Buzzing of wings of thousands of flies… Nano’s barking… She could see the leaves and the muddy ground beneath her hooves. She could almost smell decay and feel the branches hitting her face. Her mouth opened in the silent scream; she was trying to fly away, but her wings didn’t want to listen to her. She tried to at least turn her gaze away, but she couldn’t. It was like she was attacked by a cockatrice, but worse: as if her own body rebelled against her, making her stand on the clearing and watch. Then her mind joined the body, replaying the whole scene in her head, over and over again. There was no escape. Nopony to help. Nopony to…

“Zippoorwhill! What are you doing here?”

She looked at the pony in front of her. Pink coat, violet and white mane… Diamond Tiara. Her name was Diamond Tiara. Zippoorwhill remembered her from Ponyville, though they’d never talked to each other. Anyway, she’d last seen her years ago.

Everything that had happened before that Summer afternoon in the Everfree Forest seemed like it happened a long time ago.

Zippoorwhill wanted to tell her, but her tongue froze. Even a thought about that even was making her feel dizzy.

Diamond Tiara rose her eyebrows. Zippoorwhill looked at her and she saw a spark in her eyes.

“You were looking for your dog in the Everfree, weren’t you?” Diamond Tiara asked.

Zippoorwhill nodded frantically.

“How are you?”

“I… I can’t sleep,” Zippoorwhill replied. “I still see them…”

She remembered what ponies used to talk about Diamond Tiara soon after Ruby’s death. She closed her eyes, expecting laughter. Suddenly she felt hooves wrapping around her.

“Don’t worry, Zip,” Diamond Tiara said. “I know how it is when you can’t sleep…”

“You… you do?” Zippoorwhill asked.

“Yes. Why do you think I am here?” Diamond Tiara said. “It gets better with time…”

“I don’t know…” Zippoorwhill sighed. “I feel like I’m still there… and I can’t escape…” She could swear that she saw tears in Diamond Tiara’s eyes.

“Don’t worry, Zip,” Diamond Tiara said. “I’ll do everything to help you…”

Riot Control sat at his desk and began reading a newspaper. He’d already read it at least a hundred times, but the article he was focused on was still like a thorn in his hoof.

At least Berry Punch finally fell asleep. Since they’d arrested her, she was either yelling obscenities at them or banging her hoof against the bars. Riot Control considered transferring her to the psychiatric department of the Ponyville Hospital, but the doctor they’d called found no reasons to do so. Or maybe he just didn’t want to deal with her.

Somepony knocked at the door.

“Finally you decided to come…” Riot Control muttered.

The pony who entered his office wasn’t, however, Front Kick. Riot Control put the newspaper on his desk and looked carefully at the blue unicorn in front of him.

“Hello, Minuette,” he said.

“Good morning, officer,” Minuette replied. “Umm… can I talk to Berry?”

“She’s sleeping now,” Riot Control said. “Should I wake her up?” he added, thinking that he was going to regret that.

“No, thanks.” Minuette approached his desk. “I just wanted to ask… Was it really her who did that? I mean, are you sure that…”

“Well, she wasn’t exactly hiding…” He lowered his voice to a whisper. “You should hear her when she’s awake… Also, her hoofprints were all over the place...”

“I know her; I can imagine what she’s saying…” Minuette shook her head. “Well, I think I’ll just try to find her a lawyer… If she still considers me her friend...”

She stood up and left the office.

That’s the kind of crime we can deal with… Riot Control thought. A pony tries to murder another pony in a limelight, leaving lots of evidence… Piece of cake. But when someone murders foals…

The door opened and Front Kick came in.

“Hello, boss,” he said. “I finished collecting the samples of hair and dropped them at the hospital. Soon we’ll know who did that…”

“Are you sure you have all of them?” Riot Control asked.

“Every single one, sir. Even princess Twilight’s. If anypony had at least one violet hair in the mane I have it.” Front Kick sat at his desk and levitated some papers.

“There’s one more thing…” Riot Control took a newspaper. “What’s with that bullshit you told them? What pattern? And why did you tell them that Ruby Pinch was also murdered?”

“Well, it is some kind of pattern,” Front Kick replied. “And I thought that it doesn’t matter anymore whether they know about Ruby or not… They should know that someone tries to murder their kids…”

Suddenly, they heard a stream of abuse, yelled in a raspy voice, accompanied by banging of hoof against the metal.

“Well, I guess Ms. Scratch would disagree…” said Riot Control, shaking his head.

Dr. Stable sighed, looking at the ponies gathered in front of him. Normally, he was very understanding towards his patients, but Vinyl Scratch was really pushing his limits. It wasn’t for something she did; it was hard to annoy someone while being in a coma, unless someone didn’t like the sound of the machinery keeping the patient alive. It was rather for her odd relationship with Octavia Melody and Neon Lights. According to the law, they both had right to decide about her fate.

