Ponystuck

by confoundtheseponies

Chapter 37

A/N: "Shit shit shit shit shit. SHIT." I suppose I need to stop swearing quite so much at myself, but it really can't be helped. The bastard deserves it for letting this stupid mess get so irreversibly out of hand. I can't even begin to - OH SHIT. I jump out of the way just in time, as a plot device next to me suddenly explodes into a billion hilarious jokes, and I narrowly avoid using a witty yet curiously worded pun about compasses and uncertain pauses. I'm sure it would have been well received, but there are some boundaries I am not willing to cross. At any rate, the condition of crucial story elements seems to be deteriorating the closer I get to the study, which matches the result I would expect. It is, at least, an indication that I am heading the right way. However, far beyond any concern I have for my misguided creation, the failing health of random pieces of plot is of great concern to me, especially since-

That which is, for the sake of convenience, currently being called reality, warps and bulges in unexpected and rather suggestive ways. I can't say I'm surprised. Due to recently being thrown violently against the wall, I am unable to see anything clearly, and the current state of reality matches my ability to explain it. Of course, this naturally causes the effect on my interpretation of events to intensify, and many less than vital storylines are quickly discarded as my head finally clears. This is why a clear line should be, and always has been, drawn between the characters of a story and the one narrating it. And, for that matter, the characters of a story and the author. Any other conceivable pairings between people involved in a story should be discounted as the stupid ideas they are because my personal life is none of your business anyway let's move on now.

The corridor is still spinning, but I am just about able to retain consciousness. It would be simply disastrous if I were to pass out, at least from a storytelling perspective. I am the narrator, after all. Sadly, my aggressors seem to be less than concerned about my wellbeing, much less the wellbeing of the story in general. It would seem I have no choice but to defend myself.

"**-" I attempt to shield myself behind a sudden scene transition, but it would seem that I am too slow, as I am sent

flying

down

the corridor

by a sudden swing of a warhammer before I can complete the incantation.

"Urgh..." I manage, but nothing happens because that wasn't a spell. That was me groaning in pain because I just had my ribs crushed. I apologise, but it seems that I am incapable of being anything other than terse when I am dying. Sorry about that. It is taking all of my energy to stare up at the pig-headed moron slowly approaching me to finish what he has started.

"I'd say this isn't personal," Ember Glow tells me, with a fire glowing in his otherwise dull eyes. "But we both know why I'm doing this, don't we?" My lungs have passed the point where they can be considered functioning organs, but I manage a ragged sigh nonetheless.

"I... can't believe..." In my condition, talking is ill-advised, but I am simply unable to resist the urge. One does not simply resist the lure of making smartass comments. "Just how... ridiculously... stupid... you really are..."

"Shut up and die," Ember says. I was going to anyway, since it hurts to talk - and to live, for that matter - but I really don't feel like taking orders from an idiot like him.

"Why don't... you make... me?" I ask, and try desperately not to burst into laughter when his eyes literally quiver in rage. This guy is so worked up. I can't even begin to stop hating him. He begins running towards me, warhammer at the ready, but I am prepared for this. I have to give my friend time. I have to trust that he can help me. So, it is without fear that I look up at my impending doom, and give a weak smile. "Inter... mission... 3..."

***INTERMISSION 3***

"I wonder how they're doing," Princess Luna said thoughtfully. The residents of Ponyville, rather shaken by the sudden removal of their hometown, had finally allowed themselves to be calmed down, and an uneasy peace had settled over the makeshift evacuee camp that had been established. In truth, there was no real reason why a proper camp hadn't been made well in advance of the surprise disaster, but the princesses had decided it was best to not arouse suspicion.

"Why?" Princess Celestia asked an incredulous look on her face. "That's a rather obsolete trail of thought, Luna." The princess of the night shrugged.

"I don't know. Isn't it only natural to worry about them?" Her sister responded with a half-hearted nod. "Honestly, you haven't changed a bit since those days, have you?"

"Neither have you," Celestia said. "So don't lecture me." A short silence followed, broken only by the distant cries of the foals whom had been rudely awakened by the sudden apocalypse. "But... yes. I do worry about them."

"Well, I suppose it's OK," Luna said. "They'll manage, somehow." She looked up at the meteor-clear skies, and a billion stars shone brightly back at her. "They'll have to."

