Diprosopus

by WritingSpirit

Trust Be Forlorn

"What else is there, what else is there..."

"You've spoken enough, Saturn," Velvet heartily professed.

"After all, you shouldn't be the one to thank us, not with the hospitality and the help you've given to the caravan. Who could find a pony of more help in the town of Valewood than the pony in you?"

"Flatterer, you," was his amiable reply, before joining his friend in their lively chuckle.

"So, I guess it's a farewell then? Dropping by soon, if you can?"

"Not likely. Caravan and all."

Another brief chuckle from the duo, and Pinkie's interest soon waned, instead focusing back to the chatting of the rest. She would've joined them in their lively little conversations if not for her quavering mood swings; a minute ago she was happy, bouncy and good to go, but now... it was almost as if something leeched it all away. Phoenix did advise her to have some time with herself if it ever happened. He didn't mention about what to do in the meantime, however.

She wasn't the only one grumbling about. Dapple was there, snout still wrinkling and gaze still stuck at the floor, her serrated blade ready to hook at anything that comes its way. Rare was it for the mare to be so hostile. Yes, she can be pretty dead serious, but never hostile. The most harm Pinkie had ever seen her did to the caravan was just tossing a rock at her brother after being pestered countless of times over something regarding peaches and clam chowders. Just sibling arguments, she told herself. There can be worse. Had been worse, actually.

"Anytime you lot come back to Valewood, just pop in!" Saturn finally said with a grin.

"Good luck out there! Be careful!"

A chorus of goodbyes later, and they were off again. Nomads looking for their direction in life; wanderers in search of a purpose, with only the light of the full moon to guide their way. It was their voted decision to travel in the night, mostly to hasten up their journey. Pinkie still remembered their destination: the Shetland Isles, an archipelago situated in the grand lake of Ceg Ffyniant (known to outsiders as the Mammoth's Waterhole) which was always shrouded in the ambiance of mystery. Supposedly, there lies a majestic kingdom, superior to many in its region with magic never seen by eyes outside of their own; magic that even an Earth pony can harness. Her hooves were tingling with excitement just from knowing about it!

Still, she missed many of the places she had been. Princess Terra's shrine, for example, was a bountiful heaven of green while Valewood, despite the fact that they hadn't left yet, was a glorious town of white purity where she felt the happiest, aside from making friends with Luster the hobby lantern, of course.

"Gotta stop by at the shops for a sec for some provisions," Phoenix said.

"In the meantime, you guys can go look for a bite. I might take quite a while."

It wasn't the brightest suggestion the stallion could come up with, knowing the many shenanigans the caravan would get themselves into, yet it was a suggestion nevertheless. The rest could only watch as their esteemed leader steps off into the night, before turning to one another, minds blank as the time when they spotted a swarm of flying potatoes accidentally conjured by Velvet.

"So um..." Ollivander piped in first just as Fleetywit landed onto the tuft of his head.

"Where to, fellers?"

"To the closest cafe around, maybe?"

"And what cafe would that be that opens at the bewitching hour?" Dapple chided his brother with a scoff.

"Seriously, sometimes I can never understand why you're my brother."

"We could all just stop by at a bar or something."

The proposition was made by Velvet, whose attention was more focused on polishing his blade than sating their tedium. Pinkie would never understand why Phoenix would put the assassin of the group in charge when he's not around; he's typically slacking off or cutting some throats or something. No leader of the caravan would abandon something like that. At least Ollivander had the decency once to scour the town in search for food.

"How 'bout we pop by for a small chug?" he said with an enthusiastic smirk.

"I'm sure Finn wouldn't mind, would he? As long as none of you get bladdered, of course."

Cheers erupted from every mouth. None from Pinkie. She would be lying if she was a stranger to drinking, yet she limited herself to only three jugs at least and they were usually cider. Ganger, for example, once chugged down eight mugs of whiskey and nearly got his head caught in the spokes of a wheel when he stumbled right in front of a passing carriage. He was Celestia be-damned lucky Brutus was there.

Mysterious as it is, Phoenix wasn't one prone to drink as well, not that he didn't, of course. Heavy smoker, yes, but never an avid drinker. There were times where she wondered how he can tolerate their extraordinary antics, though the time for trivial pondering was in no current need of attention: she has a drink to get!

