> Pinkamena: Beasts of Fall > by Timegal25 > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- > Fall Arrives > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Fall had arrived in Ponyville. The air was cool but had those hints of the freezing cold that would come with winter in a few weeks or so. The leaves on the trees were all turning golden brown or red or yellow or some other calmer but still good-looking color. That was a good way to describe the season in general. Calmer. Everyone coming down from the rush and constant fun of summer and now shifting into the brief but welcomed bit of cool down and collecting one’s self before having to deal with the long and cold period of winter. Fall meant prepping for family get-togethers and all the stress and mess that came with, students going back to or starting school and the emotional meltdowns that followed, and of course the falling of the leaves. This was what life in fall was like. It was cooler, it was quieter, it was calmer. Pinkamena Diane Pie, or Pinkie Pie as she and many others called herself, wiped a line of sweat going down her dark brown skin as she watched some of the leaves sway in the breeze from the kitchen window.  She watched some of them slowly snap away from the branches they were attached to before they drifted through the breeze and flew around in loops and zig-zags as they made their way toward the ground. She watched them land before making her way over to the nearby oven and pulling out a fresh tray of brownies. She got hit in the face with a wave of heat from the oven as she closed it back up, making her thankful her usually pink and curly afro was currently tied up in a bun. She put the tray down on the counter and got to cutting them into pieces. The way she was able to make each square perfectly equal to one another, it was like an art. Even the edge pieces usually had the same amount of space between them, save for the corner ones. After letting them cool off enough to make sure they were still warm and gooey on the inside, she started pulling them out and putting them on two plates. One for the middle pieces, and the other for the edge and corner pieces. She put the plates alongside others in the display under the counter and let out a long sigh as she wiped another wave of sweat from her forehead. It always got so hot and stuffy when she got the morning batches ready. She looked to the bakery’s entrance, seeing the streets still calm. There was still time before people started piling in, a bit of time to clean up the pans and bowls and mix ingredients. It was the best way to spend her time while enjoying the silence. As she walked back into the kitchen, she paused. She looked at the rug, a small rounded square with its materials being made to resemble the patterns of crashing sea waves. Had it always looked like that? Had the pattern always been set up like that? Her eyes started to strain as she looked at the rug, watching it as if the patterns were slowly shifting and moving like painted jagged waves of the ocean sea they were imitating. The sounds of waves crashing slowly started to fill her head. She slowly bent down, reaching out to it. The baker’s shop bell jingled as she jumped back up, quickly heading back to the counter. She smiled as she saw Fluttershy stumble back a bit. “Howdy Fluttershy! What can I get for you today?” she asked, giggling. “O-oh, well… I just want a um… hot chocolate and a bagel with cream cheese please… if you have it, I mean, I don’t wanna inconvenience you or anything…” Even when she was the first and only customer of the morning, Fluttershy was still very much herself at her shyest. Pinkie just giggled, walking around to get the requested items. “Aw, come on Flutters! This is a bakery! We’re gonna have plenty of bagels and cocoa!” she exclaimed, grabbing a bagel and cutting it in two with one quick slice. She put a few squares of cream cheese next to it before putting it on the counter. “Thank—” “Not yet silly! You still need your cocoa, hot and steamy.” Pinkie interrupted, walking over to a cappuccino machine and listening to the oddly satisfying sound of the thick liquid filling the cup. She blew on it a few times before picking it up and placing it down next to the plate. “And there you go! One quaint breakfast courtesy of one Pinkie Pie!” She exclaimed, flashing the biggest smile she could. It was all worth it to see Fluttershy giggle. “Thank you, Pinkie. You always know how to make sure a day starts on a positive note.” Pinkie just smiled, getting herself two doughnuts and a cappuccino before joining her friend at a table near the front windows of the bakery. “So, Flutters, why come here so early in the morning? It’s not like you to see me this early.” Fluttershy looked down at her drink, going even more quiet than she usually was. She nervously ran her fingers against the table. “... Come on Fluttershy, you can tell me what’s up.  We stopped the world from being covered in eternal night. We should be able to rely on each other.” Pinkie let her voice soften, though that also made it clear she was getting nervous too … ‘Is… is she gonna confess to me or something?’ was all Pinkie could think in the current moment. “I just… I had nightmares all last night. A-and then when I woke up, every animal I heard outside just sounded so threatening. I-I just didn’t want to be alone…” Fluttershy explained, her body trembling as she was on the verge of tears. Pinkie slowly moved in close, watching a few tears run down Fluttershy’s cheeks. “Need a hug?” Fluttershy slowly nodded, smiling again as the two got up and embraced. She giggled as she felt Pinkie squeeze. “I’m sorry if this is too much for you…” “Fluttershy, you’re my friend. Don’t you worry about that at all. I’m more just surprised you came to me, really. Wanna drown those fears in sweets or something?” Fluttershy shook her head. “I didn’t want to risk waking up Rarity or Twilight, and I wouldn’t even know where to look for Applejack since she gets up so early to work in all those acres of trees. And Rainbow Dash-” she stopped mid-sentence before shaking her head. “I still haven’t been able to reach her.” Pinkie shook her head as she pulled away from the hug. “She’ll pick up someday. I just know it. Dashie’s gonna pick up and go on and on about all the trophies she’s won and how awesome she is.” Fluttershy sniffed, nodding along. “Yeah. That’ll be nice. Applejack’ll love every second of it,” she said, the two sitting back down and returning to their breakfasts. “Oh, Pinkie. You smell nice today. Like brownies.” After a while, Fluttershy finished her meal and left. They would meet up at the library with the others later. Pinkie waved goodbye as she watched her head out. She watched the outside for a bit. It was still a bit early, so not that many people were out just yet, giving the outside this perfect sense of empty serenity.  With all the leaves swirling through the air, it was like she was looking at the perfect snapshot for a greeting card. After cleaning up the dishes and putting them aside, she was back at the kitchen rug. She slowly bent down and moved it aside, looking at the panel underneath. It wasn't noticeable if you weren't aware of it, but once you learned about it, you'd always be able to see it. She lifted the trap door and felt a cool breeze hit her face. She glanced around again to make sure no one else was around. She let out a long sigh before she began walking down, closing the trap door behind her and disappearing into the dark shadows below. --- Pinkie softly giggled to herself before looking down at the mug she was holding. The foam at the top had already been drunk, showing her reflection looking back up at her. It was one of the few times where she didn’t have a big infectious smile on her face. It was more calm, held back, quiet. It was hard to be her normal hyper-self where she currently was - a cozy little underground basement tavern/bar with some tables and nice looking hand-carved wooden chairs and a crackling fireplace in the corner. She was half worried if she tried anything too wild she’d send the whole place up in smoke. Pinkie always appreciated the fireplace. It always had such a welcoming presence, no matter the situation. She would always find herself parked right in front of the one back home after a long day of mining and harvesting rocks.  Her mom always knew when she and her sisters would be heading back from a day of work and would have it already going when they got home. She and Limestone would tumble over who got the closet spot. Those were some days. She snapped out of her stupor as she heard the sound of a bottle being cracked open and looked to the source. Applejack was downing the bottle of hard cider, real emphasis on the hard, in seemingly one go. Pinkie couldn’t remember what bottle Applejack was on, but it was probably a few over two. “Ahh… always good to reward a hard day of work with a cold drink or two!” “We know, Applejack. You said that when you let us into this place,” Rarity responded, softly swirling her drink around in her mug. She hadn’t even made it halfway through her first drink, only taking small sips from a straw on occasion. She and Pinkie shared glances for a bit before going back to Applejack. “Oh, I did? Sorry bout that Rares… just get so scatterbrained from work sometimes that I can end up repeatin’ myself a bit!” Applejack waved it all off with a hearty chuckle. “Can I get any of y’all some more pretzels? Chips? Crackers?” “Oh, no. I’m good Applejack…” Fluttershy politely declined, before stuffing a few mini-pretzels in her mouth. “I think I’ve had my fill for the night, actually ...” “I agree with Fluttershy,” Twilight Sparkle added, getting up from her spot near the fireplace. “Today was a good day, but I think it’s time we start hightailing it back and finishing things up for the night. I still need to send my letter to Princess Celestia, and I’d hate to have her think I’m slipping up in my studies.” Rarity nodded, taking another sip from her drink. “It’s always a delight being down here, dear. Perhaps we can have a game night or something this weekend?” “Oh, o-oh yeah! That’d be fun! Pinkie can bring a buncha board games and cards and we don’t have to worry about learning anything and just having some good ol’ fun!” Applejack said, doing her best to stand straight, swaying. “Bet you got some wild games that’d be fun to play over drinks, right Pinkie?” Pinkie could see the expression on Applejack’s face as she looked at her. Despite her sporting a toothy grin, it was obvious how desperate and in need she was... “Mmmhmm! Sure do!” she quickly responded, giving a bigger smile. “And we can stay up all night and watch movies! Ooo oo! We can even do karaoke! It’ll be super duper fun! I Pinkie Promise!” “Sounds good to me!” Applejack said, laughing as she began to go for another drink. Pinkie and the others moved to stop her. “Huh? What’s the problem with one more for the road?” Rarity shook her head, moving in close. “Applejack, I think maybe you should cut it off for the night. You don’t wanna be puking in the morning, now do you?” “I… I suppose not…” “Of course you don’t, darling. You’re a woman that has to be at her best when she’s doing her job, and you are not at your best when you’re housing a hangover.” With a flick of her wrist, Rarity used her magic to slowly pull the bottle out of Applejack’s hand. “Now let’s just close this place up for the night and-” “N-no wait! Just let me have this last one!” Applejack suddenly blurted out, jabbing her elbow out into Rarity’s face, making an audible crack as Rarity stumbled back and fell into one of the tables. Blood was spurting from her nose. “Rarity!” Pinkie called out as Twilight and Fluttershy rushed over to her, supporting her as they helped her back to her feet. Pinkie could see a restrained mix of disappointment and sadness on Rarity’s face as she cupped her nose. “I’m fine, I’m fine. Just, help me get home and clean this up, alright?” she muttered aloud as she got to her feet with the help of Twilight and Fluttershy, making their way to the stairway back outside. “Pinkie,” she called out, looking Pinkie in the eyes. “Make sure she doesn’t return home looking worse than I do.” Pinkie nodded as she watched them leave, before turning back to Applejack. She was just downing as much as she could. She looked absolutely pathetic in the moment. Pinkie felt her hands grip her mug tighter before she raised it. “A… toast. To fall days getting better?” The best method was to just get Applejack to bed for the night. Don’t start a fight. Don’t argue or get her emotionally worked up. Just appeal to her and lead her somewhere safe. Applejack raised her bottle up, trying her best to smile. “I’ll toast to that!” She then went back to drinking the thing… only to topple out of her seat and fall to the floor groaning. Pinkie quickly finished her drink before wandering over and looking at her. Applejack didn’t even look like she was fully registering what happened or where she was. Maybe she had blacked out? Pinkie used this opportunity to put out the fireplace before lifting Applejack to her feet and slinging her arm over her shoulder. “Come on Applejack, let’s get you to a nice, warm bed.” Applejack muttered in agreement as they made their way to the stairs. Pinkie gave one last look back at the now darkened tavern. She knew she’d be back here sooner or later, probably before the week ended if Applejack continued this way. Even as the few remaining embers died out, the tavern still had a comfy look. She was tempted with the idea of just finding Applejack somewhere cozy down here to rest. They walked back up into fall air, the breeze hitting them both. The color of the sky perfectly matched the colors of the leaves of the trees that lined the pathway back to the main farmhouse of Sweet Apple Acres. “I... I can walk myself back, just fine…” Applejack muttered, head drooping down. “Sorry Applejack, but I think it’s just better if you let me help you on this. Don’t need you getting lost out in these fields tonight now, do we?” “That wouldn’t be so bad now, would it?” A new voice asked. It sounded almost like Pinkie’s own voice, but also… not. She could hear the sound of hooves, clopping against the ground in beat with her own footsteps. To Pinkie’s right, a small pony walked next to her. Well, it had the shape and features of a pony but this one looked less like the ones that could be found on the farm and more like one pulled right out of a cartoon for kids. Its fur and mane were an uneven dark pink, with the mane done up in a side-cut that fell to the right, with a few visible unkempt notches. Both sides of its hindquarters had an image of three balloons, two blue and one yellow. It smiled up at her. “I mean, these orchards go on for miles and miles. Would it be that hard to believe that she pushed you away, ran off, and like tripped into a ditch or something?” Pinkie gritted her teeth as she continued to walk Applejack along. Maybe ignoring it would make it go away for once. She heard Applejack give off a few snores and snorts as drool slowly ran down her chin. The booze finally knocked her out. The pony rolled its eyes before trotting around over to Applejack’s side and looking up at her face. “Wonder if she cries as much in her sleep as you do. Or maybe she just pisses the sheets?” Its voice sounded more like Pinkie’s as it kept talking. Pinkie just tried to tune it out once more, shaking her head softly. These paths and orchards just really went on forever. “All the booze in her system must be killing her. Even if she went cold turkey for the rest of her life, it’s gotta be so much shorter at this point,” the pony remarked as it looked up at the darkening sky. “All the cracks in her life and it’s like she doesn’t even care about patching them up anymore.” It looked over to Pinkie and smiled again. “Really, we’d be doing her a huge favor if we just shortened the process.” “What even are you?” Pinkie asked, finally responding to the thing. The pony giggled. “Always asking the same question over and over again,” it said, shaking its head. “And every time, I’ll give you the same answer: I’m you.”   --- Pinkie let out a long sigh of relief as she washed her hair, scrubbing the shampoo, conditioner and curl activator deep into her hair and scalp. Taking care of her massive afro took a lot of time and care, but it was so worth it. It showed off the kind of energy and fun she could bring to others without needing to say a word. That’s who she was. She was Pinkie Pie, and she loved making her friends smile. Sure, there were times when she had taken things too far like with Gummy’s party, but she was human. Everyone made mistakes! And she learned from them. And her friends would always have her back, no matter what. …Right? She heard the sound of the bathroom door open and saw a figure make their way in. She wanted to call out and tell them she was in here. She wanted to ask who it was. She wanted to say any sort of thing, but the words were caught in her throat. She watched the figure move closer to the shower curtain. She trembled a bit as she watched them reach out to the shower curtain and yank it aside. She looked at the figure behind it. It looked at her, a black empty voice where their face should’ve been. It was wearing a brown bomber jacket, zipped up with just enough open for her to see the t-shirt it was wearing underneath. The head of a man with blonde spiky hair gripping an oversized sword was looking right at her. It grabbed at Pinkie’s neck, slamming her head right into the wall with an audible crack. She let out a yelp of pain as she looked at the figure again. It had a face now. One that was twisted into a sadistic grin as messy rainbow-colored hair covered its eyes.    “I’ll fucking kill you!”   Pinkie blinked, and it was gone. Her breathing was irregular as she felt at her neck. She knew there would be nothing there, no marks or bruises, and yet she still needed to make sure. She slowly sunk to her knees as the water from the shower started to spray onto the bathroom floor. Pinkie started to cry, as the pink pony walked into the room. It looked at her for a bit, before slowly pulling the curtain closed and grabbing a towel to mop up the water. “The rumors are starting to kick back up again.” Pinkie looked up, watching the pony outline. “What do you mean? Who’s saying what?” “I can hear them. People talk about something going on. About those that leave town and never come back.” “Are they naming any names? Ideas on what’s going on?” The pony shook its head. “No, no. Just the basic idea that something’s up. Might just be that there are better places to live somewhere else. But, the mood is shifting.” Pinkie slowly went back to scrubbing her hair clean, not getting up from her spot. The hot water was starting to become lukewarm. She pulled the curtain aside again, glancing up at the bathroom mirror. She could only just barely see her reflection, looking back at her. She looked like a small, pathetic child again. > Check-ins. > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Twilight Sparkle wasn’t usually seen around Ponyville alone. Despite having lived in the town for over a year and having made connections with most of the residents in town, she still tended to prefer being seen with her friends or with Spike than by herself.   So, it was a bit unusual for her to be wandering around town on her own. She only gave vague answers and reassurances that nothing was wrong whenever people asked what was up. Other times she wouldn’t even respond, simply walk by deep in thought.   After a while, Twilight finally came to a stop and looked at her surroundings. She had wandered over to the town lake, to the calming water and sand. Not many people come to this area this time of year, with the chilly breeze kicking up from the water.    Twilight liked coming here because it allowed her time to work on things like her findings and reports, without having to worry much about being interrupted. Sure, the library was great and had tons of areas to get away to if she needed peace and quiet but that was also the place where her friends would come to hang out and chat. She liked having her own private space from time to time.   She took a seat under a nearby tree and looked up at the leaves. They were a beautiful red and orange mix, ready to fall from their spots and float through the breeze. They looked ready to move on.   Ready to move on… It was an idea that Princess Celestia had taught her. Sometimes, things that you couldn’t control would happen and it could feel like everything had changed.  It would take time to get used to these sorts of things and accept them, but sooner or later you would have to continue with your life. “One can only stay so long in the past, Twilight. I know that it is hard, but I really do hope you at least consider looking into things,” Celestia had urged her. She hadn’t sounded commanding when she said it, but Twilight knew that she was supposed to comply.    She pulled her phone out of her pocket and scrolled through her text messages. It always stung a bit to see her messages between herself and Rainbow just become one sided at the end. So many unanswered check-ins and texts to let her know that she was always available if Rainbow needed someone to talk to about things. The hope was that maybe one day she would finally text back and explain what was going on and that she needed her friends to help her. Maybe one day.   Of course, there was the other possible consideration that Rainbow Dash wasn’t just hiding away somewhere in Equestria. The possibility that she hadn’t just moved out of town or run away. The possibility that Rainbow Dash was…   Twilight quickly shook her head, slapping her cheeks a few times. “No, you can’t think like that. That’s ridiculous. If something like that was happening, you would’ve known about it and stopped it. Princess Celestia would’ve known about it and would’ve helped end it. She wouldn’t let you and Spike be in danger like that.” She hated having such pessimistic ideas. Rainbow Dash was fine, and she would come back someday.   But until then, Twilight had to consider someone who could step up to become the new element of loyalty. Spike was always a possibility, but the elements didn’t really seem to react or respond to those with dragon genes and it was a topic that needed further research.   She scrolled through her contacts and came to a stop at the name of another candidate she was considering. She felt a bit nervous as she tapped at the phone number and heard it ring. She was scared about doing this, but she needed to give it a shot. She had to show she was ready to move on from the past and that she was still devoted to things such as her friendship studies. The phone continued to ring as she felt herself get up and start to pace around the tree.   “You’ve reached the number of The Great and Powerful Trixie! Traveling performer, magician extraordinaire, and tamer of the great Ursa Major! Trixie can’t get to the phone right now but is more than willing to make a booking for any kind of party or event or get-together you have in mind. Leave your name and number so that Trixie can get back to you and discuss pricing packages and dates!”   Oh Celestia help her, she was doing this. Twilight took a deep breath. “H-hey Trixie. It’s Twilight Sparkle, from Ponyville. Listen, I’m just dropping a call to see if you can get back to me on something. It’s just, you travel around Equestria and a friend of mine has run off and I was wondering if you’ve seen them…” she paused, thinking. “A-and I really wanna make things up to you. I’m really sorry about your cart and what my friends and I put you through. I wanna talk about it if that’s alright. I’ll even pay for things like food if you wanna do it over a meal or something. Call back, if you want,” she paused again, thinking. “… I really am sorry about all that Trixie.” She hung up, before pressing her face into her hands and letting out a long embarrassed groan.   There was a good chance that Trixie would just ignore it anyway so really, this was just one of those silly little decisions that Twilight could look back on and laugh at and-   She almost jumped as she felt her phone vibrate in her hands, seeing the name on the caller ID. She picked up almost immediately. “H-hey.. So, you have any place in mind you wanna eat at?”   ---   Pinkie walked around the aisles, pushing her shopping cart absentmindedly. She occasionally spaced out when she went grocery shopping, somehow getting mentally fogged up between the rows and rows of chips and cookies. However, she could take some relief in knowing that a lot of the other shoppers around her were probably doing the same.     Of course, it was also funny whenever she would get a small glance at people being surprised that she was out shopping. Apparently, seeing someone famous getting groceries was still the most mind-blowing thing around. Maybe it was because she was farther out from town. The Ponyville grocery store was great and had tons of friendly people, but the one Pinkie went to had more variety in food options and more of the ingredients that she needed. Sometimes she wanted fresh fruit or veggies and didn’t want to wait until the weekend market to get it. And the deli that they had here? Unmatched in terms of cuts and taste.   She watched the wheels of the shopping cart turn and turn, the wheel on the front right wobbling and squeaking every few seconds. She wanted to jump on the cart and go speeding down the aisles, but that’d just wind up making a scene. Either she’d get mocked and called out for acting like a little kid… or everyone would see her and she’d have to bust out a song or some jokes and she just wasn’t in the mood at the moment.   As she watched the wheels of the cart, she saw the floor go from patterned tiles to cold muted concrete. She then noticed the strong chill that was going up and down her body. She had wandered into the store’s freezer section in the back. Large cuts of meat were hanging from hooks as the giant machines that cooled these rooms hummed and groaned.   “Geez, this was spacey for even me. Gotta get back before someone yells at me,” she muttered, to herself. She continued to push her cart forward, deeper past the giant slabs of beef and pork.   “Just gotta turn around, and make my way to the checkout line,” she said to herself, slowly bringing her cart to a halt and walking past it. Her arms were out in front of her, as if she was feeling out for a light in the middle of the dark.   “Need to get home before it gets too dark. Gotta start work on that cake order that came in. Need to make the best cake I can,” she told herself, as she wrapped her hand around a small door handle and pulled with all her might. She could feel the cold steel dig into her skin as the door slowly dragged open.   “I’m gonna have so much fun tomorrow with my friends…” her voice trailed off as she stepped through the doorway, moving her gaze down to the ground. She could hear her footsteps echo around her, as if the room she had just entered had suddenly shut itself away.   She didn’t look up, taking smaller and smaller steps until she felt herself bump into another body and fall on her behind. She finally forced herself to look up.   The frozen, unblinking corpse of Rainbow Dash was looking ahead. Looking straight at the door into this room, never looking away since she was left there, one early morning.   Pinkie looked up at her in silence, slowly getting back on her feet as she took more long, deep breaths. Rainbow still looked the same, still with that frozen expression on her face. One that showed she would never go gentle into that good night. No matter how much she tried to give her long dead face a smile or a look of sadness, the look of fight and resilience wasn’t leaving.   Pinkie watched her for a few more seconds, before promptly turning around and heading for the door. She was only a few steps away before she heard a guff chuckle. She turned her head and looked behind her.   “Come on, you’re not gonna even say a ‘hey Dashie’ or something stupid like that?” The corpse of Rainbow Dash asked, now sitting on a pile of frozen food boxes behind her. “I go all the way to your house to see you and now you can’t even give me a ‘hey’?” Pinkie felt beads of sweat building up on her forehead, despite the freezing cold room. “That… that wasn’t a funny prank Dashie. You shouldn’t pull pranks when people are in the shower.”   “Oh, that wasn’t a joke. I meant what I said there, you know.” Rainbow Dash’s voice sounded distant, but full of smugness and anger. “I’m gonna fucking kill you. And quit the scared little girl act. It’s not working here.”   “You were my best friend-”   “You weren’t my friend. Not when you fucking drugged me, restrained me and… oh yeah, killed me!”   “You swear too much, Dashie. You should watch that language, in case Scootaloo hears it or something…” Pinkie’s own voice was growing weaker as she watched the corpse talk and move.   Rainbow Dash sat on the boxes, one leg resting on top of the other. Her jacket was  partly open and her shirt ripped down the middle to show off her bruised and stitched up chest. “Scootaloo? Now you’re really trying to avoid this shit,” she said, leaning back more and stretching her arms out. Had death really turned her this aggressive, or had she always been like this? “You can play this dumb little game of facades and dress up all you want, but it’s not gonna be fun for much longer.”   “... I’ll see you later Dashie. Get some sleep, you’re cranky.”   “If you didn’t want to see me, why’d you come in here then? Why don’t you just stuff me in a furnace or cut me up and put me in a meat grinder? I’d be fine with that, you know. Beats being stuffed in here for the rest of my days. And it’s not like my body is gonna keep looking like this forever.” Her smile seemed to grow on this last idea. “I mean, it would be worth it, I guess. Seeing you look so shocked and dumbfounded when the rot and decay mix with the freezer burn. Losing all my parts and skin that make me your ‘best friend’.”   Pinkie just turned back around to head for the door, but saw it was now at the end of a seemingly endless hallway. “Why did you come here, hm? To tell me off for the little shower scare I gave ya? To see if this was all just a bad dream or something?” Rainbow paused, slowly getting up. “Or, is it finally starting to sink in for you?”   “... Just please stop talking, Dashie.”   “Aw, what’s the matter? Finally feeling guilty?” Rainbow Dash cackled at this idea. “Or do you finally get that you’re nothing?”     Pinkie snapped back around at this. “W-what’s that supposed to mean?”   Rainbow started to slowly rise above Pinkie, her flesh cracking and tearing wings slowly sprouting out from her back. Pinkie winced at the frozen groans it was causing. “It’s simple. You’re replaceable. You work in a bakery and people hire you to throw parties. Whoop-de-friggin-do. You know who else can do that kinda shit? Any other clown! You’re not good at making outfits or talking to animals or even picking apples! You’re no Fluttershy, you’re no Twilight, you’re no Applejack, you’re no Rarity, and you’re certainly no Rainbow Dash.”   “But I’m the element of laughter!”   “Who cares about laughter? Anyone can make others laugh! Spike could fill the role! He makes me laugh, and I can actually tolerate him! You? You’re just the comic relief that sticks around way too long. Is that why you started killing people? ‘Cause you realized no one was finding you funny anymore?” Rainbow asked, floating above Pinkie as the wings spread out in their full glory. They were a beautiful blue, feathers floating off and around in the air. They mixed in with the large chunks of freezer burn on the walls, feathers and snowflakes flying about.   Pinkie felt her fists tighten as her sadness and meekness suddenly turned into a pulsing, burning anger. “Don’t you ever shut up, you stupid meatheaded asshole?!”  she shouted, jumping and grabbing at her legs. She pulled her down to the ground as the two were sent into a spiral. The small rectangular freezer they were once in was now hundreds of feet below them as they came crashing down through the air.     “Ooo, look, I’ve upset the killer! She can’t delude herself anymore! It’s all falling to bits around her! What a shitty joke she’s telling!” Rainbow simply laughed as Pinkie reached up and grabbed her by the throat.   “I should’ve severed those vocal cords of yours! I would never have to hear another second of your voice again!  You’re the fraud here, Rainbow! You are!” Pinkie shouted, digging her nails as deep as she could into Rainbow’s neck. Her eyes widened as she saw viscous black fluid start to bubble out from the cuts and run down her hands.     “You really don’t get it, do you Pinkie?” Rainbow asked, before giving Pinkie a strong shove and pushing her off, watching as she fell back down to the frozen concrete below with a loud-   THUD   Pinkie blinked a few times as she saw she had fallen back on her behind again. The door was open behind her, only a few steps away. Dash was back in her original position now with a few small scratches on her neck and cheeks. “No no no, I’m so sorry Dashie, I didn’t mean to… I didn’t mean for any of it…” Pinkie started to mutter, quickly getting back on her feet and tending to the cuts.   “We need to get going. We have groceries we have to attend to,” the pink pony remarked, standing by the doorway. “Coming here after that little experience wasn’t a good idea. You knew something like this would happen.”   Rainbow Dash started to move again and tutted, the sounds of her frozen skin cracking as she turned her head to look at the pony. “Neither of you really get it, do you?  There’s blood in the water, and sooner or later, people are gonna notice. And when they follow it, they’ll see it’s leading right back to you.”   Pinkie finally broke away, running out of the room then slowly shutting the door. She watched the door’s shadow as it slowly grew and covered Rainbow’s face, leaving the corpse back in the darkness once more.   The pink pony led her back over to her shopping cart. “You need to stop coming back here,” it explained. “It’s just going to end up breaking you.”   Pinkie didn’t respond, pushing her cart back out into the store. She didn’t even care if she was seen by others right now. She didn’t want to acknowledge what was reality and what was fantasy. She just wanted to go home.   “Think happy thoughts,” the pony remarked, walking past her towards one of the aisles. “You don’t need anyone asking why you’re looking so off,” it said as it trotted ahead. Pinkie looked at her reflection in the deli counter’s windows.   Her hair had gone completely flat.   ---   Applejack let out a long sigh to herself as she stood at her apple booth in the town market. Her head still hurt like all hell, but she had a job to do and she knew that she’d get in even more trouble if she quit early.   At least it was a slow day, so she didn’t have to worry as much about how she looked… but it was also a slow day so she had very little to do at the moment. “Jeez, the one day where I don’t have a drop of anything and it’s the day where nothing’s happening.”   Applejack didn’t like having time alone with her thoughts. She liked doing things with others. Anyone who was willing to give her the time of day was someone that she could talk to, laugh with, have fun with. She needed that.   She leaned out from her booth and looked in the distance. She could see Applebloom with her friends. That was always something that made her feel a bit better, seeing that her little sister was still keeping in touch with Scootaloo and being there for her after Rainbow Dash left town. Poor girl had probably actually taken it worse than she had. And with her parents being the way that they were, Scoots needed all the support she could get.   Squinting, Applejack could make out that the girls were talking to Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon. Applejack could already feel her hangover intensify as she thought about all the possible outcomes of this. Those two girls meant nothing but trouble for the crusaders and even when she tried to tell the both of them off herself, they never took her seriously.   She then saw Scootaloo slug Silver Spoon across her face, causing her to crumple to the ground in a heap. “Aw, hell…” Applejack muttered, leaping over the booth’s counter and dashing over.   As she got closer, she could see Applebloom and Sweetie Belle restraining Scootaloo as she violently kicked and struggled. “Alright, what’s going on here?” she asked as she helped Silver Spoon back on her feet.   “I-I didn’t do anything, Applejack!” Applebloom blurted up, glancing up at her. “Honest!”   Sweetie Belle nodded along. “Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon just wanted to apologize to us! They’re saying they’re sorry for all the bullying.”   Applejack glanced over to Diamond Tiara. She looked sheepish as she turned her head away. “It’s true… we just wanted to say we’re sorry for picking on them all the time. We were being stupid.” It was killing her to admit to this.   Silver Spoon rubbed her cheek, readjusting her glasses. “I just wanted to tell Scootaloo that she was welcome to have a sleepover at my house if she wanted. Wasn’t a prank or anything…”   “I don’t need your pity apologies! Y-you’re just saying this cause you both think Rainbow Dash isn’t coming back! She is! I know she is! She’s just out winning a buncha cool trophies and medals and when she comes back, she’ll tell me all about ‘em! Then you can apologize and make these stupid offerings! When you actually mean it!” Scootaloo was still struggling and thrashing about, trying to keep from crying.   Applejack winced at this, before steadying herself. Time to be the big sister. She walked over, softly taking Scootaloo’s hand. “I’ll be right back with her. Applebloom, Sweetie Belle, help make sure that Silver Spoon isn’t hurt too bad. And you two.” She looked over at Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon. “I’m keepin’ ya to that apology. If I ever hear about you being mean to these girls, I’m calling both of yer folks and telling them.”   She watched the two slowly nod as she turned her gaze back to Scootaloo. She was looking away, trying her hardest to keep from looking up at Applejack.   After getting far enough away, Applejack put her hands on Scootaloo’s shoulders before pulling her into a long hug. “It’s ok, it’s ok. Cry as much as you want around me, I won’t mind one bit.”   It was muffled, but Applejack could hear the sounds of whimpers as the front of her shirt slowly became stained with tear spots. She knew the feeling all too well. She would cry with the girl right now if she wasn’t being the big sister. “I miss her too, Scoots. I miss her every damn day of my life, and it makes me feel weird sometimes. And that’s ok, you know? Our emotions don’t always have to make sense, but that don’t mean I can just go and hit someone ‘cause of that,” she explained, softly wiping some of her tears away.   “Th-they didn’t mean it…” Scootaloo muttered, pulling her head back. Tear streaks were still on her cheeks and chin.  Applejack continued to wipe them away. “They’ll just pick on us again when Rainbow Dash comes back.”   Applejack patted her on the back. “Aw, come on now, you don’t know that. Those two might just be honest in what they’re saying. And listen, you don’t have to do it, but maybe go to that sleepover. At the least, you’ll get free pizza out of it and I know you ain’t gonna say no to that, right?”   Scootaloo sniffled, nodding as she started to smile. “Y-yeah, I guess I can give it a shot.” She then quickly perked up. “Ooo, and with that I can get a cutie mark in forgiveness or hospitality! It’ll be perfect for me!”   “Not entirely the right idea, but still, I like the spirit. Now go have fun with your friends. It’s gonna be alright. Promise. And I’m always here for you if you need anything,” she said, pulling Scootaloo into one last hug.   “Thanks, Applejack,” Scootaloo said before breaking away and running off to join the other girls. Applejack smiled to herself as she watched. She did enjoy being the big sister. Though, she did notice something. The backs of Scootaloo’s arms had massive black and purple bruises, as well as a few small scattered burns.   Applejack didn’t know Scootaloo’s parents that well. Only a few off-and-on talks at school events and the like. She wasn’t their biggest fan, but there were never any signs of them being abusive to Scootaloo in public. Someone would’ve seen it by now if that was the case. It was probably just being even more reckless than usual when hanging out with the other girls.   She shook her head, sighing. Sooner or later, someone would step in for the girl if something was going on, right? Someone else would see it, and if not, Applejack would be the one to step up. At some point.   She watched Scootaloo rejoin the others, her body language showing she wasn’t the best at giving apologies for stuff like what she did. Applejack chuckled, it was nice to see that some things were slowly getting back to normal.   She just hoped all of it could at some point. > The Past, The Present, and the Upcoming > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Applejack ran as fast as her legs could carry her. Everything around her was a blur. It was just colors and morphing shapes as her eyes welled up with tears. She could hear people calling out to her, asking what was wrong, but they weren’t people that mattered to her at the moment. She needed the others. With a loud thud, she slammed through the doors to Sugarcube Corner as everyone in the shop looked at her. “Rainbow’s gone!” she shouted, trying her best to keep from falling to her knees and becoming an incomprehensible mess. “What?!” Twilight ran over to her, supporting Applejack as she fell into her arms. “Applejack, what do you mean?” “S-she wasn’t answering my calls, so I went by her place to see what was up… and.. and she wasn’t there! Lots of her clothes and stuff were just.. gone. A-and I found this note, and, oh Celestia this is my fault isn’t it…” Applejack’s stoic and strong nature was just gone as she blubbered and mumbled to herself, the note clutched tightly in her fist. Twilight slowly pulled it out from Applejack’s grasp and started to read it out loud. ‘To my (former) friends, I’m sorry, but I just can’t keep myself here. I see that this town, the people in it, they’re just stopping me from living out my dream. I want to be free, I want to fly high with the rest of the Wonderbolts. I can’t just live the rest of my life in this town, hoping for an adventure every day. I need to go out and find it myself. I’m starting a new life, a new me. Don’t look for me, I’m not gonna let you find me without a fight. Applejack, I’m sorry about this. I’ll always love you, but I’m not ready yet to ask you to come with me. You were and still are an amazing woman, and so much better than anything I could ever deserve in my life. Tell Scootaloo I’m sorry too, but when I’m soaring with the Wonderbolts, I’m always hoping she’s watching. From, Rainbow Dash’ A silence fell over the bakery, save for Applejack’s sobs and muttering. “Th-this has to be a joke, right? Dashie’s just playing an extra mean prank on us, right?” Pinkie Pie asked, walking out from behind the counter. Rarity nodded with Pinkie. “It isn’t like she hasn’t pulled some rather cruel jokes before, right? I’m sure this is all just her trying to get us to openly talk about how amazing she is, and then she can pop out from some secret hiding spot and brag about how she knew she was always that cool.” Fluttershy just sat at her spot, watching her hands as they slowly started to shake. She pressed them to her face as she tried her best to not let anyone else notice she was sobbing just as hard as Applejack was. The whole bakery was starting to fill with concerned chatter from others, while a few were muttering about how they knew this would happen with someone like Rainbow Dash. They all had to be politely escorted out by Pinkie, half to give her and the others some space and half to keep them from getting