejack and Granny Smith to see the error of their ways, to change their behaviour so things could go back to the way they were. But they never did, and that dream eventually faded away all that was left was a bitter, obsessed sheriff…
Granny Smith and Big Mac are gone, I don’t think I can see Applejack and Applebloom go to; maybe it’s time to stop, time to make peace with the past. Maybe… maybe it can wait until tomorrow; I don’t think I have anything left in me tonight.
Diary of Shining Armour
Sunday 13th November
The mafia have got it out for me; my days could be numbered here. The fools broke into my house and found my stash, of course they jumped to all the wrong conclusions and now they’ve paid for it. Still, even if I can fend them off, the law are onto me all the same, the little dragon from Canterlot is sending for an armed force to come and take me into custody. Can’t say I’m surprised, he seems to be the only one left in this town who gives a damn about upholding the law after what happened today with the pink pony.
Poor girl, I’ve seen plenty of soldiers who come out of war not quite the same as when they went in. I’ve known ponies who couldn’t take life anymore, not after the things they’d been through… the things they’d done. depression and post-traumatic stress disorder, all this shit that hurts us from the inside out… it’s not nice, that girl deserved better, she deserved to be helped, not enabled by a bunch of blood thirsty peasants.
Still, if these are my last couple of days, life’s been a blast. I’ve done so much, and yet there’s still so much I never got to do, the accident certainly saw to that. If death does come knocking on my door, I’m ready for him, but it doesn’t mean I won’t go down without a fight; I am a soldier after all.
Diary of Filthy Rich
Sunday 13th November
What have I done? An innocent pony is now dead because of my unholy quest for revenge, a pony who was simply a victim of their own mental health. I can’t even justify it as bringing me closer to my pointless revenge, she was never in the Family, she was probably never even friends with Applejack. No, I was so blinded by my immature desire for revenge that I helped sentence an innocent pony to death in order to achieve it.
All this time I blamed her, cursed her name for how her Family ruined my business and drove away my wife, taking our daughter with her. I placed the blame on Applejack because I was petty and couldn’t accept that I was at fault this whole time. Never did I attempt to do anything useful, never did I attempt to revive my business or contact my wife. I was so focused on blaming Applejack for everything that I never even wrote my daughter a letter.
But it’s all so clear now, my family are gone and I live in squalor, not because of Applejack or her Family but because I allowed this to become my life. And now I’m a murderer, even if I somehow restored everything I’d lost, I could never look in Diamond Tiara’s eyes again knowing the monster I’ve become. I have taken an innocent life, how does one ever go about making up for a sin such as that?
Diary of Applebloom
Sunday 13th November
This is all my fault… Big Mac is gone and it’s all my fault. If I hadn’t followed that stupid dragon… If I had never found those weapons… If I’d just gone straight to the sheriff… but I didn’t, I went to Applejack just like I was supposed to. But why did Big Mac go there? Did he think he could bring Shining Armour into custody himself? Did Applejack send him over there? Why didn’t they just wait? I would have even preferred if he HAD gone the same way as Mr Flim, anything but this.
Applejack told me she didn’t want me investigating anymore, that was all she said to me before she locked herself in her room, she hasn’t come out since no matter how much I beg her too. To think that I could ever have made her and the Family proud, all I’ve done is make matters worse, and now I’ve lost my big brother. Sweetie Belle came over today after the town meeting, she said she wanted to talk to me urgently, but I ignored her. I couldn’t face her after what I did.
My whole life I wanted nothing more than to do more for the Family, to show Applejack that I could be just like her and make her proud. I finally got my chance and I ruined everything…
...
Applejack just came in there, we had a little talk about what happened to Mac, she told me it wasn’t my fault and that she could never blame me for it or love me any less. Things got pretty emotional, I don’t think I’ve ever seen Applejack cry like that, even at Granny’s funeral she was the strong one, it felt so weird and yet… It made me happy to know she really did care, although I think she’s been drinking a lot. She told me the reason she didn’t want me investigating anymore wasn’t because I messed up, but because she could never forgive herself if I had been the one he shot.
She said the blame lay in her and nopony else, I asked her why she sent Big Mac there in the first place; I asked her what they had been trying to do. She didn’t answer me; I think that scared me more than anything else. Right before she left she told me that maybe I should aspire to something other than the Family, that it wasn’t everything I thought it was… I still feel terrible, I know Applejack told me not to blame myself but I still do a bit, but now I feel scared and confused on top of everything else. What did she mean about the Family not being what I thought it was? What was Big Mac gonna do to Shining Armour? Do I even want to know?
Diary of Soarin
Sunday 13th November
I finally did it, after months I broke the affair off with Rarity. She… wasn’t happy about it. There was a lot of shouting and things being thrown around her shop. She tried to say that I wasn’t thinking straight, that I was just scared of Rainbow Dash; I told her that Rainbow Dash was the only one I ever truly loved.
I pretty much had to flee after that, I knew breaking things off wouldn’t go down well, but I never thought she would take things that badly. But I did the right thing, after what happened last night to Big McIntosh, I knew Rainbow Dash needed me now more than ever. We never really knew all the details about what happened between her and Applejack, we knew she lived in Ponyville before she moved to Cloudsdale, and I gathered that the pair of them used to be close.
While she never went into details about what drove them apart, we all agreed not to pry, if she was going to tell us she would in her own time. When I heard the news today I wasn’t sure how she would take it, a part of me thought she would see it as a great advance in her mission to bring down the Apple Family, but when I saw her confronting Applejack at the meeting about Shining Armour’s innocence I knew that behind the mask of professionalism, she was hurting just as much as her enemy was.
This… vendetta has gone on too long, it will never bring Rainbow Dash the peace she seems to think it will, and it’s only going to hurt her more if she carries on. Rarity will probably try to get back at me for deceiving her, and I imagine telling Rainbow Dash what I did will be one of the first things she does. I have to tell her myself, she deserves to hear the truth from me. I honestly don’t know what she’ll do after that…
If she gives me another chance, I’ll beg her to leave with me, move back to Cloudsdale, maybe even take Fluttershy and Fleetfoot with us, it could be just like the old days. I’ll beg her to leave Ponyville behind and all the bad memories it holds for her. I’ll beg her to let go of whatever past she once had with Applejack and try to start afresh. I’ll promise her that I’ll stand by her side like I should have done this whole time. And if she doesn’t give me another chance… well I guess I wouldn’t blame her for that.
Diary of Rarity
Sunday 13th November
Soarin left me… he left me… HE LEFT ME!
He thinks he can just have his fun with me then run back to that whore Rainbow Dash and they can be all lovey dovey together. I gave him my heart and he crushed it! He says he only ever loved Rainbow Dash; well I’ll make him pay! I’ll make him suffer! Come tomorrow morning he will know exactly what happens to those who cross me… and by tomorrow afternoon him and his little whore will be together forever.