"We're all limited to only four cups of ale," Velvet added as a warning.

"I don't wanna see any of you hammering the tables like a bunch of mad idiots. The plan is to set off tonight, so tonight it is, which means none of you are going to pass out under my watch. Clear?"

A bunch of affirmative nods, and they set off into the mist-covered darkness of Valewood. It was rare for the caravan to celebrate before the departure, mostly because they all had the keen prospect of adventuring; such a chance rarely gets by even if they wanted to, especially when their tired souls bogged them down like sticks stuck in mud.

"If only every day can be like this..." Pinkie said to herself with a sigh.

"Then we could've had a party every day..."

On the contrary, a daily schedule of partying seemed more exhausting.

A blink snapped her from her reverie, which she then noticed the already-thick mist slowly swirling around her hooves. Her face fell when she glanced forward, the faint voices of her friends fading in the distance. Without a second to spare, Pinkie kicked her hooves into a gallop, trying not to giggle at herself as she guided her way through the alleyways of Valewood.

She could only wonder how many times her mind had drifted off, finding its place in happier, brighter thoughts where her optimism could run free through the plains of hope, sowing with it the seeds of friendship. She always felt remote when it comes to reality, such as her recent altercations with Velvet, for example; she still could never understand her doubtful and perplexing thoughts surrounding the mysterious gray stallion.

"Well, well..."

Pinkie nearly jumped in surprise at that husky voice, turning around to see a stallion standing there, his face obscured by the growing mist. Wearing a beatific grin, she trotted towards him. The pony himself seemed to be a local long enough to navigate these dark alleyways; perhaps, without the need of Velvet especially, she could just ask him for the closest bar, which seemed to be the only place she knew they were going. Surely the ponies of Valewood wouldn't mind being ask just one tiny question, wouldn't they?

"Hey there!" she called out cheerfully.

"I'm just a little lost and, well, I need a teensy-weensy help getting somewhere, so..."

"Really now?" was the slightly unnerving reply.

"Dear, dear. A little missie roaming in the dark, lost with no idea where to go. What to do..."

"Oh, don't worry about me!" she replied with a nonchalant wave of her hoof.

"It's just me getting to some small bar, that's all! My friends might be waiting for me there by now."

"What would your friends do?"

"Huh?"

"If you were never there?" he rephrased.

"Perhaps you never made it to the bar. What would your friends do? Would they head out and search for you, or would they drink to their heart's content, leaving you lost and abandoned in the darkness?"

"D-Don't jinx it!" she stuttered, trying her best to hold her smile.

"I mean, you can't actually think that my friends wouldn't help me out when I'm in trouble, right? R-Right?"

Despite all the mist, Pinkie could see it: that crooked, jarring grin on his face, the edges of his lips glinting like a knife with the growing fervor of a sadist. The intentions he reserved for her... she had felt a growing discomfort before when she stumbled upon the pony, yet she chose to ignore it. Now, every single color of happiness paled away from her face, her jaw clenched as she hesitantly stepped back, waiting for him to pounce, if he ever would.

Her back hoof slid backwards just as she readied her sword; the one that Phoenix had given to him for self-defense. Just as one hoof reached for it, something snatched her grip, the mare eliciting a yelp of pain when she was suddenly hoisted backwards, eyes staring into another stallion's greedy smile once she tumbled onto the floor.

"Fine catch tonight."

"So what shall we do with'er?"

"Please!" Pinkie begged, trying to kick herself out of the two hooves gripping her tight.

"Don't touch me! Just lemme go! Lemme go!"

It wasn't a pair now. Throughout her dilemma, others had come to join the show; she counted around five to eight pairs of eyes staring down at her, all of them hungry with lust like savages. Her head suddenly worked up a storm, every inch of her skull hammered by pain as her vision swirled, unable to focus on any of her captors.

"Learn to take turns, fellows!" somepony hollered. She yelped and cried, struggling to squirm her way out of the hooves pinning her down like a butterfly taxidermy. Her rapier clattered onto the ground once her grip strained, leaving her helpless to both the savages and the brewing ache in her temple.

The feast was beginning. She was the main course.

"No... NO!!!"

With a devastating swing of a hoof, Pinkie kicked away the captors trapping her lower body, before managing to scramble to her hooves, flailing away from their restraints and grabbing the rapier with her mouth before galloping off into the thick mist.