Neon Lights scratched his unshaven chin. He’d just came back from Manehattan after he had to cancel his tour. His eyes were red and he was barely able to stand straight.

“So, doc, you’re telling us that there’s, like, a thirty percent chance she wakes up?” he asked. “And, like, two percent that she’ll be, like, normal, right?”

“Exactly.” Dr. Stable nodded.

“So, maybe it’d be better if we, like, pull out the plug, right?” Neon Lights asked, looking at Vinyl. Unconscious, surrounded by pipes and wires, she looked small and vulnerable; she didn’t resemble the hyperactive, fun-loving DJ everypony in Equestria knew.

Octavia stood up, glaring at Neon angrily. “Thirty percent is still a chance.” Her voice was cold and calm, but Dr. Stable could sense the emotions boiling in her. “Just because you don’t want to deal with her if she wakes up… wrong, doesn’t mean that we have to kill her!”

“In such state it’d be a mercy!” Neon Lights exclaimed. “Do you think she’d want to be, like, retarded? I know her better than you... She’d rather die than… than lie here like that...”

“You know nothing about her!” Octavia shouted, tears shining in her eyes. “Admit that you want to get rid of her, because taking care of her would ruin your perfect career! You just want to escape, like a coward!”

“Oh, because you know her so well, right?” Neon rolled his eyes. “If you didn’t throw her out of the house, she wouldn’t be here!”

“So, it’s my fault?” Octavia grabbed Neon and looked into his eyes, their noses almost touching. “And who ignored her drinking problems? Worse, you encouraged her, you son of a bitch!”

“Ms. Melody!” Dr. Stable exclaimed. “That’s not the place–”

Octavia didn’t seem to hear him. “Do you even love her? Or you’re just happy that you can have two mares?”

“Of course I love her… Just like I love you…” Neon replied. “But sometimes it’s better to let it go…”

“Then let it go and get out of our life!” Octavia exclaimed. “I won’t let you kill her…”

Dr. Stable cleared his throat. “Maybe it’ll be better if you discuss that in private,” he said. “Vinyl needs peace…”

Neon and Octavia glared at him angrily and left the room without saying goodbye. He could still hear them arguing as they walked down the corridor. He sat on a chair next to Vinyl’s bed and looked at her, sighing.

“You three must really love each other…” he muttered.

Vinyl didn’t reply.

Diamond Tiara looked at the moon. The feeling of euphoria she’d experienced after she’d stolen pills from Pepper’s room left her. Now her insomnia was even worse – even the sound of the wind could wake her up.

She looked at Sunshine Rainbows. Recently, her “phases” got more frequent. She cut herself again; the wounds weren’t deep, but it was enough to make one of the nurses freak out. After having them bandaged, Sunshine spent a whole day in her bed; she didn’t even get up to go to the toilet.

Diamond Tiara had enough. She yelled at her roommate about her views on lying in one’s own piss. To her surprise, Sunshine got up without saying a word and went to shower herself and change the bedclothes.

Diamond Tiara didn’t want to admit that to herself, but she enjoyed the power she had over Sunshine. She was scared to think about the moment when she’d caught a faint smell of blood in the air and how it suddenly calmed her down.

It also didn’t last for long. Something was bugging her; she couldn’t focus on anything. The view of the park usually was enough to make her nod off for at least a couple of minutes, but that day was different. She felt that she needed to do something.

She saw a moth landing on the wall and began to wonder how it got there. Only the doctors could open the windows; but earlier that day one of them opened it after Sunshine had wet the bed.

The buzzing of the moth’s wings wasn’t very loud, but for Diamond Tiara it was unbearable. She waved her hoof and smashed the insect. She examined the spot on the wall and an idea appeared in her head.

She wrapped herself in a blanket – the draughts on the corridors were freezing her to the bone. Then she opened a drawer of her nightstand and took a small box from it. She opened the door and looked around, checking for the nurses patrolling the building. Then she left the room and trotted down the hall.

Zippoorwhill’s room wasn’t far away from hers. She knocked at the door and waited for her to open.

“Oh, it’s you…” Zippoorwhill said when she saw her. “I was just looking at the moon and wondering if Luna could help me with… with my dreams...”

“Who knows?” Diamond Tiara replied. “I heard that she sometimes appears… But maybe she thinks you should deal with that yourself…”

Zippoorwhill shuddered. “But… I don’t know if I can… I… I can’t even look at Nano…” She began to cry.

“There, there…” Diamond Tiara muttered, patting her mane.