their faces beaten in by Applejack. “Don’t lose hope, Applejack. The others are probably right. You know how Dash can get sometimes. And I promise, this isn’t your fault,” Twilight said, patting Applejack on the back. “I can send a letter to Princess Celestia, get her to help look into it if you’re really that worried about her being long gone from here.” “Th-that w-would be so nice of you, Twilight… I don’t normally ask much of you, but please,” Applejack said, looking up at her. Twilight simply nodded. “Of course. In the meantime, We’ll all try to call her and see if she answers.” She looked over to the others as they nodded. “It’s going to be fine, dear. We promise,” Rarity added, walking over and pulling Applejack back up to her feet and into a hug. “It’ll be alright.” Pinkie just watched this all before quickly making her way to the kitchen. “I…” she paused for a few seconds, deep in thought. “I’ll get us all some water, so we can calm down and think clearly,” she said, shaking her head. The emotions in the bakery ran high, but there was still a strong feeling of friendship and optimism. There’d be a light at the end of the tunnel for all this. ... right? --- Pinkie found herself admiring the new wallpaper of Carousel Boutique. It showcased the silhouette of a woman riding a horse as it leaped high and valiantly through the air. It really helped tie the room together for the most part. “Do you like it? I spent a whole day going back and forth on whether it was the one to use or not. As well as going for a darker lavender theme, to soften the mood around here even more,” Rarity explained as she walked into the room. “Oh yeah, I think it looks really pretty!” Pinkie responded, nodding her head. She couldn’t see much of Rarity at the moment, thanks to a large cake box that she was currently holding. It was only now that she remembered she was holding it. She stumbled around a bit, blushing. “H-hey, Rarity, where do you want this?” “Oh, yes! Let me get the table out for you to put it on!” Rarity said, snapping her fingers as a large table quickly floated into the room and placed itself down between the two. “Here, right here.” Pinkie eagerly obliged, putting the large box down and letting out a sigh of relief. “This wallpaper was the correct choice. It’s so good, it made me forget I was holding this ginormous cake! That is no easy task!” She then gave a tug on the bow wrapped all around the box and watched as it came undone, the box falling open and revealing the cake inside. It was a tall three layers, covered in white, black and purple frosting with sharp wave patterns and flowers covering each one. It both looked ready to be eaten up or just admired by anyone who came across it. “One Super Special Black Forest Cake with special white chocolate icing, safe and sound!” Pinkie said, giggling as Rarity walked around, getting a good look at it. “Oh, Pinkie darling, this is just wonderful! You and the Cakes have outdone yourselves yet again! I would have some of it right now if it wasn’t for tonight,” Rarity exclaimed, giggling. “I did want to ask, what is this cake for? You don’t really buy that many sweet-based items when you come over to Sugarcube Corner,” Pinkie asked, looking at Rarity. Her cheeks still felt warm as she looked at Rarity. Rarity was wearing a button-up shirt with a suit jacket thrown over her shoulders. Pins and needles were sticking out of it, so it was still a work in progress. She looked like she belonged on the cover of those mini books Pinkie saw at the grocery store. “Oh, yes yes. This is for a celebration party I’m having later tonight. You see, I’ve been doing so well with orders and so many high-profile clients, I thought that I’d celebrate it. That and Photo Finish wants to celebrate her 10th anniversary for her business, so it’s a real two-in-one, you see,” Rarity explained, before glancing over to Pinkie. “Pinkie, darling, are you alright? Should I open a window or something?” Pinkie blinked, snapping out of it and shaking her head. “No no, I’m super duper fine! I hope this cake is what you’re looking for for your party tonight, Rarity!” she exclaimed, turning to leave as fast as she could. “Wait, Pinkie.” Pinkie stopped in her tracks at the command. “I was actually wondering, would you like to come to the party tonight? I know that more fancy and slow ones aren’t really your thing, but if I’m being honest, I would like it if one of my close friends was there. These are all people I know, but you know… it’d be nice to have someone I could pair up with in case things turned sour or needed spicing up. I can try to get you a rare ingredient or the like, if you want a trade or deal to be made from this,” Rarity offered. Pinkie felt her heartbeat increasing. She rubbed her hand over her forehead a few times as she tried her best to straighten out. She turned around. “Sure, Rarity. Anything for a friend!” Oh, why was she feeling this? Why here, why now of all times?! “I just hope I don’t make things too awkward.” “Nonsense, and even so, I’d rather have an awkward time with you than a boring and forgettable time with people I barely know,” Rarity explained. She was so elegant and smooth with her words. “I’m finishing up my outfit for tonight, but if you come back right after lunch, I can help pick out an outfit for you tonight.” “O-oh, I don’t want to be a burden-” “Nonsense, Pinkie! I have plenty of unused dresses that are still in great condition. They’d just be wasting space if I didn’t at least try to see if I could still use them for something!” Rarity said, before turning and walking off. She flicked her wrist and the cake box was closed back up and off floating towards the kitchen. “I should get back to finishing this jacket. I’ll see you after lunch. Or, I could even whip something up, if you wanted.” “Coolthanksseeyoulaterbye!” Pinkie shouted out, running out of the boutique. She was doing everything she could to keep from tripping over herself as she made her way back home. Nothing felt real at the moment, what was going on? Rarity watched her run out before going a bit pink in the cheeks herself. “Oh dear. I do hope she comes back.” She looked at the suit she was working on. “Mm… let’s see if we can make this work.” --- Animals chittered and chirped with joy as Fluttershy refilled various feeders and water bowls. It had been a bit overwhelming at first, since a lot of the animals she was currently caring for needed new diets, but thankfully things had fallen back into a groove. She giggled as she watched Angel help with the process, getting his own cuts of lettuce from the table. He was much more well-behaved these days, not throwing as much of a fit when he didn’t get the food or items he wanted. She walked over, scratching him on the head and smiling down at the bunny. “It’s so nice to get these things over with, because I get to see all my animal friends smile,” she explained, grabbing her mug of tea and walking over to a nearby bench and sitting down. She watched the animals eat, the sounds and presence of nature surrounding them all. Her hair blew in the fall breeze as she looked at the orange and red leaves on the trees. She felt her fingers wrap around the mug, her soft smile slowly turning downwards into a frown. She didn’t turn to look as someone sat down next to her. She only glanced, seeing hands wrapped around a blue thermos. “Hey, did I… miss most of the work again?” Rainbow Dash asked, glancing over. Fluttershy shook her head. “I’ve done this stuff for years, Rainbow. I’m not as built as you but I can carry heavy bags without that much issue.” “It’s not about that, honest! I just,” Rainbow paused. “I just want to be there more for you, ya know? I want to show I’m better.” “Rainbow, you don’t need to-” “Come on, I bet Harry hasn’t been fed yet, has he? I can bring him the fish he needs!” Dash said, jumping to her feet and running into the cottage. “Rainbow Dash, wait up!” Fluttershy said, quickly following after her. “You don’t have to worry about-” “I know, he’s a big softie! I wasn’t gonna do anything dangerous with the big lug! Just let me get him his food and then we can talk more about things you think I can do to help around here!” Rainbow was already in the fridge, scouring around for food. “Rainbow Dash…” Fluttershy’s hands began to shake. “I’ll be right back before you know it!” “Rainbow Dash, Stop right now!” Fluttershy said, shouting. She watched as Rainbow turned to look at her. She looked down at the ground before they could make eye contact. “Dash… you don’t have to do that. I’ve already fed him for the day. And I’m not mad at you. I could never be mad at you.” Tears were already welling up in Fluttershy’s eyes again as she heard Dash approach. “You don’t have to do anything to make me happy. Just… just… stay here. Please don’t leave. Talk to me, tell me you’re still here.” Rainbow Dash nodded. “I’d never leave you. I love you, Fluttershy. I just… didn’t say it back sooner.” Fluttershy knew this was wrong, making her say these things. But, it made her happy. It made her get through the process of loss and grief. No one else knew about them, and it would stay that way. “Come on, let’s enjoy the breeze, yeah? Nice fall weather outside, and all the animals are probably worried about you,” Rainbow said, walking back outside into the fall air. Fluttershy watched the back of Rainbow’s bomber jacket float around in the breeze. She looked so happy, so carefree, so amazing. She had the walk and look of a woman that would live forever. “I love you…” Fluttershy muttered, and like the last few times she had said it, her voice simply echoed around “you”. She shook her head, getting back on her feet and heading back to the animals. Rainbow was still there, sitting on the bench and smiling at her. It wasn’t time for her to go yet. She wanted her to be happy for just a little while longer. As tears streamed down her cheeks, Fluttershy smiled. For Rainbow, for her animals, for herself. This was how things were supposed to be. And she wasn’t going to let them slip away from her just yet. She sat down right next to Dash. “So… is there something you wanna talk about?” “You’ve heard all the whispers around town, right?” Fluttershy found herself shaking a bit as she finally looked Rainbow in the eyes and saw dark black pools staring back at her. “I think we should talk about them.” --- Pinkie almost felt like things were unreal. Aside from the outfits for the gala, she had never really gotten anything from Rarity. Sure a fixed-up or new apron here or maybe some stitched oven mitts there, but a whole new outfit? She watched her walk back and forth, various outfits floating through the air. They all looked so nice and pretty, probably too nice for someone like her, in all honesty. A woman who threw parties and made sweets and snacks did not deserve fashion of any kind. “Relax,” the pink pony said, sitting next to her. “She’s offering you this for free. It’ll help take your mind off everything else. Steel your nerves before you become a total mess on the outside.” Pinkie just rolled her eyes as Rarity held up a red and white striped suit. “How about this one? I designed it with a peppermint-type feel to it, though it was a bit too much for who I originally had in mind. I think it’ll look a lot better on you.” “Oh, I don’t think suits are for me,” Pinkie muttered. “Too masculine,” the pink pony added. “They’d stop ordering from us if they thought a big tough black lady was the one making the sweets or blowing balloons.” “Oh, that’s a shame. Can we at least keep button-up tops on hand, just in case? I think you could really do well with those.” “Yeah, those are probably fine…” Pinkie watched as Rarity then pulled out a pink wool sweater. “Ooo! That one looks nice.” Rarity smiled, looking at it. “This one? It is very comfy looking, isn’t it. While it isn’t something really made for a party, it does go perfectly with this Fall weather. I can give this one as a little extra then, so that you don’t get too cold when winter rolls around. “Ask her if she has any latex gloves,” the pony remarked, snickering. “We need some new ones.” “Shh,” Pinkie whispered, before turning to see Rarity walk over to her. “D-do I have something on my face? I did just help finish icing another batch of cupcakes.” “No no, it’s just…” Rarity rubbed Pinkie’s cheek, before looking down at the palm of her hand. A large brown spot had formed while large and ghastly-looking scars were now running along the side of Pinkie’s face. “Do you need help applying the concealer, dear? It always looks like you rush right through it.” Pinkie felt her heartbeat increase as she nodded. “Y-yeah, I get up early so I can be on time for breakfast, you know? No one seems to notice it though, so it’s not that big of an issue.” “You have been so against letting them be seen, so I just want to make sure that they’re not,” Rarity explained as a concealer kit floated over. She began to work on her cheek, sighing. “Truly a shame really. You try to make peace with Gilda and she just scratches you right up. And here I was hoping she was something more than just a bully.” “Y-yeah, sometimes things just don’t work out, huh?” Pinkie muttered. --- “Heh… take that, you freaky bastard…” Gilda panted, blood on her nails. She was trying to steady herself but was having issues thanks to the large cuts in both of her knees. “How are you gonna explain those to anyone that asks, huh?” Despite clearly bleeding profusely, she was smiling from ear to ear. She wasn’t going down without a fight, and right now… she had the upper hand. Pinkie slowly reached to her cheek and felt it. It stung like all hell. She saw a lot of blood running down the side of her face and dripping onto the floor. She slowly walked over to a nearby table, picking up a small glass jar. “You know, they say parasites don’t normally eat fresh, living flesh, only that of the dead. That’s why they tend to usually be found on the corpses of dead deer, foxes, and bears,” she explained, her voice unusually calm. “Of course, they can be more lenient on these things if, say, put under pressure. They not only eat as part of their natural life cycle but also to survive. Those little guys can die rather quickly if left from the pack or without normal food sources.” Gilda tried to move away, only to trip and fall to the floor with a thud as she watched Pinkie move closer. “Now, another reason they don’t go for humans or living animals is actually due to all the various acids that are inside them. It could eat through someone’s stomach, but then what happens when all that hot stomach acid spills onto it before it can spit out another parasite? Both parties die in the end, benefiting no one.” She loomed over Gilda before grabbing the back of her head with one