The aching in her head... it felt like somepony was carving through her skull. The intensity of it grew as time passes, with a screech clouding over her galloping and the urgent shouts following behind her. Fatigue overwhelmed not her hooves, but her head, and as her gallops slowed and her vision started to fade, she could only stare at the floor closing in towards her along with the shadows of her pursuers, muttering the one thing she knew she could never do.

"Must... get away..."

O=O=O=O=O=O=O=O=O=O=O=O=O=O=O=O=O=O=O=O=O=O=O=O=O=O=O=O=O=O

Reconciliation.

It was an act too divine even for an alicorn to bear, especially when her nation is in its current state of upheaval. Perhaps it was a forbidden dream for such a commodity to be bestowed upon her like how she brings light to her glorious world. Still, she remained resilient, or from her sister's point of view, a little stubborn about her decisions.

Never had Princess Celestia been scorned by her subjects. At least, not in the present day. Back then, times were more troubling... more vexing even, where the nation of Equestria was always threatened by its surrounding neighbors, all too savage then to usher an era of peace. She had battled many, from gryphons and minotaurs to zebras, hirci and even the dragons, yet she still feared them like how they would fear her.

The Princess was in her bedroom, overlooking from the balcony the high-rise buildings of Canterlot shimmering as she lowered the sun. She could feel it: the strokes of life beaming across the city, blossoming in an aural brilliance that only she and Luna had the shared ability to see. Her churches from beyond too were like beacons, sending out the signal of serenity that had encapsulated Equestria for so long; that of Stalliongrad was quickening with doubt; that of Trottingham was shaking underneath; that of Manehatten... bleaker than the arid deserts of the south, the flowers of life razed by a torrent of fire.

What happened in Manehatten had grew stiffer than concrete in her head. It was a craft, they said, no more, but there was a certain sense of fear. She had an idea of what the craft was, but its existence was lost, swallowed by a void in time, perhaps rotting away in uncharted waters, she wasn't sure. If it was truly back, however, the worst nightmares could come true. None of them would be prepared.

"Tia?"

Princess Luna rarely stepped into her sister's abode, but when she does, usually something was wrong. It may be trivial and it may be not, yet when it still concerns her dear sister, she would tend to them first. With a nod of her head, Celestia ushered her sister to settle at her side, face growing solemn when she saw Luna's red-tinted eyes.

"What's wrong, Luna?" she asked.

"What happened?"

"I... I had a nightmare..."

Rare, for the Princess of the Night, guardian of ponykind's dreams and subconscious minds, to have a nightmare. That's what most, if not all, of Equestria, would think, but Celestia knew her sister better. What was the headstrong, feared Princess of the Night to most was still vulnerable on the inside. Still scarred.

"It was the same one..." she continued with a quiver.

"Everyone was gone... everyone... it was so... so white..."

"Calm down, dear sister," the older alicorn said, draping a wing over the other.

"You and I are still here, Luna. Whatever happened would never get us now. None of us."

Luna just gave a frail nod, huddling closer to the source of her comfort.

"The ministers... they're already questioning our rule, sister."

Celestia wore a grimace. There was always that one or two in the Canterlot Ministry that would have those defiant thoughts. She wouldn't tell them off, no, but the thought of such talks behind her back were always infuriating to her. Already, she was doing everything she could in her willpower to prevent a coming invasion, letting these snobbish ponies kick their hooves back and lavish themselves in luxury and yet they have the uncalled decency to question her?

She knew this wasn't the first time. There was one time, when the country finished fending off from the Badlands and the Highlands invasion that ponies had begun to question her integrity through something they called 'science'. She could still remember that dark time, when the Ministry was divided; when ponies devoted to faith and that devoted to science clashed in a bloody civil war. The murder of unicorns became the norm: magic was extracted illegally for studying through the fracturing and breaking of horns. Back then, there was only one thing left in her mind.

Fight fire with fire.

Riots in a neighboring town? Massacre thousands of rebels in public. Illegal extraction of magic? Sentenced to torture and execution. She was harsher, more brutal than ever before, sometimes even marching to the battles herself just to unleash her wrath and fury, eradicating and decimating hundreds at once. Back then, she was a pony clouded by rage; deluded by hatred; traumatized after banishing her sister.

