Another Castle
"That should take care of her fer now. Ah did the best Ah could with the medicines that we've got here. We were lucky that most of em were still in date," Applejack wiped her hooves on a bit of rag as she turned away from Pinkie Pie. The pink pony lay on the mattress in the clinic, her fresh blood a bright crimson against the browns and blacks of the already soiled linens. Applejack had just finished sewing up the wound on her shoulder so now all that was left of the wound was a smile shaped scar of puckered, angry looking flesh and a little blood crusted fur. Pinkie moaned gently, but she seemed to be resting more easily now than when Twilight had first brought her in. "The wound was startin' ta fester so Ah had ta lance it ta take some of the pressure off, but she ought'a be more stable for the time bein'." Applejack turned to Twilight. "Honestly after y'all ran off an' left me tied up like that, Ah can't believe ya came to me fer this."
"It's not like I had much of a choice. The fact of the matter is, if you are Applejack, you've always been better at the practical side of things. Rudimentary knowledge of how to treat a wound like this wouldn't be beyond my friend," said Twilight, somewhat defiantly. The truth of the matter was she hadn't entirely trusted Applejack to administer care. It was just that, even with the straps on the bed, without any pain killers somepony needed to hold Pinkie Pie still while another tended to her wound. It was that or run the risk of hurting Pinkie further.
"Well whatever, Ah guess ya can owe me one." Applejack moved to a basin of water beside the bed and washed the any remaining blood and pus off her hooves.
"Pinkie Pie's going to be okay then," said Twilight with relief.
"Now Ah wouldn't go so far as ta say that," responded Applejack coldly.
"What is that supposed to mean!?" thundered Twilight, losing her temper. Given all the stress she'd been under, it was surprising she had lasted this long. Her magic flared from her horn and she turned Applejack forcefully around. Twilight's eyes glowed with magic even as the pain behind them deep inside her head welled up, threatening to knock her out. "You just said that this would take care of it! Stop messing with us and give me a straight answer!"
"Ah said 'fer now', Twilight! Calm yer hooves," the alicorn realized that she was holding Applejack several inches off the ground. Reluctantly she let the farm pony sink back to the floor. "Her fevers too high for it ta just be from the wound festerin'. It ain't much of a surprise given how unsanitary things are down here, but mah thinkin' is she might have gotten an infection. With the tools we got here there ain't much we can give her 'cept temporary treatment. We need to get her to a real hospital as soon as possible."
Easy enough for her to say. Twilight didn't think she could unravel the spells on the final door fast enough to keep from starving to death, let alone in enough time to save Pinkie. There had to be something she was missing. "I'm going to go back and check the last room again," she said. "There might be more to that place than what we saw at first glance."
"Ah'll be comin' with ya then," said Applejack putting on her hat, "Ah want to see what this 'final' room is like with mah own eyes." The farm pony froze, unable to move. A soft purple glow enveloped her body.
"You're staying here Applejack," Twilight sternly intoned as nearby straps drifted up from the floor and wrapped themselves firmly around her helpless friend. Once they were secure, she allowed Applejack to settle gently into a waiting chair. "It's not that I'm not grateful for what you did for Pinkie. It's just I can't leave her here alone..."
"And ya can't trust nopony, right?" spoke Applejack bitterly. It was less of a question and more a statement of fact.
"I want to trust you," said Twilight, her voice filled with genuine regret. "It's just that with Rarity's sudden disappearance I don't know who to trust anymore. So all I want to think about right now is how I'm going to get Pinkie Pie the help she needs, okay? If I find a way out, I promise I'll come back to save you...but for right now you're staying put. I'm sorry." Having said that, Twilight turned and left the room, a look of determination on her face despite the tears at the edge of her eyes.
"Is she already gone?" Applejack turned this way and that to make sure. "Sorry, she says," the mare laughed under her breath as she tipped her hat backward and something shiny and sharp fell into her waiting hooves. The sound of a blade sawing into the straps that held her could just barely be heard as she said, "what a silly pony."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Twilight rummaged through the boxes, coming up with nothing more than a look of frustration on her face, "Nothing in here either," she sighed heavily. She really didn't know what she hoped to find. A spell book, maybe? Something to give her the first clue about how to go about deactivating the seal on the door? Or maybe a sledgehammer. The door was only stone and crystal after all. If it weren't for the spells already writhing over it's surface, she'd try just blasting her way through...but mixing magic could be unpredictable at even the best of times, and bringing down the entire cavern on their heads might give them a way out but it would also most certainly crush them like bugs. Twilight looked at the masks with their rabbit ears and vacant eyes. The cavern certainly felt like a warren, twisting this way and that. When rabbits were in their warren they were safe for the most part, provided no predators tunneled down after them. Was there some kind of significance there? Twilight found herself with the sudden and odd urge to learn more about bunny rabbits. If knowing more about them meant finding some clue to save herself and her friends, then so be it. She felt her stomach drop as she remembered that the pony who would be the best to ask about such things was already dead.
