Pinkie Pie Rising

by PonyTom

Saving Applejack

"What do you mean Applejack is with the killer!?"

The three ponies were running at a full gallop down the path leaving Sweet Apple Acres. Big Mac's expression shifted from determined to being filled with some level of guilt. "Ah saw 'em walkin' down th' road t'gether with Applejack holdin' a foreleg over 'is shoulder! Ah thought maybe they were friends, but..."

Carrot Top interrupted.

"I had seen them leaving myself and hid so he didn't recognize me, so when I thought I was safe, I ran inside the house and warned Granny Smith, who found Big McIntosh and told him, and here we are!"

Pinkie couldn't help but look at the two ponies. "... And neither of you thought to help her!?"

Carrot Top and Big Mac blushed, with Big Mac speaking first. "... Ah didn't know he was th' killer until Granny Smith told me... if Ah'da known Ah'da broken every bone in his crooked body..."

Carrot Top bit her lip a bit. "I-I was scared, okay? I know I should have helped but that day wasn't too long ago, and I saw him stab Alexander... I should have helped, yes, but I was afraid of..."

Big Mac shook his head. "Don't be ashamed, Carrot Top, y'all had it purdy hard this past month. This aint yer fault..." He turned his expression down the road. "Besides, we aint gonna fail. We'll save mah sister, n' we'll make sure justice is served."

The three ponies finally reached the end of the dirt path, and had arrived in Ponyville proper. They looked around a bit, trying to determine where the pony had gone. "Alright... here's th' plan. We're gonna split up an' look fer the rascal... he can't have gone too far... though Ah can't imagine fer the life-a me WHY Applejack'd follow a strange stallion into town this late at night..."

Carrot Top grimaced a bit. "She was acting strange... she seemed very tired or something, and he was carrying most of her weight on their way to town..."

Big Mac growled. "That varmint drugged mah sister!? Ah'm gonna split 'em from his nose to his plums!"

Carrot Top nodded. "That's good though, cause it means he's not moving very fast himself! We might still catch up to him!"

Pinkie nodded. "I'm more familiar with the central area of the town! Its kinda where me and my sister and friend live!

Carrot Top frowned. "I-I-I'll search the part closest to the farm... not to sound cowardly, but if I do find him, I want to be somewhere I know ponies will hear me..."

Big Mac nodded. "And Ah'll search around th' other end of town. Ah reckon Ah can get there faster than y'all..." He looked out, his determination growing. "Remember, he's movin' pretty slow, so we won't have t' be too thorough as t' eat up time he might be usin' t' get further. Now let's get a move on!"

With that, the three ponies split up in a frantic search for the lost Apple.

*****

Octavia sighed, taking a sip of punch from her cup as she stared out at all the ponies. Vinyl had decided that since they had done everything else tonight that she could set up some slow-dancing music for the couples to enjoy, and so her presence was not exactly required at her turntable.

"Hey, 'Tavi!"

Octavia looked towards Vinyl as she approached, a concern etched on her face (her glasses had been shoved over her horn to allow sight of her eyes). "Yes, Vinyl?"

Vinyl looked out the door. "I just saw your sister, Big Mac, and that yellowish earth pony with the orange mane run into town. They looked pretty scared about something..." Octavia quirked her brow a bit, setting her cup down.

"Well... we best go check up and make sure everything is fine, shouldn't we?"

With that, the two ponies made their way from the barn, leaving the couples to enjoy their dance.

*****

Pinkie trotted about the town, looking for some sign of life. Most ponies were getting in bed at this hour, so most of the homes' lights were out. Pinkie had made sure to check between, behind, and around houses, hoping to find the stallion and her new friend, but to no avail; it had been as if they had just vanished off the face of the planet.

It was then she had an idea, and quickly, she made her way towards a house that she had visited only once before.

The house the stallion had lived in.

She got ready to knock on the door, but stopped herself. If he was really in there, she might just be warning him. Pinkie looked around frantically, then steeled herself for what she knew was the only right thing to do.

And hurled a rock through one of the windows.

She jumped inside and looked around at the small house; it was smaller than most homes, really. There wasn't even much to it at all; it was as if nopony lived there at all. All that was there, really, was a single desk with several pieces of balled up paper next to it, and it was, itself, covered in photos of Applejack, with her family, friends, and even one shot that showed her while bucking apples, albeit they all seemed to be taken behind her back, save for one.

