MLP: Midnight Threat. Part 2

"I already told ya! It couldn't have been her!"

Applejack and Rainbow Dash argued outside Pinkie Pie's house. Rainbow Dash explained that the Town Hall had just been robbed, although nothing was discovered to be missing or misplaced. "Who else could it have been? She's already snuck in there before; who's to say she couldn't do it again!" Rainbow Dash accused. While the prosecution and the defendant bickered behind closed doors, the accused remained inside the house. Pinkie Pie was still nauseous from an unknown sickness the welled within her stomach, but had recovered over the time that had passed. Considering the pain that this mysterious sickness had conjured, it was miraculous that she had neither vomited nor collapsed.

"Twilight has just proven that it wasn't her! Why are ya going off yar head about it?" Applejack shouted. Rainbow Dash then sighed and restrained her temper, before answering "You're right… I'm sorry. I like Twilight, y'know; but she's been acting really weird too. Half the time, she just as crazy as-" before immediately shutting her mouth. This time, it was Applejack that lost her temper, shouting "Just as crazy as who!? Say it!"

"UGH… JUST STOP IT!" came a voice from inside, clearly belonging to the subject matter herself. Sure enough, the bedroom window opened as she hung her head out, continuing "I hate hearing you all fight over things like this. It's just gonna cause problems for everypony". Rainbow Dash was the first to lower her defenses, groaning in resignation and replying "Sorry, Pinkie Pie. I… I just don't want anything bad to happen. That's all".

"Well we know for sure it wasn't m… Pinkamena, okay?" Pinkie Pie confirmed, to which her two consultants thankfully agreed. "So let's not worry about it now, please? The Town Hall will be fine without us butting in on their business". The words she spoke were true, as throwing around accusations without proper evidence was an utterly futile gesture.

Pinkie Pie left the house through the front door to join her colleagues, having apparently recovered from any bodily hindrance that had infested her; though the sickness itself remained, it was no longer as significant as the this morning's experience. "Why don't we just get something at the café? After all, I haven't eaten anything since yesterday" Pinkie Pie proposed. "Oh, I forgot all about that! Let's go, then" Rainbow Dash agreed delightfully.

Later, while at the café, Pinkie Pie had almost completely recovered from her nausea, and had begun acting in her traditional fashion. "Uh, it's so good to eat properly again, isn't it?" Pinkie Pie boasted, patting her stomach as she slouched comfortably in her seat. "Heh… some things never change, do they?" Applejack sighed as she shook her head with poorly hidden glee. Pinkie Pie continued to slouch lazily and she contently browsed the delectable merchandise in the glass casing beneath the counter, one of which caught her attention instantly.

On the third row at the left end was a collection of cupcakes, each its own color and flavor. Pinkie Pie's eyes widened as she stared mesmerized by the pastries. Unbeknownst to her, the corners of her mouth had begun twitching frantically, forming into a devious smile. A strange craving for these petite pastries had soon urged her to devour every last one of them. All she could think about now was chowing down on them. The sweetness they must contain! She desperately wanted them! She must have them, and she must have them all now!

"Hey Pinkie Pie, what are you doing!?" asked a concerned Rainbow Dash. "Mom's cupcakes were so good…" Pinkie Pie smirked greedily as she continued to stare at the glass-confined treats. "Hey, Pinkie Pie!" Applejack exclaimed, snapping Pinkie Pie from her hypnotized state and returning her to reality. "Huh, what was that?" Pinkie Pie half-wittedly asked. Rainbow Dash slapped her forehead and sighed "Are you really still hungry after all you just ate?! This place will go out of business at this rate".

Pinkie Pie tilted her head confusedly and replied "Huh? No, I was just thinking about something. Why?" Applejack and Rainbow Dash looked at eachother with concern in their eyes, before Applejack replied "Well, um… you're drooling". "What! Blegh!" Pinkie Pie quickly and nervously wiped the saliva from her cheek and replied "Ugh! Why was I doing that!?"

