> Amnesia > by CaramelSwirls > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- > Chapter 1: Forget-Me-Not > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Chapter 1: Forget-Me-Not “As I write this, I am hiding crouched in a bathtub, hoping she won’t find me. And if you’re reading this, I’m probably gone—she probably got to me. I just hope somepony out there reads this, and I save their life. I hope you throw this miserable creature behind bars for the rest of eternity and even then, justice would still not have won. Please if you are reading arrest…” I began writing swiftly. I needed to hurry before I was found. Even more so, I needed an escape from this pony. I heard the doorknob jiggle around. My heart skipped a beat—it was her. She found me. I held my breath afraid that she could sense my fear. The lights began flickering rapidly, as if they were suffering from epileptic seizures, until they finally exploded, glass shooting every which way. It was too pitch-black to see but I heard the door bust open. I closed my eyes tight hoping she wouldn’t find me in the dark. Suddenly, I felt a hard whack to the back of my head and seconds before the world disappeared, all I could hear was the sound of paper burning and her obnoxious, maniacal laughter. Sometime later… “Owww….Boy do I have a killer headache. What happened? Where am I?” I questioned to myself. I rubbed my eyes as they adjusted to the dark scenery. It was almost pitch black outside as I struggled to figure out where I was. Bam! I flew backwards after bumping into some random thing. “Oh my gosh! I’m so sorry! Are you okay?” Some strange pink pony asked me. “Me?…Oh, yeah. I’m fine. I’m sorry I ran into you,” I replied, rubbing my head. “So, you’re new, huh? Huh? What’s you’re name? Where are you from? What brought you here? Where are you—“ the pink pony began rambling a million questions at me and only made my head throb more. “Um…I can’t exactly remember my name to be honest. Or, anything else for that matter…I don’t even know where I am going to stay…” I told her as I soon realized my head wasn’t the only thing in pain. I put my hoof over my ribs to ease the pain and soon began noticing scratches and bruises covered me. “Oh no! How could you forget even your name? No! No! No! You can’t live out here! It’s dark outside! I’m Pinkie Pie! Come with me and I’ll bake you cupcakes! You can live with me and we can be best friends forever! And you can meet all my other friends! And we’ll have lots of parties and—“ I cut off Pinkie once more. “That…Sounds…Great…” I painfully said with a sigh. I knew I’d regret living with her but I didn’t exactly have any other choices. I followed this pony to her home as she incessantly went on and on about nonsense. When we got to her house she shrieked in joy and let me inside. She turned the lights on, took one look at me, and screamed. “Oh my gosh! What happened to you? Oh, dear! I see why you can’t remember anything! We have to do something!” Pinkie yelled. “I got it! I’ll get Twilight! She’s a genius! She’ll know exactly what to do!” The hyper pony ran towards the door. “Ohhhh…I hate to leave you here all by yourself but…Ehhhh…If you need anything at all Mr. and Mrs. Cake are upstairs and they will gladly help you!” She proceeded to run out the door and towards Twilight’s house. I took a look around the room to see the place was a huge bakery. I wandered around for several minutes looking for a bathroom. When I found one, I looked into the mirror and I couldn’t believe my eyes. There was a huge gash in my left cheek, contrasting against my cocoa brown skin. My blonde mane was messed-up and I thought I saw a few bald spots in there. My right emerald green eye was now a darker shade of purple. I demanded to know what happened to me. Yet, it seemed there were no answers to be found—just this strange town. Maybe the answers lied here? I laughed. Nah, I knew anyone who would do this would be smart enough to leave me somewhere far away from them. The door to bathroom opened and I jumped in the air. “Oh my gosh! You nearly gave me a heart-attack!” I screamed. Was I always this jumpy? “I’m so sorry! But I just rushed home with Twilight! I was worried when I didn’t see you!” It was Pinkie once again screaming every word she said. Yet, this time she was followed by a purple pony. “Hi, I’m Twilight. It’s nice to meet you…What should we call you? Neither of us has the slightest clue what you’re name is,” Twilight said calmly. It was nice to have a calm pony to talk to. “Ooo! Ooo! I know! I know! Let’s call her Swirly! Because see her cutie mark is a tornado!” Pinkie laughed. “Oh! Yes it is. How observant of you Pinkie. Anyhow, let’s get to work on patching you up,” Twilight said. Twilight’s horn glowed and bandages lifted into the air. They began covering all the wounds to prevent an infection. “Wow, nice job,” I admired her talent. Twilight chuckled, “It’s no problem. I love to help other ponies. You should probably get some rest now though. Maybe in the morning you will remember something okay Swirls?” I nodded my head. Pinkie led me to her room and Twilight’s horn glowed