Pinkie looked to an envelope that lay on the table.

To: Applejack
From: Your Secret Admirer

Pinkie's pupils shrank to pinpricks as she ran out of the house. Frantically, she began to look back and forth between paths, wondering where to go next, what to do, what to...

To...

It was then she noticed something in the road, a good distance away. She made toward it at full gallop, and as she got closer, she recognized the object as none other than the hat that Applejack had been wearing.

The hat her father had left to her, that her mother had left to him.

She gently picked it up and looked up, seeing a door closing in the distance. She rushed towards where that door was, hoping that if it wasn't him it was at least a pony that had seen them. As Pinkie drew nearer, however, she had noticed something; the door that had closed was the door to Ms. Cake's bakery, and as she got closer, she recognized that part of the door was busted, as if it had been forced open.

She slowly pushed the door open, staring into the small, dark bakery. It was very quiet, very still... Pinkie Pie could feel a chill run up her spine as she slowly made her way into the house, trying her very best not to make a sound. She had been in here several times before, but never looked around. She had peeked into the kitchen, as well as the living room, to see nothing at all in either place. Turning her attention to the stairs, she gulped as she slowly made her way up each step, trying to be slow, gentle, and quiet.

And each time it squeaked, it was as if her flesh was being clawed at.

Eventually, she made it to the top. There weren’t very many doors; just three, really. She noticed one of the doors was ajar, and slowly, she moved towards it, and peaked through the crack. All she saw was the walls of the room, illuminated by what she assumed to be candle light. She slowly pushed the door open a little more, trying to see more. Eventually, Pinkie caught sight of a bed, and an orange hoof tied to one of the bedposts.

Quickly, she pushed it open the rest of the way, ready to scream at the top of her lungs, but froze.

All she saw was Applejack, lying in the bed, each hoof tied to one of the bed posts. The mare looked up to Pinkie with an unfocused gaze as if she were tired. Pinkie looked around the room, but saw nothing else. "Wh... where is..."

Applejack looked to Pinkie and said in a slightly lazy, slightly slurred voice.

"Behind you..."

It was then Pinkie felt a sharp pain in the back of her head, and everything went black.

*****

Pain.

That was all she felt. Pain.

It was in her head, in particular. It was all she knew at the moment, really, was the pain.

Slowly, however, she felt other sensations. Something tugging around her body. Tightening. Restraining. And slowly, she came to hear; slightly muffled and hard to make out, she could hear a voice. It was masculine, but that was all she knew right now. Slowly, more focus came to her, and she could make out words.

"No no no, this wasn't supposed to happen! It was just supposed to be us, Applejack, my love! Just us! Nopony else! Nopony else at all! No no no noooo!" Pinkie dared not open her eyes for fear of what she'd see. After a while, the tugging stopped, and she heard the sound of hooves clopping away.

"We... we were going to be together! Forever! It was going to be beautiful, wonderful, a fairy tale ending! B-but ponies, they keep interfering with us! They keep getting in the way of our love!"

Pinkie dared to open an eye. The stallion was pacing back and forth, his attention almost entirely on his thoughts. As Pinkie looked down at herself, she had noticed that she was hog-tied, all four of her hooves tied together by a strong, sturdy rope. It was then the stallion noticed her.

"You! You ruined it! You ruined our love!"

Pinkie grimaced. "Love? You have Applejack drugged and tied to a bed!"

The stallion gasped, his expression that of someone who had just been insulted. "I had to do it! I had to, because otherwise she wouldn't readily accept my love! I had to show her I can be soft, I can be comforting, and I can be tender! All the things she needs in a stallion!"

Pinkie scowled. "And you do that by drugging her, tying her to a bed, and knocking her friend out!?"

The stallion huffed. "You wouldn't understand our love! I don't expect a silly little filly like you to get it! Love is... difficult..... Complicated! It's not always pretty or pleasant, but all that matters is that the pony feels for their lover, wants to PROTECT them!"

Pinkie looked to Applejack and the stallion. "For a pony who wants to protect Applejack, you're doing an excellent job going the other way, don't you think!?"

