Fire Bird syndrome

by phoenixravenstories

Chapter 1: Let The Nightmare Begin

Five years had passed since Nightmare Moon had returned to Equestia and been defeated. Princess Luna still had no recollection of what had drove her to try and over throw her older sister, Celestia, which had gotten her a stern punishment of 1,000 years alone on the moon. Yet every night in her dreams, she sees two blackened out figures that appear to be a mare and a colt. They seem to call out to her, as if calling to someone they know, but before she can make out their features, her dream ends and she awakens in a cold sweat. She has also began to notice that in other ponies dreams, simple happy details have gotten dark and twisted into nightmares.

Luna sighed and sat up in her bed for only a moment before getting out and walking to the throne room where her sister sat. "Sister...?" Princess Luna asked as Celestia glanced down upon the smaller mare. "What happened on that fateful night when we refused to lower the moon...?" She asked staring into her older sisters eyes. "Dearest sister, you need not worry about that day. It was a long time ago, and I have forgiven you." Celestia replied with a slight smirk. Luna tilted her head slightly frowning and asked, "Please sister, It feels as though we have forgotten someone..."

Celestia sighed and began to explain, "You just became insane and tried to kill me and my guards..." Celestia knew it wasn't true, and smirked inwardly knowing that this would keep her younger sister at bay for now. Luna frowned looking away from her beloved sister, "We're sorry sister....we didn't....we didn't know better...we....we are sorry...." Celestia got down from her throne, giggling inside her brain, and moved toward the princess of the night yawning slightly. "The day is coming to an end my dear, sister. It is your turn to bring up the moon. Do you recall how to bring the night, or shall I aid you?" She asked smiling gently at Luna. Luna looked up and sighed, "Sister, we are not a little filly anymore..." She frowned, as Celestia nodded and walked away to her room.

Princess Luna sighed as the sun lowered completely making room for her lovely moon. Soon the moon was high in the starry night sky. Luna smiled out the window at it, and with nothing more to do, decided to go check on her loyal subjects dreams. As the princess went through out every ponies dreams she came across something odd. When she tried to enter Pinkie Pie's, one of her new found friends, dream...something prevented all access to it. Luna frowned a bit and tried to ignore this, but she had this urge in the back of her mind...wondering what exactly could be going on...Luna sighed and continued down the path to more pleasant dreams, but little did the princess know that within Pinkie Pie's dream, something evil was lurking in the darkness...

Inside of Pinkie Pie's dream, everything was bright and sunny. She smiled happily walking into Sugar Cube Corner and was immediately greeted by two hugs from Pound and Pumpkin, the Cake twins, which she happily received. After partaking in some pastries courtesy of Mrs. Cake, the pink haired mare hopped up the stairs to her bedroom. Pinkie's eyes widened as her whole body began to shake violently when she reached to open her door. "Oh wow! That one was a doosey, I wonder what's gonna happen!!" She said aloud, frowning slightly.

She bit her lip and slowly opened the door to her room. Her blue eyes widened in shock as the door disappeared. "W-What....Where am I...?" She asked looking confused and getting a bit worried. Pinkie Pie slowly looked inside the room seeing absolutely nothing but pure black. "Hello Pinkie Pie, come in dear~" An unfamiliar mare's voice said eerily.

Pinkie gulped a bit and slowly stepped into the dark abyss and floated on what seemed like thin air. She stepped a bit further into the room and peeked behind her, but soon wished she hadn't. Behind her was....darkness...Sugar Cube Corner was gone. "This way Pinkie~" The voice sang gently. Pinkie frowned and looked back towards the way she had been walking, continuing around the abyss before freezing as she saw a single dim light.

She gulped and trembled slowly inching towered the dim light. As she came closer, she noticed the light shone against a single concrete wall that seemed to have something written on it in a strange crimson red fluid. She looked closer, and gasped noticing it was blood, and quickly backed away from the wall. The light slowly began to get brighter as the pink mare moved further away.. Soon the message in blood became clearer to read, "Life...is a...party...?" Pinkie read tilting her head slightly in confusion. "What's wrong dear Pinkie? Isn't life such a great party?" Pinkie turned around in confusion and saw a mare standing in front of her, her back facing Pinkie.