once again. This time a bed appeared. “I’m just going to have a word with Twilight really quick, okay? You can head off to bed though,” Pinkie said. “Sure, and thanks again,” I told her. Pinkie and Twilight left the room and I sat down on my bed. As I sat down I noticed something fell out of my pocket. “Hmm?” I questioned. I picked up what a appeared to be a folded piece of paper and opened it up. “Becareful. I’m watching you. I will be back,” the note read. I gasped. Could Twilight or Pinkie have put this in my pocket when I wasn’t paying attention? Or did my pursuer put this here way before I even met Pinkie. I sprinted to the door to try to eavesdrop on their conversation and all I heard was a somehow familiar laughter. > Chapter 2: New Friends or New Enemies? > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Chapter 2: New Friends or New Enemies? I gasped. This laugh was familiar…But, why? Could it have to do with what happened to me? If so, does that make one of them my attacker? I heard footsteps make their way towards me. I gulped and sprinted into bed, feigning sleep. I began breaking out in a cold sweat under the covers. If its Pinkie, do you think she knows I heard her? I heard her open the door and go into her bed, falling fast asleep. I, on the hand, couldn’t sleep a wink. I stared at the ceiling all night, wide-eyed, fearing the pony a mere couple of feet away from me. “GOOD MORNING!!!!” two voices shouted at me. I jumped and fell out of the bed, hitting my head once more. I guess I dozed off for a few minutes. I rubbed my head at looked up at the four eyes staring me down. “Oh my gosh! Are you okay? We didn’t mean to scare you! We just wanted to give you a friendly wake up call,” Pinkie Pie shouted into my ear. Gosh, is this her plan to attack me? If so, it’s pretty torturous. “We made you breakfast because we realized we hadn’t fed you all last night and then we figured afterwards, we’d show you around Ponyville,” Twilight said kindly. Ha, I laughed at finding her words kind considering she could easily be my attacker in disguise. I thanked them and took their breakfast. I poked around at it for a little while, deciding whether they could have poisoned it or not. My stomach began growling though, it had seemed like forever since I last ate, so I risked the odds and tried it. It was delicious! I scarfed it up quickly. We then left the house and began venturing around Ponyville. While I admit it was still hard to walk, it wasn’t as bad as last night. Twilight sure did a good job patching me up. Would someone who planned to kill me really heal me up this well? Or is it just a cover to convince Pinkie she cares? Despite my liking towards her, I couldn’t let my biases cast suspicion off of her. As they began showing me all the places around town, I began analyzing everything I saw hoping something—anything—would jog my memory, but to no avail. Eventually, we ran into a group of ponies. “HI GUYS!” Pinkie screamed. “Everyone this is our new friend Swirls! She’s a little off at the moment because she lost her memory but I know she’ll get better under my super care!” I couldn’t help but laugh at that comment as I gave a meek smile, “Hey guys. It’s nice to meet all of you. I hope we can become great friends.” “Nice to meet ya! The name’s Applejack. I’m sure you’ll fit in just nicely,” an orange pony said. “Welcome to Ponyville. I’m Fluttershy. I’m sure we’ll be great friends,” Fluttershy said. “It’s nice to meet you darling! I’m Rarity. Oh, geez! What happened to you’re hair? It’s a mess! Stop by my place later and I’ll make you a beautiful pony,” a white pony said. “Oh. Hey. Rainbow Dash here. Nice to meet you. Um, I gotta go though…Check ya later,” an odd blue pony said. Her eyes seemed to be wide at the site of me as she flew off into the distance. “Hm…That was strange,” Twilight noticed. “What do you think has gotten into her?” All the other ponies shook their heads. Could she have been my attacker? Did she expect me to be dead and the sight of me scared the bageebies out of her. “Well maybe she has some important matter to attend to. I bet she’ll explain it all to us later. Anyway darling, would you like to come with me so I could fix up your hair?” Rarity asked. She seemed kind enough and I had yet to have a reason to suspect her. I nodded my head. I wished I would never find a reason to suspect her as I followed her to her house. She kept telling me inside information about Ponyville and really made me feel welcomed. For a brief moment she was my closest friend as we got along so well. Yet, I knew I couldn’t get close to her—or anyone else. Everyone was still a suspect until proven innocent. After some time, we reached her house and walked inside. I was a lovely clothing boutique. We stood in front of several mirrors as she began doing my hair. “So darling, any particular style you like?” Rarity asked. I shook my head. “Oh, that’s right. I’m sorry. But chipper up darling! I’ll think of something lovely. Don’t you worry! So how was you’re evening with Pinkie?” “It was interesting…Is she always like that? You know, very loud and hyper,” I