***

"This was all such a fantastically glorious waste of time," Comet said. "I can't believe this." Silver Heart glanced over at the cynical unicorn standing next to her, and smiled cheerfully.

"Don't you think you're being a little selfish?"

"You're the last person I want to hear that from," Comet replied. "Except Twilight, I guess." He looked up at Skaia, as it gradually loomed ever closer. "It's great that you wanted to make some kind of epic self-sacrifice or whatever, but for someone who hasn't given up on life in a noble and character-redeeming fashion this kind of sucks." Silver shrugged.

"It doesn't seem like there's a lot you can do, is there?"

"I guess not," Comet admitted. "Twilight is damn good at killing people."

"I can't believe you're still angry with her," Silver said. "After all this time, I'd have thought that-"

"Hey," Comet interrupted. "Silver, with all due respect and everything, fuck you. Ditching me in a dying session and taking away my only form of escape is being pretty bitchy; I don't care what she's been through." He paused. "Well, OK, I guess I see where she's coming from." He paused again. "And I guess that I'd be pretty annoyed if I had good friends and they were killed." He paused again. "But that doesn't change the fact that she left me for dead, which is inexcusable." Silver shook her head in despair.

"I give up. I guess you're always going to be like this, aren't you?"

"Not for much longer," Comet pointed out. "... Still, at least you're happy with this." Silver gave him a quizzical expression. "I just mean, I feel responsible for what happened to you. And Golden. And everypony, really. But if you're OK with this, then... I don't know."

"See?" Silver said. "You really do care about everypony."

"That's stretching the truth a little," Comet said. "I just... I wish things had turned out differently, even if it's literally impossible for things to have turned out differently. None of us would even be alive if we hadn't failed so badly at everything. Not that many of us are alive."

"I don't think we can throw in the towel just yet," Silver said. "It's not over until it's over, after all."

"That's easy to say when you're already as good as dead," Comet noted. "Still. It's a nice thought."

The two ponies fell silent, standing side by side as they gazed into oblivion.

***

"Say, Acapella," Diamond Heart said, as the two ponies slowly explored the Dersite frigate they had found. Behind them, Spike was sulking by the entrance as the two had left him on guard duty. "What do you think about everything that's happened?"

"I don't know," Acapella said. "I really don't know. Everything's happened so fast, and I've just gone along with it all, but..." She paused. "So many ponies have died, and I didn't even know half of them. I'm not even sure why I started this game in the first place."

"I'm just glad you're still alive," Diamond said, as they cautiously entered the bridge. "I mean, look at Twilight. All of her friends are dead now, and you know what she's like. I'm glad you're still here to keep me sane." Acapella smiled weakly.

"Do you think Twilight hates us? I mean everyone from our session?"

"Probably. That's why she left Comet and Ember for dead, after all," Diamond said. "I don't know if she'll leave it at that or not. I just hope we can get this mess sorted out before she finally snaps." A short silence fell. Diamond turned to look at Acapella, who was looking at her curiously. "... What?"

"She left Comet and Ember for dead?" Acapella asked incredulously. Diamond held her gaze for a full minute, before shaking her head and sighing.

"Acapella, you're my best friend and everything, but sometimes you can be really slow." Whoever had been piloting the ship before its abrupt landing had been careless enough to die while they had been logged onto one of the many computers which lined the walls, which Diamond was now using to check on the ship's condition. It seemed intact, except for a nasty gap on the starboard side where a meteor had torn into the hull. That would need to be fixed, as soon as they figured out which side was supposed to be starboard.

"Wait a minute," Acapella said. "If Comet and Ember are out of the game, then..." she paused, and Diamond rolled her eyes as she realised what Acapella was trying to figure out. “You and me... we're... the only ones left?"

"Yeah," Diamond said. "I didn't even want to play this game, you know. Not really. I'm only here because you were playing it." Besides the large gap in the hull, there was something else wrong with the ship, but Diamond couldn't quite put her hoof on what it was. Something about the layout being displayed on the screen was wrong. It almost looked as if it was flickering, but her eyes couldn't quite catch it. She frowned. "Acapella, can you see anything weird about this map?" Acapella wandered over to Diamond's side and peered at the monitor.

"Yeah," she said, after a moment of staring at the image in concentration. "It's monitoring life signs inside the ship in the background. Every time their positions change it updates the map with the new locations for a split second."