That pony wasn't her anymore.

"Let them speak their foul words," was her calm reply to her sister.

"They know no better of ruling the country than organizing their own paperwork."

"But if they ever defy our rule--"

"They wouldn't dare to," she assured.

"As far as the both of us know, the enemy we're fighting against possesses an unimaginable power. To overthrow us simply means suicide for the Equestrian populace. If I recall, I remember neither of those old geezers want any blood on their hooves."

Luna giggled quietly. Old geezers indeed.

"Then what are we, being thousands of years older?" she asked.

"Don't forget to add wiser, sister," Celestia answered with a grin.

"Ponykind would want a modest leader. A humble leader. A leader who can keep a promise. None of them would even think of striving to be that leader, Luna, and I won't let them take my throne. Not when I'm around."

Silence hung like the rising moon in the sky, orange fading into black with stars starting to shimmer, freed from the blazing light. Celestia's horn soon dimmed down, concluding the job as she gazed down at the still bustling capital below her. Even when they had been struck more than once, the Canterlot society was still outgoing and cheerful, their optimism superior to their qualms. Strong, the heart of a pony.

"Still so bright..." the older alicorn sighed.

"Even when they are mourning the dead in their hearts."

"They believe in you, Tia."

"Us, Lu," she corrected her sister.

"They believe in us. You rule by my side, sister. Remember that."

"Thou is a fledgling to the phoenix, sister."

"You underestimate yourself. You're more capable of ruling than you think you are, Luna. Sometimes, you impress me even more so than my student can ever do. All you need is a little spark of confidence and you'll go far. Heed my word for it, alright Luna? Luna?"

The younger alicorn wasn't listening. Something else caught her attention; something faint and far, yet loud enough for her to perk up her head out the balcony and hear. The wind rustled the trees around the sisters, the older one's brows furrowing with worry.

"What is it, Luna?"

"I hear something," was the answer. A quivering answer.

"In the distance, in a town, there was screaming. Shouting. Cries of help. Blood... h-has been spilled on the earth... death is waltzing in a dance of swords. Th-They were screaming, yet none c-could hear it. They were... th-they were..."

Suddenly, with a howl that could've torn the night into two, Luna fell back onto the balcony, Celestia catching her just in time before her bandaged wings could hit the floor. Horrified, the alabaster alicorn glanced down at her sister in her hooves, gasping quietly at her shaking body, her jaw clenched tight.

"No... no!!" the mare gasped out, tears streaming from her eyes.

"Stop her! We must stop her!! WE MUST STOP HER!!"

"Calm down, Luna! CALM DOWN!!"

Everything dived down into a tense, steep silence, from their breathing to the nocturnal calls outside. Luna quietly sobbed, head buried in her sister's wings. The horror of it... the animosity of what she saw... it couldn't become words. She couldn't disclose it to her sister.

Celestia could only imagine whatever that could horrify Luna so much. These days, it was rare for the younger alicorn to have her spirit broken so easily, yet at this period where the seams of years long gone were bursting open once again... there's not much time to lose, especially not when fighting this enemy.

"Stay strong, sister..." she whispered.

"Stay strong, my little ponies..."

O=O=O=O=O=O=O=O=O=O=O=O=O=O=O=O=O=O=O=O=O=O=O=O=O=O=O=O=O=O

"That'll be fifty bits, please."

"But the tag said--"

"A discount for you, Miss Sparkle. It is but an honor already to have you in my premise."

With a forced grin, Twilight nodded thankfully at the smiling owner before stepping out of his shop with her heart clenched by guilt. She will never get used to it, ponies treating her like royalty, almost as if she asked for it. Oh well, she said to herself, that's what you get when you are Princess Celestia's personal student.

Turning a corner away from the prestigious main districts into the suburbs, the unicorn sighed as she unwrapped the item she purchased from the store, her magic raising it up towards her snout for her to see. It was a ceremonial dagger, gold from top to bottom, adorned in intricate patterns that could boggle the mind and certainly worth way more than she would ever have imagined.

If her friends were around now, Twilight was certain they would bombard her with a hundred questions about her possessing such a tool. It wasn't anypony's fault if they would feel insecure when in the shabbier sections of Canterlot. The statistics she read last night was still fresh in her head: crime was at an all-time high, yet so was unemployment. Sometimes, it surprised her that this bleaker side of Canterlot actually existed.