But this did not deter the stallion, he shook his head. "Sometimes, to protect the ones we love, we have to do things we don't like! Horrible, EVIL things! But it just shows that I love her that much! That I'm willing to give for that much! If her father would understand that, he would be alive today! It wasn't my fault I snuck into the wrong window! It wasn't my fault I knocked over the baby's crib by accident! The foal's fine! She's fine!"

Pinkie gasped. "You... you really ARE the murderer!"

The stallion frowned. "No! No, I'm not a murderer! I panicked, it was an accident! The crazy yellow mare showed up whining about someone making fun of her name or something, and then the stallion attacked me! I was defending myself!"

"You broke into his home and knocked over his filly's crib! What did you expect!?"

The stallion stomped his hooves, screaming out loud. "This wasn't supposed to happen! It was supposed to be Applejack's bedroom! I was supposed to finally confess my love to her! I was supposed to be her special somepony!"

Pinkie grimaced. "She's half your age! Look at you! You're old enough to be my papa, and you're acting like my little sister!"

The stallion gasped and shook his head. He picked up a knife and walked towards Pinkie. "No... no no, you don't get it, and now you never will. I had hoped to enlighten you, but that won't happen. I have to kill you now; it's the only mercy a stupid pony like you can know!" He looked to Applejack, a tired, dreamy look on his face. "And then... my special somepony and I... we can make love... and we can die in each others' embrace..."

Pinkie gasped. "What!? Are you NUTS!?"

The stallion looked at Pinkie, growling. "Of course not! I'm in LOVE!"

Just then, a violin struck the stallion in the side of the head, sending him tumbling to the side.

Pinkie stared wide eyed as Octavia came into view, holding the (now broken) violin in her grasp, staring at the stallion, almost as if in disbelief with what she had just done. Vinyl came in as well, gawking at the scene before her, and quickly rushing to Applejack, using her magic to untie her. Octavia herself began undoing the ropes on Pinkie's hooves; silently thanking the heavens that the crazy stallion did such a poor job with tying her up.

Suddenly, Octavia was pulled away, and a knife was held beneath her throat. Vinyl turned around, ready to throw some magic at her captor.

"STOP! IF I SEE SO MUCH AS A FLICKER FROM YOUR HORN, SHE GETS ANOTHER HOLE TO BREATHE OUT OF!"

Everypony stared wide-eyed as the stallion held Octavia firmly, his head just over her shoulder, holding a knife in his mouth. Octavia looked to the three mares, eyes wide, pleading for help, begging somepony to do something. The stallion, however, made sure he could see each of them as well.

"That's a good bunch of girls... now... everypony get out... and move slowly... go out the window... I don't care if you get hurt falling, better you have a broken leg than this little mare get a broken windpipe, right?"

Everypony looked at each other, save Applejack, who was still in a drug-induced daze.

"C-Cool it man... let's be reasonable here--"

"I'VE TRIED BEING REASONABLE, BUT NONE OF YOU ARE LETTING ME DO THIS! APPLEJACK AND I MUST BE TOGETHER!"

Vinyl held her hooves up, looking toward the window, then back at the stallion and Octavia. "A... Alright... j-just be cool..." Slowly, Vinyl made her way toward the window, everypony keeping their eyes on her.

Just then, the Stallion was thrown forward, his knife falling from his mouth, and he tumbled, knocking Octavia over, who slammed into the table, knocking the candle off of it. Big Mac stared down at the stallion, scowling. "Ah'd say that was fer pa, but if Ah was t' do 'em justice, you'd be dead."

Vinyl rushed to Octavia and lifted her up. The earth pony's eyes unfocused, a large gash on her forehead as she tried desperately to get her bearings. "'Tavi! Are you okay!? Can you see me!? How many horns do I have!?"

Octavia shook her head. "Uh... h-hi... Vinyl.... I... I think I'm fine..."

Big Mac frowned a bit, staring at the two. "Sorry 'bout that, Miss Octavia... Ah tried t' think of a way to do that without hurtin' ya but anything else Ah could think up woulda given him time t' do it himself..."

Octavia smiled a bit. "No, no, that's alright... I'm fine..." She slowly stood to her hooves. "Now... let's get this wretch tied up before--" Octavia stopped. She sniffed a bit, looking around. "Does anypony else smell smoke..."