"Oh. So every time either of us moves a little it flashes like that?" Diamond asked, trying to catch the dots the next time they updated.

"No," Acapella said. "There's a tolerance of about twenty feet. There's another sign moving around, pretty quickly at that." Diamond looked at her incredulously.

"How the hay do you know there's a tolerance of twenty feet?" Acapella shrugged.

"I was stuck on one of these things from here to Derse once," she said. "I got bored." Diamond shook her head in despair.

"OK, whatever. Where's this other life sign, then?"

"Let's see," Acapella said. "We're... here, in the bridge, which makes them... somewhere around the engine room, I think. Judging by the way they've been moving, if I had to guess I would guess they're heading here."

"I've got a bad feeling about that," Diamond said. "Didn't we leave Spike on guard duty?" She paused. "Or, is it Spike running to warn us something?"

"They're coming from the wrong direction," Acapella said. "Most likely they got in through the giant hole in the side of the ship."

"Oh. Right. I knew that," Diamond said. Acapella grinned smugly.

"Oh Diamond. You're my best friend and everything, but sometimes you can be really slow."

***

"It's funny, I guess," Luna said quietly, as she stood alone high above the plains of the Land of Joy and Frogs. "We've all changed so much." No one answered, mainly because everyone else was either absent or dead. "I never thought I'd be asked to drag my sister's corpse to a strange planet and throw her onto a stone slab." She paused. "I never thought that I'd accept such an order without really questioning it."

Celestia said nothing to comfort her, for reasons previously discussed. Lately, Luna had been given too many opportunities to think about her life. It was starting to get depressing, to be frank. This was the closest thing Celestia was ever likely to get to a funeral. The fact that, at the end of the funeral, she would come back to life did nothing to lighten the mood. In any case, Luna was painfully aware that three of her friends had died so far, two of them irreversibly. Still, at least she still had Celestia and Star Swirl to rely on. This, obviously, led her thoughts rather neatly onto the rather poignant absence of a childhood friend by her side. Honestly, that idiot. You'd have thought that he would make the effort to be with her at a time like this. For all he might like to think of himself as being chivalrous and noble, Star Swirl really wasn't all that reliable when it mattered.

Which wasn't really fair of her, she knew. This wasn't really a funeral. Just a standard routine resurrection. It wasn't as if she needed moral support, but... surely Star Swirl should have considered that this was hard for her? Luna didn't quite know why it got under her skin that Star Swirl hadn't noticed something that, in all honesty, she didn't really understand herself, but it did.

Before she knew it, Luna had already opened her laptop. Some part of her thought it was rather disrespectful to do that kind of thing at a funeral, and said so, but the rest of her promptly told it to shut the fuck up this wasn't even a proper funeral.

[midnightEclipse began pestering amniomorphicWizard]

ME: Hey.

AW: Oh, hey Luna.

ME: Are you busy, or can we talk?

AW: Not really, no. Twilight's busy doing something with about fifty of herselves in the other room, so I've just been waiting around.

ME: ...

ME: Swirly. Read that back to yourself.

AW: Huh?

AW: Oh, wait, no, I didn't mean it like that!

ME: Like what, Swirly? I never said anything.

AW: Uh. Well, that's true, but...

ME: Oh no, go on; tell me exactly what you thought I meant.

ME: I'm interested to see where your mind takes you when you think about fifty Twilight Sparkles in a room together.

AW: ... have I done something to offend you?

ME: I sincerely hope that you haven't. For Twilight's sake, as much as yours.

AW: Can we talk about something else now!?

ME: Like what?

AW: I don't know. What are you doing?

ME: Trying to distract myself from thinking about my dead sister.

ME: Thanks for bringing that up.

AW: Ah. Sorry.

ME: That was the worst way you could have possibly apologised.

ME: This whole conversation has been very disappointing, Swirly.

ME: I hope you realise that you're going to have to make this up to me.

AW: Uh, OK. As long as that doesn't involve gratuitous amounts of pain.

ME: I'm not promising anything.

AW: Why did you want to talk to me, anyway?

ME: Because all my other friends are dead. Or evil.

AW: Well, it's sweet of you to remember that I'm here.

ME: <3

AW: I really feel like that shouldn't make me feel better.

ME: So, it does make you feel better?

AW: A little bit.

ME: Swirly. This conversation was meant to be me messing with you.