The mysterious mare was standing over something that Pinkie Pie couldn't quite see. Pinkie gulped, frowning, "W-Who are you? Where am I? What are you doing, it's not anything bad is it?" Pinkie managed to ask nervously. The figure didn't move except to grab what looked like measuring cups, "Well miss Pinkameana, why don't you come over and help me? I'm just making some cupcakes is all my dear~" Pinkie Pie instantly brightened up jumping over to the figure forgetting instantly about the blood. "Oh boy! What kind of cupcakes?" She asked with her usual chipper smile, "Are they, chocolate, strawberry, vanilla, cherry, bluebe-" Her voice ceased when she saw the pony laying on the table, her pink fluffy hair deflating into flat lifeless strands. Pinkies eyes filled with tears as she opened her mouth to scream, but no sound came out.

"What's wrong my dear sweet Pinkameana~" The purple mare asked as she grinned, her teeth sharpened to the tip, "Don't you like when I use your special ingredients~?" Pinkie's eyes poured with tears as she glanced between the black haired mare and her best friend, who laid almost lifeless on the table before them. "D-Dash...?" Pinkie sobbed out, "R-Rainbow...Dash...what happen..." She trailed off sobbing as she watched the evil mare beside her rip her friends internal organs out slowly. "Oh what's wrong Pinkameana~?" The unicorn asked as she whipped the specks of blood off her glasses, "Isn't this what you wanted~? I mean this is your doing~" She smirked as Pinkie felt her stomach drop.

The unicorn smirked and disappeared into thin air. "D-Dash...!?" Pinkie Pie stuttered hurrying to her friend, "Dash please be ok...!" She whimpered reaching for the rainbow manned ponies face and freezing. Finally the pink haired mare let out an ear splitting shriek as she saw a bloody scalpel in her hoof. Rainbow dash, who lay barley conscious on the table before Pinkie Pie, gasped in breath and coughed out blood. "P-Pinkie...?" She choked out, "Why.....Why would you do...do this to..." Her sentence was cut short from the loss of blood to her few vital organs as she finally passed out. "No! Dash! Wake up please!!" Pinkie pie gasped out, "I would never do this!!! It wasn't me!!! DASH PLEASE!!!" She sobbed out trying to wake the newly deceased Rainbow Dash up. Pinkameana sobbed holding the lifeless corps of her dead best friend, Rainbow Dash.

Pinkie Pie screamed lunging up in her bed sobbing. "DASH!!! PLEASE WAKE UP!!" She screamed looking around her brightened room panting heavily. Mrs. Cake gasped hearing Pinkie scream and raced up the stairs to her room throwing open the door. "Pinkie dear? are you ok? What happened? Why are you screaming honey?" She asked as Pinkie sobbed holding herself. Mrs. Cake frowned and went over to her house guest hugging her gently.

"I-I killed Dash...!" Pinkie Pie sobbed trying to explain to her motherly figure what had happened. Mrs. Cake frowned and listened, assuring Pinkie Pie that it was only a dream, comforting her till she stopped crying. Pinkie sniffled burying her face in Mrs. Cakes hair inhaling the light cinnamon smell, probably due from a pastry she had cooked earlier. "It felt so real Mrs. Cake..." Pinkie sighed out, "I don't want to hurt Dash..." she murmured feeling a bit more at ease now that Mrs. Cake was here. "Oh Pinkie," Mrs. Cake sighed hugging Pinkie tight, "You wouldn't do that, I know how you act. You wouldn't hurt a fly, and besides, I know you'll forget this soon. You always find a way to be happy!" The blue mare concluded with a smile making Pinkie's hair inflate with joy.

Pinkie smiled and yawned lightly, "Thank you Mrs. Cake, I'm gonna sleep for a bit more if you don't mind!" She said jumping into bed squirming back under her covers. Mrs. Cake nodded smiling, happy that Pinkie was ok now, and left the room, closing the door behind her. The blue mare sighed a bit exhausted, "Maybe I should rest too, but I do have to finish frosting those cupcakes." She sighed out and went over to the dozen or so assorted cupcakes that were made for the Cutie Mark Crusaders weekly meeting and began to finish frosting the remaining three cupcakes. She finished in a few moments and stood from her seat about to head to her room, when suddenly exhaustion hit her hard, making her fall back into the cupcakes, and into a deep sleep.

She awoke to darkness in her dream, but not for very long. Soon lights dimly lit up and she realized she was in her sweet shop, Sugar Cube Corner, but knew something was...different. There was no familiar smell of pastries there was no mess in the kitchen no cakes or any other sweets being baked and there were boxes that looked as though they were newly packed. Mrs. Cake frowned and looked around the room. "Honey? What's going on?" She called out to her husband confused. Mr. Cake came out of the hall with another large box of things.