"Wait...Fluttershy's corpses had a sigil carved into her leg. How could I have forgotten?" Twilight's mind raced as she turned to leave the room. "It was never used to unseal any of the other doors, so we could use it on this one! We can finally escape from..." a realization stopped her in her tracks. "But...no that won't work. Without Rarity I can't open the door to the room we all started in. Without Rarity there's no way to pass through that room to even get to Fluttershy." Another dead end. Her eyes flashing, Twilight lashed out, not with magic, but with her hooves, bucking the wall with enough force to send several of the masks bouncing off their hooks. While most of them landed softly, one landed with a solid thunk and a splash of blood. Twilight's eyes went wide as something rolled from within the mask she had knocked to the floor.
Rarity's blue eyes stared vacantly from her decapitated head. Her mouth was a ragged, bloody mess. It seemed whomever had jammed her head inside the mask had first taken the liberty of removing all of her teeth to make sure the head fit without her horn being shoved through the fabric. It gave her head the look of a rotting pumpkin, wrinkled and caved in around her mouth, bits of bone and bleeding gums exposed. Twilight felt like she was going to be sick. "I thought...I thought Rarity escaped. I thought she was supposed to be the changeling. Then...who killed her!?" Twilight tore her eyes away from the grizzly sight at her hooves. She had left Pinkie Pie with the pony who had suggested Rarity might be the changeling. She had left Pinkie alone with Applejack!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
If Applejack is the one that killed Rarity, thought Twilight as she ran please, please still be alive! As Twilight rounded the hallway that lead to the clinic, she could already tell that something was wrong. Broken glass had been spilled into the hall. It crunched beneath Twilight's hooves as she picked her way gingerly to the door, trying not to hurt herself. The inside of the clinic brought no relief from her fears. The entire room looked like a tornado had hit it, shards of broken glass and surgical tools lay everywhere, mixed with splashes of blood. The meager desks and chairs had almost all been knocked over. Even the mattress of the bed had apparently been flipped. Twilight moved cautiously, looking for any signs of her friends...or their bodies.
"Are these the straps I used on Applejack?" They had been cut neatly through. Where had she gotten to? Twilight crept through the clinic as carefully as possible, moving towards the room of scrying crystals. The flickering glow from the crystals just barely lit the room. As best she could tell there was no one there. So then, where had they gone? As the image of a bloodied pony flashed on to one of the screens Twilight gasped. Had Applejack already killed Pinkie Pie in the short time she had been gone? No...no she had to catch her breath and slow down her heart beat. It was just Rainbow Dash, still hanging from the ceiling by the noose around her neck. "No, if Applejack had killed Pinkie Pie she would have still been in the clinic. She's probably just taken her to another room. But where?" The image of Dash fuzzed and flashed away, bringing up a new one. Applejack crouched beneath the stairs that lead to the higher level. It was hard to make out, but she seemed to be hiding. Waiting perhaps? "Why is she there all by herself? Where's Pinkie?" Twilight had to find her quickly if she was going to protect her friend. The only thing she could think to do was confront Applejack directly. Changeling or no changeling, she would force her to reveal what had happened to Pinkie Pie.
As she was turning to leave, the image changed once more. Unlike the other images this one seemed to fade in and out. On the wall, inscribed in blood, were written the words "The liar must die." The angle was terrible, so Twilight was unable to see a face, but she could still make out the form...another body. A body that could only belong to Pinkie Pie hung from the ceiling just like Rainbow Dash, punctured repeatedly with sharpened stakes, one jammed directly into her heart. It felt like something was piercing Twilight's own heart as part of her realized the last of her friends had already died. Even so, how could she accept this outcome? "I don't believe it. I was talking to her just a short time ago. It's not real. It can't be real!" Twilight's scream laced with magic and despair sent out a wave of force that shattered and shorted out each of the scrying crystals one by one. "I promised her we would get out of here together. Even as she was being killed...I'm sure she thought I was coming to save her. Pinkie Pie," she sobbed, "I'm so, so sorry..."
Twilight turned away from the shattered crystals at a sound just behind her. Through tears of sadness and fury she saw the person who had killed all her friends. "You...it was you this whole time Applejack. You killed them all!" The farm pony stood watching Twilight impassively, a sharp scalpel clutched tight in one hoof. Twilight launched herself at the earth pony, wings spread wide and teeth clenched tight as she knocked her to the floor and the knife from her grasp. Her hooves pressed in around Applejack's throat and in that moment Twilight didn't know if she intended to kill her or not, and she didn't care. All the horror, all the pain and sadness had to stop. It had to stop here and now!