ME: I can't do that if you're adorable.

AW: Please don't call me adorable.

ME: Cute?

AW: No.

ME: Sweet?

AW: No.

ME: Moe?

AW: I think you're missing the basic point here.

ME: What do you want me to call you?

AW: Why do you need to call me anything?

ME: That's a good point,.

ME: Maybe I should just stop calling you stuff, .

ME: What do you think, ?

AW: ... fine, I get it.

ME: Anyway, Celestia's ascending now.

ME: I'll head down to Skaia and meet her.

AW: OK, bye.

ME: <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3

[midnightEclipse ceased pestering amniomorphicWizard]

Briefly, Luna pondered whether that last comment had been too much. After all, she knew what Star Swirl was like. It would be just like him to take that message the wrong way. That would be irritating and stupid if he took it the wrong way. She shrugged to herself. What was going to happen, would happen. A quick hoof to the face could quickly resolve any misunderstanding, if it came to it. Captchaloguing her laptop, she watched the last few moments of Celestia's ascension before taking off towards Skaia, where the Mage of Space had finally arisen.

***

[midnightEclipse ceased pestering amniomorphicWizard]

Star Swirl spent the next few minutes wondering how to take that last comment from Luna, before eventually discarding that trail of thought entirely. It was most likely exactly what it seemed - a joke intended to get him to do something stupid. Luna was entirely too good at getting him to do something stupid, after all.

"Twilight? Are you done?" Star Swirl called, listening for any hint of recognition from the room where Twilight had taken refuge. It happened to be the same room that contained all of Comet's alchemy equipment. To be perfectly honest, Star Swirl had all but forgotten that there was alchemy in the game. To be perfectly honest, it had been a long time since he had thought of this mess as a game.

"Almost," One of the Twilight Sparkles said, poking a tired head out of the doorway. "As experiments go, this one was neither advisable nor even remotely possible, but I think I've got it now."

"What were you even doing?" Star Swirl asked. Twilight shrugged.

"Hacking," she stated.

***

"OK, let's not start panicking here," Diamond said calmly. "We've got the upper hand, since we know they're coming. We have the element of surprise. We've got this so under control. We could not be more likely to succeed. We're fine. We-"

"Diamond," Acapella said, turning back from the monitor to glare at her friend. "Shut the hell up and let me concentrate."

"Oh, right. Sorry," Diamond said, returning her focus to the doorway through which their unknown intruder would soon make his or her appearance.

"I give them about two minutes," Acapella said gravely.

***

Mild Darkness was irritated. No, he wasn't, he was outright furious. How dare Silver - Silver, of all ponies - betray him like this? Who did she think she was? There was no doubt left about what had happened. He was now thoroughly out of the loop. This was a problem. And solving problems was not one of his strong points, as should be abundantly clear by now.

By chance, he had stumbled across an abandoned warship on Skaia's surface, and the beginnings of a plan had started to take shape. Whether or not it would work, he wouldn't know until he made it to the bridge. Still, he had no doubt that it would. There was no way the idiots that were still alive could think of his brilliant plan by themselves. It was just a matter of timing, and he would be out of this session in no time. He continued down the corridor, the distance to the bridge quickly decreasing.

***

"Not even a minute left," Acapella said, stepping away from the computer. "I'll get into position too." So saying, she stood next to the wall, cane at the ready, as the echoing sound of hoofsteps became audible as their intruder rushed down the corridor to meet them.

"Acapella," Diamond began, stopping as Acapella threw her a glare. "sorry," she whispered, concentrating once again on the doorway. For some reason, this suspense was scaring her even more than any of the terrible things they had already been through. She gulped.

Suddenly the intruder reached the entrance to the bridge, and the pony rushed through the doorway into the room. Instinctively, Acapella jabbed forwards with her cane, stabbing the stranger in the side and causing him to collapse onto the ground, a jet of blood exploding out of his body in an unexpectedly graphic fashion. The two remaining ponies stood in shock for a few moments, a mixture of confusion and relief rushing through them. And then Diamond came to her senses, and the truth of the sigh finally sunk in. She blinked, staring in disbelief at the pony Acapella had just ruthlessly murdered.

"Oh," she managed. "Oh... oh fuck."