hand and pushing it down, rubbing it against the hard ground. With her other hand, she moved the jar closer revealing that there was a parasite inside it. She violently shook the jar, jostling the insect up. “Of course, that doesn’t take into account any possible third parties, watching the deaths take place.” A look of pure sadistic glee filled her eyes as she reached in, grabbing the bug and shoving it in Gilda’s mouth. She then shook her head, her hair instantly puffing back up to its curly form. “Oh, Dashie, it's awful! I just wanted to try and say I wasn’t holding any grudges against Gilda! She just started saying awful things and slashed at me! She laughed so hard after taking a chunk of me off like that, the big meanie!” she said in an exaggerated sad voice, pointing at the large slashes. “I can’t believe she was so mean…” She watched as Gilda tried to yell something at her, only to let out painful gurgles instead before she began to convulse. Pinkie could see the parasite moving through Gilda’s body eating as much of her insides as it could. She would laugh if she didn’t— --- “Pinkie, darling, I asked: what do you think about this?” Pinkie blinked, snapping out of her stupor, and looking at the new dress Rarity was holding. It was a one-piece yellow and blue striped dress, with a subtle touch of pink near the bottom. “O-oh wow, that’s something. I could never wear something so amazing. Rarity, you don’t have to go through all these fancy dresses for-” “Nonsense, Pinkie. If this is the dress you want, this is the dress you get. And I will not hear a word otherwise. You’re welcome, darling,” Rarity said, resting the dress over her arm. “I’m going to go get this all prepped and ready for you to try out. Don’t go anywhere.” Pinkie watched her walk out before pressing her head into her hands and letting out a sigh. She really didn’t deserve any of this. She wanted to leave, not because she hated it but because she knew that Rarity would be better off if she just took someone else to the party. Twilight would easily fit right in among the higher society people, Applejack needed an event like this to help straighten her back out, and Fluttershy… well probably not her, but still. “Go along with this. Go to this thing tonight, have the time of your life. You’re being so insistent on sticking to this life, this’ll help clear thoughts of anything else,” the pony explained. Pinkie glared at her. “Oh, and then I have to deal with you complaining, right?” The pony blew a raspberry at her. “I wouldn’t complain that much. I can still find fun things to do from an outcome like that, you know.” It got up, walking away. “I’m getting some air. Eager to see how you look for the party.” Pinkie heard it trot off, before shaking her head. Talking with a pony that didn’t even have a name, how broken was her brain at this point? This train of thought was broken as Rarity came back in with the dress, a plate of cookies and tea, and a camera. “If it’s alright darling, I’d love to take some pics of this as well. Just in case I miss something in the moment and see areas that could be fixed up later.” “Oh, sure!” Pinkie exclaimed, trying her best to get back into her cheery persona. “Can I make silly faces, or are you gonna make me model longer if I do 'em?” “Knowing you, you’re going to do them regardless. Just try to save the poses for the end, I suppose. I want to see how it looks on a calm you first,” Rarity said before she giggled. She tried to hide it with her wrist, Pinkie’s blush returning as she saw it. “So, shall we begin?” --- The night breeze was cool and calming. Everything had a slight sway that just made any worry go away. When it became night, any stress or worries that had collected during the day just vanished. You could relax, be yourself, get a good meal. The work day had long ended. Pinkie watched the trees and bushes sway, her own skirt moving with them. She was used to skirts, but this one felt different. This one was special. Rarity made it for her. She watched a few random strangers walking by. Most had returned home for the night by now and weren’t in the mood to head back out, even with the cooler weather. The pink pony watched with her, its mane blowing in the breeze. “Hey. Just this once: you should let your hair deflate. Really sell the look of being more formal here. They won’t give you as many looks if you sell it right.” “Really? It’s not like they’re gonna suddenly stop seeing me as Pinkie Pie in there. The village clown is always a clown, even if they’re not wearing their makeup.” “Just try it. Listen to my words of advice for once,” the pony remarked, watching her. Pinkie took a slow, deep breath and watched as her hair went flat. She messed around with it a bit, moving it to the left side. “If I had known you wanted it like this, I would’ve gotten a straightener,” she muttered under her breath as she continued to mess with it. “An improvised side-cut is still impressive. Get yourself one of those black turtlenecks and sunglasses and you’ll look like a fancy record producer type, one of the few kinds of black people the people at this party would want to shake hands with.” “Yeah yeah… let’s just get this over with, for Rarity’s sake.” “And yours,” the pony said, smiling up at her. It was a mix of shit-eating and genuine. Pinkie walked up to the door of Carousel Boutique and knocked. She could see the calm purple tint of the lighting from the windows, as well as hear the muffled jazz coming from the speakers inside. The door opened, with Rarity in the doorway. She had traded the suit and button-up for a light black-gray turtleneck sweater and purple heels that made her look so… so… breathtaking - like there was just a wave of easy class and coolness covering her. “Why hello, Darling. May I have your name?” she asked, before getting a good look at Pinkie. Her eyes widened. “Why, Pinkie! You look simply stunning! And your hair looks simply divine! You must tell me what conditioners you used,” she said, softly pulling her in. “O-oh, nothing much to do. Just some time with a hair iron, you know…” “That and long-term depression,” the pony added, running a hoof through her own hair. Pinkie looked around at the party. Lots of people, most of them white, dressed in fancy and sleek-looking outfits. They were chatting among themselves with drinks or plates of food in their hands. Speakers set up on the wall pumped music into the room. “Did you set all of this up yourself, Rarity?” she asked, amazed. “You’re not the only qualified party thrower, you know. It was easy honestly, hanging up the color-changing lights. I was planning on installing a set in the boutique anyway. And even if they don’t work out down here, I can always just move them up to my room as well. The speakers were a bit harder, my magic isn’t made for lifting super heavy objects like Twilight’s is,” Rarity explained before looking at Pinkie. “But enough about that. Would you like some cake? Anything to drink?” “Um… just a lemon soda, honestly. Don’t like the taste of alcohol,” Pinkie responded, following her over to the snack table. The cake’s patterns and markings could still be made out under the lower, darker lighting. “Where’d you send Sweetie for the night?” “Oh, she’s out at Sweet Apple Acres tonight with Applebloom and Scootaloo. They’re probably all sleeping in their clubhouse… or out causing havoc somewhere. Though, I doubt Applejack would let that happen so easily,” Rarity said. “Despite what happened the other day, and how she’s been in general, I do see Applejack wanting to better herself. When I asked if she thought she was up for having them stay the night, she looked so happy. Seeing others happy again makes her happy.” “Yeah…” The pony chuckled under its breath. “Yeah, and she’ll probably hit up the cellar to celebrate a job well-done, right?” Rarity took Pinkie by the arm. “Do you mind if I introduce you to some of the others here? They’re just dying to meet the element of laughter herself,” she asked. “Wow, they wanna meet me?” That was a surprise to Pinkie. “Of course, darling. Who wouldn’t?” Rarity whisked her away, the two getting lost in the crowd of people, while Rarity never lost her grip on Pinkie’s arm. The pink pony watched them vanish among the other guests, before looking up at people getting themselves a slice of cake. “You know, I’m honestly surprised,” one of them murmured to the other. “When I saw pictures of the woman that usually makes these things, I was half expecting her to have already eaten half of it before any of us got here.” “Probably going to save it for after the fried chicken and grits,” the other responded giggling. The pink pony just huffed air through its nose and walked off. “They really don’t have anything original to say, do they.” --- Twilight found herself glancing out the window for what must’ve been the twentieth time. She was always so early to meet-ups, and every time she was she wound up so anxious and twitchy. She had good reason for it this time though! That was what she told herself anyway. She just hoped she wasn’t annoying any of the waitstaff. She’d have to be sure to leave an extra large tip to make up for things when this was all said and done. As she kept looking out at the night sky, she was startled by the sound of someone getting into the seat across from her. “Why is it,” Trixie asked as she took her seat, “that the trains Trixie uses always seem to come in late? Trixie would be fired from most gigs if she wasn’t used to it at this point.” “Was wondering if I had gotten here too early, in all honesty. Good to see you’re doing well, Trixie,” Twilight said, doing her best to not sound like she was being too condescending or extending too much pity. “Why of course.The Great and Powerful Trixie doesn’t go down easily, after a single defeat!” Trixie proclaimed, before taking a beat to cross her arms. “You sure did try your best, you know. Most people know me as the woman who got utterly humiliated, and let me tell you it is not good for business.” “I know, and I truly am sorry for that. I just thought you told Snips and Snails to bring in the Ursa Minor.” “Of course, Trixie would never do that. Even if my tales of beating one were true, I would never bring something of that size into town. That’s the thing about stage performance. You’re allowed to go over the top. Tall tales, legends, and rumors all become true when you’re performing for a captivated audience,” Trixie explained, looking through the menu.”And before you start begging to replace the cart, I already have a new one. It’s smaller, but does the job well.” “Ah… well, I might have another way that I could repay you for the shame and damages. And it’s alright if you say no to this one too,” Twilight said. She took a deep breath as the proposal she had in mind slowly made it’s way from her head to her mouth. “How would you,” she paused. “how would you…” she trailed off. “How would I what?” Trixie asked, raising an eyebrow. “How would you like to be an Element of Harmony?” Twilight spat out, before quickly covering her face with her menu. Trixie blinked and then blinked again after a delayed few seconds. She slowly reached out and pulled Twilight’s menu down. She saw Twilight’s face was dark red as she looked aside. “Y-you’re not trying to mess with me on this, are you? Not some sort of hidden camera thing that’s going to go online?” Twilight shook her head as she watched Trixie’s cheeks grow red as she fell back into her seat. “I-I would never lie about something like this! Th-the element of loyalty is possibly in need of a new member and I wanted to give you something to show I truly mean my apology!” “W-wow… just… wow. Trixie never actually thought that something like this would land on her plate again. I was never able to make it through Celestia’s magic school, and I thought my chances of being able to work with royalty again were all gone.” Twilight looked at Trixie. “Wait, you went to Celestia’s school?” “For like, half a year. I dropped out because my magic simply wasn’t the kind that was wanted there. The world of the stage wanted Trixie, but now the world of royalty wants her too!” Trixie said, eagerly kicking her legs back and forth. She then steadied herself. “Though...” She thought on things. “I can’t just jump to accepting this sort of thing right away. I’d need to change some things around and probably look into finding a place to live,” Trixie explained. “Trixie just assumes this sort of thing can’t just be handed over?” “Well, I don’t fully know on that front. Me and my friends all got and used ours the night we went after Nightmare Moon, and that was the same day I met them. Maybe the same thing can happen to you?” “If Trixie may ask, why do you need a new element bearer? Did something happen?” Twilight sighed. She had dreaded this coming up. “Rainbow Dash suddenly ran off one day, and Princess Celestia is pressuring me to look into a replacement. I know it’s been a year and everything, but it’s still a heavy task…” “The cocky one with the rainbow hair left? I knew she could be a pain to deal with, but not like that…” Trixie paused, tapping her cheek. “Though, Trixie hasn’t seen her at all during her travels.” “Maybe she just doesn’t want to be found or something… but I swear, every time I look out into crowded areas, I see her. Like she’s just narrowly avoiding me, wanting me to chase her and lecture her for leaving everyone like that. Or like, I’m gonna randomly pass her while she’s in disguise and only realize it when she’s gone.” Twilight looked back out the window. “She’s just gotta be out there somewhere, right?” Trixie watched her for a bit. “Listen. Trixie will need some time to fully prep for something like this. I still have a few shows left I need to do, and I can ask around about your friend, if you can help find me a place to stay.” “Well... I do have a tree and library available with plenty of space for a new roommate. You just gotta deal with a grumpy little dude that’s probably gonna eat most of your snacks.” Trixie chuckled. “I suppose you have yourself a deal, Twilight Sparkle.” The two shook hands, Twilight looking out into the night one last time as the relieved waitress came to ask them for their orders. Rainbow Dash had to be out there somewhere, right? … Right? --- Pinkie had lost track of how much time she had spent partying with Rarity. It was probably early morning, or at the very least, nearing midnight. This was why she never really did parties at night for large groups, it could probably go on into the next day with the wrong crowd. She downed another plastic cup of water, rubbing her forehead. She had talked to so many people that Rarity had worked with. Most of them seemed to be nice, and Rarity was having the time of her life at