Pinkie gasped and pointed. Where the candle had fallen off the table, it had begun to catch the sheets of the bed on fire. Big Mac was quick to react, running to Applejack and fumbling with the ropes. Vinyl was quick to react, wrapping her magic around the rope at the edge of the bed that was burning and untying the rope there. Eventually, they got her other hooves untied, and Big Mac lifted Applejack on his back. The three were about to leave when they all stared at the stallion on the floor.

Pinkie began to bounce in place. "What do we do!? Do we leave him or take him!?"

Big Mac looked at the stallion, deep in thought, trying to decide. A grimace crossed his features. "Get 'em. We'll let 'em face his justice in th' Ponyville Court System..." With that, Vinyl and Pinkie lifted the stallion, putting his hooves on each of their shoulders. The ponies quickly made their way out of the room as the flames continued to spread rapidly, already beyond their power to control, though not before Big Mac had the chance to grab the rope that had been used to tie Pinkie Pie up...

A few ponies had already gathered around, having heard the commotion inside the shop. As Pinkie Pie and friends (and one bad pony) made their way from the shop, ponies gasped and shouted, and the crowd began to grow. The ponies looked upward to see the bakery was already getting eaten by flames. Pinkie and Vinyl unceremoniously threw the stallion to the floor, and Big Mac approached with the roll of rope that had been used to tie up Pinkie Pie. He made quick work, hogtying the mystery stallion, and making sure he had done a far better job of it than the crooked stallion himself had done to Pinkie and his sister.

He sat Applejack down. "Can ya wait here fer me, sis?"

Applejack groggily, un-coordinately nodded. "Sure thing, Mac..."

With that, Big Mac turned to face the other ponies. "Ah'm gonna go fetch some Fire Ponies! Y'all keep an eye on mah sister an' this lump of manure. Don't let either of them out of yer sight!" Pinkie, Octavia, and Vinyl looked to each other, then back to Big Mac, and gave a nod. The red stallion gave a nod, and turned, taking off at a full gallop.

The ponies turned to see that the flames were spreading more and more, as the crowd itself grew. Pinkie held her hooves over her mouth, holding back the horror before her as the fire spread from one bakery to the next. Now, one bakery was half engulfed in flames, and the other was burning at one corner. It wasn't long before half of that was burning, and the other was almost completely filled with fire.

"MY BAKERY!"

Everypony turned to see a wide-eyed Cup Cake staring at the fire, horrified. She ran towards the front, but stopped just outside of the crowd. "No! M... My home!"

Not too far behind her was none other than Carrot Cake, staring at the sight before him. "SOMEPONY, PUT THE FIRE OUT, PUT IT OUT!"

As if on cue, a massive red carriage with a blaring siren came to a stop in front of the shops. The truck itself was equipped with a water cannon that fed into an onboard tank; a pegasus pony manning said water cannon began to unleash liquid salvation upon the burning shops, opting to stop the smaller fire before dealing with the one that had already done a lot of damage. Pegasai began to coral clouds together and feed them into a receptive area of the tank, squeezing as much water as they could to make sure they could deal with the fire.

After nearly an hour, the fires had been put out, but not before half of one bakery had been destroyed, and nearly the entirety of the other.

Ponies could only stare in shock as the fire ponies (and some guards) began to ask questions, an ambulance having arrived to deal with any potentially injured ponies. Big Mac was quick to alert the guards to the presence of the killer, and Carrot Top, having arrived halfway through the fire fight, had been sure to confirm the mystery stallion as the murderer of Alexander Apple. Two guards escorted him to an ambulance, much to Pinkie's dismay.

"Why are they taking him to a hospital! Isn't he the bad pony!?"

Big Mac gave a nod, sighing. "He is. But they're gonna make sure he's nice n' healthy b'fore sendin' him off t' jail. Once we get Granny Smith in t' confirm his identity, they'll likely get 'em a lawyer..." Big Mac shook his head. "Ah'll be in that court room of course... makin' sure justice for mah pa is seen."

Pinkie looked toward Octavia, who was being tended to by a stallion that was wrapping her head in bandages, while Vinyl sat next to her. "So 'Tavi, how's the head wound doin'? You alright?"

Octavia nodded a bit. "I'm fine, Vinyl... thanks for asking..."