asked. “Oh, yeah. Pinkie is known for that and her laughter. But don’t mind her darling she’s a very sweet pony,” Rarity responded. Laughter? Could that laugh have been hers? I saw my opportunity and dove in, “So, it sounds like you know a lot about Pinkie and are very fond of her,” I asked. “Of course, doll. She’s a terrific pony. Why, just yesterday afternoon she spent the day running around making cakes for all the little ponies whose birthday it was,” Rarity said. Wait, she was busy ALL day yesterday? I mean, considering my wounds were fresh, they must’ve been inflicted yesterday. I guess it couldn’t have been her. She had no time. Dammit! I was really hoping it was her. But I guess she is kind…Just obnoxious. I sighed in relief that one pony was down. Yet, that Rainbow Dash did seem the most suspicious. It must be her. I began probing more. “That’s so sweet! Would you happen to know what Rainbow Dash was doing yesterday?” I asked. “Hmm? Rainbow? No darling sorry. I know she likes to race a lot. Perhaps she was racing some other ponies,” Rarity replied. Racing? I flashed back to an image of me, running in fear. Fear of what? My attacker? I was running with several composition notebooks in my arm. All I could make out was the title said, “TOP SECRET”. I continuously looked back so see if she was following me yet, all I could see were dead bodies everywhere. They surrounded me as I fled a mysterious building. I could feel her growing closer, yet there was no sight of her. I snapped back to reality. If speaking of Rainbow Dash made such strong memories appear, I knew it must’ve been her! I need a little more proof, or to eliminate a few more suspects before I could be 100% sure though. Rarity began finishing up my haircut and I looked in the mirror to find my beautiful, blonde mane completely in tact. I smiled manically. I thanked Rarity and began off on my merry way. I began contemplating everything that had happened today and I headed towards Pinkie’s house. I felt a little better knowing I can trust one person. Whoosh! Something flew past me and hit the ground. It was a crow with an arrow shot through its back. Yet strangely, there was also a piece of paper through the arrow as well. I picked it up. “I told you to be careful. Stop investigating now OR ELSE!” My heart skipped a beat. I quickly looked around everywhere. There was no one in sight. > Chapter 3: Plan for Success > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Chapter 3: Plan for Success I began running back to Pinkie’s house as quickly as possible. I knew it had to be Rainbow Dash. Who else could’ve shot down a bird from the air? Only she can fly. It HAD to be her. But I needed to get to Pinkie’s house to know I was somewhere safe. I ran for what felt like ever until I reached her house. I walked in the door and looked around to see no one in sight. “Hmm…That’s strange,” I thought to myself. “Where could she have gone? You don’t think Rainbow Dash would have talked to her or done anything to set me up? Pinkie wouldn’t fall for it! Never! But…I have to stop her quick! I can’t live my life in fear like this! There’s so many nice ponies here like Twilight, Rarity, and Pinkie. And I’m sure Applejack and Fluttershy are so nice as well! I want a chance to get to know them better too. But I can’t with her around.” I began formulating a plot against her. I had no clue where she lived or anything about her. Where could I even find her? Hm…Well with Pinkie out of sight and considering I just left Rarity’s house, I decided the only other pony I was close enough to was Twilight. I began heading towards her house trying my hardest not to get lost in the process. I reached her house and stopped short of knocking on the door. What would I say? I contemplated that question for a few minutes before I had an epiphany. I knocked on the door and Twilight opened it up moments later. “Oh, hi Swirls. What brings you here? Would you like to come inside?” Twilight kindly offered. “Yeah, thank you. I just stopped by because I wanted to talk to you,” I replied. “Talk? About what? Is everything okay?” Twilight asked. “Yeah, of course it is! I love it here! All the ponies are so nice! I haven’t really gotten to get to know Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, or Applejack to well. But, I wanted to see if you knew if Rainbow Dash was okay. I mean she was acting pretty strange today…” I tried sounding as concerned as possible. “Oh, Rainbow? I’m sure she’s okay. She just gets like that sometimes,” Twilight said. I didn’t exactly believe it but I had nothing else to go on. “Well, I was thinking of paying Rainbow Dash a visit to get to know her better and see how she’s doing,” I lied. “Could you tell me where she lives? I mean, her house was the only one you and Pinkie didn’t show me during your tour.” “Oh, that’s because she lives in Cloudsdale. It’s only accessible to Pegasus. I mean, I’m sure there’s spells to allow non-Pegasus to enter but I don’t know any,” Twilight said. “Oh, that’s such a shame. I really wanted to befriend her but I don’t know where to find her,” I said with a sigh. “Well if you’d like, I