Having only little time to spare, she soon started her march down the snaking, gravel paths of the suburbs after sliding her blade into her satchel, earning a glance or two along the way. She shivered a little at the sights to see: ponies young and old were sleeping on the streets, ignored by most and chased off by the rest. Their bodies were frail and bony, reeking of suffering and disease, their eyes reflecting their empty, soulless hearts.

"How... how can they live like this...?"

That question had been asked one too many times and each time, there would never be a valid answer. Head down in a fit of shame, Twilight quickly strode down the path, avoiding the unnerving yet innocent stares that the ponies were giving, pleading and crying for her help when she could give none.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry..." she muttered repeatedly and softly, her pace speeding into a gallop as she raced down the road. Guilt had welled up in her heart, the shame she could bear only a morsel compared to the suffering they had to go through. All the way she ran, stopping only when she reached the quieter, rural side of the district, catching her breath as she did so.

One more pant, before Twilight collapsed against the brick walls of a derelict building, glancing up at the tangerine sun shining its pallid rays upon her and drawing out pores of sweat from her skin. The sky here was barren yellow from smoke; a contrast to the healthy blue and white field she always seen back in the palace at the height of the afternoon. The atmosphere was already clinging onto her, digging into her heart and dragging her weary hooves down like an anchor threatening to trip her any second.

Caws of crows ushered her into the alley, shaded by a crumbling building that made her feel insecure yet cooled her at the same time. Her eyes were fixed upwards or, more accurately, the roofs, wanting to spot that one little detail of a clue that would lead her straight to her destination.

"My house... lies at the end of the suburbs," she remembered him saying.

"In the alleyway overcast by the shadow of..."

"The leaning chimney!"

Twilight couldn't help but cry it out loud, her eyes glittering with joy at the said 'landmark' which was, true to its name, a mound of irregularly stacked bricks that was already an odd sight in the suburbs, yet it seemed like a symbol of glory; a sculpture of hope for the poor, built almost like a beacon to guide ponies like her, striving to seek for the Masque of Canterlot in his abode.

Stumbling over a few overturned trash cans, she trudged down the dark path, squinting her eyes and making out in the distance a steel grilled gate that would've forbade anyone from entering if it wasn't for the gaping niche formed from the steel twisted and bending forwards like a wilted flower. Meekly, she stepped through it, taking care not to land into mud puddles or clumped trash reeking of rancid food and compost.

Rarity would've wrung her neck if she found out that she headed directly into the sewer tunnels without anypony else accompanying her. Sure, if anypony tagged along, they'll discover her affections for the Masque of Canterlot, blabber it about through the whole of Equestria and practically destroy her, not that they would do it, of course, but it was too risky of a chance to take.

No time for regrets now, she said to herself. With head held high, Twilight trudged forward down the spiraling darkness of the sewer tunnel, her horn lighting up with a halo of light and her recently-purchased blade now clenched in the middle of her teeth, ready to strike at anything that jumps out at her. There were several false alarms that halted her with a jump, such as the scampering of rats and even the smallest drip of water from a pipe, but otherwise nothing.

After what seemed to be an hour of trotting in the musty darkness, the first sliver of light finally caught Twilight's eyes. Placing the blade in the satchel, she galloped towards those mesmerizing, parallel rays breaking into the darkness, her attention focused not on its beauty, but solely on the silhouette of an object hanging from the ceiling. She soon realized it was a basket with a rope binding its handles together, swaying subtly and just at the right height to be peered into.

Instinctively, she reached a hoof into her satchel, rifling through its miscellany before finally picking from the litter a silver bell: the same one the Masque had instructed her to place in the basket. Doing as such, she stepped back, waiting for something, anything in the darkness to jump out at her. The Masque did say that some door would open, though she wasn't sure about how it would actually open.

"Strange..." she muttered to herself.

"Very strange..."

Suddenly, the basket jerked a little, catching Twilight's eye. Curiously and warily, she hastily stepped closer to it, fixing her gaze at the object inquisitively. Her mustered confidence shattered only when the basket was hoisted up into the light, making her shriek and stumbling back from whence she came.