***

"Damn it!" Mild cried, turning away from the monitor in disgust. The ship he had found was in complete disrepair. Which he supposed was to be expected after the devastating meteor shower it had endured. It did mean, however, that his brilliant plan was going to take a little longer to put into motion. Perhaps there were more warships somewhere on Skaia - but if he was being honest, he didn't know for certain whether it would be needed. Discord and Silver were going to smash through the barriers before him, so it wasn't necessarily the case that he would need even a fraction of the firepower to follow after them.

He sighed, before leaving the empty bridge and starting back the way he had entered. It was getting difficult to ignore the growing sense that he had already messed up to the point where he was already doomed. Even attempting to change his fate seemed pointless and childish. Maybe it would be better if he just-

No. He wasn't going to give up just yet. He had come a long way over the last few days by being pointless and childish, and he wasn't about to stop when the end was so near. He was going to chase after Silver and Discord, and get to their treasure before them. And then they would pay for betraying him. Oh yes. It was going to be the most delicious revenge in the history of revenge.

***

"Hey Luna," Celestia said happily as the Witch landed on Skaia next to her sister. "Thanks for that. I owe you one." Luna shrugged.

"Don't mention it," she said. "Twilight's the one you need to thank. She let you use our last bed of Space."

"Why?" Celestia blinked. "Which session are we in?" Luna stopped.

"Oh. Right. Sorry, a lot's happened." She looked away. "I... kind of forgot you wouldn't know about any of the stuff that's been going on, so-"

"Let me just stop you there," Celestia said, waving a hoof and warping space so that it came to rest squarely on Luna's head. "You... 'forgot' that I was dead? You FORGOT that I was DEAD!?"

"Calm down," Luna said soothingly. "Let's not make a big deal out of this-"

"Oh, I apologise," Celestia said dramatically. "I apologise for making a big deal out of the fact that my own sister forgot I was dead!" In spite of herself, she did appear to calm down. "So Who's died since I left?" Luna thought for a moment.

"Quite a few, I should think. I mean, in this session we've got you, me, Acapella, Diamond Heart, Swirly and Twilight." She paused. "Anyone left is either dead, evil, or otherwise missing."

"Damn," Celestia said after a pause. "I leave you ponies alone for a few hours and look what happens." She shook her head. "So, Comet's dead? I didn't expect that." Luna looked away. "... Luna?"

"It's nothing," Luna said. "Nothing at all." A sudden flash of light appeared behind them, and they turned to find Twilight and Star Swirl smiling triumphantly. "Oh look, it's Swirly and Sparkles."

"Hey Celestia," Twilight said. "How are you?" Celestia shrugged.

"I'm not too bad, I suppose." She grinned. "Hey, uh. Thanks for letting Luna save me." Twilight nodded.

"It's fine. We needed you to be God Tier anyway, even if you hadn't died." She retrieved the fruits of her labour from her sylladex - a large round monopony board that Luna recognised all too well.

"Is that-"

"A Paradox Gate," Twilight confirmed. "Very expensive, but I don't think there's anything else we need to make. And we definitely needed to make this for what comes next."

"What comes next, meaning..." Luna said slowly, the truth beginning to dawn on her. "You don't mean we're going to-"

"We're going to chase after Discord," Twilight said. "We're going to the centre of the Paradox Loop." At the heart of the Gate in her hooves, the dice span thoughtfully inside its popamatic prison.

***

"... what should we do?" Acapella asked, finally breaking the silence that had fallen onto the bridge. Both she and Diamond were simply staring in complete shock at the dead pony on the floor next to them. The shock was as much for who it was rather than simply because they had accidentally killed an ally. After all, wasn't Comet supposed to be dead in a different session, as opposed to being dead in this one?

"I think we should start panicking," Diamond suggested helpfully. "You can't beat a good panic."

"I think you need to stop panicking quite so much," Acapella said. "It's not like-" she paused, as Comet's body began glowing in a very distracting manner. "Uh. What's he doing?"

"Glowing," Diamond stated helpfully. They watched in grim fascination as the dead pony was lifted to his feet, his stab wound sealing itself and a thin red cape appearing draped around his neck. Whether they had been hidden before, or whether the blood had distracted them, Comet now quite clearly possessed a pair of teal wings. Suddenly, realisation dawned on the two ponies, as Comet slowly opened his eyes.

"Oh, so he's-" Acapella began, before being cut off by Diamond.