As the night progressed from the café to the streets, Pinkie continued to ponder her bizarre actions; but this time, she already knew the cause of it. She glumly trudged behind her friends as they intended to part ways, not paying attention to where she's heading and accidentally slipping on the pavement. "Whoa, uh…" she yelped before regaining her posture, but not without also gaining her companions' attention. "Huh? Oh… Well, see ya later Pinkie Pie" Applejack cried out, while Rainbow Dash simply nodded. "Uh… Oh! See you tomorrow!" Pinkie Pie called out, before the group parted ways.

Later, within Pinkie Pie's home, the excitable extrovert slept soundly in her bed. She had succumbed to a relatively peaceful slumber for three hours prior to the present, and the time was currently 10:30 pm. For the first time in multiple weeks, neither a horrific nightmare nor an interruption from a friend had come to disturb her sleep, leaving her to finally sleep peacefully without fault. However, as the clock chimed 11:00, Pinkie's Pies eyes shot open instantly as she slowly arose from her bed, a wry grin planted across her cheeks.

---

Meanwhile, in a house that lay not too far away, an unconscious Twilight had finally begun to awaken from her impairing injury, struggling to regain her senses. She leant against the wall and battled to gain balance on her knees, but to no avail, as a numbness had engulfed her limbs that resulted in Twilight collapsing against the tile floor. The back of her neck strained from its previous trauma, pulsing and throbbing painfully against this action. Twilight found herself powerless, and was prepared to surrender to unconsciousness once again.

"AAAHHHH! TWILIGHT! WHAT HAPPENED?!"

Twilight was suddenly lifted off of the ground by an unknown figure, and paid no attention to the voice that spoke, as she was too preoccupied with a futile ploy to regain control of her nerves system. "Are you okay!? Speak to me!" screamed the unknown savior, who then carried her into the lounge room and laid her on the sofa. "Uh… I…" were her only words before she fell silent. For a few seconds, her body struggled against the numbness that consumed her.

"I… can't feel… anything" Twilight continued with miraculous consistency in her speech, despite her physical status. "Quick! We need to get to the hospital!" called a voice from, what Twilight presumed was, the doorway. "No… find…Pinkame…" Twilight wheezed lifelessly before succumbing finally to her inevitable fate.

"NO! THAT CAN'T BE! TWILIGHT WAKE UP!" Rainbow Dash shrieked at the top of her lungs. Unfortunately, Twilight lay as stiff as a post, without sign of movement nor sound. "Arrgh! How did she do it!? How did she escape!?" Rainbow Dash screamed hysterically. "Who cares?! We should be worryin' about where she is now!" Applejack replied, whilst staring through the wide open window for a clear vision of Pinkamena's escape strategy.

"Okay! You take Twilight to the hospital! I'll go find Pinkie Pie!" Rainbow Dash commanded, before soaring off without a second thought. Before Applejack had the chance to object "But you're faster! You take Twilight", the blue pegasus had already disappeared into the night sky.

Upon reaching the Town Hall, Rainbow Dash landed upon the rooftop, searching the building for a more discrete entrance Pinkamena could've, and would've, taken. After a search, she happened across a broken glass panel in the skylight that lay in the center of the roof. This was undoubtedly the same entrance that her dissociative companion had used last night, and would've more than likely used again tonight.

Without a second thought, Rainbow Dash swooped through the gap and found herself surrounded by a thick darkness, hindering her vision drastically. As she silently crept her way through the corridors and hallways of the atmospheric establishment, she soon became distracted by the many decorations that covered the walls, from artworks to statues and models that decorated the cabinets. Rainbow Dash had not seen such impressive decorations before, but behind any of which could lay an ambush from her malicious adversary.

She soon snapped her attention to a loud rumble of thunder that raged from outside. As she stumbled backwards from her brief surprise, she soon turned to face the opposing direction from pure instinct. A pair of soul-stealing eyes loomed out of the distant darkness, soon to be followed with a wide, gleaming smile.