The loud groan of wood sounded out from her right, with streaks of orange piercing through from a straight crack in the darkness. Swallowing a small pint of confidence, Twilight Sparkle slowly stepped towards it, readying her golden blade hovering in an encompassing field of magic. Anything could be behind those doors, from an underground lava chamber to a hibernating dragon waiting for its prey. No need to panic, she told herself. What's there to panic anyway?

"Here goes nothing, Twilight..." the mare said aloud, heart beating rapidly as she made her first step into the light.

What she saw... oh, no other pony could imagine.

She found herself on a catwalk, the sound of cascading water rushing from above rumbling through her ears and joining the ecstatic laughter of children. Children, she exclaimed in her head. She was already skeptical when the Masque mentioned about having children, but she certainly couldn't imagine him to have such a sheer amount here! All of them, laughing, prancing about excitedly in this underground wonderland where pipes were sawed half into water slides and the dull brick walls flourished in the form of beautiful murals. Colts and fillies were all jumping around, diving into a circular, shallow ring of water surrounding the bottom of what seemed to be a steel obelisk like a moat, the structure pointing high into the open sky where the sun still hung high and mighty, with water running down its sides and into the pool way down below. Her amazement could only grow as she stepped into the obelisk through an archway, washing herself in a curtain of water in the process.

The interior was shining bright from the hundreds of crystal lanterns hanging above, shining right down with a different array of colors in unison like a giant chandelier. There were still children too, scrambling throughout the place and digging at the walls. Only when she got a closer look did she realize that embedded within the steel walls were shelves, and that the children were actually picking out books of all kinds, even some she had never laid her eyes on before.

"Wow..." she could only gasp.

"This... this is a library..."

Much better than one; even hers back home at Ponyville. Twilight couldn't close her gaping mouth at everything around her, almost as if it was carved out from the pits of a suburban dream. It was carved out all right, by a certain somepony; the same one that gave her the chance to see the Eden in the sewers.

"Missus?" a meek voice said, the unicorn looking down to see a small colt with bright eyes.

"You're Missus Twilight, right?"

"Uh... I guess."

"The Masque told me to bring you to him. Is it okay if I bring you to him?"

Innocence... all it could do was melt her heart.

"Of course you can," Twilight answered with the warmest smile she could muster.

"Would you like to show me the way?"

A happy nod. With a bounce in his step, the colt marched forward steadfastly, the lavender unicorn walking along meekly behind him. Her gaze was darting around, awed by the happiness and the optimism culminated by the foals all around. Pinkie Pie would've fit perfectly in here with all these children, she told herself.

The colt leading her stopped when they met a pair of wooden doors, having crossed to the other end of the sanctuary. The doors seemed older than the rest of the place, what with its rusted iron hinges and frame and the rotting wood, but nevertheless looked sturdier than those main gates of Canterlot. With a quiet, seemingly fake cough, the colt gently knocked onto the door, before stepping back and saying:

"Wait for a minute. He'll meet you soon."

"Thank you."

Beaming, the colt trotted off happily, probably to celebrate with his fellow friends a job well done, Twilight surmised. Without any further ado, the unicorn just stared at the door, waiting, wishing for the Masque to pop out of somewhere and probably scare the heck out of her. You'll never know, she chuckled, colts like the Masque.

One of the doors suddenly shifted and, with a groan, swung open a little; enough for the mare to step in. Holding her breath, Twilight took her first step into the true abode of the Masque, smiling when he heard that heavily-accented voice, smoother than the polished steel walls she left behind her and still wavering in an aura of mystery, inviting her in as he said oh so munificently:

"Welcome, Twilight Z'parkle..."

O=O=O=O=O=O=O=O=O=O=O=O=O=O=O=O=O=O=O=O=O=O=O=O=O=O=O=O=O=O

"Pinkie?!!"

"Pinkie Pie!!!"

"Pinkie!! Where are you?!!

Sometimes, Phoenix Mellow felt he couldn't take a break from the caravan, even when it involves bargaining with the shopkeepers for their supplies. His throat was hoarse already from the recent shouting he had to do at one of them involving a basket of potatoes. He regretted not sending Velvet and Brutus to do it in his place. The fact that one of the caravan had disappeared only made it far worse.

"Pinkie?!" he forced out a shout, trying to squint his eyes through the thick mist that this particular region was infamously known for. Every minute that passes and their hopes start to dwindle, his heart beats ever the more anxiously. Sure, the group decided to go get a swig of ale or two from the bar and were so engrossed that they didn't notice the most hyperactive one of theirs disappear. He sighed to himself: he will have a long talk with Velvet about this.