least. And going to get another slice of cake always helped her break away if things were getting too awkward. She hadn’t seen the pony either, so that at least meant some unnecessary voices or snark were toned down as well. She went to find Rarity. She had wandered off to get more ice for something and now, it felt like she was nigh impossible to find in the various bodies and heads bathed in purple lighting. “I just wanna tell her I’m going home…I don’t wanna be seen as a rude friend or anything. Just say thanks and this was fun, but you’re feeling wiped out and am busy tomorrow. Easy in, easy out,” she told herself, making her way towards the kitchen. Maybe it was because of all the people in the boutique, maybe she had had a few too many rum and cokes in the place of soda, maybe she was just slowly dying from something inside her… but Pinkie was feeling woozy. She rested herself up against the kitchen door frame, catching her breath. She could see Rarity near the fridge, talking to people. “You know, Rarity. Have you ever considered maybe looking into getting a new shop set up in Canterlot or the like?” One of them, a woman, asked while swirling her crappy plastic cup around like it was a high-quality wine glass. “It has always been a dream of mine to do something like that, but I think it’s simply too soon for me. I’m still dealing with the increase of high society customers here at the moment. Oh, and Sweetie would be devastated if I had to move out temporarily to make sure everything was up and running smoothly,” Rarity responded. She looked tired, but not too tired. She could still keep things going, but she wasn’t hiding the sweat from exhaustion on her forehead at this point. “Here’s an idea then, why don’t you just move out to Canterlot and take her with you? I’m sure that you can get a nice place with all the money you’ve made from working here all your life,” the other one said. This one was a man. “A-and leave Ponyville? Oh, no no no. I could never do that. This has been my home since the day I was born. Canterlot was divine from the brief time I was there, but to live there? And all my friends, and Sweetie’s friends too, they’re all here!” The woman simply chuckled. “You should at least consider it. I mean, your friend Rainbow Dash suddenly up and left one day, right? Why can’t you and your sister do the same?” Pinkie felt her heartbeat increase as she began to grip the door frame. Rarity let out an agitated chuckle. “You know, I’d rather not talk about something like that right now. This is a party, we shouldn’t dwell on distressing issues like that.” “You should consider getting out of town soon though. I mean, when a big star like that leaves town, you know what comes in their place?” the man asked, cockily smirking. “The hoodlums and punks and all those gangs. Flashing their fake jewelry and playing that shitty trash they call music as loud as they can. They’ll probably be selling knockoffs of your clothes sooner or later,” the woman replied. “... And why do you think that would happen, hmm? Me and my friends are still here, aren’t we?” Rarity wasn’t looking either of them in the eyes. “Yes, but Rainbow Dash was the ‘badass’ one. She could set kids straight. Now, all those ghetto kids are missing their role model. Next thing you know, they’re idolizing some gangbanger who winds up dead the next week. And they’ll probably be the same!” “Probably! Really, you should look into moving. I have a great agent who can get you a store and apartment combo just like this one, you know. If not for you, for your sister's sake. You don’t want her to be seen as another one of the bad ones do you? I know you work so hard to keep yourself from being associated with that kind of culture and those kinds of people.” the woman added, downing the rest of her drink. Rarity’s hand started to curl into a fist as Pinkie stumbled into the room. “Rarity! I’ve been looking for you. I think I lost something outside, can you help me find it?” Pinkie asked, trying her best to give a supporting smile. “Oh, why yes darling. So terribly sorry, but I have to take care of this pressing matter,” Rarity said, following Pinkie as they used the kitchen’s backdoor and stepped out into the cool night air. Rarity took another few paces away from the boutique before putting her face in her hands and letting out a muffled scream. Pinkie watched her, before slowly approaching from behind and wrapping her arms around her. “Can I just assume you needed this hug?” “Yes darling, thank you so much…” Rarity murmured before pulling her face back up. “I’ve heard that kind of pitch so many times. They think they’re being so clever when they’re not. They don’t say the slurs but at that point, they might as well!” “Wanna mess with them?” Pinkie asked, looking at her. “I mean, this party could use a good hearty laugh from a classic pie to the face!” Rarity chuckled, shaking her head. “No no, darling, it’s fine. I don’t need to start a scene or anything right now. I think I’ll just start sending people home soon, you know? It is getting late, and I think my mood has been soured as of that moment.” “I can help clean up.” Pinkie gave her a reassuring smile. “You can help me tomorrow, Pinkie. I’m likely going to go straight to bed the second the last guest leaves. You should do the same, you look so drained, darling.” Rarity put her hands on Pinkie’s cheeks, softly rubbing them. “You’re worn out. Get home, get sleep. Everything’ll be waiting for your help when you wake up tomorrow morning.” Pinkie nodded slowly, looking back at the party. She could still see the people inside talking to each other, drunkenly swaying and trying to dance the night away. They all looked so fancy, so high up on the social ladder. She knew most of them probably talked about Rarity the same as those asses in the kitchen. “Alright, Rarity. I’ll see you tomorrow morning,” she said, heading off. She stopped, turning back to her. “Rainbow Dash is out there somewhere. We’ll see her again someday, I just know it!” she called out. Rarity smiled, nodding. “And when we do, we’re going to give her the biggest earful and biggest party that she’s ever had in her life!” she shouted back, laughing as the two went their separate ways. Both ladies were blushing as they walked back. As Pinkie made it back home, she slowly made her way to her bedroom. The booze was kicking back in. She swayed as she got closer to her bed. Her footsteps echoed against the floorboards with each step, her body feeling heavier and heavier with each passing second. She was so close, and yet the bed felt so far away. With a mighty push forward, she was finally able to flop onto her bed, groaning as she landed. Her body didn’t feel right. It felt like all her organs were being churned up. “Damn it…” Pinkie weakly muttered, her vision blurring as exhaustion washed over her and she slowly closed her eyes, melting into the darkness around her and the cushy feelings of her bed below her. > Shitskin > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- The darkness felt cold. The floor felt polished. Her body felt both light and heavy at the same time. There was nothing, and yet there was everything.   Pinkamena slowly opened her eyes, seeing the familiar tiling of the grocery store. It looked recently cleaned and polished, her reflection looking back at her as she slowly rose to her feet.   The lights of the grocery store were dimmed, the rows and rows of shelves casting long shadows across the floor. Aside from her footsteps, the only sound she could hear was the buzzing coming from the freezers and the lights. She rubbed the back of her neck, trying to massage out the soreness running through her. She felt disoriented with every step she took. The aisles she peered down seemed to stretch out to infinity, and the products that lined them were covered with indecipherable text.   She could see the doors to the freezer were open, inviting anyone to walk inside. They wanted someone to walk inside them, they wanted her to walk inside them.   She moved with caution. The cold air felt harsher than usual as it wrapped around her body. The fans and machines sounded like they were straining, the sounds of their churning and blowing echoing off the walls.     She walked past the huge cuts of beef and pork, hanging from their hooks. It was hard to notice at first glance, but she saw they were all swaying slightly from side to side.   She kept walking, going deeper and deeper in. From the freezer’s ceiling, she was bathed in the blue and white light from the buzzing bulbs giving her the appearance of a body frozen over.   Ahead of her, hanging from one of the hooks was a body. It was held up by a hook piercing through its arms, high above its head. The arms’ veins poked out from under the hook. It swung back and forth, head pointed down at the ground as if trying not to look at her. All she could do was stand and watch.   It was the corpse of a black woman, her body covered in large scars and gashes. Deep purple welts and bruises were mixing in with the rigor mortis running up and down her body. It seemed to be conniving in her stomach, bloated and covered in stretch marks.   Pinkie was unable to move from her spot. She watched as the corpse slowly raised its head to look at her, the eyes glazed over. She could hear the sounds of bones cracking and snapping as the corpse now looked her in the eyes.   “We don’t have hearts,” it said, the voice sounding sore and raspy. “That was what they always told us. We weren’t born of flesh and blood but of the dirt and shit of the Earth. Shitskins.”   Pinkie wanted to break her gaze, but couldn’t. “… Who used to say that.”   “Who didn’t, really? The children on the playground, the adults who watched us from a distance, the people we thought we knew. They all look at us, seeing us as nothing more than shitskins.”   “We’re not shitskins,” Pinkie replied.  “We were born the same way just as everyone else. The people that say that kind of stuff-”   “They all think it, even if most of them don’t say it.” The corpse continued to glare at her. “We don’t have heartbeats, Pinkamena. We have only rot and filth in our chests.”   “I’m not thinking like that. I’m getting you down,” Pinkie replied, trying to get her off the hook. She wouldn’t budge.   “When they find out it was all you, it’s going to get worse,” the corpse said.   Pinkie took slow deep breaths before she pressed her nails into the corpse’s chest. Thick black liquid started to bubble out, dribbling down her knuckles and arms. It felt warm and syrupy. She pressed her hands in more, getting more fingers in before both of her hands were forced in. They felt warm, submerged in the black liquid.   “They see her as a shitskin too. But one that wants to be like them. They all love that. When we think we can ever be normal, like them. But it won’t last long. When they find out about you, they’ll look at her as well. And they’ll feast upon her.”   She was trying to ignore the words as she slowly started to wrench the chest apart and open. A blast of hot, rancid air hit her in the face. She quickly turned her head away, gagging and coughing from the putrid smell.   “You fear it. You fear getting caught. All the whispers and talks, all the side glances… they’re watching you. They’re catching on. And you don’t have much time left… do you?”   “I’m not getting caught. I’m smart. I’ve always been smart. The system works,” Pinkie responded as she opened the chest more. Half-decayed rotting organs and intestines started to pour out, slopping at her feet in a stinking sopping pile. The thick  fluids covering her hand almost looked like a pair of black rubber gloves for a few seconds.   In the center of the corpse’s chest, a decaying black heart with bits of bone sticking out of it. Held in place by several strands of pink cooking twine. It did not beat.   “You can shorten your name, you can make your curls all big and laughable, you can make them sweets and cakes and let them laugh at you, but it won’t hold them. They’ll smell the blood you’re spilling and pounce.” She could see the corpse was sporting an all too familiar pink side cut as it grinned at her, lips tearing.   “They’ll find you… and that won’t be enough. They’ll need more to feast on. They’ll go to others that look just like you, they’re the ones ruining the world. They’re the ones making it worse for all the civilized folks. It’s all your fault, Diane.”   Pinkie felt something in her hand. She was gripping a knife. She squeezed it and cut at the twine, hearing the strands snap one after another. She ran her other hand through her hair, damp with sweat. It was flattened, falling down the side of her face, with only a few scattered curls remaining.   “Shitskins deserve nothing.” The corpse wouldn’t stop talking. She watched the skin on the corpse’s lips flaking and falling off. Pinkie grabbed the heart, hearing it squish in her palm. It was cold and mushy. “That’s what they all think about us. We deserve nothing, and we’re disposable.”   “Not we. Not we. I  don’t know you, and I’m not disposable,” Pinkie lied, looking down at the heart. She squeezed it, feeling more of the thick black liquid pooling out between her fingers.   “I’m the end result. I’m what all of this leads to after generations and generations of build-up.” The thick black liquid was now running down the sides of the corpse’s mouth as she talked. “Tell me, how long do you think it’ll be until we get to this point? How much longer until you get sloppy and you feed the beast at the wrong moment? ”   Pinkamena tossed the remains of the crushed heart away. “There.You don’t keep going now, you can rest. You don’t have to worry about this shit anymore.”   Her corpse simply looked down at her. “How much longer till we join the rest?”     Pinkamena blinked, looking around again. The metal walls of the freezer were now replaced by hundreds of trees reaching high into the night sky. From the branches, corpses were strung up by their necks, bodies desecrated as they swung in the breeze. “Who do you think they are?” Her corpse asked, pink twine now wrapped around her neck. “All the people we’ve killed? Or all those that came before us and all those that will come after because of how we’ve ruined everything?”     Pinkamena watched her own body hang. Sweat built up on her forehead. She started to dry heave as she gripped the knife. Something was rising, deep within. “We can’t escape it. We need to feed and spill. And we’re going to pull the one person that loved us under, because of it.”   Pinkamena felt something softly tap against the back of her head. As she turned to look, she saw purple heels swaying in the breeze. Above her was Rarity, adorned in the same dress from earlier in the night, pink twine wrapped around her neck. Her stomach and chest had been slashed wide open, her intestines and organs hanging out. A look of pure terror was frozen on her face, her cheeks streaked with tears.   “No… No no no…” Pinkamena muttered, tripping and falling back. She could feel tears welling up as she looked at her. Blood was dripping from Rarity’s eyes and mouth onto her heels, the ground, and Pinkamena’s face.   Suddenly, Rarity raised her head and looked directly at Pinkamena. “Pinkie…” she croaked. “W….what did you do…”   “Not you, not you, not you…” Pinkamena muttered, jumping to her feet and wrapping her arms around Rarity. She was still holding onto the knife. She pulled and tugged, continuing to dry heave as she tried to get the body down. Blood continued to drip onto her, dribbling through her hair and down her face. “Please oh please…”   “It’s like I told you…” She heard another voice echo through the trees. Nearby bushes started to rustle. Someone was approaching. She could feel her own heartbeat slamming against her chest.   “I’ll fucking kill you!” Rainbow Dash shouted, bursting out from her left. She tackled Pinkamena to the ground, taking the knife. Rainbow Dash smiled as she pinned her. She glanced back at Pinkamena’s bloated corpse. “I’ll make sure that’s where you wind up,” she gloated, before stabbing the knife down.   Pinkamena tried to move out of the way, only for the knife to pierce her cheek. The pain was an endless searing heat, blood pooling up in her mouth and running down the side of her face and neck. She pushed and kicked, getting out a few wet, gurgling, animalistic cries.   Using a burst of energy she dug her knee into Rainbow Dash’s ribs, causing her to drop the knife and fall to the side. She quickly grabbed it, getting back on her feet and steadying herself. She launched a few more kicks into her ribs and chest. A twinge of euphoria ran through her as she heard the sounds of bones breaking and organs rupturing, alongside Rainbow’s groans.  “No…no please… P-Pinkie… not again…”    Pinkamena slowly crouched down, meeting Rainbow Dash’s gaze. She watched as Rainbow tried to put her hands out and push her away. Her mouth slowly curled up into a grin, as she put the knife to Rainbow’s face. She made sure Rainbow had a clear look at her grin before she started to slash and stab. The cries of pain Rainbow let out were cut short as the knife eviscerated her.   Pinkamena kept going, slashing and cutting and impaling anything that her hands could reach. Even when Rainbow’s body stopped twitching, she continued at it. Her face still stung as blood ran down her cheek and filled her mouth, but she didn’t care. She was in control again. She was in bliss.   After some time, she pulled away and stood back up, looking down at Rainbow’s body. Her face was nearly unrecognizable, covered in lacerations. Blood was starting to pool around her, covering her body in a large puddle. She was a deer, struck by a predator and left to die.   Pinkamena let out a few breathy laughs, catching herself. For a few more seconds, she was lost in the rush of it all… and then it came crashing down. She looked at the corpse below, her body starting to tremble again. She could feel bile rising up in her chest as she started to glance around.   All of the corpses hanging from branches. They were all looking at her. Hundreds of unblinking eyes and unmoving faces, all looking at her. All watching her. All there because of her.   “Do you get it yet, Pinkamena?” Her own corpse called out. “The blood will always lead back to us. It’s always been because of us.”   Rarity’s corpse was looking at her again. “Pinkie… it’s always been you, hasn’t it? This is all because of you…”   Pinkamena Diane Pie could feel her heartbeat as she gripped her knife. Rotten, decaying flesh smashing against the inside of her chest. The stench of death and flesh stung her nose.   All because of her. > Paradykes > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- She ran and ran, her umbrella fighting against the howling wind as she ran past other open restaurants and shops, most devoid of people besides the workers. She was moving too fast for her to really notice their faces, or if she knew them. She had a place she needed to get to. As she moved, the sounds of the rain, wind and thunder became disrupted by the sounds of bumping bass and techno. She smiled as she came and found her next stop, a building with lights on the roof just pushing away all the darkness that came from the clouds in the sky. ‘Paradykes - Club, Bar and Rooms for the modern woman’ Was written on a flashing signpost that called out to her. She could only barely remember most of this town, but that sign… it called out to her. She wasn’t aware of many clubs that also acted as a hotel/get away for all the wandering dykes and lesbians, but she wasn’t complaining. She herself probably crashed here for a bit when she first got in to town. She felt the rain contain beat her down before she stepped into the building. The sounds of rain outside turning into music and happy laughter as she looked around. Women, of all shapes and sizes, ages and ethnicities were around her. They were dancing, drinking, eating, kissing and rubbing against each other. She was bathed in multi-colored lights and almost swallowed by the crowd of women going at it. She slowly pushed her way to the bar, seeing a gal with piercings and hair dyed deep space blue dealing with all the customers and orders. “Hey!” she called out. The woman at the bar looked at her, blinking a few times. “…Mena?” she asked, getting close. “Holy shit I thought I’d never see you again,” she said with a smile. Pinkamena looked at her, trying to discern her face. It was definitely a twinge familiar, but names and memories weren’t coming to her. “I’m sorry… do I know you?” The woman was a bit saddened by this but quickly shook it off. “It’s me, Glazed Galaxy. Guess it has been a lotta time since we last chat huh?” The name wasn’t doing that much, but if she knew her… it could help her out a bit. “Oh! Hey! Sorry bout not being back here much, it’s just after everything that happened, I needed time away from this whole place.” Glazed nodded, looking down at the glass she was polishing. “Yeah, yeah, I was the same too. I’ll be back to you in just a bit, alright? Ladies need their drinks to keep the party going. With a storm like this, feels like its the end of the goddamn world,” she said, before running off to the other end of the bar. Pinkamena watched her. She didn’t know this woman anymore, and yet she still felt pride in seeing her succeed and be able to grow on. How she had been impacted by everything, she couldn’t ask. It dawned on her that she wasn’t recognized here. The time she had spent in Ponyville, helping a student of the Princess, taking down Nightmare Moon and the like. That her didn’t exist, the old her did. She felt herself start to smile, chuckling. No harm in indulging herself for just a bit, was there? Pinkie wasn’t a drinker, and Pinkamena wasn’t that much of one either… but she also could stand at least one or two glasses of some mixture that had kick to it. She watched as Glazed made her way back to her. “… I’ll take a fireball.” Glazed Galaxy smiled. “Heh, good to see it’s still you Mena.” A few sips later and the two were talking between runs of rounds. “My mom was surprised to see me take this place. I think I was too. I used to keep saying I was gonna move away from this town, and I did after what happened… but I didn’t find many places that I felt like I belonged to. Not with knowing some of the important people I my life weren’t there. Here was were I made my connections, where I made my memories. It just means too much for me.” Glazed explained it with a weight of importance. She smiled at Pinkamena.”You coming back here, it really kinda helps me see it. The people that matter to me, they’ll always wind up back here at some point or another. Pinkamena nodded. “you seeing anyone yet?” Glazed shook her head. “No, but I’ve met ladies. Women I can do things with, women who I can talk to and bond with. I’m getting back to finding someone soon enough.” Pinkamena smiled, giggling. “Good. Good. Love to meet your new friends sometime,” she said, looking back to the dance floor and the ladies on it. “Wanna join me on the floor? I mean, you got others working the bar right?” “In a bit. Not my break yet, but don’t wait up for me. Enjoy yourself Mena!” Pinkamena smiled as she finished up her drink and moved to the floor. She got lost again in the sea of dykes, moving her body to the hypnotic sway and tones around her. There could’ve been no magic users in the club but everything about the air and music definitely was enchanted. She watched women smile at her, they’d say things to her and she’d say things back. She didn’t know what things and she didn’t know if the women knew what they were saying either. They all looked so cute to her, sucking her attention up. But then, near the back, she could see someone that caught her glance above all else. She was dancing, drenched in sweat and clothes that were clearly in need of a good wash. She was lost in the grove and excitement and the women, and she was enjoying it all. Her hair was messy and she clearly was in need of rest but she was still going. Nothing could stop her. “...Marble?” Pinkamena’s eyes widened. Her younger, by a few minutes she always brought that up, sister was here. She was having the time of life. She was exhausted by the environment, but the smile showed she was loving every second of it. She reached a hand out, taking a step towards her. But she stopped. Her baby sister was here, free from any remaining trauma that the loss of her mother brought. She was with more people that helped her fit it and she was truly finding herself! It was best to not be in that life. Not now. If her sister wanted that part of her life back, she’d call her. Coming in now, it could cause everything to come crashing down. “… Good for you, Marble. Keep the party going,” she muttered to herself before heading back to the bar. Exhaustion was washing over her as well and it was time for her to finally make a phone call. Glazed was more than happy to show her to the rooms. It was simple bed and bathroom, with a mini bar and customizable lighting. Something straight out of the disco era, kept alive and well into the modern day. The a white phone sat on a nearby desk next to the bed. It was just sitting there, waiting to be used. Pinkamena took slow deep breaths as she picked up the receiver. “… Why is this hard? I’ve been waiting to do this since I woke up!” she muttered to herself. Was it the explanation, the choice of who to dial, what she would ask? “Don’t delay on this. You can worry about talking about why you’re here later. For now, just call before you somehow wind up even more lost,” the pink pony explained. It slowly climbed up onto the bed and flopped back on it. Pinkamena felt her body shake as she punched in numbers. “Rarity, are you nuts?” Applejack asked, watching Rarity dry off and drink from a mug of steaming hot tea. “The fact that you even came out here in the first place is crazy, but going all the way to the train station? Yer gonna get a cold.” “I know, I know, Twilight said the same thing, but I need to do this,” Rarity explained. “she called me and it sounded like she needed my help. I’m not one to say no.” Applejack let out a frustrated groan. “I know that. I’d do the same thing if the weather was just a bit nicer. At least let me go with you. Big Mac can watch Sweetie Belle just fine. She’s not gonna get too bored either since Applebloom’s here.” Rarity sighed, shaking her head. “It sounded like she was worried we’d all judge her if we came. She just wants me for now. But, we will let her know we’re here for her when we come back and when this storm is over, ok Applejack?” “I… I know. Just promise me you’ll be safe out there too. Even if the storm doesn’t do you in, I promise you there’s probably at least a few bad people that aren’t still inside,” Applejack said. She took Rarity’s hand, causing her to blush. “… I don’t need another friend in my life disappearing on me.” Rarity nodded, pulling her into a hug. ‘Darling, it’s me. You know nothing can stop me that easily,” she said with a wink and a giggle. She pulled her rain jacket and boots back on. “Would a kiss on the cheek steel your nerves more?” Now it was Applejack’s turn to blush. “… Maybe someday. But I know Rainbow Dash wouldn’t like that..” Rarity nodded, before opening the door and heading out into the storm again. While it was naughty to tease the past like that, she knew it helped Applejack out. And besides, she had someone else she liked making blush just a little bit more. Pinkamena jumped as she heard the knock at the door. She nervously tried to get her hair to puff back up, but to no avail. She made her way over, closed her eyes, and opened it. She opened them back up as she was suddenly pulled into a deep hug. Rarity, soaking wet, wouldn’t let go of her for a few long seconds. After bit, she finally let go. “So… may I come in?” Pinkamena sat on the bed while she heard Rarity dry off in the bathroom. “It’s ok, you can talk, I’m listening.” “I honestly don’t know how I wound up here. I just… I was sick, I went to sleep, I wound up on the train here and I don’t know… I just don’t know.” “... What do you think happened, exactly?” Rarity asked, poking her head out. “Did you hear someone come into your room or the like?” Pinkamena shook her head. “I think I just… sub-consciously did it all. Like I was called here.” “Do you want to go back now, darling?” “No. No, not yet. I just… it feels like I can’t go back yet. I don’t deserve to go back yet,” Pinkamena explained. She felt her body starting to shake more as she talked. “Oh Rarity, I don’t deserve any of this! My friends, my job, my talent, anything! I’m a fraud! An unfunny obnoxious fraud that just got everyone angry at me!” Rarity walked over to the bed, pulling her into another hug. “Oh, Pinkie, that’s not true. You’re such an amazing friend, so talented and skilled and beautiful. From your jokes to your baking to your singing range. Ever since you first moved into town, I’ve enjoyed being your friend.” “B-but… what if I’m just a big joke. What if I’m doing everything wrong, what if I’m the reason Rainbow Dash went away?” “Oh, sweetie. It isn’t your fault. I swear to it,” Rarity responded. “Don’t vanish on us like she did, alright? It’d be such a heart break for the others, and me.” Pinkamena thought, feeling tears well up in her eyes. “Rarity I… I need to tell you something.” “What is it dear?” Rarity asked, already wiping away at the tears. “I…” Pinkamena could see the pink pony, watching her. It was curious to see what