can ask Pinkie to plan a party so that all of us could get together and you can get to know her better,” Twilight suggested. “That’d be great! Could you please?” I didn’t really want her to but I had no other options and needed to sound as believable as possible. I stomach suddenly growled very loudly. “Oh, Was that you, Swirls? Would you like me to make you something to eat?” Twilight once again had another kind offer. I seized the opportunity to get her out of the room, “If it wouldn’t be trouble, could you please?” “Oh don’t worry it’s no trouble at all. I’ll be right back,” Twilight said as she walked out of the room. I took this opportunity to begin going through as many books as possible. I NEEDED to find that spell. It was my key to safety. I rapidly began flipping through any book I thought could have it. After what felt like forever, I somehow managed to find it. I ripped the page out and quickly hid it in my pocket. Moments later, Twilight returned with some food. I scarfed it down and said my good-bye to the generous pony. I headed back to Pinkie’s house, who surprisingly enough still wasn’t home. I looked around for something—anything I could use to kill that pony. I finally found some rope and a knife I thought could come in handy and swiftly left before anyone came home. By the time I was finished getting ready, it was nighttime—time to attack. I took the spell out of my pocket and tried my hardest to get it to work. After a few failed attempts, who knew magic was so difficult, I shockingly managed to appear in Cloudsdale. I searched around for Rainbow Dash’s house, which surprisingly wasn’t difficult considering her cutie mark was on the door. I walked up to the door to find it unlocked. I creped inside the house slowly and quietly. It was pitch dark inside and I decided to turn on the lights against my better judgment. I gasped. There was Rainbow Dash pinned to the wall by a knife. Her blood was splattered everywhere. I forced back a terrified scream as I began tearing up in fear. Seeing her blood everywhere made me feel dizzy as I flashed back once more. All I see is blood everywhere. There were ponies and animals cut open before me, and their blood was all over my hands. Why? Why was there blood all over me? Except, I wasn’t scared or anything. It was normal. A pony in a white coat patted me on the shoulder as if giving me a silent approval of a job well done. I guessed I fainted because I found myself on the floor in a pool of her blood. I tried to stand up and noticed the white sheet of paper stuck into the knife. No! I picked it up. “You’re not the only one who knows how to steal spells. I warned you to stop but you didn’t listen. Don’t make me kill more of your friends to get the point across. You would hate to be responsible for all these innocent ponies deaths wouldn’t you? Oh wait…” And the note trailed off as if it were supposed to be a witty comment. So it wasn’t Rainbow Dash. But, then why was she acting so strange? This didn’t make sense. I needed answers. I needed to stop this malicious pony. > Chapter 4: Mourning > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Chapter 4: Mourning I decided it’d be best to return to Pinkie’s house for the night and try to figure things out tomorrow morning. No one would be up this late anyway. Plus, if I act like I know she’s dead, I’d become the prime suspect. I headed back to Pinkie’s house and swiftly heading into bed and drifted off into a nice, soundless sleep. “OH MY GOSH! SWIRLS! WAKE UP!” Pinkie Pie screamed while shaking me awake. “Huh?” I sat up and rubbed my eyes. “We don’t have time for that! Come on Swirls everyone needs to get together right now!” Pinkie yelled while pulling my arm and trying to run away with me. “Calm down, Pinkie. What’s wrong?” I asked. I moved my arm out from between her hoofs. “Rainbow Dash is dead!” Pinkie screamed with an heir of disbelief while tears formed in her eyes. I could tell she was exhorting all her strength to try and hold them back. “Oh my gosh! What happened?” I questioned, feigning shock and disbelief. “I don’t know! Just come on!” She urged. I rose from bed and followed Pinkie to a crowd of all our friends. Everyone seemed on the brink of tears and you could see them all struggling immensely to hold them back. I felt bad I couldn’t cry but after last night, hearing it from Pinkie was nothing. Everyone in the crowd was asking who could have done this and why Rainbow Dash. I could feel eyes staring me down the entire time yet; I couldn’t pick out who it was from. I must be her—my attacker and Rainbow Dash’s murderer. She had to be among the four ponies still under suspicion—Applejack, Fluttershy, Rarity, and Twilight. “Um…Pinkie,” Fluttershy said softly. “This was supposed to be for you.” She took a box out from behind her back and gave it to Pinkie Pie. “What is this?” Pinkie asked. “It was a present from all of us for you’re birthday today. Rainbow Dash was working on the final touches before…” She gave a heavy sniffle. “We had her keep it because we knew you couldn’t go to Cloudsdale. Happy Birthday from all of us Pinkie…” Everyone else