The stallion smirked, finishing his job up. "Yeah, just a little gash... lucky you, just short of needing stitches. It shouldn't scar, and you seem to be doing fine, so don't worry about any permanent injury." It was then that Pinkie approached, looking with deep concern at her sister.

"Oh 'Tavi... are you alright?"

Octavia sighed. "Yes, Pinkie, I'm fine..." She motioned for Pinkie to come closer to her, to which her sister replied. Octavia took her into a hug; gentle, yet firm. It shocked Pinkie Pie, as usually SHE had to initiate the hugs, but she returned it still. Her sister sniffed a bit into her shoulder. "Pinkamena... I-I was scared... first, I was scared you might get hurt... and then, I was afraid I was going to die...."

Pinkie nuzzled her sister, clenching her eyes shut. "I'm so sorry, 'Tavi..."

Octavia shook her head, sniffling again. "No, no, it's okay... you're alright... we're all okay..." With that, the elder sister hugged her younger sibling tight, sniffling into her neck. After a minute or two, she let go and smiled at her sister, eyes still wet with tears. "... I... I don't think I realized until today how much everything means to me..." Pinkie smiled to her sister, nodding, before looking to the side.

"... 'Tavi, I'll get back to you in a minute..."

Pinkie moved at a brisk trot towards the remains of the bakeries. The first pony she noticed immediately was Carrot Cake, staring at his shop. She approached him slowly, trying to think of what to say, but nothing came to her. "... Mister Cake.... I..... I....."

"How did this happen...?"

Pinkie felt a pang of guilt run through her mind. "... Uh... a-a fire was started in Ms. Cake's bakery, and--"

"Wait, this started in her bakery...?" Pinkie Pie nodded. Carrot Cake looked towards Ms. Cake, who stared, lost at the destruction that lay before her. He started to trot towards her, and Pinkie, with a level of concern, made sure to follow.

"You... this... this started in your shop! This started in your bakery! This is your responsibility, look what you did to my.... my..."

Truth be told, right now, Carrot didn't have much fight in him to begin with. Whatever little fight he did have drained quickly as Cup Cake slowly turned to face him, and he saw her eyes wet with tears, staring at him with the saddest, most broken look he had ever seen on a pony's face.

"I... it's gone.... my life... my work... my home... all gone...." She choked a bit, turning to look back up at the shop. Carrot stared at her for a minute, then looked up to her shop; indeed, half of his shop was destroyed, but hers was almost completely lost. He had no idea what happened to buildings after this much damage had been done, but he was fairly certain that she could not afford to repair it.

"... I put my heart, my soul, everything I had into my store... and now it's gone..." Cup Cake sniffled a bit. Carrot tried hard to remain firm, to stay mad at her, but the more he looked at her, the more he felt his resolve fail.

And then, without another word, Cup Cake finally let loose and buried her face in her hooves, crying. Carrot's jaw hung open, and his mouth moved wordlessly, trying to think of something to say, torn between the rivalry the two bakers had had up to this point and the heart breaking scene before him right now. He stared at the bawling mare before him for a few minutes, and then, suddenly, the answer seemed so clear to him, he was surprised he hadn't noticed it sooner.

He wrapped his forelegs around her. She stopped crying long enough to look up at him, clearly taken by surprise. But instead of doing what he half expected her to do (throw him back and blame him) she wrapped her forelegs around him, holding him tight, and started to cry into his shoulder. Carrot started down at her as she unleashed the pain of her loss into him, and then started to gently stroke her mane, leaning his head down against her and closing his eyes, letting only a few tears roll down his cheeks.

After all, everypony deserved a sturdy platform to stand on when they were sad. He saw no reason why Cup Cake deserved any less.

Pinkie frowned at the sight before her. She had hoped to get those two ponies to be friends, but not like this. This was horrible... this was sad, terrible, and depressing. Pinkie's mane immediately deflated, and she slowly made her way back to her sister and friend. Octavia looked to Pinkie, frowning. "Pinkamena... are you alright?"

Pinkie shook her head. "N-no... I want to go home..."

____________________________________________________
TO BE CONTINUED...

Comments

[Tristar Paramount]

With "Pinkie Pie Rising," I wasn't sure whether to be reminded of Batman or Hannibal Lecter. Either way leaves me with weird mental images.

e: the title, that is