"Any of you see her?!"

"Not from up 'ere!" Ollivander exclaimed from above, diving down.

"Mist is just too thick, like that'un back at the shrine."

"Ollie's right about that," Selena said, landing right next to her partner.

"If the Umbra pegasi are here, they would want to capture Pinkie again to finish the job."

"We'll have to find her. Fast."

With grim nods from both gryphon and pegasus, the couple soon flapped their wings, before soaring back up at the sky. Biting her lip, Phoenix resumed his galloping through the alleyways, his tail bursting up into flames and whipping the mist away with his gilded broadsword clenched between his teeth. Anything could've happened to her right now and if they don't find her in time... if they don't find her in time...

The faint clattering of hooves followed, prompting Phoenix to ready his sword as a figure gallops from the mist. With clenched teeth, his tail suddenly whisked up over his head, lighting up his determined frown. When he finally saw who it was, he drew his sword, yet the spiteful expression stayed: it was Velvet, with the sprite dragon Fleetywit zipping right behind.

"She's not here, Finn," the assassin said, panting.

"I've searched around this district. She could've been moved somewhere more rural."

Phoenix said nothing. The silence Velvet was receiving was especially unsettling; he knows that his old friend would shout at him any second, declaring how horrible of a leader he is by leaving one of their own behind. The weight of guilt had already worked up a storm in his head that could set off a minefield. He never meant to do it. He never meant to lose Pinkie in the mist.

"I'm sorry, Finn," he said with a sigh.

"You'll be if we don't find her," the turquoise pony grudgingly promised.

"Where's the rest? Brutus and the twins?"

"Brute should be around northwest from here. Not sure about Dapple and Ganger."

"If I only knew this would happen..."

With a gruff sigh, Phoenix Mellow continued trotting down the alleys, Velvet following ruefully behind and Fleetywit hitching a ride on his mane. Already the sprite dragon's face had scrunched up, mewling quietly and worriedly for the safety of the pink mare.

"We'll find her soon, Fleety," Phoenix assured.

"Just you wait."

A loud scream broke through the night, capturing the attention of probably the whole caravan, them included. Phoenix, Velvet and Fleetywit's heads perked up, glancing up at the night sky with ears twitching for the sound. Even though it was a short scream, it wasn't from Pinkie; the voice was masculine.

Two more similar screams soon followed, these ones being more frantic and horrified. Instinctively, the two ponies began to gallop towards the direction of the voices, their nerves tingling with dread at what might be happening. The shouts were nearly illegible, though they could make out a few words like 'help me' and 'mercy'. With every twist and turn through the alleyways, the shouts grew louder and more horrific, what with gargles and croaks added into the abominable mix. Something was happening to them... something beyond their sane imagination.

"HELP ME!!"

It was clear now, those horrific screams, almost as if it was happening just around the corner of the white walls. In the midst of galloping, both ponies had unsheathed their respective weapons, eyes fixed ahead as they slowed down into a trot. The cries were dying down, making way for what seemed to be ripping and slicing of flash by a blade. Splattering noises could be heard, as well as a savage roar, primitive and wrathful.

Phoenix stepped forward first, though once his hoof landed in a splash, he immediately paled at the sight before him. He was standing in a gigantic, deep hued puddle of blood, flowing from an array of bodies ripped and torn apart. Lungs were clawed into pieces, intestines were strewn all over like streamers and flesh had been shredded. Red had splattered onto the pure white walls, tainting the dead end in a parade of blood reeking foully in the night air. What horrified him most of all, however, was the lone figure standing in the middle of the grotesque scene, panting dryly and hungrily, hooves clutching a blade dipped in red and her mane and tail flat, covering her red-stained face in a veil of shadow.

"P-Pinkie...?"

Both Phoenix and Velvet stepped back, Fleetywit hiding in the latter's mane out of fear as the pink mare glared up at them, blue pupils narrowed to the size of pinpricks. Her teeth were crushing against each other, her breath speeding up as blood dripped from her mane and crawled down her neck.