The hallway filled with the sound of heavy breathing, accompanied be the loud creaking of the windows straining against the howling wind outside. Rainbow Dash was frozen with terror, horrified of such a terrifying scene. As the loud patter of rain began to strike the roof of the building and the pavements outside, the bright flash of lightning shone outside the window, revealing the face of Rainbow Dash's schizophrenic adversary in all her glory.

Pinkie Pie's hair was hanging downwards over her shoulders, the left of her fringe covering the left half of her face. Her skin was somewhat paler than it's more natural healthy glow. But her face was the most diverting aspect of her features. Her eyes were wide open and her pupils had shrunken to disturbing measures. Her grin covered a majority of her cheeks, showing a large, white smile.

Pinkamena stood in the blackness, staring at her petrified opponent while sliding her tongue across the tips of her teeth. "I knew you would come to find me here" Pinkamena smirked, before she continued "But honestly, I was expecting the orange one. Hmhmhmhmph! Where is she, anyway?" "You put one of my friends in the hospital, y'know" Rainbow Dash informed, "Why did you come here anyway". Pinkamena snickered to herself from hearing this question, confusing the Rainbow Dash greatly whilst also piquing her curiosity.

"I'm actually kinda glad that you came instead of… um… Applejack! Heheheheh… I could use your help". Suddenly, Pinkamena pounced at Rainbow Dash, tackling her to the ground and pinning her to it by her ankles. No matter how she struggled against the force that had constricted her, Pinkamena remained unfazed as she continued to stare downward at her prey. "Now's a good chance for you to fulfill that favor of mine, innit?!" Pinkamena considered gleefully.

Pinkamena reached behind her and proceeded to extract a long, sturdy rope, before swiftly releasing her target from her incapacitation. Despite her best effort to escape, Pinkamena had already managed to ensnare Rainbow Dash within the rope, not only by all four of her limbs, but also by her wings. "Now what was it you we're asking again? Hmm… Oh yes! You wondered what I was doing here" Pinkamena smirked, glaring down sadistically at her restrained adversary.

"Well, I was waiting for you to find me, of course!" Pinkamena cheered with peculiar childishness, before returning to a more familiar, but less comforting, sinister demeanor. Rainbow Dash was never used to being restrained physically, and believing her best friend had begun brewing a malevolent scheme once again would have catastrophic outcomes, no matter who lay on the raw end of the stick.

Pinkamena soon wandered to a nearby counter and retrieved a nearby candlestick, before thrashing it about as if it were a club. Rainbow Dash realized the intent behind this action and began struggling against her bindings once again, though such an action remained futile. Pinkamena staggered towards her, the blunt instrument still in hand, and Rainbow Dash merely cringed and tensed in preparation from the oncoming assault.

'WHACK!'

---

"Grrgh… ugh…wh… wh…where..."

Minutes soon became hours until Rainbow Dash had finally recovered from her temporarily comatose state. Rainbow Dash attempted to the best of her ability to move, though such a feat was hindered by a foreign force of restriction. Rainbow Dash lifted her head weakly and opened her eyes, finding herself inside of a small room consisting of a bed, a desk and a few bookshelves. She then stared down to find her current position, which was concluded to be a large cushion, while remaining immobile from the ensnaring rope.

Her vision scanned throughout the surrounding environment, even though it remained unfamiliar as of yet. "Oh hey! You're awake!" a distant voice had begun ringing in her ears, which soon grew accustom to the surrounding noise; or lack thereof. "Hehehehe! Wait there, and I'll see you in a second!" the singsong voice called from a distant room. Rainbow Dash was forced to wait for another five minutes before hearing a loud, crackling sound from a room downstairs, to which the pegasus realized where she was.

This was Sugarcube Corner, she resided in Pinkie Pie's bedroom, and Pinkamena was currently in the kitchen. "No wait! Here I am!" Pinkamena suddenly burst through the bedroom door with a loud 'Slam!' and startling the life out of her captive. "Ack! Pinkamena! What's going on?! What are you up to?!" Rainbow demanded an explanation. Pinkamena giggled to herself and replied "I need you for something I'm making. I'll explain everything", before suddenly stepping into the darkness of the room and shutting the door behind her.