Applejack, however, had other plans. Kicking out with her strong hind legs, she bucked Twilight right in her stomach, breaking her grip. She then brought her forehead up hard, head butting Twilight in the mouth and sending her staggering back. As Applejack rolled to her hooves, however, Twilight seized the scalpel, whipping it away with her magic before Applejack could even reach for it. In one swift movement she brought the blade to the farm ponies throat. "You were the changeling all along. You killed them...and now...now..." Twilight's words failed her. All she could do was think of her friends, happy and smiling. Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash, Rarity, Pinkie Pie...their smiles were now things only of memory. Memories that were forever stained with blood.
"That's quite the act ya got there sugar cube," said Applejack.
The words were like cold water trickling into Twilight's ear, "What did you just say?"
"You really plannin' on keepin' up this here charade?" asked the earth pony as she glared at the alicorn princess. "As soon as you left the room, we were attacked...by somepony wearin' a rabbit mask."
"Do you really expect me to swallow such an obvious lie!?" demanded Twilight.
"It ain't no lie," said Applejack, her eyes like steel even as the sharp blade at her throat drew a single bead of blood. "Ah got knocked out, and when Ah woke up Pinkie was gone. There were only three ponies left down here according ta you, so the explanations obvious. It's you. You're the changeling, right? You can drop the act now. If'n you're gonna kill me, ya can at least do it honestly." The set of the farm ponies jaw let Twilight know she meant it. Or at least, if she really were Applejack, she meant it.
"Stop it...stop messing with my head! There's no way I'd ever kill Pinkie, or any of my other friends! Just cut it out!" screamed the alicorn.
"Yer the one who ought'a cut it out darlin'," drawled Applejack. "You really don't have one? A sigil I mean?"
"What does that have to do with anything!?" cried Twilight, truly confused."I told you I didn't have one, and then you and Rarity tied me up."
"But that was also a lie, wasn't it? You told a lie about lying, a lie ta cover up what ya were really tryin' ta hide." said Applejack.
Twilight felt her grip on the situation slipping, "What lie?"
"About the sigil that can unlock all the doors," answered Applejack "The sigil only the changeling ought ta have."
"What makes you think I have something like that?" Twilight asked, her grip on the scalpel loosening.
"The seal on the final door. There ain't no sigil left that can unseal that door, so someone must have the changelings sigil. But it goes without sayin that Dash, who died trapped in that room didn't have it. Everypony else checked that their sigils couldn't be used to open other doors aside from the one they had first unsealed." Applejack knocked the scalpel out of the air and away from her throat as she finished. "Everpony that is, except for you! You've been playin' the victim this whole time, while inwardly sneerin' at the rest of us behind our backs."
"No..." whispered Twilight.
"You were watchin' us descend inta chaos, while killin' us off one by one. Just admit it!" yelled Applejack.
"NO!" screamed Twilight. "I haven't killed anyone! And I don't have a sigil!"
Applejack moved faster than Twilight could follow, going not for the knife, but for a broken desk leg that had been lying on the floor. She smashed Twilight across the face and once more on the top of the head for good measure, sending Twilight to her knees. "Ah'll listen ta yer explanation later 'princess'. But right now, Ah got all the proof Ah need that you are the changeling right here." Applejack gripped Twilight's dress, right over her chest. She paused, patting the area, before pulling the collar of the dress aside to expose the flesh underneath. "That's impossible. You ain't got a scratch on ya. Where's the wound on yer chest!?" cried the farm pony in disbelief. "Then who was just...oh...oh Twilight. Ah'm so sorry." Applejack quickly backed away, letting the desk leg drop from her hooves. She turned to leave the room, but almost as an after thought, scooped up the scalpel she had before and tucked it into her hat brim. "Just stay here Twi. Ah'm gonna go finish this right now."
"Finish what!?" cried Twilight, still groggy from yet another round of repeated blows to her aching head. "I can't possibly understand if you don't explain it to me! Applejack!"
"Twilight..." said Applejack. "The chageling's gotta be...hrrk..." Applejack flinched. Her back had been to the doorway. As she staggered back into the room with Twilight, the alicorn princess could see the hunting knife that had been jammed into the farm ponies back. She crumbled into a heap, as a pony wearing a rabbit mask melted out of the darkness, axe raised high to bury into Twilight's head. All Twilight could think to do was raise her forelimbs, desperately trying to shield herself from the blow. She closed her eyes tightly, waiting for the sensation of cold steel chopping into her flesh. A sensation that never came. As she opened her eyes, the pony was gone.