Suddenly, she lunged towards them, sword raised and mouth letting out an ear-piercing screech. Both stallions jumped back just in time, unable to contain their terror at the ghastly sight of the mare, who landed right in front of them, hooves wobbling and blade clattering onto the ground, before she collapsed.

Velvet caught her just in time, hooves immediately seeping red with blood. Phoenix just stared at the ghastly sight before him, too shocked for his shivering mouth to muster a word and his hoof to grip on his sword, letting it clatter onto the floor. Rotten flesh filled the air as he counted in his head around twelve bodies, though they were stripped apart of form, too contorted and disfigured for him to be sure.

"Please... please stop..." Pinkie whimpered in her sleep, catching the attention of both stallions.

"Let me go... no... let me go..."

"What happened?" Dapple's voice broke into the silence.

The rest of the caravan ran in from both sides, though what they saw immediately stopped them. Immediately, Selena clutched at her stomach, covering her mouth just as Ollivander placed a wing around her, too horrified to shift his gaze away. Dapple and Ganger stepped forward with their mouths open, surveying the bodies around them. Even the stone-faced Brutus could not hide his shock and abhorrence, nearly dropping his axe as a result.

Their gaze soon turned to the pink mare lying in Velvet's hooves, shivering and jerking slightly, the blood of her victims running down from head to hoof. Neither of them didn't want to believe it at first, yet the evidence... it was all being shoved into their faces, imploring them to admit it.

"She couldn't have..." Ganger muttered.

"C-Could she...?"

Silence. All eyes turned to their leader, who was now frowning grimly and biting his lip, his eyes shimmering with what seemed to be tears. Nothing had shaken him so much to the point of shedding a tear, yet this... this slaughter orchestrated by a single pony... the same one that had followed them in their journeys... the same one he had found lost and confused in the forest that day...

"We're leaving Valewood now," he managed to speak.

"All of us. Including Pinkie."

"Are you insane? She just killed twelve ponies by herself, Finn! Twelve! Could you imagine what she might do to us if she came along?"

"So you want to leave her behind again?! Is that it?!"

Both Phoenix and Velvet glared at each other, though the latter's soon wore off quickly, instead turning away and gulping, still shaken by what he had seen. With a grumble, Phoenix glanced at the rest of the caravan, their heads all down or turned sideways, too guilt-ridden to face their leader.

"Pinkie's part of the caravan, no matter how many ponies she would kill," he affirmed sternly.

"No pony gets left behind. And if she ever murders any of you, for Celestia's sake, whether you like it or not, I think all of you deserve it."

"It was an accident, Finn!!"

"So what, Ollie?!" he yelled, glaring at the gryphon.

"It was yours and V's responsibility to look out for her!! Your bucking, Celestia be-damned responsibility!! The fact that you bucking failed to do it right had already made you lose your privilege of even talking to me!"

"Please, Phoenix!" Selena stated in Ollivander's defense.

"We're your friends, for Celestia's sake--!"

"PINKIE WAS BEING TARGETED!! PINKIE WAS BEING TARGETED AND YOU ALL LEFT HER!! YOU ALL LEFT HER TO BE USED AND KILLED!! YOU ALL KNOW THAT AND YOU LEFT HER!! WHAT KIND OF A FRIEND WOULD DO THAT?!! TELL ME!!"

Everything dropped into an unnerving silence yet again, with Phoenix's erratic panting filling the air as he stomped ahead of them without a glance back. Sighing quietly, Velvet started to get up on his hooves, lifting Pinkie onto his back with his magic as he inhaled deeply, his eyes closed at the choice he was about to make.

"Fine," he finally said with a quiver, staring into the eyes of the remaining members before him.

"You heard him, guys. We're leaving."

"W-With Pinkie?"

Velvet sighed at Ganger's question. No matter how much he hated it, he couldn't do much. After all, Phoenix was still leader of the caravan and what he said... what he said was true. It was their responsibility to take care of each other. Adding the fact that he held those tenets they were bound to in high regard...

"Yes," he answered softly and reluctantly with a nod.

"With Pinkie."

Author's Note:

Sorry if it took a way longer time than it's supposed to be!
Would try to get back on track soon!!

Comments

[Fury of the Tempest]

What... what happened... how did Pinkie do that... why did she do that?!

... No. That was Pinkie's body. Not her heart, not her soul

On another note, Masque is starting to remind me of Peter Pan...