//------------------------------// // Pinkies Journey // Story: Cursed Book // by Sillyponyme //------------------------------// Rainbow and Pinkie stared at the Rainbow Dash copy as she flew until she couldn't be seen any longer. Rainbow looked at Pinkie who still had the same cold look in her eyes. This wasn't the same Pinkie that she and the others loved so much. Pinkie was happy go lucky but now she was all serious and cold. Surely Pinkie wasn't this way and maybe it wasn't Pinkie. Without really thinking about it, Rainbow turned and jumped on Pinkie. "Ok who are you and what did you do with Pinkie? Are you the Changeling Queen?" Rainbow Dash asked. Pinkie just stared at her friend with an 'are you serious' look on her face. After a few minutes, Rainbow jumped off Pinkie and frowned. "I can't blame you Dashie, after everything that has happened." Pinkie inhaled deeply and then let it out. "I guess I'm just having a hard time finding a reason to smile. Most things are easy to smile at but death, it's just depressing." Pinkie turned her head away from Rainbows worried stare. "I can't just smile or be happy when everypony is dying. It's not like the trees in the Everfree Forest; I can't just act like it's not happening. Laughing isn't going to make these things go away." "Pinkie, I'm so sorry. I guess I didn't fully realize how hard this would be for you. I always thought that you could laugh at anything. I should have realized that this would affect you so hard. You're right Pinkie, these things, this time there isn't reason to laugh." Rainbow sat down on the hard ground. "When Scoots died, I had expected you to throw some kind of cheerful party in memory for her. On the one hoof it would have been offensive at first but on the other, it would have just been you. When all you did was cry and go up and say good things about her, everypony was shocked. We hadn't expected that at all." Rainbow was then grabbed up in an unusually soft hug. "Truth is Rainbow Dash, I was angry with myself and I still am. My Pinkie sense told me something would be falling and then I saw Andrea with her gun pointed at the Walker Ponies. My senses were odd though but it doesn't matter now. Andrea shot each of them in the head and at first I was angry but something told me that she had done the right thing. Then when she went to kill Scootaloo, that same something told me it was the right thing and at the same time, I wanted to protect her but…I couldn't, I didn't. My happiness was instantly drained from me, I tried to be happy but." Pinkie let go of Rainbow Dash and frowned seeing the hurt and angry look on her friends face. She had expected that reaction from Rainbow Dash but the truth had to come out sooner or later. Pinkie had let Andrea kill Scootaloo. "You, you let her die." Rainbow Dash backed away from Pinkie angrily. "What's wrong with you, you saw how scared she was and you let that witch kill her. You're no better then she is, you may as well of killed her yourself." Pinkie tried to touch Rainbow on her shoulder but she was pushed away. "Screw you Pinkie, I want nothing to do with you. Just stay away from me, from the others." With that said Rainbow flew off leaving Pinkie alone. Pinkie just sat and watched as her friend flew off while letting some tears slip down her cheeks. "I'm so sorry Rainbow, truly I am." Pinkie then stood up and made her way to the Everfree Forest. It was official, she was alone and no one would go looking for her. That didn't mean that she couldn't help her friends even if they didn't want it. No doubt that Rainbow Dash would tell the others what she did or more accurately didn't do. Pinkie walked past Flutttershy's cottage or at least what was left of it. She couldn't look at it any longer then a second, she had to keep moving. Once Pinkie reached the entrance to the forest, she took in a deep breath and went in. A dead animal lied on the ground on the path in front of her. "One of them must've been hungry." Pinkie carefully made her way around the shredded fur and broken bones. Pinkie reached into her saddle and pulled out her necklace representing her element. For the first time in a while, she genuinely chuckled. "I hope they can forgive me." Pinkie ran forward further into the forest until the entrance disappeared out of sight. She had seen where bright light had come from and ran in that direction. Pinkie had to get to where the light had come from, that would be where the book was, at least that was the hope. Rain poured down over the forest rustling the leaves. The rain cut through the leaves like paper and hit Pinkie with as much force as rain could hit with. The sounds of groans could be heard as she ran. Every walker pony that came close she bucked out of the way and kept running. She would find the book and would get it to Twilight or at the very least get it closer to her. She didn't know much about the book but she knew that Twilight needed it and she would get it, even if she had to die to get it to her. Once Pinkie made it to the designated exit out of the forest, she found herself in front of a broken trailer. "Trixie, she brought these creatures from hell?" There was no doubt in her