//------------------------------//
// Pilot 
// Story: Kingdom of Bones: A Shot in The Dark 
// by ProbableSarcasm 
//------------------------------//

"I know it ain't right, but we can't help her like this," Apple Jack, defeated, stated. "The more we pressure tha' poor thing, the less we're helpin' her."

"So what? You're just giving up?!" The impulsive nature of Rainbow Dash shot up from her glance, off of her haunches and into the sky; hovering furiously at Apple Jack's words. "She's our friend, friends don't abandon friends!"

"Well..." Fluttershy started, but was cut off by Apple Jack's off-timed retort.

"We ain't helpin' her here!" Apple Jack once again stated, stamping her hoof down onto the pavement. "The best thang' we can do is make sure she knows she's not along-"

"Oh, man! That's such a contradiction!" Rainbow mistook along for alone. "`Th' mo-wre we pressare tha' poor thang, the less we're 'elpin' her! Eeyuk!"

"That was so unnecessary!" Rarity finally quipped, glaring at Rainbow Dash's intentional mocking of Apple Jack's accent.

Apple Jack didn't look amused, as in matter of fact, her eyes narrowed to a slither of green.










Two Years Later


My name is Twilight Sparkle.

Can I mention how much I despise this city?

The snow pierced through the sky like a bullet through my throat and abdominal regions, my lungs burned in the shrilly freezing temperature. My jacket shuffled up closer to my shoulders and neck, the winter of Canterlot is a lot more bitter than I have expected. I flicked snow put of my ear with a twitch,  the snow was fuzzier than the snow in Ponyville. Maybe it was all of the pollution in Canterlot, the air here was thicker than the air of a nice fertilized farm.  I suspected as much from a preposterous city.

It was Hearts Warming Eve, the polluted snow has already been falling quickly and hard. The snow wasn't entirely pure white, as there was tinges of grey inside of these piles of white snow on the ground. Hooves and tire tracks littered the snow, mine included.  I don't like snow as much as I did when Heart's Warming's Eve in Ponyville, maybe it was  the lack of stuck up people who believed you owed the everything or some stupid bullshit like that.

Why do I hate this city for some reason?

It houses some of the most important ponies in this day and age, especially the princesses and the bunker of the Royal Guards on the outskirts of town.  Whoever decided placing one of the most populated barrack of the Royal Guards so close to a city this functional should make Mayor Mare take notes, apparently keeping the best defense on the most important icons in a city so riddled with greed that it'll make Wall Street look like a drunk accountant's mistake.

Again, why do I hate this city so much?

Greed, nothing but greed in this city. It's disgusting.

It was either really dark at night, or way too early too be outside without looking suspicious. Especially with what I'm wearing, according to Rarity's annoying chattering in my ears, I'm dressed like "The Nightcrawler version of a pedophile". Not that I can blame her, Pinkie Pie did dress me like this, added a nice little black bow-tie on the collar for "dramatically awesome" effects.

I'm wearing a grey jacket, more of a trench coat really. The black bow-tie making it a really bad touch, at least it's warm enough to walk the streets of Canterlot. My hoof prints were being covered by the snow that's still falling, crunching and breaking under hey made my four hooves. My legs felt numb, the cold biting into my exposed skin. My face felt raw from sniffling, a cold is the last thing I needed.

"Merry Heart's Warmings Eve, Twilight!!" Some random pony, dressed like a reindeer with hearts painted on her pink jacket, gleefully said. 

I didn't replied, strutting past. 

"Twilight!" The pony called after me, just what I needed. "It's me! Cadence! Can't you see?"

I side-glanced her. "Have a happy Go to Hell"

"Aw, come one Twily!"  Cadence had gotten use to my sharp tongue as of lately, shame, I was hoping she would break down and cry. "This is one of your bad days, I understand."

"I'm not having one of those days, I just need some alone time," I just kept walking, but she was following me. I think she's obsessed with fixing me, trying to show me the 'warmth of love' again. This is as soft as it gets, I could just turn around and kick the shit out of her and throw her in the crystal dungeon again just to shut her up. 

"You spent  year and a half in your room crying," Cadence, again, kept pressing. I wish she would just shut up, I already five murderers waiting for me at home to do this for me. Why do I want to be alone? We the ponies are idiots, and it took one death for me to realize that somethings shouldn't change, and it's better if they would just stay the same. "You haven't even been out of ponyville until today!"

"No," I shuffled up my jacket closer, "I spent a year and a half in my room trying to forget."

"You can't forget how to love some-pony else,"  Cadence fretted, again with the obsession of fixing me. "It'll destroy you, Twilight"

"No, they destroyed me," I stopped and coldly glared at Cadence, who stopped and flinched as if I was about to swing at her.  "I just recovered, and now every-pony doesn't like the way I am. "

"It's just depression.." Cadence replied, her voice lowering. "Did you take your medicine today?"

I snorted.

"If I don't take that stupid pill," I growled, sniffling again from the snow. "I go to a mental health center." 

Cadence was quiet for a minute, her eyes quavering slightly as the colors of her eyes became fuller again. I know that spell, it was a quick meditation spell called Meditatio Sui. I know Cadence is a princess, and even the Princess of Love has her limits when it comes to frustration. She knew from the moment I came out of my house, she would forever try to help me change back.

Cadence sighed.