said happy birthday as well. “So that’s why Rainbow Dash was acting odd the other day when she met Swirls. It was because I was there. Well thank you Fluttershy. And thank you everyone else. This…This really means a lot to me,” Pinkie Pie sniffled a few more times and eventually completely fell apart and broke down into tears. Everyone else followed suit, as I awkwardly stood there unsure of what to do. After everyone calmed down I pulled Twilight to the side. I just needed to ask. “Did anyone else come to your house yesterday?” I asked. “N-no,” Twilight sniffled. “Why do you ask?” “DAMMIT!” I grabbed my mane in frustration and sighed. “Oh, don’t worry about it, it’s nothing. I just figured because we were talking about Rainbow Dash yesterday maybe someone heard or stopped by afterwards and said something. I just want to find out who did this to her you know?” “Yeah, I understand. I think we all do,” Twilight said. “Well…I think I need sometime to think about everything that’s happened…I’m going to head back to Pinkie’s now…” I said trying to sound as distraught as possible. “Yeah, I think I’m going to head home to. I need some time to process everything that’s happened so far. Feel better,” Twilight said. I began walking back to Pinkie’s house. Yet, there was something amiss. I stopped short and heard a noise. It sounded like a hoofstep. Was someone following me? Could it be her? I quickly turned around. At first glance, there was no one there but, I took a second look and I saw something peaking out from behind the tree. “Who’s there? Show yourself!” I demanded yet no one came out. “I see you! Are you the one who’s been doing this? Are you the one haunting me?” I began yelling in a frantic rage. I ran to the tree to find nothing there, just a tiny squirrel eating an acorn. “Oh, wow. I am silly. I’m getting myself worked up over nothing. Suddenly, something tapped me on the shoulder from behind. “AH!” I screamed. I started panting and breathing heavily. “I’m sorry sugarcube. I didn’t mean to startle ya’. But I need ta talk ta ya,” Applejack said. “Oh, Applejack it’s just you. Whew, that’s a relief,” I said it was a relief but she startled me nonetheless. “Well pumpkin, I know what you did,” Applejack said. “W-What I did? Wh-what do you mean?” My face started sweating. What did she mean? Was she talking about stealing Twilight’s spell, plotting to kill Rainbow Dash, or something far before that that only my attack would know? “I know you killed Rainbow Dash. I know it was you! You just randomly show up one day and the next day, this is what you do? What the hell Swirls? We trusted you here and you did this!” Applejack began haphazardly shaking me about, making me irrefutably dizzy. “Wh-what are you talking about cowgirl? I didn’t do anything of the sort,” I didn’t. I wanted to but I didn’t. “Don’t you dare lie to me! You scum! Pinkie should’ve never taken you in! No one else would ever even think of killing Rainbow Dash! You horrible, horrible pony!” Applejack began screaming frantically in my face. Her eyes were a deep, soulless red, as if she had been possessed by a demon. She threw me to the ground and began stomping on my ribs. “Die! Die you miserable excuse of life! Die already!” Tears flew down her cheeks rapidly. I had no idea what to do. She was out of control. I began trying to cover my ribs and looked around for anything to protect myself. I found a piece of glass on the ground and slashed open Applejack’s side. She fell onto the ground writhing in pain and clutching onto her side. I stomped on her head twice to make sure she wouldn’t chase after me and I sprinted away. Was she the one? She did attack me! But…She also suspected me of killing Rainbow Dash, so it couldn’t have been her. Dammit! Where are you? I kept running until I bumped into a tree and fell on my rear. On the tree was another piece of paper. I picked it up. “Now wasn’t that fun? You just don’t listen do you? Oh well, I injected her the same way you did to me. Do you remember? I won’t quit. But you should. Save the ponies around you that you call “friends”.” Injected her? What did that mean? I flashed back again. I remember injecting a pony once. She screamed a high-pitched, shrill scream and broke down crying. Her face was a blur though. But her words were unforgettable, “How could you do this to me!? I will ensure that you rue this day for the rest of eternity. This was cold even for you, sis!” > Chapter 5: Questioning > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Chapter 5: Questioning I kept running around the forest until I bumped head-first into Pinkie Pie. Yes! Finally someone I can trust! I panted, "H-hi Pinkie." "Are you okay?" Pinkie asked. "N-no...I was in the forest and found Applejack on the ground. She needs help immediately!" I urged. Applejack wasn't the culprit. She just trusted the wrong pony. And if she was saved, she could tell me who did this to her. I needed her to survive. I needed answers. Pinkie and I ran to get Applejack and brought her back to Twilight's house. Twilight used her impressive magic to produce another bed and bandaged up Applejack. "Is