mind that this was Trixies' trailer. Pinkie slowed her pace and carefully walked over to the front door and found Trixies showmare costume and a trail of blood leading away from it. Pinkie followed the trail for about one mile before she found her. She found Trixie in half, her entrails following behind her. Pinkie ran in front of her and stared at Walker Trixie. "Not even you're this stupid Trixie, sorry." Pinkie raised her front hooves into the air and smashed in Trixie's head. Pinkie ran back toward the trailer and looked around inside. "Nothing but dried blood and guts." Pinkie shivered as a whiff of polluted air reached her nose. The smell of dead bodies infiltrated her senses and even made her vomit. After a few seconds and Pinkie ran out of the trailer, holding her breath until she made it outside. "Where is it?" Pinkie asked herself looking around for the book. Pinkie hadn't seen the book along the trail of blood or near Trixie. "Maybe she threw it away?" Pinkie looked at the doorway and then followed a possible trail from the door into the forest. Soon she came to a muddy imprint that had been smeared a bit but it was definitely book shaped. Pinkie looked left and then right but couldn't decide on which way the book went. "It couldn't have been kicked to far right?" Pinkie went left and then tripped on something. She stood up and then heard growing moans. She stood up quickly and felt around to find what she had tripped on. She found the book and pulled up on it but it was stuck. "I don't have time for this." Pinkie pulled harder and harder until she couldn't pull any more and finally the thing began moving rather slowly. It squished in the mud as it moved. Pinkie almost had it out when a walker pony bit into her leg. Pinkie screamed in pain and bucked the thing away from her. Finally Pinkie managed to pull the book out of the mud. She fell backward and onto her rump. "You were really stuck you stupid book." Pinkie stood up and took off away from the forest as a horde of walker ponies came out of the forest. Pinkie ran and ran until she reached Ponyville. "I can fight it until I reach Twilight, I know I can." Pinkie coughed up some blood but continued on weakly. Her head became hot, her legs weakened and her body was ready to collapse. Pinkie walked as fast as she could. She made it all the way to river on the other side of Ponyville before she collapsed from exhaustion. "Rainbow Dash…I'm sorry…forgive me." Pinkie said exhausted as Walker ponies came up to her and began eating away at her, her vision went black. The Rainbow Dash copy entered the castle greeted by her friends except for Twilight. "Where is Twilight?" Fluttershy led Rainbow away toward the throne room. "Thanks Flittershy." "Um, it's Fluttershy Rainbow Dash." Fluttershy corrected. "Right, Fluttershy, sorry." Rainbow then walked into the throne room and ran up to Twilight. "Twilight, I'm here." "Good for you Rainbow Dash, at least you made it but please leave me alone. I'm not worth talking to." Twilight stood up and walked to the other side of the throne room. Rainbow Dash was ready to comment but Luna took her away. "Look, I know that you're a copy. Now that that is out of the way, I suggest you leave and help stand guard until the real Rainbow Dash gets here." Rainbow wanted to argue but decided not to and just left. Soon afterward, the real Rainbow Dash came into the room. "Rainbow Dash, let's talk." "I'm in no mood princess; I need to talk to Twilight." Rainbow pushed past Luna and walked into the throne room with her friends in tow. "Twilight, we need to talk about Pinkie." "I know Rainbow, she is dead." Twilight said expecting Rainbow to bring that up. "Wrong, that was a copy that Pinkie put down and the other Rainbow is a copy of me from the mirror pool but that isn't important. Pinkie let Scootaloo die, she admitted it to me. Pinkie said that it was the right thing to do." Rainbow spit out vehemently. "No way, Pinkie wouldn't really do that." Rarity said shocked at hearing Rainbow say that about their friend. "She did say that and that's when I left her. I probably shouldn't have but she made me so angry." Rainbow said still steamed. "At least she didn't kill yer sister." Applejack glared at Rarity. "Oh wait, she basically did." Soon the three started arguing and Twilight let them. She had no energy to try and stop it, she wasn't even sure that she cared anymore. She became too depressed when she realized that she couldn’t protect anypony. Soon enough though, the arguing stopped. "Fine then, we go our separate ways. We only watch out for ourselves like Twilight." Rarity said glaring at her purple friend. "I would hate for anypony to be stuck with you Rarity, ya would never help anypony but yerself and ya little sister." Applejack walked away head held up and mumbled something. "Generosity, yeah right." "I have to look out for my sister; she is all I have left." Rarity then walked away. "Fine then, our friendship is over then." Rainbow frowned and slowly flew away. "Elements of harmony, what a joke." Rainbow Dash grabbed onto the necklace and then threw it onto the ground. Each necklace and Twilight's tiara turned grey and cracked.