"I'm...safe, I guess?" whispered Twilight. "But...why didn't she kill me?" A groan drew Twilight's attention. Applejack coughed, bloody spittle flecking the floor by her face. "Applejack, you're alive! Thank goodness. Just hold on, I'll tend to your wounds right away. I'm so sorry I suspected you. I should've known better than to doubt the element of honesty. Just hold still." Carefully, so as not to cause further damage, Twilight pried the knife out of Applejack's back. The wound was deep and it bled freely once the knife was freed, but it didn't look like it had pierced anything important. "I have to at least disinfect the wound. Just hold still. There has to be something in the clinic we can still use." Applejack reached out to Twilight and grabbed the torn hem of her dress. The look on her face was a mixture of thanks and pain. "Just...just don't die, okay!?"
Twilight scrambled among the broken glass, trying to find any bottles of disinfectant or rubbing alcohol that were still intact. Trying to salvage anything that could be used as bandages, anything that could be used to treat her friend. Applejack wasn't the killer, she was Twilight's friend, and there was no way she was going to let another friend die!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
It had taken longer than she would have liked, but Twilight had at last been able to scrounge together enough supplies to treat the wound and staunch the flow of blood. Tearing up a spare set of sheets she had found in a drawer beneath the bed, she had bound Applejack's wound with strips wrapped and layered around her chest and back. Applejack lay unconscious but breathing on the mattress on the floor, her teeth grinding in pain even in her sleep. "Applejack was telling the truth all along. There's somepony else down here. Somepony who's been spying on us, watching us fight with one another and laughing." Twilight leaned over Applejack and covered her sigil inscribed hoof with her own. "Just hang on Applejack. I swear I will get you out of here,"she paused before grimly adding," or die trying."
Twilight left the clinic and went back to the final room. Rarity's disfigured head still lay on the floor where it had fallen. Twilight tried to ignore it, and the teeth that clearly must have been the unicorns still scattered around a set of pliers, as she went to the tool box. "I'm sure I saw it around here earlier..." Twilight whispered to herself. She rummaged through the hammers and wrenches until at last she found what she was looking for. The crowbar rose from the tool box, gleaming in the crystal light. She had thought about using it to pry open the last door if she couldn't figure out any other way to get out...but now she was going to put it to another use. Chains slithered magically across the floor to Twilight as she used the metal links to bind the crowbar to her right forelimb. The sharp ends of the grooved metal were angled away from her own flesh. "I'm going to hunt this pony down, and I'm going to take her key. It's a one on one match now. Time to bring an end to this game!"
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Oh now her blood is crimson, huzzah for sporadic color-changes.
Sewing up. It's not a scar until it's healed. All the bloody fur should have been washed or shaved off to reduce chances of infection, and they obviously have sharp instruments to do the latter with.
It is not pressure that makes a wound fester, moreover, why can't Applejack believe that Twilight would drop everything to help her dying friend? It fits right in line with the motivations behind tying Applejack up in the first place, and Applejack would probably do the exact same thing if she needed Twilight.
AJ, festering wounds are caused by infections, and you should've noticed that Rarity was using a rusty scalpel when she confronted Twily.
Okay, Applejack, that was some canny slight-of-hoof, but you'd better not hurt Twilight.
Manure hits aerosol dispersal device.
Obvious is Obvious.
Yes, how could you have forgotten? You'll need to bring something to saw her corpse into tiny pieces though, what will Applejack think, especially since you found Rarity dead?
No, unacceptable, denied.
Now to bring out a bit of speculation as to whether the body in chapter 1 was really Fluttershy, I didn't mention it before, but faking your own death is also rather cliche.
It is time to end this game, Twilight, you are the boss-Alicorn and will tear anypony that dares harm your should-be Marefriend to shreds.
OK, I know that this is nitpicky on my part, but its been bugging me for a few chapters. Since Twilight's cutie mark is in magic and she is such a studyholic, shouldn't she know some sort of, you know, healing magic? Unless I missed something, there shouldn't be any interference for that.
I can't believe Twilight left AJ tied up like that. "I can't leave Pinkie alone?" So what the hell is AJ supposed to do if someone attacks, scream? Way to guarantee that both your friends are easy prey, Twilight.
I'm also mildly surprised AJ didn't die right then and there. Obviously the killer didn't want AJ to reveal their identity – however she figured that out, and assuming she was even right – so why do something that doesn't guarantee silence? Applejack should still have had the strength to at least say a damn name.
Okay, I was wrong. It's not Rarity.
Who is it!?!
Just a few chapters more.
Reminded me of this and now I was laughing too much to feel sad about Applejacks Death.
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10896396
Fixed that for you~
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