she going to be okay?" I asked. "I don't know. She's in a coma right now. If it wasn't for you, she would have died back there. You saved her life. You should be very proud of yourself," Twilight said as I chuckled at the irony. Twilight pated me on the head,"You and Pinkie Pie should head back to her house and just relax. A lot has happened today. You two need rest." I nodded my head, put my arm around the sobbing Pinkie, and walked the both of us back home. When we got to Pinkie's house, she collapsed on the floor in tears. The scenery was just too much for her. In the short time we were gone, someone decided to smash all the windows. I ran inside to see if any other damage was done. All over the walls, in what I presumed to be Rainbow Dash's blood, it said, "You're next Caramelswirls." Caramelswirls? Who is that? Is that...Me? I flashed back once more. I remembered the days before my cocoa skin was covered in scars and my emerald eyes shine through. I remembered being patted on the head by that pony in the lab coat and hearing him say over and over, "Good job, Caramelswirls." I remembered my admiration for him. I remember following his every command. Flashbacks always made me dizzy and the sight of her blood made me sick. I needed to lie down. I slowly walked into my room and made my way to my bed. I lifted the covers and lied down into my nice, cozy bed. I closed my eyes and got comfortable. When suddenly, I felt something. I opened my eyes confused and screamed. I fell onto the floor and sprinted out of the room. She's sick. She's truly, truly, sick. I can't believe it. I threw-up on the floor and broke out into tears. She put Rainbow Dash's rotting corpse into my bed. She not only killed her but she ripped off her face and put her corpse into my bed. That sick and twisted fiend. I went outside to go console Pinkie. I opened the door and head flew into my hands. I screamed and threw it on the ground only to see her body on the ground and cut up into many different pieces. How could you? And once again I found her paper. "I know you only saved Applejack to find out who I am. I know what you're doing. I warned you. I promise it won't get any better from here." No. She wants Applejack dead. Twilight! I sprinted towards Twilight's house as fast as ponyly possible. I didn't even bother knocking when I got there, I just slammed the door open wide and ran straight up to Twilight's room. "Swirls. Are you okay? What happened?" Twilight said, half in a panic just from looking at me. I hugged her joyously, "Oh my gosh. You're safe!" I was so relieved. She couldn't be the culprit if she was here by Applejack's side all along. Especially, if Applejack was still alive. I began crying tears of joy at the sight of her and explained everything that's happened these past few days and why I was so happy to see her alive. She gasped and couldn't believe what happened. "Twilight, there's only two people who could have done this. Fluttershy or Rarity. I have to find out which one it was. I'm going to talk to them. Okay? Lock your doors and don't let anyone in for any reason, okay?" I asked with sincere concern for once. As I got ready to leave I remembered one more thing, "Oh, and Twilight, be careful if Applejack wakes up. This pony injected her with some kind of drug and I don't know if she'll behave erratically when she wakes up." At the sound of the word "injection", Applejack's body convulsed, like it sparked something in her. I ran to her side and probed her, "Applejack!? Applejack, are you there? Who did this to you?" "The sun. All I remember was the sun was gone," Applejack struggled to say. "The sun was gone? What does that mean? Applejack? Applejack?" I shook her profusely yet, she went quite once more. Dammit! I pounded my fist against the table, tears welling up in my eyes once more. Twilight ran to her aid. "Don't worry. She's not lost yet. Just...Unconscious. Go! Go find this horrid killer," Twilight said, pushing me away. I decided to pay Fluttershy a visit first considering Rarity lived closer to Twilight and if it had been her, she wouldn't know if I was still at Twilight's house or not. I walked up to the door and knocked. "Hello? Oh, hi Swirls. How are you?" the shy pony asked. "I'm fine. Mind if I come in? I heard you were close to Rainbow Dash and I wanted to make sure you were okay," I told her. She stepped aside to let me in and I took a long look at the inside of this ponies house. The lighting was dim, almost nonexistent, she had animals everywhere, a few boxes that could have been filled with anything, and, the most suspicious thing, was a knife on her counter will what appeared to be a red liquid on it. I checked Applejacked remarks, and I clearly saw the sun outside the window. "Would you like something to drink?" she hospitably offered. I shook my head, "No, thank you. So, how are you taking everything? I know it must be hard." "Yes. It is quite difficult for me to deal with everything going on right now. I can't stop crying," she said with a sniffle. "But, I can't let my animals suffer because of that." "Oh, so was that who you were making dinner