"Would you at least come inside for the night?" Cadence looked tired, and to be honest: I haven't slept in two days.  "Just for the night, and you can leave anytime you want after you slept."

"...why?"

"Please Twilight, you're just wandering the streets like a serial killer," Cadence continued. "You know Shining Armor won't forgive himself if anything happened to you."

"...Fine," I'll bite, I need sleep anyways. "You don't happen to have eggnog, do you?"

"I can always make some," Cadence answered, looking at the time on her watch. "It's only ten, but I guess you deserve it."

Damn right I do.

"I have business to take care of, I'll stop by the house in two minutes, okay?" I needed time to finish what I had to do.

"You have the key right?" I nodded. "Okay, be safe Twily."

"Yeah," I retorted, "Fuck you, I'll see you in a few minutes."



My forehead, just below the horn, slammed into his nose. I stood up on my hind-legs, throwing him into the snow. I stood over him and straddled him, slamming my now swelling hooves into his cheeks and temples. I took his head and banged his skull into the snow, which was also frozen grass.  

I stood back up, the dazed Earth Pony holding his bruised body. His body instinctively curling up and trembling, like a helpless colt. He looked like he's had enough, but I didn't. I'm not done, not yet. He didn't save him, and it's his fault that he's in a grave. This stallion was part of the reason I feel this way, and if I could: I would make him chew on glass and make him swallow.

Hell no, until he feels what I feel; what he's done to me, he will never garner my pity.

I grabbed him by his suit collar, and pulled him to his hooves. I threw my free hoof, which was my right, into his ribs. I hit him with an uppercut, and he fell into the alleyway. The Earth Pony landed on the snow covered dumpster, I grabbed him by his cuff again and gave him a a hard right hook. He didn't fall, but he twirled back to his hind-legs. I lost my grip on his collar.

My hoof impacted his face, a quick but hard jab, blood spilling from his lips. His blood splattered across the snow,  his glasses flying off of his now bruising face, his eyes widened at the seemingly random mare who is just randomly beating on him. I saw him extend forelegs, trying to garner distance between us. I grabbed one foreleg and shot my hind-leg up, striking him in the belly sharply. He wheezed and doubled over in pain.

No. 

I wasn't done.

This old stallion let him die.

I slammed the surgeon to the brick wall, swung him around, and threw him at the dumpster again. The large bang echoed as he landed into the metal, leaving a dent. I picked him back uplifted the dumpster lid and slammed the side of his head into the lip of the dumpster, I held him down as I slammed the dumpster lid onto the right temple of the surgeon.  I pulled him out and smacked him loud and hard enough for any foal to turn an flee.

I threw him, the surgeon, deeper into the alley, I had a few words to exchange to this motherfucker.

"W-wait!" The surgeon's eyes, as swollen and covered in blood were, widen at the sight of me as I finally came into the light. I looked to the right to see a mirror with a reflection of myself,  and I almost jumped out of my fur at what I saw. I had dark circles outlining my eyes, my eyes looked pinkish from lack of sleep. My coat was ungroomed, despite me taking a shower earlier. My mane was rustled, well, given that I just kicked the shit out of this pony.

I quickly moved my iris to the corner of my eye to see the surgeon trying to run past me, while I was busy looking in the mirror.  I coiled up, my hind-legs building pressure, and I released that potential energy into kinetic energy as both hooves landed on the side of the surgeon. I heard ribs crack, and a sharp gasp from the old stallion. The stallion slid down, gasping.

I reached into my jacket and took out a magnum, I took it out of the strap and stuck it under his chin. I picked the surgeon up and threw him into the corner. The surgeon didn't talk much before, I respected that. I just wanted him to get better, the best care he could get by one of the best surgeons.


Right now, I had the magnum in front his eyes; I pulled the hammer down ominously to show the gun was armed and stuck it in between the eyes  of the surgeon. The surgeon's swollen eyes widen, and his heart fluttered. Tears started to form into his bruised and bloody face, he lifted his hooves up, silently pleading with me.

"Please, Ms. Sparkle," He pleaded, his body weakly huffing from the broken ribs. "I-i'm sorry about the patient! There was nothing we could do!"

"You couldn't do anything because you learned my insurance didn't cover his treatment,"  I pressed the gun deeper into his forehead, he's going to stop lying to me. "You wouldn't do anything!"

"Look! S-"

"Don't you dare say his fucking name," I slammed the gun into his nose, the nose crunched audibly. "Don't you ever taint his name with your lying cunt you call a mouth."

The surgeon yelped, holding his nose as it gushed blood like a a steady river of carmine. Heh, like that time where the beavers refused to let the dam go, and Discord was skating and shit like that. I remember that day, and it caused me to let out a giggle. I snorted, and started to giggle. I started to laugh hysterically, I wiped the building tears of the laughter from my eyes.

"y-what!? You psycho!" The surgeon seemed disturbed by my laughter. 

"I'm not a psycho, I just feel happy right now. " I let the gun drop, less interested in him. I pet the surgeon on his head, he was definitely balding and it made me snort. I chuckled and turned, a big skip in my step. I feel, glow-y. I feel like the sun just landed on my coat, and the transition from angry to gleeful made me chuckle again.

I turned around at the surgeon, whom picked up the magnum and aimed it at me.

The surgeon pulled the trigger, and instead of a bullet, it was more of a pleasant surprise.