A pony. A colt with a strikingly white coat, and gleaming teeth. A shield with a spark on it with three stars flying proudly over it adorn his flank.

"Shining!" Twilight yells running to him. She is so excited, she hasn't seen him in so long, and she's so close. So close. Shining is standing with open hooves, smiling gently at her. CTHAP! A deafening sound rings through the area as the smile vanishes from Twi's face. Shining's head snaps backwards, the back of his head blowing out in a fine red mist as blood trails from just above the bridge of his nose.

Twilight is too shocked, too horrified for words as she stares at her brother fall to the ground with a wet thump. Turning, she sees Cartridge lower his rifle, the barrel of which is steaming. All eyes are on him, open wide with shock.

"What the BUCK was that about!?" they all scream at near the same time. Twilight has tears running down her face, and the others stare blankly at him. Hate, fear, and horror are reflected in their eyes as their collective question echoes away.

"And I'm sure that none o' ye thought it a wee bit weird tha' 'e di'n't have a single weapon on 'im, or that 'e wa'n't wearin' a jacket, or even a mask, eh?" he says simply, sarcasm and resent filling his voice. Confusion and realization replace the hate in their stares as they take in his words and look over to the dead pony, now replaced by a wood-like insectoid.

"Sure, Dashie over 'ere fills my li'l brother with bullets, and nopony gives a halfdamn abou' it, but I shoot her brother an' I've jus' damned the whole bucking world straight t' a deeper level o' hell than it's in even now." He turns away as he finishes, taking a step or two before looking over his shoulder.

"Y'know, I used to worship yu. I used to dream about workin' wit' ye just like I am now, but this whole thing changed that. When d-day hit, I was sure that yu would all come t'gether an' make everythin' better. But days turned into weeks into months wit' no change at all, and my faith was taken an' ground to a fine powder right 'n front o' my eyes." He pauses, his breath coming in infuriated pants.

His breath slows again and he continues, "But y'know wha' else? I should proba'ly thank yu. Yu all took away e'erythin' I had. Yu removed my emotions, you helped me get through the sting of my first few hundred kills. D' yu know how old I am?" Blank stares and horrified and ashamed looks are his only responses. "I'm bucking eighteen. There aren't enough ponies in the metro for one hoof to equal one kill I've made, mutant or pony. So thanks for that one li'l convenience. Thanks a buckin' lot."

"C-Cartridge, I-" Twilight tries to apologize, but a stunningly soft voice cuts her off, drifting up from the colt walking away from them.

"Bayu, Bayushki bayu,

Nye lozhisya na krayu,

Pridyot syerenkiy volchok,

I ukhvatit za bachok…"

"Cartridge?"

Tears of shame and sorrow well in the eyes of the mane six, hearing Cartridge's story. The soft, sad melody coming from the damaged colt washes over them, only making things worse as they trot to catch up with him. Large puffs of white spill from his muzzle as he continues singing, walking in time with the tune.

They all walk in relative silence, none really wanting to talk after Cartridges outburst, nor wanting to interrupt the song, which is entering its fifth or sixth cycle. The scenery shifts from sub-urban to rural to urban and everything in between. They all start to tire as the area becomes somehow even darker, signaling the setting of the sun behind the blanketing clouds. Cartridge's tune fades quickly with a bit of a crackling in his voice.

"Hey, girls?" he asks, causing all of their ears to perk from their drooped state, "'Re ye getting' hungry?" A collective grumble from their stomachs is answer enough as a light blush covers their faces (with the exception of the blush-proof Pinkie).

"Yes, perhaps a tad," Rarity replies sheepishly.

Cartridge just chuckles and stops walking, pulling the pack off of his back and opening it. Digging through it, he pulls out several long, thin cans. At the sight, Applejack smiles wide, licking her lips hungrily while the others just look at the packages confusedly.

"Open 'em on up an' they'll heat up in about thirty seconds. Chemical heating, but completely safe," he explains as he hands them out. The others (minus Rarity, who is still utterly disgusted) all shrug and smile, ripping the tops off of the little miracles in can form and wait patiently for them to heat.

Cartridge closes his bag again and slings it back over his shoulder, letting his meal sit on a small concrete pillar until it's ready. He stops mid-turn when he hears a sound, turning back to see what it was. With a bit of motion, he sees the outline of a pony walk towards them.

Shit, not this again, he thinks as he reaches for his rifle. As the pony comes into better light, he sees that it looks an awful lot like…

"Ohhhh, that's a really pretty gun you have there. It's almost as cool as my gun!" the pony exclaims as she pulls a medium sized, muzzle-loading cannon out of god-knows-where.

"Pinkie Pie?" everypony says in unison, attention suddenly on the mare that's standing in front of them… And also sitting next to some of them.

"Wh-what—what in th- But- but physics." Twilight sputters, smoke drifting from the tip of her horn. The new Pinkie suddenly notices the Pinkie that was sitting, a bit of foodstuffs about halfway from the can to her mouth.

"Ohhhh, you're good!" she exclaims half under her breath as she narrows her eyes and moves to get a better look at the doppelganger. The two stare at each other for a while, not saying anything.

"Okay," Fluttershy starts softly, "Which one is the real Pinkie Pie? My head hurts…"

"Well if I remember correctly," Cartridge says resting his head on his hoof thoughtfully, "we should be able to find some stuff out through a very specific and orderly- Oh my gods! A party!" he suddenly shouts, turning around quickly and pointing.

One of the Pinkie's jumps a few meters in the air, gasping loudly.

"A party?! Wherewherewhere? Tell me where it-" K-BOOM. A deafening shot pounds through their eardrums, cutting Pinkie's though off as, for the far-too-many-th time that day, flesh and muscle and bone shards flew out of somepony's back. Pinkie falls to the ground, her can toppling to the ground next to her with a clatter. Pinkie then decides to stop bucking physics in its philosophical ass, falling to the ground and inspecting the lifeless lump that was, not five seconds earlier, her.

"W'll daammmnnn." Applejack drawls after many long moments of silence, during which the shot echoes off into the distance.

"That's 'ow we get shit done in Scoltland," Cartridge says with a smirk, visible even through his facemask as he ejects the spent round.

"Oh so thaaatttsss where your voice comes from," Pinkie says with a suddenly understanding face as she drifts off for a moment.

"Well I'm Pinkie Pie! And Imma be your new best friend!" She says with renewed spontaneity as the signature super-wide smile reappears on her face, "and thanks for killing me, that was really starting to freak me out. I mean REALLY?! I walk in, and see my friends with a me that isn't even me?! I mean what's that about… Does that happen often around you? I really don't hope so, 'cause that was just WEIRD! And-" She continues on and on.

"This explains why she wasn't talking as much as usual…" Dash says as they all look at the rambling pony.

"So I'm guessing she does this whole rantin' thing a lot?" Cartridge says, receiving silent nods of confirmation. "Ughh, looks like I may've shot the wrong pony." They all look at him in surprise and horror.

"Y'know wha'? You ponies can't take any dark humor a' all, can ye?"

---

Sorry it took so long to post, my internet was completely down for a good four or five days. So eh. Anywho, how many of ya saw that coming? I know I certainly didn't :P And if you did... o.0 you're a wizard (or witch). So bis nextes mal, auf Wiedersehen, und Brohoof /)*(\