for? I see the knife out on the counter," I keenly observed. "Yes, actually. I was cutting up some tomatoes for a salad. Would you like some?" she offerd. The idea of it made me sick on the offset it wasn't tomatoes she was cutting. I politely declined her offer, "Well I just wanted to make sure you were okay. Please stay safe. And if you need anything let me know okay? I want to be here for you," I lied. She thanked me for the offer and walked me to the door. There was no way she could get to Twilight's house without passing by me, so I was pretty happy about that. I strolled to Rarity's house and knocked on her door. "Why, hello darling? What brings you here?" Rarity asked. "Well, I know you and Rainbow Dash were pretty close friends so I just wanted to make sure you were okay. I mean we got along pretty well the other day and I really was worried about you," I said. "Oh, how sweet. Come in, come in," Rarity said. I took a look at her house more in depth than last time. Her lights were very bright, clothes were everywhere around the room, and I found boxes of needles and tubes that resembled disconnected injection needles. She could have easily poisoned Applejack. I made sure to look out the window and I noticed I had a clear view of the sun. "So, how have you been taking Rainbow Dash's death?" I asked. "It's been hard darling. It really has. I miss her and her energy," tears began forming in her eyes as well. "I can see that. May I ask what all the needles and tubes are for though? They're making me uneasy. I have a feel of needles," I lied. "Oh, those silly things? The needles are for my sewing and the tubes are for hair dye. I could move them if you'd like," She suggested. "No, no. It's fine. I should be going soon. I just wanted to make sure you were okay," I said. I didn't trust her near those boxes. Those tubes didn't look like hair dying tubes. and it's very easy to assemble the two together. She walked me to the door and we said are farewells. It's was still bright outside and I could easily see the sun out the windows in their houses. So, what did Applejack mean but there was no sun? I contemplated it for several minutes. Then I understood. I knew who did it! I raced to Twilight's house to make sure she was okay before acting on the culprit. > Chapter 6: The Final Encounter > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Chapter 6: The Final Encounter I ran to Twilight’s house and threw open the door. “Twilight! Twilight! It’s me! Where are you?” I called out to her. I got up to room where Applejack was being taken care of and blood was all over the walls. No! She couldn’t have. I gasped and slowly walked into the room, dreading what I would see. Applejack was a bright red color and there was a hole in her chest. Her organs were popped out and spread all over the room. It almost looked as if she had been boiled alive from the inside and her body just exploded. I fell on the ground and broke down crying. How…How could I have let this happen? That fiend! Wait…I looked around and noticed something was missing. Twilight! Where could she be? I frantically began searching for Twilight shouting her name. “Sw…Swirls? Is…Is that…You?” I heard a meek voice ask. “Twilight? Yes! Yes I’m here! Where are you?” I called back. I heard a noise, like something falling over and I ran towards it. It seemed she had hid in a closet and I threw open the door, draping my arms around Twilight. She was shaking profusely in fear. “Did she hurt you?” I asked. “N-No…I haven’t even seen her…I heard something at the door and I wanted to save Applejack! I did! But, there was no time…So, I hid. Swirls…I…I’m such a bad friend…How could I let her go let that?” Twilight broke down crying. “Shhhhh…It’s okay Twilight. I know who did this. And she knows I know otherwise she wouldn’t have done this. I’m sorry I put you into danger like this. But I promise you something. I WILL go after her and make her suffer for this. Don’t worry. I will,” I told her while petting her mane. “Who…Who did this? Please tell me,” Twilight begged. “I’m sorry, but I can’t. I can’t put you at more risk. I promise when I return I’ll tell you. When you’re all safe, you’ll know,” I told her. And on that note, I got up and out of the closet. I needed everything and anything I could get to help fight her. I grabbed a few knives from the kitchen and padded my jacket with pillows to soften any blows. Sadly, that was all I could find so I had to be off. I headed towards her house and when I got there, the lights appeared to be off as if no one was home. I quietly checked the doorknob to see if it was unlocked. To my luck, it was. I slowly opened the door and cautiously walking inside. I held a knife out for my protection. I began walking through each room searching no avail. Bzzt! Huh? I quickly threw my head over my shoulder and collapsed on the floor. I slowly opened my eyes to see a foreign room. There were maces, guillotines, and torture chambers of the like everywhere. I tried to moved, yet I found my hooves chained to a wall. “So, Caramel…Did you finally remember your dearest sister or, perhaps you just saw