she’d say. “H-have you heard all the rumors going around? That the people that leave town, don’t actually just move out?” “I have,” Rarity looked confused. “Why are you… don’t tell me you think…” “What if Rainbow Dash is dead. What if she’s gone and we’re never gonna see her again? What if something happened to her, Rarity?!” Pinkamena almost screamed, finally breaking down into tears. Rarity hugged her again, but this time, her grip felt more… personal. Like it wasn’t just a friend hugging a friend. “I-I wouldn’t lie if thought hasn’t crossed my mind on occasion. It would make sense… the chances of no one seeing someone as loud and bombastic after she vanished is small. B-but I can’t fully give into that idea. Because I can’t lose hope for the future. I can’t lose hope for Applejack. I can’t lose hope for you.” Pinkamena blushed as she was pulled even closer. “Because if you vanished and I never heard from you again, I’d have to consider the same thing happened to you. And I just can’t let the idea of someone like you dying.” “Rarity, why are you that concerned over me like that?” “I’m hoping it’s the same reason you called and asked me to come out to a town I’d never heard of before to a room you booked at a club called ‘Paradykes’. Is it?” Pinkamena’s cheeks were as pink as her hair. “I-I think I might be in love with you, Rarity.” “I know, darling. And I think I might be the same way,” Rarity responded, pulling her into a long passionate kiss. Their bodies pressed against each other, neither one wanting to break away. Pinkamena giggled before she grabbed Rarity’s behind, watching her pull away to let out a gasp. “C-can you help me forget about all my troubles? Rainbow Dash, winding up here, everything else?” Rarity nodded, pulling her top off and throwing it to the side. She giggled as she shook her chest for Pinkamena to see. “All yours, darling~” she said with a wink. The pink pony used this opportunity to walk out and leave. It needed the time anyways to think. “…I’m not an it,” it said to itself. “I’m… a she,” she told herself. She herself couldn’t say much about who or what she was. What she actually wanted or where she came from. She didn’t even have a name. And yet, she was linked to Pinkamena. Maybe, having answer to what she was if Pinkamena ever asked was a good idea for the future. The night became endless, Pinkamena and Rarity’s nude bodies pressing against each other as they kissed and touched. Their moans and cries of pleasure echoed off the walls as Rarity wrapped her legs around Pinkamena’s head and held her there as she ate her out. “Ooo, someone’s done this before~” Pinkamena had know she was lesbian for quite a long while. A fascination with the female body in art and tv shows led to discovery and exploration as she got older. She would meet women just like her, try things out. She would find true happiness and love… only for it to be taken away from her the same night she rediscovered her other type of fascination with the human body. But now, that fascination and admiration was in full effect. She was showing Rarity how much she loved her form, her body, her voice, everything about her. She kissed up and down her legs, doing her best to please. Of course, Rarity was no beginner either. She spanked, she bit, she twisted and pulled. She made the pain feel so excellent. Pinkamena craved it, she needed it, she deserved it. “M-more~ Please, oh please more!” Rarity tutted. “Ah ah ah. I can’t just give it to you all at once. Making me come all the way here during a dangerous storm? Naughty naughty. I’m gonna make it slow, pulsing through you. I’m going to erase all that ugly depression and replace it with lesbian driven insanity!” Pinkameana could only cry out in true bliss as the storm continued on outside. If she had the ability to, she would stay like this forever. After a few hours, the two were worn out. They could only do so much before it just lead to the risk of passing out, and neither was truly interested in such a thing. It was around four in the morning, and Rarity was making herself a cocktail from the mini-bar while Pinkamena watched. Even in the dimmed room lighting, Rarity still looked stunning. Her hair was messy and she still covered in sweat, but she was still Rarity. “You know, we don’t have to talk about the things going on, if you don’t want. We can talk about anything you want that’ll make happy. Life, politics, culture, history,” Rarity explained before pausing to think. “Cryptozoology.” She chuckled as it caught Pinkamena off guard. “You… know about that kind of thing?” “Oh, why yes. It caught my eye when I saw it available in my freshman year of college, and I took it. A girl is allowed to know more about the Timberwolves that live in the woods on the edge of her hometown, right? And with all we’ve seen since we fought Nightmare Moon, I feel justified in such a choice.” Pinkamena chuckled, getting up. “I’ll just take another fireball. Lighter one than last time though,” she said, before heading into the bathroom and closing the door. She turned on the sink and splashed water on her face. The warm water felt so soothing and a nice re-energizer. They weren’t planning on going back at it, but it was better to go to sleep on her own terms. She then noticed her bag was in the room. It was… buzzing? Curious, Pinkamena crouched down, going through it. Through the old and still damp clothes, she could see a dim light shining through. She felt her heart sink as she saw what it was. A cellphone. A cellphone that didn’t belong to her and she didn’t have ht heart or courage to get rid of. Because it belonged to a dead woman. Applejack sighed, leaning back into the couch as she heard the other end of the phone continue to ring. It had been a while since she had done this. And it hurt every single time she did, but she still wanted to at least keep trying. The small chance of the other end picking up, it was always… such a nice chance. The routine was the same each and every time. She’d hit the answering machine, talk for who knows how long and then just hope Rainbow heard it on the other end. She let out a sigh as was ready for the answering machine to pop up. But then, there was a click… and she could heard sound on the other end. She bolted up right. “H-hello? Dash, is that you? Are you there?” she was already tearing up as she heard breathing on the other end. She couldn’t keep herself from smiling. “Oh, I’ve missed you! Are you alright? Need anything? I-I can come get ya from wherever! No one’s made at ya or anything, if that’s what you’re worried about, we all just miss you and-” A raspy, tear filled voice came through. “Applejack… never call me again…. please….” before quickly hanging up the phone. Applejack took a few seconds to take in what just happened, before leaping up with biggest smile on her face. Oh, thank Celestia! She was alive! She was still out there! She’d see her again some day, she knew it! If she couldn’t sleep before, she definitely wasn’t sleeping now. She didn’t care how late or early it was. She was making baked apple dumplings for breakfast to celebrate! Pinkamena threw up into the toilet as she tossed the cellphone aside. Oh, oh no no no! Why did she do that?! What in the world was she thinking?! “Fuck. You fucking idiot, do you ever do anything right? Why’d you ever think answering was a good idea?!” She then turned to see Rarity, looking down at her. She was expressionless. “R-rarity! I… don’t…” Rarity simply walked in, taking the phone and stashing it back in the bag. She then turned on the showers and let steam fill up the room as she undressed again. “Come on, you look like you need it.” Pinkamena slowly nodded, getting in with her. “…I get why you were worried about Rainbow Dash now. But trust me, I just know she’s fine. She’ll come back and it’ll be beautiful,” Rarity explained, grabbing the soap and washing her down. Pinkamena sniffled, nodding. Even with the shower going, she could still feel herself sweat heavily. But with Rarity helping clean her up, the anxiety wasn’t as bad. Pinkie Pie smiled as she looked at the large cake put out for her. It was obvious that it was home made, with one side clearly sagging and the topping dribbling off it. But, it was the thought that counts. “Wow, you didn’t have to this for me, you know.” “Aw, nonsense! Nothing wrong with showing a little support for a good friend, now is there?” Applejack asked, slapping her on the back. “I know you eat up any pastries you see like a madman so why are you complaining about free cake?” Pinkie laughed before taking a big cut of it and taking a big bite. It could be a bit more moist and used one more layer of frosting on the inside, but she knew not to say it aloud. “Mmm mm! Tasty stuff!” “O-oh thank goodness. I was worried I hadn’t done enough for the cake… I’m not used to doing this kinda stuff myself…” Fluttershy squeaked out. “You did wonderful, Fluttershy darling,” Rarity complimented. She watched Pinkie eat it, throwing a cheeky wink her way. “You know, Pinkie, we’re all here for you if you ever need anything. We’re sorry if we’ve unloaded all our stress onto you or anything like that,” Twilight added. “We’re all gonna get through this, and the future is gonna be great.” Pinkie nodded, taking it all in. “Hey, I’m gonna go get something from the kitchen real quick, I’ll be right back,” she said, heading to the back. She put the slice of cake on the kitchen counter as she saw the pink pony looking outside. “You want me to save you a slice or something? I’m sure somehow we can make it work.” The pony shook her head. “Maybe later… you know, we can do whatever we want at this point. We can bury our past and everything we’ve done back in that town, and fully focus on the life we have here.” “What spurred this on?” Pinkie asked, walking over. “You’re using we for this.” “I know I’m a part of you. At least, somewhat. Emotions, memories, feelings, needs. And it feels like, for the first time in a long while, they’ve shifted. The possibility of new goals and ideas is in front of us, in front of you. And we can easily take it.” Pinkie thought on this, looking back at her friends through the kitchen doorway. She saw them, happily talking to one another as the crusaders and some other girls she didn’t recognize ran around with their own slices of cake. She looked at Rarity, who glanced over to her and smiled. She smiled back at Rarity, before looking down at the pony. “It sounds nice, not having to worry about things anymore…” she muttered. She took another bite of cake. She walked back to the others, smiling. “You know something,” Applejack said, welcoming her back into the friend circle. “I’m glad you’re my friend.” Pinkie Pie could only let out a happy laugh in response. The leaves on the trees were already starting to fall as Pinkie heard the sounds of nearby joggers. The running of the leaves had started and this time, Spike had the honors of doing the commentary all on his own. She was happy for him, he deserved more time in the spotlight. She had changed into that sweater that she had found with Rarity. It was nice and warm, perfect for the fall weather. Though the mud that was left over from the storm wasn’t as nice as the rest of the fall scenery. It was one of the few moments where she found herself truly alone, and she liked it. Taking the cool air in, admiring the scenery, feeling a nice sense of zen. Maybe she’d make herself a loaded hot chocolate later to really indulge the moment. As she walked past the many trees, she head a voice in the distance. It sounded angry. “What do you mean I lost the position?! I was gunning for it!” The voice sounded vaguely familiar to Pinkie. She slowly made her way closer to it. It was that woman from Rarity’s party! She didn’t know her name, but she had the feeling it didn’t matter. “...It went to Velvet Suns?! That hackjob shitskin got the position and I didn’t? What the fuck does she have that I don’t?” Pinkie slowly reached in her pockets and pulled out black latex gloves. How funny, she must’ve put them in her pockets by mistake. “I swear, she doesn’t even work most of the time. Always laughing it up so loudly and eating her horrible hot chips. Does she always have to get the ones that get all over her fingers? Or is that some kind of weird ghetto fashion thing I didn’t know about?” This woman was lucky, with the running of the leaves and the crowd watching, she was able to go on an angry rant like this without many hearing from far away. Though, she was so self absorbed in her own call that she probably wouldn’t notice anything going on around her unless it hit her in the face. “I’m gonna contest this, you can count on that. I’ve worked too goddamn hard to get this far. Probably just doing it to look good, give the shitskin the position and let the actual workers suffer. It’s all bullshit.” Pinkie got closer, walking up behind her. The latex gloves had come on easier than last time, and they already felt warm and snug. She could hear the sounds of the runners behind her and this woman in front of her. “Yeah, yeah. I’ll see you later or whatever. Spread the word on this bullshit. We need others to push back against this too. I’m not taking this lying down,” the woman said, before disconnecting from the call. Her neck felt so nice in Pinkie’s grip. Pinkie slowly made her way into the bathroom. She noticed she had tracked mud stains into the bathroom. She’d have to clean that up later, and that’d be so much fun. She felt the fall breeze again wind and a few scattered leaves blew in from the window above the mirror. She watched them float in slowly, landing all around her. It was a nice sight. She placed her hands on the skin as she looked in the mirror. She saw herself and her friends, smiling back at her. Rainbow Dash happily wrapped her arm around her shoulder as the two giggled. It felt like that had happened only a day ago. She reached up to her cheek, running her fingers against the claw marks on her right cheek. She winced a bit as they still stung a little. “...It was a nice thought, the idea I could return to that without a hitch,” she said, sighing. She turned the water on as steam slowly filled up the room. She washed her hands. “But…it would never be that easy. Even with the people in my life supporting me, it could never be that easy.” She looked at the now fogged up mirror as she turned off the sink. She reached out and wiped her palm across it. She saw the reflection of herself and the pink pony look back at her. “Well, time to get to work,” Pinkamena Diane Pie said as she turned and left the room, making her way back to the kitchen and lifting up the trap door. She headed down into the darkness, closing the door with her. It was time for all the whispers and rumors to start back up.