He looked as though he hadn't slept in days. Apart from being obviously exhausted, when he looked at his still puzzled wife, he had a look of betrayal and sadness. The yellow colt sighed, not answering his wife's question, and continued stacking the box next to the others by the door. "Honey?" Mrs. Cake asked again, "Why are you packing, are we moving?" The mare asked frowning at her husband. Mr. Cake sighed, "What? Are you trying to forget that you cheated on me?" he asked looking at Pumpkin and Pound cake who looked extremely upset.

Mrs. Cake gasped in shock, "I-I didn't cheat on you, I swear! I would never cheat on you! You're the only colt I love!" She said looking distraught and worried. Mr. Cake shook his head and sighed, "Oh sure, you didn't cheat on me? Then who was that colt you came in here with a few days ago when you though I wasn't here...?" He questioned feeling slightly annoyed at the thought. As the married couple began arguing with each other, the two young ones started to sob. As the two continued arguing and ignoring the crying twins, Pound gave a hurt look to his twin sister and hugged her tight before flying out a nearby open window.Pumpkin cake began to cry louder and soon teleported away from her ignoring parents.

Soon the arguing began to get more intense and neither cared what the other was saying, or who was right. Then unexpectedly, Carrot Cake reached up to his chest in pain falling over to the floor. "C-Cup Cake...W-Why...?" Was all he managed to choke out before a pool of his own blood began to circle around him from a new wound that had just opened up. Mrs. Cake gasped in shock, "W-What happened Carrot Cake...?!" She said tears filling her light crimson eyes as she kneeled down to her husband who was barley conscious on the floor. When she reached for him she gasped dropping the kitchen knife that had beautiful rubies running down the shining silver. She sobbed holding her now dead husband in her arms.

"N-No...I-I'm sorry Carrot Cake...I-I don't know how that knife got in my hoof...please forgive me..." She sobbed rocking back and forth with the rapidly decaying corps falling apart in her hooves. As she watched the body melt away, grass sprouted from the wood floor of Sugar Cube Corner. Raindrops began falling from the sky as Cup Cake slowly looked up from the grass. Ahead a few yards away was a funeral. 'It's funny...' She thought, 'I can name every pony there...' Her eyes which held no more tears shifted from pony to pony as she began to name them in her head.

As her eyes landed on Pinkie Pie, who held Pumpkin and Pound cake all three having straightened flat hair, she felt a sharp pain in her heart. The three who Mrs. Cake had taken care of looked distraught and lost without Mr. and Mrs. Cake beside them, like they didn't belong. She shook away the pain in her heart and continued looking through the crowed only to stop on the only pony there she didn't recognize. After every pony said their goodbyes to Mr. Cake for the last time, the once lively colt was buried in his final resting place. The ponies all began to leave, and Mrs. Cake watched as her babies were taken away from Pinkie as she sobbed and cried for the mare that took them to let them live with her instead of the orphanage they were destined to go to.

Mrs. Cake frowned and sighed knowing she could do nothing to help, and let her eyes drift back to the one colt whom she didn't know. He just stood there at the grave, with what seemed like a satisfied look on his face. She slowly walked over to the rusty brown colt, "W-Who are you?" Mrs. Cake asked the mysterious colt. He simply smirked and said nothing, but only stared at the freshly made grave. "Hello Mrs. Cup Cake. Oh I'm sorry Ms. Cup Cake." The colt said still staring at the pile of mud.

"How are you today~? I see you murdered your husband. Was it fun~?" He asked smirking with a pair of razor sharp teeth. Mrs. Cake's eyes widened, "W-What do you mean? It wasn't fun! I didn't want to...kill him..." She said, her eyes filling with more tears as the memory of her husband bleeding on the floor returned to her brain. "Oh but it was wasn't it~?" He asked smirking evilly, "You can help me kill more you know~" the colt said handing her the same knife she had used to kill her very special some pony, which still had fresh blood.

Mrs. Cake sobbed frantically, "NO! I DON'T WANT TO DO THAT ANYMORE!!" She screamed as the colt laughed, his brown mane falling in his rusty brown colored eyes. Mrs. Cake sobbed more running away from him into the darkness. "You can't run from your truth!!! You will kill sooner or later HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAH!!!" She heard the colt yelling.

Cup Cake woke up jerking her head waking from the nightmare. She sighed, seeing that gummy had eaten some of the cupcakes. "I-It was only a nightmare..." She reassured herself sighing at the mess gummy had made. She remade the cupcakes as the sun slowly rose up.