though my lies,” the sick and twisted pony said. “No sis, or should I say…Fluttershy. I just used my wits to decipher it. Applejack said there was no sun. She mistook the lights in your house for the sun. Your lights were too dim for her distorted memory to register. It had to be you,” I said. “Oh, posh. I’m glad I killed that worthless pony then,” Fluttershy said, toying with a nail and staring me down as if she found the idea of a nail delicious. “So, why? Why are you doing all this? I thought you loved your friends,” I said. “My friends? Ha! I promised you revenge. God dammit Caramel! You were always so infuriating! I never got to have fun! I never got to win! I always had to live in your shadow!” Tears started welling up in her eyes, “I will get my revenge! You will suffer! Why can’t you remember why you deserve to suffer!?” She began frantically screaming at me and gripped her knife tightly. “Why won’t you remember!?” She began stabbing my arm multiple times. “Can you feel that? Does it hurt?” I began screaming profusely. “Flutter, please. If you tell me what happened, maybe I’ll remember.” “Oh, you better. I have enough torture devices here to entertain me for weeks,” she replied. She took out a syringe filled with a green liquid. “Does this look familiar? You injected me with this to test the effects. It’ll kill you slowly and painfully. It’s designed to make you feel pain like no other. You’re organs begin to shut down one by one as slowly as possible and it makes sure the important ones are last to elongate your life. Your blood will feel like it’s on fire as its boils you alive. Eventually, you'll explode and your organs will pop-out like with your friend Applejack. She never really had a chance after I injected her. You knew that though. Do you remember injecting me with this even after you knew what its intended effects were? Do you remember why you did it?” I began squirming, looking for an escape from her as fear encompassed every fiber of my being. I screamed for her not to but she only got closer and closer. I looked at her face, it had a red tint to it. She stuck the needle in my arm and injected the liquid into me. I felt it flow throughout my veins at breathtaking speeds. I screamed in massive pain as I heard her laugh at my torment. “I-I remember doing this to you…I remember a man congratulating me for it,” I was in tears trying to tell her what she wanted to hear. “Of course he did. Father always loved you best. You were his pet—his star child. He wanted you to inject me as part of his lab experiment. That cruel man! That drug you injected me with really screwed with my brain. I never thought I had a taste for blood before it; so therefore, father’s death was his own fault. He wanted me to have the drug that made me kill him. Too bad you escaped with the notebook as I was slitting his throat,” Fluttershy said. “Oh, well. After I found you and knocked you out, I stole them. How else you think I was able to make this bad boy,” Fluttershy said shaking around the needle. She broke out into maniacal laughter once more. Fluttershy rapidly began stabbing my other arm as I squirmed and screamed. After some time, I stopped squirming. “Sis, please. Stop!” I begged and begged for her to stop. “I’m sorry. I’m truly, truly sorry.” My sister laughed at my pain and suffering, yet again. I could see the redness growing in her face yet she wouldn’t stop stabbing me. She let go of the knife in my arm and went on a tirade about how jealous she was of my relationship with our father. I tried moving my left arm and it seemed to slip out of the chain. My sister noticed and waited to see my next move. I grabbed the knife and pulled it out of my arm. “Hahahaha! You’re going to try to stab me? Awwww how cute! Too bad you’ll never be able to succeed,” Fluttershy laughed once more. I took the knife and stabbed myself in the stomach as hard as I could. Fluttershy stopped mid-laugh, “Huh?” “I refuse to suffer. I refuse to let you kill me,” I said. Fluttershy began itching herself everywhere as I felt the fix of feelings whirl inside of me. I felt my blood curdling, as it seeped out of me. And I began feeling my first organ shut down on me. Fluttershy laughed as I started to bleed out. The world began growing dark for one last time. As I fell onto the ground, I heard her maniacal laughter followed by an explosion. I hit the ground and felt something slimy fall onto my back. The laughter was gone as I heard a clunk. As so it ended. The laughter ended and silence encompassed me for eternity. > Author's Note > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Hi everyone! This was my first fanfiction! Thank you to everyone who read it and enjoyed it! I loved all the fun comments at the bottom that people have posted! You really made my first fanfiction an enjoyable experience! If you want to see future works please follow me :D Also, I'd appreciate any criticism on how to improve my writing or fanfictions :D Or give me criticism on anything you'd like :D I want to know what all you readers think ^.^ I hope to see you all for my next story and I hope you all enjoyed ^.^