"God Tier," Diamond finished helpfully, earning her a light jab from Acapella's cane. "What was that for?"

"Stop being so helpful," Acapella said. She and Diamond turned their attention back to Comet, who was now inspecting his blood-stained surroundings with interest.

"Note to self," he said. "Never sneak up on Acapella."

***

[CURRENT fractalAbomination began responding to memo FIX EVERYTHING]

CFA: oh my gog why did no one tell me that was going to happen

[FUTURE fractalAbomination began responding to memo FIX EVERYTHING]

FFA: because it was funny

CFA: no it wasn't

FFA: yes it was

FFA: give it a while

FFA: when it's past you getting stabbed you'll think it's hilarious

CFA: urgh

CFA: the worst part about this is that i'm pretty sure i knew acapella was going to stab me at some point

CFA: i remember skimming over this in the past

CFA: not really paying attention

CFA: gog damn it

FFA: man

FFA: you didn't need to tell me any of that

FFA: i already know

FFA: there is seriously no point to you even saying anything in this conversation

FFA: because i already know all of your opinions

FFA: i had the same opinions, once, when i was you. then i grew up and realised how stupid they were

CFA: well if you're going to be like that

CFA: why don't we all agree that from now on the only person who uses this memo is the me who is furthest ahead

FFA: well, the me who's furthest ahead is busy right now

FFA: so as the most senior example of myself who is currently present

FFA: i'm in charge

CFA: i didn't even want to talk to you

FFA: what the hell does that mean. who else would you talk to

FFA: this memo is exclusively for me

CFA: you know what?

CFA: i'm going to go talk to my friends instead

FFA: you mean, the friends that just stabbed you, right?

CFA: yeah. because even those friends are so much better than i am

FFA: ok, sure

CFA: ... can i ask a question

FFA: yes

CFA: does twilight ever...

CFA: you know

FFA: no, she doesn't

CFA: oh. ok

FFA: what did you expect

CFA: i don't know. maybe i thought that future me could have finally sorted out all the issues between us

FFA: listen to yourself. this is you you're talking about. how the hell could you have sorted out all of the issues between you and twilight

CFA: urgh

FFA: besides, i never even bothered trying

FFA: because one time i asked me in the future, and he was all 'nah, she never forgives you'

CFA: ...

CFA: oh my gog

CFA: we are the most retarded pony in the whole of paradox space, aren't we

FFA: yeah

FFA: i can see why she hates me so much

FFA: to be honest, i...

FFA: oh, sorry man, i gtg

FFA: shit be getting real

CFA: again?

FFA: you know it

FFA: later

CFA: wait

[FUTURE fractalAbomination stopped responding to memo FIX EVERYTHING]

CFA: ... damn it

***END OF INTERMISSION 3***

And so the intermission comes to a close, rather mimicking my lifespan as Ember Glow's warhammer finally completes its journey through the insufferably thick treacle of time-wasting intermission bullshit and connects solidly with

Comments

[confoundtheseponies]

Yesterday I remembered it was Homestuck's birthday on Saturday, and thought to myself how awesome it would be if I'd uploaded this chapter then.
Of course I only remember this stuff when it's too late.

[Thethhron]

I knew this had to exist somewhere. Guess I'll read it now...

[eeveeextreme]

2430867.
Don't worry, its all good.

[journcy]

Gog, things are NOT going well...
Glad to see an upd8!
This story is mildly depressing...and while I wish there was more Mane 6, this direction is okay too.
All I really want to know, though:
Where the HELL is Pinkie Pie?!

[BarrenBaron]

kinda annoyed Celestia is still being an overall bitch...how did She EVER become the benevolent Celestia in Twilight's universe?

[Isshiki Kotonashi]

2431125 Several thousand years helps

2430867 YOU'RE BACK

[Thethhron]

....This Sburb session is even more depressing than NORMAL homestuck

[confoundtheseponies]

2471325 Yeah, there is.

2471534 You have no idea.

2476219 Just you wait.

[Thethhron]

2486886

....Me no like depressing. Le sigh

[Binary Coder]

Update coming soon?
Anyways, just started this yesterday. HOLY SHIT.
I have to theorize, but is Pinkie by any chance in the center of the loop?

[DiscordDraconequus]

2486886 WAIT?! You killed Fluttershy for good! How does it get more depressing than that?!