“I’m so pathetic…” Zippoorwhill wept. “When I hear barking or buzzing of the flies…”

“Yeah…” Diamond Tiara murmured, looking around Zipporwhill’s room. Her blanket was too thick to do what she was planning to do, but the bed sheets seemed to be made to do that. “You’re not pathetic, Zip… My roommate cuts herself, pees her bed and talks in her sleep… That’s pathetic, if you ask me…”

“Maybe…” Zippoorwhill replied. “Still, it doesn’t make me feel better…”

“Don’t worry… At first I thought that the therapy wouldn’t help, but it really did. You’ll surely feel better soon…”

Poor Zippoorwhill, she couldn’t cope…

Diamond Tiara froze. Suddenly, she felt as if the box she hid underneath her blanket was made of lead. Why did she take it with her? Was she planning something? She didn’t know.

“Are you okay, Diamond?” Zippoorwhill asked.

“Yes… Yes, I am…” Diamond Tiara replied. “I need to drink… Do you want some water?”

“Yes,” Zippoorwhill said. “I think I have some cups here.”

The cups were made of plastic; even if it was crushed, the edges weren’t sharp. Diamond Tiara thought that it was wise, considering the patients such as Sunshine Rainbows. She took the cups and went to the bathroom.

She turned on the light and looked at herself in the mirror. Messy mane, narrowed pupils, bags under her eyes… She could barely recognise herself. Why was she still alive? Even considering the microsleep and slumbers, she should be dead a long time ago.

She turned the tap and filled the cups with water.

...though she looked long for a cure…

Her reflection in the mirror disappeared. She blinked, trying to make her vision focus. She put the cups on the sink, reached for the box and opened it. She smirked, seeing the pills inside.

She thought about Nurse Charming Heart, who spent quite a long time, searching through Pepper’s room. Finally everypony assumed that the colt had thrown his pills away.

Diamond Tiara chuckled and began to pulverize the pills with her hoof. Then she poured the powder into one of the cups and went back to Zippoorwhill.

She found the pegasus lying on her bed, looking at the ceiling. For a moment Diamond Tiara thought that she was asleep; but soon, she jerked awake and put her glasses on.

“Still with me?” Diamond asked and gave her a cup. “Drink it. You’ll feel much better.”

“Thanks,” Zippoorwhill replied. She took a sip of water, then she downed the cup.

“Smells funny…” she muttered.

“Rusty pipes or something like that,” Diamond Tiara replied. “You know, they have to disinfect it or something…”

“Yeah… maybe,” Zippoorwhill replied. “You know, my dad doesn’t let me drink water from the tap… He says that I can get sick…”

“I don’t usually drink water,” Diamond Tiara said, looking at the pegasus curiously. “I prefer apple juice.”

“I like it too,” Zippoorwhill replied. “And I once drank my dad’s coffee… Ms. Heartstrings wasn’t amused when I started to fly around her…”

“Yeah, charming…” Diamond Tiara narrowed her eyes.

“I know…” Zippoorwhill flapped her wings. “My daddy says that I should never… I should never…” Suddenly, her speech became slurred. She staggered and collapsed on her bed. Her eyes were still open; Diamond Tiara looked into them and shuddered, seeing them staring at her, expressionless. Zippoorwhill’s breath was shallow and stertorous.

Diamond Tiara felt a sharp pain and the back of her head. Her vision blurred for a moment when she helped Zippoorwhill up.

“You’d better go to the bathroom with me…” she muttered, taking a sheet from Zippoorwhill’s bed. Then she opened the door and examined the corridor. Luckily, it was empty, so she went out of the room, half-dragging, half-steering the pegasus.

They quickly reached the bathroom. Diamond Tiara opened the door of one of the stalls and looked at the ceiling. There were a couple of pipes above her; just something she needed to accomplish her plan. She dragged Zippoorwhill inside and tied the bed sheet into a noose.

...they found her hanging on the rope…

Diamond stood on the toilet and tied the sheet to the pipe. She examined it; the fabric seemed strong enough.

“Now it’s time for you…” she muttered, trying to lift Zippoorwhill. Luckily for her, the pegasus wasn’t heavy. Diamond remembered Silver Spoon telling her about the pegasi and how their bones were made to be light but strong. Still, it was hard to raise the numb filly.

Finally, Zippoorwhill was standing on the toilet, with a noose around her neck. So far, she made no attempt to resist. Diamond Tiara had to hold her to make her stand straight.

“You wanted to escape from your dreams, didn’t you?” she asked. “Well, now you have a chance…”

She pushed her off the toilet and trotted away a few steps. Zippoorwhill’s wings shot open; she opened her mouth, fighting for breath. She wasn’t high above the ground, but the pills had weakened her and she couldn’t reach it with her hooves. Her thrashing was slowly getting weaker.

“Goodbye, Zip,” Diamond Tiara said, closing the door to the stall.

...now she feels better for sure!

When Diamond Tiara was back in her room, she felt tired. Sunshine was muttering something, but she didn’t care about that; she barely reached her bed and threw herself on it, falling asleep almost immediately.

Author's Notes:

Poor Zippoorwhill, she couldn’t cope,
though she looked long for a cure.
They found her hanging on the rope,
now she feels better for sure!