An icy cold chill engulfed Rainbow Dash's body from these words, resuming a fearful role as a witness to oncoming diabolical actions. "You see… I'm making a special recipe!" Pinkamena began, having suddenly appeared beside Rainbow Dash, to which the latter flinched visibly in surprise. "It's an old… Hmhmhmph… 'Family Recipe' for…" Pinkamena began, leaning her head beside Rainbow's left ear, "Cupcakes".

Rainbow Dash raised an eyebrow in confusion, pondering why Pinkamena, one of the most spiteful and ruthless entities she had ever encountered, would be bothered with a hobby such as this. "You see, Pinkie Pie and I came up with this recipe when she was a filly". Pinkamena then hugged herself in satisfaction before sighing "Ahhh… I can still remember how delicious they tasted" before licking her lips greedily.

Rainbow Dash simply stared in confusion and yelled "Cupcakes? Is that what this is all about? Then what do you need me for?!" Pinkamena stopped dead in her tracks, before turning to face her prisoner with an insane grin. "Well… the thing about these cupcakes is that-".

'Ding! Ding! Ding!'

"WHAT! IT CAN'T BE!" Pinkamena screeched in shock, before rushing towards the clock to see the time. "6:00! Oh no! She's gonna… gonna… urk…" she screamed before cringing in discomfort. Suddenly, she shook her head violently, shouting "I took too long! She's coming back! No! …ARRGH!" Pinkamena began thrashing about furiously, her skin beginning to expel multiple beads of sweat as her muscles began losing their former energy.

Rainbow Dash remained unable to either assist or escape and was forced to watch in awe as her best friend became overwhelmed by her own torment. Clumsily, Pinkamena eventually collapsed without any restraint, remaining motionless against the floor without displaying any signs of movement.

With the potential danger temporarily subsided, Rainbow Dash returned to struggling against her bindings, desperate to find a chance to release herself from her entrapment. Thankfully, and somewhat miraculously, the bonds in her legs had begun to loosen, but not enough the remove them. "HELP! SOMPONY HELP!" she called out for any form of salvation to arrive, "PLEASE! IF ANYPONY CAN HEAR ME! GET ME OUTTA HERE!"

Silence.

Rainbow Dash had now given up on any hopes of rescue, as she lay miserably in her wretched predicament. Her best friend had once again collapsed from stress, apparently 'resetting' according to Twilight's theory, but her actions for the past three days seem to have put every theory Twilight had written to shame. Pinkamena had found a way to take control of Pinkie Pie during the night, while Pinkie Pie was thought by all, including herself, to be asleep. Was Pinkamena actively finding new ways to take control while Pinkie Pie remained oblivious?

"Hello? Is anypony home?" soon filled the lower floor of the house. Rainbow Dash's heart nearly leapt from her chest as she gasped in surprise. "HELLO?! HELP US!" she called out with delight. Soon, the house echoed with loud hoofsteps, soon to be followed by a loud rattling of a doorknob and a loud 'Slam!' of a door.

Rainbow Dash turned to the door, to find Applejack and Twilight rushing to their aid. While Applejack tended to the stricken Pinkie Pie, Twilight ran to Rainbow Dash to untie her bonds. "I'm so glad to see you two!" Rainbow Dash cried out, "She tied me up and dragged me here from the Town Hall". Twilight then explained "I woke up in the hospital as soon as we got there, so we came to find you" whilst untying her friends bindings.

By the time Rainbow Dash was freed from her constrictions, Applejack had already laid their comatose companion in her bed to recuperate from her taxing experience. Applejack sniffed distraughtly "Poor Pinkie Pie. She should never have gone through this…" before stepping away from the bed.

"Did she- erm… Pinkamena say anything?" Twilight asked curiously, to which Rainbow Dash answered "Yeah, actually… It was the strangest thing. She was talking about baking cupcakes and making a 'Family Recipe'". "What? Now that's pretty weird" Twilight replied in confusion, and all eyes turned to gaze upon the still sleeping Pinkie Pie.

"Why would she need you to make this "Family Recipe' of hers?"

The End?